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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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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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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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.

Worry, worry, worry….

Okay, so we get Stevie taken care of (for the most part) and just as we start to relax, Toby starts having problems. Over the last two weeks, we’ve noticed that Toby is having trouble on his walks. He keeps stopping and nipping at his back. After a couple of nips, he stops all together and sits down. When he gets walking again, he whimpers and then goes onto the grass and lays down. Eventually, my husband will have to pick him up and carry him home. Today, they only made it 2/3 of the way around the block before they had to come home. What’s worse is that, even in the cooler temperatures and with water throughout the walk, he’s extremely winded by the time he gets home. He still has an appetite and he can still get up and down from the furniture. He plays and cuddles like normal, but he really struggles when he’s walking.

Toby will be two years old on Thursday and he’s typically energetic, athletic and he can walk for miles. Needless to say, I’m worried.

I’ve made an appointment with the vet for tomorrow morning. Updates to follow.

Negative….

Here’s the update – Stevie’s blood panel came back negative. No renal failure, liver disease, kidney malfunction, etc. Frustratingly, his CBC blood test clotted before it could be tested so we don’t have any results on possible infection. We took him for a walk tonight and he made it all the way around the neighborhood without getting winded and laying down. We’ve had the occasion growl and snap, but it’s been better. We haven’t worked on socializing because we wanted to make sure he wasn’t really sick.

Next steps – do another CBC and urine analysis. Find a local trainer that works with blind dogs and continue to work on socializing on our own.

I’m so grateful that the blood panel came back negative. I was walking around with a pit in my stomach thinking about all of the bad things it might have been.

The Long Road

We’ve been dealing with some health issues with our newest addition, Stevie. Our blind and partially deaf pup has been on two consecutive rounds of antibiotics for a bladder infection yet there are still white blood cells in his urine. We had an abdominal X-ray done yesterday but the results were inconclusive. Poor little guy was so nervous he peed and pooped on the X-ray table and then again in the vet’s lobby. Our next step is a full blood panel and another urinalysis next week.

Despite the bladder issues, he’s come along beautifully on house training. His only accidents occur when we miss one of his cues. Or sometimes he messes his kennel when we leave him alone, which I think is an anxiety thing. He’s making it through the night as well. We’ve figured out that he doesn’t like to sleep alone (he always slept with another dog at night when he was in the shelter) so now he has joined Toby in our bed. It’s crowded, but comfy.

The one thing that is bothering me most is the change in his temperament. Most of the time, he’s content and playful, but just recently, he’s been showing some aggression. When he was at the shelter, he had free reign and got along with the other dogs. Now, he’s friendly with Toby, but growls, snaps and lunges at other dogs we come in contact with. He’s also done the same to my husband and myself when we’ve tried to move him off the couch. He’s growled and snapped at my children on a couple of occasions as well. He responds to correction, but I’m concerned that he’s even acting out at all. What’s worse is that the behavior is unpredictable. I’m thinking it is health-related and maybe once we figure out what’s going on we can fix it. If not, I’m not sure what to do.

He really is a wonderful and sweet little dog and he and I have become very close. I love him very much. It makes me sad to think that there may be something wrong that is making him act out. I’m worried that it may be something bad.

I’ve been missing…

I must apologize for my lack of posts as of late. I’ve been working quite a bit and, more than anything, my husband and I have been focused on house breaking Stevie. We took him to the vet and he has a slight bladder infection so he’s been on antibiotics. The vet also mentioned that Stevie has a very small bladder – which explains A LOT. First of all, his bladder is probably small because of his life in the shelter where he was able to eliminate whenever he felt like it (common in shelter dogs and correctable over time). His bladder should expand as training continues. That’s a good thing because right now we’re taking him outside every hour or so. Accidents in the house have been cut in half, but we’re still getting up in the night. He’s starting to give us cues like running in circles or higher pitched barking, but he still occasionally squats wherever he is and leaves us a nice surprise. We’re getting there and I’m confident it won’t be much longer before he’s fully trained. Woo Hoo!

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The curse of the ‘Purse Puppy’

There are currently seven Chihuahua or Chihuahua mixes living at Bichon and Little Buddies Rescue.  From Taco to Annabelle, Casabella to Tacquito Patrico, these little buddies have a lot of love to give and they are patiently waiting for that someone special to come and bring them to a forever home.

My guess is the latest onslaught of Chihuahua surrenders is due to the fact that people see certain movies with cute talking Chihuahuas and automatically think that any dog of the same breed is going to be as friendly, bright and playful. Here’s the problem, if you don’t do your homework on the breed you’re considering, you may end up surprised at certain behaviors.

Take the Chihuahua. Did you know that Chihuahuas can become extremely attached to their owners and when not properly socialized can become territorial and protective. When socialized well, this little companion can be playful, lively and loving.

Because Chihuahuas are so small and cute, often times they can be coddled and babied which can lead to other behavioral problems, such as dominance. But when trained and treated in a firm, but loving way, can be wonderful family pets and companions.

Their slight size can also make for challenges around young children who must be taught early on to treat these little guys with gentleness and respect. They can be easily injured and can become skittish when found in uncertain situations such as being lifted up over and over again.

And while Chihuahuas have been called “purse puppies” it’s important to note that these energetic pups need daily exercise. Not only will walks provide mental and physical stimulation, they can help curb behavior issues stemming from boredom and lack of exercise.

Chihuahuas are intelligent, learn quickly and can respond well to firm, consistent positive reinforcement training. When raised well, these little dogs are loving, sweet and amazing lifelong companions.

If I could stand on my soapbox for just a minute, I would like to say that celebrities that carry their Chihuahuas around in sparkly purses are doing their dogs, and other dogs of the same breed, a sad disservice.  Ordinary people see Chihuahuas portrayed this way, go out and (hopefully) adopt one and then are disappointed when they run into behavioral issues. The result, hundreds of Chihuahuas sent to shelters across the country every day.

While movies like Beverly Hills Chihuahua and the Taco Bell dog provide a humorous and often sweet portrayal of this lively breed, remember to rely on experts for actual breed information and do your homework before you make your decision. It’s only fair. Any Chihuahua is a shelter today would tell you that.