The Stress Is Killing Me

[t a i l s.]

I worked for a kennel that was run from my town, my old bosses dogs were amazing, exported and imported to and from everywhere - I was the kennel hand and fed, groomed, generally administered basic medical care when needed, my boy is from a stud dog she used once, I no longer have much contact with the sire's owner, I have been asking him for Bruno's birth date for several months to no avail, and the ph. number I have is the same as what my old boss has.

I monitor Bruno's bowel and bladder movements to the best of my ability (far too much to my non dog friends and boyfriend) and he is not constipated or having any difficulties passing, his stomach is, in the way I would describe it; "made of steel". He eats a lot of leftovers and chicken necks, I try to give him as much raw meats as I can, he also has cheese and yoghurt regularly - cheese is the way I administer his medication, and he is more than happy with that. The frames are quite small, there's 5 five frames in one bag, roughly 3kgs is the bags weight, so it is not that much.

I make sure he doesn't exercise before or after eating a meal, and I don't allow him to drink a lot of water in one sitting, I try to space it out as much as I can but there is not that much I can do about it when I am working.

He is left with multiple sources of water and a frozen bone every few days (otherwise he doesn't eat the entire thing), he has a clam pool for laying in and lots of shaded area.

I do as best as I can for my bestfriend.

I have spoken to a few friends and people I met through working as a kennel hand and they've all recommended bloods be taken.

Many of the dogs I knew have no passed from cancers and bloat. They're a heartbreaking breed.

(Thank you Cosmo)

[t a i l s.]

P.S.

I'm so sorry Danois , I pray that my lad's fate isn't the same.

[t a i l s.]

And so today, he's applying weight to the leg, his demeanour is back to himself.

I just don't get it.

[persephone]

I just don't get it.

Glad he's feeling happier today .

Hopefully the blood tests results will give you an answer !

I would suggest he not get chicken necks ..they are just the size/shape to get stuck in an oesophagus or gut ..and , if so, may cause him to feel just awful, aswell as being dangerous.

May I also suggest he gets some other meats , like organ meat ..or lamb flaps .. plus sardines & eggs .. to help provide other nutrients , and maybe some extra fat to help with his weight ?

[t a i l s.]

Ok! Will do, I'd never even though of sardines! But I do try to give an egg when I remember, for his coat but yes protein too!

He's just sleeping on the floor next to Ella the ridgeback and the cats on my lap. It's like nothing ever happened at all.

[Sagittarian]

If he's in pain, he will be off his food and not happy in himself. He may need a change of medication that suits him better as not all dogs respond to treatment the same way. Rather than more food, may I suggest you look for options that will deliver good levels of quality protein along with plenty of calories per bite.

As has already been mentioned, eggs & fish are great and the addition of a probiotic (such as Paws Probiotic or similar) may help his gut feel better (when not on antibiotics). Avoid adding really fatty foods or carbs like bread or pasta as they will fill him rather than delivery quality nutrition.

Something like Vets All Natural Health Booster or Paws Active Multi Vitamin may help as well, or a similar mix that includes a variety of trace minerals and vitamins. I personally would be pulling back on the volume of chicken frames and switching to a more readily digestible source of nutrition, until things settle down with him.

Have a critical look at the dry food you are offering, and if it doesn't have a named meat meal (chicken meal, lamb meal, fish meal etc) as its main ingredient, then look for something that does. Unidentified meats and grains aren't helpful when you are trying to get a dog to eat as you can't gauge what is really in the food.

We've been through a giant breed cruciate ligament crisis and after surgery and rehab we had a much happier doggie who had a long and pain free life. With the great selection of joint formulas now readily available, there are good options for after care as well.

Sags

:)

[t a i l s.]

Thank you.

I was looking at some sardines today and they are $1.50 a tin! They're out of homebrand at the moment (odd but whatever) would tuna be as beneficial? I haven't given him any just in case, I also purchased some greek style yoghurt too, full of probiotics :) He definitely enjoyed it! Thank you for all your advice, fingers crossed I can get him into the vets for the bloods tomorrow after work.

[Staffyluv]

I offer sardines in oil but if they don't have it, I will buy tuna in olive oil and he woofs that down.

My lad will also eat tinned salmon...

[Sagittarian]

All oily fish is of benefit. You don't need to use the whole tin at a time, in fact best not to until you know how he goes on it. Just a sardine or two, or the same amount of tuna, salmon, mackerel etc would be worth a try.

Sags

[espinay2]

Get the bloods done. Can you check his temp?

Also remember not to stress and coax him to eat (as much as you may want to) as some dogs do react to that by not eating. As worried as you are, try and keep things 'normal' around him.

Have you consulted the vets at the (Charles Sturt) University clinic? Might be an option if not.

Write everything down that you are seeing. Everything that is 'not right' or 'not normal' for him.

Keep a written record (just notes in a diary) of what you see and when/how he is acting and what he is eating. You may see a pattern.

How about making up some 'meatballs' for him - something along the lines of the satin balls recipe: http://www.pekingeseaustralia.com/articles/satinballs.htm

I would be running the tests to see if there is a reason though.

Instead of tuna, I would use mackeral or salmon in that order if you can't get sardines. But is tuna is what he will eat, then use it.

[t a i l s.]

Thanks, I've spoken to a vet nurse who taught my Animal Care class with TAFE last year regarding what the surgery for a cruciate repair would be, and WOW to that!

I'm going to call there on Monday I feel and ask if they would do the tests I think, I have been using the latest vet with him as I have applied for jobs with them for a while, I'm not so sure if I want to work for them now considering how disappointed I was in the examination of him last time. Oh well.

I'll definitely do the diary, that's a great idea, thanks!

[persephone]

regarding what the surgery for a cruciate repair would be, and WOW to that!

Just do a search on here - there have been lots of dogs undergo that surgery :)

[MarieEvans]

Based on the problems that you have enumerated, maybe you should bring your dog to the vet as soon as possible. A dog that's not eating could end up getting severely malnourished, considering the fact that he's already underweight. Have you tried feeding him some of his favorite foods? Maybe that will help him get some food into his system.

[t a i l s.]

He does still eat when I encourage it, he is going to the vet today for the blood work.

[Nekhbet]

ask the vet about Xantac tablets if he's retching, you get them from the pharmacist. He could have a simple problem like an upset stomach that has gone on for too long which anti inflammatories would have caused immediately. Some NSAIDs can irritate the stomach severely, my rottweiler would vomit himself almost inside out at one point.

Xantac helped my pup immensely. I also made a watery slurry of Di Vetalact, mince and vitamins for him which kept the weight on. The Royal Canin Starter Mousse cans work well too even on a larger dog. Liquid diet and gradually go up in consistency.

[becks]

water the veg have been cooked in is a fave with my dogs - no need to use stock cubes!

have you tried feeding 3 or 4 small meals a day? scrambled egg, sardines, some pulverised or cooked veg, tripe - a good variety is how they get all the nutrients, some kibble and lots of chicken carcass doesn't sound like he is getting everything he needs

[t a i l s.]

Thank you for all your support everyone, so the tests came back with pancreatitis, which sucks, but it's so good to finally be able to treat something!

The vet recommended a chicken and rice broth with as little fat as possible, he's also getting me a bag of i/d hills gastrointestinal health.

I'm yet to do some research on pancreatitis in dogs, but if anyone has any pointers now they're more than welcome to share?

Edited to add -

I just looked up pancreatitis, symptoms, causes, Rx, etc and although he does display a majority of the symptoms he has not vomited or had diarrhoea, let alone feces with blood present, can these symptoms not always be exhibited even if affected?

Edited December 11, 2012 by t a i l s.

[persephone]

there is quite a bit of discussion on that ... Glad you finally have a diagnosis ..and yes, he would have been in pain

anyhow .. have a read thru these threads :)

LINK

LINK

LINK

LINK

[t a i l s.]

Thank you Pers!

[espinay2]

Get a copy of the book 'Dogs Diet and Disease' by Caroline Levin. Google search will pull it up (look at the Lantern pubs site). An invaluable resource.