red bruising skin

Question
Hello,My dog is 13,About 3 months ago my dog started limping.I took him to the vet and they diagnosed him as having arthritis.About 4 days ago i noticed his leg was swelled badly and he was'nt walking.I took him to the vet and the vet noticed a real bad red bruising on him under his long hair,it starts at the hurt paw and goes over about half of his body,he thought maybe he had been abused or run over.I am with him all of the time and i know either one of those are not possible.He perscribed baytril and prednisone,the swelling has went down and he is moving around a little more but not much.He has been urinating regularly,but i had to give him an enima yesterday because he has'nt had a stool in 3 days,the enima worked but today he just ate maybe 2 bites of food and had no stool again.I am very concerned about the red bruised areas.Have you ever heard of anything like this before???

Answer
Hi Angie,

Thank you for writing to me about your dog's issues.  

When a dog doesn't eat it is a sign that something is wrong.  Coupled with the digestive issues you mentioned (by the way pumpkin or sweet potato is excellent for constipation) I would suggest that you ask your vet to do a full blood workup on your dog, including a thyroid test.  The blood work should provide clues as to what is causing your dog's skin to bruise, swell and for his appetite to be so poor.

Best Regards,
Shelley Davis