My Pug Scoop (Precious Scoop has passed... )

Thank you very much everyone. Like I said before it is wonderful to have so many caring friends. I appreciate everyone being here to help me try to make sense of all this.

I don't know how Scoop's blood sugar is. I was never able to conquer the home testing when Scoop was first diagnosed. He was not happy about that whole thing back then and I don't think he would go for it now. It was never a problem up till now. So many times in the past few months I wish I would have been able to do it. His BG's have always been on the high side so I would be very surprised if it was low. Just hope his cortisol isn't still dropping.

Tipper's mom-I too wish more was known about this disease and all the problems it causes. I sure hope Scoop doesn't have a problem with his trachea.

Another thing Scoop does is he blows out of his nose. It sure sems like there is something in there that bothers him between him doing that and the "gaging" it reminds me of having mucus or phlegm. What gets me is if there is something wrong and something could be done about it but Scoop has to suffer with it because the vet doesn't know what the problem is.

Scoop is sleeping here by me and he is so restless. He keeps moving around
like he can't get comfortable. Sure wish he could tell me what's bothering him.

Addy-I see what you're saying about the headache. I haven't seen what you were describing.

Good night and thank you everyone.
Hugs to all.

I know what you mean, I have often wanted Flynny to start talking so I could know what he was feeling, maybe it is just uggh I got this phlegm in my throat or arrrh I am really sore and then we would know how to help them better and so would the vets. Kind of like treating little babies when they cannot talk and let us know where it hurts. Frustrating! Have a good sleep tonight you two :)
Trish xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Vicki:
I am with you on the concern of trying to do something with this issue before it gets worse. The problem is the Vet's have no answers. I do know that the nasal passages become narrowed in dogs with this disease. It is so frustrating to want to help your baby and nobody can tell you the cause or what to do for it. I feel your frustration, as I am there also. Tipper goes for an ACTH and blood panel today. She was supposed to get a urinalysis, but didn't cooperate in that dept. Wish us luck. Try getting a Vicks vaporizer that has an ultra violet light that kills germs. Turn it on in the room where your baby sleeps in. It has eased Tippers problems some what. Don't use a regular vaporizer, because of the germs that can spew into the air. With the compromised immune systems of these dogs if they would get a lung infection from bacteria, it could be bad. I got my vaporizer on Ebay brand new for only 36.00. I only have to fill it every 2 days and keep it on low. Just watch where it is blowing as it is a cold air vaporizer and you don't want to blow it directly on them. It is the one gallon square one which if you purchase anywhere else can be up to 80 some dollars and over. Let me know how your baby is doing. Sometimes Tipper does that gagging while sleeping and it wakes her up. God Bless you and your baby.

Thanks Trish. It sure would be nice if they had a way of letting us know what is wrong.

Tipper's mom-Thanks for the info. That is something to check into. I would have never thought about the infection from bacteria.

Wishing Tipper a good visit to the vet today. Hope all her tests come back with great results.

Big hugs to you and Tipper.

I hope all goes well today! Let us hear from you when you can and rest assured the waiting room is crowded with all your family here.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

I have a question. I can't remember when this started. It might have been over the summer when all of Scoop's problems started. I just don't remember. I don't really think about it because he hardly ever does it. His bark has changed. It's kind of squeeky and higher pitched. Anybody know of any reasons why? That's something I have never thought of asking the vet about and I have asked her plenty of questions.

I put a few pictures in an album. They are more recent. You can see how Scoop has changed from my avatar picture. I want to get more pictures on sometime soon.

Well, I remember Sona mentioned that about her doxie, Apollo. I think Zoe's bark has also changed somewhat. Though her bark did sound deeper and louder trying to scare of some door to door salesman not to long ago. When she is barking for chicken it is higehr and squeaky.

Well poor little scoop has had so much going on with him. I have no idea why his bark would change.
Poor little guy. You're right he sure has changed. You can really see the head tilt in the pictures. His skin looks better though don't you think? It's red but not furious red. More of a paler color. Hope that means it doesn't bother him as much.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Addy-I remember when someone would come to our door, Scoop used to give it to them. Sure wish he could still do that.

Sharlene-Scoop's skin does look a lot better as far as the redness goes and his calcinosis cutis has gotten better. The cc on his back improved so much after his surgeon started using Mupirocin Ointment on it after his ear surgery. She had me keep using it at home for over 4 weeks. His skin is dark there but the scabs are gone. It was amazing how much better it looked after 3 days in the hospital. It's an antibiotic ointment and it helped with the infection in the cc on his back. His underarms didn't improve too much at first but that didn't have infection. His back started getting scabs and when I put on the ointment they would loosen up and fall off. His underarms still have all those scabs but they have dried up.
Boy, Scoop sure is restless at this time of the night.

Sending hugs to you and your fur baby, it's so hard to see them sick.

Vicki:
Just read about the squeaky voice on your baby. It appears that he has a lot of the symptoms Tipper has. When he drinks water see if there is a funny sound he is making, and let me know. He could possibly have some of the trachea issues Tipper is experiencing. Tippers were detected on an xray, so maybe that is something you would want to discuss with your Vet. When I talk to my Vet I always tell him of any other dogs on this forum, or others who are experiencing the same problems as Tipper, or else he tries to pass it off as something else. This way he knows it is related to this disease, as most of these Vets know very little about the problems associated with this disease and try to tell you it is something else. One more thing, when Tipper first started with the throat issues, and snoring I noticed she tried to sneeze one day and couldn't. It is called an inverted sneeze, and goes along with the trachea problems. I immediately removed her collar and put a harness on her to relieve any pressure on her windpipe. Also I started with Manuka honey and coconut oil for the throat, along with the vaporizer. I am also giving her Glyco Flex, which helps build new cartlidge, which is what causes the trachea problems- the cartlidge has been damaged. Let me know what your Vet says about all this. Tipper is now sneezing fairly well, and so this has made an improvement. Good luck and God Bless us all.

Letti-Thanks. Hugs to you and Simba too

Tipper's Mom-Thank you. I was wondering what kind of funny sound is it when she drinks? It's hard to hear anything when Scoop drinks. He makes such noise lapping up the water. I know what you mean about the vet. Back in the beginning I would say to the vet, I read this on the internet or someone on the forum said that. She would say to me, you read too much. One time she said I should stay off the internet for the weekend. I said I can't go on anyway. That was when we had no power for 6 days after the hurricane. She tries to pass things off as something else just like your vet. When I talk to my mom about stuff like that she would say to me it seems like the vet just doesn't want to hear it. My boys have always done inverted sneezing. Not too often but at times. It's odd though weeks back Scoop did something like an inverted sneezing but a little different. I have to look back at my notes and see if I wrote it down. I can't remember exactly how it happened. I mentioned to the vet about it and she said she didn't know. I should try to video it but it hasn't happened since then. I didn't realize inverted sneeze goes along with trachea problems. Did your vet tell you that they go together? That way I can tell Scoop's vet that your vet said it. Scoop used to do a lot of snoring but since he's been sick he doesn't snore much at all, Raleigh does. Scoop does have those "gagging" issues and something is causing it but the vet doesnt know what. I have always used a harness on my boys not a collar. I will definately say something to the vet next week. She doesn't work Fridays. I want to email her about her thoughts on Chinese herbs. Jessica(Doccy) mentioned Doc was on them and the one is supposed to help keep the tumor from growing. They were prescribed by a neurologist at the University of Florida. Doc is supposed to be having radiation this week. Hope all is going well for him.
Thank you again. I will ask the vet and I will let you know. I will ask her if she thinks a vaporizer will help with the "gagging" issues. Come to think of it, Scoop hasn't done that today that I can remember. That's unusual. Spoke too soon. He just got up and did some gagging.
How is Tipper. Hope she doing well. Hugs.

Hi Vicki, stopping in to give you and Scoop some hugs and to say hello.
I sure hope you are not having to deal with this frigid weather. Zoe is on a poo strike, she always refuses to poo if it is below zero:rolleyes:
Cant say that I blame her though.

We have a pug at work, she is a huge pug, her dad's name was Brusier.:D She does the reversze sneezing and tends to snort and make goofy noises.

Anyway, have to go feed the wee ones but did want to give you a hug
(((((((((((((((((((((hug)))))))))))))))))))))))

rumor has it we may get a hug icon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D:D:D:D:D

Hi Addy-Thanks for stopping by to say hello. The pugs and I can feel the hugs. A hug icon would be so very cool.

Wow, Brusier, must have been a big guy. What's the Pugs name that's at work? Years and years ago I saw a Pug that was very big and I asked how much he weighed-50lbs. That's a lot. The most Scoop ever weighed was 28lbs. Now he weighs between 17.2 and 17.8 depending on what time of day, after he eats or after he poops. His lowest recently was 16.2-16.5. So he has gained a little. With all the food he eats you'd think he'd be fat.

We had a nice warm day on Wed. then yesterday the temp started dropping and it got so windy. The wind goes right through me-brrrrr. Probably Scoop, too. Right now the temp is 26.

With the food Scoop eats I don't think he will go on a poop strike. He goes at least 4 times a day. Sometimes 5 times. Poor guy. It's that W/D food he eats.
I was afraid he would start getting tired of it. Same crap everyday. He eats a full can and a cup of dry split between 2 meals. He does get chicken and carrots in between but the one evening he didn't want to finish the dog food so I took a teaspoon of Raleigh's food and mixed it in. He finished his food. I told the vet. She said I can mix in baby food. Anybody ever do that?

A hug right back to you and the wee ones. Have a good day.

Bella is our work pug. I'll have to put her on the shipping scale to see her what her weight is now, she has been on a diet.:):):) Her dad was over 35 pounds, as I remember the story. We used to have a Rotty and he loved to help load the trucks; he would run in and out of the ltrucks backed up to the loading dock. One time, the shipping guys did not check and they closed him in the truck.:eek: Well, thankfully, we missed him in a few minutes, realized what had happened and called dispatch for the truck to come back. Can you imagine how shocked the shipping terminal crew would have been when they went to unload the truck and found a snaring Rotty inside?:D:D:D:D Anyway, Bella the pug, grew up with the Rotty so she also thought she was a Rotty too:D:D

Just make sure the baby food is 100% meat. I think baby food is pretty pure and we have quite a few members using it for finicky pups.

Have a great weekend!!

Hi Vickie,

Yes you can use baby food just be sure to read the ingredients and get those that contain only the food stuffs they say they do. In other words, if the jar says chicken then the ingredients should only contain chicken - no corn starch, no onion, nothing but chicken. I was shocked when I first looked at baby food for one of my pups at the additives they put in baby foods! :eek: Gerber was one of the worst. A brand called Beech Nut seemed to be the purest.

Hope this helps!
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

Addy-Bella(Isabella) is my grand daughter's name. What a cute story about the Rotty. Sounds like a great place to work with having four-legged "co-workers"

Addy, Leslie-I took Scoop to the vet's the other day to get weighed and pick up a case of his food. I was telling the receptionist that the vet said about baby food but I wasn't sure if she meant meat or veggies. She gave me a jar of Gerber Chicken&Chicken Gravy. The ingredients are Ground chicken, water and cornstarch. I guess I'll be checking out the Beech Nut at the store. What is the reason for no cornstarch? I know about no onion but don't know about cornstarch.
Thanks

I keep forgetting I have results from Scoop's junior wellness test that was done last week. Should I post the high, low results?

yes!:):):)

Cornstarch is just a filler, a thickener for the food, with little nutritional value - a way to make the actual nutritional content lower yet keep the same volume. In other words, they can use less chicken and still fill the jar and get the same price. :rolleyes:

Also corn is a known allergen for many dogs.

Quote:

---

In other words, they can use less chicken and still fill the jar and get the same price.

---

Doesn't that just figure. hmmph

Yes definitely post the abnormals from the test. Always post those, then you have a record of it on here, (easy to find), and we get to dissect them. :)

hugs to you and Scoop and family
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Hi Vicki

Mmm baby food, I bet Scoop is going to love that little addition to the food lineup! Hope you guys have a good weekend :D

Trish xxxxxx

That W/D is brutal for output! how does he like the baby food? Jenny eats Purina OM now. It is a diet food but she doesn't have as much waste. looking for an update. Judi

Not sure if used to be different but Gerber's meat and gravy baby food is also very simple -- gound meat, water, and cornstarch. Same as Beechnut.

Those are the only two brands readily available where I am - my cat is on baby food.

Cornstarch would definitely be related to creating the creamy consistency.

Natalie

Scoop's been having some problems. I don't even know if I will be able to explain it. Hard to put some things into words. It is late. I will post tomorrow if I have time. Also I didn't forget about his blood test results. Just been having a hard time the last few days.

I'm sorry to see that Scoop has been having a hard time. hugs

Me, too! Please do check back with us as soon as you are able.

In the meantime, sending big healing hugs to you both...

Marianne

Oh Vicki, I'm sorry you are having problems.

Big hugs for you and Scoop

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))))) ))))))

Vicki:
Sorry to hear Scoop is having troubles. When you get time let us know what is hapening. God Bless you both.

Sending prayers and healing white light flying your way, Vickie.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

Thanks everyone, I want to send the vet an email so I don't have time right now to post a long one. I'm so upset. I don't feel like I'm going to make it through all of this.

We are right beside you, VIckie. Holding your hand, adding our strength and hope to yours. ((((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))))

Breathe in, breathe out, dont forget to breathe, we're here with you sweetie.

Vickie, you are going to make it through this as you are such a good Mum to Scoop and always do your best. When you get a moment, let us know what's up so we can help if we can. BIG HUGS TO YOU AND SCOOP!
Trish xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

((((( Hugs)))))

Oh Vicki, I just hate to hear of Scoop having any further issues. He's been through so much already and so have you.
I can send you virtual hugs, I wish I could give you one for real. I think you need it. We all do probably, so..
GROUP HUG!!!
You do know you have a full group of people here who love and care about you and Scoop right? You aren't alone in whatever is going on. We'll do what we can to be by your side through anything.
Hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

xoxox patty(milo)meka

Still by your side, sweetie.

I'm here too Vicki