Hi
Have just taken Cherry, 13 year old cavalier, for a pre-holiday check up at vets. (We wanted to make sure our holiday wasn't likely to make her keel over with shock! It's the first time we have taken the dogs away from home, and as she has a heart murmer, and had Vestibular Syndrome last year, we were concerned.)

Vet has given her a good check over, and her heart and lungs are OK for a 13 year old cavalier...she has a grade 4 murmer, but it isn't causing any problem. However, he did say that she has an enlarged spleen. This could be a tumour,...or nothing.., or something that she has just developed as she has got older. Vet said she could possibly collapse with a ruptured spleen.......he wasn't trying to scare me....just make me aware.
We have already decided not to put her through any sort of surgery at her age, (her teeth could do with a descale, but again, we don't want to risk an anaesthetic.)

So, has anyone else had a dog with an enlarged spleen, and what happened?

Thanks
Sami

If the spleen should rupture she will lose blood very rapidly and your only option will be emergency surgery or PTS. Sorry to be blunt but it is what you asked. However she may continue with no trouble, it is not possible to say, as I think your vet explained. It may be possible to put the bitch on a drip and then do an op, should the spleen give way but sometimes the shock is to much for the heart. If it were mine I would have the spleen removed but the choice is yours, and it is difficult because you do not know how dangerous it may be to do nothing.

Hi
Thanks for reply. This is basically what the vet said.......I think we will wait and see at the moment, as she if I hadn't taken her for a doggy MOT this morning, I wouldn't have ven known she had an enlarged spleen. (vet also said that a spleen can increase and reduce in size depending on the overall health of the animal.)

I lost 2 cavaliers and a cat last year, and had major ops done on all of them first, to try and prevent losing them. I now think it wasn't fair on the animals, putting them through surgery when things were not looking good, so ........

Sami

Hi Sami,
Yes the spleen can vary in size according to the health of the animals because it manufactures both red and white blood cells and helps fight disease - if the animal has any infection the spleen will react. With luck on your side, all might be well in a few weeks.
:)

Thanks Jeangenie

Cherry has just wolfed down some roast lamb, and is looking at me as if to say "oh....Wot's all the fuss about?!" She did have extremely full anal glands, which has now been sorted, so I will give her a bit of Arnica to soothe her bum ! and hopefully she will enjoy pottering about in our forest hideaway at the end of the week!

Sami