So i figured before i become useless after my surgery tomorrow we needed to get Sierra into the vet so we took her last night. we had a few concerns that have been building over the summer and last month or so. the biggest thing were her hips and how stiff she was after hiking and even with just daily stuff it seemed every time she went to get up from laying down she has issues with her back legs and looking stiff getting up and would walk with her back raised for a few feet then be fine. the vet got her on the floor and was moving her legs around and he did not "feel" anything but he gave us some previcox to give her for the next 7 days to help with any inflammation and gave us Dasuquin soft chews as well. http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/Vet/Products/Dasuquin-for-dogs.aspx
http://www.1800petmeds.com/Dasuquin+Soft+Chews+For+Dogs-prod11141.html
don't know much about this brand as when i was searching Glucosamine i did not come across this one. will look into it some more. she is on the large breed but i think she should be on the med one as she is not 60lbs or more, but maybe its because the LG has more Glucosamine in it so he wants that for her?....

i have also noticed that she seems to be drinking more then she used to and has had a few accidents in the house so i wanted that looked at, since her blood work was fine in April the vet did not think something could have come on that fast but also said that 6months is a long time for a dog so we started with a urine sample that i dropped off this morning to see if anything shows up then move to blood work.

the last thing that was brought up that i was not concerned about but now kind of am is her eyes he is still wondering about the haze and since we have not gotten her to the eye doc yet and they have been like this since we got her with no change he gave us some eye ointment for her for the next 5 days to us. said they looked inflamed.

so now we are just waiting to see what the urine says and if the meds help her at all. I hope my baby girl will be ok.....

for the new fokes here she will be 8 in March so she is getting up there in age.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that whatever is ailing sweet Sierra, that the vet can figure it out and treat her... and I'm sending strength and good surgery juju to you. Hang in there.

Poor Sierra. Anxiously awaiting the urinalysis results. The vet doesn't suspect diabetes at all? That was my first thought when you said drinking a lot more and having accidents, plus the fact that she's a bit overweight.

Hope everything checks out okay. I've never heard of Dasuquin before either but it appears to be from the makers of Cosequin which is a very well known supplement. I've recommended Cosequin to others before. I'd like to know more about this Dasuquin that you got, what are the ingredients? I don't have time at the moment but maybe later I'll sit down and do a bit more reading about it. As for giving her the large breed, it is common to start off supplements at higher doses (often double) and then scale back to the normal recommended dose for your size dog after a couple months. Maybe that's what he's doing with Ginger?

Huskyluv wrote:

Poor Sierra. Anxiously awaiting the urinalysis results. The vet doesn't suspect diabetes at all? That was my first thought when you said drinking a lot more and having accidents, plus the fact that she's a bit overweight.

My first thoughts too...


Sending Sierra some serious positive vibes, Jenn!

Huskyluv wrote:

Poor Sierra. Anxiously awaiting the urinalysis results. The vet doesn't suspect diabetes at all? That was my first thought when you said drinking a lot more and having accidents, plus the fact that she's a bit overweight.

Hope everything checks out okay. I've never heard of Dasuquin before either but it appears to be from the makers of Cosequin which is a very well known supplement. I've recommended Cosequin to others before. I'd like to know more about this Dasuquin that you got, what are the ingredients? I don't have time at the moment but maybe later I'll sit down and do a bit more reading about it. As for giving her the large breed, it is common to start off supplements at higher doses (often double) and then scale back to the normal recommended dose for your size dog after a couple months. Maybe that's what he's doing with Ginger?

Here is the ingredients listed off the site. we are giving her 2 a day for now then it says to drop to one a day after 4-6 weeks.
Dasuquin for Large Dogs (60 lbs and over):
Active Ingredients (per chewable tablet) Amount
Glucosamine Hydrochloride* 99% 900 mg †
Sodium Chondroitin Sulfate* 350 mg † ¹
Avocado/ Soybean Unsaponifiables* (ASU) Powder 90 mg † ²
Starch, glycerin, natural flavor, vegetable oil, polyethylene glycol, silicon dioxide, sucralose, gum resin, soy protein isolate, tea, titanium dioxide, mixed tocopherols, BHA (a preservative), and BHT (a preservative).

† Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profile.
* Dasuquin contains FCH49 Glucosamine Hydrochloride, TRH122 Sodium Chondroitin Sulfate, and NMX1000 Avocado/Soybean Unsaponifiables, Nutrimax Laboratories veterinary-exclusive proprietary researched specifications.
¹ Reported on a hydrous basis
² Standardized to contain a minimum of 30% avocado/soybean unsaponifiables.

He did not say any thing about diabetes, i guess we will see what the test say and then maybe i will ask him about that. i was also wondering about a behavioral thing with the peeing inside as she has been good during the work day left out but its when we have been gone all day come home let them out and if we leave with in an hour of being home and go out at night for a few hours is when she seems to have the accidents, so its hard to say why she is doing it. i do know she is drinking more though. i will keep you all post on what happens. thanks for the good thoughts.

sending Sierra positive vibes here too! (and to you too, Jen, for your surgery tomorrow.)

Fingers crossed for both you and Sierra!

Thanks for posting the ingredient list also. Hopefully it helps her. I am not too happy to see BHA and BHT listed as preservatives, for that reason alone I will not consider it personally. I'd still like to hear if it helps Sierra. Have you considered adding kelp to Sierra's diet for her joints?

i was wondering what BHA and BHT is i did not think it sounded good.

jbealer wrote:

i was wondering what BHA and BHT is i did not think it sounded good.

BHA (Butylated Hydroxyanisole) and BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene) are artificial preservatives. Basically they are antioxidants that slow down the oxidation of oils and fats thus prolonging the useful/shelf life of a product. They work great at what they do by causing oxygen to react with the BHA and/or BHT before the oils and fats therefore slowing down the spoilage. While it does do what it's supposed to do (keep food fresher longer) it also comes with some trade offs when it comes to health. BHA and BHT have been linked to numerous health issues including, but not limited to, cancer, liver failure, kidney failure, etc. It's not just in pet foods but also in human foods as well, check your cereal boxes...you just might find it in your cereal, butter, meat, potato, soft drinks. It's listed on the cereal boxes of cereal that my husband eats. I won't touch the stuff, nor will I give it to my dogs knowing the risks it poses. My husband doesn't care so he is fine eating his BHT containing cereal.

I just checked two boxes of cereal in my pantry, Cocoa Crispies and Corn Flakes. Both of them contain BHT.

Jenn, sending positive thoughts & prayers to you & Sierra. Make sure to keep us up to date! Any idea on how long before the results are in?

I know that drinking more and urinating more are also commonly associated with liver and kidney issues with dogs that are getting past the geriatric mark (8 yrs)... But you never know, those are things that would show up on any general chemistry profile. Not sure why a urinalysis was done, but I guess that an increase in glucose would be obvious which might indicate diabetes but there are other symptoms associated with diabetes like weight loss and increase in hunger... How's her hair coat been? Any skin issues might indicate thyroid issues.... Generally dogs that are over 8 years are recommended to have a senior health profile done every 6 months to one year... It just depends on how progressive you want to be. I always tend to go a little overboard bc I get half off and don't have to pay for services until I have the money:) but that's just me;)

.

sending good thoughts to both you girls

Good luck with your surgery Jenn and I hope Sierra shows improvement! In my thoughts!

How's Sierra doing?
...and how are you doing with your wrist?

Hope you both are doing ok!!

Thinking of you, Jenn! Hope surgery went okay!

Hope you're all doing ok!

hope you're both doing well

we got the urine test back and all was fine, i have noticed since starting the pain meds her drinking is back to normal... does that sound odd? any ways ken is taking her back in tonight to have blood work done, $20 for peace of mind. he is all so checking her eyes since we have been doing the ointment to see if there has been an inprovement. she has been great with her hind legs since starting the meds but last night was the last one so we will she how she does without them now.

i am doing fine as well, no pain in the wrist and all was taken care of with the scope! im in a mcDonald's to use internet! not bact to work not safe to drive as my hand is super wrapped up and cant use it. have check up tomorrow and hope to be back to work wed....
thanks for all the good wishes

glad to hear you're both doing well!

Glad to hear from you & glad everything is going well!

Glad that you're both doing good! =)

Sierra's blood work came back fine!

Yay Sierra!

That is such great news, thanks for updating!