greyhead

We've had major appetite problems with one of our greys here too lately. But then not only he turned down the kibble, a couple months ago, but so did the other dog who was not having appetite/medical problems. That stumped me. Just to see, I bought a new bag of the same kibble, which they both proceeded to accept and eat. I've since learned that even though we may have opened a bag sort of recently, it may still have "turned" due to how long it was in the warehouse and on the shelf at the store before we got it. Thinking of how your girls reacted, I wonder if this could be a factor -- for them at least, if not for the pup who seems to have lost his appetite. We know all about that roller coaster in our house these days. You have our support and very best wishes in getting things cleared up. Mary

Thanks for the suggestions and the link, which I looked at. Like last time, it has mostly disappeared, leaving no discernible break in the skin, just a few brown spots around the perimeter of where the black/yellow/white/red things used to be. If needle aspiration is the way to diagnose, he's going to the vet next time I see it, even if it's the ER! This is just way too creepy and mysterious in its behavior to ignore! Assuming that it is staph, or something else bacterial, would cleaning it with peroxide and then applying Neosporin to the area at this point be wise? Btw, could having recently been on a short course of prednise (2 weeks) and then going off a week ago have made him more vulnerable to an infection like this? Many, many thanks, Mary

I'm so sorry.

My thin dog and I are both hypothyroid. I was rail-thin too, until other things happened. My endocrinologist, one of the best, says that the thing about thyroid symptoms is that they don't always follow the expected list. Sometimes they they follow the symptoms on the opposite list, the hyperthyroid symptoms: thin, lots of hair, low appetite, etc. That rapid weight loss is alarming. But I thought it might help to share this little bit of counter-intuitive info with you. That, and our best wishes for a good outcome!

Oh my gosh, what a huge loss. She was astonishingly beautiful and full of life. I'm so glad you had each other for the too-brief while that you did.

I'm sorry to hear this. Thursday seems so far away, but it will give you time to think.

I've been told by a vet that she had a greyhound who was grumpy to the point of aggressiveness, and it was caused by an inflammation in the brain. If you're thinking specialist, you might consider consulting a veterinary neurologist. Or ask your vet to get a consult from one. I also mention this because a disorder of the eye doesn't explain the weight gain. Thyroid was my first thought too. Retesting is not a bad idea, maybe even just T4 repeated every two weeks or so for a little while. A thyroid that is losing functionality actually swings from hypothyroid to normal and back again, like an engine revving. If you happen to test while it's revving, it appears to be functioning normally. But if it's doing this, it is in fact a sick thyroid. Wishing you the best! Please keep us posted as you investigate. We care and we have inquiring minds.

I'm so very sorry for this loss.

We've been on that roller coaster too, and still are. Lots of good thoughts for you and Tucker.

We're pulling for you and Beau, Robin.

What a beautiful boy! I'm so sorry.

I know absolutely nothing useful, except that side effects to painkillers can go away in a short time (unless a particular drug is truly imcompatible with the dog, and then there are others to try). Just offering many prayers and huge hugs for you and your heart dog.

Thanks for the update. So glad Takoda's doing better! Sounds like grinding the kibble is the perfect thing. Hope your coffee grinder is bigger than ours, though!

I'm so sorry.

We're all very sorry to hear this, Elizabeth. Savannah was an impressive hound, and we know how much you'll miss her.

I'm so sorry for your loss. What a great dog.

I'm so very sorry for your loss. What a lovely tribute.

I didn't mean to imply that you were doing anything wrong. Our situations are just so different, and our vets see things so differently, that we are of no help to you. You have our best wishes, though. (Our next step is nuking worms with Drontal-Plus.)

Robin, we just got back from the internist. Spencer dropped 8 lbs this week, 3 more since just yesterday! (This was a different scale, though.) She chalked up the weight loss to the prednisone! She said pred does that anyway, and we were apparently giving way too high a dose (40mg/day). I know you've been wondering why Beau hasn't been gaining weight, despite tons of tilapia. That might help explain it.

Greyt mojo, y'all! The internist got us in so fast that Spencer's records didn't arrive until the very end of our appointment, nor did I have time to grab the ones I have at home! Which means I had to recite everything in his whole history as to testing, results, treatment, and his responses to every change. And memory is not my best feature!!! So now I'm really wiped out and brain dead. And, unfortunately, I can't remember all the vet said to me about her reasoning. But hopefully I'll get those blanks filled in again later and pass them on so it can help other dogs/owners with GI trouble. Here's what I remember: The bottom line is that she thinks the GI trouble the result of worms, historically and presently. The hooks we know about, but she says whips are also really hard to pick up in fecal testing. She's going to nuke them all using Drontal Plus, a pill costing $17.99, to be given monthly for at least a year! To both our dogs! Hey, it's okay...lots cheaper than biopsies! She sees no point in biopsying. Endoscopy couldn't access very much of the small intestine at all, and we know that most of his trouble is located there. Doesn't think it's IBD -- and here's where I'm brain dead. I think it's because his response to prednisone has been underwhelming. We pretty much had ruled out everything else: PLE, EPI, TBD's. Don't know if allergy is any factor, but we're not suspicious of it. In any case, we're sticking to chicken for now (the premade raw that includes veggies). She noted that we did get a good response when we started feeding raw, so she said stick to that for now, maybe moving on to home-cooked in the future. She said I may have messed him up with I added digestive enzymes and probiotics a couple days after starting raw food. I can't remember that explanation either, but I think it was to the effect that I was overdosing him on enzymes, given that he was eating raw food already, and that made his poop go soft again. What's really interesting is we're discontinuing the prednisone, and the pred is what probably accounts for most of his weight loss! If it were going to work, he should have markedly improved in a couple days on the 20mg/day. Upping it to 40mg/day last week was way too high a dose, and it's not working anyway. Since he hasn't been on it long at all, we can discontinue pretty fast: 10 mg today and tomorrow, skip the next day, then 10 the next day, and assess how he's doing. If he's doing okay, we can just stop there. And then he ought to put some weight back on! So there we have it. And I am SO grateful to you all for the good thoughts, candles, etc. that I asked for and you graciously bestowed! I've really been suffering this emotionally a lot more than I've talked about, but it's hard for me to just go ahead and say, "Shriek!" Thanks for coming through for us and getting us this greyt outcome! Spencer sends his thanks and love. Shane does too cuz he's been concerned about his big brudder.

Okay, I'm officially freaked. As some of you know, Spencer has GI malabsorption of unknown cause, and we started a thread regarding endoscopy vs. surgical biopsy for dealing with that: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showtopic=222039&hl= Visited the vet yesterday, and he has lost 3 more lbs this week, after 2 lbs last week, for a total of 14 lbs. I'm trying to get an appointment with an internist right now. He's off the Flagyl, still on prednisone, upped B12 shots to twice a week, Pepcid twice a day, and he's eating mostly prepared raw chicken. We suspect hookworm damage is the origin of this problem. We've ruled out PLE and EPI. On top of all this, he has LS and he's hypothyroid. His functioning is a complete roller coaster, good-ish days alternating with bad. Had great poop right after starting raw, and then it returned to mush again. Sometimes he acts like he wants to eat but then doesn't. (It helps when I then saute the raw food briefly.) He gets stiff and stumbly, and last night had trouble with the stairs. I finally realize that we actually might lose him over this. I'm not doing anything but working this problem. So this is the part where I ask for your prayers, good thoughts, candles, chants and all that mojo you do, please. As it is, GT people have been most generous and kind to us, with ideas and support. Many thanks. ETA: Internist just called. We're leaving for there in a few minutes. At least that much is good! (See how powerful GT mojo is? Nobody else has even posted to this thread yet and good stuff is already happening!)

OMG, I'm so sorry, hon.

I'm so very sorry.