Anne

I'm so very sorry.

I'm so very sorry Sandy. I remember the call the first day you got her and helping her to do stairs and your worry about her being cat safe. What a lucky gal she was to find you. God Speed sweet Roady, I hope my Phantom was there to greet you when you found the bridge.

I don't know much about this drug or the dosing, but found the following on google: How Meloxicam Is Supplied Meloxicam is available in 7.5 mg and 15 mg tablets. In U.S.A., Canada and Europe, meloxicam is available as a 1.5 mg/mL oral liquid and as a 5 mg/mL injectable solution. Meloxicam is available as Metacam® in the United States in 0.5 or 1.5 mg/mL liquid suspension for oral administration. Meloxicam is also available as an injectable form concentrated at 5 mg/ml. Dosing Information Medication should never be administered without first consulting your veterinarian. In dogs for an anti-inflammatory effect, meloxicam is dosed at 0.1 mg per pound (0.2 mg/kg) initially, followed by 0.05 mg per pound (0.1 mg/kg) once daily.

I absolutely agree!! I only use it in any of my dogs for injuries / post surgery / etc, NEVER for fears. The thought of them panicking and unable to show it / self soothe terrifies me. I had a vet prescribe it for Kobie because of his fireworks fear, I used it once and hated the effect it had on him. He was still terrified, but couldn't move to hide. I never used it again. I wish I'd had a vet prescribe Valuim or Xanax for him, that would have been much better. He might still be here, too. My dogs get Ace for thunder phobia, but never are so sedated that they cannot move. I can wake them up for food and for potty and they walk and move without a problem. And they sleep, they are not awake and afraid. Benedryl is a good drug, I have given it to my dogs, I give more than the 1mg per pound of body weight on the advice of my vet, without any side effects except for the sleeping that I want them to have. I tried Valium for thunder phobia and for Lulu's separation anxiety (along with behaviour mod and many other meds) but got no effects from it at 25mgs orally and still had dogs who were terrified. Xanax the same. Valium if not given routinely acts as a sedative, very similar to ace. To get the anti-anxiety effect of those drugs it must be given routinely, according to my last 2 veterinarians, and I trust my vets. Just remember that each dogs is different and responds to drugs differently. Don't discount a drug because you "hear" it's bad. It might just be the drug that can save your dogs life or make his/her life ever so much better.

I'm sorry you had troubles with it, I use ACE all the time with my greyhounds and have for many years. It's the only drug that my Lulu can take that keeps her calm enough for me to leave the house... she has wicked seperation anxiety and if she doesn't get her ACE when I leave, she has bloody diarrhea from the stress of me leaving the house. With the ACE, she has no bloody diarrhea. I currently give her between 10 mg and 20 mg depending on how long I'm going to be gone. I have, in the past, given 25 mgs for thunder phobia, the dogs can get up and eat and do potty but they sleep through the horrible storms. Each dog should be started on a low dose and then you go up to what is theraputic for each individual dog.

I am so very sorry.

I am so sorry. Godspeed Outlaw.

I am so sorry. Godspeed Outlaw.

At age 2, my dog would get the round of shots my vet would recommend. After age 2, the only thing I give is a three year Rabies vac until about age 7 or 8 and then I don't give shots at all.

I think you are very lucky to have a vet who cares enough not only about the dogs she treats, but the humans who love those dogs, to give you such a great explaination of your dogs treatment at her clinic. From what your vet wrote, I think they did everything they could for your dog. I know how much my vet hates to lose a dog, I've been there when it happened, and the entire office was devistated. Back east I was at the clinic when a cat went into cardiac arrest after waking up from surgery and I watched two vets try to save that kitty, they failed and they were very upset. No matter how much it hurts when we lose pets, the majority of us do it all over again... why, because they give us such wonderful unconditional love, and it's obvious to me, that you and your Mom adored your greyhound. And while her time with you wasn't as long as you would have wanted, how lucky both of you were to find each other. I'm so very sorry for your loss. I know how much it hurts to lose one without warning.

Many many prayers coming for Sonie.

When my precious bridge boy Frasier lost over 25 (26 I think) teeth at once, he did very well. 2 doses of pain meds and then he was good to go. He missed on day of meals and then ate his normal food (raw, but I ground his up for him) and was like a different dog without all those nasty teeth. Like your dog, he came to me with horrible teeth, I tried for 6 months to save some of them (brushed twice a day and so forth) and it made no difference at all. He did great and I"m sure Miles will too.

Sounds like it might have been a leg cramp. My dogs have done that before and it scares teh heck out of me, but they are fine in a bit. And speaking from experience, leg cramps are worthy of the GH SOD, they hurt!

I am so very very sorry.

Since he's gotten used to it gradually, I'm inclined to think he's ok as long as he has lots of water available and the air is moving. I live in the middle of the desert and when my air conditioner died a couple of years ago, I had several fans going and it quickly got up into the low 90's here and we were all fine, the dogs seemed a lot less bothered by it than I was.

I'm so very sorry. Godspeed Ivy.

OMG, I am so very very sorry, my heart is breaking for you.

I'd for sure try the diet etc. I agree with Diane, a raw diet might be ideal. Having had a lot of ear infections as an adult, they HURT very badly, so if you can't control it with diet and drugs, I'd for sure have to consider the surgery. Dogs adapt well to things like deafness and blindness, and you'd have time to work with him on hand signals before the surgery. So I wouldn't completely rule it out, but would keep it on the back burner as a last option senario.

My poodle had cronic ear infections when he was a pup and did have some kind of pretty expensive surgery for it, can't remember exactly what it was (was about 9 years ago). He did well and he can still hear and has not had a single ear infection since.

My Cali had one growing out of one of her pads on her front right foot, one day it was there, didn't seem to cause pain and the next day it was gone, I am guessing she took care of it herself! No blood, no apparent pain and now, thankfully, it's gone. Freaked me out when I first saw it, looked just like a toenail growing out of the pad of her foot.

Many prayers for Jake. Give big smooches to all dogs when you can.

One of my dogs had to be made to throw up and I used peroxide and water mixed. At 4am that next morning she awakened me throwing up coffee ground emesis... bloody vomit that looks like coffee grounds, you'd know it by the smell. I called a friend who worked at the E-vet. My friend told me to give her 1 prilosec OTC (as my friend put it, the "big guns") and I continued them for about 2 weeks and she was fine. Had I taken her in, that's what they would have used for her. The peroxide can eat up their tummy's for the time it's in there before the dog throws it up. I've had to make one other dog throw up by using peroxide since then and I just start them on the prilosec otc after the ordeal is over. I figure it's better to be safe than sorry.

Honestly, I would NOT give him the whole pill. I would give him the 1/2 pill earlier. If you still think you need more, break the half that you didn't give and only give small pieces of it. I find that the 25 mgs. will totally zonk most greyhounds. I use this drug a lot and find that it's best to start out with small doses and titer them upwards in small incriments if you need to do so. I did this recently for my dogs separation anxiety. I want my dogs to be able to react to the world around them, get up when someone comes to the door, go potty, eat if needed etc. I just want them to be less anxious about being left alone or storms or fireworks. The only reason I would drug so much that the dog was out of it is if that dog were the type who tried to jump through the windows when anxious or terrified etc.

I've read this before and it's a very good article. I did try Xanax for storm phobias/separation anxiety and we were up to the 1-1.25mg level without any results at all in my worst dog (60 pounds). For long term use for separation anxiety it would have to be given every day, twice a day and I really hate to drug two dogs, even when I'm not going to be gone, every single day. I honestly don't see the paralytic response to ACE unless you go up to the 25mg dosages, and then maybe and I don't have to give that much. But my dogs get up and react rationally to normal stuff like someone knocking on the door, eating, going out to potty etc. but just don't seem to care about me leaving or about the thunder or fireworks with the ace. I'd really rather not have to drug them at all, but this has been such a HUGE improvement with the poop issues that I can't see not using what is so obviously helping them, especially the one with the bloody stools. So at this point, Ace has been a Godsend for my dogs.

I do since all mine are seniors and it's easier for them. I think your doctor is probably correct though, that's the latest that I had heard as well.