I don't usually come to this board so I know if this is the place to ask but whatever.
My 9 year old dog got a uterus infection. She never had cubs and we never had her operated since we thought about having cubs for a while but then gave up. She began drinking a lot of water recently but we thought nothing of it, up until the point where she stopped eating. We took her to the vet and we have two options: 1, have her operated now (which would be very risky since she's overweight and is pretty much a death sentence) and 2, give her a treatment that might make her push out all the shit that's hurting her through the vaginal tract. We obviously went with 2.
Thing is, she still doesn't want to eat, which makes giving her medication much harder since we can't just slip it in with food. We've tried making chicken and rice into a soupy paste that we force into her mouth with a syringe, and we grind up her medication and mix it with a bit of water so it'll go down somehow. But there's a bigger problem here: she keeps puking numerous times a day, and I'm afraid the medication might be just coming out like that or not making its desired effect since it's ground-up. The vet says she pukes because she hasn't pushed the shit out yet so the infection is still affecting her body, but that doesn't ease my worries since she's weaker than ever now and keeps stumbling and sitting every time we try to get her up so she can do her stuff.
Anyone been in a similar situation before? Can I do anything to ease this along? I've tried giving her the meds intact but she always spits it out even though I've seen other people do it to their dogs. Is there any special trick to it? I've also noticed that her whole backside looks and feels kinda swollen but that might be an effect of the treatment. Any kind of tip would be helpful.
Pic related is her breed.
>>2075154
if you have the money i'd recommend visiting a second vet for a second opinion. you know "4 eyes see more than two". i don't know anything though but a bump is a bump.
My cat had this problem. Ended up having to shell out almost 2k because I was a dumbass who put off spaying her for too long(indoor cat).
I almost lost my cat of 13 years. I almost had her put down because I wasn't even sure if her suffering through all this at all + plus recovery and potential post-surgery problems was worth it. Glad I did though, because she healed very well.
You could go to another vet but you may also want to think about whether or not her misery is worth it.
Google 'Pyometra'. I'll show you a less graphic picture of what is going on inside your dog.
>>2075175
Yeah, that's what the vet said she had, I had forgotten the name. Thankfully it's the open type so there's a chance at making it discharge so we can get her back on her feet and make her lose some weight so she can get safely sprayed and not have to deal with this shit again.
I'm very determined about seeing her through it, she's a survivor that managed to overcome numerous health problems as a puppy. I don't want to extend her suffering but I'm not gonna give up just yet.
Our dog had this happen to her as well. We opted for surgery, and she died on the operating table. She was really sick by the time the vet took her in though. He had said to come back tomorrow because he was booked that day, and by the next day she could barely stand and we had to carry her in. I'd say if the surgery is an option, do it now. If her backside is swollen then the infection is still there and she needs stronger antibiotics and to be spayed.
Best wishes for your pup. I miss mine...
You need to get her to surgery as fast as possible. If she wont't eat the meds the vet should give her shots of antibiotics an IV with pain relief meds and to keep her hydrated. If you can't get her to eat she is in extreme pain.
>>2075154
My dog is also 9 years old and was at the vet today for a similar infection. It started to suddenly drip yesterday night, but she is still interested in food. I am only giving her pills starting tomorrow, but from previous experience I will just shove them behind her tongue. She inspects everything she eats throughly, so hiding won't work. According to the ultrasound images her uterus does not seem to have formed "beads", so it's likely that the pus will flow out completely.
I need to go to a different vet tomorrow for a follow up and another hormone shot.
Hope everything turns out well for your dog!
>>2075154
If your dog isn't holding down oral antibiotics, the vet should probably give her a daily shot.
>>2075231
She's not spitting all of them out, the vomiting is very irregular, it's not a "she takes something and will puke it out afterwards" situation.
Also, she only began real treatment 3 days ago. The vet gave us a 12 day window.
Damn, I just wish we had taken her sooner when she started drinking all that water. Or that we had just sprayed her back when we had the chance. I feel like such a terrible owner ...
>>2075239
Damn, not everyone would think of an uterus infection from only drinking a lot of water. I wish you and your dog the best.
>>2075239
>3
Scratch that, it was 2. The first day was mostly just diagnosing and doing tests.
Medical treatment of pyometra usually takes around 48 hours to produce effect. Don't expect to just suddenly see results.
Also the puking, difficulty in getting up, etc. is most likely caused by the treatment itself, it has some pretty annoying secondary effects. I presume the vet prescribed some stomach medicine along with the antibiotics. Make sure she takes those and that enough time passes for them to do their effect.
Chicken is good but I wouldn't give her rice, there's better options. Baby food isn't a bad idea, but don't give her sweet ones, obviously. Mix it up into a paste and give it to her. If she's playing hard to get with the pills, grind that shit up and mix it with a bit of the paste, it'll dissolve along with it once she licks it. Also, dogs will be dogs, so try to do something that will make her feel rewarded after feeding or medicating her.
Relax and persevere. Pyometra isn't the deadliest thing your dog could catch. The whole thing would probably be going smoother if it has been detected sooner, yes, but it's not a dead end. Try to read up a bit on how pyometra is treated, it'll probably ease your mind a bit to understand what's going on and what the vet is trying to do.
Best of luck! And if treatment does work, be sure to spray her AS SOON AS POSSIBLE afterwards because there's a decently high chance of recurrence after her next heat.
If you try to give her the pill whole, you have to make sure she swallows before you let her go. So push the pill far back in her mouth, and quickly close it. Then tilt her her back while still holding her mouth closed. Then stroke her throat to encourage swallowing.
And I assume it ok, but make sure you are allowed to grind up the medication. some types of medication (I believe primarily those with extended release) don't work well when broken up
>>2075343
I'm pretty sure I'm allowed to grind everything but this one that comes in capsules for obvious reasons, but that one's not so hard to give to her since the capsule slips into the throat easily and probably doesn't taste like ass. I'll probably stop by the vet later this afternoon and ask just to be 100% sure.
Very sad update.
She passed away in her sleep tonight. My mother was beside her the whole time, so I like to think she at least went away peacefully. I dreamed during the night that she finally got up on her own and I let her out into the street. I'm not usually very spiritual but maybe that was her soul saying goodbye to me as she left this world.
I'm absolutely crushed. We spent so much effort and energy trying to save her ... She still had so much to live. If she had died of old age this wouldn't hurt so much ...
Thank all of you kind anons for your advice. Here's a picture of her. God, I miss her so much already ...
>>2075831
important to maintain a healthy weight for humans as well as animals. sorry for your loss.
>>2075833
And to spay your pets. I can't really blame OP but its a shame that there's more than enough dogs and their owners who have gone through this. You don't think it's going to happen until it does and most probably aren't even aware it can happen.
>>2075835
Oh, no doubt, if I ever another female dog I'll make sure to spray her ASAP. I never want myself or any pet of mine to go through this bullshit again.
>>2075848
If you ever get any mammal again you will spay or neuter it ASAP because that's what responsible pet owners do.
Nobody wants to take you to task over this of course, it's just depressing for many of us who have witnessed it second hand a hundred times over, as well as all the problems of overpopulation
>>2075831
I'm sorry for your loss, OP. I hope she went peacefully, and I am sure you gave her a good pupper life.
For the future, please fix your animals. No one here wants to scold you for it, especially after losing her, but take this as a lesson moving forward. Spaying and neutering will give your puppers a longer, happier life.
>>2075891
>>2075938
Thank you, anons. I will take your words to heart. I'm not even a regular on this board, but I appreciate all of your comments and words of advice since I started this thread yesterday.
It's being tough as shit dealing with this, everywhere I look at home I see and remember her and feel like breaking down crying.
It's good to know that there's people out there that understand this pain. Around where I live there aren't many who do.
