LakeshoreGreys

Jey, I'm just seeing this now. I am so sorry for the loss of your sweet girl Zema. Sending hugs to you and Grammy and Joseph. Our baby Buddy was supposed to stick around forever too, we had a deal...but he broke it, so I know how you feel. Godspeed, sweet Zema!

Had the dogs out running the other day. Brother, who will be 13 in September, had the telltale raspy pant going on afterward. That was the first time I've heard the raspy-ness, though I have heard him panting more when he plays in the house. Thinking back now, he has also had quite a few episodes of "something's in my throat" over the past month or two. He'd keep stretching his neck and swallowing hard, over and over, for anywhere from a few minutes to up to a half an hour. I didn't think too much when he'd get that, because Joe gets that also from time to time (not nearly as frequently though...his is maybe once or twice a month, where Brother's is once or twice a week). It's been a long time since we've dealt with LP at our house (our girl Sandy had it, and we sent her to the bridge almost 6 years ago...), so I'm a bit rusty. Toward the end, hers was really bad and the vet said that it was going to really cause problems for her once the hot summer weather arrived. However, she was not a candidate for the tie-back surgery due to some other issues. Is this something I can keep an eye on for the time being? I hate to put him under just to get a diagnosis. I did a search last night for LP on here, and someone referenced using doxepin and liquid valium; how do those help? I'm wondering if I can monitor him for now until we take them all in for their heartworm tests in May. Anything I should be looking for or concerned about? What are the chances that I'm wrong about it being LP?

Godspeed, sweet Reuben!

He can join my boy Buddy's party up at the bridge today. They'll have one humongous bash! Hugs to Lucky and those who loved him!

I never was able to put a tribute topic together for Buddy. Still can't. I feel that whatever I come up with will not do justice to the greyt hound that he was. Today he would have been 13 years old. My boy sent me a sign today...when I got in the car this morning the xm was on a station I don't usually listen to, and his song was playing. I've only heard his song on the radio one other time since he's passed on, and bawled my eyes out then too. So, to Buddy, I miss you more than you will ever know. I hope you have a happy birthday with all of your friends up at the bridge. Can't continue, I'm crying too much....

Didja check Bill's feet?

Vet thinks it's a tendon injury of some sort. She also thought it could be a tendon infection, but didn't see anywhere it would try to drain to (no signs on the exterior of a sore or anything). She put him on antibiotics, just in case, and some pain meds. Checked a tick panel and it was fine, and his bloodwork looked good too. Temp was a bit elevated, but she said not much. She's sending the xrays to an ortho vet for a second opinion just to make sure, but she and the other vet working said it looks like tendon/soft tissue injury - that maybe he slipped on the ice or something. Thanks for your advice, prayers, and well wishes. Will post updates.

Don't have any painkillers on hand here. He didn't move much at all last night. Hasn't moved yet this morning, and he's usually up and around at 5a or so. The others went out, and he didn't get up or anything. Still swollen a bit. He goes in at 8:50.

Muzzled him and checked it good - didn't see anything. Last hour or so he started panting and pacing, head realllly low - not limping but favoring it a bit. Looks like it's a bit swollen just below his hock "elbow". He finally laid down for good - he had been coming into the kitchen and standing *right* behind me...and not moving. Makes it hard to cook dinner! DH carried him into the living room and put him on one of the dog beds and canoodled with him so I could finish cooking. Thought about giving him something for pain, but I don't know what and whatever we give I don't want it to mask anything for the vet tomorrow morning. If we call right away, they can usually get us in right away - they leave their 8-9a for call-ins.

Joe, our 10 year old, started limping when he got up today. After he ate his breakfast, he was okay for a little bit, then started again. We checked him out - it seems to be his foot that bothers him because we moved his leg/ankle/etc. all around and he was fine, but when we reached his foot he got protective of it. Neither of us saw anything embedded, no sign of anything on his pads...nothing. He ate lunch, and moved great right after. Now, 20 minutes later, he's limping again. Any thoughts?

We had the same thing happen with our first grey, Bruiser. He got his rabies shot in February, and had diarrhea afterward. It went on until we had to put him down 9 months later, due to a quick-growing osteo. Vet never found a cause for the diarrhea. But I've refused to give another rabies shot to any of our dogs over the age of 12 since then (he was almost 12 when it happened). Am I jumping to conclusions and wrong? Maybe. But there are few things more frustrating than long-term diarrhea. One thing that we tried that at least kept him from having accidents with it in the house (he was able to hold it and "tell" us he had to go) was biosol. IIRC, it's an off-label use (I think it's for sheep or something), but it's cheap. He was on the ground beef and rice diet too, from when it started until a couple of weeks before he passed (when he started limping but before we knew he had cancer) - then we put him on the canned i/d because he had stopped eating the beef and rice. Good luck. I know how frustrating it must be!

Godspeed, sweet Bailey. Hugs to you.

Hugs to you! The final gift is the hardest to give. Godspeed, sweet Bailey.

Cool chart - thanks for posting it! I sent on to all of my dog-loving friends. Sorry to hear of your loss, Brandi007.

You loved Loca and that's all that matters. She knows how much you loved her. Hugs to you.

TBD = Tick Bourne Disease

Two of ours had their spleens out - both were 12. The first was Bruiser. His healing went okay, but he passed away just two months later of osteo. We were not aware of any cancer when we did the spleenectomy. The second was Cooney. His recovery was super quick, and you could tell he felt better. His was also very large, and the vet said that after they removed it he breathed a big sigh - like he could finally breathe again. He went on for another nine months before we had to put him to sleep due to multiple other old age issues. Here's hoping that Booker has a speedy and uneventful recovery, and is around for many more years!

Good to hear he's eating a little bit more. Hopefully it's the start of a trend. I know how frustrating it is when they won't eat. And the worry that follows. Hugs to you Robin and kisses to your sweet Beau. Keep us posted!

This morning I scrambled four eggs - and I have never seen him eat anything so fast! How many eggs can I give him? Don't want him to get diarrhea... Making him some toast now... (and no, I'm not making him bacon to go with it!)

It's not really the bed itself - it's the noise (dehumidifiers) that blocks out the noise, and it's darker, and quiet. If we leave the shower door open down there, he'll lay in it! For a while, DH had one of his beds in the shower (it's rarely used).

What a difference a week makes! Had Buddy at a m&g last week - he was bright-eyed, happy, and feeling good! We all celebrated how good he was doing, and how great he looked. Today (and last night too) he has trouble walking, can't stand for more than a few minutes before his back legs start to give out, won't eat unless it's human goodies, and can't get up on the bed. DH was snuggling with him last night and rested his chin on Buddy's shoulder, and Buddy almost ripped his face off. Something there must hurt him as well (same side that he was limping on just over a month ago). Can't find a lump or anything, but he is unhappy with any pressure in that area. He tried to go in the basement and pretty much fell all of the way down due to the lack of control over his back legs. The day bed in the basement is his "safe place" during storms and such. Today hunters were out shooting, so he wanted to go down...couldn't let him do it. He goes in to the vet on Monday. I printed out Dr. Stack's test for LS and want him to check for that. The shoulder we'll have xrayed. I have the name and number of a chiro/acupuncture vet near us that I will call after we go to the vet. In the mean time, we're keeping the other hounds away from him as much as we can, and sending him outside separately so he doesn't get bumped. We are in tears here and it's hard for us to discuss what's going on with each other. This is our baby - we've had him since he was 9 weeks old, and the last of our "original" four hounds. His 13th birthday will be Feb. 9. Would appreciate any white light you can send our way! ETA He joined our other angels at the bridge today. Godspeed, Buddy!

Sometimes the medical solutions don't work. Every dog/situation is different.

Hello Thanks for asking about him. I had him in last week to weigh him, and he's maintaining his weight. Limping is gone, and he's back into his routine - tagging along when I drive DD to school in the morning. He's been eating really good for about two weeks, and even ate all of his weekend meals (usually the change in routine throws him off). We are enjoying having our boy back to himself, and hope this is a long term thing. Thanks for everyone's support and continued prayers!