inugrey

Her issues aren't THAT bad. I agree she will probably be better once she's settled again. I did the Look At That! for my reactive returns. I also want to recommend the Karen Overall Relaxation Protocol. It's great to help tense dogs center. Do it inside, not on walks. Eventually, it can translate outside but she's no where near ready for it. I used this with my Zoe when she first came to me. And trust me she was a reactive mess. We still use aspects of it when she needs to focus and calm down. http://championofmyheart.com/relaxation-protocol-mp3-files/

I just want to chime in to give you my experience with pred. We did not choose chemo and went the pred route and he was on 60mg a day. He lost all of his muscle mass and drank and peed a lot. But at the end of the day you could tell he felt so much better and we just dealt with the clean up associated with his illness. We also let him go the minute he showed discomfort. I would go this route again. His lymphoma was in his digestive system, so I guess it's not really the same thing you are going through, I just felt like you needed to hear from someone who used pred and doesn't think it's the worst thing ever, especially when dealing with end of life/quality of life decisions.

Oh wow, that is strange. Keep us updated!

Thank you! I need to get in the phone and push this. We're down to only 10 mg of pred a week. But I like what ya'll are telling me. It's time to make this conversation happen.

I recommend again that you see a specialist and get an ultrasound.Healthy dogs don't have diarrhea this long that doesn't respond to meds or diet.

Have you tried treatment as if it is IBD? I recently went through this with one of my old girls. Based on input from this board I talked to the vet about treatment options and with adding the drugs she has cleared up. If she responds to treatment then why go through the pain of biopsy. My girl's story is on this page just a few topics down. http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/300370-managing-ibs/

I think affordable is relative in the DC area. Are you comparing prices to your vet that is two hours away? I don't think you can get out of an office visit for less than $50 anywhere. I like my vets at Ballston Animal Hospital in VA. They listen and treat me as someone involved in my dog's care rather than talking down to me. They call back when I leave a message and seem to genuinely enjoy seeing the dogs. I saw Dr. Miller with foster dogs and he is also very good about having a dialogue with you rather than forcing something on you.

Glad to see she's at life center. And looking foward to positive updates.

I honestly don't remember the amount of the supplement. I'll have to look at the bottle at home. The calcium was just Tums. I added it to make absorption of the potassium more efficient.

If he's muscle cramping in the area you will probably see the muscles tensing up. My boy went through a period of cramps in his abdomen. If it is cramps I would make sure he is properly hydrated. Just make sure the water bowl isn't empty. To get past the problem for Inu, I added potassium and calcium supplements to his diet including increasing water added to his food. In our situation it resolved quickly and after a few weeks of the added supplements, I took him off and we never had an issue again. I learned about the supplements from a trainer who was on this board at the time.

My boy had it in his digestive system, just lower, in the colon. We opted for prednisone. He was happy and enjoying life for another six weeks. I made the personal decision that chemo wasn't the right choice for us. I honestly haven't seen chemo really extend the quality of dogs lives just the existence. Since his was in the colon, he never had a solid poop after diagnosis. We just dealt with it. The pred also completely took his muscle mass. He was walking skin and bones. But he was a happy energetic skin and bones. I'm sorry you are dealing with this in such a young dog.

My Inu was like that. He actually drank to excess at home, but wouldn't drink in public places. Just a quirk, I guess.

All you have to do is explain the dog is a rescue with no medical history. We got our greys covered very easily when they were first brought home. We could not however add our dog that we adopted when she was eight. VPI isn't the best but it isn't the worst either. There are insurance comparison websites, encourage them to shop around.

One more update. We took her off pred completely on Friday. She remains on metronidazole and prescription food along with the heavy duty probiotic. So far things are going well! I still hate the side effects of prednisone but am so glad we went ahead and did it for those few weeks to get her past the flare up of the disease. I don't know if it is my imagination or not, but within 24 hours of being off that drug I swear her muscles seemed to start bulking up. Thanks again for your suggestions! It really helped me talk to the vet with confidence and be an advocate for Salem.

I don't want to be alarmist, but I would really consider an ultrasound to see what is going on down there. I say this because drugs don't seem to be working.

I've shared this photo before, but I think it's a great example of where to put a bed if the dog is showing stress at being near the action. She has clear view of everything that can be near her, no surprises.

Quick update, those B 12 shots are a-mazing! She had her shot on Saturday and a few of those random issues we couldn't put our finger on disappeared overnight. Namely, she was dropping poop at random places. We have the goal of having her off the pred by next week. I am fine with the decision to use it because it seems like the only way we could get her IBD under control. As I expected, her muscle loss has been considerable. This girl always had some serious booty (my little stakes racer) and she's got nothing now. I'm getting ready to start her on exercises to build the muscle back the minute we drop the pred. Let's just hope we can keep her IBD under control without going back to it.

We dealt with this every summer as the heat intensified, but add ins would always solve it. Have you been able to pay attention to his poop/pee output? Has that changed at all? Any puking? Let us know what the vet says.

I've decided to stick with pred for now, but we are working to reduce the amount of pred quicker and see if her body does okay with the reduction. She also gets her first B 12 shot tomorrow. This thread has really helped me have an informed conversation with a vet who is overworked. I just found out she is the lone internist in a department that until recently had three doctors! She did say they should be bringing an additional doctor soon.

I think it's perfectly logical to talk to your vet about some sort of medication to help get over the hump. Back when I was involved in a foster program, when we embraced medical help for dogs with SA the reduction in stress for both the foster and the dog was incredible. It doesn't have to be a lifetime, just enough to help him settle. I would also recommend a DAP collar.

I'm waiting to talk to her about this. My nervousness regarding the muscle mass is increased because I saw it happen (at a higher dosage) and the dog it happened to shares the same DNA. I figure she is more inclined to this side effect since I saw it in Inu. She is eating for the second straight day in a row, which is novel of late. Her output wasn't good this morning, hopefully it was just the reintroduction of kibble. Charess, I'm sorry you went through so much with your girl. We can laugh about it now, but we brought Inu home before the pred really started fighting the cancer. I remember well the raw butt and leaking. He wasn't the kind of dog who would just take it if he was uncomfortable, so we had to stop cleaning his bottom because he would go Cujo on us. I can laugh now, but we fell asleep that night and he was a leaky stinky mess. When we woke up the next morning he had cleaned himself.

Thank you. I've been very disappointed with the communication with this vet. I've been waiting for a call back since Monday midday. It's time for me to make myself heard kindly but firmly.

Damn it. Does it come back if you stop the pred? Does the budesonide have the same side effect?

Her ultrasound showed irritated colon but that's it. There are no swollen lymph nodes, which I was most concerned about finding. Her littermate survived six weeks post diagnosis (FNA after the imaging suggested lymphoma) with prednisone and no chemo. His complete loss of muscle mass during this time is the reason I am so terrified to prednisone. She is on her first full day of pred and prescription food. Things are good. I hope this is the push we needed to get her over the hump.

Sorry I forgot to respond to this. Yes, we had an ultrasound done first. I lost her littermate to lymphoma in his digestive system. I go to diagnostic imaging before the vet even suggests it.