Could some one tell me what would kill a dog in a week. My dog horsey was a black lab rottweiler mix. He had stopped eating and drinking for about three days and his stomach had swollen up. I took him to the vet and the vet said that he either had a bad infection or liver cancer. He died three days later. I called the vet back after he had past away and the vet said that he should not have died so soon if it was cancer. I am just so puzzled on what would have killed him that quickly. Someone please respond because I need some closure. He was 6 years old.

Sad

[reeskujo]

I am very sorry for your loss...Did your vet not to blood work or x-rays?...Did he put your dog on any meds...Something doesn't seem right to me?

I agree, there is a missing link

was he at the vets when he died? or did they send him home?

both breeds you mentioned are at very high risk for bloat but that kills much faster than that.

did the vet mention the need for surgery? did you have a necropsy done after he passed away? if at all possible I would have one done asap

Besides looking for a new vet for the future, I wonder if your dog has access to where strangers can toss something on to your property, not everyone likes dogs, some people even hate them, and everything else in there life. Could have been poisoned. It is sad but it happens, thats why I daily check my area for objects such as dead mice, birds, etc. Could have died from decon poisoning. X-ray would have been my first request in case something he injested and now I would have a autoopsy preformed because if you plan on getting another dog the same could happen again, if it is something malicious!

The vet did blood work and he said that either bear had a bad infection of he had liver cancer. He give me antibiotics, and special dog food. I told him that bear was not eating or drinking. He told me that if the antibiotics did not work in four days, call him back and he would set up an ultrasound. He died three days after I took him to the vet. It was just too quick.
Thank You
Andrea

Sorry for your loss!
It sounds like bloat to me!

What is bloat

What is bloat?

[reeskujo]

Originally Posted by andrea55

The vet did blood work and he said that either bear had a bad infection of he had liver cancer. He give me antibiotics, and special dog food. I told him that bear was not eating or drinking. He told me that if the antibiotics did not work in four days, call him back and he would set up an ultrasound. He died three days after I took him to the vet. It was just too quick.
Thank You
Andrea

IMO if he thought there was even a chance of liver cancer he should have done an ultra sound right away....Especially if the results from the blood work weren't enough to distinguish between the two...Not to mention the fact that he wasn't drinking any water...He could've dehydrated very quickly and that would have made it take a little longer for his body to absorb the anitbiotics...I agree that if possible you should ask to have a necropsy done or see if you can get the results of the blood work and get another vet to give you an opinion!

[reeskujo]

Bloat is the distention and twisting of the stomach and large deep chested dogs are at a higher risk...Bloat can be fatal within a few minutes or a few hours but not over a few days...If the dog is not treated fairly quickly They usually die within a few hours...I really don't think it sounds like bloat IMO.

I guess I will never really know what happened to my dog. I just want to thank everyone that replied to my post. Thank you so much. It is nice to know that people care.

Thank You
Andrea