JohnF
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Posts posted by JohnF
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As always when we have kidney dogs we treat the dog and not the numbers. They are at best an indication of the biochemistry at that particular point in time. I wouldn't recommend feeding high protien and I would not recommend giving Meloxicam or similar drugs as they can adversely affect the blood supply. I would be very wary of any non-life-saving anaesthesia too.
Please see the kidney info at www.dogaware.com. You may also greatly benefit from joining the K9Kidney Group on Yahoo.com. I've lost 3 over the years to the disease and it's still as hit and miss as ever because every dog reacts quite differently. Good luck.
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Poor Moscow. My heart and prayers are with you at this difficult time.
Sometimes tumors move out of our ability to control and work-around and we then need to send our beloved dogs to run free at the Bridge. Your vet will know if it is time or if you can stabilise and gain some more time. This is why I always say there is no blame in trying to keep them as long as we can and no blame either in letting then go early when a terminal disease is diagnosed. Amputation aims to prevent the dire problems you are currently facing but, sadly, it comes with no guarantees and a load of other issues. Don't for one moment think you have let your dog down.
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It is always almost unbearably sad when we are slowly losing one of our much loved dogs to a terminal illness. The keyword there is 'almost' because there is indeed a coping mechanism. You get the medication as right as you can with the help of the vet, give them extra love and affection, and make some special time for yourself so that you can give all this extra care without showing signs of being too stressed. You have to detatch a little... like wearing a different hat for different parts of the day. The dog will benefit greatly from you having these less stressed periods. Eventually, when that awful day to let the dog go to Rainbow Bridge arrives, you will be able to do it for them out of pure love. Then you must allow the healing process that is Grieving to commence by embracing it, crying freely, and letting it come of the days and weeks in waves of diminshing intensity. You will get thru the caring and treasuing phase, and you will get thru the greiving too. I don't know how, but we all manage it somehow. Take comfort from the healing, caring thoughts of others wherever you may find them. You are not, never were, nor ever will be alone when you face something like this. Treasure the time that remains for it is always precious and meaningful.
One day Osteo and other nasty diseases will be more treatable, or can be held off until extreme old age. Even today the pain relief we can give is so much more effective than in our grandparent's day. Keep hope alive just one day at a time.
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Glad to know you caught the problem in time. Hot humid days are not good for our Greys at all.
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I hope it worked out for them too. But you know it can be quite intimidating coming on a board like this where everyone seems to know everything there is to know, especially when all the veterinary terms start to fly about. All anyone can hope is that they picked up some info here that may have helped their dog. I remember when I first read about Hyperacute Exertional Rhabdomyolysis it made me go all cold and think how incredibly lucky I'd been over the years to have a park with a stream running by it that the dogs like to go into after running; and how i'd awways been mindufl of them getting too hot. May dog currently gets a long-leash walk and a short run in the long grass after 6pm and only a proper run when it';s almost dark. I hope the outcome was good for the person who asked the question,
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What a beautiful dog, and what a nicely matching collar too!
My nervous Peggy took about 2 weeks to warm to me and nearly 9 months to get on good terms with an elderly family member. They come around much more quickly in a group setting.
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Oh, if only I could lick my own nose....>>
Hmmm...
Some of them do it so darn quick and it barely passes their lips. Dogs are better at detailed things like that I guess.
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>> If all you have is a hammer....>>>
That's one way of looking at it. The task is to ensure that we have effective and sustainable 2-way communication with dogs who have issues. It's futile until you know you do. So Turid Rugass' 'Calming Signals' - whether they make use of displacement activity, calm the human, calm the dog indirectly or directly - can been seen as a modern analysis of many of the techniques which 'natural' dog trainers have been using down thru the ages. Look at yourself in the mirror when you say "Hello!", did you see that rapid tongue lick?
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It is most likely an 'Epulis'. One of my dogs had it and it didn't cause any problems.
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Kidney issues are best not to be left to see what happens (they cannot regenerate like the liver).
Please take your dog to the vet - or call the E-vet and explain what's happened.
If it's Hyperacute Exertional Rhabdomyolyis it needs serious care.
John.
Owner of a Black Grey who overheats easily.
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Some dogs use calming signals more than others. Black dogs will use the quick tongue lick more beacause it is that much more difficult to see their eyes and other facial expressions. It worked for me with my spooky/shy Grey. The author, Turid Rugaas, even told me (correctly) that I was contributing to the dog's fears of an elderly person - so the calm energy state is a component, but the signals are a definite language. Links in my Peggy's Photo Gallery here: http://www.pbase.com/johnfr/peggy
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I'm sceptical of things like that, and apart from the placebo effect that will come via displacement activity with the dog's owner thinking they have done something nice for their dog, I can't see it doing anything more than any regular new collar you feel good about might do. People will say happy things about any new collar and the dog benefits from happy people.
I have used an electro-acupuncture (TENS) pen with success on my previous dog's arthritic shoulder, but there are established principles behind this.
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One of mine managed to slip out the front door when someone went to answer a caller. She thought it was a game not letting me come near enough to catch her collar so I walked back to the van and opened the back doors, and within about 5 seconds the dog was in the van waiting to be taken somewhere interesting! Dogs always like to 'trade up'.
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Annoyingly, yes. My dog can suffer from that and I think it has to do with the high quality James Wellbeloved Lamb & Rice kibble I usually feed her. It's supposed to be hypoallergenic and I've fed it to all my dogs over the years with good results. As an experiment I've switched her to Country Valu Greyhound food and the poop, whilst there is more of it, can all be picked up easily. OK, this food does not have specified meat ingredients like the other one that costs 3x as much, but it seems to work. After a month I'll transition back to the Turkey & Rice version of the James Wellbeloved (lamb may be too rich), but if it doesn't work then boring regular greyhound food + the occasional egg, sardine and tasty morsels it will have to be.
I think they absorb water by retaining food towards the rear end of the digestive tract so 'first poops' are going to be firm and later ones soft - I don't think you can do much about that.
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I had similar issues with my current Grey, please see the introductory text in her photo gallery http://www.pbase.com/johnfr/peggy Also try to ensure that Annie has a run-thru 'escape route' in any room where the person she is fearful of is, you can also put a 'safe' person between her and him. I really do think you may get somewhere if he can be shown how to use Calming Signals.
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My dog has that from time to time. It's called 'borborygmi'. The dog either swallows air with the food, the food makes gases and the intestines push it all along. The link explains it with humans http://health.howstuffworks.com/stomach-growling1.htm
Sometimes your dog may have an irritated or inflamed stomach/intestines that may even attempt to hold stuff back for a while and then let it all go in a rush. Sometimes the food may just be 'wrong' for the dog. Some have high metabolisms and need to eat more frequently. Watch too that your dog hasn't picked up something like Giardia or other nasties from puddles.
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You're right to notice a change in frequency. That may be sign of a mild lower tract UTI, or just a dog that's marking seriously against rivals. If the dog is making a hard job of urinating, then that's a sign too. If he's dribbling urine all the time then it's almost certain he has a bad infection..
With upper tract UTI's they can become very ill, dehydrated even though they drink a lot (skin stays tented on pinching, eyes sunken), temperature higher than normal, smelly urine maybe with some blood in it.
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Similar experience with mine (nearly 3. Seldom that keen on morning food so only offer about 1/3 of the daily amount then. (Kibble. Usually James Wellbeloved but with a a few tasty real meat morsels mixed in unless it is a sardines day.) A word of warning though - real picky eating and getting thinner plus drinking and peeing a lot together, maybe, with a 'uriney' smell to the breath may be a wake-up call for kidney disease.
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Meet on neutral ground. Muzzle your grey. Muzzle the other two. Allow your grey to meet just one of the little Italian greyhounds at a time lest they 'gang up' - most of the problems come from showing off. Eg. my last dog showed 2 visiting dogs how to catch my cat 'properly' and she'd never have done that on her own if they hadn't been chasing it.
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Join the club! My Peggy went into a phase just like that after she blossomed out of her spookiness. Remember that they have other senses like keen sight on moving objects; Peggy will come back if she sees me throw a squeaker (that she's never allowed to have) - the tick is not to throw it so far that you can't get to it first. Another is to remind her that you have nice treats before you let her go. However on days when she's acting 'cussed', she doesn't get let off the lead period. She's not even 3 yet so I expect to be 'tested.'
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Information that most of us on here can give you will be anecdotal and I really must stress the importance of a through examination by your vet to work out and treat what is causing the seizure.
They may be bad ones (Grand Mal) or minor, they may be focal (affecting just one particular set of muscles or part of the body) and they may in the end be 'idiopathic' (cause not possible to diagnose). The key thing I've been told is if your dog doesn't come out of it in a couple of minutes or if it keeps re recurring after a few minutes then it is cause to see the emergency vet.
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What worked for my dog with a similar condition was quiter simple: 1/2 tsp per day of cold pressed wheatgerm oil and Sebocalm shampoo. The shampoo only needed to be used 3 times over a month and hasn't been needed since. The dog got a nice shiny healthy coat visibly started after just 2 weeks of treatment. The Vitamin E in the wheatgerm oil may be more readily taken up. Fish oil had failed to remedy the condition.
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I think you may be onto something with mixed signals.
Please read the short article in the link and try to impliment 2-way communication so that he knows that you know what he's saying via body language, and vice versa. You need to be watching for him giving you a Calming Signal. If you send one to him does it get reciprocated etc.
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Female anatomy has a rather 'unintelligent' design fault. Bacteria get into the urinary system via direct contact with faecal matter on or near the urethra. E-coli can then work its way into the system right up to the kidneys if you're unlucky. Swab any areas of the home where the dog might have peed recently with disinfectant if you yave young children crawling around.
Ls Vs. Degenerative Myelopathy
in Health and Medical discussion
Posted
You need to speak with a specialist who sees those conditions every day. Self-diagnosing (whilst a good caring thing to do) can miss some vital markers.
Also think of other things that can play havoc with the nerve endings including Diabetes... does your dog drink a lot?