On the Hunt…

Now that Toby is on the mend, the hunt is on for a new dog food. We’ll be weaning him off of the perscription food that he’s on (Hill’s Perscription Diet I/D) and moving him to a low fat alternative. If was pancreatitis that was causing the pain and GI symptoms, we’ll want to feed him a low fat diet because a higher fat diet can aggitate his condition.

I heard from my vet today and she gave me some information to use when looking for a low fat food. She explained the following:

“Unfortunately the guaranteed analysis on dog food labels is useless for determining amounts of anything in it.  Calling the (dog food) company and asking them the amount of fat in the diet is the only way to get the info.  To compare fat contents of different diets, it’s best to look for the energy basis (how much fat in grams per 100 kcal or % of metabolizable energy(ME) as fat). The percentages on labels are proximate analyses on an as-fed basis, and if they don’t list a minimum and maximum, no way to tell how much is in there. We are looking for a diet  of 15% fat or less on an ME basis for most dogs.”

I plan on calling Wellness tomorrow for their recommendation. I have a couple of their products in mind, but I want to check with them. Does anyone else have any recommendations? I’m open to trying different brands to find the best fit. Thanks!!!

Life is good

My Toby is just about 100%. A couple more weeks on Pepcid, Tramadol at night and a prescription diet, and then we’ll begin the food transition. He may always be on Pepcid, but at least we can move to a more affordable food. I’m thinking of trying Wellness Simple Food Solutions Rice & Salmon Formula. I’ve heard great things about Wellness and I have a lot of friends who feed their dogs the brand. This formula claims to be a natural alternative to the therapeutic diets vets prescribe. I’m going to bring the ingredient information to my vet (who is awesome, by the way) today and have her give her opinion.

Toby’s being playful, engaged and eager for attention. He’s been eating well, playing with Stevie and playing with the kids. He has a sparkle back in his eyes and he’s back to his old self. I missed him.

I’m so grateful to my vet. She has spent so much time on Toby. She calls me for updates, calls me after hours with ideas for treatment or just to chat about what she thinks may have happened to him, lets me know when she will or won’t be in the office in case Toby has a set back, and sometimes just checks in to see how the family is doing.

I’m so grateful to her and I feel so lucky to have someone taking care of Toby who cares for him so much. Life is good.

On the Mend!

Mid-week, Toby had a set back. He was clearly not feeling well. I called the vet, explained his symptoms and she explained that things didn’t sound good. She asked us to bring him in the next morning (Friday) for follow-up blood work. If the results were worse than the last series of blood tests that were done, we could assume that his liver was failing. We would have to make a decision.

After having a difficult discussion with the kids about the upcoming possibilities and a long night of tears, I brought him back to the vet on Friday. She checked him over – his abdomen was soft, he wasn’t exhibiting signs of abdominal pain, his ears were clear, and he didn’t have a fever. She took blood, we discussed the possibilities, and we went home to wait.

On Saturday morning, the vet called with the results. There was a marked improvement in his blood work – proteins were up, liver function was normal – any signs of liver failure were gone. Everything was trending in the right direction! We caught everything just in time! As of today, Toby is in the clear. We will keep him on a bland diet (prescription dry and wet food) with no treats, table scraps or strenuous activity for a full month. He is currently taking pain medication (Tramadol), ulcer medication, Pepcid and an anti-diarrheal. He’ll stay on this plan for the month as well.

I firmly believe this was a reaction to the first pain meds he was on – Rimadyl by Pfizer. I’ve been researching like crazy and I’ve actually found the most information on the Pfizer website. He was showing the classic symptoms of Rimadyl toxicity. I’m glad we caught it when we did and stopped treatment right away.

Tonight, Toby is playful, energetic and his appetite is back. There’s a sparkle in his eye, a skip in his step – and my heart is full. My little guy is doing better and I couldn’t be more grateful.

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A beautiful summer night…

Toby update…

Toby in October 2009

So, yesterday morning was rough. Toby wouldn’t eat or drink. He was really uncomfortable and in pain. Finally, I was able to coax him into eating a pill pocket with his Pepcid. It helped. Two hours later, he ate his breakfast and I was able to give him his pain medicine. He instantly perked up. The rest of the day was much better.

I spoke with the vet and his blood work was normal with the exception of his protein levels which were slightly decreased. She took out all of Toby’s x-rays, including one from two years ago, and looked at his liver. It’s significantly smaller today than it was two years ago. So, we’re going to give him a week or so on his meds and if he has no vomiting or diarrhea, we’ll test his protein levels again to see what’s going on.

If we can get the stomach discomfort under control, we’ll be able to focus on his back. The vet thinks he may have a slipped disc, but because of his abdominal pain, she can’t determine it for sure.

It’s so frustrating. The poor little guy is just not himself and he’s in pain. Although, today he has energy and an appetite, which makes it even more confusing. I have to do more research on the shrinking liver and figure out what we’re going to do long-term.

I’m trying not to get ahead of myself as we don’t have a true diagnosis yet, but I believe strongly in not allowing an animal to suffer for the sake of the fear and feelings of its human counterpart. I love this little dog with all my heart. I can’t imagine my life without him, but his quality of life is more important to me than my fear of losing him. I love him too much to watch him hurt.

When we rescued Toby, I had no idea that in reality, he would rescue me.

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Update and waiting again…

Life has been tough for Toby these last few weeks. After we finished his last round of Rimadyl, he began vomiting blood and had blood in his stool. He was in so much pain, he didn’t eat for two days and when he wouldn’t even lick an ice cube in my hand, we rushed him to the vet. His entire gastrointestinal tract was inflamed and bleeding. They kept him overnight, gave him IV fluids and put him on meds. For two weeks, he was on a prescription diet, antibiotics, ulcer meds, generic Pepcid, and pain pills (Tramadol – a non-NSAID). We just finished everything, except the Pepcid.

We’re not sure what happened. He didn’t have a reaction to the Rimadyl on the first round, so we weren’t sure of if was the cause after the second round or if it’s tied to the pain he’s been experiencing in his back area. After a xray, the vet said his liver is tilted and a little small, but she couldn’t determine if it was all tied together.

He’s been on restricted activity, only walks around the yard, so as not to exacerbate the problem. However, on Thursday, he got out of the house and ran all over the neighborhood for a good 15 minutes – full speed with us trying to catch him. On Friday, he vomited and was in major pain by bedtime. He laid around yester, barely ate or drank, but woke up this morning and ate and drank.

We have an appointment with the vet tomorrow morning for follow-up blood work, etc. So hopefully, we can get some answers.

Toby seems depressed to me. I’m sure he’s missing his walks and he has very little patience for Stevie (our younger dog). He just seems sad and it’s really bothering me. He’s only two and should still have some spunkiness.

It’s been a trying month, that’s for sure. Hopefully tomorrow will bring some answers.

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Next Steps

Spoke to the vet this afternoon. We’re going to try one more round of Rimadyl and try to walk him while he’s on it. If he can walk on the meds, it may be an inflammation of some sort. If that’s the case, he’ll require more rest. If he still struggles while on the meds, we’ll have to determine if we see an orthopaedic veterinarian and do an MRI.

He’s definitely not himself. He just looks sad.

Progress updates to follow.

No walks just yet

The walk was an epic failure. We made it half way around the block and Toby started nipping at his back and whimpering. A couple of steps later he sat. After a minute or so, we tried again and the same thing happened. On the third try, he wouldn’t move at all and my husband had to carry him home. Usually when we come in the house after a walk, Toby jumps up on the couch and looks out the window. This time, he just plopped down on the floor next to the couch. When I called him, he just looked at me and then laid back down. I lifted him onto the couch and he curled up. He let me massage his back, but he’s still hurting. I called the vet to see what our next steps should be.

Toby was so excited to take his walk this morning. My husband took his harness out of the drawer and he raced for the door, barking away. I’m so sad for him. I hope we can figure out what is going on. He’s only two years old and he has a lot of life left ahead of him.

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Done

We’ve completed our two week rest and medication period for Toby. This is the week where we’ll start up our walking schedule and see how he does. Fingers crossed that he’s back to his old self.

The results are in…

Well, Toby spent most of his day at the vet’s office. He had two X-rays done. One of his hips and one of his back. Both came back looking good. He also had blood work done to rule out Lyme’s disease which can cause pain and swelling in the bones and joints.

He handled all of the procedures well, but it was obvious to the vet that he was in pain. The treatment plan is as follows: pain medication twice a day, no walks, no playing and no furniture jumping for two weeks. He needs to be supervised as often as possible. The suspicion is that he has an injury of some sort.

My poor little guy. I felt so bad leaving him at the vet. He looked so sad when I left the room. He was thrilled when we came to get him. He’s sound asleep now. I have to wait to give him his meds until he eats something. He hasn’t shown any interest in food today, so I may have to bribe him with peanut butter bread in order to get him to take his pain pills.

Hopefully the medication and rest will help him to feel better.