English Lab Mom - New to the Chat Board

[DogMom03]

Hi! I'm new to the board looking for help with my 9 year old English Lab. He is the best dog and we are sad he has had to go through so much with no answers yet. Our lab all of a sudden (over night) began eating very slowly (much unlike his normal self). This was also after an encounter with a frog/toad, which he had in his mouth and dropped immediately. So far everyone thinks this frog incident is a coincidence as the area we live in does not have poisonous creatures of this type. Three visits to the vet to check out his mouth and blood work and everything is fine. (this is the first 2 weeks of Sept 2021).

Next step was to have his teeth cleaned. Scheduled a cleaning (second week in Oct), the common tooth in lab that breaks (he had the other molar out last year on the other side), had a very large hole in it, so they pulled it, not doing xrays while they were going through his mouth, which I thought they were going to do. Home during recovery, he was eating, but still as slowly as before. At this point he is eating chicken and rice, some can food, but previously had been on hard food for his entire life.

Had him tested for MMM, Masticatory Myositis, and he is negative, although "some" of his mannerisms are what MMM describes. While we awaited the test results, we began a round of prednisone thinking we would get ahead of the progressing MMM. He had 3-4 doses and was very sick, discontinued prednisone immediately. At this point he stops eating everything he was eating before (almost like when you get sick on something you have eaten too much of or drank too much of...and you don't want any more of it for a long time if ever....). \

That was a week and a half ago and I found some success in getting him to eat some Fresh Pet food, but he will refuse chicken, rice, pumpkin, sweet potato, green beans, banana, etc..all things safe for him. Vet did suggest pepcid to help his stomach. He is having great difficulty eating, but very much wants to eat, comes at dinner time, watches prep with tail wagging. Everything I give him, if he takes it, sometimes will eat, but most times gives it a good chomp or two, then lets it drop.

At a loss and vet suggests xrays as next steps. Fyi, his behavior is pretty normal, a little more lethargic, but still has normal manorisms, wags tail, normal potty.. His symptoms outside of the eating issue, pants, drinks a lot of water, nose is drippy - like a runny nose, some times only opens mouth a little to grab food but can also catch treat in the air. Does not appear to be swollen around them mouth and does not look like anything has changed other than weight loss (was not over weight to begin with (around 70 lbs normally). Anyone else have anything similar with their lab? Suggestions are also welcome for anything I can try to get him to eat. Thank you from this rambling newbie.

[barry581]

I wish I had some advice for you. The only thing I could recommend is if there is a vet school near you take him there. They may have better luck in giving a diagnosis.

What your boys name????

[DogMom03]

Thank you for your recommendation, I will definitely explore that option. University of GA has a vet school with a great reputation. Our boy is Riley. Thanks again!

[DogMom03]

Riley is the older Fox Red lab in the back and Georgia is the chocolate (American) lab in front. She is now 2.

[Black Labbies]

Welcome to the board. Sorry to read that Riley isn't his usual self.

What are you giving him for pain? He may not show that he's in pain, but our Labs are very stoic and hide pain well. Panting can be a sign of him being in pain.

Good on you for giving him raw and homemade foods! Until you know what's going on, I'd keep him off of kibble. I'm all for natural things with our dogs and have seen wonders in our past and current Labs.

At a loss and vet suggests xrays as next steps.

Xray what?

[Snowshoe]

Poor boy. You have been very diligent and all I can do is echo Barry, try the Vet school. All kinds of things could be going on internally that might affect appetite.

[smartrock]

I'm sorry you and Riley are going through this. I do not have experience with this but agree more investigation is called for. In addition to the vet school, there may be more local veterinary specialists in the Atlanta area if scheduling at the vet school is too tight of the drive for multiple visits too difficult. I'd keep a close eye on his weight and maybe look into what else you could feed him, which could be anything, to maintain his weight until you can figure out what's causing his issues.

[katALlabs]

Have you had the vet look into tick borne diseases? We adopted Zoe from Coweta animal shelter and she ended up real sick with symptoms close to what your Riley is experiencing. We took her to Auburn university where she was diagnosed with Hepatozoonosis

[blacklabs]

I am so sorry you are going through such a worrying time with your Riley and so hope you can get some answers very soon on the underlying cause of his issues and sending lots of best wishes and to you and Riley.

I have been through a very recent traumatic time with one of my Labs with multiple tests and ultrasounds failing to find the underlying cause of his condition and I requested an emergency referral to a Veterinary Cardiologist at our University Veterinary Specialist Teaching Hospital and I got an appointment/consult for the next day and finally got the diagnosis on my boy's underlying cause of his condition at this emergency consult.

There is only so much normal Vets can do and test for and and if a definitive diagnosis cannot be determined by your Vet then further investigation needs to be done at at a Veterinary Specialist level, so like others have mentioned, I would recommend a referral/further investigation with a Veterinary Specialist Centre/University Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

With regards to food suggestions to try to get your boy to eat, I have included a link to recipe for "Satin Balls" which are for dogs that need to be enticed to eat and are designed to put weight on a dog very quickly and are loaded with calories, so might be worth a try for your boy. Good luck with everything and please let us know how things go with your Riley https://www.instructables.com/Put-weight-on-your-dog-with-satin-balls/

[DogMom03]

Hi, thank you all for the wonderful advice and support. As I was truly hoping for a good out come and medication to treat whatever ailment our boy had, sadly he crossed rainbow bridge today. The xrays were of his entire body and they found a very large mass in his right lung. We suspect it was cancerous, but now know what was causing his panting, loss of appetite, nausea, etc.

Again, thank you all for taking the time to chime in and help. Riley will be greatly missed, but heaven has another beautiful angel.

I have attached the x-rays, if anyone is curious.
Give your babies an extra treat and hug tonight!