[jrcgagirl]

My 6 month old pit has suddely stopped eating or drinking. He is vomiting and won't walk or move very much. We took him to the emergency vet but could not afford test or treatment. We are very worried. Any suggestions of what it might be and how to treat?

[Wondergirl]

Why would you bother taking him to the vet but not have the vet do tests or treatment? Can't you work out a payment plan of some sort with the vet? Without tests and treatment your dog will suffer and maybe/probably die. Worry won't help.

(Please don't adopt a pet if you cannot afford vet bills.)

[jrcgagirl]

For one we tried working out a payment plan and when you are struggling yourself its even harder when something SUDDENLY comes up. So wondergirl, I didn't ask for you critisim I asked for help. If any one else is going to critize for my financial hardship, please keep it yo yourself.

[Wondergirl]

For one we tried working out a payment plan and when you are struggling yourself its even harder when something SUDDENLY comes up. So wondergirl, i didn't ask for you critisim i asked for help. If any one else is going to critize for my financial hardship, please keep it yo yourself.

I didn't criticize you, but certainly did wonder. After all, I'm Wondergirl and wonder about all sorts of things. Had I criticized you, I would have dissed you, and I didn't do that.

So what is your plan now for this poor dog? Even getting him euthanized will cost money. No one on the Internet can diagnose him; only a vet can do that.

[jrcgagirl]

Well like I said we took him to an EMERGENCY vet. So until tomorrow morning we are trying to nurse him. An emergency vet costs more than a regular vet and does not do payment plans. So I am asking for suggestions on what I should do till I can get to a regular vet.

[Wondergirl]

Well like i said we took him to an EMERGENCY vet. So until tomorrow morning we are trying to nurse him. An emergency vet costs more than a regular vet and does not do payment plans. So i am asking for suggestions on what i should do till i can get to a regular vet.

Thank you for adding very valuable information about your situation. (Our emergency vet does do payment plans, so it must vary as to where a person lives.)

The main thing is to keep him hydrated, giving him water if he will drink it. One of the dog experts will come along sometime this afternoon and give ideas on how to hydrate him if he refuses to drink. There are web sites that will tell too. Here's one --

How to Keep Your Sick Dog Hydrated | eHow.com

[jrcgagirl]

He will drink every once in a while, but throws it up almost immediately. He did get into about 20 rib bones on Monday, so we are thinking it may be a blockage. But the symptoms are pointing to different other things as well.

[Wondergirl]

He did get into about 20 rib bones on Monday,

More information. Thank you.

I hope he survives until the morning. He must be in horrible pain. He'll need surgery.

[jrcgagirl]

But like I said symptoms are also pointing towards other things such as parvo. He has started drinking a little more and keeping it down longer, bit still eventually throws it up. He has also walked around outside a little and urinated. So not sure what it could be and how to make him more comforfable

[Aurora_Bell]

Has your pup been vaccinated for Parvo? Keeping him hydrated is the best thing you can do until he goes into see the vet. Use chicken stalk and make ice cubes, lots of dogs will go to that, you can even put the ice cube in a shallow dish of water. Offer small amounts of water on a more increased schedule. I would also purchase some pedalite, if he will not drink it on his own use an eye dropper and lift his jowls and force the liquids in.

Don't worry about offering food at this point. You should also buy a thermometer, a digital one is best and take his temp. The average temperature of a healthy dog is 101 °F or 38 °C, however, the normal temperature of a healthy dog may range from 99 °F to 102.5 °F (37.2 °C–39.2 °C). If he is chilled offer a warm blanket, if he is fevered offer I would contact your emergency vet for further instruction.

Sorry we are unable to pin point an exact reason as to why he is sick, with out being able to see him, we would only be guessing. I hope you are able to work something out with your vet, and I hope your dog starts to feel better.

Good luck, and please keep us posted!

[Aurora_Bell]

I just saw that you posted about the rib bones, he could have a blockage or even have punctured something internally. If this does happen again, offer bread, and lots of it, as this will cushion the bones from puncturing anything.

[jrcgagirl]

Update: he is now keeping down liquids, but he just had a bowl movement of straight blood. We are praying he makes it through the night so we can get him to the vet. We jabe been giving him gatorade and chicken broth to help keep him hydrated.

[paleophlatus]

Vomiting and diarrhea, with no desire to eat or drink, are almost universal signs associated with Parvo. If he got into that many rib bones, that surely is having it's effect on him. Parvo diarrhea is quite runny and unusually foul smelling.

Go to the drug store and get some 10 mg Phenergan tablets. This is a brand name and may be more $$ than the generic, which would be Promethazine, also 10 mg. Dosage for a dog is 1 tablet(10mg) per 22 lbs. of body weight. Repeat it twice a day if he is still vomiting water. Human cough and cold meds have this ingredient in them also, but they also have other things that aren't indicated. Ask the pharmacist for what you want if you have any questions about it. It isn't a prescription product, and should be out front of the pharmacy.

If he is trying to work on all those bones, he may become either constipated or obstructed. If not, his BM's will be quite grey, to white. Keep an eye on him, and make sure he is having relatively normal BM's before figuring he is 100% again. And keep him away from bones. No sense tempting fate too much.

[jrcgagirl]

Update: he did not make it through the night. I want to thank everyone for your help.

[paleophlatus]

With a bloody diarrhea like that, his next big worry is septic shock... bacteria getting into his blood from the raw wounds in his gut. This is what happens with Parvo, not saying or even hinting that this could be that since he has enough other 'dietary' problems.

You didn't say how he got the rib bones... was it an invasion of the garbage somehow? If so, much of it may be from what is called a garbage intoxication, where there are enough toxins in the decomposing garbage to affect the tissues in his intestine, also allowing those toxins to gain entrance to his blood, in addition to bacteria.

All in all, he is a truly sick puppy, and we all hope he survives this unfortunate experience.

[Wondergirl]

All in all, he is a truly sick puppy, and we all hope he survives this unfortunate experience.

She said he died during the night, probably very painfully from sharp rib bones piercing his intestines (stools that were totally blood).

[paleophlatus]

Peritonitis would be the most likely result of penetrating injuries to the gut. Bloody diarrhea is most likely from an overwhelming toxic insult to the lining of the entire gut, not just a few areas. All the mucous lining is stripped off, leaving a thin layer of cells to cover the capillaries in the intestinal walls. Soon the cells begin to die off, leaving just the bare capillaries. Then, it starts to leak blood from everywhere. If he didn't die from blood loss, it must have been from something else? Toxic shock (DIC) or infection probably. That's what happens to most dogs that die from Parvo, or getting into the trash (if he even did)
Which is not to say this is any better than peritonitis from a puncture, just different and equally likely, for those who may also be trying to diagnose this.

[Aurora_Bell]

What ever it was that caused the death, I am truly sorry for you loss. Having just lost a dog myself, I am all too aware of how painful and sad it is to loose a loved one. My sympathies to you and your families.