Flynn 11 y/o Foxie Cross - Right adrenalectomy- Good Bye Flynny We will miss you

[Fellasmom]

Hi Trish
Sounds like you had a good wknd and loved the pics of Flynny!Laughed about the humping-Fella was fixed but once or twice,he must of have been feeling a little frisky and tried to hump poor Buster!!:eek::eek:.

I'm supposed to be speaking with the doctor tomorrow and it's already causing me so much anxiety.I try to block out that surgery since it causes me so much pain and just try to focus on the wonderful 10 1/2 yrs I had with him.So afraid of going back and being stuck there again!Was wondering if you could help me with a few questions?

So confused,should I ask these?
1.What does he think happened?
2.Discuss splenectomy/misunderstanding/?cause of death
3.Did he recieve steroids and anticoagulants post op?(only has one dose of each day AFTER surgery)
4.Results of biopsies

Just thinking about this already has me sick.I'm so afraid I'm going to hear something,a mistake,whatever,that is going to break my heart to think that he could still be here with us.I'm so confused with the spleen.My worst fear is that all the biopsies will come back negative!Would that mean that he didn't even need the surgery?I'm getting confused.If the splenic spot came back negative and they had just left it,would he still have been at a huge risk for it to rupture?Sorry with all this,i'm just so afraid to hear that he could be still with us if they didn't do this,that,etc..What are your thoughts,questions to ask?

Thanks alot-you may be heading off to bed-write back when you have time.Really appreciate it!Hugs to you and that boy Flynny!

[Trish]

Hi Patty

Ohhh I was just about to click off and head to bed!! Work in the morning ugh

I think your list of questions is fine, only things I would add would be to find out what was the thing they found in his stomach, the grass or whatever and how did they get it out? I would also want to know how the clot got down around the kidney area, did they clamp the vena cava during surgery? I presume they would have done the testing on the samples, the adrenal gland as well because depending on type of tumour could impact on post op course ie pheo can cause more heart irregularities, cortical tumours need steroids etc

If you do not feel ready yet, just postpone it for a week or so Patty. No need upsetting yourself more at the moment, you need to be in a good head space to ask your questions so you can take it all in. MInd you getting the answers might help you move on, so its a bit of a hard call. Just do what feels right for you.

Yes, we have had a good weekend thanks! Shame they end so fast :rolleyes: Dog park today where we had to avoid an aggressive staffordshire terrier, jeez it was feisty it took on two big dogs behind us, it ran right up to them and tried to grab the stick one of them had in its mouth and was like a big tug of war, crikey me and Flynn got out of there quick smart before any fighting broke out!! Then out to a yummy lunch! xx

[Fellasmom]

Thanks Trish!Sounds like you had a great wknd!!Thanks for your input-not sure what I will do.Sweet dreams!!

[addy]

Lol Trish, guess what turned up in my inbox yesterday!!!

IMS assessment of lab work and ultra sound;):rolleyes:

too bad she did not send it 3 weeks ago:mad::mad:

just had to pop- by and tell you

[Mel-Tia]

Evening

How you both doing? Hope work was ok..!?

Big hug, bum scratches for Flynn

Mel
Xxxxx

[Trish]

Hi Addy - well fancy that!! haha I say a day late and a dollar short lady!

Mel - Thanks for asking after Flynnikin... he is doing good perhaps a little quiet. Poop a little soft but no diarrhea or vomiting. I have started the "Inner Health" probiotic on Saturday, hopefully it will help. Made an executive decision and switched to the Tramadol drops my friend gave me, so much easier to give than splitting a capsule by four! I wonder if that is making him a wee bit quiet although it is such a tiny dose for his weight. I took him for a walk early before work, as the weather was looking dodgy and I don't really want either of them walking in cold rainy weather. But it cleared a little and Dad said they went walking anyway so he has had two today! They also must have stopped by my house as my lawns are mowed, told you I am spoilt! Hope you had a nice brekky yesterday, I went out for lunch and their specialty is hot freshly made donuts, covered in cinammon sugar and they give you a choice of jam, custard or chocolate to put in the centre with syringes that you have to insert yourself - or all three if you want!! I restrained myself and just had the jam :D:D:D Why do I love all the bad things in life!! Hope you have a good Monday, enjoy your day off xx

[Mel-Tia]

Tramadol is strong stuff so that would make sense. Take him a little while to adjust

I would have gone for all 3 such a sweet tooth me!

I saw your note on Val's thread about your parents spoiling Flynn. My mum and dad are the exact same, what is it about these grandparents. Tia would come home the size of a house after staying there for the day and would produce an extra poop every time :)

Have sweet dreams and will catch you later

Mel
Xxxxx

[Mel-Tia]

Evening

How are you both? Good day at work?

I got out of a client visit today so am well chuffed, hate leaving Boyce...

Big hug

Mel
Xxxx

[Trish]

Hi Mel

I had a good day at work thanks! Prefer the weekends better though :D:D

Flynn had loose poop tonight again, I really am going to try and get another specimen. This one was in the undergrowth in the garden. It is funny how he does that, usually poops right out in the open on the lawn but if he is unwell he will go in the bushy bits which makes poop patrol quite challenging! I did take a sample in a few weeks back, but vet looked at it and while it had bit of mucous on the outside (ick, sorry!) it was not loose so he did not think it worth testing. I need to get another specimen pot. He is OK though, scoffed his dinner tonight. He eats his meat portion in the morning but leaves his biscuits, but eats everything in sight at night. Been on probiotics 4 days now so was hoping that might settle his bowel. But he seems to get an attack of the poops once a week lately, no vomiting though which is good. Still seems a bit quiet, taken himself to bed already and no toy ripping tonight.

Glad you got to stay in today, lucky Boyce! Sounds a nice day for a wander! xxx

[Mel-Tia]

I know exactly what you mean. We have to keep these fur kids in the life they are accustomed to some how! Often thought there must be easier ways..

Bless him, doesn't want you looking at his iky poop cause he probably knows thats more trips to the vets. Curious it's only once a week, do you give him different foods every day could it be one particular ingredient his body doesn't like?

Those tramadol are very powerful. Hopefully he will be back to monster like activities in the near future. Not involving small critters though to freak you out :D

[Trish]

I keep telling myself if it was something serious it would happen all the time, not come and go like this. His vet asked if I thought it was to do with stress??? I don't think so.

His base food is always the same. Either venison or possum, weekly tripe and Thursday is fish night, he eats some raw and some cooked and loves it. and I mix in some dry. It was natural type biscuits with no grains (ziwi brand). But I thought that made BMs worse after a while so I swapped back to GI, then he got the itch which I thought may have been due to GI so swapped back to ziwi. But diarrhea came back. So he is off that again and back to GI!! Itch pretty much gone, but now diarrhea is back. He will only have it a couple of times real loose, but not to watery stage, then it slowly comes right. He can vomit with it, usually as precursor to the diarrhea. I notice his breath goes bad too, he seems more tired too when he has it. Never goes off his food, has not lost any weight. Though his weight regularly fluctuates half a kilo. Has had this on and off for nearly two years, but more frequent lately. Sometime the motions will have mucous around it, not mixed in, never any blood. Gawd what a gross discussion haha. Be good to speak with vet again and focus on this, we were so excited about his BP and proteinuria settling this kinda got pushed to the back. We have IMS visit in two weeks so can speak with her about it too.

[Mel-Tia]

I would be inclined to think it was something in one of those foods. So hard to know what to feed them if they become sensitive

Hoping the vet has some ideas! I am ok with dog poop discussions same cant be said for humans :eek:

[Trish]

I am not so sure about the diet as he had this prior to even going on these foods. We had swapped to this food at recommendation of vet, the meat is natural with no additives and it has a good name here. It is fresh meat frozen in cubes so I just defrost a chunk every day. His preop scan did show this:

The mucosal layer of the duodenum contains a few, linear hyperechogenicities which are perpendicular to the luminal surface. Impression: Duodenal mucosal striations. Lymphangectasia is considered.

Also The gallbladder contains a moderate volume of unorganised echogenic debris, and is located to the left of midline.

Those things were not so much of a worry when we were dealing with the pheo!! Obviously need to look at it more closely now.

[Mel-Tia]

Because you mentioned his breath was stinky when he had belly ache I always have found in the past that its related to the food, if I give chicken to Boyce he gets stinky breath and looser poops. As we know all doggies are different.

Wish they could write that stuff in English, will have to google to work out what it means

I must write this report. No more avoiding. Have sweet dreams and I will catch you later

Big hug, bum scratches to Flynny kins

Mel
Xxxxxxx

[Trish]

Yep, bedtime here. Always nice to chat Mel, don't work too hard!! Nighty nite all xx

[addy]

The probiotics can take a few weeks to kick in and not all work for each dog. They usually recommend giving it 3-4 weeks before trying another. Sometimes you have to play with the dose.

Now Flynny, be a good boy and give Mom a break, no more hiding poos in the bush;)

We always have a challenge when our weather truns nice. Everyone here uses pesticide on their lawns so we have to be so careful with Zoe. That and she has a love of crab apples and our village has crab apple trees planted along all the streets. We dont have sidewalks so Zoe loves to smell and sniff everyone's mail box posts and scour the culverts for crab apples:rolleyes::rolleyes: we are about fifteen minutes north of downtown Milwaukee so we are not really in the country but it sure feels like Little House on the Prairie

Hope his tummy settles down. How are Mum and Dad?

[SoggyDoggy]

Yep, I reckon Leslie's "Poop Patrol" t-shirts could be a winner! All I can say, if he keeps on getting these weekly runs, teach him to "Present". I always know when Fraser has a bout of the runs as I end up having to clean the carpets again (He likes to "wipe" - yes disgusting but Yay for the Vax/Bissell) so I have taught him to come and "Present" his bum to me. Then he gets a wipe down with some toilet paper, a quick wash and off he goes.

Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks? :D

[Trish]

Hi
He is perky as anything tonight! Formed poop this morning, but covered in mucous. Have been doing a bit of reading on colitis/IBD and his symptoms are somewhat inconsistent, how unsurprising with Flynn :confused:. Vomiting and his general unwellness associated with upper GI problems, but mucous in the stool usually seen with lower GI issues and in that case they do not usually vomit or appear sick. Seems he may have both! Typical, nothing is easy with this boy!

I am going to get another poop spec when he has diarrhea, I am armed with a specimen jar now. Then worm him again. Keep him on the Losec and probiotic and wait for it to settle down, might add fish oil too as that was recommended in a few articles I read tonight. Iit is just weird how it comes and goes so much. He is a stressy dog, tremours etc so maybe that does play a part. Hopefully with BP down now he will be calmer :)

Mel, he had problems with bad breath and I thought it was chicken associated too so he has not had that in ages. Low fat diets are the go, he is on that now with the venison at vet recommendations but that alone has not stopped it.

Had to laugh tonight, when I picked him up at Mum and Dads, they had dinner ready so I had some there too, curried sausages and rice. Dad finished his and went to put the plate down for Flynn to lick... eeek, I leapt up and took it away and Flynn gave me the stink eye for stealing his prize! Got stink eye from Dad too, he always says dogs have a cast iron stomach and can eat anything and he thinks I am mean to the poor little dog!!! Ha, I don't think curry is good for a dog with a troublesome tummy Daddyo!

Anyway, parents seem pretty good Addy, thanks for asking. Dad been out playing in his snooker comp today and Mum had a card game with her club, they do keep themselves busy! We are pretty organic at both houses, Mum won't let Dad spray anything and I don't use it here either. So don't think that too much of a problem. But he is probably exposed to it a little on his walks.

Ewww I do not know about that "present" Naomi, sounds pretty gross haha. So far, I have only had to do a little clean up a couple of times as seems he takes care of it himself! But I am impressed with your dog training skills :D

Right, I am going to be in bed before 11pm tonight, that is 5 mins away :D:D So hope everyone has a good day xxxx

[Fellasmom]

Hey Trish
Thanks for your reply!That cost has my blood boil too!-If it were expensive to begin with,well okay,but to jack up the price to the point where it may be inaccessible to some pups who need it,well,thats just disgusting!!

Ewww...upset stomach and curry is giving me an upset stomach just thinking about it!They mean well of course!Glad he had a good night tonight.I laughed about "present".Very infrequently,Fella would have a llittle bit of poop hanging from his butt.I'd try to reach and just grab it and he would get so pissed,like "DO NOT GO THERE",he would make me laugh,we would have to fight about it,but mom always won!:D.

Have a great sleep and nice talking with you!

[molly muffin]

Yep, those poop patrol t-shirts would be a winner I bet.

When Molly has the runs, I say Poopy Butt and she knows she has to get it cleaned. That usually means I just pick her up and throw her bum under some warm water and wash it off. Other wise, she'd be scooting to get it off too.
I agree Naomi, those Bissels are life savers with animals!

Hopefully Flynns tummy will calm down. Poor guy, hiding in the bushes for a poop. Life is tough eh. The risk of a vet visit is just too much, so mom can't see. LOL

Have a good day
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[SoggyDoggy]

Hey Trish,

Just wondering, how much time does Flynn spend at your Parents? Is there a connection to the upset tummy there by any chance? Coz curry would definitely do it, and I'm wondering if your Dad has maybe slipped him some extra tid-bits along they way?

[Mel-Tia]

Blinking work prevented me from checking in this morning not impressed

Pleased he seemed to perk up, and better poops too, hopefully you will get to the bottom of it soon (ha ha did you get it) :D

These parents need some training. Lots of stink eye going around last night then :D

I am with you on the present, it's one thing inspecting it, whole different ball game that, I would probably gag for sure!

Hope you have a great day today

Mel
Xxxxxxx

[addy]

Trish, Zoe never would vomit or lose weight with her colitis which then turned out to be inflammatory bowel disease after she was scoped. Colitis stools can start out good for first stool of the day and get worse throughout the day. Sometimes what we think is mucus can also be fat. All her tests were always normal, never anything in her stool so they always told me "stress colitis" until they finally scoped her two years ago. That stress colitis went on for a few years, she could not eat a lot of foods, sometimes just one piece of kibble would set her off so if Flynn is sneaking stuff at your parents, could be playing into it.

I can count on one hand how many times in six years Zoe has vomited. If she ever starts, I'll know we are in bad trouble.

[Fellasmom]

Trish
I'll have you know I was suffering from Trish withdrawl when I didn't see you this morning!:p.Hope Flynny's tummy is better and poops are good.Think you might be at your mom and dad's-enjoy and stay away from the curry!:D.

[Trish]

Hi everyone

Naomi - he is at their house every week day from 7.30am till I pick him whenever I finish usually 6ish. I leave him a supply of his venison there and biscuits and he is meant to be allowed a 'snack' at lunchtime, I give him his main meals at home. But I know they give him tastes of their food, he only has to look at them and they melt, he knows it and uses it to his full advantage the little shite! You should see him resting his head on Dad's knee looking up at him lovingly, they are putty in his little paws!

Addy - he has not lost weight. He fluctuates up and then back down to his regular 13.8kg. The vet's did want him down in the 12's range, but we never quite seem to get there.

He vomits infrequently, probably a handful of times over the past 3 months. But I do notice when his breath goes bad, his bowels go loose soon after. Only a week on probiotic so will see how that goes, it is called Inner Health and he has 1/4 tsp morning and night. I need to dissolve it better as have noticed some whitish stuff in the poop which might be that. He never has had totally watery diarrhea so maybe I am worried about nothing :confused:

He is otherwise pretty good, honestly if tummy issues now settled I would be ecstatic!!! Best he has been since surgery :)

We have new neigbours, with a cat :eek::eek: It just walked past our back door and luckily for it, Flynn did not see it but I certainly did. We went outside later and he certainly smelt it, he was zooming round and round and house (it's only small circuit) with his ruff up, nose to ground trying to hunt it down :eek::eek: Silly pussy, better keep on its own side of the fence!! He has given up his mouse hunting lately, but on a walk last night we came across this big ditch, down he went and run along the bottom of it on full alert sniffing things out, I could not quite see what he had but there was some scuffle and spitting in there, it was not a cat but it could have been a rat :eek::eek: as there is often water running through that ditch. Dear lord, he would NOT come out, I had to walk away and he finally popped his head out to see where I was and decided he best come with me... litte ratbag!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SoggyDoggy]

Drainage ditch aside, why hunt rats if there are CATS! Much more fun sport. :D

Glad he is doing so well other than tummy issues, you deserve the break, that's for sure. I'm just wondering with that though if it could be related to the "snacks" he is getting at your parents? It might be worth keeping a chart going, ask them to make note of anything and everything they give him, see when he has these little "episodes" and see if there is a correlation? It could be food related, that he is just intolerant of something in particular, ie chicken. Cause that's exactly what happens with the boys when they have chicken, smelly breath then watch out below! :eek:

Just a though. I hope you have a great weekend though, enjoy the relax and the sleep ins.

[Skye]

lol isnt it adorable how they can race around zoom zoom zing little nose to ground little feet just going 110 mph on a crazy curvey loopy path of scent on the ground. wonder if cats ever mess with dogs by walking in weird patterns. lol

[Mel-Tia]

Evening

Thanks for your post on Miss T's Thread.

I added a photo to her album so you can see her little face and know who I am talking to everyday....

How are you and Flynn doing this evening, have a good day??

Mel
xxxx

[Trish]

Hi Mel.... Awwww I just rushed over to your page to see your sweetie, she is such a cutie pie, love her pic!!!! How did the meeting go?

He has had a great day, showery grey old day here, but we managed a walk and only got rained on a little. He had a romp with a huge German Shepherd... :eek::eek: he loves all dogs, it is me that gets nervous of the big ones but I have made it a habit to have nerves of steel so he does not pick up on it and he has never had a problem approaching them, except he does not like pit bulls after one bit him in the shoulder and he needed stitches.

Only one softish poop today, I have decided to take him off the biscuits for a while and see if that helps. I boiled up some rice to go with his venison, added a few beans and he gobbled it up like always. Also added a wee bit of metamucil for fibre. So we will see how that goes, I was around at my parents this afternoon and told them they must NOT give him any tidbits this week so we can see if that helps settle things down. His breath stinks tonight, so kind of expecting some loose poops.

He has just been racing up and down the house barking and bringing me his ball to throw so he is full of the joys of life today! I love it! xxxxx

[Mel-Tia]

It was those eyes, it was like she always knew what you were thinking. I miss her sweet face.

Meeting wasnt great, he seemed to forget I had told him I was working on a project and then proceeded to be a bit crappy because I had not attended the other meeting he organised the other day. He actually asked to meet me after a client meeting next week so not sure what he will say. I was actually quite opinated on what I thought we should do with this customer and he didnt agree, he is the boss so I have to do what he says. Whatever I have 3 projects and only one pair of hands!!

So chuffed he is running around like a loon, its great to see them full of life. I think they sleep better after having a good old run around with other dogs.

Lets hope your Mum and Dad pay attention, mine always seem to ignore me regardless of how many times I spell it out. Its like the same with the kids, grandparents always give you more sweets and good stuff!!

I think its a good idea to try and eliminate foods to rule it out, i know you have been through a few so you must be running out of options! I dont know if you can get uk stuff over there but I have just recently purchased a venision biscuit from a place called Lilys kitchen. All naturally made with herbs, Boyce loves it.

Are you all settled in for the night now? Watching anything good on the telly?

Big hug

Mel
xxxx

[Trish]

Pffff to unreasonable bosses.... expect miracles sometimes don't they, Glad you said your mind Mel!!

I know I have tried a lot of foods on him, he does love to eat though. So gobbles down whatever put in front of him. I do wonder about the biscuits with flour and that. Not sure if it is food really, as I have not seen any patterns and I keep a spreadsheet! He gets no chicken or red meat. Have not given him tripe for a while. Vet had recommended the low fat meats hence the venison and possum. I am running out of ideas so will try this biscuitless diet for a while and see how he does, I just worry he will not be getting all his vitamins. I might talk to the guy in the pet store tomorrow, he seems pretty knowledgeable on doggy food. IMS next week so looking forward to talking to her about it. I did check a letter from IMS last year when he also had a bout of this and she had said to try the metamucil so I found it in the back of the cupboard and will try that again.

Yep I am settled alright, just watching rugby at the moment! Sports mad girl :)

[Mel-Tia]

As you are so meticulous at keeping an eye on what you are feeding him I am gonna go with naomi and say it might be the parents! Let's hope they listen to you :D

I am looking for summer holidays, need to get somewhere soon. Not liking what I see so far!

Mel
Xxxxx

[Trish]

A holiday sounds just the ticket Mel, in the UK or abroad? I am going to have to head off to bed soon, so will check in on the plans for the hols tomorrow! You are so lucky being close to Europe and can pop over there, France is my favourite so I pick there! Nighty nite xx

[Mel-Tia]

Hey

Guess you are sparko now with it being 1am

I was searching most of yesterday, like to go in this country with Boyce. Haven't vaccinated him since his cancer so would need to faff about if we left the country

Always go near the sea so they get two beach walks a day and look for a massive garden so he can ponder in and out to his hearts content. The boy loves sunbathing. She didn't so much cause of her cushings so I would always set her up a parasol. Princess that she was!

So back to work today? Did you and Flynn have a good Sunday?

Mel
Xxxxx

[Trish]

HI Mel
Yes, back to work it was. I had to go visit a little rural town today for work and it was such a gorgeous autumn day, nice and warm so it was a great day to get out, only an hour drive away but kept me out of the office and the politics that go on there, so I was happy :)

We did have a lovely Sunday thanks, my sister, Dad and I took Mum out to lunch for Mother's Day and then a little trip to the aquarium.. loads of fish but she has a thing about birds, she loves them so we went and saw the little fairy penguins and the Kiwis. they do rehab and the penguins had a mixture of dinged wings, eyes out, cracked beaks, sore feet etc... sorry looking lot they were but they were still having a fab time swimming about and catching fish :)

Flynny seems good, no loose poops for a few days. I have had "the talk" with Mum and Dad and they are NOT to give him anything at all other than the authorised snack I leave for his lunch. That includes no little licks or tidbits, no stealing the cat's food, bits of toast or biscuits or anything!! So we will see if that helps! They think I am the Dog Food Police and being incredibly mean to him :D

I am sticking with the venison, rice, green beans and tiny bit of cooked pumpkin for a bit. Plus I have added a little metamucil, the probiotic and I also got him a supplement for joint health on the weekend which includes vitamins and also omega 3&6. It takes ages to mix up all his stuff, cook his dinner, add his meds so I hope I have everything covered. He likes it and is very good with taking pills wrapped in a little bit of his venison, just gulps them down. So fingers crossed we get on top of it.

I like planning holidays, yours sounds lovely by the coast somewhere. I can just picture you all under a parasol in the garden, in the nice warm weather, with a girlie drink of course with fruit and a little umbrella in it... sounds blissful and just what you need with all the stress with your job lately. I hope you get somewhere sorted soon and can start to look forward to it Mel :)

[Mel-Tia]

Sounds like you had a good mothers day, penguins are such funny little birds

I love days like that, I have to go to the client tomorrow and then my boss so not looking forward to that!

I was the dog food police as well. I know it sucks. We spoil them rotten with their own food and still the parents think youre being mean!

Still looking, found one possible but right on the beach which always makes me think of security. Will start again tonight!

Hope you are having sweet dreams

Mel
Xxxx

[doxiesrock912]

Your dog eats venison, that's far from mean :)
A vacation by the sea sounds wonderful!

[Tina]

Hi Trish,

So happy to read that Flynn's tummy has settled down. Sounds like your Mom and Dad are on board with no extracurricular snacks. :) That is so hard for Grandparents, but necessary. Jasper doesn't get even a crumb out of the ordinary after all the problems we had getting him stabilized on the prescription kidney diet. Poor boy. So when my Mom comes to visit, I will be laying down the law! It shouldn't be too difficult for Grandma, she fully understands how sick he has been.

It sounds like your Mom had a nice Mothers Day, so nice that you have her near. And your Dad is feeling good? I love aquariums. Ours here has a big penguin area also, I love those little guys, so cute.

Gosh Trish, you have so many food options for Flynn down there. I wouldn't even know where to look for venison or rabbit, or possum for that matter. Although Jasper tries to catch his own rabbit dinner from time to time, Lol. He has caught a few bunnies in his day, thank God I was right there so he didn't have a chance to eat them. Ewwww, I hate it when he catches them. I have the yard barricaded pretty well now to prevent rabbit poo eating, so he doesn't get much of an opportunity now. I sure enjoy reading about all of Flynn's adventures, I laugh so much! He is such a character. Him and Naomi's pups, I enjoy reading about their antics also.

A holiday at the beach with a girlie drink sounds fabulous. Actually any kind of holiday sounds wonderful at this point!

I miss our late night talks Trish. I have been so tired lately too, I have just been stumbling back to bed after taking Jasper out. He still is up usually once during the night for a pit stop. Once in a while he can make it till about 5 am. I am destined to be a zombie for the long haul. Maybe I will be on later and will see you then. :)

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

[Fellasmom]

Hi Trish
I've missed you!Just trying to get caught up here,as I was away in NY for a few days.Sounds like you and mom had a wonderful Mother's day and that Flynny is feeling a bit better.

Love the girlie drink idea!Weather is getting warmer here so I love being able to get over to the ocean everyday.Living near the ocean makes me feel alive.You sort of feel like your on vacation year round.And,of course,Gracie loves it as she gets to run around and then go for a dip and then a roll in the sand!

I went by the area where I found Fella when I was in NY-so wish I could go back and live that time all over again.I was praying I would see another little one so I could do it all over again!:).Still find it so hard to believe that he is gone-life is so different without him.

Do miss seeing you and Mel in the morning.I've been staying up late and then oversleeping.Sounds like Flynny is having some great meals!My gf cooks for her 5 dogs:eek:,and she laughs because when it's dinner time for her husband,she says"you'll have to get takeout or cook up a frozen dinner,didn't have time to make something.":).

Well,maybe I'll see you on here this morning-hope all is well.
Hugs to you and Flynny
Patty

[Skye]

shysie's nutrition doctor does online consults through balance it if you would like to reach out to her for ideas on diet and making sure he is getting all he is required to get. she is also studying chiropractor treatment.

[Trish]

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies. I will keep that nutritionist in mind Skye.

Another soft poop last night and it had a smear of blood in it! :eek::eek: He wanted out about midnight and went and hid again so I am not sure if he went again. I have blocked off his access to the bushy bit of my garden so he cannot hide it from me again! No privacy for the poor boy.

I wrote the vet all about it last night and took in a sample of it today and it is off getting tested. Our vet wants to hold off on metronidazole until we get this result back as he wrote to me today.

"Have looked at this poopy sample and I would call this a grade 3. I think we should send this one for a faecal pathogen workup and see what we get. I feel most infectious agents are less likely as they generally would cause more continuous signs than this but not always esp. Giardia and Campylobacter. If it’s clear then we at least know that (although as with people 1 negative sample does not exclude the poss of Giardia).

Then we should ask Massey when doing the US to look at the lymphangestasia question next week also during the scan. Biopsy would be required to confirm that Dx.

Yes I think we should leave the drug regime as is at present.

Lets do the labs first and see what that reveals unless you see more and/or increased amounts of blood. Most of the labs will be back by the weekend except Campylobacter. A smear of blood is not a major as a one off and is in fact not uncommon. We will get them to focus on the colorectal area with the scan also as blood like that must be from lower bowel as you will know"

He was lucky he didn't get a txt in the middle of the night when I saw that blood!! :eek::confused::eek::confused: But I restrained myself in order to keep our good vet/pet relationship on track :D:D

Flynn is good though, perky as anything when I took him for a walk tonight, scoffed his dinner plus wanted mine. So fingers crossed it settles down, but in reality it seems to be slowly getting worse!

Thanks for popping in and checking on us I so appreciate knowing you are all out there to listen to my concerns about Flynnikin even though they are not even cushings related. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Mel-Tia]

Hey

Sorry to read this. Have to go to a meeting now

At least they have a sample to look at and you are going for the other tests soon. That way you won't have to wait too long

Hoping for an infection, Flynn is having a good year this year

Will check back in later. Hope you are hanging in there

Big hug babe

Mel
Xxxxxxxx

[SoggyDoggy]

Hooley Dooley he likes keeping you on your toes doesn't he? Well at least he's staying happy through this and you can get it sorted before it starts to get him down. That has to be a plus doesn't it?

[Squirt's Mom]

Oh, those bloody poops will send you into a tailspin! I just freaked the first time I saw it with Trink - and she reached the point it was just about all blood before we got a handle on it. Bless her heart, she had been through so much in such a short time. But she hasn't had a flare in over a year now. :cool: I watch her poops carefully and if I see a shine or a tail, she gets a dose of SEB and she is fine. I hope they find the cause for Flynn's upset and he is soon feeling better.

[Boriss McCall]

That does sound a bit scary to see. I hope the vet comes back with good news. I guess it makes you feel better that it is not uncommon to happen every now & then.

[molly muffin]

Oh goodness Trish! Way to put a scare into your day! So hopefully this will not turn out to be anything major, just something that might need a round of medicine. There is also no telling what he might have got into at some point that caused an upset for a bit. Maybe an irritation of the colon.

Uh oh, Flynnie has done it now, no more hiding from momma in the bushes! Busted dude!

Hang in there Trish!
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Mel-Tia]

Hey Trish

How you both doing? Gone straight to work this morning?

Hope his poop is better and no more blood...

Will check back first thing and see if I can catch you

Big hug, bum stratches for Flynn

Mel
Xxxxx

[Trish]

Hi all
He just did a normal poop and it had small amount of mucous but no blood and formed. YAY! He seems good. I on the other hand feel yuck, stomach bug myself!! So staying home from work today :( xx

[Mel-Tia]

Hey, we were posting at the same time!

Glad he is better, rubbish you are not!

Maybe you should go back to bed for a bit
Xxxxxx

[Trish]

Thanks Mel, I am still in bed!! Lappy in bed with a cup of tea :)

[Mel-Tia]

Hope you feel better soon xx

[Budsters Mom]

Hi Trish,
So glad that Flynn is better. :DThat can be so scary! :eek:
I hope you're feeling better soon. The mommies just aren't allowed to get sick or stay sick! ;) Take care of yourself and rest, if that's possible.

Hugs,
Kathy and Buddy:cool:

[Trish]

Thanks Kathy, a quiet day in is what is called for!! I hope Buddy is still behaving himself. I must say your signature is just lovely :)

[Fellasmom]

Hi Trish
Was just reading your post to me earlier this morning and was catching up on Flynny just now.Glad he had no furthur blood in his poop.I remember Kelsey used to occasionally get a smear of blood and it was always after she ate something very rich that she wasn't supposed to!And it would only be once and clear up on its own.Hopefully it is nothing serious and it's good sign that you're not seeing any furthur blood.Sorry that you're sick as well!Don't ya wish the little buggers could go make us a cup of tea for a change?:).

I was laughing at the "jobs"that Flynny loves to do-Fella was the same.And thats the problem with Gracie right now-she doesn't want the job!She's quite the lazy girl-she wants no job at all except to be silly and play,that's it!Fella,like Flynny,loved stepping up to the plate when Kelsey passed.He watched the house,watched over me and was ready to kick butt at a moment's notice!:D.And while this was going on,Gracie was playing with Buster,playing with her toys,etc..oblivious to what was going on.She loved that all that responsiblity was on Fella's shoulders.And now,I swear,she feels this huge responsiblity to have to be the "big girl" now and she is not happy!:).Sometimes I wish I would just find another baby,like we found Fella and Flynny.I think she would love another one so that she could say"oh,thank you God,I can now go back to playing and being me":).

Well,I hope you feel better-plenty of tea and rest and no work!!Hugs to you and Flynny.
Patty

[Trish]

Hi Patty

Poor Gracie just has to adjust, I bet even if you find a new doggie she will want to be at top of the pecking order! She will come right as will you, with lots of love and support! Give her a treat from me and Flynn :) xx

[molly muffin]

Glad Flynn is doing better, hope you feel better soon too.
goodness, but you guys do keep things interesting!

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Mel-Tia]

Good morning

How are you today feeling any better?

Hope Flynn's tummy has settled down too

Mel
Xxxxx

[cheydogger]

Ok...what the heck is this about blood in Flynn's stool?? And, you sick?? Neither of these scenarios are acceptable!

Is Flynn having an ultrasound next week? I sure hope the blood was nothing serious.

I hope you get to feeling better.

Hugs...

[Trish]

Hi all

Thanks for checking in on us Sharlene, Mel and Ro :):), both our tummies are good today thank you :D:):D:) So I was back to work :( but it's Friday so the weekend is here :D:):D:) YAY!!

Flynn has had good poops last couple of days, definitely no more blood seen. I think the Metamucil is really helping. Vet has emailed today and no parasite eggs seen (Strongylate, Ascarid, Trichuris, Coccidia or Capillaria... never heard of any of them!), but full results not back yet incl. giardia and campylobacter. So we will maybe get the rest of those results on the weekend.

Hi Ro... always so nice to see you popping in! Yep, we are off to pet hospital for his 6 month postop checkup scan and appointment with IMS next Wednesday. I have taken the day off and a friend is coming for the road trip with me and Flynn. I cannot believe it is nearly 6 months already. Gosh what a ride it has been! He has been through so much but keeps bouncing back and is enjoying his doggy life which makes the trauma all worthwhile!! Now if only we can get his tummy issues settled I will be happy!

xxxxx

[Tina]

Hi Trish,
Just popping in real quick to check on you and Flynn. So glad you both are feeling better and that Flynn's tummy is settling. That is so scary to see any bit of blood, glad that has stopped. Happy weekend to you! I just have to make it through today, Yay!

Hugs from me and Jasper

[addy]

Happy Friday, though it is probably Friday night for you.

I hope all continues to improve with no more tummy troubles from you or Flynn. Tonight should be relaxing, a nice dinner, relaxing time.

Hope everything goes well with Flynn's scan. I know it can be nerve racking anticipation. Time for Golden Oldies on Pandora.:D:D Soothes my nerves every time and the pups love the music;);)

hugs to you and Flynn

[molly muffin]

Yay for happy tummys :)

Sharlene and Molly muffin

[Budsters Mom]

Hi Trish,:)
I am glad to hear that you are both better and you been back to work just in time for the weekend! YAY:D I stayed home today with Buddy. There is just too much going on. Remember to take care of yourself. I know how hard that is sometimes!;)

Hugs,
Kathy and Buddy:cool:

[Fellasmom]

Hi Trish!
Just catching up with you and Flynny.Glad to hear you are feeling better and no more bloody poops for Flynny!!That is great news!We all have our paws crossed for you and Flynny on Wednesday.Glad someone is taking the ride with you.I'm sure it will be great news but I know you can't help but worry.I hope you have a great weekend and glad to hear you are both feeling betterr.

Thanks for your post about Fella.Difficult and so ironic that the reason why I had the surgery in the first place was so that he would live and not die from a blood clot or cancer and he dies from the surgery!That really gets me!

Well,it's already Sat afternoon where you are so hoping you and Flynny are enjoying your weekend and that he is happily catching mice!:eek:.

[Mel-Tia]

Evening

Hope you are both having a good day, what you been upto anything exciting? it's stupid o'clock here and am wide awake. Not good!

I am pleased you are not going on your own for the scan as that gives you less time to stew on your thoughts. I have told the universe that we expect a good scan for him, he has been through enough as has his momma.

speak to you soon, big hug, bum scratches to the boy!

Mel
Xxxxx

[Trish]

Hi Tina :), Addy :), Sharlene :), Kathy :), Patty :) and Mel :)

Well it is Sunday night already, well only 5.30 but it is nearly dark :mad::mad: I still have to clean the car, oh well I guess that will have to wait now :D

We have had a good weekend here, pretty busy too!

Flynn had one loose poop on Friday night, no blood. Yesterday he was a little poorly and I was waiting for the diarrhea but none occurred. Today formed but greenish :eek::eek: maybe from grass but usually when he eats grass you can actually see it on the way out again so to speak (sorry if you are reading this and having a snack right now!) this afternoon on beach walk softish but normal colour. Perky as anything today. So all in all, not too bad. He is curled up on couch now, had visitors this afternoon so he is pooped with all that and walking and ball chasing, having a romp with a schnauzer and snaffling some dodgy manky looking piece of some animal vertebrae up the beach and sprinting away from me so I would not take it off him :eek::eek: Little shite! Vet has emailed and said no salmonella in his sample from last week, still a couple of results to come in.

Thanks for speaking to the universe for us Mel, I fully expect it to listen and the scan will be normal :D:D I believe in your special powers :D:D. Hope all your weekends are going well too! xxxxxx

[doxiesrock912]

YIPPEEEE!!! Sounds like things are going well and I like to see all of the smiley faces in your postings :)

[Simba's Mom]

Sending hugs and prayers for you and Flynn, glad the poos are improving....simple joys :)

[Mel-Tia]

Evening

Hmm greenish poo...

The only time I have ever seen Boyce have green poo was once when he ate something off the beach! I wonder if Flynn is munching some of the things that wash up which is what is affecting his stomach

I can just imagine you chasing after him, they can be quick little buggers when they want!

Up early again, gonna take Boyce out in a bit...

Big hug

Mel
Xxxxx

[Trish]

Hi Valerie :), Letti :), Mel :)

I know Letti, don't the simple things in life take on so much more importance. I cannot imagine anyone celebrating a normal poop as much as we do in here!!

He does much things up the beach Mel, not often though as I usually try stop him. Nothing yesterday as he was a little slow on it and stayed pretty close to me and did not go right down to the beach bit. But today he found a fish head, did not eat it, but he did pick up that back bone thing. It was long since dead. We have rivers around here and we often see a dead animal from one of the farms up the river having washed down, lambs etc. :eek::eek:

Have a nice walk with Boyce, you will be having beach walks soon too :D

xx

[Mel-Tia]

What about the day before? As I think it takes a while for the nasties to work through.

Boyce spends the whole time with his nose on the floor. He did give himself green cow pat poo that one time so he is slightly more cautious now but he loves to eat seaweed. Tia would kinda try but then scamp off. Going to be so strange without her.

Boyce has gone back to bed, clearly it is to early for him :D

[Trish]

Hmmm day before would have been Friday so Dad would have walked him up there while I was working. Possible though! He is quick, the sneaky little bugger. He gets this look in his eyes, like he is estimating how fast I can get to him and what he can get away with and gobble before I get there. But he really does not get stuff very often.

He does not know it, but he is in for a shower and blow wave soon. At least with him and his short hair I can do it myself and do not have to worry about groomers and clipping. I wash all his bedding and blankets each weekend and I want him nice and clean for his IMS appt this week. Awww I just realised he will be shorn again and now it is cold too. Poor boy!

[doxiesrock912]

Time for the jacket:)
Daisy is quick too and often, the only way that I can tell that she's about to munch on something bad is that she sniffs at it just a little too long. Anyone else would not recognize the difference.

[Trish]

Ha, lucky we get those little clues Valerie! Especially when they are so low to the ground like our dogs, he runs and sniffs and is on the hunt all the time. He is a little like Budster, he likes lizards too and runs along the line of the grass and beach where they hang out. He goes round and round my house sniffing out that new cat in the neighbourhood too! I bet he would have made a good drugs dog judging by his constant sniffing

[Mel-Tia]

Maybe you should make a game out of his sniffing like hide and seek with one of his toys. Boyce is useless at finding his, he just goes round in circles

[Trish]

Ha, do you think it strange I actually play real hide and seek with him, not here because my house is too small. But at Mum and Dad's sometimes I make him sit and stay in the lounge then go hide and he is very diligent at searching me out! Cracks Mum and Dad up as they cannot distract him while he is hunting room by room for me. Oh I live a sorry life haha

[doxiesrock912]

I play hide and seek with Daisy. She has a BLAST, but it has to be with the "right" toy and in true female fashion, that changes all of the time.

She plays with me before I get to play with her!

[Tina]

Hey Trish!
Thought I would join in with the late night crew here. Gosh, we are having severe storms. Got Jasper out for his pit stop in the nick of time before the downpour. The thunder is so strong I can feel my insides vibrating. Sheesh, no wonder they are terrified. Jasper is on me like glue, and Shelby jumps down off the couch and tears around at high speed after each thunder crack. Looks like it will be a long night here.

Jasper is also very sneaky with eating things he shouldn't, and he will gobble something down real fast before I can get to him too. Naughty naughty. We are not near a beach but he manages to find plenty of nasty critters. I am terrified of bugs, so darn near have a panic attack if I have to remove something from his mouth. I sure hope Flynn's poops settle down. It sounds like he is doing well otherwise, yay!! :D

Hugs from me and Jasper

[doxiesrock912]

Tina, WHY do they find the nastiest things the best tasting?
Daisy eats bugs and the poop from other critters is like edible gold.
ICK!

[Trish]

Oh my, I was just speaking of you over on Patty's thread and here you are!!! Spoooky! :D

Well it is very weird, a big downpour of rain just hit us too, it was so loud and slamming into the house that Flynn leapt up barking! No thunder though.

Honestly, if Flynn had a bug in his mouth he could just eat it as I hate them too and I am not putting my fingers in there to get it out! :D Plus there was a news item on the other night about how healthy most bugs are and we should eat them ourselves. Really??? I think not!!!!!!!!!!

How is Shelby after the op? I keep forgetting about that other place for threads and don't pop in their too often, I must go check cos I bet you have already posted about it.

Valerie, I wonder why we let them kiss us with all the disgusting things they have in their mouths!

[doxiesrock912]

I have no idea. A vet once told me that cat poop especially is dog crack!
100% correct with Daisy and it's a pain because too many people let their cats roam free. Very sad really since most of them are so friendly and deserve better in my opinion.

One night during the winter, I heard one very unhappy cat crying and I tried to find it to bring it inside. I couldn't find it and I worried until falling asleep that night.

[Trish]

All cats roam free here in NZ, there was quite a controversy recently when it was suggested they be locked up, feral ones do eat a lot of our birdlife. As we are on islands we have a lot of native birds including our national bird the Kiwi and cats do do a lot of damage with them.

But the positives of living on an island like ours is that we have no snakes and only one barely poisonous spider.

Flynn has never been partial to cat poo, thank god! He likes horse poop though but luckily we only come across that if someone has been exercising their horse up the beach. I am imagining Daisy running about with drugged out eyes acting crazy!

[Mel-Tia]

Back....

He is now out on his blanket in the hall (right by the kitchen) awaiting his breakfast. It's still a bit early but he doesn't care seriously unimpressed with me. This new food has made him keener. Think its slow cooked lamb for breakfast, smells good enough that I could eat it!

Boyce is partial to horse poop. Tia liked foxes of course the one that could cause her trouble. Little monkey.

[Trish]

Yay your back, we have had to leave Patty's she went to sleep on us :D:D I got no chocolate or anything like that, apples and mandarins for dessert here!

Yes their food does smell tasty sometimes, honestly I better feed this one he is giving me the I am starving look!

[doxiesrock912]

Daisy would eat it until she popped if I didn't scream bloody murder. It's almost 3:30 here, so I'm going to try to get some sleep.

See you tomorrow night :)

[Trish]

I'll be here! Nighty nite Valerie!

[Mel-Tia]

Night Val

His food is pricey but I can already see its making a difference for him and I feel like we owe it to princess to keep him as healthy as we can for as long as we can

Fruit for dessert. I thought you said the tea was the only healthy thing you ate! I tend to have my fruit in smoothies. Love veg and salad though, I grew up growing our own, I even like Brussels :D

[Fellasmom]

Well,seems like the topic of the night is eating gross things so I'll share too!:D.Grace eats everything!!She loves goose poop,cat poop,matches,and ANY white paper or tissue!I fight with her on every walk.She lunges for anything in her path.Loves,loves napkins,but only white ones.

Buster's litter box has a cover on it with a small opening.I thought he was constipated cuz no poop for days.One morning I saw Grace's whole head in the opening:eek:.In NY my dog walker took Fella and Grace for Thanksgiving day/night when I worked one year.Fella was good as gold and jumped into her son's bed and slept with him that night.:).She said that after dinner,the table was filled with leftover turkey,ham,vegetables,pies,etc...Gracie jumped up and all she wanted was the white napkins!:D

And yes,I try not to think of all that when I devour her with kisses!!:)

[Mel-Tia]

Ewww Gracie that's nasty. Not having kisses from you miss

[Trish]

Yuck, I hate brussels, they are the worst. When I was young we had to eat them, they reminded me of little green brains and I have not changed my opinion of them!

Yes, Gracie has no taste either haha. Disgusting aren;t they yet we still love them :)

[Tina]

Lol Trish, you never know when I am about!! ;) I am still up with Jasper pretty much every night, but usually only once now, which is a big improvement. Sometimes on weeknights I don't come on the forum, or next thing I know I have been reading and typing away and then it is time to get ready for work. :eek:

Well, I know I have shared Jasper's rabbit poop habit with you. But it is time for Mel, Patty and Valerie to be enlightened. :D :D If he has access, he eats it like it is a delicacy. Sooooooo gross. He has contracted a parasite twice from it!! Now I have my yard barricaded to the hilt, so for the most part I can keep those pesky critters out. I worry now about him getting ahold of any since his immune system is not the best now due Cushings/Addison's.

And I'm with you, if he gets ahold of a bug, it is likely going down the hatch as I panic and can't do anything about it. I am totally dreading when those dastardly 17 year cicadas start coming out here. I am certain my pups will try to eat them as I read that they taste sweet to dogs. I remember our family dogs growing up always eating those like they were going out of style, and they are EVERYWHERE once they come out. And they are huge. I am having anxiety just thinking about it!!

[Trish]

What are 17 yr cicadas?? We have cicadas here, but they here every year. I quite like them, well listening to them anyway... certainly not touching them. Flynn does not eat bugs, yay.. well except for fly's! That is one of his jobs, he actually gets a little manic trying to catch them :rolleyes:

[Mel-Tia]

Never heard of a Cicadas is it like a cricket?

Just thought. Why is it that the worst the poop is for them the more attracted they are too it! You think they would learn!

[Fellasmom]

Hello
Eewww...rabbit poop!!We have enough goose poop,no need for rabbit poop!Plus we don't have alot of rabbits,skunks,etc here because of the high coyote population.That's why I really hate when I see cats out because they don't last long outside.:mad:.

Fella was my little fly catcher!:).As dominant as he was,he was also quite the follower.He NEVER bothered with the goose poop till he saw Grace enjoying it so much and then fig he was missing something!:D.And then he graduated to the cat poop as well:D.I now have to face the opening of the litter box in a corner so only Buster can jump in there.BUT I still see Gracie try to turn the box around with her nose so she can get in there..yuk!!

Ok,I now have a serious question for you-I know I know I know I'm STUCK on that surgery and if I do anything this weekend,it is to email that doctor my concerns and clarify everything once and for all.As you know,Fella's tumor was tiny and was NOT in the vena cava as originally thought.Have you ever heard of dogs passing away after having an adrenalectomy?I never have-I read wonderful stories which makes me very happy(like your boy Flynny).But because of that,it makes me really question what happened with Fella even more.Is the surgery itself risky or only risky if it involves the vena cava?Just trying to sort facts out in my mind-hate thinking one way if it's not necessarily true.

[Tina]

Cicadas are like locusts. In fact they might be a type of locust. They are big and they make a chirping type of sound, usually at night. The 17 year cicada comes out only every 17 years to mate and lay their eggs which live under ground for another 17 years until they emerge again. It seems like they are usually around for about a month or so, and they all come out at once. The noise at night is deafening, it will really keep you awake. And they are literally everywhere once they start coming out. They have beady red eyes, and dogs love to eat them. They are huge, 1-2 inches in length.

Usually they are the worst on the East Coast of the U.S., but we get it bad here also, just in fewer numbers I think. We have regular cicadas every year also, just not an infestation.

[Mel-Tia]

Oh my days. I would not be able to cope with that. Do not do bugs. I would have to permanently stay inside for that month.

[Trish]

It is the surgery itself that is risky, vena cava makes it worse. I think the mortality rate is around 20%, so yes there are bad outcomes and unfortunately Fella was one of them. I hope you get some answers though Patty, as it will help in the long run I think. xx

[Trish]

Dear god that sounds awful! Imagine them living underneath you all that time. That's disgusting. We do not have those 17 year ones that I know of. So this is the year? I am imagining those plagues where they swoop in and eat everything in site and leave again. :eek:

[Fellasmom]

Eeww...they are disgusting!We had them in Maine but I don't notice them here thank God!!
Well,the sun is coming up and the birds are chirping so I guess that's my sign to get to bed for a few hours before Grace is waking me up!So nice to talk with you all about just appetizing topics!:D.
Goodnight!

[Trish]

Night Patty! Have a godo sleep, don't let the bed bugs bite (or cicadas)... cya tomorrow xx

[Tina]

Oh you guys, it is so awful. And like I said, I am terrified of bugs, so I do have difficulty coping. I'm with you Mel, wish I could just stay in and bar the door! There have only been 2 other times in my lifetime that they have come out, the first one I was still living at home with my parents. When they are out in full force, they chirp all day too, you can't hear yourself think. Absolutely disgusting. I feel like I need Xanax or something. Maybe I should ask one of the Drs at work for a script, Lol.

[Mel-Tia]

Night Patty. Hope you get a good few hours.

Just the thought of them makes my skin crawl. I guess they were here first though!

Are you up for the day now Tina?

[Tina]

Well Girls, it is 4:25 am here now. The thunder has stopped for now and I better try to get a few hours of sleep before Jasper has to go out again. No Mel, I fell asleep on the couch for a couple of hours and then up since about midnight or so. I should have been in bed long ago. I am a total night owl, on the weekends I often stay up so late. But I have a full day of chores at ahead of me so better get some shut eye now. We are at high risk for severe weather all day, including risk for tornadoes. Hopefully that won't pan out.

Night ladies!

[Mel-Tia]

I thought the bugs were bad, tornados too

Fingers crossed they don't come to nothing anywhere

I have to do some cleaning too, cant say I feel like it!

Sweet dreams

Mel
Xxxxx

[Trish]

Crikey I just remembered I had to write an article about the Melbourne conference for a newsletter and it was due tonight so that is where I disappeared to sorry about that. Oh gawd Tina, please let the tornados stay away from your house. I think Kim is fairly close to you so they better stay away from her to! Think I would rather have our earthquakes than a tornado they look so scary! Perhaps don't do the cleaning until the tornado threat passes, I would be totally peeved if I had the house spotless then that happened!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just kidding, stay safe and have a good sleep!!!

Mel, so nice to chat with you all tonight, I have quite enjoyed it! I don't think so many have been online at my hours and chatty like we have been tonight :D Hope the rest your Sunday is full of relaxing and chilling out but mine is over so better get ready for bed myself! Cya tomorrow night/morning!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[addy]

Did I miss a pajama party?

It sure does seem that way, scary stories of awful buggers in the middle of the night. I spent the day working in my much ignored yard. Last year I did nothing except stay inside to watch Zoe and her eye problems so my yard is out of control this year.

If I see any of those 17 year bugs, that is it for me, the garden can go to pot, I' not going out there:eek::D

Good luck Trish, I think Flynn's scan is coming up.

[frijole]

:D Took the words out of my mouth.. bet these ladies are sleeping in today :)

[molly muffin]

Sounds like it was a real blast on here last night. Way to go girls :) I've had a blast catching up this morning. LOL Can't believe I missed a poop discussion And bugs! ROFLMAO!

Bet you're right Kim. All snuggled up sound asleep in bed now.

Hugs Sharlene

[Tina]

Uh, not me. Here I am, been up about an hour or so! :D Lol girls. I wish I was sleeping in.

I woke up to a crash when Jasper jumped off the bed on the side close to the wall. There is maybe about a foot or so of space there. He has never done that before. It was a horrible crash, I was worried he was hurt, but he seems ok. Both dogs run in that space and then under the bed when they are playing, but I have no idea how he jumped in there. Maybe he fell off the bed, I don't know!

I better get started on my cleaning, I could spend all day getting caught up on the forum, which I would much rather do. Addy, my yard is out if control too because i did next to nothing last summer when Jasper was so sick. I spent a good part of the day yesterday doing yardwork and have neglected the cleaning so must work on that now. Feel like watching a movie instead. :rolleyes:

Trish I hope you are having a good sleep.

Ok Kim, lets keep those storms away!!

[doxiesrock912]

OMG I missed all of the fun early this morning:)

Daisy rips any paper she can get into tiny pieces, she doesn't eat it.

Brussels look like brains and chick peas - well I'll stop there. We had a rather horrible nick name for those based on the color.

Suffice to say that teenagers can be beyond crass :)

Daisy goes for the goos poop too and it does NOT like her back!

Tornados are scary, I hope that they say away!

[Trish]

Hi, yep you all missed the party :D:D Well I am not tired as it was good timing for me (early evening) and Mel too (morning) but those others were up all hours!! Was fun to have a catchup and chat with you all last night :D

Now it is back to normal Monday night on K9C forum, with only me here! I'm soooo loneeeeely!! haha Kim is online too, but maybe she has fallen asleep :D:D But there are 24 guests viewing the forums right now, so come on in and have a chat if you want... we like new people here and would love to help you and your doggies :D:D:D

Well a couple more of Flynn's tests came in today, still not showing any bugs or parasites in his sample but he has been good last couple of days. I bought him some grain free biscuits, venison and potato flavour, he seems to like them and gobbled them up. So all good in this household tonight!

Counting down to Wednesday and his scan..... nervous!

Trish xxxx

[addy]

I'll hold your hand so we can be nervous together. Not good to be nervous alone;)

[molly muffin]

It's going to be a good scan. :) I know the nerves won't go away until it's over and results are back in your hot little hand. :)
We'll be right here, Addy has your hand, I'll grab the other side and off we go! Your friend as all the necessaries for a road trip right! Girly drinks after you get home!!!

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Budsters Mom]

We'll all be there with you during Flynn's scan. It will be very crowded in that room!;):)

Hugs,
Kathy and Buddy:cool:

[Fellasmom]

Trish
So you found yourself a little lonely this morning,huh?We had quite a group on the other night-it was fun,almost like we were all together pulling an all nighter!Btw,I can talk poop anytime but I'm same as you-sputum and vomit makes ME feel like I'm going to vomit.

Hope you and Flynny are doing well-so far tests have come back negative-thats good.Wednesday will be fine-it has to be.Glad you're not going alone and we will all be with you anyhow!:).

Well,off to bed now as you're prob just getting up!I finally did email doc with my questions,concerns and I told him just how much I loved Fella and how shocking his death was for me.I thanked him for the end of life care he recieved as they were there 24/7 with him but did tell him that I was disappointed that I never heard from the surgeon since I do think he should have called me when he heard of Fella's passing.Definitely considering his last words to me were'sugery went great,he is 3/4 out of the woods"...I would have expected a call from him.Anyhow,I liked this doctor who was Fella's doctor and is the ICU resident and Fella was HIS patient.So,I'll keep you posted.Hope you have a great day!

Kisses to your boy Flynn
Patty

[doxiesrock912]

Crossing my fingers for good results!
It was a lot of fun the other night and thank you for much needed laughs while I was freaking out )

[Trixie]

Hoping all good results for Flynn after his scans! :D
Barbara

[Skye]

when is the scan? everyone move over......i am going along. mooooooovvvveeeeeee over....hey....who is pulling my hair........crap, forgot my sunglasses, i need to go back and get them....everyone needs to move again........lol
let me know when we are making this trip. we go back first part of June. Not sure were doing the scan or not but the blood and urine for sure. I myself have been on pooh patrol lately. LOTS of mucus in pooh and toooo soft. Started the metronzide immediately like they always want me to because of her pancreas. can not ever place that at risk. she would pull out of it, it has happened twice this month that has been that way and then would start meds for about 3 days. I am wondering if it was a topical flea treatment. I do not like to use chemicals at all on animals.......or yard. sadly.....some thing had to be done because of what was happening close by....so i am thinking she did have side effect. I need to get some of the natural treatments to apply to yard and the animals. But again with what is happening close by not sure it would be strong enough. and you know how ocd i am about my carpets and tile....so steam mopping carpet cleaning at least weekly and sweeping with broom at least every morning and every nite all tiles and running sweeper on all carpet at least twice a day, flea collar in sweeper bag, i can not stand insects in house. and especially ones that hurt my baby. grrrrrrrrrr, they gotta go. lol

[doxiesrock912]

Ick, I hate them too. The one critter that we have an abundance of are centipedes and they're nearly impossible to get rid of! Thankfully, Daisy is afraid of them too. She bit one a few years ago and immediately spit it back out. Apparently, they taste as gross as they look:)

Diatomaceous Earth (food grade) works well for many pests and it's safe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

[Tina]

Hi Trish,
Ok, going on 1:30am here so that means your Tuesday work day should be over, and time to get ready for Wednesday! I will also be with you and Flynn tomorrow for his scan. I just know it is going to go well and we will have good results. Glad to see all the poop tests have come back negative. I know you are nervous Trish, I hope you are able to get some sleep.

What time is his scan? I like to know the time so I can focus my energy at the right time. I will be right there with you holding your hand too.

Big hugs from me and Jasper, and smooches for Flynn xo

[Trish]

Hi Addy :D, Sharlene :D, Kathy :D, Patty :D, Valerie :D, Barbara :D, Skye :D

How lovely to log on to all your messages wishing my Flynnikin good luck for tomorrow! He is in fine form, it is taking me a while to make this post as he keeps bringing me his squeaky kong ball to throw for him... barking all the time tearing up and down the house.... NOISY!!! I don't mind though. We have now had four good tummy days in a row and he is real perky!!

Vet txt the last result to come through today, campylobacter and that is negative too... so it is definitely not a bug causing his periodic mucousy diarrhea. So we will see what the IMS has to say tomorrow and fingers crossed we find nothing nasty on that scan! He did not want to give us antibiotics until we had results, I wanted them but it seems he was right and I was wrong.. (dunno how that could happen haha)!

Skye, we are leaving at 8am, which is 13.5 hrs from now, so you got time to find your sunnies!! 2 1/2 hr drive to be there for appt at 10.30am so thats the time for you all to send happy healthy scan vibes to us across the oceans!! I rang to check today the correct IMS will be in, and they told me we will see a student and her prior to his scan, organise bloods etc. Think I will collect a urine specimen along the way for them to repeat UPC as well. As it is a teaching hospital we have got used to seeing the students and confusing the poor young things with all of Flynny's various surgeries, problems and cancers :D:D Then the IMS comes in to sort it all out! Hopefully it will be a good learning experience for them.

My friend Vicky is coming along, she is a crazy lover of dogs like we all are and has a golden Dougal who is a beautiful boy. Whenever we walk them together Dougal appoints himself Flynn's personal bodyguard, it cracks us up! He does not let any other dog come near Flynn. We have our snacks sorted!! So I really hope we are back here tomorrow night with good news, if I get a chance I will post via my mobile through the day. Deep breaths and away we go!!

Thanks my lovelies, your support means the world to us :D:D xxxxxx

[Trish]

Hi Valerie :D and Tina :D

Your two snuck back in while I was posting, told you it took me a while with this rabid dog chasing his ball!

I have used that diateamciuos (sp) earth stuff Valerie, it made him look like a dirty dusty unloved dog :D:D so I only used it once, maybe I put too much on him but I did not like it!

I just posted the times Tina, I really appreciate your positive energy... our boys are on a roll this last month so hoping for more good news tomorrow!

I am watching the news right now, gawd there was shocking footage of the devastation in Oklahoma, those poor people. They showed a map of US and such a huge swathe under tornado watch so I am hoping all my friends here keep out of harms way! xxxxx

[Tina]

Yep, just saw that you posted the times. So that makes it 5:30 pm my time tomorrow, so just as I am finishing my Tues work day. Will focus all the positive vibes and prayers around then. Yes, our boys have been on a roll, and I know it will continue. I have been talking to Jasper all night about Flynny's scan so he can help me with the prayers. ;) I love to see that he is so perky and tearing around the house, so sweet.

Oh Trish, I have been bawling most of the evening about the destruction in Oklahoma. It is absolutely unbelieveable. I can hardly bear to look at the news. I have been to Moore many times as it is halfway to my family's and we always stay at a pet friendly motel there right off the interstate. I am sure it is gone based on what I have seen on the news. So terrifying knowing that it could happen to any of us living in tornado alley. Seems like the storm seasons just keep getting more severe every year.

[Trish]

Dear god, I cannot even imagine the fear of getting caught in something like that. Just awful. Praying they find all those poor kids from the schools. It does make me feel sick too.

I am just uploading a video of Flynn (hopefully if I do it right) so stick around till I post it :D although it is taking a while, up to 14% though :D:D

[Tina]

I just went and looked at Flynn's photos again, so cute. I love him tearing up the toys. He looks so satisfied after he does that. :D I wish I could get some more current pics of Jasper, he absolutely hates the sound that my phone/iPad/camera make when taking a pic. The second he thinks I am aiming something his way, he skedaddles and hides. So frustrating.

Well, better try to get a couple more hours of shut eye, or before I know it, it will be time to get ready for work. Try to relax a bit this evening. I will check in again in a few hours after I get up! More smooches for Flynn. :p

[Trish]

http://s1296.photobucket.com/user/Trish_Flynn/media/151_zps47a351e9.mp4.html

Hope this works, it's Flynn digging a hole with his wee friend Madi when we were on our beach holiday in March!

[Mel-Tia]

Evening

It works! He is such a sweetie, helping dig her holes

Love how lies down at the end, I imagine him thinking "boy that was hard work, better have a rest"

Will be thinking of you both tomorrow

Mel
Xxxxx

[Trish]

Yay, glad the video is working! That weekend away was the start of his tummy troubles, he had a huge mucousy poop and then it has been off and on ever since. So pleased it seems to have settled down for now. You got a busy day ahead?

[molly muffin]

hehehe love the video. Good job Flynn! What a little helper you are. :)

Tomorrow! We'll be ready. Arms linked and away we go!

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Tina]

I'm baaaack!!! :D :D Yes, I love the video too! Almost time for bed for you. I will be thinking about you guys later today (tomorrow for you), and I can check the forum from work but just can't post. Safe travels Trish, and good luck with the scan. So glad your friend is going with you.

More hugs from me and Jasper, and more smooches for Flynn. xo

[Mel-Tia]

Very busy, doesn't seem to be any other kind

Do have a weekend away from Thursday night to Tuesday afternoon we are off to the beach. Will be bittersweet as we went here with Tia

No real Internet access so don't be concerned if you don't hear from me. Glad your appointment is before I go otherwise I would have had to have found a cafe to check in. Wouldn't have been able to wait!

[Trish]

OMG Tina, you only been gone under 4 hrs.... I would be a wreck at work on that little sleep!! I cannot get the forum at work, except on my phone. Too little to type on that :D

Hi Sharelene, you are up early too?

Mel, I think the 'firsts' are always hard after going through a loss like Tia, I am sure she is watchin you guys from her vantage point so I am pretty sure she is going to like the change of scenery to the beach too, so you keep talking to her and she will be with you wherever you go!!! Probably telling Boycie what to do as well :)

xx

[addy]

It looks like you are leaving about the time I get home from work, so I'll check throughout the night. I am so glad Flynn's tummy calmed down.:):):):):)

Positive vibes only allowed today:D:D:D:D:D Everything crossed for a good report

((((((((((((((major big hugs)))))))))))))))))))

[molly muffin]

I usually get up early on Mondays cause its garbage day. Such fun not. This morning hubs had to be at the airport at 6:30am too. Yep, I'm soloing it today and tomorrow, as he has an overnight this week. (he flies somewhere every week to a different office)
Usually I'm not organized enough to be online for very long in the mornings. Wish I could figure out how to work from home today but I have meetings and woke up dreaming of work stuff. Probably a sign that 4 days away from the office is causing me some anxiety.
We had storms here last night (no tornados just regular ole thunder storms) but you know molly kept me up a good part of the night not being settled every time she thought she heard thunder or saw a flash of light, the shakes set in and if she was on the bed she wanted off the of it, if she wasn't on the bed she wanted onto it.
*yawn

Get a good nights sleep. The gang here is packed and ready to go. :)

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Mel-Tia]

Hope you are sleeping peacefully now.

Just letting you know am thinking of you both.

Mel
Xxxxx

[Trish]

Hi everyone!!

Hope your all ready, leaving in an hour :D Surprisingly good nights sleep last night!

Will check in later :)

xxxxxxxx

[Fellasmom]

Paws up,paws crossed and big hugs and kisses to you and Flynny!Have a safe trip and we will be with you the entire time,cheering Flynn on.That little boy is going to be fine and so is his mom!I've been thinking of you two all day and praying for good news,it's the only news we will accept.:).Big hugs to you and Flynn
Patty

[addy]

are we in the car now?

[molly muffin]

Scoot over, We're in the car!! sunglasses, check, snacks check, Trish, check (she's driving, I was a bit worried we'd forget her or...) FLYNN CHECK. Whew, okay, everyone in, and we're on our way!

Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Mel-Tia]

We should be there now!

Appointment is in 13 mins

Paws up Flynn

[Budsters Mom]

Hi Trish, waiting to hear how it went today. Yes, we were all there with you, but it was just too crowded to hear much!:D:D. I don't think the technicians could figure out who was sucking up all the air!;)

I loved the video! I need to do some planting. How about renting Flynn out to dig a few holes, that would really help!;):D

Hugs to both of you,
Kathy and Buddy:cool:

[Tina]

Ok, I had the positive energy and vibes going at 5:30 and beyond. I hope everything went well Trish. I thought about you guys all day and am waiting to hear how it all went too! :)

Had to work late so need to go feed my babes now. I will be back on later to check on the good news. ;)

[Trixie]

I also felt the positive energy here on this thread. Hope you are soon posting good results! :D
Barbara

[Trish]

Hi still at pet hospital waiting for results, shouldn't be too long now xxx

[molly muffin]

And we're still here with you! :)

Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[milosmom]

of course you are jumping out of your body and we all are here and understand this stress...you are a rock trish and a wonderful provider,as well as,the strongest link here.......so we wait and we pray..........patty(milo)meka xoxox

[doxiesrock912]

Pacing the floor, pacing, pacing..........

[Trish]

Whoop whoop good news!! No sign of pheochromocytoma recurrence! BP good! Taken bloods, UPC still waiting results from those, she said some thickening in jejunum prob irritable bowel, definitely does not look like tumour, to get further diagnosis she needs to biopsy but she consulting with her nutritionist colleague about dietary changes first!! So far good results!!! so we about to drive home and she will call/email with bloods.

We went shopping while Flynn had his tests, I bought bright fire engine red suede winter shoes, they going to be our best ever report from pet hospital celebration shoes!!!!!!!! Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx more later

[Trixie]

Woohoo!! What great news Trish. So happy for you and Flynn!! Those red suede shoes are going to remind you of your happy day today!
:D :D
Barbara

[molly muffin]

Yay!!! Fabulous news! Isn't it wonderful to come away from an appointment stress free! :) Love it!
Lets do more shoe shopping!!! ehehehehehe

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Budsters Mom]

Whoopee!!!! :D:D:DIt had to be all of the angels surrounding both of you that brought such a fantastic report!! Fire engine red celebration shoes, PERFECT!!! I am thrilled for you!

Love and Hugs,
Kathy and Buddy:cool:

[doxiesrock912]

AWESOME NEWS!!!!!!!
Buy yourself a celebratory present too :)

[Fellasmom]

Trish
So happy for you and Flynn!!You must be so relieved and probably exhausted after worrying so much.So thrilled you got such great news!!Love the red shoes!:D:D:).I know you will sleep well tonight.Big hugs to you and Flynn

[Tina]

Oh Trish, what wonderful news!!! That's our boy, way to go Flynn!!! :cool: :D :cool: :D Brought tears to my eyes, I am so happy for you!! Will be waiting to hear the lab results and the UPC. I love the red shoes too! :) Lots of hugs from us, and a kiss on the nose for Flynny.

[Trish]

We are home phew!!!!

We saw a student for an hour, her head was spinning the poor thing! But she had me to fill in all of Flynny's history for her! Then we saw IMS who Flynny proceeded to give many kisses to! She gave him a look over and we decided on his blood tests, UPC (I had collected urine on the way, very handy to have a little supply of specimen jars for just these occasions and saves the dreaded cysto!) and off he went, digging his little paws into the lino so Vicky and I had to quickly leave as I cannot bear to see his "save me Mum" pleading look. :(

Anyway, we left him there 2 hours, back to speak to IMS, she said ultrasound showed no sign of the pheo, it was very clean around where the right adrenal was removed and the vena cava looked excellent!! YAY YAY! That was THE best news as I had been so worried the continued hypertension was related to recurrence.

He still has the nodules in liver, no bigger than previously noted, they have done needle biopsies again today (this is 4th time) and what they thought was a lymph node seen prior to adrenalectomy (and was biopsied then and contained normal hepatic cells which they think was part of the regeneration of liver after his liver resection) was again seen but she said surprisingly on the other side but she was convinced it was same thing but they have also rebiopsied that. So we await the histology one those.

She said his gall bladder has also moved since the surgery, it looked fine though.

Kidneys ok, a little less cortico medullary differentiation which is not unusual in older dogs.

Bowel - thickening of wall in small intestine in the jejunal section. She thinks it is most likely some form of irritable bowel disorder. She said the only way we could definitely diagnose is with biopsy and it can be hard to get that far down with endoscopy. I did not know there are a few different types of this problem. I have been googling since I got home of course, sometimes they do laparotomy to biopsy which seems very invasive. She thinks we should try dietary changes in first instance and she will speak with her colleague IMS who is expert in nutrition and get back to me on what to do. There are medications which we could try if he got worse, but she would like to try without and go down dietary path then maybe look at biopsy if deteriorating.

BP - she said they tried on a machine initially that gave reading 180, but she said it was possibly dodgy machine?!? So they went back to their old machine and it came in at 120 which she is going with :D:D So very happy with that.

She said the changes she had noted in blood vessels in his eyes previously are now resolvved which makes her think it that was just due to hypertension so pleased about that.

Plan
She will call/email in next day or two with results from biopsies of liver and lymph node and also blood tests and UPC.
She is to consult with her colleague re dietary recommendations
I have a few questions about meds and supplements that I did not ask today.

So pretty happy so far, be better once I get all the results in. '

Poor Flynny not too happy tonight, just gave couple little cries, seemed a bit stiff and I wonder if his back hurts a little after the scan.

Charged $443.59 which I think very reasonable for ultrasound, bloods, UPC, fine needle liver and lymph node biopsies, BP, consultation with IMS plus he had some sedation for the scan (they used methadone, he has not had that before!).

So thats all for now, thank you so much for coming with us today!! The car was pretty full of love, I could feel it all day long :D:D:D xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[addy]

happy dacing all day now, I am so very glad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pretty darn good report!!!!!:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

red shoes sound awesome:D:D:D:D

[milosmom]

wow trish that flynn sure is a trooper !!! so happy that he is doing well and i think that you also are so relieved...but i am so sorry he had to endure all that poking...wishing both of you a happy,healthy,quiet,peaceful day...we are all so happy for you two :) patty(milo)meka xoxox

[Mel-Tia]

I did see your GREAT news earlier just maxed out as usual and with going away its worse

So pleased for you. Will be back later

Mel
Xxxxx

[Boriss McCall]

yay!!! more good news. Flynn is a rockstar & so his his mama.

[Simba's Mom]

Yay Flynn, good reports, gotta love them.....happy dancing tonite for lots of good reports!

[Fellasmom]

Trish
Wow!!What a great report!I hope Flynn is a litle less stiff today-could have been from all that poking around plus the long car ride.I can't believe you were only charged that amount!Over here,I paid just under 500 for just a consult with that first IME we saw:eek:.She did nothing but talk to me and then took Fella's BP.It's always nice to hear reasonable charges.Sounds like a great day in every way!
Hugs to you and your boy and speak to you soon!

[Trish]

Hi all - Flynn's full report is in, she did not call but has sent an email which I had suggested she do so I have the full results for my records!! :D:D (you have all taught me well to keep everything up to date :)) I have cut out normal lab values and the urine test which was ok apart from 3+ protein. Honestly that ultrasound has the potential to freak me out :eek: But surgeon visualised the left adrenal nodule during his surgery and did not suspect anything other than benign nodule and he has no cushings symptoms so whatever it is in his remaining adreanal it is not getting worse and is causing no problem so I am not going to worry about that one for now.

The kidneys have quite a few of the things you have on Zoe's Addy! Still I am going to concentrate on the improvements in his protein/creat ratio and normal renal blood panel. My mantra has been treat the dog and not the numbers so I will listen to my own advice on his dodgy kidneys too!! Big liver nodule unchanged and most likely benign. The newest thing is change in small bowel, please those of you with inflammatory bowel disease experience I would appreciate comments and thoughts on the IMS dietary recommendations made at the end of her letter. Flynn has had normal poops for six days now, YAY! But I will proceed with the hypoallergenic diet to try and get on top of it. I presume we will continue with the supplements he is on now, she knew about them but has not mentioned anything about them in her report. Any input appreciated as always, but despite all his little bumps, internal and external... overall I am pretty happy with my boy at the moment! xx
__________________________________________________ __

Thank you for your referral of Flynn, a 11y 6m old, Male Fox Terrier belonging to Trish, who presented to the Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hospital on the 22/05/2013. Pertinent case details for Flynn are as follows:

Physical examination
Multiple lumps over body. BWt 13.5kg, BCS 5/9
Blood pressure cuff#3 left fore Doppler 180mmhg, Pet Map 118mmHG
Fundic examination – normal, no evidence tortous blood vessels, assume blood pressure stable
Ultrasound: Abdomen.

History: History of pheochromocytoma from the right adrenal gland removed 6 months ago. Prior extension into the caudal vena cava identified. History of benign liver nodule. Recheck for possible metastatic disease.
Significant findings: Ultrasound is compared to 19/12/12.
The gallbladder is similarly positioned to the left of midline. The right liver contains a 1.9 cm ovoid hypoechoic nodule. Additionally, within the right liver, 2, 0.8–1.5 cm ill-defined hyperechoic nodules are present. Similar the prior date, adjacent to the left caudal margin of the liver, a 1.4 cm irregularly ovoid echogenic nodule is present. At the liver margin cranial to this nodule, linear hyperechogenicity with distal acoustic shadowing suspicious for surgical clips are present. The left adrenal gland is enlarged (0.9 cm), and contains a 0.7 cm hyperechoic nodule in the caudal pole. The right adrenal gland is not identified. In the region of the right adrenal gland, clear hyperechogenicity with distal acoustic shadowing consistent with hemoclips are present. There is no evidence of caudal vena caval invasion or turbulent flow. The kidneys bilaterally have decreased corticomedullary definition, hyperechoic cortical echogenicities, and small cortical cysts. The mucosal layer of multiple jejunal segments contain pinpoint and linear hyper echogenicities.
The spleen, urinary bladder, prostate, jejunal and medial iliac lymph nodes, stomach, right pancreatic limb, and colon are normal.
25/22-gauge fine-needle aspirates were performed in the left cranial abdominal nodule and right liver nodule, with no immediate complications.
Impressions:
1. Absent right adrenal gland consistent with prior adrenalectomy. No sonographic evidence of regrowth or vascular invasion.
2. Left adrenal megaly and adrenal nodule. Given size, differentials include hyperplasia or neoplasia (such as adenoma) most likely. If there is clinical suspicion for pheochromocytoma, this cannot be excluded.
3. Persistent gallbladder malpositioning consistent with prior left liver lobectomy.
4. Hepatic nodules. Differentials include hyperplasia, extramedullary hematopoiesis, hematomas, or neoplasia.
5. Left cranial abdominal nodule. Given proximity to suspected hemoclips, ectopic hepatic tissue is considered. An abnormal mesenteric lymph node cannot be completely excluded.
6. Bilateral nonspecific nephropathy and cystic cortical degeneration.
7. Altered small intestinal wall layering. Lacteal dilation is considered.

Lab work:
ALP 1094 H ( 0 - 185 )
ALT 296 H ( 0 - 75 )
CHOL 13.2 H ( 3.0 - 9.0 )
LIP 246 H ( 13 - 200 )

Urine protein creatinine ratio:
UCRE 11781 Ratio
UTP 2.45 Ratio
PRCR 1.84 Ratio

CYTOLOGY
Liver Nodule: Hepatocytes showing disorganisation. No overt signs of malignancy
Cranial Abdominal Mass: Epithelial cells with cytological features suggesting hepatocytes. No overt signs of malignancy
Comment: cells from both sites are not markedly abnormal in appearance. However, they are more variable in size and shape than usually seen in aspirates from normal liver, and they are arranged in disorganised patterns. The latter can be a collection and spreading artifact. The features noted in these aspirates can be seen in nodular hyperplasia, ectopic liver tissue, hepatomas and well differentiated carcinoma. Cytologically, we cannot differentiate these.

Overall impression of Flynn
Flynn looks like he is feeling great and is doing well. I would not chase his lab values too much when he is clinically well (ie his liver enzymes are increased, and we do have evidence for liver changes, however they appear benign and have been aspirated and biopsied a few times). Renal parameters and protein should be monitored as should blood pressure.

There are numerous changes on the Ultrasound, however there is little change from previous scans, the left adrenal has had nodules before, the liver nodules look the same and there has always a round abdominal mass that aspirates as ectopic liver. There is no evidence for return of the pheochromocytoma.

The new finding is evidence for some gastro-intestinal disease. The findings were in the jejunum and could be consistent with lacteal dilation and inflammatory bowel disease.

Followup:
Continue amlodipine and benazepril for blood pressure and urinary protein loss
Recheck blood work & blood pressure every 3-6months
Repeat ultrasound & thoracic radiographs in 6-12months
Colitis – consider feeding hydrolysed protein diet such as Royal Canin Hypoallergenic, Purina HA, Hills ZD Ultra. Feed exclusively for 8weeks. If no improvement then sulfa-salazine can be considered.

[addy]

kidney cysts - sound familiar;) I read they can throw protein into the urine.

inflammatory bowel disease- check on that one too:):) I'll send you a link I think I have at work on it but the new IMS told me this


Inflammatory bowel/colitis: The three general approaches available are diet, antibiotic/probiotic, and anti inflammatory.
We certainly don't want to use systemic steroids in Zoe's case, but we could consider budesonide,which is an oral steroid that isn't well absorbed into the blood. Diet would involve a change to a hypoallergenic diet -either a novel antigen or a hydrolyzed protein.

so we have 2 different types of diet to try which is why I always tell people- don't use up all your novel proteins but if we have we can try the hydrolyzed protein diet, the molecules are so small the protein does not bother them.

I think to start with diet considering Flynn is not having daily problems or water, runny stool, is good and is great advice.

Hopefully I have the article I wanted to send you on my work computer.


found it- diet is toward the end of the article and it is from 2008 so a bit old

http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.com/avhc/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=588609&sk=&date=&pageID=3

[Mel-Tia]

Hope you have a great weekend, will read his report when I get back as I have to bathe and pack!

Will try and check in if I can while I am away, will be back in the middle if your night so will probably catch you wed morning

Big hug, bum scratches to Flynn

Melxxxx

[molly muffin]

Well, over all that is a pretty good report. Now to see if a diet will fix the poop.

This is going to be interesting. Flynn has ideas about what he likes and doesn't like. LOL

You're doing awesome as always Trish.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[addy]

Hey Trish, quick question, when you discussed probiotics with your vet- what was the doseage for a dog when using a human probiotic?

I just found the same probiotic strains in Zoe's Azodyl in a human probiotic thanks to Mary Strauss and her Dogaware site- gotta love that girl:D one third the price:D:D:D:D

dont need to refrigertate either, score for me I think, just need to figure out the dose for Zoe

Thanks!!!

[Fellasmom]

Hey Trish
Didn't see you this morning-hope all is okay with you and Flynn.How is his tummy and poops?Overall,sounds like you got a pretty good report-they results can be so overwhelming sometimes.Big hugs to you and Flynny.
Patty

[Trish]

Hi all
Thanks for all your well wishes :) We doing pretty good, the occasional mucous covered poop still, only a couple of softish ones. I do think it is uncomfortable though and some symptoms I have kinda not realised may well be associated with this, like in the mornings after he eats he can hang his head and I wonder if that is his tummy protesting, usually straight after he eats I drive him to Mum and Dads while I go to work and in the car he sits on the back seat with his head down. Also occasional bad breath. He has had these intermittent symptoms a couple of years, when they get put down to all the other problems he has had like the liver cancer then the adrenal tumour. But maybe all of these things are related to his bowel issues after all.

I have not had the chance to talk to my vet other than get a txt to him about the no pheo recurrence!!! The IMS has sent him copy of report too, but I think he is on his 4 days off now so will catch up with him early next week and get the hypoallergenic diet underway. Not sure which one to use but I want wet food and some kibble as Flynn likes the variety and if he has to be on it for 8 weeks I really want something that is tasty for him. He loves his food :D:D

Thanks for checking in on us, have a good weekend all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx :D

[addy]

When I was on the Dogaware site, they had mentioned that the Hills d/d could also be used as a good renal diet for early renal disease. I am not a big fan of Hill's prescription food but thought I would mention it. They had a venison and potato, a salmon and potato and one other food. I thought about it for Zoe but not sure how she will do with the oils in it and all the starch. Her IBD does not do well with high fiber which is why we are having the issues we have now. Some IBD dogs can handle fiber and it helps them, some cannot.:confused::confused::confused: The only novel protein for her would be the venison.

[Trish]

Hi Addy
Thanks for that dogaware website, I am spending a bit of time this morning researching diets for Flynn and checking those recommended by the IMS. I am looking forward to getting him started on this!! xx

[Budsters Mom]

Trish,
Be careful, hypoallergenic diets can be tasteless. You want to give Flynn something that he is going to want to gobble up.:D. Buddy is allergic to many things. The question isn't what he's allergic to, it's finding something that he can tolerate and not have a reaction to.
Buddy eats Blue Buffalo Basics - Salmon and Potato Formula. It is a special blend for dogs with food sensitivities. I don't know if you have that there.

[SoggyDoggy]

Hey Trish,

Haven't caught up for a while but congrats on Flynn's test results, some positive news there for sure.

As far as the diets go, is there anything else (other than Ziwi obviously) that is made in NZ, or do they bring Black Hawk in from Aus at all? I don't know if there is anything specifically hypo allergenic from them, but I worry now about the big brands like Hills etc as they are so heavily radiated when they are imported in. I reckon our kids have enough to go through without adding that issue to the mix, so I have changed my boys to Ziwi and Black Hawk. Coming from NZ, food doesn't get radiated, and the Black Hawk here is made in Victoria. Again though, I don't know if they have a hypo allergenic formula.

Alternatively, could you consider home cooking for him? We know Flynn loves "real" food from your parents, :p so maybe fresh food would suit him more? Oz was always allergic to preservatives so he has had home cooking and kibble his whole life. Certainly knocked those issues out anyhow, the trick obviously would be to find a protein source to use that doesn't upset Flynny.

Anyway, hoping you are well and having a great weekend. Take care and Fraser sends sloppy kisses.

[Trish]

Hi everyone
Thanks for the comments on diet, it is such a confusing area to research!

I would love to feed him a home cooked diet, but they do not come without difficulty either. I have been looking up local NZ papers on this topic tonight and these three papers are by an IMS that my IMS consuted about Flynns gastrointestinal problems. The first one discusses home cooked and the other two are about hydrolysed diets. They are a bit different to other hypoallergenic diets because they alter the proteins with the goal of less irritants in the bowel. It seems Flynny's small intestine is showing inflammation which has been picked up on ultrasound hence the recommendation for the hydrolysed food trial.

Home prepared discussion paper
http://samedicine.anzcvs.org.au/samedicine_assets/documents/2009%20sam%20proceedings/acvsc%202009%20cave%20home%20prepared%20diets.pdf

Hydolysed diet papers
http://samedicine.anzcvs.org.au/samedicine_assets/documents/2009%20sam%20proceedings/acvsc%202009%20cave%20hydrolysed%20diets.pdf
http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/wsava/2010/b2.pdf

Addy, what do you think on these?

[addy]

I think the Geneva paper interesting as it relates also back to the digestibilty of foods, pointing out that poorly digested foods can also contribute to loose stools, which has me thinking about my Zoe and her Zeal, though she was on highly digestible ID with not good results either:confused::confused:

Fo Zoe, I would not want to use a soy based diet because I know she has problems with increased estrogen.

We have to take in to account the carbs in the hydrolized diet as well as the protein, from what I gleaned from some other sites, try to pick a hydrolized food with novel carbs and protein is preferred, which is pretty darn hard these days, so we would have to do the best we can. If you make a homemade diet, you do have more control of that, you have more choices unless all the proteins are used up. It really does not matter if a dog's diet is not exactly balanced for eight weeks, in my opinion.

I'm wondering if the soy diet might not be a pick if Flynn will even eat it.

I remember on by IBD forum, if you had a rescue dog and could not possible know what protein the dog may have eaten they suggested going back 2 years if you could and that meant not even one mouthful and they wanted us to pick a new protein and carb.

Flynn would eat one of these diets for about eight weeks, monitor how he does and if he does well, then you reintroduce his previous food to see if you get a response. If you do then you know he is allergic to something in his previous food. Isnt that how it works?

I would be worried about Flynn eating one of the hydrolized diet for a regular, permament food though that is just me. Im also wondering if he will eat the soy based food or would you do the chicken liver? I did not realize how limited the hydrolized diets are as far as choices of proteins and carbs.




Hydrolyzed protein diets often feature chicken or soy as the protein source, with soy often preferred since few dogs have likely consumed soy protein as part of their former diet, so they are unlikely to be allergic to the soy protein. These proteins are usually paired with potato, rice or cornstarch as the carbohydrate source as these are less commonly used in commercial dog food production than other carbohydrates like whole kernel corn or wheat.

In addition to helping alleviate food allergy symptoms, hydrolyzed protein diets can also help treat:

•colitis
•idiopathic diarrhea
•inflammatory bowel disease
•otitis externa
•short bowel syndrome


Hill’s Prescription Diet z/d Ultra Canine
Hill’s Prescription Diet z/d Ultra Canine uses hydrolyzed chicken liver and potato as its protein and carbohydrate sources for adult dogs. The liver has been broken down into its amino acid components to reduce the chances of it causing an allergic reaction in sensitive dogs. Prescription Diet z/d Ultra Canine is available in dry and canned formulas.

Purina HA HypoAllergenic Canine Formula
HA HypoAllergenic Canine Formula from Purina Veterinary Diets uses hydrolyzed soy protein and cornstarch to provide balanced nutrition for both puppies and adult dogs. It is a highly digestible, vegetarian diet that is available in a dry formula only. HA HypoAllergenic is compatible with a Purina treat called Gentle Snackers, which also contains hydrolyzed soy protein.

Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Canine Hypoallergenic
Royal Canin uses hydrolyzed soy protein and rice to provide nutrition for both puppies and adult dogs with food allergies. It also contains ingredients to improve a dog’s skin and coat, as well as balancing a dog’s digestive system. This highly digestible diet is available in a dry formula only. It is not recommended for pregnant or nursing females.

Other Options to Consider
Hydrolyzed protein diets are one option owners of dogs with food allergies can try, but they may not work in all cases. If your dog’s symptoms do not improve with a hydrolyzed protein diet, you may want a commercially prepared hypoallergenic diet that features unique sources of protein and carbohydrates that may not create an allergic reaction in your dog.


Read more: Hydrolyzed Protein Dog Food - VetInfo


I thought I just read about a canned version of Royal Canin- maybe this article is older- Zoe cannot even eat kibble, yikes, she's out of luck with hydrolized diets unless we can find more.

[Trish]

Good morning everyone, lovely sunny Sunday morning here!

Thanks for your comments Addy, I was leaning towards the soy as well as he has reacted to chicken in the past. Although he did have some last weekend with no ill effects. I understand the proteins are broken down in the hydrolysed diets to decrease gut inflammation but I thought it might be best to not have chicken in the mix at all. My problem is a vegeatarian Flynn?!?! :eek::eek: He loves his meat, even though it might not be doing him any good at the moment. Plus the Purina HA only comes in biscuit form and I was hoping to at least have him on wet and dry for variety. Still it is worth a try to see if we can settle his poor tummy down without having to resort to more meds.

I have posted to a IBD facebook group so will see what they have to say about it all. xxxx

[addy]

I think the soy diet is the better option for a chance of success since he also has never eaten it, hydrolized or not it gives you a better shot at success, but I dont know if our Flynn will like his soy burgers:):)

Maybe try it and then switch to the chicken liver option if he wont eat the soy.

I made my decision on Zoe. I am going to try to get rid of the rest of her raw food. Her Zeal is still high protein but if I can replace those 137 calories of pure raw protein with lower protein, maybe I can get her UPC down under 1.5. The new IMS thought part of her higher Bun was from her diet. I want to try this first before trying an ACE inhibtor. Problem is it will take me 2 months to do it so I wont see the effects on her next test.:(:(:(

If her IBD gets worse, I'll be back looking at these diets. But her stool is better on now then it was.

Let me know what the IBD Facebook people say. I wonder if it is my old IBD forum.

[Trish]

HI Addy and everyone... These are the hydrolysed formula's available in NZ, both Royal Canin and Hills has chicken in it so I think I will go for the Purina HA blend, give it a try and see how we go. I am nervous about doing this but after giving him normal preservative free venison meat plus grain free venison and potato biscuits is not working for him. He is lying about this morning, had a normal BM but I think his tummy is sore... but still I have been sitting about :) and usually if I do little he follows suit, so best I get out and get some things done in the yard before we get buried under the autumn leaves that are piling up!

Addy, I don't think they need to go on an ace until UPC hits 2. So you got a ways to go there. Maybe the diet change will do the trick for Zoe and she won't need it. In saying that, Flynn seems to be tolerating his Ace (benzapril) really well, the UPC when it went high in April was 3.57, starting benzapril brought it down to 1.49 in little under one month. Last week it was up again to 1.84 but that is with testing at a different lab to the others so I am not getting to perturbed about that right now with his gut problems being the most pressing issue. I did ask the IMS about his kidneys, she said there is no reason why it will not stay lowish now his BP is under control, she said the changes in his eyes have resolved with the hypertension stabilising so hopefully she thinks the same will apply to his kidneys that have also suffered with high BP. But we obviously have to watch them.

Royal Canin Hypoallergenic

COMPOSITION: rice, hydrolysed soya protein isolate, animal fats, minerals, hydrolysed poultry liver, beet pulp, soya oil, fructo-oligo-saccharides, fish oil, borage oil, marigold extract (source of lutein). ADDITIVES (per kg): Nutritional additives: Vitamin A: 24800 IU, Vitamin D3: 800 IU, E1 (Iron): 40 mg, E2 (Iodine): 3 mg, E4 (Copper): 11 mg, E5 (Manganese): 53 mg, E6 (Zinc): 202 mg - Preservatives - Antioxidants. ANALYTICAL CONSTITUENTS: Protein: 21% - Fat content: 19% - Crude ash: 8.4% - Crude fibres: 1% - Per kg: EPA/DHA: 3.4 g - Essential fatty acids: 47 g

Purina HA
Ingredients: Starch, hydrolyzed soy protein isolate, vegetable oil, calcium phosphate, partially hydrogenated canola oil preserved with TBHQ, powdered cellulose, corn oil, potassium chloride, vegetable gums (gum arabic, guar gum), choline chloride, dl-methionine, salt, magnesium oxide, lecithin, taurine, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, vitamin E supplement, manganese sulfate, niacin, calcium carbonate, vitamin A supplement, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, garlic oil, vitamin B12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), sodium selenite

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4.4%

Hills ZD
Starch, Hydrolyzed Chicken Liver, Soybean Oil (preserved with BHA, propyl gallate and citric acid), Hydrolyzed Chicken, Powdered Cellulose, Lactic Acid, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Glyceryl Monostearate, Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), DL-Methionine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Taurine, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols & Citric Acid, Rosemary Extract, Beta-Carotene

[Budsters Mom]

Trish,
I hope Flynn loves his new chow and his new chow loves him!:). It is always somewhat scary when you have to switch foods. I've had to do it several times due to Buddy's allergies. There is always a period of adjustment.:o Sending lots of love and hugs for you both.

By the way Trish, Flynn looks almost identical to the dog that I had when I was child. He was raised as my little brother. I was the baby and my older brothers had each other, so Spot was my little brother.
My parents adopted him as a puppy from the local animal shelter. He was a mutt. We are not sure what his breed was. I was barely three at the time. He lived until he was 15 and I was 18. He wasn't overly friendly to anybody but me. I could do anything to him an we did everything together. We had a connection of complete trust in which nobody really understood. When he crossed over the rainbow bridge, I lost my favorite brother. I have always had an uncanny connection with animals. Every time I see your avatar, I see Spot. I can tell that Flynn is just a special to you as Spot was to me. Boy this is sappy and now I'm an emotional mess!:rolleyes:

Hugs,
Kathy and Buddy:cool:

[Budsters Mom]

Trish,
I searched high and low to find a photo of Spot to show you. I posted it in my "check it out" photo album. Please read my previous post and you'll understand what the heck I am talking about. The photo is a picture of me holding Spot. It was taking more than 40 years ago!I think Flynn may be a reincarnation of Spot. ;). I am not kidding when I said that Flynn reminds me of my little brother. :) Bizarre huh?:rolleyes:

Hugs,
Kathy and Buddy:cool:

[molly muffin]

Wow they do look alike Barbara! Isn't that the cutest of you holding spot, your 'brother'.
hugs,
Sharlene and molly Muffin

[Budsters Mom]

Sharlene,
Spot was my brother, not Barbara's!:D

Hugs,
Kathy and Buddy:cool:

[Tina]

Hi Trish,

I read over the complete US report, and I think it looks great overall. Especially the part about no evidence of any more pheo!! Wow,what a lot of reading you have done on the diets. Great job, as always. It is so confusing, isn't it? I remember when I was trying to research kidney diets when Jasper's UPC was so high and the Dr said we had to start treating. I about drove myself crazy. There was so much to read and learn, and for kidney stuff it was so scary, the low protein versus moderate protein recommendations and opinions. You have done a much better job than I was able to do! ;). And how is the little man tonight? Hope you guys are having a good weekend!

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

[Trish]

Wow Kathy, they are very very similar!! Even the tail could be Flynny's tail with that wee bit of black on the top :) Flynn has a wee bit more brown on his face but honestly they could be brothers!!! Thanks for posting that, it has put a huge smile on my face :D:D So cute aren't they! Flynn is a muttley too haha, mainly fox terrier though! I rescued him off a busy road when he was about 6 months old, so we have no idea what his parents were like. He is my first ever dog so I have learnt along the way, but I am so glad I found him. I am a little jealous of kids with dogs, now I have one I often think of the first 38 years of my life that were doggy less and I didn't even know what I was missing, the bond your share with Spot and now the Budster is so so special :D Awwww I love my dog! :):D:):D

[addy]

Trish- do we have to be worried about how much calcium phosphate is in the food? The Royal Canin does not have it. I know Zoe's raw has it. I read U.C. Davis does not use calcium as a binder any more for kidney disease and I wonder if we have to think about how much phosphorus is in each diet?

Trying to look at all the issues.;):)

Also, I think it depends on exactly what is causing the inflamation and in Zoe's case it is bacteria which diet does not really solve, antibiotics do, thus the continuing low dose of metronidazole for her.

[Trish]

I don't think so at this stage Addy, most of the renal stuff I have read say to be careful with phosphorous the worse the renal function gets. Phosphorous was included in his blood tests last week and his is 1.14 (1.00 - 3.00), so it does not seem to be a problem as yet!! (or ever hopefully :) ) What is Zoe's?

[addy]

In January it was 4.3 normal range being 2.5-7.9 so she is good but I want to keep it that way. We did not retest that in March and everything else increased in March so-----

When I switched Zoe to her raw diet four years ago we did it cold turkey and I had metronidazole on hand. I was scared too as I had so many bad reactions to every food I tried previously, sometimes only one piece of kibble. So it is natural to be worried. Do you have metronidazole or something on hand if you need it?

Ace inhibitors must be used with caution with Trilostane which is why I dont want to get to that point:):)

Im here if you need moral support.

[cheydogger]

Hi Trish-

I am so glad to read there is no evidence of reoccurrence of the pheo. Yay!!!! It seems everything looks pretty much the same except his small intestine. Was the swab removed from his small intestine? Could that have anything to do with his current intestinal issues?

I don't know anything about diets. I have fed Chey the same food for many years.

Take care. Soooo glad to hear the good news.

Ro

[Mel-Tia]

Morning you

How are you and the little man?? Any adventures? How's his belly been?? Mum and Dad ok?

Thank you for your sweet note on Tia's thread and the candle.

We had a good time, he wasn't as keen on the beach as usual but it was still a bit cold. Was nice to get away and I think we all needed it. I took pictures of princess with me and he kept stopping like she used to cause of the wind so we smiled at that. He was such a good boy and loved going away

I haven't seen him all afternoon as he has been in bed recovering :)

Hopefully I will catch you before work. Will be checking back :D

Big hug to you and a scratch for the wee man

Mel
Xxxxxxxx

[molly muffin]

Welcome back Mel, good to see you and I'm glad you had a good getaway. We all need those breaks sometimes.

We've been holding down the fort for you!!

Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Trish]

Hi everyone

Well it seems Flynn is not going to be vegedog after all :)

Just got off the phone after having a good chat with our local vet. He was very pleased with Flynn's IMS report and we had a very good discussion on dietary issues.

He wants Flynn to go onto the new Royal Canin allergenic diet which has just been released here in NZ. He is not sure if there is a wet food that can go with the biscuits as he agrees Flynn will not do well on an all biscuit diet but he is going to find out. He said we should transition him to the new diet over at least a two week period, keep him on his venison meat initially and start the biscuits slowly. If he will not eat biscuits only and if there is no Royal Canin wet food then we can supplement it with the Hills ZD to coat the biscuits. He thinks the benefits of this diet outweighs the inclusion of the chicken in the RC/Hills.

He wanted to know more about his dietary history and we talked about when I thought Flynn started having problems with chicken and he was quite right that it was associated with his dicey postop period when he had so many other things going on like the swab and pancreatitis so it might not even be the chickens fault.

If this does not work then we can go with the Purina HA which is soy based but apparently difficult to get hold of in NZ.

I am to keep all his current supplements going with this diet change. I told him about how over the last two weeks he has been good with only a few mucous covered but firm poops. He said that even normal dogs at times can have that and it is only a real problem if it is blood flecked which would indicate in Flynn's case more bowel inflammation.

One other thing I was concerned about is Flynn's ongoing elevated cholesterol level, his urine also had lipid droplets seen. He said high cholesterol in dogs is usually associated with liver problems which we know Flynn has, but they appear to be benign. I was concerned about possible atherosclerosis (like us humans get) and he said I am not too worry about that as dogs do not live long enough for those problems to manifest. So that was reassuring, but he did go on to say that of course high cholesterol can be associated with cushings and thyroid problems... so I just said, ok stop that right now... we not going there as he has no other symptoms of cushings so I do not even want to test for it! :eek:

Hmmmm... I think that's all for my report :D:D Ohhh I just thought of something for you Addy, we went through the ultrasound report and he said the renal cortical cysts are seen in a lot of dogs also and can be an incidental finding and often not cause any decreased renal function so there you go, I am not going to worry about the renal function especially when his latest UPC had the lowest protein count since April 2012!

So two happy campers here, bring on the new diet and lets kick this gastrointestinal problem into touch!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love to all xxxxxxx

[addy]

I like this report:D:D:D I'm so glad Flynn wont be a vegan dog just yet and I think your vet makes perfect sense.

Our other IMS told me the same thing basically about Zoe's cysts and seems to feel the protein is coming from her IBD which is why his focus was going to be on diet, IBD and keeping her post cortisol as low as possible. That was the page I ws on too but keeping a nod toward the kidneys to preserve as much as I can.

Zoe had her first teaspoon of Keen today, will see what happens.

I hope you feel better now about transitioning Flynn. I think it will be fine.

[milosmom]

it is just amazing how your litl Flynn is such a fighter!!! with all that he has endured and yourself it truly is wonderful :).hoping his tummy issues improve and that you can get some time to just relax and snuggle together ...such an outstanding mom you are trish .take care patty(milo)meka xoxox

[Budsters Mom]

Glad to hear that Flynn is continuing to do so well. I hope the new chow is too his liking and his tummy troubles settle soon. Many of our babies seem to have tummy issues:(. I love the way you continue to plug on with such a positive attitude.:) You are a great example for all of us.

Hugs,
Kathy

[Trish]

Thanks everyone :D:D

Well his food has arrived, I went and picked it up after work. It is called Anallergenic from Royal Canin. It smells. I gave him a wee taste and he liked it and gobbled it down. So have started mixing a few of the new in with his old biscuits and the venison and will start by slowly withdrawing the old biccies. Then over the next week stop the venison. Two weeks of fairly good poops here, hope I am not upsetting the apple cart by changing his diet now. I just want to settle down that inflammed bowel and I think it will make him feel better, it must be sore. I was lazy tonight and ordered a pizza and he was most aggrieved not to get any. But we have not been giving him any snacks at all other than his own food and Mum and Dad have been very good too which might be why he has been so good lately!

He had fun today leading poor Dad on a merry chase on their walk this morning. Dad forgot to take his leash (well he is a little forgetful at 80!), it is not a big deal as they walk up the beach in a safe dog walking area and Flynn is always off leash up there and enjoys his run. So they had a nice walk but then Flynn would not go back to the car and kept right on running well past it :D:D by the time Dad got hold of the little rotter he still could not tempt him to walk back to the car so he had to pick him up and carry him all the way :eek::eek: He is a good 30 pounds so poor old Dad was quite pooped lugging the little shite and all I could think of when Dad was telling me this tale was his newly diagnosed abdominal aneurysm and the strain of carrying that dog!!:eek::eek: I bet he won't forget his leash again :):)

Have a good Friday everyone! xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[molly muffin]

Oh lordy! Poor Dad!! What a little rotter eh.

Well, I'm sure that Flynn feels like he's a deprived soul. No pizza, no curry. *sigh*

Hope the new food works out well and you get to have a nice long enjoyable weekend.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Trish]

Yes he was a little rotter, but he just got his comeuppance!! Shower time Flynn boy! :eek::eek:

I just put up a photo of him sunbathing after the dreaded shower, relaxing to get over the trauma! :D He is still liking his new biscuits, I am using them for treats and half his biscuit allowance plus meat for few days. The vet nurse called this morning to see how he liked them, so that was nice of her. Have a good day everyone, Flynn has a doggy play date this afternoon around at a friends house... with the wee pup in the photo next to one I just put up! Fun, fun, fun! xxxxxxx

[Budsters Mom]

It looks like Flynn gave dad a run for his money! :eek:That'll teach him to take the leash next time!;) I am glad that he is doing well on his new food.

Hugs,
Kathy

[SoggyDoggy]

Thanks Trish, now I want pizza! :( :D:D

Glad to hear Flynn is doing well and that the new bikkies seem to be a hit. Crossing fingers for you that he continues to like them and that his poor tummy settles down. Poor little tyke.

I saw a doggy t-shirt slogan online somewhere today that would suit him. "Little Monkey" Your poor dad! But I bet Flynn thought it was great fun. Hope you've had a great weekend and the week ahead is a good one.

Speak soon!

[Fellasmom]

Hi Trish
Loved that you came along with us for the ride home last night-thanks!!And all I could think about was your delicious sounding key lime pies-Mel and I both!I just read your last few posts and laughed so hard about your Dad forgetting the leash!:D:D.I have alot of catching up to do as I was a passenger on the white van for about a week!:).

Romeo is a little love and though I could think of so many more names for him,the name just fits him to a T.He slept right beside me,under the blanket all night long!It was like he has lived here for years.He seems much younger than 2-he is like an energizer bunny,hopping,jumping and scooting all over the place.Grace is absolutely thrilled and Buster is watching from a distance,loaning out his BFF on a temporary basis!:).We are having a heat wave here-can barely stay outdoors for too long.No doggies on the beach as of June 1st so we will walk alongside it today.Romeo will be having a bath today as he smells a little too "doggy"!Give Flynn big hugs and kisses and hope his tummy is good with the new food.

[Budsters Mom]

Wow! Flynn is certainly a trooper, just like his mom.:) I am thrilled to hear that he's doing so well. :)Yes, the price for all you had done is very reasonable! Everything here is super expensive!! :(

Hugs to you and Flynny boy,
Kathy

[Mel-Tia]

Hey

How was dinner? Did the pies turn out ok? Enjoying the queens birthday. Bless her maj

Jealous you get the day off and I don't. 5 week countdown to summer hols, I brought some new blankets and did some reasearch on the area. Tends to be no Internet so have to check out the dog friendly beaches before we go!

How's the wee mans belly? Hope all is good today

Big hug, kisses to Flynn for a change if you can catch him :eek:

Mel
Xxxxxxx

[Trish]

Hi everyone.. thanks for checking in on us!

I thought the new food was going well until this morning... got it ready with his bit of venison that I put that on the bottom and the new biscuits on top. He took one sniff and walked away :eek::eek: He has been ever so slightly off all weekend and he started feeling funky prior to the food change so I can't blame that. Just a bit quieter, stiffer not playing with his toys. He had been so good for the previous two weeks I had cut down his Tramadol plus his Pentosan injection was due so I gave that Saturday and increased the Tramadol back to the old dose so hopefully he will perk up today. Poops good though, so thats a plus thought we were in for a bout of looseness again as his breath was bad and he was looking for grass both signs in him that tummy not right.

Anyway, I stirred up his food so he could see the venison and he then proceeded to pick it all out but left the biscuits behind.. he will go back and eat them later I hope. But in the big picture I do not have too much to complain about! Have a good day all... xxx
PS pies were yummo Mel!!

[Simba's Mom]

Oh Trish, the stories you tell make me smile, good old Flynn, quite a character..hope the new food keeps going smoothly!!

[molly muffin]

Awww Flynn. Maybe he figured out that he is slowly not getting as much of the venison and is suspicious that he's going to have those biscuits for the long term and No venison. He's a smart one :)
In all seriousness though, hope this settles down soon and he'll be okay. Eventually hopefully won't need the tramadol either.

Still, he does have his ways to let you know how things are going with him and that is really good that he does.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Budsters Mom]

Poor Flynn:( he probably wonders what the heck you're doing to his food! Where's all the meat mom?:confused: I sure hope that he's back to playing soon. It seems like it's always two step forward and one step back with our babies.

Hugs to you both,
Kathy

[Trish]

Now I am worried, I gave him his normal breakfast (with no hydrolysed biscuits) this morning just to try and get things back to normal and he took one sniff and walked away. :eek: I then tried JUST venison with no biscuits plus his Tramadol and took it to him as he had retreated to the couch and he ate that thank goodness. Dunno what is going on, his poops are good. Have emailed the vet so will see what he says. I have to go to work now :(

[Mel-Tia]

Wonder if that lamb made him feel a bit icky inside as he doesn't really have that does he....

If his poops are good he might just have been trying it on seeing what you would do esp as he doesn't seem to have taken to those biscuits.

Hopefully he will be up to his usual antics with pops on his beach walk.

Big hug

Mel
Xxxxxx

[molly muffin]

Ack! Flynn. Hope this is nothing and he was just not interested, but that doesn't seem overly Flynnish. What did the vet say? How is Flynn this evening?

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Budsters Mom]

I am so sorry Trish. It is heartbreaking to have to leave them when you know that they are not feeling well or acting right. It makes for a very long work day. I hope he's starving and gobbles up all his dinner when you get home. Our babies can be so worrisome!:(

Hugs,
Kathy

[Simba's Mom]

Hoping that you and Flynn are having a good nite and that Flynn's appetite gets better....

[Trish]

Hi everyone and thanks for your posts to get Flynny eating!!

He has been ok at Mum and Dads today, enjoyed his walk and behaved up the beach! He has eaten and seems hungry tonight was waiting impatiently for me to get his dinner ready. But I have a new theory :D I mixed his venison with some of his old and favoured biscuits tonight and he was chewing funny like his mouth was sore. He would pick out a bit of food and I had mixed the biscuits through the meat and drop it on the floor and then pick out the meat and left all the biccies. It was like chewing the crunchy biscuits was hurting him.

It is really hard to see inside his mouth as he does not like me looking in there one little bit. Bless him, he did not nip but was trying to get away from me when I tried to inspect it :eek: the other thing that makes me think it is something in his mouth is on the weekend he was playing with a tennis ball and I saw little flecks of blood on it where he had been chewing it. I have not heard back from my email this morning, his vet may have taken an extra off with the long weekend so I have emailed again tonight (gawd I must be a pain of a pet parent!!) with my new idea and I think he should have a dental and so he can get a good look inside his mouth and fix any dodgy teeth. He did have mouth ulcers seen on last years dental and I have been suspicious of them since, but we tried together to have a good look at our last appt and our vet thought it was just normal folds of mouth tissue. I remain unconvinced!!

So I will wait and see what he says about this. Would rather he did not need another anaesthetic but if that is what is making him sore then it needs to be done. HIs tummy seems good and normal poops again today so kinda rules out his possible IBD flaring and causing this lack of appetite.

Honestly, if its not one thing its another!! But teeth can be fixed so hopefully it is something as simple as that. xxxxx

[Fellasmom]

Hey Trish
Just getting caught up here,but glad Flynny is eating and pooping and it sounds like you might be on the right track with the possiblility that it may be dental related.Smart mommy that you are!Hope he continues to have a good day and keep us posted.Hugs to you and Flynny.
Patty

[molly muffin]

hmm, yep, teeth could be a bother. It is hard to get in there and look around isn't it. The immediate reaction seems to be, No, get out of my mouth woman! Molly too. LOL She doesn't like it but I go in anywhere. You know where others fear to tread. hahahaha
Hope you hear from vet today.
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[SoggyDoggy]

Well hopefully it is his teeth, or even a mouth ulcer, that's a much more accessible thing to address. In the meantime though, are you able to mix a bit of water with the kibble to soften it up? I have no idea what you can/can't do with the hydrolised stuff, but I know that's a common thing for puppies. Just makes the kibble a little softer and means they can chew it up more easily, it may mean that Flynn is then able to eat his bikkies?

Just a thought, Hope your week is going well.

[addy]

Hey Trish,

Sorry to hear of Flynn not wanting to eat his kibble. Is there any hard treat he may eat? Just wondered if you could test the teeth theory by offering him some other biscuit consistency treat to see if he eats it or not. They can get strange when their food changes. One day I added more water to Koko's Embark so it was rather soupy. He was highly suspicious of it and did not want to eat it:rolleyes:

Hang in there. I hope it gets sorted out. Zoe ended her Keen food trial, she could not handle the food even though we tried very small amounts.:(

They sure keep us working hard.

hugs

[Mel-Tia]

Hey Trish

Just checking in to see how you and Flynn are? Did you get a look in his mouth?

Hope you are both ok?

Mel
Xxxx

[Trish]

Hi all

I have heard from the vet and we have scheduled Flynn in for a mouth exam/dental under sedation next Monday. He has perked up and is eating again, still preferring soft food though. But vet said symptoms I have described makes him suspiciuos he has a sore tooth or something else going on in his mouth and with good poops etc less likely tummy playing up again. But in saying that last night he did have a softer one with a bit of mucous. So he wants to have a good look in there and thinks it will be fine with light sedation not full anaesthetic which I am happy about.

He said dogs with sore mouths will go off their food then a couple days later start eating again as hunger gets the better of them even if they still have sore mouth. Tough little things aren't they!

So that's the plan, if further problems before then I have to let him know as he is working all weekend anyway and can do it sooner if we have to.

Right, I am off out to dinner for a friends birthday so will post more on others later tonight!

xxxxxxx

[Budsters Mom]

Love Flynns new avatar. It looks like he's off to do a 5K!:D. I hope you get his eating thing straightened out and that his teeth are okay. It seems to always be something with our babies.

Hugs,
Kathy

[Mel-Tia]

Hello you

How was the game (rugby?). Did you win?

Little man doing ok?

Hoping you are having a good night and maybe catch you when you come in half cut from the pub ;)

Mel
Xxxxxx

[addy]

PUB? Did someone say pub? Oh, that sounds like fun.:D:D:D

Many years ago, hubby and I spent a summer enjoying Pimm's Cups.
I'm not sure if you drink them in NZ but Mel may being in the UK. Now Im thinking how fgood one would be while sitting out at the pool.

That is if the sun ever stays out for more than hour:rolleyes:

Hope you are enjoying your weekend and Flynn's mouth is better. Koko goes for a dental the end of the month. I hate to say it but Koko is a crybaby so I made sure I scheduled his dental for the Friday before I am off for a week;);)

Hope you find out what is going on with Fynn.

[Trish]

Good morning everyone! Dreary old Sunday here today, not raining yet so will get out for our walk soonish!

Yay the All Blacks did beat France Mel, it wasn't pretty but a win's a win and we will excuse their less than stellar performance, as it's the first game of the season!

And no, there was no Pimms at the pub for me haha... have not had that drink in years!! But it would definitely qualify as a girlie drink Addy :)

Flynn is a little up and down still, he is eating which is good. Prefers the meat still, he has been having a few of his old biscuits not many though. Last night I gave him some of his hydrolysed biscuits to see how he would go. Elle was circling as he ate them, she has decided they are very tasty and sneaks right up to him to steal one, he just lets her do it too! His stategy was to gobble them all down as fast as he could so she would not get them, he hardly crunched them at all. So it was unsurprising a half hour later he brought some back up, all still in their biscuit shape!! His poops were very mucousy again yesterday too, I think because he is not getting so much fibre and eating mainly meat this week. Disappointing to seet he old bad poop this week after he had been so good for a couple of weeks. But his poop was great this morning.

We called in to the pet store yesterday to pick up his venison. They had a cage of rats reasonably low down and Flynn spotted them right away. He was mesmerised, the rats were not concerned about him at all and were swinging off the roof of their cage, running on their treadmills. He stared and stared at them. I tried to lead him away but he was rooted to the spot and would not move, I pulled harder, he lay down on the floor so I could not make him walk, little shite. I pulled a bit harder, calling him... he was attracting quite an audience by this stage... he would not come again and only slid along the polished concrete floor when I pulled him a bit harder with everyone laughing at his perseverence (or naughtiness!). Had to pick the little bugger up as it is not a good look dragging your lying down dog along the floor while he is longingly staring at rats is it!!

So I really hope tomorrow's examination just shows a bung tooth that can easily be fixed.

xxxx

[Budsters Mom]

Hi Trish,
Hoping Flynn's appt. goes well. It's unnerving when they aren't eating properly. Maybe he just doesn't like all the new biscuits??? Where is the dang meat!! ;) Come on Fynny boy, stop worrying your mama!

Hugs,
Kathy

[Budsters Mom]

Trish,
I have been brushing Buddy's teeth, 2 to 3 times a week ever since he was a puppy. He doesn't like it much, but he puts up with it. It is just part of his regular grooming. I stand him on the counter in the bathroom and he gets his face washed, his eyes cleaned, his ears checked and his teeth brushed. Then I turn him around and go to the South-forty and trim his backend. :He is absolutely perfect while I do this, and any other grooming for that matter. I do his nails, haircuts, anal glands, all of it!;) Once I release him and let him go, he tells me off for at least five minutes!:mad::D Ha! I don't care as long as I get the job done and he behave while I do it!;)

Hugs,
Kathy

[Trish]

Thanks for that Kathy, you have a good system going and it sounds like Buddy is a perfect boy for you! I should have got Flynn into a similar routine from a young age too. He just hates it, I have to get the vet nurses to do his nails as he hates that too, I must remember to ask them to do it tomorrow when he is asleep as he is getting a bit click clacky on hard floors!! Luckily with his short straight fur I do not need to clip him, just a good brush every now and then which he loves!!

I just emailed the vet to confirm all go for tomorrow, I have asked if he can do gastroscopy if he finds nothing in his mouth. We talked about that before and he does do them so just want to get the plan all straight before I drop him in the morning. I am working out of town for the day tomorrow, so hopefully everything goes very well!

[Fellasmom]

Trish
I could just picture Flynny being dragged away from the rats!Hysterical!:D.They do have a mind of their own and can be very stubborn when they want something!Good luck tomorrow with Flynny-we'll be thinking of the two of you!
Love,
Patty

[molly muffin]

Buddy and Kathy are amazing with the grooming. I wish Molly would be so good. :( doubtful it will ever happen though, she has no patience and doesn't take any of seriously.

heheheheheheeh I can just see you trying to drag Flynn away from the rats. He was really enthralled with the whole setup they had going in that cage. Guess you know now what to get him if you want him entertained. A couple rats in a cage with a wheel. ROFL!
My cat use to stare at the parakeets in their cage like that. I'm pretty sure he was thinking, if they get that door open, then Dinner!

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Trish]

hahaha Patty and Sharlene... I am pretty sure he was thinking dinner too... it was quite the little Rat Party going on in that cage, they were full of action and having a fine old time. Yes a cage full of rats would be entertainment plus for my boy!! (Not going to happen!)

Flynn has never been a TV watcher, I know it is stupid but I leave Animal Planet on for him if I ever have to go out and leave him. But he never watches the telly like I see some other dogs do. He cocks his head if he hears a dog bark on the tv but thats about it!

[Fellasmom]

Haha-guess I'm not the only crazy one.I leave Animal Planet on for them too when I work the overnight shift-have to do something to keep them out of trouble!Grace is sort of oblivious(doesn't surprise me:))but Fella would have crack me up.His little head would go side to side and he would start growling.Once they had a big bear on the screen and he went right up to the TV and started growling at it and putting his paws up to the screen:D:D.That was my boy-no fear whatsoever!!:).

[molly muffin]

Rumor has it that the LCBO has a case of Soultaker Pinoit noir 2011 in (new zealand) so we are off to see if we can score a couple bottles! It's from Gibbston Highgate Estate.
Ta Da :)

Sharlene and Molly Muffin (no she doesn't get any of it)

[Trish]

Ohh tell him I can get him 6 bottles for $120NZD which is $96.50 Canadian! Good luck on your wine search!

[SoggyDoggy]

Lol, wouldnt it be so much easier if we could all buy each other our local items at local prices and shipping wasnt a factor :p

As for Flynn, I can just picture that, and no wonder you had a laughing audience, I'd be there right along with them! He is such a clown :D

[molly muffin]

Ohh tell him I can get him 6 bottles for $120NZD which is $96.50 Canadian! Good luck on your wine search!

Oh that will kill him! It was 28.60 a bottle here, so we got three. His friend is the merchant that brings it in to the LCBO, so emailed to tell him our local just got a case. Then we went and picked up baguettes, and anitpasto, ham, cheeses, olives, etc and have called some friends to come over and join us.

Naomi, I very much wish that. We usually drink Australian wines, or Chilian, European, because the reds don't give my husband a headache like North American reds do.

Molly is thinking this is all a hoot and wow, what is that aroma! (I think it's the ham and salami)

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Tina]

Hi Trish! Ok, I literally burst out laughing (and loudly I might add) at Flynn's rat adventure. I know that laying-down-on-the-floor-so-you-can't-pull-them behavior all too well, and can just see that little rascal sliding on the concrete floor as you pulled the leash. Jasper does the exact same thing when he wants to take his stand, he can be such a defiant little scamp. I end up having to carry him also. Must be a terrier thing. I imagine Flynn was thinking "dinner" for sure if Jasper's rabbit catching escapades are any indication. :eek: :eek:

It has been a rainy dreary day here also, but can't complain since it is the weekend and we dodged the severe storms for the day/night anyway. I am up later than usual for Jasper's middle of the night pit stop. If today was a work day I would be getting up in only an hour or so! Yikes!! :rolleyes:

I have had a busy past couple of weeks and a haven't posted much, but have been trying to stay somewhat caught up on everyone's babies. Lots going on here, I wish I didn't work so much so I could spend more time here. I miss everyone. I don't know how you and some of the others do it.

I use one of those finger toothbrushes for Jasper also, when he will let me. :p He is not too keen on it, but seems to allow it a little better as he has gotten older. It certainly is not done on a regular basis. I meant to start right away with Shelby so she would be more tolerant but I admit I haven't been very good with it!

Glad to read that Flynn is eating better and I hope his tummy continues to settle. Also hoping that everything goes well at the vet visit tomorrow and that all that needs attention are Flynn's teeth. I will be thinking about your little man.

Big hugs from me and Jasper

[Trish]

Yay its Tina popping in for a pit stop :D:D Just heading off to bed, it has got nastier as the day has gone on and is pouring out now. No thunder or anything like that though. Flynn is fine in storms, they do not bother him at all. I thought of all the storm dogs as I spied thunder shirts in the pet store yesterday in the sale bin.. they were 33% off so there can't be good sellers here or our NZ dog are super tough hahahaha. Fireworks do not bother him either, funny how they are so different. He likes watching the fireworks out the window at Guy Fawkes time.

Yes, those terriers are tenacious aren't they, can be rather stubborn if they set their minds to it! He is usually a very good dog though and listens to him Mum but obviuosly not so much if there are rats involved!

I am usually only on in the evenings when everyone is fast asleep up North! Lappy in front of the telly, Flynn beside me, good at this time of the year!

Flynn has had a good day, we managed a walk and some chores, good poops, seems hungry, slowish eating but he did a little cry before while he was sitting on couch a little while back, not sure what that was about. But overall good day for us :D:D will let you all know how he goes tomorrow! Right I am off to bed, cya soon Tina!! Pats for Jasper and Shelby!

[addy]

Hope everything goes well at the vet for Flynn. I'll be thinking of you all day:):):)

[Mel-Tia]

Morning

Thinking of you both. Will come on in the morning to check how you get on

Paws up Flynn, hope your mouth feels better

Mel
Xxxxx

[cheydogger]

I was just checking in on my buddy Flynn. Glad he is well for the most part. I hope he doesn't have any broken teeth or sores in his mouth.

[Budsters Mom]

Thinking of you and Flynn and hoping that his appointment went well.
I hope there aren't any rats in for appointments today.;)

Hugs,
Kathy

[Trish]

Hi have the boy home!

He had GA in the end, teeth good, two lesions in mouth, one ok the other ?squamous cell carcinoma as flat ulcerated looking. It was superficial and excised easily and he is hopeful he got it all out and it should be no further problem. Wait for histology. He had gastroscopy too, stomach good.

Flynny hungry, bit upset so he getting spoiled, got a few stitches in his mouth poor boy. Hopefully this is the end of sore mouth problems! I still have to google dog SCC so hope I don't scare myself. Vet txt me this info and he is going to ring tonight for a chat so will let u know if I find out anything else.

Thx for yr messages, most appreciated. Laptop on the blink so typing on iPad so excuse my txt talk!!

Xxxxxxx

[Tina]

Hi Trish, thought about you guys all day and checking in now, glad to see Flynn is home. What a trooper he is once again. You were right on when you thought his mouth might be bothering him! I am hoping for the best with the path report for no SCC since the lesion was superficial. Teeth ok and no problems with his stomach, yay!

Your vet is awesome. I don't know if my vets office would have the capability of doing a gastroscopy or anything more than a routine dental. I will have to inquire about that. Nice that you can get that all taken care of at once if needed.

You know, my laptop has some problem with the wireless card, so my wireless connection is hit and miss. Internet connection works perfect if it is plugged in to the modem, so I know it is the laptop itself. I do most of my posting on my iPad now, so I can also watch tv. It can be cumbersome, but with practice I have gotten better with the touch keypad. ;)

I will be looking forward to what your vet has to say when he calls. Praying for a good pathology/histology report so there won't be anything else to worry about!

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

[Trish]

Hi Tina
Well I just surprised myself and fixed it, something to do with the WLAN hahaha god knows what that is but I kept on clicking things and it is going.. YAY! I usually have to wait for a younger more tech savvy family member to visit and fix things :rolleyes:

I did google SCC and I shouldn't have :eek::eek:. It can invade intot he bone and there are stories of dogs have their jaws excised :eek::eek: Last year when he had his dental his old vet who was a young one out of vet school had commented that he had a couple of ulcers back then. She excised them. They have obviously come back. Still it might not be that, even if it is he said it was superficial and he is confident he got it all :). When my old vet left we got handed to the owner of the practice, he is very experienced and I am very happy to have him. I was actually a little leery of Flynn having a GA, even with his good scan a couple of weeks back if he did have any pheo lurking it could have affected his BP. But he had monitoring and it is commented on discharge summary BP was good. Phew.

So I am not going to worry about it until we get histology back. Last week when he said he would ring me he fell asleep on the couch, so he txt me today to say if I had not heard from him by 9pm I am to txt and wake him up haha so guess I will know more later tonight when I get to speak to him, 9pm is an hour away here!!

Flynny is a pacing about a bit, I fed him but he wanted my dinner too, so I gave him some as it was just an omelette and he looking for more food now. I sent him with a packed lunch which is eaten so he cant be that hungry!! Just crying a little, but then went and chomped on one of his toys so he cannot be that sore in the mouth. GA's do tend to upset him though. Poor Boy.... ok come on phone riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!

[Tina]

Trish, I just did some googling and saw that too. :eek: :eek: I am putting that right out of my mind. It sounds like that can happen when the lesions are not superficial, and the report for Flynn is that it is superficial. So that is what I am going with. Gosh, I would have been worried about the GA also. That is the reason why Jasper hasn't had his teeth cleaned. My vet said that we don't need to add that in the mix now with all that he has going on. Things are going a bit better for him at the moment, but my vet hasn't mentioned anything about a dental, I am sure she doesn't want to rock the boat. :rolleyes:

Lol, you are supposed to text your vet to wake him up! Now that is an awesome vet! :D

Flynny is hungry and chewing on a toy, that is a good sign. I'm sure he is a bit off from the anesthesia. Poor baby.

I am going to have to head back to bed, have to get up for work in just a couple of hours. But I will check in for more information after I get up. Or should I say after I get back up! Great job fixing your laptop, wish I could fix mine. It is lots easier to type on than this iPad!

Nite. xo

[Mel-Tia]

Hello

Just catching up, thank goodness he showed you his little mouth was sore and that you picked up on it.

Sorry this is brief (blinking work) but i am right here with you (in between meetings) waiting for that phone to ring...

Big hug
Mel
Xxxxxx

[Trish]

OK that was a reassuring phone call! Phew.

He said where it was located it was not real close to the bones, he did an xray and there was no sign on that of any bone involvement either. No swollen lymph nodes evident.

He thinks if could be an SCC because it was a solitary lesion, if dogs have mouth ulcers for other reasons he said he usually see's a few, not just one. Well he does have one other skin tag kinda of thing that is apparently common in dogs and he is not worried about that one at all. The ?SCC is in the area behind his teeth, not on the tongue, he describes it as sublingual. There was a lot of loose tissue around it so he said he was able to get pretty good margin of what he felt normal tissue. He has asked the lab to identify what it is and also to check all the margins in case it is SCC as he wants to make sure there is nothing left behind. If it is SCC and margins not clear he will have to operate again to take more tissue.

I told him I had been googling SCC and saw dogs with their jaws excised and I think I could almost hear him sighing!! Way to scare yourself was the general opinion on that one!!

He is off to some show the next few days, histology takes about 3 working days so should be here by end of the week and he has asked his staff to email him results as soon as they arrive and he will let me know. Stitches are dissolving with the knots upside down so they do not irritate Flynn so thats good. He wants me to txt him in the morning how he is overnight and to see him early next week for a checkup.

Ohhh and then he started talking about the IBD, we not to go back to hydrolysed food until he is over this little episode so will see how he is next week. Then he started talking about putting Flynn on Prednisone ofr 2-3 weeks and he is going to talk about IMS, I expressed a little concern about that considering he only has one adrenal. Other option is sulphasalzyne so we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

Poor Flynny is a bit upset, he has had temgesic and that has made him a bit spacey in the past. We have been home 4 hrs and he has not been asleep at all. Crying on and off, vet has said I can give him Tramadol if I need to help him settle. He keeps wanting to go outside but its raining so he runs out with me with the brolly trailing along and then quick pee and straight back inside :) He is hungry as, has eaten and just had a lick of icecream... such spoiling!!

Hmmm there we have tonights novel, off to bed after my cup of tea!

Thanks for the support everyone xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx :)

[Mel-Tia]

Well that is all really positive from the sounds of it.

Why does he want to start pred? For inflammation in his mouth??

Hopefully the little man will settle down soon it's disorientating for humans so must be harder for pups as he cant tell you

Hope you both get a restful night and I will catch you later

Mel
Xxxxxx

[Trish]

Hi Mel, I am so pleased to have you and Tina to talk my worries to tonight, you are both treasures you know :):D:) Sorry I haven't posted on anyone elses thread, rather self absorbed tonight :confused::rolleyes::(:p but will get to you all soon :)

The pred is for the IBD, the hydrolysed food can only do so much at settling the bowel down he said sometimes you need to go to medication to try and settle the actual deep in the bowel tissue inflammation if that makes sense. He then talked about proteins in the food and even sometimes when you change the food to prevent allergic reactions the inflammation will flare up again once the body has got used to the new food and how they break down the proteins and hmmmmm I kinda lost him there as my brain was focused on the mouth hahaha but he felt the meds would be the way to go if after the hydrolysed food trial we were still seeing flare ups of tummy trouble.

Aww the little man just came wandering out again when I was sure I had him asleep in his bed. Think I will go to bed too and he won't be coming looking for me.

Thanks for being here girls ... I LOVE ALL THE K9C ANGELS!!!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[addy]

A newer corticosteroid showing promise is budesonide (Entocort? EC). This drug is marketed to treat Crohn's disease in people. Budesonide may cause less of the systemic side effects associated with corticosteroid use.

Could this be a better option then the pred?

Glad to hear Flynn's mouth is better. :):):)

Sorry, so short, gotta run.

[molly muffin]

Hi Trish, glad to hear that the sore was superficial and they think they got it all. The vet you have now is a real winner. Texting and phoneing results, you have trained him well. :)

Just have to get those bowels settled down. Seems when they decide to go wonky it can be a real pain to get it all sorted out.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Fellasmom]

Hi Trish
Was thinking of you two all day yesterday-you were right about the dental-a mama knows her baby!:).Praying the path/histology report comes back with good news.You both have been through too much for it to be anything BUT good news!Hope his mouth is feeling a bit better today.Once spoiled,always spoiled.:).

I LOVE your vet!-He really keeps you informed and spends alot of time with the two of you and does a great job.Hope Flynn was able to eat a little something and is more comfortable.Hugs to you both!
Patty

[Mel-Tia]

This is where the time difference works in our favour as you are settling down, I am getting up and as I am settling down you are getting up!

So this is my morning post to see how you both slept and if he seems a bit more like himself today....

Big hug, scratches for the wee man

Mel
Xxxx