KF_in_Georgia

I'm sure people will make recommendations. I'll just issue a caution: Avoid plans that pay a percentage of a defined "allowable cost." You want one that pays a percentage of your actual expenses. If an insurer defines the maximum "allowable cost" for treating a particular ailment, what are you going to do when/if you hit that maximum? Stop treating the dog? And if their "allowable" is less than what it actually costs to treat your dog, you have to decide whether to shell out that money. You're getting insurance so you can concentrate on what's best for your dog without having to worry about your wallet; it makes no sense to have a policy that puts the $$$ back in your decision. When I got insurance for one of mine, the "allowable cost" was a standard arrangement with one of the largest pet insurers. But she developed an immune system disorder, and the company's maximum wasn't enough to pay for diagnosing the problem, let alone treating it. In the end, they repaid me about $.25 on every dollar I spent at the ER (and repaid me considerably less than I'd spent on premiums). (I'm not naming the company. They may have changed their plans in the years since this happened, or at least may offer different kinds of plans now. I just want to caution you to consider what kind of plan you get.) Also, look into obtaining a Care Credit card (Google them). Care Credit charges very high interest rates, but if you pay the card quickly, there's no interest. (And there's no annual fee.) This gives you a way to pay the vet or ER, then get reimbursed by your insurer before the Care Credit bill comes due--very helpful if you're close to your credit limit on other credit cards. Most insurers only repay you--they don't pay your vet--and Care Credit gives you a way to pay the bill right away. But be advised that not all vets accept Care Credit. (My vet doesn't, but the ER does.)

The x-rays might have showed a hairline break or showed that a catastrophic break was impending. And the problem with pain meds is that they make dogs feel good enough to romp and play--which can lead to a horrendous break for a dog with osteo. If you have to spend your dog's last days keeping it on leash and restricting it from running and playing as it wants, is it worth it for the few extra days? Sometimes it is--when you can supervise your dog and spoil your dog rotten. But if you have a job, you'll live in horror of coming home to find your dog broke its leg while you were gone and suffered in pain for an unknown number of hours--or bled out or died of shock if an artery was damaged by the break. My girl broke her leg in my living room--and at least I was home when it happened. We had no suspicion that she had cancer, and cancer didn't show on the x-ray, but what else breaks the leg of a dog like that? I'd have done anything to spare her that break and the pain and fear she suffered in the next 24 hours (because we didn't suspect cancer, they operated the next day to implant a pin in the bone; she threw a blood clot and died in surgery). I'd have done anything--including letting her go earlier than someone else might think is right.

Make sure the vet you see knows you gave her the aspirin, and don't give her any more. But yes, she needs a vet, and sooner rather than later.

Keeping your good boy--and you--in my thoughts.

I think you want to continue the other drugs he's normally getting, if for no other reason than to avoid withdrawal symptoms. Both gabapentin and tramadol say not to stop abruptly.

Trifexis also does not control ticks.

I haven't posted before this because I thought Heather might come back. But she posted on Facebook last week that she'd had to say goodbye to Seka.

After 24 to 48 hours, I'll bathe my dogs or just take a wet paper towel to their necks and rub off the residue--but I'm not using Vectra. When I first put a topical on my guys (tomorrow's the day), I put bandannas on both dogs to remind me not to pet there. The bandannas also, I think, help keep the oil off the furniture. Usually, all signs of the topical are gone in 24 hours. I have one therapy dog who has to get baths before therapy sessions, and both dogs do some weekend meet and greets. I give the topical on a Monday (usually the first Monday of the month), then bathe the dogs any time on Wednesday or after. (And the reason they're getting meds tomorrow is that we have a nursing home visit on Tuesday next week, so I can't wait until next Monday for meds.) I'll let other people discuss oral flea/tick meds. I've got a girl who gets diarrhea from oral heartworm meds, so I use Advantage Multi, which is a (very smelly) topical that does heartworm as well as fleas. P.S. The Vectra warnings about clothes and furniture may have less to do with the pesticide and more to do with stains the carrier oil will produce on fabric.

Good.

I don't like the sound of "straining ... without pooping". If he doesn't get unplugged on this walk, I'd load him in the car and start for the e-vet. If he gets noisy in the car and seems in distress, you might be able to find a place to get him out of the car (look for "islands" in shopping center parking lots--usually decent lighting there--and put some sort of cover on the car seat, just in case). If things loosen up on the way to the e-vets, then you can make a judgment on whether to go on or go home. My dogs rarely get sick during regular office hours, and the e-vet here actually is closer than my own vet, so I've been quick to go to the e-vets. But I've never been sorry I took a dog in, even if it wound up not being life-or-death. If all is well, you and Henry can go home and get some sleep. If you both stay home, odds are neither of you will sleep well until he manages to poop. If he doesn't poop soon and you decide he needs the e-vet, you'll kick yourself for not going earlier.

Don't be surprised if she acts fine at the vet's. Arthritis has had two of my dogs yipping at home (on different occasions), but both stoically silent at the vet's. But the vet could see enough hesitant movement to take my word for it that the dogs were hurting. You might want to video Julep (great name!) as she's getting up or lying down and let the vet see how she's moving that's producing a problem.

If the heavy-duty swallowing is happening not long after a meal, it could be reflux. Talk to your vet about whether you should give Prevacid or Prilosec on a regular basis. And it might help if you can keep Chase upright for 30 minutes or so after a meal. Where reflux is concerned, gravity is your friend.

You're going to want to feed at least something in the morning. Otherwise, he's liable to start barfing up yellow bile. (And if he's eating poop, he'll start barfing that up, too. Very nasty.) Maybe give him a half-cup in the morning before you leave for work or fill a Kong and leave that for him to work on during the day.. Also, sometimes it's not the crate. It's the separation. My boy has separation anxiety (he's taking clomipramine for it and getting better). He's crated when I leave. If I leave him out of the crate, he'll pee and poop in the house. In the crate, he's peeing and/or pooping on a canvas/fleece pad* that's washable (and I have a couple of spares so I can put down a clean one if I need to go out again before I've had time to do laundry). In the worst case, I've had to use waterless shampoo on him when I've come home, but he usually manages to keep himself out of the mess. But if I don't crate him, he pees and poops in the house--and not always in places where it's as easy to clean up (although he stays clean). And I have another dog to keep him company. He just really expects people to be there for him 24/7. I haven't got a floor plan that lends itself to confinement in an easy-to-clean room, and I also worry about anxiety pushing him to get into something dangerous. Crated, he just pees and poops and then waits for me to come home. Uncrated, he'll pee and poop and then have lots of options. By the way: another fan of Iams in the green bag, here. My girl has been on it for a year for all the usual reasons. When I got my boy in November (as a foster) from his former owner, she apologetically said he was on Iams in the green bag because it was the only food she'd found that didn't give him diarrhea. *Costco used to carry these pads designed as throws to put over furniture or other things you didn't want dog hair on. I bought several of them. Folded in half, they fit neatly in the floor of a 48" crate. Drs Foster & Smith have something similar here.

This one: http://www.iams.com/dog-food/iams-so-good-succulent-salmon

Looks like chicken is the first ingredient in the Iams Salmon. http://www.iams.com/cat-food/iams-healthy-naturals-adult-with-atlantic-salmon Sorry. Wrong page. I googled Iams Salmon Dog Food, but it linked to the cat version. Odd that the dog food version should be so hard to find online. ============================= ETA: Is it this one? http://www.iams.com/dog-food/iams-so-good-succulent-salmon

Feed a couple of slices of bread to help cushion any sharp bits. It'll probably take a couple of days to pass (or she could upchuck it tonight). Just watch for any signs that she's uncomfortable. Call your vet in the morning, but I think your vet probably will recommend a wait-and-watch approach. Remember that stuff you guys have held in your hands (phones, Legos, TV remotes, etc.) smells like you guys. And if you've been eating while you hold the phone, change the channel, or play with toys, the plastic smells like you and food. For some dogs, that's irresistible. (One friend's greyhound ate her dental retainer. Twice.)

If his vet visit before you adopted him included a heartworm test, you should be able to get a printout of his vet records and the results of the heartworm test. If you've got vet records from his shots, call that vet and see if a heartworm test was included then. In fact, you might be able to get a written prescription from them. But if you can't get the results, get him tested and get the meds. You say you ran out in May--does that mean you gave him the last one in April? Or in May? Either way, he won't have had his June dose, and you really should not wait another two months. Suggestion: Schedule a well-dog visit/vet check for as soon as possible, and go ahead and get his rabies shot done. Get the heartworm test and a prescription. Then, in August, you can schedule a vet tech visit (rather than a vet's exam) to get the other vaccinations. It'll be cheaper than seeing the vet on both visits. (In Georgia, at least, it's only a rabies vaccination that requires the vet's presence.) Many people like to separate a dog's vaccinations so that if there's an adverse reaction you can figure out which vaccine caused the problem, so this would give you that separation as well as give you a way to avoid two vet visits.

Sam had spinal arthritis, wobbly back legs, and probably early-stage LP. He was taking steady doses of methocarbamol, gabapentin, and tramadol. (And thyroxine and Prevacid and other stuff). But he had a bad night: he laid and panted all night long, until he finally drifted off to sleep for a few minutes about 5 am. He was completely maxed out on the meds, and he still couldn't get comfortable. I took him to the vet in the morning and we put him to sleep. The vet agreed that it was time; he said Sam didn't smell right, so we possibly were looking at kidney failure on top of Sam's other problems. Sam was still willing to eat (he ate two sausage/egg biscuits in the vet's parking lot that morning). He had trouble getting to his feet, and he couldn't stay on his feet for long. (We'd tried a steroid shot which had helped only for a day or so.) Sam was eating four meals a day because he needed meds with food frequently, and because he couldn't stay on his feet to eat a big meal. But what decided it for me was a night spent with a panting, uncomfortable dog that I couldn't make comfortable, no matter what I did. Yes, Sam might have "lucked into" better days after that, but I'd never be able to make him feel better than he felt that sleepless night, and there undoubtedly would be worse days ahead. I wasn't willing to make Sam face those worse days, on the off chance a better one would come along. Sam and his biscuits. But I'd have kept giving him pills forever, as long as they kept him feeling good. He was never groggy or dopey, he enjoyed his food and his naps. He hated car rides, but he was happy to stay home, even by himself. I had a lot of worry about falls; when he pulled a Bambi, he needed help to get back up. But I worked from home, and I think when I left the house he was careful to stay safely on his bed. When I let him go last August, though, the trouble with his legs and back was getting worse. If he hadn't had the night spent panting, I think there'd have been something else very soon. The knowledge that all the meds he could take wasn't enough to make him comfortable was the deciding factor.

Biggest question: Did your vet send you home with pain meds? If not, then it may be time to find a vet who'll put Bodhi's comfort ahead of everything else. If your vet's assessment of the x-rays is right, then he may be right about Bodhi's future. If there's been that much bone damage--from either osteo or valley fever--then amputation may be all you can do. Read up in the osteo thread and consult Dr Couto. Before you do an amputation, you need chest x-rays for Bodhi. If the problem is cancer, there usually are small metastases that don't immediately show on x-rays, but if metastases are already showing in Bodhi's lungs, your best option may be to spoil him rotten for a while and then let him go. But if it's cancer and it's not showing in his lungs (or in other organs or on other bones), then an amputation might work out: it's expensive--and scary--but it's doable. Again, read the osteo thread. Aside from the worry about whether cancer might have spread (and, frankly, whether you should put yourself into debt for years to give Bodhi, potentially, only a few more months)*, you need to assess Bodhi's tolerance for extended stays at the vet's, as well as his physical condition aside from the sore leg. If cancer is confirmed--whether you amputate or not--keep Bodhi on pain relievers, whether he acts as if he needs them or not. Dogs are stoic about major pain (although complete wusses about nail trims ), and your job is to be Bodhi's advocate about keeping him comfortable. You may need to consult with a veterinary oncologist if your vet isn't helpful. Vets have been trained to worry about negative side effects of drugs and the potential for long-term damage. You want a vet who says "Let's just make him as comfortable as we can." Be cautious about opium-based drugs; some dogs don't react well to them. But gabapentin has been useful, along with tramadol and an NSAID. And sometimes methocarbamol (if the dog is straining other muscles walking oddly to avoid injuring the painful leg). (Many of the drugs are available from people pharmacies cheaper than veterinary ones. Check www.goodrx.com for coupons and best prices.) Keep Bodhi eating--even if you have to lure him with unorthodox treats--and make sure he eats before he gets pills. You don't want him to develop stomach trouble on top of his current woes, which can happen if he takes his pills and then turns down the food that should go with them. Pepcid might be useful to help with his stomach. Forget about feeling guilty. Bodhi's not assigning blame. Enjoy the time you have together, spoil him rotten, do whatever it takes to keep him comfortable. In your head, work out your emergency procedure for what you'll do if he does break a leg: keep his muzzle handy, can you lift him and get him in the car, where's the nearest 24-hour vet; or can you get a vet to come to your home on short notice. Once you've worked out that plan, just put it in the back of your mind and live in the present, with Bodhi, knowing that you're prepared for an emergency. You don't want to be trying to make decisions in a panic, when Bodhi might be crying and distracting you. (Been there, done that, with my Oreo.) *We hate to talk money, and no one will criticize your decisions for Bodhi, regardless of what you decide. But I'm still coping with the effect of spending nearly $5,000 on a dog in 2010--and we weren't able to save her (my Jacey). I'm not sorry I tried--I wouldn't have forgiven myself if we hadn't given her a chance (it wasn't cancer)--but spending that money then has left me less able to deal with emergencies for the dogs I have now, and that's something I'll consider before I go into further debt treating my dogs.

You've probably got his weight right at present. And dogs often adjust to pretty much any schedule they run into where food is concerned. ("You can feed me early. You can feed me late. You can feed me anything, as long as you feed me!" is the cry around my house. I've had jobs that started at 7am or 12:30pm, depending on what the boss decided. And sometimes, 7am came the day after 12:30. Around here, the dogs learned that breakfast is what happened when mom got vertical; dinner is what happened when mom got home. And my guys will let me sleep in.) Maybe try pouring him a quarter-cup of kibble before bedtime. If he's eaten it by morning, give him a quarter-cup less for breakfast. If he didn't eat the kibble, he can get that quarter-cup along with his breakfast. And if his weight starts to drop (sometimes weight may vary depending on how many times you have to leave him with a treat; that happens at my house), you can always increase what he gets on a meal to compensate.

I'm glad he's doing so well. From everything I've heard, vestibular disease always looks like the end of everything--and rarely is. But he really has had a hard time. (And so have you.) His high-stepping doesn't look too extreme, and it's actually better than the alternative: not picking his foot up high enough to prevent scraping it when he walks. (I have a friend whose dog did that and had to wear shoes. She hated the shoes, and in outrage picked her feet up like a majorette on the football field. Mission accomplished.) Best wishes to all of you. Keep up the good work, Merlin! (And Kerry!)

I agree with Silverfish. Can you invite another grey owner over for a joint walk? Or foster a dog? Or even just offer to dogsit a friend's dog long enough to see if Snow perks up?

Nope. Nothing serious. It sounds like "empty stomach" issues (the yellow stuff is bile). Give him something to eat at bedtime. It'll stop the vomiting, probably block the queasiness that makes him want to eat grass, and possibly encourage him to sleep later (and let you sleep later when you want to). You can give him a treat, or--if calories are an issue--hold back a quarter-cup of his dinner and just give him that at bedtime.

Talk to your vet about whether she needs to start Pepcid or something like that. When my boy developed an ulcer from an NSAID he'd been taking for a couple of months, we suddenly had liquid poops. (This is why Betty needs to eat before she takes pills.) And watch for reddish poops (or poop so dark that any reddish color would be hidden). Any sign of that, she needs to see the vet. I'd suggest skipping the Rimadyl, but continuing with the other meds on the regular schedule until you have a chance to talk to your vet. Feed bland food (oatmeal is fine) before pills, and watch her poops.

Acute IBD can kill a younger and stronger dog in much less than 11 months if it can't be brought under control. And if a proper diet can't be found--and the proper diet will differ from dog to dog--the problems are just compounded.