Well she keeps trying but not getting much.  The vet thinks she has a tumour behind her eye which is affecting her ability to open her mouth and now affecting her eating and drinking. The swelling around her eye was thought to be infection caused by a broken tooth which was removed.  She's been on antibiotics since the beginning of March but the swelling hasn't really reduced so the vet now thinks there is a tumour behind her eye. Insurance wouldn't cover her current condition even if I had continued with it.  To confirm suspected tumour would mean a scan. Costs so far have been in excess of £800 and a scan would be in excess of £1600 which I am afraid is not possible. Our last visit to the vet on Saturday was for the not drinking and she seemed so poorly. I was on the brink of saying euthanase her rather than prolong any pain or discomfort, but the family were visiting yesterday and I knew they wanted to say goodbye.  It's all very heartbreaking and I know many of you can emphathise, however, today she is in the garden, trotting around robustly, barking at whatever, wanting to eat (she's getting lots of freshly cooked turkey in bite size bits), wanting to drink and wagging her tail.  She does not look like a dying dog! If she's not ready to give up then neither am I. 

The main problem is that she is trying to drink, making lapping noises but not getting much if anything.  I have soaked bread in water and she manages to eat that but I would like to get a decent quantity into her because if the vet has made a mistake I want to give her a chance to recover.  I have tried syringing the water into her mouth but she's not getting the hang of that.

Any ideas?

Bless her. :( I'd feed a moist food if you can as there will be a good amount of water in that. When I feed my dogs kibble they drink far more than when they have their usual raw (Nutriment mostly). If raw isn't an option, something like Naturediet or an equivalent would be my next choice.

Good luck.

She normally has James Wellbeloved dry kibble but I have been soaking it since she had her infected tooth removed.  Because it now looks like her condition is terminal, in the past week I have given her all sorts and I think she's enjoying the human food more than the soaked kibble.  Last night I cooked a whole rolled turkey breast and forgot to put it in the fridge so she's been enjoying that today.  I'll go back to the soaked food though.
Thanks

So sorry for this. Just a small thought I met someone at a cat show who had a special needs cat born with serious harelip and cleft palate. This cat was now two and was fed and given fluid via a syringe. He could never drink any other way.
The owner took him everywhere and they had such a close bond that she new when he was thirsty.
I just wondered if you could syringe fluid into her mouth so she stays hydrated and comfortable. I appreciate there is more to think about than this but it may help a bit  Just noticed you have tried syringing I would keep at it or maybe a sports bottle I know mine learned how to manage a sports bottle

The sports bottle is a good idea.  She's not having any of it though.  It's not like I can open her mouth either because she can barely to that herself.  With the syringe she was just letting the water run out. 

Don't even attempt to open the mouth, just pop the syringe or spout of the sports bottle in the fleshy space at the side of her mouth ( behind her premolars) gently tilt her muzzle up...and squirt no more than 5 ml at a time.
Any more will induce a cough reflex which will defeat the object.

5 ml four times an hour PLUS only soaked food should keep her hydrated enough.

I would not dare to try to open her mouth, it's not something she's ever been keen on.  Each time the vet examines her she comes away looking and clearly feeling worse for it.  I tried squirting the syringe through the side but she just didn't seem to get the idea or the water.  She completely rejected my attempts with the water bottle. I'll try again later. 

What about making jelly for her?  you'd then be able to give it in chopped up pieces, savoury or sweet :-)  Since jelly is mostly water, this should help a lot ;-)

When at shows with my old bitch, who wouldn't drink even to save her life, I used to spray water into her mouth using a plant spray, but that does require opening her mouth, so may not work for you.  But can be good if her mouth seems very dry ;-)

If it was my dog, I'd feed raw minces, the freeflow type which has a lot of water in. Lots of goodnesses in it as well, and easy to eat when properly thawed. Then take each day as it comes and when the day comes when that amount of liquid isn't enough, then the time has come to say goodbye.

I know how hard it is though, when a much loved dog is getting close to the end.

Some new things to try.  Thanks.

Yes it's very hard and even though I knew it would be I can't believe what an emotional wreck I actually am.  I am also constantly watching her for the slightest change but today have only seen improvement.  I don't know if this is wishful thinking but I do know I won't let her suffer.  She's made some progress this afternoon with drinking, she has managed to get some from her bowl which is a great improvement on Saturday and Sunday. She's just gone off with my son for a walk and she is as keen as ever. 

Thanks again.  I knew I would get some good tips from the experts :)

My dog ended up last year with a foreign body in her eye, and within a few hours, her eyeball bulged right forward, pushed out by a severe infection behind the eye.  They called it retrobulbar cellulitis.  She couldn't open her mouth either without screaming. In a dog the eyes push forward slightly when they open their jaws hence the pain when doing so.  Luckily she is insured and we got her into the Willows and she spent 4 days there while they battled to save her eye.  She had biopsies taken and an MRI scan which confirmed the infection.

They have a massive gap behind the eyes which is a great harbour for big infections.  She was on pain meds and 4 different lots of antibiotics for about a month afterwards.  Plus 3 different lots of eye drops umpteen times a day.  She has nutriment too on a regular basis so I just gave her that instead of meals of kibble.

How old is your dog?  I have to say it did take a long time to clear up this infection and it was touch and go for a while whether she would lose her eye.  Would it be worth asking your Vet for a referral to an Ophthamologist?  I'm sure my dogs MRI scan wasn't that expensive.  But you could always ring them to get a estimate for seeing a Specialist and possibly having scans done.

Thanks Justine.

She's 10 but doesn't look or act it and that's standard for her breed I think.   Saturday I was ready to throw in the towel as the vet was different and saying the same as the one I saw last week.  I accept that they are the experts and base their opinions on knowledge and experience, however, I just have this niggling doubt in the back of my mind that they might just have got it wrong.  She's been on 300mg of Antirobe per day since the first week of March but as things were looking so bleak at last Wednesday's vet trip I decided on Thursday that I might as well double the dose as this won't hurt under the circumstances, I will use up the 2 weeks' worth of Antirobe in 1 week but by that time she probably will have deteriorated to the point that I will feel no alternative but to let her go anyway if the antibiotics don't work. 

They said before the op that an x-ray would be a good idea to check that there wasn't anything more sinister than infection causing the swelling behind the eye if there wasn't massive drainage on pulling the tooth.  They didn't know the tooth was broken before taking it out and thought that infection had travelled in by the broken tooth and possibly set in the bone above.  Whilst under general they took an x-ray which didn't show up anything unusual.  They thought then that a long treatment of antibiotics was needed. 

They then told me a couple of weeks later that they expected the swelling to have reduced and that perhaps there was something else causing it.  I remarked on the x-ray result but she said that the x-ray would not show everything but a scan would and this would be about £1500 which in my experience always ends up being more once other bits and pieces are added in. I have spent about £800 so far on top of my daughter's wedding on March 8th. Having had a big argument with the insurance company last year about all the exclusions on the policy I cancelled it. To be honest I would rather spend a couple of hundred more on a more intensive course of antibiotics than go for a scan which I can't afford anyway.  I think because she is having trouble using her tongue properly that the vet is probably right but I can't help but think it might still be a resistent infection.  To their mind it seems one or the other so to my mind why not just up the Antirobe dosage which I have done now anyway. 

Feeling confused so sorry about the ramble and thanks for the support.

Sorry to hear you are both having such a difficult time. One of my mums dogs also had a swelling of / behind the eye - she was going to be referred (he thought tumor) but my vet started her on 3 types of antibiotics as it was over Christmas several years ago and she got better before her appointment - initially she was just on one antibiotic but then they changed her to 3 different ones plus metacam . Is it worth asking for a combination of more and different antibiotics in case the antirobe is not working due to the type of bacteria ? Wishing you and her well with everything . It's never easy x

I think they should try a different combination of drugs too because it if it is cellulitis, it could be a bacteria thats resistant to antirobe. Ania had that too and Synulox, plus metronidazole and rimadyl.  I'll dig the receipt and let you know what else she was on. The eye vet just gave her loads to try and cover everthing. Its got to be worth a shot for you. X

Cheryl she also had omeprazole but that was for her nausea. Drops were pred forte steriod drops, acular and atropine to keep her pupils dilated at the same time. Injured eye pupil was small so it causes more pain. Antirobe is good for mouth cavity infections but if the problem is now behind her eye, i'd try for different antibios. HTH x

I've just caught up with this thread again.  Thanks so much for the last 3 posts, I think it's definitely worth a try.  She's not acting like a dying dog.  I've not been in this situation before so difficult for me to know but:

- since being given such awful news and because she was struggling with kibble, I've been giving her cooked chicken and titbits that were strictly rationed before.  She hasn't refused any food offered and I think she looks as if she's put on weight.  The vet was surprised at the last visit 10 days ago that she had maintained her weight.

- She's still struggling to lap but she's got better at it so I don't have to worry about syringing or soaking bread in water

- She's still drooly because her tongue is not working properly, however, she's seems happier and seems to be gaining energy. She's not 100% but she's better than she was.

On the negative side, she still has the swelling around her eye.

I'm going to the vet tomorrow to pick up metacam so will query alternative antibiotics.  It's got to be worth a try.

Hope you have a better visit to vets & different meds.
I have this week been quoted £5000,for mri scan ,x-rays,& possible operation, Sons dog no insurance & no money as he has been of work for nearly 12 months with depression.
Think at 66 I will soon need to go back to work !!!!

Thank you and I wish you luck with your situation.