Anne

I use Ace for two of my dogs for separation anxiety and thunder phobia. There is nothing paralyzed about them at all ever. I have used it for fireworks phobia and thunder phobia for years and just started using it for the separation anxiety. My dogs are a little stoned maybe, but they eat their meals and when things quiet down they go outside and potty and then just come back in and lay down and go to sleep. I have tried everything from rescue remedy to holistic capsules and pills and liquids, to valium, to xanax, to prozac and others I can't remember right now. Ace is the most forgiving and the ONLY one that really works. I start the dosage titering at 2.5mgs and then 5 and then 7.5 and then 10 etc. and so forth, and I do this when I'm not leaving and we aren't having fireworks or thunder, it's simply to gage their reaction to the drug. Currently I give my one dog 10mgs and another dog 5 mgs. and they both just chill out and don't let life bother them when I leave or when there are horrible monsoon storms here. My vet recommended that I go through the doses to find the right dose for them. My one dog has separation anxiety so bad that she would frequently have bloody liquid stools a few hours after I had left her... there are 5 dogs here, so she's got plenty of company. It was getting so bad that I was afraid that she had ulcerative collitis or IBD. With the first dose of Ace, she had not had one single liquid stool or bloody stool, not one in over a month. They were happening 2-3 times per week. I cannot tell you what a relief it must be to her to not have the pain that these stools much have been reacting from or the anxiety and fright for her. And it's a HUGE relief for me too.

I'm so sorry, no matter how it happens, death hurts. I think you were probably very lucky to have him for so long with his heart murmer and in great shape and a dog who was loving life. It sounds to me as though you did all that you could and everything right for him. Many years ago I had a saluki, he was a wonderful boy and one night late he was snoozing next to me on the couch and when I went to get him up to go to bed, he was gone. He went so silently and easily that I never heard or saw anything at all. It was hard because I didn't know he was sick and he didn't act it ever, not even as he died. I'm grateful he had an easy death, but it was heartbreaking none the less. I've put two of my greyhounds down in the last 3 years, that hurts a lot too, it just plain hurts when you love them so much and they have to leave.

I'd call the vet, he might be able to change her ATB's to something that will work better. Sounds like this isn't the right ATB to me. Keflex is a great broad spectrum ATB, but it's not always the right one. I've given Keflex to my dogs with terrible sensitive tummys it didn't seem to bother them. But to be extra safe, I'd call your vet if I were you. Good luck and big hugs to Lilly!!

No one keeps track of how they die now. Most of the statistics you see about this or any other breed are in casual owner surveys or are stats for dogs who are seen at university veterinary clinics. So, even with the best of intentions by the reporters, there is some skewing. Not to say it isn't a serious disease, but. BatMom is right, these statistics are skewed, not on purpose, but just because of the way things are. Cancer is the disease of old people, old dogs and old cats and old any/everything. Yes, younger people and animals get it, but not at the same rate as elderly people/animals do. Heather's right. Cancer is more prevelent in humans now than ever before, of course, we are living longer as a whole than we ever did before. Yup, exactly. And it's not going to change much. If we cure cancer, there will be another disease to take it's place. Organs of animals/humans only last so long and then they can't continue to keep working. I have 4 greyhounds, I've had 2 die in the last 3 years. One from LP and one from Osteo. So far, I've lost 50% of my greyhounds to osteo. I've had small cancerous growths removed from 3 of my dogs, the one who died of LP (when he was 7), Cali my 14.5 year old (when she was 6) and Phantom who died of Osteo this past January (when he was about 6). So cancer happens to all kinds of ages, some is worse than others and some is fatal faster than others. All this talk makes me wonder what the incidence of osteo in humans is and what the average age is. Osteo is devistating in humans as well as isn dogs. Nasty stuff.

My Phantom weighed at or 3-5 pounds below what he raced at. I know for a fact that his trainer (who is now a good friend) kept her dogs at the highest possible weight for racing. And honestly, he looked a tad pudgy at his retirement weight which was below his racing weight. I have a little girl who really never raced. She's never looked heavy a day in her life, no matter how much I do or don't feed her, her weight never varies more than a pound. She does eat as much as my 90 pound boy and there's a 30 pound difference between them. Just like with humans, it's all individualized and depends on many different components such as metabolism, level of activity, level of muscle vs. fat on their bodies and even stress levels and so forth. I trust my vet when she tells me my dogs look good or look chubby, she's always been right.

6 weeks for my sweet precious Phantom, from dx and first limp until pain was too much for oral meds.

I'd call the family and see why this dog is on this dose. If the dog has severe separation anxiety, this may be what keeps him on an even keel, and if it's working, you might not want to mess with lowering the dose or taking him off of it until he's in a permanent home. I've had several dogs with separation anxiety. My Frasier took that same dosage and after many months it helped a bit, but there must be work on the part of the owner as well. My Lulu has the worst separation anxiety I've ever seen, we tried clomicalm with no reaction at max. dosage. Tried prozac with little to no help from that drug. Not valium or other drugs helped either. Until my vet did a lot of research and we decided to try ace, give it 1 hour before I leave the house... stgarted at 2.5 mg, then 5 mg, then 7.5 mg and FINALLY at 10 mg she calms down and I can leave without her going insane and when I get home she's relaxed and calm and best of all, no bloody diarrhea from the stress of me leaving the house. I'm acatually amazed at how well it works, she's like a different dog when I leave or return. And yes, I have worked with her and many behaviour modifications and even consulted with someone about it and that's when we started the drugs at her suggestion. It has taken me 5 years to get her to this point.

My girl is on 0.5 twice a day. I pay $50 for 1000 pills from my vet. Her labs are perfect at this dose. Frasier (deceased now) was on the same dose for 3 years and he weighed probably 20#'s more than Sug, and his labs were perfect also. My vets have always sent their labs to Michigan State. Different dogs need different doses and while weight is a guide, it's not a hard and fast rule, not in dogs nor in humans. My Sug was put on Soloxine when she was racing, she went to the group on this dose, I got her as a foster on this dose and when I adopted her, she had her very first thyroid panel. Her labs were perfect then and have remained so for years. I trust my vet, that's what I pay my vet for and I expect her to take good care of my dogs and she's never failed me yet.

I lost one dog (Frasier) to LP and it is not fun. I have a 14.5 year old who has it, but not to the extent that Frasier did, thankfully. She huffs and puffs a bit but it's nothing like what my Frasier went through.

One of my girls was licking licking and licking and then kind of walking funny. Took her to the vet, had her anal glands expressed. She still likced and walked funny, she licked a sore on the underside of her tail. So looked it up, figured her anal glands were infected, vet was on vacation (always something happens when vet is out of the country!) so looked up the antibiotic of choice and put her on ampicillin for 7 days and problem all gone. Thank goodness! I hope it never happens again. And cannot tell you how thankful I am that vet gives me extra antibiotics!

Was the balloon or condom whole or just a piece of the condom or balloon? If the entire thing didn't pass, I would be concerned about any part of it left behind that could be causing a full or partial blockage. Hope it all comes out ok.

I keep the yard free of stuff, but the house has beds, toys and stuffies in it. As far as teaching the stairs, you have to show them a few times and then encourage them to do it alone, the dog will adapt. I showed Lynch the yard here (when we moved to Az) once and let him wander, and he ran into the fence a few times and bounced gently off the house a few times and that was that for the most part. I love the way he goes out into the yard, and lifts his head and sniffs the air in all 4 directions to see what's going on in the world around him! Just like anything else, if you are nervious, you are going to make your dog nervous. So try to be confident when you take him up and down the stairs and then let him try it alone. Use treats to boost his desire to go up or down. He'll get it!! Oh, and make sure to police the yard for holes or gopher tunnels, they can cause a problem for blind dogs.

I have a blind greyhound and have had him for many years now. He does VERY well. Blind dogs are totally different than blind humans. I show him when I moved anything around in the house. I only need to show him once. I found it helpful to teach him some different commands. They are: step up, step down, stop, watch your head, backup, watchout, and I know there are more, just can't think of them right now. He does each of them flawlessly after all these years. Watch your head... means he's about to run into something. (actually it's watch your noggin, but most people wouldn't use noggin!) Watchout means he's about to wander onto a bed who already has another dog in it. He does occasionally step on the dog who is silly enough to lay down and spread out in the middle of the floor! But I'm also amazed at how he senses another dog, especially outside, walks by or trots by (yes, he runs in our backyard, not fast, but you can tell he gets joy from it!) someone. He goes potty in the same spot every day, never misses unless he's had/having a vestibular issue. All in all, my best advice is to treat them like you would any other dog. We wear no bells, the stepping on other dogs isn't when they are moving, it's when they are sound asleep on a bed usually. I also disagree with those who say you can never move furniture, move it, but be sure to show him where you moved it to and the path from different points. When we lived in Ohio, he was able to do a full set of stairs by himself, no help at all from me at all. I do check all 4 paws when he comes in from outside as he occasionally steps in poop. I'd say it's made little difference in Lynch's life in the long run, he's a happy boy. If you were to watch him getting around, it would take you a while to realize that he's blind, and he's been blind since about age 2.

I have had several dogs with severe stomach issues. When one of my dogs was throwing up coffee ground emesis (blood in vomit, looks like, well coffee grounds) I called the Evet (happened at 4am of course) and the vet tech happened to be a friend and I was told to give my dog prilosec OTC. With in 1 hour the vomiting stopped and after one day the tarry stools were gone. Good stuff, so I use the prilosec OTC and it works beautifully. I have another dog who gets stressed and begins to have tarry stools and she's now on prilosec. Also I have Carafate 1gm that I use when they have severe issues going on, it is a huge help and the generic (sucralfate) is cheap.

I'd not expose any other dogs to the possibility of ringworm. If per chance they (petsitter's dogs or the petsitter herself) did come down with it, if it had been passed from my dog, I'd feel horrible and also financially responsible and I don't know what it's cost you so far, but I wouldn't want to have to pay to treat someone elses dog, or another human, and put them through all that too. So I would call your mom and keep your doggies home where everyone will be safe and sound. edited cause I can't spell!

I live about 100 miles south east of Tucson and vets out here are not only few and far between, but VERY pricey compared to what I was used to in Cincinnati, Ohio. I really don't have a choice and use the one who is convenient and who will work with me concerning meds and shots and such.

I live in Arizona and it's HOT here. My dogs tend to be very comfortable until it gets to about 80 in the house. But last year when my air conditioner died, they did fine with the heat up in the 90's in the house, but I had a ton of fans blowing and did go buy a window air for the night or two we had to live without the central! Make sure they have cold water to drink, when it's really hot, I put ice cubes in their water and they love em!

I'm so very sorry for your loss.

What a lovely tribute for your Ginger. Godspeed sweet Ginger. And I too hope that we will one day see all our beloved pets who have gone before us.

I know your pain and my heart hurts for you Mary.

I'm so very sorry. Godspeed Lisa.

What a beautiful kitty he was. I'm so sorry he's gone.

I sure hope my Phantom is there to help him celebrate, they are probably muching on some crunchy goodies!

Awe, that was so beautiful.

I am so very sorry for your loss, she was obviously very well loved, and no matter how long they have with us, it's never enough, never. Godspeed Abby.