Foreign Object in Belly, NEED ADVICE

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

Well this is not starting out to be the happy new year it is supposed to be.  For starters I've spent the last three weeks battling the cats health and now I had to take Josie in because of something she ate during her destructive behavior  (see picture in puppy madness, "When does this stop" discussion.  Since Friday she has been vomiting, Friday night we induced (she was licking the air and having trouble swallowing) and she puked up about 2 cups of grass with a little food (she stopped the one behavior and seemed better).  Took her Saturday with me to the cats checkup and vet said if she's eating not to worry.  Well Saturday she was eating and she picked at her food Sunday, I didn't pay close attention Sunday night because we got home late and I was tired (sometimes Sassy sneaks in and finishes it off). Monday she out right refused the morning meal which didn't concern me too much because she's not a fan of the dry kibble. Monday night the girls got the broth from our pot roast with meat chunks and nothing she looked at it and walked away. Okay Josie is an extreme food hound so I knew something was up. We tried giving her just the meat and NO!  She acted like a pregnant woman with morning sickness, she didn't even want to be in the same room as the food!!!!!!!  Every time I opened the fridge she'd leave the house!  Okay so now I'm trying anything, her favorite dog treats, people food, even her favorite, popcorn, and once again nothing, she just looked at me like a deer in headlights and went to the backyard and hid under the swing???? 

Took her in first thing this morning, and they took x-rays and did some blood work.  Vet is not as concerned about the object but the toxins that object can release damaging the kidneys, liver and/or pancreas?  She got two shots there and they sent me home with an antibiotic and something to calm the tummy when she eats (give one hour before).  My concern, but not so much theirs, was the blood on the thermometer???   In the x-ray we can see something small vet thinks it's either in the small intestines or stomach.  She is not eating or drinking water at all?  I'm trying to make chicken and I'll try feeding her that but I'm not hopeful. 

I'll post this on the medical site too but if anyone has any feedback I am all ears.  When Sassparilla had the pneumonia I picked up some cold packaged meat to help get her mass amount of pills down, they both loved it. Should I get that just to try to get her eating again?? 

She's moving about and doesn't appear to be in pain but she is kinda blah and not the annoying or cuddly little stinker that she usually is?  Plus she's not cuddling with me a night which is really not like her either.

I put water next to me so I can watch her and I've asked my daughter to check the poops (its hard though with two dogs) and last to check belly for bloating.  Would a warm compress help things move?  Tomorrow I'll pick up some pediatric electrolytes and vet recommended Pepcid ac (had some but it's expired so don't want to risk it).  She loves fresh baked butternut squash so I'll get a few of those tomorrow too. I put yogurt on her nose making her lick it, anything else??  Any tricks of the trade that might be helpful is greatly appreciated. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm really sorry to hear this, and also very confused. The vet can see a foreign object but doesn't know whether it's in the stomach or the small intestine? That just doesn't sound right to me. He should be able to see exactly where it is. 

And I would think they would be recommending surgery. If it hasn't come up or out by now, there's a chance it won;t come out on it's own. Clearly, it's causing her discomfort and nausea. What is the reason for not surgically removing it? How long are they going to wait if it doesn't come out? 

And if there is blood on the rectal thermometer, I'd think that's a sign that there could be internal bleeding, no?

If she's vomiting and not eating or drinking, she's going to dehydrate very quickly. 

What kind of shots did they give her?

I have learned the hard way that a foreign object in the gut can cause unbelievable damage to the GI lining, and that leads to Inflammatory Bowel Disease, which is incurable, and very very expensive and difficult to manage. It requires drugs and special diet for life. I would want whatever it is out of there ASAP. 

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

Thanks, I'm glad I'm not the only one who is baffled.  The last 30 years I've never had a sick dog until the very end so this is all new to me.  When he mentioned the innards I immediately thought of you and Jackdoodle, I may have even zoned out?  He implied the x-ray can be deceiving and whatever it is it looks small.  I have about 10 things to guess from after a full week of wreaking havoc in the house she was a busy little girl. They/SHE spent the entire first year of her life trashing the house and belongings, no matter how puppy proof I thought we were she'd dig up something new?

He said surgery is the last resort?  If things don't change in 2-3 days I go back unless the blood work reveals something of concern tomorrow?  The injections were Cerenia and Baytril and the meds for home are Metronidazole and Sucralfate along with Pepcid CA. 

My daughter and I induced vomiting Friday night so if it was in the stomach wouldn't it of come up?  A whole lot of grass did? 

When I was very very young my parents had a dachshund that was forever swallowing things and the vet always let it pass, from rings, to a treble fishing hook, to rocks, etc.  I swear THAT dog had an iron stomach.

HEY the water bowl is empty and Josie is in the crate right next to it and Sassparilla is over here by me and the computer.  I hope that means Josie drank it.  We'll go outside after I try feeding her some chicken and see if she pees.  Sunday there were all solid poops in the yard?  Puking has stopped since the vet appointment today but one of the shots was supposed to do that? Her gums still have good coloring. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, I don't understand, but I sure hope she's okay and whatever it is passes one way or the other, with no damage done.

[F, Calla & Luca]

This is extremely worrisome. I would not worry about getting her to eat but I would worry about her becoming dehydrated. It seems to me she may well need surgery to remove whatever the problem is. What is it do you know? What kind of toxins might be released. Very confusing. If the vet is worried about the object releasing toxins why isn't he removing it. I don't think we can help because this is a serious medical issue.

[Julie and Max]

I learned a trick when my cat was sick that you can try. If you go to the drug store and ask them for a child's syringe that you use to give liquid medication when they're small. They will usually give you one for free. You can use that to get her to drink, just slip the tip into the side of her mouth and slowly push the end. I used this with Max when he had his bad reaction the vaccinations and it worked great. I would also be worried and confused about why the vet didn't think it needed to be removed. 

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

OH I still have those from my daughter.  Thanks.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I am very confused as well. I can't imagine a vet sending you home if he/she knows something is lodged in the intestine. This sounds like a medical emergency to me. I would be high tailing it to the nearest ER vet hospital if I were you.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

And I can't imagine my vet saying to me there's a foreign object in the tummy and here's some medicine so take your dog home and we'll wait and see??? No way would he say that and if he did I would be running to another vet. This is an emergency by any criteria. I do hope Josie is well as soon as possible.

[Vicky loves Chachi]

Hope she is better soon. So scary.

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

I can say it so far it's a good morning.  So I woke up at 2:17am with a vivid reminder of a stomach massage my beloved and belated chiropractor taught me when I was going through my complications from endometriosis so I thought what the heck!

Josie went from a tight ball to spread eagle belly up as I massaged her tummy, she passed some really stinky gas and I could eventually hear a lot of gurgling in her belly right side. I did this for about 30-40 minutes? Afterwards she moved positions on my bed laying a little more open and we laid there till 5 when I had to get up. Two an three quarters sleep, I'm running on over drive right now!

Great news (I think) although I didn't see her drink water yet I did get her to eat some chicken plus one tbs of yogurt then gave her some more chicken with pumpkin and she gobbled most of it up.  I left water in her crate so we can monitor if she's drinking at all and I will still pick up some pediatric electrolytes tonight.

My daughter has explicit instructions to take her out as soon as she gets home in hopes of a poop! Lol  Only mothers get excited over things like peeing and pooping! lol And to check the water bowl and cage for any puking.  I call today for the blood results.

Just for the record the x-ray did not show a blockage just an object in the belly if that makes a difference?  Needless to say I didn't sleep well with the little sleep I got!  I will do the belly rub again when I get home, hopefully it's helping????  Her demeanor certainly changed afterwards and she was perky this morning! 
Thanks for your good thoughts everyone, it might be working!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

A blockage would have required emergency surgery.

That loud stomach gurgling is called borborygmus, and it's sometimes a symptom of intestinal disease. JD often had it before we got his IBD under control, and now when I hear it, I know I need to keep an eye on him. This is not the case with all stomach gurgling, sounds or noises, but if you can hear it across the room, it's usually not a good thing. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Borborygmus really is an indicator of gas and fluids moving about and can happen for many reasons often for perfectly normal reasons. The most ominous sign is a perfectly quiet bowel indicative of paralytic ileus. post surgery of the abdomen everyone is cheered by noise and the passage of gas : )  Not having a blockage is good and perhaps the object is moving along. The colon is much larger than the small bowel so if the object can get there things will "move along" I hope.