kayla1

Thanks, good to hear ABs worked for your girl. I went with the flushing under GA for the first infection because the vet said that oral ABs weren't as effective. Hopefully they'll work for Maxie because I'd rather avoid another GA if possible. Why extensive free running, is it the exercise itself that helps, or building muscle tone perhaps?

Thanks, I'll do that. Thanks. It's odd because with the last infection he was clearly bothered, scooting and licking, but this time he hasn't had any scooting and didn't start licking until yesterday. The only other thing is his skin is a bit pinkish, and Annie developed the itchies on the weekend too. Can't think what it could be caused by though because they haven't been anywhere different. His diet is a mix of dry and raw, with the usual extras (eggs, sardines etc) thrown in. Although I did feed them 4 legs dog food a few times last week, but they have had that before.

Thanks for your reply. I can try that. If they're emptied regularly, does that prevent future infections? He's never had a problem before this year so I don't know what started it all.

About three months ago, one of my dogs had an anal gland infection. He had them flushed out under general anaesthetic and an antibiotic was put in. All was ok and since then I've been adding psyllium to his food each day to bulk up his poos. He has been fine up until yesterday when I noticed him licking, and today the vet confirmed they are infected again. So this time we're trying antibiotic tablets and have been prescribed clinacin for 10 days. Is there anything else that may help? I'm not considering removal, just looking for other things I can try before another flush under GA.

Sorry to hear about your boy. It's hard, my boy was in the late stages when diagnosed, but I remember dogmad saying in another thread she had a dog that was given a few weeks to live but actually lived happily for about a year after diagnosis. Is your boy still happy and eating well? Hopefully the fact that you are aware of it and have changed his diet accordingly will give him the best quality of life, and perhaps delay the onset of symptoms. Thanks kayla, He has accepted the food very well and has actually perked up a little - seems a little more interested in things now. His wetting inside the house has stopped and he hasn't vomited since being on the new diet. Here's hoping we have a good while left with him now. I just really don't want him to suffer. It's great that he's eating the food and the vomiting has stopped. Hopefully he'll stay that way for a good time to come.

I don't know about training in drive for affection but I used training in drive for my little pap x terrier and it was the best thing I ever did, for her and for me! She absolutely loved it from day one. She had a decent prey drive to begin with though so it was a matter of channelling that to toys. It took quite a while but was well worth the effort, even just for building the relationship between us.

I couldn't care less who posted the story, because there is a woman fighting for her life after a horrific dog attack. Poor woman, and her poor family.

Sorry to hear about your boy. It's hard, my boy was in the late stages when diagnosed, but I remember dogmad saying in another thread she had a dog that was given a few weeks to live but actually lived happily for about a year after diagnosis. Is your boy still happy and eating well? Hopefully the fact that you are aware of it and have changed his diet accordingly will give him the best quality of life, and perhaps delay the onset of symptoms.

It's just too horrifying to imagine. Not surprising he's having visions and trouble sleeping. The poor man.

The thing that opened my mind was actually having a dog diagnosed with kidney failure. Beware in promoting alternative homemade diets to those with dogs that have kidney disease. It is a very serious condition and people should not attempt to try different recipes without consulting their vet first.

I've got all three of those, lol. The favourite here is the jack's bed, followed by the cuddler, and the buddy bed is the least favourite. The jack's bed seems to stay fluffier for longer than the cuddler.

Don't be too quick to write off all Hills food as crap. The prescription range helps a lot of dogs with specific conditions. :) That's good. I'm not sure about treats - I was searching for kidney safe treats not long ago but couldn't find much. Maybe there are some dog (or human) biscuits from the supermarket that are low in protein and fat, or perhaps homemade dog cookies. Also other things like vegies and fruit, if he likes them.

Did the vet recommend he follow a kidney diet or just reduced protein? The kidney diet is very strict to ensure the correct protein and phosphorus levels. For the kidney diet there are the Hills k/d and the Eukanuba Renal Plus dry foods. Royal Canin and Hills make kidney diet canned foods. There is also a homemade kidney diet. I was told the RC renal dry was discontinued because it didn't meet requirements for the kidney diet.

We DO have cat confinement laws in some areas already. My area has the same requirement as that for dogs, which is containment on the owner's property at all times. Not sure how much of an effect it's had on roaming cats though.

Most likely grief. They would have been in shock at having to collect their poor dog's body and the fact that it was frozen may have been too overwhelming for them.

Thanks westiemum. I'll keep going with it for the moment then and see how she goes. Poor girl is getting stuck in places more often, and is spending more time staring at walls. I found her standing out in the rain the other day because she had lost me. She is happy enough though and is still more puppy-like since she's been on the vivitonin.

I read earlier in this thread about vivitonin losing it's effectiveness. For those that have dogs on vivitonin, how long did you find it was effective for? Kayla has been on it for nearly three months now, and there was a big difference initially in terms of her energy levels and she was much brighter. But just lately some of her symptoms are getting worse. I'll give the vivitonin a bit more time before considering a change, but I was wondering how long it usually works for.

I'm so glad you've got a diagnosis yellowgirl. Hope Chester is doing ok today, he's a very lucky little boy. :)

Sorry to hear about your girl. Coco was in late stage kidney failure when diagnosed, but at that time he was still bright and happy. He ate the food ok, but I'm not sure that he enjoyed it as much because the diet is so restrictive. I guess your vet has explained it to you but diet is extremely important for dogs with kidney disease. I've found different vets can have different opinions on what, if anything, can be added to the diet. Others have had good experiences with chinese herbs improving quality of life, so that may be something else to consider.

Very good news for Mac Do you think that the trachea problem may have been the reason for his night-time troubles WM? Thanks Rosetta. That's a really astute interesting question - and one I've started asking myself now the dust is settling. I think you're right - it's quite possible that his breathing difficulties were gradually worsening and the cause of the increase in frequency of his night wanderings and real inability to settle overnight over the last couple of weeks. I still think he has dementia - those symptoms I think were obvious prior to this recent episode - but I am wondering if he has an additional underlying neurological disease which has just become clinically more obvious? GOLPP? I guess time will tell. I guess you may never know re neurological issues because some of the symptoms can be similar. Kayla has a neurological issue and also dementia - perhaps some of her dementia symptoms are part of the neurological problem, I don't really know, but for her at this stage the risks associated with neurological tests outweigh the benefits. So I think you're right about the night wandering and that there are other issues that can contribute. Glad to hear he is doing so well anyway.

One of my dogs had a similar thing with a constricted pupil and it turned out to be uveitis. Although she also had some squinting and the pupil wasn't reacting to light. The most likely cause was trauma but we really don't know. It's always a worry with eyes.

That's great! Very pleased to hear it. :)

Mine get fed twice a day but Annie has vomited bile a couple of times recently in the early morning. I've been feeding her more frequently and she hasn't done it since. I thought the same as bianca.a, that it may be the colder weather causing an empty tummy.

I'm sorry to hear this westiemum. Thinking of you and little Mac.

I'm so sorry to hear about your beloved Struppie. I'm sure Strolchie was there waiting for him when the time came, and they are running free together now. I hope it gives you some comfort to think of them together again. Look after yourself gwp4me.