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Old June 2nd, 2010, 03:40 PM
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Dr Lee Dr Lee is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wareagle1776 View Post
My dog has not had a bowel movement in approx. 3 days even after a couple of enemas started yesterday.X-rays have shown he is full and has no blockage at all, he is currently taking amoxicillin,metoclopramide ,famotidine and recieving 1000 ml lactated ringers twice a day started today on the fluid. He has been diagnosed with pancreatitus and is currently not eating or drinking. Vet has said there is not much more they can do except wait and see. Anybody out there have any ideas or is this perhaps the end of life situation.
While I haven't seen your pet and am not fully aware of the case, it is unusual for canine constipation to constitute an "end of life situation." Usually focusing on the underlying disease (i.e. pancreatitis) and supportive care will take care of the constipation issues. In cats, I have had cases of complete obstipation where the cat needs to be anesthetized to manually evacuate the colon. However in dogs, addressing hydration, managing the underlying condition, diet change, enemas and laxatives will virtually always resolve the constipation. I had a case of a dog eating a huge amount of sand at the beach. Upon rectal, his stool felt like rock. Repeated enemas, laxatives, some pain medication and the pet was able to pass everything with ease.

Some other things to consider: "nothing in, nothing out" - if the pet isn't eating, then stool is not being made, so not evacuating the colon, is not always a problem; if there is not an anatomic disease (ie tumor) that is not allowing the colon to be emptied, then medical management should be able to address the issue; and finally, pancreatitis can be a very serious condition - this is the area that needs to be focused on (assuming no other conditions).

I hope that this helps.
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Christopher A. Lee, DVM, MPH, Diplomate ACVPM
Preventive Medicine Specialist With a Focus on Immunology and Infectious Disease
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