rascalsmom

Well, I can't get the pills into him. Offered them in satin balls, he found all except the whole antibiotic (in other words, he found the 1/2 antibiotic, both tramadols, and the 1/2 rimadyl). Then offered him a tramadol in peanut butter. He turned his head. Offered tramadol in canned cat food, which he normally LOVES, again, no go. I tried prying his mouth open...got one cat food ball in, he spit it out. Tried prying his mouth open again, couldn't even get it open. Now what do I do?? Can't increase the meds if he won't take them.....

What really worries me is his weight loss....from 74 lbs. in September to 66 lbs. now. I expressed that concern to them....also that maybe there is something *else* going on, and I realize the doctor can't necessarily *know* if he has something else...like cancer....but at least they know my concerns.

Just talked to the vet's office. Her recommendation is to first, up the pain meds...now if I could get them into him....and if he isn't feeling better by this afternoon she wants to see him and give him an injection of a muscle relaxer. They are also going to fax a referral to an orthopedic doctor.

I know the feeling. We've had a lot of snow here, too, and some of it melted the other day....enough to make the dogs' backyard paths (which I shoveled for them) a sheet of ice. D*** winter!! I am almost hoping for a little snow, to cover the ice and give them a wee bit of traction.... Give Alan a hug from me....he and Buddy are both in a similar situation....

Buddy seemed to rally over the weekend...and yesterday he seemed almost back to normal. He was eating his rice/ground beef/chicken well, getting all his pills in, acting more like himself. The only thing that wasn't right was the VERY soft stool. But even that wasn't more than once a day..... Today, however, he isn't good. DH said that when he got up, Buddy was panting heavily, so he let him outside. Then he came back in and threw up. DH said it was orange, almost the color of pumpkin. Then after I got up, Buddy was lying down resting, and his breathing seemed "wheezy"....same as late last week when he was in the midst of his troubles. My DD described it as "almost growling" when he breathed. Then he got up, and the tail is tucked, the head is down, his back is hunched...just like last week. I am so worried. He was doing so well, and now he's like he was before. I suppose I will have to call the vet when they open.....I am afraid for Buddy. And me, too....

Given Buddy's recent back-end problems, I can certainly sympathize with you. It's so hard to see them getting older and having these problems. Buddy is a lot better since he's been on the pain meds, though....

Sunday: He is doing even better today! Able to stand/walk for a little longer, ate a big bowl of rice, boiled ground beef and chicken, and ate his pills in Satin Balls....He hasn't poo'd since yesterday morning, when he had a little D, so we are anxiously awaiting that event . He seems to be a little more "himself" today, too....rubbing on me for attention, etc....he still looks SO thin, though. The girls both left a little kibble in their bowls this morning, and he showed no interest in that. No surprise there, why would he want kibble when he can have chicken breast and ground beef??

Today's update. --Buddy seemed to rest really well last night. We expected him to be up and down, but he wasn't. So that's good. --This morning he got up and drank and drank and drank. Also good. --With the help of some ground beef, DD and I got him to eat almost all of his breakfast, which was 1 c. of kibble and probably 3/4 lb. of cooked hamburger....along with his rimadyl, tramadol, and simplicef. --He then went outside, peed, and had some diarrhea. And got the tip of his tail in it. But at least he was able to squat down to do it. --Right now he is resting ON HIS SIDE. He hasn't been that relaxed in several days... I also talked to the vet, and nothing remarkable showed up on his bloodwork. White blood cells were up a bit, BUN and creatinine were up a bit (but she also said he was a bit dehydrated yesterday, which could cause that), and his AST (an enzyme concerned with muscle) was up a bit, also not surprising to her, as he was having tremors yesterday. But nothing terribly out of whack with his bloodwork. SO. She wants to see him next Saturday, as long as he is improving...earlier if he's not. Continue with the meds, give him a bland diet to help with the D (which he won't mind AT ALL....hamburger and chicken, he loves both of those!). She also said if he's improving, the acupuncture/chiropractic might help. To that end, I have made an appointment with a vet who does that (Paula, that would be with Dr. K), for Feb. 26th. If he does NOT improve, he will probably have to see an orthopedic vet. But we are hoping for the best!

We just brought him home. He is still rather loopy from the sedation they gave him, but glad to be home. Still having trouble getting around. The vet showed us his x rays. In his neck there is a real "white" area, and a "cobwebby" area, which could indicate infection. In the back end, there is a bone spur. So there are issues on either end of his spine. He's on antibiotics for potential infection (cause of the fever??), as well as rimadyl and tramadol for pain. The vet's suggestion is to get him through this acute stage, and if he doesn't get better soon, he may need to see an orthopedist. I asked her about chiropractic and/or acupuncture, and she said that may help, but that would be for maintenance; he needs to get through this first. She's going to call tomorrow when the blood work comes back. Maybe we'll know more then. The weight loss STILL really worries me. 8 pounds since September.... Thanks everyone for your prayers and support. It really does help to know there are others who understand.

I guess not....

Update: x rays are taken. In addition to the "narrowing" in his neck, she noticed an area of "narrowing" in the lower spine. So the poor guy's got problems at both ends. He is still sleeping, the doc is in emergency surgery and someone will call me later to see if he can come home tonight. The bloodwork will hopefully be back tomorrow.

You're in my thoughts and prayers, Robin. You and Beau both.

I called to check on Buddy. He was given pain meds and muscle relaxers, but still isn't calm enough to do the x rays. They will sedate him a bit more and then take the pictures. They did do some bloodwork and the good news is, the test for Lyme disease was negative. The rest of the bloodwork will be sent out, we'll know more tomorrow. The tech told me he will be able to come home later today. They will call me after the x rays. One question, if anyone knows. Can they detect cancer from bloodwork?

Just got back from the vet. They are keeping him to do bloodwork, and some x-rays. He was crying when touched under the neck area, and she says it's swollen in that area....he also has a temp of a bit over 104. She said it's possible he has LS; she is going to x-ray him starting at the neck area, since he had trouble there before. She says that could cause trouble all the way back....the temp could indicate infection somewhere....we don't know what to think. Thank God dh took the day off. I would be a mess if I was dealing with this all by myself. Oh and he is down to 66 lbs. His usual weight, for years, was 74. That alone really scares me.

Buddy has gotten worse. Last night he couldn't seem to settle, and kept getting up. A few times he cried out. I suspect he may have LS, or something else wrong with his spine. His appointment is for 10:20 but I called and left a message, to see if I could bring him in sooner. Please pray for Buddy (and the rest of us, too). He is really not right, and seems to be in pain. He even cried when DH was petting his ear. And of course he wouldn't eat a thing this morning, and very little for dinner last night. I am so afraid for my boy.....

He has also been favoring his right rear leg lately....it seems very stiff when he gets up after a nap, that sort of thing. He seems fine after he walks around for awhile, but it definitely bothers him at times. He has a hard time getting up the stairs...the other day he actually HOPPED up the stairs; both back legs hopping onto the next step at the same time. It was VERY weird. One of us is always right behind him when he's going up the steps.

I talked to DH and he agrees that we should get him looked at. Buddy's going to the vet tomorrow morning. Poor guy, has to see the doctor on his birthday....NOT his favorite place to go. Edited to add, another strange symptom is occasional hiccups. That's been going on for several months, and they don't last more than a few minutes, but they happen. I've never known any of my dogs to hiccup....

OK. Buddy will be 12 tomorrow, and today he has been acting strangely. Nothing real concrete, just "not right". --when dh got up, Buddy was standing up. He is normally still sleeping. He left our room, and that's not like him. --he did eat most of his breakfast, so that's good. --since breakfast he has been sort of standing around (when he is usually settled in on the couch for his nap), with his head down and his tail sort of tucked a bit. --we've noticed recently that he seems thinner...more of his ribs are showing. This really worries me. I know he's getting to "that age" where things will go wrong, and that he won't be with us for a *long* time at this point....but any ideas? I hate to rush him to the vet and just say "he doesn't seem right"....and I admit that perhaps I don't want to know if something is wrong...he is my boy, and I can't imagine life without him....

Poor fellow. He does look very thin....

I can certainly sympathize with you. Buddy went through something quite similar, a corneal abrasion that didn't seem to heal, and we ended up going to a specialist. He did develop pannus as a result. But he's a trooper, and doesn't mind his daily ointment. I hope all goes well for you...

Buddy's been on the Optimmune ointment for a couple of months...the SAME tube....it was $40. He only gets it in one eye, though, once a day.

It doesn't *appear* that she's got something in there, but who knows. It is a little bit red on the inside of her lip. I thought of a bad tooth, too, since she's notorious for bad teeth/gingivitis....can that cause the lip to swell up, but not the gum?

While brushing Ruby's teeth last night, I noticed that her lip seemed a bit swollen....then tonight again, it seems swollen. Tonight she even gave a little cry when I touched her lip to get the toothbrush in there. The swollen area is near the front, sort of above her canine tooth and toward the back somewhat.... She's scheduled for a dental, but not until March 11. Any ideas what this could be? I am trying not to freak out (she's my baby girl!!), and I think I will MOST LIKELY call the vet in the morning, unless it is completely un-swollen by then, which isn't likely.....

She won't eat RAW bones. She loves most any other type of treat. She also seems to like having her teeth brushed, regardless of the type of toothpaste. I wanted to know which one gave the best RESULTS; was the most effective.

Unfortunately that's not going to happen. I know that bones are great, but Ruby will NOT eat a bone. She looks at me like I'm nuts. And given the weather around here, I don't relish the idea of raw food/bones in the house. I doubt I could convince them to eat outside when it's 10 degrees....We don't crate...or even HAVE any crates.... So I am stuck with regular food, and toothbrushing.