So have you noticed any vomiting?
Yes, I have. I am afraid,
if I found some sick on the carpets, lounge clean carpet.
And just yesterday,
which just suddenly realized all this really not very well.
Can you describe what it looked like?
Yeah, it was quite yellow.
I would say bright yellow and quite runny and a little bit lumpy, but yes.
Did you see any dark spots?
Sort of like coffee grains in it? No?
Nothing as dark as that.
Right. So, basically, yellow.
When did it start?
Well, I've noticed it yesterday.
That is the first sign.
But I have seen,
obviously, he's been sick.
Do you know how many times he has vomited over the past?
Well, since that episode,
a couple of times,
once in his bed.
And would you say it has been getting better or worse?
I would say it's a better sign.
Okay, good.
Right. Have you noticed any diarrhea?
Yes. He has had diarrhea. Yes.
When did it start?
Probably about the same time yesterday. I noticed that.
Do you notice how many times he's had diarrhea?
It is difficult to say because he is going out in the garden.
I noticed a couple of spots,
one in his bed and one outside just on the path.
Can you describe what it looked like?
Fairly runny, probably just quite yellowish, I would say.
Right, yellow.
And have you noticed any blood?
I did not notice any. No.
And did it have a darker color than you expected,
or was it just yellow?
Probably, no, I would say it is quite yellow.
Right. Okay, so all of this seems to have been happening over the past day or so, yes.
And have you noticed any change in his appetite?
He is not really eating.
And how long has this been going on?
Probably about a couple of days, I would say.
So when you say it also started at the same time,
his vomiting, diarrhea, and he is not really eating?
That is right.
Right. What is he normally fed?
Dried food.
And how much is he fed?
Probably, I would say,
a cup and a half of dried food.
Okay. Dried food.
Right. Okay. Good. Have you given him any snacks or any tidbits?
No. He gets a few dry biscuits each day but that's it.
Yes. And have you changed his diet recently?
No, just keep it same.
Same diet, right.
Okay. And have you noticed change in his weight over the past?
No, I mean It is only a couple of days.
It is kind of difficult to tell. He is quite hairy.
Right. Yes. It would be difficult to tell.
Have you noticed any coughing?
No.
And sneezing?
No.
Have you noticed him collapsing at any time?
No.
Any seizures?
No.
Have you noticed some itching a lot so?
No. No not really.
He's been himself in that respect.
And have you noticed any hair loss?
No more than usual.
There is some hair on the carpet each day but he's quite a hairy dog, but not excessive.
Okay. Good. Have you noticed any change in how much water he is drinking?
I have, yes.
When did it first start?
Over the past day or so. Yes.
And how much would you say he is drinking?
Well, the bowl in the house is probably medium-sized bowl, which I refill.
I mean he is just drying that. He's into that.
Oh really?
Yes.
Right. Have you noticed him drinking out of other sources like puddles, ponds?
He has, yes. We have been outside on walks.
He has been drinking from there as well.
Right.
He is quite thirsty.
So have you been taking him on walks?
Yes I have. Yes. Yes, trying to exercise.
Is that the normal routine that you do? Taking him?
Yes.
We usually just go the car up to the woods.
Right. Okay.
And then we have a walk.
He is off the lead.
Right. Okay.
Usually for that.
Good. And have you noticed any change in how much he is willing to exercise?
He is not running around as much I would say. It is.
Okay, really.
And have you just noticed that recently or has it been going on for a while?
Well probably recently when this all started and certainly on this walks.
Yeah, I would say he has been more clingy.
Right. Okay, okay. That is willing to exercise and run around. Yes.
And have you noticed any change in how much he is urinating?
Yes, he is definitely urinating more I would say.
Alright. And does he let you know that he wants to go outside or
does he just do it in the house?
No. He is asking to go out.
Okay, he is asking to go out.
Okay. Good. And have you noticed any blood?
No, because he is going outside to do it.
Right.
I have not spotted it..
And do you see any difficulty in him urinating?
Does he look to be in any pain?
I don't think so.
He does not look like in any pain.
Right, Okay.
Well, I think that is it for the general history.
So, we can now summarize and see what we have found
because we have found a few abnormalities in Copper.
So, we have discovered that he is vomiting and vomiting started about two days ago.
That's right.
Yes and it's a bit yellow.
Yes.
Yes, and he is also having diarrhea.
That is right.
That also started at the same time as the vomiting.
That is right.
And he is urinating more.
Yes he is.
And drinking more.
Yes.
Right. And he is a bit lethargic when you take him on walks.
Yes, yes that is right.
And he is eating less. That is right.
Is there anything that I did not cover that you noticed?
No, nothing else spotted that is absolutely. Yes.
All right. All right.
So we have the basic information.
We have a good history and the next step will be to do a physical examination on Copper.
And then we will come up with a diagnostic plan and see where we would progress with him.
Okay.
So I will start the physical examination by taking him to be weighed.
Right.
Okay.
Thank you.
Yes. Come here Copper.
Oh good boy, good boy.
So it is important to do it in
a systematic approach and you tell the clients what you are going to do.
So, at the beginning it is called sign posting.
See you tell the clients, okay,
I will be doing the history and then physical examination.
And then we discuss diagnostic approaches,
because you can be doing the history and
the clients will be wondering why is he not even touching my dog.
Why is he not doing a physical examination on the dog.
Just important to tell the clients what you're doing.
And then when you are doing the actual history,
it varies between vets but some vets like to do it by systems.
So, I started by asking about
the gastrointestinal system at first so I asked about vomiting,
I asked about diarrhea,
I asked about weight loss,
and I asked about appetite change.
And whilst I was asking questions about certain symptoms,
I was also asking questions to see the severity or when it first started.
For example, when I asked about vomiting,
I asked if the client notice any coffee grains.
So, this could be an indication of blood coming out from
the stomach or any parts in the gastrointestinal tract.
And it is also important example to differentiate between vomiting and regurgitation.
Because the client said that there was a yellow substance in the vomit,
I sort of knew that it probably was coming
from the little pods of the gastrointestinal tract,
so the stomach and the small intestines rather
than it being in the esophagus and that is coming straight back up.
So yes.
So then I asked about the renal systems. I asked about the kidney.
Well, there are several things that could
cause excessive drinking and excessive urinating.
So, I asked about how much the dog has been urinating and how much he has been drinking.
And I ask about any pain upon urination.
And then I was asking about the renal system
then the client mentioned that he drinks a lot when he is outside.
So I decided not to be too lenient.
I decided to go on and talk about the exercise,
because I do not think you should be asking
about renal system and just have it in your head, "renal, renal.
renal." And then even if the client mentioned something,
you just ignore that, and you completely forget about that.
So I decided to talk about the exercise and realize that he was exercising less.
Dr Jessie PatersonBSc (Hons) Agricultural Chemistry, PhD, PgDip
Kay AitchisonBSc Agriculture (Hons Animal Production Science)
Prof Susan RhindBVMS, PhD, FRCPath, PFHEA, MRCVS
Dr Gurå Therese BergkvistBSc Hons (Vet Sci), BVM&S, PhD, MRCVS
Rachel WhittingtonBVSC MRCVS
Dr Catriona BellBVetMed, PhD, PGCAP, MRCVS
Dr Andrew GardinerBVM&S, Cert SAS, MSc, PhD, MRCVS
