Tucker sick--mulitple symptoms

My 3 year-old Tucker was at the boarding kennel while I was out of town for 6 days. The kennel owners took him to my veterinarian on the sixth day (Saturday) as he had vomited several times and couldn't keep his meds down (he has SM and is on 600 mg of gabapentin daily). The vet gave him subcutaneous fluids and something for the nausea and sent him home with my sister. I picked him up at 10:30 that night when I got home and was startled by how lethargic he was--he didn't even come to greet me, just sat up in his bed and gave a weak tail wag. It is now Monday and he hasn't eaten since Friday night and I don't think he's had anything to drink either (the level in the water bowl went down overnight, but I have two dogs so don't know if he got any). He vomited once during the day Sunday (yellow bile) and once again during the night. He has had only one bowel movement and that was very loose. He hasn't kept any gabapentin down since Saturday morning. I took him back to the vet this afternoon and they did a fecal analysis, ran a CBC, and gave him more fluids and nausea medication. They're keeping him overnight for observation. The CBC showed a platelet count of 59,000, but everything else was normal or near normal. I'm aware of the platelet issue with Cavaliers and understand that a count of 59,000 is not unusual.

There were at least a couple of other dogs at the kennel that were also sick, so it may be a virus, but they seem to have recovered within a day. Aside from the refusal to eat or drink, it's the extreme lethargy that scares me. Visitors came on Sunday and rang the doorbell and he didn't even raise his head. Today he wouldn't walk and I had to carry him to the car and then into the vet's office. Once in the vet's office, he laid on the floor and didn't show any interest in his surroundings, not even in the other dogs.

Does anyone have any ideas about what might be wrong? This is the longest time I've been away from him, but stress alone wouldn't cause these symptoms would it?

P.S. He doesn't have a fever and my other dog was at the same boarding facility, actually sleeping in the same kennel, but didn't get sick.

I rushed my girl to the vet once when she was vomiting profusely and the vet couldnt find anything either but simple gastroentitis .. Did x rays and everything... As for lethargy:Think about it when we have a bad stomach flu or nasty food poisening we have no energy either for some days.. That could explain it.. maybe he ate something bad or rotten after all? I never figured out the reason for my girl vomiting either... Try to find a way to make sure he holds down water. Can u seperate them so u can check water bowl?

Did they take any x-rays? Could there be an intestinal blockage? That would be one of the first things I'd check out.

Good point... Thats the first thing i remember they did at the emergency vet. Also an ultrasound.

Your were right t get him to a vet urgently -- an owner may be dealing with a serious emergency given such signs and better safe that sorry. I'd be thinking a possible blockage, gastroenteritis that has worsened to a serious level (it can be a very serious condition and thus important to nip early), pancreatitis or something he ingested that was poisonous in some way. It sounds like something triggered by whatever virus may have been going around if other dogs were ill? Hopefully it is something that will simply work its way out and isn't a chronic condition for him. Have they checked for distemper or parvovirus? Some strains can be resistent to the vaccine especially in younger dogs. Or perhaps his SM leaves him more exposed to something and he is in a lot of pain from lack of his SM meds -- hopefully the vets can give him an alternative painkiller perhaps as an injection.

So sorry to hear about Tucker. It's so stressful when we can't figure out what is causing the discomfort, and sickness.

Let us know if you find anything in the next day or so. Poor baby.

Hugs,

Cindy and Claire

Tucker's better

Thank you all for your comments/suggestions. Tucker is much improved. I brought him home this evening and he ate, drank, and then stood on the window seat and barked at cars! I'm amazed and so relieved at the turnaround. He does, however, still have bad diarhhea--had to give him a butt bath after he went outside. :yuk:

The vet gave him a dose of prednisolone last night and another this morning along with metronidazole for the diarhhea. He previously had prednisone after his SM surgery and it really stimulated both his appetite and his thirst and it seems to have done the same this time. I'm guessing maybe his aversion to food and water outlasted the virus and he just got progressively weaker. Once he got some food and water in him, he started to perk up. The vet said she brought him some cheese from home this morning and he wouldn't eat it, but by mid-afternoon he took a little and also had some Royal Canin Gastrointestinal canned food.

He'll continue on the prednisolone and metronidazole for another week to 10 days, and be limited to the prescription food for a few days so hopefully he'll be fully recovered soon. He is exhibiting SM behaviors after being off the gabapentin for almost 4 days, but we'll start that again tomorrow.

So relieved Tucker is feeling so much better and eating and drinking. Hope he continues to improve and he is completely back to his old self in no time.

Oh, that is a relief! He's barking and acting somewhat normal. So, glad to hear this. Do keep us up on how things continue to go, okay?

Cindy and Claire