MaryJane

I wanted to commiserate a bit ... Lucy is my seizure dog and after worsening seizures last year, we finally got her under control in August by adding another seizure medicine to the 2 she was already on. In addition, she was diagnosed as hypothyroid and went on thyroid supplement. Lat fall, she looked like she was loosing weight and I upped her food intake and at a ER visit for another matter, we noticed that her weight was down from 70 to 67 pounds. In the past two months even though she was being fed more, she was not gaining weight and looked like she dropped a bit more. She was also having problems keeping food in her mouth and swallowing it and this can be a side effect of the Kbr she is on - so visit to neurologist (she kept on dropping food but eventually ate it all). Neurologist concerned about weight loss, now at 63 from 70 last year (10%) and not as concerned on the swallowing at this time. Changed from one seizure medicine of KBR to Sodium Bromide as it is more gentle on GI tract. Also dropped/decreased some other seizure meds as they could also be of concern in IBD situations. Referred to internist about IBD and after ultrasound - decision to put her on a homemade fish/rice/potato diet, add probiotics, and I have to give weekly B12 shots for 6 weeks then monthly. If no improvement in weight either increasing or stabilizing, then next is a biopsy and then maybe adding an immune suppresant but, that is last on the last on the options because of all the other medicines she is already on. Because some of the seizure meds can cause GI distress, the neurologist and I were decreasing her other meds and .... of course she has 2 seizures. The biopsy would require overnight stay and a harsh laxative and could trigger more seizures. I'm hoping that my girl stabilizes with the B12 shots and the different diet. I try to just think a few days ahead and take each day as it comes ....

My Larry who is 12+ years gets a chiropractic adjustment every month. His chiropractor is canine certified - I would not go to a chiropractor who isn't. Also, Larry was checked out by a neurologist before he started treatments to make sure there was no other underlying condition that the adjustments could make worse. At each visit, I make sure to tell the chiropractor that he needs to be gentle. Note, Larry also has a corn on one of his feet and he also had a sprained toe on one of his back feet, both of these ended up changing his "gait" which is why I originally started the treatments. Also, it is important to note that when he started treatments, he was doing OK, there was no serious issue. IMHO, the treatments serve to keep him more limber and able to get around better.

How many times did they try and take the blood pressure - from my understanding, they usually try at least 3 times and then take the lowest reading. There are also suggested ways to do it such as the dog should be laying down on the ground and (correct me if I'm wrong) but I think it's usually done on the back leg and the equipment is supposed to be kept at the same level as the cuff. The type of cuff that is used is also important, Frankly, some of the details are a bit hazy, but hopefully someone else will come in with more detailed information.

Find out what is the requirement in Illinois is for rabies - see if a titer would be sufficient. If she is going to have a dental, make sure that it is the doctor and not the vet tech doing it. While a vet tech is usually fine doing the procedure on young healthy dogs, I personally think that as dogs get older if they have quirky problems (greyhounds & bleeding) that the vet should be doing the dental as they would be much more quicker to see potential problems and able to handle more quickly. You might also want to check to see whether the vet will even allow your dog into the hospital without current vaccinations (protects the other dogs) - and that would mean you would have to have the vaccination before the dental. Tough choices ..

You may want to consider talking to the vet about whether it is worth re-doing the tests for Mediterranean diseases - It could be she was exposed but, too early to get titers or maybe exposed after the tests.

As far as I know, there has not been any summary written up. I might suggest that you join the yahoo epi group and there are also groups on facebook (canine epilepsy) which can be a great help.

The burbing is worrisome. Excess gas and bloat with torsion could be the cause and it is serious. The vomiting is also worrisome, the diarrhea, not so much. Dogs that have the gas/bloat will be stretching sometimes yawning and possibly burbing. My girl had symptoms like this and I headed to the ER.

As stated above, get Amicar and discontinue fish oil. I would also check to see who will be doing the cleaning - whether it is the vet or the dental tech.

It's important that you do a limited ingredient diet as it could also be something other than the protein causing a problem. When I used to foster greyhounds, I would get quite a few with GI issues and/or suspected allergies and I would do an elimination diet which would take (at it's simplest) about 4 weeks. I would start with hamburger and rice and keep them on that for at least a week and see if they got worse or better or OK. If better/OK, I would add in a vegetable and go another week and see what transpired. If your dog does not do well on rice, you can try noodles or potatoes. If the hamburger does not work, you can try fish or pork - I always stayed away from chicken because of the issues with antibiotics. This method does require home cooking. As an alternate, Natural Balance used to offer Limited Ingredient dog food but, I'm not sure if they still do as they were recently taken over by another company.

You might want to take a few minutes and read the osteo thread for information about what to expect at home. For example, you want to make sure that the floors are covered with skid-proof carpets as she will not quite have her footing yet. Also, stairs will likely be an issue - she won't know how to do it and may be tempted to just jump them all - so be watchful. Some dogs can do high beds and some can't at the beginning - so she might need help there. I think she'll be much more comfortable and at ease when she gets home.

Get a urine culture and a sensitivity which will tell which antibiotics will work. It could be that the antibiotic was not really successful at getting rid of the infection. My Lucy was on DES and it worked OK - she was only on it for a few months.

If you go with wrought iron, then do not get the pointed rails that continue up like a spear. They have options that the tips are encased into another bar so that the top is smooth. As a note, you don't want any pieces jutting up because a dog's collar could catch on them and in addition, they could stab their paw with it (not likely but, possible). Same with the chain link, they need to make sure the ends are folded down.

You might want to check what pain medicines she's on. Some work well for greyhounds and some make a greyhound frantic and very anxious. Might also just not be enough pain meds and that could cause anxiousness. I hope tomorrow fares better. Might I also suggest that they do a consult with Dr. Couto again...

I'm sorry that you are faced with this diagnosis. As someone has suggested, please make sure that you get the amicar, it helps to control the bleeding. The days after an amputation can be tough with much soul-searching whether the right path was chosen. It takes about 2 to 3 weeks after the amputation (please, other people offer their opinions) to get the bounceback. I hope Nell does well with the surgery and recovery.

Taking him for a walk on a leash sounds like the best way to handle this. It's also a great way to bond. Give him time to adjust by taking things slow and I'd probably stay away from the dog park.

Needs a vet appointment to get a rabies booster and to get antibiotic for any cuts/scratches. While this does not require an ER visit, I would not wait more than 1 day.

If I saw this on my dog, I would change laundry detergents & softener and see if it improves. It could be a food allergy but, at this point because of where it is I would suspect contact irritation - maybe dog bed/sheets - whatever he is lying on.

I've found that walking with my dog is one of the better ways to build up a bond. When you walk, walk with a purpose (tight lead so he is right by your leg) and for Wiley, no sniffing for at least the 1st 10 minutes of the walk. About 10 minutes into the walk, let him sniff around at one area for a few minutes and then finish the walk with the tight lead so he is right by your leg and no sniffing. Should be a brisk walk. If he can't do the 20 minutes, then bring it down to 10 minutes or whatever he can handle. Make sure that you talk to him throughout the brisk walk. When you are doing the walk with him by your side - use the "heel" word and tell him he's a good boy. When you come to a crossing - use a word for "wait" and again, praise him lavishly as he does it. When you want to slow a bit, use the word for "slow down" and the same when you want to make the pace faster. By talking to him throughout the walk and praising him - he'll start to love the walks and you. I never treat on walks - I want my dogs to get the praise by from "words". Good luck.

Probably needs to get a culture and a different antibiotic - sounds like the one you are using is not working. I would NOT give baking soda.

I'm sure that you have already checked but, maybe worth another look at his pads for corns. Larry's corn causes problems with his back because of the changes in his walking.

To get him up the stairs -- Stay behind him and keep one hand firmly on the railing AT ALL times. Otherwise, you might fall backwards down the stairs. User your other hand to hold his collar (or harness) so that he stays straight on the stairs. Then going one step at a time, use your knee right under his ass to pick him up and move him one step up. once you do that, he'll usually move his front legs up one step. Once that happens, use your knee to pick up his ass again. Make sure that you stay slightly bent over him so that he cannot rear up and go backwards. It could take up to 5 minutes to get up the flight of stairs. To get him down the stairs -- Going down is just as tricky -- the dog is going to try and JUMP ALL THE WAY down and you have to make sure he does not do that. Grab his collar (or harness) and move him as close to the wall as possible and then making sure that you have a good grip on the railing, start to go down the stairs. The first step down is the worst but after that, he may try and jump. Take is easy and one step at a time. Make sure to hold him for at least a week going down the stairs until you know for sure that he will not jump. I've fostered quite a few dogs and this procedure has always worked. You might also want to put a muzzle on.

Check this out -- http://inhabitat.com/nakio-is-the-first-bionic-dog-fitted-with-four-prosthetic-limbs/ I had a post about this a few months ago.

One of the symptoms of a bad UTI in a person is that they get back pain. Bad UTIs that have been untreated for awhile can cause irritation and inflammation and that could explain some of the blood in the urine - but, not as much as you are talking about though. Check with the vet to see if the area in the back where it is sensitive corresponds with the location of the kidneys. UTIs can also cause some mood swings and memory loss in people, wouldn't be surprised if the same thing happens in dogs. Hope you get to the bottom of this ..

Hmmm ... not seeing any urine culture done. Looks like they are relying on the microscopic analysis to determine whether there is bacteria - not sure a good idea in a case like this. I suggest that you get a sterile container and get a urine specimen which is a first morning mid-stream catch (clean her before you let her out.)

How long has Minnie been with you? If it hasn't been that long, then I might think that she is hearing something that is strange to her and that after time, it should become a normal sound. I would make note if there are "sounds" that you are used to but to her, might be alarming. A furnace turning on, a car starting, noise from the house next door might all be normal sounds to you, but not to her. There could even be some wildlife outside that she is picking up on.