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ZoomDoggy

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    Pannus (Cost Of Treatment?)

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    My Tipper had pannus, and my vet. ophthalmologist prescribed NeoPolyDex, which was an ointment eye-drop. It was maybe $10 per tube, and when Tipper was able to be weaned back to only twice-weekly eye drops, a single tube lasted quite a while, maybe two months. The ophthalmologist visit will probably be pricey (but absolutely worth it to know you're on the right track), but the ongoing treatment is dirt cheap. :)

    Difference In Kibble Bag To Bag? Totw

    in Food and dietary discussion

    Posted

    Interesting. I have noticed the same thing-- changes in size/color, and even shiny-ness (like something slightly oily sprayed on the kibble?) from bag to bag of TOTW PS. Thankfully my girls are both generally good eaters, though Alimony occasionally gets picky for a meal or two. Now that y'all mention it, I'll try to pay closer attention to exactly when Ali gets picky. Maybe see if it's right after starting a new bag...

    Lp

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    I sent this to the OP as a response to her PM, but am re-posting it here in case my experience could be helpful to anyone else reading this thread...

     

    Re: Laryngeal Paralysis... My Chancy had it. She came to me as a senior (bounce), so I really don't know when she first started showing signs of LP. She already had a raspy hoarse bark when I got her. I had her for almost exactly two years. The hoarse bark progressed slowly to no real voice at all, and as time went on, she panted more and more. Once I figured out that she had LP, based on my own reading, I knew to keep her as stress-free and cool as possible. We kept the AC set quite low in the summer just for her, and only walked her slowly when it was cool outside. Those were the only real measures we took before the tieback surgery.

     

    When it had progressed to the point where she was wheezing horribly even with the slightest exertion, we had to decide whether to proceed with the tieback surgery, or wait until she had a real breathing crisis and then be forced to let her go. I couldn't allow that to happen when I knew the surgery could give her a shot at being comfortable again, for whatever time she had left. So at age 12, she had a unilateral tieback. It was a huge success, despite all my fears. She healed well, and was able to breathe SO much more easily.

     

    One thing I will say, is that to definitively diagnose LP, the dog must be anesthetized and scoped. In my opinion, I would only do that if I were already committed to the idea of doing the tieback surgery (assuming the scope was conclusive). That way, they can scope, confirm, and do the tieback all under a single anesthesia session. It took some doing for me to talk my vet into this, as he'd never done this before. Thankfully he referred me to a veterinary surgeon who had. My vet (whom I do trust very much) assisted the surgeon, so I felt confident Chancy was in good hands.

     

    We had to change the way she ate after the tieback-- no crumbly foods, no dry kibble, basically nothing that she might accidentally inhale. Soft moist food. The biggest risk after tieback surgery is pneumonia caused by aspiration of fluids or food, because the airway is tied permanently open.

     

    If the dog is prone to vomiting (as you know, some dogs just barf more often than others), the risk of aspirating foreign material into the lungs is MUCH greater. I would not do a tieback for a dog who is a known puker.

     

    Chancy was not a puker, thankfully.

     

    My only regret in the surgery was that I hadn't done it sooner. I was so scared because of her age and the risks of not only the anesthesia, but the tieback itself. But constantly wheezing like that was no way to live either. Had I known how much relief she would get, I'd have done it a year earlier.

     

    As it turned out, shortly after the surgery, Chancy had other health complications. A series of them, and we never were able to get her health back on track. She died about a month after her tieback surgery. The cause of her decline was not LP, but I will say that on her final day, she did vomit and aspirated some into her lungs. That was the end. In her state, there was no way she'd recover from treatment of pneumonia on top of the rest of her ailments.

     

    I'm not saying that to scare you. Just sharing an experience which may ultimately be a factor in your decision. Had she not aspirated the vomit, it's possible she might have had a few more days, or more. Or maybe not. We'll never know.

     

    I really truly only wished I had done the tieback sooner, so her final summer wouldn't have been soooo difficult for her.

     

     

    I hope you find my experience helpful in some way. It's a frightening decision to make for any dog, let alone a senior. I wish you luck in whatever path you choose for your boy.

     

     

    ... last night had me up several times throwing up...

     

    The above quote is the only thing I see that would give me pause about considering the surgery. If puking is not uncommon for your boy, I'd not risk a tieback. :(

    Sparks Can't Bark

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    It seems odd to me that this loss of voice would happen suddenly. Chancy's LP progression was gradual over the two years I had her. To truly diagnose LP, he would need to be put under and scoped. In my opinion, I would not do that in a senior hound unless I was already committed to the idea of proceeding with a tieback surgery immediately (assuming he was positively diagnosed), while still under the same anesthesia. It took me some real convincing to get our vet to agree to this. He was very skeptical of the tieback surgery's possible success, and had never done one himself before. So thankfully, he referred me to a veterinary surgeon for the procedure.

     

    My only regret was that I hadn't done it sooner for my sweet ol' Chancy-fancy.

    Accidents When Getting Up

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    This happened to Tasha about the last year she was with us. We called them sneak turds. It would happen and she would give me a look that said "where the He77 did that come from?" It is just an age thing and there is nothing medically you can do for it. You can use medication for pee issues but not sneaky turds. If you can live with it all you can do is clean up, tell her you love her and pray that when you get old and it happens to you that someone will love you enough to do the same for you. :grouphug

     

    :nod That's sweet. :)

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