My dog's belly is swollen. What causes fluid buildup (ascites)?

Hello, sorry to hear about Prince. It sounds like he may have right sided heart disease in which the blood backs up into his veins and the vascular fluid begins to leak out of the vessels. This generally leads to fluid in the belly causing abdominal distention, fluid in the chest, and subcutaneous fluid. Other causes of 3rd spacing can be associated with a low protein level either due to liver disease or loss of protein through the kidneys or bowel. It sounds like prince needs to have a full evaluation of his vital organs and this may include bloodwork, an abdominal ultrasound, a heart ultrasound, and blood pressure monitoring. Ultimately, Prince may need to be evaluated by his veterinarian or an internist to determine why he is having fluid accumulation outside of his vasculature. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Fluid accumulation in the abdomen is often secondary to heart disease (valvular disease, heart worms, cardiomyopathy) ..or...some type of malignancy. Tumors in the abdominal cavity can sometimes be associated with fluid build up. It is important to do some additional diagnostic tests. Survey radiographs to start, then it may be advised to move on to an ultrasound....either of the heart or if the abdomen depending on radiograph findings. The ultrasound can be particularly helpful in cases like this where fluid accumulation reduces the ability to see vital structures on radiographs. This most likely had nothing to do with a case of overeating. There is likely some disease process that has been going on for some time. I hope you can get some answers soon. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I am so sorry that your sweet Jenny has been diagnosed with ascites. There are a few different possibilities that can cause this including but not limited to a liver shunt (the blood bypasses the liver and doesn't detox like it should), congenital heart problems, low protein, a viral infection, a bacterial infection, parasites and more. I would recommend starting with a full panel of blood work and a fecal. Depending on the results, your vet may want to send in some of the fluid from her abdomen, perform x-rays, and/or an ultrasound. I hope you all are able to resolve this and she gets better really soon! Hugs!

Fluid in the abdomen is usually caused by either heart failure, low blood protein levels, or cancer. Blood work should be done to check protein levels. A follow up appointment with your veterinarian soon is important, and more work up should be done to identify the cause. Blood work, urinalysis, and ultrasound are the steps I would usually take is a case such as Major to find the problem and develop the best treatment options. Best of luck and I hope you find an answer soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hello, sorry to hear about Ludo. It looks like they noted free fluid within his peritoneal (abdominal) cavity. This can be caused by multiple different things and there could be different types of fluid including (Blood, infection, urine, or even clear vascular fluid). This can be differentiated with further diagnostics such as sampling the fluid. Once we know what type of fluid is in his abdomen (blood vs infection vs vascular fluid) then you could have different causes for that fluid. Its unlikely that glucosamine is causing this fluid. Speak with your veterinarian about sampling this fluid to obtain better informed likely diagnosis. Possibilites include: Blood - cancer vs trauma Infection - penetrating abdominal wound vs intestinal perforation Vascular fluid - Low protein vs heart failure Urine - ruptured urinary bladder Hope this helps and best of luck.

I'm glad that Bailey seems to be feeling okay despite her new abdominal distension. The abdomen can become distended from either a mass or fluid accumulation from right sided congestive heart failure, liver failure, or cancer. Any of these conditions can progress and worsen rapidly, so I recommend taking Bailey to her vet fairly urgently for evaluation to get to the bottom of this issue. She may need to have chest and abdominal x-rays and/or ultrasound, or have a sample of fluid drained from her abdomen for analysis. I hope this helps and that all goes well for Bailey!

You do need more testing to find out what is going on. It can be fluid build up but you need blood work and an ultrasound to see if the fluid is leaking from the intestines or liver congestion secondary from heart disease. sometimes a diet change can help or the fluid may need to be drained to have it evaluated for cells. Without a diagnosis and more testing it is hard to help you further