Scarlett's sick..

I don't know whats wrong with her! This morning she didn't touch her food even though it's the meaty stuff from the tray that she loves. This is the first time she hasn't eaten it. Then she kept scratching to go outside, over and over again. When she was outside she'd eat grass and get sick then scratch to go in then out again. In the last couple of hours she's just been lying in her bed and she looks quite unwell. I even gave her a treat and she just looked at it. The vets isn't open till three so i'll be bringing her down as soon as its open but should I be worried? She likes to chew things that she finds around (buttons etc0 and we try to make sure we leave nothing on the ground but last night she found some tin foil outside and was trying to eat that. I took it off her and threw the rest out but I don't know if she swallowed any could that have anything to do with it? I also wormed her last week but I don't know if that would have anything to do with it either. right now she has her eyes half closed and she's licking her paws

I'd get down to the vets a few minutes early so as to be the first in queue.Once she's had a thorough examination I'm sure she'll be given something to ease her symptoms and make her more comfortable.
It's really worrying when the symptoms are so vague,vets are usually very quick to pick up on common infections/illnesses though ,and hopefully she'll be back on form by the morning.
Sins

turns out she has gastroenteritis (spelling?!) probably from eating something she shouldn't have. She had to get two shots and she cried like a baby
I have to starve her for 24 hours and she's on antibiotics for a week!

Yeah, that's exactly how Daisy was managed when she had gastroenteritis.She picked up really well though in 24 hours. How did Scarlett react when she got the injections? Daisy went ballistic after getting the second. We were warned that it would "smart". I think it was some kind of anti inflammatory?
Ah well, I guess put down lots of newspapers on the floor this evening and get some disposable gloves. If it's a bacterial infection like campylobacter it's transmissible to humans.
Get well soon Scarlett.
Sins

yeah she had to get an antibiotic injection and then an anti inflammatory. She went crazy! I've never heard her cry so much! She seems in slightly better form but i've had to follow her outside when she needs to go in case she finds something out there that she could eat. She's a little agitated-chewing at herself and things like that but fingers crossed she'll be better in the morning!

That's good it is just gastroenteritis; you must have been very worried. In a case like this I would not wait for my own vets though, I would immediately look for any vet that was open. If she had eaten a poison for example immediate care might be the only chance to sve her. A listless, ill dog should always get to a vet immediately as the se are possible signs of poisoning, gastric blockage or other urgent, potentially fatal conditions -- and I'd ring first to see if they advise taking any immediate action (for example to promote vomiting).

In future I'd also ask your vet to give injections in the leg, never the neck. This is advisable for all cavaliers. If she was overly sensitive in the neck area just be sure to be aware of syringomyelia. My own vets, as well as the neurologists I have talked to including Dr Clare Rusbridge, the leading researcher on SM, see sensitivity to injections in the neck as one of the potential indications for possibly investigating SM further, if the dog begins to show other possible symptoms. It may just be extreme sensitivity but this area is normally not very sensitive at all (that's why vets inject dogs in the neck, into loose skin) -- so it is wise to just be aware.

As always, cavalier owners should be familiar with the basics of SM as well as MVD just to be sure they are watchful as these are two leading health issues in the breed. Chances are a dog will not be bothered by SM but symptomatic cases have steadily increased and because the problem can seem to be other chronic problems, a dog may suffer a long long time while vets treat for other conditions.

Thanks very much Karlin! She seems a little better now apart from being annoyed that she has to wear her lead when she goes in the back garden. The vet gave me a syringe to give her water but she hates it and gets agitated when I try to give it to her so i'm a bit worried about her being dehydrated. She seems hungry again though but Im not allowed feed her till tomorrow.

I hope she is herself again soon. I know how scary that can be, though. I had it happen to Bandit and Lizzie at the same time a couple months ago, and they were so ill I was worried they'd been poisoned by something. In fact, it might have been walnuts they ate from the yard. The vet treated it the same way as Scarlett.

she seems a little better today, I gave her some dry food with a little chicken and she ate it straight away even though she doesn't really like the dry food. I think her antibiotics are making her a bit off though.

glad its not anything more worse, let her eat a little at a time she is obviously still feeling unwell. di