German Shepherds Forum banner

What Now

1K views 19 replies 7 participants last post by  Thecowboysgirl 
#1 ·
Okay so first the good news. My girl has not had nausea, vomiting, or cerenia since the end of January!!! So, as much as we have hated the side effects, the prednisone worked. She is off all of the other meds. I am reserving final judgement until a full two weeks passes since she just weaned off her last dose of omeprazole. The last time I took her off of it she had her worst episode of nausea ever. So we shall see. But I am basically on board with trying to get rid of any drugs we don't think are necessary, because man she was a pharmacy there for awhile and she wasn't even symptom free.

She has had urinary incontinence of varying degrees since starting the prednisone. She just went through a battery of tests last week for blood glucose and checking for uti, and so far everything is normal but I do think there is a culture one that hasn't come back yet. The plan is to switch her to budesonide hopefully this week when all those other tests rule out other causes for the incontinence. My vet tells me the side effects are less on this drug. I asked again about trying her off of it all when I was with my regular vet this week and he said yes but not yet, she needs a few months of remission.

Her current diet is: 2 1/2 cups of THK Keen and 3 1/2 scoops of Ziwipeak lamb, split into 3 meals per day. She gets digestive enzymes and probiotics, and Phyt'n Chance. I've got her back up to 65lb. She still seems just weaker than before and less coordination. Not in a serious, we need to go to the vet way, just, wow...she kind of looks her age to me for the first time.

So the last piece of the puzzle is her stools. She has had looser stools than I like since starting THK. At times kind of like a plop pie. Mostly formed but soft. At first LOTs of undigested food. Interestingly, now they are looking much more like poop and not the food that she just ate. I am hopeful that this is a good sign that maybe her system is working better? But I still wonder if this is a good diet for her as soft as they often are? She had HORRIBLE gas for about the first two weeks on honest kitchen, I mean peel the paint off the wall. This has mostly gone away.

So, I am not sure this diet is the best thing for her? Or if I should try something different and if so, what? The only other thing I can think of is home cooked which I still really can't do because unfortunately my vet got ALL my money again. I actually had the money for the freezer! And then both of them had to go to the vet unexpectedly and poof, it's gone again.

Also we are talking about putting her on Prolin (sp?) for the peeing. She is continuing to frequently pee in her sleep at night. Both vets feel, and there is supporting evidence, that she had subclinical beginnign incontinence before the prednisone and it just brought it out.

So, any thoughts on her diet, the meds, ect?
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Oh my.....
This poor girl has been thru SO much!
Please don't change her diet and make her body go thru another change.

The foods you are feeding are REAL food and nourishing her body.
If she were mine, I would not care about soft stool.

If this is a huge concern for you, you could add 2 teaspoons of Organic Psyllium Seed powder. It can help firm up stool, but for some dogs (my grand dog is one) the stool looks to come out kind of strange, like (for better lack of a word) small strips or sheets of stool. Other dog's it doesn't. Just wanted to let you know, in case, so that you would not be worried about it.

This is a very nice one that I always have on hand:
https://www.amazon.com/Viva-Natural...-1&keywords=viva+organic+psyllium+seed+powder

Moms :)
 
#3 ·
Thanks Moms...yeah she has been through a lot. Another thing I have noticed...her hair isn't growing back it seems. I can't remember the date of her endoscopy, I'll have to look it up.

But her ultrasound at the big hospital was a month before the endoscopy, so months ago now, maybe three? And the square patch on her side where they shaved her is still clearly visible. Some hair has grown back but not matching her other coat. And the two spots they shaved her front legs are still clearly visible.

I know it grew back faster the other times. I wonder if her body just can't do anything extra right now. Especially the way she lost weight on the prednisone, she just doesn't have the energy to grow back the hair?

So noticeable that a judge at the trial on Saturday asked me what procedure she had had done because she could see the shaved spots.

If anything, her stools are gradually improving. I was cooking and adding ground turkey to her THK for awhile when she was losing weight so fast. I may start doing that again, especially when she gets off the pred because at some point I think she is going to start packing on the pounds for the amount of food she is eating and I may have to tweak it to keep her lean. Right now it's a free for all, I train her using the ziwi and basically don't monitor how much I feed her at all because she is still thin so who cares.

I may also make her a pup loaf like I have been for the boy, she is very jealous of his, but I don't want to feed her beef. But I could make her one out of ground turkey.

I am hopeful that her stools seem to be VERY gradually improving? Maybe her insides are healing...I can only hope
 
#6 ·
She has had them all :) She has been thru 2 tubs of Sunday Sundae, then 1 Adored Beast, and now Animal Essentials. I went to Animal Essentials because it had cellulase...and her gas was so bad I wondered if it was fiber causing it. And she is not on a grain free diet, so I thought, she probably needs the cellulase?

My other dog won't eat the Adored Beast. It does have an odor, almost like vinegar or something, and he was like "mom, what did you put in my food???" he's like that. They both decided they didn't like the taste of Sunday Sundae anymore. But Animal Essentials seems to be tasteless, and they don't notice it.
 
#8 ·
Unfortunately I have nothing helpful to offer but I am kinda in the same boat with you... I did hear that people had success with a supplement from THK called Perfect Form. I bought a canister of it but my dog wont really eat it - it has a strong celery/fennel smell. But if your dog will eat THK (mine won't) then she would probably eat it.

I know what you mean about the vet got all your money. Likewise here. I also kinda agree that I would be less worried about poop appearance if overall health seems better. Good luck and keep us posted!
 
#9 ·
She is a good eater anyway, and on prednisone she is a monster. She eats things that aren't food. She eats poop like it's candy. Disgusting.

Usually I can stay one step ahead of her and she will not eat it if I am right there watching, so I scoop as soon as it hits the ground.

But so today on our hike, the boy got what I call a "mommy hair cling on"....I have long hair...you can figure out the rest. So he is having a poopy disaster, and I am trying to get the dangler off of him, and meanwhile she snuck around behind my back and did away with the one he had just layed.

HORRIBLE. She was not like this before, it's all related to her stomach problems and of course the hunger on the prednisone.

Anyway, she would literally eat anything right now, basically without checking to even see what it is first :/
 
#10 ·
Sunday Sundae does have cellulase , and so does Feed-Sentials.
I am scrambling to get a new web site done up and all the enzymes and all the probiotics will be listed.

try a simple Prozyme?

there is poor breakdown of the food -- which is why you are having chunks appear virtually untouched and gas (fermentation)

there are liquids such as Farmhouse Culture Gut Shots - one formula is Beet and Ginger - both excellent for the stomach probably your best bet because some of the others are quite peppery.
I even tried the Sunday Sundae mix with the Ginger Beet Gut Shot recipe Probiotic Farmhouse Culture Gut Shot 5 Ways ? Healthfully Ever After

wait till I see you next time Saphire ! lol.

Coconut kefir anyone?

Check in to the power house collaboration of Rubin (Garden of Life who I met when he was first starting out - great product line!) and Perlmutter (Brain Maker)

some great products - as there are several targeted formulae make sure that there is nothing offensive to dogs .

what about sour cherry - dried - as a treat -- or some pure sour cherry juice ?
 
#11 ·
About her hair not growing back. In humans many experience hair loss while on long term Prednisone and especially when they taper down. I would imagine the same could be true for dogs as well. It may just be the prednisone is slowing her hair regrowth.
Last fall mine got a very bad hotspot that required antibiotic spray and prednisone to clear it. Her hair still hasn't come in all the way and it's been months. I think the pred really slowed down the regrowth.
 
#14 ·
I don't know. I mean, it could be somewhat related to volume, too, because I have been feeding her kind of a lot trying to put the weight back on her that she lost on the pred. Once she is off that, I think she will be eating less to maintain herself and it will probably help.

I have not tried Perfect Form yet....
 
#17 ·
There is always a Gut Shot in my fridge.
So this morning I had a smoothie made with juice of sour cherry , blueberry and pomegranate , Gut Shot , vanilla Kefir and Phyt'n Chance with some extra sprouted wheat grass powder.

Husband and self had our share and the bit left over that I didn't want to put into the fridge will be massaged into the ground meat with bones and organs for the dogs afternoon feed.

Here is an excerpt from Animal Wellness magazine -- about pomegranate juice

"Pomegranates

Pomegranate fruit has been adored for centuries because of its combination of incredible flavor, balanced nutrition, and often-unexpected medicinal effects. Whole pomegranate is an excellent source of fiber and antioxidants for dogs, and pooches enjoy its taste and texture. But its benefits don’t end there: several studies have found that this ancient fruit can help with heart disease in humans and animals alike. Its natural juices also coat a dog’s teeth with bacteria-fighting compounds that prevent cavities and gum disease. Interestingly, the antioxidants in pomegranate appear to specifically protect animals’ bowels. Given the increasing rates of colon cancer in dogs, it’s prudent to add pomegranate to your pal’s preventative health regimen"

Make sure when you are using juice that there is NO sweetener .
I wouldn't feed the pomegranate fruit seeds -- much too difficult to digest and could cause problem.

In the course of taking care of our animals we should remember how important we are to them - and we have to take care of our selves.

take some time out and care for yourself.

If your dog isn't crazy about Gut Shot - then you add it to your diet .
 
#19 ·
That's funny. I have eaten Sunday Sundae and I was just looking at the Phyt-n Chance thinking, maybe I'll try this lol. Not too many things I feed my dog I am tempted to try!

My husband and I ARE on a health kick right now. My new fit bit tells me tracking is great exercise, if anyone is interested!!

I'm looking into all this stuff for her. My hope is that the steroids are buying me time to get my holistic arsenal in order so that maybe as we wean her off of them she can actually have enough health to stay off of them.
 
#20 ·
See what I mean...I may be remembering wrong but I just think her hair grew back better before. Her belly was shaved at the beginning of Jan when they first saw her at the big hospital. Her front legs were shaved a month later when the put her under for the endoscopy.

The belly shave is still clearly visible even though some hair has grown back.

BTW she is just standing weird because she kept wanting to sit and I was making her stand for the pic..
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top