please help dog is breathing hard and not eating.

[Giselle]

For about the last two weeks my dog (10 years old) has been breathing really hard, it looks like heavy panting and her stomach looks like it's pumping. She isn't eating normally, she eats very little, and she is urinating everywhere. Usually she is very attentive and is alert to every distraction but now it's like she doesn't hear or see anything. We call her and she comes towards us a couple of steps and then she sits down. To me it seems like she can't carry herself. She's been losing her hair and she looks kind of sad. We took her to the vet and he found some nasal discharge and he gave her an antibiotic shot and medicine. He tested her blood and said that she has a high white blood cell count and that would should feed her soft foods. I felt something hard in or around her stomch a while ago and she seems to get uncomfortable when I press lightly on it. Is there anything else that could possibly be wrong with her?

[raingirl]

How long ago did you take her to the vet? What tests did they run? Did you bring a urine or poop sample? Maybe she has worms or a urinary tract infection. How long has she been on the antibiotics?

[coppperbelle]

You need to bring your dog back to the vet. It could be anything like an obstruction, heart failure or even a tumor. He may have nothing more than a bad infection.
Please don't wait, take him this weekend,he is suffering.

[BMDLuver]

Off to the vet's office, it sounds like heart problems and intestinal blockage. Do not wait.. you care for your dog or you would not have posted so please take him back in, high white cell can also mean kidney failure, cancer,etc..

[justncase]

Your dog has every symptom of Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia. Vaccinations can trigger it( was your dog vaccinated within the last month?). Other causes are severe bacterial infections,metastatic cancer(especially hemangiosarcoma),certain drugs, genetric disposition, etc. This is very serious and life-threatening. Hopefully it is not IMHA but it has every indication of it. Please have this checked right away and if it is IMHA please return to this site because there are new ways to deal with it that your vet may wish to consider( it can be a difficult thing to treat) .

[Giselle]

We took her to the vet on Monday (09-19) and she has been on the antibiotics since then. Today she just started urinating alot, she does it right where she's sitting and she doesn't move, she just sits on top ot it. I'm not sure what tests they did, but all I know they did was take a blood test. I just went to see how she is and I felt a soft squishy kind of ball on her chest, a little bigger than a golf ball. I think maybe that is what is causing her to breathe heavily. She hasn't moved from the spot she is sitting in for about 4 or 5 hours. Right now I gave her some beef broth and she only drank about 1/2 a cup. My family is saying we should put her to sleep but I am the only one who doesn't want to, even though I do think she is really old. I don't know what to do.

[justncase]

Is the " soft squishy ball" near her heart? Pressing on it? Near her lungs? Pressing on them? Both could account for heavy breathing . The heart would have to work harder,pump harder. The lungs would have trouble taking in enough oxygen. Are her gums pink? Pale coloured?

[Giselle]

The ball is near her lungs and I think it might be pressing on them, but not too much. Her gums look pink, normal from what I recall. She took a few steps toward me when I walked towards her, I think she wants to be closer to us, but I don't know if I should pick her up, I think it might hurt her.

[justncase]

You need to get this looked into right away. It may be a simple thing to remove surgically. It may be a benign growth. You have to find out what it is. If it's cancer. There have been cures. For whatever it is, it could very well be the reason why your dog is panting so hard and that is wearing on the heart of an older pet. Cryosurgery is highly successful for this type of thing. Sometimes, with the proper treatment and supplements tumors have dissolved on their own . Vitamin C and Vitamin E are immune boosters. For whatever else is going on they can support your dog's system until you can get to a vet. They have been known to be very supportive in cases of tumors and has even produced some startling results. For the vitamin C usually it's started at 500 mg a day increasing the amount each day to bowel tolerance.The vitamin E dosage is based on the weight of the dog. Transfer Factor Plus should be available to you in the U.S. Very supportive and corrective for cancer. I see you are in California. There is the Carnivora Institute there. Startling cancer cures. They say they are willing to tailor the treatment to the specific need of the pet. They only need the vet involved to contact them.

Richard Jason Ostrow
Owner, President & CEO
Dr. H. Keller
Founder
Carnivora Research, Inc.
International
1 866 836 8735? (Toll free US)
203 532 0957 (TeleDirect, US & Canada)
203 531 0957? (Fax, US & Canada)
carnivora2000@yahoo.com

You may also wish to see if there is a homeopathic vet in your area who may be able to provide a different perspective on the condition( www.ahmva.org/referral/index.html)

[BMDLuver]

Giselle, please take your dog to the vet's. Our family dog of 14 years went that way in 24 hours and when we took her in we made the sad decision to pts because her body was failing. Don't let your dog suffer slowly, please.

[Prin]

Please take her to a different vet. If your vet didn't notice a golf ball sized lump, it's time to move on to somebody new. This doggy doesn't sound too good and she needs a vet who cares enough to make her senior life better. Good luck.

[Giselle]

We called the Humane Society and they said it would be best to put her to sleep because she is very old and obviously suffering. So my family has decided to do that, we are taking her in about an hour.

[chico2]

Sorry to hear that,RIP little dog :sad:

[Giselle]

It's so sad...she died on the way to the Humane Society.

[chico2]

Giselle,just one stupid question,why Humane Society???
I would not take my cats to HS to be put down and I actually don't think they would either(could be wrong!)
For the HS on the phone,to say she's too old and needs to be put down does not sound right,that's why we have vets...
Anyway,no need to carp about that,the dog is gone :sad: