Molly, 13 yr, shih tzu - lhasa aspo - Molly has passed

Patti, I just hope that this specialist Can provide some answers. In our area, it is the best place I know of to go to. I have Never heard a harsh word to any staff member or patient in the years we've been going there. Everyone down to the janitors are animal lovers. It is just the feel you get when you walk in that door and gosh, I've been there at midnight and 1am and I've been there in the middle of the day, it's always the same care. So, I am really hoping that they can figure Keesh out. Otherwise I'm at a loss of what to do going forward.

So just as I think Molly's poops have firmed up and are normal again, we're back to the runs on this morning's walk. I feel so bad for her, and know it makes her feel bad to have a poopy bum.
Her ear seems to be bothering her a bit yesterday too. I washed the flap and hoping there isn't anything starting up there again.

We'll just see how it goes. She will be staying over night at the vets next weekend, just one night, but I'm dreading it already. I wish I could find a good pet sitter, but I just don't trust them after having a bad experience with one where molly got kennel cough and almost died, and developed a real fear aggression to other dogs that she didn't use to have nearly bad as she has now. That experience made me real nervous about having other people keep her. Gosh and that was many years ago.

Well, onward and upward as the saying goes. :)

hugs all
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Oh no...what's this Molly's back to a bit of the runs, and a bothersome ear too. I'm sorry..ugh...it just never ends with our pups not to mention the worry it causes us.
The pet sitting can be such an issue can't it!? I have a woman who takes Trixie in her apt. but it's been awhile since Trixie has stayed with her and now if she goes there it will involve medication. All a control freaks nightmare!! The control freak would be me!
Well at least Molly's stay next weekend is just one overnight and she's used to it there.
Can she eat sticky white rice...that works great for Trixie..I add more water than called for so it's sticky enough to make little rice balls. Binds things up really well.
Hope Molly is feeling better quickly...both bum and ear!! :p

Barbara

I might do something different for her dinner tonight. She isn't particularly interested in her regular food right now anyhow. So maybe some rice with some chicken breast or something, have to see what is at the store (if they have the stuff without the sodium to plump it up)

Her ear looked a bit better today after I cleaned it out last night. If it starts to look red, I have some medicine that she can have for it. Maybe can catch it early this time if it does become an infection.

So you'll be at your moms sunday and monday this week. Have a great time tonight and tomorrow. :)

I'm in planning mode here for a party next weekend, so things are a bit hectic running around here and there. Have a contractor out tomorrow morning to do some measuring. Molly is not a fan of strange workers being around.

Yea, having that many people in the house would drive molly nuts, so she'll stay at the vet over night and I'll be there to pick her up as soon as they open.

have a good weekend!
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Hi Sharlene

Yay long weekend for you!! Sounds like you have had a busy week so hopefully you now get some time to relax for a couple of days! :)

Gosh it can take a while for that stress colitis to fully settle, I think if were not all crazy poop patrollers we probably would not notice it! I still check every one so we get pretty in tune with our doggies tummy issues :eek::D Hopefully its another one-off and she continues marching on!!

Fed-ex her down to NZ, I am pretty sure Flynny and me would take excellent care of her while you are away :D:D xxxx

Hi Sharlene... here you are helping me and now Molly is having some issues.

Let me know how her ears and poop are today. I noticed lately I can't give Keesh any treats that are yellow/orange in colour, he has orange coloured loose poo every time. Got to stick with beggin strips or something of that nature.

You didn't mention just exactly what that party next weekend is for on the forum, and I won't say anything, but it's a big deal.

You should have a blast, I know I did.

Ahh, the party. :) Yes, well, turns out I am turning 50. Which I find a bit unbelievable, since I'm sure that I'm 34, but there you have it. My sister thought it was a real laugh to have a big party to celebrate that!

We had more bum cleaning here this morning. :( Her ear seems to be looking better though, but I'll keep an eye on it, just in case. A bit worried about her not drinking enough water (isn't that a crazy thing to hear on a cushing forum LOL) but her water intake has been down, so her pee stops aren't as many, and since she isn't a big water drinker... I'm going to have to keep an eye on her for stone development.

Oh well, it's a lovely day now that the clouds have gone away. Might get rain later, but I'm going to be busy inside clearing stuff out so we'll be able to stuff all the people in if it ends up raining next weekend. :) Hopefully it won't! Also I might be a bit sparse in my posting until this is over, lots going on this week and next weekend. :)

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Think I'll move to your area. No sun here and doesn't look like there will be for quite awhile.

Sorry about her bum.. poor wee thing. Sure hope she starts drinking a little more. Geez, one thing then another eh?

:D So you're joining the ranks of us 50 somethings....woohoo. I know what you mean...my clock stopped somewhere around 35-36 too! How could I possibly be older than that!?? :confused:
Good for your sister to make a party of it. You'll have a blast...it will be all about you!!
I hope Molly's gastro disturbance clears up soon. The ear looking better is good news though! Not enough drinking...hmmmm...I cannot remember what that's like! :rolleyes: I hope Molly will stay hydrated today...not sure how to force liquid...ice cube licking maybe?
Enjoy your sunny day. We're overcast, humid, chance of storms--same for the next few days. I'm ready for Fall.
Have fun prepping for the party...if we don't hear from you too much we'll know you're getting ready for the party of the year! :D :D

Barbara

What a difference a few miles make eh Judi.

No really Barbara, my sister, thought that it was a joke to celebrate turning 50, she's 67.

My husband is the one who is doing the party for me. Once I agreed to it, he has gone all out. Today he is making music lists and setting it up on the ipod that will be connected to some stereo thing that he has and that will go outside by the pool/deck area. He's quite the little party planner, dealing with catering and the whole works, since he said he doesn't want me to do anything but have fun for one night. (talk about giving over control, it's semi freaking me out, but on the other hand I sort of love it too).

Amazon.ca finally has potassium citrate. When Glynda and Lori, first mentioned using the powder in the food, I tried to find it in powder form and couldn't and Amazon.ca didn't carry it. Amazon.com carried it, but wouldn't ship it to Canada. Frustrating! Now that I see amazon.ca had it, I'm going to order and see what I can do about diet for molly. I've been supplementing the SO food because it doesn't have enough protein in it, so now I want to look at a complete diet change.

fun times!
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Keesh is threatening to crash it....

Sending hugs and prayers that Little Molly feels better soon, and welcome to the 50's!!!

Sharlene:
Hope you have a wonderful birthday, and that Molly is soon feeling better. Don't worry about the fifties, they are a breeze, compared to the 60's. Blessings
Patti

Heck I'll crash the party too:p:p:p Sounds like a great time.

I hope you had a blast and Molly feels better soon. Must be the time of year for bad poos. Whenever I give Koko his heartwrom medicine he does not feel good for a few days then his poos are off for a week or so. Nothing bad, just off and his usually are not.

Happy Birthday

Good morning,

So question for those of you who have dealt with colitis. Molly has had the runs except for 2 morning poops on Monday and Tuesday, the rest has all been runny or not firmed. So, rather than just do a switch diet, I changed her treats back to what they should be (we had run out and I had given her a natural local made treat, with cinnamon in it) she had a walk at 9:45pm last night, then she had poop and pee accident in the house last night. Hubby found and cleaned up and said it was at least semi firm. I took her out for a walk around 9am, and she acts like she feels fine, but she had a bit of dirrhea and I noticed at the end, two drops of blood dripped afterwards.
I am wondering if the colitis would have caused enough irritation to bowel/rectum to have caused that. Hubby said there was no blood in the poop this morning, which was at the stairs, she obviously tried to make it down to the door and didn't, nor did she appear to have had time to wake us up. Poor thing. :(
For breakfast I just gave her a bit of the canned SO food and her liver supplement, as I didn't want to overdo her digestive system.

Like I said she doesn't act like she feels bad, having a good walk this morning (she doesn't go far, just a short jaunt) but she did express interest in everything around her, barked at someone on a morning run, and bounced in the front door and headed for kitchen. I'm thinking maybe this is an irritation from the diarrhea.

Hugs, Sharlene and Molly Muffin

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHARLENE!:):p:D Leave it to Molly to have these bouts right it's your birthday! Kids will do it to you every time.;)

Regarding the colitis, anything can set up it off, particularly if she's had it before. The colon becomes hyper sensitive and even something as small as changing a treat can set off a round of colitis.:o At least she seems to be feeling well through it all. Maybe she just wanted to leave your hubby a present this morning.:eek: They are so thoughtful that way.;):D

Happy Birthday, Sharlene!

When Trink was at her worst, the Baytril and SEB worked best for her. Stress sets hers off as do changes in her diet at times - but not always. She does seem to have an allergy to turkey because the least little bit of that and she flares pretty badly. She hasn't had to have anything other than the SEB for some time now, tho. Anytime I see a tail or a shine on her poop, she gets a little dose and she's fine. At her worst, I would withhold food for a while, giving dark Karo syrup in the SEB to help keep her blood sugars up.

I hope this is just a reaction to being boarded and away from her mom, and that she will settle down very soon.

I am more worried about the drops of blood. As I think I can get the colitis bout (which is what I hope it is, as that is better than a bacterial infection) under control. Can the diarrhea cause some blood to show up? It wasn't in the accident in the house, but that was definitely blood drops at the end of the diarrhea outside later.

Of course I worry more as next saturday she will be in the kennel at the vets over night as we'll have too many people in the house for the party and she wouldn't be comfortable with that at all. It's a bad choice either way. :(

I am going to see if I can find some slipper elm bark powder while I am out shopping today. If so I will make some tea for her.

I think I might also order some fortiflora to have here at the house for these things too.

Thanks for the suggtions.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

The presence of blood is one of the signs of Colitis, according to Doc. That was when I panicked with Trink a few years ago - she had had diarrhea then suddenly was shooting pure, bright red blood instead of feces. :eek::eek::eek: The odor was distinctive as well - the blood gives it almost a decomp smell that is unmistakeable to me even when I cannot see the blood with my naked eye.

I think I would have the vet check her out to be sure this isn't something else just to be sure, but blood is part and parcel of Colitis to my understanding.

Okay, that is what I was thinking too Leslie. The vet isn't open till Tuesday due to the long weekend. Of course. Holidays seem to when thing pop up for some reason. I'm going to keep an eye on it. Hubby was definite there was none in the accident over night. I'm going to try to find some SEB today. Cross fingers I'll be able to.

Thanks so much!
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Thread hijack:D.....

Leslie - How much does Trinket weigh and how much SEB do you give her? Also how often? Do you use the long brew method to make the tea? Do you syringe it in with the Karo syrup, or does she lap it up? I am trying to figure out the dosage for Rosie. She weighs 5.3 pounds. Thanks!

Sorry Birthday girl!;):D

So I found SEB powder and bought 50 grams. The lady said to mix 1 teaspoon in a cup of water. How much of that would I give Molly mixed in with some wet food for dinner? Molly weighs 18.6 lbs.

Sharlene

No problem Kathy. I am trying to figure out the same thing. LOL
Sharlene

Happy Birthday, Sharlene!!

So sorry to hear that our sweet Molly is having issues and I do hope she will be much better soon.

SEB info:

Quote:

---

To give internally, mix about 1/4 teaspoon of Slippery Elm bark powder with cold water for every 10 pounds of body weight. For very small dogs, it is fine to use the same 1/4 teaspoon dose.

---

Link: http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/slippery-elm/

Love and hugs, Lori

I can tell you how I do it for Trink -

I don't usually boil water, I use hot tap water - about 1/2 cup water to 1/8 - 1/4 tsp of powder unless her diarrhea is bad. The worse the stool, the thicker the end result. When she was so bad at the beginning, I would make it very thick, like a gummy paste and she would usually eat it off her plate. As she improved, I thinned the mix til it was just basically colored water. She hasn't needed the thick paste since those first few months and typically a thin gruel will work in one or two doses. It's thin enough to easily syringe.

If you prefer a more "scientific" approach, here are the links I used when I first started making this for her -

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?

http://www.holvet.net/slippery_soup.html

Remember to give this 2 hours either side of all other meds, herbs, etc. as it can interfere with absorption. Some sources say 1 hour separating it but I am more comfortable with 2 hours if at all possible.

Also, watch for worsening of the diarrhea as SEB can work as a laxative.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Harley PoMMom

Happy Birthday, Sharlene!!

---

I second this!

okay gave her the SEB She ate it with some chicken. At first I tried it very liquid and she wouldnt touch it. Then made about 3/4 cup very jelly like put the chicken in it and a bit by itself on the side. She ate every bit then went and finished her kibbles from morning. Her apetite is fine and I hope this does the trick with the runs.
Cross fingers for an accident free night and solid poop in morning

Thanks for the help everyone.
hugs
sharlene and molly muffin

Hi Sharlene. Hoping to hear that Molly's poops are back to normal this morning. Fingers crossed for you.

Last night was a bit more of a mess, with diarrhea, bit of blood (try seeing that at midnight under a street light!) around midnight. I took her out late, hoping it would help her make it through the night. (it did) and then this morning when we went for a morning walk, the stool was soft but had a form, so that is good and No blood. I also didn't give her a glucosamine prior to her going to bed like normally I would either.

I gave her more SEB with some wet food and less than a hand full of kibbles mixed in and she ate it up.
I forgot about the not being able to give medicine with it though and had given her liver supplement prior to the SEB. It's been 3 hours and she is back at her bowl looking for something to eat. I didn't give her anything though, I am doing small meals through out the day, so as not to mess with her digestive system too much. We'll see how the poops today go for her.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Hoping she is feeling better today... and wishing you a belated ....

:):):)Happy Birthday :):):)

What were you doing up at midnight??? Pray tell !! Nighthawk eh?

Maybe it's a sign that things will settle down, and good idea about small meals.

I'll be waiting to see how today goes.

Poop with some form and NO blood!! YAAAAA!!! :)

Loving hugs being sent to you and sweet Molly, Lori

Thanks John, it's not belated yet. :D 6 Sept :)

You guys are all great. Thanks for the lovely birthday wishes.

Judi, midnight isn't all that rare for me. I try for earlier on work nights, but you never know. :)
Plus till Molly is settled the later the better.

Hugs all,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Lori... I spit out my coffee laughing at that remark.

It's not funny, it was just the way I read (interpreted) it at the time.

Way to go little Molly... make your Momma proud.

Yes, it's hard to sleep anyway when our babies are quite right.;) I hope everything firms up real quickly.

Ah Sharlene, we are both Virgos. I can see that!;) xxxxx

Sharlene:
It would seem to outsiders reading these posts all we talk about is poop!! I sure hope Molly gets straightened out soon. I know that is a worry and no fun for her, but at least she has form!! So we are giving her points for the form. God Bless you Both Patti

You're right Patti, it probably does seem like that is our main topic of conversation and here I am to continue it. :D

She just went to the door and had to go outside, we're back to full blown mucus dirrahea and blood at the end. :(

This was just after she had a bit more dry food and her glucosomine treat, within about 1/2 an hour.

She doesn't Feel bad, she came in the house, got her bum washed and then ran laps around the living room, got a drink of water and back to lay down and take a nap.

What the heck. I cannot get this figured out. Off to make up some sticky rice and take some chicken out of freezer and hope she tolerates that.

Will be calling the vet in the morning.

arggghh,
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Okay.. It's time for the poop chart. This was introduced by a friend and admin Jenny a few years ago when Roxee and I were in our cushings battle.

Yes someone did make a chart LOL Memorise it, their will be a test next week :D

http://mcathcart.squarespace.com/sto...tool_chart.pdf

Oh Sharlene, What a bummer! I don't like the sounds of that at all!:o At least she'll feeling okay, but no one likes to get their bum washed!;) It wasn't orange was it? Orange, mucousy stools are a symptom of pancreatitis. If not, it sounds like a bacterial infection to me. Take a stool sample with you when you go. EWWWWWWW picking that up!:eek: Poor Molly, poor Mom. Xxxxx

Gosh Sharlene, I can't miss out on a poop discussion! Darn, I was hoping Molly's poops had settled down. I am glad she doesn't seem to feel bad, but I agree, I think it's time for the bland diet and see if that starts to settle things down. I am wondering if she doesn't need some metronidazole, especially with the mucus and blood. I know that Jasper usually needs meds in order to kick it, along with chicken/hamburger and rice bland diet.

I hope she is tolerating the bland diet and shows some improvement. Poor little girl, hope she feels better soon. Hang in there Sharlene.

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

PS Happy pre Birthday. I will be glad to welcome you into Club 50. :)

PPS Thanks for the poop chart John, where were you when I needed you? LOL :D :D

Ah Sharlene.. I was hoping to hear good news. Hopefully the rice and chicken will help, sure wishing it does. What a bummer - no pun intended.:D

John, where do you get this stuff from? Hate to be the guy that actually did the analysis on that. :eek: