PatricksMom

Good thoughts today please, I just dropped Henry & Leo off for their dentals. No real reason to worry--their test results are fine, its the same vet and vet tech as last year, same anesthesia as before, but still....

The vet checked him out and gave meloxicam (whatever the dog version is called) to give him in addition to the Tramadol. He's scheduled for a dental tomorrow anyway, so they're going to do some xrays to look at this toe and another one that's always been at a funny angle.

On the whole, good. Patrick had anesthesia issues, but our vet worked really hard on figuring out a protocal that worked for him, and even with his issues, nothing seriously bad ever happened (just complete freakouts after we brought him home). None of my others have had any problems at all. I, on the other hand, do not do so well. Even when we know everything should be fine, it's nerve wracking waiting, isn't it. My boys are having their teeth done tomorrow, so good wishes all around.

And if that's not quite enough, there are heavier levels of mild sedation that are far short of anesthesia. I hope you find an answer that will help you get rid of his pain.

Leo has been resting in comfort all day and has been quite pleased with the cheese his tramadol comes wrapped in. The swelling was much better this morning than it was last night.

Leo's got some feet issues in general, and today I heard the GSD. I talked to the evet, and said since we've gotten the toe back to it's proper position, and since I have Tramadol to give him, and since we know how to wrap it, there's no point of bringing him in, they can't do anything else for him. Still, any good thoughts you have to offer for him would be very, very welcome until Monday morning.

We generally don't sedate, but it will depend on your dog and the specific xray that your dog needs.

Sending positive thoughts for you, Cody, and your family. I'm glad to hear he's comfortable and I'm hoping all with you for a positive outcome.

Glad you're getting things cleared up. Kirkland food is, imo, a perfectly good food--our adoption group has all of their fosters on it--and if she starts well on it I'd leave things alone. But the best food is what works for your dog.

Thanks everyone, DH is still out of town, but no peeing Wednesday, Thursday, or today!

DH took Henry & Leo to the vet last week and it went remarkably well in terms of Leo's anxiety. He apparently was fairly calm in the waiting room with other dogs, and seemed positively friendly towards a big, chocolate lab (our dog sitter has a big, chocolate lab that he gets along with). Two years ago I was here begging for advice because he was so terrified of other dogs he was actively aggressive. Of course DH is out of town and he peed while I was at work today (eh, I needed to mop the floor anyway), but still, I think it's good to recognize and share improvements for those of us who have high anxiety dogs.

If you trust your vet, really trust your vet, ask her whether this needs to be done asap, or can wait until there's another issue or until you get his anxiety better under control. My vet did dentals on Patrick every year--despite what we did at home, he just had crummy teeth. But she told me when she would no longer do anything involving anesthesia, she felt it was too risky.

I'm so, so very sorry. Doing the right thing for them is so hard.

It never hurts to check with the vet, but I've had this happen (rarely) when giving blood myself and it hasn't been a cause for alarm. At least in my case, it looks horrible, but isn't painful the way a normal bruise would be.

My thinking too. If you narrow it down to panic attacks, pm me for some advice. But I would try to rule out neurological issues first.

Are you sure he's actually drinking more--I know you said you thought he was gulping more, but no accidents? We went through this, freaked out, and it turned out the bowl was near a heating vent and the water was evaporating much faster than it had been before.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Godspeed Teo, you are so, so loved.

It's not a 100% sucess story, but we've moved to a home where Leo doesn't hear other dogs outside his home, he stays in the kitchen w/Henry (who is crated because he's destructive), and 90% of the time he doesn't pee.

Can you show him other greyhounds wearing coats? I've had that work.

When I last did the research for myself, in humans cortisone shots the most recent research (3 years old) was trending towards cortisone shots providing temporary belief, but doing long term damage; personally I said no and went with physical therapy. Have you thought about adding fish oil and other intervensions such as careful use of hot packs and gentle walks to increase the fluid in the joints?--I'm sure others will have other suggestions.

Make and print out an excel sheet with the pill, dose, and brief description--whoever gives him whatever round of medication initials/checks off the space for that day&time&med. I did this when we got over 10 meds, on different schedules and it really helped.

Are you a Costco member? Their salmon treats=doggie crack!

You have, and will continue to get, better advice here than I can give you, but I offer to hold you and Taylor in my heart.

Sending good thoughts for Morty and his surgeon and peaceful thoughts for his anxious mom.

Please send along my sympathies for their loss--it's very hard to lose a dog and not know what caused it.