Akita unwell. Need fresh ideas.?

Question

After 5 visits to the vet, a blood screen and stomach ultrasound I'm hoping someone may have fresh ideas for my baby bear.

Saturday night my 7 year old male Akita started acting strange, going outside where he would normally relieve himself but just standing there for a good half hour. Once he finally came inside he couldn't settle and kept getting up and down as though very uncomfortable.

My first thought was bloat so kept a close eye with no obvious bloat symptoms such as retching or stomach expansion.

Sunday he looked very unwell, ears and tail back, lethargic and trembling. He also didn't eat his breakfast so I organized an emergency vet visit. They examined him, no temperature, so sign of diarrhea or bloody f***s but obviously in a lot of pain. He was given a non steroidal pain killer and buscopan to settle his stomach and sent home for further monitoring. The vet's first instinct was a stomach mass so we agreed to take him back if he was unwell.

Monday morning we saw him either vomit or try to vomit. After which he seemed fantastic all morning until early afternoon, just like his old self. He ate dinner Sunday and breakfast Monday. At about 2pm I saw him laying down in discomfort, his stomach contracting every second causing him to gasp. I feared bloat again and rushed him to the vet twice on Monday. His stomach was somewhat distended with gas though didn't seem to be bloat. He was in obvious pain so on the first visit he was given another pain killer. When he didn't improve he was taken back for more treatment for pain and a blood test. Everything was normal in the blood test except for a slightly low white cell count, though the vet ruled out infection due to lack of fever and signs of blood. The vet also thought she might have felt a stomach mass on digital examination of his stomach so Tuesday an ultrasound was scheduled.

He still seemed poor on Tuesday, though he defecated in his cage at the vet in the morning. It was apparently quite large and hard, no signs of blood or dysentery. The ultrasound showed absolutely nothing, except some gas in his bowels which obscured the images to an extent. Stomach was fine, spleen and liver fine, kidneys fine. No signs of any masses or tumors. This left the vet perplexed and unsure as to what could be wrong with him. When I picked him up he looked great, he ate a small dinner, seemed very well making me wonder if it was constipation all along and he was now relieved.

Wednesday morning back to the vet. Appeared unhappy again though not as bad as previous mornings, though he was now whimpering with fair frequency and starting to drool. He's never drooled. Vet diagnosed possible nausea from coming off the painkillers and lack of food. He was given Maxalon and sent home though he's continued to look off color, continued to whimper frequently and hasn't eaten at all through the day.

I can't stop him whimpering, can't get him to eat yet and he continues to look unhappy or in pain. Any fresh ideas would be very welcome to discuss with his existing or when I try a new vet.

Answer 1

I am so sorry to hear that your dog is sick. I went thru this very same thing with my Siberian a couple months back. About $3K later in vet bills, and multpile medications, the vet finally took a full x-ray. My dogs chest cavity was full of cancer and had to put him asleep. His white cells were also a bit low in the beginning, but soon changed to a very low count. All this took place in a months time. When I first took him in for the issues with his pain, moaning and crying, and throwing up yellow nasty stuff, tho he hadnt ate anything. The last day I had him here at home, he threw up some stuff that looked like coffee grounds. If you have seen anything like that, let the vet know right away. Please share my story with your vet, and get an opinion. If not, try going to another vet, or if you are close to a college that has veterany program, and take your dog there.

Best wishes, and I truely hope your dog is not suffering what we did, by mis-diagnosis.  

Answer 2

What is he eating? I would try a very bland diet of just boiled chicken breast and white rice for a few days,and add a bit of  plain yogurt to put some good bacteria in his gut.As for the pain,he may have gas,so you can give Gas-X,as directed on the box.It is recommended that anyone with a large dog ,or a breed prone to bloat, keep some on hand and administer a double dose at the first sign of bloat and before leaving for the vet. Also,did the vet examine his throat and esophagus? If there is a blockage or irritation there,it will cause drooling. Good luck, and I hope your dog feels better.

Answer 3

pancreatitis or hepatitis maybe? sounds like you are doing everything that you can for him. I sure hope you find out soon and that your dog gets well!

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_can...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infectious_...

Answer 4

i had a great dane that did the exact same thing and it turned out that he had small bladder stones that he was trying to pass though his urethra. ask your vet to check for bladder stones or kidney stones.

Answer 5

I would get a second opinion STAT.

Another thought was could he have something stuck in his throat?  A stick, ball, sock?

I know you said he did eventually have a bowel movement, but vomiting coupled with being unable to defecate could mean an obstruction of some sort foreign or biological.

One last thought.  Is he up to date on his rabies vaccine?  Drooling can be indicative of paralysis which can be caused by the rabies virus.  It could also indicate an obstruction in his throat area.  DO NOT try and check for an obstruction in his throat-just in case of rabies.  You do NOT want to accidentally expose yourself.

Hope your baby gets better.

Later:  I have seen plenty of times an animal eat something (they shouldn't) and it becomes stuck, for lack of a better word.  I remember once the Vet removed part of tennis ball from a golden's stomach.    However the first symptom is usually difficulty with bowel movements.  Often vomiting follows because they try to eat and since the food cannot digest through the GI tract, they vomit it up.  However the drooling would not necessarily start immediately, as you indicate the Vet told you.   Your baby probably feels pretty crappy.  

I am betting that there is an obstruction.  The Vet may have to do exploratory surgery.

Also put him on a bland diet.  1 part boiled hamburger or chicken with three parts cooked white rice.  This is easier to digest.

Again hope your baby is feeling better.

I will keep an eye on this post.  Please let us know the outcome.

Answer 6

I definitely second searching for obstructions. But that can be hard without surgery which is invasive. Though them running a camera down his throat and doing a Lower GI or something could help look through his throat and intestines. It's very possible he swallowed something that will not show up on x-rays and it might be stuck and would produce similar symptoms.

Answer 7

I think you should try another Vet.  It seem to me that since he is not eating well and taking pain killer that can give him pain. Also he could be suffering from stress.  Steroid pain killer make the stomach bloated on human being.  You can cook him rice soup, boil rice like a soup and put little non-fat milk that's probably set his stomach.  Constipation if another factor that make him uncomfortable.  My friend has a dog, she didn't want to eat, she spent a lot of money going to the vet.  Then she gave her one spoon of olive oil with lemon and the next day the dog want to go outside and sure enough.  She had swallowed a bone and it came out.  Now she is well, the vet could not figure out what was wrong.  I pray that you dog get well, would to hear from you and your dog.   Ga

Answer 8

take him to another vet it may be he ate something he cannot pass i saw on emergency vets a dog ate a towel that had been used in an outdoor bar-b- que.another episode another dog with same symptoms as your also ate a sock.it seems the mass the vet felt is not being diagnosed properly.

Answer 9

I am so sorry.....my first thought is that he has swallowed something that is stuck somewhere. It might not hurt to get a second opinion.