Ramble On

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Thought we had a setback


Last weekend, Mary went out to the cabin for an errand or two, leaving me and the dogs home in Alexandria. Mary has been mainly working from home the last few years, and the dogs have gotten very used to that routine, so we had some worries about what might happen with "mom away."
There was howling and anxious panting. And then, there was a food boycot that started the morning after.
With canine renal failure, this is a sign that you keep an eye on...dog's gotta eat, and if they don't it could signal that something is going wrong.
I tried all the tricks - smearing turkey baby food on some wonder bread (surprisingly looks like peanut butter). Gracie has taken to eating Greek style organic yogurt with honey in a pinch, but that didn't work this time either. At least she was still taking her meds.
By Monday, she was even spitting out the treats that we use to hide the pills, and she'd grown a bit listless. I was worried, and when Mary got home we talked about next steps. We already had a vet appointment to get the dog checked out.
Turns out, Gracie's blood pressure had spiked, and that might have caused a little nausea, keeping her from eating. There are a few new meds to get us through this episode, and we're going to daily sub-Q fluids for the rest of the week, but everything seems to be working and hopefully we'll be back on an even keel by Saturday.
As far as a diet update, we've had to make some changes...this week, there are grilled hamburger patties and ziti pasta on the menu. It doesn't have everything in it we'd like to see her eating, but the important thing is that she is getting some food in her.

No comments: