Loving my Oldies

Thank you. I just want to cry, really, because Danny is my little boy and I am his mum.

The point is that Danny is feeling sick: he has a sliding hiatus hernia, weakened (through age) oesophagus and reflux. I atually did try to push a tablet down his throat this morning, I was so worried, but he just about choked to death . For the past couple of days, vegemite toast and roast chicken have worked perfectly, but today he just didn't want anything. He is obviously getting worse. Luckily my car was back in time from the garage for me to get down to see my vet and he told me that in the whole of his career, he has seen only one other dog like not responding to medication. Poor little Danny had two very rancid throw ups at the vet. Mostly his throw ups are undigested food or food he hasn't been able to get past his oesophagus. He has gone from 5.4kgs to 5.2kgs in 6 days. Hopefully, tomorrow's visit to the specialist will provide us with some answers.

My poor little Danny is still far from well and we are off to SASH tomorrow for ultrsounds and, if indicated, scopes. I hope they find something treatable.

I'm starting a new thread following on from this one: http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/259784-what-food-can-your-dog-not-resist/ Danny is not keeping anything down. He is okay through the day and I manage to give him all his medications and small amounts of food and he eats the little bits I give him with gusto. Unfortunately, every morning when I get up he has brought up everything he's eaten through the day. He had been on his medication regime for a while now and it is not working. I have to now think about further tests at SASH (Small Animals Specialist Hospital for non-Sydneysiders) and, depending on what they find or don't find, whether to go down the surgery route. Danny is elderly but, still spritely when he wants to be, and that, of course, is the biggy. But I would be interested to know of other people's experiences.

Westiemum, how is Sarah progressing? I thought of you and this thread when I wiped up the umpteenth vomit Danny has done in the past few days . Despite my comment (#3 in this thread) Danny is not doing well, and I have been posting about this in my thread "What food can your dog not resist". I am waiting on my vet to call me back as I have sent him the chart I've kept covering the past four days. I am without a car at the moment, but hopefully it will be ready late afternoon. Danny's case is different from Sarah's as we have a diagnosis and there is nothing wrong with his poos. He seems to be [just] maintaining his weight and I have tried to address that by syringing Nutrigel with one of his tablets. That was working for a couple of days, but now he is bringing that up as well. If I had to put my dogs on an elimination diet, I would be in your situation as, over the years, they have been fed just about everything. However, from now on I am just going to stay with plain old beef (I buy Prime raw rolls). I have been mixing it with mashed vegies and Prime Raw Chicken for bones, but I'm going to stop that too. Even Bunter has thrown up a couple of times in the past week . Watching Danny is just breaking my heart. He is too old at 15 for the repair operation to his oesophagus, but I am beginning to wonder whether we might have to risk it. Terrified. :cry:

Happy birthday Tibor. :birthday: He sounds totally gorgeous, VM. ( Unless you are planning on marketing it :laugh: :laugh: can you post your recipe for his special mince, please. Looking for dishes that dogs would walk over hot coals for. Thanks. )

Off to phone vet. Danny has thrown up three times since I last posted :( Strangely enough he seems happy enough, though. The first two I saw and he licked them up. The third I have just found on the deck so don't know when he did it.

Strangely, they will fit into whatever takes their fancy LOL.

Such excitement!! I love these journeys. Keep on including us in the travelling :thumbsup:

Ah what a wonderful day we were all introduced to Neko the Daisy Ninja. Such a little bundle of loveliness. Happy happy day Kirislin to you and all your gorgeous dogs.

Danny has been xrayed, RiverStar, which showed his hiatus hernia and wiggly oesophagus. He has been poked and prodded everywhere which I think would have brought complaints had he had IBS. But thank you for the heads up. I will difinitely bring it up with the vets as I have to report back after a few days of keeping a daily record.

Thanks Westiemum. Yes, you and yours have been going through the wringer as well **hugs**. But, hey!! Not all gloom and doom. I've been waiting on an invoice for some financial and legal advice and was led to believe it would be at least $2k ..... arrived yesterday via email and I was afraid to open it. When I did just a while ago it was "only" $660.00. So the difference will almost pay for the car LOL LOL. Danny is hovering at my feet as I am havinng lunch [and breakfast] of cheesy scrambled eggs on toast. Normally, I would give him some, but am ignoring the pleading begging eyes as I don't want any upsets to his delicate system. It is almost too rich for me ........... What worries me, though, is that it won't get better given Danny's age. I just hope that the mix of medications can start making him feel better.

Thanks Sarasparilla :) . I've been having all sorts of internet connect problems, probably due to the storms so haven't been able to get into this forum. We are limping along. Danny is taking all his meds, thanks to vegemite toast and nutrigel mixed in with water for his Carafate and a large syringe. Eating is still not his favourite thing, sadly. He has thrown up through the last two nights, but because I haven't heard him I think he is just regurgitating a bit of food that hasn't managed to get into his stomach. Bunter came out in sympathy again last night and threw up all his dinner. So I'm keeping an eagle eye on him. The washing machine has hardly stopped - but thank god the sun is out today. I went to PetStock yesterday to buy some more beef and chicken raw and had a prowl around the tinned foods. Ended up buying one can of Science Diet Beef Stew. That was a big hit with Danny and he wolfed it down last night. True to form, he wasn't interested in it this morning. But I'm thinking the mornings might be worst time for him in terms of not feeling too well. Can dogs live health lives on vegemite toast, do you think? :laugh: :laugh: On the way back from PetStock (Mt Colah) car was having problems, strugging along, conking out and not wanting to start after stopping at lights. Managed to limp into the NRMA service station at Hornsby. As I thought, the clutch has gone and am now without a car so I am hoping we don't have any emergencies doggy healthwise. However, I have some good neighbours so if the worst happens I will be okay. So, I don't know about my life calming down, Sarsaparilla :( , but we are settling into a routine.

Great to hear how well you are all doing. Poor Zeus - but a good boy to not escalate the tiff.

Well, I don't know about fruit punch flavoured for dogs, but I'd sure like that LOL.

Thanks Yonjuro. I hope things improve too, because seeing Danny in such discomfort is breaking my heart. He is a little rescue from my days of being a volunteer walker at Burwood Pound in Sydney. He has been with me since February 2002, so (apart from Gussy Cat Feb 1999) the longest of all my little ones.

Thanks, BC Crazy. I have managed to give Danny his medications this morning. Carafate mixed in water and Nutrigel and syringed while propping him on my lap. And the others a bit later in vegemite toast. Flowers and chocolates to Gallomph . I know they all love vegemite toast and I always share when I have it. Why I didn't think of it for hiding pills is beyond me. I will be spending a lot of time at the computer over the next couple of weeks as vet wants me to keep a chart of how Danny goes through the day to see if we can pin down anything via his behaviour and what he keeps down and/or brings up.

This: genetics and luck and the quirks of sperm and eggs :D I find the genetics side of one's makeup particularly interesting as I am one of four siblings - I'm the youngest at 68 :laugh: :laugh:. Anyone looking at the four of us and listening to us speak and watching our mannerisms would know we are blood relatives. Yet we are all so different in terms of health, build, ideas, abilities, etc. I am short and plump, the two middle ones (twins male and female) are tall and slim and the eldest woman is short and slim. All my siblings went grey yonks ago and I still have my natural colour. In terms of interests and abilities, it is hard to believe we are even related. And, getting back to dogs, you see lots of difference in temperaments in litter mates. And this. The air we breath and the food we eat is all very very polluted.

Leec - so so impressed :thumbsup: . All dogs should be so lucky. Well done. Just love the cubby house and your dogs seem to be in favour as well. Just terrific.

Sarsa, I'll take all the hugs I can get. Thank you :) Well it is 10.30 here and I have only just surfaced. Insomnia until 5am . I have done a search of fhe house and no more sickies. Danny didn't move the entire night, Ithink. Tamar prowled around the bed a couple of times checking on Jeune who was under the covers, Gussy Cat slept in the second bedroom (her choice - she is free to wander) and Bunter jumped off the bed a couple of times, so I knew something was up with him. Found some more sicks on the deck, but I don't know when they happened as I could have easily missed them in th storms last night and there is a huge and very messy poo all down the back steps. My poor babies. When I see Danny, I just want to cry. He has been to the water bowl in the kitchen twice in the past few minutes and I now have to start the medication routine. Strong coffee first, then shower, then phone call to vets.

This evening has comnpleted bypassed subline and has just simply gone from the totally ridiculous to the absolutely completely and totally ridiculous. :cry: Getting ready for bed, toss on a couple of throws and a couple of dog beds because you will all be familiar with how dogs love to "dig to China" and organise their bedding. Bunter goes up the steps and I see that he has had diarrhoea. Gloves, scissors get to work and Bunter hates having his bottom clipped but manage to get most of it. Go to get an old cloth that I can throw away to wash him, come back to the bedroom and someone has done a huge wee on the bed. Luckily it hasn't gone through to my bedding and I just wrap up all the throws to take to the laundry and some of it runs off onto my shoe and the floor. :cry: On the other hand, I am close to laughing hysterically. But I stay calm, put on another load of washing, wipe/wash the floor, change shoes and get car keys to drive to the nearest motel. Good night.

I had a long post typed out but my iPad froze. Been doing that a bit lately. Danny has been throwing up all night . He came running into the kitchen when I started to get their dinners all eager and happy and I thought: well that's a good sign, only for him to start a great heaving and throwing up session. Not that there was much to bring up, but he has been drinking more water than usual, so some of his carafate would have been in that including a few bits of liver treat that he had while out walking late afternoon. Then Jeune ate too much and threw it all down the hallway - one hallway rug in the wash to be followed when that is finished by the lounge rug. Into the second bedroom to get Bunter's bowl only to find a huge which was obviously his because he in on a VAN diet. I've never known Bunter to throw up, at least I can't remember that he ever has. So maybe he thinks he isn't getting enough attention. Darling Bunter that is NOT the way to do it. :D After everyone had settled down, I decided to try to give Danny his meds and he was happy to gobble them down in some vegemite toast that I made. I can't remember who suggested that, but it worked. Since then, I have found about four more large throw-ups and several little ones just about a teaspoon size. One bed has gone in the bin (old and would cost more to wash that replace LOL), one bed waiting for the second rug to finish and then into the washing machine. Also one pair of shoes on deck waiting for the morning to be cleaned because I stood in some. My poor babies. I am at my wits' end really. Danny is obviously not well and unhappy, but vets are at a loss too and have advised just to keep on with the medication and to sit him on my lap to keep him upright to try to help his food go down and stay down. That of course assumes that he will eat. I will be discussing with them the possibility of compounding his meds. The chemist I patronise is a compounding chemist and, over the years, I have had lots of scripts filled by them for dogs. Their prints out say: Danny Dog. LOL. All I need now is for the Propalin that Tamar is on for night incontinence to decide not to work and I be ready for admission somewhere.

The problem with Danny is that I am trying to medicate a little elderly dog who often doesn't feel very well. I just went into the kitchen to start getting their dinner, Danny came running eagerly in and I thought, "That's a good sign. The meds must be making him feel better." With that he started heaving and brought up a lot of sloppy sick which contained a couple of the treats I gave them all while walking this afternoon. So I don't know whether to try to give him the meds he is due now or what. Poor little man. The vet was at a loss too this afternoon and she was going to have a talk with her colleagues and get back to me.

:laugh: :laugh: Yonjuro. If I threw anything (even a ball) at my dogs, they'd be complaining to the RSPCA.

Delta Charlie, I have already mixed up Danny's evening carafate in a measuring cone and put in a dob of nutrigel as well Sure doesn't take much to amuse me. I think the carafate the vet gave him via syringe and the meds I managed to give him in the salmon and Philly have made him feel better as he has just happily cleaned up my little bit of left over pumpkin soup. HazyWal - devon in on the shopping list. I think I led a deprived childhood as I never had devon and tomatoe sauce sandwiches. I do remember lovely slabs of mums mince pie, though. Stellnme, do you mean canned salmon?