Split: For Hope and Steve

[Hope]

P.S. husband isn’t getting whacked yet — he’s taking care of Steve during the day while i’m in class. Giving injections and all!

[Vally]

Hope, I’m so glad the dot disappeared.  Wow as if there aren’t enough worries.

If poo was loose-ish yesterday, that’s probably why no bowel movement.  I wouldn’t worry too much.  Do you use any pumpkin?  That’s always good for both diarrhear and constipation – clever stuff.  I steam up a whole batch at a time and freeze them in smaller containers.  If it’s raining, Bingo will NOT do a poo.  So in rainy weather, for no other reason I’m certain, he’ll easily skip a day.

Try and avoid fatty foods too to avoid any pancreatic issues.

Yes smart thinking, don’t whack husband until after all meds done :)  No, he sounds like a good bloke.

Also I’d suggest you start small on the milk thistle, I’m pretty sure this gave Bingo a tummy ache, and he has a cast iron stomach.  I gradually increased the dose.

Love Vally & Bingo

[Vally]

Do you need a medicine chart?  Email me if you do, I’ll put it together for you.  Have you still got my email address?

Vally

[Hope]

Hey there!

i haven’t gotten pumpkin yet but I plan to stop on my way home tomorrow and get some. Is canned pumpkin okay?

Thank you for the advice on the milk thistle — small doses it is! I don’t need poor Steve to have more gi upset!

[Vally]

Yes I believe a lot use canned pumpkin.  Make sure it’s pureed canned pumpkin with nothing else, NOT pumpkin pie filling – not that I know what the difference is – we don’t have either here.

Love Vally

[Hope]

Morning all!

vally – thank you much for the medication schedule.. I love it! It’s also helpful for husband in lieu of me texting him everyday the same schedule.

I have a couple of neurotic questions —

1) Steve’s urine is super potent smelling.. I dont even know what else to say. I know urine isn’t supposed to smell good but his is like sour smelling almost. I know this bc he peed in my bed last night and the smell permeated everything! Is that “normal?”

2) I’m beating myself up bc I gave him his Pred 45 minutes late. He has a bunch of medicines in the middle of the night at various times and I didn’t realize my phone (and subsequent alarm) had died. Should I call the vet?

3) he’s VERY deep chested – it’s kind of funny looking bc Dalmatians aren’t known for that. His appetite has returned big time and in watching him scarf down food and then drink a bunch of water after, it brings to mind concerns of bloat (which is most common in deep chested dogs). Did anyone else have that concern? That’s why I started cutting down his food portions and am trying to feed him more smaller meals. I’m also contemplating taking away his water for like 15 minutes after he eats which makes me feel awful.

What would I do without y’all?

thanks so much! Hugs to all!

hope and Steve

[Brigitte]

Hi Hope,

I really don’t have an answer for the potent smelling urine. If it were me i would do a quick in house urine analysis, just to be on the safe side. I would definitely mention it to the vet. it could be a UT infection but it could just be something harmless. A UT infection would be easily treated with antibiotics, it is a very common side effect of the prednisone.

Giving the prednisone 45 min late is certainly no big deal. I would not worry at all about that. I forget but I am sure you give it every 12 hours, there is enough in his system that 45 min will not be crucial.

The danger of bloat is certainly there, even though to be honest I have not heard a dog coming down with it after getting AIHA. But of course we can never be too careful, so good for you to think of that. I have Standard Poodles so bloat is always something to consider. What are you feeding? If you feed kibble, the danger of bloat is much greater. If you cook your own food or feed moist, canned food that would be better. It is 5 years now but I am pretty sure I switched to 3 smaller meals. I think removing the water for 15 minutes after eating is not a bad idea, especially if you feed kibble.

Best wishes,

Brigitte & the poodle boys

[Tamara]

Hi Hope — I just remembered something. I was talking to a dog walking acquaintance about thyroid as all of her dogs have been hypothyroid, and I remembered she has Dalmations! You can ask the vet to just give you a vial of serum and you can ship it yourself to Dr. Dodds’ lab, just tell him you’re just curious and want to indulge your curiosity :) and just check.

Isn’t Dr. Dodds the best? And this website!

hugs and love to you all, you’re doing an amazing job with Steve.  I’m so happy to hear that he’s feeling better and eating better!  Ashki is eating a lot too, about 1 1/2 cups per meal and I’m feeding him breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a late night meal.  And he’s wanting food in between too, but I can’t give any to him because of his meds that have to be on an empty stomach.  Poor boo boo.

xoxox tamara and ashki