What will the vets do about a dog being sick?

[April]

Whats the normal routine? My dogs been sick for the last couple of days. Not all day, once maybe twice a day. When they open tomorrow im hoping to get her booked in the same day but im not sure what they will give her or do? This is the first animal I have owned so illness's and vets are knew to me.

What can they actually do for dog sickness and how do they find out the cause?
oh and by the way shes still eating, drinking etc. She doesn't seem unwell. She stills plays. Seems all over healthy. Just sick... That's why im a little confused on what the vets will do. Shes 1 years old.

Thanks Katie. I am 100% taking her in. I just hear horror stories of vets doing x rays and everything else to get a lot of money out of you. Plus I didn't know what they could do for sickness.

[greygarious]

You have been remiss if you have not had the dog to a vet yet. This should be automatic whenever a new pet is acquired. No matter how healthy it appears to be, you take it to a vet along with a stool sample and any medical history records came along with it. If you have not been to a vet, your dog is not on heartworm preventative and that is dangerous to omit.

I get furious whenever people gripe that vets are greedy and purposely do unnecessary tests or procedures. If they wanted to be rich, they would have gone to medical school instead. Educational costs are the same but vet schools are harder to get into and graduates earn less than physicians do. Since their patients can't say where it hurts, and most owners are spectacularly blind to signs that their pets are unwell until there is a serious problem, animals may at times need more bloodwork and Xrays than a human patient would to arrive at the same diagnosis.

[©@$h]

My dog had cancer and i put it down. spending that much money on a dog is disgusting, it's only a dog. PEOPLE WANT TO LOOK AT HOW HUMANS ARE BEING TREATED. animals are getting treated better than HUMANS. the RESPECT FOR HUMAN LIFE IS LOW. (The wars for example) that money to help things better could go to a place that really need it like Africa.

[dorothys]

Vets usually suggest that you withhold food when a dog is either vomiting or has diarrhoea.
You should never tempt a dog who is vomiting or has diarrhoea to eat. You should let her fast for twenty four hours and allow her to drink as much water as possible, never give her milk.

After twenty four hours introduce her to a light diet and feed her about five small meals a day.
The following is what vets consider to be a light diet.
Boil fish or chicken, remove the skin and bones, mince or chop this and mix with soggy rice. (soggy rice is overcooked rice using extra water) Or scramble eggs in water, never use milk or butter. Even a healthy dog has problems digesting cow’s milk. Vets often suggest that a dog’s digestive system is rested before visiting them, however if after fasting for twenty four hours, your dog is still vomiting or has diarrhoea you should visit the vet. If your dog displays any other symptoms do not wait for twenty four hours.

Having said all of the above, one of my dogs woke me up during the night. She was vomiting and had pooed on the bedroom carpet. I knew that this was an emergency and she died at the vets two hours later. The vet said that she had been poisoned, because she had been very active that day, I concluded that someone had thrown poison over the wall when I took her out for her last pee.

If your dog has been sick for the last couple of days, it is not an emergency. Dogs often get grotty tummies.

[ladystang]

treat her
they examine and do test if they don't know from what you tell them and what they see

know vet, i have never been charged for anything if they said i needed and i said i didn't

if dog is just sick, mine will examine and if nothing wrong just charge me for office visit
if something wrong will charge for treatment and drop office visit

[smartgirl]

Checkup
Temperatures
Shots

Then, tell you what is wrong.

[Lizzie]

A vet does for a dog the same as a doctor would do for you, if you went to see one, not feeling well but not sure what was wrong. Sometimes more tests, x-rays, etc, are necessary, and sometimes NOT. Most vets won't do unnecessary tests as they are pretty much swamped for time. BUT the rules for veterinary care have changed. Some of the things vets used to just do, now require them to do blood work first (test the blood). This can prevent a serious, life-threatening reaction.

If you don't want to pay for modern medicine, find an older vet who hasn't kept up with the times.

[PamperedPetProsecom]

If all your dogs seem ill I would question what they may have eaten. Not normal for all of them to be sick at the same time.

Bring a stool sample with you and meanwhile try to think if there is anything they could have gotten into. Maybe they ate a plant in yard, or something in garage.

The fact that they are still eating and drinking are a good sign. Keep an eye on them and get them into the vets asap.

Good luck!

[Amy]

My vet has recommended pepto bismol for my dog when she has an upset stomach. It's pretty mild and helps them feel better. It's easiest to give it to your dog with a syringe. I have a syringe that's made to give liquid medicine to children and it works perfect for my dogs.

Also, sometimes dogs aren't smart enough to stop eating when they feel sick so you've got to take the food away. It's important that the dog get enough water so leave that down for him to drink whenever he wants.

Some things that you can feed a dog that are easy on it's stomach are chicken, rice and eggs. I usually soft boil an egg, cook up a bit of instant rice and mix it with a bit of cooked chicken if I have some in the fridge. Give your dog a little of that 2-3 hrs after the pepto bismol and see if he can keep it down. If he does, give him a bit more but wait a day before giving him regular food again.

[ElaineM]

Take in a poop sample too, so they can check it for worms.

They'll do an exam. If they find anything they'll talk to you about what else they need to do to narrow down the reason. A vet doesn't want to drain you of money, they have a reason for every test they do. It's YOUR responsibility to ask what the test will tell them and if it's necessary.