# Need advice, Cyko had an obstruction too...



## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

What's got into all these dogs! Now Cyko's decided to join the obstruction club.  

I just typed up a long detailed account of the events as they unfolded, and lost it while trying to post. To sum up, he's OK, I think.[-o< I am not ready to relax just yet, but I'll be able to get some sleep tonight. 

Yesterday he got a piece of bone, a rounded knob piece of sheep vertebra, lodged in the small intestine right behind the stomach. I palpated him while trying to figure out what to tell the emergency vet, and felt the little round 1" hard thing... and by doing so apparently dislodged it. Cyko said "ouch" and afterwards I felt again and it had moved, and he was immediately feeling so much better, so we didn't have to rush in for an emergency surgery. So I spent the night with him on the couch (not that he was complaining ) watching him in case he looked to be in trouble again and needed the vet trip afterall. But he did fine. Was rearin to go and walked to work with me at 8:00am this morning (so I could watch him all day, plus there's a vet right across the street and the e-vet a few blocks away) and a couple hours later did a frantic potty dance in the kennel and when I walked him, finally passed the nasty thing, covered in mucus and a few flecks of blood.

I think he's ok. He was really hungry today, a good sign. I was scared to feed him much of anything, so I gave him a little piece of bread which I figured was pretty bland and unirritating. Normally he thinks bread is beyond disgusting, but he gave in and took it this time. At home tonight got 1 cup of very watery rice and boiled ground turkey, and is holding it down fine. When I am sure everything is digesting and going on through without problems, I'm going to increase quantity and transition back to his usual menu.

Soooo... Thoughts? Suggestions? Advice? What are some early warning signs of a perforated or necrotic bowel? His temp is normal, he seems relaxed and happy with no signs of any discomfort - which he does hide, but I know him well enough to tell. I could tell the discomfort when he had that bone lodged in there...

Right now I am so exausted I can barely keep my eyes open, so I'm off. Breaking the usual rules and making him sleep on the bed with me tonight. For my peace of mind.

I'll check in again tomorrow...


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## Michele McAtee (Apr 10, 2006)

Anna Kasho said:


> Soooo... Thoughts? Suggestions? Advice? What are some early warning signs of a perforated or necrotic bowel?



What did your vet say?


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Glad he's feeling a bit better, that's scary! From the vet Merck Manual:



> Clinical signs of small-intestinal obstruction may include *lethargy, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, abdominal distention, fever or subnormal body temperature, dehydration, and shock. Gaseous bowel distention develops within the initial 12-35 hr after obstruction* and is followed by the loss of fluid into the intestinal lumen. *Without treatment, death due to hypovolemia ensues within 3-4 days*.  Upper or duodenal obstruction tends to present as frequent vomiting. *In general, the closer the obstruction to the pylorus [the pylorus is the part that joins the stomach to the duodenum, or the first sections of small intestine], the more severe the vomiting.* Obstruction of the lower small intestine (eg, distal jejunum and ileum) is infrequently associated with vomiting. Lethargy, anorexia, weight loss, and ultimate starvation in untreated dogs lead to death within 3 wk or longer.
> 
> Intussusception may result in luminal obstruction, mucosal congestion, or infarction, depending on the length of the intussusception and the size of the intestinal loops involved. Clinical signs vary and may include vomiting, abdominal pain, and scant bloody diarrhea. In more chronic cases of intussusception, diarrhea with or without blood is seen. Intussusception is more common in young dogs (< 6-8 mo old).  In intestinal incarceration, a history of abdominal pain that rapidly progresses to hypovolemia and shock is typical. Incarceration of the affected intestine leads to bacterial proliferation within the stagnant bowel loop and to devitalization of tissue predisposing to hypovolemia and septic shock. It most commonly is seen secondary to hernia formation associated with abdominal trauma.


From: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/23308.htm


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## Steve Strom (May 25, 2008)

Anna, are you thinking about not taking him to the vet? I'd take him in for an xray, maybe an ultrasound. See what the vet says.


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

Michelle and Steve - I have an appointment to see my vet in 4 days, couldn't get any sooner because he's away on family business. I forgot to mention. Well, three days now, I guess. Although at this point it looks like I will be bringing him a perfectly fine dog, which is a relief.

But yes, I would rather avoid the emergency vet, first because they don't say anything other than "bring him in" (I suppose that's understandable) and second because droping $1500 on the visit just to have them tell me there's nothing wrong would hurt right now. Surgery would probably run a lot more than that...But -Don't get me wrong, I would do whatever it takes, IF he shows me any signs he is in trouble...

So far, he seems normal. He pooped this morning, so stuff from the stomach is going all the way through. Normal soft poop, no blood. He is comfortable, doesn't have that little catch in breathing that would tell me something hurts. Temp (resting at home) has been 100-101.2 and he is acting the usual "bright eyed and bushy tailed" ready to go. Relief. I'll have him with me at work again today.

So far so good.


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

Something interesting for Maren... Instead of lethargy, Cyko was extra-turned-on that evening. Wanted to run, jump, bite everything, offered OB stuff that we've been training, and was looking to pick a fight with anyone and anything. The other symptoms didn't progress as far as diarrhea or abdominal distention, certainly not dehydration or shock. He peed several times, and pooped twice, both normal, but a couple times I could see a fleeting look on him that "something in there is not quite right". So when he vomited a short while later in the house, I put two and two together and got ready to rush him to the e-vet.

And, gotta love dogs... He'd borrowed my blanket to throw up on, and very considerately covered the mess by folding the blanket over...:roll:


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Sounds like it was almost like colic in a horse, where the horse can feel something's not right in their gut. They can get real agitated and start pawing and rolling around in their stall or whatever trying to get rid of what's bothering them.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Anna Kasho said:


> ... I just typed up a long detailed account of the events as they unfolded, and lost it while trying to post. ...


A quick OT hint: If you are ever timed out of a long response, back-page from the timed-out message to your message box and copy the post, then paste it into the new box when you log back in.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

I would have a stool sample with me when I went for that vet visit.


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

Connie Sutherland said:


> I would have a stool sample with me when I went for that vet visit.


Thanks, will do. And that brings up the other thing I forgot to ask here. Is there anything specific I should ask him to do or to test for? What would be the standard exam for this sort of situation? I am sure my vet will tell me, but I would like to know what to expect. Bloodwork? Xrays? What else?


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## Carmen van de Kamp (Apr 2, 2006)

Anna,
glad to read that he is fine for now. as for symptoms or anything, I was so lucky never to have this trouble, the closest I came was eating half a tennisball and keeping that in his stomach (Ace) loosing more than 4 kilos in a week and at the point that I wanted to take him to the vet (he was loosing his "power") he threw up the tennisball, just took him to the vet for a check-up and an x-ray to be sure that this was all there was....
but the costs of the emergency vet you mention is absolutely crazy and if he is behaving normal I also wouldnt visit that vet.

Good luck with the little guy

Carmen


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Anna Kasho said:


> ... Is there anything specific I should ask him to do or to test for? What would be the standard exam for this sort of situation? I am sure my vet will tell me, but I would like to know what to expect. Bloodwork? Xrays? What else?


I am not a health care professional, so others will have much more authoritative suggestions.

I will say that blood in the stool, evidence of pain, change in bowel habits, lethargy, etc., would prompt me to request not just abdominal palpation and radiography but also ultrasonography if necessary (if palpation and x-rays didn't tell enough).


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Carmen van de Kamp said:


> ... I was so lucky never to have this trouble, the closest I came was eating half a tennisball and keeping that in his stomach (Ace) loosing more than 4 kilos in a week and at the point that I wanted to take him to the vet (he was loosing his "power") he threw up the tennisball ....


Oh, thank goodness! 

Tennis balls are scary, both for this reason and windpipe obstruction, even in dogs who have been retrieving them for years.

I pass this URL along in any thread like this one, because it discusses another way to get a tennis ball out rather than the so-often-unsuccessful tries to get a slippery ball un-lodged from a panicked dog's throat:
http://www.sfgsrescue.org/articles/tennisballs.htm


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

Connie Sutherland said:


> I will say that blood in the stool, evidence of pain, change in bowel habits, lethargy, etc., would prompt me to request not just abdominal palpation and radiography but also ultrasonography if necessary (if palpation and x-rays didn't tell enough).


I think we're on the same page, I would take any one of these symptoms very seriously after all that's happened. However, he still seems to be fine, and the bone did come out, and he is eating and pooping. By now I would have seen SOMETHING if there was still a problem. Right? I am hopeful that it will turn out to be a quick easy visit for the vet to palpate and admire my healthy dog.\\/


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

Carmen van de Kamp said:


> Anna,
> glad to read that he is fine for now. as for symptoms or anything, I was so lucky never to have this trouble, the closest I came was eating half a tennisball and keeping that in his stomach (Ace) loosing more than 4 kilos in a week and at the point that I wanted to take him to the vet (he was loosing his "power") he threw up the tennisball, just took him to the vet for a check-up and an x-ray to be sure that this was all there was...


Wow, that is scary. I'm glad the big guy's OK. 

Cyko's lost a little bit of weight, but this is normal when he misses a couple meals. Everything else looks normal. I think that was a near miss, and I am so grateful to have him still acting just fine... Hoping he stays that way...


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## Carmen van de Kamp (Apr 2, 2006)

Anna Kasho said:


> Wow, that is scary. I'm glad the big guy's OK.
> 
> Cyko's lost a little bit of weight, but this is normal when he misses a couple meals. Everything else looks normal. I think that was a near miss, and I am so grateful to have him still acting just fine... Hoping he stays that way...


that was like 5 years ago and the problem was that he found the tennisball on the beach and I didn't watched what he did with it,
since then he isn't allowed to take anything that small with him on long walks, I just take his bigger and harder ball for him to walk with....


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

Update, back from the vet. Nothing wrong with my dog as far as he could tell...\\/ 

In light of what I'd been seeing at home, I opted not to do x-rays, especially when Cyko made it clear he wasn't going to hold still without being completely knocked out (maybe for me he would've, but not for the techs or vet). Did a fecal, checked for blood, none. He wasn't too thrilled to be palpated by some stranger, but I muzzled him with the leash and told him to cooperate or else... so that went OK.

Aaand back to eating stuff with bones in it again...8-[ Chicken tonight! :smile:


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## Gerry Grimwood (Apr 2, 2007)

Anna Kasho said:


> Update, back from the vet. Nothing wrong with my dog as far as he could tell...\\/


Last month my pup stopped eating and was having liquid bm's for 2 days, he travels with me during the day..I took out the rear seat and have a kennel there.

I took him into a specialist http://www.carecentre.ca/website/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=195

They did an exam and a parvo smear test, I waited for about 15 minutes after that and then watched my pup throw up several rocks and some unidentifiable material on the exam table, the parvo test came back negative, I paid 250 bucks and the pup left with his tail wagging.

They were great, very professional but I still felt stupid.


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