Please help me! It's my dog

[The_Dutchess]

Ok I am a minor. I still live with my parents. We have a dog named Bailey, she's 6 years old and a Shih Tzu. She was abused, and was never fully potty trained and never will be. She has accidents on the floor and all this time we thought it was because she was never fully trained. Now she is older and has accidents at least once a day. She can't hold her bladder for the life of her. We take her out sometimes every 15-20 minutes. Usually we take her out early morning, late morning, middle of the afternoon, evening, and midnight but now we're taking her three times in the morning, three times in afternoon and three times in evening, sometimes more. I KNOW something's wrong with her, and she has joint problems and a hard, pea-sized lump on her side that visibly grows about every other week. She doesn't like us touching it. She hasn't had a checkup in 4 years and she needs one BAD obviously. We absolutely do not have the money. We had to remodel our basement, we have to get a new car, our current care needs major repairs...We don't have it and won't have it ANYTIME soon. A vet visit is OUT OF THE QUESTION. If we had the money my dad is very prejudiced against vets and old fashioned and probably wouldn't take her. He wants to take her for a "long drive". As in release her in a forest a long way from home. Please, I have to find out what's wrong with her and fix it. Does anyone know any place I could find the information? Any treatment I can do at home?
I just don't want to have to put her down.

 

[katiebear]

Google veterinarian online. there are a couple that do live chat. Maybe they can help. Another thought is to go to a veterinarian school, it should cost a lot less to have her seen by students with a teachers supervision. Good luck kiddo. I know its rough. :encourage:

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

She sounds like she may have some sort of bladder infection, or maybe ovarian cancer? If she isn't spayed it could be ovarian cancer, if she is it's impossible. Just spit balling here

Is warm to the touch? Does it move? Does it cause her pain to touch? It really sounds like even if you got her diagnosed it's something more important..

Some vets will do a type of payment where you pay like, X $ a month until it's paid off. If you have any very schools they could check her out for cheaper.

I would also contact a local pound. They may be able to help you cover the costs.

I would do a 'chat a vet' thing, but be warned they DO cost money.

 

[The_Dutchess]

I found out what it is for sure. Kidney disease. She has all the signs. Kidney disease is very common in Shih Tzus. It is recommended to feed a raw diet and we are looking into rabbit meat.

 

[akane]

If you can't give care you should turn her over to a shelter or even the risks of being in the hands of animal control would be better. It would be better to put her down than dump her. She'll be scared and starved probably until she attacks someone's livestock and gets shot. Without a clean shot she could then suffer for days or weeks more. If nothing else list her free on craigslist and hoobly so you dont have to deal with any authority. There's a good chance she's been suffering a urinary tract infection and may have another infection or cancer. Although incontinence is somewhat common in early spayed females if that applies. One requires a prescription antibiotic and one requires a prescription med for incontinence. Not that I entirely agree with vaccinations and there are lots of unnecessary vet costs they try to talk you into but currently your family is doing several things illegal by not keeping rabies up to date and not providing health care. Even if you avoid a vet she needs some type of treatment for potential health problems but it's unlikely you can give what is required without tests and prescription meds. I would guess diet may be an issue too and a possible heartworm infection if your family isn't dosing ivermectin. Dogs just aren't cheap. There are a handful of corners you can cut like using a bottle of ivermectin to measure your own heartworm preventative but for the most part the more you try to save money the more health problems you have to pay for.

You can't feed too much rabbit. It is too low in fat. To feed raw you need to balance calcium, organs, and muscle meat. Half the organ meat should be liver. No more than half of that should be rabbit. You need another 2-3 meat types. You can get some from freezer burnt meat people are throwing out and butcher scraps but it usually requires spending something to balance what you find free and cheap.

 

[Marinea]

I found out what it is for sure. Kidney disease. She has all the signs. Kidney disease is very common in Shih Tzus. It is recommended to feed a raw diet and we are looking into rabbit meat.

I don't mean to be hurtful, but you DON'T know this "for sure". You are not a vet. It night be this, or it could be something else, like diabetes. Treating the dog for something when you are not sure of the problem can make it worse.

Believe me, I understand the "no money" thing. Your parents are doing their best, and it seems their priorities are you and your family. An option you might need to consider at this point is searching for a no kill shelter and take the dog there, letting them know there is a problem. They will have access to a vet who can determine what needs to be done in the best interest of the dog.

I am so sorry you are going through this.

 

[Zass]

First I want to say that I understand that you are not responsible for your family's decisions concerning the care of the dog over the last 4 years,
and that you are trying your best to take care of her on your own when no one else seems to wish to take responsibility.

I feel that the intent to abandon a Shih Tzu is absolutely reprehensible.

Euthanizing the poor thing would be better than just dumping her off somewhere to die hungry and alone of exposure or starvation.

You could be dealing with kidney disease, and feeding a raw diet certainly won't harm her. But there is a chance that it was something as simple as an early spay causing urinary incontinence like Akane mentioned.

Have you considered a compromise like paper training? That would allow her to potty anytime she wishes without soiling the house.

 

[Wheels]

Have you considered a compromise like paper training? That would allow her to potty anytime she wishes without soiling the house.

I'd second that - potty pads may save your family's sanity and your floors. If she has a favorite elimination spot I would start with placing the pads there. but it may not be the fix just help you all deal with her issue

Sometimes dogs have lumps.. big begin lumps. I have a Rottie who is three who has a large fatty tumor on her head (right between the ears) it looks awful but it's nothing that bothers. I know you said it's Hard but you may want to check it again and see if it may be Lipoma. I also had an older husky-ish dog develop a Basal cell tumor behind her ear - it was more firm. these types can be cancerous but most are not. Again it was just an old dog lump that grew but never caused issue.

I can't diagnose your dogs lump but my point is that skin lumps on dogs can often be ugly but generally harmless. I would observe it see if it grows /changes / ulcers or just stays a lump... Does it cause her discomfort or is it just ugly? you might be lucky and your pup may just have ugly lumps and not a cancer.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I'm very sorry that your dog is not doing well, and obviously a vet visit would be best. But since that is not an option, here are my thoughts on her condition:

I doubt that her peeing in the house is spay related nerve damage unless she leaks urine while relaxing. She very well may have a bladder infection. Here is a link listing several home remedies (for people) that you can try. http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellnes ... tions1.htm

As you probably know, cranberry juice is very helpful in treating UTIs in people, but I doubt you could get her to drink it. If you go to a health food store you can buy cranberry juice extract in pill form. It is very important to get her to drink as much as possible to flush out the bacteria in her bladder, so I would try offering her chicken broth or some other flavorful liquid in addition to water. Canned dog food will also add a bit more moisture to her system. You can even just soak her kibble in hot water.

If it is just a housebreaking issue, you can still potty train her. If you have a dog crate, confine her to that unless she is directly supervised. Take her out at regular intervals (every 2-4 hours should be more than enough if she is otherwise healthy) and give her a command such as "go potty" and then reward her with a tasty treat. If you don't have a crate, put her on a short leash on a waterproof area so if she does have an accident it is easy to clean up.

The lump on her side could be a sebaceous cyst- they are similar to a "zit". They can grow very rapidly, but are harmless. One of our cats has one between his shoulder blades, and every few months I have to express the... um... stuff... he doesn't like it one bit, but I am sure he feels better after.

You can supplement her with MSM/Glucosamine for her joint problems. It is available for horses at Feed Stores, and is very reasonable priced. I used to get about a pound for under $10. I have also seen it at Dollar Tree in capsule form for humans, but it will cost a lot more in the long run buying it that way. It might be a good option if you want to just try dosing her for a month to see if it helps.

If none of these suggestions help, and you can't find a way to get her treated, surrendering her to a rescue group may be her best option.

http://shihtzu.rescueme.org/Michigan

 

[Miss M]

I hope you are able to help your dog get well! :grouphug:

If she needs care your family cannot give, please encourage your dad to surrender her to a rescue. What Akane said is not off the mark at all. I and at least one other member on here are currently dealing with livestock problems caused by stray dogs. People dump their dogs out here in the country pretty often. I guess they think "hey, it's a dog, instinct will tell it where to get food and water." It isn't true. You see dogs out here that are very thin from malnutrition -- dogs that should be much more capable of getting food than a shih tsu. Then they start attacking livestock, and then they start getting shot at.

A shih tsu would probably end up being owl or eagle or coyote food, really.