Anyone ever had this happen to your Sheepie?
After several x-rays, blood and other tests, the Veterinarian ( a super nice lady who stayed over 40 minutes after the hospital closed treating Shaggy) suggested that he stay overnite in the hospital so that she could administer IV's and a steroid overnight, and when the test results arrived in the morning...apparently she is sending them to an overnight lab in town....and will have a complete analysis in the morning, give advice on what course of action is needed). There were no stones or anything out of the ordinary which showed up in the x-rays, blood work, or exam. She did say that the "blood" was more like hemoglobin and would not separate when she tried to spin it. While I am not a veterinarian and my medical training with humans is limited to a first responder level, it concerns me that this may be more than ordinary blood in urine. She seemed really concerned after the last test and suggested it could be that a stone had passed earlier or maybe even muscle related due to over exertion (kind of like what race horses sometimes tend to do when they run really hard) and Shaggy will run and play with other dogs (and me also) until the point of exhaustion if allowed to do so. Camp Bow-Wow has an attended open area where he loves to play with and chase other dogs literally, all day long. Perhaps this coupled with the 3 miles or so we walk or run each day is the cause. I pray that it is that simple. The last thing she mentioned was that it could be an early sign of auto immune disease or due to a mass located somewhere in the body. This concerns me most and would portend a long road to recovery. The OES forum is such a wonderful place in that so many people come from many walks of life and have so much knowledge and experience in these matters. Have any of you experienced such an instance and moreover, do you have any advice or ideas? For now it is a matter of just praying and waiting. My goodness, how empty a house seems without the "velcro" dog sticking to your side and watching your every move. |
|
|
| No but I am hoping it is nothing too serious, hugs too, know how stressfull this can be till they find out what is causing it..
Please keep us posted too. I hope the bleeding settles down and it turns out to be nothing too serious.  |
| Thank you..
The worry here is auto immune disease and we will have the answer to a degree when the blood work is done. Thank you again for your concern. Regards, Chris and Shaggy |
| Hi Chris,
I AM SOOOO SORRY that you and Shaggy are going through this. How frightening for both of you! Did the folks at the Camp Bow Wow say how Shaggy was behaving? Was he running around hard with the other dogs before they noticed the blood? |
| Hugs for you and Shaggy. I have no words of wisdom to give except the hope that all is well, keep us posted!!!!!!!!!!! |
| I am sorry you and Shaggy are going through this. Positive thoughts and fingers and paws crossed. Hope it is something minor. |
| Have you heard from the vet yet this morning, Chris? I know it was a long night without Shaggy by your side. I really hope the test results show that it is not anything serious. Please let us know. |
I'm sorry.  I hope Shaggy is okay. |
Fingers and toes crossed for a good outcome this morning. Hugs to Shaggy for a quick recovery!  |
| Hugs to you and Shaggy. I hope he had a good night and you get some answers today. |
| Hope he's okay. It's scary when you see the blood that way. I hope it turns out to be just a kidney stone kind of thing. Does he drink a lot of water? |
| The vet called this morning and had good news to relate. First, the bloodwork was within normal parameters and it appears that auto immune disease is not the likely cause of this incident. She then went on to tell me that she had done some research and it appears that OES have a predispostion to have this problem when exercising or exerting themselves quite a bit. Apparently, he had playing really hard with the other dogs for about 4 hours or so when they noticed the problem and took him out of the mix.
Shaggy will spend another night in the vet hospital and should be home in the morning. Thanks for all the kind words. prayers and concern. |
Wonderful news!  |
| Hi wow I'm glad everything is ok - that must of been really scary. You have a good vet |
| Fantastic news I am so so Happy all is OK there. What a scary time for you. So glad he will be back home real soon with you. |
Thats such great news! Shaggy will be so happy to be back home with you!  |
Phew! 
YaY!  |
| Great news! When you get him home, give him and extra big hugs from us! |
| That is great news. I am so relieved for you.
Its just so worrysome when our babies are sick. |
| Sorry for being remiss in posting this update...I was on duty this weekend and 12 hour days seem to stretch into 14 so it is just a matter of walking the dog and going to bed.
Shaggy was diagnosed with "exertional lactic acidosis" from what I could gather, understand (as the vet lost me after about 2 minutes), and have found out from further research is that this is predisoposed to Sheepies and other breeds and can be brought on from a number of circumstances. I think, in his case, we exercised too much in the preceding two days. He got a bit dehydrated in the period after..and then very excited in the hour ride to camp bow wow and then really let loose there for 4 hours...in the end, the vet related that it was similar (in a doggie situation) as to what I used to experience when training for and doing ultra distance athletic events..maybe she was making it easy for me to understand in context...but the point was well taken... He has recovered and we will be watching our exercise/excitement levels...in future. This was one of life's little experiences... that I guess you just have to live and learn. I will never again take pet physiology lightly (ie dogs are tough and after all the neuro pathways SEEM THE SAME so human rules should apply to nutrition, hydration and socialization..big mistake!) in the future and am learning just how canine systems in general and Sheepie canine systems in particular adapt and respond differently than humans to exercise, play, hydration and nutrition. Apparently, genetic predispostion does make a difference and I could have had a very sick dog through lack of understanding. All in all, it was a true lesson and learining experience. Thanks to you all for the support, prayers and concern. |
| Great to hear!!!
I'm not sure you're taking away the right lesson, but that's probably because I don't know what the right lesson to be learned is!! I am trying to boil it down to a sentence.... "Dogs, like people, can't go from couch potato to tri-athlete overnight; weekend warriors often get hurt." "Increase in exercise in moderation?" Can you try to boil it down to a sentence? |
| Ron,
You are absolutely right! |
| Great news about Shaggy. Sorry that both of you had to go through it.
Ron, I think you have defined it well. Bill |
| So happy to hear that Shaggy is ok |
| Happy to hear Shaggy is well |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|