Dog Medical question

[Magalex]

We adopted a 4 yr old Brittany Spaniel Mix in Nov.(so we are new to all this). We took him to the vet on Friday. He has an anal gland infection. We have a prescription called Metronidazole. 1/2 pill every 12 hours. This is Sunday and this morning at 5:15 AM he started to gag(lasted 3 hours). There was no food. Only a liquid sustance and maybe something that looked like the medicine. Our regular vet is not open on Sundays. We called an emergency vet center. She said he is having a reaction to the medication. No food/water/medicine for 6-12 hours. So we have to wait until tomorrow morning to call the vet. Do you think they will tell us to give the dog only 1/2 the pill every 24 hours instead of 12 hours. Or will they have to prescribe something else? Any one ever have this problem with their dog? He is doing fine right now at 2PM. Yes I did end up giving him some food after about 6 hours. No problems since this morning.

 

[danalee]

Go and google the medication, we did this once on a weekend with our pet. (not the same medication as yours though ) but it helped us alot. We found out that the medication we had to give our dog could make her sick(and it did) and said different things we could try. It has been a couple of years, but it had links to different pet sites so it might help you out.

Hope you doggie gets better soon

 

[clh2]

There is a pet forum: where the posters are very helpful about these types of things.

good luck

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Dogs do that type of thing a lot, even in the absence of medication (at least mine do). But the fact that there was medication in the vomit probably signifies it's not agreeing with her.

In order for medications to work effectively, they need to be given in the amount and time frame they're ordered to keep a steady level in the blood. Your vet will probably change to another antibiotic tomorrow.

Good luck.

 

[lisajl]

It has a metallic taste..did you give it with food or without?
My vet always says to give it with food.

 

[Magalex]

Our vet called us back on Monday morning. Our dog is not having a side affect from the medication. Because of the infection his immunity was low so he got actually a cold/respiratory. They said to keep feeding him his food and giving the medication to him. He should be OK in about 7 days.

 

[danalee]

Good! Glad to hear he will be ok

 

[Melisa1]

Glad that he's ok!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

If it happens again, call them back.

 

[Magalex]

Update about our furbaby: This is Tuesday I am more worried today then yesterday. Last night the coughing was all night long from our Brittany. We are doing what the vet told us to do. He stopped coughing in the morning. He did eat some food this morning. But he is laying in his crate all day long. He is acting like a 14 yr old dog instead of 4 yrs old. They told us to wait for 7-10 days. If it doesn't clear up they would have to look at his chest. It sounds like he is a chain smoker at night. We only had him for 2 1/2 months and I miss him not being playful, active and social.

 

[goofyforlife]

Sounds like quite an infection your poor pup has.....

There are other anti-biotics out there....

We went through a few of them when our lab had an anal gland "issue". It looked like a boil from the outside. The vet ended up recommending removal of the glands. The infection ended up being the tissue surrounding the gland not the gland itself.... They took out alot of infected tissue when they did the surgery.

Good luck.... Ask vet for something else...

 

[Magalex]

Sounds like quite an infection your poor pup has.....

There are other anti-biotics out there....

We went through a few of them when our lab had an anal gland "issue". It looked like a boil from the outside. The vet ended up recommending removal of the glands. The infection ended up being the tissue surrounding the gland not the gland itself.... They took out alot of infected tissue when they did the surgery.

Good luck.... Ask vet for something else...

Thanks for the the fair warning. Because he so new to us this is his first round of anti-biotics. The only reason he was in shelter because he snapped at the cats he was living with( as what little info. that was given). I hope he didn't have any previous medical issues and the previous owners didn't want to tell the truth to the shelter. Other then this medical issue he is an awesome dog. Very sweet, not loud or destructive, loves his toys and we started obedience class( just for bonding, social, listening skills and help our 6 yr old DS with him). We consider ourselves very lucky to found a shelter dog with not alot of behavior problems. Even tho he doesn't like baths. Any advice on that one?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

OK, in your first post you never mentioned anything about coughing, so I was a little when you said this in your second post.

Because of the infection his immunity was low so he got actually a cold/respiratory.

That just doesn't go along with anal gland infection or GI upset.

Now, reading your most recent post, I'm more concerned. He sounds sick and in need of urgent veterinary attention. The cough as you've described it could be from a variety of things (like kennel cough or pneumonia - though he has been on an antibiotic so this might not be the case, or that particular antibiotic might not be effective on a respiratory bug; another cause could be congestive heart failure which could result in a buildup of fluid in the lungs causing cough, and if that were the case he'd require diuretics right away), but the bottom line is, he needs to be SEEN and evaluated by a veterinarian.

Call your vet's office and tell them you'd like the vet to call you back TODAY, or better yet, ask them if you could come by with the dog in person today before the office closes; explain what you've said here. If they won't/can't see you today, do you have another veterinary hospital near you? If so, I'd take the dog in to be seen today/tonight - they will likely do a chest XRay to see what's going on in his lungs. Do you have a major veterinary teaching hospital near you anywhere? Their emergency room might be a good choice.

I don't mean to scare you, but when 4yo, normally active dogs act like this, there's something wrong. Please update later.

 

[Magalex]

Thanks PEA-N-ME

Yes we were very concern to have to wait 7-10 days. Anyways why would infection like that cause any respiratory problems? My DH called the vet and is trying to get in tonight. Which would be good because that is when DANIEL(our Brittany starts to cough)? Hy DH called. The vet wanted to prescribe a cough medicine along with the anti-botic. My sister who worked for a vet said to take him anyways because she agrees with you. We are hoping there was no cover up of a underlying medical issue.

 

[minechuchie]

Hello I was just wondering if you had an update on your furbaby...it is so very frustrating when you know something isn't right in your pet and the vet's are trying to diagnose them over the phone. I hope all is well. Let us know. Terri

 

[Pea-n-Me]

How is Daniel doing tonight?

 

[Magalex]

Per Pea-n-Me's advice my DH took Daniel to the vet last night. He caught a strand of kennel cough. The vet said just like the cold virus for humans there are many different strands of the kennel cough virus. He is taken now two medications: one for the infection of the anal glands and one for the kennel cough virus. She said that he probably caught the virus at obedience class which is held at the Humane Society (and his immunity was low already from the infection). Which at the first class we didn't know he was fighting an infection. So for my DH and I we have to decide if we still want to continue with the obedience classes. He will miss this next class on Saturday. But a owner can still sit in on a class if the pet is sick. So my DH might go on Saturday and talk with the instructor. My sister said to discontinue the classes because he is not a problem dog. She said I shouldn't take the chance even if it is slim percentage that he will get catch something again.

 

[goofyforlife]

Did the vet recommend giving your dog the bordatella vaccine? (that is the shot that prevents kennel cough; typically recommended once per year if there's a chance you may board your animal.) However, if he will come in contact with other dogs (socially, like the dog park or training classes ) it is a good idea to get it too.

i would think the shelter should have vaccinated him when he arrived there if they weren't sure of his shot records..... I know at the different kennels i've used they are really picky because they don't want your dog to be sick.

However, One of my dogs did get kennel cough once a couple weeks after boarding and that was at a very clean facility we had used before.

Hope the medicine helps this time...

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Thanks for updating, I was worried. I'm glad to hear it was "just" kennel cough. Here is some information on it: http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/kenc.html The only thing that makes me a little concerned still about that diagnosis ( ) Is that most literature says dogs don't usually show signs of illness from it, ie sleeping most of the day, etc. All that means, though, is that if it doesn't clear up in a week or so (or even if his listlessness doesn't improve in a shorter time than that), to have the vet re-evaluate. Ongoing evaluation of symptoms and treatment is the standard of care in both human and veterinary medicine, so it's something we should all be doing anyway.

Did they give him the kennel cough vaccine? I generally get one for my dog every year because we do group training and there's always the chance we may have to board her if we go away. It can be transmitted anytime your dog is around other dogs. Personally, I feel the benefits of group training far outweigh the risks of something like kennel cough, especially if there's a vaccine to help prevent it. It wouldn't stop me from attending class, what a wonderful gift to give yourselves and your dog - the ability to develop a "language" between you, and the ability to socialize with and behave nicely around other dogs for your dog.

Let us know how he's doing.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

i would think the shelter should have vaccinated him when he arrived there if they weren't sure of his shot records.....

Good point, and yet one more reason to keep an open mind about the diagnosis of kennel cough (though a dog can still contract it even after the vaccine apparently).

Did you adopt Daniel from a shelter? If so, I'd probably check to see if he received the vaccine there, which would have been just a few months ago most likely. They never did a chest XRay at the vet's? How is Daniel acting today?