My dog's not doing well

[gsganzer]

I got home yesterday and checked Mason out last night. He was all wiggly and waggly to see me. He's lost about 15 lbs. He went from 80 to 65. That's not good. He ate his dinner with some reasonable vigor, but I can tell he's still not right. As a special treat, I'll sometimes let him buddy up in my recliner with me, something that makes his day. Last night, he wouldn't do it.

This morning, he's just sleeping on a blanket behind my wife's recliner, not interacting with any one as they get up and ready for the day.

I'll schedule a trip to the vet.

 

[gsganzer]

steroids predisone ,,sp,,, made my dog act weird.

That's a good point, it always makes me loopy when I have to take it. We have 4 days left on his predisone and he's on the weaning off schedule. Maybe I give it until Friday and then make a vet visit if he's not better. I'll just make sure he's eating, drinking and whizzing properly. I want to check his urine color, but he's never been a prolific whizzer. I guess I'll just have to follow him around the yard. I wish I had a fire hydrant in my yard

 

[Tomtint]

IMO..I wouldn't wait for a vet visit. Bring him in asap and do the blood work. If something IS wrong, Time is not your friend. The cost of doing this .. to me , is irrelevant when you consider that if he is sick, and needs more care.. Waiting is not good.

 

[Eagle1]

Mine all foam at the mouth after spirited run, has lot do with with long double coat and being huge. That is how most people see them after they charge to the driveway when someone enters. My job is to protect them......

 

[gsganzer]

I got home yesterday and checked Mason out last night. He was all wiggly and waggly to see me. He's lost about 15 lbs. He went from 80 to 65. That's not good. He ate his dinner with some reasonable vigor, but I can tell he's still not right. As a special treat, I'll sometimes let him buddy up in my recliner with me, something that makes his day. Last night, he wouldn't do it.

This morning, he's just sleeping on a blanket behind my wife's recliner, not interacting with any one as they get up and ready for the day.

I'll schedule a trip to the vet.

Bad news to report. After improving for over a week, he's now relapsed and has gotten even worse. They had him on steroids and he was back to his old self for about a week. As soon as he was weaned off the last of the steroids, he nosedived quickly again.

My wife just brought him back from the vet and he's severely anemic again. He's in an auto-immune spiral, for reasons that are unknown. Apparently, it is extremely common in dogs due to a number of different potential causes, including cancer. The plan is to increase the steroid dose and check the bloodwork every-other day. If his numbers finally improve, they'll try to maintain them at that level until they think his body has had a chance to stabilize and take over. Then slowly wean him off again while still checking his bloodwork. There's a good possibility he doesn't pull out of this.

My wife was in tears when I spoke to her a few minutes ago. She said he's just standing and staring off into space and wouldn't even eat a cookie. She managed to get him to eat a piece of pepperoni with prednisone in it and has set up a bowl of feed for his so he can eat whenever he feels like it.

I'm trying to finish where I'm at and get heading home early in the morning. This stinks, I leave for Taiwan Thursday for 2 weeks and will have to leave my wife to deal with this.

Boy, do I feel like crap.

 

[Jstpssng]

I am sorry to hear this. They are part of the family, and it's hard when you can't do anything to help them.

 

[dodge man]

It’s very easy to get attached to your pets. We put a cat down a little over a year ago and I got pretty choked up as did the wife. I’m hoping he pulls through for you.

 

[MoKelly]

I’m also very sorry to hear. We lost our dog 16 months ago and it’s still painful. Lots of things remind you of the fun you had with your dog.

I hope things change for the better.

 

[Pixguy]

Sorry gsganzer, try to appreciate him while you can and do what he enjoys in life. I'm trying to do the same as we spend next week with our girl in radiation treatment. Best to you both.

 

[gsganzer]

Just got back from the vet to have his bloodwork checked again. He made a 9 point gain on his platelets, on a normal scale of 148- 484 he's 54. It was 45, 2 days ago. At least it's going in the right direction.

The plan is to continue with the prednisone and add some iron to his diet too, and they'll check the blood again in 2 weeks. If for any reason he looks worse, then an immediate return to the vet.