Hi All
I am desperately worried about my ex racer. I have had him for 2 years, he is 8 years old. In June he won a prize for best condition at a show and now he is 5 kilos underweight and fading fast. About a month ago he started eating grass and being sick. This progressed to innappetance and more frequent vomiting. Bloods from the vets suggested a high liver count and increased white cells. He has been on antibiotics and emulsion to coat the stomach, plus a drip to rehydrate. He is now passing black treacly stools and has gone into the vets today for Xrays. I have been giving him alternate doses of nux vom and pulsatilla, but no improvement. Does anyone have any ideas as I fear I am losing my beloved boy.
Sue

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Take care<br />Sue

Sue,
You need to post the medical and mental history of your dog as well as test results. Also include any other allopathic medications he is on. He appears to be fighting something. Very often black stool can indicate that there may be bleeding high up in the digestive tract; hopefully the x-rays will lead to some answers.

Hi Kkrista
Thanks for your reply.
My dog (Murphy) is still with us. He was booked in for an exploratory op on Wednesday, but seemed a bit brighter and was not sick for 2 days so I postponed it. He is currently on Synulox antibiotics as his temp was slightly high. Xrays revealed nothing obvious in the gut despite barium meal! The liver seemed to have small deposits apparent, but the vet was unsure what, hence the op request. He is generally a steady placid dog, but has a fear of loud noises and is defensive towards other dogs, showing aggression on first meeting them but fine once he realises they are not going to hurt him. He is 8 years old next month, has had no health problems that I am aware of and is generally well although can be picky with his food,but welcomes a change occasionally. At the moment he is eating chicken and boiled rice. Can you suggest a homeopathic remedy to help his digestive problem or would surgery be a better option, given the black stools? Could he have an ulcer?
Sue

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Take care<br />Sue

sue - more info is needed to dtermine a remedy

has his appetite changes since he became ill? does he desire anything specific? Has his temperment changed? Seeking affection, avoiding it? has anything changed in his demeaner at all? How often has he been eating grass? etc.

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Man, do not pride yourself on your superiority to animals. For they are without sin and you in your greatness defile the earth by your appearance on it and leave traces of you foulness after you. Dostoyevsky

Hi Barb
His appetite has been greatly reduced unless he sees us eating and then he wants titbits. I have been feeding him chicken and rice rather than his all in one dog food as it seems to be the only thing he can keep down.
The grass eating has stopped and his vomiting sessions have ceased apart from one episode 2 days ago. He has stopped losing weight but has not gained any. He weighs 29 kilos rather than his usual 35
Temperament wise, he is quieter than usual, prefering to be left alone for the most part but if fussed sometimes seeks out a hand to continue the fuss. He has shown no fear of the vet lately, walking in quite happily.
He is still passing black/greenish stools but these have changed from runny to firm.
The vet has said that if this is still happening in 2 days she will need to do an exploratory operation :-(
Many thanks for your help and I hope this helps
Sue

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Take care<br />Sue

Hi Sue,
Just a note about his food, he is much better off by you feeding him real food and I would suggest you may want to keep him on it for the rest of his life. Much has been written on this board regarding commercial dog food so I won't rehash everything again, but in short many believe it is the source of common pet health problems today. The fact that his stool is no longer runny is good (the intestinal tract is able to contract and expell moisture and a "blockage" wouldn't allow big pieces of stool to pass). Long term you may want to add finely pulverized vegetables and some dairy along with the chicken and rice. I hope Barb will have a remedy suggestion for you quickly.

I'm sorry to hear that Sue.
Must have been something very fast moving.
Yes I think we can be thankful first that he is at peace. I wish we could have done more.
Warm regards,
doctorleela

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http://www.homeopathy2health.com

Hi All
Many thanks for your replies. I did all I was advised but my beloved Murphy started to deteriorate again :-( The vet performed an exploratory yesterday and discovered he was full of cancerous tumours in the bowel and pancreas. He was not woken from his anaesthetic. I am heartbroken, but at least he is at peace now.
Thanks again everyone
Sue

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Take care<br />Sue

Many thanks doctorleela
I have drawn comfort from your concern and will continue to seek homeopathic advice for my other greyhound. She is quite depressed at the moment as she cannot understand where her beloved mate is. Over the weekend she will have lots of attention, but we will see how she is next week.
Take care
Sue

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Take care<br />Sue

Sue

My condolences to you and your family - two and four legged. Please come see us if your other pup seems to suffer any prolonged grief as we can certainly help with that. You may want to post on the regular discussion site as it gets more traffice.

Again - I am sorry

Barb

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Man, do not pride yourself on your superiority to animals. For they are without sin and you in your greatness defile the earth by your appearance on it and leave traces of you foulness after you. Dostoyevsky