Caroline Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 Hi everyone, My old dog Charlie, who is 14 1/2 years old has a couple of things going on right now. One appears to be a lick granuloma which came up after he couldn't reach a suture site on his hip after removal of a tumour. So he started licking further down on his leg. Yes it is at a joint. The vet thought it could be from pain, so we did some extra pain meds, he usually takes 1/2 rimadyl a day and we upped it to 2x day. We also added tramadol as he has back issues and shows some paralysis at times. He also had a 10 day course of antibiotics because his suture site showed a bit of weeping weeks post surgery. Apparently his internal sutures were dissolving very slowly. Those things seemed to help and he wore the dreaded E collar. On to today, he is having trouble standing, falling over to one side in the rear. He has been off the extra pain meds for at least one week. He still can chase his ball, but can't stand still upright to eat very well. I put his dish so he could lean against a wall and that helped a bit. Any enlightenment? He still has bright eyes, I just want to make him as comfortable as possible. We will see the vet this week. Thank you, Caroline Edited to add, anyone used melatonin to calm anxious behavior at nighttime. When we go to bed, Charlie gets up three or four times and wanders around the house then finally settles. With the e-collar, it is quite noisy, and appears painful for him to get up and down so many times. Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Bo Boop Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 So sorry to hear about your old guy That's rough to watch and go through. My dog, who I lost in March to cancer (he was 12) went through chemo. and had trouble sleeping and I had great results with the melatonin. I gave him 3mg, half in the morning and half before bed and he slept like a baby. I also have great luck with it on my storm sensitive 2yr old Border Collie. So I would give it a shot if I were you. Hope Charlie gets well soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc friend Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 Sorry to hear Charlie's doing poorly. Since I have an old dog as well, I completely understand how difficult it is to see their health gradually decline. Sara takes rimadyl and glucosamine for spinal arthritis. We have also just switched recently to Innova EVO since there is some research that arthritic dogs do better on a grain free diet, and she has shown motor skill improvement. It's high in protein so it depends on how your dog's kidneys are whether you should try it or not. I've also used Rescue Remedy to calm Sara at night when she has the "up and downs". I'll keep a good thought going for Charlie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 Not much to offer here. Just a suggestion that the Bonafido e-collars are way more comfortable for the dog than the noisy plastic kind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisK Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 Caroline, is it possible that Charlie has 'old dog syndrome'...something like alzheimers? Brandy, my first dog, would pace a lot at night and behaved in a very similar fashion to the elderly people with Alzheimers that I work with. She was confused, would sometimes stand at a door like she was trying to remember why? She was like that for the last year or so of her life. She was 16 1/2 when she finally crossed the bridge. I'm fairly sure there is a medication for it, but have no idea how much it costs or whether it works. Maybe AK dog doc can shed some light on that. In the meantime...good vibes going to Charlie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted May 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 I appreciate the input and will talk to the vet tomorrow to see what they say. It is possible he has some alzheimers as I wonder if it is like "sundowners syndrome" that alzheimers folks get. I hope AK dog doc drops by. Caroline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK dog doc Posted May 19, 2006 Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 Any head tilt? Nystagmus (where the eyes swing back and forth, as yours would if you were reading - slow one direction and fast the other)? circling? drifting to one side? nausea? vomiting? knuckling on any foot/feet? Without being able to see the patient and without further information, I can't really do much but speculate. You really do need to see what your vet has to say, and listen to them over me - they can see your dog and I can't. Despite my lucky international catch on Daisy, I can't do a neuro exam over the 'net. As a point of general information, if you're seeing sidedness to the signs it's possible it's old-dog vestibular disease or a brain-stem lesion. Those dogs usually circle or drift to the same side as the head tilt. The slow phase of the nystagmus will be towards the same side as the head tilt, and the fast phase will be away. Most of these dogs recover fully with only supportive care and no medications. However, it's really impossible for me to know what is going on in this case, so I don't want to speculate further lest I mislead you by accident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted May 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 Thanks, I will talk with the vet today. I know you can't stop the process of aging or keep him alive forever, I just want him as comfortable as possible as long as he wants to play and can play ball. Caroline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK dog doc Posted May 19, 2006 Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 Don't we all! (sigh). I wish you the best of luck on this, and whatever happens remember that you've already done well keeping this dog happy and well for so long. Will be curious to hear what the vet has to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carson Crazies Posted May 19, 2006 Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 I have nothing to add, Caroline, I just wanted you to know I was thinking about you and Charlie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted May 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 Thank you Ak Dog Doc and Laura, I appreciate the good wishes. My children are worried that it might be time for him to go and they are trying to plan a funeral then they say not yet and it goes on. He has had a wonderful life so far and the rest will be as good and fun and pain free as I can make it. It really helps to post on here about it. Caroline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted May 19, 2006 Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 I wanted to add that the nightly anxiety made me think of cognitive dysfunction (the doggy alzheimer's that's been mentioned). Ben had/has this and was on a drug for it. It IS treatable - Ben works better than ever and we've been able to wean him from the expensive drug to less expensive supplements with excellent results. Probably at your dog's advnced age he'd be on a maintenance level of the drug indefinitely, but it would be well worth it, if quality of life is maintained in other areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted May 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 Thanks folks, I just saw the vet and I am going to try the melatonin at night, 1 mg, as he doesn't appear cognitively dysfunctional the rest of the time. He has always been a bit of an anxious dog though. It is hard to listen to him struggling to get up and down repeatedly. Perhaps the melatonin will just help him settle to sleep. I am going to restart the tramadol/rimadyl regimen and he is on Ceph for two weeks due to the lick granuloma, which the vet said is mostly a hot spot and not quite a completely developed granuloma. Thank you all again for listening and replying, I am having a personal life crisis separate from Charlie and right now it is good to come here and feel safe. Caroline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Bo Boop Posted May 19, 2006 Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 AK dog doc, question for you. What kind of magnesium dosage is safe for dogs and do they benefit from supplements? The reason I ask is that I've recently been taking it myself and I can't believe the results. I can't remember when I slept so well, I'm relaxed, and a lot of other benefits that I won't go into. But my question is since you lose magnesium through sweat, stress, etc...and mag. deficiency causes everything from irregular heartbeat, to anxiety, muscle cramping and myriad of other ailments, would it be of any benefit for canines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc friend Posted May 19, 2006 Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 Caroline, glad to hear that nothing major was found by your vet. It's just hard to watch our "babies" get old and their physical/mental function decline. Hope the meds will ease his discomfort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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