And now she's started coughing.. sigh.. (Chelsea)

I would wait for the Vet to call before you start giving her something.  I know how scary that coughing can be.  Let us know what the Vet has to say and call back if you haven't heard within an hour.  Hugs to you and Cherokee.  Maybe Callie will see this and can tell you something safe to give her for the coughing. 

Mix up some honey and lemon to give her -- I'll send you a better recipe later but it's soothing and you can give her as much of it as you want.  Just use the lemon juice to make the honey a less thick consistency.

Then -- take the tip of your index finger -- and on her throat, right at the top of her breastbone you can push the tip of your finger in and hook it right over the top of that breast bone.  it won't hurt her at all.

That's an accupressure point -- it redistributes the "chi" and will lessen the coughing.  it WORKS.  Try it.  You won't make her sore -- just put the tip of your finger in until you can bend it and press on the inside of the back of the breastbone - it will help disrupt the cough.

 No advice; I hope the vet can prescribe something to help; {{{{{{hugs}}}}}.

I tried honey earlier..she wouldn't even eat plain honey. I didn't even bother to try lemon juice.

I talked to the vet, she prescribed a cough suppressant (hyrdomet.. hydrocodone for dogs, who knew..lol). Just went and picked it up. 6mL of cherry flavored liquid 2-3 times a day. Great fun. I tried to give her a dose and she spit at least half of it back at me and then went and hid in her crate. I guess I'll give her another half a dose, but I'm gonna wait til I have someone to help me. I hope it helps.. I really can't stand her being uncomfortable.

The vet talked me into trying the Rimadyl again, so we'll see how that goes too... She said if the Rimadyl definitely makes her sick, the next step is prednisone. I dunno why not a different NSAID, I didn't think to ask.

We shall see...

 Yeah, I don't know why you couldn't do Metacam or something. Emma can't take Rimadyl, so she gets Metacam, and it's fine, for her.

 

((((hugs)))) to you both, and I hope the cough suppressant gives her a better night, tonight.

Quite honestly JUST honey is way too sweet and most dogs don't like it.  The lemon makes the honey not so overpowering and not so thick.  The other thing I often add is a bit of slippery elm and dilute that first in boiling water (about 1 teas. of slippery elm in about 1/4 c. HOT HOT water -- stir til smooth and then add to the honey/lemon).

At first just dip a plastic spoon in it - don't try to dump a ton in her mouth - just let her taste it at first. 

You can give it *with* the hydrocodone (that's regulated because it's a narcotic) -- so you can't give it in betweeen doses of the hydrocodone (cos it will quit working before the next dose).  You can give the honey/lemon/slippery elm pretty often.

TRY what I said about the accupressure spot -- you will find it works pretty well, and can break a coughing jag.

 Chelsea, I'm so sorry. I hope you can find something that works to help Cherokee feel better.

 How's Cherokee doing; hope Callie's suggestions helped.

I've been thinking about Cherokee.  I thought you hadn't been posting until I saw this.  I hope she's taking her medicine for you.  I always wondered why they didn't make dog medicine taste like beef or something. . .cherry??? 

Yeah Lori, I don't know where to post. I know hardly anyone reads over here, but I figured any threads I made elsewhere would just get moved here (which I don't get... General Chat is for "anything and everything"..it doesn't say "anything and everything that can't fit into a subforum"...so why move my thread? :-/).

I don't have much to update anyway. We have good days and bad days. Saturday was a pretty bad day (she was doing a lot of coughing, to the point of puking, and having trouble breathing..), but Sunday, yesterday and today were all pretty good.. So I figure with ratios like that (3:1?) we're doing okay. I'm basically doing cough medicine every 6-8 hours around the clock now to prevent that..

I guess at first I thought the cough med was to be given on an as needed basis.. I'm not sure if that's how my vet wants it or not at this point, but it was skipping a couple doses (because she actually didn't need it) that made Saturday so bad, so I'm not doing that again. Drugged is better than miserable, and so what, it's not like we have to be worried about long-term effects. *sigh*

I have a notebook I'm writing everything I give her in, and it's pretty exhausting to just look at it. It's like every 2 hours she's getting SOMETHING, whether it's tramadol or Rimadyl or hydromet or supplements... She really hates the hydromet (it's cherry because it's for people..from a Target pharmacy..it's not a dog medicine), and I really dread giving it to her. As soon as she sees it she tries to run and hide.. it really sucks.

The rimadyl is tough because I'm only supposed to give it with a MEAL, but at this point she's not really eating full meals very often. She just doesn't have the appetite for it. She'll eat a few bites here and there, and she generally gets enough to eat over the course of the day, but it's hard to know when to give the rimadyl. All three of her prescriptions have nausea and appetite loss as side effects, and yet somehow I'm supposed to give them with food, and also supposed to give her the Onco Support and Stasis Break mixed in food.. yeah right.

It's all just so frustrating...

I can't believe all this.  I'm so sorry.   I think I've said it before I feel like her and Willow are kindred spirits.  They are so similar in their issues and personality. 

Hey, one thing that Willow would always eat even when she was on high doses of medication last year was baby food.  I got the Gerber 1st stage meats.  Or, you could get the 2nd stage too.  Willow's favorite and I strongly recommend it is the HAM.  She LOVES it and I'd just let her lick it right from those little jars it comes in.  Or, if she likes yogurt, you could put it on a plate and mix the two.  The ham one stinks and she would sometimes refuse the beef or turkey but never the ham.  Does she like cheese, whipped cream cheese works well to put the pills in and sometimes if she wouldn't eat I'd just do a heaping tablespoon of the whipped cream cheese, just so she'd have something in her. 

Hope she's doing OK.  We are thinking about her all the way over here in RI!! 

Lori & Willow

 

also, not sure if any of your local pet stores carry it but the pure canned meats (I know Wellness and Canine Caviar have them, I'm sure there are other companies as well) seem to be popular with even my picky eaters.  They seem to have a stronger odor, so maybe that helps. I know they were a favorite of Legend's when he had no appetite.

Oh yeah Lori, I can pretty much always get cheddar or cream cheese in her, LOL. I've been putting all her pills in cream cheese, and having no issues with her taking them (in anything else, she tries to eat whatever it is and spit the pill out, haha). And I've been putting her powdered supplements in mayonnaise, lol. Whatever works at this point, right?

I'll try the baby food, but I won't be surprised if she won't touch it. She's been turning her nose up at burgers and such sometimes recently. Interestingly sometimes the only thing she'll eat is dry kibble (Orijen). Even over cheeseburgers and chicken and whatnot. Weirdo.

Chelsea, I know you are doing all your best for Cherokee.  You are in my thoughts and prayers.  (((Hugs)))