BDog

My Frankie does this - He actually bites his nails off. The vet says that it could be that his nail beds are quite unusual in the way the protrude... I just keep his nails as short as I can at all times and always make sure his feet are clean and dry.

Hi all! Firstly, thank you for all helping out earlier (in the "Need Help With My Dog?" thread) Elroy and I went to the vet yesterday so he could meet the new vet and have a check up... He is going back in on Tuesday morning to spend the day to have full blood work done, chushings disease tests, thyroid re-checked, another test beginning with 'H' which I dont remember and cartrophen injections. The vet said he's in a pretty bad way with everything and also informed me that not only does he have a heart murmur, kidney disease, calcium oxalate stones, arthritis, is 5 kilos overweight... but also has some sort of liver disease. My poor little man Good news though, Elroy first weighed in at 10.1 kilos, but is now 9.7 kilos! So we are making great progress! I am trying to get him to be a little more active to ease up his very stiff joints and lose some weight... But doing it very gently so not to hurt his ticker. He's gone mad pulling his fur out and now had a lot of bald patches due to a skin condition... The poor little man, it just seems like nothing is right for him I am not assuming he will make any sort of full recovery, but hopefully with my efforts he will be more comfortable for the rest of his days... He's just in so much pain all the time, but still manages to always have a smile on his face and wag his tail and (try) to jump around with excitement...! Here is Roy next to one of my other bubs... (at 10.1 kilos, and she is 4) Every 2 weeks I will take a new photo of him and compare it with that, so if anyone's interested, let me know and I will post them up for u!

RIP Little Gavin... Gorgeous little man!

Brilliant! Thank you, I will have a read of that!!!

Thank you! I will definitely ask about the cushings and diabetes. What exactly is Cushings?

hmm i didnt realise the thyroid helped function all those parts! I am going to definitely have his thyroid checked as he has excessive thirst, appetite, his ears and eyes have stopped "cleaning themselves"and more...

Thanks for that info! When a dog has a thyroid problem, what exactly does it mean for his overall health. I dont know a lot about the thyroid other than it causes weight gain. Can it be fixed?

yep i guess it will be.. I was weighed him and will weigh him once a week and record his progress! I am so excited to finally (hopefully) he able to help him!

BDog, my dog is nearly 13 years old but he is very fit and strong and can run rings around me. His weight, when we were having some feeding and medication (cortisone) issues, went up to 24 kg. He's now about 20.5 kg. I would like him to lose perhaps another 1-2 kg to get to an ideal weight. He's a middling size terrier. I feed him tuna or sardines (both in springwater) and a couple of premium kibbles. Kidney diets can be tricky things, particularly if complicated by something else. The important thing with kidney disease is that you have to keep the dog eating and drinking. It will be an entirely different disease (as your dog is not losing weight and not a wheaten terrier), but I lost my last wheaten to a kidney disease and once he stopped eating, that was it. Please also check with the vet about the medications as most dogs I know who have had a kidney disease get on a raft of meds rather than just one. The holistic vet sounds good! You'll need to ensure that something like Joint Guard isn't going to affect his stone or heart murmur or kidneys. Thank you so much for this advice! I am not 100% sure why he's on no meds, I would have assumed that he would have been? From what I know, my dads vet (who i have a personal dislike for) said that meds wouldnt do a lot for him this far along. I think I disagree with her and am going to get another opinion. I am not 100% sure what the other 3 vets have said about him in regards to medication. You have given me hope that it is possible for him to lose the weight! Roughly how long did it take your dog to drop those kilos? Re the joint guard - that is exactly why I wanted to check with the new vet first - The last thing I would want is to cause him any more pain. Thank you again so much, you are being so helpful!

Brilliant! Thank you so much for that link! I can see how much his weight is affecting his mobility - at times he can barely stand... He gets very swollen in the mornings and evenings especially and for me, he NEEDS to lose weight because I just hate to see him struggle like that! I was actually wondering about the joint guard etc... My 3 yr old rescue girl is on it due to her abuse in her past... She will develop bad arthritis in the future... I thought I should wait and spk to the vet first before giving it to him? I would love to get him to be doing exercise as much as he can but the last thing I wast to do is over-excerpt him. So far we have been strolling around the grass on the front of the street for a few mins a day and all he wants to do is lay down. I would hate to hurt his heart with too much excerption. Is it possible for him to have a heart attack from that? He's on no medication at the moment - only metacam for his pain when he really needs it...

Thanks so much everyone - I will definitely look into every suggestion! His oxalate stones are an entirely different thing to his kidney disease - he has both. That is why I have been under such strict instructions not to give him certain foods. (most of all meats, legumes and sweet potato... and carrot and spinach). I am willing to try anything to help him out though... He's such a lovely boy and he just looks like he's in so much pain all the time. This morning he could not get out of bed to toilet because his joints were so sore... My husband is going out today to buy us some scales so we can start to weigh his food instead of measuring it... I'm sure this will all become much easier in the near future as he has only been living with us for a few days so far and I am not used to caring for a dog like him yet... My other dogs were entirely different as we were dealing with behavioral problems due to neglect and abuse... Elroy is the sweetest little boy in the whole world and looking at him in so much pain is so sad... I have tried to read as much as I possibly can on the internet re weight loss etc and am going to try and find a good vet (we live in a small town with only 2 vets who are both great, but def. not holistic). I believe that his weight is the biggest issue to tackle first as it directly affects all of his other problems. If I had to categorise him, I would say he's morbidly obese... And he has a heart murmur which the vet said will probably be his downfall. My family has been trying to get him to lose weight unsuccessfully for years, but I am 110% determined to finally succeed! Does anyone know roughly how long it takes old dogs to actually lose weight? In my mind he really needs to lose 5kgs, but at 13 I am not entirely sure if that is possible? Does slight exercise help a great deal in the process of losing weight for dogs as it does with humans? (Please excuse my ignorance if this is a silly question, as none of my dogs have ever been overweight and I really dont know a lot about it?) Also, one more small bit of info... He's visited 4 vets to date re his condition who all diagnosed him the same... He will be visiting his 5th vet soon for a check up and another opinion...

how would I go about moving the thread if anyone feels it's in the wrong place?

Thank you so much for this info! He has has the stones for a long time and had them removed once before. I am under strict instructions not to give him raw bones as he's not allowed any meat - especially red meat but I will def. ask the vet about this and do more research one it. Using the u/d food is only something I have been instructed to do - I am very open to trying new things and will do anything to help the old guy out. My dad never had him on any sort of glucose powder (like saschas blend or glide) for his arthritis and I was thinking of adding some to his food, but thought it may be best to ask the vet first? My 3 yr old rescue has glide mixed with her food as I have been told she will develop bad arthritis in the future due to horrible neglect and abuse before she came to live with us.... her joints already get sore and she's only 3 - its very sad... i wasnt sure that this was the right section for this post - I am more than happy for it to be moved (which i said in my initial post). I am not 100% on what constitutes terminally ill other than I have been told he will be very lucky to live out 2009... I am very sorry if I have offended anyone with my thread placement.

Thank you - I will start him on 100g first thing. Is it possible for a sick, 13 yr old dog to lose just over 5 kilos? Here is a pic of the top of him compared to my lil girl rescue who is 3 yrs old... they are the same height and length...

yes, the u/d is for his stones... as far as i know, its high in water and has nothing in it which can add calcium to his urine. His kidney disease and stones are two separate things... but apparently his kidney disease gets worse if the crystals are allowed to form into stones.... Do you know what form of kidney disease it is or is that in the vet stuff you're waiting on? I know cats get the crystals. I have a reference somewhere at home, I think, so will look that up. It would have been from when I was on the K9-Kidney list. In regards to the weight, I'd be interested in what the vet thinks. Might be something else unrelated to the kidney disease. Depending on what type it is, I would have thought that he'd have trouble keeping the weight on. Unfortunately I am still waiting on the vets papers to find out the specifics on his kidney disease... The papers I have only make reference to the disease, stones (calcium oxalate stones) and heart murmur but with no specifics. He has been on a "diet" for years now and only seems to be gaining more weight. I was told yesterday by my family that he weighs 9 kilos, but I have just weighed him and he's now 10.1 kilos. in Dec 2007 he was 8... I am not exactly sure what the cause of the weight gain is - apparently he isnt being fed a lot, but it seems now that maybe he is being fed too much? His food intake will be make smaller from today onwards and he will go for daily slow strolls and I will track his progress over the next few weeks re the weight. He is really the biggest small dog I have ever seen... I am hoping that the weight gain and overall obesity is as simple as eating too much - I hope its not yet another health issure for the poor lil guy...