klotzba
July 19th, 2007, 11:36 PM
Here's the deal: 11 year old mixed lab, acting depressed and eating less. The change in the dog's emotional state and appetite was gradual, over a month and half. I took her to the vet last week. She had blood work done, ran a stool sample and they ran the tick tests immediately (which were negative). The vet called with the blood work results and said they were "text book perfect" and were more like the results of a much younger dog. Jewel does have some anxiety issues (fire works, thunder storms and such and she has been licking her paws some, so they prescribed valium for a couple of days. This was a complete disaster and made her worse with her depression. It has now been one week and she is a about the same as before I took her to the vet. The only food she will eat is chicken and some rice. She has gone from eating three cups a day to one. She does have a fatty deposit which I had aspirated several months ago which they said was negative for cancer. So here I sit thinking I need to return to the vet tomorrow because she is just not herself. Also no longer wants to go for walks with my other two dogs. She had been going at least three-four times a week, now refusing to go. Basically, wants to lay in the crate or the bathroom and does not seem to relish interacting with me (before all this she was velcro dog) Any ideas?
rainbow
July 20th, 2007, 12:18 AM
I am so sorry to hear about Jewel. :grouphug: Has she been tested for Lyme disease?
klotzba
July 20th, 2007, 07:28 AM
Yes, that was the first thing they did. What is really odd about this is I had my cat in two months ago with some of the same symptoms (not eating much), only he wasn't drinking much and was getting deydrated. He was a eleven year old inside the house Siamese. He was there over a week, very ill and to be honest they never could tell me exactly what was wrong with him - his blood work was good too. They finally put him on steroids that got him eating and drinking again and gradually we are weaning him off of them. He is taking 1/4 of a pill every other day and doing well. He has gained all his weight back and looks great. I keep wondering if both things are related. I spent over 1400.00 to save my cat and still have no idea what was wrong with him ... now this with Jewel. I am just frustrated at this point. I am going to try to get another appointment for Jewel but thought that someone on these boards might have experienced something like it.
hazelrunpack
July 20th, 2007, 08:35 AM
Has she done any soft coughing?
Also, have they checked her for anaplasmosis? One of our dogs was showing similar symptoms, though much milder than what you describe, and was finally diagnosed with anaplasmosis. (It's tick-borne--organism has recently been reclassified from Ehrlichia equii to Anaplasma phagocytophilum . Anaplasmosis is on the upswing here--this spring, 4 of our 6 dogs and hubby all came down with it. :shrug:
Good luck at the vet! :fingerscr Please keep us posted! :grouphug:
Athanzia
July 23rd, 2007, 02:02 AM
We are having the same issues with our puppy (just under a year old). We are starting to wonder if its the new food. We just switched her from puppy to adult. Lately she's been extremely lethargic, doesn't wanna play.... before that was her life! Now she'd rather lay on the couch. She'll perk up if we literally force her to go outside. She's also eating less as she doesn't much care for this food. We are planning on taking her to the vet in the morning to see what the problem could be. Hope things work out for your pup, dear. Sounds like they're having quite simliar issues.*hugs*