[pyrnet] Pumpkin

[Susan Christensen <sue@hoodel.com>]

Thank you for that suggestion for the pumpkin. I'll have to try it! 
His problem with diarrhea isn't constant, just frequent. He has lost 
a sense of anal tone, I think, as he will defecate as he is walking. 
Poor boy (poor me).

I don't know about you all, but so often my trips to the vet are head 
scratchers. They just don't seem to know what it wrong and have to 
make educated guesses on the problems. About a year and a half ago, 
he just flat out would not get up. He just lay there on the ground 
and if asked to support his weight, would just collapse and look at 
me. We carried him on a stretcher to the vets. He walked like and 
old, old dog when they got him to stand at all. He stayed at the vet, 
they did tests and I paid a few hundred. Basically, they thought he 
was getting old and I should just take him home to live out his 
remaining days. He walked heavily to the van and we hoisted him in. 
When he arrived at home, in the front yard, he lifted his head and 
took a few steps, a few more, a few more and I had not seen him even 
walk unassisted for a couple weeks like he was doing. I don't know-he 
suddenly got this sense that the winds had changed or something and 
began to recover his will to move and get around. Within a week, he 
was his old self.

If I had to make an educated guess, I might think he had Lyme (we 
have had to deal with ticks in Texas and here in quantity despite 
collars) and this was an episode. Or he may have had a subluxation 
affecting his shoulder. He was on a medication for his aches, 
arthritic problems, inflammations (steroids) and that seemed to help, 
but that was to be short term. Does anyone have suggestions on food 
types or additives that can help degenerative problems (arthritis, 
etc)?

Oh yes, we also had the nightmare bout between the 2 dogs (Jack and 
Siri) with mange. We have foxes come into our yard frequently, and 
apparently one picked it up from the fox and passed it to the other. 
Auuggghhhh. Luckily, thart was a couple years ago--no more mange.

Sue and Siri-pup pup in Fairfax County, Virginia (former horse country)