Lincoln getting worse with lyme

[Mary ann & Lincoln]

A few weeks ago I wrote that Lincoln our 9 month old GD had Lyme disease. He was put on antibiotics and seemed to get somewhat better.  After 3 weeks , he will not eat and just lays around.  We took him to our vet and she said the meds were probalby upsetting his stomach.  Took him off the meds.  so we gave him ground beef and rice, he ate it once and not agian. Ate some chilcken one time.  She said he is probalby so smart that he associates the food with an upset stomach, so he won;t eat. He ate some steak the past 2 nights, but this morning would not touch it.  Gave him yogurt and peanut butter with his pills and he ate that and a few small dog treats. He will drink water if I put the dish in front of him while he is laying down. 

We went back to the vet. His blood work was good, his kidneys were good, but still no change.  Took him again this morning.  Now we have to go to the U OF P in Philadephia tomorow for many more tests.  Hopefully the manufacturer of the lyme vaccine will pick up alot of the costs, per the vet.  We do have Pet insurance too - thank goodness!   I hope it is not something much more serious. 

 I will let you know what we find out! Keep us in your thoughts. 

[Amy and Annabelle]

Poor little Lincoln, my thoughts and prayers are with you. At least his blood work looks good, that is some encouraging news. It may just take awhile for him to feel like eating and getting back to his old self. I know after I have even had the flu or a cold, eating is the last thing I want to do.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm sorry to hear this.

Having gone through diagnostics for a serious digestive illness with Jack, I can tell you that the blood panels that GP vets routinely run do not cover everything. My guy had a serious B12 deficiency which was only discovered after we consulted an internal medicine specialist, who ran a specialized blood test that was sent out to TAMU; the blood tests that my vet ran all came back showing everything normal while JD was essentially starving to death. I've seen the same thing happen with many dogs who had many other illnesses. I'm not saying this to scare you, but rather to tell you that it's a very good thing that you are pursuing this through the U of P. Our GP vets may be wonderful, but they cannot be experts in every aspect of medicine. Nobody can, that's why there are specialists. Hopefully they will get to the bottom of this and have a treatment plan for Lincoln. 

I would also say that it's unlikely that Lincoln is not eating due to associating the food with an upset stomach. Dogs don't really understand cause and effect in that way. When they won't eat, it's usually because of an illness. 

I will definitely be keeping you and Lincoln in my thoughts and hoping for a simple answer & treatment. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Good luck.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Hoping and thinking of you guys!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Have they tried probiotics and anti-nausea meds to counteract the impact of the antibiotics on his GI track?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I am so sorry. You and Lincoln in my thoughts.  Please keep us updated as he has the tests.

[Jen D]

Oh no, I'm so sorry! Sending healthy thoughts.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

So sorry to hear this about Lincoln.  Keep us posted of test results.  Healing thoughts coming your way.  Hopefully, they will figure out what is going on and how to help him.

[Lori, Daphne, Lucy & Pippa]

It's so scary when our babies are ill! It makes us feel so helpless because they can't tell us what is wrong. So sorry Lincoln is feeling badly and praying for a good outcome with the new tests/vet.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Will keep you in our thoughts. Hope that U of P can diagnose the problem and that it's not serious.  Finn was given anti nausea meds the last time he had digestive issues and wouldn't eat.  Since he wasn't throwing up I never would never have thought of nausea but his appetite quickly returned. Of course, that was a symptom not the cause.  Feel better Lincoln. 

[BG and Gavin]

Poor Lincoln.  I hope he improves.  Best thoughts to you.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

So sorry to hear Lincoln is not feeling well.  I was so glad, however, to read that he is going to be worked up at U of P.  Fingers crossed for a quick and full recovery!