Sunday, December 4, 2011

Since you asked

And because I was going to mention it anyway, Zodiac is much better now.  He's acting 100% normal and his appetite is almost back to normal.  He has been eating all of his food, without any canned for a few days now but he's not quite got all his enthusiasm for food back yet.  See, normally Zodiac does not think about, chew, or look at his food.  He just dives in and gulps it down.  While he did finish before Legend for the first time all week this morning, he did still stop the chew a little.  But, we are almost there.  Right now I have him just on sucralfate and prilosec.  The tricky part is to give the sucralfate three times a day on an empty stomach and feed him twice a day.  But we are doing an ok job I guess since he seems better. 

So the good news is-probably NOT a tumor.  And as a colleague pointed out, an ulcer would be more likely and make more sense.  Which I know, but it's nice to have an objective voice remind me.  Of course we don't know for sure if it was an ulcer nor will we know for sure if it was caused by long term Rimadyl use.  So, to be on the safe side we are just going to switch to Tramadol.  I was never sure how much the Rimadyl helped anyway, but as long as it didn't seem to bother him it was ok.  Well now, maybe it bothered him.

And he's been a real angel about taking the sucralfate. See, it works better if you dissolve it and give as a slurry and he's been a real trooper.  Never fighting me or refusing to swallow.  So I guess if we ever need to syringe feed him that won't be an issue. But hopefully we would never have to do that!

Meanwhile the weather here is cold, wet, and nasty.  That Hawaii thing looks better all the time!  The girls are enjoying a week off of training but that may turn into a little longer if the weather stays like this.

6 comments:

Sara said...

I'm glad to hear he's doing better. Misty had to have slurries a couple times. It always seemed to make her week better quick.

My aunt lives in Hawaii. Lives in a teeny apartment, but who cares when you are in paradise.

Sara said...

Feel better (not week). Stupid auto word.

Nicki said...

Yeah-it's not like you're spending lot of time in the house when you are in Hawaii!

Karissa said...

Very happy to hear that Zodiac is feeling better!!

I don't care about cold & wet. I can deal with cold & wet. We have snow now. :o( I hate snow.

Sue said...

Two of my dogs have had ulcers and responded well to treatment. It's good to hear that eating is becoming a fun event again.

Kathy Mocharnuk said...

I am so gladto hear he is doing better, ....sorry about that weather....;-(