Why did my dog lose 30 pounds in 10 days?

Question

I have a female Rottweiler who is almost 2 years old. I went on vacation last week after leaving my dog with a friend. I was gone for 10 days.

My friend told me my dog was sick. Throwing up, bloody stool, not wanting to go outside, not eating, etc. I told him to take her to the vet immediately. He didn't.

So, I come home from vacation and my dog is about 30 pounds lighter!! She looked like a skeleton. I took her to the Pet ER without delay.

The vet told me it was either Parvo or Intestinal parasites, and said further tests would be needed but performed neither of these tests (I didn't have enough cash on me, but promised I would run home while they tested my dog. They didn't believe me.)

They just shoved my sick dog back to me. She is puking, has bloody stools, won't eat, won't drink, and is losing more and more weight everyday.

They couldn't care less. They just wanted my $82 emergency fee. Why be a vet if you don't even care about animals?

What could be wrong with her? Worms?

Answer 1

I hate to say it, but it sounds VERY much like parvo! I have seen dogs live through it, but not very often. Try forcing her to take some buttermilk. It was one of the few things that helped when parvo was going around really bad and we had a whole litter come down with it.

Answer 2

Rottweilers are prone to parvo.
While few years back we only saw parvo in young puppies, there has been a new strain of it going on in the U.S.A., which affect older dogs also.
All the symptoms you described, point at parvo as the diagnose, however, she should be dead by now if she does indeed have it.
Worms are out of the questions: hooks and whips can be deadly, but don't have the symptoms you mentioned.
Neither is rat poisoning, ( which consist of human blood thinner)its symptoms are lethargy, internal bleeding, kidney failure, death usually around 72 hours after ingestion.
One of my rescued dogs at one time had the same symptoms as in yours, she had an intestinal blockage caused by ingesting a piece of cardboard along with a small bone, got into the garbage can :o(
It's very late into the night already, at least here, central time, keep her as comfortable as possible until first thing in the morning, when you'll be able to take her to your regular vet. Hold food and water until then, just in case they'll take x-rays, and/or have emergency surgery to remove any blockage.
Some friends you have......
Good luck! I hope all goes well!!

Answer 3

Take her to another vet immediately. The fact that she isn't eating or drinking is a red flag that there is something seriously wrong, and the longer you wait, the less chance she'll have of recovery. If money is a problem, see if you can get a friend or family member to loan you some money. Maybe you can set up a payment plan with the veterinarian. As a last resort, if you can't afford treatment for your dog, you might have to consider euthanization. It's a hard thing to do, but it may be in the dogs best interest.

Answer 4

How well do you trust the friend who cared for your dog? Is it possible that the dog got into something poisonous during the time you were gone? Antifreeze, rat poison, etc? The friend should have taken the dog to the vet when you told them to. Frankly if it had been one of my dogs that was very sick, I would have cut my vacation short and come straight jome to take care of the dog. I don't think your dog is sick from worms. It is something more serious than that. Borrow the money from someone and take the dog to another vet. I wouldn't take it back to the one you took it to before. You could wait until tomorrow but if your dog has been this sick for awhile, it may not have much time left. I hope the dog will be okay.

Answer 5

I have to agree with most, this sounds like Parvo. If you take your dog to the regular vet, it won't be as expensive--example, my ER vet charges $72 per visit whereas my regular vet charges $45. You might be able to afford your regular vet, and you can go to a payday loan place or title loan place if need be to get the money quick. Call your vet ahead of time and see if you can schedule a payment plan after getting a cost estimate--it'll save you time and most vets will counsel you over the phone. You can also try the Humane Society, but I've never done that personally, so i'm not sure of that option. Either way you chose, you have to get her to the vet if you want her to live. She needs medication and probably needs a saline IV for the dehydration.

Answer 6

It's very likely that she has Parvo. There is a snap-test that the veterinarian can do to confirm this diagnosis. You need to get her to a veterinarian- even if it's your regular vet- ASAP as you could end-up loosing her. She needs to be on IV fluids etc and if she recovers, you are looking at an expensive and long treatment. DO NOT WAIT! FIND THE MONEY ASAP. The supportive care she needs will not be cheap and cannot at this point guarentee her recovery.

Unfortunately it's not that the emergency clinic does not care, it's that veterinarian clinics get taken advantage of on a regular basis without those checks. They were afraid you would leave her there and never come back; thus they would be treating a sick animal and then have to place her. People constantly try to get free treatment, leave sick or health animals on their doorsteps etc. So please understand that it's not lack of caring, even though it feels like that right now. You have to understand too that turning people away like that is very hard on them even if they do not show it.

Best of luck with your girl. I hope she gets better.

Answer 7

I don't think that worms would cause that drastic a problem that quickly. It could be parvo, but it sounds kinda fishy because parvo has an incubation period like all viral diseases. Because it occurred so swiftly I think it is probably either a case of swallowing a sharp foreign object or rat poison, which is an anticoagulant and causes bleeding.

Call your humane society immediately. If you don't have the money to treat this at the time, explain it to them. They will work with you to find a way to get this dog the treatment it needs.

Answer 8

could be an intestinal blockage- enough to get some liquid in, but not food. My dog ate a rubber ring with a hole through it- he was very sick for a couple days- and the emergency vet also could not find a reason- after my regular vet did a CAT scan, she could see the object and was able to operate and remove the thing- my dog was very very sick.
This sounds very serious.
The vet should be reported!

Answer 9

I am not a Vet but I am a nurse, if your dog, or any animal, has been vomiting and diarrhea for 10+days without intervenous fulids, it is severly dehydrated and probably in a very critical condition. A human would not survive this without medical intervention. If the animal is having bloody stools, I would be concerned it could have internal bleeding. If it has lost 30 lbs that quickly, that is probably at least 30% if not more, of it's body weight. This dog obviously is in VERY serious condition, please, please take it to your closest Human Society ASAP. If you cannot pay, they are obligated not to let the animal suffer a slow death. They will help you. Good luck!

Answer 10

First off I'm very sorry. And I would be very angry at my friend for not listening to me.
It does sound like worms to me... I just don't know what kind of worms to be sure.
A vet ER that gave the dog back to you with out a diagnosis is a bad vet and you owe it to your dog and any other dog owner to report them.

GO TO ANOTHER ER RIGHT AWAY!

Thankfully parvo in a adult dog is very rare and he would have died by now so be glad to hear that.

I'm all most sure it's worms.

Go to google and type in a search like Dog worms symptoms.
Try to narrow down the type of worm.
Check his stool and see if you find any worms. (You probably won't)
It could also be that he might have got into something at your friends house... bleach.... windex.... something. Ask your friend if he got into anything!

My prayers are with you and I hope everything goes well for your dog.