Bambi the sheltie who looks like a deer
- Thread starter romeosangiovese
- Start date
We had a little guy that had food problems too. He was so thin we were afraid he might not make it. He would eat but within 20 minutes of finishing his meal he would vomit it up. After lots of vet visits they discovered that his liver enzymes were way too high and the gall bladder was secreting too much bile into the stomach. Our vet prescribed 1/2 of a 10 mg tablet of Pepcid AC evey other day.. He turned around in three weeks and has been placed in a new home with no more stomach issues.
I'm wondering if Vibrant Pets would help with the vomiting? Fiona used to throw up constantly and now that she's been on VP (which helps with digestion) she hardly ever throws up anymore.
When we adopted Lucy she had terrible allergies as well. The benadryl does help a lot but I'd triple check with the vet - pills and liver probs are probably a bad idea....in the meantime we gave her a bath with hypoallergenic oatmeal shampoo and the itching helped. With that said also keep in mind shelties who have no fur feel very strange and those nice coats that heat them up also keep them cool.
Good on you for taking the time to work with this little girl, best wishes for a healthy recovery. I can't wait to see how she looks all healed up.
When we adopted Lucy she had terrible allergies as well. The benadryl does help a lot but I'd triple check with the vet - pills and liver probs are probably a bad idea....in the meantime we gave her a bath with hypoallergenic oatmeal shampoo and the itching helped. With that said also keep in mind shelties who have no fur feel very strange and those nice coats that heat them up also keep them cool.
Good on you for taking the time to work with this little girl, best wishes for a healthy recovery. I can't wait to see how she looks all healed up.
Mally's Mom
Forums Enthusiast
Thanks so much for taking such wonderful care of little Miss Bambi.
I am praying for her total recovery. Please continue to update us
when you can. Thanks.
I am praying for her total recovery. Please continue to update us
when you can. Thanks.
romeosangiovese
Forums Enthusiast
Thanks for all your kind thoughts! They must be helping! Bambi's looking perkier! She eats on her own, on and off. So when she doesn't eat, we syringe food into her mouth. I almost find that she'll eat one day, then not the next. It's very odd.
Her liver enzymes are very high, so sounds alot like the dog SunChaser mentioned. But her gall bladder is blocked, so can't possibly be secreting too much bile. She's on some funny looking orangey liquid for her gall bladder. When her meds are almost up, I'll take her to the vet again to see if her levels have improved. I'll also check with the vet on feeding Vibrant Pets.
I'm just glad she's livelier and drinking lots of water!!
Her liver enzymes are very high, so sounds alot like the dog SunChaser mentioned. But her gall bladder is blocked, so can't possibly be secreting too much bile. She's on some funny looking orangey liquid for her gall bladder. When her meds are almost up, I'll take her to the vet again to see if her levels have improved. I'll also check with the vet on feeding Vibrant Pets.
I'm just glad she's livelier and drinking lots of water!!
Sharon7
Moderator
This poor little lamb - naked and sick! Thank you for taking care of Bambi and I truly hope she is better soon. Sending good wishes to you and her.
romeosangiovese
Forums Enthusiast
Small update on Bambi!
She is MUCH better. After a lot of not eating, and looking abit lethargic, and seeing another vet for a second opinion (first vet sent me back with meds but no info on what the heck is going on, how to feed her, how else to care for her, leaving me to do my own research!), she has improved tremendously!
I have yet to take her in for another blood test (due in another week), but she's running around and interacting alot with Juliet and Romeo, and barking ALOT more (way more demanding now!
) and EATING! She was losing so much weight from not wanting to eat, but I've managed to find a way to make her kidney and liver friendly food that she will eat. I am also supplementing her with Slippery Elm to help any nausea, SAMe and Milk Thistle for her liver, Vit B, Calcium and CoQ10 for kidneys.
She seems to have loosened up abit too. She's lounging around the living room now, lying down and just chilling, instead of pacing. She has also taken to sleeping OUTSIDE of her crate, which I think is a good indication she feels safe and secure in her surroundings.
I'm so so glad she has taken a turn for the better. I was so worried for her! I won't adopt her out until she's stable and her ailments are easy to maintain. But I really do hope she will get well enough for a family to take her in and give her a great home and a life she deserves!
A friend took some pictures of her recently. When I get them I will post them up here!
She is MUCH better. After a lot of not eating, and looking abit lethargic, and seeing another vet for a second opinion (first vet sent me back with meds but no info on what the heck is going on, how to feed her, how else to care for her, leaving me to do my own research!), she has improved tremendously!
I have yet to take her in for another blood test (due in another week), but she's running around and interacting alot with Juliet and Romeo, and barking ALOT more (way more demanding now!
) and EATING! She was losing so much weight from not wanting to eat, but I've managed to find a way to make her kidney and liver friendly food that she will eat. I am also supplementing her with Slippery Elm to help any nausea, SAMe and Milk Thistle for her liver, Vit B, Calcium and CoQ10 for kidneys.She seems to have loosened up abit too. She's lounging around the living room now, lying down and just chilling, instead of pacing. She has also taken to sleeping OUTSIDE of her crate, which I think is a good indication she feels safe and secure in her surroundings.
I'm so so glad she has taken a turn for the better. I was so worried for her! I won't adopt her out until she's stable and her ailments are easy to maintain. But I really do hope she will get well enough for a family to take her in and give her a great home and a life she deserves!
A friend took some pictures of her recently. When I get them I will post them up here!
OntarioSheltie
Forums Celebrity
So it looks like I have more problems than that with Bambi. Took her to the vet after posting and she's been on drip for the past week.
Her gall bladder duct thingy is blocked and has caused her liver to malfunction. And she's also got a ton of bacterial infection in her! She's better now being on 2 different types of antibiotics and a host of other medication.
Her appetite is however, still hit and miss. Sometimes she'd eat, sometimes she won't. Because she's not well I don't think I should wait until she feels the mood strikes her or until I find that one thing out of many she would eat that particular day!
I've been blending meats and baby food (without onion) and syringe feeding her. She hates it and I feel awful doing it, but it is for the best. She's being syringe fed a little every 2 hours coz feeding her at one go leads to her throwing up. And I don't think I can sift through another pile of puke to find her medication to feed it back to her again without adding to it myself!!
I'm hoping once she's feeling even better her appetite will return. She's itching less so I think maybe the food had something to do with it. When she's better I'll have to do an elimination test to see what exactly it is that bothers her!
She was shaved down by the puppymill but her fur is growing out slowly. I will get the thundershirt for her. I think it might help with her anxiety too!
Poor thing, so heart breaking that she's been through so much, its wonderful that she has you to look after her. Give yourself a pat on the back for all your efforts. So relieved she seems to be on the mend!
Can't wait to see an updated photo of her!
romeosangiovese
Forums Enthusiast
Here are 2 pictures of Bambi! If you look closely you'll notice that she has NO little teeth between her lower fangs. NONE. I don't know if they were never there to begin with or if they were knocked out.
