Victor

I'm surprised the vet didn't x-ray it right away! Poor boy! Is he drinking the same amount as usual? If not, you could try feeding him canned food to make sure he's getting enough water. Also, I don't know about Noddy, but our boy needs to walk a bit to have a bowel movement. If Noddy isn't comfortable walking, that could be part of the problem, too. Does he like oranges or pears? Those might help soften his stool if the canned food doesn't help. Hope Noddy's x-rays go well tomorrow!

We've had nothing but positive experiences with HealthyPaws. When our angel Lana developed osteosarcoma, we discovered just how important it is to have health insurance. Although it was too late for her, we signed up for HealthyPaws for our boy, Duke. Several months later he passed due to a blood clot, and HealthyPaws promptly paid the claim, no questions asked. This despite the fact that Duke had only been insured for a short period of time and the claim was rather large (Duke had been hospitalized for several days). We didn't even consider other insurers when we adopted our two current greys, Joy and Gilgun. Victor

I'm so glad to hear that Twiggy was able to go home with you! We'll keep both of you in our thoughts. Hoping Twiggy makes a speedy recovery!

You might consider having your vet do an ultrasound of Willie's leg/shoulder to check for blood clots.

We'll be thinking of you and Pogo. Our angel Lana had her amputation done there. Did they get you your Amicar prescription?

We haven't, but that would be a good question to ask before signing up, in case there are unanticipated side effects. For example, when our angel Lana developed lung mets, we started her on Palladia, but she did not tolerate it well.

Wonderful news! Way to go, Taylor!!!

I just read about 3 studies on osteosarcoma that are currently being conducted at UW-Madison. I hadn't heard of the first (administration of rapamycin after carboplatin), so that's interesting. Also, if you're in the Madison area and qualify for one of these studies, it could help offset the cost of surgery and/or treatment. For more information, see https://uwveterinarycare.wisc.edu/clinical-studies/oncology/

Does it matter how long the walk is? I've noticed that our greys will sometimes not go in the evening if the walk isn't long enough. (Or maybe it's that they haven't found the perfect spot yet!) I've also read about "pee posts" that are treated with a pheromone to encourage dogs to urinate on it. I don't know how well they work but it might be worth a try. KF_in_Georgia, that light-up collar looks really cool! It seems they have a new one now, the "PupLight2": http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B008EPFFBC. Definitely going to give that a try!

No experience with Nexgard, but our two greys have been on Bravecto for almost a year now without any GI side effects. The label does say to give it with a meal, which we do, to facilitate absorption and avoid GI upset. Victor

So sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing this warning. We will start checking our yard for mushrooms.

Thank you for posting this!

This sounds like our Duke; he always drank a ton of water. He also had gradually increasing creatinine levels. We didn't learn until it was too late that he had undiagnosed chronic kidney disease. Did your vet check for protein in the urine and/or check the urine protein creatinine ratio? The new IDEXX test that detects kidney disease early on might also be helpful: https://www.idexx.com/corporate/news-and-events/press-release/2015/20150119pr.html Best thoughts for Marlow. I so wish we'd known about Duke's kidney disease before it was too late. Take care, Victor

I'd touch base with your vet, but it sounds like you got it before it had a chance to feed much. (If you're in an area where lyme disease is common AND it was a deer tick AND it'd been feeding for a while, your vet might recommend a course of doxycycline to be safe.) You can get a 4DX test at the end of the season to see if Molly picked up any tick-borne diseases. We've already found 3 adult wood ticks and 1 adult deer tick. We used to use Frontline Plus, but it seems to have become ineffective around here. Now we're using Bravecto, which doesn't repel ticks but should kill them within 24 hours if they attach and we happen miss them when we're doing our post-walk "tick checks"!

This is wonderful news! Thank you for sharing this!

Given that he drinks a lot of water and his creatinine is on the rise, I'd have them run more tests on kidney function. In particular, have them check his urine protein creatinine ratio (UPC). If he has chronic kidney disease you need to know sooner than later.

It might be helpful to do the needle aspiration first, just so you know what you're dealing with. If it's a mast cell tumor Daisy will likely need a separate surgery, since they'll want to get wide margins.

You might try dribbling some Ensure (vanilla or strawberry) on her food. Or, if she won't eat that, see if she'll drink Ensure. I've come to think Ensure is probably not a good thing when cancer's involved (too much sugar), but if she won't eat anything else it might interest her in food and/or provide calories.

Has your vet checked for tick-borne diseases? Also, I'd definitely want to have his kidney function checked. Our Duke had an unexplained decrease in platelets several months before he developed a fatal blood clot. Turned out he had undiagnosed kidney disease. Don't go on just blood work alone; have them take a urine sample and check his UPC (urine protein to creatinine ratio). Duke was just shy of his 8th birthday.

We've given it twice now to both our greys, and neither seemed to have any side effects. The main thing is to give it with food so it doesn't cause GI upset. It'll be interesting to see how well it works this upcoming tick season. Victor ETA: By the way, others have posted about using Bravecto. Not sure why those posts aren't appearing in searches for "Bravecto" (I just tried and only one post from last year appeared).

In addition to the other suggestions, you might consider seeing an allergist.

Hope Luka is feeling better! That's wonderful that OSU was able to diagnose those clots! Do you remember how they found the first clot? Did they do an ultrasound?

Sorry he's having these problems! Have you consulted with Dr. Couto? Perhaps he could offer some suggestions?

Has he seen a vet about this? He really shouldn't be having diarrhea at this point. If he's clean of worms and he doesn't have an underlying issue (like IBD), he may need a course of metronidazole to help settle his GI. If i/d kibble is available in the U.K., I'd try switching to that until his stools firm up, then gradually switch back to IAMS green bag. I'd also try adding a probiotic like Proviable-DC, Prostora, or FortiFlora. Lastly, I'd discontinue the tripe, at least until his GI has settled down!

I am so sorry for you and Taylor. I hope the visit with the oncologist is helpful. Our angel Lana was on Previcox, too, although she was on it when she was recovering from her amputation surgery and later when she was in pain from the mets. It works wonders for pain. Just be careful of GI upset. You should ask your vet about starting Taylor on the acid reducer famotidine (generic Pepcid). If needed you can also ask for a prescription for sucralfate, which coats the stomach to protect against ulceration. (The sucralfate pills are enormous, but you can grind them up using a pill crusher and mix with a little milk or Ensure to make it more palatable.) Please give Taylor a big hug for me.