Bad flaky skin and off her food

[lurcherlovealot]

Great that she is home . Given time I am sure she will get stronger and back to her old self......In the meantime lots of good wishes are being beamed her way from Liverpool XX

[vickyb]

So glad she's home, you must be so relieved
When Sapphy came back from the hosp she was exactly like that, a bit remote and disorientated, almost as if she didn't know us unti lthe next day and she had a horrible tummy too. Hope she's a lot better tomorrow.

[andywillow]

Hope you both had a good night and she is feeling brighter this morning now she's back with her dad

[alexandsteve]

What Sue said xxx

[ReggieK]

Weekend update for you...

She has been a bit unsure of herself, which is understandable. Who knows what her brain has been telling her over the last few weeks. But she is improving every day. She is sleeping well on her bed and sofa and wants lots of affection, which is not a problem - we can supply more than enough of that

She did have a toilet accident on Saturday morning, but I have to blame myself for that. I heard her wake at 7am but was waiting for her to cry out as usual, she didn't, so never got up in time to let her out. Note to self, must try harder

Still struggling to get lots of food into her, so still looks like an abuse case with ribs and spine showing to much. Half expecting a knock from the RSPCA! But we are working on it and she is eating a little more each time, now up to half her bowl on each sitting. Plus lots of fresh chicken as tasty nibbles in between.

As a result was treated to her first solid poo this morning. Amazing how much that seems like progress!! (The joys of dog ownership )

We tried to go for a walk yesterday but after about 100 yards had to come home, she just didn't seem comfortable with the idea. Today, however, we managed a trip around the whole field! It was a bit stop/start but we now have something to work with to build her confidence back up. Thankfully it has been a glorious day for it.

And to top it all off, she had a long drink of water, the first I have seen her take in weeks.

All in all, I'd say we have definite progress and it has been a good weekend.

Onward and upward!

[lurcherlovealot]

Great news Kevin!
Here's hoping it wont be long before she is back on top form.
Love and best wishes XXXXX

[kamkay]

So glad she seems to be making progress, Kevin. They may be small steps but they are all in the right direction.

[Letty's Mum]

Fantastic news, sounds like she's on the up
Lots of for your little girl

[samburns]

Aw great update, so glad to read that Layla is making progress


My friend's greyhound Honey who had meningitis was the same with eating and going for walks....it did take a good while for her to get her weight up and for a long time she would quite often refuse to go for a walk.  I'm just mentioning it as maybe that is quite 'normal' ..... a good 18 months on and Honey is the picture of health though


Sending continued good thoughts to you both

[RulusMum]

super news Kevin, now come on Layla start eating a bit better please. Kevin have you tried liver I usually buy new zealand liver when one of the dogs is poorly cook it but only give small amounts as it's very rich.

[ReggieK]

Mar 16, 2014 14:50:13 GMT -5 samburns said:

Aw great update, so glad to read that Layla is making progress


My friend's greyhound Honey who had meningitis was the same with eating and going for walks....it did take a good while for her to get her weight up and for a long time she would quite often refuse to go for a walk.  I'm just mentioning it as maybe that is quite 'normal' ..... a good 18 months on and Honey is the picture of health though


Sending continued good thoughts to you both

I cannot tell you how glad I am to hear you say this. I have been getting a little concerned by her lack of interest in eating/walking. 2 things she always loved before (after sleeping of course ) But your comment puts me a little more at ease. Thank you!

Thanks Rulusmum, but she is eating if I hand feed her cooked chicken breast, and still loves her treats (Dentatix/schmakos), she's just not eating all of her main feed. So it is not that I cannot get food into her, it's just not the right food, and not enough of it. She does eat some of each bowl, probably about a 3rd, and only from the righthand side (so still some mental issues going on there). I have moved her off Burns back to Wainrights Turkey and Rice, as she wasn't maintaining weight on Burns before she had the problem, but it has made no difference.

I'm not getting too down about it right now though, as I imagine this issue does not fix itself very quickly. So we'll see where we are in a week and reassess then.

Unfortunately I have to go away on business this week, so she will be staying with my brothers family, who will all smother her in love. Who knows perhaps the change of location and routine will help her.

Fingers crossed we see some improvement by time I get back on Friday.

Thanks all

[julies]

A friends Boxer had Meningitis and recovered totally At least she's home and with you and I'm sure she'll just carry on improving

Brill

julie

[dite]

The trays of nature diet food are very concentrated so you don't need to feed a lot. Mine used to love them but they were too rich for Snoop and went through very quickly

My friends dogs have done very well with them though and have worked to get weight on the one that is picky/eats very little. They are good mixed with kibble too.

So pleased that you have her home and on the road to recovery x

[ReggieK]

Right, it's been over a week since I last posted, so time for a little update.

We are very definitely making progress. She still looks like an abuse case with her spine bumps and ribs showing, but she is eating better, still not all but more than half. Am filling her up with cooked chicken breast but only at regular meal times, other than that am trying to go back to normal treat levels.

To help her appetite I am now taking her for 2 walks a day, before each meal. Thankfully the weather is playing ball and it has been nice enough to do this comfortably. She does seem to be enjoying her walks more, and is a little more alert. But she is still a little hit and miss, enjoying the walks in the main, but showed no interest on Sunday morning. So we have a little way to go.

She has pretty much stopped all the circling, we still get a bit of whining now and again, but I'm putting that down to her "talking" to me

My only issue at moment is that she cannot last the night now without needing a pee. Been woken between 4 and 5am for last 3 nights. She goes out for final toilet between 10-11 and I have been leaving the heating on to keep her warm. So either she is drinking lots more (and I have noticed a small increase in this) or perhaps the steroids are causing it, or maybe both.

But that said, if that is the worst of my problems, I will be a happy bunny

She has another week on the steroids, then back into hospital for next dose of chemo then back for another 2 weeks of steroids. Hope the chemo doesn't set her back again, she is doing so much better.

Thanks to you all for your kind words and advice over this horrible period.

[kamkay]

Glad to hear that Layla is making progress, Kevin:-)