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Old April 24th, 2014, 09:23 PM
alwyzchanging alwyzchanging is offline
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My dog needs help

Okay so I will begin by letting you know that I have recently fallen on hard times - the funds to take my dog to the vet to get the works done simply isnt there so I am trying to narrow down what my dog might have so I can get her treated.

So recently my dog has been lethargic, no energy, had hives, sores around her lower belly but did have an appetite (she did struggle to eat though, it looked as though she had something stuck in her mouth or something). Anyway I took her to the vet and long story short, they didnt know what was wrong with her. He suggested I get her blood tested, which I did and it came back with nothing wrong.

Turns out she had food allergies (allergic to chicken). I found this out a few days later (note- NOT by the vet). So I switched her food to the Purina One Lamb & Rice formula. Well she got better but started showing signs of allergies again as of 2 days ago (lethargic, weak, lumps on skin). Anyway I decided to do some research on the food and apparently a lot of people had complaints about it so I decided to switch her over yesterday to a new food: I And Love And You
http://www.iandloveandyou.com/dog/dr...le/simply-sea/

(its a smaller company that makes grain-free dog food in their fish formula, info on the bag can be found in the link above).
Anyway she ate it up, and almost instantly looked better/ acted better. She had a ridge going down her back (I assume it was tensed up) before eating and after eating the new food, it went away and she was walking normal again.

Well today shes only drank water and when I took her out, she was struggling with pooping a little and she pooed out a little yellow mucus and after she peed, there was a little (like 1/4 pin-head size) red mucus. Her hives are coming back and she has stages where she looks fine and stages where she seems like shes not feeling so hot (mostly after she drinks water- she begins to pant like shes very hot or something and she starts looking weak/laying on her side- which is not normal of her to do). Id also like to note she just went pee in her bed (which she never does) and she has a little pink spot that Im assuming is blood again?

So my question is this- have you seen this before in a dog? Im thinking urinary tract infection and possibly something else? Im taking a sample of her pee to the vet tomorrow but I dont think a uti would have the other symptoms (lethargy, hives, apparent pain). I need to get her taken care of but do not have the money atm to pay for guessing games (I understand thats the best a vet could do but I simply cannot afford it atm). So any help would be greatly appreciated. List of time/symptoms can be found below.



April 6: Didn't seem quite herself, wasn't as active as she usually was, licking of feet, licking of genital area, scratching back on carpet, some hives, sores on belly/feet. Food she was on: Authority Senior Dog food w/real chicken

April 7:
Symptoms:Lethargic, weak (couldn't walk), was doing the "play bow" (obviously not playing but in pain) whenever she had to walk anywhere, hives, sores around lower belly and feet, licking of feet.
Stool/Urine: Struggling with going, almost layed down while she was urinating and had a hard time pushing out her stool. Stool was black on outside and yellow on inside (assuming from the color of her dog food).
Food: Authority Senior Dog food w/real chicken

April 9: Took her to vet as symptoms continued. He couldnt find anything wrong with her. Suggested I get a full blood test done on her + get sterroid medication. Went home getting neither (couldnt afford it at the time). Food: Authority Senior Dog food w/real chicken

April 11: Symptoms continued. Went back to vet to get full blood work done, got steroid medication (Prednisone)+ pain medication ( tramadol). Food:Authority Senior Dog food w/real chicken
Medication: Started on medication. Seemed much better (not in pain, not as lethargic, able to walk fine) after pain medication was given (Tramadol).

April 12: Got call from vet saying blood work came back good. Nothing wrong with her there.
Symptoms: Slept a lot (certainly due to medication). Hives & sores clearing up).
Food:Authority Senior Dog food w/real chicken
Medication: Continued giving both to her at scheduled times.

April 16: Noticed it was the food that was making her have the allergic reaction, switched over to Purina One Lamb & Rice formula. Seemed to be doing better (few hives).
Medication: Continued giving both to her at scheduled times.
Symptoms: Somewhat weak, slept a lot (due to medication) but hives cleared up and so did the sores on her lower belly/paws.

April 19:
Symptoms: None.
Medication: She finished both medications she was prescribed completely.

April 20-21:
Symptoms: None, everything was normal.
Medication: None


April 22:
Symptoms:Hives started coming back, licking of feet, somewhat lethargic.
Food: Purina One Lamb & Rice formula.

April 23:
Symptoms:Ridge along spine, seemed very tense, hives, lethargic, weak.
Food: Switched to I And Love And You Simply Sea Recipe. Almost instantly ridge along spine went away, looked like she got a little more energy. By the end of the day she was back to her normal self (playing etc.)

April 24:
Stool/Urine: Black stool, looks healthy (moist). Yellowish mucus came out after a bit of a struggle to push it out. Red mucus 1/4 pin-head size in urine. Had accident in her bed with a little pink in it.
Symptoms:Hives seems to have gotten a little worse. Seems kind of lethargic, no energy for play but enough to get around fine. Obviously in some sort of pain/discomfort (specifically after drinking water).
Food: I And Love And You Simply Sea Recipe.

BASIC INFORMATION ON HER:
-Female
-French Bulldog
-Not neutered
-6 years old
-Clear bloodwork
-28lbs
-Has hernia on belly that the vet said can wait to be removed once she gets spayed (shes had that since I got her when she was 3 years old).
-Never had a litter
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  #2  
Old April 25th, 2014, 06:54 AM
Marty11's Avatar
Marty11 Marty11 is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: East Gwillimbury, ON
Posts: 1,174
I would bet the "Hernia" could definitely be a problem here. Sounds like she has allergies too. Try the food elimination trial, but it could be environmental. Get a second opinion from a good vet.
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  #3  
Old April 25th, 2014, 07:19 AM
Longblades Longblades is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,528
Poor little girly pup. I note that each time you switched food she was also on meds. She cleared up then got worse again. I would suspect her allergy might be environmental then, as it only seemed to clear up on a new food in conjunction with a med. Therefore the med was working, not the food change. Maybe, no guarantee.

The problem with trying something for the allergy is that you can't try anything else at the same time. Otherwise you don't really know which thing helped, in your case was it the food switch or the medication?

Environmental allergies are far more common than food allergies.

My dog has seasonal nvironmental allergies. Easy to discover, itches in summer, fine all winter on the same food. He takes Atopica which is a lesser evil than Prednisone. An allergy dog is a sick dog so you really should not vaccinate, operate (as in the spay, because of meds used) till the condition is cleared up.

Unfortuately environmental allergies can also be to things like dust mites which live in your house all year round. Your dog may not clear up in winter as mine does. It's really tough. I wish you luck, without a visit to a Dermatology Specialist Vet (mega big $ and I did not do that, not yet) you may never know exactly what the allergy is to. I have two neighbours who did the Derm Vet visit and they are both on Atopica anyway. Atopica is not cheap either. Good luck.
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