How is Jackson doing this morning?

I'm with Crystal on going easy on physical activity for a bit, and staying away from the pool to avoid the possibility of ingesting any chlorinated water. Rest does a body good when it comes to any type of ailment or injury; helps the body to repair and recoup. Jackson has been through the wringer. Max didn't want to slow down with his eye problems, but when he had active ulcers, it was for his own good to rest. He would beg to play or go walking, but then he almost seemed relieved when I would sit down and relax with him instead.

Just saw your update and I'm glad he is doing well this morning.

You can try making a game out of eating kibble. Do some tricks and use the kibble as rewards. If you seem excited about the food, he will probably catch on.

I had been thinking about the yelping thing also. Not sure there is any way to say for sure, so it would be a highly uneducated guess on my part. But yes, I wonder if it was related.

I wonder if his pancreas has been a bit angry for awhile now (as Dr. Remillard told Cathy, these things can smolder for awhile). Jackson has gotten a lot of rich treats and chews and not all dogs can handle it. Well, it may appear that they are handling it fine when really they aren't or they stop being able to. Bloodwork can be somewhat of an indicator of how the pancreas is doing. If the lipase and/or amylase is up, that gives some clue about how things are going in there.

You can ask about using the EN canned.

Will he eat the EN if you put a little bit down 3 times a day?

Yes, you'll have to find a way to switch over very slowly. Grinding it together may work.

I have always been told to give canned after a bout of pancreatitis or gastroenteritis.

I am so glad Jackson is doing better. I read all the pages this morning, and read some out loud to my dh...he likes to give the dogs "treats" off his dinner plate.

I hope some of what I read stuck into his thick head!! I said you can give raw or lightly steamed veggies.... one plain without any sauce noodle... that is IT!!!

I have been reading your concerns about food. That is sooooo hard. I have a situation where I will be traveling (my dh is having a bone marrow transplant) a lot in the next year. I was home cooking but it is a lot of work. I have two larger dogs (one is 26 pounds) and thus the volume of food is more. I went to a pet store to look at freeze dried food, most brands use raw. Not putting down anyone who uses raw... it is not my choice (I think today's dog had evolved to the point that raw is not always the best choice--jmo)

So...back to you. I choose honest kitchen. The one capt noodie uses with uni. It has taken me 6 weeks of thinking to make that choice. I will add veggies and treat them with boiled chicken from time to time. I think ... in the future.. that may be a choice for you.

On home cooking, Cathy has given me such great advice and she knows her "stuff" but it is a commitment and is not the best for everyone. When my life gets back to its new normal I will go back to home cooking. Why? Because I think it is ONE of the best choices, and I WANT to.

So .. my words of advise... take notes, do your research, learn as much as you can.. then decided what YOU think is best. There is more than one correct answer.. and more than one BAD choice. I know you will find the one that is right for you.

Definitely! I am going to give at least a week or two of mostly chilling in the house, no walks, plus it's been too hot to walk anyways honestly. We haven't been doing our walks for a few weeks now. But I agree, his body needs rest, even if he doesn't know it.

How is Max's eye, btw? I forget if it was one eye or both that had problems. My God, the stuff these dogs put us through. :D They are so worth it though.

I am thinking it would make him really happy to visit my dads house this weekend, maybe on Sunday. He LOVES my dad. But if we go this weekend, I will be keeping him out of the backyard so he doesn't get in the pool or eat grass or find anything else to eat. But I definitely think he'd enjoy the company.

I will do this! Yesterday he did eat the kibble which I was happy about. I think he was so hungry. Plus it's something different so he ate it up. I will just keep acting excited about it!

I feel terrible now that I never took him to the vet for the yelping. :rolleyes: I planned on it, and things kept happening, and then he didn't yelp anymore so I just kind of put it in the back of my mind. I just wonder if we could have caught something earlier or not. But oh well, it's done and he's on the mend now.

I am also thinking this issue has maybe been smoldering for a while. In hindsight, it didn't seem like he was getting a TON of people food. But I guess for his little body, he probably was. He definitely was.

You need to put it all behind you. Nothing you can do about the past. We all live and learn. You only have today and can move forward in a healthier way for your sweet Jackson! :)

Good advice:thumbup::thumbup:

Brit, I am so sorry you and Jackson are having to go through this. But I am SO happy he is back home with you. I thing being in his normal environment will also help him heal faster. My pups are so much more relaxed at home than they are anywhere else. Thanks for all the wonderful updates and keep us posted.

I hand fed him yesterday, one kibble at a time, and he did eat it.

So if I don't need to add canned, I won't. He just won't eat on a schedule, really, and the only way I can make sure he's getting three small meals a day would be to mix something in.

Unless the 3 meals a day isn't a huge deal. I just don't know, you know?

I put 1/4 cup of E/N into his bowl today but he hasn't touched it yet (but he never has eaten food in the morning). Since he used to get 1/2 cup a day of TOTW.... I hope 1/4 is enough for the day (today). I don't want to over-feed or under-fed.

I thought it was odd they sent me home with kibble, too. They had told me earlier they were going to give him canned. So I don't know.

Thank you for asking, Max is doing great. It was one eye at a time, but both had problems over the past 6 months. The whites of his eyes are the whitest I have seen them since before his laser surgery, and the underside of his eyelids are nice and pink and smooth. Crossing my fingers they stay that way.

Can you give them a quick ring just to double check it wasn't in error. I don't know anything about Jackson's illness... just thinking about how crazy things can get sometimes at work and it simply could have been an oversight. I wouldn't wait on this one!

Other than that, wanted to say I am so glad he is home and acting like his normal self. I also agree with ladyjane that you shouldn't worry about the past and just move forward.

Give Jackson lots of hugs from us. He clearly has quite a YT fanbase :D

I don't know if it matters...probably not; but if he likes the canned better, I would just go buy it. I think you can return the kibble. I know that Hill's takes it back...I will bet that Purina also does! Most vets will take the foods back.

You might remember I posted a thread a few months ago, maybe May-ish, that he yelped when I barely touched his side a few times in one day -- thought it was odd.

I Was Just Thinking This, Last Night!!!!!!!!!!!

Glad Jackson is doing better, this a.m.!!
Can't wait to meet up with the two of you.... as soon as this heat subsides!! :)

I remember the yelping issue too!!

:thumbup:

Yes the pain on the side is a classic sigh of pancreatitis, so he probably had at least one attack before this one. I also wanted to mention that you said in an earlier post that Jackson always ate grass, but before this attack he was eating a massive amount. I know that animals eat grass when they have an upset stomach, but I don’t think this is “normal”, and I think it should be seen as a sign of distress. Some think it also may mean the dog is not getting enough fiber in the diet.


I’m a little confused about all the comments about no swimming in chlorinated water. A home pool doesn’t have to be chlorinated like a public pool, and even our drinking water here in AZ has chlorine in it. Granted, I don’t know anything about this disease, but I hate to think of Jackson never swimming again. :eek: Is everyone absolutely sure about the chlorinated water and avoidance of ingesting it? I’d ask the vet about this to be sure.

Glad your both doing better today:)

I meant I'd skip the swimming for a few weeks and talk to the vet about it for when he fully recovers. His belly might hurt even if he isn't showing signs anyway, so not a good time to swim.

I definitely wouldn't say he can never swim again. But some of the pools I've been in have been so heavily chlorinated that I'd ask a vet first.

BTW, you might want to bring up the yelping incident on Thursday. If the vet thinks it is related (really have no idea if it is), then the vet's plan could change a bit. If there is any reason to believe he has had a chronic and mild issue all along, the vet may have additional thoughts on what to do for his diet.

Oh okay, I can handle that! ;)

I agree about eating grass not usually being normal unless a pup has an upset stomach. My girls never had pancreatitis, so I don't know if ingesting chlorinated water is something to be concerned about. I gave my girls bottled cold water, but they still always preferred to drink the water from the pool and would lean over the steps to get to it. My vet said that it was completely harmless, and that I had nothing to worry about. The amount of chlorine in a home pool is nothing compared to public pools, and it is added to many public water supplies to rid it of bacteria. Unless there's a difference because of his pancreatitis, it should be no problem for him swimming in the pool or swallowing some of the water. My Kiwi had a compromised immune system because of her severe allergies and the treatments she needed as a result, but the pool water was fine for her.

Brittany, I hope Jackson continues to get better. You are a great Mom! You are so devoted to Jackson's care and happiness, and you are so willing to not only share your own knowledge but to learn from others, question, and research to find the answers. Everyone makes mistakes; it's what we learn from them and the willingness to change is what makes us better people. Jackson leads a charmed life with you. Every pup should know such love and devotion.

I too did not mean never again, just until he is recovered. The treated water in a home pool is not the same as our drinking water.

*Much to my dismay, we no longer have real chlorine in our water supplies. It is a compound that does not smell as nice or seem as clean to me, and it leaches the lead out of pipes. :eek: It does not give me nice highlights in my hair either. :p

Hey Britt, I know you head must be spinning after the big scare, and now trying to process all the flood of information to best take care of Jackson.

I just want to give you both a hug, and hope you'll be gentle on yourself and breathe and relax a tiny bit. The stress is so hard on you. Think positive, and know that your vet will guide you in Jackson's care, and by adjusting his diet he will do just fine.

Have a great day with that special boy.

I really don't think it will be a big deal to have him swimming again. I'm not the type of 'pet parent' to keep my active pooch sheltered (long term) as most of you know ;) So I will confirm my thoughts with the vet. I'm going to shelter him in the sense that he's no longer going to be able to get to food, etc, and be very strict with his diet. But I want to let him do everything that he's used to doing... walking, running, swimming, etc. From what you all have told me, and what I've read, luckily this illness does not necessarily affect physical exercise. But I will be continuing to give his body a break for the next few weeks.

Oh, and odd but most of the dogs I know eat grass! Just leisurely. My dads dogs do it all the time, too. Jackson's has always been more of an OCD issue though LOL. I can't believe that all of these dogs I know of were missing something from their diet causing them to eat grass as most are on different kinds of foods. When he would get really hyper and a lot of things were going on all at once (chasing four wheelers on the other side of the fence, swimming, dogs barking, etc) he'd run around during these moments of hyperactivity and eat grass almost as a nervous habit. He wasn't eating it every day or to throw up, he never threw it up. I can tell a huge difference between a "my stomach hurts" eating grass and a "I'm bored so I'm eating grass" thing. Like Saturday evening and night, he was clearly trying to coat his stomach. Hard to explain.

I will definitely bring up the yelping to the vet! I can't believe I hadn't thought of it before. I looked back and it was the first week of June when he did it the worst.

Also ask about the pool. I don't think it's going to be a concern to him. I had read in the past about salt water vs. chlorine and chlorine is much better and considered mostly "harmless" from my understanding whereas salt water is not good at all. Which is why I was wondering if that was apart of the problem, swimming in that particular pool. My dad doesn't use a whole lot of chemicals in our pool.

Good news, well could be "bad", is that Jackson is acting pretty much normal. He's wanting to play and running around the house with his toy. I am giving him little play sessions of 10 minutes or so and then he gets tired. Meds I am sure are making him a bit groggy-ier. He's on 3 different kinds, I'll go look and see what they are.


Thank you so much! Such kind words.

Thanks! That is exactly how I feel - like my head is spinning :p

But I am feeling really good and confident today! Jackson is here, he's okay, so I am happy and willing to do whatever it takes to get him as close to 100% as he can ever be.

Btw, I did call the vet and ask if I could get some E/N canned food and they said it's fine. I am having some trouble giving him all his pills...

He is getting:
Metronidazole 250mg one tab twice a day (20 pills)
Metoclopramide 5mg, half tab twice daily to prevent vomitting (5 pills)
Famotidine 10mg - one tab once daily to decrease stomach acid (10 pills)

I usually give his pills in cheese but since I can't, I just opened his mouth and let it fall down his throat basically and closed his mouth. Well that worked for the first 2 pills, then he got smart. He spit this pill out like 10x before I gave up on the once a day pill... so anyways I am gonna go pick up canned food and coat the pill w/ it and I think that will be easier.

Also -- good news is that he's eating the dry and he's nibbling throughout the day which I think is good right now. I put 1/4 cup into his bowl and it's almost gone now at 3pm but he didn't eat it all at once.

I have not been on and missed this :(
I am so glad to see Jackson is home and on the mend. You are a wonderful momma :)

That's how we have to give Baxter his pills too.

Good idea to try the canned.

He is many times smaller than you and he has to have all of these.

One hand over the top of his head slipping your thumb and index finger into his mouth at opposite sides of his nose. With the other hand, the thumb and middle finger can pull his bottom jaw down while the index finger pushes pill to the very back of his tongue into his throat. Retry. He'll swallow eventually. Get somebody to help restrain if you need to. If the canned doesn't work today, then he has to be forced to take them. Maybe a pill gun would work for him.

So glad to hear Jackson is doing much better!

Well, Jackson is totally back to his normal self, driving me crazy. :rolleyes:

He's bored, I can tell. He needs activity at least every other day to be sane.

We've just played a few games of chase in the house with a toy.

He was just looking for more food but I am not sure if I should/could give him more. He had 1/4 cup. I mean, the bag recommends 7/8 – 1-1/2 for 11-20lb dog. I am sure the vet was thinking I was probably feeding the recommended amounts from the bag when he said to not feed as much as normal. Most tell me to feed him 1 cup a day. So I'm thinking if I give him a few more pieces of kibble he will be okay. He is acting hungry and actually eating the kibble which I am so happy about.

He has not pooped yet today. I don't know if that's a good thing necessarily? But I am happy to not have seen diarrhea since yesterday around 8pm.