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  #1  
Old May 1st, 2004, 11:16 PM
pamp pamp is offline
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Exclamation sick golden retriever

My almost 10 year old golden retriever started being very lethargic last Saturday night. When I got up on Sunday morning, he was laying on the floor curled up, shaking. His eyes were runny and he looked horrible. I took him to the emergency clinic where they took his temp..normal and couldn't find anything wrong with him. On Monday night I had to take him back in. Same lethargy, looked worse. They did blood work on him and took x-rays. Both came back normal, but he cried a little bit when his head/neck was examined. The vet indicated it could be a disk problem, pinched nerve, etc and to keep an eye on him. His stance became shaky and he favored his left front paw. They gave me Rimadyl for him. By Thursday, he was no better. Infact, he was doing this coughing thing as if he had something lodged in there. I took him to our regular vet who felt his neck and said it was swollen. She indicated he could have something lodged in there, it could be an abcess, or possibly cancer. She took a needle and was able to get a tissue sample. The sample came back with some infection and high white blood cell count. She gave him a shot of "dex" and some amoxicillin. he was good for one day, due to the shot is what I was told. He's now on the amoxicillin and another antibiotic called Baytril. He can't eat his regular food, so am giving him white rice and hamburger. His appetite is good. I'm afraid I'm losing him. Can anyone help me with some advice?
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  #2  
Old May 2nd, 2004, 03:48 AM
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woodbyter woodbyter is offline
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Thumbs up Golden

It sounds like you are getting the benefit of good vet services for your dog.
Dogs are like humans in many ways. Sometimes they slip a bit and then get better for no apparent reason. There are a couple of good natural therapy folks on this board-maybe they can offer some advice on what to do in addition to the traditional doctoring.
Also keep in mind your dogs age, he - like many of us - is no longer a youngster

It is a common belief that 1 human year is equal to 7 dog years. That is not very accurate, since dogs reach adulthood within the first couple of years. The formula is: 10.5 dog years per human year for the first 2 years, then 4 dog years per human year for each year after.
So depending on what formula you choose to use your dog is somewhere between 54-70, in human life years.

I hope he repsponds and lives on in good health a few more years.
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  #3  
Old May 2nd, 2004, 07:21 AM
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Luba Luba is offline
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I'm glad your regular vet was thorough!

You can supplement your dogs food to help boost his immune system.

If you are interested in preparing his meals for him, fresh foods are always better then preserved. How often do you feed him, 2 x a day?
Maybe you can add some things to his food intake to help him fight this.
I was just discussing with someone the benefits of shark cartilidge for immunity. Apparently the shark is immune to every disease known to man.
I'd give some shark cartilidge for sure.

If you give him vitamin E make sure you do not give it if he requires surgery!!
Stop the vitamin E atleast 10 days before surgery.
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Old May 2nd, 2004, 09:32 AM
pamp pamp is offline
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thank you very much for your quick responses. After a day on the Baytril, which according to my vet is the mother of all antibiotics, we're not seeing an improvement. His eyes are glassy and my husband had to carry him downstairs this morning to go potty. I heated up some hamburger and rice this morning and it's untouched. The vet said they may have to operate to get a clear picture of what's going on. He's so weak I don't know if in my heart I can put him through that. The vet wasn't ruling out cancer even when the lab results came back. I won't let him suffer, even for our own selfishness of not wanting him to leave us. Time will tell if he pulls out of this. If not, we'll see him in heaven. Thanks for the advice on the shark cartiledge.
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Old May 2nd, 2004, 09:38 AM
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Luba Luba is offline
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Oh my so sorry to hear!

Dont' give him hamburger the grease from it can cause an attack of pancreatitis.

Boil him chicken or turkey and cut it up into very very small portions. Feed him small meals 5x a day. Boil and mash some potato, mix the two together.

There is a reason he isn't eating. Update the vet with all current information.


I don't know if this will help you, but just little over a year ago my 16 year old dog Rusty (my avatar) got very sick very fast. It was like overnight, deathly ill. After doing xrays of abdomen and chest they saw masses that could not be biopsied. There was no way to tell if they were cancerous, so we made a decision TO operate.

There was an agreement between us and the surgeon that if it looked bad from the O.R to call us...so that he would not have to wake up suffering and in pain.

During the surgery they found many tumours. Engulphing his adrenal gland, spleen, kidneys. They were cancerous and inoperable. No amount of treatment would have helped him. We let him go, without waking up. We spent time with him before the surgery, just incase. It was heart wrenching!

BUT he dedicated his entire life to us and he deserved the opportunity to see if we could get him through this horrible illness. It was not possible and if we had continued to let him live medicated on pain killers and on an IV indefinitely...he would have been miserable and it would only have been selfish of us.

The doctor was wonderful. He kept a lock of Rusty's fur, and took his paw prints for us which we now have next to his urn on our wall unit in the living room.

This was the choice we made, and we felt right and good in our hearts about it. I hope this helps you a little.

((hugs))
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Old May 2nd, 2004, 04:08 PM
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amaruq amaruq is offline
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All my good thoughts and wishes go to you ((((Pamp))))
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Old May 2nd, 2004, 07:32 PM
pamp pamp is offline
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thank you so much. He's actually eaten twice today. Chicken and rice. Ate everything on his plate. Am wondering if anyone knows much about Rimadyl. Keep hearing conflicting reports on it. I went on the web and read about the adverse affects of it. It didn't seem to be doing much to help my dog so I haven't given him any today. Will call the vet tomorrow to advise of his condition and see what she thinks is the next step. This is the first time I've ever posted to a bulletin board and can't tell all of you how much your replies have meant. Bless you all...
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  #8  
Old May 2nd, 2004, 08:21 PM
Karin Karin is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pamp
thank you so much. He's actually eaten twice today. Chicken and rice. Ate everything on his plate. Am wondering if anyone knows much about Rimadyl. Keep hearing conflicting reports on it. I went on the web and read about the adverse affects of it. It didn't seem to be doing much to help my dog so I haven't given him any today. Will call the vet tomorrow to advise of his condition and see what she thinks is the next step. This is the first time I've ever posted to a bulletin board and can't tell all of you how much your replies have meant. Bless you all...
When Phizer first produced Rimadyl, I was amazed at the drug...since then I have seen too many of the side effects and have stopped using it for Ciara long ago. Goldens & Rimadyl are like mixing Collies & Ivermectin.
If you use Rimadyl with any breed, especially with Golden Retrievers, do not use for more than 21 days, 3 weeks. This drug is processed via the liver/renal system.
I know I will get a woof but I use Deramaxx and have since Feb. of last year, I did stop recently and have started again...Ciara's situation is different than most and I'm sure those that know understand.
Rimadyl & Etogesic will become a drug of the past...there is too much risk involved.
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