Bear isn't feeling well

[Lisa_D]

It has been forever since I have been here but I thought you guys would be the best to possibly know what might be going on with Bear.
I had him to the vet for his routine checkup and immunizations. I brought up to the vet my concerns that he is having increased vomiting of bile and weight loss. He is down to 42 lbs and he has never been that thin. His usual weight has been 50 lbs and his lowest when he was young was 45 lbs. The vet pretty much blew it off and said he feels fine to her and she thinks he is in good condition. I think he feels like a skeleton with fur! I had just moved to a new area and this is a new vet but I wasn't impressed.
Over the weekend he is much less active, vomiting multiple times a day now and not eating.
I have an appt with a different vet tomorrow to get him checked and hopefully will be a little more concerned. He is 11 years old now. He did have a recent bout of hotspots before christmas and those are healing nicely but he seems to be losing hair. His coat is seeming thin and I am finding hair allover the place. I thought I would check with you guys to see if there is anything that chows are more susceptible too as they get older with these symptoms.

Thanks!

[Sarahloo]

It sounds very serious! It's good that you made another vet appointment for tomorrow.

[Lisa_D]

I am hoping for this vet to be better than the last. I am making him some rice now to see if he will eat that and if he can keep it down. He is also doing things out of character like trying to sit on my lap.

[chowpups]

Hey Lisa Iam sorry to hear Bear is sick, sounds like you are doing everything right..Getting rid of any Vet that blows you off is a good move. I did the same with Nikki. I hope everything is okay, but I don't like when a chow loses weight and vomiting..You know your chow best be persistent that these are out of character for Bear to the new Vet.

Nancy

[kingalls]

definitely need another vet opinion...hugs to Bear - we hope he feels better soon!

[Lisa_D]

Got the lab results today and he does have pancreatitis. I believe the poor boy was fighting this since the I took him to the first vet 3 weeks ago. His wbc's were twice the normal and it could be from the pancreatitis alone or he might have another infection elsewhere in addition to this. I have to go pick up his meds which is baytril and something to help with the vomiting. I didn't get to post this yesterday but he could not walk at all yesterday. I was able to get steroids into him and he is now walking this morning, thank goodness!

[Sarahloo]

Are you going to get an allergy test done? Loo's always had a horrible stomach and it turned out he's allergic to almost everything. From what I've heard, allergies are a huge problem with Chows!

[chowpups]

Sorry to hear it was pancreatitis, has he had much fat in his diet..a friend of mine said her dog got into the garbage and ate turkey skin and fat so she thinks that did it to her dog but not sure the vet said possible but probably accumulation of things.
hope Bear gets. Better ..

[Katiemacxx]

Glad u found out what was wrong with bear....I'm a new chow owner and new on this site I have a girl maggie 6 months old a big girl I should say....but also a poorly girl had entropian but that all been corrected also came into season just under 6 months...and now she had bit a bald patch were her tails falls on her back and has a bad infection she is on anti biotics..and had a collar on so she can't bite it I'm so do worried about her I haven't been walking her because she was in season and now she has this collar on and won't go out for a walk could she be depressed what can I do to help her....sorry to post on a post but I didn't know how to send my own thanks xx

[Ursa's daddy]

@Katiemacxx, first, a suggestion. You should have your chow spayed. That will solve one of your issues. Ursa, my female has the same hair loss, and it is due to a number of conditions. Ursa has a thyroid condition, and that is being treated with hormones. She has a number of allergies. We have changed her food, and are giving her vitamins and supplements.
Obviously, the first step is to control the infection, which you are doing. There may be topical medication that you can put on the infected area to help it heal and reduce irritation and inflammation. This is something that you and your vet need to discuss. Once you have the infection taken care of, you need to discuss with your vet the hair loss, since there are several possible causes.
I know I would be bummed out if I had to wear that collar.

[Lisa_D]

Katiemacx.... Did your girl lose the hair on her rear end or was she after it and tore it out? Sometimes they will rip out their hair like that if they have pain in that area. Like Bear had been after his back end because his *Censored Word* glands were full and also having stomache pain. Also, if she has allergies, she could be very itchy and the skin gets irritated. She might not want to walk either because she hurts and doesn't feel well from the infection she has.
If she has allergies, are you giving her any special type of food? Some dogs are allergic to the wheat in the dog foods. I had started Bear on a grain free food many years ago and his skin and coat are so much better. I hope your girl gets better. It sounds like she has been through alot at a young age already!
Bear did even better yesterday. He will not touch the low fat food they gave me to give him. I have encouraged him to eat by giving him scrambled eggs and yogurt. So far he is doing well with that and no vomiting. He is up and about well now too. The steroid really helped with that!!! I think he will get through this. The old boy had me so worried! I don't believe it was allergies for him. I believe the pancreatitis was what he had all this time and he just kept deteriorating. I am so glad I found this other vet. She did great with him and has called me every day since to check on him!!! She wants a report on Monday too to make sure he got through the weekend OK!

[Lisa_D]

Sorry Nancy, I missed your post! I have had him on the Taste of The Wild Pacific Stream which has the least fat for several years now BUT I know the kids have fed him things that they really shouldn't have despite me telling them not to throughout his life. The vet also said it could be because he is getting older and not able to process things like he used too.

[chowpups]

Lisa
hope Bear is feeling better, my son would always sneak a piece of cheese to Nikki ( she loved it ) when he was visiting. And so the last hotspot I blamed on him I made him pay the bill..( I don't even know if it was the cheese but he never fed her cheese again while I was around).He was much older than your kids Iam sure..(30)...

[Lisa_D]

Lisa
hope Bear is feeling better, my son would always sneak a piece of cheese to Nikki ( she loved it ) when he was visiting. And so the last hotspot I blamed on him I made him pay the bill..( I don't even know if it was the cheese but he never fed her cheese again while I was around).He was much older than your kids Iam sure..(30)...

That was always bears most favorite treat ever too! He would sometimes wake me up in the middle of the night wanting me to get him cheese, the little stinker! My son that is the most guilty of giving too much cheese is 28 so he was old enough to know better most of Bears life!

He really isn't doing better at all. He was doing better but has lost his appetite again and vomited today.

[Lisa_D]

I just thought I would update on Bears condition. After numerous vet visits and one hospitalization, I took him to yet a third vet for another opinion. He finally referred us to a specialty hospital and we went today. We found he has gastric carcinoma. The hospital was 90 miles away but so worth the trip because we found some answers today after 2 months of not knowing what to do for him. He was literally starving to death before my eyes.
We did bring him home with us so we can help him across the bridge closer to home and gave us the correct meds to make him be as comfortable as possible. Tomorrow will be our day and we will go walk in the pasture together one last time.
This is an aggressive cancer and by the time you see the symptoms and they figure out what it is, it is too late. The vet said it does not respond to chemo well so even if a younger dog would get this, the prognosis is not a good one.

[chowpups]

Lisa Iam so sorry to hear that Bear has cancer, it has taken so many of our chows. spending TIME is the most important thing you can do now. I know with Nikki that meant the world to me to have the time to say goodbye my way..the vets kept her comfortable with the meds.so I could. I'll be thinking of you. Both..
Take care
Nancy

[kingalls]

Lisa - we send you and Bear our prayers and hugs...be strong.

[Lisa_D]

Thank you! This will be so hard to do because he is my best buddy and he turned out to be an awesome guy. I just wish I could have a few more years with him. He decided he didn't want to walk in the pasture today but he wanted to go for a car ride instead so that is what we did today. I will help him cross the bridge Monday as long as he still seems comfortable enough until then. This type of cancer is terrible. He is down to 29.5 lbs.
Nancy, you are right. Having the time to do anything with him or for him is helpful for both of us to come to acceptance. I believe he knows as much as I do that this is out last moments together.