Busderpuddle

It certainly could be. I did look around and wiggle teeth today to see if anything looked weird in there and nothing seemed to bother her. When I used to brush her teeth daily, I too would notice blood at times on the brush. She definitely needs a dental. I stopped brushing them last year when I had the foot surgery and couldn't get down on the floor with her. Big mistake. I agree Feisty49. I don't think the tooth treats do much good, but she likes them and they have calories. I do think the turkey necks help some. Tomorrow is her vet appt. and I am worried about what I am going to hear. I have a weird gut feeling that something is wrong. I don't know if it is dementia or a weird blood thing going on. Hope I get some answers though.

Good luck at the vet today. Hope you get positive news

Hugs to both of you. Sending prayers.

This afternoon I noticed that Ruby had a blade of grass in her front teeth. I grabbed a paper towel and wiped the grass out, and then noticed that the paper towel had quite a bit of blood on it. I looked in her mouth and could not see a cut, but she was licking like crazy to get rid of the blood I am sure. She is looking like she needs a dental before too long, and I admit I have not brushed her teeth in over a year now. She does get a teeth cleaning treat every night and a turkey neck 2 times a week. The last week or so I have noticed she has pretty bad dog breath. Does this sound like gum disease or would you be worried about something else ? I barely touched her with the paper towel and was surprised how much blood there was. Her gums look very healthy and her teeth just have some brown tartar mainly on her canines. She has been having all kinds of weird things go on lately and does have a vet appt. Tuesday.

I will talk to the vet about a neuro consult. I also need to get her teeth cleaned. Dreading that.

Can anyone tell me what medications they have used for dementia ? And what the outcome was ? This is not happening only when it is dark, in fact it usually starts around 5 PM and lasts until bedtime. Still daylight when it starts.

what a beautiful girl. I'm so sorry.

I have no ideas at all, just sending good wishes for all of you that he goes back to his usual self soon. It is so hard when they act wackadoodle

We were concerned about her getting dementia and did discuss this with the vet last time. What medications are out there for dementia ? I am actually afraid this is what is happening. She is almost 8 years old.

worms ?

She has not had a tick panel done but she has never been anywhere that she might have gotten into ticks. This character change is not new. We have been dealing with it since we brought her home 5 years ago. It is just getting worse. We have been looking at getting another smaller dog in the house, which may or may not help her. She is getting so thin she looks awful and we have tried everything food wise. I kind of feel like my vet is just going to stare at us next week. He has asked us what her quality of life is and that's a tough one. Most of the day she is happy and calm. For some reason around 5 PM most days something will trigger her. It didn't happen tonight though so we are celebrating !!!

She has had a thyroid panel done and it came back normal. We have tried Rescue Remedy and the Dap Diffuser. I have also bought her most, if not all of the calming remedies that Drs. Foster and Smith have to offer. I did make her an appt. for next Tuesday. I cannot remember if we tried Trazadone or not, but will talk to the vet about it. This girl is miserable every single night. It is so hard to watch her as you can clearly see how anxious she is. I know I wouldn't want to spend every day like that. Please keep the ideas coming so that I have a few things to suggest to the vet if he has no more great ideas. We have tried the Thunder shirt too, and she hated it.

The last month or so Ruby's anxiety has worsened. She has also lost more weight due to her picky eating. Just when I think she is eating so well, she goes on a hunger strike. She is down to 1 cup of kibble on average a day, no matter what we mix in. All her ribs show. She has also become afraid of the sliding door, any noise outside, including kids, the school bus that drives by every day, loud cars or radios outside, rain and on and on. We have decided it is time for a vet visit for meds. In the past we have tried Clomicalm, Xanax, Prozac, and a couple others, all with zero help. Tonight after hearing a loud car, she panted and shook for over 4 hours, pacing back and forth to her crate. It is painful to watch, and tonight my husband was home to observe. This is happening about every other day now, always in the evening. Any ideas of what to have the vet check her for ? medication ideas ? This poor girl is suffering and we have to do something. It's so sad.

I am so sorry for your loss.

Kidney disease is a silent one. Don't beat yourself up over the fact you didn't know she was sick. A lot of people never know they have it until they are in total renal failure. Hope you can find something she likes to eat.

Her kibble has a bit of warm water added to it. Her water intake is 4 times what it was. She is still eating like a piggy and she looks like she may have gained a bit. Hoping it continues.

Could be she is just hungry from the kennel, but this is now going on 2 weeks. I am enjoying it and hoping that it continues. I am just concerned about all the water intake and no extra peeing. She seems happy and healthy though.

Ruby has had issues with food as long as we've had her. She usually turns her nose up at breakfast and sometimes just eats a portion of dinner. We have tried different foods, toppers, etc. She is also extremely skinny and has lost a bunch of weight in the last few years. We went away for 2 weeks and left her at the kennel. The keeper said she ate well, but I could see another rib when she came home. At that point, all ribs were showing clearly. There are huge fields for her to run in and several other greys to play with, so we were not surprised she lost more weight. Since she has been home, a little over a week, she has eaten every bite of kibble she is given, 2 good sized snacks a day, and cheese or popcorn here and there. She starts eating before I get the food all the way poured into the bowl, like she is starving. She has also started drinking water like a camel, with no extra peeing. She looks like she has gained a couple of lbs. back already, but this is just really abnormal behavior for her. What do you all think ? Should I be concerned or just enjoy the extra lbs. she is gaining ? What about the water consumption ? Diabetes ? Thanks.

I have no advice to offer at all since I only have Ruby. I just want to say what a brave brave person you are !!!

I fed Ruby raw for about 3 weeks and she did OK, but did start turning her nose up even to the raw chicken breasts. She is just a stinker. I wasn't able to find a local butcher that would grind it for me and I was stressing myself out over the ratio. We went back to kibble due to cost and the fact the Ruby really didn't continue to eat the raw. I also noticed that she was biting herself quite a bit more, like she had fleas. She didn't though and is on monthly meds. Not sure if that was related or not.

I am curious how you went about choosing Ronan ? Did he pick you ? Congratulations. He is a cutie.

Yes I own a flea comb and she does not have any. I have checked, my husband has and also a friend. She is also on a monthly treatment. Nerve pain ? I hadn't thought of that. Would there be any other signs ? I have rubbed all over her body to see if there is any kind of sore spots or reaction and I do not get any. She is not biting only the back end or tail, it seems to be all over her. She was tested for worms a couple months ago and was clear. She is also on the monthly treatment. She is not currently shedding as she did that about 2 months ago. She is starting to get arthritis and has trouble getting started after a long nap. Thank you all for the replies. Sounds like it is time for a vet visit.

I was not sure if I should put this in this forum or the medical one. For the past several days, Ruby has been jerking herself awake like something is biting her. She then chews on her skin for a second and then goes back to sleep. Some times this will happen many times in a row. It is like she sees a ghost or gets bit by something. She does not have fleas, has not had a bath recently, does not seem to be itchy, no dry skin or dandruff, and sometimes she will go for several hours and not do it. I would say on average she does this 15-20 times a night. She also does not have any new foods and we have not sprayed the yard or house. This jerking wakes her up and she is almost in attack mode to get to the spot. She settles down almost instantly until it hits her again. She does not go after the same spot each time. Any ideas ?

WOW................thank you all for sharing your stories. I knew I should have purchased insurance for Ruby. Eek.

So sorry.......what a beautiful gray face.