Poodle crossbreeds make up a large proportion of the dogs that are registered with the practice due to their desirable coat and friendly temperament. The crossbreeds we see are commonly Cockapoos, Cavapoos or labradoodles – but occasionally there are lesser known crosses encountered such as the schnoodle. The schnoodle is born when the poodle is crossed with the schnauzer, which is a characterful and charming dog in its own right. But schnauzers can be predisposed to liver and gall bladder disease, and that is exactly what the delightfully named Crikey the schnoodle had been suffering from.

Last year, blood tests picked up that Crikey had abnormally high ‘liver enzymes’ within his bloodstream. At that time, he was quite happy in himself, but earlier this summer Crikey began to become unwell. He had started to suffer from bloody diarrhoea with vomiting for a few days – known as ‘haemorrhagic gastroenteritis’. This put him completely off his food. He seemed quite sad when he arrived for his appointment at the practice—far from his usual bouncy self that everyone had come to know during his regular routine vet visits.

As everyone was quite concerned about Crikey’s demeanour, he was admitted to be hospitalised for supportive treatment that consisted of probiotic paste, anti-sickness injections, gastroprotectants and intravenous fluids. Blood tests were taken that showed his liver values had worsened further from last time and he was suffering from a degree of pancreatitis – inflammation of the digestive organ the pancreas. After 24 hours at the practice, Crikey felt a little better and hadn’t vomited, but still had terrible diarrhoea and wouldn’t eat a thing. It was decided that he would have to stay in for at least another night, but this then turned into a third night too when he didn’t pick up as everyone had hoped.

Being away from home can add to further worry for a pet owner who is already concerned about whether they will pull through, but Crikey’s owner was relieved to receive regular updates from the night nurse in the form of photos, and videos of Crikey getting all the care and comfort he needed. On the fourth day, after having extra medications added in such as appetite stimulants and further anti nausea treatments, Crikey had an in depth ultrasound scan of his gall bladder, which is closely related to both the liver and the pancreas. This scan revealed that there was a build up of sludgy, thickened bile clogging up around his liver. Samples were taken of Crikey’s bile via an ultrasound guided needle.

Whilst these samples were sent off to the external lab for further testing, Crikey was started on yet further medication, at the risk of becoming a barking pharmacy! This consisted of an antibiotic designed to act within the gall bladder, as well as a drug to help contract the bile duct, assisting flow of bile out from the gall bladder.

Pleasingly, Crikey started to respond better to these medications and appeared noticeably brighter. That evening, he even started eating – which Crikey’s owner was delighted to see in the latest evening phone update.

Results two days later ruled out any evidence of cancer, but showed that Crikey was suffering from an unusual but serious infection in his gall bladder. A type of bacteria known as Pseudomonas was grown in the lab from Crikey’s bile. This bacteria is notoriously difficult to treat and is more commonly found in nasty ear infections. This particular bug had probably travelled up from his gut, through the bile duct to enter the gall bladder and cause sludgy bile as well as discomfort and a lot of sickness!

Fortunately by this time, Crikey was well enough to go home as he had continued to eat and get stronger, but the results indicated he needed an extra antibiotic to get him back to full fitness. After a week’s course of tablets, Crikey was unbelievably back on top form, just two weeks on from a time where his owner thought he might not make it. He continues to thrive at home now on a specialised digestible and low fat diet to ease the pressure on his gut, pancreas, liver and gall bladder. Crikey, he’s a lucky dog!