Baby Joshua

[thinkpadx]

hang un there jay!

[Eadwine Rose]

Good luck finding that sweet spot indeed!

[JayM]

It didn't work. I ended up having to force feed him the better part of a can of that dog food tonight. The only thing I can think of is that the vet clinic has aircon and I don't, and it was hot today. It's supposed to be back to seasonal weather (rainy season and cooler) tomorrow though, lasting several days, so I guess I'll find out. Otherwise I get to force him to swallow chunks of canned dog food whole twice a day for the next several days. "Life gets tedious, don't it?" (YouTube music video from a 1948 recording.)

The rest of them loved their dinners though, so that's something.

[Eadwine Rose]

It'll work out, staying hopeful here. Stressful for you though! You know that I GET it... ugh.

[JayM]

I know. All animal lovers do.

[seaken64]

This thread has me in tears. But also some smiles seeing all the good wishes. I lost my german shepherd nearly 40 years ago and it still hurts. We also had a black dobie and a dobie mix when I was young.

I'm so glad to hear that Joshua is recovering nicely. Prayers and best wishes to you and your dogs Jay.

Seaken64

[JayM]

Joshua had his follow-up exam and his chest x-ray shows vast improvement in the amount of retained fluids, as in hardly any. He gets to continue with the diuretic pills (forosemide) but just once a day now instead of twice, plus a milder diuretic that also raises potassium levels (spironolactone) once a day, plus oral rehydration salts (electrolytes) mixed in their water. He goes back again in a week for another follow-up.

He wouldn't eat since he came home until this morning when he finally ate his breakfast on his own. I'd been having to force-feed him cubes of the canned food. In the process he lost 5kg which he'll hopefully start gaining back. Starting yesterday he's been acting more like normal, and this morning I caught him trying to steal cat food out of the sack which is just like him to do. he's a real thief that I have to watch. He has more energy already too.

The vet explained that this wasn't treating the underlying cause, just clearing up the symptoms. Once the congestion is all gone and his potassium level is in the normal range they'll consider what course to take regarding possible heart medications or whether it can be maintained via diet and exercise or what. She did say that our dogs should be switched to a dog food formula meant for seniors as even our youngest is around 8. Unfortunately there's limited availability of varieties due to Covid-19 and global shipping issues caused by it.

[Eadwine Rose]

Bummer about the availability!!

But I am glad to hear he's back to his antics again. That DID take a long time for him to settle back in with the food.. dang. Glad that is over now, whew.

[JayM]

i should start calling him Liberace, because of all of the dogs he's the pianist (peein'est.)

[Eadwine Rose]