What are the common signs of an overactive immune system in your dog?

I'm so sorry that you are dealing with this with Cosita. Thank you for including a picture. She is adorable. I am attaching a link below to a handout on IBD. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=598 The end of that handout specifically addresses your concern. The problem with doing steroids is that it decreases the inflammation in the intestines and will likely make Cosita feel better, but if her disease is due to cancer (lymphoma), putting her on prednisone will make it harder to diagnose and treat her cancer later. "Lymphoma is temporarily responsive to prednisone but better responses can be obtained from stronger chemotherapy agents. Exposure to prednisone will make the lymphoma much more difficult to diagnose should biopsies be obtained later. Plus, exposure to prednisone can lead to resistance to other medications. (This is less of a problem for cats, but in dogs even a few days of prednisone can make a lasting remission impossible to achieve.)" There is nothing wrong with starting her on steroids, but you have to understand that it will limit your treatment and diagnostic options in the future if the steroids do not help. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and answers your questions. Thanks for using PetCoach.

I am sorry to hear about Tyson. The two main rule outs we would have in his case would be inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and cancer of the intestinal tract (such as GI lymphoma). Unfortunately it is impossible to tell which of these is present without additional testing. The next step would be an ultrasound of the abdomen. It is possible they may find changes supportive of one disease or the other, but it is also possible the changes might not differentiate the two and a biopsy may be needed. The question you need to ask yourself is if your dog did have cancer, would you pursue aggressive treatment (i.e. surgery and chemotherapy). If the answer is no, then it might be worth trying to treat him as if he has IBD to see if there is any improvement. This treatment usually involves a diet change and putting the dog on a steroid such as prednisone. Often dogs with cancer will temporarily improve on prednisone as well. Here is an article with a little info on this: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=598 .

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, especially IBD and GI lymphoma. Usually GI lymphoma doesn't respond well or for long if treated as IBD. Dogs in kidney failure do not do well usually. I hope this helps!

I'm sorry for your loss. The most commonly condition mistaken for IBD is intestinal lymphoma, i'm not sure what tests have been done for cancer but in order to diagnose intestinal lymphoma she should have been sent to an ultrasound specialist, i guess that would be the first thing that comes to mind but of course without being able to run tests and check the full history it's just an educated guess.

Yes, with any immune-mediated disease you can see these symptoms. They are serious symptoms so if Jess is not already under the care of a veterinarian then you need to get her care urgently. It sounds like she may have immune mediated hemolytic anemia which is life threatening but can be easily treated if caught early. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Aw I am so sorry to hear this about her. Her illness is likely what is causing the decrease in appetite. The steroid usually helps to decrease the inflammation and increase the appetite. A few things I would talk to your vet about is whether a daily probiotic and a long term appetite stimulant would help her. I would also talk to your vet about starting her on weekly Vitamin B12 injections. Most dogs with GI cancer or IBD have low Vitamin B12. Your vet should be able to give her one injection a week for 4-6 weeks then decrease the injections to once a month if she is doing well. Vitamin B12 is also a natural appetite stimulant. I would also talk to them about whether an oral steroid daily would be better than the occasional steroid injection. I obviously do not know what type of steroid injection they are giving. Some steroid injections stay in the system for 6-8 weeks where others only stay in the system for 48 hours. I would also consider putting her on a hypoallergenic diet if she would be willing to eat it. If she prefers human food, you may consider making her own diet at home. If you do, I would visit balanceit.com for recipes and also talk to you vet about which type of foods would be safe for her. I hope this helps!

Hello. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I am so sorry to hear that Piper passed away. Yes, it is possible she had cancer. She could have had a stomach ulcer that perforated. She may have had heart disease that caused her passing. The only way to know for sure what happened would have been to have your vet perform a necropsy (autopsy). Without doing that, all we can do is guess. Again, I am so sorry for your loss. Hope this answered your question.