Ongoing Illness

[Harkkonnen]

Hi,
I have a male Stafforshire Bull Terrier, about 2 and a half years old named Nero. He was found dumped outside the pound as a puppy and we adopted him. In the last few weeks we noticed considerable bleeding from the gums and a nasty skin iritation which appeared as bumps on his skin. We took him ot the vet and they gave a special dog wash which we used. This didnt seem ot help much so we took him back. He was put under anaesthetic and examined. He checked out to be a perfectly health dog after having all the tests done except a bllod test, due to the price of anaylsis. We took him home and had him on a antibiotics course for about 2 weeks now. They have seemed to have cleared up the skin infection quite well now and the bleeding stoped for a little while. But in the last coupleo f days the bleeding has returned and he has become quite lethargic and seems to be in pain around the chest area. HE yelps if you pick him up or if he jumps off the bench which he likes to lay on in the sun. Being in a house with 3 kids he does get treated pretty roughly sometimes but hes well looked after.

I was wondering if these might all be related or are seperate problems. We alos though that maybe he was dumped because he was know to have some kind of degenerative disease or something of the like. And as well if anyone knows any remedies which doesnt involve expensive trips to the vet, we would be greatful for any advice.

Thanks.

[JMM]

I would be quite concerned, especially with the bleeding from his gums. I think bloodwork, a recheck exam, and maybe some x-rays are in order for starters. What did they do with him under anesthesia?

[Traci]

It would be helpful to know what your vet's comments were and what sort of condition or conclusion he came up with.

What tests exactly were done? Was a skin scrape/culture done? Was a thorough oral exam done to rule out severe periodontal disease, ulcers, diseased teeth, abcesses, etc?

Simple things to rule out would be atopy, flea allergy dermatitis, food allergy, environmental allergies and toxins. A thorough oral exam should be done to rule out the above mentioned problems.

Lastly, you need to rule out possible trauma as a result of your kids being too rough with him. How old are the children, and do they understand the need to respect your dog and his tolerance levels during play, etc?

Unfortunately, you need to either take your dog back to your vet promptly for addition diagnostics or see a new vet altogether who is comitted to getting to the cause of the problems. Bloodwork is essential for ruling out various disease process, immunological problems, etc, but a new vet may be able to offer you more simply with a new exam based on his/her experience level, thereby possibly keeping costs reduced for you. (you can also have your current vet fax your dog's health records to the new vet)

[k9Karen]

Any chance he's gotten into some rat poison or anything else he shouldn't have been in?

[Harkkonnen]

Thanks for they help guys. Yeah all the skin scrapings and that have been done and came back clear. The gums are better again today as well. Hes still pretty subdued but i dont think hes in as much pain. I am one of the kids, and he hasnt been treated too badly. Just a bit of wrestling and that. He hasnt been kicked or anything as far as I know. Were all old enough to know that he isnt a bouncy ball and he does need to be treated carefully.

Another though I had is crap apples. We have a big tree in the back yard and he sometimes eats them. He's never gotten sick before but it was just a thought.

In the exam his teeth were given the all clear and the exam came up as a healthy dog. The only exams we didnt do was the blood.

[CrystalsMom]

Crab apples are on the "Moderately Toxic" list for pets. Is it possible that pesticides were used in the yard recently?

[Traci]

Again, you need to get him back to your vet for another exam....if your vet isn't aware of the continuing problem despite the antibiotics, he needs to know this so he can look further. The bleeding gums needs to be addressed, and if there is any chest pain or abdominal pain at all, this too needs to be addressed (be prepared for an x-ray).

What are you feeding him, and do you give him raw bones, etc? Does he chew on things he's not supposed to?

[Harkkonnen]

The bleeding has pretty much stopped now but we did some research and it has lead us to believe taht it may be some form of a platelet disorder. It was usggested at the time by the vet but to confirm it we had to have the blood tests done. We are thinking that maybe the tenderness around the chest area might be cause by internal bleeding, which might explain his lack of activity and energy.

[Traci]

Have you taken him to your vet? You have no time to waste, get him seen NOW.

[Guest]

Yep, hes going to the university today. If anyone knows whats wrong with him, they do. Thanks for all your help guys.