Jasper (12 yr old Mini Schnauzer) is now at peace [Archive] - Page 4 - Canine Cushing's Information and Support Forums

Tina

11-26-2013, 07:07 AM

Hi Everyone,
Oh my gosh, thank you all for waiting with me for Jasper's results. My vet called on Sunday and left a message that they were back (I missed the call!). She apologized for the delay, she doesn't work every day, so it sounds like a combination of things that delayed the results. She left a detailed message, and also called me directly at work on Monday also so we did get a chance to talk.

I am beyond thrilled to report that the histology results were very good and mostly normal. No signs of hepatitis, bacterial infection or cancer. :D There are some changes in the liver cells related to Cushings, and the fact that he is on steroids now, but she said they are not a concern as far as his liver function goes. I will post more details later, I just wanted to get the basics posted here for everyone. I am so happy and relieved, I just want to hug him to death every time he comes near me.

She emailed me the histology report which I will see if I can post later. But it sure seems simple and not very detailed compared to Trish's report for Flynn.

I am going to try to get a bit more sleep before work. Jasper has been up twice during the night again for potty breaks the past few nights, I don't know what that is about. We have been managing with one pit stop during the night for the most part, so I hope this is not going to be a new trend again. I am so tired. Kathy I know what you mean about work, mine is just exhausting too right now.

Thanks guys for waiting with me, and all your comments. I really don't know what I would do without you. It's so hard to face all of these ups and downs alone along with all the other things I have going on in my life right now. I feel like things are out of control sometimes. I'm so grateful that you all are here for me and Jasper.

Big hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

goldengirl88

11-26-2013, 08:17 AM

Tina:
Great news that you got a good report, I am so happy to hear some good news on one of these babies. Blessings
Patti

Squirt's Mom

11-26-2013, 08:57 AM

YAY!! More good news this morning and for our sweet Jasper! :cool::):cool:

mcdavis

11-26-2013, 02:48 PM

Just been catching up and so pleased to see good news for Jasper. :D

Trish

11-26-2013, 03:50 PM

This is such good news Tina, I am so pleased for you and Jasper. BIG HUGS!!!

That little boy did not need any other problems with his liver. I will be looking out for the full report. Hope work is settling for you, it does sound like you have too much going on at the moment. Do you have time off over Thanksgiving and Christmas? We get two public holidays at Christmas and New Year so if I take the other 6 days A/L in between I will get another two week break then!! When I get back to work next week I will have to reassess my leave balance :) But that sounds good to me :) Hopefully you can get on tonight for an update! No pressure though :) xxxxxx

addy

11-26-2013, 08:25 PM

Oh Man I wish I could do that, the captain (our boss) of the ship just had surgery so the first mate (me) is on deck. i usually have off Wed, Thurs, Fri and then the weekend for turkey day but this year I'll be lucky to leave at noon tomorrow and Friday i am working most of the day.

Happy Thanksgiving Tina and Jasper:):):):):)

I booked a gig for New Years for the Protein Pup Band. They have some practicing to do:p:p:p:p

molly muffin

11-26-2013, 09:15 PM

Yay, wonderful news Tina! Jasper just seems to have these spells, but obviously the over all picture is good.
Now you can have hopefully, a stress free Thanksgiving! :)

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Trixie

11-27-2013, 01:46 AM

Tina, Such great news about Jasper!! You must feel relieved, you can take a deep breath now! ;)
So glad to know things are looking good! :D

Barbara

doxiesrock912

11-27-2013, 01:58 AM

Awesome news!!!!!

molly muffin

11-28-2013, 08:05 PM

Happy Thanksgiving Tina, Jasper and Shelby!

I hope you are having a lovely day. Sneaking in a nap somewhere too!

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Tina

11-30-2013, 09:14 AM

Thanks for all the good wishes everyone. I haven't meant to be absent from the forum, but unfortunately my grandmother (Nana) fell on Thanksgiving evening at her assisted living facility. She had X-rays and a CT scan which have confirmed a fractured pelvis in 2 places on the right side and also a fractured left tibia under her knee. :( Right now they are saying that surgery is not needed. I don't know how well she would be able to tolerate that anyway.

Yes Trish, I am off till Monday for Thanksgiving and was so looking forward to finally getting some rest and just spending some quiet time at home with Jasper and Shelby. Instead I was up almost all night Thursday night and spent most of the day yesterday at the hospital. I will be heading there later this morning also. I am just so tired and feeling discouraged. While I know that things can always be worse, I am having a hard time feeling positive right now. :(

Jasper is eating and seems to be feeling ok at the moment and I am so incredibly thankful for that. I keep focusing myself on that when I am feeling discouraged. I pray he continues, because I will not be able to manage everything with my Nana and him if he starts not feeling good again right now. I don't even want to think about that.

I still want to get Jasper's thread caught up as far as some previous labwork abnormalities, and the histology report from his biopsies. I will do that as I am able. But I just wanted to let you all know what is going on in case I am not able to be around here much in the next few days. You and your pups are all in my thoughts.

I hope everyone that celebrates it had a wonderful peaceful Thanksgiving with family, friends and their pups. I am so thankful for each of you and the incredible support of this forum.

Love and hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

Squirt's Mom

11-30-2013, 09:43 AM

aw, Tina, I am so sorry about your Nana and hope they can provide her some comfort and that she heals soon. I know how awful it is to hear that they have fallen at their age. :( You don't need to worry about updating us on Jasper's labs right now - concentrate on him and your Nana...and yourself. Please take care of yourself most of all. We so many depend on us, we tend to forget about that aspect of our care-taking. ;) We will be here and ready to help any way we can always so don't let the site add pressure, 'k? Of course, if you want to chat anytime you know we always love to hear from you.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

addy

11-30-2013, 10:03 AM

Oh Tina, I am so sorry to hear all of this. My mom fractured her pelvic two years ago, it takes a long time to heal but it can heal. Hopefully Nana will be able to do physical therapy even with the knee problem. Keeping them motivated to do that is key and it is hard at that age, it just sets them into a tailspin. She will hopefully go to acute rehab for a few months. Keep the faith sweetie. I am so sorry you are having such problems right now.

Big Hugs Tina.

molly muffin

11-30-2013, 11:02 AM

Hi Tina, so sorry to hear about your Nana. You have sure had a heck of a year so far. I hope your Nana will heal up just fine. Surgery is so hard for the older folks, so if that doesn't have to happen, then it's much better.

I'm glad that Jasper is doing well and that you can focus on your Nana right now. When it rains it pours right. :) Don't let yourself go down that road of negativity, it's so hard to crawl back out of it. When facing all these really huge issues, the small victory's mean so much more and they are what you can hold on to during the bleaker times.

Don't worry, we'll all be right here any time you need us! :) Now put a smile on, because Jasper is doing well, Shelby is a darlin, and Nana doesn't need surgery :)

Sending you love and hugs Tina!
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Trish

11-30-2013, 04:29 PM

Oh no, your poor Nana... so sorry to read that Tina such a nasty thing to happen for her and also for you I bet you feel so bad for her having to go through that. I hope her bones knit together and she heals well and is not in too much discomfort right now.

Well the wonderful good news in your post is that Jasper is doing well and we are out of the nasty months of Oct (Jasper) Nov (Flynn) so everything should be smooth sailing for a while for these boys now :)

You know we are here for you Tina, so go about your days doing what you do so well for your family and we will be here if you need a chat or a dunk in the big chocolate filled spa bath where we all head when times get tough :) xxxx

spdd

11-30-2013, 05:25 PM

Hi Tina.. just letting you know I'm keeping you in my thoughts.

doxiesrock912

11-30-2013, 06:10 PM

Pelvis and knee! Ouch. Poor Nana.
Both should heal with physical therapy.

I'm glad that Jasper is doing well! One less worry at least.

Mel-Tia

11-30-2013, 06:28 PM

Hey Tina

Just nipping into give you a hug, sorry to hear your Nana has hurt herself, it does all seem to come at once.

Pleased to hear Jasper is going ok

Look after yourself

kisses to Jasper

Mel
Xxxxxx

addy

12-01-2013, 09:33 AM

Stopping by to give you a hug sweetie.:):):):)

Trish

12-03-2013, 03:02 AM

Hi Tina
Popping in with a hug for you Jasper and Shelby and a hope your Nana is doing OK. Hope the rest of your family is around and its not all up to you as that is very hard. Take Care my Friend! xxxx

Squirt's Mom

12-03-2013, 09:00 AM

Just popping in to say I'm thinking of you, Jasper and your Nana...praying all is well with you all.
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

molly muffin

12-03-2013, 08:42 PM

Checking in to see how your Nana is doing. Hope she is making a good recovery and that Jasper and Shelby are staying well and out of trouble. :)
Geezz hope you are able to get some rest in the midst of everything too.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Trixie

12-04-2013, 12:38 AM

Oh Tina,
So sorry to hear about your Nana. It does seem like things pile up at once and it does sometimes feel so discouraging. I hope your Nana is not in too much discomfort. At least you know Jasper is well now so you should try not to worry too much about the pups.
Hoping Nana is doing okay...and you too!! ;)

Barbara

Tina

12-06-2013, 05:14 AM

Thank you everyone for checking on us and for all your kind words. (((Hugs))) I just want to check in to say that my Nana is out of the hospital and is now in skilled care for rehab as of late Monday. I have been running back and forth between work, home, taking care of things at skilled nursing facility, and getting her clothes, etc from her assisted living apartment. It is tough as I am the only person in town so I have no help. Mom is in Texas, and I am hoping to decrease the amount of time that she may need to be here. She does not tolerate the cold well, and it is a bitter 7 degrees F now. I sure don't need any health problems with her right now. My Nana seems to be doing fairly well, her pain is being managed, and they have started physical therapy. A new concern is that she sounded a little congested to me, not too bad, but I asked for a chest X-ray. They called today and said it showed that she does have pneumonia so they have started an antibiotic. She does not feel bad, and very minimal cough, so hoping we caught it early and the antibiotics will kick in. It is going to be a long road.

Jasper has been doing pretty good but Monday and Tuesday had accidents in the house without letting me know he needed to go out. :eek: He was real sneaky about it, and I remember he did this very same thing back in August and he had a UTI then confirmed by culture. So I took him in on Wednesday 12/4 for a UA and urine culture. The urine was dilute as usual and did not show any blood or wbc's, but did show a little protein, which it usually does. Hoping that the protein is not on the rise. Since he doesn't seem to be feeling bad, my vet wants to wait for the culture results before starting an antibiotic since he went off his food the last time he was on it. And he is finally eating good again now. :rolleyes: We should have the culture results some time today.

I have been reading and keeping up on most everyone and am hoping to get caught up with posting on the weekend. I am so sad to read that we lost Annabelle and Poppy, and also sad to read the latest on Turtle. I was thinking about Flynn's one year anniversary of his adrenalectomy and how well he is doing now after his recent surgery, as well as good news for others, and this does my heart good. I am so attached to all these babies.

I have to go in to work early for a meeting, so need to get back to bed now for just a bit. Thank you all so much for the support, I really need it and it means a lot. I am thinking about you all.

Love and hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

Trish

12-06-2013, 06:09 AM

Hi Tina

Pleased to hear Nana is out of hospital and getting the help she needs. Her injury must be so painful so I am pleased they are keeping her comfortable. I bet she could give physio the flick but bet they will also help her a lot :) Well it will be nice to have your Mom there even for a few days, I know Jasper and Shelby will love that too!!

Awww stink he has another probable UTI, so annoying for you. I don't want his appetite affected either, so hopefully the antibiotics are not needed. xxx

molly muffin

12-06-2013, 04:04 PM

So glad to hear that your Nana is out of the hospital and good catch on the chest congestion. I bet you did catch it early so the antibiotics should really help her.

Drat if it's another UTI. The other option would be that he misses you being home with all the back and forth with your Nana and is letting you know it. (Molly would totally do that) LOL

Hugs Tina
Sharlene and Molly muffin

Trish

12-12-2013, 05:55 AM

Hi Tina

I was thinking of you before while I was outside playing with Flynn, I heard the first cicada of the year. It must have been this time last year and I think it was you telling the story of the 10 year cicadas that all come out the ground in a swarm... I have had nightmares over that!!

Hope you are doing well and Jasper's bladder infection never gathered any speed. Also hope things are a bit smoother with your Nan and your also getting a bit of time for yourself as well to recharge the batteries xxxx

Trish

12-20-2013, 02:59 PM

I just had to go back through Jasper's thread and see what his last UPC was and my gosh is was 0.6.... I thought it was!!! Flynny's is 0.63 so they are doing the follow the leader again Tina... I love how they do that! Hope your nearly finished work for the week and we catch up again soon. Big hugs to you, Jasper and Shelby and a special one for your Nan too xx

Trish

12-25-2013, 06:07 AM

Hi Tina, Jasper and Shelby!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!!!

Hope things are ok at your house and Jasper is feeling well. Hope things are also OK with your Nana... you have had so much going on and I hope today brings you some relaxation xxxxxx

molly muffin

12-25-2013, 06:15 PM

Merry Christmas Tina and Jasper and Shelby and family.

I hope this finds you and the gang doing well. I also hope things have continued to improve with your Gram. :)

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

addy

12-26-2013, 02:23 PM

Hi Tina,

I hope your Nana is ok and the pneumonia is better. Thinking of you and Jasper with love

Tina

12-29-2013, 11:59 AM

Hi Everyone,
Well, I have so much catching up to do on Jasper, it's hard to know where to start.

But first I want to thank everyone for the Christmas greetings and all the good wishes for my Nana. I have been so busy with her and her situation, and work, that I don't know which end is up most of the time. She is not doing well and they have determined that she is no longer progressing with the therapy and rehab, and needs to go to long term care. Last week the staff from the assisted living facility where she has been living assessed her and determined that she can return there with the additional care of hospice. (Initially we were told that she would need to go to a long term care facility as her previous facility could not manage the level of care that she needs). So this is a big relief. She is scheduled to return there on 12/31. This has all been a massive time and energy drain, and I just feel maxed out all the time. (Hence my scarcity on the forum). Hopefully once she is settled back there, things will lighten up for me a bit.

Now back to Jasper. I am so thankful every day that he has not had a major crisis during this difficult time with my Nana. I think I left off on my last post with waiting for results of a urine culture after he had some accidents in the house. The culture from 12/4 was negative, but we went ahead and treated him for a full 2 weeks with Zeniquin. My vet said he could still have an infection as his urine is so dilute. So far the UTI if that's what it was, seems to be resolved. He did ok with the med this time, no problems with his appetite.

He had a chemistry profile drawn on 12/16 as a follow up from when he was so sick mid November. The ALT had dropped back to 73 (normal <100 IU/L), (Yay!) :D. It had been up to 1130 on 11/12, which was my vet's biggest concern and prompted the ultrasound.

Abnormalities from 12/16:

ALP 2278 (<95 IU/L) H :eek:
LDH 288 (<175 IU/L) H
Cholesterol 350 (125-260 mg/dL) H
Triglycerides 1114 (41-115 mg/dL) H :eek: :mad:

The ALP is a bit lower than the >2400 that it was last, but is still way higher than it had been running, and he has continued on the Denamarin. My vet said she is not super worried about it right now. Her big concern is the triglycerides, and said we have to get that down. I think it is the highest it has ever been now. She feels that the last couple of times he has been so sick has probably been related to pancreatitis, which can be triggered by triglycerides this high.

She said we need to change his diet to a low fat prescription diet. Of course I voiced my concern about taking him off the moderate protein restricted renal diet due to the proteinuria, and she said firmly that the priority now is to get the triglycerides down, especially due to the pancreatitis risk. I did some reading and found that triglycerides as high as Jasper's can cause a lot of scary things besides pancreatitis, including seizures. This is apparently not real common but can happen. Pancreatitis is by far the biggest concern. So I am in the process of transitioning him to Royal Canin Low Fat Gastrointestinal prescription formula. So far he is tolerating it, we are at about 50/50 ratio.

The vet is hopeful that the diet change will not impact his proteinuria much if at all since he is on the fish oil and Enalapril. Hopefully those two things are making the most impact there and the diet change will not cause a problem.

We did get another UPC on 12/23 after he finished the antibiotic for the UTI and before I started the food change. Unfortunately it had gone up a bit from last time.

His UPC's and dates:
10/22/12 1.27
1/14/13 3.57
5/6 1.49
8/31 0.6
12/23 1.63 :( :( (Flynn, DO NOT look at this!!!)

I voiced worry about the increase of course, since he has continued on the same treatment and now we are going to change his food. My vet said that protein levels can fluctuate throughout the day, and that she is more concerned with a trend than a specific number, however acknowledged of course that it had come up a bit. She said that a value over 2 is considered significant, so we will continue to monitor. She reiterated very firmly that the priority now is to get the triglycerides down so we must change his food to low fat. If that doesn't make a significant improvement then she will need to consider medication, but that is a last resort. So it is very good that we checked the UPC (at my request, by the way), or we would have blamed any increase on the food change.

So that is where we are at. So there are some concerns with his labs, but I am grateful that the ALT has come down to normal as it seems like this is what my vet is always most concerned with as far as liver values. I am worried about the UPC and will just have to pray that it doesn't continue to go up. One step forward, two steps back it always seems.

The plan going forward:

Change to Royal Canin Low Fat GI prescription diet (in progress)
Re-check the UPC in 2 months
Re-check chemistry profile (triglycerides) in 2-3 months
Continue on previous meds and treatment:
Enalapril 5 mg 1/2 tab BID
Welactin 1/2 spoonful mixed with food BID
Dexamethasone 0.5 mg 1/4 tab every other day
Denamarin 225/24 mg one tab daily
Percorten injection 0.6 ml monthly

So I am hoping for a good period of some stability now. It is just never easy with my little boy.

I will be back a bit later, I have quite a few posts to make as I have been reading along on so many. Today I am taking as "me time", and nothing sounds better than getting caught up on everyone and their pups, especially since we are back in the deep freeze here. Thank you so much for checking in on me, Jasper and Shelby. I hope everyone had a peaceful Christmas.

Love and hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

doxiesrock912

12-29-2013, 10:27 PM

Tina, Royal Canin is a decent food. Daisy has been on their dachshund formula for most of her life.

Budsters Mom

12-30-2013, 02:04 AM

It is great to hear from you Tina. I have missed you and have been hoping that Jasper is okay. I am sorry to hear about your Nana, but glad that she will be able to return to where she was living. Yes, caring for elderly family members can be exhausting at times.:o

Regarding our boy Jasper. You know him better than anyone including the docs. Go with your gut. It's always worrisome with a food change, particularly when you're dealing with so many variables. Take the cue from Jasper. You'll know what to do.

Again, thanks for the update. We worry.... Xxxxx

Tina

12-30-2013, 02:18 AM

Hi Kathy! I have missed you all too. I don't like it when I don't have time to keep caught up on everyone. I have been reading all about Rosie, she is a little spitfire! I still need to go in and look at her new pics, as well as pics that others have posted recently. It sounds like you have been ill. Are you feeling any better yet?

Yes, elderly family can be exhausting, that's for sure! As far as Jasper, I have to switch his food to the low fat even though I am worried about the proteinuria. My vet made it very clear that it is essential that we need to get the triglycerides decreased. :( I forgot to mention in my last lengthy post that he is drinking more again also, but he was already doing that before we started the food change. And my vet is aware. So I hope that is not a sign of anything worsening with his kidneys. It is tough when there are so many issues.

Thanks for popping in! xo

Trish

12-30-2013, 02:29 AM

Hi Tina.. and Hi Kathy too!

So lovely to read your post and to hear Jasper is doing pretty well!! Darn that UPC, but they do fluctuate quite a bit (as we know :p) and least it is still below 2, once they do over that its a bit of a worry. We both still have room to play with our boys ace doses so we can keep that up our sleeves if we need it in the future.

Re diet, Flynny had the RC GI low fat for a while when we were worried about pancreatitis following his adrenalectomy. He was on the canned and the biscuits and I regret to say he did not like it and only ate it for a couple of weeks then went on strike :eek: so hopefully Jasper is a bet less fussy with his food than Flynn. It is so hard to know what to go for with diet... like with Flynn I want to manage:
Kidneys - moderate protein
IBD - novel protein, grain free
BP - low salt
Anti-cancer - just healthy!
Cholesterol - low fat

What do you do????? Jasper has a couple of his own to cater for.... I am just in the process of swapping him to Ziwipeak, which is healthy novel protein of lamb, grain free, no preservatives, comes in canned and biscuits... well flakey kinda things.. not real crunchy and has great reviews. Yesterday I visited the pet store and I want something with crunch for his teeth and found these sheep ear crunchy things that I thought might be OK considering sheep = lamb! Well loose poop this morning so the rest of that bag will be donated to a doggy friend of his. If I give him bone,s he gets constipated. :confused::confused: Anyway will keep him on the ziwi for a while to see how he goes!

Pleased your Nana is going back to familiar surroundings... she will like that.

Right, my dinner bell rang (fresh corn cob in the microwave :D) but here for a while yet xxxx

Trish

12-30-2013, 02:30 AM

I forgot to mention in my last lengthy post that he is drinking more again also, but he was already doing that before we started the food change. And my vet is aware. So I hope that is not a sign of anything worsening with his kidneys.

What was his Specific Gravity?

Budsters Mom

12-30-2013, 02:36 AM

Tina, Does Jasper like the new food? That is important. Poor guy.

It's been a few tough weeks. I have been quite ill, but am starting to get a little stronger. I ended up with Whooping Cough and Bronchitis. I am on day four of some heavy duty antibiotics. Thankfully, they are finally starting to kick in. The cough is horrendous. Imagine your worst cough ever and times that by a hundred. Now you have an idea. It's a cough like none other. It can take several weeks or months to finally recover, but I'm hoping for sooner rather than later. I did get a booster shot in 2010, so hopefully that may lessen the illness, allowing me to recover quicker. For now, I am grateful that I'm starting to feel a little better. I am still quite weak and exhausted all the time from doing nothing. This stuff has kicked my butt! Thanks for caring. Xxxxx

Tina

12-30-2013, 02:36 AM

It is always very dilute. The last result I have is from 12/4 when he was being checked for UTI. It was 1.008 then. :(

Tina

12-30-2013, 02:43 AM

Oh my gosh Kathy, whooping cough?!!! You poor thing!!! I have never had whooping cough but have had a very bad cough that hung on for several months, and I ended up with fractured ribs from coughing so much and so hard. That was miserable enough. I bet you are so weak. I hope you continue to improve.

Yes, Jasper seems to like the new food so far. But We are only at a 50:50 ratio now, I am going to advance it a bit tomorrow. He will need to eat a larger quantity per day since the calories are less than the renal diet. I am not too keen about that. If he has appetite issues again, it will be harder to get him to eat a larger amount.

Trish

12-30-2013, 02:49 AM

That was the problem we had with the z/d diet for the IBD, he had to eat two cans a day and could not eat that much and lost weight on it :o so I was not happy about that. I thought something terrible was going on with his appetite but he would just refuse it. Fussy pup. Fingers crossed Jasper keeps it up.

Remember a while back I was thinking with the UPC the more diute the urine then the Cr part of the test was low.... do you have the separate levels for the protein and Cr... as Flynn's latest test I did not leave him water to drink overnight and the Cr finally did come up and that is what has given him the better ratio. Although saying that his protein was the lowest it has ever been. The test is designed to take those fluctuations into account but I can only tell from Flynn's results when his Cr was low the ratio swung high :confused:

Tina

12-30-2013, 03:02 AM

Yes, I remember that. I know the test is supposed to take the fluctuations into account, but I completely understand your logic. I don't have the paper results from the UPC yet, my vet just called me with the result on Friday. It took a bit longer due to the holiday and she doesn't work on Thursdays. I will have the levels once I get the report. But I am not sure that a sp gr was checked on this sample since it had just been checked, and I brought it in from home. I got a first morning specimen, although he had been out about 2 am as usual. The specimen was a nice color of yellow, not almost as clear as water like it usually looks. So he can concentrate sometimes. I told the tech "check out this beautiful specimen that my boy provided!". They were all laughing. Only the Mom of a cushpup or pup with kidney issues would think that yellow urine is beautiful. :D :rolleyes:

Budsters Mom

12-30-2013, 03:03 AM

Well Ladies, it's been a pleasure as always. The coughs are starting up again. Nights are especially bad. So I'm going to have to say goodnight.

Tina, take care of yourself and try to visit more often. We miss you!

Trish, I'll check back so little later and see if you're around. I'm not sleeping well these days. I have to sit propped up due to the coughing spells. No one sleeps well that way. Xxxxx

Trish

12-30-2013, 03:05 AM

Yep I will be here for a while, Miss Coughy!! The NZ tennis competition has started today and I am just watching Venus... love the tennis :D

Tina

12-30-2013, 03:10 AM

Nite Kathy, I will have to hit the hay soon also, work in the morning. Hope you can get some sleep and aren't up most of the night.

Trish

12-30-2013, 03:28 AM

Glad to hear you are getting stronger Kathy, are you allowed cough suppressants, jeepers we don't want you cracking a rib... that must have been some serious coughing too Tina. I woke up last night with a ticklish cough, but think it is because I have been leaving the a/c on all night because it is so humid here lately. There I was coughing away and thought of you Kathy... 5 mins was enough for me to get hacked off!!

Yes is late for you Tina, I looked at my weather app yesterday and you were the coldest of all the places I have of my North American/Canadian friends from on here. Kathy was actually the same temp as me here! Hope you have a good sleep and have a day or two off for New Years... my brother is arriving tomorrow for a week or so. Mum is all excited to have her baby boy home and is preparing a family BBQ for our New Years Eve tomorrow night! Yay one more day of work for me then 5 off!! See you soon, hopefully everything stabilises for our Jasper and he and Flynn both give us some rest from worry for a while, that would be a nice New Years wish... I am going to wish it for everyone here :D xx

Tina

12-30-2013, 03:42 AM

Yes, it was brutal cold, especially after being 59F on Saturday! I have New Year's Day off only, but that is better than nothing. It would be wonderful to have another 5 days off, I could really use it. But will be working overtime the next 2 days for sure unfortunately. Enjoy your time off and your visit with your brother. I will tell you the story about my Nana's nurse's husband next time. I better take Jasper out and get to bed! So good to chat for a bit. Nite Trish. Smooches for Flynn. xo

Trish

12-30-2013, 03:46 AM

Night Tina, yes I want to know about that Crunchie!! Strange coincidence! Sleep well and loads of pats and snuggles for Jasper and Shelby :D xx

molly muffin

12-30-2013, 03:28 PM

Tina, so glad to hear from you and Jasper. :) Awww, late night chat fest! :) LOL Aren't those just the best chats.

Great that your nana will be able to go back to the assisted living after all. She'll definitely feel more comfortable there with the familiarity.

Well, drat, now there are high Trigs to throw into the Jasper mix bowl.
Hope he does well on the new food and likes it (unlike Mr Flynn-man :) ) and that the protein will remain fine too.

Ugh, yea, I think the cold weather along with a low that could bring snow is just going to settle in with us for a few days too. I repeat not a fan!

Good grief, coughing till you break ribs Tina, how horrible! You take care Kathy, no rib breaking on our watch.

Hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Trish

12-31-2013, 04:59 PM

Happy New Year Tina, hope you don't have to do too much overtime today and you get a chance to go out and celebrate!! Talk to you soon xxxxx :) Virtual Happy New Years Eve party hats coming for Jasper and Shelby! x

molly muffin

01-01-2014, 01:35 PM

Happy New Year Tina, Jasper and Shelby

Wishing you all the best in the new year

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly muffin

Trish

01-07-2014, 06:02 AM

Hi Tina

I see you popping in just as I am popping out!! Hopefully your pit stop will be a short one tonight, don't want you or Jasper getting frostbite outside!! Hoping you have a good report for us on Jasper and I will be checking to see tomorrow night! :D:D Talk to you soon, but my eyes are nearly closed! Nite xxxxx

Trixie

01-08-2014, 08:13 PM

Hi Tina,
Trixie's Triglycerides were sky high on our last blood work too. She did eat right before her blood test which could be a factor (I hope). In a few weeks we will do another blood test (this time before her first meal) to see if her liver numbers and triglyc have come down. I hope they have.
It's funny about being happy about the yellow urine!! So true that we get so excited for this finding!! While we had snow on the ground it was very easy to see that Trixie had some decent color...even my husband noticed while we were walking her. When she went in the snow he said "oh she had some good color"...I cracked up. My obsession checking Trixie's urine has rubbed off on him!
Good news about your Nana...I hope she continues to do well back at her assisted living.

Barbara

Budsters Mom

01-10-2014, 12:27 AM

Hi Tina,
i'm just popping in to say hi and to check on you and our boy Jasper. I hope you're starting to thaw out. Xxxxx

Trish

01-17-2014, 06:16 PM

HI Tina .... checking in to see how you and Jasper are doing!! But while I was here I noted you have not updated Jasper's thread since ummm.. LAST YEAR!! Just sayin.... :D:D I know you are flat out busy at work and family stuff so hope you are hanging in there and all is going well for you guys! :) Love to hear how you are doing when you get the chance! xxxxx BIG HUGS xxxxx

Tina

02-27-2014, 10:06 AM

Sheesh, it has been so long since I posted, I almost couldn't find my own thread! Well, once again, I should have taken the opportunity to post an update on Jasper while things were kind of holding steady.

I have been up with him since 2:30 this morning, diarrhea and he also vomited x 1 at about 4:45. :( I am being optimistic that it is just some upset or colitis since he hasn't vomited again (said in a whisper). I cooked up some white sticky rice and he had 1/4 cup and has kept that down for about a half hour, so I gave him a dose of metronidazole a few minutes ago.

Please pray that the med kicks in and settles things, and it is not the beginnings of another pancreatitis flare, or his Addison's getting unstable again. End of the month time and the first week of the next month is the busiest time at work, and I just cannot be gone, especially tomorrow.

I plan to use my lunch to come home and check on him, and if there is more vomiting or diarrhea, then I will call the vet. My vet is not in today, so we would have to see someone else, which is not ideal with all his issues. :(

Addy, I am thinking about you this morning, I just haven't had a chance to post on your thread. ((Hugs))

Thank you everyone.

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

Squirt's Mom

02-27-2014, 10:22 AM

Hoping and praying this is just a tummy bug and Jasper is much better when you see him at lunch. Let us know how things are and remember we are with you and Jasper all the way.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

Budsters Mom

02-27-2014, 11:30 AM

I'm am so sorry Tina. Those tummy issues are so exhausting and bothersome. They worry us so. :o Poor Jasper! I hope he's back to normal soon.

We worry so when we have to go to work and leave them. I will pray for you both, of course. Hang in there Tina......

Trixie

02-27-2014, 11:58 AM

Tina,
I am crossing my fingers and hoping that Jasper has only a minor tummy upset and when you come home at lunch time everything will be okay! I am really glad to hear just one episode of vomiting! I know exactly how you feel! You just get that sinking feeling when this stuff starts up. Keeping the rice down for 30 minutes is a really positive sign too, also that he wanted to eat it is good. Hoping you'll post that Jasper had an uneventful morning and that whatever this was that it's passed. The metrod. will definitely help the diarrhea right away. Positive thoughts going your way!

Barbara

Harley PoMMom

02-27-2014, 12:34 PM

You and Jasper are in my thoughts and prayers.

Hugs, Lori

addy

02-27-2014, 02:21 PM

Oh Tina,

I am praying it is just a tummy bug and the metronidazole will set Jasper right. I will wait with you sweetie. I know that feeling not being able to miss work and it sucks big time. I'm at work now but will keep checking in.

BIG HUGS

Mel-Tia

02-27-2014, 04:19 PM

Thinking of you Tina. Hope Jasper was ok at lunchtime xxxx

labblab

02-27-2014, 04:20 PM

Tina, I am here, too! Anxiously awaiting word about our little boy.

Marianne

doxiesrock912

02-27-2014, 04:21 PM

Hoping that everything is ok Tina!

Tina

02-27-2014, 04:22 PM

Thanks guys. No messes in the kitchen and I just let him out and he didn't poo. No evidence that he has vomited either, which is even more of a concern. Yay! :) I was pretty worried because right before I left for work he had another small nasty poo. I also decided to give him his Dexamethasone this morning in a ball of rice, and he spit the whole thing out on the floor. Earlier he had eaten the 1/4 cup of rice just fine, and seemed hungry. I finally got him to eat it, but he clearly was not enthused. I wanted to make sure he got the Dex so we hopefully wouldn't have any cortisol issues.

I gave him another 1/4 cup of rice just now and he seemed more interested. Hopefully the metronidazole is working its magic! He seems a little mopey, but not as bad as I have seen him in the past. So maybe I have nipped it in the bud.

I have to go back to work now but I am certainly not working super late today like I have been all week. I want to make sure I get home in time to get him to the vet if something is wrong then.

I will check back in once I am home. Thank you all so much for the positive thoughts and encouragement, I think they are working! I sure hate to leave him, he looks quite needy. :o

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

doxiesrock912

02-27-2014, 04:36 PM

Dogs are like men when they don't feel well, lol.
Im glad that he's improving!

addy

02-27-2014, 04:41 PM

whew, ok we can make it till you get home again. I think he will be good.

molly muffin

02-27-2014, 05:09 PM

yikes, checking in now, and super glad to hear that Jasper was doing okay at lunch time. He needs to just keep it up and whatever it is hopefully you caught it soon and it will be fine.

Yea, end of months are killers aren't they. Tell Jasper if he could just put that back into the drawer, it would work out much better for all of you. :)

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly muffin

Trixie

02-27-2014, 10:29 PM

He sounded like he was doing okay this afternoon Tina, I hope all is well this evening. Good news that he didn't poop in the afternoon...maybe his system is getting back to normal and yay, the metronidazole is working! So happy there was no more vomiting, that is great news!

Hoping you have an uneventful night and that Jasper will be good as new by tomorrow.

Barbara

Tina

02-28-2014, 08:26 AM

Hi Everyone,
I just crashed last night I was so tired. He is much better today, but still not right, which I would expect. Up for our usual middle of the night pit stop but nothing out of the ordinary. I am going to call and check with my vet today to let her know how he is and make sure there isn't something more I should be doing. I think she told me she is on vacation next week :eek:, so I hope she is in today. I really want to check in with her before she is gone.

I'm keeping him on the metronidazole and rice/hamburger bland diet. Thankfully no further vomiting or diarrhea so I think we are on the right track. I have to go in early to work :( and am not too happy about it. Thanks for all of your positive thoughts and support.

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

addy

02-28-2014, 09:07 AM

Oh Tina, I was a bit worried when we did not hear back but figured everything must be ok. Hope you got some much needed sleep.
I crashed out last night as well.

Hope the metronidazole keeps helping our Jasper.

Paws up little boy.

doxiesrock912

02-28-2014, 09:38 AM

Tina, good! Jasper is still doing well.
Keep it up boy :)

Trixie

02-28-2014, 01:57 PM

Oh good...I'm relieved to hear you came home and crashed last night and that Jasper is doing okay. Gee these schnauzers and their tummy troubles! :confused: It's so worrisome! Last night there was a faint noise from the radiator pipes and I thought it was Trixie making vomiting noises...I sprung up to find her peacefully asleep in her usually spot at the end of our bed. Scared myself for nothing and then couldn't fall back asleep because my heart was pounding. :(
Really happy that Jasper seems to be over whatever it was that caused the upset. Hoping he's back to 100% normal later today!

Barbara

molly muffin

02-28-2014, 04:18 PM

Great news to hear that there hasn't been any more vomiting or tummy troubles. Hope you get to chat with your vet today too

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly muffin

addy

02-28-2014, 04:20 PM

hope everything is still ok, Tina.

Thinking of you and Jasper

Mel-Tia

03-01-2014, 12:52 PM

Hey Tina.

Just checking in to see how you and Jasper are?

Hoping the hamburger and rice did the trick?

Mel
Xxxx

Budsters Mom

03-02-2014, 06:15 AM

How is Jasper doing? Xxxxx

Budsters Mom

03-03-2014, 12:00 AM

Checking again. I hope no news is good news. Xxxxx

Trixie

03-03-2014, 02:09 AM

I'm with Kathy...no news is good news and hoping Jasper is feeling fine.

Barbara

Trish

03-03-2014, 05:40 AM

:eek: EEeek!! Not happy to return and read this Tina :mad: Jeepers I hope everything has settled back down again and he is fighting fit again!! What did your vet say? Hopefully we will hear from you soon although I think you said 1st week of month is awful busy for you, so your probably knackered!! Paw's up Jasper!! xxx

Tina

03-03-2014, 06:11 AM

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for checking on Jasper. He had been doing ok, no further diarrhea or vomiting and then last night (Sunday) at 6:30 he just suddenly vomited out of the blue. He had not eaten dinner yet, so this was left from his late morning breakfast. He just vomited once thank goodness. He seemed hungry later so I gave him just 1/2 cup of hamburger/rice (half his usual portion) about 45 min later. He ate it and it has stayed down. He got his metronidazole after that, I held the Enalapril.

I had tried mixing in 1/4 cup of his food for breakfast to start transitioning him back to his food, but I don't think that made him sick or I think he would have thrown up sooner. So I don't know what triggered it. I've gone back to just the bland diet for a couple more meals, and also holding the fish oil. We've been up for his pit stop and he was hovering in the kitchen so I gave him another 1/2 cup of hamburger/rice at 0230. So far so good, he is resting on the couch.

I was not able to talk to my vet on Friday like I had hoped. When I called, I found out she was already on vacation. :( So since he was doing better I figured I would continue the bland diet and metronidazole. I guess that is what I will do now since he vomited just once again. It is just so worrisome and hard to know if pancreatitis is starting up again, or if his Addison's is getting unstable.

I am a little worried that he hasn't pooped since thursday morning (2/27), but he had horrible diarrhea so I imagine he was pretty cleaned out. And now has been eating less, and the bland diet. Plus it is so bloody cold here, below zero temps and wind chill, so he rushes right back in the house. I think this has happened to him before, it takes a while to get things moving again. Hopefully he will poo before I go to work in a few hours.

Kind of had some difficulty over the weekend with my Nana also, so I wasn't on the forum much. I need to clone myself it seems.

Well, back to bed for a little bit. I have a busy day at work ahead of me. :mad: Yes Trish, I am knackered, and the weekend didn't help much with that! Glad you're back safe, I just posted on your thread. Thanks again everyone for checking on us, and please keep the positive thoughts coming. :)

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

addy

03-03-2014, 09:48 AM

Gosh, Tina, I am sorry Jasper had a bit of an issue and so did your Nana.

Can you try just a teaspoon of pumpkin if he does not poo today? Maybe he needs to stay on the bland diet a bit longer. They give metronidazole for pancreatitis so if that is flaring up a bit, the metronidazole may help with that. Also, the metronidazole can make them sometimes feel sick to their tummy, I always gave it to Zoe with food after a meal.

How long is your vet on vacation?

hugs and love Tina, I know your are worried.

doxiesrock912

03-03-2014, 01:46 PM

Tina,

It's not unusual to not poop for a few days after having diarrhea. The same thing happens to Daisy.

Happy that he's better now.

How is Nana?

addy

03-03-2014, 08:09 PM

Hope everything is ok when you get home from work.

molly muffin

03-03-2014, 08:29 PM

Oh gosh, that is terrible that Jasper had another episode of throwing up. Hopefully this plan will work out for him for the next little while.
Let us know when you get a chance.
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Trish

03-04-2014, 05:45 AM

Oh yikes, I missed your report last night. Sorry about that Tina. I have everything crossed all has been well with Jasper today. Hope he does a good poop too, that really helps. Darn your vet being away, just when you needed to talk to her too, I hate having to see another vet when our own is away. Hope work was not too manic so you got home to your boy at a decent time, be looking out for his latest report. xxx

addy

03-04-2014, 09:00 AM

Thinking of you both today

Tina

03-06-2014, 08:33 AM

Hi Everyone,
Jasper is hanging in there. He did finally poo on Monday morning 3/3, so things are trying to get moving again. Not near normal yet though. Last night for supper I started mixing half and half of his kibble and the hamburger/rice. I will do that for a couple of meals and then advance further as long as he tolerates it. He had a poo yesterday that seemed pretty soft again, so I am watching it. I would like to get him fully transitioned back to his food while he is still on the metronidazole. I think we have 3 more days of that. He seems to be feeling ok for the most part, but sometimes he will just sit there looking at me and looks uncomfortable. No further vomiting since Sunday evening, so that is a big relief.

I have noticed that he has a couple of small bumps on his back and head that have cropped up. One on his back has been there for a few months, and I'm pretty sure my vet glanced at it at one point and said it was a papilloma and didn't seem too concerned. It is quite a bit larger now, and he has a smaller one on his head now that looks the same, as well as two others on his back that look different. :eek: So I will need to have those checked when my vet is back from vacation next week. Always something to worry about I guess. His repeat labwork is coming due also to see how the lowfat diet is affecting his high triglycerides (hopefully it is making a difference), and follow up liver values and electrolytes.

My Nana is doing ok for the moment, sometimes it is minute by minute with her also. She has recovered well physically since her fall on Thanksgiving, but her mental status has deteriorated quite a bit. I don't know how to say this exactly without sounding unkind, but she has always had a mean streak, and this side of her seems much more apparent and prevalent now with her cognitive changes. So it can be very difficult.

Thanks for checking on my boy. Keeping fingers crossed here that he continues to stabilize. :)

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

addy

03-06-2014, 09:28 AM

Hi Tina,

I am glad to hear Jasper is on the mend. Does my heart good.:) Your vet cant get back from vacation soon enough!!!

Our elders seem to go through an institution dementia that can affect them in different ways, it is very hard on them when their environment changes. I went through something similar with my mom with her first fracture. They are mourning a loss and can lash out. My mom would be so mean to the aides and me sometimes.
It is very difficult to deal with.

Thinking of you both.

molly muffin

03-06-2014, 09:47 AM

Hi Tina,

Yay for good poops. Hope that soft one was a one off and Jasper gets back to normal.

*sigh* Yea, I went through the same thing with my dad when he was in the nursing home. Throw in Alzheimers and it sometimes wasn't a very good situation and the aides had to be careful of him, even his dearest friends, he just didn't know who they were and would lash out. It was pretty awful. He never did to me, but he could say some awful things. I know that if he had been himself, he would have been horrified by his action and words. It's hard for sure. Just hang in there and do the best you can.

hugs,
sharlene and molly muffin

Trixie

03-06-2014, 01:31 PM

Hi Tina,
I guess we all are facing the list of doggie worries and family worries...it never seems to let up lately! It really does feel like one thing after the other..with no break.

When elderly people have a fall it really takes a toll on them. My mother was not in great shape when she had a fall last May, after that things were never quite the same mentally. She would sometimes say things to her caregiver that were not so nice and worse...completely unlike her to ever be like that...but their brains change and it isn't easy to watch that happen or to cope with it. They just lose that filter and say whatever comes to mind. It's hard.

You know they always say "schnauzer bumps" are common with the breed. Besides this thing on her paw which seemingly sprang up over night, Trixie has two tiny little bumps on her body that have been there for a few years, plus now the lipoma which came right after the Cushings. It is common for older dogs to get papilloma...which are warts. They can change, get bigger and also shrink. That sounds like what Jasper has. I've been looking at the photos of these things ever since I found this growth on Trixie's foot. I was hoping that was what Trixie had, a wart, but it wasn't. I guess later I will know the results of the test on this thing she has.
I hope Jasper's system is getting settled and that he's getting back to 100% and that the triglycerides are looking good when you next check.
I haven't started using fish oil yet but wondering how you give it to Jasper? Do you just put it on his food? When you first started using it did he have any reaction...bad poops or gas, anything you would notice? I guess you are not using it right now while he's still recovering. So happy there was no more vomiting...that's a relief!!
I keep thinking Spring is almost here and hoping it brings good health to all our dogs!

Barbara

doxiesrock912

03-06-2014, 06:32 PM

Tina,
I'm glad that Jasper continues to do well.

As for Nana, the mean streak showing through or in some cases, the individual was never mean and now is, isn't uncommon unfortunately. Our brains do crazy things when they're impaired.

I had an aunt who was so sweet, always smiling etc. She developed Alzheimer and near the end my cousin was fortunate enough to hire a full time nurse so that Aunt June could stay at home. We all went out for lunch one day and I couldn't believe it when I saw my aunt snarl at her nurse who was trying to coax her to eat more.

Do they know the reason for the rapid change? I ask because physical illnesses such as UTIs can cause these changes.

Trish

03-07-2014, 05:45 PM

Hi Tina

Pleased to hear Jasper has perked up again, gosh it is not nice when things take a turn for the worse, one little vomit yesterday and my worry radar went on high alert... not good! Hope our wee man has had a good few days and you are getting his food transitioned with no hiccups.

Your poor Nana and also poor you having to deal with all that. It really does take it out of you caring for rellies and our pups too, sometimes it all gets so busy and I just want to slow the life rushing by and get off the roller coaster for a bit. This weekend is quiet time for me and Flynn, I have no trips out apart from the hospital of course :rolleyes: and just enjoy a relaxing weekend, I hope you can do the same! xx

Tina

03-12-2014, 05:59 AM

Hi Everyone,
Jasper seems to have recovered for the most part from his bout of colitis. He is currently fasting for a vet appt and repeat labwork in the morning. I checked in with my vet to let her know that he had been sick and she said it was ok to still get the labwork as planned, including the UPC. I specifically asked about the UPC maybe being skewed since he and been sick but she said it would be ok. He has been back on his food completely since Saturday morning, so she felt the triglyceride level would not be affected. I am praying that the low fat diet has made a difference and there will be improvement. He will have all the bumps on his back checked also, and a general once over.

Barbara, I add the fish oil to Jasper's food. I mix it up real good so it pretty much coats the kibble. He did not have any problem adjusting to it when we first started. No bad poops or gas. He was on it for quite a while to treat the hyperlipidemia before he got Cushings. And now it is also a critical component in treatment of his proteinuria.

Thanks for all the support and encouragement about my Nana. While her cognitive status has deteriorated, the mean streak unfortunately has been something she has had her whole life, even when I was a kid. :( It just seems to surface more frequently now, which is not surprising. There has been some meanness toward the assisted living staff also, but thankfully that is not the norm so far. Although it does seem to be increasing there as well.

Well, I better get some more shut eye, have to get up earlier than usual for Jasper's appt. All fingers, paws and stubs crossed here for some good results for my little man. :)

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

Trish

03-12-2014, 06:21 AM

GOOD LUCK JASPER!!! xxxxx

Trish

03-12-2014, 06:28 AM

Tina, I just thought of one more thing. I was discussing the pro's and con's of enalopril vs benzapril with Mike a wee while back and he said he has found more GI issues with enalopril. I have been considering swapping Flynn over to that but with his tummy upset lately I have put it off a month. There would be a considerable saving for me as benzapril for Flynny is around $140 per month vs enalopril of about $10. Maybe something you could ask your vet too as I do not think it is that expensive here. We get special dog benzapril, but you have to use human enalopril. x

Trish

03-13-2014, 04:29 AM

How did it go today Tina? Hope you get up for a pitstop to let me know!! Was thinking about you and sending got vibes to Jasper to get A+++ results!!

molly muffin

03-13-2014, 12:19 PM

Checking in to see how things went at Jaspers appt today. Hope all is well and only good news!

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Budsters Mom

03-13-2014, 04:28 PM

Checking on how Jasper's appt. went and thinking of you both. Xxxxxx

Tina

03-14-2014, 02:01 PM

Hi Girls,
Thanks for checking in on us. Jasper had his blood drawn Wednesday evening 3/12. I decided to hold off on the UPC since he had been sick in the last couple of weeks. I told my vet I would feel more comfortable waiting another week and she was agreeable with that. As long as Jasper continues to be stable during this time, I plan to run a urine sample in the middle of next week.

The lab results should be in today, so I am patiently (not really) waiting for my vet to call. :) Just wanted to post real quick as I am at work.

I will check in later. Yay Friday!!!! :D

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

molly muffin

03-14-2014, 03:16 PM

Agreed!! YAY FRIDAY!!!

Hope you get some great news from the blood tests. :) :)

huggggggs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Tina

03-19-2014, 11:45 PM

Hi Everyone,
I need to post Jasper's lab results from last Wednesday. My vet called with the results on Friday 3/14, but I wanted to wait until I got the printed copy so I would have all the numbers to compare with the last chem profile. I picked it up last night while he was in getting his Percorten injection. I will post the numbers later, because right now, we are still celebrating Jasper's birthday! My Little Man is 10 today! So hard to believe, and certainly something to celebrate after all we have made it through over the past two years. I took the day off from work to spend with him. :) :D :)

I promised him I would spend the whole day with him, no errands, no cleaning or chores, and no being on the computer. :rolleyes: Lots of times when I am on my ipad on the forum, he will try to get on my lap, or sit right in front of me and put his chin on my leg. He knows it takes my attention and he tries to butt in any way he can. Then when I set it down he gets all excited, like he knows he will have my attention then. Smart boy he is. It is so cute. So I told myself as part of our celebration, there would be no internet today. :)

We just hung out all day, played some, and watched a couple of movies. It was wonderful for both of us, and Shelby too. He spent most of the day doing his favorite thing, snuggling or snoozing on the couch. This really is about all I can do to try to make the day special for him since he can't really have a cake or any special food or treats anymore. :( We had a glorious day.

So I will be back on later to catch up a bit on everyone and post the labwork.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET BABY BOY!!!

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

Trixie

03-19-2014, 11:54 PM

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASPER!!!! YAY 10 YEARS OLD!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

I'm so glad you got to spend your day with the birthday boy!! I hope he's been feeling good and doing well!!
Trixie will be 10 in May so she and Jasper are just about the same...in both age and breed!
I bet Shelby enjoyed having you home too!! Sounds like a great doggie day for all!! ;)

Barbara

molly muffin

03-20-2014, 12:04 AM

whoo hoooo!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASPER!!!!!!!!!!!

That sounds like a wonderful day Tina! So glad you and Jasper got to Really enjoy it and Shelby too. Perfect!

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

doxiesrock912

03-20-2014, 01:52 AM

That is adorable and spending time with you beats cake anyday!
Happy Birthday Jasper.

Budsters Mom

03-20-2014, 03:05 AM

happy birthday Jasper boy! xxxx

Trish

03-20-2014, 04:23 AM

YAY PARTY TIME!!!

CELEBRATING WITH YOU!!

HAPPY DOUBLE DIGITS JASPER xxxxxx :D:D:D:D:D

labblab

03-20-2014, 07:14 AM

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday from me, too!!!!

:D :) :p :D :) :p :D :) :p :D :) :p :D

Marianne

addy

03-20-2014, 07:28 AM

happy birthday Jasper

Squirt's Mom

03-20-2014, 09:35 AM

Happy 10th Birthday, Jasper!

Harley PoMMom

03-20-2014, 04:29 PM

Happy Birthday Jasper!!!!

Tina

03-21-2014, 05:55 PM

Hi Everyone,
Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes for Jasper! I think he had a really good day, even without any special treats. (Marianne, thank you for adjusting his age in our thread title :) ). It was so nice to be home with him where we could just relax all day. That was the best part. I have taken Thursday and today off also, which has been wonderful. I have been incredibly burned out at work, I am hoping that taking a couple of days will recharge the battery some.

Yesterday unfortunately, I was out running errands all day, and spent a good part of the day with my Nana and taking care of things for her. So I don't think Jasper felt that this was any different than if I was at work since I was gone all day. But I plan to spend some quality time with both he and Shelby over the next couple of days now. Too bad I have lots of housework to do too. :(

I dropped off a urine sample yesterday morning for his follow up UPC, so those results should be back some time today. I am worrying about it because we had to switch him off the moderate protein restricted renal diet to low fat diet due to his high triglycerides. I am just praying that the diet change has not increased the protein loss in his kidneys.

His bloodwork from last week looked pretty good for the most part. The triglycerides, while still not near the normal range, went down significantly, so the low fat diet has made a difference. Yay!!! :p His ALP was still very high, and now his ALT was high again. This had gone back into the normal range last time, so my vet is a bit concerned with that.

For comparison, here are the abnormals from 12/16/13:

ALP 2278 (<95 IU/L) H
LDH 288 (<175 IU/L) H
Cholesterol 350 (125-260 mg/dL) H
Triglycerides 1114 (41-115 mg/dL) H :eek: :mad:

And the abnormals from last week 03/12/14:

ALP 2291 (<95 IU/L) H :(
ALT 148 (<100 IU/L) H :( :mad:
Cholesterol 269 (125-260 mg/dL) H :)
Triglycerides 423 (41-115 mg/dL) H :D :) :D

So the LDH is back down to normal this time (not sure what that means, nothing I have read explains the role of LDH very well), but the ALT is back up. It was really good last time at 73.

My vet said that the increase in the ALT could be because of his recent episode of colitis 3 weeks ago and that his pancreas could have been a little inflamed along with that which could cause it to go up. Also he had been off the Denamarin for at least a week while he was sick, which may contribute. So we will plan to monitor that. As far as the high ALP, she said she wasn't too concerned about it. It does not seem to be going down at all, even with the Denamarin. :mad: She was very pleased with the decrease in the triglycerides even though it is still quite elevated. She said now it is not at the level where it should cause problems with his pancreas. I guess 4 times normal beats 11 times normal any day! :)

His electrolytes were all good, right in the middle of the normal range for each. Double Yay!! Based on that we decreased the Percorten dose again by another 0.05 ml. His dose on 3/17 was 0.5 ml, and she said this is where we will keep it as long as he stays stable. This is about half the dose that we started out with initially for his weight.

His kidney values (BUN and creatinine) were in the normal range also, so that was a big relief. I have been keeping an eye on his serum creatinine, because while it has stayed in the normal range, it has been trending upward. In December it was up to 1.01 (0.50-1.50 mg/dL), and the most recent is 0.75. So I am very happy about that!

So I'm very pleased overall, my boy did good!! ;)

Now keeping fingers crossed for the UPC results. I will post that as soon as I hear. Time to do some catching up on the forum in between watching basketball.

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

Trish

03-21-2014, 06:01 PM

Hi Tina

Lovely to read these good results and fingers and paws crossed for a good UPC. Those darn liver levels are a mystery but I have to think not going higher is good but they do seem to fluctuate with other health issues going on at the same time, so I think your vet is making sense saying the colitis +/- pancreatitis could have contributed to that!

Lovely you have a few days off, sounds like you needed it and recharging our own batteries is so important when most of the time we are focussing on someone else.

I am doing the same this weekend, just chilling out. I am just contemplating turning the heater on!! NOooooooooooooooooooooooooo too early for that, so I just put socks on instead and a blankie on Flynn while he is having his morning snooze on the couch!

molly muffin

03-21-2014, 06:34 PM

Hi Tina,

Lovely you are getting some time with the gang. :) Jasper and Shelby and Tina, the official gang. LOL

hmm, well, Jasper might not thought it was any different of a day if you were away, but I bet you were glad to just have some time to get things done without work on top of it all.

It would great to have perfect numbers, but that seldom happens with any of us on the forum it seems.

The vet is right, he did just have that attack recently and I know that it takes molly's numbers Months to come back down after they flare up when she has a gastro issue. The liver is like this little gauge that goes up with anything goes wrong it seems.

Have an excellent weekend with the "gang". :)

Remember do something fun!!
hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

labblab

03-21-2014, 07:21 PM

So sorry about the Huskers! :(

Jeepers, but there have already been some big upsets in the basketball tournament! :eek: :eek:

Tina

03-21-2014, 07:38 PM

Thanks Marianne, it was disappointing, they did not have a good peformance. And it doesn't help that the coach was ejected. :eek: :( Very unlike him. But on a positive note Creighton (located in Omaha) won their game and will advance, so that is great news. I attended both schools but actually graduated from Creighton, so I have dual allegiance for basketball and baseball!!

Yes, some very big upsets. I couldn't believe my ears with the results of the Duke game, had to do a double take. :eek:

labblab

03-21-2014, 08:11 PM

Absolutely, good job, Creighton. :)

I grew up in Des Moines, so even though you may still hate Iowa State from your Big 12 days, maybe you'd still wish them well tonight...:o

And YAY for Mercer, the Georgia school that took down Duke!! :p

They don't call it March Madness for nothin' !! :D :D

Tina

03-21-2014, 08:40 PM

Oh my gosh Marianne, I am totally pulling for Iowa State!!! :) I have always liked the Cyclones and all of the original Big 8 teams. I loved that conference and felt there were really good rivalries there. I am one of those that was not in favor of the addition of the SWC teams to form the Big 12, and felt sad with the changes that brought about. :( So it will be doubly nice if Creighton can pull off another win on Sunday. (insert icon for evil grin here) :)

I totally didn't realize that Mercer is in Georgia, a big YAY for them!! :D :D I hope they do well in their next round, that is a tough match up.

I don't have the whole bracket in front of me, but I am also pulling for Wichita State.

labblab

03-21-2014, 08:52 PM

Trixie

03-21-2014, 09:23 PM

Hi Tina,
Wow, congratulations on the Triglyceride number!! It came down so much. Maybe besides the low fat diet the fish oil helped too. All in all Jasper got a good report!!
We're having so much fun with March Madness! We're Syracuse fans here!! Duke is our rival so we were thrilled with the Mercer upset today!! Those guys were great! Good Luck to your favorite teams and have a great weekend!! :D

Barbara

Squirt's Mom

03-22-2014, 06:06 AM

They don't call it March Madness for nothin' !! :D :D

They call it "March madness" because finding that basketball games have usurped normal programming day and night makes folks like me HOPPING MAD! :mad::mad::mad: :p

Trish

03-22-2014, 06:28 AM

Hmmm not heard of the March Madness. Not real big on basketball but love all sports so I will be into it!!! Go Tina's Team!! :)

Tina

03-23-2014, 06:32 AM

They call it "March madness" because finding that basketball games have usurped normal programming day and night makes folks like me HOPPING MAD! :mad::mad::mad: :p

LOL Leslie!! :D :p Yes, that is maddening for those that are not interested. But the teams are quickly dwindling, so it will be better soon, not like the NBA playoffs and finals that seem to go on for months! :rolleyes: ;) Hang in there!! :)

Trish, March Madness is the NCAA college basketball tournament in the U.S. It starts out with a field of 64 teams, playing at several venues around the country and in designated brackets. Lots of games going on at once at first. Then the field goes down to 32, then 16, then 8. Then it goes to the final 4 teams and then the last 2 undefeated teams standing play for the NCAA championship. There are usually lots of exciting games, and lots of unexpected upsets, hence the term March Madness.

Basketball is not my favorite sport, but I do like it a lot. I am a football and hockey nut. :D But March Madness is very exciting and I really enjoy it. And this year is extra fun for me because we have two schools from Nebraska in the tournament, which is very unusual. I wouldn't say we are known as a basketball powerhouse here! Nebraska lost in the first round and is out already, but Creighton (the school I graduated from) managed to win their first game and play again Sunday night. So I am excited for them. Go Bluejays!! :)

Tina

03-23-2014, 06:45 AM

Jasper's UPC from 3/20 is 1.81 (<0.5). The last one from 12/23/13 was 1.63, so this is increased a bit. :(

His previous UPC's and dates:
10/22/12 1.27
1/14/13 3.57
5/6 1.49
8/31 0.6
12/23 1.63

A tech called and left a voice mail message with the results and said that my vet was pleased with the result and felt it was stable, and to continue everything the same. I did not get to talk to her so will call the office on Monday with my questions.

I don't like that it is up a bit, but not sure if it is considered a significant increase or not. It sounds like my vet was not concerned, and I remember last time when it had gone up some, she said that she was more concerned with trends. So maybe she doesn't consider this a significant change. This I will have to ask. I would feel better if it had gone down some, but am also grateful that it didn't go up more than it did, considering the diet change in December/January.

The current plan:

Continue Royal Canin Low Fat GI prescription diet
Continue on previous meds and treatment:
Enalapril 5 mg 1/2 tab BID
Welactin 1/2 spoonful mixed with food BID
Dexamethasone 0.5 mg 1/4 tab every other day
Denamarin 225/24 mg one tab daily
Percorten injection - decrease to 0.5 ml monthly

So that is where we are at. I plan to call on Monday to ask her thoughts on the UPC increase, and also to clarify what the plan is for follow up on labwork at this point.

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

molly muffin

03-23-2014, 12:06 PM

Hi Tina,

Do you keep a spreadsheet or a diary to see what it was that was done that got his numbers down so well to this:
8/31 0.6
he was really high in January, and then the transition to Hills k/d and the enalapril, but it really went down to almost where it should be for the August test.

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Harley PoMMom

03-25-2014, 12:59 AM

Are they doing an urinalysis first? Any kind of sediment in the urine will falsely increase UPC results.

When I bring Sampson in for his UPC the lab always checks his urine for any sediment/infection and if the urine doesn't show any then the lab runs the UPC.

Trish

03-27-2014, 07:18 AM

Hi Tina

Have you talked to your vet about the UPC, I would be inclined to put the rise down to the fact Jasper had been a bit off colour recently. Hopefully your vet agrees and when it is repeated we will see it come down again. They do seem to go up and down and it is the same with Flynn. That is a good point Lori made about any sediment skewing it. I took Flynn's sample in with him this morning for his checkup and I thought it looked slightly cloudy so I will see what the results are when they come in.

I like the plan!! It is so hard with diet when you are facing a few different health issues. I have had a similar talk with my vet, when I was worried about liver, kidney, tumour issues.. at that stage he said well we have to concentrate on the MOST pressing issue, which at that stage was the same as Jasper's which was getting his gut right as that was having the biggest impact on quality of life issues so we work on that and hopefully it will not adversely affect his kidneys. Our boys are holding up pretty well considering what they have been through!! Hopefully next time I check in on you there will be an update on current thoughts of your vet :) Hope this week is being kind to you and all good with your Nana too xxxx

addy

03-27-2014, 09:33 AM

Hi Tina,

I think Trish is right, when they are feeling off tummy wise, it seems to affect their UPC, they can throw protein for so many reasons.

Hugs to you and our boy and Nana too

Trixie

03-31-2014, 01:42 PM

Thanks for your post Tina. I was in a panic yesterday. As you know going through those really bad bouts of gastro/pancreatic upset are so awful. Thankfully this did not escalate into something worse but it's still worrisome that Trixie has the episodes intermittently and after a time when she seems just fine, something is causing it. Maybe many of these things point back to the high trigylcerides? Wish I knew.
She had so many tests when hospitalized last time and nothing glaring showed up, but it really makes me nervous that something inside Trixie isn't right. For today she's fine but I stayed with white rice today and added a little bit of chicken this morning. I guess like all of us I need a vet on call at all times for my questions!! Having a vet in the family would work too!! :D
I hope Jasper is feeling good and doing well...and Shelby too. :p

Barbara

Trish

04-03-2014, 06:54 AM

Tina, what's happening with Jasper? You mentioned there were a few issues but haven't updated yet!! Hopefully nothing major to worry about but now I have read that I am worried about the wee man!! Talk soon xxx

Trish

04-05-2014, 06:24 PM

Hi Tina

Hope the week finished better than how it started and you are spending some much needed time with Jasper and Shelby! Hope it is a relaxing weekend with no new problems! xx

Tina

04-07-2014, 02:40 AM

Hi Everyone,
I'm finally posting an update on Jasper. Thanks for checking on us. Lori - as far as checking the urine sample for sediment, I have asked about this in the past, and my vet has told me that they always spin it down to check for sediment, rbc's, etc. before sending it off for the UPC. So I would guess it was done this time also.

I talked to my vet about the most recent increase in his UPC (1.81 on 3/12, up from 1.63 in December, normal < 0.5). She basically said she felt it was a mild increase and was not concerned. She said she was pleased with this result since we had switched his food to low fat and he is no longer on the renal diet. She admitted that she had been concerned that it would have increased much more than this and she said she feels "it is the best we could hope for". :confused: I guess this comment caught me a little off guard, because my hope was that it would have decreased. That may have been unrealistic, especially with the need to change his diet, but at the very least I had hoped it would stay the same. :(

I mentioned the 0.6 result that we had in August. She said that this was several months after we first started all the treatment, and his kidneys were responding to the meds and diet. She said after time, the kidneys adjust and the protein loss will increase again. She said that although the UPC does fluctuate and on a different day it could be a bit lower, we probably won't get a value like 0.6 again. She reminded me that it is a progressive disease and the protein loss is going to go up no matter what, that we can't stop it. :( :mad: The goal is to slow the progression. She did say that it could stay steady for a year or more, but of course there is no guarantee, and no way to know.

I don't know why I have been so upset over everything she said. She told me in the very beginning when Jasper was diagnosed that protein losing nephropathy is a progressive disease and that the goal was to slow the progression. I guess I have put that fact out of my mind, especially when the UPC had been decreasing and we got that 0.6 result. So this was a big reality check that I guess I wasn't ready to hear. She pointed out that it was still under 2.0, and she feels that the 1.0 to 2.0 range is a gray zone. She said once it gets up to 2 or 2.5 it is more of a concern.

I feel that I have been stalling posting all of this because I have been upset over it. I am concerned that we really aren't very far from the 2.0 mark, and the 1.81 is the second highest it has ever been. But I am trying to focus on the positive that it didn't go any higher than it did with the change in diet, and also that my vet said with continued treatment it could stay steady for a year or more.

There have been a couple of other things going on with Jasper that I will post later. Hopefully I can get some feedback and suggestions from you all on that.

We have had a pretty good weekend. He seems to be feeling good. I had a horrid week at work last week, and was away for longer hours than usual. It was so nice having the time home with him the last couple of days. I sure appreciate our down time, I love just hanging out at home. He is the most affectionate and loving little boy, and sometimes he looks at me in a way that just chokes me up. It's like he's trying to tell me he is so grateful that I'm there. I love my sensitive little boy so much. ❤️

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

Trish

04-11-2014, 08:52 PM

Hi Tina

I do not like what your vet is saying either :o I am still of the opinion that the protein loss is worse when other things are playing up, like I know when Flynn's IBD flares his proteinuria is higher as I have seen that direct correlation twice now, but it has righted itself too, so I am going to hang on to the thought that we can still see the UPC turn around and improve. Especially considering Flynn's is 2.5 right now!! Next time I am not even going to test it if he has been in the least bit off for a couple of weeks prior, it is not worth the stress for me to see these higher numbers. I guess what she is saying is right, it is progressive. Mike explained it to me by asking me to imagine a metal sieve in the kidney, it has holes in it that should not let the protein molecules though. But over time they can slowly wear down and rust :eek: until finally it does not hold the protein back anymore at all. But THAT is not going to happen for a long long time for either of our boys as we have them on treatment and are managing this, so chin up Tina!! I am sure we have better UPC days ahead and I will be there celebrating them with you!! Hopefully catch up over the weekend x

Budsters Mom

04-13-2014, 03:03 AM

Hi Tina,

I don't really understand much of your update, but I just want to send you and Jasper lots of love and hugs and let you know that I'm thinking of you. Xxxxxx

addy

04-13-2014, 10:02 AM

Oh Tina, I too think that the protein can be affected by other illnessses, I would hope you may still see some lower readings. I know it is a progressive disease but other issues factor in as well.

I know it is hard not to be upset and to just go day by day and enjoy and love your little boy but try to take a moment to hold him and just enjoy him, even if only for a few minutes, putting the rest in a drawer.

Hugs and love to you and Jasper and your Nana.

molly muffin

04-13-2014, 10:22 AM

I agree with Addy. Sure, progressive, but that doesn't mean that it is progressing right now, after all he has just gone through some upsets and that could affect the protein I think too.

I would think that you really don't know that it is progressing until you've had several tests come back with continuous higher levels. Until then it could be other things affecting the current levels.

You and Jasper have been through so much. You are all due to just have a good summer and no emergencies. :)

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Trixie

04-13-2014, 01:18 PM

Hi Tina,
I'm with Kathy...I don't understand all of this but I will read up on it so I know more about it. I'm sorry that the numbers always create so much worry and stress. I just hope Jasper is doing well, feeling fine and enjoying spring with you and Shelby!

Barbara

Trish

04-16-2014, 06:51 AM

Hi Tina - just checking in on you guys! Hope the working week is going well and your not overdoing it, you always seem so busy with work and family so I hope Easter gives you some time to relax with Jasper and Shelby! x

molly muffin

04-20-2014, 12:51 AM

Happy Easter, Tina, Jasper & Shelby!

I hope you are having a nice Easter weekend and got a day or two off from work.

I spent Friday curled up with molly on the couch, reading with a blanket and total chill mode. It was wonderful! I hope you get to enjoy the same with Jasper and Shelby. You work too hard. :)

Hope the boy is doing good.

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Trixie

04-20-2014, 03:00 AM

Happy Easter to you Tina...and Jasper and Shelby too! We have a few night owls on tonight waiting for the Easter Bunny.

I'm making myself crazy on google after Trixie had tummy trouble today. All the yucky details are on my thread. UGH. Too much, my nerves are shot. I'm looking up too much and don't really have any idea what she has or what she doesn't have.
I am going to try and get to bed though...just thought I'd say a quick hello before I shut it down. :D

Barbara

Trish

04-20-2014, 03:15 AM

Hey Tina

I'm sure your building up to the Jasper update!! :D

Tina

04-20-2014, 03:30 AM

Lol, yes I need to post an update! It isn't going to be anything too exciting. I had so much catching up to do on everyone, that was more important.

I am a little out of sorts. My BFF's mother passed away last week, and it has just been a really hard week. Thank God Jasper has been relatively stable during it all, so that enabled me to really be able to be there for her and her family, and help where needed with arrangements, etc. Very sad time. And work has just been ridiculous. I guess this is just how it is going to be. There are so many people in need of treatment for substance abuse, it is unbelievable really. And really heavy duty addiction problems. :(

As I mentioned, Jasper has been having accidents in the house since I can't keep him confined in the kitchen it seems, so that has been stressful. I need to post fully about that, I am sure I will get some good feedback from everyone here.

Woodydog

04-20-2014, 07:11 AM

Hi Tina

Happy Easter to you and Jasper :)

My BF son is an addict so I know how hard she has tried to get him help but there's been so many cut backs here that the help isn't there anymore and as you say there are so many out there needing help:(

Tina

04-20-2014, 06:13 PM

Hi All,

So as many of you know, I confine Jasper to my kitchen with baby gates and pooch pads while I am at work or away from the house, since he can't hold it all day anymore. I am not 100% sure why this has happened to him. I believe it is related to kidney issues that have developed secondary to when he had Cushings. Even though he technically has Addison's now, his polyuria and polydipsia have never resolved. Once he adjusted to being confined, this has worked great for the past year and a half or so.

About 2 1/2 weeks ago, we had a day where the wind gusted upwards of 55 mph most of the day while I was at work. :eek: Jasper has a bit of a wind phobia anyway, and this was just horrid. It literally sounded like my house was going to blow down, and my neighbors fence actually did blow down after a post snapped. I came home that day to find Jasper loose in the house. He apparently had broken out of the kitchen in a panic due to the wind and kind of trashed the house out of fear I suppose. :( He had a couple of accidents on the carpet of course.

Well, now since he knows he can break out of the kitchen, he started doing it whether it was windy or not. No matter how I have fortified the barricades, he just works at it until he budges it enough to get out. On two occasions he had blocked himself out of the kitchen so couldn't get back in to his water for who knows how long. :eek: :( Also, twice he bloodied one of his paws working to get out of the gates. :eek: Its like he gets too anxious being confined to the kitchen now. This was not an issue before, even on windy days, which we have often here. But I think that day of 55 mph plus was the worst it had been with him home alone.

Since then, I have been letting him stay loose in the house, which he seems much less anxious about. But he is peeing in multiple places, even if I put multiple pooch pads down. Thankfully his urine is dilute, but this is still making for tons of carpet cleaning.

I am thinking about trying to keep him in a spare bedroom where I can close the door to keep him in, and it would have less carpeted area to cover with pooch pads. I can't really come up with any other solution because the rest of my house is quite open and next to impossible to barricade. I am hoping that some of you may have ideas that I haven't thought of for this problem. I'm open to any and all suggestions!

Also, I have been using Natures Miracle advanced formula, but I don't like the instructions of saturating every spot and then allowing up to two weeks to dry. :rolleyes: I realize that you can't use it in a carpet shampooer, but I am wondering about putting it on all the spots for a couple of hours, and then going over it with just plain hot water in the shampooer to extract a lot of it. Has anyone tried this method? Also open to suggestions here.

Thanks for your thoughts and feedback about the proteinuria. Jasper has been feeling pretty good. <whisper> He had some redness in one of his eyes a couple of weeks ago, and my vet prescribed some antibiotic/steroid drops for that. She thought it might be allergy related. It cleared right up with the drops. I'm worrying about the proteinuria, but I'm grateful for every day that he feels good, and hope it continues. I just have to hope and pray that we can slow the progression of the protein loss from his kidneys and the next UPC will not be worse.

Ok guys, thanks for reading and for any suggestions. I know that he can't help it with the accidents, but I worry that it might be becoming behavioral since it seems he often goes on the carpet even though there are plenty of pooch pads down.

I hope everyone is having a nice Easter!

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

Trixie

04-20-2014, 07:32 PM

Oh my goodness...poor Jasper, another thing in common with Trixie! She also gets frightened when the wind howls. Sometimes because of the elevator shafts a draft will come under our door and kind of make one of our coat closet doors creak and she is so afraid of that! He must have really gotten spooked to have busted out of the kitchen like he did. awww...:(

I wish I had a good suggestion for keeping Jasper safely and comfortably confined. This sounds crazy but I had a friend who actually installed a screen door on her spare bedroom to keep her dogs in there but still kind of keep it open for them..they also were able to somehow get out of the baby gates. It's a little extreme and not everyone wants a screen door inside their home! :rolleyes: It actually looked kind of cute though...it was white and kind of a conversation piece.

Barbara

molly muffin

04-20-2014, 10:09 PM

I use the bissel little green machine for a carpet/spot cleaner, with the pet deodorizer solution and that seems to work fine.
It's so hard to know what do do, other than try a permanently installed pet gate. One that is attached on both walls that he can't get out of? You could give the bedroom a try for a couple days and see how he does but he might be worried being in there all day by himself and not able to see Shelby?

How very upsetting this must be for both you and Jasper. :(

hugs
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Budsters Mom

04-20-2014, 10:47 PM

Hi Tina,

HAPPY EASTER!:)

Now for the business at hand…… I have a brilliant, little escape artist. Rosie can jump over baby gates and climb out of just about any enclosure. It took me several attempts before I found something that has worked so far. I have built a escape proof (so far)area to contain Rosie. I use three pressure gates, bungee cords, Broom handle pieces, a section from a plastic x-pen, a large wire pet crate, smooth boards, plastic pool cover pieces and three plastic floor mats (kind for under desk chairs). Rosies enclosure is approximately 12 x 10 feet. I put her in there when I have to go to work and no one is going to be home to watch her. I put washable pee pads down, but she doesn't use them anymore. She holds it until someone comes home.

A few tips.....

The pressure gates have to be anchored tightly into something. You might need to permanently attach them if Jasper is able to move them in a panic.

I attach a smooth board to the pressure gates with Bungee cords. That way she is unable to climb them. The boards need to face the inside of the enclosure. This could help Jasper from injuring himself. He would have nothing to grip to paw at.

The Broom-handle' pieces are used to go through the holes in the gates to anchor them against some kind of furniture. This makes the gates immovable.

The plastic pool cover pieces go under the large wire crate. The three large plastic desk chair mats (which I rescued from the refuge pile at work) cover the rest of the carpeting enclosed area. That way if Rosie did have an accident, it wouldn't go through onto the carpeting and is easily wiped up.

So sorry that you and Jasper having these problems. I feel bad for both of you. Xxxxx

Trish

04-21-2014, 05:45 AM

OMG Kathy, sounds like you would need a building degree for that effort... you could have a new career :D:D I would put Jasper in the bedroom, maybe with the door open so he can see Shelby but with a baby gate. Don't think he could jump over that?? Or do you have an internal room that would be more insulated from weather noises??

I use a big Bissell, wish I had a little one but luckily no accidents for us. But is was handy when the cats were here and had the odd mess when they aged.

My other though, maybe a melatonin before you leave in the morning if you know it is going to be a dodgy weather day?

xx

doxiesrock912

04-21-2014, 08:14 AM

Awwww, poor Jasper. Being afraid is no fun. Daisy isn't able to clear gates with her stubby doxie legs but she'll do her best to bulldozed them with her head.

addy

04-21-2014, 09:23 AM

Do you keep Shelby penned in the room with him? Does he get a speiail treat when he gets put in the room? That was the only way we could teach Koko to be contained anywhere without freaking out. He busted gates, jumped gates, I even did double gates on top of each other.

I felt bad having to lock Zoe up in the kitchen with him but he needed her with him and then they were both happy to get their special treats. A few times they knocked down the gate but I think that happened from playing.

labblab

04-21-2014, 11:22 AM

Dear Tina,

I am so sorry to read about your worries over Jasper. I wish I had a brilliant suggestion to offer, but I'm afraid I do not, and am so hopeful that one of these other good ideas will end up helping.

Mainly, though, I want to thank you so much for stopping by to post on my threads for Barkis and Peg. When you are in the midst of your own worries, it means so much to me to read your kind words. I really, really appreciate it!!!! And I will be keeping my fingers crossed that you'll find an easily workable solution for Jasper.

With love and my warm wishes,
Marianne

Tina

04-23-2014, 03:55 AM

Hi Everyone,
Thanks so much for all of your suggestions and feedback. I will comment a bit later on all of that since it is so late now and I need to get bed!

I just wanted to update that on Monday morning while I was in the shower getting ready for work, Jasper had an accident on the carpet outside the bathroom. He had been outside less than an hour before. :eek: This has happened a few times before when he has had a UTI.

I called and talked to my vet and she agreed that it sounded like a UTI based on his pattern in the past. We also talked about how he has been having accidents all over the house while I am at work now since I can't keep him in the kitchen anymore. I am wondering and hoping that maybe that is related to him having a UTI. I feel so bad, it didn't even occur to me until he had the accident while I was getting ready for work. :o

So she started him on zeniquin for 7 days and if he shows improvement, we will get a refill. She opted to go ahead and treat without checking a UA since his urine is always so dilute and often a culture doesn't show anything even though he has some symptoms. I am hoping that is all it is, and once it is treated his other peeing issues will also improve. So I guess we will see. He got his second dose last night.

I have ordered 4 new pooch pads from Amazon, the ones I have are worn out and leak sometimes. They have lasted over a year with daily washing. Amazing, I don't know what I would do without them. The new ones should be here any day now. As soon as I get those, I may try him in the spare bedroom.

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

addy

04-23-2014, 02:24 PM

I hope Jasper feels better with the antibiotic and that it indeed is a UTI, Tina.

Always something to worry about, I know. I find myself looking at every hair on Koko's head since losing Zoe. Then I tell myself, stop, he is fine.

It is indeed hard not to worry.

molly muffin

04-23-2014, 04:15 PM

EEEK another UTI possibility! :(

Hope that is all it is, as that can be fixed and may be your answer to why the accidents all over the house.

Hope the meds help
hugs
sharlene and molly muffin

Trixie

04-23-2014, 05:34 PM

Oh dear....I hope the prescription knocks out that UTI quickly. It's always something isn't it?? Any luck building the fort yet?? :D
Kathy's list of materials cracked me up...all that for teeny little Rosie the escape artist..that is too funny.
Hope something will work out so that you can keep Jasper safely confined. :D

Barbara

Squirt's Mom

04-23-2014, 05:38 PM

Speaking of forts....I had a thought that will entail some lumber and screws but should work. You will need some narrow but strong strips to form a channel on each side of the doorway,probably 1 1/2 - 2" thick. Then a piece of plywood cut to fit the width of the opening that will slide down into the channel you made with the strips. The strips and plywood need to be strong enough Jasper can't push through. I would think 1/2" should work fine. You could paint it all up with butterflies and flowery crap to make it purdy. :p

Trish

04-23-2014, 05:59 PM

WOW look at you DIY girls with your great ideas! Hope you figure something out Tina and the ABs help with the UTI. Was he having these little accidents back when the last UPCR was done? If so, that might explain that little rise he had? x

Trish

04-26-2014, 02:07 AM

Hi Tina

I was just on Dr Peterson's blog and came across this article, might be of interest to you with Jasper's recent troubles. It specifically discusses incontinence in Addison's pups. Hope there is a tip or two there might help you guys! Hope the antibiotics are going down without a hitch. x

http://animalendocrine.blogspot.co.nz/2013/07/managing-urinary-incontinence-in-dogs.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Tina

05-03-2014, 07:47 AM

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions. Trish, thank you for the link to Dr Peterson's article. I had seen it and read it very recently, and in fact had printed out a copy at that time, that was before the most recent issues with Jasper. I am not sure if his medication regime is contributing to the problem or not. I feel like we have fine tuned it pretty well, but it is certainly worth revisiting with my vet. My concern is that his kidney issues are getting worse. :(

It has been a rough week and a half or so. Jasper started the zeniquin for the UTI, which appeared to be helping as he has had no further accidents in the house while I am home with him. This is usually how we have to gauge improvement, as he always has increased urinating. He is still having accidents in the house while I am at work, I need to get this figured out, I am exhausted from all the constant clean up.

Well, by about the 5th day (4/25) he started with appetite problems and not wanting to eat. He also seems to have low energy and is quite mopey. This has happened before with zeniquin, but not sure it has been quite this marked. I struggled to get him to eat all last weekend and talked to my vet on Monday. She suggested that I give him cerenia for 2 days to see if it helped (I had 2 doses at home), and if it helps she would send home 5 more doses to give daily till the zeniquin was finished. It didn't seem to make a difference, so on wednesday 4/30 I picked up reglan to give twice a day, and we stopped the zeniquin for 48 hrs to see if this made a difference, with the plan to restart zeniquin at that time if he was doing better. She said if he wasn't considerably better we would be concerned that something else was going on.

Well he is a bit better with the reglan but still very tough to get him to eat. He hasn't completely stopped eating, but eats only a bite or two at a time, walking away while chewing, dropping food out of his mouth, etc. It takes him quite a while to finish, whereas when normal, he finished his portion by eating steadily until it is gone.

We have a previously scheduled vet appt this morning for his yearly "wellness" check, and he is due for his rabies vaccination this year. I had previously discussed my fears about him getting the rabies shot with all of his issues, but she is firm that it is needed and is not contraindicated with any of his issues (addisons, kidney issues, liver issues). I have had 3 separate conversations with her about this, and she has been reassuring with all my fears. But I am not sure now with this eating issue going on, I will have to see what she thinks this morning. So now I guess he isn't exactly well for his wellness visit. :( I am feeling so discouraged and frustrated because he was eating just fine and seemed to be feeling fairly good before we started the zeniquin. I felt sure it was the problem, but I don't know why he isn't snapping out of it now that he hasn't had a dose since Tuesday pm. Not to mention that the UTI treatment has been interrupted.

I have been following along on everyone on the forum. Between working so much overtime at work and all the cleaning I just haven't had time to post. I am hoping to do some catch up today after we get back from the vets. I am just worried about the "concern that something else is going on". I guess we will see. This dog is going to drive me to drink. I know you all can relate. Sorry to be so discouraged, I think I am just tired. Thanks as always for listening.

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

labblab

05-03-2014, 08:38 AM

Dear Tina,

I am so very sorry that you and Jasper are having such a rough time right now. I'm afraid I have no insight to offer regarding the disruption in appetite, although due to the timing, I would also be very suspicious that somehow the medication altered the balance of something. As to how to fix it, I do not know. :(

As far as the vaccination question, I know that people here hold varying opinions about vaccination in the face of other health issues. For what it's worth, I'll go ahead and offer my own. For dogs who live in areas where rabies is present in the wildlife population, I do think vaccination can be reasonable even in the face of many chronic medical conditions as long as the dog is stable and the condition is being addressed and appropriately managed. However, no vaccination of any sort ought to be given while dogs are acutely ill or an unknown disease process is at play. That is a warning that is actually included by the vaccine manufacturers. Right now, Jasper is unwell for a reason that is yet to be known. I absolutely would wait to administer the rabies vaccination until after you've had a chance to sort things out and Jasper has normalized once again.

Marianne

Budsters Mom

05-03-2014, 09:11 AM

Oh Tina, I am so sorry that you and Jasper have had such a tough time of it. We worry so when they don't eat and aren't acting like themselves. Constant clean-up sucks too! :o

I have very strong opinions regarding rabies vaccination/ boosters. I would personally NEVER do it with an ill (unstable) pup. Buddy's became due when he was terminal. I did not do it!! I would get feedback from you vet and ask about a possible exemption in Jasper's case, since he's not well and isn't likely to be out among the wild population. THEN GO WITH YOUR GUT!!! That's my advice for what it's worth.

Please keep us posted. xxxxxx

Squirt's Mom

05-03-2014, 09:15 AM

Hi Tina,

I, too, am so sorry Jasper is having a difficult time lately and pray the solution is found and easily corrected soon. For what it's worth, I agree with Marianne on the vaccines - no way, no how would I allow them to be given as long as he is not well. ;)

I bought a carpet shampooer last month but haven't been able to use it yet. Meanwhile the carpet...~~sigh~~, yes a constant job! After getting trapped inside this past winter they have decided in is as good as out. :rolleyes: I see linoleum and rubber non-skid doggy boots in their future! :p

Keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers.
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

molly muffin

05-03-2014, 04:30 PM

I agree, I wouldn't do any vaccines while Jasper is not himself.

I think the problem likely is the zeniquin. It is listed as a side effect. It could be that some dogs are sensitive to or even allergic to some degree to the drug, but I think you need another drug for the UTI and I wouldn't give this to Jasper again.

In fact, one of the warnings is to not give this to dogs with kidney problems already.

I think Jasper will bounce back from this since you've stopped it, but I bet it is super exhausting, along with work and constant cleaning.

Sending you big hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Trish

05-03-2014, 09:55 PM

Hi Tina

Oh no, hope it is just the antibiotic causing this. I know Flynny has had problems with some of these upsetting him and putting him off his food. How has the vet appointment gone today, really want to see some good Jasper news!

I would not want to give a vaccine either when he is unwell, I am so pleased here in NZ we do not have rabies so the dogs do not get vaccinated for that ever. One of my friends was in Turkey last year and she got bit by a stray dog and had to have a course of injections so she did not get rabies :eek: Nasty. xx

Trixie

05-03-2014, 10:25 PM

Hi Tina,
I'm so sorry to hear Jasper is having problems with his appetite. It's so hard to have that constant worry hanging over your head...it's such a bad feeling and I can easily understand how it can get the better of you.
Hopefully another day or two off that med and Japser will begin to get his appetite back. It's not like our schnauzers have easy disgestive systems..maybe it's just taking time for him to bounce back and feel hungry, and he is eating a bit.
I can't imagine the vet would disagree about just postponing that rabies shot until Jasper is 100%...especially if he's not running around the forest with racoons.
I guess Jasper doesn't use the puppy pads?? Maybe you could spread some out anyway and he'll end up going on them by chance? If he usually goes in "regular" places and you put a few pads on those spots and he might just start using them...maybe worth a try, it can't hurt.
I'll be keeping fingers crossed that tomorrow he will show some improvement in the eating department and start feeling better.

Barbara

Tina

05-04-2014, 02:09 AM

Thanks so much for the support, and especially for the feedback about the rabies shot. Marianne, your opinion is shared by my vet. But I had made up my mind he was not getting it today, and the validation from all of you really helped. Thankfully it wasn't an issue at all with my vet, she immediately said we need to wait until he is back to normal. (Whew!) I was just a little anxious about it because on a previous conversation, I had asked her about sending in a letter so that Jasper could be exempt due to his illness and all his issues. She was very firm that he needed the vaccine, and that it wasn't contraindicated for him. It is a law here that he be vaccinated every 3 years, and she basically said that his issues did not qualify for the exemption. We had a couple of subsequent conversations about it and she answered all my questions and was reassuring. So I was a little worried that she might think I was using this situation as an excuse to delay it. I don't live out in the country, but I do live right near a farm, and a small wooded area and creek, so there is wildlife around.

She was disappointed that Jasper wasn't feeling significantly better. She examined him and that was all ok. She decided to check all his labwork to see if his Addison's had become unstable, and to look at the kidney and liver values. She also checked a CBC. Everything was mostly ok, whew! The ALP was increased some since last time, and the ALT was up a bit also. :( She said she was not concerned about those. The electrolytes, BUN and creatinine were WNL. So that was a huge relief. She wasn't completely sure but is thinking that maybe his stomach just got really upset from the zeniquin this time. She also went ahead and got a urine specimen to send for a culture. His urine was dilute as usual, sp gr 1.009, and ph 7, 3+ protein. :mad:

We started pepcid AC 10 mg 1/2 tab bid, and will continue the reglan 5 mg 1/2 tab bid for the next few days and see how he does. Zeniquin still on hold. She will call with results of the culture, probably Monday, and go from there. He did eat a bit better to tonight, so maybe we are moving in the right direction now.

Sharlene, I told my vet that I don't think I like zeniquin, so we are on the same page there! I am thinking I don't want him to have it anymore either. And yes, I was aware that loss of appetite is listed as a side effect, and also that it says to use with caution in dogs with liver or kidney disease. Unfortunately there are a lot of antibiotics that say to use with caution with kidney disease, including metronidazole. I have asked her about that in the past, and she said it was ok.

Trish, that is awful about your friend. It would be scary enough to be bit by a stray dog in your own neighborhood, it would be terrifying in a foreign country.

Barbara, yes, I do put the pooch pads out in the areas he has been having accidents. I have 8 of them placed strategically, both upstairs and down. He uses them, but he also has accidents on the carpet in addition. He was accustomed to using the pads when I was able to confine him in the kitchen, and he was very good about using them. So I am not sure what is wrong now. :(

I was planning to do some carpet cleaning tonight but I am just too tired. I will need to try to tackle that tomorrow.

Big hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

Trish

05-04-2014, 02:26 AM

Hey, I am back and so are you!

Well all in all that is a good report, so thankful his electrolytes etc are WNL. That must be a relief it is not the addisons playing up again.

I am going with the vet and everyone else, it must be the zenequin so hopefully the Pepcid and reglan will do the trick, sounds like it might be helping already if he has eaten better tonight :) Phew!!

Yes, we are off early tomorrow for the 5hr drive for his scan. Such a long day so I hope we have good news to report at the end of it!

Tina

05-04-2014, 07:01 AM

Trish, I just posted on your thread. Sorry I missed you, I fell asleep on the couch with the ipad! :o :rolleyes:

Thanks for the feedback, yes, I am very relieved with the lab results. I really didn't think it was his Addison's, but you can never really be sure with him. I'm glad she wanted to play it safe and check. I know I wouldn't have been able to rest without knowing for sure.

I will be thinking about you guys all evening and night tonight (my time) on your road trip, and for the appt. I'm looking forward to good news. :)

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

Trish

05-04-2014, 07:30 AM

Appointment is at 11.30am my time, so that will be 6.30pm your time if I have my calculations right! it's 10.30pm as I post this lol so synchronise watches :D

Tina

05-04-2014, 07:38 AM

Yes, thats right. It is 5:36 am for me now. Watches are synchronized, lol! :D I am all about getting the positive vibes going and focused at the right time! ;)

Trish

05-04-2014, 07:40 AM

I know that, love that about you Tina :D Have you actually spent any time sleeping in your bed tonight??

Tina

05-04-2014, 07:54 AM

Umm...... No. :o

My sleep is so messed up. I am going to head there in just a bit for maybe an hour or two. I have tons of chores to do today, and yardwork, so I guess I need a nap already, lol. I think I was extra tired last night, so just conked out!

Woodydog

05-04-2014, 07:56 AM

Oh goodness Tina you sleep less than I do and I don't sleep well :eek:

Trish

05-04-2014, 07:56 AM

I didn't think so... no wonder your sleep is messed up if you don't actually get into the bed LOL :rolleyes: Where do Jasper and Shelby sleep?

Tina

05-04-2014, 08:08 AM

Lol, I don't usually spend the whole night on the couch! But ever since I had to start getting up in the middle of the night to let Jasper out, things have been messed up. It's not that I can't sleep, I do fine in that area. It is just always interrupted.

Jasper and Shelby sleep on my bed with me. Right now both are snoozing on the couch. :) So cute.

Trish

05-04-2014, 08:15 AM

Was nice staying around at Dad's, Flynny actually got on the bed with me for a while. Once I woke up and had Elle the cat on one side and him on the other! So cute they sleep together!!

Tina

05-04-2014, 08:22 AM

Aww, Flynn snuggling with his Mum. So cute.

My two do sleep together ok for the most part, but sometimes Shelby gets wound up when I have to let Jasper out for his middle of the night pit stop and won't go back to bed. Then she has to go in her crate (with a comfy bed in it) for the rest of the night.

Nighty night Trish, sleep well.

molly muffin

05-04-2014, 09:00 PM

How is Jasper doing today? Eating any better?

I am very glad to hear that your vet is on board to waiting for the rabies shot. It's just not worth the risk and worry when they are already dealing with other things to throw that into the mix too. It would be great if he didn't have to get it at all, but I guess the farm sort of leaves that possibility out.

It sounds like his labs weren't really all that bad, just the liver enzymes a bit off. Drat on the protein being 3+ grrrrrr :(

Hopefully that will go down when all this other stuff is over with and any UTI cleared up.

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Tina

05-08-2014, 06:07 AM

Hi Everyone,
Well, Jasper was plugging along, his eating was slowly improving but had not gotten back to normal quite yet, but was progressing over the weekend and Monday. Then Tuesday morning 5/6, he struggled a bit more with eating. After work he seemed kind of like he didn't feel well, seemed quiet and mopey, but he did eat fairly well. By that I mean that he ate pretty steadily, only walking away from the bowl a time or two, and he finished over a few minutes. But he continued to seem very subdued with low energy throughout the evening and night. Yesterday morning 5/7 he was the same, not perky, and back to not wanting to eat much. I did manage to get him to eat his breakfast slowly while I got ready for work, it took him a couple of hours to finish.

When I got home from work he was the same, not very perky, and I found that he had thrown up once sometime while I was at work. :( Thankfully just once, and it was partially digested food, not bile.

I called real quick to see if I could catch my vet and let her know, and also because she had not called back with his urine culture results or to check up on him, which is very unusual. I found out that she has been out due to her son being very ill and also some possible health issues herself. She does not work on Thursdays. I talked to one of the staff, and we talked about the option of bringing Jasper in and dropping him off in the morning to see another Dr if he became worse. I just can't miss any work right now.

He did the same with eating his supper last night, very slowly a bite or two at a time and he finally finished after over an hour. No more vomiting all evening thank God. I held his fish oil, enalapril and denamarin just in case.

He was quiet and not perky all evening, except for being anxious when we had a severe thunderstorm with hail and high wind roll through. Still no vomiting, yay!

We were just up for our middle of the night pit stop. He is very subdued, but is able to rest and has been sleeping.

I just don't know what could be wrong. His labwork on Saturday was mostly ok, the critical things were all WNL. I guess the pancreatitis worry is always there. I hope he will be ok Thursday, it is not optimum to see another vet. We are supposed to have some pretty wicked storms all day. I hate that so much and wish I could stay home with him like some of you are able to, especially since he seems to be not feeling well. But I have to work, I can't really even miss part of the day. :mad: :(

So I guess I will see how he does with breakfast in a couple of hours and go from there.

Thanks everyone.

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

labblab

05-08-2014, 07:34 AM

Oh Tina, I am so sorry that Jasper is not feeling well. I know how worrisome and wearing it is for you. If only they could just talk and tell us what is wrong. :o

I'll be thinking of you both today, and hoping that he is doing better when you get home to him this evening.

Sending big hugs,
Marianne

Tina

05-09-2014, 01:29 AM

Thank you Marianne, ((hugs)). Well today hasn't been a great day, it is the first day that I haven't been able to get him to finish his food, even over several hours. I guess we are going backwards with our progress. He is still very mopey and subdued, and just looks depressed or something. But no more vomiting that I could see, so that is a big relief.

I called earlier today and got an appt at 4:00 tomorrow with my vet. (I will have to leave work early so I hope it will be ok). I plan to call her in the morning and hopefully talk to her first about what has been going on, as she hasn't been updated since our appt last Saturday. Then she can decide if she needs to see him at 4 or not. I really don't know what she would do. I am wondering if maybe he has some mild pancreatitis going on, I will ask her about it in the morning. I'm feeling scared about that.

I am so upset about Squirt that I can't even think straight. :(

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

molly muffin

05-09-2014, 02:07 AM

Oh dear, I am so sorry that Jasper is not doing as well as we all hoped. I wonder about the pancrease too. Hopefully they can figure out what is going on and fix it.

I know this is another hard day on the forum. :(

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Budsters Mom

05-09-2014, 03:42 AM

Hi Tina,

We are all feeling helpless over Leslie and Squirt. We love them both so much!

We all love you and Jasper too! I am so sorry to hear that he's still feeling yucky and has lost his appetite. Poor little guy.:o Yes, it's scary when they are off and we don't know how to help them. I hope the doc is able to get him back on track quickly.

Big hugs my dear,

Trish

05-09-2014, 03:51 AM

Hi Tina
I hope Jasper wakes up tomorrow feeling better and eats his breakfast. Are his poops OK? Teeth and mouth OK? Once when Flynny was off his food he had ulcers so worth having a looksee in his mouth. I will be looking out for your vet report tomorrow and hope to see good news. Get some good sleep tonight, and as for work... I am sure you can feel a migraine coming on that you need to go home early for :D xx

molly muffin

05-09-2014, 02:05 PM

Hoping today finds Jasper feeling better and you too. I know this is very stressful for you and trying to juggle around work stuff is no fun either. I sympathize completely with that.

Let us know what the vet said and how he is when you get a chance.

hugs
sharlene and molly muffin

Trish

05-09-2014, 06:00 PM

Hi Tina

It is 4pm where you are... so you will be at the vet with Jasper for his appointment. I am sitting here sending my very best wishes clear across the Pacific to you guys... I hope whatever is bothering Jasper has a quick fix and he is soon back to scoffing his dinner!! C'mon boy, we need some good news today!! Loads of hugs Tina.... xxxxx

Tina

05-10-2014, 08:39 AM

Thank you everyone! I will need to post an update on Jasper a bit later. Right now I am hoping that someone can help me by telling me how to make sticky white rice. I think you just use more water than usual and maybe cook it longer?? In the past when I have fed him the hamburger/rice, I have made the rice the normal way. It turns out a bit sticky, but not really mushy like others say is best.

He is still not wanting to eat and now is on a new antibiotic and he needs to have food in his tummy for me to give it. I was thinking of feeding him some sticky rice and maybe with some hamburger if worse comes to worse.

I think maybe it was Lori who has posted about how to make this before, but can't remember.

I am so sad about Squirt, even something as simple as this is a struggle right now.

Thanks in advance. I am a bit challenged in the kitchen, so any help is appreciated.

Hugs from me and Jasper

labblab

05-10-2014, 09:54 AM

Hi Tina!

I am just now coming off a month of sticky white rice for Peg, so I am a pro as far as my own method! :rolleyes: ;)

What I do is take a sturdy pot and add about 1 1/2 cups of rice along with at least four cups of water. The excessive water to rice ratio is really key. Then comes the tedious part, which is standing and stirring the pot constantly as it cooks after it has come to a boil. You will want to turn the heat down low after it has first come to a boil, so as not to burn the rice as it cooks. But you need to keep stirring, stirring, stirring for the same reason. As it thickens and cooks, you may even end up adding some more water so as to end up with a very thick "porridge" of totally soft and sticky rice. This is kind of the same process as making risotto, so just consider yourself a gourmet cook on Jasper's behalf :). I've never timed it, but I'm guessing it may take around 20 minutes or so until the rice is soft. Oh, and if you can find short or medium-grain rice, it turns out even stickier than long grain.

I think Lori has an oven-cooking method that is less labor-intensive, so hopefully she will soon be stopping by, too. Oh, and last but not least, always keep the unused cooked rice fully refrigerated. I just recently learned that cooked rice can quickly grow some type of very dangerous spore if left out on the counter for extended periods. :eek:

Good luck!
Marianne

addy

05-10-2014, 10:06 AM

I could never figure it out either so I am totally useless but I can give you a really big HUG (((((((((((HUG))))))))))))))

Belly rubs to Jasper.

More hugs for you (((((((((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))))))))))))

molly muffin

05-10-2014, 11:29 AM

Hope the new antibiotic helps. I just add more water and then as they said, stir, and add even more water if you want the more mushy consistency. Stirring is key as Marianne said

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Harley PoMMom

05-10-2014, 04:24 PM

Hi Tina,

Marianne mentioned that I use the oven to cook my rice and I sure do! Preheat oven to 300/350 degrees and then I take 2 or 3 boneless, skinless, low-fat chicken breasts and put them is a roaster, I then add around 6 cups of water and cover with the roaster lid or aluminum foil.

Throw that in the oven and check every 20-30 minutes to see if it needs more water, take out of oven when rice resembles a soupy texture, say about an hour.

Hope Jasper is feeling better real soon.

Hugs, Lori

Trish

05-10-2014, 05:38 PM

Well there are some good ideas... me, I just put some rice and water in a pot and boil the bejeezus out of it till it goes mushy and only stir when I think of it LOL... no wonder I burn my pots :D:D Hope Jasper likes his rice dinner and is feeling better! xx

Renee

05-10-2014, 05:44 PM

I've used a rice cooked in the past. Always use calrose rice, as it gets the stickiest. Add more than the recommended amount of water.

Tina

05-11-2014, 01:14 AM

Thank you all for the tips about the rice. Marianne, I tried your method this time and it worked fine. I normally cook the rice with the lid on and no stirring. The extra water made all the difference along with the stirring, and fortunately, stirring is one of the few skills that I have in the kitchen! :D Lol. Lori, I will have to try your way the next time.

He ate about 1/2 cup of rice with some hamburger. I tried to sneak some kibble in but he wasn't too keen on that, so I cut that out. I was afraid he would stop eating if he thought I was trying to trick him. I put his bowl back down with the kibble, and throughout the afternoon and now evening he has wandered in and out if the kitchen and eaten a bite or two at a time, and has eaten most of it. Of course it is past supper time now and that was his breakfast. In a little bit I am going to offer him some more rice and hamburger.

Yesterday my vet called me at work and let me know that his urine culture had not grown anything after 48 hrs, but after 72 hrs it had grown strep. It of course is resistant to the zeniquin he was getting before, and apparently is resistant to quite a few antibiotics. She said it can be difficult to treat in urine but Clavamox is effective, so that is what she prescribed, 125 mg bid. She said she feels that his loss of appetite and overall not feeling well is related to the UTI, especially since we just checked all his labwork last weekend. She said dogs can feel pretty ill if their kidneys are affected, and we all know that his kidneys are a bit fragile anyway. So I am hoping she is right. I asked about mild pancreatitis, and she said we are already treating him the same way we would if he had it. She didn't feel that I needed to bring him in. I could just pick up the meds after work. She also said to give his dexamethasone daily for the next 5 days to help keep his Addison's stable during this time of additional stress.

He got the first dose of clavamox last evening since he ate about half his food. It is supposed to be given with food. It can apparently cause nausea and loss of appetite also. :rolleyes:

So today when I couldn't get him to eat at all throughout the morning, I called the vets office and talked to one of the techs about what to do. He ended up calling my vet at home as she wasn't working today. :eek: Apparently the Dr he checked with there told him to. I think they are all pretty scared of Jasper because he has so much going on all the time.

Well, my vet said to hold the clavamox for today and see if I can get him to eat the rice and hamburger. Tomorrow I am to offer him his regular food and if he won't eat, then give him the rice mix and the clavamox and then see how he does at supper. I am not sure, but I think she might be trying to see if the clavamox is affecting his appetite since now he wouldn't eat at all. :confused: I don't think it is the clavamox since this has been going on at some level for over a week now, and what I wanted to do is give it to him after he ate the rice and hamburger so we can get the medication going, but I didn't. I followed her directions exactly and will see how tomorrow goes. She said we will follow up on Monday.

So that is where we are at. I guess I just have to hope that it is the UTI that is making him feel so crummy and that the clavamox helps, if I can get it down him. I really don't know what else it can be. I was almost relieved when she said the culture grew something after 72 hrs, because this is something objective that we can treat. I know I am weary from constantly struggling to get him to eat. I know a lot of you can relate.

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

molly muffin

05-11-2014, 01:32 AM

Hi Tina,
If he will eat the rice and hamburger, then that should be enough to give the clavamox with. It just needs to be given with food so as not to cause nausea right? How long does he take the antibiotic for?

Yes Strep can be very nasty stuff. Once you've had it, at least in humans, then you always seem to be susceptible to getting it again, so you want to knock this out of his system. You'll want to do a follow up culture after the antibiotics to make sure it is completely gone too.

If he won't eat and you can't give the meds, then I'd suggest giving him antibiotics via IV to make sure that he is getting treatment.

That would be my last resort go to, because the most important thing is getting rid of it.

Hang in there. You are doing a wonderful job. Jasper is not an easy case in the best of circumstances. I'm glad the doc thought of giving him the dex daily to keep him stable. That is likely a good call. Could help with appetite too.

hugs,
Sharlene and molly muffin

Trish

05-11-2014, 01:35 AM

Hi Tina

Glad you have something to work on now, I do not often see Strep in urine, so no wonder he has been off colour. Hopefully you can get the ABs going when he gets some food into him. I so hope Jasper tolerates it well and kicks that UTI into touch!! Yay you got the sticky rice sorted! Nice one! xx

Tina

05-11-2014, 03:36 AM

I know, I was surprised by the strep also, and my vet kind of made it sound like it was a bit unusual, she kind of acted a little surprised too I think. I am a little worried with how she made it sound so resistant. And also worried that it might hurt his kidneys. I wonder how in the heck he got that in his urine?! I hope the culture didn't get contaminated by the staff setting it up somehow. Probably unlikely but it occurred to me. I wonder why it didn't grow until 72 hrs?

Yes Sharlene, I agree. Since I got him to eat the rice and hamburger, I wanted to give him the clavamox. But since she said to hold it for today I figured I better do it. If I didn't follow her orders, something would probably backfire, and that wouldn't be good. He ate another half cup of rice/hamburger about an hour and a half ago, so hopefully he will eat it tomorrow also and I can get the abx going. I will keep the IV option in mind, thanks for bringing that up!

Yes, my little boy is always a challenge it seems. :rolleyes:

Trish

05-13-2014, 07:55 AM

How has he done with the food last couple of days, hope his appetite picking up and you get the clavamox into him. Hope to read some good Jasper news during the week sometime! xx

Trixie

05-16-2014, 01:38 AM

Hi Tina,
I'm finally catching up on posts. Awww..I hope Jasper is making some progress with his appetite. Trixie has been on Clavamox in the past and she had no adverse effects from it...no nausea or anything like that.
I know how you feel having pancreatitis as a constant threat...it makes me so nervous too. Last night Trixie woke up at 2am and wanted to go out. This is unusual for her and I got so shaken up. My husband took her out and she was ok...soft poops, no diarrhea but I'm giving her a few doses of Metronidazole. The vet gave me some and it's a life saver having them on hand, it seems to help her very quickly.
Could the strep infection be making Jasper feel lousy? Glad he only had the one vomiting episode..maybe he sensed the storm and got nervous. I hope by now he's feeling better and you're seeing improvement.

Barbara

Tina

05-16-2014, 06:26 AM

Thanks Trish and Barbara! I wish I had some great news to report, but I am still struggling to get Jasper to eat. I think he is a bit better overall, but he is not keen on eating his kibble. Thank God he will eat the hamburger and rice so I can get his meds down him.

He has been on the clavamox consistently since Sunday, so has completed 5 full days. It doesn't seem to be causing him problems, no more vomiting that I am aware of. But I guess I was just expecting some significant improvement by now.

My vet will be calling today to check in and to see about refilling the clavamox, so I will see what she has to say. Maybe this is just going go to be a tough bug to kick. I hope that is all it is. He still seems quite off, low energy, mopey and subdued. :( I'll see what she has to say today.

Thanks for checking in on us.

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

Trish

05-16-2014, 06:52 AM

Hi Tina

Aww I just missed you, well I am pleased to read Jasper has not gone backwards and is eating his hamburger and rice. Flynn did take Clavamox too a while back, it did not agree with him, he was not vomiting but he was definitely quiet. So that might be contributing to him still feeling a bit under the weather. I hope when they stop he picks up, hopefully your vet has some good news today. xx

Budsters Mom

05-17-2014, 01:55 AM

Poor sweet little Jasper. You both have certainly been through a lot. I'm glad that You've been able to get Jasper to eat something, even if it's hamburger and rice. That way you can get his med down. You must be exhausted and running on fumes.:o It's hard to believe that he actually had strep. I didn't even know that was possible. :confused:

Sending you both much love, hugs, healing energy and strength.

addy

05-17-2014, 10:19 AM

I hope Jasper starts feeling better soon and it is probably a combo of the bug and antibiotics that have him off. You are such a good mom, Tina but please take care of your self too.

Love and hugs to you both

Trish

05-22-2014, 06:37 AM

Hey Tina, just bumping Jasper up so you can easily find him when you come in to do your update :)! Pleased to hear on the other thread he is eating, hopefully the pickiness will settle once off ABs xx

molly muffin

05-22-2014, 06:52 PM

I'll do the bump with Trish! Hope Jasper continues to get better and gets over this nasty infection. It really seems to be hanging on!

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Trixie

05-23-2014, 01:05 AM

Me too...bumping this up again. I hope Jasper has improved and gotten some more of his appetite back and that's he's feeling better. ;)

Barbara

Budsters Mom

05-23-2014, 01:13 AM

We are all doing the bump. Is it like the hustle? :D:D:D

Waiting and watching for your update Tina. Hope Jasper is kicking that infections butt to the curb! :eek: xxxxxx

Tina

05-23-2014, 07:08 AM

Aww, you girls - doing the bump for my little man, that is so sweet of you! You are all too cute! :D

Well, I am up at the butt crack of dawn to go in early to work, but wanted to at least do a quick check in since I can't seem to get a proper updated posted on Jasper. Thank you all for checking in on us.

Jasper has been gradually eating a bit better each day for the past couple of days, so I am hoping that trend continues with no further back pedaling. Gosh, what a struggle this has been. It sounds like he will need to be on the clavamox for another couple of weeks or so. I guess this is a tough bug, and kidney infections are much more difficult to treat than a regular UTI or bladder infection. So we are trying to hang in there. I am so looking forward to this long weekend, I can't even tell you how much.

I will post what my vet had to say when I can get the update in, but I just wanted to thank you all so much for looking after us. :)

Happy Friday all, and Happy Weekend Trish!

Love and hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

molly muffin

05-23-2014, 01:55 PM

Glad he continues to do better eating. Yep, I've heard that kidney infections can be hard to get rid of. It sounds like this is doing the trick though so that is good. It's all about progress and Jasper is king of "baby steps" LOL

Probably good thing we aren't bumping AND grinding and NO twerking :eek:, thank you very much. :D:D:D

huggers
Sharlene and molly muffin

addy

05-23-2014, 02:29 PM

I sure hope this gets resolved soon so our Jasper can feel like eating again. I know some antibiotics just rip up my tummy. Poor boy.

Hope your update is good, Tina.

Trish

05-23-2014, 05:56 PM

Hi Tina, it must be nearly home time for you and the start of the 3 day weekend... HOORAY!! You must be stuffed after being up so early!! Hope you get lots of couch time with Jasper and Shelby this weekend. Hoping the brekky went down OK! LOL Sharlene the mental picture of us all twerking is a little alarming!! xx

Tina

05-24-2014, 08:30 PM

Thanks Girls! I'm finally getting to this much delayed update on my boy. I talked to my vet on Friday 5/16. She was hoping he would be much better by then, but felt he was showing enough improvement to continue the clavamox. She said a kidney infection is much tougher to treat and takes longer to respond than a regular UTI. She is pretty certain that is what is going on since he has been feeling so poorly and with the appetite issues, and said that he may need to be treated for 3-4 weeks. :eek:

She said to keep offering his kibble but that it is ok to keep feeding him hamburger and rice if that is what he will eat. She feels that as the antibiotic makes him feel better, his appetite will improve.

When I had him in last Saturday for his Percorten injection with the tech, I asked about getting a couple of cans of the canned version of his prescription food. I don't know how I didn't think of asking my vet about that. But I was able to get some, so no problem. It seemed like he might be getting backed up on all that rice, so thought I would try it. He seemed to like it, so I started mixing some in with the hamburger and rice, and a little bit of kibble, and he would eat it. Yay!

So that is what I have been feeding him all week, gradually decreasing the hamburger and rice and increasing the kibble and mixing with a bit of canned. I got him to eat a full meal of the kibble without any canned food on Thursday night and yesterday morning, but then last night and this morning he wouldn't eat it again, so I mixed the canned food back in to get him to eat. So his appetite seems much better, but it is still somewhat difficult to get him to eat at times. I am grateful for any improvement, I would just like it if the back pedaling would stop.

Well, starting last Sunday Jasper seemed like he was starting to feel a bit better. I noticed he was a little perkier. He had been on the antibiotic for a full week, so maybe it was finally taking effect. He is still having accidents in the house from time to time while I am at work, by this I mean not using the pooch pads and having accidents on the carpet. But the number has decreased significantly. So I feel this is another sign that things are improving.

When talking with my vet last Friday, she let me know that she needed to have surgery and would be out for two weeks. :eek: Yes, immediate panic set in, but I got it in check pretty quickly, however I still feel a bit of underlying worry. We went over the detailed plan going forward, and also a back up plan, but I am hoping we won't need anything urgent while she is out. *said in a whisper as to not jinx anything* But I will definitely feel better after she is back in another week. She is such a Dear, she said not to worry, that she has everything well documented about Jasper, and if needed, the other Drs could call her at home. Have I mentioned that I love my vet? I feel guilty for selfishly letting her see my worry when she was facing surgery. She even said she was feeling guilty about being gone. :o

So he continues on the reglan bid for nausea and to help with possible gastritis related to the antibiotic, and clavamox 125 mg bid in addition to his usual meds.

One good thing that I want to share - I tested out to give his Percorten injections at home starting next month. I finally took the time to do that and passed! :cool: I give injections to people, but it is totally different when it is my baby. But it wasn't too bad. I will just have to buy the vial of medication and it is about $175! My vet said she thinks I can get a price break on it since I am buying the whole vial. She will check into it for me, so I hope that it will be a significant decrease in price.

So that is where we are at. Sharlene you are so right, he is the King of baby steps. But slow and steady wins the race, right? I hope we can just continue in the right direction now! Ok, of course I got long winded again, thanks for reading! :p

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

Woodydog

05-24-2014, 08:39 PM

That all sounds Positive and we,ll take those baby steps as long as jasper is baby stepping forward it's the right way :D

addy

05-24-2014, 09:05 PM

baby steps are good and Jasper is headed on the straight and narrow to feeling better.

Ouch on the wallet for the meds though at least you will save money by giving the injections.

good idea on the canned food, seems like it perked Jasper up. I can just imagine how his poor tummy feels on the antibiotics. I got so sick from Cipro, I cant even begin to tell you. Poor baby boy. Hopefully this will knock out all that nasty bacteria out of his kidneys and keep it that way.

big hugs Tina

Trish

05-24-2014, 09:07 PM

Has he eaten OK today Tina? Poops ok? What food is he on now, he came off the renal diet I think?

I was reading something about diets, they said imagine if you were eating the same health bar every day, it might have all you need in it but you would probably still get so very sick of it. I wish I could change up Flynn's diet more often but with his IBD that is a no go. He so loves his food usually and looks longingly when we have various meats, I feel so mean keeping him on boring old venison. ;)

molly muffin

05-24-2014, 09:20 PM

Molly only wants to eat her dry kibble if I put some canned on it. Tonight I didn't because she had some uck poop on the second go this morning, so figure it was the can as she has done very well when just having the dry. They sure can let us know when they aren't happy with their diets, one way or another.

Very good to get qualified to do the shots yourself. Good idea, I hope that you can get it cheaper too.

Your vet is a doll! She has been a valuable member of yours and Jaspers team. I think you'll do fine though while she is away. You are very much on top of what is going on with Jasper and I think you could fill any stand in vet in on the details as needed. Not that I think you'll need it, Jasper seems to be on the upswing of things, baby steps in the right direction indeed.

Enjoy this long weekend of freedom from the shackles of work. We all need these breaks now and then and you've been on overload at work for awhile. So, enjoy the sunshine, do something fun with the Jasper and Shelby. :)

hugs
sharlene and molly muffin

Tina

05-24-2014, 09:36 PM

Awww, thanks you guys. Yes, I was really needing this long weekend. We have enjoyed today, maybe too much as I didn't get much constructive work done! Tomorrow I have a graduation party to go to, but other than that, just hanging out here. Which of course will meet the approval of both Jasper and Shelby! Isn't that funny how we all have long weekends but on three separate consecutive weekends? So nice.

Sharlene, I hope Molly's poops straighten up, that is so stressful.

Trish, Jasper was switched to Royal Canin GI lowfat prescription food back in January I think, when his triglycerides went sky high. Thank goodness they make a canned version also. This morning he wouldn't eat until I mixed in a bit of the canned food. Poops are ok so far *whisper*. I am getting ready to see if he will eat supper in a few minutes.

There is a hockey game on tonight, I didn't realize that. Guess I won't be getting any chores done tonight either! :D :rolleyes:

Trish

05-24-2014, 09:51 PM

Excellent, another couch night. Flynn was on that food after his surgery when we were worried about pancreatitis. He went off it too, would you look at giving him a change?

molly muffin

05-24-2014, 09:57 PM

My friends are waiting for the Habs (Montreal Canadiens) to play tomorrow.

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Tina

05-24-2014, 10:09 PM

Trish I don't think he will be able to go off the lowfat food because his triglycerides were so high, my vet was worried about pancreatitis of course, but also the value was so high that it was in the range where it could cause seizures.

She said if the food didn't help he would have to start the medication for it, which she doesn't like to prescribe. Thankfully the food made a difference along with the fish oil. The last result was still quite elevated, but not at such a critical level. He has schnauzer hyperlipidemia, which doesn't help matters.

Sharlene, I love the Canadiens! Such tradition there. I think they are the only current NHL team that existed before the formation of the NHL, if I'm not mistaken. I LOVE Stanley Cup Hockey, all the teams are so good by the time they get to the conference finals. Very exciting hockey. Ok I'll shut up now, lol. :D

Trish

05-24-2014, 10:14 PM

But there must be other low fat options?? I am going to google!

Trish

05-24-2014, 10:17 PM

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/best-dog-foods/suggested-low-fat-dog-food/

Tons, I am just thinking maybe bit of a swap may perk his appetite?

Tina

05-24-2014, 10:37 PM

Thanks so much for the link and checking into it! There are lots of choices there, but it looks like they all have quite a bit more fat than his current food, and also pretty high in protein, which we also have to watch due to his kidney issue.

His currents food has fat 5% and protein 20.5%. The Royal Canin that Jasper is eating just happens to be what Dr Peterson recommends in his blog too, so I felt pretty good about that when I discovered that!

I know, a change would most likely help his appetite, but we are very limited with what we can try, I think. :o I remember my vet saying that the over the counter lower fat foods would not be low fat enough to lower his triglycerides. :(

Trish

06-01-2014, 07:24 PM

Hey Tina

Has it been a good week? I hope so :D It is coming up time for me to order new food for Flynn. He loves the ziwipeak he is on now and his IBD seems stable on it, but I am worried about the fat content after having this conversation with you. His is 27% fat :eek::eek: that is not good with his liver problems so it is going to have to change. It is just so hard with all his different maladies!! We have had to focus on IBD so I am a little loathe to change, but this whole fat thing is worrying me. Will let you know what I come up with. We could go back to the RC one Jasper is on but he quickly started refusing it. Hopefully hear from you over the weekend ! xx for you Jasper and Shelby!

Tina

06-01-2014, 11:31 PM

Hi Everyone,
Haven't meant to be absent, just a busy busy week at work, typical end of the month BS. Yesterday I was out at the assisted living with my Nana most of the day taking care of some things out there for her. I was wiped out when I got home, and now today trying to get caught up on things at home.

Jasper has been hanging in there and we managed to make it through the time my vet was out on medical leave without an emergency, so I am very relieved! He continues to take baby steps with progress. For the most part I am able to get him to eat his regular kibble, but he back pedals often. He will do good for 2 or 3 meals, and then the next time he won't eat it at all unless I mix some canned food in. But I am just grateful that I have been able to get him to eat something so he can take his meds. It is definitely much better over the past week, mostly going in the right direction but still not back to normal. He seems to feel better overall, but still low energy and mopey a lot of the time. The frequent urination has shown some improvement also, but we still have a little ways to go there.

I talked to my vet Friday afternoon. She feels he is making improvement and she wants to continue the clavamox for another week, for a total of 4 weeks. She said he has been fighting so hard, and while it would probably be ok to stop treatment after 3 weeks, she doesn't want to take any chance whatsoever that the infection might not be totally gone and could recur. And she feels he is not quite back to normal yet. I am in agreement with that plan, as he seems to be tolerating the clavamox for the most part, thank goodness. And I remember she said previously that he may need to be treated for 3-4 weeks. Better to be safe than sorry. We have come this far. She is right, this has been a very hard fight for my little man. She also said that there may still be some nausea associated with the clavamox that is affecting his appetite, and is hopeful this will continue to improve once we can get him off the antibiotic. He will continue on the reglan bid as long as he is on the clavamox.

We have been under a severe thunderstorm warning for the last couple of hours, several separate cells have moved through. 60 mph winds, and my neighbor's back fence partially blew down again. He still had not fixed the post that snapped a couple of storms ago, he just did a band-aid fix. Well, it is near where our side fence joins and puts a lot of pressure on my back fence, but so far mine has held. It is always such a worry with high winds. I wish he would just fix the damn thing already! This same neighbor has a poorly maintained above ground pool that apparently was empty, because it went completely airborne, and is now resting up against and on top of the other side of his back fence. :eek: :eek: I saw it happen, and about had a heart attack. Thank God the wind was blowing the direction it was, or that thing could have ended up on my fence or yard, or house! We are in a break now, but it sounds like things are revving up again, lots of thunder and lightning. Hopefully the severe stuff is over.

Jasper and Shelby are doing pretty well with the storms, considering all the wind and thunder. Jasper is the one with the fear, and I have just been ignoring him when he is acting anxious. It is so so hard, but must be done. I have to just act like nothing is happening as he most definitely senses everything from me. It is so hard to see that pitiful face and pacing out of the corner of my eye, I can't even look directly at him or he takes that as a sign of encouragement or something and tries to get me to hold him, which would reinforce his anxiety. I just keep typing away on my iPad like nothing is happening. :o

Well, it took about an hour and a half but he finished his food, one bite at a time. He kept looking at me like "when are you going to add the good stuff". I usually wait about a half hour or so before I mix a little canned in, but wanted to use tonight as a test to see if he would finish without it, since I had time to wait.

Trish, thanks as always for checking in on me and Jasper. Happy to be able to chat for a little bit, I hope you are enjoying your long weekend! I posted about the food over on your thread. Looks like you have signed off now, maybe catch up with you a bit later. :)

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

Trish

06-02-2014, 02:44 AM

Sorry I disappeared, I had to take Mum up town to buy a new stereo for her bedroom, we had Queen's birthday sales on. With a bit of supreme control I managed to not buy anything... I don't know why but whenever I go to those stores I have to look in all the fridges and ovens :D:D

But pleased to get home and see the Jasper updates!! Sounds like he is progressing Tina, that is great news!! I was just wondering if you could put a little something non fat but tasty even some flavoured stock on his kibble to tempt him to gobble them up?

When the cats were here and if Flynn happened to be off his food, I would leave them around while he was picking at food. If they even looked like going to sniff his food Flynn would run over and eat any left in his plate up super fast, ain't no puss going near his food!! He still does that at Mum's with Elle, but it is not often that there are any leftovers... he is a definite gobbler, not a grazer. I was just wondering if Jasper would eat more if Shelby was around, or would he just not care if she ate his yucky biscuits? :rolleyes:

I reckon the clavamox will be affecting him, even with the reglan. Are you planning to repeat MSU at the end of the AB treatment? Gawd I hope that is gone and never to make a return, it has been a bugger to get rid of!

Wish I had done what my friend had and took the next days off work, but did that at Easter which was only last month!! So back to work in the morning for me!! Might see you if you're up for a pitstop! x

Tina

06-02-2014, 04:25 AM

Did your Mum find a new stereo? Queen's birthday sale, must be like our Presidents' Day sales here, Lol! :D I know, I always have to look in all the fridges too! Mine is so old, the new ones have such cool features.

I have thought about adding stock or broth to Jasper's kibble, but have to be real careful with the sodium due to his PLN. So far it works great to add a little of the canned lowfat food, but I just don't want him to think he can have it all the time, or I won't have anything up my sleeve when he truly won't eat.

When he is eating normally, he just eats steadily until his meal is gone. When he is just being finicky with his food and Shelby looks like she might be thinking about snatching some, that will usually prompt him to go and finish it. But if he really isn't feeling well, he doesn't really care if she is hovering. She does pretty well, she usually stands back in the middle of the kitchen looking longingly at his bowl. She knows better, I have told her "no" enough. But if she can steal a bite or two she will try to sneak it. And she is fast! After about 5 minutes it becomes too tempting, so I just have to confine her until he finishes. Normally I only wait about a half hour or so before mixing in the canned food. But sometimes now he will eat the kibble just fine. It is variable I guess.

Yes, I believe we will be getting a follow up urine culture after he finishes the clavamox. My vet did not say that, but that is what she usually does. And after this difficult bug, I will ask for it if she doesn't order it. Gosh, I know, this has been so hard to get rid of. Always in the back of my mind is that something else might also be going on. I sure hope not, but it does enter my mind.

Trish

06-02-2014, 04:38 AM

Our minds work in mysterious ways!!! I know I have dreamt up calamities that have never eventuated too ;) One more week when he is off the ABs, then we will see what is up with that appetite!

Shelby sounds like an opportunist!! I think they all are :). I said to Mum once that Flynny always wants to share our food, but he never wants to share his with anyone :D What's mine is his, but what is his is his!!

What is the main meat in that RC diet? Maybe you could make your own stock by just boiling a bit of that meat in water, then you have no added salt or other additives?

Trish

06-02-2014, 04:58 AM

Oh yes and Mum did get a new stereo... Her old one was OK but for some reason she gave Luke (my nephew) the old speakers. So she went in to get new ones, but it appears they only make them for that model and you cannot buy them separately. So she ended up buying a whole new stereo. just a small one. She got home and wired it up, she's not bad for nearly 80 LOL!! Started blasting some music, she has eclectic tastes my mother :D Glad your weird like me, I like looking at all those fancy fridges with their fancy attachments!! LOL, would be fun to go shopping with you Tina!

Tina

06-02-2014, 05:32 AM

Wow, your Mum did great getting it all set up herself! I don't think my Mom could handle that, she is very technically challenged, lol. She is 76 and does pretty well with most things, but not electronics. My Mom likes a lot of different music too, but she is mainly all about Elvis. She loves him. Yes, it would be fun to go shopping!

The meat in the RC lowfat is chicken. I am sure it is not a very high quality chicken, I just cringe when I read the ingredients, but it is what the vet says he has to eat. He was on a holistic kibble before he got sick, and the ingredients were so much better. That is a great idea about making my own stock! I never thought of that. Thanks, I will have to keep that in mind. :)

Trish

06-02-2014, 05:46 AM

I know, I was talking to Dad a bit when we got back there then went down to her room to set it up and she had already done it!!

Well I reckon get a skinless chicken breast chop it up to little bits then boil it and sieve it. The put the liquid on his kibble. That won't alter it too much would it? Might help to soften up the kibble too!

What happened with the storms, nothing hit your house I hope??

Tina

06-02-2014, 06:07 AM

No, I think that chicken stock might be worth a try. The only thing is that boiling chicken smells sooooo bad. But I will do anything for my boy. :)

The storms were pretty bad, lots of tree damage. Some big trees down in a neighborhood near mine, but just small to medium branches in mine. I didn't see any reports of homes being damaged thankfully. Lots of shingles everywhere in my yard and the street, but they don't match mine, so hope the roof is ok! Luckily no tornadoes this time, but very damaging straight line winds.

On Mother's Day we had a tornado touch down in Omaha, it tore the roof off several houses about 5 or 6 miles from me. I don't think it made the news as it was only an EF1, and there were many more damaging storms in the Midwest that evening. But that was a bit scary. We were down in the laundry room (aka my storm shelter) for a while that night.

Holy cow, just noticed the time, I stayed up way too late again. I better try to get a bit more sleep before work. Nice chatting Trish. See you again soon. Smooches for Flynn. xo

Trish

06-02-2014, 06:11 AM

Ok good, sounds like you survived that one OK!!!

Yes, I was thinking it was getting very late for you. Gosh that scares me you were so close to a tornado :eek::eek: Give me a good old earthquake any day!! Night Tina, catch up soon.... Hugs to Jasper and Shelby too!! xx

Harley PoMMom

06-02-2014, 03:50 PM

Hi Tina,

I'm glad to hear that Jasper's appetite has picked up, it is so worrisome when they don't want to eat.

I take reglan for nausea and I just wanted to let you know that it may cause constipation (it does to me, anyway :o), hopefully sweet Jasper will not experience that side effect.

Sending loving hugs to you both, Lori

molly muffin

06-02-2014, 04:53 PM

Hey Jasper, taking those baby steps still eh. Well that is a okay, because baby steps will get you there, just maybe not as fast. :)

Tina you're doing an excellent job with Jasper! You and your vet make a good team. I agree about boiling the chicken. Molly would be right at the kitchen door as soon as she smelled it. She loves the smell of chicken cooling.

My stupid GE refrigerator valve on the filtered water, ice maker thing went kaput again. I think we've replaced it 6 times now. I think I Need to be looking at those new frig gadgets. :) :) Ahh, well, doubt we'll replace this one yet, but boy it is tempting some days.

Yikes, hope those storms settle down. Some of them, like the tornado ones are very scary. Even a 1 would freak me out I'm sure. Gawd, can you imagine, a pool on top of the house! He needs to stake that thing down and fill it with water so it can't move, or get rid of it! sheezz, that's a hazard!

Well hope you have a good week. I'm back to the grind myself. joy joy

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Tina

06-04-2014, 03:46 AM

Thanks Girls! Yes, I am very relieved that I have been able to get him to eat. Since I last posted, he has done some back pedaling again and has refused to eat unless a small amt of canned is mixed in. But he finishes it off with the mix, so I have been doing that. I don't have a lot of time to mess around in the morning. We have 3 1/2 days of Clavamox remaining.

Lori, I haven't noticed any constipation but thanks for the heads up on that, I will keep an eye on it. I am on eternal poop patrol anyway. :)

Well, we have had heinous storms all afternoon and night so we have been in the laundry room off and on all night. :( I typically don't get too panicky with severe weather but this has been very scary. This afternoon after the tornado sirens went off the first time, the forecast was so bad, they let us all go home from work early when the immediate all clear was given. I don't remember that ever happening except for a blizzard. It was dark as night at 4 in the afternoon, all the street lamps were on. I barely made it home before the big wind and hail hit. We have had several super cells going through one right after the other, but very fortunate again to have escaped the most severe wind and damage in my neighborhood. So incredibly grateful, I can't even say.

I saw on the news that police and firefighters were going around in rafts to evacuate people from certain parts of town where the flooding was at dangerous levels. I don't remember ever seeing that except for the horrific flooding of the Missouri River in 2011 when the dams up North were opened wide to ease the flooding up there. They showed people with their shivering terrified rain soaked pets in those rafts and I just cried. Thank God no flooding in my immediate area. I don't know how I would be able to manage Jasper in an evacuation, it is difficult enough with a healthy dog.

I think maybe I have been using the wrong strategy when it comes to Jasper and his storm anxiety. These storms went on for so long tonight, there was no way I could ignore him the whole time, it went on for over 8 hrs and we are still having heavy rain and loud thunder right now. I had pity and let him up on my lap after a while. It really seemed to help. He didn't calm down completely, but he became significantly calmer, and stayed that way for the most part.

I don't know if it was the right thing to do or not, but I couldn't stick to my usual strategy for all that time, it would have been bordering on abuse in my opinion. So I guess if I reinforced the behavior then I did. :o He is laying calmly here by me on the couch right now, and that is the goal. What do you guys think?

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo