new from europe (arthritis and vetoryl?) - Ian, Flynn and Enya have passed

we are in the plus temperatures [no frost] and dry, so we can walk.
do you have a lot of snow and frost?
this is the second winter in a row in nl. which looks more like spring.........

We had snow most of the day and the wind is blowing pretty fierce.

I'm not sure how Koko will go out tomorrow as the temperature will continue to drop through the night. Up until this weekend, our weather was not as severe as last year.

I hope your weather stays good for you and the pups.

i hope this winter will not be as severe as last year for you too.
is it too cold to let koko out in the snow for p and p?
if she really has to go she will won't she?
hope the weather will improve soon so you can walk koko again.

ian is slowly drinking more the last 3 a 4 weeks. i found a puddle of pee twice. otherwise he is doing fine.
today after our afternoon walk along the riverside he got sick. before he was acting normal.
after a normal poo he pooped small amounts of mostard poo, yellow/orangish.
7.30 pm he started to vomit.
luckily we do have a 24/7 vet practice, so i made an appointment at 8pm.
the vet palpated his belly, but no signs of pain and everything felt well he said. gums ok. no signs of an uti.
little fever, but he is very stressed at the vets.
got a shot of cerenia and loperamide because of the cramps.
he is very restless still, drinks a lot, wanting to pee every hour, lying on his belly, not on his side what he normally does. not relaxed although he is very tired.
his sister got a snack and he wanted one too and ate it.
he will be 14 next wednesday.
i hope he is feeling better soon.

Oh Iris. That must be very worrying. :(.

No uti but glucose okay? Kidneys?

He hadn't been acting off at all before the walk today other than drinking more and peeing more?

What did the vet think was going on?

Hope he is better soon.
Hugs

Oh, I'm so sorry to see that Ian isn't well. I really hope that it's nothing serious. Could it be something that he's eaten whilst on the walk?
It's a good sign that he wanted to eat. I'll be thinking about all of you and hope he's feeling better soon.

Prayers rising for Ian and you, sweetie. Let us know how he's doing! Had to take Redd in yesterday for the same problem - explosive butt syndrome! His wasn't orange, tho - just LOTS and OFTEN! :eek: So here's to our boys feeling much better today!

Keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers. Hoping that Ian is feeling like his ole self real soon.

Hugs, Lori

ian is feeling better today, no poops, but drinking a lot and peeing a lot. he never eats anything filthy [his sister does though]
he was drinking more lately and it looks like the cushing symptoms are coming back. he even eats his pills all the time.
he is still on a very low dosage 20 mg vetoryl for a 14a15 kg dog [+ - 30 pounds], so i am going to up it gradually.
blood work when he is better.
the vet wasn't worried, because the vital signs were ok. and his belly or kidney area felt good, no pain.
he is very fit for his age, looks good, no weight loss, strong heartbeat.
he is a very experienced all animal vet. [10 minute drive] he knows what i want and don't want. there is also a female vet and a regular female locum vet. i do like them all. no nonsense country vets.
and a veteranary uni at 25 km [15 miles]. [advantage of living in a small country.]
so i hope he can invite you all for his 14th birthday party march 4.
@leslie, i hope redd is feeling better too.

Glad to hear Ian is feeling better! Redd seems to be tho he's still having a little bit of an issue. Nothing like before thankfully! ;)

So pleased to hear that Ian is feeling better today, and I hope he continues to improve so Henry and I can join his virtual 14th birthday celebrations :)

So sorry to hear about Redd tho Leslie - I really hope he's feeling much better tomorrow.

ian is doing ok. still drinking more and wanting to go out every 3 hours or so.
he was very hyper after his vet visit. lots of stress and cortisol rising , he was like molly muffin after an acth test...............
day 2 on 30 mg of vetoryl, drinking less, but still more than a month ago.
@sharlene, is molly drinking more those 48 hours after the test?

Iris, molly is everything more after the ACTH. More water, more food begging, more hyper, more, more more.

She usually calms down after 48 hours or so.

Give it some time on the 30mg of vetroyl. It can go down for even an month on an increased dose..

well ian was the same, i have never seen him like this before.
i think his cortisol was already rising the last few weeks, and the stressfull vet visit did the rest.
it is now 48 hours later and he slept a lot today.
i know now what you are going through with molly.......i am tired too.

Bless your heart. I hope you and Ian both can get some rest today. His digestive system settled down? Redd is doing better but is convinced he is starving with his smaller meals the last few days! :D

his digestive system was ok the next day, but he is still drinking a lot of water and wanting to go out every 2-4 hours. not normal for him.
pee in the house every morning...............
but he is doing fine otherwise...?????? weird.
@redd, i will send you a big steak for ian's birthday!

Hoping that the water intake will decrease and the peeing in the house subside as he gets back to some sort of normal.

hugs

i hope so too. i will give it some more days and then back for blood work. maybe kidneys, but he is not loosing weight or showing any other symptom but drinking a lot.
he isn't showing any signs of an uti. he never had one. no dementia at all.
just the drinking part.

in 53 minutes [europe] ian will be 14 years old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
he was born in my hands, so i know him from day one!
hopefully he will go on for a long time!
happy birthday ian!
iris, sister enya, and cat bagheera.

Awww, Happy 14th Birthday Ian

I hope you are around for a very long time to come too. :)

How precious to have known him since his birth and to enjoy the time with him.

hugs

Happy 14th Birthday to Ian from Henry and me. I hope you all have a lovely day and that his health improves.

Happy 14th Birthday, Ian!

thank you, he was spoiled with a lot of treats and a bowl of tripe.
[and he was very nice the last 3 days to NOT pee in the house during the night/morning.]

Happy Birthday, sweet Ian!!!

thank you!

How are you and the dogs doing? Must be nice weather there now and can have a lot of long walks. Hopefully not too hot, remember last year was a bit warm.

hi sharlene, the weather is nice but very dry and we had a few hot days already. last year was very dry too.
no more really long walks anymore this time of the year. hoping for a cool summer with enough rain.
we walk for an hour during lunchtime, but no long distances anymore.
we went to the beach last sunday for 2 hours with a rest in the dunes halfway, but i try to walk on the wet sand close to the water so it is easier to do for the golden oldies.
ian is still drinking and peeing a lot even after increasing the vetoryl -with babysteps -from 20-30 mg. but otherwise doing fine.
enya is doing fine too, still a pot belly, and a few minor changes, but the cushing's??isn't progressing. turned 13 may 2.
today we made our yearly trip to one of their brothers. it is a very long drive, but it can be for the last time considering their age.
went to a lake with 6 dogs in total, so the siblings are out........
waiting for the pictures in the mail from our visit.
hope you and molly are doing fine too.

A belated Happy Birthday to Enya, and pleased to hear that they're doing OK and enjoyed their visit with their siblings.

It's started warming up here too so Henry and I are counting down to next Winter - neither of us likes the heat and I had to pull 10 ticks off him after a 20 minute walk yesterday :(

Ugh I heard ticks are suppose to bad here this year. That sure is also to pull off from one walk!

I'm following here, and have a question about giving my dog her capsule. I am putting it in her food. I am not sure if she has chewed it or it goes down smoothly with her bite of food. Do most of you put the cap directly into the pups mouth? Thank you.

@ mc davis...10 ticks....you won the jackpot! nice pic of him in the car.
do you use anything like a flea/tick collar or drops? i found some too on my dogs already.
we don't like summer too. 17c today and windy, we like it that way!
in this temp. we can still do our midday walks.
we do more short walks in between cause ian needs to go outside more to pee.

@sblackmon47; my dogs are not easy to pill, so i always try to hide them in something extra yummie like wet cat food or cream cheese or peanut butter.
when they accidently bite the capsule they immediately spit it out.
just don't throw it in their bowl, but feed it seperately before you give the rest of the food. make it a small bite, so they swallow it without chewing. followed by something extra yummie to reward them.
good luck.

update on ian; we are having awful high temperatures again. last saturday it was 36C=100+F. ian went outside to pee and got a seizure in the sun for 30 seconds. walking wobbly afterwards and feeling off. he never had one in his life. he is 14 1/2 now.
cush dogs do not well in the heat and ian has a very hard time during those heat waves.
our country used to be cool and wet, but not anymore due to climate changes. we had 2 cooler days and some rain, but as of tomorrow it will be hot again.
i don't have airco-hardly anyone in this country has-and i hope the doggies [and i] will survive. and it is only the beginning of july.
i am not a summer person at all!!!!!!!!!
i used to take them to the beach every sunday when it was cooler, but not anymore. way too hot!
because of the heat stress he is only taking 20 mg of vetoryl, 30 mg is making him lethargic right now. so drinking and peeing a lot.
we want snow ha, ha! his sister enya [13] is still the same; pot belly, a few mild symptoms, but no progression into full blown cushing's.
going for a walk in the dark right now, and after that, off to bed.

I hope Ian is ok and no more seizures! The heat is miserable here, too, and the humidity makes it feel even hotter than it really is most days. I am not a summer person either, getting physically ill in the sun. I wish I liked beaches, camping, and all the fun summer activities but I simply cannot participate. Walking thru a tourist town shopping in the summer is not fun for me - it is torture. ;)

Let us know how Ian is doing as you can! And stay cool! Do you have a kiddie pool, a small stiff plastic pool that is about 8-10" deep? You might put some water in that while the pool is in the shade to let Ian and Enya cool off. A cool wet rag on the belly can help them cool when they get too hot. ;)

So sorry to hear about Ian. I hope he doesn't have any more seizures.

I absolutely hate the heat so I'm with you in counting down to winter / snow. I spend most of the summer hibernating somewhere cool and complaining about the horrible heat ;)

Our a/c failed a few weeks ago and we had fans everywhere - we put a bowl of cold water behind them to get a cooling mist. If you have multiple levels put a fan on the lower floor directed to blow the cooler air upstairs. We kept the curtains drawn to keep the rooms cooler, and we draped cold damp towels on Henry and gave him ice cubes. When outside we didn't let him walk on any hard surfaces.

thank you, 2 fellow "'i do not like summer"' persons.
i do the same for myself and the dogs to try to stay cool.
it was cooler and we even had some rain for 2 days, but today and tomorrow will be hot again. next week it will be cooler the weatherman promised us.
i am a natural red head, so summer sun is my enemy.
i hope the 2 of you and your dogs will survive this summer.
going to walk the dogs in the dark. it is 1;08 am over here.
good night everyone.

last friday afternoon ian got sick suddenly. blood work showed very high liver numbers. the chem machine couldn't even measure the alkaline fosfatase. nothing helped, no medicine, nothing!
he was so miserable today that i went to the vet to put him down.
a week ago he still walked along the river and now he is gone.
he and his little sister were never a day apart, they were very close and now she is confused and upset.
this is the second dog i lost to the dreadful cushing's disease.
he was 14 1/2 years old.

Oh no!!! I am so very sorry for your loss.:o Yes, this disease sucks! :o

Fly free Ian, fly free!

I'm so sorry to learn of Ian's passing -- please give yourself and Enya gentle hugs!

I'm so very, very sorry to hear about Ian. Poor Enya must be so confused - my thoughts are with you both.

Dear Iris,

There are no words this morning, just tears that join yours and Enya's. I know how hard you fought for both these boys, how much of yourself you gave them every single day....and so do they. Ian knows how many sleepless nights you have spent worrying about his medicine and tests on top of everything else; he knows the lengths you went to in order to make sure he had what he needed, even when your own needs weren't met. Flynn, Ian, and Eyna simply could not have a better mom.

My thoughts and prayers are with you in deepest sympathies,
Leslie, Trinket, Brick, Sophie, Fox, Redd, and all our Angels

FROM FRIEND TO FRIEND ♥

You're giving me a special gift,
So sorrowfully endowed,
And through these last few cherished days,
Your courage makes me proud.

But really, love is knowing
When your best friend is in pain,
And understanding earthly acts
Will only be in vain.

So looking deep into your eyes,
Beyond, into your soul,
I see in you the magic, that will
Once more make me whole.

The strength that you possess,
Is why I look to you today,
To do this thing that must be done,
For it's the only way.

That strength is why I've followed you,
And chose you as my friend,
And why I've loved you all these years...
My partner 'til the end.

Please, understand just what this gift,
You're giving, means to me,
It gives me back the strength I've lost,
And all my dignity.

You take a stand on my behalf,
For that is what friends do.
And know that what you do is right,
For I believe it too.

So one last time, I breathe your scent,
And through your hand I feel,
The courage that's within you,
To now grant me this appeal.

Cut the leash that holds me here,
Dear friend, and let me run,
Once more a strong and steady dog,
My pain and struggle done.

And don't despair my passing,
For I won't be far away,
Forever here, within your heart,
And memory I'll stay.

I'll be there watching over you,
Your ever faithful friend,
And in your memories I'll run,
...a young dog once again.

― In Memory of Asta, Feb. 1997 ♥
by Karen Clouston