Cynthia

Most will never get back what is paid in premiums. It's a bit like the lottery and some will win but most will lose. And the cost will increase markedly as the dog ages. I did the numbers when I adopted my first dog and it just didn't make sense.

Is she able to go on walks? I've found my dogs eat their food in 30 seconds on days when they've had good walks, but are not as interested on hot days (and we've had a few weeks of those) when they get little or no exercise. It was cooler today, and Monty had a good long exciting walk, Katie didn't (she has back problems.) Monty ate his dinner and then hers when it was clear that she was rejecting food today. I've worked to get his weight back up to 63 pounds (he's 12 and has some medical issues) so always happy when he eats! But I do see a correlation with my own dogs eating habits and the amount of exercise they get, so thought I'd mention it.

I feel for you and Dreamer. My Dannie is a severe thunderphobic. She was returned after two years because it had generalized. July and August are very tough months for her, and I do use Xanax which is an anti-anxiety. I saw someone posted that they use Ace. Be careful with that as it really just sedates the dog and it can increase their fear as it does nothing for the anxiety and drugs them so that they can't act out. Sedatives are not good solutions for managing anxiety. I've also been giving Dannie extra vitamin C as that inhibits cortisol (fear hormone). With all of the variables I've introduced (more exercise, raw diet, living with other dogs, structure, training, counter-conditioning) it's hard to tell what helps, but in this worst part of the storm season she is not vibrating as badly as last year, and I don't need to put bath towels under her head to catch the drool. She will also take really interesting food if we're not right in the middle of a storm. Sometime it was so bad last year that she did not 'come back' until half way through the next day. This year, I can get her to come downstairs for supper as long as the food is offered in her crate in the basement. The basement is a shelter and the crate is a shelter. She also likes the bathtub. It's important to let them go where they feel most comfortable. Here's an article from Whole Dog Journal on anxiety meds. Click on 'anxiety medications' at the top of the page. WDJ Anxiety Article At the bottom of the WDJ article are more links. A very important article for you to read and print and possibily share with your vet is the one by by Karen Stoverall, VMD. She provides excellent detailed information to help you understand how drugs work and how to administer appropriately to help your dog. She also has a lot to say about the inappropriate use of Ace, explaining that it is a sedative that heightens the sense of hearing and scrambles perceptions. She believes that the death of her mother's phobic dog could have been prevented with anti anxiety meds. Good luck to you with Dreamer. My older dog (Monty, 12) had moderate thunderphobia when he was 10 and he is now 99% better with just the use of a storm cape and some counterconditioning. He rarely needs the cape now and barely reacts to most storms. I hope Dreamer is like Monty (and not like Dannie) and can get past this with a little help from you. But please read the articles, I think you will find the Stoverall article very informative.

Sniff. I'm so sorry Deanna. But a beautiful story with the kindest of endings really. Hugs, Cynthia

Did you try just putting him in his play muzzle? That works for my guys. And if he's determined, add Duct tape to the end.

I think it's feeling helpless that's the absolute worst part of it. Your pain comes through and makes me cry. I am just so sorry. It's always too fast, but please remember how long you had to love and enjoy her. Some people don't get that much time with their dogs. Hugs to you. And try to take a few days off to just cry and give yourself a little break from the rest of the world.

Yes, prednisone increases the appetite. He's not a bully, he's hungry! Pred makes them want to eat everything. And yes, it must be tapered off gradually as your vet has advised. The reason for that is so that the dogs body will start producing the necessary amounts of steroids. Since your dog is not a greyhound, it's difficult to tell how significant 5 mg is. One of my dogs (60 pounds) is taking 10 mg ever other day to get to a point where she can stop.

The photos you linked are actually MRIs (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) which is very different from an x-ray. If you go to the text which accompanys the linked pictures, there is discussion of the use of x-rays to rule out other issues.

Hmm. I don't believe that X-rays show herniated disks. One may have been taken to rule out other causes of the pain, and perhaps the vet is logically suggesting that's the cause, and is treating for that before doing more testing. Your friend may want to request a referral to a neurosurgeon to be sure of the diagnosis and then pursue treatment.

Absolutely. Both Prednisolone and Prednisone are catabolic steroids. They break down everything! This seems counter to what we 'think' steroids do to the body. The steroids that build up muscle are anabolic steroids. I had asked the very same question of Katie's neurologist after telling him (it felt silly, but I felt a need to share every possible clue) that her entire body shape had changed. Katie was at the point where she had no butt, and her ribcage seemed huge. I'm starting to see signs of a butt again, but every night I look for her tuck and it still hasn't returned She looks pregnant, and I worried for a while that she had a 10 pound tumor in there. She's a 58 pound girl, and this happened on just 40 mg a day for a week, titrating to 20 mg a day/10 mg/5 mg then every other day...

Very basic, but make sure they are working with a vet who is familiar with greyhound bloodwork. If vet is comparing this guy's WBC (or any other results) to 'other dogs', the values may look normal, but be high for a grey. All those CBCs are worthless if not interpreted correctly. You should find out what kind of tick panel was done(type & what lab used).

Or panic? Fear? Anxiety? How long have you had him, and is there anything in the environment that he may be reacting to? Noises, weather? Any pattern to when/time of day/ this occurs?

I think you've found yourself a good vet! Don't expect anything too soon after the Depo Medrol injections, or you'll be crying the next day (voice of experience here :-) when he doesn't wake up his old self. Dr Stack's website says 48 hours for improvement but I was advised on my 'Katie' LS thread that it could take longer than that. She's doing better (not great) but is on prednisone as well. She has rarely had an appetite problem, it's just to cover all of our bases until we see a neurologist. My older guy (12 next week) is on prednisone for other reasons (unmentionable bad words), and has gone from 50 to 61 pounds in 4 or 5 weeks. A decent weight for the tiny one. I fed him 5 meals/2400 calories a day to get there. He's on 3 meals and I'd guess 1500 calories a day now to maintain. So yes, pred gives them an appetite. Hope your handsome boy does well with his injections tomorrow and that you both get some relief soon!

Happy Birthday Beck! And Beck's mom - you're the only he's got, so keep doing what you're doing. It's quality of life we're talking about. By the way, Katie's Depo Medrol last week was $15. (Plus office visit, x-rays to rule out obvious cancer, and a few other doodads).

Yes, there is risk in anything. Excellent answer from A Hicks, by the way. I'm in the camp that says yes avoid chemicals, but I know that the greater risk is from the diseases caused by ticks and fleas. So I use Frontline Plus every other month,(the flea product is good for 90 days, if you don't have an active infestation), and brush my dogs outside at least once a day. (Side benefit is that they are nice and soft from their daily 90 second brushing.) And agree with Houndtime, parasites aren't connoisseurs, they'll latch onto anything and will not pass up your dog waiting for a bunny rabbit to hop by.

It's hard when you have to convince the vet of the efficacy of a treatment, when you're not an expert yourself. So I can understand the dilemma. Did your vet read the information on Dr. Stack's site? She clearly explains that it's almost impossible to hit the spinal cord based on the injection site, and the only downside is that the depo medrol may not work. "This is an easy procedure that you do with the dog standing up, basically an intramuscular injection into the lumbosacral area. There is absolutely no danger of hitting the spinal cord or any important structures. The worst thing that can happen is that it doesn't help the dog. " Dr. Stack If you didn't leave a copy of the article with your vet, could you email her the site address and ask her to review it? My Katie (not even 6 yet) seens to be suffering from this. (She flunked the thumb test wildly.) I am fortunate to have an open minded vet who raced for the computer when I told her about Dr. Stack's website. My vet suggested trying the depo medrol because she agreed that it would be very unlikely to cause any harm, and my little girl was in pain. She is still not herself, but is talking to me again (she had gone silent with the pain, a bad sign), and is a bit more active and able to do slightly longer walks again. We may need to see a neurolgist and have an MRI if we don't see more improvement soon. (But also considering chiropracty and acupuncture.) She's at least young enough for surgery. If you can't get anywhere with your vet, how about contacting your group to see if they know of other dogs in the area with the condition who have been treated for this with depo medrol. They may be able to help you find another vet who can help your boy. A second opinion isn't a bad idea!

Thank you all for your input and good wishes. Meredith, the pred is to try to cover the possibility of a slipped disc if it isn't LS and the Depo Medrol has no effect. Point taken on that not helping if it's LS. And yes, please do share your Chiropractor's name. I'm hoping to find someone closer to my area, but the travel may be worth it if he/she is recommended by you! Burpdog, my vet is leaning more towards the LS based on yesterday's exam and testing. (The slipped disc was the original suspicion when Katie presented a month ago. ) Spiff, I did find your poll when searching before posting, and found good info there, thanks! It seemed that the dogs were older, so interesting to get confirmation that younger dogs can be affected. (Yes, all of my dogs are on glucosamine/chondroiton and Fresh Factors too, so although that doesn't help LS, it should help to minimize other joint problems.) Thanks too for the tip on 'more than 48 hours.' I'm holding out hope based on that. I guess I wanted her to wake up this morning and be 'Katie' again. She is not feeling good today, (maybe pain from the 'thumb test') but ate breakfast after some coaxing and made it down the stairs for the FEDEX guy before I knew he was there Hoping something kicks in and makes her feel better soon. Again, thank you all for the input! Cynthia

Katie will be six in August, and has had varying levels of back pain for over a month now. Perhaps longer and her human didn't connect the dots early enough. 5 weeks ago, she was in clear pain and the vet suspected a slipped disc and put her on Prednisone and Robaxin. She's been off of that (gradual reduction in dosage) for a week now and while she improved somewhat after the first few weeks of meds, she hasn't regained her previous levels of twirlyness. Clearly not comfortable. (she continues to allow me to carry her up and down the stairs sacrificing my own back for hers.) This morning she didn't want walks or breakfast. A major change for the scavenger dog who would eat plastic if it had an interesting scent and justs lives for her outings in the neighborhood. At the vet's, Katie immediately laid down on the cold hard floor instead of mugging the tech for affection, and bouncing/spinning like she usually does. The Dr examined her on the floor and we talked about alternate ways of figuring out what was going on. We had an x-ray to rule out obvious cancer. With Katie standing up for more manipulation and testing, the vet performed the 'thumb test' from Dr. Stack's website. Katie let out a little yipe and collapsed. So, she was injected with Depo Medrol to see if that will help her. We've also put her back on the pred. According to Stack's website, we should know within 48 hours if the Depo helps her. Although we don't know for sure that this is LS, I'm interested in whether it's unusual for this to occur in a young(ish) dog. Well, I consider her young I have a 12 year old with cancer who is now bouncier than Katie is. I'm hoping those shots work for her so that she can feel better and we know what we're dealing with. I really thought this was a disorder of older dogs. Any experiences here?

I have no idea if his stressed and overheated condition could have affected the blood results, but I am right there with your logic and would be thinking the same things. So maybe call the vet before having the additional tests done and see if it would make sense to do another blood draw and start over from 'steady state.' (Maybe drive him this time!)

Oh goodie! I was at the vet with Mr Monty tonight (who has acheived a roly-poly 60.4 pounds) and the vet looked up from examining him and said 'we have a greyhound puppy here this week.' 'Tell me it's NOT Bear.' I breathed again when she said he was going to be fine. I'm delighted that he is well enough to be whiney and head on home. Give him some luvins' for me.

Hi Rachael, Katie was acting like that last month. I thought it was the heat we were having at the time. She had a great appetite too and was fine on walks. But she was not happy to go up or down stairs and was keeping her distance from the other dogs; standing wayyy back in line when food was being prepared, and her personality was not her typical whirly twirly rooing girly dog! I was worried. Off to the vets and she had a slipped disc. After 2 weeks on pred and muscle relaxants, she came back to life Even woke me up a few times one night with roos and helicopter tail because she was feeling soooo much better she thought that I should get up and play with her! I'm still carrying her up and down the stairs 4 or 5 times a day (vet's orders), but she is her silly self again. I have full tick panels for all of my guys, and it feels good to be able to rule that out when they start acting 'off.' Lyme is always a risk, but they have an in office snap test for that (combo w/ erlichiosis test) so you can get immediate results for those two while waiting for a full panel from Protatek or NCSU. I hope nothing serious for the gorgeous Sully, and that your vet can figure things out quickly.

Trish & Tom, I was at the vet's office today and just heard about Zeus. I am so very very sorry for your loss. Your gorgeous boy is on all four feet now and flirting with the angels. Hugs to both of you, Cynthia