Jessca

Thank you so much julesp!! How is amber going?

Thanks for asking! He is not doing well. The new drugs are not agreeing with him. He started the meds Friday night. Vomited over night then a couple of times Saturday, But still ate. Sunday he did not eat anything, or today. We force fed him a couple of mouthfuls to try and get something into him. He is depressed, struggling to breath (the fluid in his belly has built up again) and is really pale with no capillary refill(because he is so pale). We are seeing the vet again tomorrow. So will have to see what he thinks. Because he was doing so well till he went on these new drugs. I am hoping some Maxolon will make him feel better (they worked within 24hrs last time). So we will keep our fingers crossed and hope he keeps fighting! Thank you again for thinking of him!

I am so sorry to hear that Jules!! How is AMber doing? How are you finding the meds? It took just over a week before we saw any difference with kaiser. There is still a fair amount of fluid there, but it is not getting worse. We may end up putting him on Frusimide. Clavulox is sooooo expensive!! The metronidazole isn't too bad. Luckily he has his last dose of them today. That is very lucky!! Kaiser hates it so much!! He finally ate a bit of Royal Canin G.I Low fat, but still not eagerly. Will have to try the L/D cans again. Has Amber shown any signs of hepatic encephalopathy? Kaiser had head tremors for about a week, but they have seemed to have stoped, I do not know why. He is also not yellow at all anymore. Fingers crossed for both of them! They are both young, healthy dogs!! With positivity and a bit of luck they will make it thru this!!

Haha :D Its a bit that way!! I'll have to add a HUGE thank you to the Melbourne Vet Specialist Centre!! Especially Dr. Rob Labuc!! He has done some much to help Kaiser!! He has always taken the time to answer all my questions and help out in any and every way!!

Thank you Persephone and ravenau1!! He was looked at again today. And the vet is very happy!! He will remain on Aldactone (a drug to remove the fluid from his stomach) for the rest of his life. And the vet is currently researching another drug called D-Penicillamine which attaches to the copper in his body and it is then urinated out (in the same way the fluid in his belly is). He has gained body condition and is very happy! The only problem we have now is the Penacillamine can make them feel sick and generally unwell, so hopefully he continues to eat (if he doesn’t we will have to up his prednisolone dose). I think I am going to have to get one of those pill counter containers for him, lol. And maybe win tatslotto!! We are trying to get him to eat Hills prescription L/D (which is a low copper diet) but he hates it!! Cheeky snob! Now we just have to figure out what to do for his birthday. He will be 4 years old on the 19th of this month. He is going to get spoilt rotten!!

Thank you k9angel!! We weighed him yesterday and measured his belly, he was 29kg and 75cm. He was re-weighed and measured this morning at 25kg and 63cm!! The drugs have finally started to work!! His belly is significantly smaller! If he continues at this rate next Tuesday we will give him another ultrasound and put him on some new drugs to help get rid of the copper build up in his liver. And do another blood test. The vet is so surprised he is still alive! Im so proud of my man, he is such a fighter!! :D

loved it!! Thanks for posting that, it made me smile :D

Haha yep, he is there right now! He looks so grumpy in that photo, but it was the only one where he wasn't wagging his bum and pushing for a pat! He is getting really pushy again! I never thought I'd miss him shoving his head infront of whatever your doing so much. He has even started shadowing me again! Up until a few days ago he'd just lay on the bed all day and sleep. I'll be interested to see what the vet says when I'm back at work on tuesday. Hopefully we'll do another ultra-sound and see how much fluid there is.

I am thanks ravenau1! Here are two before pictures(they are photos of prints so aren't the best quality). And one I just took now. I am not sure how well you can see the fluid in his belly. But you can see his ribs, which means that his tummy should tuck up, but it doesn't. The vets call it the pregnant look.

I just wrote a really long reply and lost it all Thanks k9angel!! Thank you!! I took him there last week!! He had so much fun running around, chasing pelicans into the water! He seems to be improving! He has started barking when dogs walk down the street, and his tail carriage is higher. He now jumps off the bed when our other dogs barks. He is also sleeping in his crate instead of our room. We also haven't seen any head tremors for a couple of days! The fluid still has not gone down, but he is eating steadily. The vet is still not hopeful, but we are remaining positive! He is young, fit and (until this) healthy. So lets just hope he keeps fighting and his live heals itself! Here is a website with some info on it - Canine hepatitis Just a quick unrelated note- I hate iPads!!!

I'm glad to hear your feeling better. That gave me a good You should trick him! Set up the same situation, pretend to not be able to stop him, then when he ignores you, spring off the couch! And then you'd have to eat all of the saladas slowly in front of him to rub in who's boss

Thank you! He is doing ok. Hestill has alot of fluid, but it will take a fee days for the meds to start working. He has started having mild head tremors, but seems quite oblivious to them. So I will have a chat to the vet today about them. He is so much happier tho!

Thank you so much!!!! I'll take a look at the links when I'm on a computer. Thank you again!

Thank you everyone! Kaiser is doing ok. He has alot of fluid in his belly(it looks like he's pregant) but he is eating well and not vomiting. He has put on 5kg's since thursday(although alot of that would be flud). And because he is so happy we have put him on some diurectics to try and get rid of the fluid as well as a heap of other different medications. The vet is still not hopefull (his words wore its better than last week but still not good). His bilurubin levels have come down alot too, so thats great! We are keeping positive, and as long as kaiser is willing to keep fighting an remains happy we will continue to try and help him.

Hi All! I am putting this here as it gets more traffic. Has anyone got their dogs on low copper diets (bedlington terrier owners for example)? Kaiser has been diagnosed with chronic hepatitis. Which could be copper related. So to be on the safe side I would like to put him on a as low as possible copper diet. I know muscle meats, offal and a few other things are high in copper. And tofu, rice and cheese are low. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

That's a good idea nekhbet! Thank you. I work at a vet clinic so will give a couple of our pet crem people a call. Thanks!!

I put a warning in the title incase some people find this distressing. We don't plan on staying in the house we are at forever and have two of our dogs buried in the backyard. We plan on getting them cremated. What I would like to know is roughly how long do you need to wait after buring them? As one of our dogs only passed June last year. Would this be to soon? Thank you kindly.

I don't know anywhere in nsw sorry, but only a specialist vet can do them in Victoria. Also most specialist vets require a referral from your local vet before you can see them. Sorryi can't be of any more help.

Thank you again everyone!! Some good news!!! Kaiser has eaten some food and has not vomited, so we have picked up enough meds( which is alot!!) to last until Tuesday morning and if all is well we will reasses the situation then!! I am so happy!! And kaiser is also looking brighter!!!!

Thank you so much everyone for your kind words! It means so much! Kaiser is currently fast asleep on the couch :-)

Kaiser has been diagnosed with chronic hepatitis Apparently the type he has is quite breed specific, it's fast acting and fatal. I'm not coping to well watching my happy dog dieing. Because he is still quite happy we have decided to go ahead with a few medications and see if we can get some weight back on him. I've been told if he is eating and still alive on Friday then we will reassess it and try some medication to get rid of the copper in his liver. My poor man I just don't know what to do! I'm trying so hard to be strong for him but every time I look at him I fall apart.

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My dobie boy also has idiopathic head tremors, I have spoken with a specialist and they have advised that as long as it is not affecting his everyday life then there is nothing they can do. His head goes side to side, and he can be distracted out of it, by a pat or calling his name. They can give them beta-blockers and other heart related meds but that can make heart problems (like DCM) worse. If your dog does have this then there is not much to worry about, but it might be best to get a vets opinion just in case.

Sorry if this has been posted already. I was sent an email stating the following - I have not researched this, but thought I should put it up just in case. Here is a link to the website Recall list

I like Baxter, it reminds me of Will Farell though. We are hopefully getting a pup in a couple of months!! They were mated about 2 weeks ago, so still havent confimed pregnancy, but have our fingers crossed. We are getting a GSD bitch, and have been trying to think of names, but names I like my partner doesnt and names he likes I dont.