ivon

Thanks Duckie! I was just thinking why the vet gave me only a 10 day supply of meds, and kind of concluded that sadly, maybe that is all we need....I can't imagine having only two weeks.....yes, she is going to be spoiled, actually has been for some time now, since I had a sense about this...hmmm, I just hope she is comfortable and free of pain, it's so hard to tell sometimes....

Thanks for your kind replies! Yes I think the Tramadol is making her a bit weird, she walks as if she has been drinking.....must be good stuff though, she actually stole a raw hide bone from Spud and proceeded to go to town on it, that is soooo unlike her, she does NOT like to chew, I have to make her canned food/yoghurt smoothies to get her to eat. The neck is still swollen but it has only been 8 hours since her first dose.

Darla, who is almost 14, had some issues with arthritis already, she has been on Rimadyl, but she can't do stairs anymore, at all, I have to lift her in and out of the car, etc. Last night she only ate half her food, and she had trouble getting up, we had to help her, I noticed her neck was swollen, looked like she had the mumps, and she was panting. This morning her neck was still swollen, even more than last night, and she refused food altogether. I took her to the vet right away, and after a needle aspiration the vet is fairly convinced that Darla has Lymphosarcoma, she is sending the samples in to be sure though. I can't put Darla through chemo, she would be terrified, going to the vet stresses her out as it is, so she is now on Prednisone and Tramadol, If she is not more comfortable tomorrow the vet said we can up the dosage, what can I expect? I should have asked while I was there, but is this painful to Darla? I guess I am hoping the Pred and Tramadol will help her feel better and take care of any pain. I know she will drink and pee more, what else do I need to look for?

Funny thing, someone else had mentioned it before, different house, different behavior, since our last move nobody eats poop anymore. Before that, we needed muzzles and poop guards, and I had to rinse them off every time they went outside. Yes, they work, but you may have to wash the muzzles and poop guards, be at the ready when you open the door.....

Thanks, they both had a hardy appetite this morning, Darla slurped up her breakfast of canned food, applesauce and yoghurt She did drool blood over night but that was to be expected....she is probably happy to be rid of the teeth. Someone should invent Greyhound dentures....

I didn't know.....the vet didn't know until she started "poking around", I do make it a point of having them get a dental once a year, that's when they find the teeth are bad enough to come out. One day refusing kibble may be nothing though....

Darla (13) and Spud (8) went for their dentals today....last year Darla had 7 teeth pulled, today 8 more! Two needed stitches, the vet left it up to me wether or not to even put her under, since her BUN and creatinine were up, the risk was obvious, but I was worried she has painful teeth, since she has refused kibble lately, but would eat wet food with gusto. I've had tooth aches before, and I knew what I would have chosen in her place.... They kept her on IV fluids throughout and she got antibiotics and pain meds, poor baby is a bit out of it now, but hopefuly should be fine in a few days, she is resting on her bed now. Spud, as always, came through with flying colors and is looking for dinner.... Not many teeth left for Miss Darla, she will stay on wet food and get her kidney values checked again in three months. In case anyone else wonders if they should let their senior have a dental, do it, bad teeth hurt.....I just feel bad I didn't do this a few months ago.

Oh. she is sooo beautiful! And a fighter, obviously.....I feel for you, I am going through a similar thing with 13 year old Darla, her hing legs are starting to give out, she is very wobbly at times, and on Rimadyl for arthritis. She doesn't have many teeth left, so eating is slow, and she just recently started refusing kibble altogether. Now I feed her canned food only, which she can eat by licking rather than chewing, thankfully she eats lying down, and has for some time now. Go with your gut feeling, as others have said, better too soon than to late...but if she still gets excited about her surroundings, still likes to go outside, still enjoys eating, enjoys your company, and does not seem in pain or distress....I'd say let her be, if you have to give her the sloppiest food you can find or make, make instead of buy baby food consistent slob, don't worry about nutrition, that is a long-term thing, let her eat what she wants, stock up on puppy pads if you must...the high-calorie paste someone else mentioned is a good idea, tasty and fattening.... Can you cover the steps with indoor/outdoor carpet to give her more traction? I did that by nailing the carpet to wooden steps, you may need to use some sort of glue for concrete... Hugs, Ivon

When Darla first came to us she was freshly spayed and her sutures looked nasty, crusty and not the way they should at all. I took her to the vet and they determinded she was allergic to suture material. The had to put her under again, remove the inner and out stitches, replace the inner sutures with stainless steel wire, the outer ones with staples. She healed fine after that, but because greyhound skin is so thin the inner wire started poking through after a while, so they had to open her up a third time, remove the inner stitches and staple the outside once again.

Hugs for you, your family and Gracie!

Make an appointment with the vet, and stop giving the Aspirin now, my 13 year old also started having problems with stairs, the vet prescribed Synovi 3G (supplements) and Rymadil, and she said we have to wait 2 weeks between the last Aspirin and the Rymadil. So now we are stuck, the Synovi is not going to kick in for 4-6 weeks, and I can't give her Rymadil yet. Best of luck and hugs to you and your hound, old age sucks but so does the alternative....

Thank you all for your kind responses, we tried a new vet in Durham, Tyson Animal Hospital, the vet seems very grey-savvy, and the good news is, everything checks out fine but she does have some arthritis. The vet gave us supplements in granular form to put on her food, Chondroitin, MSM, omega-3 fatty acids, etc., and Rimadyl. If Rimadyl does not do the trick she said to let her know and we can try different meds. Yeah, you go Darla!

I dare say she will be fine. DS has more than once left a bunch of grapes on the coffee table and Spud ( most likely suspect), ate them. He is still around....

Darla is getting old, she is 13 now, about 4 years ago she broke a toe (running taking a corner too fast), and she has not been fond of that leg ever since. She uses it, but sometimes gingerly, her teeth are terrible, most of them have been pulled by now, a few months ago she had a UTI, that was treated twice, she still pees in the house about once a day, she used to be so super-housebroken. All rugs have been replaced with washable ones, the car has been replaced with one lower to the ground, she had a tough time time with the CR-V, so I got her a Fit. She no longer eats all her food and is losing weight, now one of her back legs is wobbely, some days she is literally on two legs, the other two are just for balance, she can't make the five steps down from the deck anymore, so now I walk her out front (only two tiny steps she can do), her tail hits the ground when she squats to pee, her legs shake, she is very unsteady. Not so much limping, just wobbely. She is going to the vets tomorrow to see if some pain meds are in order, and whatever else, I just don't want her to be in pain and miserable. If I don't get another day with her, I will be sad, but mostly I don't want her to suffer. We are trying a new vet as I don't like the one we have been using very much, I won't put her through a bunch of tests of treatments, I just need her to be comfortable at this point. Does that make sense?

http://store.poochpad.com/index.html I have a 13 year old female with a UTI, these are great, their water proof dog beds are awesome too...

I've had good luck with Cutter, it gets hooked up to the garden hose and you wet the area you want to keep bug free, then let it dry before the dogs go outside. Of course, this year I am considering chickens....

i am so sorry Gil....

Gil, I am so sorry....

Been there, done that....Darla broke her toe a few years back just running in the back yard, the hardest part was keeping it dry, I found Glad Cling Wrap worked really well. We still were back at the vets a few times a week to re-wrap and one time the splint broke, she had to get a new one. To this day Darla will favor that leg, I don't think anything is really wrong with it since sometimes she "forgets", nothing can be found on x-rays either, so it's just a habit thing. Don't worry, it will be fine, if a human breaks a toe or finger all that is done is wrap it and keep it straight, and yes, they can zoom around amazingly fast on three legs...

I have a theory, but can't test it since both of my dogs are bomb-proof ( the neighbor set off fireworks last weekend, I jumped and cussed, the dogs didn't even lift their heads), but I had thunder phobic Labs in the past. I now know I was feeding their anxiety by feeling sorry for them and comforting them when they freaked out.....but anyway, my theory goes like this: what if you were to play a CD with thunder sounds, and every time it rumbles give a treat. If the dog starts freaking out, turn off the sound, no more treats. Over time thunder becomes a good thing, right?

Oh Tami...I am so sorry.....hugs to you and the boys.....

Awe poor baby! Darla had 7 teeth pulled at her last dental, she only drooled that evening and a little the next day, my advice would be to give the pain meds as prescribed and feed soft food (I got her canned) for a week, or soften kibble with water. After 10 days I went back to dry kibble, and she was eating it fine for a few months, then went back to eating very slowly, so I suspect more bad teeth and starting pouring water on again. One or two more dentals and my girl probably won't have teeth left, getting old sucks...

I am so sorry......

Regardless of anyone's personal belief's, I don't think kids should be told their pets won't go to heaven, that is just wrong. They should be allowed at least that comfort....there is nothing wrong with believing and holding on to that hope, or whatever else it is they feel may make them feel a little better.

The good news is, it's a belief, therefore you get to make up any way you want it, I for one believe there will be dogs in heaven, but no roaches, or ants.....or me, most likely. If anyone knew for sure it would be called proof.