Roofus is in the hospital overnight

[pupper]

This morning my yellow lab roofus just was not himself and my wife took him in to see the vet. The vet said he had a high fever and put him on antiboitic IV drip. Roofus was drooling profusely and had a rock hard stomach. The Doc said he was getting better through the day but wants him over night. I hope he gets better as he is a good pal to my wife and I. Has anyone else had a similar experience with their lab?
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/roofus_w_duck_resized.jpg
cheers

[sfire436]

Sorry to hear bud..............

[Sasquatch]

Sounds like you got him to the vet just in time. Here's hoping for a quick rebound.

[Wolfman]

I hope your buddy gets well and is back home soon.

[smokey]

good to hear that you brought him in,vet can be pretty costly,but you can't put a price on a outstanding hunting partner,hope he get better soon

[huntinnewbie]

dogs can twist a gut, surgery usually required. Happens more in big dogs and can come from bolting their food or too much exercise after eating. Hopefully he just picked up a bug that the antibiotics will catch. Had labs all our life and they are a member of the family. Our current black , Murphy, is 7 years old. Couldn't imagine having to go through an illness with her, it would be devistating.
Here's some info on it. Even if that is not the problem with Rufus, this is good info for all dog owners as it can be fatal in a matter of hours.
I hope you never have to experience this awful disease. A "twisted gut" is a disease called Gastric Dilation-Volvulus(GDV) which is overdistension of the stomach (bloat) in combination with a twist of the stomach that closes the inlet and outlet of the stomach. As the bloating continues, the dogs develop profound life-threatening shock which develops into respiratory and cardiac failure and death. It occurs most commonly in large deep-chested dogs like Great Danes, German Shepherd, standard poodles, Dobermans and Irish Setters but has been seen in smaller breeds. There are a number of risk factors for GDV:

Risk increases with age
breed/conformation as mentioned
Ingesting a large amount of food or water that overdistends the stomach.
exercise after overdistension of the stomach may physically displace the stomach
Type of diet and frequency of feedings have been speculated to be factors but have not been proven.
Abnormal esophagus or stomach function allowing either an excess accumulation of gas or a delay in emptying the stomach.The signs of GDV are excessive salivation usually accompanied by retching, they act like they are trying to vomit repeatedly but nothing comes up. Often these dogs act nervous or restless and have some degree of abdominal distention. If your dog show these signs it is an emergency and need to be seen PRONTO! If you have an at risk dog, try feeding multiple smaller meals 2-4 times daily and limiting exercise after eating.

[bsa30-06]

I have had to sit thru seizures with my golden retriever, so i know exactly how you feel with out your buddy by your side.Best wishes for roofus.

[pupper]

Thanks for the encouragement and info. I got an update today. Doctor took an x-ray to see if there is any blockages but says there is no visible blockages but might be a cloth or rag blocking his intestines as they are very inflamed. His blood work came back and there is nothing wrong in that sense. He has continued to vomit and he is not eating still. They want him to work out whatever is in his intestines out. His intestines seem to be blocked and inflamed. I hope it is not GVD (like in marlie and me) because he was salivating when we brought him in yesterday but I think they said it stopped but the vomiting continued. He is staying at the hopsital another night and will continue IV without any food.

[plumbob]

Hope this turns out to the good as they become part of the family,good luck keep us posted

[wolverine]

Yes, we had the same thing with our yellow lab. He started looking out of sorts one Sunday and by dinner time was bloated something awful. Of to the vet we went and he thought it was a looped bowel and told us to prepare to put him down. After numerous x-rays the vet said he wanted to show me something. He asked what he had been into. I hadn't a clue. He said, "Well whatever it is it has given him wicked gas, see this(holds up xray) that's over a litre of gas and building." So I asked what do we do and he said "Same thing you do....." He gave the dog some pepto and some gravol and told us to go home. When we got home and the dog jumped out of the back of the truck I could tell he was feeling better. (I had to lift him in). The drooling stopped and he walked over to the ditch to lift his leg. There was a pair of Great Horned owls out that night and I said to the wife to listen to them. Just at that moment the dog released about 2 litres of pent up gas. Honest to God, he was groaning when he did it. It sounded like the first verse of God Save the Queen!!! So of course the wife blames me. It's not me I said it's him look. His tail was wagging something fierce and then, for the benefit of the deaf, came the odour. Oh my Lord!!! I don't know what he had found and eaten but it conjured up the worst dog farts ever. So that, as I have told friends, was the most expensive dog fart in history. Three hundred and seventy five bucks for a 2 litre blast of death!! But... what are you going to do.... they are part of the family. We were glad he was okay. I hope your friend is better and out of the vets soon. I'll keep a good thought for you.

[pupper]

Well my wife and I just got back from the vet and we looked at the X-rays. First off Roofus has a blood infection, stomach infection, and small intestine infection. He is full in the large intestine right now but the Doc says after the infection goes down and he can eat, he will likely pass the crap. We just need to keep him on the IV until the infection goes down. Good thing is that there is no visible obstruction or gut twisting so I think his chances are good.

[wolverine]

Great News! You'll have your pal home in no time. Did he get into something that you know of?

[pupper]

Great News! Our pal Roofus is home and in good shape. He is eating and his plumbing is working great! He is on solid food and his spirits are high like before he went in.The vet gave us some meds to continue giving Roofus and scheduled a 7 day checkup to make sure the infection is gone.

[wolverine]

Right on! Good job getting him to the vet so fast.:tongue:

[bsa30-06]

glad he's allright.

[Sasquatch]

Good to hear, glad your pal is better.

[plumbob]

Glad to hear Roofus is well and at home,congrats

[pupper]

Great News! You'll have your pal home in no time. Did he get into something that you know of?
NO, it was just a blood infection that also affected his stomach as well.

Thanks for all the kind words from you HBCers!

[huntcoop]

How much was the total vet bill?

[hunterofthedeer]

our chocolate lab wastaken to the vetbecause he wouldnt eat and he was the saddest dog you ever did see his tail was down and face all drooped the vet said that there was nothing wrong with him so we brought him home and the next moring i wake up and go in the garage and find that he has crapped all over the walls snowmobiles atv motocycle and the roof. Then we find in one of his many craps a cork:tongue: he went touring the neighbourhood the night be for and the neighbour came over took our wine and then left the bottles in his drive way on the dog though tasty treat:( i can tell you sometimes they eat the weirest things. but he was fine and i had a hell of a time cleaning all that crap up

[huntinnewbie]

So happy to hear that he has fully recovered. Any idea how or why he got a blood infection?

[wolverine]

My Border Collie had a blood infection as well. It almost killed him too. What a sad looking puppy he was. Only about 5 months old at the time. The vet said it was likely caused by an infection starting in his gums when he lost a puppy tooth and the area was exposed for while. Same thing, antibiotics and about a weeks time and he was back in good shape but he sure looked sick when I took him in.

[leadpillproductions]

Hope he gets better.