For the last 10 days or so Ripple seems to have been drinking more and weeing more, his poos also seem a different texture (sort of gritty) and a lot more frequent. I mentioned this to the vet when he had his check up last week and she suggested a urine test. We've done this plus a couple of other urine tests to check kidney function and everything has come back within normal range although his urine was a bit acidic. He has also lost a kilo in the last couple of months. He seems fine in himself, but I'm still feeling a bit concerned. The vet said the next step would be a blood test which would have to be done with sedation, and she seemed to think with his urine results this wasn't really necessary. He's also only been like this since OH has been home and taking him for morning walks, and I know OH is a lot less vigilant over poo and rubbish eating. I think this post is just thinking aloud, I'm worrying that doing nothing is wrong but don't want to subject Ripple to unnecessary tests.
Before jumping to a blood test I'd remove OH from the walking roster and see what happens. If he goes back to normal then there's your answer (probably).
OH should have been away to Saudi this weekend so that's what would have happened, but his visa hasn't come through so he's delayed. He thinks I'm making a fuss over nothing, mind you he tried to give a dead pet rabbit it's breakfast once .
If you are worried, then you aren't fussing over nothing . Give Ripple a day or two and if he is still " not quite right " then opt for the blood tests , peace of mind x P.S. had to smile about the rabbit !
Trust your instincts @SteffiS . If you feel something isn't quite right go back to your vet. It's not subjecting Ripple to unnecessary tests, it's ensuring that he is fit and healthy . His urine tests showed some acidity and he's lost weight. If he's not been on a diet to lose weight and been eating his normal portions I would probably be asking for the blood tests just to make sure.
I'm hoping to have a chat with the main vet at the surgery tomorrow, I'm not going to let it drop until I'm happy Ripple is fit and healthy.
He told me the rabbit was fine, just wasn't hungry . Goodness knows what would happen if I dropped dead indoors .
Mine would just hoover around me he wouldn't lift me up to hoover underneath. He never does that ever.
Increased thirst, more weeing and weight loss are symptomatic of diabetes, and it doesn't necessarily show up in blood tests. Did your vet consider diabetes? In humans it's usually diagnosed by doing what's called 'fasting blood sugars' but obviously I don't know if this is the same for dogs.
Had a long talk at the vets yesterday, went through Ripple's urine results and discussed lots of other factors. All extremely helpful, there is no sign of any problems, they are happy that his urine is slightly acidic bearing in mind his diet. At the moment he is not drinking as much but he is pooing a lot. So currently the plan is to bring forward his worming, using a different wormer to try and ensure a broad spectrum of worm treatment. Wait a couple of weeks and check his weight. Then they will try and get a blood sample without a sedative, changing to using a sedative if necessary. Obviously any time I feel unhappy we can bring the blood test forward. Also by this time OH will be away so that is another factor that can be eliminated.
Did they test his poo for worms? That would be my first call rather than deworm earlier than the schedule and possibly unnecessarily. Pooing excessively and weight loss can be a sign of tapeworm infestation. But best to test before jumping to conclusions. You can usually see the tapeworm eggs around the anus and immediately after pooing on the poo - they quickly wriggle into the poo when exposed to light.
No, they didn't test his poo, I'd done a thorough search through some and not found any worms either. But it was only bringing it forward by 3 weeks, and as Ripple eats so much 'stuff' , I thought it was a reasonable place to start.
I check most of Snowie’s poos. Although the vet said you can’t always see if there are worms this way. Their test for tapeworm is to find eggs, not the worms themselves. The test is called a fecal flotation so I guess the eggs float to the top!
Update of sorts - nothing from the worm tablet, well nothing visible. However, OH is unwell and hasn't taken Ripple out since Tuesday morning, and Ripple is back to normal. No extra pooing, no extra drinking and weeing, no barking at night or whining in the evening to go out (OH is going to bed by 8pm). This makes no sense, the only constant difference when OH is here is that he likes to always take Ripple for his morning walk. This is the same route I take in the morning with a measured amount of his breakfast for training treats. I cannot imagine that OH lets Ripple eat so much rubbish that it changes his toilet habits to that extent . If only Ripple could talk.
Or the worming did do something ? Or whatever was happening has stopped or there's a anxiety element. ? Whatever had happened glad he's ok
I know they say not to confuse correlation with causation, but...that's very suspicious. If only you could attach a hidden camera to Ripple's collar, then you'd know if OH is secretly feeding him a sausage roll for his breakfast I mean, if he can be unobservant enough to feed breakfast to a pet rabbit, it's entirely possible that he's unaware of Ripple's scavenging.
Understandably OH is not happy with me quizzing him on what he does when he walks Ripple. I know he is not as careful with what Ripple eats, but on the other hand I let him off the lead more so he gets more opportunity to eat 'stuff'. @SwampDonkey I'm interested in your comment about anxiety as when I was out with Jac ( @drjs@5 ) and Ripple went in to a biting episode, she mentioned anxiety and I said it was just over excitement. Perhaps this is something as OH has been away so much that it is often just me and Ripple. Anyway I shall still be carrying on with the plan made with the vet to make sure all is well with him health wise, but perhaps I need to take more notice of how Ripple reacts to things.
When Willow first started demonstrating anxiety at her triggers, it manifested as the same behaviour as when she was over-excited. One of these things was a mad leap and snap at my nose. When she was first scared by a gunshot, she looked for all the world like an excitable dog. So I wouldn’t discount anxiety even if it looks very much like excitement. I think the behaviours they demonstrate are to expel energy and try to calm themselves whether the stress they are experiencing is good or bad so it’s not surprising that they use the same techniques to deal with both.
Would this correlate with his anxiety/stress at new things in the house, the microwave and then the CO detector?
