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View Full Version : 5 month old lab- vomiting- stomach surgery


jmcgee
Sep 30, 2007, 03:00 PM
Our 5 month old lab ate a corn cob a few weeks ago and had surgery. Shortly after she began to vomit / diaherria. She was put on ID and stomach meds. The meds are gone about 3 days but is still on ID food. Last night she vomited again and today- she will not eat or drink and has lost quite a bit of weight. We are at the end of our rope

labman
Sep 30, 2007, 03:25 PM
She needs to go back to the vet. Trying to locate all of something like the corncob is difficult. There may still be another blockage.

jmcgee
Sep 30, 2007, 03:28 PM
she had a 2nd set of x-rays which showed no blockage. On the stomach meds and ID food she seemed a bit better. Each time we took her off stomach meds she vomits- no diarehhia this time yet

jmcgee
Oct 3, 2007, 05:01 PM
My dog has been treated for 3 weeks with medication and given fluids but continued to wretch and vomit. The las set of x-rays show something in the stomach - possibly piece of rug etc. She is 5 months old and has lost weight. She is in vets office today getting fluids and medication. Surgery is tomorrow. Any idea of her chances. Is this a very complicated surgery

bushg
Oct 3, 2007, 05:07 PM
I have heard of dogs having rocks removed and brillo pads removed, with great success. Keep your fingers crossed, we will be thinking of your dog and wishig it the best.

jmcgee
Oct 3, 2007, 05:19 PM
Thanks so much - funny how attached you can get so quickly

labman
Oct 3, 2007, 09:03 PM
You don't say what kind of a dog. A few years ago I was at a talk by a vet for people raising Goldens. She routinely removes all sorts of things from dogs stomachs. Many of them are Labs too. Usually they do fine. I have seen their display of things they have removed.

jmcgee
Oct 4, 2007, 05:56 AM
She is a 5 month old lab- Problem is the vet thought she passed a corn cob. Turns out she ate some cloth to soothe her stomach so this is going on over 3 weeks. They are operating today. Could cloth stay in there a month? Would it adhere to the stomach walls

labman
Oct 4, 2007, 06:10 AM
Labs are terrible too. They get something like that in their stomach, it will stay until it is removed or it kills the dog. She could have also added something else later too.

Are you crating her? If you read through the sticky at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/information-articles-our-dogs-expert-labman-53153.html#post251802 you see where I say the dog is safer in a crate. Gives them less time to gulp down such.

It is only natural that a puppy resists its crate at first. What the puppy
Wants more than anything else is to be others, you, anyone else in the
Household, and any other pets. In our modern society, even if we are home,
Other things distract us from the attention an uncrated puppy must have. The
Only real solution is to crate the dog when you aren't around. The dog may be
Happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its
Den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving
Its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them
Will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic
Ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put
In a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select
A crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in. A 36'' one is good for all but the biggest Labs. She should have about 3/4 of her adult size now.

Leave it some toys. Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter. Don't leave
Anything in the crate the dog might chew up. It will do fine without even any
Bedding. You will come home to a safe dog and a house you can enjoy.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, may take some work.
Start just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going
in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at
Feeding time for more than one dog.

The "shut the puppy in a safe room" is a fallacy. Very few houses even have a
Safe room. How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing
Else? Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else. In addition
To destroying anything a bored puppy finds to chew, it may choke or have
Intestinal blockage from the pieces. I had a friend that left her dog in a
"safe" room. It ate a hole in the floor covering. The safe rooms fail to
Give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires. Nor
Do they restrict activity extending the time the dog can go without relieving
Itself.

After you mentioned the corn cob, I remembered and went back and pulled everything into one thread. Let's hope the surgery ends the problem.

jmcgee
Oct 4, 2007, 11:23 AM
Now after 3 weeks the vet thinks it is intussusception. Guess it is just time to give up

grammadidi
Oct 4, 2007, 11:52 AM
I am so sorry for what you are going through. I am a bit late joining this thread, but want to ask a few questions? How much trust do you have in this vet? Have you considered a second opinion? I think I would, after investing so much time and love into this little gal - especially with that kind of diagnosis. Unfortunately, as you seem to know, the prognosis is not always very good, but there has been some successes, especially if it isn't too far up the intestines and you maintain the meds/food, etc. I feel so bad for the pup and you. Your heart must be broken.

Warm hugs,
Didi