3DogNite

Thank you! all good advise ~ Darbee is a very low key girlie - except for thunderstorms. I will ask about the Valium. I did switch her to a harness about a month ago. However I still dress her up in a necklace for fancy outings We already water the kibble down. She's a very picky eater so I don't want to mess with that too much. she will stop eating for the smallest reasons... sounds like I am already doing most of the preventative actions. That's good to know! ok, I'll hang out to hear from the others! Thanks again!

KennelMom, what in particular are you doing for Management? I would prefer this, but haven't found any 'magic' pill to use.

I've been trying to research LP procedures prior to our upcoming vet visit for my sweet little Darbee-Doo. She has been showing signs of LP for a while, and after the recent loss of my boy Peppy (old age related), I can't stand the thought of loosing another, so thought i'd check into this whole process! Darbee is 13 1/2 yrs young, basically healthy, but showing signs of hind end weakness and LP symptoms. We have not been diagnosed yet. 1st vet. visit for general health and some ex-rays are next week. I am reading about the tie-back surgery. And I read about the "de-barking" surgery that can be done in conjunction with or by itself for LP. I have searched here, and so many have had really good things to say about the tie-back, but i haven't found much on the other (which sounds awful to me!!!!) Any thoughts? everything i read says the 'de-barking' surgery is terrible, and the tie back works greyt! just wanting to be really informed before our vet visit. and i did just join the Yahoo, LP site. I'm waiting to be accepted. Thanks!!!

My Beloved white boy, Pepton, aka Sir Prance-A-Lot, is finally able to Prance to his hearts content! We let Peppy run over the bridge last Monday the 7th of July. At 14+ years, Peppy was struggling to maintain his pride and dignity dealing with his body giving in to old age. I think about him everyday, Running, and tossing his favorite bear in the air, and catching it, and running around the yard again. This wonderful memory will keep me going until I can be with him again, so that I can toss that bear for him to catch, and see his wonderful Proud smile and sweet face. Forever the love of my life, I will miss you every day!!!

My boy had these same types of issues, The first time it happened I just gave him Rimadyl and my own massage. He was better in a couple of days. The second time i luckily had an appointment set for chiropractic treatment and that really made him better fast, and with longer period of time before it happened again. Looking back, this was probably the beginning of Lumbo Sacral Stenosis. good luck!!!

My vote: Pull the teeth.... they get by just fine, might be sore and bleed a couple days,, but the kisses are still as sweet!

I can give you lots of information about Achilles Rupture, surgery and recuperation. My boy Rascal went thru all that on BOTH of his rear legs!! AT THE SAME TIME!!!! search for my posts if you want to read on that,, or PM me and i will let you know more! Good luck, it's always amazing to me what the surgeon can do!

I've been where you are,, and it's not fun!!! It's so very frustrating to have one dog then the others all come down with the BIG D!!! I have been battling this for several months actually, where for 1 week in four, all of mine are hit with the dreaded Diarrhea! i have moved, cut back all plants they might be chewing on. i have added beet pulp to their daily routine i have added acidophiles to their supplements i have tried to change their food i have disinfected EVERYTHING that is in there reach. i have had them all tested numerous times, usually negative (once giardia), we walk out with Metronidozol prescription and for the most part everyone is good in a couple days and we start the whole process over again!!! it takes is toll on my poor babies, and my carpets not to mention the vet bill and the loss of sleep trying to run everyone out the door in time! Mostly my old doggies,, 14 and 13 yrs, they really loose so much life during the week of sickness. i wish i could figure this out myself... sorry to high jack your thread, guess i should have put this in a rant/soap box. I hope your babies get better quickly and get rid of the bug once and for all!!!

This is great information! thank you for sharing it ~ my boy has every one of those symptoms listed above for CCD!

I don't know about "common".... what is common? we do what is best for our babies. I have a 14 yr Boy,, my Pepton, Sir Prance-a-lot! I have been saying for the last year that he seems like he has doggie Alzheimer's, or dementia. For him it comes and goes, like being on a rollercoster. Some days are really wonderful and happy, others aren't so greyt. Today we are experiencing a not-so-greyt day If i didn't feel he has more good days than bad, i wouldn't hesitate letting him go. I want him to have the best life possible and We all deal with our babies the best we can. I don't know about what is normal or common protocol for old age. But I want my boy to keep his dignity and have a very good quality of life. Did i answer your question? i don't know, this topic is tough, and individual to each person and dog.

I'm sorry to hear about all of Bailey's issues, and am impressed with your dedication to Bailey! I am dealing with some of the same issues with my 14yr, Peppy. He has not been to a vet for diagnosis, however, I am reading so much about Vestibular Disease. there are a couple different types, where it starts from, in the ear or brain. So many of the symptoms are similar to what Bailey is going thru. I don't think it has been brought up yet, so thought I'd throw it out there. I'm sure more people will have a better in-site into this than I do. Good luck to you and your family in this tough time!!!

Yeah, I'll second the alternative route, too. Turbo has had chiro and acupuncture for other ailments and he did well with them. Hope you can get some good relief for your non-ramp walking boy For us,, my Pepton will not let anyone, even me touch him like he needs for chiropractic or acupuncure help..... he used to have treatments all the time, and you'd think he'd remember how wonderful they are! we are doing rimadyl and sometimes tramadol if he is feeling really stiff and sore!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PEEPY!!!! What do you do when your at work? Soemtimes at night, when he tries to get onto the bed himself, he misses -- I'm right there to help steady him and get him going again. I am so paranoid that he'll fall and get stuck when I'm at work. I can't block him from the bedroom -- its the only place he really rests comfortably. I also can't crate him (he said no thanks to the crate about 6 years ago by breaking off all his canine teeth). Do you make special accomodations for Peepy during the day? I am very fortunate to work from home! Peppy gets stuck often during the day, like he has alzheimers, and can't figure out how or where he should go next. I put all kinds of rugs down after I found him on the tile floor once. he couldn't get himself up, it broke my heart to see him so helpless!!! I think I would make a very safe room, or xpen area, for Peppy if i worked out of the house. good luck to you and xoxox to your Thunder!!

oh, my boy Peppy is going thru this too,, his birthday is TODAY 14yrs. (shamless plug sorry!) Peppy doesn't let me help him with ANYTHING! he is very agitated in his old age and is getting more nervous all the time. I just watch him lake a hawk, and try to help when i can. I hate watching his body get tired and old! where is the magic wand!

Pup-date... She's feeling soo much better, the diarrhea is all but stoped thanks to the medicine they put her on! the yuckie part, now is that the fecal sample came back with HookWorms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! all my doggies are now undergoing de-worming stuff just in case it was passed on to mine. on a side note: I also had a dog go thru the Hemoragic, gastro-entinitis (sp) it is MUCH worse than this colitis bloody diarrhea stuff.. so when i saw it, i pretty much new colitis, but wanted to get her on meds ASAP,, and the IV to replace fluids is also very important!!! Thanks for all your support! it really helps!

This is exactly why I wrote the thread! It was a good wake up call for me as I couldn't believe that I was soo un-organized about this for my own dogs! My old ones each have a page written about them,,,,, not that i'm picky about how my kids are taken care of or anything

Thanks everyone! I think this is the 1st episode of colitis for her. I did have the name and phone # of their prefered vet. (with the assumtion everything would be fine) I just spent the afternoon writing up a new itemized,, detailed instructions for my babysitters. Mine was really out of date, I actually have changed vets, and have different contact phone numbers etc.... It was a good wake up call for me to get my own instructions in order. The parents are on their way home, and when i talked with them last they were very thankful that i acted in the best interest for their baby! I hope she recovers FAST!!

little girl Zoie has squirty, bloody, diarrhea! and i am babysitting! They trusted me with their babies, and now this!! Poor little thing! I called mom and dad ~ not the kind of phone update i like to give! The parents totally understand! and appreciate my fast action of taking their baby to the vet, having the stool sample tested, prescription filled, even an afternoon stay at the vet (cause the uncontrollable squirts were toooooo much for me to handle ) mom and dad are coming home tonight. and they got the update as they boarded the plane! I just feel soo bad for the little thing! and i want to know,,,,,, if you go on vacation, and your babysitter calls with an update like this,,,,,, do you second guess them and wish they had done something different,,,,? or do you love your babysitter, no matter what, cause they are only doing what they do for their own doggies..... dumb question,, but,,i'm feeling so guilty! personally, I did what I would want my babysitter to do,,, but maybe not everyone feels that way!??? these are good friends, and they know i did the right thing,,, I just don't think i've ever given babysitters enough information to do this with my kids if the need were to arise... note to self,, update the babysitter instruction manual! so, thought for the day: Love your babysitter, and give them permission to act responsibly! so, i just answered my own question didn't i!

Thank you all! I have spoken with several others who also agree to NOT go back to that Vet. I am planning however to speak with her and tell her about the reaction that Rascal had. I also found out that she does NOT have the formal Chinese based acupuncture training that specializes with animals. She does have a schooling in acupuncture, just not the full on formal accreditation behind it. Some good news,,,, Rascal is doing a very gentle little jog, like it may be easier than walking for him. And he seems to be moving easier, so am going to still watch him like a hawk and keep him very quiet. I did find more of his pain issue. , I leaned over and wanted to stretch his back legs out,, if it is originally a muscle strain then stretching might feel good??!! He yelped as i brought the leg SLOWLY back, in a straight position, back behind him. So like he has a strain in the groin area? He likes to sit or lay down with his legs curled up, so the straight position and lengthening back is what is giving him problems.......I don't know if that makes sense, but I imagine when they race they go thru a lot of stretching, and what I did was such a small stretch that I imagine this could be part of his problem... could be much more as well. ok, thanks again for your support! time to take the other pups for a walk,, Rascal is staying home for now!

I need some of your advise about acupuncture, and your dogs reaction to the treatments Rascal had acupuncture for the first time 2 days ago (thursday), and his reaction to the treatment is quite different than what I expected to see... Some background: Rascal tore both Achilles tendons 2 1/2 yrs ago, he is healed very well, and is mostly pain free. Recently He has been running in the back yard and coming up lame on his back left leg.. the whole leg is acting like it is paralyzed. Rascal drags the foot, and it crosses,, then the toes knuckle under,, and he is in a lot of pain,, for an hour he cries and whines... this dog didn't utter a peep when Both Achilles tendons were torn, and didn't vocalize once thru the whole rehab.... His lameness has been happening with more frequency, starting about 2 months ago, and now it happens every other week or so,, it usually gets better in a day or two with rimadyl, tramadol (or hydrocodone if the pain is really bad!) anyway,, he had ex-rays, CLEAN!. the legs, the back, everything looks fine. the only place he showed pain was between the hip bones alone the spine.. so we are thinking LS,, or pinched nerve. So...I took him for acupuncture, this is a Vet, who has accreditation for acupuncture. She felt around rascals legs, and back and then she put the needles in. Rascal was VERY nervous, and never relaxed thru the whole thing. She took the needles out (after 20 min or so) He could hardly walk, BOTH his back legs were shaking sooo badly that he couldn't stand still.. he had to walk and in only a couple of steps, I knew he wanted to lay down. Now, 2 days later, He still has NO stamina in his back legs. He goes out to pee,, and comes in and lays down,, in fact if i don't let him in right away,, he will lay down outside on the snow!!! NOT like him at all!!! He eats dinner laying down, he is very lethargic,, until someone comes to visit and he jumps up and wags his tail and smiles at them,, then goes right back and lays down,,,, He is still VERY sore, and I have been giving him rimadyl AND Tramadol daily (which is partly why i went for acupuncture in the first place to get him off the pain pills!) anyway,, sorry this is long... my question is,, is this normal to have 2 days of not very good reaction to the acupuncture. I really expected him to feel GREYT by the next day! he is not back to normal and i feel like he has gotten worse actually. when I run my fingers down his spine all the way to his tail,, he really flinches when I get to the hip bones, which he NEVER did before. The vet wants to do treatment weekly, for 5 sessions. Do you think he will have this kind of reaction all the time? I will do the treatment and keep him very quiet, i just wonder what's going on in his body,,,,,,, Then i wonder about the LS.. I printed Dr. Stack's article, gave it to the vet.. she said she would read it, and think about doing the shot if the acupuncture didn't improve his situation. She said she'd feel better if we did an MRI,,, i said,, but if the shot works,, then LS is the issue and we know it without doing the MRI,,, ect.. yadda, yadda, yadda,,,, what do you all think? I'm worried about Rascal's attitude after this first acupuncture treatment. and the soreness that he is feeling, and his inability to walk or stand much. I want to do what's right for my boy, and feel like at the moment maybe this wasn't the right choice. Thank you for taking time to read my "little" story! wow,, i didn't realize just HOW long this story was...... sorry!

For my little girl,,, even the tiniest flake of Ace. puts her out COLD!!! for hours! it's kind of scary how out she is. For my old man,,, he is dopey,, and incontinent, and stupid with 1/2 a pill. I have never given a whole pill due to the severity of the reaction my little girl has. good luck!

My boy actually had something that looked like that,, we had it removed at the advise of the Dr. I thought, oh, it's not hurting him, doesn't look "that" bad,,,, hemagiosarcoma was the result! clean margins and nothing has reappeared anywhere else on his body!! I was NOT prepared for the result of that test,,, this was more than 4 years ago, and my boy turns 14yrs old next month!!! BTW, it healed fine, stitching the skin back together was ugly for a couple days and then the skin just came together and fur covers his whole tail! GOOD LUCK!

Thank you!

my boy, who will turn 14 in May, definitely has periods of confusion, and panic! He will walk into a corner of the room, and can't figure out how to turn around..... I have to really watch him... Lucky for me, I work at home, and can cater to his every whim (he has me well trained!)

that does look good, informative. if you are somewhere without internet connection, that could be the only way to find a vet in the area! i am always looking around the neighborhoods , when i travel, for vet and pet places,,,, along with a dentist! my 2 phobia's