Busderpuddle

Yesterday I took Ruby in to the vet to talk about her anxiety issues, the Prozac, etc... Her S.A. is much much worse on the Prozac so we are weaning her off. The vet gave me a tranquilizer and wanted me to try it (very small dose) to see if that would help her when we have to be gone. I am actually trying it today since I can keep an eye on her. So far so good, she is just sleeping but that is what she always does when I am here. Going to get out my keys and walk to the mailbox to see if I get a reaction. When I was talking to the vet, I mentioned how several people on here had told me to check her thyroid levels, so he did. He said she didn't look like a hypothyroid dog since she isn't fat and I agreed. He just called and told me that sure enough, she is hypothyroid. Her level was 0.4 and he suggested trying her on a very low dose of thyroid med to see if that helps her and we will check labs again in a month. I mentioned to him about Greyhounds having different lab values that are normal for them specifically and he asked me if I could find out what is normal and let him know. So......here I am, asking the experts (all of you) what normal thyroid levels should be? He still feels this is extremely low. He does have quite a bit of experience with greys but said he can always learn more. I trust him and he has always been open to any info I have. I also had her kidney levels checked because she has had elevated Creatinine in the past and she was just slightly high at 1.7, with 1.6 being normal, but her BUN was normal so he said no concerns there. Thanks for your help.

Thank you so much for all the help and ideas. I am going to try it. I am committing to 2 weeks and will see how it goes. I started tonight but don't think I did it right. I used what I had here for snacks for her and I gave her a chicken thigh and a turkey neck, 2 of her favorites. I am afraid that is too much bone though so will be following her around to watch the poop. A few more questions. Do you feed the whole egg or cook them or ? Where do I get Fresh Factors ? Does every dog need it ? How do I locate a meat wholesaler ? I have looked online but have not been able to locate one nearby. Do you make friends with the local butcher ? If you feed only once a day, do you choose morning or night or does it matter ? Glad you mentioned Fish as I was wondering about it. Do you feed it whole with bones and skin or buy it filleted ? You can't feed fish guts right ? I think I remember that many years ago my in-laws dog got poisoned by eating whole fish. Might be crazy on that one. I have never seen pig feet except for in jars. What do you mean by split ones from the grocer ? Does anyone use hamburger ? Any worries about E Coli problems ? Appreciate all the help. I AM going to get this figured out.

Thank you for the responses. I have a couple of questions. What is offal ? When you feed chicken or turkey, do you leave the skin on ? Can they eat the pork and beef bones without problems ? Do most of you just feed once a day ? It would be WONDERFUL to not smell the farts any longer or not pick up mountains of poop.

I am seriously considering going raw with Ruby but after reading everything that pops up here for months, I still would like to know what a typical days meal would be. How much do you give (I know this would vary depending on size), what do you do for treats, how often do you vary the kind of meat, etc..... I know that I am supposed to start with one kind of meat for a couple weeks before switching and the kinds of meats that are OK. I just am curious what the meals really are. Do you add supplement pills ? Oils ? How many use veggies also ? Thank you !

I just got back from the vet to discuss Ruby and her being on Prozac. It has turned her in to a shaky, trembling,lip smacking, jaw chomping, afraid of everything mess and he suggested weaning her off of it. He said to go every other day for 2 weeks, then stop. She has been on it for 6 weeks now. It increased her S.A. dramatically. I hope you can find some relief for Da Vid.

From one Ruby to another...........Hope all goes well with the dental and the kidney issues get resolved. Good luck.

I remember following his home coming. I am so very sorry for your loss.

Well Ruby started eating normally the next day and things were fine for a few days. This morning, not a bite. I don't think she even walked over and sniffed her food. I even tried to entice her with adding some canned pumpkin, which she normally loves. Hope she eats tonight. She seems very lethargic today but still happy when I took her for a walk. Hope she's alright. We have a visit scheduled to the vet on Tuesday so will get some more answers then. I sure hope Sonie is continuing to do well.

Didn't do a thing for Ruby either and I even tried a double dose on a cookie. It does however help her to make some pretty nasty farts. I have tried it in addition to the Colmicalm, Xanax and the Prozac. Nothing.

I am glad you posted this as I was thinking about posting the exact same thing. Ruby has been on Prozac 30mg a day for a month now and just today, she decided that she would only eat a couple bites of her kibble and then tonight, I thought she would be starving and she just stared at it for a while, ate a couple bites and was done. I haven't tried any treats today because I want her to eat the real stuff first. She isn't acting hungry at all. I know when it was started the vet told me this could be a side effect. Ruby goes in next week for a vet visit and blood work so will talk to him then. I haven't noticed that the Prozac is helping her at all with her S.A. either but I don't know how long it is supposed to take. Anxious to read what everyone has to say here. Thanks for starting this topic.

Praying for Dawn that all goes well.

WOW............I was hoping she would find a comfy home and enjoy her older years. R.I.P. Shannon.

Burpdog-she is only in her crate a hour or so while I run errands. She sleeps in there at night too but puts herself in there then. I will be going back to work soon so she will have to spend more time in there but probably not more than 4 hours since my husbands schedule is varied. I want to get this under control before work begins (IF I find a job). Seeh2o-I might ask the vet about Valium too but I tried Xanax with zero results. Maybe the combo will help. I wish I didn't have to drug her at all. Thanks for the help everyone !

When I first got Ruby she had quite a bit of blood on the toothbrush too. It went away in just a couple weeks and never seemed to hurt her.

Welcome Tocho from Ruby who is also in Oregon. Hope you find your forever home soon. You are a gorgeous boy !

Thanks for the ideas. We tried Xanax in the beginning before trying the Colmicalm and it made her really agitated too. I can ask the vet if adding it to the Prozac might help but am a little leary of that one again. I don't know what I am going to do. Last night she started panting and pacing during the night (Never done this) and I took her out several times thinking she had to potty but she wouldn't even go past the door. I finally told her to "go to sleep" and she continued to rattle around for most of the night. I forgot to mention one of the side effects that is driving us crazy is the constant teeth chomping and licking her lips. That is really annoying in the middle of the night ! Another call to the vet tomorrow to see what can be done before I need the Prozac.

As some of you know, Ruby suffers from pretty severe S.A. We tried Colmicalm for several months and she only got worse. We weaned her off that, waited a week and then started her on 30 mg of Prozac every day. She has been on this about 3 1/2 weeks now. She now willingly goes in to her crate when we are leaving and ask her to but we still come home to the drooling, bed torn up, etc. We continue to do the alone training with no success. This last week, even when we are not leaving, she shakes if she sees me with my purse or my keys. Sometimes I am getting ready to take her on a walk (she has seen these keys every day since July when we walk) and until she sees the leash she just turns in to a trembling wreck. She is all of a sudden afraid of the vacuum, which is also new. I contacted the vet yesterday and he said he will do labs in another month but it is too soon to check blood levels, etc. Has anyone seen this happen on Prozac ? We are clearly running out of ideas on how to help Ruby and I know she is clearly miserable. Unfortunately, soon she will be left even more as I return to work and or school.

Hugs and quick healing Nedra !

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. I hope the song helped to comfort you in some way.

Praying for Clark. I am sorry you are going through this.

YAHOO !!! Glad he is doing well.

Prayers for you and Grover.

Praying for a fast recovery for your boy.

We just got back from the vet and he agreed that her behavior is escalating. He wants me to wean her off the Colmicalm and then start Prozac. He also suggested a behaviorist but then told me that he has had several people tell him they charge around $800, and he even felt this was ridiculous. It is out of the question financially for us at this point. My adoption group also suggested a behaviorist. We tried Melatonin and Rescue Remedy early on with no relief. Hoping the Prozac works. The vet said he has had a few cases where they have actually had to tranquilize dogs when the owners needed to be away. I don't want to resort to that !!! He was kind and helpful.

Thanks everyone for the tips and advice. We see the vet this afternoon. She is on 60 mg of the Colmicalm and I think it is just not the right medicine for her. We have done the alone training several times now and it just isn't working no matter how slowly we do it. We have already tried Xanax which the vet originally recommended along with the OTC calming meds and the diffuser and sprays. We have had her for 7 months and she is perfect when we are home with her. When she is out of her crate she has destroyed the window shades, chewed on the table (she is NOT a chewer either), ripped the curtains down from the patio window and destroyed the bathroom when we baby gated her in there. We tried the muzzle and came home to it being twisted sideways on her head and a small cut on her nose. She loves to be outside and we do leave her out there if it is above 45 degrees and there seems to be no problems with that. We have thought about building her a heated doghouse for when we have to leave but we promised we wouldn't leave her outside. It is very frustrating but if we can't find a solution soon I don't know what to do. We can't afford daycare for her and we are new to the area so have no relatives who can watch her. Will let you know what the vet has to say later today.