Sunday, July 24, 2005
Rasslin'
Subqs are still a real trial -- Allie keeps rolling onto my hand with the needle and pulling it out (in the nicest possible way, but an 80# dog can be pretty firm!)
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Allie update / Neufchatel cheese
To K9KidneyDiet:
Allie has actually eaten of her own free will yesterday and today. I started her off by hand, but she finished up out of the bowl!! Even had a couple of cans of k/d, but for some reason I just feel more confident about the Chicken / Egg Whites / Gl Rice / Veg meals I've been cooking her, poor soul. Her tummy feels better since she's been getting pepcid ac (cvs pharmacy generic) and acidophilus yoghurt. No vomit in 3 days. She is perkier and has lost that dreadful listless gray look.
We've settled into a rhythm of 250 ml saline at lunch and 250 ml at dinner -- that's about all she'll sit/lie/roll around 'still' for. I know a big dog should get more, but at least we're getting this much, and can try to sneak in more as she gets used to it. We also have a 22cc syringe and we have Marx-bros moments with me introducing water into her mouth and she dribbling it out the other side. Or maybe she's Lucy, she's red-haired and has the attitude, bless her.
Her supplements are currently: Omega complex, Vit E + fish body oil, Vit B12, Glucosamine, MSM, Calcium citrate. Today we add coQ10. She also gets digestive enzyme powder plus probiotics. Amounts of these depend on how much of her food she will eat as they are mixed in.
Today Allie is a whole new dog! Thanks to the great advice and support on this list, we have seen real improvement and have enjoyed two good "up" days, and are prepared for the "downs."
Query: I'm giving her abx and pepcid wrapped in Neufchatel cheese -- it says it's just lowfat cream cheese, but according to NATS the phos is 40 and Na 120 with fat 16g / 1oz, while cream cheese is phos 20, Na 90 and fat 10. Does anyone know where Neufchatel cheese gets its rep as particularly healthy?
Also query: why do cats get Lactated Ringer solution and dogs get .9% saline, or is it just Allie?
Thank you all, and a happy Sunday
C and a sparkly Allie
Replies: Fat-free cream-cheese is better, and it's just Allie. It's a matter of electrolytes; blood test values determine which fluids to use
Allie has actually eaten of her own free will yesterday and today. I started her off by hand, but she finished up out of the bowl!! Even had a couple of cans of k/d, but for some reason I just feel more confident about the Chicken / Egg Whites / Gl Rice / Veg meals I've been cooking her, poor soul. Her tummy feels better since she's been getting pepcid ac (cvs pharmacy generic) and acidophilus yoghurt. No vomit in 3 days. She is perkier and has lost that dreadful listless gray look.
We've settled into a rhythm of 250 ml saline at lunch and 250 ml at dinner -- that's about all she'll sit/lie/roll around 'still' for. I know a big dog should get more, but at least we're getting this much, and can try to sneak in more as she gets used to it. We also have a 22cc syringe and we have Marx-bros moments with me introducing water into her mouth and she dribbling it out the other side. Or maybe she's Lucy, she's red-haired and has the attitude, bless her.
Her supplements are currently: Omega complex, Vit E + fish body oil, Vit B12, Glucosamine, MSM, Calcium citrate. Today we add coQ10. She also gets digestive enzyme powder plus probiotics. Amounts of these depend on how much of her food she will eat as they are mixed in.
Today Allie is a whole new dog! Thanks to the great advice and support on this list, we have seen real improvement and have enjoyed two good "up" days, and are prepared for the "downs."
Query: I'm giving her abx and pepcid wrapped in Neufchatel cheese -- it says it's just lowfat cream cheese, but according to NATS the phos is 40 and Na 120 with fat 16g / 1oz, while cream cheese is phos 20, Na 90 and fat 10. Does anyone know where Neufchatel cheese gets its rep as particularly healthy?
Also query: why do cats get Lactated Ringer solution and dogs get .9% saline, or is it just Allie?
Thank you all, and a happy Sunday
C and a sparkly Allie
Replies: Fat-free cream-cheese is better, and it's just Allie. It's a matter of electrolytes; blood test values determine which fluids to use
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Which needles?
These are Terumos. I only got 250 into her of the prescribed 500, but did 500 this morning and plan to do another tonight. We no longer have a sense of time. I can certainly hang the bag up higher, but then I can't both squeeze it and keep her in check.
She is really doing poorly -- threw up a little this morning, just stomach fluid, but still worrisome. Malamutes usually have cast-iron stomachs. Hate to think she can't handle the Baytril. The vet says to take with food, the web site says take an hour before food, and Allie says "I'm not eating anyway." She ate k/d at the vet's, but adamantly refuses at home. She had diarrhea for a day after the ivs, vet said normal, I'm not thrilled. She's lethargic and won't even chase the cats. >Sigh.<
She is really doing poorly -- threw up a little this morning, just stomach fluid, but still worrisome. Malamutes usually have cast-iron stomachs. Hate to think she can't handle the Baytril. The vet says to take with food, the web site says take an hour before food, and Allie says "I'm not eating anyway." She ate k/d at the vet's, but adamantly refuses at home. She had diarrhea for a day after the ivs, vet said normal, I'm not thrilled. She's lethargic and won't even chase the cats. >Sigh.<
Monday, July 04, 2005
Fluids in!
HUGE relief! Finally able to get a decent amount of fluids into my girl!!! Beginning to feel like I have a purpose in life after all!
Response to K9KidneyDiet:
Thank you, L! We found a "tent" space on the rear/side of the neck and just used that -- scares me to death, but I'm careful. Yes, always fresh and slant side up. She is a very good girl, just really hates the procedure and tries to rub the needle off by turning on her back - so I'm trying to wrangle an 85# dog and stabilize the needle, squeeze the bag, etc. You're right, I am going to get bigger needles, these little ones are flimsy and slow. There may also be some scar tissue -- she's a rescue. She seems better now with some fluids in her -- I didn't realize how fragile she'd still be after the ivs, but her crea is still above 3. It's just starting to sink in what a day to day struggle this is going to be ...
Thank you so much for your help!
Response to K9KidneyDiet:
Thank you, L! We found a "tent" space on the rear/side of the neck and just used that -- scares me to death, but I'm careful. Yes, always fresh and slant side up. She is a very good girl, just really hates the procedure and tries to rub the needle off by turning on her back - so I'm trying to wrangle an 85# dog and stabilize the needle, squeeze the bag, etc. You're right, I am going to get bigger needles, these little ones are flimsy and slow. There may also be some scar tissue -- she's a rescue. She seems better now with some fluids in her -- I didn't realize how fragile she'd still be after the ivs, but her crea is still above 3. It's just starting to sink in what a day to day struggle this is going to be ...
Thank you so much for your help!
Feeling like a fumbling idiot
Sent home in shaking terror with a bag of saline and a handful of needles. Set up at home and now can't do what the vet tech showed me! The needle won't go in! except into my fingers ... So I'm trembling and howling and dripping and bleeding all over my poor Malamute, who is refraining from snapping at me, the amazing queen.
Sent this to the angels at K9KidneyDiet: Okay, I'm biting the bullet and trying to give my beloved Allie her loathed subQs. She has been home for a day and a half after her iv fluids. She must be pretty dehydrated, because her skin is like leather, and I'm having trouble getting the needle in! I feel like I'm torturing my girl! It's only an 18 gauge, which is small and slow-drip for a Malamute, and I'm trying to go fast, but it's really tough. Is there any place better than the shoulder where the skin might not be so leathery where I could get her hydrated a bit?
Dog, I feel like a horrible mother!
C
for Allie, who is being a gentle giant
Sent this to the angels at K9KidneyDiet: Okay, I'm biting the bullet and trying to give my beloved Allie her loathed subQs. She has been home for a day and a half after her iv fluids. She must be pretty dehydrated, because her skin is like leather, and I'm having trouble getting the needle in! I feel like I'm torturing my girl! It's only an 18 gauge, which is small and slow-drip for a Malamute, and I'm trying to go fast, but it's really tough. Is there any place better than the shoulder where the skin might not be so leathery where I could get her hydrated a bit?
Dog, I feel like a horrible mother!
C
for Allie, who is being a gentle giant
Sunday, June 26, 2005
How's Allie?
Dear Margie,
Nose barely above water, but she's eating, so I'm hopeful. A non-eating Mal is a terrible thing. The Clavamox was really rough on her. Now she gets to be outrageously pampered and to heal. Thanks for asking after her. You are one of the few people who know what a funny sweetheart she is. She's being a supercool trouper about pills, injections, iv fluids, ultrasounds, the works. I have so much respect and admiration and love for her, it's her strength that gets us through. What an amazing soul. Time to go cook her some more chicken and egg whites!
Love, Connie
Nose barely above water, but she's eating, so I'm hopeful. A non-eating Mal is a terrible thing. The Clavamox was really rough on her. Now she gets to be outrageously pampered and to heal. Thanks for asking after her. You are one of the few people who know what a funny sweetheart she is. She's being a supercool trouper about pills, injections, iv fluids, ultrasounds, the works. I have so much respect and admiration and love for her, it's her strength that gets us through. What an amazing soul. Time to go cook her some more chicken and egg whites!
Love, Connie
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Nierenkranker Hund
Liebe Tante Meggie
>Mich wuerde nur interessieren, wie man merkt, dass ein Hund
was an den Nieren hat. Dass er Schmerzen hat, das merkt man ja
sicher am Jaulen und Winseln, dass ihm sonst was fehlt, das merkt
man sicher daran, dass er nicht fressen will. Aber auf die Nieren kommt
wohl erst ein Arzt oder ein Bluttest....
Ja, sie hat furchtbar gejault, und zuerst dachte ich, es ist ihre Arthritis, oder sie hat am Ruecken oder Hals was eingeklemmt, aber die Untersuchung zeigte da nichts. Beim Bluttest stellte sich heraus dass sie sehr wenig Nierenfunktion hat, so wird sie wohl einen Stein oder vielleicht Tumor an den Nieren haben. Mittwoch wird mit Ultraschall nachgeschaut. Sie frisst nicht gern, schlaeft viel, aber ist sonst ganz normal -- spielt draussen mit Ghost, geht mit mir spazieren, trinkt, spielt, macht Unsinn ... nur hatte sie diese Schmerzanfaelle. Jetzt nicht, sie kriegt Tabletten. Sie hat auch mehrere Behandlungen gekriegt mit Fluessigkeit, so eine Art Dialyse um die Gifte auszuspuelen. Diaet und Vitamin B-12, Omega-3, usw. koennen nichts rueckgaengig machen, aber den Abbau vielleicht verzoegern.
>Noch eine Frage: fuehlt sich ein Malamute denn ueberhaupt wohl im
heissen Texas? Zwingt man ihn denn da nicht in eine Umgebung,
die seiner Art ueberhaupt nicht entspricht? Wird er denn da nicht viel
anfaelliger? Ich weiss, Du hast das Tier ja nicht nach Texas geholt, sondern
dort gerettet - aber weisst Du denn, ob Allie jemals wirklich gluecklich
war?
Allie war in Texas geboren und muesste sich sehr langsam und vorsichtig dem Arktik anpassen -- eine ploetzliche Umstellung haette sie wie alle Hunde nicht ueberstanden. Sie ist dem Klima hier gut angepasst. Malamutes haben eine niedrige Basaltemperatur (100 F) und sind durch ihr Fell isoliert, mein Ridgeback wird schneller heiss. Sie haben hier Schatten, Brise, eine Porch mit Airconditioning (!) und Fan, und ein kleines Swimming Pool (sie sind gern im Wasser). In den letzten Wochen war Allie fast staendig drinnen im Airconditioning, weil ich mit dem Ruecken zuhause war.
Malamutes wurden von den Mahlemut Eskimos gezuechtet, um durch unglaublich schreckliches Wetter ueber Eis und Schnee ihre Schlitten zu ziehen. Sie mussten ihr eigenes Futter fangen. Nur die staerksten, am stoischsten und gutmuetigsten ueberlebten. Das heisst nicht, dass sie es genossen. Kein Malamute lebt heute "Artgerecht," und zum Glueck. Malamutes kamen nicht absichtlich nach Texas, aber sie nehmen das Klima mit der gleichen coolen Einstellung und machen das beste draus. Besser von mir gerettet als getoetet, und besser 5 sehr vergnuegte Jahre als garnichts. Ich glaube doch dass sie gluecklich war und ist, furchtbar verwoehnt, und dass sie unsere obedience, agility und drill team Aktivitaeten sehr genossen hat. Ich glaube dass sie gern mit mir auf dem Bett schlaeft, in ihrem Swimming-pool plaenschert, und gebuerstet wird. Das ist fuer mich ein grosser Trost.
Deine
cze
>Mich wuerde nur interessieren, wie man merkt, dass ein Hund
was an den Nieren hat. Dass er Schmerzen hat, das merkt man ja
sicher am Jaulen und Winseln, dass ihm sonst was fehlt, das merkt
man sicher daran, dass er nicht fressen will. Aber auf die Nieren kommt
wohl erst ein Arzt oder ein Bluttest....
Ja, sie hat furchtbar gejault, und zuerst dachte ich, es ist ihre Arthritis, oder sie hat am Ruecken oder Hals was eingeklemmt, aber die Untersuchung zeigte da nichts. Beim Bluttest stellte sich heraus dass sie sehr wenig Nierenfunktion hat, so wird sie wohl einen Stein oder vielleicht Tumor an den Nieren haben. Mittwoch wird mit Ultraschall nachgeschaut. Sie frisst nicht gern, schlaeft viel, aber ist sonst ganz normal -- spielt draussen mit Ghost, geht mit mir spazieren, trinkt, spielt, macht Unsinn ... nur hatte sie diese Schmerzanfaelle. Jetzt nicht, sie kriegt Tabletten. Sie hat auch mehrere Behandlungen gekriegt mit Fluessigkeit, so eine Art Dialyse um die Gifte auszuspuelen. Diaet und Vitamin B-12, Omega-3, usw. koennen nichts rueckgaengig machen, aber den Abbau vielleicht verzoegern.
>Noch eine Frage: fuehlt sich ein Malamute denn ueberhaupt wohl im
heissen Texas? Zwingt man ihn denn da nicht in eine Umgebung,
die seiner Art ueberhaupt nicht entspricht? Wird er denn da nicht viel
anfaelliger? Ich weiss, Du hast das Tier ja nicht nach Texas geholt, sondern
dort gerettet - aber weisst Du denn, ob Allie jemals wirklich gluecklich
war?
Allie war in Texas geboren und muesste sich sehr langsam und vorsichtig dem Arktik anpassen -- eine ploetzliche Umstellung haette sie wie alle Hunde nicht ueberstanden. Sie ist dem Klima hier gut angepasst. Malamutes haben eine niedrige Basaltemperatur (100 F) und sind durch ihr Fell isoliert, mein Ridgeback wird schneller heiss. Sie haben hier Schatten, Brise, eine Porch mit Airconditioning (!) und Fan, und ein kleines Swimming Pool (sie sind gern im Wasser). In den letzten Wochen war Allie fast staendig drinnen im Airconditioning, weil ich mit dem Ruecken zuhause war.
Malamutes wurden von den Mahlemut Eskimos gezuechtet, um durch unglaublich schreckliches Wetter ueber Eis und Schnee ihre Schlitten zu ziehen. Sie mussten ihr eigenes Futter fangen. Nur die staerksten, am stoischsten und gutmuetigsten ueberlebten. Das heisst nicht, dass sie es genossen. Kein Malamute lebt heute "Artgerecht," und zum Glueck. Malamutes kamen nicht absichtlich nach Texas, aber sie nehmen das Klima mit der gleichen coolen Einstellung und machen das beste draus. Besser von mir gerettet als getoetet, und besser 5 sehr vergnuegte Jahre als garnichts. Ich glaube doch dass sie gluecklich war und ist, furchtbar verwoehnt, und dass sie unsere obedience, agility und drill team Aktivitaeten sehr genossen hat. Ich glaube dass sie gern mit mir auf dem Bett schlaeft, in ihrem Swimming-pool plaenschert, und gebuerstet wird. Das ist fuer mich ein grosser Trost.
Deine
cze
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