New House, New Structure.

by **plebayo** » June 15th, 2011, 8:09 pm

Well I'm glad his bloodwork came back normal because at least you know his body is working properly.

Did your vet actually palpate his back or extend his hips? If so did he actually say whether or not he had full range of motion?

by **Tubular Toby** » June 15th, 2011, 8:21 pm

Heh, Toby wasn't exactly the most cooperative patient. Laying flat on the ground and trembling was his position of choice, so the vet didn't manhandle him too much. No hip extensions that I'm aware of.

I do like this vet though, he was very optimistic, which made me happy. Time to see if these pills perk Toby up or not.

by **plebayo** » June 15th, 2011, 8:31 pm

Tubular Toby wrote:Heh, Toby wasn't exactly the most cooperative patient. Laying flat on the ground and trembling was his position of choice, so the vet didn't manhandle him too much. No hip extensions that I'm aware of.

I do like this vet though, he was very optimistic, which made me happy. Time to see if these pills perk Toby up or not.

I hope they help, just a word of caution they can upset the tummy. Keep us posted! It sounds like it was a pretty good visit overall and it sounds like you got some more information than you did the time before.

by **Tubular Toby** » June 15th, 2011, 8:33 pm

Thanks for the info! I'll keep an eye on that... I was happy they were chewable and Toby enjoyed it. No more hiding Doxy in slices of ham.... :lol:

I'm off tomorrow so I'll be with Toby a lot over the next while. I'll keep a close eye on him.

by **Tubular Toby** » June 15th, 2011, 9:11 pm

Argh. After being a mopey lethargic beast all day, I take him outside and he wags his tail so hard he knocks the flower off of my Gerbera daisy. Glad to know he's having a moment of feeling better.... :lol:

by **plebayo** » June 15th, 2011, 11:29 pm

That sounds promising! :bounce:

by **Tubular Toby** » June 16th, 2011, 1:58 pm

I decided anything is worth a try and switched Toby back to Blue Buffalo, the food he was on before any of this started. He's eating it like a champ after just staring at Diamond Naturals all morning.

by **pitsnok** » June 16th, 2011, 2:58 pm

Ugh, I'm just reading up on this.

I'm on my phone so I didn't read the entire thread but have his tyroid levels been tested? I can't help thinking a lot of he stuff you're describing really reminds me of Harlow before we figured out her hypothyroidism.
I'm thinking good thoughts for you and the tobster. I hope this gets figured out soon.

by **Tubular Toby** » June 16th, 2011, 3:11 pm

Hm, I'm not sure if his thyroid was specifically tested, but we did have Complete Blood Count and Chem10 (as well as a urinalysis) ran on him... Would that show thyroid problems?

by **Malli** » June 16th, 2011, 3:14 pm

Remember if you change too many things at once, if you see results, it will be difficult to track what had an effect.

by **Tubular Toby** » June 16th, 2011, 3:23 pm

Yeah I thought about that, but I plan on doing the rimadyl and new food. After the rimadyl is up, I won't be getting more immediately, so I'll see how he does with just the new food. Since he nearly refused to eat the old food anyway, it seemed like a good move.

We stopped the Doxy altogether at the vet's instructions, since it wasn't working.

by **TheRedQueen** » June 16th, 2011, 6:51 pm

I'd double check that they specifically did a T4 for thyroid...just to be safe.

by **Tubular Toby** » June 16th, 2011, 10:27 pm

After an exhausting round with his Wobbler and dinner, Toby is laying on my bed next to me, head in my lap, tail wagging. At least for now, everything is right.

by **plebayo** » June 16th, 2011, 11:01 pm

In my non-professional opinion a Thyroid test might be the next way to go. Typical signs we have seen are hair loss and weight gain. However this website:

http://www.siriusdog.com/hypothyroid-dog-signs.htm

Some symptoms that you have described are on that site -

lethargy mental dullness, mood swings hyperexcitability. I do disagree with the cruciate ligament rupture because IMO that has nothing to do with the thyroid. I don't even think we've done a repair on a low thyroid dog...

This website:
http://www.lbah.com/canine/hypot4.htm

Mentions mood swings as well. This website says a CBC might help in diagnosing it, but honestly you have to have the level checked.

Obviously, keep doing what you're doing if it seems to be working. If his symptoms show up again it might be something to ask about. The symptoms are definitely rare, but it could just be your luck you have THAT dog. I'm glad he seems to be doing better and that he is eating! That in itself should help make him feel better.

by **iluvk9** » June 17th, 2011, 5:49 am

Tubular Toby wrote:After an exhausting round with his Wobbler and dinner, Toby is laying on my bed next to me, head in my lap, tail wagging. At least for now, everything is right.

by **Pit♥bull** » June 17th, 2011, 6:55 am

by **Tubular Toby** » June 17th, 2011, 10:03 pm

Toby is in great spirits today.

Decided as soon as he is consistently feeling better, I'll contact Kathy Cascade again and see about having her come to my house for a session and have someone come over while she is there so she can help us. He'll probably make a liar out of me and love whoever it is. :lol:

Until then... as much as I miss having my boyfriend come visit me, we're holding off.

by **iluvk9** » June 18th, 2011, 6:24 am

Tubular Toby wrote:Until then... as much as I miss having my boyfriend come visit me, we're holding off.

You can always climb out your window and sneak a quickie like you are 16 again. (Assuming all 16 yr olds still do that. Or do they all sext?)

So, since he is feeling good, are we assuming the problem is over and it won't reoccur?

by **TheRedQueen** » June 18th, 2011, 9:20 am

iluvk9 wrote:
Tubular Toby wrote:

So, since he is feeling good, are we assuming the problem is over and it won't reoccur?

Not to speak for Kristen, but...no not really. If he's responding to the rimadyl, then it's a pain issue. If it's arthritis, then it's there long term, and she'll have to keep medicating or supplementing somehow. He may still have flare-ups of pain which lead him to have flare-ups of behavior. If it's just short-term pain, that would be better because it wouldn't keep happening.

The problem? He's made associations now with certain places/people...so even though the pain may be gone, he still remembers that he hurt when X and Y came over to the house, and he hurt when W was out walking nearby. So she still may have behavior issues to work through...because of negative assocations. I say "may"...because we never really know what goes through their little pea brains...

by **Tubular Toby** » June 18th, 2011, 10:37 am

I didn't mention this, but I last gave him Rimadyl on Thursday morning (after he gobbled down Blue Buffalo after turning up his nose at the Diamond Naturals). I don't know if his refusal to eat Diamond caused him to be lethargic (seeings how for the last few months I've been commenting on just how much he sleeps, I'm not inclined to believe this) or *what* really. I know that less than a day isn't long enough for a diet change to make a difference (at least I don't think it is), but even after being off the Rimadyl for a couple of days, he seems to be doing great. Rimadyl would be easy to start back up if Toby doesn't feel well again, but I really wanted to see just how much of an effect actually eating again would have on him.

I also got a strong recommendation for a local vet that is holistic. I didn't even know we had one! If we go back to a vet, we're definitely going to give that one a try. But Erin was right, we're definitely still working with a trainer. I don't even want to try having anyone over until I can have her come over too. I guess there is still the chance that Toby's problems *ARE* behaviorally based for the most part. But at any rate, he's getting a few weeks on his preferred food and I'm going to make sure that his energy level and loving life stays normal before even thinking about trying anything out.

You can always climb out your window and sneak a quickie like you are 16 again. (Assuming all 16 yr olds still do that. Or do they all sext?)

Geez Joyce, and all I wanted him to come over for was to hang out!! :angel2:

Toby is pestering me to feed him! Guess I'd better.

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