KF_in_Georgia

Can you just add water to his kibble? My boy technically hasn't had a food change, but he had a UTI that we discovered last week. He usually gets some water added to his kibble, but a couple of days before the UTI, he suddenly had a diarrhea episode (in nearly two years with me, this is only the second time he's had diarrhea). He spent a day on chicken and rice, then rice and pumpkin, then kibble and pumpkin, and I wasn't adding water to any of those meals. I think that's what triggered the UTI. Water was available, but he wasn't drinking it. Once the vet confirmed the UTI, we started antibiotics, but he still wasn't drinking anything more than the little bit of water I put in his kibble. I decided to change things up: I fed him about half his regular kibble in a bowl with lots of water. He had to drink his way down to get to the kibble. An hour or two later, he got the rest of his kibble--and more water. Fortunately, I work from home, so I could get him outside as often as needed. He clearly was feeling better within the first 12 hours, and while he'd had one dose of the antibiotic, I'm betting it was the water that made him feel better. He finishes his antibiotic today, and I'm going to keep adding extra water to his kibble. The virtue of adding more water is that you can stick with your current food, and your boy won't have to tolerate a change in diet.

Tigger was better almost immediately. In his case, the lad had thrown up all night after an obedience lesson using string cheese as a training treat on an empty stomach. (It's how I found out he is lactose-intolerant.) He had dinner after the training, threw up all night, and was still throwing up in the morning. We went to the vet for a shot -- he screamed -- and he didn't vomit any more after the shot. I let him have regular meals after that.

If he's in pain, it's possible the cancer has spread. An x-ray could tell you. Otherwise, the first time you know it may be when Stolie breaks a leg. And if he appears to be in pain, then the pain meds you have him on may not be adequate--especially if the cancer has returned. But it's possible the pain could be something else--spine out of alignment because he has to walk differently now. The vet may be able to tell you more after x-rays.

Did you check with Omaha Vaccine? Other sites say they're out of Soloxine, but the Omaha Vaccine page doesn't indicate that they have a supply problem. Maybe they're pulling a bait-and-switch, with a last minute attempt at a substitution, but it would be worth checking with them.

Sorry Winnie had such a hard time. Heartgard Plus is what used to give my dogs diarrhea, although the vet said it probably was the flavoring rather than the medication itself that got to them. Interceptor is back on the market, but be advised that it (and Trifexis) have the same primary active ingredient as Sentinel.

I'm so sorry. Godspeed, Beth.

Vitamin E capsules and coconut oil are absolutely okay if ingested. Lots of dogs take one or the other orally to help prevent dry, flaky skin. I"m pretty sure Bag Balm is okay, as well. People use it to soften paw pads, and dogs often lick the pads, so it hasn't been a problem. But you might want to ask the vet whether something else would be better. I'm wondering of something like one of the Mederma products would be more helpful. You might want to print out an ingredients list and ask your vet about it.

Possibly, it's SLO. That usually impacts more than one nail, but it could just be starting up. Check these links for more information: http://www.grassmere-animal-hospital.com/SLO.htm https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006043023750&sv=f http://germanshepherdhealthproblemshere.blogspot.com/2012/09/hells-nails-symmetrical-lupoid.html

I used Advantage Multi for my dogs for nearly two years, but hookworms weren't the problem so I can't speak to how well it worked for them. Heartgard Plus gave my girl diarrhea every month, so I went to Advantage Multi because it was a topical and it didn't cause any problems for my dogs. I'll warn you that it doesn't prevent ticks, and it smells awful (worse than Frontline Plus). I always put a bandanna on my dogs when I treated them to remind me not to pet in the oily spot, but frankly, the smell was just about reminder enough. Advantage Multi contains moxidectin and imidacloprid, which are not the ingredient in Heartgard Plus (which is ivermectin and pyrantel pamoate). Just this month, we've changed over to Interceptor. My girl used to take that without a problem (until Novartis stopped making it), and she's been fine with the first dose. Interceptor is another oral med (but no longer made by Novartis). My dogs have all dodged hookworm problems, and I don't know whether we've just been lucky, or if Advantage Multi and/or Interceptor have been effective. Interceptor contains milbemycin oxime. The reason I'm changing from Advantage Multi is that my dogs are therapy dogs. I need to be able to schedule their topical treatments around therapy events, but I didn't like being that imprecise about when they got their heartworm meds. With Interceptor, I can give it precisely on the 1st of the month, but shift the Frontline Plus (or whatever) a few days earlier or later than the 15th (or change over to Bravecto) to accommodate their therapy schedules and required baths and whatnot. Since Advantage Multi gave my dogs no problems and is a different set of ingredients than what's in Heartgard Plus, I don't see any reason not to try it. But if it doesn't help, keep Interceptor in mind since that would be a different ingredient than you've tried so far.

Time for Dr Couto? Less stress for Greg, probably less money than an internal med consultant, and Dr Couto is the expert who's pretty much seen it all when it comes to greyhounds. http://www.coutovetconsultants.com/

Well, if the lump is an abscess or an infection in a tooth (rather than a bug bite), the antibiotics should be helpful. The e-vet probably has faxed a report on Redbo to your vet, but when you call, make sure they know the e-vet diagnosed kennel cough so they can make quarantine plans for you guys. Not only does this stuff happen on a weekend; it happens on a holiday weekend more often than not. And your vet's office may be slammed Monday with pets that have had an extra day to get themselves in trouble (not to mention all the dogs that will have panicked during fireworks displays). If your vet's office has an answering machine, or if there's an on-line portal that takes messages about appointments, you might want to leave messages today.

And the lump could explain his sneezing and snorting, if it was causing pressure that annoyed him.

Normal temperature for a dog: 99.5-102.5 Fahrenheit.

I'm not certain, but I think his reaction is too soon for it to be kennel cough or the current canine influenza--or, at least, to be one of those things picked up at the day care visit. It's possible he encountered an infection prior to his daycare visit (so you need to notify them asap). It's also possible they just use a cleaning product he's allergic to. I don't think it warrants emergency vet as long as he appears to feel okay (but others will chime in). Check your initial adoption paperwork as well as any paperwork from vet visits he's made with you and see if he's had the kennel cough (bordetella) vaccine; and if so, how recently? If he's had the vaccine and he's sick, it's less likely to be kennel cough, but that still leaves allergies and influenza on the list of possibilities. When you do take him to the vet, call in advance and tell them you're bringing in a dog with a respiratory ailment. If you go to your regular vet with an appointment, get there on time--but not early. Vets and e-vets are taking precautions against infection, so they'll probably whisk you off to a quarantined area. Don't go in early--before they're ready--or unannounced. Don't interact with other dogs while you're there--and that's you personally; influenza can be carried on people's clothes and hands. If you can, get a video of what he's doing--the sneezing and snorting. Greyhounds are notorious for not acting sick while they're at the vets, so take a video to show the doctor. Meanwhile, keep him away from other dogs. If possible, limit your walks to areas other dogs don't frequent. About the influenza: https://gvma.memberclicks.net/assets/docs/important_information_about_canine_influenza_for_pet_owners.pdf and (procedures for vet clinics): http://www.thecanineranch.com/canineranch/assets/File/H3N2%20disseminate.pdf

Lots of us go through this with aging dogs. Some ideas. Smaller meals more often. I was up to 4 meals a day for my angel Sam because he was taking meds with his meals. He seemed more willing to tackle smaller meals, plus he was more hungry at his next mealtime. Add-ins. Add yummy/smelly stuff. Sardines. Yogurt. Ensure. Scrambled eggs. When my boy started eating just the add-ins, I worried about whether he'd get balanced nutrition. I started grinding his kibble in the food processor, then mixing the ground kibble with the add-ins so he'd have to eat the kibble. He was getting 3 cups of kibble a day, plus whatever add-ins he ate. Often, the add-ins were nothing special--rice or oatmeal--but I think that partly he was tired of food that crunched (his teeth were fine--we checked), so he'd eat even boring rice or oatmeal (with kibble crumbs in it--ground up, it's the texture of Grapenuts cereal). I'd just grind 3 cups of kibble every morning, then add a scoop of the crumbs to whatever add-ins I had handy at each meal. If there wasn't time to cook up some rice or oatmeal, I'd use some of the vanilla Ensure (it's very sweet.) After a few months on the ground kibble, he was willing to go back to the whole pieces; the special add-ins continued. If you are feeding dry kibble, try adding some water. My 10-year-old girl has started losing interest in her kibble, even though she knows the boy will eat it if she doesn't. This means I can't let it sit there until she decides to eat. She had a dental about a month ago, and she may be struggling with no longer having teeth in "the right place" for easy kibble munching. For her, though, I think it's mostly a warm-weather thing (she was eating well until last week, even with fewer teeth, and she hasn't lost her appetite for treats), but if I add water, she'll drink the water, then sort of "accidentally" continue with the kibble. P.S. Try to keep pills after meals. Otherwise, you risk having him turn down food, so that pills are sitting on an empty stomach, which can cause real problems.

Maybe a UTI? You might want to run a sample to the vet's, just to check.

I'm so sorry to hear this. Best wishes for your boy. We'll be thinking of all of you...

This'll sound daft, but if you can get him to lie down and you throw a light blanket over his back end, you won't smell it so strongly. And, as long as you're awake, burn a candle...

I'd stop the rice right away. Some dogs don't do well with it. You can try oats/oatmeal or potatoes.

I'm sorry to hear this. I lost 8-year-old Jacey to immune mediated thrombocytopenia, and we never discovered what triggered it. Fine during a well-dog exam on a Tuesday, sick by Thursday night, and put to sleep on the next Monday. (I didn't respond to your earlier posts here because I had nothing helpful or hopeful to say.) I'm so sorry you've lost your girl.

A friend was mentioning it on a local forum today as a potential aid when a SLO dog loses a nail....

The GoodRx site has a number to call if a listed pharmacy refuses to honor the coupon. On a Walgreens coupon, it says this:

Check his nails. If they're too long, he could be hyper-extending his toes when he walks. Also, as macoduck said, watch for corns. They might not produce a reaction when you examine his foot (dogs can be too stoic for their own good), but see if he limps more on hard surfaces (concrete, asphalt) than on soft (carpeting, grass). Also, you can wet the pads: corns often show better then. If you can't see anything, a corn is still a possibility because corns often will be painful before they break the surface of the pad.

Susan, if his vet isn't available 24 hours a day, Google in-home pet euthanasia, add your zip code, and see what you get. Or ask your vet's office if they have someone they recommend in an emergency. Then stick that number in your cellphone and don't worry about it. Knowing who you can call takes some of the pressure off you. If Spinner's having an off day, you don't have to worry about the weekend coming up and feel as if you need to make a rushed decision so you can catch your vet while the office is open. Also, a friend had a dog take a turn for the worse on a Saturday night, and she had to get someone out on Sunday morning; she had to put out a request for help on our local Yahoo board. I haven't needed in-home euthanasia for any of my dogs, but I've had the number for Sweet Dreams-Atlanta in my phone for years.

I'll be thinking of you and your girl. (My 10-year-old just breezed through a dental, but I know that feeling when your chest gets tighter just thinking about the surgery...)