my thoughts are definately with you. I have been in the excact same situation with my Sadie. Hang in there

Rockysox

[QUOTE=Thalie;1850355]Of course you can hand feed sweet Tesia. It is not spoiling her, it is loving her.

Besides the green tripe, some dogs love baby food; just be sure to buy meat based ones that have no onions in them.[QUOTE]

Absolutely, "spoil" away, we all want to be pampered a little when we don't feel well. When she is well, she won't want you to hand feed her, you won't be able to get it in fast enough.

When my old girl had vestibular and her world was spinning, she didn't want to eat very much. I fed her baby pablum, it is easy to digest and could be made up quickly anytime she wanted to eat. It was Heinz Banana and Raspberry, from Walmart, easy to mix with warm water and she loved it. As she got better, I would mix in a jar of beef or chicken. Even after she got better, I would occassionally give her a bowl as a treat because she liked it so much.

Thinking and praying for you and Tesia

When Andy was taking meds that were upsetting his stomach I'd shoot an adult dose of Pepto-Bismol down his throat with a large syringe just before giving them to him. The vet recommended it (also when he got diarrhea). Coated his stomach and helped assuage the effects of the meds. Something to consider.

If you do, just know Pepto makes poops look really dark, so not to worry.

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Hoping Tee is feeling better soon. I'm so sorry her tummy is all upset. Keeping her in my thoughts and prayers.

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GUNNER - Born:08-30-08 HONEY - Born:01-11-11(Haborviewgoldens)

You guys are so great - so much more helpful than I could ever say. With all your suggestions about her barfy tummy - but even more so just for being there everyday for me. Thank you.

Dinner was to have been almost three hours ago. She has not come looking for anything. I do not want to force it on her if she is feeling unwell. I need to give her her third doses of both the Tramadol and antiobiotic around 11:30pm, so I will try to hand feed her some kibble then. I gave her the Pill Pockets (four big ones, as she managed to get the antibiotic out of the first two and spit it out), half of a hotdog bun, and a cookie with her afternoon dose. Maybe the hot dog bun just isn't the same as a handful of kibble. I think of it as spongier, easier to digest, but maybe what she needs is actual protein and something harder for her system to digest and work on. It's so hard to know.

She gets 75mg three times a day right now; it goes down to 75mg twice a day as of tomorrow. She is about 24kg right now (~53 pounds). It is much more than she was given by our own vet after the initial surgery - she was only getting 25mg twice a day. But she was also getting her Deramaxx at the same time (25mg once a day). She is not taking her Deramaxx right now. The surgeon said I could reintroduce it when her diarrhea eases, which it has, but her poop is still very soft. I just feel like I don't want to overload her system if she is already feeling yucky.

We are seeing our own vet tomorrow (to have the stitches in her back and side removed! Yay!) and I'll see what she says. I can also call the surgeon at the VEC and ask him about taking away the Tramadol and going back to Deramaxx. I don't know if maybe Tramadol if more effective for post-operative pain; there must be a reason they put her on Tramadol when they knew her positive history with Deramaxx for her arthritis. I would love to take it away just to see if the nausea eases. Then we'll know it's not the antibiotic causing her tummy upset. The antibiotic is crucial - so she needs to take it for anorther ten days. If it's the antibiotic bothering her, I'll need to find a solution - maybe the Pepto Bismal, or feeding something easy like the pablum. I plan to talk to my vet about all of your suggestions tomorrow.

All of your feedback and advice is so appreciated.

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Tesia
"Joy and loyalty wrapped in sunshine."
The Laughing Dog Press

Sept. 21, 2000 ~ Feb. 5, 2013
My sweet, joyful, beloved heart.

A key difference between Tramadol and Deramaxx might be in relation to bleeding. I believe that most NSAIDS suppress clotting and thus are a risk factor soon after surgery. This isn't an issue with Tramadol, which has a narcotic base.

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Lucy, owned by Joker and Sunny, who remember Charlie with me
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/...years-old.html

Sorry, I do just the opposite - about 30 minutes before dosing antibiotics. It may be that the Tramadol is making her nauseated. I know the Tramadol is for post surgical pain. Hannah never really "needed" as much as they rx-ed, but when she took it, she would often sleep through mealtimes and was less interested in eating. I'm glad you have an appt tomorrow and address some of these concerns. When a lean pupper drops weight like that it is very worrying.

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Part 1 of Hannah's story - Cancer diagnosis - - - - Part 2 of Hannah's story - grab bag of health issues

Ooooh!! That makes way more sense. I will try that tomorrow morning.

She definitely is sleeping way more - and I notice she heads to bed about 20-30 minutes after I give her the Tramadol. She came out at about 5:45pm this aft (from my room) and I thought she was getting hungry (I was hoping!). But she only wanted to go out and go back to bed. She's been there ever since. I go in to check on her every little while. And I actually just got a really good look at the wound under her leg - it's looking really good. Such a relief. No inflammation, and I lifted the flap of loose skin (which was holding the mass), and it looked good - and then as she got up (who's poking around under my leg?) I got a full look, and all the stitches looked good, too. It must be such a relief to her. It is to me, too.

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Tesia
"Joy and loyalty wrapped in sunshine."
The Laughing Dog Press

Sept. 21, 2000 ~ Feb. 5, 2013
My sweet, joyful, beloved heart.

Hooray for a good looking wound!!! I bet the vets will be elated to see how well it looks

I was coming back to add that I checked Hannah's last round of Tramadol (post anal surgery) and she was getting 100 mgs / 3 times a day. However, she's never done well on the higher dose. After 2 days (and for this last round - a good poop), I dropped the dose by one tablet per day.

Thinking about it now, I'll bet that she'll start feeling better once you start tapering off. She's probably still really tired. If I have 2 days off work in a row, it takes Hannah a couple of days to recover from the change in schedule. You two have both been through a lot and it's hard to be patient (I know), but you can do it.

Glad I clarified what we do (eat, wait 30 minutes, then give antibiotic) - - I'd hate to have suggested something that might make her feel worse

I bet having those stitches out will make her feel better too!

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Part 1 of Hannah's story - Cancer diagnosis - - - - Part 2 of Hannah's story - grab bag of health issues

It is wonderful, that her incisions look good. I am sure it is a relief to both of you. I was going to suggest putting her antibiotic in peanut butter. Pill pockets have never worked for me. I was also thinking that peanut butter is a good source of protein and a concentrated source of calories. When my girls need a pill, i mix a little cereal, rice krispies etc, in the peanutbutter to make 3 balls, the first has nothing in it, the second contains the pill and the third has nothing. They are so crazy about this wonderful treat, that they are not even suspicious of the 2nd one, and the 3rd leaves them feeling positive about this treat.

Best of luck with your vet check tomorrow. Prayers are coming your way.