NeylasMom

Thanks for the input everyone. To respond to your questions, Neyla is still rawfed. However, while rawfeeding does affect some blood work values, it shouldn't affect these ones (it sometimes affects creatinine, hematocrit and BUN, which are all normal here). They're also markedly higher than her "usual" values (we've done yearly blood work since I adopted her) and aside from her first year with me, she's always been raw fed. Regarding pinching her skin, I just did this the other day. Back skin moves back immediately, neck skin may be a little slow, but not much, nothing that concerns me. Regarding water consumption, raw fed dogs don't drink much water because there's so much in her food, so I shouldn't really need to force water on her. Having said that, she's already drinking more than usual (which would explain the increased need to go out). The only thing I can think of is that not to long ago I realized I may not have adjusted my dog's food amounts properly with the season change and both were looking a bit thin. So I increased the amount I was feeding both. I feel like Zuri has gained the weight back, whereas Neyla is having trouble keeping it on given the amount I'm feeding. It's possible I'm just misjudging so at this point, I've decided to feed even larger meals and to start weighing her food again so I can know for sure. We'll see how that goes for a couple of weeks and then rerun the electrolytes I guess. Oh, I didn't mention in my first post that she did weigh in underweight at the vets too. Last note, we started having problems with her seeming exceptionally hungry/having tummy problems a few months ago. It coincided with the time that I doubled her glucosamine/chondroitin dosage, and also somewhat with the season change. I noticed her resource guarding with Zuri more when food was involved, so that's when I upped her food, and also started her on probiotics. The resource guarding subsided, as did the other "hungry" behaviors so I thought we had addressed it. One thing I haven't done is run a fecal. Is that a possibility I should look into? I keep coming back to her not quite keeping on weight completely, and that her food intake is so directly related to her water intake that the dehydration could be a result of that. Meredith - Dr. K actually ran this bloodwork (I took Neyla with me when I took Monell in). She said she wouldn't worry about any of it, but mentioned liver issues as the next step for investigating. I came to the dehydration conclusion myself after doing a small bit on online research, I'm sort of surprised she didn't mention any concerns??? Oh, btw, she's completely happy, playful, active and enjoying her walks (as much as her bum toe will allow) so at least that's good. Any other thoughts in light of this? My vet is actually out of town through today so I'm still waiting to hear back from her, so for now my plan to to proceed as mentioned - increased food, track what I'm feeding, and potentially rerun the blood work in a couple of weeks. Thanks again!

Let us know what you find out. Zuri's been doing a bit of this, but I assumed it's just allergies. I've had him for nearly 2 years now and he hasn't had problems previously.

Let us know what the vet says. Sounds like it may be infected.

I agree, just build back up somewhat gradually, but if she's tolerating the walks well after she's off the Rimadyl, I see no need to deprive her. I would definitely recommend the glucosamine/chondroitin in addition to the fish oil, both are useful for joint fluids/cushioning, or so they say.

About a month ago I ran a urinalysis on Neyla because there had been a few accidents in the house, but it came back normal (although spec gravity was just outside the normal range on the high end). The vet recommended I test Zuri and/or run blood work on Neyla. I decided to wait and see if the accidents continued, which they didn't, but I did notice Neyla drinking a bit more water and needing to go out more frequently over the next month. The other morning, I noticed her urine looked very dilute when I took her out first thing in the morning so I decided to take her in for the blood work (she had a bout of acute kidney failure back in 2003 so I'm hypersensitive - in that case, we never identified the problem, but she got better and has had normal blood work since). So I have the bloodwork back. Hemoglobin is slightly high and WBC are low, but both are in the normal range for greys and pretty typical for Neyla so no concerns there. Same with creatinine, which is 1.8 (her normal runs 1.6-1.8, when she had kidney problems it was up to 2.5). The high values I am concerned about are these: Total Protein 7.8 (5.0-7.4) Sodium 177 (139-154) Chloride 132 (102-120) TP isn't particularly high, but it tends to run low in greys and was only 6.5 in Neyla's bloodwork last year. Last year her sodium and chloride were also within the normal range. From the minimal knowledge I have, these and the slightly high specific gravity all seem to point to dehydration to me. And if something is making her dehydrated, that would explain the increased drinking and need to go out. The question is, is there something going on making her dehydrated? Any input? Should I be concerned, or am I overreacting? I didn't have my usual vet run this blood work, so I sent it over to her today and am waiting for her to call me back to tell me what she thinks and if she thinks we should come in. Just thought I'd get your thoughts in the meantime. Thanks! Jen

Yeah, so glad the ear healed well. I love the one up, one down ear look. Neyla's go all wells, but the one up, one half cocked is her favorite position.

Yep, you can get sunscreens made especially for dogs. I've bought one made by Dr. Dog in the past, but it's not longer shown on their site. They do have the bug repellent I use (it's a citronella based spray) - click here. Otherwise, Entirelypets.com has a selection of them - Link.

It happens. My friend's dog got it after he was vaccinated each time. After his second round of it, she opted to no longer vaccinate him for it. I don't board my dogs so my dogs aren't vaccinated for it either. It's worth re-evaluating why you're vaccinating as it may happen again.

I encourage people not to mess around with tails that won't heal. Those wounds can be really difficult to get to heal and can lead to potentially serious infections. Not to scare you, just saying, I'd pay $40 or so for some medical input in this case. I hope it heals up quickly - those tails really are tough!

Check for a smell as well. Infections tend to smell nasty. But I think you'd notice inflammation, redness or even pus before or at least with a smell. Is the wound over a joint? I could see it being painful even if uninfected if it were, although that wouldn't necessarily explain why the pain just started. And I woudl think it would get more painful with use, not less. I still think muscle injury.

The fact that it's more painful when he gets up in the morning lends itself to a muscle injury or worsening arthritis rather than a bone issue. I personally would rest him (potty walks only and if he's active inside, crate or baby-gate when you can't supervise) and put him on aspirin and see how he is by Monday. Aspirin must be buffered, one adult (325 mg) pill with each meal (2x/day) should be safe. You could also give pepcid about 20 min before his meal in case the aspirin might upset his stomach. Having said all of that, if you notice the pain getting worse, especially if it gets worse quickly despite the rest and aspirin I would take him into the vet. Given that it's Friday, if you wanted to be cautious you could take him in for a quick x-ray today or tomorrow. But it sounds to me like a muscle injury.

FYI, there's an article about VD in the most recent issue (may be second to most recent at this point) of Whole Dog Journal. I haven't read it yet, but noticed it's in there. You can get the articles online for a small fee.

I really do think the only reason Zuri is still with me is because someone had JUST posted about their dog getting heatstroke (it was a dog who got loose in the middle of summer and wasn't found until a half a day or so later) shortly before it happened and I had read the articles that were posted. So instead of ignoring the signs, or putting him in the car and making the 30 minute drive to my vet, I put him in the shower. All of this to say, yes, it's incredibly serious, and I hope anyone who comes across this will read the links you posted in case they're ever in the situation. The way I knew something was wrong with Zuri, aside from the really heavy panting, was that his gums were bright red, his eyes looked really funny, and he was very weak, wouldn't jump into the car on this own and then wouldn't walk around, just stood there. When I called his name, he was non-responsive, which is totally unlike him. Time for us to revisit what we need to carry on walks and in our car too!

Would love to know the supplements so I can do more investigating. Thanks though for confirming the latter, I didn't remember that (although it sucks that it's true and not just coincidence). Are you trying to tell me my dog has cancer???!!!

He's always been able to run/play for long periods of time. He's a young (he was just 3 when these incidents happened) and very active dog. Hi goes on camping weekends with me where we hike 20+ miles. These particular incidents - I don't really remember on the first one. I assume we played for a usual amount of time in the dog park (20-30 minutes) before heading home. It's about a 5-10 min drive and I noticed something was wrong as soon as we got home, which is when I got him in the shower and called my vet. The second time, he hadn't been playing for very long. Maybe 5 or 10 minutes max - I was dropping him off at a friend's so she could watch him while I went on a date, so I didn't have much time there. Her son had been playing fetch with them, but then Zuri got focused on trying to pick up the cuz through his muzzle and I believe that's when things went downhill (he's very toy obsessed so he started frantically digging, trying to pick it up).

I posted last year when Zuri had his overheating incidents (he had 2). He never fully went into heat stroke, I think (?) because I recognized what was going on immediately and got him into the shower, but his temp did get up to 107 at one point. The first time was running in the dog park on a pretty hot and humid day. He shouldn't have been out and that was my stupid fault. The second time was not too long after. It was still warm weather, but it wasn't particularly hot or humid at the time we were out because it was dusk. That time he wasn't really even running, he was getting worked up because he couldn't get a cuz toy through his muzzle. Both times he recovered fully and seemed no worse for the wear. However, this obviously remains a huge concern for me, especially as the warm weather approaches. I assume this is exertional rhabdomyolysis, but don't know for sure. I'm wondering, has anyone else had this problem? I don't mean a dog that's reluctant to walk in the heat or pants a lot, I mean a dog that has actually overheated and/or suffered from heat stroke on more than one occasion. The weird thing is Zuri had played many times without incident, including in warmer weather. Given that the second incident followed the first relatively closely, I almost feel like the first incident "flipped a switch". Probably me making stuff up. Anyway, anyone in my boat? My vets seem rather clueless on the matter.

Awhh, poor Argos! He is definitely doing his greyhound best to garner as much sympathy as he can! The buttons are definitely a first for me as well. Keep us posted on his progress!

Yeah Merlin! Hope he's doing even better this morning!

Good thoughts for Merlin. He'll be nice and sleepy when he wakes up so no worries.

Good thoughts for Argos (and you)!

Only one other thought - these days most vets use the 3D snap test, which tests for Heartworm, Lyme and Ehrlichia. I do also frontline my dogs, but not year round and we hike a lot, which means a LOT of ticks. The test is under $50 I think and my pet insurance covers a small part of it, so I don't mind doing it. That way, I have piece of mind for 3 things, not just one.

It's sold as Marin on Omahavaccine.com. I don't think it's particularly expensive.

I used to as well, but I'm trying to avoid the chemicals when I can. I definitely didn't mean to wait this long to start again though.

I noticed a tick on Neyla today. I have been meaning to start Frontlining the dogs again, but hadn't gotten around to it. This guy has been on there for a little bit as he was slightly "bloated". Anyway, i removed him, no problems there, but there's a red spot that looks like the bruise where he was. It's about the size of a quarter. I think it is just a bruise from him sucking away (she has always bruised easily when having blood drawn), but I know you can see a rash at the site of tick bites sometime. I cleaned the area with alcohol after I removed him, does anyone think I need to do anything else? Anything to watch for? She has her yearly exam in July, which will include the 3D snap test so we can make sure this guy wasn't carrying anything. Oh, and I'll of course be frontlining them tonight (I'm usually totally on the ball with this stuff too b/c we hike so much ).

Wow, that poor dog. Well hopefully the damage isn't permanent and the TBD treatents help him recover. The doxy will take care of the ehrlichia and lyme, but I'd suggest researching the dosage. There's conflicting info on how long the treatment should be these days. I'm assuming you won't be able to do the Imidocarb treatment for the Babesia until he's feeling a bit better?