Flynn 11 y/o Foxie Cross - Right adrenalectomy- Good Bye Flynny We will miss you

I keep telling myself if it was something serious it would happen all the time, not come and go like this. His vet asked if I thought it was to do with stress??? I don't think so.

His base food is always the same. Either venison or possum, weekly tripe and Thursday is fish night, he eats some raw and some cooked and loves it. and I mix in some dry. It was natural type biscuits with no grains (ziwi brand). But I thought that made BMs worse after a while so I swapped back to GI, then he got the itch which I thought may have been due to GI so swapped back to ziwi. But diarrhea came back. So he is off that again and back to GI!! Itch pretty much gone, but now diarrhea is back. He will only have it a couple of times real loose, but not to watery stage, then it slowly comes right. He can vomit with it, usually as precursor to the diarrhea. I notice his breath goes bad too, he seems more tired too when he has it. Never goes off his food, has not lost any weight. Though his weight regularly fluctuates half a kilo. Has had this on and off for nearly two years, but more frequent lately. Sometime the motions will have mucous around it, not mixed in, never any blood. Gawd what a gross discussion haha. Be good to speak with vet again and focus on this, we were so excited about his BP and proteinuria settling this kinda got pushed to the back. We have IMS visit in two weeks so can speak with her about it too.

I would be inclined to think it was something in one of those foods. So hard to know what to feed them if they become sensitive

Hoping the vet has some ideas! I am ok with dog poop discussions same cant be said for humans :eek:

I am not so sure about the diet as he had this prior to even going on these foods. We had swapped to this food at recommendation of vet, the meat is natural with no additives and it has a good name here. It is fresh meat frozen in cubes so I just defrost a chunk every day. His preop scan did show this:

The mucosal layer of the duodenum contains a few, linear hyperechogenicities which are perpendicular to the luminal surface. Impression: Duodenal mucosal striations. Lymphangectasia is considered.

Also The gallbladder contains a moderate volume of unorganised echogenic debris, and is located to the left of midline.

Those things were not so much of a worry when we were dealing with the pheo!! Obviously need to look at it more closely now.

Because you mentioned his breath was stinky when he had belly ache I always have found in the past that its related to the food, if I give chicken to Boyce he gets stinky breath and looser poops. As we know all doggies are different.

Wish they could write that stuff in English, will have to google to work out what it means

I must write this report. No more avoiding. Have sweet dreams and I will catch you later

Big hug, bum scratches to Flynny kins

Mel
Xxxxxxx

Yep, bedtime here. Always nice to chat Mel, don't work too hard!! Nighty nite all xx

The probiotics can take a few weeks to kick in and not all work for each dog. They usually recommend giving it 3-4 weeks before trying another. Sometimes you have to play with the dose.

Now Flynny, be a good boy and give Mom a break, no more hiding poos in the bush;)

We always have a challenge when our weather truns nice. Everyone here uses pesticide on their lawns so we have to be so careful with Zoe. That and she has a love of crab apples and our village has crab apple trees planted along all the streets. We dont have sidewalks so Zoe loves to smell and sniff everyone's mail box posts and scour the culverts for crab apples:rolleyes::rolleyes: we are about fifteen minutes north of downtown Milwaukee so we are not really in the country but it sure feels like Little House on the Prairie

Hope his tummy settles down. How are Mum and Dad?

Yep, I reckon Leslie's "Poop Patrol" t-shirts could be a winner! All I can say, if he keeps on getting these weekly runs, teach him to "Present". I always know when Fraser has a bout of the runs as I end up having to clean the carpets again (He likes to "wipe" - yes disgusting but Yay for the Vax/Bissell) so I have taught him to come and "Present" his bum to me. Then he gets a wipe down with some toilet paper, a quick wash and off he goes.

Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks? :D

Hi
He is perky as anything tonight! Formed poop this morning, but covered in mucous. Have been doing a bit of reading on colitis/IBD and his symptoms are somewhat inconsistent, how unsurprising with Flynn :confused:. Vomiting and his general unwellness associated with upper GI problems, but mucous in the stool usually seen with lower GI issues and in that case they do not usually vomit or appear sick. Seems he may have both! Typical, nothing is easy with this boy!

I am going to get another poop spec when he has diarrhea, I am armed with a specimen jar now. Then worm him again. Keep him on the Losec and probiotic and wait for it to settle down, might add fish oil too as that was recommended in a few articles I read tonight. Iit is just weird how it comes and goes so much. He is a stressy dog, tremours etc so maybe that does play a part. Hopefully with BP down now he will be calmer :)

Mel, he had problems with bad breath and I thought it was chicken associated too so he has not had that in ages. Low fat diets are the go, he is on that now with the venison at vet recommendations but that alone has not stopped it.

Had to laugh tonight, when I picked him up at Mum and Dads, they had dinner ready so I had some there too, curried sausages and rice. Dad finished his and went to put the plate down for Flynn to lick... eeek, I leapt up and took it away and Flynn gave me the stink eye for stealing his prize! Got stink eye from Dad too, he always says dogs have a cast iron stomach and can eat anything and he thinks I am mean to the poor little dog!!! Ha, I don't think curry is good for a dog with a troublesome tummy Daddyo!

Anyway, parents seem pretty good Addy, thanks for asking. Dad been out playing in his snooker comp today and Mum had a card game with her club, they do keep themselves busy! We are pretty organic at both houses, Mum won't let Dad spray anything and I don't use it here either. So don't think that too much of a problem. But he is probably exposed to it a little on his walks.

Ewww I do not know about that "present" Naomi, sounds pretty gross haha. So far, I have only had to do a little clean up a couple of times as seems he takes care of it himself! But I am impressed with your dog training skills :D

Right, I am going to be in bed before 11pm tonight, that is 5 mins away :D:D So hope everyone has a good day xxxx

Hey Trish
Thanks for your reply!That cost has my blood boil too!-If it were expensive to begin with,well okay,but to jack up the price to the point where it may be inaccessible to some pups who need it,well,thats just disgusting!!

Ewww...upset stomach and curry is giving me an upset stomach just thinking about it!They mean well of course!Glad he had a good night tonight.I laughed about "present".Very infrequently,Fella would have a llittle bit of poop hanging from his butt.I'd try to reach and just grab it and he would get so pissed,like "DO NOT GO THERE",he would make me laugh,we would have to fight about it,but mom always won!:D.

Have a great sleep and nice talking with you!

Yep, those poop patrol t-shirts would be a winner I bet.

When Molly has the runs, I say Poopy Butt and she knows she has to get it cleaned. That usually means I just pick her up and throw her bum under some warm water and wash it off. Other wise, she'd be scooting to get it off too.
I agree Naomi, those Bissels are life savers with animals!

Hopefully Flynns tummy will calm down. Poor guy, hiding in the bushes for a poop. Life is tough eh. The risk of a vet visit is just too much, so mom can't see. LOL

Have a good day
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Hey Trish,

Just wondering, how much time does Flynn spend at your Parents? Is there a connection to the upset tummy there by any chance? Coz curry would definitely do it, and I'm wondering if your Dad has maybe slipped him some extra tid-bits along they way?

Blinking work prevented me from checking in this morning not impressed

Pleased he seemed to perk up, and better poops too, hopefully you will get to the bottom of it soon (ha ha did you get it) :D

These parents need some training. Lots of stink eye going around last night then :D

I am with you on the present, it's one thing inspecting it, whole different ball game that, I would probably gag for sure!

Hope you have a great day today

Mel
Xxxxxxx

Trish, Zoe never would vomit or lose weight with her colitis which then turned out to be inflammatory bowel disease after she was scoped. Colitis stools can start out good for first stool of the day and get worse throughout the day. Sometimes what we think is mucus can also be fat. All her tests were always normal, never anything in her stool so they always told me "stress colitis" until they finally scoped her two years ago. That stress colitis went on for a few years, she could not eat a lot of foods, sometimes just one piece of kibble would set her off so if Flynn is sneaking stuff at your parents, could be playing into it.

I can count on one hand how many times in six years Zoe has vomited. If she ever starts, I'll know we are in bad trouble.

Trish
I'll have you know I was suffering from Trish withdrawl when I didn't see you this morning!:p.Hope Flynny's tummy is better and poops are good.Think you might be at your mom and dad's-enjoy and stay away from the curry!:D.

Hi everyone

Naomi - he is at their house every week day from 7.30am till I pick him whenever I finish usually 6ish. I leave him a supply of his venison there and biscuits and he is meant to be allowed a 'snack' at lunchtime, I give him his main meals at home. But I know they give him tastes of their food, he only has to look at them and they melt, he knows it and uses it to his full advantage the little shite! You should see him resting his head on Dad's knee looking up at him lovingly, they are putty in his little paws!

Addy - he has not lost weight. He fluctuates up and then back down to his regular 13.8kg. The vet's did want him down in the 12's range, but we never quite seem to get there.

He vomits infrequently, probably a handful of times over the past 3 months. But I do notice when his breath goes bad, his bowels go loose soon after. Only a week on probiotic so will see how that goes, it is called Inner Health and he has 1/4 tsp morning and night. I need to dissolve it better as have noticed some whitish stuff in the poop which might be that. He never has had totally watery diarrhea so maybe I am worried about nothing :confused:

He is otherwise pretty good, honestly if tummy issues now settled I would be ecstatic!!! Best he has been since surgery :)

We have new neigbours, with a cat :eek::eek: It just walked past our back door and luckily for it, Flynn did not see it but I certainly did. We went outside later and he certainly smelt it, he was zooming round and round and house (it's only small circuit) with his ruff up, nose to ground trying to hunt it down :eek::eek: Silly pussy, better keep on its own side of the fence!! He has given up his mouse hunting lately, but on a walk last night we came across this big ditch, down he went and run along the bottom of it on full alert sniffing things out, I could not quite see what he had but there was some scuffle and spitting in there, it was not a cat but it could have been a rat :eek::eek: as there is often water running through that ditch. Dear lord, he would NOT come out, I had to walk away and he finally popped his head out to see where I was and decided he best come with me... litte ratbag!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Drainage ditch aside, why hunt rats if there are CATS! Much more fun sport. :D

Glad he is doing so well other than tummy issues, you deserve the break, that's for sure. I'm just wondering with that though if it could be related to the "snacks" he is getting at your parents? It might be worth keeping a chart going, ask them to make note of anything and everything they give him, see when he has these little "episodes" and see if there is a correlation? It could be food related, that he is just intolerant of something in particular, ie chicken. Cause that's exactly what happens with the boys when they have chicken, smelly breath then watch out below! :eek:

Just a though. I hope you have a great weekend though, enjoy the relax and the sleep ins.

lol isnt it adorable how they can race around zoom zoom zing little nose to ground little feet just going 110 mph on a crazy curvey loopy path of scent on the ground. wonder if cats ever mess with dogs by walking in weird patterns. lol

Evening

Thanks for your post on Miss T's Thread.

I added a photo to her album so you can see her little face and know who I am talking to everyday....

How are you and Flynn doing this evening, have a good day??

Mel
xxxx

Hi Mel.... Awwww I just rushed over to your page to see your sweetie, she is such a cutie pie, love her pic!!!! How did the meeting go?

He has had a great day, showery grey old day here, but we managed a walk and only got rained on a little. He had a romp with a huge German Shepherd... :eek::eek: he loves all dogs, it is me that gets nervous of the big ones but I have made it a habit to have nerves of steel so he does not pick up on it and he has never had a problem approaching them, except he does not like pit bulls after one bit him in the shoulder and he needed stitches.

Only one softish poop today, I have decided to take him off the biscuits for a while and see if that helps. I boiled up some rice to go with his venison, added a few beans and he gobbled it up like always. Also added a wee bit of metamucil for fibre. So we will see how that goes, I was around at my parents this afternoon and told them they must NOT give him any tidbits this week so we can see if that helps settle things down. His breath stinks tonight, so kind of expecting some loose poops.

He has just been racing up and down the house barking and bringing me his ball to throw so he is full of the joys of life today! I love it! xxxxx

It was those eyes, it was like she always knew what you were thinking. I miss her sweet face.

Meeting wasnt great, he seemed to forget I had told him I was working on a project and then proceeded to be a bit crappy because I had not attended the other meeting he organised the other day. He actually asked to meet me after a client meeting next week so not sure what he will say. I was actually quite opinated on what I thought we should do with this customer and he didnt agree, he is the boss so I have to do what he says. Whatever I have 3 projects and only one pair of hands!!

So chuffed he is running around like a loon, its great to see them full of life. I think they sleep better after having a good old run around with other dogs.

Lets hope your Mum and Dad pay attention, mine always seem to ignore me regardless of how many times I spell it out. Its like the same with the kids, grandparents always give you more sweets and good stuff!!

I think its a good idea to try and eliminate foods to rule it out, i know you have been through a few so you must be running out of options! I dont know if you can get uk stuff over there but I have just recently purchased a venision biscuit from a place called Lilys kitchen. All naturally made with herbs, Boyce loves it.

Are you all settled in for the night now? Watching anything good on the telly?

Big hug

Mel
xxxx

Pffff to unreasonable bosses.... expect miracles sometimes don't they, Glad you said your mind Mel!!

I know I have tried a lot of foods on him, he does love to eat though. So gobbles down whatever put in front of him. I do wonder about the biscuits with flour and that. Not sure if it is food really, as I have not seen any patterns and I keep a spreadsheet! He gets no chicken or red meat. Have not given him tripe for a while. Vet had recommended the low fat meats hence the venison and possum. I am running out of ideas so will try this biscuitless diet for a while and see how he does, I just worry he will not be getting all his vitamins. I might talk to the guy in the pet store tomorrow, he seems pretty knowledgeable on doggy food. IMS next week so looking forward to talking to her about it. I did check a letter from IMS last year when he also had a bout of this and she had said to try the metamucil so I found it in the back of the cupboard and will try that again.

Yep I am settled alright, just watching rugby at the moment! Sports mad girl :)

As you are so meticulous at keeping an eye on what you are feeding him I am gonna go with naomi and say it might be the parents! Let's hope they listen to you :D

I am looking for summer holidays, need to get somewhere soon. Not liking what I see so far!

Mel
Xxxxx

A holiday sounds just the ticket Mel, in the UK or abroad? I am going to have to head off to bed soon, so will check in on the plans for the hols tomorrow! You are so lucky being close to Europe and can pop over there, France is my favourite so I pick there! Nighty nite xx

Hey

Guess you are sparko now with it being 1am

I was searching most of yesterday, like to go in this country with Boyce. Haven't vaccinated him since his cancer so would need to faff about if we left the country

Always go near the sea so they get two beach walks a day and look for a massive garden so he can ponder in and out to his hearts content. The boy loves sunbathing. She didn't so much cause of her cushings so I would always set her up a parasol. Princess that she was!

So back to work today? Did you and Flynn have a good Sunday?

Mel
Xxxxx

HI Mel
Yes, back to work it was. I had to go visit a little rural town today for work and it was such a gorgeous autumn day, nice and warm so it was a great day to get out, only an hour drive away but kept me out of the office and the politics that go on there, so I was happy :)

We did have a lovely Sunday thanks, my sister, Dad and I took Mum out to lunch for Mother's Day and then a little trip to the aquarium.. loads of fish but she has a thing about birds, she loves them so we went and saw the little fairy penguins and the Kiwis. they do rehab and the penguins had a mixture of dinged wings, eyes out, cracked beaks, sore feet etc... sorry looking lot they were but they were still having a fab time swimming about and catching fish :)

Flynny seems good, no loose poops for a few days. I have had "the talk" with Mum and Dad and they are NOT to give him anything at all other than the authorised snack I leave for his lunch. That includes no little licks or tidbits, no stealing the cat's food, bits of toast or biscuits or anything!! So we will see if that helps! They think I am the Dog Food Police and being incredibly mean to him :D

I am sticking with the venison, rice, green beans and tiny bit of cooked pumpkin for a bit. Plus I have added a little metamucil, the probiotic and I also got him a supplement for joint health on the weekend which includes vitamins and also omega 3&6. It takes ages to mix up all his stuff, cook his dinner, add his meds so I hope I have everything covered. He likes it and is very good with taking pills wrapped in a little bit of his venison, just gulps them down. So fingers crossed we get on top of it.

I like planning holidays, yours sounds lovely by the coast somewhere. I can just picture you all under a parasol in the garden, in the nice warm weather, with a girlie drink of course with fruit and a little umbrella in it... sounds blissful and just what you need with all the stress with your job lately. I hope you get somewhere sorted soon and can start to look forward to it Mel :)

Sounds like you had a good mothers day, penguins are such funny little birds

I love days like that, I have to go to the client tomorrow and then my boss so not looking forward to that!

I was the dog food police as well. I know it sucks. We spoil them rotten with their own food and still the parents think youre being mean!

Still looking, found one possible but right on the beach which always makes me think of security. Will start again tonight!

Hope you are having sweet dreams

Mel
Xxxx

Your dog eats venison, that's far from mean :)
A vacation by the sea sounds wonderful!

Hi Trish,

So happy to read that Flynn's tummy has settled down. Sounds like your Mom and Dad are on board with no extracurricular snacks. :) That is so hard for Grandparents, but necessary. Jasper doesn't get even a crumb out of the ordinary after all the problems we had getting him stabilized on the prescription kidney diet. Poor boy. So when my Mom comes to visit, I will be laying down the law! It shouldn't be too difficult for Grandma, she fully understands how sick he has been.

It sounds like your Mom had a nice Mothers Day, so nice that you have her near. And your Dad is feeling good? I love aquariums. Ours here has a big penguin area also, I love those little guys, so cute.

Gosh Trish, you have so many food options for Flynn down there. I wouldn't even know where to look for venison or rabbit, or possum for that matter. Although Jasper tries to catch his own rabbit dinner from time to time, Lol. He has caught a few bunnies in his day, thank God I was right there so he didn't have a chance to eat them. Ewwww, I hate it when he catches them. I have the yard barricaded pretty well now to prevent rabbit poo eating, so he doesn't get much of an opportunity now. I sure enjoy reading about all of Flynn's adventures, I laugh so much! He is such a character. Him and Naomi's pups, I enjoy reading about their antics also.

A holiday at the beach with a girlie drink sounds fabulous. Actually any kind of holiday sounds wonderful at this point!

I miss our late night talks Trish. I have been so tired lately too, I have just been stumbling back to bed after taking Jasper out. He still is up usually once during the night for a pit stop. Once in a while he can make it till about 5 am. I am destined to be a zombie for the long haul. Maybe I will be on later and will see you then. :)

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

Hi Trish
I've missed you!Just trying to get caught up here,as I was away in NY for a few days.Sounds like you and mom had a wonderful Mother's day and that Flynny is feeling a bit better.

Love the girlie drink idea!Weather is getting warmer here so I love being able to get over to the ocean everyday.Living near the ocean makes me feel alive.You sort of feel like your on vacation year round.And,of course,Gracie loves it as she gets to run around and then go for a dip and then a roll in the sand!

I went by the area where I found Fella when I was in NY-so wish I could go back and live that time all over again.I was praying I would see another little one so I could do it all over again!:).Still find it so hard to believe that he is gone-life is so different without him.

Do miss seeing you and Mel in the morning.I've been staying up late and then oversleeping.Sounds like Flynny is having some great meals!My gf cooks for her 5 dogs:eek:,and she laughs because when it's dinner time for her husband,she says"you'll have to get takeout or cook up a frozen dinner,didn't have time to make something.":).

Well,maybe I'll see you on here this morning-hope all is well.
Hugs to you and Flynny
Patty

shysie's nutrition doctor does online consults through balance it if you would like to reach out to her for ideas on diet and making sure he is getting all he is required to get. she is also studying chiropractor treatment.

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies. I will keep that nutritionist in mind Skye.

Another soft poop last night and it had a smear of blood in it! :eek::eek: He wanted out about midnight and went and hid again so I am not sure if he went again. I have blocked off his access to the bushy bit of my garden so he cannot hide it from me again! No privacy for the poor boy.

I wrote the vet all about it last night and took in a sample of it today and it is off getting tested. Our vet wants to hold off on metronidazole until we get this result back as he wrote to me today.

"Have looked at this poopy sample and I would call this a grade 3. I think we should send this one for a faecal pathogen workup and see what we get. I feel most infectious agents are less likely as they generally would cause more continuous signs than this but not always esp. Giardia and Campylobacter. If it’s clear then we at least know that (although as with people 1 negative sample does not exclude the poss of Giardia).

Then we should ask Massey when doing the US to look at the lymphangestasia question next week also during the scan. Biopsy would be required to confirm that Dx.

Yes I think we should leave the drug regime as is at present.

Lets do the labs first and see what that reveals unless you see more and/or increased amounts of blood. Most of the labs will be back by the weekend except Campylobacter. A smear of blood is not a major as a one off and is in fact not uncommon. We will get them to focus on the colorectal area with the scan also as blood like that must be from lower bowel as you will know"

He was lucky he didn't get a txt in the middle of the night when I saw that blood!! :eek::confused::eek::confused: But I restrained myself in order to keep our good vet/pet relationship on track :D:D

Flynn is good though, perky as anything when I took him for a walk tonight, scoffed his dinner plus wanted mine. So fingers crossed it settles down, but in reality it seems to be slowly getting worse!

Thanks for popping in and checking on us I so appreciate knowing you are all out there to listen to my concerns about Flynnikin even though they are not even cushings related. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hey

Sorry to read this. Have to go to a meeting now

At least they have a sample to look at and you are going for the other tests soon. That way you won't have to wait too long

Hoping for an infection, Flynn is having a good year this year

Will check back in later. Hope you are hanging in there

Big hug babe

Mel
Xxxxxxxx

Hooley Dooley he likes keeping you on your toes doesn't he? Well at least he's staying happy through this and you can get it sorted before it starts to get him down. That has to be a plus doesn't it?

Oh, those bloody poops will send you into a tailspin! I just freaked the first time I saw it with Trink - and she reached the point it was just about all blood before we got a handle on it. Bless her heart, she had been through so much in such a short time. But she hasn't had a flare in over a year now. :cool: I watch her poops carefully and if I see a shine or a tail, she gets a dose of SEB and she is fine. I hope they find the cause for Flynn's upset and he is soon feeling better.

That does sound a bit scary to see. I hope the vet comes back with good news. I guess it makes you feel better that it is not uncommon to happen every now & then.

Oh goodness Trish! Way to put a scare into your day! So hopefully this will not turn out to be anything major, just something that might need a round of medicine. There is also no telling what he might have got into at some point that caused an upset for a bit. Maybe an irritation of the colon.

Uh oh, Flynnie has done it now, no more hiding from momma in the bushes! Busted dude!

Hang in there Trish!
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Hey Trish

How you both doing? Gone straight to work this morning?

Hope his poop is better and no more blood...

Will check back first thing and see if I can catch you

Big hug, bum stratches for Flynn

Mel
Xxxxx

Hi all
He just did a normal poop and it had small amount of mucous but no blood and formed. YAY! He seems good. I on the other hand feel yuck, stomach bug myself!! So staying home from work today :( xx

Hey, we were posting at the same time!

Glad he is better, rubbish you are not!

Maybe you should go back to bed for a bit
Xxxxxx

Thanks Mel, I am still in bed!! Lappy in bed with a cup of tea :)