Last night our one springer spaniel, Maggie didn’t want to eat her dinner, she’s normally a chow hound. She did eat some treats & drink some water, her belly seemed full and she was panting a little, her temp was normal and her gums looked good. She did play with our other dogs, so I thought maybe she just isn’t feeling well & that is why she didn’t want her dinner. This morning my husband said Maggie had thrown up chunks of deer fat. I wanted to scream! My husband has been cleaning his deer in our one shed that the dogs can not get to, they’re on radio collars. Apparently Maggie must have gotten over there and eaten some of the deer fat and now is not feeling well. I have told my husband I don’t mind him deboning his own deer but he MUST make sure our dogs can not get into the deer remains. Our one other springer has pancreatitis and we almost lost her when our well meaning neighbor dropped of uncooked beef bones by our garage, I let our dogs out not knowing they were there and she gouged herself on them. I called our vet this morning and naturally they said bring her in, I would like to do this but I also don’t want to over react, I lost my job and money is quite tight. We just realized a good portion of our hay is not going to be feedable for our horses, the person who baled our hay didn’t get it dry enough and now we’re finding bad bales, definitely a cost we were not counting on right now. I was hoping to be able to monitor Maggie and see if it runs it’s course and she begins to feel better by this evening, but I don’t want to make the wrong decision and put her health at risk. I have many neighbors that just chuck their dog that’s staked out to a dog house or cinder block table scraps and bones & the dog lives forever, I try to do everything right for our dogs yet they seem to be the ones that have problems. Has anyone ever had this happen with their dogs? Just looking for advice, suggestions or opinions. Thank you.
You already had a dog with pancreatitis, so you know how serious that is.
Didn’t the vet clinic explain about the real possibility of pancreatitis and that it can kill your dog, especially without supportive care until the crisis is over?
A dog that gets into much fat is going to get very, very sick, that is an emergency needing vet care, at least until the vet can establish the dog is ok.
So sorry, hope the dog can handle that fat and will be fine.:yes:
jingles for you pup.
I do not know what to advise. I would most likely watch her.
My 2yr old pittie cross just ate 4 dozen cooling cupcakes the other day, wrapper and all, I know that you cant compare deer fat to cupcakes, but at least the deer fat is natural. Riley ate a combined amount of 2lbs of chocolate chips, 2 lbs of butter and a cup of soy milk. Thank god they were gluten free cupcakes as he is allergic to grains.
I did not feed him his dinners and breakfasts until the basketball sized belly went down and when he did get to eat, a day and a half later, I got a good amount of pumpkin.
The deer fat is rich, and I am sure your dog will be visited by the squids.
Keep us posted on how this comes out.
Sorry to hear your dog isn’t feeling well. 
If I were in your shoes, I would wait and see if the dog felt better in a day or two. If she’s puking up the offensive stuff that she ate, chances are, her tummy will begin to feel better and she’ll return to normal.
I’ll bet she just made herself sick to her stomach by eating too much of something she’s not used to.
I’d hesitate to take her to the vet, because they’ll probably just look her over, take her vitals, and tell you to wait and see if she feels better in a couple of days. (and charge you $$$ for it)
Unless she was in immediate and acute distress, I’d wait it out.
Good luck!
I couldn’t stand it any longer, made an appointment for Maggie later today. I want to take her right now but I’m at my “job” I lost, if that makes sense. I signed my termination papers in Sept. I was told my last day would be Oct. 24th, which has obviously come & gone with not a word from anyone, lovely, huh?! Latest I heard my salary is NOT in the budget for next year, so I’m guessing it’s safe to assume that my last day will be right before Xmas or right before the new year, nice? I’m grateful for the paycheck right now but being jerked around like this sucks. Now here I sit at my “job” worrying about my poor dog at home, I’m unable to leave to take her to the vet, if I quit I lose my severance package. I’m ready to bawl, hoping she’s doing better when I get home today. Trying to save every penny before that last paycheck but with having a farm & many animals it’s an uphill battle. I really dislike going to our small animal vet, they’re prices are over the top, they’re more expensive than our horse vet lately! They have a way of trying to sell you every procedure, medication etc. under the sun & if you don’t purchase it they make you feel like you don’t love your pet enough. Care credit here we come again, still paying off a horse bill on that one, sigh…Merry Xmas. But what can you do, Yes, Bluey I do understand the dangers of pancreatitis, Maggie’s mother had it, it was very scary. Think I’m going to go to the bathroom now and have a cry, I’ll keep everyone posted once I get back from the vets, sorry to ramble on, just under a lot of stress lately & worried about Maggie, thank you for letting me vent.
Do you trust your vet, and value his/her opinion? Maybe call the clinic back, ask to speak to the vet him/herself, and explain that the cash flow is a bit tight right now.
Ask if, instead, they could they give you any advice on what else to look for that’d ring alarm bells, and how best to care of your greedy pig while she recovers from her gluttony.
If the vet has any humanity at all, I’d hope that s/he would be more than happy to help you over the phone.
Romany, I asked the vet’s office the other week if they could give our dogs their rabies shots without a “wellness” exam on each of our four dogs & they wouldn’t do it. I ended up taking them to a rabies shot clinic, got their rabies for all for $80, I don’t want to skimp on my dog’s health care but I also can’t afford to pay a hefty bill for the vet to weigh our dogs, look in their ears and mouth, briefly listen to their hearts then administer their rabies shot & hand me a several hundred dollar bill for a less than 30 minute visit. I’ll try asking to personally speak with the vet instead of the person answering the phone, it’s worth giving it a try.
I’ve had countless dogs eat countless piles of deer fat, scraps, bones, ect. NEVER had a problem except that one dog gained 15 lbs last fall from her stolen-from-the-neighbor frozen deer scraps. NEVER had a problem.
I’ve never had a dog even have diarrhea from it, maybe hack up some odds/ends but that is ALL.
Just keep an eye on her, you know what to watch for. Don’t go borrowing a vet bill that you don’t need.
I’ll bet you a dollar she’s just fine.
ETA I feel bad for you, you have enough on your mind, don’t let this derail you too badly, ok?
My dog gets almost exclusively raw diet through the winter and a good portion of that is deer, she did get rather portly last winter since she was helping herself to the fat scrap pile. I have honestly never heard of a dog having a problem with it besides some diarrhea from the fat.
On Dr. Pol (National Geographic Wild channel) they had a very sick dog, it apparently ate rancid deer scraps dumped by the side of the road or a roadkill one. Apparently it mostly a concern because of the fact it wasn’t fresh, and the huge quantity.
Every hunter in our county apparently thinks that our road ‘needs’ their deer scraps :rolleyes: - and our Pyrs regluarly as clockwork drag whatever they find home. I’ve found rib cages, legs, spines, heads and hides out in front of our barn - I just pick them up and throw them into the pasture - since I really don’t want to fill up our single garbage can with them, and shy of hauling them off in the truck to become someone else’s problem, there’s no where I can keep them away from our Pyrs. The dogs happily spend a couple of days chewing on them - and tend to eat a bit less of their suppers (no wonder - they’re kind of full at that point:lol:), and life goes on. I am absolutely certain that they make their way through whatever piles of entrails are left before they bring the bony parts home too.
[QUOTE=mysaygrace;6019177]
I really dislike going to our small animal vet, they’re prices are over the top, they’re more expensive than our horse vet lately! They have a way of trying to sell you every procedure, medication etc. under the sun & if you don’t purchase it they make you feel like you don’t love your pet enough. [/QUOTE]
This. I HATE going to small animal vets for this very reason. I go there expecting to battle with them.
The last time I went and declined an expensive procedure for a very elderly cat, I was told that it was “not in her best interest” not to proceed with said procedure.
Sure. I told them it was not in my best interest to sink $$$$ into a very old (14) cat who is currently happy and comfortable. When her disease progresses to affect her quality of life, that will be her time to go.
You should have seen the treatment I got after that discussion!
Sorry for the rant…this is a REALLY big pet peeve of mine regarding small animal vets.
Any updates?
Agree with Bluey, you already know about pacreatitis.
I have to say, however, that I had a Bernese Mountain Dog who had a few bouts of it, and I was never educated and did NOT realize how serious it can be. Then I had my Favorite Dog Of All Time eat a deer leg (as he had done many times in his life), get pancreatitis, and spend two weeks in intensive care, before we lost the battle.
If it is pancreatitis it is excruciatingly painful, and you will want your dog on pain meds. Also, my dog couldn’t eat or drink, so needed to be on IV fluids.
I know how it is with $$ being tight, but unfortunately in this case I do think you need to bring the dog in to the vet (as I know you are). I do not agree with the posters saying to watch and wait.
But I’d also urge you to speak clearly/strongly with your vet about your financial situation so they keep it in mind as they treat the dog.
But please let us know how it is going! Very best of luck.
I know pancreatitis is dangerous, but really most dogs can eat large amounts of fat without the slightest problem, except possibly a bout of diarrhea. Endurance sport dogs eat diets that provide 60% or so of their calories from fat. Dogs are designed to preferentially burn fat as fuel.
In most cases of pancreatitis, the cause is never identified. When it does appear to be related to fat, it’s usually an overweight middle-aged dog who has been on a lower-fat high-carbohydrate diet (e.g. most kibbles) who eats an unusually high-fat meal. Thus one can think that dogs who normally eat higher-fat diets may actually be less likely to develop pancreatitis.
There’s almost certainly a genetic component as well.
Anyway, what’s the point of taking the dog to the vet if the dog isn’t showing signs of pancreatitis?
[QUOTE=Daatje;6020995]
This. I HATE going to small animal vets for this very reason. I go there expecting to battle with them.
The last time I went and declined an expensive procedure for a very elderly cat, I was told that it was “not in her best interest” not to proceed with said procedure.
Sure. I told them it was not in my best interest to sink $$$$ into a very old (14) cat who is currently happy and comfortable. When her disease progresses to affect her quality of life, that will be her time to go.
You should have seen the treatment I got after that discussion!
Sorry for the rant…this is a REALLY big pet peeve of mine regarding small animal vets.[/QUOTE]
I guess that IS the difference. Some people DO want to do whatever they can for their pets, and others simply dont. Its not the vets fault, they are telling you what you pay them for: to discuss what is in the best interest for the cat. Its easy enough to decline and say you dont want to spend any money on the cat. Simple as that.
We routinley see clients pay bills in the 5 figures. Just yesterday we discarged a drowning dog for $14,000. Clients couldnt have been happier. When they brought the dog in she was clinically dead, but she was revived and put on the vent for 3 days, then monitored closely for the next 4 days. They could have easily declined and let the dog die, but it was THEIR choice to move forward. Our criticalist never pushed this on them, and warned them that the outcome may not be what they want. However, the dog is now doing great, with no residual effects of the drowning!
Jingles that your dog is doing well. Most dogs will be fine and “get over it” within a day, but if your dog isnt right than you are doing the right thing in at least getting her seen. Even having some anti nausea or pain meds (if they feel she has pancreatitis or food bloat) can help and wont be $$
Warning on the deer heads (or elk heads) that the dogs can find-a friend’s GP got botulism from gnawing on an old elk head that he found. The rest of the elk parts didn’t hurt him but that rotting skull did. He survived it but barely!
[QUOTE=cowboymom;6021327]
Warning on the deer heads (or elk heads) that the dogs can find-a friend’s GP got botulism from gnawing on an old elk head that he found. The rest of the elk parts didn’t hurt him but that rotting skull did. He survived it but barely![/QUOTE]
I can appreciate the warning, but there is absolutely nothing I can do to prevent our essentially free roaming Pyrs from getting into ‘leftovers’. I do throw the heads they bring home into the trash, but if they get one or more out in the woods, there’s not a stinking thing I can do about it - except watch them for signs of illness.
[QUOTE=wendy;6021087]
I know pancreatitis is dangerous, but really most dogs can eat large amounts of fat without the slightest problem, except possibly a bout of diarrhea. Endurance sport dogs eat diets that provide 60% or so of their calories from fat. Dogs are designed to preferentially burn fat as fuel.
In most cases of pancreatitis, the cause is never identified. When it does appear to be related to fat, it’s usually an overweight middle-aged dog who has been on a lower-fat high-carbohydrate diet (e.g. most kibbles) who eats an unusually high-fat meal. Thus one can think that dogs who normally eat higher-fat diets may actually be less likely to develop pancreatitis.
There’s almost certainly a genetic component as well.
Anyway, what’s the point of taking the dog to the vet if the dog isn’t showing signs of pancreatitis?[/QUOTE]
I agree with all of this, and defer to Wendy’s extensive dog knowledge. However, not eating and throwing up are signs of pacreatitis (as well as other more benign things undoubtedly)
I have yet to experience a small animal vet that will lay out my options and RESPECT me for the decision I make. They absolutely do try to make you feel like a substandard pet owner if you don’t go above and beyond and spend $$$ on treatment options.
I dread going to them because of the attitude they throw at me when I tell them I choose the most economical way to treat any given illness/situation.
