my wee doggy

pabloescaban

VIP Member
Bit of trouble of late with my little mutt, Cassie.
I've had her 11 years and she was at least 1 when i got her from rescue centre, border collie cross.

she was ill mid Sept, took her my usual vet, hi temp, 41 degrees, he took blood samples etc massive dose of anti biotics and a six day course to follow, The blood tests shown a low white blood cell count which was indicative of a bacterial infection, the anti-b's cleared this up, temps ok now but the squits are making both of us miserable. everything cleared up but the meds i'd requested for her ongoing arthritis, metacam even though they worked, seemed to give her severe diarrhea. this would come and go in cycles, 5 days of being ok, 5 or 6 days of being ill with the squits and generally really unwell, shaking, rear end weakness, back legs giving way etc. thought she was a gonner on more than one occasion.
Rung the vets today, 'do you offer other testing apart from bloods etc?'
- 'what like?'
Me- 'I want a full body ultrasound of her abdomen, reproductive organs and all other organs, preferably today.'
- 'What makes you say that? - we don't have an ultrasonologist on site, we can get one in as and when required but only if the vet requests it'
Me - 'I'm requesting it, this is what want to happen, today, with my dog, as I think there's something untoward inside her and keep guessing and stabbing in the dark isn't getting us anywhere and I want to look inside to see what's happening'
- 'if you bring her in the vet will have a look and take it from there'

I rung a different vet, told them a brief history of ailments etc and gave them details of age and condition etc then I asked the same question;
Me- 'I want a full body ultrasound of her abdomen, reproductive organs and all other organs, preferably today.'

' - OK no problem, bring her down at 2.15, ultrasound and bloods will take 25 mins and you can wait in the waiting room and we'll get the results shortly after'

£277 all done, ultrasound etc shown nothing untoward going on with any internals, heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, pancreas, spleen etc all normal, bloods mostly normal, one or two slight discrepancies probably related to the squits, this included 2 prescriptions, one for pain relief in place of the metacam (stop using it!) and the other a probiotic binder for her plops and to line her intestines

It cost me over £200 at the first vet and no ultrasound, detailed blood analysis or anything of any use apart from the antibiotics. moral of the story is, don't throw good money after bad, shop around, we are all customers and where the health/wellbeing of our family members is concerned, quality and service takes precedence over everything else - I assumed the first vet was 'good' because his prices were fair - ok providing you're only going there every 12m for a booster, not much use when the sh!t hits the fan, telly, fridge and lightbulbs - pay a little more and get a much, much better service, plus, at least I know that her organs are OK, you can't find this out with a blood test and this is worth £277 on it's own
 
yeah, as an update, took her off the metacam monday and the diahrea has stopped.
It must have been horrid for her, her back legs were giving way all the time, this was just through being weakened, imagine having serious squits for a month.
She's been on boiled chicken and rice (the rice is cooked in the chicken stock - quite tasty!) for a week and is running around like a loony, still not 100% but getting there, check up with vet 6pm tomorrow.
plops are solid :(y):
I've been putting thyme, parsley, oregano and rosemary in the rice to try build her immune system up a bit and she has a scrambled egg every other day for her coat, she's wolfing every bit of food put in front of her but I'm keeping it plain and simple for now, when she's back to her normal self she can start having her sardines, tuna etc and also her occasional liver, kidney, steak(:grimacing:) etc but these are rare treats, once a week f that.

seems ok, just hope the diahrea doesn't start again:(
 
yeah, as an update, took her off the metacam monday and the diahrea has stopped.
It must have been horrid for her, her back legs were giving way all the time, this was just through being weakened, imagine having serious squits for a month.
She's been on boiled chicken and rice (the rice is cooked in the chicken stock - quite tasty!) for a week and is running around like a loony, still not 100% but getting there, check up with vet 6pm tomorrow.
plops are solid :(y):
I've been putting thyme, parsley, oregano and rosemary in the rice to try build her immune system up a bit and she has a scrambled egg every other day for her coat, she's wolfing every bit of food put in front of her but I'm keeping it plain and simple for now, when she's back to her normal self she can start having her sardines, tuna etc and also her occasional liver, kidney, steak:)eek:) etc but these are rare treats, once a week f that.

seems ok, just hope the diahrea doesn't start again:(

glad to hear it, :)
 
yeah, as an update, took her off the metacam monday and the diahrea has stopped.
It must have been horrid for her, her back legs were giving way all the time, this was just through being weakened, imagine having serious squits for a month.
She's been on boiled chicken and rice (the rice is cooked in the chicken stock - quite tasty!) for a week and is running around like a loony, still not 100% but getting there, check up with vet 6pm tomorrow.
plops are solid :(y):
I've been putting thyme, parsley, oregano and rosemary in the rice to try build her immune system up a bit and she has a scrambled egg every other day for her coat, she's wolfing every bit of food put in front of her but I'm keeping it plain and simple for now, when she's back to her normal self she can start having her sardines, tuna etc and also her occasional liver, kidney, steak:)eek:) etc but these are rare treats, once a week f that.

seems ok, just hope the diahrea doesn't start again:(
Pablo I feel your pain, not only is it the anger of the rip off vets it is the worry of the dogs welfare also. I have just been through it over the past year as I told you in the other thread, 54 weeks after the vet wanted to put my boy down and saying he had only a few weeks to live the tumor finally got him. I have around half a tub of these YuMOVE Dog 300 per pack at Fetch.co.uk | The Online Pet Store which got him back on his feet only a few weeks after he started on them,chasing cats and rats, so they must do what they say on the tin.You are welcome to have them for the arthritis.
 
Sorry to hear about your beloved fella, but you can take solace from the fact that you gave him at least another year of life and he knew he was loved for all that year, which is a long time for a dog, and loved right up to the last moment and beyond.
I'm a bit wary of meds for the arthritis as the metacam has made her ill for over a month and now the new vet wants her to start on something different but almost everything affects their kdneys or liver over long term so trying to avoid using it unless I have to, so cheers, will PM you about the supplements, thank you.
 
yeah, as an update, took her off the metacam monday and the diahrea has stopped.
It must have been horrid for her, her back legs were giving way all the time, this was just through being weakened, imagine having serious squits for a month.
She's been on boiled chicken and rice (the rice is cooked in the chicken stock - quite tasty!) for a week and is running around like a loony, still not 100% but getting there, check up with vet 6pm tomorrow.
plops are solid :(y):
I've been putting thyme, parsley, oregano and rosemary in the rice to try build her immune system up a bit and she has a scrambled egg every other day for her coat, she's wolfing every bit of food put in front of her but I'm keeping it plain and simple for now, when she's back to her normal self she can start having her sardines, tuna etc and also her occasional liver, kidney, steak:)eek:) etc but these are rare treats, once a week f that.

seems ok, just hope the diahrea doesn't start again:(
has she pancreatitis m8? what you describe is exactly what my dog was suffering from along with a lot of other stuff, as for food,we had to stop all treats and put him on chappie kibble which is recommended by vet,then we changed to hills prescription food for gastro and helped no end,
 
That's what I thought but she had a full ultrasound and nothing showing on her pancreas and her bloods were normal, I actually mentioned this to the vet yesterday when she went for her check up and she reiterated there was nothing untoward going on with any of her organs.
Apparently pancreatitis is extremely painful and she's not now showing any signs of pain, dumps have been solid since Monday when she came off the metacam so it must have been that.
Eating like a horse again....I've a sneaking feeling she could be allergic to egg yolk and will leave the eggs out for a week to verify, then give her one yolk from a boiled egg to see if it makes her loose. I only started giving her eggs regularly when she started on the metacam a month back and this is when the squits began
 
metacam can be severe, same as you taking ibruprofen, the runs can also come from antibiotic overload.If you get a strong dose they kill both good & bad bacteria ,hence the probiotic, trying to replace the 'good bacteria'. the soft 'runs' usually small bowel infection. Things like mashed potato can help with potassium & sodium levels in dog, and help firm up the poop.Pancreatitis is very painful, but they can get mild bouts too, a fat rich diet , older , overweight dogs are more prone to it. If ur out walking keep her away from puddles or standing water, stagnant water carries things like giardia , stomach bug ,similar to what humans would get from water on holiday, severe runs & gastro issues.The shakes would be expected for a dog of that age ,with arthritis, muscle weakness thru age. If at all possible limit metacam or get alternative, do be wary also of tramadol if offered, painkillers for older dogs are sometimes necessary, but best to keep an eye on them if long term use is indicated. Great to read your dogs doing better again, we'd be lost without them
 
Sorry to hear about your beloved fella, but you can take solace from the fact that you gave him at least another year of life and he knew he was loved for all that year, which is a long time for a dog, and loved right up to the last moment and beyond.
I'm a bit wary of meds for the arthritis as the metacam has made her ill for over a month and now the new vet wants her to start on something different but almost everything affects their kdneys or liver over long term so trying to avoid using it unless I have to, so cheers, will PM you about the supplements, thank you.
Have you ever tried one of these mate,my SBT wore 1 for around 11-12 years and I swear by them

Here's a link: http://www.patchesequestrian.co.uk/html/armadillo_dog_collar.html



Armadillo_collar.jpg
 
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