krissn333

Pinky is doing really well today, she slept well last night and, aside from seeming a little more tired than usual (hauling that leg around is hard work!) she is doing just great. Tomorrow after work I will take her bandage off and clean the area and will likely rebandage it lightly as she has a tendency to pick at things when they're "open." As long as it's covered with SOMETHING she will leave it alone.

Thank you everyone! Fritz seemed to be feeling a little better this morning (he was able to do a full shake), but I could see he was still favoring that right front leg (not something that anyone other than a mother might even notice). We saw Dr. Mulch today after I got off work...Fritz's NECK was REALLY out of alignment. Dr. Mulch adjusted him, but he did yelp quite a bit...poor kid was really knotted up. Doc has suggested ice packs to the neck as he will tolerate them, and tramadol if I feel he needs it in the evenings when he's trying to get comfortable for bed or before I leave for work for the day (so he can rest comfortably while I'm gone). Since we got home he's been snoozing on the couch...I have a feeling he didn't sleep really well last night or today while I was at work But, the good news is, it's treatable!

Well, I'm glad to hear that's all it is! Hookworms are the WORST, and it's not likely (from everything I've ever heard, anyway), that you COULD have seen them in his poop, because they HOOK onto their intestines. Did you ever get anywhere with his possible autoimmune stuff? If he's got something autoimmune going on, it could also be that he has a harder time fighting off stuff like that...something I was thinking about today at work.

I was just on the phone with my friend, and Fritz was laying in Pinky's crate. Suddenly he started whining/yiking, like he had a toe caught or something. I got up and went to him, he got up on his own and started walking around, he wasn't caught on anything. He was panting, he got a drink of water and wandered around for a few minutes. He got another drink and I coaxed him to lay on the couch. He was laying down for a little while when he started whining again, same as before, kind of yikey. He got up, uncomfortable, and limped over to me. I did ROM on all 4 of his legs the first time he yiked, no responses from that...when I run my fingers down his spine his skin twitches at a certain point, and I noticed he got up earlier and tried to shake and couldn't. I'm betting he tweaked something playing outside or something. I'll take him to the chiro tomorrow after work and see if that helps him. I hate to give him something for the pain that might make him feel good enough to possibly further injure himself, but if he keeps it up I might give him something to help him sleep through the night. Poor baby seems so uncomfortable all of a sudden. The dreaded C word is at the back of my mind but I refuse to listen to it right now! Edited to add, I took him into my bedroom to try to get him to lay down so I could use my massager on him, and Ace promptly got upset (she, Pinky, and Skimmie I left gated in the living room)...she started whining and then peed on my rug! Guess she doesn't like her brother being taken away...

I let the kids out last night after class as I was getting ready to head to the kennel to do turnout. I stepped back into the kitchen for a minute and the dogs were playing outside, nothing unusual. Then I heard Pinky yelp. I went out onto the porch and see Pinky holding up her front leg. I figured she'd lost another toenail (it's been happening again every now and again) so I pulled her into the screen porch to have a look at her. I discovered a laceration on the back of her front leg, about 2 inches long, it was like her hair had just been completely shaved off. I could see her muscle through the paper thin membrane of skin that remained...part of me wanted to just bandage her and keep an eye on it, so I came inside to get my bandaging supplies. By the time I got back to the porch (all of 45 seconds maybe) she had blood running down her leg, so I made the decision to take her to the ER. I'm glad I did, because she had little bits of wood debris in the wound and it took them a good hour and a half to clean and debride the wound and get her stitched up (thankfully the "shaved off" skin was still attached). My poor little baby. A small branch/stick had fallen out of the tree, and when the dogs started playing and running around, she must have run into it. She's getting tramadol for pain and she's on antibiotics. This is one little girl that never makes a PEEP in the house - she never whines or begs like the others, and since she's been hurt she's very good about telling me if she's hurting by whining and getting my attention. She is in good spirits today though she has to be muzzled when I'm not home. She's been eating and taking her medicine like a good little girl, and she's resting comfortably on the couch. Ace even gave up her spot in bed for her last night

Not the case. Pepto Bismol contains a salicylate, which is *related* to *aspirin*. Unless you have a dog who is deathly allergic to that -- I have never had one -- it's a waaaaaaaaaay safe thing to give. Much safer and more sensible to give than Immodium IMHO. Pepto coats the gut (rather than slowing the action thereof), so you don't have Immodium's potential of keeping bad bacteria in there. It would also be extremely difficult to overdose a dog on Pepto. The same cannot be said of Immodium -- just ask Finnsliz. Hope your kids are better soonest, Trish! P.S. Someone on this board turned me on to the NONchewable Pepto caplets. They work great. No mess, no fuss, just pop 'em down the throat. If I have only the chewables, I crush them well and mix with peanutbutter. P.P.S. There's nothing wrong with Immodium under the appropriate circumstances. I prefer to reserve it for when I'm 99.999999% sure the problem results from stress or eating too many cookies (as opposed to possible bacterial infection, etc.). Thanks Batmom, good to know! We usually use generic Pepcid here.

I thought I heard somewhere that you shouldn't give your animals Pepto Bismol because it has some acetaminophen in it? Gosh Trish I hope your kids are feeling better soon...they must be just miserable...and I'm sure you are too!

When our kennel kids need to gain weight and don't seem to want to eat, we give them the Vanilla Ensure (or a generic equivalent). It tastes like a melted vanilla shake and has lots of calories. We've never had anyone have any digestive issues from drinking it. I give my dogs milk probably once a week, they LOVE it! We've not had any problems with it. I hope Whippet is feeling better soon!

That's great - and just in time for spring!

It's so heartbreaking to have to see them go through that. Keeping you in our thoughts as you work to get his meds adjusted...go away, seizures!!!

You know, Ace had a funny "thing" show up in her xrays of her tummy once. It was donut shaped, and Doc had me all freaked out it was some kind of cancer, but he also said it could be an air pocket, or a foreign body. He had us come home and act normal and repeat xrays 24 hours later. It must have been an air pocket because whatever "it" was, was gone the next day. Kind of makes more sense for something like that to be in the stomach, but, I wanted to share. Happy's "cheerio" could be just about anything! We will keep your sweet girl in our thoughts here...

Oh Winslow you are one funny guy! I would be interested to know what he might tell a communicator regarding his doctoring habits....

She looks just fine to me Patti...as someone said, she just looks like a tiny built girl. I never had the opportunity to meet Lacy Laine but I know Lady Sophia was on the larger side of build for a girl, so Pave probably seems tiny to you! Aside from that, you don't want her carrying around too much weight while that leg is "out of commission" She sounds like what we'd call a "personality plus" girl at the kennel!

Great news! I am sure Miss Dee will be feeling better in no time. It's a tough injury but these guys adapt so well she'll be feeling great soon

for clear xrays!!! Pinky's on a course of pred right now for her lupus flare she's been having. I do the burst and taper of dosage rather than frequency. Last week she was on 20 mg (just once a day)...now she's on 15, will go to 10 next week, then I'll finish the meds giving her 5 mg. She has always tolerated it just fine, have never had her have a tummy issue from it at all, and I don't even give her pepcid or anything beforehand. She gets it in the morning after breakfast, on a dollup of peanut butter right along with all of her other pills (tetracycline, vitamin e, niacinamide, and omega 3s). When Pinky has a bad flare and it's so bad that she starts losing toenails again, the pred is the only thing that will calm it down for her. But, if Sam's nosey is lookin pretty awful a 45 mg dose is justified, but to me (and this is just my opinion!) 45 mg twice a day is quite a bit. I was on 30mg twice a day when I had my last lupus flare and it made me bonkers. If it were me, I'd do: 45mg daily for 7 days 30 mg daily for 5 days 20 mg daily for 5 days 10 mg daily for 5 days 5 mg daily for 5 days PM me if you want to talk. There's a lot of ppl here with lupus dogs but they all present differently. If that's what Sam's got going on, it sounds a lot like Pinky's situation. I think MomofSweetPotatoes's boy has a nose issue too but he's also got the really tough systemic probs too.

Just seeing this now...come on Sam, don't scare your mom! We'll be thinking of you tomorrow...it's just so unnerving when our kids aren't feeling well

Ace takes thyroid medication - can she take "people" thyroid pills or do I have to get them from the vet (meaning, is it the same stuff?) She's on 0.8's, but the dosages listed on the Walmart are in mcg... If not can anyone tell me a good place to order Soloxine from? She's been on 0.8 thyrotabs but I hear good things about Soloxine.

Sounds like you've got the situation under control, but wanted to say that I deal with missing and/or broken toenails fairly often with Pinky. Her nails are very brittle and they break easily if I miss trimming them one week. If she comes in from outside bleeding she gets corralled on the sun porch while I run inside to get my med supplies. I use a 1x1 gauze pad and place it over the nail, then I wrap the foot with Kling (gauzy material comes in a roll) and then I wrap the foot with vet wrap, secure with a piece of tape if needed. I leave it for a couple of days and then remove the bandage to check it. All of her nails have grown back at some point, though her dew claws are a little more stubby looking than they used to be. Skimmie somehow lost a toenail one day out in the yard about 6 months ago and it has never grown back, I guess it pulled the follicle. One less nail to trim!

I am so sorry to hear this, but I am thankful that his passing was peaceful and he was doing what he loved. I can only pray that mine will pass as peacefully...

I have done that too many times to count, thanks to my little one. He just gets SO excited about EVERYTHING, including me filling the water bowl, that he gets himself all worked up and then drinks a whole bunch reallyreallyfast...and then, the *cack*...and then the puddle (it always seems like an awful lot for such a little guy too!)...he is just so excitable. The big kids do it on occasion, but it's usually after they've just come in from a play session outside and are all wound up as they're drinking.

The ones I put on Ace were a men's pair...probably a medium or a large. I wonder if a men's small would fit better in the waist while still giving some room in the butt (probably don't want the shorts RUBBING against the owie, just COVERING the owie). Go for the silky ones, IMO they work best.

We did that for Ace when she nicked her flank area (I think that's what you'd call it). We just had to safety pin the waist of the shorts to fit her Of course you have to take them off for potty time but that's usually pretty easy. Ace had silk boxers with dragons on them Nice and flowy, they cover the area but also allow for good air circulation

Poor Bill! I hope he's feeling better soon! How the heck does a dog get his tail degloved in a fight? Ace managed somehow to wedge her tail in my entertainment armoir door and pulled the end right off, but a degloving? Poor baby!

It does sound like something autoimmune, and, as kennelmom mentioned, could be secondary to a tick borne disease. I would definintely have him tested for the full array of TBDs It doesn't sound like discoid lupus to me, but there are many forms of lupus, both in people and in dogs. My Pinky has discoid lupus but has lately exhibited signs of systemic lupus as she's lost some toenails. When she gets like that she gets a round of steriods to calm everything down. She takes tetracycline, niacinamide, and vitamin E twice a day, as well as an Omega 3 caplet once a day. What is the meat source of the Eagle Pack Holistic you're feeding? I would recommend trying Solid Gold Holistique Blendz...it's a salmon based formula with lots of ingredients that promote healthy skin....also has no allergens (unless the dog has a fish allergy, which I haven't seen too often personally). I know that Momof Sweet Potatoes has a lupus doggie that she has used topical steriod cream on for his nose...maybe she can give you more info on that. I hope that you're able to find a solution soon! I personally am not a big fan of the Hill's Veterinary diets, but sometimes their Z/D anti allergen formula is all that works for some dogs. Someone with more food information might be able to tell you about something better that might be comparable. I think the Solid Gold Holistique Blendz does a pretty good job of coming close to the z/d but I am no expert on Hill's foods.

My friend takes her two to our E-vet regularly to donate blood and they are sedated...but it's mild and they're alert the whole time...it's just to help them relax a little. None of my kids were the right type to donate...