24 Paws Senior Health update

Prognosis of Overall health of the 24 Paws of Love Seniors:

Blaze's incision is healing up very nicely after the removal of a cancerous mammary tumor.  Her fur is slowly coming in, where she was shaved.  Hopefully it won't take too long or she is going to have a cold belly for the winter.  She gets her stitches out on Friday and can finally ditch the cone.  Not to mention as of now she is cancer free!  Yay!

 With Zappa we were confirmed that his hearing is starting to go.  While a little sad, it's also a little interesting as we learn how to deal with him being a little on the deaf side.  The vet says that it's his normal range goes first, but he can still hear high and low pitches.  I've noticed a difference in that he is more clingy than usual, but who wouldn't take extra cuddles from such a cutie pie?

Also Zappa had blood work done and it all came back positive.  The vet said he had the blood work of a two year old!  Zappa is almost 12 years old!!

Chance is still on the fence with the pH levels in his urine.  Last time we checked, a couple of months ago, they were high, as we got a little carried away with treats.  Something he is eating is raising his levels, so were back to the strict diet with him.  Hopefully this will work, or it will mean there is something more serious going on.




Fiona has started on Dasuquin Advanced for her hip dysplasia and it has made a world of difference from just the MSM version.  She hardly needs any pain pills anymore, which is fantastic!  We also bought some tumeric to give to the dogs to help relieve pain and inflammation.  We believe the tumeric in the Dasuquin Advanced is giving her such relief that we want to have it on hand for all the dogs.

Fiona is also on supplement of milk thistle and SAM-e for keeping her liver levels down.  So far, so good.  She will be tested again at the beginning of the year, to see that they are staying down.

So other than some minor tweaking adjustments, the dogs are in great health for their age.  (All dogs are 12 years old)  They do not look like senior dogs and really don't act like it.

Like flipping a paw to Mother Nature!  lol

Chance's pH results!

After three weeks of practicing (with clicker training), I was able to get a sample of Chance's urine to be tested for his pH levels.

See, when we used to try and get Chance's urine, he would just stop peeing.  He wanted to mark, but a glance at hubby, Mark and I behind him would make him clam up.

So I used clicker training when we were walking and would just bend down like I was going to collect.  Click and reward.  Did that for a while and then started doing it while he was going.  Click and reward.  Then I finally added the collection tub.  Bingo!  Piece of cake.

Took in the sample, had it tested and I am proud to say that Chance's pH level is at a 6!!  To compare it was at an 8 about three months ago.  All our hard work paid off.

Now that we are out of the danger zone, we can slowly add items back into his diet to see if they upset the balance of his pH levels.  This also means that Chance's pH levels were high because of the food he was eating and not something more serious.  GOOD NEWS!!

We won't do anything for a while.  I think for safety reason we will keep things as is, but when we feel he's ready we can try a piece of chicken of something.

It may not seem like much, but we have been worrying about this since late fall or so of last year.  It is a relief and a great weight lifted off our minds.

Thanks for cheering us on with Chance's diet and keeping us strong!

Here's Where We Are Now with Chance's Diet

Our dog Chance had a high pH urine reading and has been put on a special dry food, treats and can only have vegetables for anything extra.  We are three months in and it has been a difficult transition for everybody.  Here's where we are at now.

You mean I still can't lick your plate??

It's becoming more routine now dealing with Chance's limited diet.  It is still hard to resist not giving him some goodie I know he loves, but 99% if the time I refrain.

My husband, Mark has been doing much better than me since this diet started 3 months ago.  He has stuck to Chance's diet and given him the approved foods he can have.  It took some time for me to come around and I think it was more of a challenge for me because it was about the sharing and bonding Chance and I were doing when we ate together.

And how has Chance been handling it?

Once Chance learned he wasn't getting any food, he goes to his bed and hangs out there while we eat.  Which is great.  Takes the pressure off of everybody.  He's allowed vegetables for treats and we always share some with him after we are done eating.

Chance is a counter surfer and always has been, but now he is doing it all the time.  He even picks up odd ball stuff off the counters and table that are not edible, just to hoard. It is really starting to bother me because he's never touched any of these things before and is getting a bit obnoxious about it.  We have a camera in the kitchen to keep an eye on him, which has helped out greatly catching him in the act.

Hopefully this phase of his diet will be over soon.  In the meantime we are doing the best we can with Chance and hoping to get some answers with his next urine test, that in itself is a whole different ballgame.  More later!

Update on Chance's new diet

No more chicken or cheese or apples...Do you see this sad face mom?

I don't know who's more depressed about Chance's strict diet, him or us. It has been just over a month since Chance has been put on a special food, special treats and all he can have are veggies for snacks.  He has a high pH level that showed up in his urine and for a dog who was given a taste of almost everything we eat, this has been quite a challenge for all of us.

 At first it didn't seem to be a big deal for Chance, then as the days wore on and he wasn't getting any morsels from our plates, the sadness begun to seep in.  I have tried to eat at least something he can eat with each meal, like a carrot or a cucumber that we can share and that helps.   It also helps that Blaze gets the same at our mealtimes as Chance and only gets extras when Chance isn't around.

We have kept a couple of staples around, so it isn't a total blowout and a small enough amount that it won't blow his pH levels through the roof.  Like licking the sides of a yogurt cup in the morning and I give him the tiniest pieces of cheese you have ever seen.

 I think that's the biggest key to this whole new diet, is still being able to share our food with him.  I've had to get creative with nighttime treats and I've had to give more of his special kibble to make up for missing calories.

After a month now, this whole ordeal is starting balance out.  Chance is not deprived by any means and he loves vegetables so no real problems there.  It was just for those first few weeks he was sad and confused, wondering what was happening.  The poor guy.  We were all miserable together and how can you explain to him what's going on?  Hubby, Mark took it pretty hard.  He worries so much about the dogs, yet it looks like it is all going to work out after all.  Just needed some time and patience to go through the changes.  Hopefully we'll be able to add some different food to his diet when his pH levels go down, but we'll have to see.  We are just taking it one day at a time.