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

WOW look at you DIY girls with your great ideas! Hope you figure something out Tina and the ABs help with the UTI. Was he having these little accidents back when the last UPCR was done? If so, that might explain that little rise he had? x

Hi Tina

I was just on Dr Peterson's blog and came across this article, might be of interest to you with Jasper's recent troubles. It specifically discusses incontinence in Addison's pups. Hope there is a tip or two there might help you guys! Hope the antibiotics are going down without a hitch. x

http://animalendocrine.blogspot.co.n...edium=facebook

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions. Trish, thank you for the link to Dr Peterson's article. I had seen it and read it very recently, and in fact had printed out a copy at that time, that was before the most recent issues with Jasper. I am not sure if his medication regime is contributing to the problem or not. I feel like we have fine tuned it pretty well, but it is certainly worth revisiting with my vet. My concern is that his kidney issues are getting worse. :(

It has been a rough week and a half or so. Jasper started the zeniquin for the UTI, which appeared to be helping as he has had no further accidents in the house while I am home with him. This is usually how we have to gauge improvement, as he always has increased urinating. He is still having accidents in the house while I am at work, I need to get this figured out, I am exhausted from all the constant clean up.

Well, by about the 5th day (4/25) he started with appetite problems and not wanting to eat. He also seems to have low energy and is quite mopey. This has happened before with zeniquin, but not sure it has been quite this marked. I struggled to get him to eat all last weekend and talked to my vet on Monday. She suggested that I give him cerenia for 2 days to see if it helped (I had 2 doses at home), and if it helps she would send home 5 more doses to give daily till the zeniquin was finished. It didn't seem to make a difference, so on wednesday 4/30 I picked up reglan to give twice a day, and we stopped the zeniquin for 48 hrs to see if this made a difference, with the plan to restart zeniquin at that time if he was doing better. She said if he wasn't considerably better we would be concerned that something else was going on.

Well he is a bit better with the reglan but still very tough to get him to eat. He hasn't completely stopped eating, but eats only a bite or two at a time, walking away while chewing, dropping food out of his mouth, etc. It takes him quite a while to finish, whereas when normal, he finished his portion by eating steadily until it is gone.

We have a previously scheduled vet appt this morning for his yearly "wellness" check, and he is due for his rabies vaccination this year. I had previously discussed my fears about him getting the rabies shot with all of his issues, but she is firm that it is needed and is not contraindicated with any of his issues (addisons, kidney issues, liver issues). I have had 3 separate conversations with her about this, and she has been reassuring with all my fears. But I am not sure now with this eating issue going on, I will have to see what she thinks this morning. So now I guess he isn't exactly well for his wellness visit. :( I am feeling so discouraged and frustrated because he was eating just fine and seemed to be feeling fairly good before we started the zeniquin. I felt sure it was the problem, but I don't know why he isn't snapping out of it now that he hasn't had a dose since Tuesday pm. Not to mention that the UTI treatment has been interrupted.

I have been following along on everyone on the forum. Between working so much overtime at work and all the cleaning I just haven't had time to post. I am hoping to do some catch up today after we get back from the vets. I am just worried about the "concern that something else is going on". I guess we will see. This dog is going to drive me to drink. I know you all can relate. Sorry to be so discouraged, I think I am just tired. Thanks as always for listening.

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

Dear Tina,

I am so very sorry that you and Jasper are having such a rough time right now. I'm afraid I have no insight to offer regarding the disruption in appetite, although due to the timing, I would also be very suspicious that somehow the medication altered the balance of something. As to how to fix it, I do not know. :(

As far as the vaccination question, I know that people here hold varying opinions about vaccination in the face of other health issues. For what it's worth, I'll go ahead and offer my own. For dogs who live in areas where rabies is present in the wildlife population, I do think vaccination can be reasonable even in the face of many chronic medical conditions as long as the dog is stable and the condition is being addressed and appropriately managed. However, no vaccination of any sort ought to be given while dogs are acutely ill or an unknown disease process is at play. That is a warning that is actually included by the vaccine manufacturers. Right now, Jasper is unwell for a reason that is yet to be known. I absolutely would wait to administer the rabies vaccination until after you've had a chance to sort things out and Jasper has normalized once again.

Marianne

Oh Tina, I am so sorry that you and Jasper have had such a tough time of it. We worry so when they don't eat and aren't acting like themselves. Constant clean-up sucks too! :o

I have very strong opinions regarding rabies vaccination/ boosters. I would personally NEVER do it with an ill (unstable) pup. Buddy's became due when he was terminal. I did not do it!! I would get feedback from you vet and ask about a possible exemption in Jasper's case, since he's not well and isn't likely to be out among the wild population. THEN GO WITH YOUR GUT!!! That's my advice for what it's worth.

Please keep us posted. xxxxxx

Hi Tina,

I, too, am so sorry Jasper is having a difficult time lately and pray the solution is found and easily corrected soon. For what it's worth, I agree with Marianne on the vaccines - no way, no how would I allow them to be given as long as he is not well. ;)

I bought a carpet shampooer last month but haven't been able to use it yet. Meanwhile the carpet...~~sigh~~, yes a constant job! After getting trapped inside this past winter they have decided in is as good as out. :rolleyes: I see linoleum and rubber non-skid doggy boots in their future! :p

Keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers.
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

I agree, I wouldn't do any vaccines while Jasper is not himself.

I think the problem likely is the zeniquin. It is listed as a side effect. It could be that some dogs are sensitive to or even allergic to some degree to the drug, but I think you need another drug for the UTI and I wouldn't give this to Jasper again.

In fact, one of the warnings is to not give this to dogs with kidney problems already.

I think Jasper will bounce back from this since you've stopped it, but I bet it is super exhausting, along with work and constant cleaning.

Sending you big hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Hi Tina

Oh no, hope it is just the antibiotic causing this. I know Flynny has had problems with some of these upsetting him and putting him off his food. How has the vet appointment gone today, really want to see some good Jasper news!

I would not want to give a vaccine either when he is unwell, I am so pleased here in NZ we do not have rabies so the dogs do not get vaccinated for that ever. One of my friends was in Turkey last year and she got bit by a stray dog and had to have a course of injections so she did not get rabies :eek: Nasty. xx

Hi Tina,
I'm so sorry to hear Jasper is having problems with his appetite. It's so hard to have that constant worry hanging over your head...it's such a bad feeling and I can easily understand how it can get the better of you.
Hopefully another day or two off that med and Japser will begin to get his appetite back. It's not like our schnauzers have easy disgestive systems..maybe it's just taking time for him to bounce back and feel hungry, and he is eating a bit.
I can't imagine the vet would disagree about just postponing that rabies shot until Jasper is 100%...especially if he's not running around the forest with racoons.
I guess Jasper doesn't use the puppy pads?? Maybe you could spread some out anyway and he'll end up going on them by chance? If he usually goes in "regular" places and you put a few pads on those spots and he might just start using them...maybe worth a try, it can't hurt.
I'll be keeping fingers crossed that tomorrow he will show some improvement in the eating department and start feeling better.

Barbara

Thanks so much for the support, and especially for the feedback about the rabies shot. Marianne, your opinion is shared by my vet. But I had made up my mind he was not getting it today, and the validation from all of you really helped. Thankfully it wasn't an issue at all with my vet, she immediately said we need to wait until he is back to normal. (Whew!) I was just a little anxious about it because on a previous conversation, I had asked her about sending in a letter so that Jasper could be exempt due to his illness and all his issues. She was very firm that he needed the vaccine, and that it wasn't contraindicated for him. It is a law here that he be vaccinated every 3 years, and she basically said that his issues did not qualify for the exemption. We had a couple of subsequent conversations about it and she answered all my questions and was reassuring. So I was a little worried that she might think I was using this situation as an excuse to delay it. I don't live out in the country, but I do live right near a farm, and a small wooded area and creek, so there is wildlife around.

She was disappointed that Jasper wasn't feeling significantly better. She examined him and that was all ok. She decided to check all his labwork to see if his Addison's had become unstable, and to look at the kidney and liver values. She also checked a CBC. Everything was mostly ok, whew! The ALP was increased some since last time, and the ALT was up a bit also. :( She said she was not concerned about those. The electrolytes, BUN and creatinine were WNL. So that was a huge relief. She wasn't completely sure but is thinking that maybe his stomach just got really upset from the zeniquin this time. She also went ahead and got a urine specimen to send for a culture. His urine was dilute as usual, sp gr 1.009, and ph 7, 3+ protein. :mad:

We started pepcid AC 10 mg 1/2 tab bid, and will continue the reglan 5 mg 1/2 tab bid for the next few days and see how he does. Zeniquin still on hold. She will call with results of the culture, probably Monday, and go from there. He did eat a bit better to tonight, so maybe we are moving in the right direction now.

Sharlene, I told my vet that I don't think I like zeniquin, so we are on the same page there! I am thinking I don't want him to have it anymore either. And yes, I was aware that loss of appetite is listed as a side effect, and also that it says to use with caution in dogs with liver or kidney disease. Unfortunately there are a lot of antibiotics that say to use with caution with kidney disease, including metronidazole. I have asked her about that in the past, and she said it was ok.

Trish, that is awful about your friend. It would be scary enough to be bit by a stray dog in your own neighborhood, it would be terrifying in a foreign country.

Barbara, yes, I do put the pooch pads out in the areas he has been having accidents. I have 8 of them placed strategically, both upstairs and down. He uses them, but he also has accidents on the carpet in addition. He was accustomed to using the pads when I was able to confine him in the kitchen, and he was very good about using them. So I am not sure what is wrong now. :(

I was planning to do some carpet cleaning tonight but I am just too tired. I will need to try to tackle that tomorrow.

Big hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

Hey, I am back and so are you!

Well all in all that is a good report, so thankful his electrolytes etc are WNL. That must be a relief it is not the addisons playing up again.

I am going with the vet and everyone else, it must be the zenequin so hopefully the Pepcid and reglan will do the trick, sounds like it might be helping already if he has eaten better tonight :) Phew!!

Yes, we are off early tomorrow for the 5hr drive for his scan. Such a long day so I hope we have good news to report at the end of it!

Trish, I just posted on your thread. Sorry I missed you, I fell asleep on the couch with the ipad! :o :rolleyes:

Thanks for the feedback, yes, I am very relieved with the lab results. I really didn't think it was his Addison's, but you can never really be sure with him. I'm glad she wanted to play it safe and check. I know I wouldn't have been able to rest without knowing for sure.

I will be thinking about you guys all evening and night tonight (my time) on your road trip, and for the appt. I'm looking forward to good news. :)

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo

Appointment is at 11.30am my time, so that will be 6.30pm your time if I have my calculations right! it's 10.30pm as I post this lol so synchronise watches :D

Yes, thats right. It is 5:36 am for me now. Watches are synchronized, lol! :D I am all about getting the positive vibes going and focused at the right time! ;)

I know that, love that about you Tina :D Have you actually spent any time sleeping in your bed tonight??

Umm...... No. :o

My sleep is so messed up. I am going to head there in just a bit for maybe an hour or two. I have tons of chores to do today, and yardwork, so I guess I need a nap already, lol. I think I was extra tired last night, so just conked out!

Oh goodness Tina you sleep less than I do and I don't sleep well :eek:

I didn't think so... no wonder your sleep is messed up if you don't actually get into the bed LOL :rolleyes: Where do Jasper and Shelby sleep?

Lol, I don't usually spend the whole night on the couch! But ever since I had to start getting up in the middle of the night to let Jasper out, things have been messed up. It's not that I can't sleep, I do fine in that area. It is just always interrupted.

Jasper and Shelby sleep on my bed with me. Right now both are snoozing on the couch. :) So cute.

Was nice staying around at Dad's, Flynny actually got on the bed with me for a while. Once I woke up and had Elle the cat on one side and him on the other! So cute they sleep together!!

Aww, Flynn snuggling with his Mum. So cute.

My two do sleep together ok for the most part, but sometimes Shelby gets wound up when I have to let Jasper out for his middle of the night pit stop and won't go back to bed. Then she has to go in her crate (with a comfy bed in it) for the rest of the night.

Nighty night Trish, sleep well.

How is Jasper doing today? Eating any better?

I am very glad to hear that your vet is on board to waiting for the rabies shot. It's just not worth the risk and worry when they are already dealing with other things to throw that into the mix too. It would be great if he didn't have to get it at all, but I guess the farm sort of leaves that possibility out.

It sounds like his labs weren't really all that bad, just the liver enzymes a bit off. Drat on the protein being 3+ grrrrrr :(

Hopefully that will go down when all this other stuff is over with and any UTI cleared up.

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Hi Everyone,
Well, Jasper was plugging along, his eating was slowly improving but had not gotten back to normal quite yet, but was progressing over the weekend and Monday. Then Tuesday morning 5/6, he struggled a bit more with eating. After work he seemed kind of like he didn't feel well, seemed quiet and mopey, but he did eat fairly well. By that I mean that he ate pretty steadily, only walking away from the bowl a time or two, and he finished over a few minutes. But he continued to seem very subdued with low energy throughout the evening and night. Yesterday morning 5/7 he was the same, not perky, and back to not wanting to eat much. I did manage to get him to eat his breakfast slowly while I got ready for work, it took him a couple of hours to finish.

When I got home from work he was the same, not very perky, and I found that he had thrown up once sometime while I was at work. :( Thankfully just once, and it was partially digested food, not bile.

I called real quick to see if I could catch my vet and let her know, and also because she had not called back with his urine culture results or to check up on him, which is very unusual. I found out that she has been out due to her son being very ill and also some possible health issues herself. She does not work on Thursdays. I talked to one of the staff, and we talked about the option of bringing Jasper in and dropping him off in the morning to see another Dr if he became worse. I just can't miss any work right now.

He did the same with eating his supper last night, very slowly a bite or two at a time and he finally finished after over an hour. No more vomiting all evening thank God. I held his fish oil, enalapril and denamarin just in case.

He was quiet and not perky all evening, except for being anxious when we had a severe thunderstorm with hail and high wind roll through. Still no vomiting, yay!

We were just up for our middle of the night pit stop. He is very subdued, but is able to rest and has been sleeping.

I just don't know what could be wrong. His labwork on Saturday was mostly ok, the critical things were all WNL. I guess the pancreatitis worry is always there. I hope he will be ok Thursday, it is not optimum to see another vet. We are supposed to have some pretty wicked storms all day. I hate that so much and wish I could stay home with him like some of you are able to, especially since he seems to be not feeling well. But I have to work, I can't really even miss part of the day. :mad: :(

So I guess I will see how he does with breakfast in a couple of hours and go from there.

Thanks everyone.

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

Oh Tina, I am so sorry that Jasper is not feeling well. I know how worrisome and wearing it is for you. If only they could just talk and tell us what is wrong. :o

I'll be thinking of you both today, and hoping that he is doing better when you get home to him this evening.

Sending big hugs,
Marianne

Thank you Marianne, ((hugs)). Well today hasn't been a great day, it is the first day that I haven't been able to get him to finish his food, even over several hours. I guess we are going backwards with our progress. He is still very mopey and subdued, and just looks depressed or something. But no more vomiting that I could see, so that is a big relief.

I called earlier today and got an appt at 4:00 tomorrow with my vet. (I will have to leave work early so I hope it will be ok). I plan to call her in the morning and hopefully talk to her first about what has been going on, as she hasn't been updated since our appt last Saturday. Then she can decide if she needs to see him at 4 or not. I really don't know what she would do. I am wondering if maybe he has some mild pancreatitis going on, I will ask her about it in the morning. I'm feeling scared about that.

I am so upset about Squirt that I can't even think straight. :(

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

Oh dear, I am so sorry that Jasper is not doing as well as we all hoped. I wonder about the pancrease too. Hopefully they can figure out what is going on and fix it.

I know this is another hard day on the forum. :(

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Hi Tina,

We are all feeling helpless over Leslie and Squirt. We love them both so much!

We all love you and Jasper too! I am so sorry to hear that he's still feeling yucky and has lost his appetite. Poor little guy.:o Yes, it's scary when they are off and we don't know how to help them. I hope the doc is able to get him back on track quickly.

Big hugs my dear,

Hi Tina
I hope Jasper wakes up tomorrow feeling better and eats his breakfast. Are his poops OK? Teeth and mouth OK? Once when Flynny was off his food he had ulcers so worth having a looksee in his mouth. I will be looking out for your vet report tomorrow and hope to see good news. Get some good sleep tonight, and as for work... I am sure you can feel a migraine coming on that you need to go home early for :D xx

Hoping today finds Jasper feeling better and you too. I know this is very stressful for you and trying to juggle around work stuff is no fun either. I sympathize completely with that.

Let us know what the vet said and how he is when you get a chance.

hugs
sharlene and molly muffin

Hi Tina

It is 4pm where you are... so you will be at the vet with Jasper for his appointment. I am sitting here sending my very best wishes clear across the Pacific to you guys... I hope whatever is bothering Jasper has a quick fix and he is soon back to scoffing his dinner!! C'mon boy, we need some good news today!! Loads of hugs Tina.... xxxxx

Thank you everyone! I will need to post an update on Jasper a bit later. Right now I am hoping that someone can help me by telling me how to make sticky white rice. I think you just use more water than usual and maybe cook it longer?? In the past when I have fed him the hamburger/rice, I have made the rice the normal way. It turns out a bit sticky, but not really mushy like others say is best.

He is still not wanting to eat and now is on a new antibiotic and he needs to have food in his tummy for me to give it. I was thinking of feeding him some sticky rice and maybe with some hamburger if worse comes to worse.

I think maybe it was Lori who has posted about how to make this before, but can't remember.

I am so sad about Squirt, even something as simple as this is a struggle right now.

Thanks in advance. I am a bit challenged in the kitchen, so any help is appreciated.

Hugs from me and Jasper

Hi Tina!

I am just now coming off a month of sticky white rice for Peg, so I am a pro as far as my own method! :rolleyes: ;)

What I do is take a sturdy pot and add about 1 1/2 cups of rice along with at least four cups of water. The excessive water to rice ratio is really key. Then comes the tedious part, which is standing and stirring the pot constantly as it cooks after it has come to a boil. You will want to turn the heat down low after it has first come to a boil, so as not to burn the rice as it cooks. But you need to keep stirring, stirring, stirring for the same reason. As it thickens and cooks, you may even end up adding some more water so as to end up with a very thick "porridge" of totally soft and sticky rice. This is kind of the same process as making risotto, so just consider yourself a gourmet cook on Jasper's behalf :). I've never timed it, but I'm guessing it may take around 20 minutes or so until the rice is soft. Oh, and if you can find short or medium-grain rice, it turns out even stickier than long grain.

I think Lori has an oven-cooking method that is less labor-intensive, so hopefully she will soon be stopping by, too. Oh, and last but not least, always keep the unused cooked rice fully refrigerated. I just recently learned that cooked rice can quickly grow some type of very dangerous spore if left out on the counter for extended periods. :eek:

Good luck!
Marianne

I could never figure it out either so I am totally useless but I can give you a really big HUG (((((((((((HUG))))))))))))))


Belly rubs to Jasper.


More hugs for you (((((((((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))))))))))))

Hope the new antibiotic helps. I just add more water and then as they said, stir, and add even more water if you want the more mushy consistency. Stirring is key as Marianne said

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Hi Tina,

Marianne mentioned that I use the oven to cook my rice and I sure do! Preheat oven to 300/350 degrees and then I take 2 or 3 boneless, skinless, low-fat chicken breasts and put them is a roaster, I then add around 6 cups of water and cover with the roaster lid or aluminum foil.

Throw that in the oven and check every 20-30 minutes to see if it needs more water, take out of oven when rice resembles a soupy texture, say about an hour.

Hope Jasper is feeling better real soon.

Hugs, Lori

Well there are some good ideas... me, I just put some rice and water in a pot and boil the bejeezus out of it till it goes mushy and only stir when I think of it LOL... no wonder I burn my pots :D:D Hope Jasper likes his rice dinner and is feeling better! xx

I've used a rice cooked in the past. Always use calrose rice, as it gets the stickiest. Add more than the recommended amount of water.

Thank you all for the tips about the rice. Marianne, I tried your method this time and it worked fine. I normally cook the rice with the lid on and no stirring. The extra water made all the difference along with the stirring, and fortunately, stirring is one of the few skills that I have in the kitchen! :D Lol. Lori, I will have to try your way the next time.

He ate about 1/2 cup of rice with some hamburger. I tried to sneak some kibble in but he wasn't too keen on that, so I cut that out. I was afraid he would stop eating if he thought I was trying to trick him. I put his bowl back down with the kibble, and throughout the afternoon and now evening he has wandered in and out if the kitchen and eaten a bite or two at a time, and has eaten most of it. Of course it is past supper time now and that was his breakfast. In a little bit I am going to offer him some more rice and hamburger.

Yesterday my vet called me at work and let me know that his urine culture had not grown anything after 48 hrs, but after 72 hrs it had grown strep. It of course is resistant to the zeniquin he was getting before, and apparently is resistant to quite a few antibiotics. She said it can be difficult to treat in urine but Clavamox is effective, so that is what she prescribed, 125 mg bid. She said she feels that his loss of appetite and overall not feeling well is related to the UTI, especially since we just checked all his labwork last weekend. She said dogs can feel pretty ill if their kidneys are affected, and we all know that his kidneys are a bit fragile anyway. So I am hoping she is right. I asked about mild pancreatitis, and she said we are already treating him the same way we would if he had it. She didn't feel that I needed to bring him in. I could just pick up the meds after work. She also said to give his dexamethasone daily for the next 5 days to help keep his Addison's stable during this time of additional stress.

He got the first dose of clavamox last evening since he ate about half his food. It is supposed to be given with food. It can apparently cause nausea and loss of appetite also. :rolleyes:

So today when I couldn't get him to eat at all throughout the morning, I called the vets office and talked to one of the techs about what to do. He ended up calling my vet at home as she wasn't working today. :eek: Apparently the Dr he checked with there told him to. I think they are all pretty scared of Jasper because he has so much going on all the time.

Well, my vet said to hold the clavamox for today and see if I can get him to eat the rice and hamburger. Tomorrow I am to offer him his regular food and if he won't eat, then give him the rice mix and the clavamox and then see how he does at supper. I am not sure, but I think she might be trying to see if the clavamox is affecting his appetite since now he wouldn't eat at all. :confused: I don't think it is the clavamox since this has been going on at some level for over a week now, and what I wanted to do is give it to him after he ate the rice and hamburger so we can get the medication going, but I didn't. I followed her directions exactly and will see how tomorrow goes. She said we will follow up on Monday.

So that is where we are at. I guess I just have to hope that it is the UTI that is making him feel so crummy and that the clavamox helps, if I can get it down him. I really don't know what else it can be. I was almost relieved when she said the culture grew something after 72 hrs, because this is something objective that we can treat. I know I am weary from constantly struggling to get him to eat. I know a lot of you can relate.

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

Hi Tina,
If he will eat the rice and hamburger, then that should be enough to give the clavamox with. It just needs to be given with food so as not to cause nausea right? How long does he take the antibiotic for?

Yes Strep can be very nasty stuff. Once you've had it, at least in humans, then you always seem to be susceptible to getting it again, so you want to knock this out of his system. You'll want to do a follow up culture after the antibiotics to make sure it is completely gone too.

If he won't eat and you can't give the meds, then I'd suggest giving him antibiotics via IV to make sure that he is getting treatment.

That would be my last resort go to, because the most important thing is getting rid of it.

Hang in there. You are doing a wonderful job. Jasper is not an easy case in the best of circumstances. I'm glad the doc thought of giving him the dex daily to keep him stable. That is likely a good call. Could help with appetite too.

hugs,
Sharlene and molly muffin

Hi Tina

Glad you have something to work on now, I do not often see Strep in urine, so no wonder he has been off colour. Hopefully you can get the ABs going when he gets some food into him. I so hope Jasper tolerates it well and kicks that UTI into touch!! Yay you got the sticky rice sorted! Nice one! xx