greyhead

Ditto, especially if the pill is metronidazole. It tastes worse than burning rubber smells. We put ours in a gel cap and wrap that in a meatball!

I'd report the renewed swelling since the pred to the vet and ask for guidance. Maybe there's something other than pred that can be given for the immune problem and will cause less swelling, so it can't hurt to ask. I don't mean to be alarmist at all. But just because swelling is "normal" for this condition doesn't mean that the degree of swelling you're seeing is meaningless and should be dismissed.

So very sorry the news wasn't good. I fervently hope you and the lovely Bijou have some wonderful quality time.

Don't even know what to say that wouldn't be terribly profane, since "crap" has already been spoken for. I'm very sorry, hon. And don't spare that cream.

Same here, sweetie.

Shane got his imizol in February, both rounds. Here's the thread. Where do I look to learn how to transform this long link into a short thing that says "linky" or some such?! http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/248424-babesia-canis-low-positive/page__p__4405585__fromsearch__1&?do=findComment&comment=4405585 He did well enough for a while but then in April developed incontinence and his other symptoms returned (e.g., low stamina). His bloodwork was perfect except for low phosphorus. He has also been losing weight steadily for six months, though he still looks good enough. So two weeks ago I said "enough" & vet put him on 300 mg doxy twice a day. Yesterday we decided to extend the doxy two more weeks because his response to it has been wonderful -- the proverbial "new dog." This is a dog that has been acting lame and old practically since he arrived at age 4, and I finally noticed his symptoms worsened kind of cyclically, and then I finally had enough of his having so much less of a life than he should. Hoping this gives him another chance, at age 7, to do better. Have nothing but sorrow and love for all the undiagnosed TBD dogs of the world, as well as for the owners who try their best to figure out what's wrong. Have nothing but sadness and frustration at the way we tend to misunderstand what tests of all kinds do and don't indicate. Don't know what to do about it except to point out that it happens. It's not that the math is wrong but that the interpretation of the math is imperfect -- and sometimes just wrong. By "math" I mean the statistical and other mathematical underpinnings for medical tests.

Thank you, Batmom. I was quoting what my vet said to me as to "hundreds." Still, she said Dr. Holland told her there are lots of them. I hadn't known about the possibilities of PCR panels. Not sure we could have afforded it anyway. What I was mainly thinking about when I posted was that we call something a full tick panel when it tests for fewer TBDs than you can count on the fingers of one hand. And then we think we can relax, that we have it covered. ("We" meaning people like me.) Kind of like we react to news of a negative fecal. Until we learn better.

Please don't fail to have a full thyroid panel done. As Judy mentioned in your thread in Intro & Bio, hypothyroidism can provoke seizures. (Our Spencer had mild ones before he was found to be hypothyroid at age 5.) Stronger seizures would be so compelling that it might be tempting to just treat them to make them stop! Totally understandable. But if there is an underlying reason for them other than actual epilepsy, it would be best to find it. And btw, Judy knows *a lot* about epilepsy, so listen to her! Lots of encouraging thoughts and prayers coming your way, Mary

Could I just ask, is the term "full tick panel" even meaningful when it consists of, what, four tests, when there are hundreds of TBD's out there? Full disclosure, we're treating Shane with doxy for suspected Erlichiosis. He didn't test positive for the one kind of Erlichia they tested for, but there are two other kinds that we know of, yes? Long story, and I don't mean to hijack. We already treated him with Imizol for Babesia; he improved but didn't resolve. My vet talked to Protatek to ask if it made sense to test for more TBDs; Dr. Holland said yes, "up to a point" -- which was left undefined. Since doxy treats all the TBDs that Imizol doesn't, vet and I decided just to try it. We're getting *lots* more improvement, so we figure he had also had one of the other hundreds of TBDs. Just makes me wonder how we can ever relax with negative results on a "full tick panel". Any comment? Wishing the best to all the TBD hounds and their people! Mary

Such love! I'm so sorry for your loss.

I'm so sorry he couldn't stay longer. :

Run free, Roy. May your spirit spend a lot of time visiting and helping Judith.

Your dog has IBS. Ours has IBD, which I think is worse. I only make the distinction, though, to be honest with you that I don't know much about IBS. I had to focus all my energy into learning about the other thing. And maybe you can be more liberal with supplements than we can, or maybe you can't. The only thing we give our dog besides food and prescribed meds is an amino acid called L-glutamine. Two of our vets recommended it, and I *thought* it was for firming poop. Turns out that it actually goes a long way toward *healing* the walls of the stomach and intestines. I can tell that our dog is *much* better since we resumed the L-glutamine, which I had discontinued for a while for some stupid reason. I have to think this is a great supplement, maybe the best, for any dog with intestinal damage. Good luck!

I too am glad you have a strong dad. And Angel sounds like my kinda girl! So very sorry about Fast's injuries. Hoping for a speedy recovery.

I'm very sorry, Anna.

Great update! Thanks for letting us know.

It probably won't take long! Carol's a sweetheart about coming to the rescue of struggling pups, as far as I've experienced and from what I've heard.

That was a cat with character. I'm sorry. What a long, wonderful relationship you had!

Can't address the significance of this change in his eating behavior, but it may have some medical significance since he hasn't made a big habit of it previously. Maybe the GTers who know about that will chime in. And btw, how old is Danger? For now, I'll just say that our Spencer, who's 9, has been doing that since he arrived at age 5. He has never been one to chew kibble, just inhales it. Someone told us to get a couple tablespoons of canned food, mix with a bit of water to make a sort of gravy, and moisten the kibble with that. We make it moist enough that the food will just slide down when he swallows it. The times I'm rushed and have to just serve kibble, he goes back to choking it it up and then eating it, just like Danger. Good luck!

Battlefield here too. Fireworks are legal here but with the restriction of no bottle rockets. So what am I hearing every 3 seconds? Bottle rockets. Behind my house and in front of my house where they're having the annual 4th of July yahoos party in the street. I'm not a grinch about most holidays but I sure am about this one. The Star Wars movies on Spike were working well before it got dark, but not after dark. Even going after the Death Star and all that at high volume can't cover up the noise outside! Oh, the dogs are doing fine, but I'm not! Thanks for providing a place to vent.

Sorry for the loss of your beautiful tomboy.

Very cute -- all three of them! Congratulations on your beautiful family!

Hope you get the fecal test results soon! Btw, Spencer's intestinal troubles (SIBO, IBD) arose after a dental. It was suggested that the post-dental antibiotic might have upset the balance of intestinal flora and allowed the overgrowth of Clostridium. Don't know that this has anything to do with Sid, of course. Lots of prayers for you and Sid. I know this is beyond tiresome for both of you.

I'm very glad to hear you got to the bottom of it, so to speak. But back to the not pooping, why is it a problem and why does your husband want to hose? (I do think, from watching them poop, that they raise and strain the tail slightly in order to lift it out of the way. Maybe the pain was keeping him from doing that, and now maybe the anesthesia residual is. Just a thought.) Still curious to hear about your husband's thinking, though.