Dog food question...I have a Shih Tzu...

[little lady]

We have a Shih Tzu that recently has had an episode with his back-inflamed L3 & L4 are there any dog foods that could help strengthen his back? OR would a supplement be a better route to take?

 

[shorthorsemom]

Different things you can try... yucca capsules, traumeel, anti inflammatory from vet like rimidyl, or even acupuncture. I usually supplement or do pain killers rather than change food. Acupuncture when I can afford it is wonderful non drug way of combating pain and nerve issues. best wishes. I had a crested that got clipped by the collie running full tilt and he had disc pain to the point of consideration of putting him to sleep, he couldn't walk and he screamed in pain and his tail was limp. My friend who dabbles in holostic advice told me to try traumeel when the rimidyl didn't touch it and I was at my wits end as to options. It was amazing how fast he got out of pain, recovered his tail and was back to his old self in no time. I couldn't believe that he went from being so bad I considered putting him to sleep, to running and being happy and full recovery just by giving the traumeel. it will be my "go to" medication for injury. Not sure if it works on chronic issues, but for the disc trauma I experienced, it was amazing.

My collie and a dobie I had responded excellent to sprinkling yucca capsules on their food. My dobie was so bad that he would knuckle his hind feet and be standing on the tops of his feet. the yucca worked so well he didn't need any other treatment. The collie went from lame to sound on the yucca and I was able to stop on her eventually and now she gets nothing.

I had a dobie with neck trauma from a dog attack and she would leak urine and nothing worked except the accupuncture. she would go into clinic with head down and in obvious pain and trot out with head high and happy attitude. It really works. I did think the needles worked better than the laser treatment for her.

Just tossing out some ideas, every dog is different and I wanted to give you examples and success stories so you can see that many treatment options are available.

For a GSD I had with DM, I eventually bought him a wheel chair from "eddies wheels" when he lost control of his hind end. lots of individual options and every dog and case is different.

 

[little lady]

A wealthy of info shorthorsemom, thanks!!

 

[shorthorsemom]

I am a collector of doggies and am always interested in finding ways to improve quality of life in my guys as they age.. i used to work for a vet and enjoy a balance between vet medicine and holostic medicines. My vet luckily does both and each dog case is different as to treatment approach Never be afraid to try something and never fear making a switch. if I was unwilling to be open minded and make changes based on response to treatment, I would have lost some of my dogs. You need to be very in tune to your doggie and watch facial expression and body language and communicate with your dog and find out what works best. If something in is not working, switch and try something else. My crested trauma was horrible and my vet was working closely with me to save him. The traumeel was last ditch effort and it worked. That was several years ago and he has not had any episodes since. Knock on wood. You just never know. With my GSD with the DM, that was simply heartbreak in the making and nothing but support (wheel chair) worked for him. Debilitating and progressive.

On my dobie.. I spend a ton of money at a clinic with the neurologist. They put him on high dose steroids. He was 8 or 9 at the time. He peed everywhere and his quality of life stunk. My horse friend suggested the yucca. I said , what the heck.... and tried it. Got him off the steroids, he lived on yucca the rest of his life. He lived to 2 weeks before his 15th birthday!.. Go figure. May or not have been the yucca, and sometimes my vet rolls her eyes at my stories and says.. "well if it made you feel better, go ahead and try"... haha... I am a communicator and am very much in tune with my dogs and over the years instead of rolling her eyes, my vet asks me my opinion... She knows I am observant.. One time I had another dobie and I asked for an appointment for an xray. My vet says... "why, what are her symptoms?".. I said... well.. she walked out the door, something is horribly wrong, this dog never walks..... I get to the vet and have a wagging and happy dobie in the office and my vet is looking at me like I am crazy when I repeat my desire for an xray... She says.. well, lets just do bloodwork first... comes back in 20 minutes and orders an xray... Splenic tumor. Only symptom was walking instead of running...

My chinese crested communicated his heart issue, by sitting on my husbands lap one day and looking in my eyes... He fears men and this was weird so I make a vet appointment for him... My vet says.. What are his symptoms... I say... well, he sat on my husbands lap and looked at me.. You should have seen her face... until she listened to his chest, then she took xrays... then she sent me to a cardiologist. My crested has been on heart medication now for 5 years and is doing terrific and his only symptom was to give me that "look"... take care and best wishes and watch your dog and write down what you see or tell somebody what you see. He will help you and your vet decide what treatment will work... PS, what are his symptoms when he has an episode?

 

[Miniv]

Shorthorsemom......good for you. There are more "communicators" on here than you know. Many don't even realize they are!

For me, I find it more difficult to read my own animals sometimes, than other people's.... perhaps because of the deep emotional connection?

 

[little lady]

I am a collector of doggies and am always interested in finding ways to improve quality of life in my guys as they age.. i used to work for a vet and enjoy a balance between vet medicine and holostic medicines. My vet luckily does both and each dog case is different as to treatment approach Never be afraid to try something and never fear making a switch. if I was unwilling to be open minded and make changes based on response to treatment, I would have lost some of my dogs. You need to be very in tune to your doggie and watch facial expression and body language and communicate with your dog and find out what works best. If something in is not working, switch and try something else. My crested trauma was horrible and my vet was working closely with me to save him. The traumeel was last ditch effort and it worked. That was several years ago and he has not had any episodes since. Knock on wood. You just never know. With my GSD with the DM, that was simply heartbreak in the making and nothing but support (wheel chair) worked for him. Debilitating and progressive.

On my dobie.. I spend a ton of money at a clinic with the neurologist. They put him on high dose steroids. He was 8 or 9 at the time. He peed everywhere and his quality of life stunk. My horse friend suggested the yucca. I said , what the heck.... and tried it. Got him off the steroids, he lived on yucca the rest of his life. He lived to 2 weeks before his 15th birthday!.. Go figure. May or not have been the yucca, and sometimes my vet rolls her eyes at my stories and says.. "well if it made you feel better, go ahead and try"... haha... I am a communicator and am very much in tune with my dogs and over the years instead of rolling her eyes, my vet asks me my opinion... She knows I am observant.. One time I had another dobie and I asked for an appointment for an xray. My vet says... "why, what are her symptoms?".. I said... well.. she walked out the door, something is horribly wrong, this dog never walks..... I get to the vet and have a wagging and happy dobie in the office and my vet is looking at me like I am crazy when I repeat my desire for an xray... She says.. well, lets just do bloodwork first... comes back in 20 minutes and orders an xray... Splenic tumor. Only symptom was walking instead of running...

My chinese crested communicated his heart issue, by sitting on my husbands lap one day and looking in my eyes... He fears men and this was weird so I make a vet appointment for him... My vet says.. What are his symptoms... I say... well, he sat on my husbands lap and looked at me.. You should have seen her face... until she listened to his chest, then she took xrays... then she sent me to a cardiologist. My crested has been on heart medication now for 5 years and is doing terrific and his only symptom was to give me that "look"... take care and best wishes and watch your dog and write down what you see or tell somebody what you see. He will help you and your vet decide what treatment will work... PS, what are his symptoms when he has an episode?

He will be 5 years old in July and has been the picture of health until Monday evening. He was out in the pasture peeing on weeds as I was doing my feeding/watering/cleaning stalls when I heard him yelp. I called him and he came to me and I looked him over...nothing. came in the house and he jumped up and sat on my lap while I watched the news. Got up to take him out before bed and he lifted a leg and didn't pee(very unusual for him) then took a few steps and again lifted his leg no pee and yelped again, then sat in the grass and started panting hard so coaxed him towards the porch and he acted like he didn't want to step up the step...hmm odd he usually doesn't even notice the step. I picked him up and brought him in and could tell by his actions that something was wrong, again looked him over and saw nothing. Normally after coming in from doing business he goes straight to the pantry for a treat and will bump the door with his butt until he gets one, but not this time he just laided on his belly stretching his hind legs out and heavily panting. Decided to try to lay him in bed and wait for my husband to come home from a meeting. By the time my husband came home he had started drooling bad, and just could not get comfortable, so we called regular vet who said sounds like bladder stones should either give him an aspirin or take him to animal hospital so of course we took him to the animal hospital almost an hour way. They did an exam and xray and said not bladder stones but on xray looked like possible blockage in first part of small intestine but wasn't sure and would send xrays off to radiologist who would send report to regular vet. so as a preventative the did a sub q iv for fluids and gave him 2 injections for nausea and sent us home. Next day he was no longer drooling but refused to jump on/off anything even just a step. So off to regular vet, we walk into exam room and vet says,"well he looks pretty good." I said, "no, he doesn't that is not how he walks, he walks with a proud prance." It got kind of awkward quiet for a minute and then the vet review the xray and reading from night before and said he didn't see that as a blockage but food, he did see inflammation in his L3 L4 and said he need to do another xray and labs. Did another xray confirmed L3 L4 diagnosis. Labs came back next day basically normal with the exception of electrolytes still a bit off and that was expected with all the drooling. So he said treatment plan to confine him and do not let him jump on/off anything. So here we are today and he has a prance back but it isn't the same, will not jump up on bed or furniture(this is good but a sign something still not right) and still a little something not right. So I am looking for dog food/supplements to help with the inflammation because watching him I am sure that is what is wrong.

I love reading your dog stories and can real relate to the look. .

 

[shorthorsemom]

Did your vet give your dog anything for the pain and inflamation or just tell you to confine him? I would think your vet would prescribe something like rimidyl or something like that. For chronic pain I like the yucca, for sudden trauma or nerve issues, my vet usually gives me anti inflammatory medication to take home. I used the traumeel when the anti inflammatory didn't do anything. Ask your vet if they can give your dog something to make him more comfortable. I hear in your words that you want your baby out of pain right away and the wait and see approach makes you feel helpless, especially hard to watch your dog in pain. As far as food, I can't think of any dog food I can recommend. I would call the vet and see if you can pick up some pain meds to try and make him more comfortable. The more he tenses up from pain, the more things will pinch and hurt.

MiniV.. thanks for the nice words, you are right, I come across communicators all the time, although often when I say something to them noticing they are communicating, I get an odd look sometimes, like they never thought of themselves as communicating with animals and they think you are doing some doctor dolittle thing.

I have been able to read things most of my life, it takes time before your vet catches on and listens.. after many times, I don't get questions by vets that really know me now. I get vibes off of other folks critters too now. What I am convinced is that most or all of us have the ability, but due to non believing or non use, we can get rusty. If you believe and truly look and feel and open your mind, your animals will begin to really "talk" to you.

On another thought, no vaccines while he is healing. take care...

 

[Jill]

Other than cosequin, I don't really have a clue what could help with this issue, but wanted to just give you an internet hug if I can. As much as I love horses, and even more than them, dogs in general -- I don't know if I could be happy about getting out of bed w/o my shih-Tzu's. They are such a great kind of dog and mine sure figure out quick how to work me into being wrapped around their paws. The children of my heart and near constant companions! Not sure how such little dogs can be so full of a sense of importance, but they are! Not a yap among them, either

 

[little lady]

Jill I was hoping you would have some advise because I knew you would understand how precious he is to us. I love my horses like my kids, our cat Isabelle ranks pretty high to but none of them can even compare when it comes to our Harley!

 

[Jill]

Oooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I swear, I could lay some serious hugs on that fur baby

 

[shorthorsemom]

Hi, You should change your post header to say...dog in pain.. help.... or something like that. You might get more write in suggestions for things you can try, the dog food header might be throwing folks off on what your thread is really about, I originally opened this thread thinking it was another thread on dog food advice and was so surprised to find out about your situation with your dog and the troubles he is having. Was thinking about you this morning and wondering if you were able to reach the vet and get any medication for the pain. Heading into the weekend I know you are probably worrying about your baby terribly. He is very cute by the way. Hope you are doing ok.

 

[little lady]

Thanks for the tip shorthorsemom. Took Harley back to the vet 1.was not happy with how he was doing 2. going into weekend. Vet exam stated he feels confident it is his back kept him yesterday afternoon to observe him. Sent home with Previcox and strict rest. Already he has a marked improvement. I am also going to put him on a joint supplement(vet also recommended this). So hoping soon to have my tried and true friend back to himself.

 

[shorthorsemom]

Hows Harley doing?

 

[little lady]

Thanks for asking. He seems pretty much back to himself but he is still on the Previcox so once he is done with that I guess we will really know if he is better. I found some "treats" that are a supplement for joints and have yucca in them. He is on day 2 of those and not really sure if he likes them. Keeping our fingers crossed.