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[sadunbar]

Our Akita, Kodi, had TPLO knee surgery three weeks ago today.  And our German Shepherd, Rocky, had his spleen removed 5 day ago.  (It twisted like a dog's stomach twists with bloat).

Lots of puppy lounging around are recovering going on at our house...

[Twolanerider]

When the fur grows back they won't even get to show off the scars.  So glad they're on the mend Scott.  Do a little extra head scratch and a treat or two for the crowd .

[SBB]

Glad they are doing ok.
How about their "dad?"

SBB

[sadunbar]

Glad they are doing ok.
How about their "dad?"

SBB

Tired...  They both chose to do the majority of their resting during the daytime.  Night time is for other adventures.  Rocky is partial to "pacing" most all night and sleeping during daylight hours.   

[Pete7539]

Glad you caught Rocky in time. We lost a dog at work because of that. Speedy recovery wishes for both  

[sadunbar]

Glad you caught Rocky in time. We lost a dog at work because of that. Speedy recovery wishes for both  

Fortunately he woke me up about 1 a.m. and let me know he was in distress.  Many years ago we had an Akita suffer "bloat" (stomach torsion), so even half asleep I recognized the symptoms.  We immediately left for the Emergency Veterinary Hospital.  We called on the way, and they took him directly into the operating room.  I thought they would diagnose stomach torsion with Rocky, but as it turned out, it was his spleen instead of his stomach.  While in there, they "tacked" his stomach to eliminate any future issues with it...

Our longer term concern is with Kodi, as statistically 50% to 60% (dependent on breed) of dogs suffering a torn ACL in one knee, will suffer the same injury in the opposite knee within one year.  They believe this is caused by the added strain placed on the "good" knee while the "bad" knee is recovering (which can take 6 to 9 months to fully recover).

[Pete7539]

Our longer term concern is with Kodi, as statistically 50% to 60% (dependent on breed) of dogs suffering a torn ACL in one knee, will suffer the same injury in the opposite knee within one year.  They believe this is caused by the added strain placed on the "good" knee while the "bad" knee is recovering (which can take 6 to 9 months to fully recover).

Coincidentally that is very close percentage to adults with rotator cuff surgery. Best of luck and speedy recoveries to your best friends

[LovemyCVOgirl]

Sorry to hear about your dogs.  I send them my best wishes for a speedy recovery.  My oldest Yorkie had a Pancreatitis attack last week and she was very sick.  I just thought she had the "doggy flu"

She is the one on the right in this photo

[sadunbar]

Sorry to hear about your dogs.  I send them my best wishes for a speedy recovery.  My oldest Yorkie had a Pancreatitis attack last week and she was very sick.  I just thought she had the "doggy flu"

She is the one on the right in this photo

Two very cute pups!   

[Rooster]

Wow Scott, that is a big load rehabbing 2 big dogs at the same time. Hopefully both recover well and quick.
Judy, nice looking little fellers you have there and hope yours heals up fast.

[ultrarider123]

Sorry to hear about your dogs.  I send them my best wishes for a speedy recovery.  My oldest Yorkie had a Pancreatitis attack last week and she was very sick.  I just thought she had the "doggy flu"

Must be something going around concerning the Pancreas.  Runtz was sick, throwing up and basically not feeling well three weeks ago over a weekend.  Ended up taking her Sunday afternoon to the emergency clinic.  Medicine and fluids, she was better until Monday afternoon when I got home.  Burning up and very lethargic, took her straight to her vet (a shout out to Dr. Shaw...one heck of a vet and treats ALL of his animals like they are his own...blessed we have him).  Her blood work showed pancreatic issues and she stayed in there for 4 days with IV fluids/anti biotics and pain medicine.  While he was optimistic, the chance she wouldn't come out was great.  I've cried for animals/people before but never like that...Vickie and me both were boo-hooing.....Runtz is my couch buddy.
Good news is she pulled through but is now on special food for the rest of her life....small price to pay IMO to keep 'em healthy.  Thing is, she likes the food (and Aubrie loves it) so they both benefited from this.  Still, I can't stand to see them sick/in pain....makes my heart hurt.
Runtz is the squirt in the back of this photo and sure happy she's feeling better.  Hard to believe she and Aubrie are both from the same litter (sisters) as Runtz looks so much older with all that grey....I know how she feels...

[LovemyCVOgirl]

Must be something going around concerning the Pancreas.  Runtz was sick, throwing up and basically not feeling well three weeks ago over a weekend.  Ended up taking her Sunday afternoon to the emergency clinic.  Medicine and fluids, she was better until Monday afternoon when I got home.  Burning up and very lethargic, took her straight to her vet (a shout out to Dr. Shaw...one heck of a vet and treats ALL of his animals like they are his own...blessed we have him).  Her blood work showed pancreatic issues and she stayed in there for 4 days with IV fluids/anti biotics and pain medicine.  While he was optimistic, the chance she wouldn't come out was great.  I've cried for animals/people before but never like that...Vickie and me both were boo-hooing.....Runtz is my couch buddy.
Good news is she pulled through but is now on special food for the rest of her life....small price to pay IMO to keep 'em healthy.  Thing is, she likes the food (and Aubrie loves it) so they both benefited from this.  Still, I can't stand to see them sick/in pain....makes my heart hurt.
Runtz is the squirt in the back of this photo and sure happy she's feeling better.  Hard to believe she and Aubrie are both from the same litter (sisters) as Runtz looks so much older with all that grey....I know how she feels...

So sorry to hear about Runtz Howard.  I know that when they have a Pancreas attack they are very sick.  What I have learned to prevent future attacks I will share with you.
1.  NEVER let them have fatty food.
2.  Always feed them food that is room temp.  I use to just feed her food from the can right out of the fridge, but
     now I microwave it to get the chill off.
3.  It is better to feed them small portion's multiple times a day than to feed them a full serving at one time.
     Small feeding's keep the Pancreas from having to work hard to digest.  She now takes me to the kitchen every
     few hours when she is hungry and I just sit her bowl back down on the floor.  She only has an appetite right
     now for small portions.  We start out in the morning with a normal size amount of food in her bowl and it takes
     her all day to finish it.
4.  If they ever get sick again or show any symptoms of another attack, the worst thing you can do is let them have
     food.  They need to go 24 to 48 hrs without food so the pancreas can rest.
5.  Pepcid (people version) is a great medicine for calming their stomach when it gets upset.  I give her a squirt
     of this and it really helps her stomach.

I hope these tips help you!  And I hope you stay healthy Runtz.   

[ultrarider123]

Thanks Judy.  Yep, no treats and only the prescription can and Science Diet dry for her now.  I do the small portions thing and it's working.  She was a sick little girl for a while.  She doesn't like staying without Aubrie and she was at the vet for the 4 days....not sure that wasn't worse on her nerves than being sick.  She sure was glad to be home with her sister (and us, too).

She's always eaten well (no fatty anything) but according to Dr. Shaw, anything can trigger it.  He told the story of his mother's dog and there wasn't anything that dog ate that she didn't know what it was, where it came from and what was in it.  She was meticulous about care for that dog...got sick one day and two days later was gone because of a pancreatic issue.  No prior sickness up to this.  He stated there are things you can do to help prevent issues (some of which you have stated) but it's one of those things that hit when you don't expect it.

And Scott (sadunbar), glad your dogs are doing better...meant to say that at the first of my post and it slipped my mind....sorry about that.

[Rooster]

So nice to hear your little dogs are recovering. Both Howard and Judy. I got a call from a friend of mine who has 5 little dogs and a German Sheperd. The oldest little one of 15 years died in his mothers arms yesterday. So hard to lose our furry little friends.

[LovemyCVOgirl]

Thanks Judy.  Yep, no treats and only the prescription can and Science Diet dry for her now.  I do the small portions thing and it's working.  She was a sick little girl for a while.  She doesn't like staying without Aubrie and she was at the vet for the 4 days....not sure that wasn't worse on her nerves than being sick.  She sure was glad to be home with her sister (and us, too).

She's always eaten well (no fatty anything) but according to Dr. Shaw, anything can trigger it.  He told the story of his mother's dog and there wasn't anything that dog ate that she didn't know what it was, where it came from and what was in it.  She was meticulous about care for that dog...got sick one day and two days later was gone because of a pancreatic issue.  No prior sickness up to this.  He stated there are things you can do to help prevent issues (some of which you have stated) but it's one of those things that hit when you don't expect it.

And Scott (sadunbar), glad your dogs are doing better...meant to say that at the first of my post and it slipped my mind....sorry about that.

You are right Howard, sometimes there is no logical reason for the attack.  Research has shed some light on it and it might be brought on by a viral/bacterial infection.  My Shelby had never been sick and has always eaten only premium (Science Diet) dog food.  Since I thought it was doggie flu and she wasn't drinking from vomiting, I forced water in her until my vet got back in town to keep her from getting dehydrated. This is the only reason why she didn't end up spending days in the animal hospital getting IV fluids.  She is doing better but her appetite isn't back where it should be yet but she is eating and drinking, so I will let her take her time. 

I'm so happy your little one pulled out of her attack and I'm sure she missed her sister!  I have 3 other Yorkies and they never want to be separated, so I know what you mean about how much they miss each other.

Also, a shout out to everyone for your concern when any of us have to watch one of our "kid's" get this sick!  Thank you!