[karendools]

Thanks so much for your concern and bringing all the dangers of Proin to my attention. I spoke with the vet and was told that if I wanted, I could discontinue giving Hazel any more meds. She does have blood work done quite often and so far, everything is fine. But, considering the size of the hole in her heart and this new information I have decided to start giving her SOYMILK and to put some FENNEL "water" (dried seeds that have been added to boiling water and steeped until cool) to her food. She eats Natural Balance so grains are definitely not her issue.

I don't believe using these 2 remedies in combination will do any harm. I'm almost tempted to add the PARSLEY just to be on the safe side but ??? What are your thoughts on combining these? So many choices...Fennel, Soymilk, Parsley, Cornsilk....

Again, thank you so much! I can't wait to see if I get a happy dog back vs the crabby creature that has no appetite

[CorkyMax]

So glad--no more Proin! I'm afraid I can't tell you much on the questions--I have never (so far) had to deal with this problem or I prob. would of googled a lot to try to find some helps---I guess you must of googled quite a bit from the sounds of it. I would prob. put--> dogs parsley and maybe add cons or something on that order in my browser and also do that with the other 3 things you mentioned.

I sure hope there is an improvement in your dog--may take a little while--I don't know, but please keep us posted as I'm anxious to know how she is doing and hoping for good results!

[karendools]

I will keep you posted!

[karendools]

Hazel has been off the Proin for several days now. She is wearing a "diaper" while in the house just to be on the safe side but...so far...SO good! She is a full size collie weighing 75 pounds. I couldn't decide which substitute to use so am using the following:

*Soy Milk - 1/2 cup daily
I give her this in the morning before breakfast

*Fennel "tea" - 3/4 cup daily
She gets 1/4 cup on her dry food (Natural Balance) in the morning and 1/2 cup on her dinner

*Fresh Parsley - 1 1/2 tbsp daily
She gets this in the evening. She's not a big fan of parsley so I put it inside some liver sausage.

Besides not having any "accidents" she is slowing starting to regain energy and is much happier.

[CorkyMax]

[B][COLOR="SeaGreen"]That is good news! I hope it continues for her sake--She deserves some happiness--poor baby.

About the parsley----Are you 'pulverizing' it ----Put in a mini blender and grind real, real fine. Dogs don't do much digesting of whole foods (other then meat)--I know it seems like it wouldn't make such a difference but there are celulose walls to veggies --even the parsley---and dogs can't break down these walls and digest it so it goes straight through them and the nutrients are lost! I don't imagine you use much liver sausage to get her to eat it. I use to put pills/supplements in liver sausage many years ago until I realized there was onion in it! How about peanut butter--That's what I use now unless I am feeding raw hamburger and then I just wrap the pills in that. Finely grated parsley could prob be 'meshed' in that too. Anotherthing I use to use -- cream cheese but not too much as it is pretty much all fat.

Here is a link I did in here a while back on all the foods, etc. that are bad for a dog to have: Just tried to search for the link using the search box and somebody 'messed it up' and now you can't click 'enter' because it is missing!!! Be back with the link--I'll have to see if I can find it a different way!! Stay tuned!!

I found it--> Foods that are hazardous to a dog You will be surprised at some of the things that are on this long list (worth the time to read though!)

Hope to continue to hear good news---Have any pics of her to share?

[JackRussellMommy]

Introductions first, right? This is going to be a long one, so bear with me.. but my dog is still alive (atm).

I'm a new mom to an approx. 5 year old jack russell terrier that I adopted from a shelter on Friday. They said her name is Holly, but she doesn't respond to anything at all, really, unless I say "Sweet Girl" or "Pretty Girl" in a nice voice.

Unfortunately, my baby has been in very poor health. When I first saw her in the shelter, she was scratching a lot. Go into the "visiting" room to meet with her one on one and it becomes obvious to me that she has a cataract in her right eye along with the itching. Well, okay... it's probably fleas.. but I don't see any, so then again maybe mites. That's easily taken care of, but I'd still like to know what it is. So I ask the kennel tech and she asks the kennel manager to look into it. The kennel manager looks into it and comes back to the lobby (where I am at this point) and tells me that she has really dry skin and it could be allergies of some sort. I ask the kennel tech a couple more questions... how is her behavior, what's her personality like, any other health problems besides the itching and cataract. Not really, says she, except that she sometimes wets her crate (metal box thing in shelters) sometimes. Okay, says I... it's probably just because she's stressed about being in a shelter with all the barking dogs (she did not bark, which in retrospect should have told me something).

Again, okay fine. An aunt has had these kinds of dogs (Jack and Parsons) so I can deal, I think, with the itching and peeing. They did a final health check while I filled out adoption paperwork (surprising that they let me adopt so quickly, huh?). They came back and told me she only had really dry skin... but what about the cataract? Nothing. So she and I went home to meet my husband.

She spent her entire first evening with us itching and scratching... and peeing on a rug (no biggie, neither of us likes the stupid thing, and it's just in the hallway). She didn't really bark much, she sniffed and walked around a lot (a sign of nervousness of course). I tried to find a topical treatment that would work for the itching, and the only thing that seemed to help was some oatmeal shampoo. She spent the rest of the night and early morning scratching.

Took her out Saturday, the next day, to meet with friends for camping. My poor puppy started itching like CRAZY. Biting, licking, chewing, scratching and rubbing her tummy on the grass... crawl, crawl, crawl. A friend had hydrocortisone that I tried... she licked it off and went back to rubbing her tummy on the grass. I picked her up and lo and behold she's got some scrapes (lesions?) on her tummy. I decide then and there to take her to the emergency vet clinic. She was soooo tired on the ride there that she was "falling asleep" in the passenger seat... sitting up.. eyes closed, head down, etc.

Got her there and they diagnosed her with "suspected skin allergies", gave her a shot and sent her on her way with Prednisone. She did MUCH better after that, and I hadn't seen her that happy yet. Ran around the camp for a bit (she follows me around whenever I get up to go anywhere), but I think she wore herself out. She got pretty lethargic after that, but I had been giving her benadryl too, per the ER vet's instructions. It was around then that I noticed that when she laid down, she leaked a little. Gave her the prednisone dose the next morning and she is fine. Then I find out during the second dose i was supposed to have given her two of them that morning (I didn't read the instructions carefully *blush*). So I gave her two on Sunday evening at 7, and then at around 1.30 am she starts vomiting dark brown. I let her sleep next to me so I can keep an eye on her all night. Next morning... I give her two, and schedule her new dog check-up with the vet. I told them about her health problems on the phone. She has had dark stools, and they tell me to bring a sample in. She throws up again at around 10:30. Vet appt is at 2:00, so I cuddle with her and tell her to hang in there

Vet appointment went o.k. They told me she had coccidia from her stool, but her urine sample (grabbed her first morning sample) was fine.

They prescribed Smz-Tmp, Reglan (for the vomiting), and... guess what? Proin for her incontinence. They tell me to get her some Prilosec to protect her tummy. She was also supposed to have been on benadryl along with the Prednisone, but I said f*** that after the first few doses of it. If she doesn't need it, I'm not giving it to her. The vet also told me that she did indeed have a cataract, and that her back knees will come out of socket... joint. Point being, she's a very f***ed up little dog, but she is SO DARN SWEET!!

They never did ANY bloodwork before or after prescribing the Proin. I asked them about all the medications... are they safe to be on, are there any drug interactions? Nope. Not a damn thing would be wrong.

I had to go pick up my husband, grab stuff for dinner, and when we got home it was almost time for her Prednisone, so I administered the other drugs throughout the hour from 6-7.

Now, my Aunt is an RN and having lived with her while I was a teenager I thought... you know, I should really be looking up these drugs. So I did.. and I showed my husband this thread... and he said she is not EVER taking another dose of Proin, no matter how much she pees on the carpet.

And trust me, she has been peeing ALOT because the Prednisone and Smz have the side effect of increased thirst and urination. Which brings me to wonder... why would you prescribe a pill (Proin) to help control urination, when two of the drugs she is on CAUSES increased urination? It just sounded like trouble to me.


ANYWAYS she is doing o.k.... but has been sleeping a lot, very fatigued very thirsty, eats a little more, but she has been like that since Sunday when she wore herself out.

I'm sorry for all the people who have lost their beloved furbabies to Proin, but I just wanted to let you all know that you have probably helped save many lives, from people who find this thread and read it... but never post.

Also, if anyone has ANY information about what may be going on with my baby, why she's doing what she is, what I need to do, what tests she may need, please LET ME KNOW!!!! She may be doing o.k. right now, but we won't be out of the woods, I feel, until her meds (especially the Smz-Tmp) is finished and I know she is feeling better. I will also schedule an appointment with her vet for later this week to get blood tests done.


Thank you for your time, everyone, and thank you for providing this thread

JackRussellMommy

[karendools]

What kind of food are you giving your baby? I would suggest eliminating any food with grains in it. I've know a lot of dogs that spent their lives getting the allergy shots and when the owner eliminated grain, the shots were no longer needed. My collie had been on prescription dog food for years since regular dog food gave her diarrhea (all over my carpets) but found that she does well with Natural Balance.

You are a wonderful mom and I'm glad your new addition to the family has found a forever home and the love she/he needs.

[JackRussellMommy]

Originally Posted by karendools

What kind of food are you giving your baby? I would suggest eliminating any food with grains in it. I've know a lot of dogs that spent their lives getting the allergy shots and when the owner eliminated grain, the shots were no longer needed. My collie had been on prescription dog food for years since regular dog food gave her diarrhea (all over my carpets) but found that she does well with Natural Balance.

You are a wonderful mom and I'm glad your new addition to the family has found a forever home and the love she/he needs.

Thank you for the compliment!
I am feeding her a bland diet right now, minus the rice... so just cooked meat. I am thinking about putting her on a raw diet after she is better though