# Help! 11 yr old suddenly lethargic, barely able to walk



## shebert79 (Oct 2, 2015)

Kaile (pronounced Ky-lie) is my precious 11 yr old girl. She has always been very active, playful with my 5 and 8 year old to this day, and able to get around great. Within the past 2 days, she has started acting very lethargic, she can barely get up to go outside to potty, and she's just not herself. After letting her out this morning, I watched her as she struggled to go poop, and nothing was coming out. After 5 or so attempts, she gave up. I did notice that she had a little bit of something come out and when I looked it looked like diarhea but it was barely a tablespoon. I'm distraught, a wreck and have no idea what this could be


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## 4goldengirls (Jun 10, 2014)

At 11 yrs old to suddenly be having those issues my thought would be to get her into a vet asap.


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

Vet--ASAP. It could be a number of things from blockage to illness. I sure hope you can get to the bottom of it in a hurry. I also have an 11 year old girl, Sophie, who will be 12 on Jan. 8. A few weeks ago she had a seizure that scared the daylights out of us. We came home from OUR doctor appointments to find her unable to get up, had pooped all over herself, etc. I knew she had either had a seizure or a stroke. Once we got her up, she stumbled around and then seemed to get her footing and was able to walk around okay. Vet did all kinds of tests and found her low thyroid. Turns out low thyroid can cause seizures. She is no on meds for that (like hubby and myself). But once they get old, as with humans, so many things can go wrong. Yes, vet, ASAP.


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## shebert79 (Oct 2, 2015)

She has arthiritis, but that wouldn't cause her to suddenly act like this would it?


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

This doesn't sound like arthritis. Agree with others. Vet ASAP. Not to scare you, but couldn't be ruptured tumor or something...


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## mmjaxster (Sep 28, 2015)

Hope she feels better, and its nothing serious.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

My thoughts are with you. I do hope she's alright and get's better soon. Please give us updates...


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

No, it doesn't sound like arthritis. Please, take her to the vet quickly and have them check her heart rate.

Best of luck, hope things go well for you.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Sorry to hear your girl isn't doing well, I hope you got her into the Vet right away and she'll be doing and feeling better soon.


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## GoldensGirl (Aug 2, 2010)

Yep, definitely time to get your gal to the vet. If her gums are not the deep pink that's normal, I'd get her to an emergency vet clinic if your regular vet can't see her immediately.

Good luck and please keep us posted.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Any update? I hope she's okay and you got her to the vet.


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## 4goldengirls (Jun 10, 2014)

Please give us an update on your dog. Thanks.


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## shebert79 (Oct 2, 2015)

Thank you all for the notes. My ex-husband and I took her to the vet last Friday and after X-rays and blood work, the vet found that her spleen was extremely enlarged and she has a tumor on/near it. The only way to find out if this mass is cancerous is to perform surgery. If they do surgery and find that it is in fact cancer, he would recommend not letting her wake up. Surgery is very risky and with goldens having such a rate of having cancer we have decided to enjoy the time we have with her. This is EXACTLY what happened with our 13 yr olden golden we had to put down 3years ago. Telling ours kids was the toughest part. I'm trying to be strong and positive for my children but Kaile is my baby girl and this is beyond heartbreaking. Please keep our little family in your prayers and and thank you


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

shebert79 said:


> Thank you all for the notes. My ex-husband and I took her to the vet last Friday and after X-rays and blood work, the vet found that her spleen was extremely enlarged and she has a tumor on/near it. The only way to find out if this mass is cancerous is to perform surgery. If they do surgery and find that it is in fact cancer, he would recommend not letting her wake up. Surgery is very risky and with goldens having such a rate of having cancer we have decided to enjoy the time we have with her. This is EXACTLY what happened with our 13 yr olden golden we had to put down 3years ago. Telling ours kids was the toughest part. I'm trying to be strong and positive for my children but Kaile is my baby girl and this is beyond heartbreaking. Please keep our little family in your prayers and and thank you


There are a few people here that have had Golden's with spleen rumors taken out and are benign. I don't think they can tell during the operation if it's cancer. It has to be sent for testing. If it was my dog the spleen would come out if there are no tumors else where and send it for testing.


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

Such a hard call. I know your heart says one thing, you mind/sense tells you something else. We lost our 7 year old Great Pyrenees to this exactly thing a year ago Sept. 23. Only his had ruptured before we even knew it was there.

We had to make the decision ot amputate or no the back leg of our Irish Setter after his 12th birthday--bone cancer in knee. As I said, our hearts were saying do it, but reasoning said no, not as his age when he already had arthritis. We gave him 10 wonderful, fun filled weeks letting him have all the doggy no-no food he wanted, every day going to beach, etc. We have never regretted our decision. Had he been younger, yes we would have amputated. 

I lost my Kaycee just 48 hours after her emergency surgery for a gastrointestional stromal tumor. She was just short of 9. Honey, two surgeries to remove a tumor from her leg--no clean edges the first time--and had another 6 years, losing her a year ago Aug. at age 13. You just never know, and you have to decided what is best for the dog. If you opt against surgery make every moment count as I did with Boots.


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## shebert79 (Oct 2, 2015)

How could you tell it ruptured? I know the vet said there is a chance of that happening, but wanted to find out your experience?


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

IF you let it rupture she will bleed out. It will not be pretty or a good experience. Removing the spleen is the best alternative, and quickly. The vet will not know if it is cancerous at the time of the surgery, so 'not letting her wake up' is not a good thought to have going into it, and she could still live years if it is A not cancerous, B not spread. You should tell your vet that the 'not waking up' isn't in your game plan, cancer or not- because it may affect how much effort he puts into her recovery.If you are not going to do the surgery, were she my dog I would humanely euthanize before I Would let her bleed out.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

Personally I could not euthanize her or just let her go if your not sure if it is cancer. Plenty of people on her have had benign spleen tumors. You need a new vet.


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## Jim and Hank (Jun 29, 2011)

Sherbert79 Sure hope you get to spend some good time with your girl before her time passes. Amazing how dogs can sense things. Hope you can see the good in all of this. Best wishes!


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## GoldensGirl (Aug 2, 2010)

My Joker's spleen ruptured when he was almost 11 years old. We found him lethargic - basically in shock - early one morning and rushed him to the emergency clinic. It was the result of a hard fall on stairs that I had witnessed, so I was pretty sure of what had happened. The key symptoms of a ruptured spleen is graying gums and tongue and loss of color inside the eyelids, all caused by blood loss.

After brief discussion with the vets, we had Joker's spleen removed and he received a transfusion. And he had surgery at 13 to remove an abdominal mass (benign) and bladder stones. I was reluctant about that second surgery, but vets were quite persuasive that it was the right thing to do. Joker is still going strong now at 15 years old. 

Joker is my second Golden to survive a splenectomy. An abdominal ultrasound revealed that his half-brother Charlie had a large mass on his spleen when Charlie was 7. His spleen was removed the next day and the mass was determined to be benign. Charlie lived to be almost 13.


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## katynick (Jun 2, 2015)

Jake has his spleen removed after rupture in March of this year at the age of 9yrs 10mo. He got through surgery fine but unfortunately the cancer was covering his liver as well. He lived a month longer. A friend of a friend had her dog (age 12) diagnosed the same week but his had not ruptured. She did not do surgery but she immediately put him on mushrooms (ask your vet) to keep a bleed out at bay and possibly slow the spread. He is still alive and doing well. At 11 it is a hard call on whether to have the spleen removed and take the risk. I would definately look into the mushrooms though as from what I have read they do seem to prolong life and keep them happy longer.


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

When we adopted the blind Pyrenees, Shaggy, he was very underweight. His rescuer/foster had him for 15 months--nobody wants a 7 year old blind large dog--and only manag to put 5 pounds on him. she si vegan and feeds her dogs and cats vegan food--no meat or dairy whatsoever, only grain, fruit and vegetables. He also had a chronic ear infection.

Okay, We got him Aug. 31, 2014, IU immediately put him on grain free, good food along with some home made turkey tew I make (ground turkey boiled with chunks of sweet potatoes, apples and green beans. My vet added steroid to the antibiotic for his ears. In 3 weeks had had gained almost 3 pounds and his ears were no longer infected.

He was an awesome dog who learned fats and he learned the lay of our yard and house. He felt comfortable enough to actually trot around the yard has he did his Pyrenees patrolling. He had been blind his entire life so didn't know something was wrong with him.

Anyway, on the Monday he was fine, patrolling the yard, eating his 3 meals plus his boiled sweet potato chunks and some dried chicken jerky treats that I made. He was coming to us and plopping that big head in our laps for ear rubs (which he loved since his ears had cleared up). He was just doing absolutely great..We were talking about extending his walks a little as he had NO muscle and we were working on building him up.

The next morning he was sprawled out in his usual place in the dining and I opened the patio door and he didn't get up to go out to do his business. We alwys left that door open in the day and he could go out and come in as he pleased. Have a fountain by the door and he knew the sound of it lead him to the door.

I called his name and he didn't wag his tail. He had been named Shaggy when we got him, and after a week he was wagging his tail so much we started calling him Shaggy Waggy. I knew then he was not feeling well. I offered him a sweet potato treat---which he NEVER refused, and he didn't even lick it, just ignored it. I called our vet and he said to get Shaggy in.

We had a hard time getting him to his feet and he collapsed on the way to the dar. Hubby had to pick him up and put him in, and then help him out of the car by holding him. He collapsed again in the exam room. his gums were white and his tongue very off color. And his stomach was purplish, and my vet said that meant he was bleeding. Carried him back and did ultrasound and said a tumor on his spleen had ruptured and there was really nothing he could do. Shaggy's helth had been so bad when we adopted him my vet didn't think he could make it thru the surgery and I agreed. We had just started putting weight on him, he had just started trotting and getting more exercise, but he had a long way to go.

I made the decision right then to let him go. I sat on the floor stroking that big head and telling him how much I loved him, and hubby sat in chair rubbing his side. My vet sent his spirit to the Rainbow Bridge. We had him cremated--had only been 1 month and 10 days since we had had our beloved Honey, golden retriever,, age 13 sent to the Bridge (lymphoma stopped eating, etc) and cremated. We had adopted her 12 years earlier, fully grown and heart worm positive. It is just so hard.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

This thread has been on my mind for days- I am so troubled that a veterinarian would tell a client that if a spleen had a tumor he eyeballed as cancer they should just not let the dog wake up from the surgery. 
I would look for a new vet.


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