Listlessness in Dogs: Bailey Loses Interest in Life

When your Golden Retriever loses interest in food and activities, you can bet they are very ill.

With Bailey, this came on suddenly. He stopped eating, would mostly lay around and drag himself around when he had to move and looked miserable.

Listlessness in Dogs: Bailey Loses Interest in Life

What is going on with Bailey?

Something was very wrong, but Bailey couldn’t tell either his mom or his veterinarian what was it that was bothering him. There was no obvious indicator as to what was going on. The only way to try and find out are diagnostic tests.

Bailey’s blood work didn’t provide any answers.

On the one hand, you’re glad that everything looks good, but it is frustrating as well because you remain in the dark.

Next tests to perform were x-rays and ultrasound. Finally, there was an explanation for Bailey’s not feeling good.

Bailey was suffering from heart disease–pericardial effusion.

What that means is that Bailey had fluid accumulating within the membrane surrounding his heart. The function of this sac is to protect and lubricate the heart. When it collects an abnormally large amount of fluid, it compresses the heart and restricts its ability to pump blood.

It can have a number of causes including congenital disorders, congestive heart failure, clotting disorders, infections, and others. The most common cause seems to be a bleeding tumor. These tumors might be benign and yet cause all this trouble. Sometimes, the reason cannot be identified.

Without treatment, Bailey could have died from heart failure.

The first step of the treatment is to remove the excess fluid. That made Bailey feel better. But without knowing and addressing the cause, the problem can return. And it has.

To keep this from happening, Bailey needed to have surgery. In Bailey’s case, it involved removing the sack altogether. That way the fluid had no place to accumulate.

The surgery worked for Bailey. Most dogs can manage without the pericardial sack well. Bailey is certainly his old, vigorous and happy self.

Read the original story here.

Related articles:
Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog: Lethargy

Categories: Addison's disease • Conditions • Heart disease • Listlessness

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Jana Rade

I am a graphic designer, dog health advocate, writer, and author. Jasmine, the Rottweiler of my life, was the largest female from her litter. We thought we were getting a healthy dog. Getting a puppy from a backyard breeder was our first mistake. Countless veterinary visits without a diagnosis or useful treatment later, I realized that I had to take Jasmine's health care in my own hands. I learned the hard way that merely seeing a vet is not always enough. There is more to finding a good vet than finding the closest clinic down the street. And, sadly, there is more to advocating for your dog's health than visiting a veterinarian. It should be enough, but it often is not. With Jasmine, it took five years to get a diagnosis. Unfortunately, other problems had snowballed for that in the meantime. Jasmine's health challenges became a crash course in understanding dog health issues and how to go about getting a proper diagnosis and treatment. I had to learn, and I had to learn fast. Helping others through my challenges and experience has become my mission and Jasmine's legacy. I now try to help people how to recognize and understand signs of illness in their dogs, how to work with their veterinarian, and when to seek a second opinion. My goal is to save others the steep curve of having to learn things the hard way as I did. That is the mission behind my blog and behind my writing. That is why I wrote Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog, which has turned out being an award-winning guide to dog owners. What I'm trying to share encompasses 20 years of experience.

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