Help with a sick Chow

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christinac
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Post by christinac »

sauerka wrote:kiwani - Have you had experience with Zubrin? It has a different mechanism of action than the other NSAIDs. I used it for awhile on my shepherd. She had a derm reaction to Rimadyl. The Zubrin worked fine for several months but she seemed to develop a cross sensitivity. I now have my neighbor's shepherd on it on after she no longer responded to Rimadyl - she is having good results. Of course both have renal and liver panels drawn every six months.

Christina - Depending on the antibiotic they are using, the dose should to be decreased for decreased kidney function. Otherwise the blood levels will build up (particularly when giving IV) and toxicities can occur.
This is very confusing. The vet didn't mention anything about the antibiotic decreasing her kidney function. Could this potentially cause the levels to not go down as we were hoping? Due to the bad bladder infection, the vet has prescribed an oral antibiotic for the next few weeks. I believe it's Cephlexin. The culture showed E Coli in her bladder.
christinac
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Post by christinac »

I want to thank everyone for the support and advice.

I've always tried to maintain a healthy lifestyle for Marley. She's always been lean and very healthy until now. She has definitely shown improvement since she received the first dose of antibiotics, no more late night panting and restlessness.

She has been off Previcox for over a week. I stopped the Tramadol and am just monitoring her a day at a time to try to control the pain. She actually walked a couple of blocks and has not been limping to bad.

I know there are lots of vitamins and diets things I can do, but it's hard to express how hard it is to give to her. She is to smart for her own good and looks through her food for meds and won't eat if anything is in there. She even picks out the hard food now and spits it out. Twice a day, I sit with her and have to go through a routine to give her the antibiotic. Now she has learned that she can clamp her jaw shut during med time and patience is the only thing that finally gets that pill down her throat.
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ciaobella
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Post by ciaobella »

Now she has learned that she can clamp her jaw shut during med time and patience is the only thing that finally gets that pill down her throat.
That does make it hard. I think the going food items to mask the taste of meds here is either cream cheese or liverwurst. I can fully relate to having a chow who picks around items on her plate she would rather not eat, it is very annoying. I have Sophie's Heartgard mooshed up in a bit of cat food on her plate right now. Once a month, she gets stinky catfood, it's a party. Unfortunately, I didn't get the right kind, so she's been giving it (and me) the skunk eye. :?

It took a while for Sophie to let me give her a pill. She would clamp her jaw too, and I tried tickling her bottom lip and gums with the index finger of the hand holding her bottom jaw while grasping the top jaw with the other. Her mouth popped open like a jewel case, and I had no problem getting a pill down her after that. But that's just Sophie. :D

Happy to hear Marley is feeling a little more comfortable. Don't forget to take care of you, too.
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kiwani
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Post by kiwani »

Re: "This is very confusing. The vet didn't mention anything about the antibiotic decreasing her kidney function. Could this potentially cause the levels to not go down as we were hoping?"

*Not* the antibiotic, the previcox.

Review what was mentioned about previcox affecting the kidneys, kidney tubule functioning, urine, bladder health, etc., because it inhibits cox-2. This is exactly why I asked you if your Chow was *still* on the previcox when all the adverse kidney effects surfaced, and if so, that you should find another doctor.

The kidney function was affected by the previcox. Your doctor should have taken that into account, when adding any other med to the mix. It takes time to detox the previcox, and it takes time to undo what previcox did to the kidney function.

"Some of the prostaglandins that play an important role in salt and water regulation and hemodynamics in the kidney are synthesized by cox-2 enzymes."


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christinac
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Post by christinac »

I think I'm going to take Marley in to the vet every couple of weeks to see if her kidney levels look good.

She wouldn't eat anything today b/c I tried to re-introduce regular food for her. I even mixed in some salmon b/c she was eating it from my hand. Of course when I added it to the food she sniffed it and walked away.

It's crazy to have such extremes. One of our dogs will gobble anything you give to her whether it's a pill our food. Marley on the other hand, studies, sniffs, and normally will walk away from 95% of the food. I'm hoping by tomorrow, she will be hungry enough to eat. I swear, lately, Marley has been eating better than me.
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Post by Grab »

My Chow isn't big on food either. He eats, but it clearly isn't high on his agenda. And if he isn't feeling well, he's simply not going to eat, thank you. One thing I rarely have a problem getting into him, though, is any type of fish. There are plenty of fish based kibbles and canned foods out there. I also let him have a can of salmon now and then (not too often, but as a special treat), which he thinks is the best thing ever
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