Jasper (12 yr old Mini Schnauzer) is now at peace

Hi Sharlene! Yes, I am thinking about that too. My kitchen is pretty open, one side of it would be tough to barricade, but I might be able to do it. I still have some of those disposable pee pads from when Shelby wasn't house trained yet that I could put in the kitchen. I don't know if he would use them or not.

I just need to think about this, and what would cause him the least stress. I have never left him in the kitchen before, so that would be something new, and I am concerned he would be anxious about it. He is very into his routines, and gets pretty anxious with any deviation. But I would feel better if he had more room in case he does need to pee.

Hugs,

Tina

Hi Tina,

They make water bowls especially for crates that hook onto the wires so the bowl is not on the floor of the crate where it can be knocked over and spilled. I have bought them at PetCo in the past.

Hugs
Leslie and the gang

Also, as an extension to Sharlene's suggestion, here's something we've done in the past when toilet-training puppies. Our house is mostly fully carpeted and the kitchen hard to barricade. When we wanted to leave the crate right where it is in the family room, we bought a big plastic tarp and an exercise pen. We put the tarp down on the carpet with the crate on top and the pen surrounding it. That way, there was room for a water bowl and pee pads outside the crate. When we were away from home, we left the crate door open so the puppy could go inside to sleep and rest, but the puppy was not forced to soil the inside of the crate. If the water bowl spilled or the pee pads failed, it was not a disaster because the tarp protected the carpet.

I know this set-up was too involved for you to get into last night. But it is just a thought if you have to make longer term arangements to keep Jasper comfortable. I agree with Kim, he's got me scratching my head as far as what is really going on with him and the Lysodren. It is definitely a puzzle...:confused:

Marianne

Great suggestions everyone. I came home for lunch to check on Jasper and let him out. I can view the forum but can't post from work. I decided to try his crate with a bowl of water. He definitely drank some while he was in there this morning, he has drank a little more than 3 cups so far today (which is about his whole day's allowance), but I would say over half of that was before I left for work. The crate was dry, but because he was holding it. He peed for over 45 seconds when I let him out, that is so long. :(

I believe he drank around 8 cups of water yesterday, which would be about 64 oz. Yikes, that is a lot! I am trying to get an exact amt of intake for this 24 hr period, so far have kept Shelby to her own water bowl.

He ate breakfast with coaxing, but did finish. As far as energy he seems about the same as yesterday. Not great yet, but better than the weekend.

Back to work, will check in later. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the support here, thank you all so much for your kindness.

Love and hugs,

Tina and Jasper

Well, it was a struggle to get Jasper to eat tonight, even with coaxing. He just seems uninterested in the food, and everything else for that matter. He will sniff at it, maybe eat a couple of bites and then walk away. I finally just got him to eat most of it by hand feeding a little while ago, but even that was touch and go. So frustrating. I feel kind of like we are back at square one, before we ever started the Lysodren, except his appetite and energy were good then.

I keep looking at him trying to figure out what is wrong, what could be going on with him. He is nowhere near himself and it makes me so sad and worried. I keep racking my brain trying to figure out why he is drinking and peeing so much with the prednisone, but his appetite and energy are so poor. He looks at me frequently like he is trying to tell me what is wrong but I can't figure it out.

I am trying to be positive, but I am feeling discouraged, and very worried about my little boy. Maybe I am just tired after all the stress when he was so sick over the weekend. I will be talking to my vet tomorrow, hopefully she will have some insight.

Tina

I hope your vet will have some insight too. I know you are stressed out and I am sure Jasper is stressed too. There doesn't seem to be any reason why his appetite wouldn't return, but you just never know, as any dog can react to medicine in a strange way. Some definitely go off food it seems. Are there any special things that he likes that maybe would entice him to eat? What about some chicken or something of that nature?

Hugs,
Sharlene

Tina, after going so very low on his cortisol, I wonder if Jasper could possibly need even more prednisone than he is currently getting. Although it does not occur as commonly, dogs who are Addisonian can also drink/pee excessively just as do dogs with Cushing's. And all the rest of Jasper's symptoms right now defintely still sound Addisonian to me.

Do you know if your vet is planning to do some more bloodwork today? I know you probably hate for Jasper to get poked again, but it might be a good idea to double-check his electrolytes. And if not another ACTH, even a resting cortisol reading might help indicate whether or not his level has rebounded to a more normal point on this current dose of prednisone.

Marianne

Hi Marianne, thanks for your comments and suggestions. No blood work is planned for today. I have not talked to my vet since I picked up Jasper from the hospital on Sunday, so she has not been updated as to how he is currently. Maybe she will suggest that I bring him in today for more labwork, I don't know. I will ask about the prednisone dose, and checking the electrolytes or resting cortisol. She initially prescribed that he take the prednisone 2.5 mg for 3 more days, that ended last evening, which would correspond to probable follow up today since she is in the clinic today. I am scared to stop it at this point, even with how much he is drinking and peeing. I left a message last evening for her to call me today, though I imagine that is on her list for follow up today.

This morning he would not eat anything on his own, I got him to eat only about half his breakfast by hand feeding and that took a long time. That is only about 1/4 cup. I can't get him to eat the rest. He drank a grand total of 9 cups of water in yesterday's 24 hr period, 72 oz. Energy is still low. I will see what I find out today. Thanks so much for your support, I am very worried. And now I have to head in to work. I really don't want to leave him.

Tina

Given your description of Jasper's behavior, I agree that it is imperative that you get additional prednisone on hand, even if in only the dose that you are currently giving him. I would be very afraid of stopping the prednisone at this point. So if you do not hear back from the vet in a timely fashion, I really do think you need to call back and insist on an extension of the prednisone until he can be thoroughly re-evaluated. What I had meant to say above (but probably was not clear about), is that I wonder if he might need even a higher dosage than he is currently getting. But even a continuation of what he's getting now would be better than nothing.

Marianne

Tina, I think Marianne is spot on. Prednisone is inexpensive and there is no reason for the vet not to give you a refill that includes many weeks worth of doses. I'm sure as soon as the vet knows what you have shared here that they will agree. Keep us posted. Hugs, Kim