greyhead

Lots of stuff gets by me on GT, Trudy, so maybe I missed it. But what condition prompted Ryan to be on cephalexin? FWIW, sub-q B-12 injections help restore appetite in dogs whose ability to process it in the gut has been impaired by disorders in the intestine and/or have B-12 anemia.

Very glad to see this update! Hope you and Jaxie are going to have a fine time enjoying one another for a long time.

Would it be FortiFlora?

Heartfelt sympathy.

How's the Shermanator doing today? And how about Seymour?

Okay, y'all heard the lady. Chant Firm Poo! Firm Poo! Firm Poo! Xan, where are you? You're needed here! Or even a Xan-equivalent! ETA: You needn't feel apologetic for your concern. IBD, hookworm, GI infections can all be lethal, especially if mistakes are made and things get out of hand. There *is* no "worse problem" than having to fight to keep your dog alive and well.

Whew! Thanks for the good update! Scritches for Sunny and hugs for you.

Oh jeez, you and Kelly didn't need this, did you? Okay, don't panic, here's every relevant thing I know that I can think of now. Some dogs don't do well on probiotics. Spencer has consistently reacted badly to them. The internist didn't find this surprising. I know some people swear by them, and I know they help some dogs, but not ALL dogs. Second, some IBD dogs have to stay on metronidazole forever. That's my vet's expectation and that has been the experience of at least one owner I know here in WA; every time you try to take them off, they get soft poop or D. I'm always looking for an opportunity to test it, yet again, with Spencer. I've gotten as far as halving his daily dose, successfully for a while. But after 2-3 months I had to double it again. Same thing happened with his tylosin. As for grass eating, I don't know what to think about allowing it or not. We just try to keep it to a minimum but do allow a few blades in the spring. Apparently spring grass has some beneficial chemical properties that it doesn't have at other times of year; but that may only be true for animals whose guts are basically healthy, which is why we don't let Spencer get too carried away with it. As you've discovered, even good things -- like worming -- can lead to negative temporary reactions. Then there are not-so-good things like emotional stress -- one minute of upset leading to two weeks of soft poop -- and unannounced changes to commercial pet food. (We're struggling with that second one now.) So while you may not know what brought this on, don't despair. From what the internist told me, at least one annual "flare" is normal for these guys and can be expected to go away. Not that you shouldn't react. I'd be hitting GT and the vet for advice too. Just keep observing, reporting, and perhaps consider letting go of the probiotic. And for what it's worth, when these things happen to Spencer, I discontinue anything that's not entirely necessary (e.g., omega-3 and glutamine supplements) and raise the dosage on his essential meds if there's that kind of wiggle room. Remind us how long all together Kelly has been having GI trouble. And know we'll be thinking good thoughts for you and Kelly and hoping things improve. Quickly!

He sounds like a truly fabulous boy and I'm very sorry for his loss. Run free, Wizard! :

It sounds like there's pain. This kind of panting happened with Shane some months back, and his heart rate was way up. (Have you checked that? That can help distinguish a sick dog from a just-hot dog.) Two vets couldn't find the pain source, but they gave him a muscle relaxer for a few days, and that took care of it. Sherman's diarrhea and its color sound like either he has a GI issue or the pain has been affecting him for too long. I agree you should take his temp too. I'd call or see a vet and be prepared to report all this information.

Sounds a bit better. Our thoughts are with you and Sunny.

Excellent! Thanks for the great news!

So sorry for Sunny's problems. Please let me know if you need any help or support or just company in Seattle. My thoughts are with you and Sunny.

I'm so sorry.

A great tribute to a beautiful girl. My heartfelt sympathy to you and Gus. But I'm so glad she got to spend the last nine months with the two of you!

Spencer was diagnosed with IBD without biopsy, by means of symptom evaluation and ultrasound, which did show a lot of damage in the small intestine. We decided against surgical biopsy because the results would not have had much if any effect on the treatment. He has done well on the treatment and on a diet that's 1/3 raw. If I run out of the raw and he doesn't get it for a day or two, he doesn't do well. If I increase the percentage of raw, he doesn't do well either. So we just go by what we observe. We went to a single protein, venison, which is also available in kibble. The problem is that so many foods are so complicated, including lots of carbs and ingredients that they don't really need and which seem to just confound their digestion. It sounds like you got good advice from those who say simplify his food and it doesn't sound like IBD. Therefore, I'd skip the biopsy too if it were me. If it's IBD, ultrasound should have shown structural changes in the intestines, I believe. One thing that helped stiffen Spencer's poop was the addition of L-glutamate (or glutamine) as a supplement. Not that I recommend doing only that, but it helps and is recognized by knowledgeable vets as helpful. You can get it at a health-food store or vitamin shop. Though not cheap, it's not prohibitively expensive either.

I'm just *thrilled* for you and Casey! What greyt news! (Sorry about that big ol' incision, though.)

I'm not sure I follow your logic here. In other words, sometimes this might be true, but sometimes it's not true. Sometimes more is better. ETA: I've seen your other thread and am very sorry it is coming to that for you and Wizard.

Just seeing this and hoping the shot helps a whole big bunch! Hugs to both of you.

I'm so sorry. :

I'm so sorry! B12 does sting, but a well-given (slow) shot just under the skin doesn't sting much at all. I hope they didn't jab it into a muscle or a vein! In any case, I'm sorry it didn't work. I wonder if it was all the B's or just B12 that they gave... I'm just curious, why did they decide to give the shot last week. (I'm wondering if they are making a Hail Mary or if they understand what B12 problems are about.) Continued good wishes to you and Wizard. I haven't seen you posting about Wizard lately, so I was hoping things were better.

We had to overcome the speed thing on some stairs that we routinely climb/descend on our walks. Basically Spencer was going faster than I could keep up! We overcame this by having him follow us up and down the stairs, so that our bodies set the pace as well as his expectations of how fast this should go. It only took a couple of times for him to get the idea. All you have to do then is pair it with the word "heel" or whatever and change it so that the dog is walking with its head beside you. I guess my point is that the expectations need to be changed, and putting your body in the way is one way to start..

These were the symptoms Spencer had, which cleared up within a day of starting B12 injections. I don't recall if Wizard has already had the cobalamin test. But intestinal malabsorption, which involves inability of the gut to process B12, results in neurological symptoms that look like both dementia and LS or other hind-end weakness. Spencer was even having trouble standing up at that point. As I said, corrected within hours! And it's a lot simpler than gabapentin or a full neuro work-up.

I think Drontal-Plus will get them all. It's the "Plus" part that gets the tapes, IIRC. Pricey but worth it IMHO. Btw, I had the same experience with taking actual worms to the vet. They honestly told me that they are only trained to recognize worms eggs, not actual worms! But as to tapes, when they come out fresh, they look larger, white and wiggly. After an hour, give or take, they shrink, dry up, and become the grain-of-rice things that you're more familiar with.

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