About 8 months ago I adopted a 4 year old mix breed dog. To they best of their knowledge he was a stray. Since then we have had one medical issue after another with him.
The first thing I noticed was he was itchy all the time and was having bloody diarrhea, so I had a food allergy test done on him and it came back with 7 different allergies. The vet gave him antibiotics to help with the bloody diarrhea and it went away for about 6 months or so.
Recently the bloody diarrhea returned (my assumption was because he got a hold of a pork (one of his allergies) sausage while I wasn't looking). I took him to a local vet that had good reviews. He gave him some antibiotics and tested for hook worms which it came back that he was loaded with them so he was given medication for that as well.
Since that visit, which was about 2 and a half weeks ago, he has started to have blood in his urine. It started off as just a brownish/red tint in his urine. I thought it was possibly a side effect of the medicine and it would only happen randomly so I ignored it. However it has only got brighter red over time and is obviously blood in his urine.
Also a problem that has become progressively worse over time and is now extremely bad is his shedding. His hair literally falls and breaks off. You can't see any hair loss when looking at him but even if I brush him twice a day his dog health problems symptomshair still constantly falls out. If he stands or lays down on the floor when he stands up and walks away you can see a pile of hair where he was laying. I think it's way beyond anything close to normal shedding.
His attitude is excellent however and he doesn't act ill at all. He plays and he loves to go on his daily walks. He eats a healthy amount and drinks an appropriate amount of water as well.
In my opinion, these symptoms are not related... The bloody diarrhea was most likely from the hookworms, those guys can do some serious damage and to hear he was loaded with them doesn't surprise me that they caused it, the metronidazole (antibiotic I assume they sent you home with) was only a temporary fix the first time until you determined the problem and treated the parasites. Blood in his urine could be caused by either a urinary tract infection or bladder stones. He's most likely had this problem brewing for a little while because usually you don't see frank (obvious) blood in the urine, it's usually unable to be seen by the naked eye and only microscopic, it's until the infection/stones get bad enough that you start to notice the frank blood. Your vet will ask for a urine sample to test with a dipstick and a sediment test to look for crystals, if no crystals are seen, they'll probably start with a conservative antibiotic treatment and have you bring idog health problems symptomsn another urine sample before you finish the antibiotics and if the problem still is the same, they'll most likely x-ray for stones or extend the antibiotic treatment a little longer. As for the shedding, some dogs just shed more than others, his body might just be adjusting to his new surrounds (I.e. Living in your house and the humidity or lack there of) unless he's extremely itchy, or the hair is falling out so badly that he's becoming bald in some areas, I'd start with some conservative at-home treatment like fish oil supplements (make sure it's for dogs and has both omega 3 and 6 oils.. Your vet probably sells some) also no more that 1 bath a month (and that's even pushing it) and only use oatmeal based shampoos made for dogs, no human shampoo. And just FYI- dogs and cats (cats in particular) usually don't show that they're ill until they are very sick because of instincts. In the wild, if they showed they were ill, they'd become someone elses dinner. Therefore your pet may act 100% fine and still have a list of things wrong with it.. I don't think any of these problems are life threatening, yet, that is. Definitely get him in for a urinalysis.
i would have to say vet again
probably dumped by owners that got tired of paying vet bills
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