Senior gals day coming up at the vets.......

[angelaw]

Ok, have an appt on the 13th, only day I can get the girls in.


Duchess is 12.5 yrs old, going deaf,spondylosis. Well she's started off itching/scratching. Thinking dry skin, but if you look at her rear legs, looks almost like she has mange, hair is missing (no sores), also on her rear near her tail. Her hair on her back is extremely coarse. Nothing diet wise has changed. I'm thinking thyroid? Can that also cause issues with bowel movements (some days good, some days cleanup) or would that be more to the spondyosis? Plan on vet taking a look at her, and running the thyroid but it'll take 2 wks to get back from Univ. Michigan.

Oxana will be 11 in February. She is going in to be xrayed, last month she's been slipping as she runs. I know her hips are good, so not sure what's going on there. After she slips, she limps or hops so not looking forward to this either.

Not sure what i'm looking for except if anyone else has seen/dealt with this. I hate having them get old. Too soon after Vishnu!!!!!

[3K9Mom]

Definitely run the thyroid. My U of M T3-4 results are usually back in a week. Maybe it depends on the time of year? As my seniors have aged, I've had to make changes to their diets. Their systems don't handle what they used to tolerate as easily. What are you feeding Duchess?

What xrays are you thinking about for Oxana? Is she limping from the front or rear? Wrists and knees are prime places to get arthritis, even toes.

I also get a full blood panel on my seniors at their physical exams, and urinalysis. These help rule out systemic issues that might be causing the symptoms you're looking at, and ensure nothing else is creeping up on us.

[angelaw]

Duchess is getting Taste of the Wild like everyone else. No one else is having coat issues. Heck she wasn't either until recently. The places where the hair is really thin, it has dark spots and her belly does as well.

For Oxy, I'm thinking spinal, maybe disc?? she's limping in the rear. At first I didn't take much notice since I thought she was just coming in too quickly and sliding on the tile, but I had the gang out this past Sunday and she slipped on the grass.

[angelaw]

no one else? figures I get the dogs with the stuff no one's heard of, lol.

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

I have such scary thoughts all the time that I try not to say them!

For Duchess:
Definitely on the thyroid, definitely blood work, check for infection/staph, anal glands, and maybe even a big fecal/blood thing for Texas A/M if the diarrhea continues, because I am thinking that things change over time with their IgA, B12, etc. I am thinking about this for Kramer. For Christmas. He's had some diarrhea episodes-they know I am worried about the same thing that happened to Nina-but the Tylan powder that he's been on has been keeping things firm.

For Oxsana, that is an area I am not so sure about-as compared to other ones where I am not sure but have seen some stuff, but one thing I learned is that if there is any weakness anywhere, if they are not feeling well in any way, that weakness will show up. So she could have something that you wouldn't even know about, some little UTI, URI, something infectious that would respond to abx or it could be something more normal like something actually related to what it looks like! So I would definitely do the bloodwork. I would really hone in on the knees though.

And since LisaT hasn't posted for both, tick tests!

[angelaw]

But for Duchess it's not on a daily basis. Last 2 days fine, day before that runs, couple days more fine, then runs. No rhyme or reason.

I am leaning towards it being thryoid for her, Oxana is the one that has me worried. She's not lethargic, still energetic, still wanting to get out and run, except for the sudden falling down thing. whole week to have to stew about it, ugh!

[3K9Mom]

Gosh, Angela, I don't get an evening off once in a while?

For Duchess, Everything Jean said. I was asking about diet not because of her fur (which does appear to be thyroid related at first glance) but mostly due to her stools issue. As we get older, our tolerance for food changes. Often, the stuff we've eaten most of our lives isn't as digestible as it used to be. I've tinkered with my seniors' diets a few times as they've aged. You may just need to add a bit more fiber or a bit more bland protein (boiled rinsed turkey or chicken) to get the fat percent down some.

And I'd talk to my vet about running a spinal series of xrays (lumbar-sacral, maybe thoracic). Nerve impingement and disc problems at the interstate of nerves (the spinal cord) can cause problems with the lower GI tract which is managed by an expressway of nerves. While I'm at it, I'd have them snap a chest xray, just because I like getting films of my seniors' hearts and lungs while they're lounging on the table anyhow.

For Oxana, I'd think about running spinal xrays as well. Sometimes, it's as simple as a little cyst impinging on the spinal cord. I'd also shoot her hips. Good hips for H/D doesn't mean she can't/won't get arthritis where those beautiful little balls of femoral head get rough and abrasive. Consider xrays of knees too. And even more so for Oxy, a chest shot. Pneumonia or a heart issue (often easily controlled by drugs) might be revealing itself as weakness.

As Jean said, infex. These don't always show up as elevated temp, in blood panel or in urinalysis. But they're the best across the board, least-costly diagnostics we have.

[angelaw]

No you don't, lol

I xrayed Duchess last fall to see how the spondylosis was progressing. It shouldn't be too much longer before her spinal cord is completely fused down towards her tail.
it was kinda like this is her spine:
-----------
------------

where it literally drops down. I know with her it's a waiting game unfortunately before I have to decide. But we'll see, but you guys give me some other ideas to check for!

[BowWowMeow]

Definitely on the thyroid panel. And I'm thinking knees with the slipping/limping issues.

I'm taking Rafi and Chama in on Friday. Chama has some inflammation in her gums and I want the vet to check to make sure she doesn't have anything serious going on there (or need more teeth pulled). All of her other problems (arthritis, torn ligaments, lung issues) are being managed best as we can.

[LisaT]

Originally Posted By: JeanKBBMMMAANI....And since LisaT hasn't posted for both, tick tests!

Tick diseases should always be ruled out!!! And that is no laughing matter however!

I've been posting from my phone lately, which takes four times as long, so I haven't posted in all the forums I often do.

I hope that the thyroid comes back low for Duchess - the signs are classic, but we all know that things don't always show up as we expect.

The digestive stuff, heck, could be so many things. Could be the thyroid too, could very well be the spondylosis. Sometimes just a slight change in the diet can cause problems -- and if you are feeding preprepared food, there are slight changes from batch to batch, I suspect, so there might be a growing intolerance. With both my dogs, when they became with stools, it was either an intolerance or infection issue.

With Miss Indy, her thyroid kinda gave out at 9 years old (med sized dog), and she requires burst of extended antibiotics for often unknown reasons.

With Oxana, I would carefully evaluate any meds that she is on, if any (like flagyl, for example), and then I would go with my acupuncture or chiro.