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Just moved to Va; service dog (125 lbs) took off 2 days ago after deer; gone for 3 hrs, neighbor drove around found him, brought him home. Was thirsty and tired, a bit hot and no appetite. Following day, lethargic not severe. Middle of last night, threw up over a pound of mixed grasses. Diarrhea today. He is drinking, not eating. Lethargic but not severely so. No way to get to vet...suggestions, besides active charchoal? Any idea of known area grass that may be the cause (throw up contained no seeds, vermin, etc)? Thank You!
Please find a way to get this dog to the vet he could have ingested some wild plant that makes them very sick maybe a mild case of poison . Let us know .
Have the dog checked by a vet asap. In three hours it could have eated some plant matter that is causing the sickness, could have drank something (like antifrezze) that it came across, it should have been bitten by something. Since there are so many possibilities from a case of sour stomach to a serious health issue, getting it to the vet asap is the best course of action.
agree with the others, from the symptoms id say a vet chec to rule anything out is pretty muhc a must.
especially for a service dog who of course must be in tip top health in order to perform.
Ditto with others....get him to a vet any way you can. Especially if he is still not acting right and not eating after two days. This isn't something that can be diagnosed over the internet...all anyone can do is make wild guesses, which isn't very responsible. Could be anything from nothing much to poisoning to a snake or insect bite to giardia to who knows what.
In the meantime, let him throw up, make sure he stays hydrated (Pedialyte is OK for dogs) and don't force him to eat.
If and when you do get him to a vet, bring in a poop sample. That's important - the vet will be able to check for bacterial overgrowth and parasites right away.
Thank You everyone for your advice! I did call and when the vet got back to me he was doing fine. Kept him on home cooked gently diet for a few days and slowly got him back on his regular food. He has not been allowed out when the deer are in the yard; no unallowed excursions! His wt. is back to normal, also. As to the PEDILYTE info...I keep it on hand always! Everyone with a dog should; It helps when they need it most!
Other: He used to get all his food (Nutro, non-corn ones) from a prior local family run pet supply company at no charge. Medical forced me to move here; however, we need help with his food bill. (Nutro allows stores to donate any ripped or damaged bags.) Does anyone know a place that sponsors service animals with nutro (or equal brand)? I have sent our information to a few places; however, they have not responded and it has been a few weeks.
Any additional Dane/Mastif info is always welcome! Thank You again, everyone!
See if you can find a national service dog website with contact info and ask them. I don't know of any off hand. If the dog is a service dog and required for daily living, I wonder if it could be something insurance would cover? I mean, other than that they'd have to hire a person to care for you and the dog is certainly cheaper to feed than a human is to employ. Just a thought. In the meantime, contact local rescues and HSUS groups and see if they can donate. I doubt you'll be able to be picky about the food you feed anymore if you can't afford to buy it yourself, but even a crappy food is better than starving.
If the dog is a service dog and required for daily living, I wonder if it could be something insurance would cover?
Most do not cover the expense because although it is medical equipment, there is no standard of certification required. If Service Animals were required to have some federal recognized standard, they would be required to cover it. But until that happens, insurance companies simply claim that they can not fit the Service Animal into any equipment category because there is no standard. A wheel chair is covered because they must meet a certain standard. You can't slap some wheels on a lazy-boy and exp[ect insurance to pay for it even though it performs the task of the medical equipment.
If you have a HSA or Health FSA, it is a reimburasble expense for the animal, animal care, food and vets bills. All legitimate expenses for a Service Animal is deductable for taxes (see irs pub 502).
Otherwise, your in a black hole, many users of Service Animals and their organizations don;t want a mandatory federal certification of that Service Animal but without it insurance companies can wash their hands of the expense.
Update: Correct on Insurance. Mine was state certified in California; still did not help. As to feeding him poor quality food; I am cooking him my own food rather than that. He always remains the property of the training angency; I am required to feed him to their standards due to the 15K plus they put into training him. I have looked many times and there are no organizations to help. Currently, I am contacting corp. HQ for various quality foods...no responses yet. If anyone comes up with anything; please post! Thank You!
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gone for 3 hrs, neighbor drove around found him, brought him home. Was thirsty and tired, a bit hot and no appetite.
Following day, lethargic not severe. Middle of last night, threw up over a pound of mixed grasses. Diarrhea today. He is drinking, not eating.
Lethargic but not severely so. No way to get to vet...suggestions, besides active charchoal? Any idea of known area grass that may be the cause (throw up contained no seeds, vermin, etc)?
Thank You!
Update on my Service Dog
I did call and when the vet got back to me he was doing fine.
His wt. is back to normal, also. As to the PEDILYTE info...I keep it on hand always!
Medical forced me to move here; however, we need help with his food bill.
(Nutro allows stores to donate any ripped or damaged bags.
