KF_in_Georgia
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Posts posted by KF_in_Georgia
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Jacey had/has what my vet has called spay incontinence. She doesn't often leak, but she has trouble "finishing" when she pees; poor baby just stands there, knees bent, waiting for the last drops to come out.
At one point, she was leaking some, especially in her sleep. The vet checked her urine and found signs of infection, but the question then was whether it was bladder or urinary tract. She went on antibiotics for a time. The infection seemed to persist. A draw by needle of urine from her bladder confirmed that there was no bladder infection. The WBCs in her urine persisted, and the vet began to wonder if the infection was being triggered by urine retained after she peed. Meanwhile, the leaking in her sleep stopped, but the problem finishing up persisted.
We tried a low dose of PPA, but she started licking excessively. (I might not have noticed this--she licked when she was crated while I was at work--but she started pooping large quantities of white hair.) Jacey had previously been through a course of Clomicalm and Valium to deal with her separation anxiety. She was off those drugs at this point, but at the first sign of abnormal behavior on the PPA, I took her off it. (I think she took it for about four days.) We then tried DES. She was on that for a couple of weeks, but there was no change in her behavior. Now, nearly three years later, she still stays crouched for a while almost every time she pees. No incontinence, though.
Oh, at one point I tried her on cranberry pills for several months. No change.
I adopted Jacey nearly three years ago, and she will be 6 in May.
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I'm so sorry for this devastating news. I hope you can find some comforting memories in the days ahead.
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Your Bubba was such a lovely boy, and I'm so sorry that you've all suffered this pain.
Bubba left a great big greyhound-shaped hole in your lives. A new dog won't fit perfectly in that hole: there'll be a bit of a mismatch around the edges. But it'll be a close enough match to close up most of the hole.
And showing that Bubba was so wonderful that he made it necessary for you to find his successor will be the best tribute you can pay to your boy.
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People have floating ribs. Dogs have them. The first time you encounter one, it can scare the daylights out of you. The rib is attached normally at the spine, but the last rib (or two ribs on people) often is detached at the sternum. Just Google "floating rib" and see what you get. I can feel the floating ribs on both my dogs, but the ribs only stick out some when the dogs lie funny or wiggle around into an odd position.
It'll be most uncomfortable if you mess with it. If you leave it alone (I know it's tempting to press it gently, to see if that bothers the dog), it should be fine.
I'm a dog groomer, and we get some dogs with a constantly-visible floating rib--a rib that protrudes noticeably even when the dog is on its feet. We just make a point of not putting any pressure on the rib cage in that location.
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I bet they'll both do fine, but I'll be thinking of them...and you.
Something I found out the hard way: vets are very bad at estimating time. I once was told "done by 3 pm"; when I called the vet at 3:30, one dog was just waking up and the other not even started. (And I was so stressed over the whole thing, that the delay pushed me over the edge and I burst into tears.) It turns out that my vet likes to do his "tricky" procedures--dogs with health problems and potential complications--first thing in the morning; healthy dogs--like my guys--can get pushed back to later in the day. I've learned not to panic when they're running late with my guys...and not to get my hopes up when they predict "done by 3."
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My secret to 24-hour fasting: Feed dinner a little early. In the morning, sleep until the last minute, then get up, get dressed, walk the dogs, then rush out the door to work, leaving the dogs staring, open-mouthed, looking like they're thinking, "Hey! She forgot to feed us!" Get your own breakfast on the way to work. Then, stall a little after work--running errands, etc.--before going home to feed dinner to dogs who are happy to forgive you.
I usually feed rice and chicken to my guys when they need a bland diet. I keep rice and canned chicken on hand at home for emergencies. And if one dog needs a bland diet, they both get it. The one eating normal kibble thinks he's suffering if his sister is getting cooked food and he isn't.
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I'm so sorry for your loss.
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I voted 2-4 times a year, but I now realize I should have clicked 4-8.
My two go twice a year for wellness visits. February (or so) is shots, bordatella; August (or so) is bordatella and lab work (both dogs are hypothyroid, so we do T4s annually).
Both dogs also had dentals last year. This year, Sam won't need one, but Jacey probably will.
The other times are "problems": last year, Sam had the UTI from hell, requiring an ER visit (he was peeing blood...on a Sunday morning); he also slipped on the stairs and jammed his foot under the riser, needing an ER visit (on a Saturday night) and staples. (Sam doesn't know how to get into trouble during regular vets hours.) Sam then needed follow-up visits at his own vet. So Sam had 7 or so visits in 2008, Jacey had 3.
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I'm so sorry to hear this. I'll be thinking of you and your family--and Phoenix.
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I'm so sorry for your loss.
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I'm so sorry. How heartbreaking for you.
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Curious, how long between anestesia & seziures ??? Vern was 3-4 days....
Sam had seizures coming out of the anesthesia from the dental. He had no subsequent seizures once the ketamine fully wore off that same day.
But you might want to find out if Vern's old vet used ketamine (surely your current vet should be able to request Vern's records from the old practice--or you are entitled to get the records yourself since you paid for all that medical work); and you might talk to your own vet about whether Vern ever should have ketamine with any future anesthesia, given that ketamine can trigger "emergence phenomena".
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My Sam is not an epi dog, but ketamine triggers seizures in him (the technical term, I think, is "emergence phenomena"). We discovered this when Sam had a dental (at age 5), and the vet's phone call to me started, "Sam's okay now, but..."
I had a tag engraved with "WARNING: NO KETAMINE" and Sam wears this on his collar with his other tags. (I'm a chronic worrier. What if I'm in a car accident with the dogs in the car? And Sam winds up at a vet? And needs anesthesia? And I'm not handy to warn the vet? Hence, the tag.)
Sam has safely had two dentals since that one. His vet is using something other than ketamine--although I'm not sure what it is. I've had to take Sam to the emergency room twice for injury or illness (a UTI), and the first words out of my mouth are "he's allergic to ketamine."
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There's an entire Scotchgard Pet Care line, but the Web site doesn't list ingredients. (I filled out the 3m Web site survey and told them their info was inadequate and their site answered none of my questions.)
I can see the advantages of Scotchgard if you're dealing with a pet that is ill or incontinent. But the best bet might be a bed with a washable cover. Pull out the padding, put the padding inside an oversized trash bag, then stuff that back inside the cover. The trash bag will protect the padding if the dog has an accident, and you can just wash the cover.
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Jacey had some outbreaks of something-or-other on her butt for a while. You can see a photo here: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3151/274502...0d4d41ce7_b.jpg
Her vet's best guess was "some sort of bug bite." The vet prescribed Gentocin (a spray). Four days later--all gone.
Another batch of the scabs showed up on her inner thigh a couple of months later. I treated it with the Gentocin and it cleared up in a couple of days.
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I'm sorry you have this new worry to deal with, but I'm hoping for good treatment options from OSU.
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Yay, Saint! Party time!
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Ask Dr Couto's office if there's someone in the area who could keep your girl until you could get back there. Surely they know local greyhound owners, local adoption groups, etc. And they're certain to understand that you need to minimize expenses while still getting your girl good treatment and recovery time with someone who's sympathetic and greyhound savvy. And Dr Couto might be happier knowing Pavé would stay in the area for a while.
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I'm so sorry you and Brian have lost your beautiful girl.
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The whole collection of behaviors does sound like something that warrants a vet visit.
But the screaming in the night might be nothing more than a cramp or muscle spasm. My Sam used to get them occasionally and scare the daylights out of me.
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I'm so sorry you lost your lovely girl.
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Best wishes for uneventful surgery to you and Flippy...
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Keeping him in my thoughts... So sorry you're both going through this.
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Since Neosporin doesn't appear to have helped, ask your pharmacist if there's a spray (rather than ointment) you can use that does not include neomycin. I don't know if dogs can be allergic to neomycin the way people can, but the neomycin allergy rate for people is about 1-in-5. Google "neosporin allergic reaction" to see articles. A spray will have the advantage of letting the spot "breathe".
Until you're sure the carpet cleaning isn't at fault, you might just make sure she lies on an old blanket rather than the carpet.
And try Bitter Yuck if she's trying to lick: Bitter Apple is alcohol-based and might sting; Bitter Yuck is water-based.
Dislocated Toe
in Health and Medical discussion
Posted
Did you see the hard splint put on? A friend whose greyhound was hard-splinted found that he suffered further injury because the splint was insufficiently padded. If your boy is that uncomfortable now in the hard splint, I'd worry about waiting for a week unless you're sure the splint was well padded.
Here's the friend's blog post.