There's Always One in the Crowd.... - Page 1

Who always has some problem....among my 4 dogs, that would be Ansgar. She's the picky eater, she's the one that had the intersusseption & subsequent abdominal surgery. She's been absolutely devoted to me since then, she thinks she's my 75# lap dog. She's a quick study, & has been bright & eager for months now, so I was distressed to see her this morning; clingy & trying climb into my lap, my arms, whatever. And she wouldn't eat. Or drink really. She lapped at water a little, & by this evening is just mouthing her water. I tried boiling beef & rice for her, she won't even sniff at it. On inspection her belly is soft & nontender, her temp is 101.5, she's not panting, her nose & gums are moist, eyes bright. The right corner of her mouth was swollen & glued shut this am, warm soaks cleaned it up & revealed red & swollen lips. The gums underneath are Ok, teeth Ok, tongue Ok. I can find no injection mark or stinger in her lips.....& they are oozing. I'm worried that she has some kind of infection, so we will be at the vets bright & early tomorrow morning. My question is, Do stick bugs bite, sting, or are they poisonous? We've had an invasion of stick bugs, or walking-sticks, as my kids called them. I found one floating in her water dish yesterday when she was outside. I've never seen a stick bug go towards water, so I think she must have picked it up & put it there. Any  one know anything about these things? I didn't want to hyjack the "Won't Eat" thread, so I started a new one. Any comments are welcome! Thanks, jackie harrisThere's my goofy girl! With a happier mouth than she has now! jh

From Wikipedia......Walking sticks or Stick-bugs (phasmids) A few species (for example those in the genus Anisomorpha) are capable of secreting a substance from glands on the metathorax that can cause an intense burning irritation of the eyes (and in some cases temporary blindness) and mouth of potential predators on contact. Hmmmm.....?? jackie harris

But they also say that the walking stick bug can reproduce with out needing a male....so what are these two doing? It doesn't give me a lot of confidence in Wiki's info on these critters. And if Ansgar did get burnt by stick bug juice, what will ease her pain? Thanks for whatever you have to contribute! jackie harris

Hi Jackie, We have walking sticks, I've never seen the dogs eat them. It's dry here and we have yellow jackets, ground hornets all over the water bowls and around the fruit tree and I do see the dogs biting at them. It's hard to say what your dog got into. Best news is I think it will get better in time if it is a bug bite. You have any spiders? Anything too bad and symptoms would probably get worst right away. If they don't get worst then she'll probably be ok. Moons.

Thanks Moons. Unfortunately, she's not too perky this morning, threw up last night in her crate. How often do you rescue a dog with problems? I can't afford a nearly $4000.00 surgery again, & I don't want to keep putting her through this every other year....she's got that look in her eyes this morning, like, "Mom, I'm in trouble." And she smells bad, she usually has no odor at all, & now she smells that sickly kind of sweet smell, like vomit from the upper gut. Oh Lord, I can't go through this again! I'll post again after we get back from the vets.  jacqueline harris

kalibeck...so sorry ....we all hope everything will work out and it's nothing but a bug sting....let us know...

Well, we're back. She does have a gut full of gas. Bowel is all inflated to about her mid abdomen, but there is no twisting or torsion at this point. Her plication is intact, but she is dry, so she got some subcutaneous fluids, some reglan & some pepcid, & now we wait. The vet didn't think the sore lips were signifigant or related, but put her on abx, as they are a little oozy. A little fluid & she's brighter already. I'm keep my fingers crossed, & saying a prayer...if anyone has any positive energy, good thoughts, or prayer, we'd certainly accept them gratefully. jackie harris

Welcome back...and glad to hear she is generally okay...hopefully some relief will follow soon...do you ever feed your dog fruit and vegetables? carrots, green beans, watermelon, bananas, etc. I was always told even when I was a kid that dogs must have fruit and vegetables to help them with digestion especially older, not very active dogs (not that I am saying she is not active) it just makes sense that the dog food would be able to clog up....just a thought...

I am glad that she is okay ...keep us updated..

I had to work this afternoon, & tried to keep tabs on my girl via phone calls with my hubby. He reported that she had eaten a little, moved her bowels a little, drank a little. When I got home I took her out & she peed, & drank some water, but she does not look improved, in fact to me she looks worse, not as bright, even a little wobbly in the back end. And now she's flinching & yiping when I touch her right side...& there's a swollen area there, I think it's some of the SQ fluids that have sort of 'slid' down her side to over her right rib cage, but why would it be tender? After she had a little drink, she went back into her crate, she usually trots out & back, she loves her crate...this time she walked, head down, tail down. Damn! Damn! Damn! Back to the vets tomorrow. I will not take her to an unfamiliar vet unless we are really up against the wall, but she is for sure going to be at the vets when they open. jackie harris

Jackie:

I hope Ansgar gets better soon.

Good luck at the vet today.

Cheryl