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Post by louiseandjamie on Oct 11, 2013 13:27:39 GMT -5
Hi there, I posted a while back about my greyhound Ned's health problems and received some excellent advice and support. He was diagnosed with heart failure and suspected tumours after coughing up blood. He also had lots of nail breakages/injuries.
The outcome was as follows. His heart failure is controlled by drugs. He was found to be clear from tumours. He was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition which was causing the nail breakages and prescribed steroids &supplements.
Fast forward 10 months and we have a new problem and we have been going backwards & forwards to the vets. Ned has started barking. He has never, ever barked in the house before (unlike our other greyhound Star) and so this has been quite alarming. He has several episodes of barking a day as well as at night. He often barks at Star to get off his favourite sofa. But he sometimes barks whilst lying on his sofa. He sleeps in our room at night and barks whilst lying on his bed. He seems to be asking for food/to go out/to go on bed but then he will continue to be unsettled once I have responded to his request. Sometimes he looks me in the eye and barks.
Initially I thought it could be confusion/anxiety due to old age or dementia. But more recently I have suspected pain as he has done a small amount of panting and his bark sometimes sounds like a whimper. The vet has given some painkillers which we gave him last night. It helped him though the night but by 1pm this afternoon the barking started again. He has had a blood scan with no abnormalities and we tried zylkene with no success.
It is quite distressing to see him distressed during these barking episodes. It's really hard for us too as we have a 2year old toddler and a 6month old baby and I wonder if Ned can pick up on my anxiety? I just don't know what to try next as it is affecting the whole family. Any experiences with a dog that has never barked and suddenly starts barking at 11years old?
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Post by louiseandjamie on Oct 11, 2013 13:35:07 GMT -5
P.s. the barking has been going on for about 6 weeks and is getting worse. We've been to vet every fortnight. Much of the day he is ok, ok on walk, just these episodes
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Post by Sian on Oct 11, 2013 14:52:07 GMT -5
Was it a one off dose of painkillers or is he still on them? Also have you tried dementia medication? It may be worth a try to see if that settles him.  |
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Post by Lisa on Oct 11, 2013 14:57:16 GMT -5
On phone so hard to type long response. Try him on dementia medication and also stronger pain relief. Will answer better when net back up
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Post by louiseandjamie on Oct 11, 2013 15:38:10 GMT -5
Hi, thank you for the replies.
The vet has suggested painkillers for one week to see if they have any effect. Tonight will be his second dose. The drug is Onsior 40mg.
Then, depending on how it goes she mentioned possibly trying something called "activate"?
His weight loss from last December has been recovered. Although he does still appear frail and skinnier than your average greyhound, 5kg less than in his "prime" due to loss of muscle mass.
Is dementia common in greyhounds?
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Post by Nettie on Oct 12, 2013 0:51:47 GMT -5
Dementia is common in old dogs. I have a lurcher girl who goes into the hall after dinner and barks at the ceiling. She also has barking episodes during the day. Usually we just tell her to be quiet and distract her, harder in the middle of the night.
Sent from my HTC One S using proboards
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Post by vickyb on Oct 12, 2013 3:32:31 GMT -5
Aktivait vetsci.co.uk/2011/10/04/canine-cognitive-dysfunction/What dose of steroids is he on? our lurcher River was on them for a while and he suddenly started to have strange and scary episodes where he stared, panted and barked. Our vet gradually reduced the steroids and stopped them, he said that over time they can develop problems with them. Luckily it wasn't life and death for him to be on them and his pain relief was changed. However not long afterwards the signs of senility started again. We tried Aktivait on the vets advice (can buy it online) and it helped for a while but then he needed more so went onto vivitonin but he was very snappy on it towards the other dogs which apparently some can be so we gave up on that. Not long afterwards he went to the Bridge due to old age and arthritis  Our vet likes the pain killer tramadol if they are ok with it particularly at night as it has a slightly sedating side effect which can help if they are disturbed at night but obviously it depends on what else he's on. Good luck  |
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Post by Sian on Oct 12, 2013 6:44:38 GMT -5
It's not unusual for an older grey to lose a lot of weight. Mine lost 5kg and stayed that way for 4 years before we had to let her go. She looked terrible but was happy and there was no reason for the weight loss we could find. If the pain relief is only short term and you think it may be pain related then try him on pain relief longer term. Ours was on tramadol and previcox in her later years and it helped her a lot. Also worth a try on the dementia meds too. |
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Post by barbaranixon on Oct 12, 2013 8:23:42 GMT -5
I've had two cavaliers with heart conditions (MVD), in later life, and both lost a huge amount of weight. Izzy just looked skinny, but Monty, who was very big boned, originally with the build of a larger spaniel, was positively skeletal.
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ritab
Ironing Piling Up
Posts: 218
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Post by ritab on Oct 14, 2013 4:41:17 GMT -5
Sometimes deafness results in barking for no apparent reason - probably accompanies the start of dementia - but we have had a couple of dogs that have started barking in old age. Getting old is a bit of a bugger for all of us!!!
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Post by louiseandjamie on Oct 14, 2013 14:26:20 GMT -5
Hi, thank you for the replies.
The steroids he was on were Prednicare 5mg 3 tablets per day. However, he had to stop taking them as they are incompatible with the current painkillers. Hopefully his nails will be ok, they do look better.
Today the barking wasn't too bad for most of the day, but again started in the afternoon. It's almost as if the painkillers 'run out' as he takes the dose in the evening. Like they are lasting 20hrs, and not 24hrs. I tried letting him out, giving him more food, rearranging the blankets on his bed but he was still unsettled. It seems to be made worse when I go upstairs with the children, he didn't want to be by himself when we are upstairs. However, he seems fine when I go out to supermarket etc. Its like the dementia or pain has also triggered some sort of anxiety which is unexplainable.
Tomorrow, my husband will take him back to the vet. We will ask for more painkillers and dementia treatment.
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Post by louiseandjamie on Oct 14, 2013 14:31:33 GMT -5
I forgot to say he is also occasionally panting during the day. Also it is not just that his barking is a nuisance, it sounds like a 'distressed' bark and can be quite scary, particularly if he barks at me or Star. It just feels so wrong because he never used to bark at all. On the other side of it, he still enjoys time with us. Here is a picture of us all in the woods:  |
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Post by julies on Oct 20, 2013 11:10:46 GMT -5
Oh lovely picture My old lurcher was on Metacam then swopped onto one that worked slightly differently (can't remember the name its a while ago sorry) I think it began with a 'P' but he had to go back onto Metacam as the new one didn't help him much at all so maybe worth talking with your vet about pain relief. Try leaving a worn tee shirt or similar in his bed so he smells you and maybe that might help as well as the Dementia medicine. Good luck with him Julie x |
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