oldrunners

Your lovely, sweet girl will be missed by more people than you will ever know, and their good thoughts will follow you, offering comfort, and celebrating the joy Lexi brought to them.

I am in error: Merrick is not on WSAVA guidelines, Iams is. Damn these senior moments, which seem to be getting longer and longer...

Very good point, Bizeebee, and one I hadn't realized. And the more I think about it, I seem to recall Iams being mentioned early on. I think all this info is overwhelming my brain. I don't want to mislead anyone, so, in future, I will only comment as it relates to my dog.

The World Small Animal Veterinary Assoc. recommends Merrick, Eukanuba, Royal Canin, Hill's, and Purina. These are recommended because they have a vet nutritionist on staff, they test before, during and after manufacture, and they know from whom they source their ingredients, among other things. My budget says Proplan is the one for us. I'm feeding the senior one.

Proplan 7+. Both my girls are 10 1/2, Sirius will be 7 in September. To be blunt, I just cannot afford Merrick, Eukanuba, or Royal Canin. I have never fed Hill's, so I went for Purina, since I had fed it many years ago when I had two dogs on their kidney diet. These are the 5 listed on WSAVA guidelines.

I brought my Penny in because she was off her food. Vet notice during the exam that Penny's heart rate was very high and there was an odd sound from her heart. She brought Penny into the back where a couple of other vets listened and concurred. They set me up as an emergency patient at the cardiologist for the next day. Among other things, Penny had an ultrasound and an electrocardiogram. and was diagnosed with DCM. We now feed Purina proplan 7+. ( FYI, I live in Delaware. and that emergency visit was just short of $!K). She had a checkup in May, and cardiologist is quite pleased. He even saw a slight improvement. She takes Vetmedin and L-carnatine, which is a supplement I get at The Vitamin Shoppe. Be forewarned: Vetmedin is quite pricey, and one of its ingredients is scarce for some reason. So far my vet has been able to get it. Vetmedin is compoundable, if that one ingredient is available. The irony is, I fed TOTW because it didn't cause my dogs to have crystals in their urine, not because it is grain free. So far, no crystals...

In case you didn't know, that spot on her head is called a "kissy spot". Welcome from Penny, Sasha, and Sirius, who don't have kissy spots!

Leash walks, only as long as needed to P&P. No jumping. If the dog is allowed on furniture, take the cushions off so he can just step up. No stairs. No pulling or lunging on leash. No running. Keep on top of pain meds. My daughter bought her dog a couple of brainwork toys to keep her dog engaged/amused, and taught her beginning nose work tasks.

Penny went for a recheck echo last week. She needs a dental, and my regular vet didn't want to do it without the echo, rightly so. The cardiologist was very pleased--her heart function has actually improved! He considers her stable, I'm to continue the vetmedin and L- carnatine, and she doesn't need a recheck for 6 months to a year, unless I have concerns. She is cleared for her dental, and will have it on Thursday.

Yup, I'm there, thank you for suggesting, tho!

My Penny was diagnosed last June with DCM, early stages. I had brought her in because she wasn't eating, and the vet noticed a suspicious heart sound during the exam. I was sent to the cardiologist immediately, as an emergency-squeeze-me-in-and-charge-me-extra patient. She was diagnosed and put on Vetmedin and the supplement L-carnatine. I had been feeding grain free since I got her. She seems to be stable now. She is just shy of 10 1/2.

Welcome from Penny, Sasha, and Sirius, also from Delaware!

Prayer is on the way.

I'm about 2 months in with Phycox for one of my girls and my boy. Haven't seen any difference with my boy, but 10 yo Sasha is now back to doing (her version of ) zoomies. She is at the very beginning of losing her hind end, and hasn't done a zoomie in years, and she now will do one maybe twice a week.

My Penny, who is now 10, was diagnosed last June. I took her to my regular vet because she wasn't eating well, sometimes skipping a meal altogether. So unlike her! Vet noticed a heart issue immediately, so off we went to the canine cardiologist the following day. $900+ later, we had the diagnosis. I have been feeding TOTW Pacific Stream for several years, not so much because its grain free, but because after trying 4 other foods, this was the first one that didn't give all 3 of my dogs crystals in their urine. After much thought about this, I've decided to stay with it, but augment it with whole grains. Its oatmeal for the next few days, then whole grain rice, then maybe couscous. I have no idea if this will help my other two, but it makes me feel a tad less guilty. Penny is stable and doing well on her meds and supplements. Funny aside: Penny is a very insecure girl, unhappy in strange places, especially if one of my other dogs isn't with us. The cardiologist is part of a big specialty practice, and, since we went in as emergency, we had to wait several hours in the waiting room. No matter where you sat, you were in line with either the front door, the check-in check-out desk, or the entrance hall to the exam rooms. I chose the furthest point, but was still near the hallway entrance. Well, Penny was very nervous. Penny had an upset tummy. Penny had gas. As people went past us, all of a sudden they would stand up straight, throw their heads back a bit, and kinda stutter step. One dog even threw his head up for a better sniff. I would just kinda shrug and smile. Poor Penny.

I've used Valleyvet for many, many years. Very happy customer.

It is my understanding that not all tracks send race results, also, those that are posted are done by volunteers, so some may just have been omitted, or not posted because no one was available at that time.

Tears here, too. What a lovely write-up for a lovely girl.

Mine wear muzzles with poop guards for just this reason. My yard is full of those tasty little nuggets!

Julio went to the Bridge at a couple of months over 8.

Sadly, I'm going to be the first pain in the butt. I was hoping to change my password to something I could relate to, but I have just tried to change it 5 times, and I keep getting the message that the one I have recorded in my notebook is inaccurate. My email address is accurate. How do I call up my password so I can change it?

Penny, Sasha, and Sirius say hello from Delaware!

I'm so sorry! I remember the wedding, and the wonderful celebration!

Please know that many of us will mourn with you.

BTW, it comes in capsule and tablet form. I've found the much smaller tablet is easier to hide in whatever the pill camo of the day is. Also, I get it at BJs. It comes in a package of 3 two week courses.