Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Geez....I know it was he rd to see that seizure. Scary...moreso for you than Jack.
Well.....everything considered.....things aren't as bad as they could be!
My Mom worked for a Vet for years and was often bringing home "sad story" cases. Through the years she had several dogs thst were treated for seizures and the pheno did the trick everytime! It takes some tweaking of the dose sometimes. If I recall, they start with a bigger dose (which can make them drowsy) and then scale down. I could be wrong though.
I really feel like this will work for DC Jack too.
And YAY for the pee ossue fixed!!! ,I know that's a huge relief!!
Are you going to try the Adequan I injections for the arthritis? Some people say it's a miracle drug- I had started Frankie on them before all the cruciate crap, and need ro start up again. I "think" it made a difference for him so I want to get foing on that.
Well, hopefully you've dodged some bullets and things will settle back to normal 🙂
DC JACK IS SOOOOOOOO LUCKY TO HAVE YOU AS HER BFF!!! Give her an extra treat for me, okay? And then one from Frankie. And then one from Merry Myrtle!
Lots of love
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
All in all, a very good report. My sister's dog has seizures too, and phenobarb really manages them well. As for the incontinence, is Cushing's off the table? Great news that Proin is helping with this - it didn't work for Nitro. And what are your plans for the arthritis? Like Sally mentioned, Adequan injections can bring relief. We also used this on Nitro (what didn't we try with that dog? lol) and I do think they helped - as much as they could with a senior Dobie.
By the time our 3+ year journey was over, I felt like I almost had my PhD in pharmacy!
paula and warrior angel nitro
Nitro 11 1/2 yr old Doberman; right front amp June 2014. Had 6 doses carboplatin, followed by metronomic therapy. Rocked it on 3 legs for over 3 years! My Warrior beat cancer, but couldn't beat old age. He crossed the Bridge peacefully on July 25, 2017, with dignity and on his terms. Follow his blog entitled "Doberman's journey"
"Be good, mama loves you".....run free my beautiful Warrior
Thank you for the kind words, both. Sally, you always make me feel better and make sure I stock the freezer with ice cream. Paula- I totally agree about the PhD in pharmacy. Whenever I meet with a new vet, I have to figure out how to signal that I'm already well-versed in the basics. And it's great to hear that pheno has been so successful with others.
Adequan is on the table, but given the number of new medications she's on, we're holding off for the moment. For now, we're just doing a course of Rimadyl and starting a regular physical therapy and a swimming routine. An animal hospital near us recently opened an indoor heated salt water pool for dogs where you can join your dog in the pool. So, we're going to try to head there a couple of times a week instead of our walks.
That pool sounds fantastic! We had to go the Adequan route with Nitro because he couldn't take NSAID's with his kidney failure.
sounds like you have a great plan moving forward.
Paula
Nitro 11 1/2 yr old Doberman; right front amp June 2014. Had 6 doses carboplatin, followed by metronomic therapy. Rocked it on 3 legs for over 3 years! My Warrior beat cancer, but couldn't beat old age. He crossed the Bridge peacefully on July 25, 2017, with dignity and on his terms. Follow his blog entitled "Doberman's journey"
"Be good, mama loves you".....run free my beautiful Warrior
Ditto, Paula! That pool sounds FANTASTIC. I would love to have somewhere like that.
I'm sorry to hear about the second seizure. I know how frightening they are to witness and how powerless they can make you feel. But it sounds as though you have a very comprehensive plan going forward and Meg and I have everything crossed that the pheno will take care of the seizures. I think the fact the Proin is helping with the incontinence has got to be a positive sign that Jack's different symptoms are unlikely to be related. This is excellent news.
You've got this, Sarah. And, my goodness, ditto Sally. Jack is so, so lucky to have you.
Big hug,
Meg, Clare and Angel Pie xxx
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, November 2023, adopted January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Elsie Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
I was hoping for no more seizures...
Tani was started on phenobarb after she started having nightly seizures. It controlled her seizures well, although she still had them very occasionally. We had an option to up the dose but since the breakthrough seizures were so infrequent I kept her on as low a dose as possible. I remember when she first started it made her drowsy right after her dose (she got it two times a day) but I think she got 'acclimated' to it to some extent. She took it for almost 13 years without issues. Did I say before she was diagnosed at 2 and lived to be almost 15?
As far as Proin goes- it worked like magic for Maggie also, although she did have infrequent accidents. I already had all the dog beds lined with incontinence pads and a waterproof mattress pad on my bed because of Tani's seizures (she always peed during her seizures).
And back to Tani for Adequan! Tani was diagnosed at 6 with arthritis in her back- and we discovered later that she was actually missing a vertebra. Her arthritis progressed to all four legs and her neck as well. We started with joint supplements and fish oil which keep her comfortable for awhile. Then we added low dose of rimadly and slowly upped the dose as the years went by. Then we added a low dose of gabapentin and increased. Last we added adequan injections. I've heard it does not work for every dog but it was absolute magic for Tani. I was getting close to making 'the decision' because she was so uncomfortable. We got two more years because the adequan worked so well.
I hope the phenobarb and proin get Jack more stable and comfortable.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Dang, I was really hoping that there would be no more seizures. Three minutes can feel like an eternity. I remember going through that with my epi-dog. Phenobarb bought him a few years, and then he quickly started doing much worse. He was at the extreme end for epilepsy though and most dogs do much better than he did. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.
Topher
Vet Assistant (in school to be a licensed vet technician)
1.5 years Oncology department, moved to rehab & sportsmed December 2024
Tripawd Angel, Cora the Determined <3
I am just reading this post for the first time today. Proin... I have never heard of it but I'm very interested in learning about it. It has not been offered to me and maybe there is a reason? Mitchell has been having incontinence issues. They started when he had his ACL surgery a bit over a year ago. Started slowly and progressed. He recently had 7 small bladder stones removed along with his messed up spleen. I was so hopeful that the stones were affecting his urine control. The accidents eased up for a brief period and then they came back. We have to put a diaper on him every night. We crated him for a couple of weeks but I could not take it anymore, he kept us up all night long.
I recently started him on CBD oil and I am actually seeing an improvement in many things with him. He gets a very low dose each morning. His general attitude is better, energy levels are better, and his accidents are decreasing but not all gone yet.
I am really curious about the proin though. Have any of you had side effects from it? Is it an appropriate medication for out of the blue no reason incontinence? After his surgery, we put Mitch on the Royal Canin S/O diet. That is one of the things that made the incontinence worse. It is high in sodium and made him drink and pee even more. We have switched his diet slightly and the drinking has decreased some. I can bring this to a new subject in the forums, would like to see if this is something I should pursue.
Jackie
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
my experience is, if the Proin works, it works well. It doesn't work in all cases, but I think out of the blue cases are surely worth a try.
Paula
Nitro 11 1/2 yr old Doberman; right front amp June 2014. Had 6 doses carboplatin, followed by metronomic therapy. Rocked it on 3 legs for over 3 years! My Warrior beat cancer, but couldn't beat old age. He crossed the Bridge peacefully on July 25, 2017, with dignity and on his terms. Follow his blog entitled "Doberman's journey"
"Be good, mama loves you".....run free my beautiful Warrior
Thank you! I'm going to ask his doctor about it. Mitchell is a big dog... He makes big splashes or soggy rugs, it would be awesome if maybe she just didn't think about it.
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
Proin worked great for Maggie, but as Paula said it doesn't always work.
Dr. Pan prefers something else, but I can't remember why- some side effect potential maybe. Maggie was only on it for a few months before the other cancer took her so I didn't have to worry about side effects.
Karen
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Thank you, I just asked his doc and she didn't have any problems with it. We will start it tonight or in the morning. Oh what a blessing it would be if I could get rid of the diapers!
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
Just checking in, Sarah, and wondering how Jack is getting on.
Thinking of you,
Meg, Clare and Angel Pie xxx
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, November 2023, adopted January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Elsie Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
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