Liver disease

I came home to a sleeping sheltie on my couch (gavin is deaf at 13). Then he turned into spunky boy! He was never a barker, but he was skipping all over the house (he does that instead of trotting due to his bad leg). Such a sweet boy :) made my long day.
 
Cindy said:
I came home to a sleeping sheltie on my couch (gavin is deaf at 13). Then he turned into spunky boy! He was never a barker, but he was skipping all over the house (he does that instead of trotting due to his bad leg). Such a sweet boy :) made my long day.
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That sure can be the best part of your day!
 
ghggp said:
So very pleased Riley is back to his old self! When we see those little things they used to do it makes us realize they are feeling better! We are all breathing a huge sigh of relief for you both! Keep up the good forward progress Riley!
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Shall we say the Sheriff is back in town:ROFLMAO:...
He's enforcing the rules lol...
Piper and Finnie...
stay away from ANY food
Stay away from my sheeple
Stay away from me (Riley) when I'm laying down

Break any of these rules and I'll snarl at you and bark lol
He's been pretty quiet lately, not anymore!
 
I thought I'd give an update on Riley...
His recovery since being put on the Metacam has been nothing short of amazing! He's been on it for 2 weeks now and is pretty much 100% back to his normal self!
He's back to running outside, he runs up and down the stairs (when before it was a struggle), eats his food with the bowl on the floor (I had to elevate his bowl before) and walks with his tail held high (tail was always tucked before). He's a very happy, boisterous, vocal Sheltie again who is very quick to chase Piper and Finnie out of the room if he thinks there's food to be had!
Yesterday he actually jumped on the couch (he was getting away from Finnie who wanted to play), and from an odd angle at that...he had no problem with it at all!
The vet isn't convinced that he's actually getting better, she thinks it's a combination of the Metacam and Gabapentin providing pain relief. I disagree...its been a very gradual improvement. He didn't start doing all these things right away but rather slight improvements every day (plus if it was relieving his pain he'd still have some but he doesn't appear to have any pain anymore), bit by bit. I've also now got him on Green Lipped Mussel, glucosamine and chondroitin, omega 3 liquid for dogs and his milk thistle supplement. All three get the omega 3 and both Piper and Riley get the glucosamine and green lipped mussel...Piper's had joint issues with his shoulder last year. With all three dogs being a different size I have to keep track of who gets what and how much lol...
Tomorrow we cut the Metacam dose to 1/2 the regular dose for two weeks (that'll be the test to see if he really needs it) and then after two weeks he'll be taken off of it (it's hard on the liver) I don't even think he needs the Gabapentin 3 x per day...I'm going to ask the vet about cutting him down to 2 x per day. I think once he's done the Metacam he should be off the gabapentin as it doesn't do much when not combined with an NSAID.
All in all after a very trying 3 months trying to figure out what was wrong with him I'm so very happy he's pretty much back to normal!
If only the vet would've checked out his back months ago I would've associated his jumping off the grooming table in July with his slow decline,unfortunately we had tunnel vision and were stuck thinking it had something to do with his liver (which if numbers are good then no more bloodwork until his yearly check up...liver is abnormal so I've changed his diet to prevent further problems) when in actuality the two were totally separate. But of course hindsight is 20/20!
From now on I'm marking on the calendar any time any of the dogs does anything unusual (jumping, tripping, etc) so I can look back and see if any problems arise! It's so easy to forget an insignificant event months later!
 
Sharon7 said:
Wow what a turn-around! Makes even the obnoxious behavior seem precious, right??:ROFLMAO: So glad to hear Riley is back to his opinionated self.
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Your right Sharon...the obnoxious behavior is precious...for a time lol.
He actually followed me from the main floor to the second today...14 steps he chased me (my mom and I were going out and I'd gone outside to warm up the car but forgot something) barking at me all the way!

This is definitely not a dog that has a chronic pain!

I'd best be careful next time I forget something...he's nipped me in the butt before! I mustn't let my guard down anymore around him lol.
 
Great to hear about the improvements! Please continue with the updates :)
I agree that it will be interesting to see what cutting the metacam does.
I think Gabapentin needs to be weened as well....like going from 3x a day, to 2X a day, to 1X a day.
Gavin is only on 1X a day and the vet never told me that, but I think I remember reading that somewhere...
 
Cindy said:
Great to hear about the improvements! Please continue with the updates :)
I agree that it will be interesting to see what cutting the metacam does.
I think Gabapentin needs to be weened as well....like going from 3x a day, to 2X a day, to 1X a day.
Gavin is only on 1X a day and the vet never told me that, but I think I remember reading that somewhere...
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Your right Cindy, gabapentin does need to be weaned...my vet also didn't tell me (read it when reading up on it).
Riley is now on day 2 of a half dose of Metacam and he's still doing great...no effect from the decrease in metacam at all. Aside from all the other positive changes for Riley is he's back to mooching standing up...when he was hurting he'd always sit to mooch (and this wasn't like him at all). He's pretty much back to normal doing all the aggravating habits he was doing before he got sick lol.
-30 outside today and he wanted to stay outside and lay in the snow! OMG...he's crazy (I do make him come in but sometimes I have to lie and promise him something lol)
 
One side effect of a spunky puppy...injuries!
Gavin has been getting all spunky since December, but keeps getting more so.
We play a game (and have since he was a pup) when I get home from work where he rolls on his back for belly rubs.
He can't hear me say 'belly' anymore, but he still knows to roll on his back for me when I get down on the floor with him.
He can (and does now) get all verbal where he sounds like chewbacca and moves his legs around all happy-like in the air.
Well, he scratched me good on my nose! Ouch!
 
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