Gracie is sick with elevated enzymes and bacteria in her stool

[TXGirl]

I haven't posted in a while, but I always no where to turn for support and advice. Thank you in advance.

Gracie has been having loose stools for the last few days (off and on), but last night we were horrified to find bright red blood in her stool. DH took her to the vet today and he said that her enzymes were elevated, mentioned something about pancreatits and said she had bacteria in her stool. Here's the kicker. I was shocked that he said it was probably caused by the food we have been feeding her. We thought we were doing so good by feeding her Nature's Variety raw. I'm devastated. Has anyone else had a similiar problem? Do you think it could be anything else. She and the baby (Toby) have been on it for a little over two months and seemed to be doing so well. Her eye boogers (that she's had since we got her) had even cleared up.

Any thoughts or advice?

[dwerten]

was the ALT high? How old is your yorkie? Was the amylase and lipase high is why they think pancreatitis and was white blood cell count high as that is a sign of infection and goes hand in hand with pancreatitis? I have experience with pancreatitis but my dog never had bloody diarhea he only vomitted like crazy

[kaknight]

I hope all goes well.

Best Wishes.

[TXGirl]

Originally Posted by dwerten

was the ALT high? How old is your yorkie? Was the amylase and lipase high is why they think pancreatitis and was white blood cell count high as that is a sign of infection and goes hand in hand with pancreatitis? I have experience with pancreatitis but my dog never had bloody diarhea he only vomitted like crazy

I wish I could answer all of your questions. The only one I can answer is her age; she's 4. DH took her to the vet while I was at work; he's self employed. He wasn't given any of that information, and I'm sure wouldn't have known what to ask. Gracie hasn't had any vomiting, but the vet said if she starts vomiting we must take her back to be started on IV fluids. I just don't know what to think. Do you recommend that I call and ask those questions tomorrow?

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by TXGirl

I wish I could answer all of your questions. The only one I can answer is her age; she's 4. DH took her to the vet while I was at work; he's self employed. He wasn't given any of that information, and I'm sure wouldn't have known what to ask. Gracie hasn't had any vomiting, but the vet said if she starts vomiting we must take her back to be started on IV fluids. I just don't know what to think. Do you recommend that I call and ask those questions tomorrow?

have them fax you the blood work and having had sick yorks i get a copy of everything and keep a file at home of all info on them so if they have to go to emergency you have all the current info including blood work so real important to do this - diarhea is more dehydrating than vomitting so just keep an eye on your baby and get the info tomorrow. did they send you home with meds? So your other dog is ok and just this one got sick? I have 3 dogs and when mine got pancreatitis my other two were fine so sometimes one is prone and others are not mine that got pancreatitis has high fasting triglycerides which is high fat in blood naturally which can contribute to the disease pancreatitis

Just keep an eye on her and keep her rested - if you notice her tossing and turning in pain then i would get her in for pain shot and see the vet asap if not just let her rest - I would not feed for 12 hrs and let her tummy rest

[jeanm1963]

Thank you Debbie for this suggestion regarding bloodwork, as Laci's last blood work cost me 150.00 so Ill make sure to get a copy sent to me this week to keep on file at home.. your always so on top of things...

Originally Posted by dwerten

have them fax you the blood work and having had sick yorks i get a copy of everything and keep a file at home of all info on them so if they have to go to emergency you have all the current info including blood work so real important to do this - diarhea is more dehydrating than vomitting so just keep an eye on your baby and get the info tomorrow. did they send you home with meds? So your other dog is ok and just this one got sick? I have 3 dogs and when mine got pancreatitis my other two were fine so sometimes one is prone and others are not mine that got pancreatitis has high fasting triglycerides which is high fat in blood naturally which can contribute to the disease pancreatitis

Just keep an eye on her and keep her rested - if you notice her tossing and turning in pain then i would get her in for pain shot and see the vet asap if not just let her rest - I would not feed for 12 hrs and let her tummy rest

[TXGirl]

Thanks Debbie! Good idea on getting copies of all the bloodwork. He did send her home with an antibiotic and also gave her an injection of antibiotic and something for her tummy. The receipt says chlorpromazine, but I'm not sure what's what. He also said not to feed her tonight, and he sent her home with 3 cans of i/d and told us to feed her 1 tablespoon every two hours starting tomorrow.

[TXGirl]

Originally Posted by kaknight

I hope all goes well.

Best Wishes.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it.

[Patti]

I hope she is feeling better soon.

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by TXGirl

Thanks Debbie! Good idea on getting copies of all the bloodwork. He did send her home with an antibiotic and also gave her an injection of antibiotic and something for her tummy. The receipt says chlorpromazine, but I'm not sure what's what. He also said not to feed her tonight, and he sent her home with 3 cans of i/d and told us to feed her 1 tablespoon every two hours starting tomorrow.

NOPE go get hill's ultra z/d tell him you do not want to feed hill's i/d I AM TOTALLY AGAINST THAT FOOD FOR PANCREATITIS. My dog relapsed on it and then had to have a plasma transfusion to save his life. The internal medicine specialist cringed when i told her the food and she said i wish they would get that off the list for pancreatitis as it has pork in it so PLEASE DO NOT FEED THIS and go pick up hills ultra z/d canned

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by TXGirl

Thanks Debbie! Good idea on getting copies of all the bloodwork. He did send her home with an antibiotic and also gave her an injection of antibiotic and something for her tummy. The receipt says chlorpromazine, but I'm not sure what's what. He also said not to feed her tonight, and he sent her home with 3 cans of i/d and told us to feed her 1 tablespoon every two hours starting tomorrow.

ok i do not want to freak you out but why this drug
Chlorpromazine (Thorazine®)
your dog was not vomitting right? so why give an antivomitting drug and usually they use cerenia not this drug for pancreatitis. What antibiotic was given?

[dwerten]

usually pancreatitis is a ton of vomitting so honestly this sound more ibd issue in large intestines to me as the blood was fresh correct so if fresh it is large intestines and if dark brown then small intestines. Also per our internal medicine specialists dogs with ibd are known to test high on amylase and lipase as well so it can mirror pancreatitis but actually be just ibd. My dex almost died of pancreatitis and never had diahrea or bloody diarhea at that it was all massive vomitting. He could not stop vomitting it was continuous and he tossed and turned and could not get comfortable as it is extremely painful - he had no interest in food would not move off the couch. It was the worst thing to see and so heart breaking.

The small intestines is right next to the pancreas but large intestine is further away so the vomitting i think is more pancreatitis symptom

[dwerten]

was her white blood cell count high or RED blood cell count high if red blood cell that is more hge related white blood cell would be pancreas related. White is related to infection. Red is way more serious.

Not all dogs can tolerate raw. It could be you got a bad batch which can happen with raw - i fed raw so am very familiar with it. My one friend got a bad batch of stevies and all her dogs were deathly ill. It could be this dog has a poorer immune system than your other dog so it cannot fight off the bacteria in the meat. Hge can develop from bad meat as it can be tied to salmonella or ecoli. Was the bloody stool like strawberry jam. Hge is very serious but that is only if red blood cell count was high and your dog would be VERY VERY SICK acting.

I would not feed this one raw anymore after this as this is a sign that something is not right and not working for her. While raw is great it is not for every dog and yorkies have digestive issues in nature as well. If you did not give any treats or high fat people food i agree with vet this is tied to the food. Pancreatitis is usually from high fatty foods, stress or medications like steroids.

[dwerten]

if a dog has ibd it should not be fed raw and here is the reason. A dogs digestive tract is shorter than ours so they can pass the raw quickly through the system and not have issues with salmonella or ecoli HOWever if a dog has digestive issues like ibd and intestines get inflamed and the food sits in the tract longer then it can allow problems to occur with bacteria etc build up in the intestines.

[TXGirl]

Thank you, Patti, for the well wishes.

And thank you Debbie for all of the wonderful information. Unfortunately, I'm just now seeing it as I had to work all day. Luckily my job is flexible enough that I can ocassionally work from home, so I was able to feed Gracie every 2 hours. But, yikes, I have been feeding her the i/d.

I believe he prescribed the chlorpromazine for any nausea she might be experiencing (even though she has not vomited), and I think as a sedative for any pain she is experiencing.

I do have an update. Gracie seems to be feeling better. No more loose stools, and she even played with Toby a little today. Last night was real hard on her because she was hungry, but I couldn't give her anything. Poor baby...