Sick terrier

Big problem with the dog. My dog is 11 years old it is a cross between a silky terrier and westhighland terrier.

Main problem is he isn;t eating. He also has a bit of trouble walking and stumbles around nearly falling over at times but we believe that is due to the lack of food he is eating.

Has been to the vet and they had to sedate him just to have a look at him and they haven't found anything wrong with him. We thought there was something wrong with his mouth but seems to be fine on inspection. Although he is drinking he has trouble doing this and puts his whole snoze in the water bowl and sort of like eats the water. He can't get his tongue out and we have no idea why. The vet put him on a drip and got some intravenous fluids into him so he can walk a bit better now. He is also quite skinny as well.

Vet said we should have him taken to a specialist but it is too expensive. Our other option is to have him put down but i don;t want to do this.

Has anyone ever heard of this condition and what do you think i should do?

Thanks guys.

 

Forgot to add the dog has been tested for diabetes and he ain;t a diabetic and he also had a kidney test done and it was fine. Only thing that was noticed was that his antibody count was quite high so something is goin on.

My mum thinks he had a stroke and this is the reason why he wont eat but a CT scan would probably cost more money that we don't have spare.

 

if he cant eat, cant walk and you cant afford medical care then yes, putting him down would be the only option if things dont get better by themselves. maybe you should get a second opinion from a different vet before doing anything drastic. they might have more ideas/more tests to run than the vet you saw.

p.s. thought i might add that i mean get another opinion from a normal vet, not a specialist vet.

 

I would definitely get a second opinion, but remember don'T tell he 2nd vet you have been to another and he said nothing was wrong just say your dog is really sick...
But if you have no money, to afford the vet bills, maybe you could find somesort of rescue group or a cheaper vet, like in my town there is a vet school and in rare and extreme cases they will check the dog for free, but maybe there is something you can look into.
How long has this been going on for? How does your dogs eyes look? Tummy swollen or anything?

 

I think it very well could have been a stroke of some sort. When that happens in humans, they end up partially paralized. So in turn it is probably stemming from his brain. Something neurological. A cat scan would be the way to find out.

 

Sorry guys dont get on the net often dog is still sick. We had to force a tube into his throat and give him some water and some milk mixed with egg but since trying again can;t get the tube in as he is an agressive dog.

Dogs eyes seem fine but he is well under weight and i can now feel is spinal cord etc and he is still stumbling sometimes and walking slower. Although he is drinking i don;t think he is drinking enough and can't use his tongue.

We have given him raw meat and ham and he trys to eat it he chews it a bit but can;t get it down. Will keep trying though.

CT scan will be expensive and even if something is found it will cost dollars to fix.

 

You may want to consider letting him go. His quality of life does not sound good. Unless you can afford medical attention and there is a treatment that will help him significantly, it might just be his time to go.

 

Good news. Dog is eating again not like he use to but he is getting it down. We have been giving him raw mince meat and he seems to get it down. After giving him 2 lots of it he has been running around now but is still not 100%. The use of his tongue is not working properly but he can still swallow so it all seems good for now will keep you guys updated.

 

Thats good. I still believe it is a nerological thing. Nerves can heal, but they take alot of time.