Very sick pup

Mama Scarlett · Dec 15, 2016

Hello, we have had our pup about 2 weeks now and are majorly in love. On the night we took him home we stopped to let him potty, we had a very long drive, and he had a lot of blood in his stool. In the morning, same thing lots of blood. I called the breeder and she felt it was stress. She said he had been bleeding for several weeks prior, but they dewormed him and all was fine. I took him to the vet that day anyway and he gave him deworming plus antibiotics, tested for parvo and common viruses all negative. Fecal tests were negative. The bleeding and diahrea continued, back to the vet following week...switch to 2 antibiotics, blood work, negative fecal again, add yogurt to his diet. Blood and diahrea continued, blood worse...back to vet...negative fecal, in depth fecal study sent to lab, more bloodwork sent to a lab looking for more rare viruses and the like. Xray showed enlarged liver which has the vet concerned.

So now we are waiting for these lab results to come in. I am worried sick. Yesterday he was vomiting, wouldnt get up, wouldn't eat all day. Then at 5 he had a huge poop which was filled with mucus and what looked (to me)almost like worms...? Long stringy yellowish stuff all twisted in the stool. I saved it for the vet to examine. After that he got up, played like his crazy self and ate a ton and I cried happy tears.
I can't get too excited and think this is over though. Why would the liver be enlarged? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Cbrugs · Dec 15, 2016

First of all, I am quite shocked that the breeder gave you a pup that had been bleeding for several weeks. Obviously everything wasn't fine. In any event, did the vet specifically test for giardia? It is a common parasite but it isn't tested in a "regular" fecal exam, it has to be specifically tested for. Giardia can cause diarrhea and vomiting as well as mucous in the stool.

Mavis · Dec 15, 2016

[MENTION=2259]Mama Scarlett[/MENTION], hang in there. I bet your baby will be fine; you just have to get to the bottom of this. Can you take your little guy to a different vet? Just a suggestion, however, from what I have read, giardia is very common in young dogs - lots of young frenchies puppies seem to have serious cases that take many courses of treatment before it is licked. I would think your vet would have tested for this, and I would be somewhat concerned if he did not. I know that others will have some suggestions for you, too.

Once you get through this and baby is all better, you may want to ask folks here what they think of pet insurance. Bambi is older now, but if we were to get a frenchie puppy, I think I would get it.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Alice Kable · Dec 15, 2016

You've had some good advice and I also question sending a pup that has been bleeding for several weeks home with new parents. I hope they figure this out quickly and your baby gets well fast! :heart:

Anna68 · Dec 15, 2016

Eggs are shed in cycles which may be the reason the fecals are coming back negative. I would ask if they have tested for Giardia as mentioned above but also for Coccidia. Coccidia is very dangerous and needs a sulfa based antibiotic to kill it.
How is his weight? Is he gaining, losing or in plateau? Also, has he ever had fleas that you are aware of? They can ingest fleas and be suffering from tapeworm. Most dewormers will not kill tapeworm. There are very specific wormers for tapeworm like Drontal. By your description of his stool..sounds like it might be a bad tapeworm infection.
I also agree the breeder should never had given you a pup that was suffering from any illness. She should have taken him to the vet herself.

Keep us updated!

Honeys Owners · Dec 16, 2016

Sounds like your breeder took advantage of you, knowing full well your puppy was sick when she sent him to you. I would take my vet bills back to the breeder, and demand a refund for what you paid out so far. I would imagine she didn't follow proper puppy deworming schedule with pyrantel pamoate (eg. Nemex 2)-
Deworm puppies and kittens at 2, 4, 6, & 8 weeks of age, then monthly

At this point if you can't pinpoint which worm is causing problem I would worm the puppy monthly with Panacur daily for 3 days to kill giardia for 3 months, plus give a single dose of drontal plus to kill other tapeworms. You won't be covering cocciodosis as mentioned previously, which requires Albon (sulfadimethoxine) Suspension, so hopefully your dog doesn't have that.

davidh · Dec 16, 2016

So sorry you are going through this, and it really makes me mad that the unethical breeder took advantage of you. These breeders should be run out of business, as they are just puppy mills, and crooks. You have some good advice above and I would definitely have your vet check for Giardia and Coccidia. I hope your pup gets better soon.

2bullymama · Dec 17, 2016

Great advice given... can't add anything but healing prayers

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Mama Scarlett · Mar 30, 2017

Hello, I posted here when had first gotten our little boy, a few days into having him and very sick. Well it's 4 months into having him now and we are still here. He's still extremely ill. 7 months old. Our vet did every diagnostic lab possible, I mean literally, every one possible. Sent away to speciality labs far away by air for obscure bacterias etc. Finally we got referred to an animal hospital for more in depth equipment based tests. They did a colonoscopy, endoscopy, ultrasound and biopsies. After that we were referred to an internal Med specialist hours away for the bad news. Our boy has a severely deformed colon, lesions and abnormal growths all over his stomach. The exact cause is unknown but the team said it's likely he had a rare virus or bacteria very early, within days of birth, and it permanently prevented his GI tract from growing. He is not processing any food normally. He's on a prescription diet to ease things, but I see no improvement. He poops large quantities of blood and mucus every day. On the worst days, he will not eat or drink, suddenly moan and squat and it's like a faucet of blood comes out. Sometimes I actually have to hold his rectum for 30 mins or so to just slow the blood or to support him. Then I drop everything, drive up to the hospital, try to get fluids in him...
In all he's been on probably a dozen various meds. Now he's on prednisone, and prilosec, prescription probiotics and the prescription diet. He seems to go less frequently than before (it was 12-15x a day now it's 7-8). But the steroids are making him act a little crazy now. With the kids in the house I don't like that. But they're being extremely gentle with him.
He had another bad bleed today, back to the vet. There is one more option, they can try to get more information on his organs by opening his abdomen, and biopsying each organ in a more detailed way. However this is risky because he is very frail and has a low blood count. The team says there is absolutely no cure for what he has and it will only worsen.

I asked the vet (30 year surgical specialist), would you do it if you were in my shoes...he thought, and said no. He's too fragile and it wouldn't be fair. His intestine wall in certain sections is paper thin. But he had to offer it to us...

I don't know what to do. We have had our puppy for 4 months. He bleeds 4/5 times a day like this. In between bleeds he seems ok, pretty normal. But He can no longer cuddle in bed with our boys because of his condition...our 5 yr old woke up one morning covered in blood and freaked out. They've seen him leaking blood all over, tracking it, and it's scary for them. He cries and moans and then just loses it all over...its so painful to see. Im exhausted from keeping him separated from us, making sure he doesn't get a morsel of human food which will aggravate his condition. When you have a 2, 5, and 9 yr old this isn't easy....but we're working hard together.
But in between these times I see glimpses of normal here and there. False hope? I'm scared what losing him will mean for my kids. They love him so much, we are all so attached. Especially my littlest boys. But I want to put his quality of life first....I don't know. I've never been put in this situation before.
Heartbroken

davidh · Mar 30, 2017

[MENTION=2259]Mama Scarlett[/MENTION] so sorry you are going through this and your pup is suffering with this. I don't like saying this, but sometimes we have to make the hard decision. It sounds like he will never get better, I would confirm that with your vet. If that is the case it might be better to help him go to the bridge, than let him live a short and miserable life he is living now. It's not fair to him or you to live like this. Some will disagree with me, but I am not one to let a dog suffer. It's definitely up to you and what ever you decide to do we are with you. That breeder should be run out of town and should not be allowed to breed again. So sorry for your pup, he didn't deserve this. :sorry:

Cbrugs · Mar 31, 2017

It is just horrible your family and the puppy are having to go through this. I agree with [MENTION=4]davidh[/MENTION] though. If there is no hope for him to get better, I think I would want to end his suffering. It is not fair to him or you.

I wish you the best of luck!

Honeys Owners · Mar 31, 2017

I feel so bad for you and your family and your dog. But your team said " there is absolutely no cure for what he has and it will only worsen " so you should feel no blame if you decide to end his suffering at this point.

Mama Scarlett · Mar 31, 2017

Cbrugs said:
It is just horrible your family and the puppy are having to go through this. I agree with [MENTION=4]davidh[/MENTION] though. If there is no hope for him to get better, I think I would want to end his suffering. It is not fair to him or you.

I wish you the best of luck!

I understand your reasoning, and of course I'm battling this...its just so hard to know if there is no hope or not. How do we know? If he were older and then developed this later in life maybe it would be clearer for me? I still have times where I think maybe he'll outgrow this, maybe some miracle medicine will turn up...will he wake up tomorrow and suddenly it's gone? Maybe denial...I don't know.
So hard.

Mavis · Apr 1, 2017

[MENTION=2259]Mama Scarlett[/MENTION], my heart breaks for you. You have been such a wonderful pet guardian, just the best. You have given Baloo everything you could, most importantly love and extraordinary care. It is so hard to say, but since you are seeking honest opinions, I agree with the other folks here. From what you have learned from all of the diagnostics, it sounds like there is nothing you can do to restore your pup to wellness and for it to only get worse is tragic for him and your family. You will figure out how to help your children through this and Biloo won't suffer any longer. Once you get over your loss, you and your family deserve another, healthy frenchie to love and care for. They are just the best. Maybe you can inquire about a slightly older adult. We got Bambi at three and she has been a dream. God bless.

Mama Scarlett · Apr 1, 2017

Thank you every one for your honest feedback. I know this is a hard topic to reply to. Hubby and i will be having some serious discussions.

2bullymama · Apr 1, 2017

Mama Scarlett said:
Thank you every one for your honest feedback. I know this is a hard topic to reply to. Hubby and i will be having some serious discussions.

Sending you lots if hugs and prayers of support.... so very hard for you all but know we are all here for you.

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WeeDex · Apr 1, 2017

I'm so sorry that you have to make this extremely hard decision.

Years ago, we had a Bichon that developed an inoperable brain tumour and started losing her sight. To start off with, she was ok and managed fine - no pain or anything. But when she started to go very blind, and get scared at everything, it was time. Her quality of life had gone. It's a truly awful thing to go through, and my sympathies are with you all. Do what your heart tells you to do. I'm so sorry.