What the vet said...

Ugggh....I hear ya.  
I had four vet bills like that before I ended up just buying a chicken farm.....(just kidding)

Oh no I have just read your posts about your poor Dog -  and now your poor purse too :(
Hope they find out what is wrong -  seems a long time to have been being sick and whatever it has been is getting worse :(
x

I've spent thousands on my dog.  It's never easy.  Hope everything turns out ok and you find out what's wrong.

Peek-

I would also have them check your dogs liver enzymes. Make sure his liver enzymes aren't to high, and to have them check his white blood cell count. My father in Laws dog was doing the same thing and ended up having an undiagnosed case of severe liver cancer, and his dog eventually died before they vet could diagnose it.

I have worked in the Veterinary field for quite a while, and some vets fail to check the liver. The liver is the most sensitive organ a dog has, so it should be the first thing that is checked when there are symptoms your dog has, especially vommiting bile.

I hope your dog comes home a healthy happy pouch.

Oh BTW, if you feed him a bland diet of Chicken and Rice cooked from home, he should also be checked for salmonella, botulism and so forth, not that you don't cook his food thoroughly, but sometimes stores do sell bad meat.

Also don't use Non stick pans when you cook for your dog. The teflon on the bottom can eventually lead to poisoning.

Im sorry peek. =( One of our dogs has epilepsy so whenever she has a seizure its like $400. =( Its expensive, but shes worth it. I hope your dog gets better.

Liver enzymes are included in the panel he always has done.  
He gets sick on his normal food, so I don't think its the chicken doing it.  He gets better on the chicken and rice.
I don't cook his food on teflon.

Andi brought up an interesting idea.  Maybe the neighbors are poisoning him with something.  They've never said anything bad about him....but you never know.  Something to think about.

Well if it's the neighbors that's just sick.  Is he outside without supervision?  Wouldn't that show up in the blood tests though?

We usually do supervise him, but sometimes just open the back door and let him out to do his business for a few minutes.  The other 2 dogs don't go in the back yard b/c they can jump the fence, so we put them in the side yard.
The area that adjoins the neighbors property can't really be seen well.  It would be simple to throw something over the fence into our yard.
I did hear them yell at him once when he was barking at them, but on the whole, he's not out there for anything other than bathroom trips, and usually one of us is out there.

Its just an idle thought...but a thought nonetheless.  

Peek--

My Shadow used to be allergic to the fertilizer on the lawn.  It took us about 3 months to figure it out too!  Poor thing.  She would go out and when she came in she'd lick her paws...then within hours she was puking, dry heaves...stumbling...everything.  It was so tough to watch.  Her eyes even ticked back and forth like she was tracking trees flying by in the car.  :(  

I'm not saying it's coming from your yard, but if a neighbor of yours fertilizes frequently or has a lawn service that uses chemicals it could be that.  Is it the small dog???  My pup was on 25lbs and it had that much of an effect on her so I'm sure if your pup is small it could be that.  It's something to look into.  If it is there is a very simple solution that takes maintenance about once every week or two (depending on how often it rains and how often your neighbor fertilizes).  Go to the store...buy the cheapest dish soap (dawn, ajax, joy...) and the cheapest 6 pack of beer.  The first night: Shake the heck outta the cans of beer...I mean like you're going to prank someone good...then crack open and spray as much of the yard as possible with the 6 pack.  Then the next night take one of those hose attachments for liquid fertilizer and add the soap and water in it instead---attach to hose...spray.  That should last a week or two depending.  Just adjust as necessary.  It's cheaper than a vet bill and won't harm the pup.  That and make sure to wash his paws when he comes in the house after going to the bathroom (baby wipes work well for this).  

Otherwise did they look into IBS?  I had a kitty with this!  Strange enough if I fed him one too many kibbles he would puke it all up and then continue puking.  We had him on ultra-sensative Science Diet.  But I know there's something in the Seed and Feed stores (for farm animals and house animals).  They have some super-duper sensative food and I know that works well.  My best friend's rottie uses it and he's doing so much better.  

Keep us posted on the Pup!  They are such a part of the family that you'll spend just as much on them as you do for your own medical care.  :)  It's nice to know there are other devoted pet owners out there!  

One more thing...does anyone have a pest control service???  That can also cause these persistant problems.  Just as they seem to be clearing up...along comes Mr. Helpful Bug Man and gets the dog sick all over again.  VERY UNintentionally.  

Just a thought.  

Hi.  I'm glad to hear they done a super chem.  Can you see the frank bld in his stool.  I will keep Jake in my prayers.  I found with my Lady she likes the acini di pepe pasta noodles.  I've been sticking (no fat) and bland. For breakfast egg whites, pasta, and rice cooked together.   Lunch then adding cooked boneless/skinless chicken breast in with breakfast food and then dinner is the same as breakfast.   She loves it.  I only cook up enough for each day.  One breast sometimes will last two days with her though.  The main thing is no fat.  Even though I know you already know that.  

It's amazing how much we do for our animals.  This week or next I'll be getting my new sofa that I waited years for though let my dog get sick and I'll spend enough to buy 2 or 3 sofas.  LOL  Keep us posted on his results when they come in.  

P.S.  Hopefully that isn't the case with the neighbors.  If I ever caught anyone poisoning mine or someone else's baby you would see me in the papers for murder!

Best of wishes to Jake.  ((((HUGS & TAIL WAGS ~~~FROM MY DOGS TO YOURS))))
Take care;  Amy

He's about 68 pounds.  To my knowledge, the gardeners aren't using chemicals on the lawn, but I'll ask them to be sure--that's a good idea.  No pest service.

Saturday I saw the black stools, which would indicate blood from the upper GI tract.  Today, he had frank blood in his rectum when they took his temp.

Amy, I asked about simply giving him chicken and rice, and the vet said while it could be used temporarily, it didn't have enough of the elements that dogs need to survive long term.  

I am sorry about your dog!  I know how much you love him....as well as all animals...I love them all too.  I hope that it all works out well.  I know how hard it is when we worry about them.

Peek hi.  What I've done before in the past is mix in the RX food with the cooked food.  Sometimes it helps with animals with weak stomachs.  I'll probably get grief for saying it but I don't think any home cooked meals by themselves is good enough for a long term balanced diet.  As for short term it's fine.

With Hope (my fur baby with MG and mega esophagus her food all had to be liquefied due to her mega esophagus and the fact that she could not swallow.)  Boy could she lick it down though. LOL   With her I worked with them at OSU to decide on a proper nutritionally balanced diet for her to keep her weight on her.  As you know; they have a great crew there.

Until you find out though I wouldn't even worry about long term yet.  Maybe just mixing it with CD will do the trick in the future.  Or maybe they will find out what is going on and fix it all together.  In which would be great!  

Your a good mom though and hopefully they will be able to give you your answers when the pending labs come back or need be a scope.   No matter what I just hope and pray he is Ok.  I know it's tough wondering until then.  

Take care;  Amy