Posts filed under ‘Vet visit’
Boogie’s unhappy day
Posted Date: : Mar 23, 2009 8:55 PM
Eddie and I were out having lunch today on Vermont Ave.
Boogie was, as always, seated patiently at our feet, hoping for a french fry.
A guy and his big black dog (Pitbull? Rottweiler?) came around the corner. He didn’t see us and next thing you know, the dog charged and had Boogie’s neck in between his teeth. We struggled on the sidewalk for what seemed like a scary eternity. The dog wouldn’t let go of Boogie’s neck and I thought Boogie was going to die. Eddie sustained a hand injury prying the dog’s mouth open, and Boogie has a hole in his neck…. and three stitches…
I took the cone off so that he could eat. Even so, he was still shaking and whimpering. He has been shaking and whimpering all evening. The wound looks swollen and no doubt, painful. The stitches will be in for 2 weeks.
We find that the tennis ball remains a good distraction/activity for Boogie to focus on (to keep his mind off the pain and trauma) , but we have to be careful that he doesn’t do damage to his injury when running and jumping. No collar this week. May have to put the cone back on later. Sigh.
Back from Parkway Pet Clinic
Posted Date: : Aug 9, 2008 10:01 AM
We went to a different vet this morning – Dr. Martin at Parkway Pet Clinic (after reading many positive Yelp reviews). I had called our usual vet on Friday but nobody returned my call. I really like Dr. Reina at LA Pet Clinic but frankly, it bugs me that the place is only open 3-4 days a week and there is so much waiting involved. I need a more reliable vet, some place that also doesn’t charge an arm and a leg.
Dr. Martin was a very down-to-earth, no-nonsense sort of guy. Yes, there is an issue with Boogie’s tail due to all his scootin’ and lickin’ and Dr. M suggested just keeping the area clean (soap and water is good) and applying Neosporin which has a mild steroid in it, to relieve the itching after I mentioned that I was nervous about oral steroid meds. He didn’t think that Boogie’s sore tail looked all that bad – I just have to keep an eye on it. Boogie is otherwise fine – no fever, no other issues.
And then he expressed Boogie’s anal glands by sticking his fingers right inside his butt. (First time I’d seen anyone do it this way!) The Boogs let out a percing yelp and was shaking like a leaf. Oh what an ordeal. At least he doesn’t have to wear a cone…
Interesting note: Two months ago, Boogie’s weight was 26 lbs. Today he’s 23.6 lbs! He doesn’t look too skinny, does he?
He is probably at his ‘correct weight’, but if I had to choose, I would rather have a fat (aka cuddlier) dog than a skinny one…
Vet Visit #3
It was Boogie’s third vet visit today. Good news is that his anal glands are better. Dr. Reina expressed them and some of the goopy medication from two weeks ago came out, so I guess he still has a medicated toosh and all should be fine in a matter of time.
Dr Reina also looked at his eyes and noted that the pink inner corners are more prominent and that his eyes are super teary. (Dr: “It is better that they are extra watery than dry”). I mentioned the itching and scratching and it appears that the Boogs might have allergies.
As for whether these are seasonal/pollen-related or food-related, we don’t know. Dr Reina doesn’t think that the symptoms are major enough to require anti-histamines but if they get worse then we’ll do something about it. He suggested more regular baths (in case it’s pollen-related) and to wait a while until summer is over to see if the symptoms are still there. If they are then we’re dealing with a food allergy and I may want to try him on a new protein source.
I have been cooking for Boogie these past few days – adding boiled chicken or salmon to his food and I must be giving him way too much because the Boogs has put on weight since his last vet visit which was only 2 weeks ago!(He is now a whopping 26.6 lbs!) I am also adding small amounts of The Honest Kitchen (dehydrated food) to the cooked meat and Hills i/d, and his poop is looking good aside from the occasional few plastic yellow corn kernels from his corn cob chew toy…
When we were at the vet’s today, a lady rushed in with a little white poodle she had found on the side of the road. The poor little dog was wrapped up in newspaper and bleeding from being hit by a car… he/she had no identification collar. The vet tech was great – she said that they will scan the dog for microchip id and she will take him home in the meantime until they find the owner. The lady who brought the dog in was asked for a donation to help pay the bill, and I offered some money too. I can’t believe that someone would hit a dog and drive off just like that. I hope they find the little dog’s owner….
Oh, and before I forget… see Boogie’s fabulous Myspace profile pic? This is a glittery painting of Boogie by my friend Dale Sizer. It is also one of my favorite birthday presents this year. Isn’t it wonderful?
Dale is a professional artist and he draws great dog portraits (he has two bull terriers) amongst many other things. His style is super slick and much more detailed and photorealistic than my style. If you want to pay him for a portrait of your doggie you will not be disappointed. Dale’s website: www.dalesizer.com
Back from the Vet (anal glands alert)
The wait wasn’t too long today, thank goodness… and in the small waiting room, Boogie did his playbow thing with a friendly pitbull who had his leg in a cast.
Dr. Reina suggested trying Pepcid for the nausea & vomitting and keeping Boogie on Hills i/d or a “sensitive stomach” or “hypoallergenic” diet. I already expected this response. He said that if I decide to get into serious diagnosis of Boogie’s tummy issues, we’re talking about ultrasounds (hundreds of dollars) and/or biopsies (over a thousand dollars) and Dr Reina doesn’t think we should go there for now if there is a chance that the food is working out for him. After hearing the figures, I almost don’t want to go there myself.
And then he had a look at Boogie’s anal glands and expressed them. I now take back what I said about wanting to learn how to check/express a dog’s anal glands. Nope. I don’t think I want to do this. I think I’ll be fine not knowing!!! 
Dr: “It takes experience”. (and he drew me the 4 o’clock & 8 o’clock diagram, which I already knew about)
Well, the bad news is that the Boogs has an anal gland infection.
There was gooey whitish puss coming out of his rear end.
Me: “I’ve been smelling it all week!” (hah! And Wes thought I was imagining this!)
So what they did was pack Boogie’s anal glands with antibiotics (some sort of white liquid which I hope won’t be secreted onto my furniture – eeek!) and in two weeks I have to bring him back for a check-up. No oral medication. They said that anal glad infections are not uncommon… some dogs get them some dogs don’t. I asked Dr Reina what causes the infection and he said that the glands get clogged up/backed up and bacteria builds up. That’s all there is to it. Me, I am not feeling thoroughly convinced. I hope we don’t have to go through this on a regular basis…
Dr. Reina also suggested that I feed Boogie three smaller meals a day, and keep a diary for signs of vomiting etc. Good idea. I should have been doing this anyway.
Questions for the vet
Warning: Icky stuff in this blog post. If you are not a dog-owner some of this may gross you out.
I have been pretty stressed and anxious this week. We are booked in for a vet visit on Thursday because Boogie is due for a Bortedella shot but now it looks like I will have a LOT more to discuss with the vet.
Once again Boogie has been vomiting, and to not risk aggravating his tummy any further, I took him off the California Natural and he is now back on 100% Hills i/d. The vomiting has been less frequent but his little body heaves from time to time, like he is experiencing nausea. This happens at random times of the day. Nothing comes up but it looks like he is about to puke and he swallows and licks his mouth afterwards. His poop has also been softer than usual. And I am starting to worry if Boogie might have some sort of stomach disease like IBD or IBS that will require an endoscopy or biopsy to diagnose (ie, the traumatic and expensive procedure of sticking a tube into his stomach).
It doesn’t help that I am paranoid by nature.
The other thing that worries me is that when I took Boogie to the groomer’s last week, I was told that there was “thick stuff” coming out of his anal glands. I asked if this was normal and the groomer said “sometimes”. I asked if I should be concerned and he said “No”. (The guy wasn’t much help at all & frankly I didn’t trust him)
In any case, Boogie has been obsessively licking his butt everyday this week – more often than usual – and I am now worried that he has an infection back there.
And then last night when we were out for a walk, all of a sudden, he started limping. He had a hard time putting weight on one of his back legs. Immediately I freaked out because I was reminded of Rocky (who had brain/neurological issues) who had sudden episodes of limping, that would come and go, just like that.
I have no idea what the problem was with Boogie. Back home he licked his back paw for ages. Wes and I scrutinized the paw but couldn’t find any splinters or glass or anything that might’ve been caught in there. A few minutes later he was back on all four feet and fine.
And then he vomitted again.
And then he was furiously licking his butt.
(All this was taking place on the bed. ICK!)
So here is my list of questions and issues for Dr Reina:
– Bortedella shot
– Check ingredients of foods with Dr. – get his thoughts
– Can we rule out e-coli or giardia? (bring fecal samples)
– Is IBD or IBS possible?
– Do we need to do a biopsy?
– Limping: check leg.
– Anal glands: is there an infection?
– Should I add more fiber to his diet to enable anal gland self-expression?
– Glands: how can I tell when they are full? (gross as this is going to be, I want to know. Boogie’s glands seem to be filling up really fast. He only got them done a week ago!)
– Could the nausea/vomiting be related to the licking of impacted/infected anal glands?
I better write all this stuff down.
Boogie’s visit to L.A. Pet Clinic
Our appointment with Dr Reina was at 1.30pm but we didn’t see him until about 2.45pm!!! I can’t remember how long we waited. It seemed like forever, as there were three people ahead of us. (Bit annoyed because I made this appointment 2 weeks ago!!!).
In the tiny waiting room which was crowded with crated cats and a very bored, restless and whimpering Boogie, I chatted with one of the cat ladies and she said that the wait is normal. There is always a long wait, but she wouldn’t go anywhere else. She has been seeing Dr. Reina for 11 years, she thinks he’s the bee’s knees.
Dr Reina was a nice guy. I told him about Boogie’s frequent vomitting and lack of interest in eating. Also that this morning Boogie had his biggest vomit yet. I asked if Boogie might have an “elongated soft palate”, or “Acid Reflux” or “Esophagus issues”… but the Dr doesn’t think so, because he isn’t vomitting up FOOD, but mostly frothy liquid which to him, is odd and doesn’t call for an easy diagnosis. It might be a gastro-intestinal problem or it might be liver/kidney related; or it might be something “deeper”. The Dr said that even an x-ray exam at this point wouldn’t be sensitive enough to confirm anything. He suggested changing Boogie’s diet to Hills Prescription Sensitive Stomach (wet food) – see if this changes anything – just in case he has a food allergy. They also took some blood and I have to call tomorrow evening for results.
I hope the Hills Diet will make a difference (as much as I would rather feed him a holistic brand of easily-available grain-free food) . I hope the blood test results don’t reveal any bad news. It’s also frustrating to have “no news”.
Boogie was so glad to be home. He had already said “hello” to all the sick cats and their humans in the waiting room, he was bored and frustrated, whimpering and pulling on the leash with his teeth, then sitting in front of me with his big sad pleading brown and blue eyes. In the Dr’s office, he pawed at the door to be let out. When home again, the first thing he did was EAT! (yay!) Then he played with his artichoke.
I learnt something new from this vet visit. Our Boogie monster is not 20lbs as written on his Rescue/Shelter form. He is not even 23lbs. (the last time I weighed him on Wes’ bathroom scales). He is a whopping 26.4 lbs! I hope it’s all muscle because even though he’s a thick and cuddly cherub, he doesn’t appear to have any “fat” on him….
Boogie’s “not eating” issue
I have figured out a way to make Boogie eat his food: Carry him from his cushion to his bowl and move his head over the bowl. (Calling him doesn’t work.)
It seems like an odd thing to have to do, but so far, it works! He is eating! I also tried this last night, and he ate his dinner. He doesn’t polish his bowl clean like other dogs, but hey – eating is better than not eating. I don’t want him to starve.
Eddie’s theory is that Boogie doesn’t like his food. (Quote: “If you placed some lettuce in front of me everyday and if I was hungry I’d force myself to eat it. But I wouldn’t be crazy about it.”)
Does Boogie not like his Nature’s Variety Chicken Meal Grain-Free kibble mixed with Innova EVO Chicken wet food? It’s not like I can switch to a different food everyday to figure out what pleases Sir Boogaloo the most….(I was worried Innova EVO might be too high-protein and rich because he was releasing nasty gases so frequently, so I am trying him out on Nature’s Variety. BTW, I stopped giving him the Angel Eyes to rule out that this isn’t the problem)
Here’s another little problem that we have… vomit.
Almost everyday since New Years Day, I have been finding a small puddle of vomit in my apartment. Usually on Boogie’s cushion or chair.
On New Years Day, we were playing fetch with the tennis ball and he threw up on me when he brought back the ball. That was the first time.. a quick vomit …then he was back to normal, playing. Wes and I assumed that he was just purging some icky stuff/hairballs and that it was normal. Boogie likes to lick his tennis balls, and might’ve also swallowed fluff from the plush toys that he likes to unstuff and chew on each day. I have also found “toy fiber” in his poo so I just assume that this stuff comes out the other end too.
But now I am starting to worry because… is it really normal for a dog to be purging almost everyday? Sometimes there are food particles (kibble) in his vomit. Most of the time it’s just slimey froth.
And combined with his lack of excitement over mealtimes, I am wondering if he might have a stomach issue. (Mind you, Boogie is very interested in human food when we are eating our dinners, and he is still very playful after each meal. He appears to be happy and doesn’t act “sick”)
I have made an appointment with Dr Reina of LA Pet Clinic on Monday which will be our first vet visit. I am hoping that all is OK.
Tomorrow: Boogie’s new little friend Emma is coming to stay for a few days! It will be interesting to see how these two get along. 🙂
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