Mystella

the 'different tests' was just her talking about the full panel not just the total t4, she was giving the 'tell me like I'm a four year old' version because she didn't know that I have a google medical degree So in the week and a half Jeffy has been taking his meds, he has gained 2lbs, increased the amount of 'zoomies' he does in the yard and in the house and has stolen a pair of flip flops. He has also started to sprout fuzz on his butt. My boy is back He is still being very picky about eating and still refusing to eat out of his bowl in the feeder, but will eat out of it if I put it on the stairwell. so still some issues but definite improvement and in the right direction regarding weight. Thankfully also the thyroid meds are teeny and super simple to get him to take. so my summary - So Far So Good.

Well, except for the Giardia screen (which is expected back tomorrow) all of Jeff's re-testing results have come back. My vet started off the call by saying, "I have Jeffy's results, going into the tests I was slightly concerned and wanted to get a look at his values for kidney function and also to rule out diabetes, you have to interpret all the values differently because he is a 'greyhound' and they are special, that being said they look just fine as did the abdominal xrays" She then told me that she would diagnose Jeff as Hypothyroid. She said she knows it is a huge controversy with people but she did 4 different tests to focus on the one that is not affected by 'extraneous issues' and any way she looks at it she comes to that conclusion. That being said, his symptoms although weird, don't really match what you would expect. Jeff is losing weight not gaining it. However he is also the last month or so being unusually weird about eating, even for him, he has refused to use his food bowls and will only eat out of my hand. She said sometimes subtle and odd behavior changes can be from thyroid and that between his eye visit and then the day I took him in for testing, he had gained a couple lbs. Her suggestion is to give him a low dose of solaxine and retest in a few weeks. She also wanted to hold off and schedule his dental for the end of May instead of April to give time to evaluate this without adding any extra stress.

Thanks everyone. Jeffy the pooh is at the vet this morning, they are doing another full blood panel and thyroid etc. A urinalysis. Doing a SAF fecal and some xrays. Once all that is done and checked we are scheduling a dental. I am not going to do any dietary change (well except I cook for him , - steak yesterday) until I have all the medical ruled out

Yes we did a thyroid panel and yes checked his protein levels, all normal. Yes re tried prescription diets, tried allergy challenge. Not tried raw though in addition to the kibble I also add to all of his meals or else he won't eat them. I cook chicken or beef or make a 'stew' to add to his meals. He does get occasional marrow bones etc as a treat but he doesn't love them. He does love bully sticks and milk bones and would probably happily eat a dozen but somehow I don't think that is a reasonable solution! This last week he has been just picking the meat etc out and leaving his kibble, but we are on 3rd bag in a row of green bag iams so I will put one of the others back in rotation to see if he will eat that. He doesn't always eat all 5 cups, but I would say consistently he eats a minimum of 4 cups every day plus the stuff added. Although picky he eats. My thought was maybe an x ray or ultrasound of the abdomen to make sure there is nothing in there, but I wouldn't think he could have a tumour or something for 3 years without being more symptomatic than just slow steady weight loss ? My vets thought has always tended along the not absorbing theories but can't find anything to support that.

Yes! it was Tylan. Zoomdoggy was Jeffy's wonderful foster mama, we drove 16 hours to go get him and it was so worth it! Aims got him from the farm and he 'wouldn't chase the lure' which is why he never raced. He loves to run, but only when he feels like it and he has no prey drive. I should add he is a picky eater so basically I have to switch his food and add stuff to it. He is currently eating Iams green bag, because he will. We have tried many many foods throughout this process including several vet ones. He is good for a couple bags of any food then won't eat it anymore so I rotate between Taste of the Wild, Eagle Pack Holistic, Royal Canin, Iams and another one that I can't remember the name but we include because it is high calorie.

Yes, we are not talking just a couple pounds. He came to me weighing 67 lbs and stayed close to that for a couple years and then started dropping weight, he is now at 50 lbs.

Yes, he really is. It has not been a sudden big loss, but a continual loss. I would say he has lost about 15lbs over the last 2 years.

Hi everyone, Jeff Gordon was rubbing his eye against me on Monday and pawing at it a bit and there was some goop in the corner. I warm water rinsed it and gave him some polysporin eye drops and waited 24 hours. Saw good improvement but decided to take him into vet anyway, just to be sure. His eye is fine, no infection and no physical injury, was probably just irritated. Good news right? Except they weighed him and he has lost another 7 pounds since his last visit (about 7 months ago). Those of you around for a while will recognize the subject, Jeffy has been continually losing weight, in the last 3 years every visit to the vet his weight has trended downward. Jeffy is 7 years old. He has had blood work tested several times, parasite check (he had giardia twice so initially we thought that was the problem but that has been long ago cleared and weight is still trending down). He has been tested for EPI twice, negative both times and we did a trial run of the enzymes anyway just in case. His thyroid has been tested, his Vitamin B levels have been tested. His leg bones have been x rayed. He did a course of a daily antibiotic in his food, I can't remember the name, it started with a t, to see if that would help, it had no effect. He has had a tick panel done. He is really skinny now, 23 kg. He eats regularly and well, about 5 cups a day plus I cook for him. He can be a really picky eater but lately I will give him anything just to get him to eat it. His stool is fine, solid and twice a day regular. The obvious worry is the same with anyone with unexplained weight loss that a reason can't be found for, some sort of cancer. But he isn't symptomatic of anything. That being said this has been going on for 3 years now and he is otherwise his same goofy self. He walks, he plays, he whines incessantly (this is not new, he has always been that way) he disembowels stuffies and attacks belts and flip flops.

Thanks everyone. My inlaws actually are in a lyme endemic area in SW Ontario near lake erie, however this was an adult male deer tick, which means though attached it was not taking a blood meal. I learned about that last spring when my daughter played outside at her grandparents and ended up with 2 on her scalp, discovered two days later I know it is important to remove them quickly but as I mentioned I knew it had already been on there at least 48 hours so I figured another 8 while I sought advice on any less traumatic choices would be okay. We don't have Frontline here, according to my vet the options were Advantix, Preventic or Trifexor (I may have that wrong).

I picked up the Preventic collar on the way home. I told DH I would put it on Jeff before he removed the tick as Jeffy would likely avoid us after. I opened the package, stretched it, whacked the tick with it and told it to 'warn your friends you are going down', put the collar on Jeff and cut off the excess. Called DH to come remove the tick. Flipped over Jeff's ear and no tick!! After some neurotic itching and not finding the tick on Jeff's bed, I noticed it crawling across my foot!!!! Much cursing ensued and I am now in LOVE with preventic. For some reason I always had it in my head that greyhounds couldn't use them.

We have Preventic, my vet offered it when I was there at lunch, I told her I had to come back and Google first Revolution is labeled (at least mine is ?) but only for some latin name that my vet says means American Dog Tick, but it is deer ticks that we always seem to get. I don't have any cats (just the really old chilla as Meredith mentioned) but my inlaws have 3 cats and it is when visiting/staying with them that the ticks find Jeff, is the collar unsafe around cats?

I hope it is just an upset tummy. Jeff Gordon loves to eat bunny poop, his favourite spring snack. It has given him giardia twice, which came with big d and vomiting.

Dangnabbit, I was hoping you would all say, oh just leave it alone and it will fall off (but then I guess I would have a tick lurking in my house and that would bring on a whole new level of neuroses ) He is on Revolution but that doesn't stop deer ticks, I already had an appointment with the vet to discuss the pros and cons of switching from revolution to advantix and heartgard. Thoughts on that anyone? He has done well on the revolution and I am always hesitant to switch to an unknown but I have heard the advantix repels ticks (as opposed to them repelling me!) He has an appt (which was for next week but I just moved to 6 weeks out) for his heartworm and tick panel, which we do every two years because we live in a lyme endemic area. I have a tick tool and have dealt with them before, it was simply the fact that it is on his inner ear that I was worried about as he is so sensitive about them. At lunch I walked over to my vets (next to my office, conveniently) to reschedule the testing. I am fairly familiar with the little gross things so I told my vet I am pretty sure it is an adult male deer tick. What I didn't realize and she told me is that if I am correct on that, the good news of that is that they don't feed, engorge or transmit lyme. The bad news is that they just settle themselves in, attach and stay there their whole life waiting for a mate to come along. Ugh I hate bugs.

Argh. When we have to go away, Jeffy stays with my inlaws. He adores them, they have an acre fenced in and they also have his best canine buddy, Bo. The problem is they live in a heavy tick area. When Jeffy came home on Monday I checked him over for ticks and found one and removed it right away. No problem. This morning I discovered another one, on the inside of his ear. So it has been there since at least Monday. Here is the problem. Jeff is crazy sensitive about his ears. He does the GSOD if anyone touches them even if they just brush over them when petting him, his ears have to be avoided or he will cry. I don't know why, the vet has checked them and there are no infections or mites or anything wrong with them. The only person he happily lets rub, prod and touch his ears is me. He won't automatically holler if Craig or Faith touch them but he is more wary and will try to move and avoid having them do it. I did make a quick attempt to remove it this morning, but this one is stubborn and I didn't get it. The tick has already been there at least 48 hours and I am hesitant to yank it out and add make his ear touching neuroses worse. thoughts? I am itchy now just from typing this thread