Please Help Olive, My Basset Hound

[Coleman11C]

So, I'm having trouble with Olive, my Basset Hound (F - 2 years) and I really need some advice.

It all started a couple days ago... I was noticing her whimpering a little bit for no apparent reason. Then, I noticed her whimper a little when I tried to help her on to the couch, starting with her front legs. She also didn't seem to wanna eat, for some reason.

So, I took her to the vet and explained what was going on and we tried to recreate what was making her cry, but with no luck. The vet then did a thorough examination (fine temperature, fine stool, no apparent pain up and down her spine, and no pain when pressing on her organs). So, she decided to run blood work and work from there. Her blood work came back fine and she gave Olive a shot of buprenex and sent her home to see if it got any better. On the way home, Olive wouldn't move; just completely knocked out, which was surprising to me. When we got home, she layed on the floor, shaking heavily all over every time she took a breath. It scared me, so I took her right back to the vet hospital.

At the vet hospital, they did x-rays and tested her for heart worm. Let me say that the doctor had never seen anything like it; she would be shaking like crazy (from what she thought was pain) one minute, then be wagging her tail and not shaking the next. The doctor showed
me the x-rays and pointed out that she thought her spleen was slightly swollen around the edge, as well as a weird pocket of gas somewhere in there, too. She also thought that a couple of disks on her upper spine appeared to be a little too close together.

She decided to put her on a strong antibiotic and switch her over to metacam for possible inflammation and pain. Olive hadn't had anything to drink that day and I was worried that she was gonna be severely dehydrated, so the vet injected some fluid in her back and sent her home.

She was crying quite a bit throughout the first night on my bed, so I decided to move her off my really soft mattress and onto the carpet, so see if it was too soft for her spine. She seemed to sleep alright after that.

Here we are, two days later, and she hasn't had one drink of water on her own. I noticed that if I give her ice cubes, she'll eat as many as I put in front of her, so yesterday she ate about 50 of them (which is hopefully enough to keep her hydrated). I have to hand feed her wet dog food piece by piece or she won't eat anything at all. I'm sure the antibiotics are making her lose her appetite, as well as the painkillers, but I can't be sure that's the only thing.

I'm stopping the antibiotics after 5 days and today is her last day of painkillers and I'm hoping her appetite returns after that. Other than the not eating or drinking, she appears to be doing fine now, but I have to know what's going on. If this keeps up, I don't know what I'm gonna be able to do.

If anyone has had a similar experience, or knows someone that has, any advice would be much appreciated.

I'll answer any specific questions you have if it helps narrow down what might be going on.

Thanks

[Macomom]

I don't have any advice for you, but I certainly hope Olive will get better. I am so sorry that you are going through this mystery and it must be very upsetting.
Please let us know what happens with her. You will have many thoughts and prayers.

[Dee-O-Gee]

Ice cubes are good. You could also try 1 cup hot water, melt in 2 chicken boullion cubes then add 1 cup cold water along with a few ice cubes to cool down. This acts like electrolytes and helps with strength. Bland diet of boiled chicken or hamburg mixed with instant rice is also a nice treat.

Anything new or unusal in Olive's surroundings? Possible poision plants in or outside? Perhaps she may have got into something that has created this adverse reaction.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

[Coleman11C]

Yeah, I thought about using the boullion cubes before to entice her, but I know they're really salty (even low sodium ones) and I wondered if extra salt would end up making her even more dehydrated. So, I'm thinking about boiling some plain old chicken in water to give it some smell without having to add any salt.

There hasn't been anything new in her environment, either... she tends to get allergic reactions to certain medications and from insect bites when she's in the backyard, but no... nothing different happening at all.

She did eat some dinner tonight, which is good... and when she just got up on the couch, she squealed pretty badly... so, I'm leaning towards her back that's the problem (and maybe the meds are making her lose the appetite).

If it's some kind of muscle problem, they wouldn't necessarily be able to see that in an x-ray, would they? If her back is out of alignment, possibly from sleeping on my extra soft mattress (which just started a couple months ago) I don't really know what we'd do next.

I'm gonna give it a few more days and I'll keep you guys posted... this whole thing is a nightmare. But again... if anyone can possibly think of something I'm missing here, please let me know. Thanks

[hazelrunpack]

If it's a soft-tissue injury to her back, you're right--it wouldn't show on an xray. If there is a veterinary chiropractor in your area, that might be something to check into. Your regular vet should be able to refer you. Acupuncture might also be beneficial.

Boiling chicken makes a great broth for tempting dogs--I usually boil bone-in breast or thigh pieces until the meat begins to separate from the bone. Remove the pieces and pull the meat off the bone (discard the bones). Strain the broth to remove any odd bits of bone that might be floating around in there and put it in a glass or metal container to cool.

Once cooled, both the chicken meat and the broth may tempt your dog to eat and drink.

Bone-in chicken seems to make more flavorful broth than boneless chicken--just make sure you don't give her any of the boiled bones.

I hope after a few days rest and some TLC, your girl is feeling right as rain again!

[Coleman11C]

Here's a little update on Olive:

She's really doing better now, thank god. She's eating pretty normally and she's been potty-ing pretty normally, too. She's been sleeping through the night just fine and today is the last day of her painkillers.

I still don't know exactly what's going on, but I'm pretty sure she's not in any serious danger.

If her back is still bothering her in a couple weeks, I'm gonna see about a chiropractor; thanks for the tip, hazelrunpack.

here she is so you all can see the patient, btw :

[hazelrunpack]

Dang, she's cute!!!!!

for sharing!

I'm glad she's feeling better!

[kandy]

What a cutie!!!

Do you let her jump onto and off of the furniture? Or do you lift her on and off?

[Coleman11C]

She does jump on and off the couch on her own... there's really nothing I can do to stop her sometimes and I know with Bassets it can be harmful to their backs to let them do that. She now does seem more reluctant to jump on the couch than before, which tells me again that it's a back problem.

She's drinking more now and back to eating dry food, which is really good. If I notice anything new develop in the next week or so, I'm gonna look into the chiropractor.

[diandpat]

Perhaps you could build a little step to help her on/off the couch so she doesn't have to jump from as high. Hobo has had two episodes with back problems and it is very scary. We have little steps everywhere now to cut down on the impact.

I wish you luck. Olive has so much character in her face