Split: Split: For Hope and Steve

[Hope]

Morning vally!

Steve is on 30mg (15mg BID) and was started on it a week ago (June 17th). They want to keep him on that until at least July 14th when we are to see his vet again. I didn’t know if that was too much bc Dr Dodds had told me only 5-7 days between reductions. But slow and low works! 30mg is much lower than what he had been on (80mg for Days 1-5 followed by 50mg for Days 6-15). It’s hard to believe it’s only been 3 weeks.. It’s feels like it’s been forever.

I know he’s supposed to relax and rest but is it okay to walk steve a bit? He wants to be out and I think he’s bored and also he’s gained so much weight I wonder if that contributes to his random spurts of heavy breathing.. I know the pred does that but I was just wondering. I feel like he needs a little outlet.. Poor guy can’t even have chew bones anymore (rawhide has too much protein and he can’t with the done issue) and his brother steaks his stuffed squeaky toys.

Hugsss! Hope and steve

[Vally]

Oh I’m all for letting him get out for a bit.  Don’t let him overdo it that’s all.  Start out with smaller walks and see how he goes.  I think let him enjoy himself.

I have a park across the road from me.  When Bingo was starting to get better, I  used to carry him over, let him wander around and chat with the other dogs, then I’d carry him home.  A few people over that time asked me if the Park Ranger was about because at that stage, it was a leash-on park and you’d be fined for having a dog off leash and they were pretty ruthless (meanies!).  No, I’d say, he’s been pretty sick and I don’t want him tired out.  Bingo just put up with me making him look stupid :)

Love Vally and Bingo

[admin]

Good morning Hope,

Isn’t it wonderful when our dogs slowly gain their energy and interest in life back! i think there is nothing wrong with taking Steve for a short walk. Just remember where his body is at and you will know that there are a couple of things you want to keep an eye on. His PCV is still not where it should be so his blood needs to transport oxygen like crazy. I would not let him run and exert himself too much. His muscles and all soft tissue are not as strong as they used to be and injuries can happen very easily. Please don’t let him rough house with other dogs, even if he wants to.  Physical exercise is great, but I always think we under estimate the need of mental stimulation for dogs. Why don’t you teach him little tricks? Maybe you can get some ideas from this lady, I love what she does:

https://www.youtube.com/user/kikopup

I love doing tricks with my dogs, because we interact, build relationship and it really stimulates their brains. It does not replace physical exercise, but at least they are not bored when they can not go on a long walk. Because I have 2 dogs I do not have toys laying around in the house, they do not play or chew toys on their own. They go crazy when I take them out and play with them.They love to search for toys that I hide for them, when they do we have a good tug or toss of the ball.

I am glad you stopped giving Steve raw hide. I would not even give them to a healthy dog. I have heard too many horror stories of dogs swallowing whole pieces and needing surgery. I also think they are gross when they are all soggy and chewed up:) I give my healthy dogs raw turkey necks and chicken backs but i don’t know if you want to go there. They don’t occupy them very long either. There are great plastic chew bones that are very safe. My boys got some for Christmas and there are practically no marks on them.They are called Bionic and are bright orange. You can even hide a treat in them. No idea where Santa got them:)

Give that Steve boy a scratch behind the ear from his Canadian aunty!

Best wishes,

Brigitte

 

[Tamara]

Hey Hope!  Any word from the vet or Dr. Dodds yet?  I’ve been thinking about you all, that episode would have scared me SO much!

Ashki is completely sympathetic to Steve, he is bored and hungry all the time too.  One thing that helps Ash is when I take him for a drive with the windows down enough so he can sniff all the good smells, and it doesn’t tire him, maybe y’all could do that for Steve too.

Sending you all love and hugs, please give Steve and that stinkbug Jeffrey some scritchies from me!

xoxox tamara and ashki

[Hope]

Hey all!!

thank you for the advice — I’m definitely going to take it slow with him. He is a little less coordinated now.. I see that when he goes up and down the stairs. I like the idea of tricks tho! I might work on that. Unfortunately Spoiled Steve doesn’t like bones that aren’t rawhide lol — they are nasty tho. I always hated pulling them out their mouths when they got  too small. Jeffrey will try to swallow them whole and start choking so we have to watch them. I bought Steve a Nyla bone and he just wasn’t excited by it so now it’s Jeffrey’s. Lol!

i haven’t heard back from the vet yet — I don’t love how long it takes to ge in touch within but dr dodds did write back and said she agrees he’s probably just in really deep sleep and to leave him alone. I’m ready to film it should it happen again but I really really hope not. A friend of mine asked me if I’m sure this started with the imha diagnosis. To be honest I don’t know bc I never really watched him sleep like I do now. She said he might have always done that.

Ive read Patrice’s posts over and over but I am just kind of confuzzled (I like to make up words!) why his gums are still so blah when his PCV is going up and clinically he’s pretty active. It’s not any worse than it was last week or this weekend or yesterday but they are just pale to me! Worried always!

Hugs to all and all of Steve and stink butts fur cousins out there!

hope, Steve and Jeffrey

[admin]

Hi Hope

It sounds like you’ve had a bit of a scary time with the deep sleep but I’m really glad you’ve heard back from Dr Dodds and that she agrees that’s what it is. Definitely video it if possible, if it happens again. You might be right though, that maybe he has always done it. It’s funny how we notice things we never did previously because we watch them so closely. It’s interesting to read what Patrice said about the Donnerthal spots. I’ve not seen them, but Mable has a black splodge on her palate and her bottom “lip” is half black, half pink. It was Molly’s usually pink bottom lip that alerted me to something being wrong, so Mable having one that’s half black makes it harder to check!

PCV of 40% is great and I really wouldn’t worry about the drop from 41 (I know it’s easier said than done). That’s a tiny fluctuation. On the other hand, I wouldn’t be comfortable waiting until mid July for a recheck. It seems a long time to me, when you are in the middle of weaning. Waiting a month to reduce wouldn’t worry me personally, although I would never go against Dr Dodds’ advice. I prefer the idea of taking it slowly, unless a faster reduction is needed.

As for the anaemia causing them to stop breathing and causing brain damage – I have not heard this, although I hope someone will correct me if I am wrong. What CAN happen with anaemia, is hypoxia & hypoxaemia – where reduced oxygenation due to decreased haemoglobin starts to affect the tissues. This can damage the brain, but really I would only expect this type of hypoxic injury with really severe anaemia. Again, I could be wrong, but I can’t think this would be a risk with a PCV of 40%. Don’t be afraid to check with the vet though. You can read more about it here:

https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/hypoxemia/

I hope that school is going well and that you are getting some rest. Has Steve been for a little walk? Give him and Jeffrey ear rubs from me. I thought of you earlier. I was driving along and a lady was walking a bulldog. Well, he was trotting along and suddenly hurled himself at the floor and started rolling and rolling on the pavement. The owner was powerless and just gave in. I couldn’t help laughing. I can only assume he found some very attractive poo to roll in ;)

Much love,

Mary & Mable x

• This reply was modified 10 years, 5 months ago by admin.
• This reply was modified 10 years, 5 months ago by admin.

[Hope]

Hiya Mary!

i agree that 2.5 weeks to another PCV check is too long — I think I’m actually going to try to take him tomorrow because I’m telling you, the gums are pretty pale. And it freaks me out (along with just about everything else these days!!)!

thank you for that link — I’m gojng to go read it over in just a sec. Admittedly I haven’t been sleeping well/much at all lately but I’m exhausted tonigjt so I hope to pass out! Lol

I took Steve for a walk earlier today around the block — he definitely seemed to enjoy getting out though he got obviously tired about 3/4 of the way through. I might make it a little shorter tomorrow. The other day I tried to walk Steve and Jeffrey at the same time.. Mistake!!! Lol! Jeffrey is so dense he was choking himself to the point where he was foaming at the mouth and he wouldn’t stop. So I had to carry him home under my arm! Such a little piggy!

Hugs!!

Hope and steve

[admin]

Hiya Hope!

Sorry  I’ve not been around for a few days. I can assure you Worzel also experienced this deep, deep sleep & it really panicked me sometimes – I don’t think I ever had a good night’s sleep myself for about 3 months from potty breaks to checking on him every 10 minutes. And Vally is right – Linda went through this with Sadie too & I reassured her at the time that Worzel was the same. I resorted to prodding & poking – poor Worzel was really miffed that I woke him up. I resorted to sleeping with my hand on his heart, so I could check it was still beating! I can only recommend you try that – it was the only way I could cope with it. Greyhounds have very slow heart rates anyway (this is normal) so this made it doubly worrying. When we reduced the pred, this all gradually improved, so it has to be the drugs in my humble opinion.

I am really glad to see you are going for the slower reduction – much safer. I wouldn’t leave the PCV checks so long – you’ll only worry if you don’t get Steve checked more often, so sticks to your guns. It was very important to me that I knew Worzel was holding his PCV at a good level. As Patrice explained, their gums vary incredibly according to activity or inactivity (spleen is a bag of blood, ready for release when needed), so only check after Steve is fully awake & on the move, otherwise you’ll frighten yourself even more.

Love & cuddles to Steve & Jeffrey – you are doing a fantastic job – try & get some rest, otherwise you’ll be completely exhausted.

Sheena, Worzel & Ollie xxxx