Vally - 8. page

[Vally]

Hi Debbie. I’m so sorry to hear about Briar and I know you’re stressed to the max.

As Patrice said, Dr Dodds is the best to have on your side.

Please upload blood results. Patrice is a whiz at understanding them and can help you to understand what’s happening.

Regards, Vally

[Vally]

Hi Kathy, Sorry a bit slow, computer issues yesterday.

I guess is depends on why your dog is taking Denamarin. If for a serious liver issues, then I would stick with Denamarin until liver function is good. If your dog is doing well, then, you could certainly try doing it your way. Have a look at Mary Straus’s Dog Aware site. Here’s the link on liver issues:
http://dogaware.com/health/liver.html

Jean Dodds’ recommendation is for a 68lb dog, 50% of human dosage. See
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/nutrition-resources?mgi_55=13905/dr-dodds-liver-cleansing-diet

SAMe is also very good for liver disease and other stuff, including mental decline, so I opted to continue using it for life on my boy Bingo.

Regards,

[Vally]

Jon, this is the answer I got from Patrice:

“For this use, dental work, it is commonly used. It’s bacteriostatic, it interfers with the growth of bacteria, rather than killing it. The worse side effect is gastrointestinal, and apparently the injected form of the drug doesn’t have this side effect. Other side effects are very rare. Infections from dental work can be serious and if it absolutely must be done, then it’s a normal use. If the dog is very weak, has serious anemia and is on prednisone, I would want a specialist like an internist or board certified surgeon to perform the surgery.”

[Vally]

Jon, I haven’t heard of it. It’s a Lincosamide antibiotic so I’m not certain. I’ve sent Patrice, the site owner, an email to ask her about it. She’s much more cluey about this than I am. I’ll answer as soon as I can.

When is the dental surgery due?

[Vally]

I’m sorry Jon, there seems to be a problem.

If you list the drugs you’re dealing with, I’ll be happy to try and find out what is safe.

In a nutshell, the ones to avoid are cephalosporins, sulfa drugs and penicillins.

Safest antibiotic for our dogs is doxycycline.

Regards, Vally

[Vally]

Great great news and thanks for posting.

I always found that you notice a difference when you drop the prednisone. I’m sure the body needs time to adjust.

Good luck.

Vally

[Vally]

Hi Lucy, I’m thrilled to hear that Shaka has improved.

You’re starting the reduction at 33% and that should be okay. Don’t rush the reductions. I’d probably go a bit slower than every 2 weeks. Can you stretch it to 3 or 4 weeks. Makes sure Shaka’s PCV is checked first. A slight reduction is okay. You don’t want to see a continual reduction.

The percentage can vary by about 5% up or down, without concern, although I HATED any drops. They terrified me. The percentage varies also by how much fluid they’ve had, so if they drink a lot of water, the PCV will go down and if they are dehydrated, the PCV will go up. That’s why slight changes are not a problem.

If the PCV is 34 or thereabouts, I think you’re safe to start reducing. Just keep an eye on Shaka, which I know you’re doing.

With the Omeprazole, the 2 hours after is fine, but you can also do say 1 hour before food and drug, if that’s easier for your scheduling.

Regards, Vally

[Vally]

Sorry a bit slow. Was out all yesterday.

The weeing is most likely the prednisone. It makes them drink a lot and so it’s not unusual to hear that accidents happen when they’re on high doses. It may happen a few times still, but it’s not a forever thing. As the prednisone can be safely dropped, you’ll see a lot of the side effects go.

For heartworm medication, we, on this site prefer Interceptor as recommended by Dr Jean Dodds. I’m quoting this from another post. “It can be used for very ill dogs in 45 day dosing cycles, but there is NO WIGGLE ROOM if you dose this way. It must be exactly 45 days. The label says 30 days because owners can forget to give it and probably remember sometime in the window of 30-45 days”.

I personally don’t like 3 monthly anythings after my last dog started having seizures after the yearly heartworm injection. I only use monthly heartworm but dose every 6 weeks and note it on the calendar and send myself a note on the phone so I don’t miss it. I don’t use anything else on my girl now.

I know there are no answers, many times we never find out the cause however hypothyroidism is a very big possibility. In fact you can ask for testing to be done through Dr Jean Dodds. She is a specialist in this and in fact runs very specific thyroid testing, based on breed, rather than just on the normal “dog” results.

In fact Jean Dodd’s protocol for treating AIHA is to dose with thyroxine even if a dog is NOT hypothyroid. Have a look at the Second Chance Resources relating to Hemopet. https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/hemopetresources
Item 5 shows a dose of 0.1mg/10lb giving twice daily. It helps to stimulate bone marrow and enhances platelet function.

Regards, Vally