Do You Feel Like You *know* When Something Is Really Wrong?

[Guest Smiley]

Though Pete and I don't have children, we certainly feel like our dogs are our kids. And maybe because of that we notice every little thing that crops up health wise with our dogs. But above and beyond that, I really feel like I've "known" intuitively when something is really wrong with one of our dogs. When Peanut was limping and the x-rays kept coming back clean, I knew in my heart that this was cancer. Everyone kept saying that I was just overly worried because Smiley had osteo and that this was just a soft tissue injury. I know my vet likely thought I was being overly worried considering how the x-rays looked-clean and clean. And then thanks to OSU we did find out that in fact this was cancer. Even at that point I felt that it had already moved in her body and we opted not to do the surgery-this was never confirmed, but again just a strong gut feeling on my part. The very hardest part was the 2 months of waiting and worrying-knowing it was more despite what everyone said. When Smiley was diagnosed with OS, Pete said he knew in his heart that's what the limp was from the very start.

 

Does anyone else feel like they have the "mom (or dad)" intuition with their fur kids? I know parents have it for their human kids, but why not for our fur kids when we are so connected and care so much?

[Guest Energy11]

Most definitely here! Most definitely!

 

It drives me crazy, too! I shouldn't be a worried, based on my medical background, but it makes me even MORE hyperaware! :-( Guess that is good, but I am always on guard, especially with five ages 8-10 now.

 

Having a husband, and three greyhounds at The Bridge, ... well, ... I am even more "antsy" when it comes to illness.

 

Sending you lots of love and hugs!

Edited August 23, 2010 by Energy11

[Guest Mollysmom10]

Molly was my first baby and I always knew when something was not "right". And some times I would be in denial about it, but that gnawing feeling would always be there.

 

I agree w/ you completely about the intuition -- Molly trained me to really stop and "listen" to my intuition and it was very helpful when I had my own babies. She taught me so much.

[Remolacha]

Absolutely! I know when they are "off", and my vet bless her, always listens. She says I know my kids better than anyone.

[macoduck]

Yes, definitely, yet nothing I could do would change the outcome.

[kamsmom]

Yes. I know that something is up with Isis. I "know" that her stroke a few weeks ago is somewhat related and there are just a few other things. Vet says everything is fine but I have a feeling something is up.

 

I have kids and I am very connected to my dogs, with Isis tho it is as if I can feel what's wrong. It's weird.

[djsgreys]

The first time I saw Suzy limp at a fun run, I knew in my heart it was osteo. I don't know how, I don't know why but I knew. Other people told me that as the limp appeared right after a run it was likely a sore muscle - but I knew.

 

I wish this time my intuition had been wrong.

[Guest moremoney]

Definitely.

[Guest kydie]

yep! I always know when one of them is "not quite right" sometimes by just the way they look at their dog dish, walk across the floor, lay down, get up, hold their head or look uo at me

[Guest larock]

Yes. We have also found this to be the case.

 

While DH is not quite there yet with his intuition, I have always predicted when something was wrong, days before anything shows up. It can be as simple as a change in their patterns, breathing, eating, a smell...can't pinpoint it but for some reason I get that horrible feeling in my gut...

[racindog]

Oh yes! No question about it. In fact I notice it with all my animals includig horses. I believe it can even be scientifically explained- its all energy.

[mychip1]

Without a doubt....with small four-leggeds and the big, horsey kind as well. My Chippy (Bridge at age 32 two years ago) could just turn his head toward me a certain way and I knew something was wrong. Same w/dogs and cats. But, I also must say that they possess the same skills with us - but to an incredibly higher degree. I know they always pick up on my emotional state - for good or bad....

 

But very interestingly, on the physical front, our senior boy, EZ, is very sensitive. I brought him to my mom's the night before she was to have a mastectomy on her left side. He walked right up to her, but his head on that side of her ribs and nestled right into her. I don't know if he could smell medications from work done earlier in the day on her - or if he sensed the cancer. I don't think he was simply reading her stress because he zeroed in on the location. Now, mind you, it must have been there in the weeks prior - but maybe a combination of her stress and the cancer triggered something in him.

[Guest Adrianne]

Yes, yes, and yes!

 

But what I found with Wilbur was even though I knew way down in my heart right from the start, it was easy to hold onto hope. I grabbed onto any and every positive thing I could find, no matter how minute, and held onto it with a death grip. I wanted it to be so....surely that was enough, wasn't it?

 

Something I don't think I've ever shared.....Wilbur walked around for about a month with what we thought was arthritic stiffness in his hip; this was the month before he broke his leg. One evening, I watched him have a bit of trouble lying down, and I started crying. I asked my hubby if he thought we were losing him, if this was the beginning of our goodbye. He reassured me that Wilbur was just having aging pains, but I think I knew even then.

 

 

[Guest bigorangedog]

Absolutely. Of course, I was happily wrong about the last one (Eyore). But I knew with Whitey; I knew with Apollo, even though the vet told me I was just being paranoid (she says she will NEVER AGAIN say "it's not osteo" when I tell her it's osteo); I knew with Crisco.

 

Wish I could've seen something coming with Sly, though. He was happy, healthy, totally fine. Ran out to pee one day and collapsed in the yard of a pulmonary embolism. Still replay that in my mind.

[MP_the4pack]

Topaz was 5 when I lost her. I was new to greyhound ownership and had expected to have both of these girls for 10 yrs. So there was quite a bit of shock when she died of liver disease (especially since the vet kept saying that with meds I could have her for another year.)

 

Anyway, after she was gone I brought in Onyx. So now it was Brindle (my first) and Onyx.

Brindle had a horrible year after Topaz died. I spent $7000 in vet bills on her. But they all seemed to get fixed including her 2 week stay at U of Penn vet school.

 

Well about a year after that I started to look at my then 8 yr old girl and say, "You'd better not leave me. You're supposed to make up for Topaz leaving so young. You have to make it to 18". There was no reason why I would say it, she wasn't showing me any signs of being sick. Not consciously, maybe subconsciously.

I said this rather frequently during the next 6 months, then she died suddenly. Of hemangiosarcoma. It must have been growing all that time I was telling her "You can't leave me. You have to stay with me for another 10 yrs."

 

We fought tooth and nail to keep Pearl feeling good and healthy and to have a quality of life for 7 yrs with her heart disease and hypertension. Although I kept preparing to lose her to a stroke or CHF, deep down I knew cancer was going to take her. Fibrosarcoma of the spleen. (this was after her last cardio checkup when her doctor said she probably will get 2 more years out of her heart).

 

All my girls would limp occasionally. Drove me nuts because I always thought the worst. But when Diamond got OS. I knew it. It was really a different limp.

I was about to say that when I took her for the last time to the vets, I just thought she had overdone running around the back yard. I think I really thought that. But then why did I give her an extra special dinner the night before "just in case"? Just in case what?! So, I think I knew then too. I was just in denial that I couldn't lose another so soon.

 

So Beth, I guess this diatribe answered your question from me.

[retiredracers]

A month or so before Crooke died, I was looking at some collars and I saw one that would have looked greyt on her at a wedding both of us (Crooke & I) were invited to later that summer. Suddenly I had this thought that she wouldn't be with me for the wedding... it was such a strong feeling that I started to cry. When she started feeling ill a few weeks later, I knew that she was only going to be with me for a short while and two weeks later she was gone. I knew it was something bad but we didn't figure it out until it was too late.

 

I had the same sort of feeling when Mouse became ill last year. I had a feeling that she wasn't going to make it. We tried so hard but in the end, we couldn't save her.

 

 

 

As soon as Snake started limping 3 weeks ago, I knew immediately that it was OS. I just knew it. When I took him in two days later, my vet looked at the xrays and said she thought they looked clean. I had her look at them again and told her where I thought it was... and although it was really hard to see, there it was.

[Pepsi2004]

I do here - for all our critters - dogs, cats,horses. I get a feeling in the pit of my stomach that just won't go away.

Edited August 23, 2010 by Pepsi2004

[Guest greytloves]

Most certainly. I feel that way with my Lucy right now and it is killing me. At times I think I could worry myself to paranoia so I try really hard to research and learn as much as possible so that I do not look like a fruitcake. It is a fine line from being paranoid into believing something is wrong to there actually being something wrong and unfortunately at times I worry the lines blur for me.

[Guest Tes623]

Not at all for me. Every time one of my pups is limping I immediately think it's osteo and usually by the next day or so they are back to normal and I feel like a dork until the next time someone is limping...My DH thinks I over react to much.

Edited August 23, 2010 by Tes623

[Guest whatahound]

Oh ya, I'm the same way. I notice every little thing that is going on with my hounds. My husband thinks I'm crazy.

 

No kids here either, so all my mothering instincts go to the dogs, being a chronic worrier just makes me worst.

[Guest ChasesMum]

 

womans intuition is definitley there for a reason - to keep you safe, to keep your children (and pets) safe and to warn you of issues.

[Guest Paige12]

Without a doubt....with small four-leggeds and the big, horsey kind as well. My Chippy (Bridge at age 32 two years ago) could just turn his head toward me a certain way and I knew something was wrong. Same w/dogs and cats. But, I also must say that they possess the same skills with us - but to an incredibly higher degree. I know they always pick up on my emotional state - for good or bad....

 

But very interestingly, on the physical front, our senior boy, EZ, is very sensitive. I brought him to my mom's the night before she was to have a mastectomy on her left side. He walked right up to her, but his head on that side of her ribs and nestled right into her. I don't know if he could smell medications from work done earlier in the day on her - or if he sensed the cancer. I don't think he was simply reading her stress because he zeroed in on the location. Now, mind you, it must have been there in the weeks prior - but maybe a combination of her stress and the cancer triggered something in him.

I agree 100% that our dogs,cats and animals are very intuned to us. More so than we give them credit. Several years ago when my Dad was terminally ill, I was sitting at the computer helping my daughter with homework. My brain was thinking of everything with my Dad as I continued to calmly help her, except I had tears running down my face. Our golden retriever, Mac got up from the other room, came in and half crawled up in my lap and just put his head up against me. He had never crawled up in my lap before, pawed for a pet, yes, but actually try to climb up and mold himself into me, never. He stayed perfectly still there while I put my head down and cried into his fur. Cancer took him and my Dad.

[Guest Fasave]

Yes! However, I've found that some vets are not so convinced. I went through a lot of this with my last pup who was very ill with several issues but I couldn't get any vets to take me seriously. His initial blood work wasn't that bad but I kept pushing. Eventually, a neurologist & an IM doc together decided it was a back issue and told me to do an MRI. When I refused, they got very frustrated with me. Needless to say, I switched hospitals and found out his problems had nothing to do with his back. I still wonder what I was and wasn't saying to make all these vets not take me seriously.

 

It works in the reverse as well. Recently my senior had a lump on the roof of my mouth. I didn't have the hurting gut feeling and couldn't understand why my regular vet and the dentist he was referred to spent so much time preparing me for a cancer diagnosis. My gut was right. It was B9.

 

No one can know our pets the way we do. It is a really amazing connection.

[krissn333]

Definitely

 

My kitty Rosie all of a sudden started acting strangely. She's a very chatty kitty, but her chattiness went off the charts. I'd often find her sprawled in random weird spots in the house. Her appetite was good and she had no problems in the bathroom department. I took her to our vet, who examined her and didn't see anything wrong with her. I just KNEW there was something going on with her, so I took her to another vet. This was Sutra's vet that he'd had when he was a ward of the kennel. This vet (who I adore) drew blood, took a urine specimen, etc. because I could just tell that something just wasn't right with her.

 

Turns out she has a thyroid problem. She's one of the rare kitties that has HYPERthyroidism. She now takes medication twice a day.

 

BTW, the vet that took the time to run some tests on Rosie is now the vet that EVERYONE sees. We only see the other vet for chiropractic appointments.

 

My pups are pretty easy to read, but the kitties take a little bit more of that mother's intiuition to see that there's something that's not right.

[DesiRayMom]

Mom always knows....good or bad. Sometimes it sucks, but I'm sure none of us would change a thing.