# Darcy is sick :(



## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

Darcy threw up his dinner on Monday night then woke me up at 3:30 am vomiting up bile and has been off colour ever since. He is lethargic and not eating.

He is so low energy compared to his usual self that I took him to the vet for a blood panel/ check. Everything seemed fine, except that his white blood cells are elevated which apparently indicates a virus or infection. So now I just have to monitor him and if he doesn't improve he'll have to go on antibiotics. The vet prescribed Sulcrate to coat his stomach, but Darcy threw that up this morning in the car on the way to work.

I hate seeing him like this! He's a shodow of his normal self, to the point that I wish he would take part in some of his more annoying habits. 

So as of right now he hasn't eaten since Monday night, and as he threw that up, it's really as of Monday morning. I have some of that canned id chicken/ rice food for him once he's ready, and I'm trying to make sure he's getting enough water, but if anyone has any suggestions on things I should be offering him or doing, it would be much appreciated!


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## Feralpudel (Jun 28, 2010)

I'm sorry to hear that Darcy is not his usual self. Is he just throwing up, or is there diarrhea? Does he seem really nauseated (licking lips, drooling, really averse to looking at/smelling food)? Is there any chance he could have eaten something he shouldn't have and it got stuck somewhere in his gut? That is what I would worry about with a very nauseated dog if there was any chance he had eaten a tennis ball, sock, etc. Has he pooped at all? 

A friend has a redbone coonhound who is very bad about eating hickory nuts in her yard. She has gone through the whole obstruction scare thing several times now, and calls them nutscapades.


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## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

Feralpudel said:


> I'm sorry to hear that Darcy is not his usual self. Is he just throwing up, or is there diarrhea? Does he seem really nauseated (licking lips, drooling, really averse to looking at/smelling food)? Is there any chance he could have eaten something he shouldn't have and it got stuck somewhere in his gut? That is what I would worry about with a very nauseated dog if there was any chance he had eaten a tennis ball, sock, etc. Has he pooped at all?
> 
> A friend has a redbone coonhound who is very bad about eating hickory nuts in her yard. She has gone through the whole obstruction scare thing several times now, and calls them nutscapades.


He's just throwing up, although his stool is loose, it's not diarrhea. He's not even really throwing up that much other than twice on Monday, once yesterday (when he had a little food and quickly threw it up) and once this morning after having the sulcrate. He has peed and pooed normally since this whole thing started (although his poo is now not really happening much, as he hasn't eaten anything since Monday).

He's interested in food, he'll sniff it and seem like he wants to eat it, but then won't.

I don't think he got into anything that could be causing an obstruction, but that is something the vet mentioned. The vet wanted to wait 24 hours from yesterday (so until this afternoon) and then do an x-ray if he hadn't improved.


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## Feralpudel (Jun 28, 2010)

And the liver/kidney values are normal? Lepto is the other thing that comes to mind that should be treated quickly, and can be hard to diagnose. Has he spent any time in wooded areas? I should think you've had enough cold weather up there that the risk of catching it this time of year would be lower.


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## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

Feralpudel said:


> And the liver/kidney values are normal? Lepto is the other thing that comes to mind that should be treated quickly, and can be hard to diagnose. Has he spent any time in wooded areas? I should think you've had enough cold weather up there that the risk of catching it this time of year would be lower.


His kidney value was slightly high, but the vet said she wasn't concerned about that, as often puppies have slightly high kidney values. I will ask about lepto, although he doesn't have a fever and is urinating normally. We haven't been in any wooded areas for the last 3 weeks... It has also been fairly cold here.


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## CelticKitti (Jul 1, 2010)

Hope Darcy feels better quickly!! I hate when you don't know exactly what's wrong. Darcy stop worrying your mom!


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## Poodle Lover (Mar 24, 2008)

I am sorry that Darcy is sick.  Do you think it would be a good idea to put him on antibiotics now? He's been fighting whatever is going on with him since Monday.

Sending healing wibes Darcy's way.


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## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

Poodle Lover said:


> I am sorry that Darcy is sick.  Do you think it would be a good idea to put him on antibiotics now? He's been fighting whatever is going on with him since Monday.
> 
> Sending healing wibes Darcy's way.


Thanks for the healing vibes!

I think antibiotics are the next step - The vet wanted to hold off a bit bc apparently they can actually make them more sick in the short term. I am going to call the vet clinic this afternoon if he's no better (he's sleeping at the moment) and see what they suggest we do next.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Hope he feels better soon. I found weak home made chicken stock helped with re-hydration.


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## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

Well I just took Darcy for a walk and while he peed normally/ chased pigeons/ seemed totally fine while we were out, on our way back in the building he threw up 2 piles of yellow bile and was shaking/ groaning when I picked him up. He won't drink broth although he did drink water. He's no longer shaking but is lying back down to sleep. So we're off to the vet at 4:30 to do an x-ray/ decide on our next course of action.

Yep. I'm kind of wishing I had taken out pet insurance right about now!


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## plumcrazy (Sep 11, 2009)

Oh, NOOOO! Keeping Darcy in my prayers - I hate it when they can't tell you what's wrong or what hurts!! I hope the vet will be able to get him sorted out so he's his happy, healthy, mischievous self again soon!!! ((((Darcy)))) :hug:

Barb


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## PaddleAddict (Feb 9, 2010)

Poor little Darcy, and poor you! It is the absolute worst feeling when your baby is not feeling good and there is nothing you can do to help. I hope he starts feeling better soon...


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## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

Not Darcy!!! Poor little Dude!! I seriously hope he feels better soon, and that it is nothing major! If its not obstruction, have they checked him for pancreatitis? HUGS!!


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## debjen (Jan 4, 2010)

Hope Darcy is feeling better soon.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Feel better, Darcy!!! We are thinking about you!


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## Gorky (Jul 14, 2009)

Oh no, I am so sorry. When you go to the vet, you should take an ACTH test to check electolytes. I hope it is nothing serious.


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## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

Poor Darcy~ Pancreatitis may be something you want to look into too. I hope Darcy will feel better soon. Positive thoughts from me and Nickel.


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## pudlemom (Apr 16, 2010)

Oh poor Darcy,hope the vet can figure it out for you this afternoon not knowing what to do for the poor little guy is hard...praying for a speedy recovery.


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## Poodle Lover (Mar 24, 2008)

Oh no, poor little fellow. I hope the vet visit this afternoon will shed more light on his condition. 

:hug:


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## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

Thanks everyone. The vet visit was inconclusive. The vet thought she felt an obstruction and did an x-ray but couldn't see clearly. But then she thought maybe his bladder was just full. So we emptied it and she still wasn't sure... who knows?!

He did have a temperature today and is starting to get dehydrated (which may be causing the temp). So what we agreed to do was see if Darcy can keep some gastro food down overnight/ drink/ pass food through. If so then we can think it's most likely a gastro upset. If this doesn't happen, I have to take him in at 8am tomorrow morning to start an IV and barium to do another x-ray. And if I'm worried tonight, there's an emergency clinic 15 minutes away.

As of right now, Darcy looks ok. Earlier he looked awful and was acting really off, groaning and had a tight stomach. So it comes and goes. He's had an antibiotic shot and ate a tiny amount of the gastro food, so we'll just see how it goes. I have my fingers crossed that he'll turn the corner tonight, and we don't have to go back to the vet tomorrow!


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## PaddleAddict (Feb 9, 2010)

Oh man, I hate inconclusive! Poor baby Darcy... I'm glad you have an emergency clinic nearby, just for peace of mind. I hope you get it figured out soon. 

I remember that when my cat had a bowel obstruction, it was not visible on x-ray until after the barium series, but then it was very easy to see. Hopefully, if that's the case, you will know more tomorrow.


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## Feralpudel (Jun 28, 2010)

I'm sending warm, healing thoughts to you and Darcy, and hoping for a restful night for both of you! I know how hard it is to watch and wait.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Poor Darcy. I can tell you are worried sick. It is so frustrating to see your baby in pain and not be able to do anything but wait. I will add my healing thoughts to Feralpudel's.


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## CelticKitti (Jul 1, 2010)

Oh no poor Darcy!! Thinking good healing thoughts for of both of you tonight. Here's another vote to turning the corner tonight.


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

Maybe it will just be a stomach upset. Hope he is feeling better soon.


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## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

Awww! I hope the little squirt feels better soon! Did they give him any SQ fluids to help overnight? Im very suprised/little upset if they didnt. Keep us updated!!


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## debjen (Jan 4, 2010)

Hope things are better tomorrow


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## BFF (Jun 10, 2009)

Sending healing thoughts your way. Please keep us posted.


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## Poodle Lover (Mar 24, 2008)

Oh no, I can't stand inconclusive results.  
Sending positive vibes for a restful night for both of you.


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## pudel luv (Jan 23, 2010)

Hopefully, the antibiotic shot will set Darcy back on track to feeling better.

Our thoughts are with you. May the morning bring renewed health :sun:


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## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

Well I'm very happy to see Darcy has perked up hugely and kept down 2 meals since his antibiotic shot last night! It was almost immediate, he suddenly got the spark in his eye back and this morning it's like he was never sick. The only thing I now have to do is see him poo (to make sure the food is moving through him ok). Also the antibiotic shot lasts 24 hours, so I have to make sure he is still good later today once that wears off, otherwise he will have to go on a course of antibiotics.

I of course wish the vet had just done an antibiotic shot on Tuesday, so that we both wouldn't have had to suffer through yesterday and do an x-ray that showed nothing! But I understand the wish to be conservative. I'm just (cautiously) very happy that this whole episode is over, and was hopefully just a viral thing. 

One question I have for raw feeders. Darcy did have a chicken wing for dinner on Monday, which I suddenly yesterday thought could be causing an obstruction (hence my big worry). Has anyone ever heard of that happening for raw feeding? This whole thing has made me a bit nervous to feed things like chicken wings, only because then when they get sick, it's easy to think of a possible culprit.


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

Cdnjennga said:


> One question I have for raw feeders. Darcy did have a chicken wing for dinner on Monday, which I suddenly yesterday thought could be causing an obstruction (hence my big worry). Has anyone ever heard of that happening for raw feeding? This whole thing has made me a bit nervous to feed things like chicken wings, only because then when they get sick, it's easy to think of a possible culprit.


I am glad he is feeling better!! Woowee, its always a panic, I am waiting on poop myself since Suri and Olie got some bulbs off the tree yesterday. 

I have never experienced an obstruction and know they are rare and typically occur when an entire bone is swallowed. Most times if they get it past the throat it will make its way through the rest - but anything is possible. 

I don't say to much when I see people feed kibble and a Raw mix diet(some people have success with it) but I think upset stomachs increase when feeding raw and kibble mix. I have experienced this - kibble lands hard, slow and swells and mixing just scares me. My dogs have gotten upset stomachs when I was trying to do a slow change over from kibble. 

Hopefully this was just one of those things.


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

Boy, am I ever glad to read this status report,_ whew! _I've been holding my breath to hear how Darcy made out, BTW, I hope he has "made" #2 by now! Poor him, poor you; ourr beloved minis bring us_ mega_ worries at times. Sounds like this one ends "happily ever after," and yippee-hurray for that! Hope you can now enjoy the holidays with peace of mind. Wish you and yours well.


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## BFF (Jun 10, 2009)

Yea! I'm so glad he is on the mend. It looks like you both are on your way to having a very healthy and Merry Christmas! 

I cut the wings into three pieces. Zulee is a little smaller than Darcy. She is a very dainty eater and will not use her paws to eat. As a result, she is a little awkward eating bones. For my piece of mind, most times I will hold the drumstick while she eats it. I find that she chews it more thoroughly. Now when left on her own, she chews it better.

I like to watch her eat just to see whether she might have an obstruction issue. My vet hasn't said anything (out loud) about her raw diet, but several hints have been made that tells me they don't recommend (or understand) it.

As a result, the relationship with my vet has been compromised. I know that her diet will be blamed for anything I bring her in for. If I watch her eat, I can be the first to admit it could be her diet or defend it to get a real diagnosis going. I feel like I really need to find another vet, but don't know where to go. Hopefully, I won't be needing their services too much. (Fingers crossed.)

Even though I try to keep an eye on her to help protect her, I have seen Zulee swallow pretty big pieces of bone.  The body is an amazing thing. It wasn't long until it rejected it giving her another go at it. 

After an experience like this, it reminded her to chew her food. Even though there is some risk, I have a lot of confidence in the body's ability to work it out. The advantages, IMO, still far out weigh the risk. Does your Mom do anything special for the PWD's?


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## Poodle Lover (Mar 24, 2008)

I am so glad that Darcy is doing better this morning. I too wish that your vet would have given him antibiotics on Tuesday, rather than yesterday and making you and him suffer unnecessarily. I am all for being conservative, but sometimes it helps being more proactive on the vets part.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Wonderful news! Hopefully you have a poop by now so all your fears can be laid to rest. The problem with this kind of illness is that it could have been caused by several things. Keep an eye on him. Hopefully it was just a bug.


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## Gorky (Jul 14, 2009)

Thank goodness! I hope Darcy stays totally fine. Have a merry Christmas!


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## cbrand (Aug 9, 2009)

Hope he stays on the mend.


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## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

Thanks everyone, it is a relief. The fact that it's the week before Christmas wasn't helping matters. I kept imagining just letting it go and then having an emergency vet visit on Christmas Day!

Anyway, I took him out just now and he finally pooped, I've never been so happy to see him take the squat position. He also picked up a stick and asked me to chase him, so I have my fingers crossed that we have crossed over. The change from yesterday to today is almost unbelievable, but I'm very thankful for it.


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## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

Olie said:


> I am glad he is feeling better!! Woowee, its always a panic, I am waiting on poop myself since Suri and Olie got some bulbs off the tree yesterday.


Good luck Olie, I hope everything works out ok! I remember our first dog drank the water out of the Christmas Tree his first Christmas, which required hundreds of dollars at the vet as it is toxic to dogs... The trees are beautiful but sure can be a hazard to our furry friends!


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## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

BFF said:


> I cut the wings into three pieces. Zulee is a little smaller than Darcy. She is a very dainty eater and will not use her paws to eat. As a result, she is a little awkward eating bones. For my piece of mind, most times I will hold the drumstick while she eats it. I find that she chews it more thoroughly. Now when left on her own, she chews it better.
> 
> I like to watch her eat just to see whether she might have an obstruction issue. My vet hasn't said anything (out loud) about her raw diet, but several hints have been made that tells me they don't recommend (or understand) it.
> 
> ...


Darcy is very good at eating the wings usually, we've had no problems. I always sit beside him while he's eating and he chews away into small pieces. Of course once the vet starts talking obstruction, that was the only thing I could think of. 

My relationship with our vet is similar to yours - I am very hestitant to go into detail about his diet because then they will go down the obstruction route, when my mom thought (and I was pretty sure as well) that this was viral not an obstruction. I ended up paying for a (useless) x-ray anyway, but in the end it seems to have been the antibiotic that really knocked whatever this was on the head.

The PWDs are pretty fine with bigger bones. We have never once had a problem with them. Although my mom did freak out the first (and only) time she gave Bria a chicken wing, because she swallowed it whole in about 1 second! We have been discussing what we want to do moving forward, and whether we just want to feed ground up bone, because this whole experience has been very stressful. And expensive. I'll see how I feel in a couple of weeks, once I have forgotten how horrible this was.


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## rubymom (Apr 24, 2010)

Whew!!! So glad to hear that everything came out just fine! (Pardon the pun!) Now you can have a true Merry Christmas!


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## BFF (Jun 10, 2009)

Well, if it makes you feel any better, I paid for a useless x-ray too... at the emergency vet! It was a long time ago when I first started feeding raw. Zulee wasn't eating and was vomiting. They wanted to do a full blood panel, x-rays, overnight I-V fluids and monitoring. Really? 

They totally blamed her diet (and me) and didn't even consider anything else. I refused the other treatments and got the x-ray to ease my mind. If she had any other symptoms, I would have done more research. As it turned out, that was $200 for about 15 minutes. :banghead: If I had done the full recommended procedures, it would have been $1800.

She was fine that evening, ate her normal meal with no problems. Now I know an occasional vomit likely means she is hungry (it was bile), or she needs time (24 hours) to settle her tummy. I haven't had a problem since.

Now I have a cd of her insides to show everyone she is just as beautiful on the inside! Course, I already knew that. ;D

You just have to go with your instincts and trust them....wherever they lead you.


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## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

YAY~ (happy dance happy dance) I'm glad that Darcy is feeling better.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Cdnjennga said:


> I am very hestitant to go into detail about his diet because then they will go down the obstruction route, when my mom thought (and I was pretty sure as well) that this was viral not an obstruction. I ended up paying for a (useless) x-ray anyway, but in the end it seems to have been the antibiotic that really knocked whatever this was on the head.


If it was truly viral the antibiotic would not have had an effect. Antibiotics are only effective for bacterial infections. So maybe it could be viral and it is a coincidence and Darcy has improved on his own rather than from the shot? Or maybe it was really bacterial?

Did the vet bring up salmonella or campylobacter? I know salmonella is very rare in healthy, raw-fed pets, but its not completely unheard of! Both of these are common bacterial contaminants in chicken. As you know, I am new to raw feeding and I feel it is a very safe, superior diet for dogs. BUT I still wonder if these could have had any effect? Or perhaps some other bacterial infection from a source other than his diet?

I probably wouldn't worry about the wings - unless it truly was an obstruction. I would think that Darcy would be able to digest the bone of a wing, even when swallowed whole! 

I am glad Darcy is feeling better


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## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

Yay!!! Im so glad he is feeling better!!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

So very glad Darcy is better - do keep us posted, and Happy Christmas!


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