PD's Health, again

[Wandering Man]

Yesterday our 8 year-old tweenie started acting a little lethargic, but then he perked up later in the afternoon.

He often walks with a little bit of a hunch in his back, but this morning he was really humped up. He'd take a few steps, and then straighten out again, but he wasn't really active.

His 2 year-old minnie brother seemed to know something wasn't right, and he was taking advantage of PD, jumping on him, darting in and out to the point I had to call Henry off of him.

When he laid down, PD would stretch himself out fully, like he does when he has a tummy ache.

With the weekend coming on, I decided I better get him to the vet to check things out. We almost lost him two months ago because we treated him for back pain instead of the pancreatits that he had.

The doc did a urine sample, and found blood and white cells. It looks like he's got a bladder infection. Coming off of his pancreatitis so soon, we're a little scared.

He's on antibiotics, double the dose for two weeks.

I mentioned that we had switched him from Purina recently to Blue Buffalo, but were still giving him the Purina senior food once a day, and wondered if there might be something in the Purina causing problems for PD.

I was suprised by his answer: Purina has been the one that has done the research over the decades, and are the ones who know what they are doing. Nothing against Blue Buffalo, but he was concerned about the source of the ingredients of some of the new-comer dog foods. He reminded me of the recall of certain brands a while back, and added that he would not be feeding any "off brand" dog food or treats that contained chicken right now, given the problems they are having with contaminated chicken from China.

Just thought I'd pass it on.

In the meantime, we will continue to watch PD and keep him on the antibiotics.

 

[Doxmom]

So sorry to hear of PD's troubles. The sad side of having pets that are family members. It sounds like you are doing everything possible.

I'm very wary of any dog products from China. We are feeding Bree Natural Balance and the refrigerated roll - Pet Select.

Hope the little guy gets better quickly..

 

[DeafDogs]

Poor PD! I hope he gets better quickly!

I would not let my dogs within 10 feet of Purina, no would I feed Blue Buffalo.

Vets dont know alot about nutrition, so I wouldn't be taking their advice!!!

You need to feed a diet high in QUALITY MEAT PROTEIN (not veggie protein), Low-ish in fat and high-ish in fiber. Here's an article from the Whole Dog Journal that you might want to read

Healthy Low-Fat Diets For Dogs With Special Dietary Needs - Whole Dog Journal Article

 

[Wandering Man]

Interesting article. Lots to digest. Thanks for posting that.

I read with special interest the few sentences regarding rawhide chews. We have used rawhide chews for a couple of years as a quiet time activity in the evenings.

We wanted something to help clean their teeth. The dogs sit in our laps while we hold the rawhides, for about 15 minutes a night.

The rawhide chews is really the only thing I can think of that may have triggered the pancreatitis. Our dogs rarely get people food, and we usually give kibble for training treats.

 

[Doxmom]

How's the Little Guy doing these days, Wandering Man??

 

[Wandering Man]

He's better. He's still taking his antibiotics, and they seem to be helping. I think he has high energy and low energy times, though.

I'll often catch Frank lunging at him, trying to engage him in chase me, and PD will just kind of sit and push back. Not much chasing going on. And PD has let Frank take control of one of his toys that used to be off limits.

I think all of these health problems have aged PD a bit. He's 8 years old and his face has gone totally white.

But he still does his "supper dance" when I reach for the food dishes.

Thanks for asking.