My Rottweiler is sick. Can't find an answer.

by Wesley Cooper
(New York)

I have a 6 month old Rottweiler. About 3 weeks ago we had to take her to the vet because she was crying in pain. It wound up to be a blockage in her intestinal track, which she eventually passed a day and a half later.

We took her home after that, and again, two days later we had to take her back again. This time, the x-rays showed she had a staple in her intestine (Acquired from chewing on the bottom of the couch). The vet said give it some time to pass, which we did. Two days later the new x-rays did not show the staple, which we were thrilled about.

However, her symptoms still remain. She is weak, doesn't want to play, sleeps all day and moans in pain every now and then. We took her to a second vet, and he also did x-rays. This time, it showed that her food wasn't being digested fast enough, and she had gas bubbles in her intestine. When pressure is applied to her underbelly, she yelps. The vets do not have answer, and this is driving me crazy. We switched her foods and we follow her around making sure she isn't eating anything she shouldn't. It's now been two weeks since the staple, and we just do not know what to do at this point.

This isn't my dog, and i don't know what to do to get her back. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Wes






Hi Wes
This must be very worrying for you and I'm sorry to hear about the distress your pup is in. I'm afraid I'm not a vet myself so I really can't add anything in terms of a professional evaluation or advice, but simply give my opinion which is this....


There is clearly something wrong and although X-rays are not showing any foreign bodies in her digestive tract, I would think that perhaps some damage has been done internally.

If this were my pup I would be insisting on a referral to a specialist who would be able to do some more diagnostic testing and get to the root of the problem.

For your pup to still be in pain and showing clear signs of feeling unwell, it's not acceptable for a vet to have no diagnosis or answer and leave it at that. No way. If your pup has some sort of internal injury, leaving it be could have tragic consequences.

As I said, I'm not a vet and I can't say that she DOES have some damage inside, but that would be my best guess and at this point you don't need guesses but an accurate diagnosis. For that she needs to be seen by another vet who specializes in gastro-intestinal problems or that field.

Your pup is relying on you to take care of her and you need to find a vet you can rely on to do just that, so don't give up on it.

I wish I could be more help, but I wish you the very best of luck and hope that your pup makes a full recovery soon.