lothianjavert

Part of it's probably the steroids, part is probably that he doesn't care for the prescription foods. In the past, whenever I've had a pup or cat that needed prescription food for a time, they -HATED- it (especially the cats! OMG, talk about a hunger strike!! And it was not that they weren't hungry: I remember Tyler, our piggy boy, turning his nose up at the prescription food, and then later me literally having to pull him OUT of the refrigerator since he was trying to attack the turkey ) Pred gives me the opposite reaction: makes me very queasy, so I tend to eat very little, and need to force myself to eat something to at least help keep the pred down. I hate the stuff.

Sending lots of hugs!! :grouphug I hope she heals quickly!!

Sending lots of prayers for Blitz!! I hope the MRA goes well (the MRI w/ dye to check the vessels) and that Blitz feels better and can come home to you soon!

UTI's can be a pain to clear up-- sometimes it takes an extended course of antibiotics. Diesel had one that improved with antibiotics, but within a couple of days of being off of them, it was back. He had to go on a longer course of antibiotics to kick it. We did 3 weeks and that did the job.

Sending prayers for Blitz!! :hope

I try to keep them so I can slide a couple pieces of paper underneath-- a bit more than 1/8 of an inch. They still do click some when they walk, but the nails are not touching the ground when they are standing. Sully has the world's fastest growing nails... I'm always trimming his.... He can be a drama queen about it, but overall he isn't bad, but then he knows he'll get a treat, and some snuggle time on mama's lap. (he's The Love Sponge, so any form of attention, petting is a huge positive reward for him. Works about as well as good stinky treats) Diesel's don't grow so fast, so he's ok with every other week. I swear they are made of iron though! They are HARD! Sebau is the only one that fights (not aggressive, she just yanks her feet away and gives the "woe is me" look) I go for her first, since she "disappears" as soon as the clippers come out. Her nails also grow very fast.

Wonderful!!!! :pepper

I don't think they'd mind being sent some photos! It still reminds me of oral candidiasis. Which, btw, can build up and be nasty, cottage cheesy growth, not just patches. I found this photo online (pardon, it's really gross). If it is candida albicans, fluconazole should work. And old home remedy (that can work) for oral candidiasis is gentian violet. I've been on enough steroids for long enough that thrush is something I've had to deal with. Yuck!

Glad to hear the good news, and continuing to send prayers that Alex keeps improving... :hope

Hoping for good news... sending lots of good thoughts and prayers... :hope

Sully this past year has developed a corn. It's been hulled regularly. Does the corn hurt? Heck yes! What amazes me is how HARD the corn is when removed... it's like a pebble. Imagine walking with a stone in your shoe: in one of the spots that makes the most contact with the ground! OUCH! even though it's a bit tender after hulling, the limping is greatly reduced, and in a couple days, gone. Until the corn comes back... (then.. repeat process...)

I think at this point, I'd probably go for amputation. If it were going to improve, it would have. It sounds as if even if they figure out whether there's a bacterial or fungal issue, even after treatment of that, she would still be in pain/lame because of the bone against the skin. I can't see the latter (bone against skin) improving, and I'm sure that really hurts.

Sorry Jen, I don't have any experience with this. My guys turn into total spuds when it is hot/humid-- they won't even do yard zoomies. (they do them inside in the AC instead ) When I coursed Sully a bit, a couple of the days were really hot and humid. He did ok with it, but there was a hose available to hose off any dogs that needed it. On the other hand, neither of my guys get very worked up for even 5 minutes: I think that really could have a very different effect than a 30 second run. Pat, for a thermometer, we just use a regular digital here. It -WAS- our thermometer.... it is now the dog thermometer

Lots of hugs and prayers for you and Lacey Laine! :hope :grouphug

.... right up there with the "olives".....

You've gotten some good advice! I agree that the big issue is going to be the fleas coming from elsewhere: your house, wherever you walk him, etc. The frontline kills the ones ON him, but more just hop on after they hatch out from between your floorboards, carpet, etc. Years ago, we had a horrible infestation (days before frontline, etc.)-- part of the problem was the house, as the fleas would jump off, and reproduce there. So even with dousing the animals with flea powder and spray, they would just get reinfested from the fleas hatching from between the floorboards. We did a combination of repetitive bombing and vacuuming. Pain in the butt, but it did work. We also had to spray the yard. Fleas and ticks suck. We use frontline plus here because the ticks are an issue as well. While it's not 100% with the ticks, it's better than nothing.

Wow... that's wonderful!!! I need to find a new vet. My old vet that I loved retired, and the practice was bought out, but every time they get a vet I really like, they leave. Now they're down to 1 vet, and it's the guy I can't stand.

No-- the neighbors that I'd trust are also gone at work all day, usually they get home around 6, about the same time I do. I have a 90 minute drive to and from work, so there's no way for me to "pop" home. I am hoping to get a job closer to home, but I'm currently under contract until June 2008. I'm actually out of the house closer to 12-13 hours a day, but my husband's schedule is different than mine, so he gets home earlier, hence the dogs have to do about 9-10 hours. 10 is if the traffic is bad or he's running late, 9 is average. I would love to be able to stay home, or come home at lunch, but it isn't an option. I would love a dog door-- I think she'd learn to use it very quickly. It's just convincing DH. This past week I've left the sliding door partially open to allow access to the back yard (our gates are kept padlocked anyways) and that's worked for her. I'd like to teach her to use pads for when it's cold, or rainy (she can be stubborn about going out if it is raining that's nothing new ), when the door can't be left open. She'd actually probably rather go on the pad than have to walk on the dreaded, horrible WET GRASS when it rains.

Sebau, my mix, is now 13. She's always had the bladder of steel, able to hold it for long periods of time, until now (this has been a gradual change). She doesn't leak while sleeping, but she can't hold it as long anymore. She has just been to the vet, had a urinalysis, etc., and checked out ok on that front. Her max is about 6 hours. I don't mind getting up at night to let her out, (heck, I always have to get up to pee anyway, so I just let her out and head to the bathroom myself ) The problem is that we are gone for about 10 hours a day with work. It's not her fault, she just can't hold it that long any more. I know there are meds, but since she isn't 'leaking', and there are side effects, I'm a bit worried about meds at this point. I'm not sure it's warranted yet. I've been trying to convince DH to put in a dog door, but he isn't big on the idea. Mainly his concern would be that someone would break in through the house that way. (they could just as easily break the window in the basement door and get in, or any of our near ground level windows, so I don't see why he's so worried about that). We're also in a small development in a semi-rural area, no dogwalkers, etc. around here, and most people work during the day. Until we've come up with a permanent solution, I'm going to try pee pads. Any suggestions on how to train her that it's OK to go on the pee pads? Is there a brand you like best? Any other suggestions?

That's really weird. Diesel had a random spooking episode last night, it's something he hasn't done for a long time. He smelled -something- that really bothered him when he was outside. I was thinking it was the neighbors' visitor, since that's the only thing that I could find that was different. But the visitor is long gone, and D is still air scenting, as if something is there. I don't know. The other two aren't phased at all by whatever it is (or isn't?).

Wonderful!!!! :pepper Sending prayers that they figure out how to treat it easily and quickly!! :hope

I'm dealing with this with my vet: he insists on everything every year (including rabies) and was actually rude about the Lyme vaccine when I declined, i.e. basically saying I was neglecting my dogs by not giving them the Lyme vaccine (one was vaccinated before, had a bad reaction, and still got active Lyme anyway, so I chose not to vaccinate my other two, or continue to give her boosters). I really miss my old vet that retired. (I love the vet techs there though, and the other vet who left was great, but sadly, he's gone too. )

:grouphug Hoping for the best for you both! You and Monty have been through so much!!!

Sending lots of hugs and prayers for you and Alex. :hope :grouphug

:grouphug I'm so so sorry.