Bowel incontinence and getting old

[scrappimonty]

Hi all, 

Scrappi (corgi x terrier) is 12, and has gone down hill quite a bit in the past year. He has had arthritis for years and once or twice partially slipped a disc in his lower spine. The vet says that arthritis/back problems compressing nerves is causing him to have the really declining rear end awareness and increasing faecal incontinence. 

He can poop deliberately, however sometimes he doesn't realise he is finished and will trail it. And increasingly he is entirely accidentally leaving nuggets on his bed/inside (very uncharacteristic.) So far his poos are well formed and solid and don't cause much mess, but obviously it's something that we'd like to do something about for him. 

He trialled 2 months of Propalin that the vet thought could help but it did nothing. 

He's currently on meloxicam daily and now gabapentin twice daily, as well as coconut oil and pernease powder (or rosehip vital sometimes). 

Those who use meloxicam - do you get blood tests for kidney/liver function? a vet nurse friend was shocked that my vet wasn't. 

Also any ideas on gently building back leg muscle would be appreciated, he's so wobbly and looks like he's tightrope walking these days

 

He still acts like such a pup and runs around and wrestles his staffy brother (try to keep it gentle), but just needing to learn how to look after this old boy grandpa. 

Thanks!

[Papillon Kisses]

Long time no see! 

 

May I suggest a video consult with Dr Jaime Jackson? She’s awesome and is helping Malcolm stay as sprightly as he can. One exercise I do with him is raise one leg while supporting the other, but I would be wary of suggesting/trying anything without a rehab vet assessing what’s going on. https://www.primalpaws.com

 

Routine bloods are important with any senior (we do 6 monthly) and would include kidney and liver function. It would be a good to get a baseline if you don’t have one.

 

Have you discovered Canine Arthritis Management (Facebook page/group & website)?

[Rebanne]

My 4 yo Greyhound girl who suffers from the after effects of a dislocated hip as a pup is often on meloxicam. But only, usually, for a week or so at a time. She doesn't get any blood tests done.

If she was 12 and was getting it daily with good pain relief I wouldn't bother getting bloods done. My reasons for that would be: she would be towards the end of her life span, it was doing it's job giving her pain relief and if she was taken off something doing her good what quality of life would she have?In a nut shell I prefer quality over quantity. Talk to your vet, ask what alternatives Scrappi could be given if his liver values are off and then decide on whether you want to go down that path with him.

It's not easy owning a senior, that's for sure.

[scrappimonty]

1 hour ago, Papillon Kisses said:

Long time no see! 

 

May I suggest a video consult with Dr Jaime Jackson? She’s awesome and is helping Malcolm stay as sprightly as he can. One exercise I do with him is raise one leg while supporting the other, but I would be wary of suggesting/trying anything without a rehab vet assessing what’s going on. https://www.primalpaws.com

 

Routine bloods are important with any senior (we do 6 monthly) and would include kidney and liver function. It would be a good to get a baseline if you don’t have one.

 

Have you discovered Canine Arthritis Management (Facebook page/group & website)?

Aww yay I didn't think anyone would remember me hehe.  Had to make a new account too because it's been so long I couldn't get into the old one! 

 

Thanks for the advice too, will check that all out 

Edited August 11, 2021 by scrappimonty

[Odin-Genie]

Hi Scrappimonty, our Elkhound is almost 14 now, has mild hip dysplasia and severe arthritis. Few months ago he could barely get up. We consulted with his vet and started him on hydrotherapy and recently we started weekly acupuncture and heat massage sessions with Tim Norris at Both ends of the Lead. It has done wonders. He is walking about 1.5 km daily, is alert and playful.

[Dogsfevr]

I don’t bother doing bloods on my oldies on metacam/meloxicam because the potential damage too organs is irrelevant to me ,there on it for quality life .

Some clinics push it at all costs which annoys me other vets use common sense on age,life span off dog and the quality factor .

I had one clinic insisting on the bloods and thankfully I’m the kind off person who will ask ,what is the plan if high etc .They couldn’t give any answer except you should .

 

I have no fear in pushing the boundaries on a clinic that pushes things 

 A young dog different ball game .

 

As for rear end strengthing find someone who can match the right fit to your dogs issues ..

im a big user off Bowen therapy,redlight,Equissage and do body conditioning with my dogs from pup to adulthood but you need to know the whole body to target the right tools without added soreness .

 

Even using a rear end helper Walker can assist in straight walking and better muscle balance 

 

[scrappimonty]

Hi all, thanks for the replies!

We went to the vet for his Synovan today and our vet was sick so had a different one.  He highly recommended a referral for CT scan, however it would be $1500 spent purely on diagnostics. He also agreed that we should try acupuncture and physio/rehab and hydrotherapy. 

So we're going to try those first before considering CT because it's probable those would be the treatments regardless of the actual diagnosis. 

So the plan is:

- river swimming when it's hot

- acupuncture

- a physio/rehab appointment (such as primal paws maybe!)

- daily meloxicam for pain 

- monthly synovan

- twice daily gabapentin (need to do some reading on this one)

- Rosehip Vital or Pernease/Sashas 

[The Spotted Devil]

20 minutes ago, scrappimonty said:

Hi all, thanks for the replies!

We went to the vet for his Synovan today and our vet was sick so had a different one.  He highly recommended a referral for CT scan, however it would be $1500 spent purely on diagnostics. He also agreed that we should try acupuncture and physio/rehab and hydrotherapy. 

So we're going to try those first before considering CT because it's probable those would be the treatments regardless of the actual diagnosis. 

So the plan is:

- river swimming when it's hot

- acupuncture

- a physio/rehab appointment (such as primal paws maybe!)

- daily meloxicam for pain 

- monthly synovan

- twice daily gabapentin (need to do some reading on this one)

- Rosehip Vital or Pernease/Sashas 

This is pretty much my nearly 15 year old Dally’s treatment.

 

Zig has some osteoarthritis and nerve issues so receives a monthly Synovan injection plus Gabapentin thrice daily and Galliprant daily. He also has acupuncture/massage fortnightly and probiotics, omega-3 oils and 4-cyte each day. Hydrotherapy is awesome but I can’t access it at the moment. Gabapentin is very safe and difficult to overdose. Galliprant is better for osteoarthritis and puts much less strain on the kidneys than other NSAIDs. I do annual bloods for my seniors if only for my own peace of mind and medication selection. 

Edited August 28, 2021 by The Spotted Devil

[Deeds]

I live about 5 kilometres from Sydney.  I go to a large busy Vet Practice.  My Vet had never heard of Galliprant.  From what I read in overseas articles it had good results for dogs.  I was disappointed my Vet had never heard of it.

[SchnauzerMax]

1 hour ago, Deeds said:

I live about 5 kilometres from Sydney.  I go to a large busy Vet Practice.  My Vet had never heard of Galliprant.  From what I read in overseas articles it had good results for dogs.  I was disappointed my Vet had never heard of it.

 

It’s very brand new. It’s been available in Australia for less than 6 months according to my vet.

[The Spotted Devil]

57 minutes ago, SchnauzerMax said:

 

It’s very brand new. It’s been available in Australia for less than 6 months according to my vet.

Correct. It’s been used in the US for about 5 years but is only a recent addition to Australia. 

[scrappimonty]

Oh that's interesting, I will ask my vet about it as an option! :)) 

If it is just as effective as meloxicam yet not an NSAID then that's good!

[The Spotted Devil]

1 hour ago, scrappimonty said:

Oh that's interesting, I will ask my vet about it as an option! :)) 

If it is just as effective as meloxicam yet not an NSAID then that's good!

It’s an NSAID but is effective at a different stage of the inflammatory cycle which takes the pressure off the kidneys. 

[Papillon Kisses]

Malcolm had a pain specialist as he was medically very complicated. He ended up on a trio of Amantadine, Pregabalin (which is like Gabapentin but had fewer side effects for him) and Meloxicam, with the later withdrawn if his tummy was upset. So there are lots of opinions in terms of analgesia if needed. Supplement-wise he was on Antinol for a while.

Edited August 29, 2021 by Papillon Kisses