Something's wrong with our golden. Any thoughts?

cube

Hi, we have a lovely golden, Buddy, whose 7. He's been with us since birth, he's in good shape (and looks very young), and he has been blessed with good health and happiness, until now. It's been just over a week that Buddy:

1) Won't eat his dog food at all.

2) Won't eat this favorite dog biscuit at all.

3) He hasn't lost all his appetite because he still waits expectantly for human food when we have dinner etc. We don't give him human food (other than a small bite once in a while).

4) He started drinking considerably more water than before, peeing a lot more often too. He just wants to drink water all the time. As a result he has peed in the house and in his crate a few times, something he did not do before.

5) He hardly poops since this began, but when he does the quality seems "normal". Seems contradictory.

6) He looks sad and lethargic, and although he seems to have perked up just a little in the past day or so, he doesn't "smile" like before when we play with him.

All this just started out of the blue. We took Buddy to the vet last week. His physical was ok. They also performed blood work and urine analysis. The blood work showed negative for diabetes but showed a slightly low white cell count. A second test reconfirmed this result. The vet has now recommended us to do x-rays and see a specialist.

This is taking longer than we'd like. In the meantime though, does anyone have any ideas as to what might be happening here or things we should look out for? How long can a dog go without eating and is he compensating the lack of food by drinking so much? Should we limit his water intake?

Thanks in advance.

cshellenberger

Honestly it's hard to speculate as most here aren't vets. It's good you've taken the dog to the vet, just do as reccomended and see the specialists. Keep us updated on the diagnosis. Once you have one there will be more suggestions.

spotted nikes

Will he eat food that is hand fed to him, or placed on a raised surface. My dog stopped eating and it turned out he had spinal arthritis that was making bending his neck down painful.
Did the vet check his teeth/mouth? Any broken/ cracked teeth that might make chewing painful?
Do get the Xrays done. Please keep us updated.

SimbasMom

i second the dental question. he doesnt have any calculus or heavy plaque on his teeth does he that might make it difficult to eat his food and could cause other health issues (heart problems etc)

keep us in the loop about this

jakl

is your boy neutered?

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surfergirl1598

i am so sorry to hear your baby is not feeling well. my dog started out the same way. have your vet check your dog's liver enzimes, from what i know about liver problems in dogs like mine, excessive thurst is a sign of a problem. sometimes with the liver they become lethargic, depressed and won't eat. my dog is going through it now. i know liver problems can affect the kidneys as well, as i am sure your vet knows more than i do. check the whites of your dogs eyes and his gumbs for jaundice. they say the liver can regenerate quite well if caught in time. i'll say some prayers for your baby!!!

lovemygreys

Depending on where you live/have lived in the past with him, I'd want some tick disease testing. TBD info

cube

Thank you very much for all your replies and thoughts.

Well, we saw another vet, redid the bloodworks again (including checking for lymes and heartworm), did x-rays, and everything was fine except, again, for the white blood cells which now showed elevated calcium levels. However, we now also found/noticed a hard lump below his ear and at the top of his left hind leg. They did a biopsy of the cells and what we feared the most, at that point, came to be: our Buddy was just diagnosed with Lymphoma.

This is very hard to swallow. He has been really healthy all his life, is not overweight, is only 7, was full of joy, and this has completely taken us by surprise and it all happened extremely fast. Now he has absolutely no appetite, including for any human food (we've had to feed him with a syringe), no longer drinks much water (when this whole thing started, he wouldn't eat but drank excessively), he constantly has an empty stare, doesn't move much, doesn't react or go to people cause of his moving difficulty. Despite all this he still wags his tail to show us his love and communicate with us. Truly heartbreaking.

Today we're seeing an Oncologist and how/if we can treat him so he can enjoy his remaining life to the fullest. I'd really appreciate if anyone who may have had the great misfortune of being in a similar situation can share their experience of doing chemotherapy and whether your dog has enjoyed a good quality of life during the process. Any hints/tips/advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you all again.

Motebi

My heart goes out to you......... I'm so sorry and hope that you will be able to still get a lot of quality time with your boy.

jakl

I am so terribly sorry. we lost a dog to prostate cancer last year. we did start treatment, not chemo though, and although it didn't help us we were grateful for the chance to try. Go with YOUR heart and listen closely to Buddy he'll let you know what is right, and when. keep us updated. we will pray that you are guided in the right direction, and that you have all the strenght you need to help buddy in the future.

5 s corral

so sorry for the bad news
sending prayers your way
jamie

reynosa_k9's

I am truly sorry for what you and your puppy are going through. (they're all puppies to me ) What a heartbreaking shock.
All I can say is I hope everyone here remembers you and Buddy in their prayers.
Please keep us updated.

Jihad
and the pound puppy crew.

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