Guest happygrey Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Our 10.5 year old, Tatam, was just diagnosed with a B-12 deficiency. His symptoms are GI tract issues that wax and wane and never really go away. Tomorrow I will learn how to give him the injections he will need weekly for a while before being retested. Has anyone experienced something similar? I'm hoping that with the injections his GI issues will improve and he will gain a few pounds. His appetite is always great but he's definitely on the thin side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTRAWLD Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Goodness! Hugs for you and Tatam! I unfortunately don't have any experience with this, but I wonder if there anything preventative that we can give to our pups to prevent this? Quote Proudly owned by:10 year old "Ryder" CR Redman Gotcha May 201012.5 year old Angel "Kasey" Goodbye Kasey Gotcha July 2005-Aug 1, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inugrey Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 My girl Salem was B-12 deficient. The vet suspected IBD. The thing is his body isn't processing food or absorbing food correctly to get the B-12. There is probably something underlying. Not trying to scare you at all but ask why he is deficient. The shots do seem to help them feel better. Quote Colleen with Covey (Admirals Cove) and Rally (greyhound puppy)Missing my beloved boy INU (CJ Whistlindixie) my sweetest princess SALEM (CJ Little Dixie) and my baby girl ZOE (LR's Tara) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryJane Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Lucy, my seizure girl, developed IBD from one of her seizure meds (Kbr) . The IBD wrecks havoc with absorption of nutrients and one of these is the B12. We did not do a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis because as an seizure dog, we were worried about the stress of having her under anesthesia and in the hospital. We are treating her with B12 shots, she started with weekly for a bit and then went to monthly and just recently, we went back to weekly as her levels dropped a bit. She is also on probiotics as that can help keep the good bacteria in her GI tract. Her diet is now fish as the only protein (no beef/chicken etc ..) -- the inflammation can be helped by having a novel protein. They also treat the IBD with meds but, in Lucy's case, neither I or her internist wanted to go down that path as she is already on so many meds for the seizures. It's been about 1 year since this developed and Lucy had lost quite a bit of weight at the start, 70 pounds to about 61 or so. It took a few months to stabilize her so she didn't lose any more weight and gained a pound or so. She started to really make progress and gain weight late summer and is probably close to her original weight now -- maybe about 68. Even though it doesn't seem like much weight loss, she looked so skinny - all the ribs sticking out. If you are giving the shots, make sure that you use the smaller needles as there is less pain. It will take a bit longer to get it in though .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walliered Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Huck had IBD and had to have B12 shots weekly. My vet sent samples to Texas A&M and IBD was confirmed. We could not ever get it under control, but bone cancer is what got him in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest happygrey Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Thanks. We suspect IBD as well, however, I am not going to have him biopsied. He has already undergone an ultrasound that showed nothing significant. It was expensive and, more importantly, very stressful for him. So for the past year and half or so we've been treating him as though he has IBD. Our treatment thus far: Rock solid routine for low stress, a fish based, grainless food, probiotics and the occasional Flagyl when he has a flare. Recently he had one of his flares, and I was concerned because he really seemed in pain. That's when my vet wanted to run more tests. One of which was for a B-12 deficiency. Thanks for the tip about the needles. I'm not too psyched to have to be doing this. I don't want to have to be the one to give him shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walliered Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 My vet is just a few miles from me, so I took Huck to her every week. There was no charge. If I had to do it over, I would not have had him biopsied either. He came from the track with IBD. I wish also that I had tried raw feeding for him. That is about the only thing I never tried. He was only 6 when he died. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kestrel Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 We gave Badger B-12 shots for his IBD. It was actually very easy to give him the shots. They were subcutaneous, not intra-muscular though. I just grabbed the skin above his neck and gathered it together, and injected it into one of the folds there. He never complained--and he was usually a baby about everything. The first time I had DH giving him treats to distract him, but it really wasn't necessary after that. Good luck, and I hope it helps him! Quote Kendra, devoted walker of Henry (Tom Jones: Great Son x Lucia) Missing Badger (Vf Get R Done: Quicksand Slip x Ll Tee el See), 5/04 - 2/14, who opened our hearts and our home to greyhounds; Kenzie (Slatex Kenzie: Randy Handy x Slatex Chrisy), 4/03 - 10/14, who really knew what a good dog she was; Falcon (Atascocita Sabat: Dodgem by Design x Atascocita Barb), 9/10 - 1/20, who was grumpy and snarky but eventually a little bit cuddly, too; Grandpa Grey the Galgo Español, 2008 (?) to 2022, who made us feel lucky to be the ones to teach him about pet life; and Lucia (Larking About x Anastasia, 5/12 to 8/23), our first brood matron and the sweetest speckly girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest happygrey Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Went to the vet today and watched the tech give him his first shot. I hope I'm able to do it next week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cometdust1 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 It will hurt you a lot more than it will hurt him! You can do it! After the first time it's easy peasy. I had a shih Tzu that I used to give sub-Q fluids to. Somehow we muster up the courage to do what needs to be done for our pups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgrey Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 It will hurt you a lot more than it will hurt him! You can do it! After the first time it's easy peasy. I had a shih Tzu that I used to give sub-Q fluids to. Somehow we muster up the courage to do what needs to be done for our pups. This is true! You can do it. Quote Cynthia, & Cristiano, galgoAlways in my heart: Frostman Newdawn Frost, Keno Jet Action & Chloe (NGA racing name unknown), Irys (galgo), Hannah (weim), Cruz (galgo), & Carly CW Your Charming Princess http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?i=1018857 "It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them. And every new dog who comes into my life, gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are." -- Unknown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiveRoooooers Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Went to the vet today and watched the tech give him his first shot. I hope I'm able to do it next week! This is true! You can do it. Agree, you can do it!. When Seamus needed his Adequan, i would open the refrigerator door and he would stand with his face inside, inspecting the noms. We were done in three seconds, no problem. Just believe in yourself and be confident the moment you pick up the syringe and it will be done before you know it. I was also going to suggest asking about giving Tylan either during flares or on a daily basis, which you can do long-term no problem. I fill capsules with the Tyland powder, as it is nasty tasting stuff, and it helped Segugio for a long time until he no longer needed it. Good luck!! Quote Old Dogs are the Best Dogs. Thank you, campers. Current enrollees: Punkin. AnnIE Oooh M Angels: Pal . Segugio. Sorella (TPGIT). LadyBug. Zeke-aroni. MiMi Sizzle Pants. Gracie. Seamie . (Foster)Sweet. Andy. PaddyALVIN!Mayhem. Bosco. Bruno. Dottie B. Trevor Double-Heart. Bea. Cletus, KLTO. Aiden 1-4. Upon reflection, our lives are often referenced in parts defined by the all-too-short lives of our dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest happygrey Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Agree, you can do it!. When Seamus needed his Adequan, i would open the refrigerator door and he would stand with his face inside, inspecting the noms. We were done in three seconds, no problem. Just believe in yourself and be confident the moment you pick up the syringe and it will be done before you know it. I was also going to suggest asking about giving Tylan either during flares or on a daily basis, which you can do long-term no problem. I fill capsules with the Tyland powder, as it is nasty tasting stuff, and it helped Segugio for a long time until he no longer needed it. Good luck!! Thanks for the kind words of support! I hope I'll be able to do it. I've never heard of Tyland powder but I will look it up. Right now he's taking Proviable-DC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiveRoooooers Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Sorry for my typo, it is Tylan powder. Quote Old Dogs are the Best Dogs. Thank you, campers. Current enrollees: Punkin. AnnIE Oooh M Angels: Pal . Segugio. Sorella (TPGIT). LadyBug. Zeke-aroni. MiMi Sizzle Pants. Gracie. Seamie . (Foster)Sweet. Andy. PaddyALVIN!Mayhem. Bosco. Bruno. Dottie B. Trevor Double-Heart. Bea. Cletus, KLTO. Aiden 1-4. Upon reflection, our lives are often referenced in parts defined by the all-too-short lives of our dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OPointyDog Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Our then 5-year old male, Mika, also had low B-12 and had the shots - first weekly for 6 weeks, then monthly, then retested 6 weeks later. We retest annually to make sure he's doing OK. He had chronic runny, light colored diarrhea that indicated his intestines weren't doing their job and the food was going through too fast. We tried all different kinds of food (high protein/low fat, grain-free, green Iams, red Iams, novel proteins, hypo-allergenic, etc.) , and I even cooked for him for awhile since the only thing that seemed to help. Our vet thought maybe it was a food allergy, so we tried the hypo-allergenic food where the proteins have all been lysed into amino acids, and even that didn't do it. Miraculously, what finally worked was a high fiber food. He now gets prescription Purina DCO and his poops look like they come out of a mold they are so perfect. It's freaky. In any case, once we found the right food for him, the diarrhea stopped and his B12 rebounded to normal and he no longer needs shots. People in our adoption group remark that he looks like a different dog now. The shots are easy to give and with lots of treats and pets, most dogs don't seem to mind. I've given B-12 shots to our cat, and that was a whole different story, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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