| Advice needed for sick dog - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| lindscamuk |
I've got a 10 year old epileptic german pointer who has started behaving strangely - barking at anyone who comes near the house, and being very clingy. For the past couple of days he has had really bad diarhoea and retching (never actually being sick though). He is now going off his food, which is totally unlike him as he would usually eat anything given half a chance. I don't know whether to be really worried about him, or whether its just a bug that will clear up in its own time. A major problem with him not eating though is that he has tablets for his epilepsy which he gets mixed in with his food. If he doesnt eat then I'm worried that the fits will start again.
Any help would be grately appreciated. |
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| Froggy |
Hi,
What meds is he on for the epilepsy? How long has he been on them?
The wretching, diahrrea and loss of appetite could be a result of quite a few things, change in diet, metabolic problems, an infection, a blockage, with the change in behaviour though it could also be long term effects of certain medication, for example phenobarb (commonly used for epilepsy) can result in brain problems, usually a blood test to check the pheno levels would let you know about that.
Is there any chance his eyesight is going? This can also cause the sudden onset of barking at anyone and becoming clingy.
My Rott had diabetes and gradually her eyesight diminished, I locked myself out one day but had left the patio door open so I climbed over the fence, she came 'carefully' running right at me growling and snarling, got to about 3 feet away and realized it was just me. Its tough on them when they lose one of their senses but they normally adjust well....that wouldnt cause the diarrhea though...Time for a thorough check up and probably blood tests with the vet I think. |
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| lindscamuk |
Thanks for your advice. He's been on epiphen (phenobarb) for about 15 months now, and genitrix (potassium bromide) for about 9 months. He's not had any fits since starting on the genitrix, and has had regular blood tests to check the levels since starting on the epiphen. The last test was two months ago, and the levels were normal, the same as they have always been.
I've now tried feeding him rice for a couple of meals as it's apparently meant to soak up water which should help the diarrhoeah. Its had no effect so far. Is this meant to work and if not is there anything else I could try, while I wait for a vets appointment in a couple of days?
I'll investigate the eyesight thing and see if thats maybe the problem for the barking.
Thanks again. |
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| Froggy |
Sorry I couldnt reply earlier, (computer problems). The rice works in most cases if its just down to an upset stomach, change in diet type of thing, just boiled white rice, it absorbs fluid in the gut. Its not 100% though sometimes needs an all round bland diet and sometimes an added anti-diarheal, but I think with his age even though you have kept up with the vet with the blood tests regularly (which is great, too many people dont know about the risks with phenobarb at either high doses or long term use) maybe he needs a full work up, blood work, x-rays maybe.
Hope everything goes okay at the vets. |
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