PugandTwoFrenchies
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- Feb 15, 2015
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Hi everyone,
Not sure who may remember me here, but I used to be a little more active on this site back in 2015. (I had a pug and 2 Frenchies, hence the username)
A lot has happened since then which has kind of pulled me away from this site, but now I'm back and asking for some help, as I'm at a bit of a loss.
Firstly, we lost our sweet pug Emma this past Dec. quite suddenly. She lost interest in food, her stomach became distended, she had trouble breathing, and after an ultrasound they found 5 lumps on her liver.
We had to put her down 2 weeks later. That's how fast it happened. We were absolutely devastated and so taken aback, as she has *never* been sick. We've never had to take her to the vet for anything, really, so to lose her so quickly was just such a shock. She was only 10 years old. (My other pug who had more issues than her lived until 15!)
10 days prior to that my dad passed away from dementia/Parkinson's, so between his death (and all of the dealings with that), then my pug dying 9 days later, 2 days after that my male Frenchie was off to the emergency hospital because he had diarrhea with blood in it, so naturally, I was scared to death. His issue cleared up with some antibiotics, but holy cow, I did NOT need a scare like that so soon after losing Emma!
Then, I had my own health problems for the next few months (undoubtedly from all of the stress in Dec.), so while I'm sort of back on track, I'm not quite 100% yet. Maybe 85%?
Anyway, enough about that.
The reason I'm posting a question in the health section is just this past weekend I have been to my regular vet and then emerg 2 times to have my female Frenchie checked out.
I've noticed for the past 2 weeks she hasn't been quite herself, and she loses interest in food and snacks here and there. She's not as playful as she once was (her brother is a *maniac* at all times!), and the fact that she turned away one of her favorite snacks, yogurt, gave me a bit of a scare. So, off to our regular vet we go.
They did x-rays, found nothing, did bloodwork, and noticed that a liver enzyme was slightly elevated, so they suspected mild pancreatitis. She was put on painkillers (because if she did have it, that would cause her tummy to be sore which would make her lose interest in food), and we had an ultrasound booked for the following Friday to confirm whether it was pancreatitis or not.
In the meantime, she was put on a low fat diet (just in case so that it wouldn't aggravate her pancreas), had her meds, and everything was sort of ok for a couple of days. Then this past Mon night we tried giving her the pain meds and she began vomiting immediately (it was in a liquid form which she *hated* the taste of), and afterwards she was shaking quite badly.
I got scared, so I took her to emerg to get some type of pain medication perhaps injected into her, because I'm thinking she has pancreatitis and if she's in pain, there's no way she's going to eat her breakfast the next day.
Well, they gave her some type of pain med, but holy cow, did it knock...her...out. I was so angry. It was NOT an equivalent drug to what she had been on, so I was scared that night also, as she was so wobbly she could barely stand.
The next morning she was still off, she didn't want to eat, so I gave her until around noon to see if she'd eat. She still didn't want to eat (not the low fat food, anyway), so I called my regular vet, and they told me to take her to the 'fancy' ER in the south of the city.
So fine, I rush her off, I meet with the vet, explain the history, and she gets an ultrasound done that afternoon. Guess what? No pancreatitis. I'm happy, but at the same time, what is it then???
He did other bloodwork to see if she perhaps had Addison's disease (on the ultrasound they noticed her adrenal glands were a little small, but he said that there's no real standard size for them, so the only way to tell if she's not producing enough cortisol is through a blood test), and turns out that was negative too.
Again, a relief, but what is causing this change in her behavior then? I was told to just watch her for any vomiting, diarrhea, worsening lethargy, etc. It's more the lethargy that's bothering me. It's not *drastic*, but it's noticeable. I'm wracking my brain trying to figure out what this could be, and I"m wondering if any of you had noticed a change in your dog's behavior when they got a bit older? Penelope is 1 yr 10 months now, and I was told by several people to "wait until your dog is 2...then they will calm down". (Both of my dogs had been quite active up until this point) Her brother still is, but she isn't. She has always been a calmer dog, but I wanted to ask those of you who have more than one Frenchie, have you noticed any personality changes as they hit this age? I've heard of owners who have Frenchies that love to sleep a lot and play here and there, so I'm wondering if this is becoming Penelope's new normal?
I mean, she does still play, but just not like she used to. Am I or the vets missing something here that any of you experienced owners could shed light on?
Whew... I feel like I"ve been typing forever. Sorry for the novel!
Thanks in advance,
Sandra
Not sure who may remember me here, but I used to be a little more active on this site back in 2015. (I had a pug and 2 Frenchies, hence the username)
A lot has happened since then which has kind of pulled me away from this site, but now I'm back and asking for some help, as I'm at a bit of a loss.
Firstly, we lost our sweet pug Emma this past Dec. quite suddenly. She lost interest in food, her stomach became distended, she had trouble breathing, and after an ultrasound they found 5 lumps on her liver.
We had to put her down 2 weeks later. That's how fast it happened. We were absolutely devastated and so taken aback, as she has *never* been sick. We've never had to take her to the vet for anything, really, so to lose her so quickly was just such a shock. She was only 10 years old. (My other pug who had more issues than her lived until 15!)10 days prior to that my dad passed away from dementia/Parkinson's, so between his death (and all of the dealings with that), then my pug dying 9 days later, 2 days after that my male Frenchie was off to the emergency hospital because he had diarrhea with blood in it, so naturally, I was scared to death. His issue cleared up with some antibiotics, but holy cow, I did NOT need a scare like that so soon after losing Emma!
Then, I had my own health problems for the next few months (undoubtedly from all of the stress in Dec.), so while I'm sort of back on track, I'm not quite 100% yet. Maybe 85%?
Anyway, enough about that.
The reason I'm posting a question in the health section is just this past weekend I have been to my regular vet and then emerg 2 times to have my female Frenchie checked out.
I've noticed for the past 2 weeks she hasn't been quite herself, and she loses interest in food and snacks here and there. She's not as playful as she once was (her brother is a *maniac* at all times!), and the fact that she turned away one of her favorite snacks, yogurt, gave me a bit of a scare. So, off to our regular vet we go.
They did x-rays, found nothing, did bloodwork, and noticed that a liver enzyme was slightly elevated, so they suspected mild pancreatitis. She was put on painkillers (because if she did have it, that would cause her tummy to be sore which would make her lose interest in food), and we had an ultrasound booked for the following Friday to confirm whether it was pancreatitis or not.
In the meantime, she was put on a low fat diet (just in case so that it wouldn't aggravate her pancreas), had her meds, and everything was sort of ok for a couple of days. Then this past Mon night we tried giving her the pain meds and she began vomiting immediately (it was in a liquid form which she *hated* the taste of), and afterwards she was shaking quite badly.
I got scared, so I took her to emerg to get some type of pain medication perhaps injected into her, because I'm thinking she has pancreatitis and if she's in pain, there's no way she's going to eat her breakfast the next day.
Well, they gave her some type of pain med, but holy cow, did it knock...her...out. I was so angry. It was NOT an equivalent drug to what she had been on, so I was scared that night also, as she was so wobbly she could barely stand.
The next morning she was still off, she didn't want to eat, so I gave her until around noon to see if she'd eat. She still didn't want to eat (not the low fat food, anyway), so I called my regular vet, and they told me to take her to the 'fancy' ER in the south of the city.
So fine, I rush her off, I meet with the vet, explain the history, and she gets an ultrasound done that afternoon. Guess what? No pancreatitis. I'm happy, but at the same time, what is it then???
He did other bloodwork to see if she perhaps had Addison's disease (on the ultrasound they noticed her adrenal glands were a little small, but he said that there's no real standard size for them, so the only way to tell if she's not producing enough cortisol is through a blood test), and turns out that was negative too.
Again, a relief, but what is causing this change in her behavior then? I was told to just watch her for any vomiting, diarrhea, worsening lethargy, etc. It's more the lethargy that's bothering me. It's not *drastic*, but it's noticeable. I'm wracking my brain trying to figure out what this could be, and I"m wondering if any of you had noticed a change in your dog's behavior when they got a bit older? Penelope is 1 yr 10 months now, and I was told by several people to "wait until your dog is 2...then they will calm down". (Both of my dogs had been quite active up until this point) Her brother still is, but she isn't. She has always been a calmer dog, but I wanted to ask those of you who have more than one Frenchie, have you noticed any personality changes as they hit this age? I've heard of owners who have Frenchies that love to sleep a lot and play here and there, so I'm wondering if this is becoming Penelope's new normal?
I mean, she does still play, but just not like she used to. Am I or the vets missing something here that any of you experienced owners could shed light on?
Whew... I feel like I"ve been typing forever. Sorry for the novel!
Thanks in advance,
Sandra
