SHhhhhhhhhh...*UPDATE* HAPPY DANCE*

I feel your pain !!  Later can we talk about why this is sooooo horribly hard for him??      Many dogs are vet phobic I understand that, but possibly we as a group could give you suggestions to help him deal with the necessary concept of Vet care??  Please let us know and in the mean time I will send positive thoughts and much energy your way !

Bonita of Bwana

I have taken numerous dogs who were horribly vet phobic and turned it into their favorite place on the planet.

PLEASE -- take the highest value treats you can dream up with you -- don't worry about whether the vet will "approve" -- slices of hot dog, steak or whatever you can think of.  It will take the sting out of it.

Have you talked to the vet about this enough to know for a thyroid panel to be accurate he needs to be fasted FOUR HOURS prior?

 Please ask the vet to either send the panel to Michigan State or to Dr. Jean Dodds -- it will give you a far far far more complete panel with results your vet can use, and they will also talk to your vet in depth if there are questions (you don't get that with just a lab -- they'll give you the whole spin on anything else going on in that dog's life).

Some other things either need to be fasted overnight or not at all.  But particularly note when he last ate (it's critical for the good thyroid panel). 

If you suspect calcium oxyate crystals you want a caught urine sample, but discuss it with the vet.  There can be a huge difference (depending on what they're looking for) between a cathetherized or aspirated urine sample and a caught one. 

Heartworm doesn't show on a blood panel -- you do ... usually ... an occult test as your best telling test.  Diabetes is different, but your vet may advise a more full panel.  Now that panel may have SOME thyroid stuff on it, but if you really want to know what's going on (and I admit -- this could sound like thyroid -- been doing that with Luna too).

Do they know you intent to use ace?  Has he taken it before (works good with some dogs not so well with others).   

Have a fecal done at the same time -- it can easily rule out several things. Does he have diarreha often?  ever?  not at all? (I have SOOO been doing all of this with Luna -- you might as well take advantage of what I've paid dearly for the last 2 weeks and so far we've found nothing wrong.)

 Be prepared also to document what he's eaten (amounts, for how long, brands, etc. -- just so they are satisfied he's eating "enough";).

If you can get him to "donate a sample" (fecal, urine) and keep them refrigerated til you get there, you can save him those indignities.

 Good luck! 

There are some old threads about Kord and his vet expierence's around here.  He had a male vet get in his face and it caused some trouble, he was a marked dog before that session was over.

He has improved each time since then and the lady doc's love my bad boy and will see him without blinking an eye, and they ignore his behavior. If I remember my threads right, on his last visit we actually had to door opened for the tech hallway and not a single grumble out of him when the techs were walking by. We were actually able to weigh him too.

The biggest part that helps is that I sign him in and don't have to wait outside, I just bring him back when they are ready for us, this tones down his anxiety alot.

The muzzel is their requirerment because of past behavior, and I have no issue with it, Kord wears it in oddball places now, so it is not just associated with the Vets office.

ETA: Callie questions............

Kord gets raw steak at the vets office, nice piece all cut up, and they feed him the treats as well,  I also actually decided NOT to use the ace for tomorrow, and they know he usually takes it.

I do plan to have the panel sent to Michigan. And I let them know what I was concerned about. As for poopies, no runs, no diareahha, normal poops that I have seen, at least the last couple of weeks now since I did dumpling patrol yesturday.

The biggest concerns I actually have are the increased water intake and the heavy breathing so fast and needing some time to recover from exercise. He will be 2 on 8/1/08, there is no reason on earth why he should appear to be out of shape, none, he gets plenty of exercise daily, even does a 4 mile walk with me both days on the weekend....so yeah that bothers me.

And as for food, he gets 4 cups of kibble with add ons every other day, raw food or the Glenda Special on the odd days. He is not starved, not by a long shot.

The fasting is not an issue, today is kibble day and he will be fed his last meal at 7pm. Normally he would get his food at 7am but I am gonna conveniently "forget" to feed him tomorrow morning until after we get home.

He will get steak treats tomorrow, but after the stickies......till then the reward is frisbee and ball.....and lots of mommy kisses.

I hope all his tests come back fine and it turns out he's just like Woobie.  High energy and high metabolism.  I've read things about Ace making some dogs worse because it doesn't calm them, it just paralyzes them and as a result ups their anxiety.  Woobie and Indie have done well on doses of Xanax (alprazolam) when needed. 

I think Woobie's nerves and anxiety keeps him lean and he's also gogogo like your Kord.  He drinks a ton of water and wears me out as well.  As far as his anxiety about just about everything, I spent the first year I've had him just exposing him to as much as possible in short doses to get him acclimated.  He's not food motivated, so that hasn't really worked for us, but taking him to the vet's office, pet stores, open air malls, playgrounds, parks, etc. and (in the beginning), just getting out of the car, taking a few steps around the parking lot and getting back in, then working slowly up to more and more time in a given area as he tolerated it, really helped to recondition him.  He's still pretty uptight and skittish in a new environment (like a new daycare facility) and I have used the Xanax to get him through the first day or two there.

Good luck with the visit! 

To be honest, there is a chance it could just be a UTI that is causing the water consumption, he and the cats drink from the same bowl which holds about 8 cups. I was concerned because I woke up the last 3 days to an empty and I mean bone dry bowl.

The DH said he has drank very little water today, so worse case I spend a bit more cash for tests and ease my mind. Some days I still think im in what my husband calls "worried about the old girl who was sick" mode, and im transferring that to the Kord. Who for what its worth and outside of a flea and seasonal allergy kick, really is healthy.

And as for Xanax, well I have thought about it, he does need to be socialized more, he was as a pup and young adult, we took him everywhere with us and exposed him to all kinds of things, but it just wasn't enough so we need to start over.

We did some indoor ob tonight and he was fine, took him outside and he did fine with that too, the good thing is he is obedient and listens well. Now to just get him past that, I am king and this is my person, place and thing mentality we will be fine.

 I sure hope all is OK with Kord and the vet visit goes smoothly.  Just thought I'd add that Bugsy is horrible in the heat and he is a fit dog, but try to do something with him in 80* full sun and you can just forget it.  If it's humid and sunny mid 70's is max.  He has always been like that.  We do all our exercise early morning and then after dinner.

Oh and he drinks only a couple of times a day but LARGE amounts when he does

And for thinness B didn't keep weight on until he was about 2.5.  Then I panicked as I thought he must be hypo thyroid because he didn't need as much food LOL.  He was just entering normalish eating

anyway, good luck

 I hope Kord behaves tomorrow, and that everything checks out okay.

Make sure the vet knows when he ate last so they can note it for Michigan.  That's one of Dr. Dodd's big hot buttons and ... so it's one of theirs as well. 

 don't think I was being critical -- I'm literally going thru the SAME THING with Luna.  Except she's not out of breath - but dang, I can NOT keep weight on this girl.  She's painfully thin -- eats like a horse, loves her food, poops are 100% A-OK but she keeps losing a pound every 4 months even tho I keep feeding her MORE all the time. 

Truley

so worse case I spend a bit more cash for tests and ease my mind.

That's exactly where I am ... it's NOT a waste of money.  If it shows all is 'FINE' then it's simply a good baseline for later!!

As far as the food -- trust me, they'll ask you "how much" etc.  I wasn't questioning you -- it's just that folks like you and I **know** what we feed our dogs, when and how much and we've already been at the "adjusting the food" stage way before the vet visit!!  *sigh*

 My vet trusts me -- knows I home cook, but it's like they have to be able to justify it and note that they DID ask, I guess.

Ace is something they use on the chow board a lot, LOL!  In case you haven't used it before, he could take some time to get back to his old self after.  Willow's never needed sedation for aggression, thankfully.  I know how stressful the visits can be though.  Good luck, I hope it's nothing serious.  Have them check for Lyme!!!

I will probably never use the ACE again, it seems to not work on him at all, at least not where I can see a difference.

Maybe I should take the ACE???

Well the drama is over. The boy survived another round in the vets office and he did.

FANTASTIC!

I went and signed him in this morning at 6:45am, they called me to bring him in at 9:15am for a walkback, which means I do not see the vet, this would be the first time we had done this since the "incident".

I had talked to Dr. Mary Jane prior to the appointment about my concerns, she was the one who advised the walkback to check how he was doing and to see if being away from me calmed him down or made him hyper.

A nice young lady named Alley came to get the boy, he did not bark at her, he did grumble a bit but laid down when I asked him to, he stayed there while we had a conversation to test the waters. When we were done I handed her the leash and he was a bit reluctant to go but he listened to her and went like a gentleman.

Dr. Mary Jane said he is healthy as a...well, a dog, but his allergies are high. His heartworm and Lyme came back negative, heart and lungs clear and strong, weight and body condition are fantastic, no UTI. After examining him she advised against the thyroid and diabetes panel until winter, because of his allergies. She saw nothing that made her concerned in either area and said his symptoms are more in line with the seasonal allergies. She would rather do the testing when he is not displaying them to such a large degree. I agreed and we will re assess in December or January. He got all his yearly vac's, a 3 year rabies. He got his nails trimmed shorter than I can get em and came back a happy boy.

The biggest test was his attitude and demeanor. He did great! There was one incident outside that I can laugh about because it involved a K-9 office for the metro division here in town. The man exited the building where we were away from the charged excitement by the door, Kord was in a down stay, when he came out..WHAM! Kord was on his feet and letting this man know he was treading on dangerous ground, but he DID NOT ADVANCE! he held his ground and he hushed when I asked him to, and then laid down when requested, and proceeded to ignore the man after that.....omg, I was ready to cry I was so happy! The man then proceeded to tell me how good my dog was, and that his first thought was, oh man this is gonna HURT, if only he knew..........

He did great with the staff as well, none of them had any problems with him, he was polite and nice when being poked and prodded, no growling, no lunging. Dr. Mary Jane said he was the star of the day and was happy with the walkback progress.

I am ready for a glass of wine. To celebrate small baby steps and vet visits. 

  I'm really glad that he behaved so well, but it's very likely that the vac's are going to ramp up his allergies, so if you're not giving Benedryl, it would be a good idea to do that for the next few weeks. Jessie gets vaccinated in January, under the advice of my veterinary dermatologist, because there's no pollen to affect her. My dermatologist said that allergy dogs often itch worse when vaccinated because their immune system is over stimulated. Again, congratulations on his behavior.

Efited to add;  I'm sorry I didn't warn you about this yesterday, in case you wanted to reschedule his vacs. I read your post but somehow missed that part.

Thanks for the advice, I have given him Benedryl twice today and will for the next couple of days.

Finally got that glass of wine!