I have a 7-8 year old Dalmatian that I rescued from a shelter. She was adopted by another couple prior to my adopting her and was returned to the shelter because she kept vomiting. Now, over a year later after adopting her, and about $1000.00 in vet bills, I am no closer to finding out WHAT is causing these symptoms: coughing like she has “croup”; she begins to gag like she’s about the vomit and most of the time she stops and sometimes she actually vomits. I talked with my vets office today and excoriated them for not giving me a diagnosis for all the money I have paid them. They are a top veterinarian practice in our area, but have not adequately answered the WHAT is causing this question. I was most recently told maybe i would have to take her to see a “specialist”, costing me a ton of more money.
My question is have you ever encountered this is any of the dogs at DELTA, and if so, were you able to ascertain the cause, and if so, how did you get he/she back into good health?
The vet took an xray of her entire torso including her abdominal area, did entire blood workup and “organ functions” (for lack of proper terminology). They performed a transtracheal wash and put her on Cipro.
She eats Fromm Family dog dry food and Chicken Soup for The Dog Lover soft food. I am beside myself wanting an explanation for what ails her. She has had this for way over a year, at least. I hope you can help.
Answer from Dr. Gaylord Brown:
I feel your frustration! Unfortunately, additional tests will have too be run to determine your dog’s problem. Motility studies of the esophagus and endoscope of the stomach would be what I recommend next. I would suspect either a problem like mega-esophagus or an outflow problem from the stomach, such as a hypertrophic pyloric sphincter. Most cases like this are controlled at best as opposed to cured.