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Big red
Lv 5
Big red asked in PetsDogs · 1 decade ago

Just have to put a positive point here......Dont give up on your sick pooches....?

My baby girl (fawn doberman), has suffered for the last 3 years with skin conditions, at times looking like the dobermans from the game and movie, Resident Evil, no fur, open sores, scabs and scars. I have found a vet who shared my concern that it was more than the mange she was originally diagnosed with, we tested her and it was found that she had an antibiotic resistant, stapphylococuss intermedius infection in her skin, with mange, hypothyroidism and hormone imbalances as well. She is now being treated, effectively, and is looking, and feeling better. She has always been a happy dog, but now, anyone would think she was 5 months old again, i have just watched my 4 year old son playing with her, it put me in tears to see her like this. I have been thru 6 different vets, seen specialists, and 3 years later, she is finally getting better. Never give up on a sick dog, and if the vet you have cant give you a satisfactory answer, find another.

Update:

Always question your vets, and make sure you understand what they are talking about, dont just take it on blind faith, do your own research, and make sure you agree with their diagnosis. Dont hesitate to question them, and dont hesitate to find another if you dont think the vet you have is doing enough. Each different vet you go to see will always try to outdo the last, and the more knowledgable YOU are about what might be wrong with your dog, the more they will take your concerns seriously. Dont do what i did, and allow your precious family member suffer for a moment longer, just because you think your vet knows your dog better than you do.

Update 2:

I have been teaching my son how to wash the dog, she loves the hose. He ended up wet, she got bathed, kind of, and i got absolutely soaked. Now that my new vet is treating her, she is like a puppy again, and shes 4 years old, just a 2 months older than my son. All the other vets i have taken her to have just assumed, that she had a suppressed immune system, and generalised mange. When i finally found a vet who didnt treat me like an idiot and tell me i didnt know whats going on, they were surprised to find i knew almost more about what we were testing for than them, i had just done so much research trying to find what was wrong with her. It almost became a challenge to them to diagnose her. Now, every time i go in to get a refill on her meds, i get swamped by staff wanting to know how she is, she has stolen their hearts, just by being such a happy, positive dog, even tho she was really ill. I recommend changing vets if you arent confident in their ability to treat your dog.

Update 3:

Sorry, i am just so happy for my dog, and i cant help giving advice. Sick, old or infirm dogs should not be given up on, just because your usual vet either cant, or cant be bothered treating them. Find someone who can, stuff the cost, its really, really worth it in the end to see a dog so changed, just because they are now being healthy. BTW my dog had been previously given an estimated lifespan of 5-6 years, just because of her general ill health, now she may live longer than the average doberman lifespan of 8-10 years, just based on her attitude, not her health. I have just looked out my kitchen window to see her chasing my chickens, before, she never even paid attention to them, she couldnt chase them, so they might as well have not been there. I can see a lot more training will be needed, but the idea puts a smile on my face.

Update 4:

Mathaowny, i am very sorry to hear about what happened to your dog. But i tell you, i was recommended to have my dog euthanised many times, but i simply couldnt do it, she was too happy in this life, and now she could live for another 6-7 years more. I am just trying to suggest, that if you have doubts at all about your vets diagnosis, get as many opinions as you can, in the shortest amount of time as possible. Dont give up, even most terminal illnesses, if caught early enough, can be treated, pain free for a few more years, and i am sure if you could go back, not trying to make you feel bad, you would have been more demanding of your vet, wouldnt you. Its better to try to be more informed now, rather than post mortem. I can tell you right now, given the choice between, keeping my dog alive but in pain for a couple more weeks, but trying as much as i can to find a solution, is preferable to me, than euthanasing the dog and finding out later i could have helped him/her live longer.

4 Answers

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  • mathaowny
    Lv 6
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Some dogs need to go, I could never keep my dog in pain for my own happiness.

    This morning we found our dog with his back legs and tail paralyzed. The first vet, over a month ago, said the swelling in his leg was nothing and gave us anti-inflammitory and pain meds for him. We took him to an emergency clinic at 9 am today (nothing else was open because of the holiday) and found out he hadn't just been hit like we thought. The lump on his back wasn't just swelling...it was a tumor on his spine. The dog had been in such terrible pain for over a month and the first vet didn't catch it. Instead she gave him meds and it only got worse.

    We had to put him down. The surgeries were a slim-to-none chance of working, if would have put him through very much stress and pain. And might have killed him in a very horrible way. A tumor on the spine, one that in the x-rays wraps around his organs, is horrible. He had sores from dragging himself around on the floor, and he would never regain use of his legs and tail.

    My mother and I chose the best thing for the dog, not the selfish thing for us. We took some time with him and let him go painlessly and peacefully. We will miss Ebert, but it is better that he isn't in pain any longer. I can't stand seeing an animal that way. Even though I took a day off work and cried my eyes out, at least Ebert isn't crying anymore.

    And yes, I was angry with my mom for taking a month of telling me he was getting better, when I took a month of begging her to let me take him back to a different vet.

    Sometimes it's okay to fight, but I couldn't put my poor dog through anything else. He needed to go peacefully.

    EDIT:

    I'm glad that your dog is doing better, and that she can be happy and pain-free again. I think it's a great thing...especially that your son has a pup to grow up with :) It's good to fight, but sometimes the pain is too great to put an animal through.

    Our first vet didn't catch the tumor, by the time we got to it (just 4 weeks later) it had grown to the size of a baseball on his spine. It was wrapped around the spine, and into the lungs. He couldn't walk and had sores all over his body, and had been paralyzed and on meds for that long. He was in so much pain, crying all night, that we couldn't let him go through more. He's a smaller dog, easily stressed, and the surgery and recovery would have been too much. Looking back on it, it was better to let him go than suffer, I believe that I made the right choice, but so did you.

    So, if your dog has the strength to fight and it's something that can be helped, then do it--they deserve happy lives. But, sometimes it's okay to let go, and sometimes it's for the better. I'm glad your girl is better, she sounds happy and she's sure keeping you and the kid happy.

  • sun_and_moon_1973
    Lv 5
    1 decade ago

    Glad to hear your pup is doing much better! I actually interviewed my 2 vets (1 for my Keeshond,Pit mix and Chihuahua and one that specializes in Great Danes). People should not be afraid to ask questions and keep asking until they understand and yes do not take it on blind faith that your vet knows everything. It really isn't any different than going to see your own doctor-I question mine all the time when I don't agree and I seek 2nd opinions. Your animals can't speak so you must speak for them:>)

    Source(s): Mom of 4 dogs Caring for all dogs one at a time
  • kyle r
    1 decade ago

    im glad to hear ur doggies going better...i have a sick old boy myself...hes my baby morgan...he has diabetes and i just adopted him three months ago....i just hope more people arent scared of adopting old dogs or sick dogs...from experience old dogs are great companions and the best thing you can do is give a sick dog a good home

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    *&*.....it's OFTEN best to euthanize a SICK SUFFERING animal instead of FORCING it to live on in PAIN & FEAR!

    It sure would be great if people could tell their selfishness from their RESPONSIBILTY!

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