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  • in reply to: Blood work still off #103686 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    She talked about maybe putting her on Xanax. I will check out the site and thanks so much. She walks all night and then if I am lucky sleeps the majority of the day. I say if I am lucky because she is calm when she sleeps but of course it throws the night off. And she is so confused I cannot sleep while she is wandering for fear of where she might end up. So last night the kennel helped even though she did not lay down. But at least she was safe. Thanks again.

    in reply to: Blood work still off #103684 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    I finally after all this time have Bittys Blood work close to where it needs to be. But now! She is almost 16 and is showing strong signs of dementia. She is deaf and blind and has been for about 6 months but has been doing well even with that. However last night it was like someone flipped a switch and she started extreme confusion. No seizures or anything , just confusion reigns. She paced the floor the entire night until around 4 AM and I put her in a small kennel to be sure she was safe and I could get some sleep. But the whole time she was in it she never sat or laid down, just walked circles. Finally about 2 this afternoon she seems to have worn herself out and is sleeping next to me. I give her canine renal support and acacia fiber plus goats milk and Kefir. But now I am wondering if there are any supplements that will help with the dementia. The vet says it is not due to her kidney disease and put her on antibiotics for possible urinary tract infection but is not one for supplements. She knows what I give her and when she saw the improvement in blood work agreed that Bitty should be on them. But it is not likely she will give me any suggestions on supplements for dementia. Help anyone? Thanks in advance.

    in reply to: Nitrogen Trapping #88930 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    I have done the nitrogen trapping that Shawna talks about and it works great. My little dog had a BUN of 77 and as of Friday it is down to 44. Still too high but so much lower than it was. The only change I made on it is instead of probiotics I switched her to a teaspoon of Kefir a day. It really started bring it down in bigger amounts. I researched the benefits of Kefir and how much to give a dog and went from there. I do half a glass of it as well. It is good for so many things. Good luck.

    in reply to: Homemade Grain Free Dog Food #86234 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    Thanks Shawna, The vet said she wasn’t really concerned about the creatinin but if I can stay on top of it, that is what I will do. Her BUN was 77 when we first started with the supplements. I didn’t tell her I had started them as she was not really wanting to do that. But I knew she would die otherwise. I had been putting her in diapers and no longer have to do that so feel we are getting somewhere. Her teeth are bad, but at 14 and kidney troubles too she really is not wanting to give her anything to put her out to get rid of the teeth. She had started sneezing so much, maybe from infection right at nasal passage. We gave
    antibiotics and that worked. Thanks so much for your advice. You are awesome!

    in reply to: Homemade Grain Free Dog Food #86183 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    Hi Shawna, I am still dealing with kidney problems with Little Bit but her BUN is sloly coming down. It is now down to 52. Still way to high but the supplements you suggested are slowly working and she acts like she feels much better. Other than people food about the only thing she will eat is Evanger’s canned Buffalo. Her creatinine is slowly creeping up and is at 1.6. They say normal is 0.3-1.4, so I am wondering if there is a supplement I can add to the nitrogen trapping for this as well. She was 14 at the end of November. Thanks so much!

    Bev A
    Member

    P.S. The Acacia Fiber and Probiotic are human grade I couldn’t find any for dogs however they work. The Probiotic comes in a capsule and I break them open and store them in a container so she can get the right dose. Bev

    Bev A
    Member

    Hi Silvia, My teacup poodle has the beginnings of Kidney Failure and yes there are supplements. I give her Acacia Fiber And Primal Defense Probiotic Formula. I also give her Canine Renal Support. She is only 4 pounds so she gets 1/8 tsp only and I give it once a day. Her BUN is dropping so it is working. You can buy all three of these from Amazon. Good luck with your baby. Mine is 14 years old so I know the meaning of family! Bev

    in reply to: High BUN #82968 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    Hi, Bitty has been on the Canine Renal Protection for 3 months now and I also started her on the Acacia Fiber and Probiotics at the same time. Her Creatinin is now normal and the BUN has come down but still nowhere near normal but it did drop. So I continue giving the supplements. The latest blood work however has me concerned and any suggestions for meds, foods, supplements, whatever would be greatly appreciated. Her Albumin is low. 2.1 and her globulin is high at 5.7. She is 14 but her eating habits have improved greatly over the past 3 months. I switched her to Science diet KD and to Solid Gold Tripe. A third one is Merricks Grandmas Pot Pie. Bitty is a picky eater so I give her whichever one she will eat at the time. She does have bad teeth, so I am concerned for that but we have pulled the majority of them. She doesnā€™t do well with anesthesia so we have decided not to pursue the surgery as we donā€™t think she would survive. Shawna, your advice was right on. I didnā€™t tell the vet what I had done till the test results were back. She was iffy on it when I first mentioned it but said that it was because she had not used that before. But she could see that Bitty is more perky and aware of what is going on around her and suggested I continue doing what I am doing. . She has always been very anxious and has to have tummy meds all the time and I suppose that probably has a lot to do with the blood work. She has maintained her weight of 4 pounds and even gained 1/4 pound in the past 3 months. Thanks for any advice you can give at this time.

    in reply to: So it is kidney failure… #82936 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    Hi, Bitty has been on the Canine Renal Protection for 3 months now and I also started her on the Acacia Fiber and Probiotics at the same time. Her Creatinin is now normal and the BUN has come down but still nowhere near normal but it did drop. So I continue giving the supplements. The latest blood work however has me concerned and any suggestions for meds, foods, supplements, whatever would be greatly appreciated. Her Albumin is low. 2.1 and her globulin is high at 5.7. She is 14 but her eating habits have improved greatly over the past 3 months. I switched her to Science diet KD and to Solid Gold Tripe. A third one is Merricks Grandmas Pot Pie. Bitty is a picky eater so I give her whichever one she will eat at the time. She does have bad teeth, so I am concerned for that but we have pulled the majority of them. She doesn’t do well with anesthesia so we have decided not to pursue the surgery as we don’t think she would survive. Shawna, your advice was right on. I didn’t tell the vet what I had done till the test results were back. She was iffy on it when I first mentioned it but said that it was because she had not used that before. But she could see that Bitty is more perky and aware of what is going on around her and suggested I continue doing what I am doing. . She has always been very anxious and has to have tummy meds all the time and I suppose that probably has a lot to do with the blood work. She has maintained her weight of 4 pounds and even gained 1/4 pound in the past 3 months. Thanks for any advice you can give at this time.

    in reply to: High BUN #80614 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    Well the tones really didn’t do much or maybe they did depending on the point of view. I sent a message to Caru, whom I am told makes a wonderful dog food that no dog ever turns down. But it is very expensive. So I sent an email to them and they willingly sent me a couple samples. Well, there is a first for everything because Bitty refused to touch it. I mixed the Science Diet KD with goats milk and gave that to her in a syringe every couple hours. She is just ornery. I went to give her some medication, her phenobarb, and she got down in front of me, that little butt up in the air and her tail wagging. Every time I got close she took off, barking, and ran to another area. I finally cornered her to give her meds. But she was having a grand time so that is why I knew she was just being stubborn. I did pick up a can of Tripe, thinking I was wasting money again but by golly she ate it this morning!!So maybe the tones worked or maybe she was just hungry enough to eat finally. We will see how it goes. Still waiting on the supplements to come in.

    in reply to: High BUN #80580 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    I have to tell you it struck a cord with me when you asked about other problems. This may sound strange but I have a program on my computer that deals with healing tones. I have used it with Bitty before with parasites. I test for myself and you would have to see what I do but after I used that on her she vomited after a couple hours and felt really good for a long time. So I used it again on her a few minutes ago. We will see how that goes.

    in reply to: High BUN #80576 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    Ok, I will start with that. However the diet you gave me from Meg I have already used. She loved it for about 3 days and then decided yuck and turned her nose up to it. I haven’t gotten a second opinion for a couple reasons, one I simply can’t afford another vet bill, hers stays high and has all her life. And 2, if they decided to keep her over night she would stress so much she would go into a seizure. She has never in all her almost 14 years never been away from me for more than a few hours. They had to pull some teeth and she did very well but the vet said she hadn’t woke up so she would call me when she did. A couple hours went by and she called me and said, Bev you know I never do this but Bitty has not woke up yet. Would you come by, I think she just knows you aren’t here/ so I went in. They brought her out wrapped in her blanket and she was sound asleep. So they handed her to me and I said, Bitty you have to wake up now so we can go home. That little tail started wagging and the vet said, I knew it. She would have laid there and died because I was not there. She is very attached to me. No she never has large amounts of urine, maybe the size of a quarter if that. But she does leak urine now if she sleeps very hard, or if she isn’t eating. Seems that is better when she is willing to eat right. And there hasn’t been a lot of testing done. The vet feels there could be an ulcer and she gets meds for that from time to time. She really stresses when I leave her at home. She does get lonely which is why I have another dog, a Pomeranian. Seems as long as there is another animal for her to compete with she is better. I wish she was more willing to eat some other foods. I have gone through hundreds of dollars of different foods over the years and she has just refused them. I did buy liver and lightly cooked it. She will eat it if I hand feed her and if Katie is there to take a bite every time she does. I get my goats milk from a dog food treat store. She refuses to drink it but I freeze it in ice trays and take out a couple cubes from time to time and put it in a syringe. She gets no choice in the matter. She is just so stubborn! I don’t know if this site allows us to share email addresses so won’t put mine here but if they do or if admin will give it to you and you don’t mind me having your I would be willing. I so appreciate your help.

    in reply to: High BUN #80524 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    Well I picked up Bitty’s test results and the Creatinine level is a little high. It is 1.6. I wonder if that makes a difference in what I give her in the supplements.

    in reply to: High BUN #80500 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    PS, thanks for the websites. I really appreciate that. I have done research and wasn’t finding a bunch. My vet didn’t know anything about the nitrogen trapping and wasn’t too keen on giving her more since she is so tiny but I am willing to try if it brings the level down.

    in reply to: High BUN #80499 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    Thank you Betsy!
    Thanks Shawna for answering me. Bitty drinks plenty of water, I always keep water in the bedroom as well and she gets off the bed a couple times to get a drink. Through all of this she has had a good water intake. Even when she was trying to starve herself because she was lonesome she would drink. She lost a pound that time and it was by accident that I discovered she was lonesome. I had taken her to my girlfriend, she hadn’t eaten in days except for the goats milk. My friend had cooked a pork roast and she offered her some. She turned it down but then her cat walked in. Bitty jumped right down and ate the whole dish.
    I am not sure what the creatinine is. It was ok three months ago. And I am sure they checked it but it was the BUN she was concerned with. I am sure I can get a copy and will do so this week.
    Bitty eats canned food all the time. She has very few teeth left so canned is about all she eats. It is the Science Diet KD that I feed when she will eat it. But this has got to be the pickiest dog I have ever had in my life! She will eat it for a few days and that is it. I tried the Weruva which they said no dog would turn it down, haha! I keep goats milk on hand for when she refuses to eat. After a couple syringes of that she will usually eat so I won’t give her more. I picked up a can of the Holistic grain free today when I went to see my doctor and did some shopping after. She was hungry I guess because she ate 2 tablespoons. But tomorrow she may not. She was eating the malt-o-meal which is why I was giving it to her. It is mixed with heavy cream and turkey gravy, but today she decided she didn’t like it.
    I really am not sure how to add more protein when she is so picky. Once in a while she will eat a scrambled egg, but she turned that down this morning as well. When I make her food at home I always crush calcium carbonate into the whole batch so she is getting that as well. I have found the acacia powder and the garden of life. Should I also add the Renal Support? I think I will have to crush and add to a bit of water or goats milk or she won’t take it. If she thinks it is in the food, she will stop eating again. she is so ornery! Thank you so much for responding. You are awesome! I didn’t know how else to find you and just hoped it would work by coming here.

    in reply to: High BUN #80485 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    I think that when that time comes she won’t want the treats either. But I agree. Make them happy and comfortable.

    in reply to: High BUN #80483 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    I wish that worked. Bitty is 4 pounds. She is lucky to eat a tablespoon of food a day. I would be thrilled if she would eat that often.

    in reply to: High BUN #80481 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    I learned a long time ago not to fall for wanting treats. She would eat them around the clock if I would let her but I know they aren’t good very often.

    in reply to: High BUN #80480 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    Yes, it certainly is/ I would agree with you if was my other dog. Bitty does have nausea at times but you can always tell when she does. She will demand treats after a while and I will give her the food I have offered before. She still won’t eat that but will continue to demand treats. It is a merry go round with her

    in reply to: High BUN #80477 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    She has done this all her life. I know she is old and no I don’t consider you harsh but it is the way she is. But I am always on the lookout for something she will eat for more than a few days. Am hoping to hear from Shawna at some point on amounts of probiotics and fiber to bring the BUN down. She is as active as ever. The vet doesn’t know what else to do for her either. She has been her vet for her whole life and she is always amazed that she has made it for so long. I think she just has a strong will to live. No nausea either thank goodness. We have gone through that as well. But right now is just pure stubbornness. Thanks for your replies.

    in reply to: High BUN #80474 Report Abuse
    Bev A
    Member

    Any advice for this is welcome. Bitty has gone 24 hours without eating. I give her goats milk in a syringe when she does this.

Viewing 21 posts - 1 through 21 (of 21 total)