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ElizabethGPAPS

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Everything posted by ElizabethGPAPS

  1. Savannah lost all her nails, one by one, over the space of about 6 months. It was bloody, but not excessively so - like a nail that was quicked. Hers never grew back, and for the last 5 years of her life she just had nubs.
  2. When facing the animal - trachea toward the left, esophagus toward the right. We had that drilled into us at the wildlife center I used to volunteer at. There was a lot of tube-feeding and force-feeding, and if someone accidentally poked the food down the wrong hole it would generally kill the animal.
  3. Have you tried force-feeding her? Turkey dogs go down easily, as do those logs of dog food (the ones that look like big sausages hanging on racks at the pet store) cut and shaped to about hotdog size. I've also heard of people using refrigerated (so it's firm) loaf-style dog food, cut in quarters. Dampen in warm water and poke it down the right side of the throat as you're facing the dog. I know it's not a long-term solution...quality of life issues come into play when you're doing something so unpleasant to your poor pup several times every day, but it can buy some time and maybe even get the appetite working again. It did with Isabella. She would go into these spirals of starvation every so often and I'd forcefeed her and she would come out of it. Sometimes just getting something in her empty tummy seemed to make her want more.
  4. Her last post here was about going outside and enjoying the sunshine - two days before she passed. So sad, and so young. Godpseed to her and sympathies to her family.
  5. Xan, I'm not at home now but I believe I have a bag of powdered Slippery Elm bark at home left over from the fight against Isabella's chronic skinniness. I'd be happy to mail it to you. I can let you know later. I got it on Ebay. The taste isn't bad - I would just mix it in her food. It's got a fairly appetizing, rather sweet aroma. As for Vitamin B-12 shots - that's a good idea. I used to have a friend who worked at an old-folk's home and she said they always knew when it was vitamin shot day because everyone was so perky and animated
  6. Sounds like the same thing Simon had happen to him a couple of months ago. Try googling Canine Geriatric Vestibular Syndrome.
  7. I'm so sorry - wasn't Zoey the one in the video walking the show ring in a wheelchair? Boy, not a dry eye in the house (or watching on the computer) during that proud walk. Maybe you could post a link? Godspeed to Zoey.
  8. I've never heard of a Vet prescribing long-term use, but they're certainly liberal with it. Metronidazole (Flagyl) is an antibiotic, antibacterial and parasite killer, and it also works nicely as a gut anti-inflammatory for dogs like my Simon who have frequent bouts of unexplainable big-D. A little time and money-saving tip: It can be purchased without a prescription (as can several other antibiotics) if it's labeled for aquarium usage. I keep 250mg Amoxicillin capsules and 250mg Metronadizole tablets in the house...I bought them on ebay as "Fish-Mox" and "Fish-Zole" for under $20 each for a 100 count.
  9. I'd look for corns too. I knew a dog with bad corns on both his front feet and he held them a very odd, almost foot-like angle when standing or walking. It took the longest time for anyone to diagnose the corns. It was actually me that noticed them when I was dogsitting him one time. He'd been to three vets and they'd all focused on his ankles because he held them so weirdly. Maybe squeeze each toe and see if there's a reaction? And does she 3-leg it more on hard surfaces and then walk a little better on grass and carpet?
  10. I had to euthanize my Isabella a year ago. She was very quiet throughout the procedure - I had given her a sedative (acepromazine) about 45 minutes before the vet arrived because she was stressy about strangers touching her. The first sedative shot was given and she appeared to fall asleep. The second shot was given and she stopped breathing almost immediately, but her heart didn't stop for a while. It took about 10 minutes before her heart was completely still - it wasn't beating regularly but it fits and starts. Several beats, then nothing for a bit, then a few flutters, then silence, and on and on. That was the hardest part for me...I felt like she was fighting to stay. The Vet said it was because her heart was strong; the illness that was killing her was in her spine. The Vet I used, who is a home Vet and has done thousands of euthanizations, also said that in her experience the dogs who had fought their illness the longest were the ones who were the slowest to succumb to the euthanization. She said it's as if their bodies are just used to fighting and go into that mode automatically. Again, not the most pleasant post but I know you want to hear the good and the bad. It's the hardest thing I've ever done and my thoughts are with you.
  11. Simon had a similar episode over the summer: Thread He recovered fine in a few hours and hasn't had an issue since. I hope the same for your boy! Edited to say - Oh, I just looked him up and see that he's not even 5 yet...so geriatric stuff is very unlikely. It does sound vestibular, though. Sending good thoughts for nothing serious!
  12. Don't panic, and don't make any rash decisions - statistically this is probably FCE (fibrocartilaginous embolism, aka spinal stroke). It's sudden and devastating, but with time most dogs make a full or near-full recovery. There's no "magic bullet fix", the only real cure is time. Some dogs are up and walking within days, and some take a little longer. Thankfully it's almost always a one-time occurance. Please keep us posted!
  13. Simon broke his tail at some point...it doesn't seem to bother him at all. Tail amputation is a bloody, major event and I wouldn't take it lightly. I would probably go with wound management and "wait n see". I just noticed the slug crawling across my door mat
  14. ...Isabella de Moreau's spirit rather begrudgingly left her broken old body and pranced to the bridge, where I hope beyond hope that she waits for me still. She visits in my dreams often and not a day goes by that I don't think of her and wish I could have her back, even if for just one more minute. I miss you, Isabella.
  15. I don't believe yearly vaccinations are necessary, even rabies. My Vet agrees. Every three years is fine, and I stopped vaccinating my dogs after age 9. I sometimes wonder if it's the reason why all of my hounds have lived to very old age (nearly 14, 15.5 and 14-and-counting) since there's nothing else different that I do other than the 3-year vaccination protocol.
  16. Don't be afraid of the medication! That being said... When Isabella was losing bladder control toward the end of her life, diapers were one of the things we did if I had to be away for more than a few hours, and overnight. I measured her and bought human diapers - cut a slit for the tail and voila. I had to put tape around the hole slit because the inner fluff of the diaper would come out otherwise, so I guess it took me a couple of minutes to "prepare" each diaper. They actually worked really well for urine - they're designed for babies and have all the wicking action so they're very absorbent while staying dry next to the skin. I would still baby-wipe her, though. The ones I got had cute little cartoon characters on them so it seemed to bring a little cheer to a grim duty. She didn't seem to care one way or the other about wearing them. The only problem was if she pooped in them. Then it would be poopy bath time which was not fun for either of us.
  17. Are you sure he's only 10? "Oops-poops" become fairly common among elderly dogs as they lose their sphincter control. They can feel it coming but they can't get to the right place fast enough. Was he just standing there eating and the poop kind of fell out of him? Or did he stop and assume the position?
  18. It sounds like FCE to me, and the prognosis IS positive. Most dogs make a full or near-full recovery with time. All the dogs I've known had bilateral back end paralysis, not just on one side.
  19. Isabella lived to be 15.5 and had LS for the last couple of years of her life. We also did the regular and holistic vet stuff and then tried depo medrol but it didn't really do anything for her. She eventually got to the point where she couldn't get up and I had to let her go. It's worth a try, though, because some dogs do have good results. My vet was not familiar with the usage so I printed out the Suzanne Stack article and brought it to him.
  20. Hooray! And it certainly is spider season here so I'm sure it's the same in BC. I didn't think we had any spiders that could do THAT, but I'm no expert. Just happy to hear the great news!
  21. Yes, it definitely looks less "pointy" and maybe a little flatter in front!
  22. I had a foster dog who ate more used condoms than I care to count (you can't flush them when you're on septic, and he went STRAIGHT for the bathroom trash can at every given opportunity, I swear). There will indeed be a condom in the poop so you should warn the adopters if you don't see it before she goes to their place. Maybe it'll make an appearance in the morning, though.
  23. Oh, no Annie! It could be a lot of things - I will send white light that it's not the dreaded "c". Be sure to have a specialist look at the x-ray...I know our regular vet was 90% certain that an x-ray showed osteosarcoma, but a specialist determined it to be osteo-arthritis. That was years ago and the dog is still with us. Best wishes to you and River.
  24. http://www.grassmere-animal-hospital.com/corn_hulling.htm
  25. I've known several Greyhounds that had toe amputations, whether it was injury, recurrent corns...one had an encapsulated cyst that kept growing back and another had some kind of fungal disease that was slowly eating away at the bone, and I think one just had a localized infection that kept coming back and no one could figure out the reason for over a year so they finally decided to just amp the toe. Anyway, all recovered quickly and completely and live their lives without a toe with no problems or lameness at all. Sometimes it's the kindest thing.
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