Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
Health and Medical Issues (for our pets)
Information
General Guidelines
Over the years that this group has been in existence it has assisted many doodles and their humans. It has offered advice, a place to vent, etc. This group MUST be a place where people can turn and be confident that the advice they will get is based upon FACT - medically and scientifically accepted FACT- not "I heard", anecdotes, advertising claims, or other unfounded or misleading advice. The moderators of this Group will delete any post that we feel does not meet this criteria.
Discussion Forum
Inflammatory matory Bowel Disease
Started by Rita and Fazzy. Last reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle Aug 20, 2019. 18 Replies 0 Favorites
Hi all....after a scare of bloat without torsion in May, my7 year old labradoodle Fazzy was diagnosed with IBD via biopsy. He was doing OK once he got back to eating again until I thought it might be a good idea to switch to raw...didn't go well. Switched him back to what he was on prior, Canidae kibble, variety of canned "flavors" as well as chicken breast, turkey breast, low fat hamburger...just depending on what we had on hand and cooked for the dogs. I've never been able to get his stools back to normal and consistently solid and in the past week its just been yucky. He went to the vet yesterday and per their suggestion, we carried home a bag of Purina HA both dry and canned. He ate a few bites yesterday but wants none of it today. Over the past couple of weeks he has become less and less into eating, needing plenty of encouragement and hand feeding. Vet also sent us home with Cerenia, metronidazole and Diagel. Waiting for results of stool sample. I really don't want to deal with the rx diet, but we also need to get his gut back to feeling better. A couple of friends are pushing me to see a holistic vet, which I'm not opposed to, it's just expensive. I hate that I have to even throw that word out there, but seeing a holistic is not out of the question. Jolene suggested I reach out to Karen for some words of wisdom/suggestions ..and I know she'll see this.Any suggestions, feedback etc would be great!!Rita and Fazzy Continue
Denamarin for elevated liver enzyme
Started by Michelle and Chloe. Last reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle Aug 6, 2019. 1 Reply 0 Favorites
Chloe is turning 10 years old in October. I recently took her to the vet to check out some new masses on her flank and to see if there was a correlation with these masses and her increased water intake and occasional vomiting. Her 2 masses were lipomas ( needle aspiration) and the vet checked lab values. Although most of the values came back normal, her ALT was slightly elevated at 213 (nl 12-118) so vet recommended placing her on Denamarin. She is also going to have an abdominal ultrasound and a chest X-ray. Has anyone have experience with Denamarin?Continue
Dinah has an enlarged heart and mild left ventricle dialation
Started by c zoomer. Last reply by Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie Jul 3, 2019. 15 Replies 0 Favorites
the Doctor (cardiologist) has ordered me to take her off of the grain free dog foods and retest in 6 months.Continue
Emergency stomach surgery and the after effects
Started by Gracie, Jade, & Barkley. Last reply by F, Calla & Luca Jun 30, 2019. 6 Replies 0 Favorites
It's me again. We are having the worst luck when it comes to our doodles this year. :( We lost Gracie who was only 4 in February to Hemangiosarcoma which appeared out of nowhere and hit us pretty hard. Now Jade who is 3.5 yrs is having issues. She was vomiting for hours early morning on Thurs and after getting a dose of cerrenia (She had gotten sick 2 weeks prior and we had some leftover), she was drooling excessively. The vet had us drop her off to observe, take tests, and xrays. She said it sounded like an obstruction of some sort. When she called, she said bloodwork was normal for a dog who had become dehydrated and was what she expected. But, had sent the xrays to a radiologist - which they didn't do two weeks prior. The radiologist said there was some sort of blockage in the upper gi and so the vet asked if we could do a barium treatment to see where it stopped - which was the stomach.I agreed to surgery and the blockage was caused by excess fluid and the pyloric muscle was thickened and the entry (exit?) was narrowed. The vet asked if she had had any issues prior as it looked like she had pyloric stenosis and maybe some ulcers as in the fluid there were flecks of blood. They do not have a flexible endoscope at their office, so she could only surmise that the flecks of blood came from ulcers. The only vomiting Jade has done previously was for car sickness which she outgrew. Then the episode 2 weeks ago which was an expulsion of her breakfast and she collapsed afterward which is why we took her to the vet. The vet took care of the fluid in her stomach and sent her home with sucraflate, famotidine, and omeprazole.Jade hasn't been eating much. She refuses the science diet l/i that they sent home, but she has ate some chicken and rice.She also continues to regurgitate small amounts of liquid. Sometimes it has yellow blobs in it. Usually this happens after she drinks some water. I am going to call tomorrow to update them, but am concerned we really haven't gotten…Continue
Flea and Tick Prevention Choices
Started by Cindy and Olive (Ollie). Last reply by Stacy Jun 26, 2019. 44 Replies 0 Favorites
It is tick season here in NJ and I have always given Olive Sentinel (every 39 days) and Frontline Plus every 27 days. What’s the deal with Frontline Plus vs Frontline Gold - I see one new med added to the Gold, but figured I’d ask the experts. I’ve stuck with Frontline as it has been the forerunner in this and is tried and true, and I’m a bit leery of those oral tabs. But should I switch her to Frontline Gold? Thanks!Continue
UTI infections
Started by DonMarie and Picco. Last reply by Jane, Guinness and Murphy Jun 24, 2019. 10 Replies 0 Favorites
A friend of mine has a sweet yellow lab that frequently has urinary tract infections. We were discussing cranberry pills since it works for humans. When I Google it I'm finding some sites it is okay but also finding that in larger dosages (who know what that is) that cranberries can be toxic to dogs. These aren't necessarily referring to the pills but dried or fresh fruit. I can't imagine a dog eating the fruit or juice, that's why we thought of the pills! So anyway I figured I'd pose this question here. Does anyone know or can clarify if cranberry pills can be helpful or harmful to dogs and can actually help UTIs?Continue
Fatty deposit
Started by Murph and Me. Last reply by Bonnie and Kona May 20, 2019. 4 Replies 0 Favorites
So Murphy has on his stomach some fatty deposit that the Vet has checked in the past and said no big deal he said. It has gotten bigger of late. It feels like a small balloon. Does not bother him when you squish it around. I'm going to bring him in for another checkup of it. I trust the vet but it doesn't hurt to ask here in the group if anyone has had any history with a similar situation. and if so what did you do about it. Thanks in advance.Continue
Recessed Vulva (this is a new one) and an ear infection
Started by Stacy. Last reply by Stacy May 20, 2019. 13 Replies 0 Favorites
Willow went to the vet yesterday with an ear infection, and Karen you should be pleased to hear I do finally have a vet who cultures ear infection goo. We treated it with a medication I hadn't heard of before called Claro. It's still a combination of antibiotic, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory. But the nice thing about this drug is it's a one time treatment that is supposed to work continuously for 30 days, so I don't have to squirt anything in there. She has an appointment for a recheck in 2 weeks. The vet said as an isolated event it's not a big deal, but if it becomes a chronic problem it's often associated with food allergies and we should do a food trial. I have mixed emotions about that. Right now I'm hoping it isn't a recurrent problem so we don't even have to go there. The other thing I brought up to him is that Willow always seems to pee on herself. The hair surrounding her vulva is always dirty. And she had that UTI a while ago. He looked at her and said she has a recessed vulva, and if it's a problem they can do a vulvoplasty to resect the skin folds there so the vulva protrudes more. Or if it seems to be more minor we can just keep the fur clipped from around that area - something I knew needed to be done but clippers, delicate skin, wiggly puppy and I have not been able to accomplish that on our own.This issue is something I haven't experienced before but I had been reading about it and I couldn't figure it out. The trick is, she looks normal when you look at her lying on her back with her belly up. But if you look at her from behind when she's standing you can see that her vulva is surrounded by skin folds and does look different than the other girls. I had heard that they usually grow out of it, but that's not really what I'm reading in the veterinary articles. But I'm still hoping that if she grows a little more she might grow into her skin folds. He also mentioned that slightly delayed spaying may help with this. We are doing slightly delayed…Continue
Struvite Crystals (Also posted in Food Group)
Started by Laurie, Wally & Charlotte. Last reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle May 14, 2019. 1 Reply 0 Favorites
For the past six months, Charlotte's pH has been fluctuating and she has had a number of urine tests with some showing struvite crystals and some without. An x-ray was taken in December and revealed no bladder stones. Our vet concluded that Charlotte's pH just goes up and down, and without any stones, this is Charlotte's "normal." About 10 days ago, she was showing physical signs of a UTI and was put on an antibiotic since we'd be traveling, but the urine evaluation did not find any bacteria. We have been flooding her food (Acana Grasslands) with water to dilute her urine, hoping that this will help keep the pH down. Next week, she'll have another x-ray done as well as a sterile urine culture. Here are my questions: If the x-ray shows no stone/s and the culture indicates no bacteria, but possibly struvite crystals again, should I change her food to one without starches (since starch alkalizes pH) and one without magnesium and calcium? Should I give her any supplements such as ascorbic acid, cranberries, d-mannose? Some of these are just for bacteria prevention if I understand it correctly. And if she doesn't have any bacteria in her urine, what would be the point? I'm hoping to find some additional perspectives to help inform our decisions moving forward. Continue
Spay & Gastropexy Surgery - After Care Advice?
Started by Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie. Last reply by Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie May 6, 2019. 44 Replies 0 Favorites
So my baby girl goes in this week for the double surgery, I'm just reaching out for feedback/advice on aftercare. I know the gastropexy is much more invasive than the spay and I know I'll get a checklist of things to do from the vet when I pick her up but looking for feedback from those who have already been through it (hits, misses, things to watch for, etc). I'm just real nervous for her, she's my odd little wild child so I'm concerned about her plus the surgery facility is not local so any issues will fall on my vet and/or at an emergency facility. The more I know the better prepared I'll be. This poor girl had a rough start in the beginning so I want to make this as easy on her as possible.It's been a while since my other two were spayed and neither had any interest in the stitches luckily but Sassy was extremely hyper (spastic) the week following her surgery so keeping her calm was a real challenge. I'll be home with her the first few days then will do a tag team with my daughter.Any advice on keeping her from the stitches if it poses a problem, resuming her normal diet (vet office briefly mentioned transitioning slowly back to kibble), walking, stairs, downtime, etc.Thanks in advanceJolene and Miss MaisieContinue
Comment Wall
Comment
-
Comment by Mary, Scrappy, Sully and Olive on June 19, 2014 at 12:27pm
-
Wow, thank you so much Karen. Can't imagine how helpful all that is!!! It's confusing enough for humans, lol.
I've just decided to be my own health adviser after the vet keeps putting poor Grover on antibiotics for what "may" be inner ear. Too many times to count before I finally have had it. I don't think it's inner ear, but probably allergies. He flips his ears almost constantly some days and his ears look squeaky clean. They've put him on prednisone and antibiotics countless times. Seems to help for a minimally short time and back to square one. His breath is foul and I've asked them about that as well. They tell me it's nothing. So I'm putting on some probiotics for his gut flora for a while to see if that helps his breath odor, thinking that the antibiotics gave screwed his belly up and maybe that's the cause.
Meantime, trying to figure out what he could be allergic to. He's been on grain-free all along, but usually beef, pork or duck because Scrappy seems to be sensitive to chicken. It's like a gigantic puzzle.
A million thank yous to you for helping to set me in the right direction to begin.
-
Comment by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on June 19, 2014 at 9:30am
-
When talking about Omega 3s, it's important to remember that there are several different kinds of Omega 3 fatty acids, and not all are equally beneficial for dogs. You want something that primarily contains the Omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, both of which come from fish. Plant sources like flax seed are mostly ALA, which isn't well utilized by dogs.
If you want a good Omega 3 supplement for the dogs, I like Nature Made minis. Here's a link: http://www.naturemade.com/products/supplements/ultra-omega-3-mini-f...
There really is no "ideal" doasge for every dog, because they all tolerate it differently. Too much fish oil gives JD the runs. For that reason I use the 500 mg. EPO softgels, recommended by his dermatologist.
There is an Omega 6 fatty acid, GLA, which helps with inflammation much the way the Omega 3s do, and the best source is evening primrose oil (EPO) capsules. It should not be used in dogs with seizure disorders, as it can lower the seizure threshold, but otherwise has no side-effects.
-
-
Mary, Gentle Digest is not really a probiotic, it's more of a prebiotic, which helps create a good environment for beneficial bacteria to flourish but doesn't really provide much of that beneficial bacteria itself. Proviable DC is an excellent probiotic with 5 billion CFUs per capsule; the effectiveness of any probiotic depends on how many live cultures it contains. You can use them both. JD takes a human probiotic with 112.5 billion CFUs per capsule (you don't need that, lol, it's for serious GI disease) and he also gets a Gentle Digest capsule every day, too.
-
-
wanting to add a good probiotic to my dogs' diet. What is the difference between the two recommended products.....Gentle Digest and Proviable DC. Is one better over the other? Also wondering the ideal dose of Omega 3's for them daily. So many different options.
-
-
Good! I hope she continues to do well, sounds like you are doing everything right.
-
Comment by Christina and Timber on June 18, 2014 at 9:16pm
-
Thanks everyone. Very, very, helpful. I agree about the antibiotic. I actually asked the vet tech. why I need to give her an antibiotic if she had a negative test. She said it was not an antibiotic. Ha! I looked it up and low and behold...so anyhow, I already had been giving her a probiotic, so I am continuing that and I took her off all other meds...she is doing well so far. :-)
-
-
Pumpkin is used for the fiber, and fiber is necessary for normal stool formation. So the answer is, it helps with both constipation and with diarrhea. Here's why:
“Fiber actually works as a bowel regulator and can be effective for both constipation and diarrhea,” says gastroenterologist David Goldstein, MD, of Old Hook Medical Associates in Emerson, N.J.
Constipation
When you're constipated, your body makes stool that is dry and hard. Straining to have a bowel movement is uncomfortable and can put pressure on your body. That can lead tohemorrhoids, hernias, and even varicose veins.
Fiber helps pull water from the colon, making the stool softer and easier to pass. So if you're often constipated, eat a fiber-rich diet.
Diarrhea
The other extreme is diarrhea, which happens when there is too much water in the colon. Again, fiber can help get your system back in order.
“Soluble fiber can actually absorb excess fluid in the bowel and thus act to firm up a loose stool. Think of it as a sponge effect,” Goldstein says.
Vets are not well-versed in nutrition; there is no nutrition curriculum in vet school. And if the vets are not experts, you can be sure that the vet assistants aren't either.
You really do not want to ever give a dog metronidazole (or any medication) without a good reason. It can have severe side-effects. It also wreaks havoc on the digestive system, especially in puppies. That's because it kills all of the good bacteria which is necessary for normal stool formation along with the bad bacteria, and after the metronidazole is discontinued, many dogs, especially puppies, have chronic diarrhea because of the bacterial imbalance in the gut. So you must always give a good probiotic any time a dog is on antibiotics. Give the probiotics at least two hours apart from the meds.
If Timber's stool was negative, and she had diarrhea not from an illness or parasite but simply from a food change, why would she need to take an antibiotic? Metronidazole is an antibiotic drug, not a simple remedy for diarrhea. Some vets prescribe it any time a dog has loose stools, but it's not a good practice. There are gentler, kinder ways to deal with loose stool from a food change. There are some dogs here who have developed serious GI diseases from the repeated use of metronidazole as puppies.
-
Comment by Jill, Woody & Maxi on June 17, 2014 at 6:58pm
-
Exactly..Pumpkin has fiber, which will help "bulk" up stool..for diarrhea. The fiber will also help "move" stool..for constipation
-
Comment by Shari Becker on June 17, 2014 at 6:52pm
-
Pumpkin and sweet potatoes work for both. I have a dog with a super sensitive stomach, and we feed her pumpkin or cooked, mashed sweet potatoes daily. When her stools are soft, it hardens her up and when she was constipated, sweet potato and lots of water got her moving again.
-
Comment by Susan and Bentley on June 17, 2014 at 6:48pm
-
my vet told me the same thing. Pumpkin is for when they are constipated and not to give it to him when he has diarrhea. who knows
© 2025 Created by Adina P.
Powered by
You need to be a member of Health and Medical Issues (for our pets) to add comments!