duncan41

I am now using the carrots for two different reasons. My 11 yr old boy who came to us with "Colitis" actually had hook and giardia, but he had been on sulfasalazine for years, (!!!!!!! because his previous owners declined any/all testing), that his digestive capabilities were sorely compromised. After taking care of the parasites, and s-l-o-w-l-y switching him to raw food, he still had pudding poo. Enter Olewo carrots. He is still getting the carrots twice a day, although, the amount required to keep his stool firm is down from 1/2 cup to about 1/4 cup per meal. My 11 year old girl had a different issue. She tended to produce very low volume stools, what I call "pencil poop" which eventually contributed to a ruptured anal gland. (Ouch!) Adding a small amount of carrots (3 tablespoons) to her food has increased the volume of her stools without causing any constipation. Please note: I believe that the purpose of the carrots (and the beets to a lesser extent) is to create bulk which does not cause constipation. A friend tried the carrots without the desired results, but since she added the beets, her two dogs now have firm stools for the first time in 5 years!

My two are not "chewers". My daughter has a 40 pound pit/boxer/lab, etc mix who is THE ULTIMATE AGGRESSIVE CHEWER. She can demolish an extra large Himalayan Dog Chew in about 30 minutes and all other chews/bones/bully sticks labeled for aggressive chewers are like crackers to her. Last week I discovered that HDC has a new product called Tuff Root Chews. OMG. It's a huge chunk of some tree root! Well, it passed the "Baylee Test" because she has had it for 5 days now and has not come close to demolishing it! While I worry about slab fractures and have warned my daughter to keep an eye on her, so far so good.

Some dogs and their stories move you, but Danger's story is in a league all its own. Thank you for sharing it. It is his legacy, having so many mourn a dog they never knew. Thank you for giving him the life he was most comfortable living. I am so very sorry that he had to leave so soon.

I am so very sorry for your loss. Twister was not only beautiful, but a fighter, too. Run like the wind, free and whole, Twister, and send your momma a sign.

Now I know why so many reminders of you and Bill and Sheana have been making themselves known to me this past week or two. There was a disturbance in the force. Sheana was a GT icon, what with her special ways and fashion sense. She will be missed. Hugs to you and Michael. All of the long time dedicated lurkers miss your contributions to the WFUBCC.

Sorry if this has been mentioned earlier, (I apologize for not reading the entire thread), but have you read Dr. Suzanne Stack's articles about Depo-Medrol injections: www.greythealth.com, under Lumbrosacral Stenosis. You could print the article and take it to your Vet. Every dog responds differently to the various therapies. The only cautionary statement I would make is if you decide to go with Metacam, please, please, please talk to your Vet about protecting Kacey's stomach with omeprazole (Prilosec) or sulcrafate. Metacam worked wonders for my boy, but absolutely destroyed his stomach. Instead of having an unknown amount of time left with him while on Metacam, we had two good weeks and then 2 horrible weeks where he wouldn't eat and totally lost his ability to stand. Sending prayers for Kacey and hugs for you.

He has that look of love in his eyes. So glad he's home and doing so well. Hope he continues to make a remarkable recovery!

Oh, Mary Pat, I am so sorry! They should live forever.

Flonase is now OTC. Might work better than Zyrtec. I have posted this before, but I am allergic to everything except food and have had allergic reactions to every animal introduced into our home. You are doing all the right things.................now it's u to your immune system to calm down. It will. It's going to take some time, but your body will adjust. Wish I could tell you how long, but everyone is different.

Just seeing this...............oh, Robin, this just sucks. I remember the shock wave of losing Elsie and the divine intervention of getting Zander. And now this. I am so sorry, but you can tell by the response from GT, that you are not alone and the prayers being said for you, Rich and Zander are like that wall of support for you now and in the coming weeks. Please keep up posted.

She was all that and more. Happy Birthday, Sweet! I'm sure Seamie baked special cupcakes just for you!

" and dancing on the table".................. always makes me smile. What a character!

I didn't want to see his name here. I'm sure putting his name here was the last thing you would have done................ever. I am very sorry, Diane. Hugs.

Prayers for Shanti. Poor girl, sure had a terrible day yesterday! Have never heard of borderline positive for heartworm. If that dx was done via snap test, I am sure a sample sent out to a lab will provide a definitive answer.

There are several suitable answers to your question about parasites. Fecal floats are not as reliable as once thought. Sending a sample out for centrifugation will identify the usual suspects but adding exam using ELISA will identify everything not identifiable using centrifugation. Some of the nasties identifiable using ELISA are not treated with Panacur (fenbendazole). So, the question really is, do you want or need to know if there is something in his intestines that shouldn't be there? Panacur will take care of the most, so to save time and money, that may be the first logical step, followed by a stool sample sent out for testing should there be no improvement. As far as adding Olewo dehydrated carrots to Gambler's diet, you can do that at any time. The carrots straightened out my new senior's "colitis" which turned out to be hookworm and giardia. ( It's a shame that his former owners wouldn't spring for the additional testing instead of spending money on Sulfasalazine for 7.5 years. What they paid for the meds was 10x what the test cost!) But back to Gambler. My boy had good luck with the carrrots but I have a friend with 2 dogs who had better results with Olewo beets. You might want to consider postponing any diet changes until you sort everything out. Just remember, solid poop does not equal parasite free poop. Hope Gambler feels better soon.

I don't disagree with any of the suggestions, but I would modify by: 1. Cook the rice in twice the recommended amount of water for twice the recommended time. It should be mush. Some dogs have a hard time digesting rice cooked according to package directions once their gut is inflamed. Pasta or instant mashed potatoes made with water can also be used. 2. I would not re-introduce Winnie's kibble until she has a solid stool for at least 24 hours. 3. Give her a probiotic. 4. Make sure she is adequately hydrated. Boil the chicken and give her the broth if she isn't drinking her normal amount. If she stops eating and/or drinking, take her to the Vet immediately. And my favorite recommendation: 5. Keep Olewo carrots on hand at all times. (olewousa.com) It is THE BOMB for loose stools/diarrhea. Sure hope she feels better soon.

When my Angel Suze was showing the first signs of glomerulonephritis, she was screened for everything under the sun including diabetes insipidus and Cushings. Hope it's nothing.

We are all praying for Magic. Hugs.

I would have another stool sample sent OUT to be checked and ask that it be checked using ELISA. Some parasites can't be identified with the standard flotation. If that is clear, there are other tests that can be run on stool samples to check for other conditions. Talk to your Vet about those possibilities, especially since Anna is losing weight - something that you do not want a senior to do. If after all possibilities are exhausted, I would go to a totally bland diet of boiled chicken or boiled and drained hamburger with pasta or potatoes, (since the rice had no effect), and Olewo carrots. Can't recommend the carrots enough! We just went through something similar (no weight loss) with a 10.5 year old just adopted in October who came to us with a diagnosis of "colitis"; a 6 year history of pudding poo with almost yearly bouts of bloody diarrhea. Turns out he had giardia and hookworm that went unidentified for about 6 years! Treated him for the parasites, weaned him off Sulfasalazine that he had been on for the entire time, put him on the bland diet, and added the Olewo carrots. Once his pudding poo became formed, he was switched very, very slowly (4 weeks) to a raw diet. His poop is now very normal - not "shiny, bouncy poop", but it can be picked up without leaving residue. Huge improvement!!!!! Hope you can get to the bottom of Anna's problems. She can't be feeling as good as she should. Hugs.

First urine of the day, catch mid-stream to do a urinalysis and check for UTI. Culture if the results present any questions. (Suggest that your Vet "start" the culture in office and then send it out for growth completion and analysis.) When was his last Super Chem Panel? If all tests comes back negative, and if Pete's ok with it, crating him sounds like a reasonable, temporary solution until the weather breaks.

Hooray!! Go Charlie!

Sending prayers of comfort and hugs. Please take refuge in this forum. There are so many who have gone down this road and understand everything you are thinking, feeling, and doing and a kinder, more compassionate group will not be found anywhere.

If you want to learn about immunity, go to youtube and search Dr Karen Becker and/or Dr. Ronald Schultz. There is a multi-part interview with Dr. Schultz who knows more about immunity than any living person on the planet.

No discoloration, very little licking.

58 years of allergies to everything except food (no joke) has taught me that over time, reactions change and the source of the reactions change. If you move (new abode, new neighborhood, new city, or new state), you will most likely awaken allergic responses that you never knew were a problem or have been dormant. When you introduce a new animal into the house, same deal. New furniture, carpeting, new car, perfume/cologne, make up, lotions, soap, detergents, shampoo, hairspray, cleaning products, dust, dust, dust, dust, dust, pollen, pollen, pollen, pollen, you get my point. Your treatment of choice may change, too. It will take some detective work on your part as well as trial and error, but you will figure out what works best for you.