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

HI Tina and Jasper, glad to hear the tummy issue is settling. My vet said not to change his food yet and we need to check another urine next week and if it is getting worse I will bring it up again. He has so enjoyed his venison, possum and tripe I would hate to change it again. He does not like kibble much and he always leaves it in preference to the protein part of his meal, so will see what he says next week. You are so good researching his food and ringing the companies, I will take your lead if/when I have to :D:D Flynn never drinks more than a 1-2 cups a day never has done, vet seemed quite happy and unconcerned with that. Have not seen you online for a while, so hope you getting some good nights sleep :D

Trish xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I <o> <o> you!!! Hope you got good news :)

Lol you guys! I was trying to be more subtle with the poop report by saying "things are a bit better here for now..." I will make sure I spell it out better next time! :D :D

Yes, the poops are better for now, but I wouldn't say they are totally normal, for whatever reason. Still a bit softer than I would like to see. Even when he was on all chicken and rice, they didn't firm up like they normally do. That is why I thought I would switch to hamburger and rice, which is what I have always given him in the past for colitis. He is getting less than 25% mixed in now, so not sure it will make a big difference now. We went to chicken and rice this time because it seems like that is what everyone here recommends and feeds their dogs, so I felt it might be a better choice as lower in fat. My vet said either was ok as long as I used very lean ground beef and rinsed it or boiled it.

Today (2/27) when I got home from work it looked like there were traces on one of the pooch pads that Jasper had thrown up. :( That scared me a bit because he has not vomited through all of this, that part has been pretty good. But he ate fine tonight and nothing further, so I will monitor. Before work he seemed a little off, maybe his tummy was upset. I hate it when things happen when I am gone, then I don't really know what went on. And he HAS to adjust to and tolerate this food, I just keep praying for that. He seems to be drinking a bit more again also, so will monitor that too. I still measure his water every day, but sometimes it gets tough with Shelby drinking also, and sometimes he will drink a bit out of her little water bowl too.

Sharlene, that big snow storm on Mon and Tues went just to the South of us thank goodness. We got the one last Thursday/Friday with 9" of snow. I spent a good part of Friday night and Saturday shoveling, ugh! Hope you didn't get hit too hard.

Hi Trish! Just posted on Flynn's thread. :)

Hugs,

Tina and Jasper

It's funny as Flynn LOVES chicken, gobbles it down. But I always find it makes his poop a little loose, some of the pups just tolerate things differently I guess. I also find chicken gives him stink breath too. So I have not been giving it to him lately. My vet recommended the leaner meats hence the venison and possum and I add the ziwi peak food which seems to be suiting him for now. He did a vomit a couple weekends ago too, worried me as well but so far no more evidence of that. I dread having to change his diet again as he seems to go off the prescription diets pretty quick, plus I think the poor wee man, one of his great loves is food so I hate to deprive him of his tasty meals! Still, if it is better for them so be it. Hope that wind is easing for you guys, stay safe and warm!! Summer is a coming :D:D (well spring at least!)

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Dang, I couldnt find you:rolleyes::rolleyes:

http://www.vetcontact.com/en/art.php?a=685


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15954557

second paper is older 2004/2005 but has some good info nonetheless.

I'm on thread poop patrol this morning, just checked on Coco and now checking out Jasper's poos:D:D:D:D:D LOL!!!!

Hi All,

Well, my Little Man is hanging in there. I have had him on full RC Renal MP diet since the evening meal on 2/28, and he is adjusting. We continued the metronidazole for a few additional days, he got the last dose of that yesterday morning. I decided to taper it down to once daily for 2 days rather than just stop it after Saturday evenings dose. So hopefully the poops will stay somewhat ok with no metronidazole on board. The weird thing is that he is pooping only about once a day now, he always went twice a day before, like clockwork. My vet said it is ok if he goes only once a day, so I am not going to worry about it at this point I guess.

As far as the food, he does not eat it as enthusiastically as the hamburger/rice, but so far he has finished each meal within about 10 or 15 minutes, so I will take that. My fingers are still crossed, but so far so good with the food. Hoping it continues so I can get him started back on the fish oil in a few days.

He goes in for his monthly Percorten injection today after work. The vet has been decreasing the dose by 10% each month so this time he will get 0.45 ml. The starting dose was 1 ml for the first few months. So far he is tolerating the decrease each month. My vet is hoping to try to get him off the injection once we can get him stable on everything else, which has been a challenge.

My vet said we need to give it a month or two of Jasper being on the prescription food, Enalapril and Welactin (fish oil) before we recheck the UPC. And we need a good month of treatment with diet and Welactin before rechecking the bloodwork. She said we wouldn't see a difference in the triglycerides any sooner than that. The Welactin is key for lowering the triglycerides, and also important in decreasing the protein loss from the kidneys.

So as long as Jasper continues to stabilize and tolerate things, this is the plan:

• Percorten injection 0.45 ml today 3/5
• Recheck a chem panel in 1 month
• Recheck the UPC in 1-2 months
• Recheck the electrolytes when we decide to stop the Percorten
• Continue on Enalapril 5 mg 1/2 tablet twice daily
• Continue on Dexamethasone 0.5 mg 1/4 tablet every other day
• Restart Welactin fish oil supplement 1/2 spoonful on food twice daily, restart in a couple of days if colitis continues to stabilize
• Continue on Royal Canin Renal MP modified protein diet
• Continue to measure water intake
• Recheck baseline cortisol or ACTH stim test at some point to see if there has been any recovery of the adrenal glands

So that is the plan. I'm like Trish, I like a specific plan all spelled out letter by letter. Just a little type A, I think. :rolleyes: ;)

He seems to be feeling pretty good overall, and I am so grateful for that. I treasure every day with him. I actually went out to a concert with a friend on Sunday night and didn't obsessively worry the whole time. :)

I continue to pray like crazy that he tolerates this new food long term, and the Enalapril, renal diet, and fish oil halt the progression of the kidney disease. Please keep him in your prayers for these things also. Thank you everyone for your ongoing caring and support.

Love and many hugs,
Tina and Jasper

Good job, Tina!!!! I'm so proud of you and your Brave Boy!!!!!!!!! :) :) :) :)

Marianne

i have thought about getting a little web cam or something of the sort so i can click in from device and check on shysie when i am away. i know a lady that can check her pups when she is away from them. she has puter set up in room and it has web cam i am guessing and she has it where she can check on them through her phone.

A plan!!! I love a plan! If you weren't an A personality prior to having a sick pup, you sure would be afterwards.
It sounds like a really good plan too. Nice short term and long term elements, goals at different stages. Yep, it's a winner.

You are awesome Tina!!!

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Oh my, that is an A+++++ plan! I love it :D:D

He sounds like he is doing good Tina, stablised on that lower Dex dose too. YAY! Once Flynny has settled BP and UPC I will go back to monthly checks too, seems safe to me. So good to see your vet thinks the same.

I had that outage on here too last night, I had come over here to your thread and had typed a message, then nothing... kept saying internet connection problem here. But rest of my internet pages were working, so must have just been a K9 problem?? I fiddled about half an hour or so before I gave up and went to bed myself!

Hope his tummy has remained settled with the Metronidazole stopping. I have noticed Flynny is pooping less with his changed diet too. We all deserve a rest from kidney worries :D:D SEe you soon no doubt, its getting up to your pit stop time :eek: How did it go at the vet tonight, he get his jab?

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