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I need help. My dog(13 year old black lab, border collie mutt as best we can tell) is refusing to eat dry food and if I give him canned food he licks the liquid/gravy off but leaves the soft wet chunks behind. He's started losing weight due to this. I would take him to the vet but I'm disabled and barely get enough money to live and the last time I took him to the only vet in town to be neutered, they put him in a filthy cage and he got a mange-like disease on his hind quarters that took me a long time to get under control and cured. So I'm very disinclined to visit them. Also I am unable to drive due to my disability so that doesn't help any. He's been my best friend since he was born and fit in the palm of my hand(now he's a 80lb big boy). I'm terrified he's at his end...
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Sep 13, 2021 05:04
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TasteTheRambo posted:I need help. He probably is. How is his hydration rate? Pick up the skin at the nape of his neck (gently) and look for an elastic reaction. How long does it take his skin to pop back to normal? Instantly? A while?
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Sep 13, 2021 12:49
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My gf's parents dog is going through something similar and it is liver failure. I'm sorry. Apparently he does eat cooked plain chicken breast and rice but that's about all he'll eat these days. You will need to take him to a vet.. but I'd pick a different one.
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Sep 13, 2021 18:08
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This morning I managed to get him to eat 3 decent sized Milkbone treats, but obviously those aren't a replacement for food. He's still 100% behaving as his normal self, jus not eating...Fluffy Bunnies posted:He probably is. How is his hydration rate? Pick up the skin at the nape of his neck (gently) and look for an elastic reaction. How long does it take his skin to pop back to normal? Instantly? A while? Oh he drinks just fine(and pisses a lot). Its like he's part fish or something. I did that neck thing and it popped back instantly. The Walrus posted:You will need to take him to a vet.. but I'd pick a different one. This is rural Tennessee, there is ONLY one vet and my disability makes me unable to drive him to it. I'll see if he will eat some of my dinner tonight. I myself eat once a day. I normally feed him twice daily(after his morning walk and after his nightly walk).
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Sep 13, 2021 18:22
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Okay just because the dog is drinking doesn't mean he's hydrated. My top guesses: kidney failure, diabetes, pancreatitis, liver failure.
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Sep 13, 2021 20:07
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You could try cooking him home cooked meals. Something mild like boiled chicken or ground beef plus rice. It’s usually more appealing, and in the unlikely possibility your dog is just having some GI upset, a bland diet might help. Unfortunately, it’s really unlikely your elderly dog lost his appetite without an underlying reason. He needs an exam and some blood work if there is any way you can manage. Sometimes rural vets are willing to make house calls, it’s at least worth asking. Drinking and urinating a lot is bad news in it’s own way- those are common symptoms of kidney and liver issues.
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Sep 13, 2021 21:28
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Got ahold of a vet. She said to try chicken and unseasoned rice and 20mg of pepcid. I really don't think he has an upset stomach but it sure as hell beats having to have my best friend and only remaining family euthanized... She seemed entirely unconcerned with how much water he was drinking. I dunno tho, she was helping me over text message so I didn't have to spend a fortune.
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Sep 14, 2021 21:48
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i hope your dog feels better soon op
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Sep 15, 2021 04:12
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:i hope your dog feels better soon op Thank you. I'm hoping its too early to be sure, but I fed him some chicken and rice like the doc said around noon - at 7:15pm he threw it up and none of it looked remotely digested  BUT I'm waiting on his pepcid to be delivered(tomorrow morning) so hopefully that stops that (fingers crossed). Gonna try a little less rice for his dinner since he kept just chicken down fine before I got rice.
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Sep 16, 2021 02:30
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If he's lapping at things but not eating them I recommend chicken or turkey baby food. It's easy to lap up for dogs in the hospital that don't want to actively eat things for some reason. We warm it up for a few seconds in the microwave and that can make it smell better. You can mix water in his food for more hydration if you're worried about that. Or use a low-sodium chicken or beef broth in his water to encourage drinking. Unfortunately this is something I'd recommend a vet for if he doesn't eat soon.
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Sep 16, 2021 12:31
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Systemic Kidney Failure. I just ordered the execution of my best friend and only remaining family that lasted the last 13 years. I was with him when he passed, I owed him that much. I'm still bawling my eyes out... The goodest of good boys: 
TasteTheRambo fucked around with this message at 00:43 on Sep 18, 2021 |
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Sep 17, 2021 23:59
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TasteTheRambo posted:Systemic Kidney Failure. I just ordered the execution of my best friend and only remaining family that lasted the last 13 years. I was with him when he passed, I owed him that much. I'm still bawling my eyes out... It happens. I had one go from perfectly fine in April to loving dying in may. we spent $4000 and she lasted 22 days. pet insurance had our back. she was 11.25 years old and deserved a hell of a lot better. there is loving nothing you can do if they're advanced in age, op. you were with him. you did your best. that's all you can do for a good lad like he was. nephrology in pets is a loving joke unless, by some miracle, you get a dog or a cat that is very slow to advance. most of them are not that.
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Sep 18, 2021 14:44
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Sorry for your loss OP. He looks like a very good boy.
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Sep 18, 2021 19:53
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I feel like I betrayed then murdered me best friend who only showed me care and love. I'm a piece of poo poo.
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Sep 18, 2021 21:15
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TasteTheRambo posted:I feel like I betrayed then murdered me best friend who only showed me care and love. I'm a piece of poo poo. When you don't put them down you spend weeks feeding them by hand and then they have a massive heart attack in front of you and drop dead.
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Sep 18, 2021 22:09
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TasteTheRambo posted:I feel like I betrayed then murdered me best friend who only showed me care and love. I'm a piece of poo poo. This time though, you did something that truly was just for him. He was in pain, and you took all that pain and all that suffering from him, and laid it on yourself.
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Sep 23, 2021 00:53
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I know, deep down in my black heart, that it was the right thing to do. But thats not how it feels at all. I still wake up wondering in the middle of the night thinking I heard his bark. I had to take my laundry basket and put it on my mattress(because it takes up about the same amount of space as he did) just to get any sleep at all. I've already gained 20lbs... I need another dog. A puppy...So theoretically it'll be the longest possible time before I break my heart again.
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Sep 28, 2021 00:09
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TasteTheRambo posted:I know, deep down in my black heart, that it was the right thing to do. But thats not how it feels at all. I still wake up wondering in the middle of the night thinking I heard his bark. I had to take my laundry basket and put it on my mattress(because it takes up about the same amount of space as he did) just to get any sleep at all. I've already gained 20lbs... I need another dog. A puppy...So theoretically it'll be the longest possible time before I break my heart again. So get another dog. As for right and wrong, he was a dead dog walking dude. He wasn't going to recover. Your options were to let him go at home (probably not in the most visually appealing way) or pay for his death at the hands of the vet, which was much quicker than starving to death. Dying dogs do not leave us with a lot of good options.
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Sep 28, 2021 12:50
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TasteTheRambo posted:I feel like I betrayed then murdered me best friend who only showed me care and love. I'm a piece of poo poo. Our 1 year old kitten got cancer. That was a little over a year ago. I don't think I've ever been so devastated. loving cancer. It still hurts. My grandma's advice to me was to never let an animal suffer. It's up to us to take that pain and suffering away even if it hurts us to do it. Instead of prolonging the suffering, you let your dog end life on a relatively good note. It sucks that it hurts us to give them a good death but it's going to hurt for us no matter what. You did good. When you're ready honor your friends memory by getting a new friend. Whether you get a puppy or adopt from a shelter, just do it.
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Oct 25, 2021 05:49
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We made the mistake of waiting too long to get a new pet when our loved one died. It's not a betrayal - your dog would want you to be happy and have a new partner in life. Also you might want to find someone to talk to, everyone goes through grief in a situation like this but you are not processing it in a way that I would say is not 100% healthy. all the best my friend.
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Jan 4, 2022 16:29
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