It's getting worse... Ugh!

[Cbrugs]

Hopefully you can find out what's going on with the bloodwork. A food change might be a good idea as well. I like the idea of holding off on the Apoquel and/or Cytopoint as it would be great if you can figure out what is causing the issues first. Jax has been on Apoquel since he was 1 and we are going for the Cytopoint injection within the next week or two but he has severe environmental allergies.

It sounds like you have a great vet!

 

[ddnene]

So good you love and can your vet at times like this! I love mine too! so, just out of curiosity,,, how do you know if glands are full??? So far, im pretty confident that Hank hasnt had them full and his poops are so good that i think it clears them naturally but!!!!!!!!! im not altogether sure about this and with me trying to get him used to a 'complete' food i can use when we travel (cant carry fresh meat) he hasnt been as perfect as usual so may have an issue... Anyway,, thanks, and hope things keep improving...

Well honestly the ONLY way that I know he's having issues is he will start growling at his butt... I wish I had a better answer for you... Lol

 

[Dollys Owner]

I think the Cytopoint is a lot safer than the Apoquel so it would be great if you could get away with just using the Cytopoint and not the Apoquel. Apoquel can cause skin tumours and possibly urinary tract infections.

Hopefully you can find out what's going on with the bloodwork. A food change might be a good idea as well. I like the idea of holding off on the Apoquel and/or Cytopoint as it would be great if you can figure out what is causing the issues first. Jax has been on Apoquel since he was 1 and we are going for the Cytopoint injection within the next week or two but he has severe environmental allergies.

It sounds like you have a great vet!

 

[Dollys Owner]

I read somewhere once that once dog gets their anal glands expressed they usually have to keep getting them expressed, so one should always tell groomer not to express them if there isn't a problem.

Thanks for all the positive thoughts and prayers... our appointment was late last night because the vet was having an inspection on her mobile unit. [MENTION=13133]TyTysmom[/MENTION] I actually DID take a list to see her because I would forget... Lol Luckily for me I do have her personal cell number so I can send her a text.

She did the TSH test, and we actually had done a FULL blood panel a year ago when I had hired that trainer from Nashville. We have the results from those tests so at least w/the thyroid we have a baseline. Those results will hopefully be in by this weekend. Anals were full AGAIN... so I guess the Glandex isn't working. We are going to try Metamucil and see if that helps, or maybe now is the time to try a higher fiber food. I have waited on the food change to see about his thyroid test results, the only thing they are eating right now is Fromm's Beef Frittata. Eye was just allergies, she did a stain and thankfully NO ulcers. [MENTION=16884]Dollys Owner[/MENTION] Thanks for the tip about the vetericyn eye drops... I will get some to have on hand. I talked to her regarding Apoquel and the Cytopant... she said that she uses BOTH drugs on dogs and sees great results. The ONLY issue is that ONCE you start w/those you have to keep using them. They are considered the TOP allergy meds for dogs, and she doesn't feel that Walter is at that point yet especially since we don't quite know why he is losing his hair. She feels that once we get some answers on his blood tests, and then I will start a food trial and we will see what happens. One of the reasons that I like her SO much is that she is very patient when it comes to changes w/my pups... one step at a time.

At least NOW I know that when his anals are FULL he is NOT a happy camper, and his behavior does show it. I'm going to keep a chart on how often they need to be cleaned... right now we are at about every 2 to 3 months and I don't know if that is considered normal.

 

[2BullyMama]

Holy crap... Tracey-- so sorry this is all coming back around.

I hope you get some answers with the tests and he settles back in

Hugs and kisses to you all


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[Hankster]

Well honestly the ONLY way that I know he's having issues is he will start growling at his butt... I wish I had a better answer for you... Lol

Laughed right out loud!!! I mean poor dude but.... well ya know,,, they do have a way of communicating don't they!!!

 

[ddnene]

I read somewhere once that once dog gets their anal glands expressed they usually have to keep getting them expressed, so one should always tell groomer not to express them if there isn't a problem.

We never had an issue until one of his erupted and he had blood coming from his rear area, and it's been an issue ever since. I'm sure you are right thought...

- - - Updated - - -

Laughed right out loud!!! I mean poor dude but.... well ya know,,, they do have a way of communicating don't they!!!

Oh YEAH they do...

 

[Manydogs]

Sorry to hear that Walter is having problems again. Wondering if your vet suggested trying using Polyethelene Glycol or something high fiber-I'm sure she probably has? Poor Tracey,and poor Wally. There is also a product for dogs called Glandex. It comes in soft chews. [MENTION=9157]ddnene[/MENTION]

 

[ddnene]

Sorry to hear that Walter is having problems again. Wondering if your vet suggested trying using Polyethelene Glycol or something high fiber-I'm sure she probably has? Poor Tracey,and poor Wally. There is also a product for dogs called Glandex. It comes in soft chews. @ddnene

We were using the Glandex for about 3 months, and it didn't really change anything. We are now talking about using Metamucil, I'm just waiting to hear the dosages from her...

 

[ddnene]

Update on Walter's labs...

WELL this is interesting... his blood work came back and he does NOT have thyroid. In fact she said that his blood work looked amazing EXCEPT for one issue. His electrolytes were off, not enough for her to worry too much but she wants to run them again next week. She told me that it could possibly be an indicator of addison's disease, BUT at this point she said that other levels should of been off as well. She said hopefully we will get an answer w/the next round of labs.

It could be that the Benadryl I was giving him was making him SO lazy and drowsy that we were really thinking thyroid. We are going to try other allergy meds to see if that helps me. SO back on the waiting game...

He's not losing anymore hair, and I'm going to slowly change his food out since we know for sure that the thyroid is good.

 

[Manydogs]

Good news....but you are still sort of where you started. Glad all his bloodwork was good and that is a plus. I certainly hope he does not have Addison's. Will continue to pray for you and little Wally.

 

[Texas Carol]

I send LOVE to you, Tracey and glad WallyGator's thyroid is good as is blood work.

Frustrating for sure but slowly eliminating things will find and solve the problem.

Holding y'all in prayer for answers & soon, big hugs! XOXO

 

[Hankster]

Just incase you miss this from another post,,,, THIS IS A REPOST that I'm sharing from DollysOwner...." It's good to rotate antihistamines- I give my dog chlorpheniramine 4-8 mg every 12 hours or Zyrtec (Cetirizine) 0.5 mg/pound once daily, which works out to 10-20mg daily. Diphenhydramine dose is 1 mg/pound 2-3 times daily. All 3 are available in generic versions in Canada that are really inexpensive. Benadryl is the most sedating so I don't give that for seasonal allergies." I had copied it so as to print it out so it was right here at my finger tips.... hope it was ok to repost!

 

[2BullyMama]

I never even thought of the benedryl being an issue


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[Hankster]

Im feeling kind of weird posting someone else's stuff. I'm going to see if I am sort of tagging him correctly so that he has a chance to know that it's here and say what he wants about it. [MENTION=16884]Dollys Owner[/MENTION]