Self-treating 7yo dog with stomach ulcer is getting worse

[llombardo]

Worth a watch--this is just a part of it. The vet is Dr Becker and she is very well known and informative.

 

[BreanneRN]

I don't see any miracle ingredients in Hills ID food and it is full of multiple types of grain... Just like most other dog foods... I did see a big price tag though...You buying that from the Vet? (Vets make a lot of money off of selling specialty foods and acting as their own pharmacy). If your dog has a food sensitivity probably the only way you will find out is with an elimination diet. If she is doing alright with rice and meat, keep her on rice and some kind of meat or other for a week and see how she does. The meat part is unlikely to be the problem, so you can use hamburger, chicken livers, whatever you can find for cheap. If she is doing ok after a week, you can try a grain free sweet potato base food maybe.

 

[llombardo]

At this point, this is NOT a simple food issue! Playing around with foods may give short-term relief, but will not remove the problem. The best it can do is prolong her pain.

The question about meds is a good one. Did you give your dog any meds recently? Did you change her heartworm or flea meds? Some dogs are allergic (but then you should see the allergy signs.)

Call a vet. Request just an x-ray, first. Who knows what she may have eaten - a small toy, a bottle cap ... a sock. If an x-ray shows nothing, then consider an MRI.

One step at a time, but at this point, they need to be bigger steps than just playing with food.

No it's most likely not a food issue, but foods and the ingredients in foods can aggravate and feed whatever might be wrong. It's always best to fix a dog from the inside out. Strong gut and immune system and diet will aid in recovery. A blockage is a good possibility too.

I am interested in knowing about heartworm and flea medications. Some out there have killed dogs, it seems to be hit or miss, but Bravecto and Trifexis come to mind as possible issues. I would look at the liver, kidneys and pancreas.

I just hope it can be figured out and soon.

 

[lazy gardener]

Tried probiotics?

 

[BreanneRN]

Well, she could have simple gastric irritation from her compulsive grass eating, which may have started with her issues after the AI (AI usually requires treatment with hormones, which can really cause a lot of mental/physical issues and stress). In response, this may have turned into a vicious cycle of stomach pain-grass eating=more stomach pain and then more grass eating. She could have irritated her stomach to the point where she has eroded areas in her stomach where proteins can enter her blood stream also causing her to react to her food. Your vets have undoubtedly done blood work, checked for worms, ruled out masses/obstruction/impaction, hepatitis, infection, etc., etc., etc. And your dog has a diagnosis of "nothing wrong". But we know something is wrong... Since you have vet burn out (don't blame you) start with the things you can control. Put her on a bland diet of meat and rice, stop all supplements, herbs, and meds, monitor her closely and keep her away from grass. Give her body a chance to heal itself. That's what I would do. Dogs are strong and resilient. They can respond well to conservative treatment. Also, did they check your dog for H. Pylori infection? http://pethealthnetwork.com/dog-hea...ions-a-z/helicobacter-infection-dogs-and-cats

 

[QChickieMama]

Without a diagnosis, you are treating in vain. Her symptoms could be due to any number of things including: worms, intestinal blockage, a tumor. an infection. You've been treating her for 10 days and she's not better. I would suggest that if you don't have any confidence in the current vet that you go to an other clinic. Was she treated by the vet for the same symptoms? What did the treatment consist of? Was there any improvement with the treatment?

The two vets we've seen have done lots of testing. All they've discovered are two swollen lymph nodes near her stomach. They recommend more $$$ testing which may or may not shed light on whatever issue she has. Everything else they've looked at was normal.

 

[QChickieMama]

I simply don't want to give these vets more of my $. They propose thousands of dollars of procedures. This is a dog. We love our dog, but it's not a child.

We know our dog best. I can't believe we can't figure what's wrong with her ourselves. By trial and error. I can't imagine too many people who would spend $5K on investigative medicine for a dog--and then perhaps come up with "we don't know."

 

[llombardo]

I simply don't want to give these vets more of my $. They propose thousands of dollars of procedures. This is a dog. We love our dog, but it's not a child.

We know our dog best. I can't believe we can't figure what's wrong with her ourselves. By trial and error. I can't imagine too many people who would spend $5K on investigative medicine for a dog--and then perhaps come up with "we don't know."

I spent $3000 on a cat I had for a month and she didn't make it.

Is she vomiting when she does eat or just the grass to make herself vomit. Generally when they eat grass, they are missing something nutritionally. First thing I would do is get her off that food. I would go with boiled chicken breast and rice or baby food(meat) to calm the stomach down. Small frequent meals at first.

What are they noticing with blood work?

 

[QChickieMama]

I spent $3000 on a cat I had for a month and she didn't make it.

Is she vomiting when she does eat or just the grass to make herself vomit. Generally when they eat grass, they are missing something nutritionally. First thing I would do is get her off that food. I would go with boiled chicken breast and rice or baby food(meat) to calm the stomach down. Small frequent meals at first.

What are they noticing with blood work?

Wow. Sorry about your cat. That's tough.

She only vomits when she has gotten into grass.

I actually gave her white rice and pheasant cooked yesterday for lunch & dinner. She loved it and seemed to perk up. This ID food is "guaranteed" to settle her stomach, per the vet.

They say her bloods are completely normal.

 

[BreanneRN]

Maybe she is one of those dogs that has developed a food allergy? Can't tolerate gluten or something? Maybe go with a grain free food and see if there is a difference... Because I guess you probably can't feed her pheasant and rice forever...