Sick Pit! Need help! Worried!!!

I have a male Pit who is going on 7 months old. He has always been really clumsey and hurts himself a lot, but that's just him. Recently, at the vet, we were told he seems to be inbred and has a couple of obvious problems (large overbite and he is white, which the vet said isn't really normal for a pit to be all white). Also, he has all of his shots/vaccinations and he had his ears clipped when he was younger.
Anyway, to the point. About 2 weeks ago, he hurt his paws on both front feet. Around this time, he started acting depressed (not wagging his tail, growling at the other puppy, sleeping/laying around all day, not playing) They swelled up and got infected, not to mention foxtails kept getting in them. Also, he got stung by a bee in his mouth like a week ago and we started noticing he has cactus needles around his mouth. He started looking bad three nights ago, so we took him to the vet the following morning (2 days ago).
He was real sick. The vet gave him antibiotics and bathed him, put him on an IV to raise his blood sugar, and they removed foxtails from wounds in his paws and one stuck under his eyelid. His temprature dropped to 96.7 (it should be between 100 and 102.4), but he was eating a lot and drinking a little, so they said he should be fine. They let him home yesterday morning, but there is something obviously wrong.
He is drooling thick saliva constantly. He is repeating the same thing over and over (he jumps on the couch to the floor, then on the table to the floor, then he walks around the coffee table and rips a piece of cardboard off of a box in the corner, then he does the EXACT same thing again). He will stand facing the wall or he'll wedge his head between the sofa and the wall and just stand there. He doesn't respond when you call him and he doesn't look at you. He is walking along the walls and he keeps his head pointed down, not looking foward. Also, we put him outside for a minute and he started eating cactus, needles and all. He doesn't seem to be in pain, and he looks much better and moves around easily, but it kind of seems like he had a stroke or something, but he is a puppy, not an old dog.
I am SO worried. Does anyone know what might be wrong with him? The vet did x-rays, bloodwork and a whole lot of other tests, but they don't know what's wrong. I could really use some advice. I'd appreciate any suggestions.

 

HI Jessica,

Wow....poor guy....where to start !!!
When they get foxtails you need to have them removed ASAP, they dont come out by themselves, they will start to travel into the body and they get infected (worst case of that I ever saw....the owner spent around $800 on 3 surgeries to find one foxtail, we finally found in embedded in the abdominal wall, she nearly died because of it. He obviously has access to an area with a lot of them, if its your yard you need to get rid of them all and you need to get in the habit of checking him over, especially his feet and between his toes and his pads every time he goes out.

Cacti needles, you need to stop him eating them, sometimes when a pet has had them removed you can still miss some, were often pulling tiny ones from places like underneath the tongue, in the gum line/teeth, was he sedated to have them removed? if he was that sick then maybe not, they also can get infected and any irritation in the mouth can cause drooling....plus hes been at it again so he probably has more in there.

What you describing.....which would also include the drooling....the lack of response when you call him, standing and staring at the wall, walking alng the wall with his head down....just from that description sounds like a mild seizure.

The repetitive action, especially if hes doing it....like hes 'zoned out' when its happening, this can be either behavioural, frustration, mild seizure activity or even some level of brain damage (Ive had both a cat in the past and a dog, the cat was beaten by someone and the dog was hit by a car, both brought in as strays both had some degree of head trauma and there were lasting effects, the dog would do something similiar to what your describing with constantly walking in certain places...repetitively and the cat was very un coordinated, they both improved over time but were never 100%)

I would take him back to the vet ASAP and have him check him over again....I would not be happy, with what youve described, if this was my dog.

Couple of other things, he sounds as though by the time you took him to the vet he was already in shock which means you probably werent too far off losing him. Is he still on antibiotics now? Are you checking his blood glucose? Is he on a good diet? Did the vet tell you how low his blood glucose was when you brought him in? in some cases when its been too low to long it can actually result in some level of brain damage.

Dont take this wrong, Im not saying that you dog has brain damage, nor am I saying that hes having seizures......just going by what youve said and these are things that I would definately want to rule out. Either way though I really thing your dog should be back at the vets.

Good luck.

 

The vet has him on antibiotics and they gave us some "perscription" canned food. He stayed up ALL night last night walking around and bumping into things. They only way we can get him to just lay there and relax is by putting him on the bed or couch and covering his head with a towel. It's like he won't sleep. The vet said to wait until his antibiotics are gone to bring him in for a check-up.
I just got here not too long ago and he actually seemed to LOOK at me. I had him on the couch and he jumped off. When he circled the room, he came back to the couch and looked up toward me. Then he put his legs up on the couch and waited for me to pull him up. He is still acting far from normal. I'm just worried that he may be blind or deaf (or both) and that he won't come out of this daze. The drooling is still REAL bad, too.
Also, we have 3 acres of property and we got a tractor and lawn mower yesterday and started mowing everything down (there are foxtails and weeds everywhere) so hopefully that won't be a problem for the animals when it's all done. We take good care of all of our animals, but this dog just seems to be constantly having something bad happening.
If he indeed had a seizure or something, will he come around on his own or does the vet have to do something? I love my puppy and I can't bare the thought of him not getting better. I hate seeing him like this and it must be scarry for him. Is there anything I can do to try to help him to get better or be more comfortable?

 

Its pretty easy to do a 'basic' check at home for deafness and blindness, (blindness can also result from prolonged low blood sugar, Im not sure exactly about the complexities of it but I have seen it happen, also though when a dog goes into shock....and it sounds that your dog was in this state when you first took him in, that can cause all kinds of long term damage, just depends on severity and in most cases there may not be any lasting effects), just while your sitting with him move your hand right in front of him towards his face but dont get close enough to touch any whiskers...and then watch his reaction, does he move away? do his pupils enlarge? With dogs that are partially blind theyll see shadows or something but a dog that is completely blind wont respond, same as the deafness, crinkls paper or something behind, have someone call him from round the corner or where he cant see them, someone he would normall respond to.

The foxtails are dangerous once they off the plants, they dry out and thats when they get stuck, they get caught up in the pads and toes mostly and like I said, they dont fall out, because of the shape of them, the little barbs once they break the skin then they will go into the body and cause abscesses, when this happens they have to be surgically removed. As you have so much land with them on then you will need to always take extra precautions, check him over every time he has been outside....Ive always done this with my dogs on a regular basis, just got into the habit of once or twice a day of running my hands over them and checking between toes and pads to make sure they had no foxtails, only takes a minute or so.

With the seizures, these days most seizures can be controlled with medication and I know of many dogs that can live long and happy lives once its under control, some dogs with something like epilepsy, it usually cycles and they will have a day or two every 4 -6 weeks where they might have seizures and then are fine inbetween. This doesnt sound like epilepsy though.....if he wasnt doing this before he was sick and if it is a seizure its more likely related to either the low blood sugar or another contributing factor.

PLease dont take this as Im saying your dog IS having seizures, Im just going by what sounds possibile with your description and you mentioning deafness and blindness being a possibility, that could also cause the behaviour that youve described.

Again, going by what youve said in here I would not wait to see the vet, this is not normal behaviour, was your dog doing this at the vets before coming home? At the very least I would want some kind of answers from the vet, if this particular vet cant see you then I would find another one.

 

:cry: He got really bad last night. when my brother woke up this morning, he was laying in the midle of the floor in urine and feces, having a hard time breathing. They called like 4 or 5 emergency veterinary clinics and told them everything that has been going on and they all gave the same option: have him put to sleep. :cry: Because normal vet offices aren't open, the cheapest place wanted $175 and we can't afford that. Sadly, and not saying I agree with it, my dad had to put him down right here. My dad, brother and my boyfriend, along with 2 of their friends were there when they did it and (aside from the 2 other friends), I was told they were all crying which makes me upset because my dad, bro and boyfriend are grown men. I hate to see them cry! My boyfriend told me it was quick and he didn't suffer, but I still feel so terrible. I see all of his toys, his collar and even stains on the carpet in my brother's room where he peed on the floor and I just can't stop crying. I love that dog SO much! He was the first pit bull we ever had and I was always told they were vicious and mean, but I think he has to have been the most loving dog ever. He wouldn't hurt anyone. He just wanted you to pet him and lay with him. I'm pregnant, and he used to lay his head on my belly when I was having pregnancy pains. I'm just devistated and I don't know how to deal. I never wanted this to happen. I love him SO much and I already miss him. He was my little baby. :cry: Sorry to vent so much, but I just need to say something. :cry:

 

So sorry you lost him. :cry:

Just know that its okay to cry...and Ive seen many grown men cry over their pet....Ive even seen almost all the staff in an animal hospital start crying over losing a patient.

When I lost my Rottweiler (she had bone cancer) it took a long time before I could look at any of her things, photos of her or even think about her without crying, she wasnt the first pet that Id lost but we had a special bond and even now, its been over 2 years....theres a song by Garth Brooks that was playing on the radio at the time she was put to sleep....I still cant listen to that song without crying (If tomorrow never comes).

Nothing will ever take your pups place but I do promise you that one day you will be able to remember him, the good times you had, the times he was laying on you, happy and content....and you will be able to smile.

 

Sorry......