Loving my Oldies

Thanks for the replies. What I go through is nothing compared with what you two describe . I just get a bit scared from time to time with the breathing difficulties. I thought it could be the preservatives as well, as I use all different brands - anything that I can get Tirra to eat.

To ensure he actually eats, I feed Tirra a mixture of canned food and raw. However, I regularly (just had one now) have sneezing, streaming eyes and coughing fits which develop into difficulty in breathing. In fact, the episode I just had was so bad, I was thinking if I sneeze one more time, I really won't be able to breathe. What on earth could be in the food to bring on something like that? ETA: Tirra is 16 and there is no point in trying to feed him BARF. He would starve to death ... truly!

Dear Anna You of all people mustn't ever feel guilt, but no matter what happens, no matter what we did or didn't do, for some unaccountable reason, we do. We torture ourselves with the "what ifs". Was it something I did; was it something I didn't do; should I have tried a little harder; should I have tried a different medication? Did I keep her going too long? Should I have given her more chances? And so it goes on. You have had Button Powerlegs for all your adult life. She has been a part of all you have done, all the moves you have made, all the big decisions and momentous events of your life. She is an integral part of all you are. She is immersed in your heart and soul. And she will always be there. She was a beautiful little dog who couldn't have had a better or happier life anywhere, or a more loving mum and dad. Goodbye little Button. xx Cynthia

This is all very worrying and my heart goes out to you both. Healing vibes heading northwards and look forward to your morning post saying she is doing well at the vet's and is on the improve. :D for little Charlotte.

Actually, it is impossible to tell the cause of any particular attack. An attack can be extremely sudden. It is known to be aggravated by fatty foods and excessive food intake, but generally speaking the cause is unknown. It can be EXTREMELY painful and the dog can feel very very unwell. Immediate treatment is to the vets, on a drip and nil by mouth. I didn't see this thread before starting mine on the fat content in foods. And, yes. Pancreatitis can kill and it is an extremely unpleasant death.

One of my dogs has had a very severe bout of pancreatitis. Luckily the morning I noticed she was off colour, I took her straight down to the vet and less than 24 hours later following the results of blood tests and nil food, she was on a drip for hydration, pain relief and antibiotics. It developed so quickly: one day she is 100% (although she may not have been, of course, just not showing it) and the next not a happy girl. After I brought her home 4 days later, she was on i/d for a week (which luckily she loved - is she the only dog in the world to love i/d? ) and then more tests were taken. All is now well, but obviously I have to/will be strictly watching her diet from now on. She is allowed 15% fat in dry matter. BUT . . . . all the different ways fat content is displayed. :D Not less than Not more than Broken into various sorts of fat Per serving Per 100g Crude Fat Definitely doesn't make it easy for those of us trying to ensure we don't do the wrong thing. My dogs get a mixture of raw and processed, the processed being a little bit of dry and a little bit of canned. For the dry I have been buying Optimum, but tonight when I went shopping, I looked for the first time at the fat content. It said NOT LESS THAN 14%. Well that could be anything from 14% upwards. I read a long time ago on this forum that people thought highly of Beneful, so I looked at that (the Healthy Weight packet) and as it said Crude Fat 7% I bought that. Then I looked at the cans of mackerel in natural oil and that was even more convoluted. In a 425g can: Fat per 100g: Total 5.0g Saturated 2.5g Trans 0.0g Polyunsaturated 1.0g (less than) Monounsaturated 1.5g (less than) I decided this would be okay if I drained all the fat off and they all loved it. As it was mixed with pasta cooked in home made chicken stock and strained through a thick fabric to remove as much fat as possible, they would have had less than 100g each. Needless to say I am paranoid about making sure Jeune is okay, but I believe the labelling is designed to confuse.

What excellent help has been given here. I have saved your post Puggy Puggy and will be following it. I am pretty upset at the moment, because one of my dogs, Jeune, is at the vets having all sorts of blood tests, but they are pretty sure she has Pancreatitis. She was off colour on Sunday, so I took her straight to the vet. I've has her for about 4 years so she would be between 7 and 8, and she has never been sick in that time. More blood tests will come back today including the one specifically to show whether or not she has it and how bad. Some years ago, I had a little dog with P who eventually died from the disease and she was dreadfully sick for the last couple of days of her life. I am just so upset for Jeune as I know how sick the disease can make them. I know I will be getting all sorts of advice from the vet on her diet and treatment, but just wanted to have a "little wobbly" here. I have 4 other little dogs all of whom, including Jeune, are rescue dogs. My dogs generally have a mixture of raw food, cans, veggies and rice cooked in home made chicken stock.

Does this get rid of the existing stains or just prevent more staining? I wipe Izzy's eyes almost daily. Some days are worse than others. As soon as I wipe, they start "leaking" again. The vet is going to check them out next week. All I know is that one day when I was out with my dogs (they have both long since gone to god), a little girl said, "They have blood all over their faces." Needless to say I was shocked. After using Optrex regularly and then just every couple of weeks, the male ended up with a pure white face and the little girl, just the tiniest bit of staining. I don't have any digital photos of them otherwise I would post.

Me neither . Some of mine will even go for the dry toast

Get some Optrex eyewash from the chemist, soak cotton wool ball and wipe eyes every couple of days. Quick story: I had Maltese with blood red faces from staining, no commercial products worked, one Maltese contracted a mild eye infection, vet told me to use Optrex. I couldn't believe the difference in a matter of days. I used it on both dogs and after a very short space of time one dog had no staining and the other had just a tiny bit. I still use it from time to time on all my dogs, just as a soother and when they have a little accumulation of "sleep".

That's lovely . . . . a boy needs his Mum. :rolleyes:

Bella 'n' Fox in Crystal Street Petersham, although I think that branch has a different name - not sure. They have a salon just up the road from me in Normanhurst and are very good. I know some time ago, they were looking for more staff for their Petersham branch. Their Normanhurst phone number is 9980 8261.

Ha ha --- turning into a Poodle Topic. One of my rescues is a 17 years old toy black rejoicing in the name of Rover !!

This is all VERY encouraging. Thanks so much. I figured that the Nature's Gift might be a bit too rich first off, so I boiled up rice in chicken stock (absorbtion method so very nutritious) and mixed it 1/2 and 1/2. They all loved it. Ha ha - I'm not about to try it either, although I thought it smelt pretty good. I must admit I have felt a bit of a failure with not being able to keep the dogs on BARF, but knowing that so many others can't or don't makes me feel a bit better.

I'm finally giving up and going with the canned and dried food - I will keep up the raw, fresh food though, give a mixture. The dogs love Optimum dry so I am happy there. However, as I have to give medication and like to put it in food, I like to give wet food as well. At Pet Expo last weekend, I bought a Nature's Gift Show Bag and the dogs seemed to really like it, so next time at the supermarket, I bought some cans of it. I also saw Excellence and bought a can of that - again the dogs really loved it. Would be grateful for some opinions.

That is some gorgeous boy you have there. I am sure he'll live up to his name, eventually.

I don't know Robbie's story, Karen, but I feel very deeply for all of you. It's bad enough when a dog is old and sick and suffering, let alone when they are young and vibrant.

Gorgeous cat, Sheree. Certainly does look better after the weight loss. Gussy is just over 6kg and the vet wasn't particularly worried about her weight when she went for her annual vaccination a few weeks ago. But I have certainly cut down on her food and she is very eager for her meal when I give it to her.

Thanks Tali. I will look for that at the vets.

;) Good idea, thanks.

There is a dark smudge almost in the middle of the photo and a little bit of yellow which is her tag. :rolleyes:

Thank you, ladies. Gussy comes walking with me around the block when I walk Tilly and Rover - the oldies. I wish I had a video of her running to catch up with her "undercarriage" swaying alarmingly. Gussy is a grazer and eats very little at any one session; as the birds come into the garage to steal her food, I am never sure how much she actually eats. I have a new system, now, that I give her little meals through the day. I will measure out 1/2 cup and spread that out through the day. Here she is sunbathing. . . . . . Thanks again.

Can this be moved to the Cats sub forum in Off Topic, please. Thanks

Gussy has a new favourite place in the garden. See if you can find her. ;) Oh dear, the pic is really small now that I've had to resize it to fit here.

Some months ago, I started feeding Gussy on Optimum Dry (she's never been overly keen on wet food) and the difference it made to her coat and general appearance was wonderful. However, she has put on a lot of weight and I am trying to feed her less. The Optimum recommendation for a cat of her weight is a cup a day. It seems a huge amount and I am wondering what others think. Gussy is a stray torti of about 8-9 years of age.