Thoughts and prayers for you and Buddy! |
I am glad to hear he is feeling better. My thoughts are for you and Buddy |
Question about food!! Back to you again guys..... Buddy in great form this morning so im happy at the moment. can i ask you how much i should be feeding Buddy with the royal canin heptatic. i know it has a guideline at the back but i cannot make head nor tail of it. Im going to feed buddy 4 small meals per day....but i dont want to underfeed him. So Im going to split the tinned mixture and the dry nuts so that he gets a mixture (as he's a little fussy!) Roughly how many nuts should i give him if i was going to give him 2 portions of nuts per day?? I think i have it worked out that i will give him 3-4 teaspoons of the wet canned food twice daily. Thanks for all your help and advice so far Dee & Buddy xxx :animal36 |
Dee - when my Lola was diagnosed with liver shunt she was such a picky eater and underweight, that I fed her as much as she would eat. It is very important that you do feed him 4-6 smaller meals per day so that you don't overload his liver with too much food at one time. I assume by nuts that you are talking about dry food or kibble. I leave kibble out for Lola all day in a little bowl for her to have at free will. How much does Buddy weigh? Is he a picky eater? Is he underweight? I'm so happy he's feeling better! |
Results from Vet Buddy used to be a picky eater but he seems to be in love with this hepatic diet from royal canin. sorry yes i meant kibble (we call it nuts here in ireland). vet doesnt think he is underweight and has no concerns there. I just dont want him to be starving as he always seems to want more especially of wet food from the tin I got the results just there and it is a shunt. Vet said its up to me if i want to go further and operate.....i just dont know what to do. He is giving me a prescription for latulose. What do you guys think......surgery? or will the diet work? It is very expensive the vet told me and its isnt always successful, I just want my baby to be ok....... |
Dee - there was no question that my Lola needed the surgery. I had her shunt surgically corrected and she is doing great today. The surgery is expensive, but it saved her life. Please start the lactulose immediately because it will help rid the toxins from his little body. Do not ever give him any other food, no treats - no table food - not even 1 bite, except for the hepatic food the vet gave you, because 1 bite will make him sick again. I had to warn my entire family not to EVER give Lola anything. Please join the website I sent you earlier for liver shunts. They were such a great help when I was going through this with Lola. They can answer all of your questions on surgery, diet, etc. I am so sorry you got this diagnosis for Buddy, but he is lucky to have you taking care of him! |
Surgery Needed Hi guys, the vet rang me this morning and said that he was in contact with the surgeon who looked at buddys results from the bile acid test. The surgeon said buddy will need medical treatment as soon as possible or he will not make it to next year. Im so scared for buddy. surgeon is ringin me later to talk to me about it. How long is the operation? will he be sore after? i have a pain in the pit of my stomach and it wont go. my poor little baby :( :sickie: |
Dee - I'm not sure how long the actual operation is. I know they kept Lola in the hospital for 2 nights. For about 2-3 weeks after, we had to be very careful about letting her run, play, go up and down steps, etc., because they put a "ring" around the shunt during surgery to close the shunt, and we did not want the ring to move. My Lola is like a new dog since the surgery, no problems at all. She runs, she plays, she eats, she bosses her brothers around and...she is NEVER sick! It was an expensive surgery, but worth every penny! The incision was rather large, but they seem to manage the pain well. The incision heals quickly. Lola is only 3.5 pounds and she did great. I don't think she would be with us today had she not had the surgery! |
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To be honest I just want to get him sorted at this stage. Its going to cost €1500 but I'd pay double if i had to. Will he need to be on heptaic diet for life? Im scared that there might be complications during surgery or something. The surgeon is coming from scotland in the UK and comes over especially for these operations. Please pray for my sweet baby |
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To be honest I just want to get him sorted at this stage. Its going to cost €1500 but I'd pay double if i had to. Will he need to be on heptaic diet for life? Im scared that there might be complications during surgery or something. The surgeon is coming from scotland in the UK and comes over especially for these operations. Please pray for my sweet baby |
@lolasmam, thank you so much for all your advice....its great to talk to someone who has been through it. this is my first pet and all my life iv wanted a yorkie. couldnt bear it if anything happened to him. i just wish i was living in america near ye |
Dee - I will pray for your baby, as will many others on this site, I'm sure. These are all questions you will need to ask the vet. I was home with Lola so I can't answer them, and it was so long ago, I don't really remember if she needed much or if I just felt better being there. Will you be home the first few days after surgery? If not, perhaps he could stay at your local vets during that time??? I think after the fifth day or so, if you are able to keep him confined and are able to check on him at lunch, he should be fine. Please check with the surgeon. Whether or not he will be on hepatic food for life depends on his bloodwork after the surgery..I would imagine so, but I'd always rather be safe than sorry! Please keep us all posted. |
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Praying for Buddy |
I'm sorry to hear of Buddy's diagnosis. I would be terrified! Buddy has a good mommy! Praying for Buddy. |
Update on Buddy Spoke to surgeon and Buddy will be going for Ultrasound and operation in the next 6 weeks. They are waiting for surgeon to come from scotland to Ireland. I cannot wait for this to be over. Will buddy be ok until then? is it not a long time to leave him. Myself and my boyfriend took him to the park yesterday and he had so much fun. He is going to the groomers today as a treat as his hair is gone a little too long on his face :confused: |
Pups that are diagnosed and have their shunts repaired under the age of 2 years do best with this surgery (at least thats what the statistics are for here). He should do fine with the special diet and the medication until the surgery is performed. My Tinkerbell was 2.5 years when she was diagnosed. Her surgery was 4 hours and she stayed in the hospital for 6 days. Her shunt was not repaired, she's still on meds and a low protein diet. She'll be 6 years old in September. Do you have a neighbor or a family member that could check on him while you're at work? Or hire a pet sitter for a few weeks at least until his stitches come out. Tinkerbell stayed in a large crate whenever I was not home. Praying for your puppy and you... |
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I'm only feeding him royal canin hepatic and lactulose. Nothing else. Hopefully the wait will not be six weeks as I feel sad at the thoughts of leaving him to go work in school next week when he is not 100% but i will be home every lunch to him at 12.30 and my boyfriend finishes in his school at 2.10. I have a friend ready to look after him for the first week or two after his operation so the sooner the better. I cant wait to have my baby all better |
Put on weight ok so i spoke to the surgeon last night. she was lovely and very reassuring. the one thing she said was that she would like buddy to put on a bit more weight.... how do i do that if i am feeding him small quantities 4-6 times a day? i know i should have asked her that but i was just so overwhelmed by the whole conversation i just forgot |
Dee - I fed Lola as much as she would eat of her hepatic food 4-6 times per day. If I was feeding her several times a day, I think she was eating less per meal than if I was only feeding her 1-2 times per day. My problem with Lola was prior to surgery, she would hardly eat at all. My guess is that it would be ok for Buddy to eat more as long as he is eating several times a day along with the lactulose. I think I would let him have as much as he wanted, at least of the kibble. |
Tink was very lightweight at 2.5 years old (9 pounds). The Hill's Prescription L/D has a higher fat content but lower % protein than regular foods. I'm guessing any Hepatic diet would be higher in fat, as the liver needs the fat to do it's work. The protein is more easily digestable too, and this combination will help the pup to put on some weight, as his body will be able to process and use the food easier as it was developed specifically for dogs with problem livers. You can always call your vet back to verify any instructions given during a visit or over the phone. I usually leave a message for the vet to call me back when they have time, and I tell the receptionist or technician exactly what I need to discuss, so the vet can be prepared before they get on the phone with me. |
lactulose Hi AGAIN guys sorry for all the questions. Buddy is currently takin lactulose 2mls twice a day....the vet said if he gets diahorrea from it to reduce it to 1 ml twice a day. buddy doesnt have diahorrea but does an awful lot when he does go......do you think i should reduce the lactulose...im hesitant as i know that this lactulose will make him better.... but i dont want him to be doing that much when he does his number 2! What a topic to be talking about! :confused: |
Dee - don't worry about talking about this! It's something we all do around here with out pups! When he goes to the bathroom it should not be diarrhea, but more the consistancy of pudding or soft yogurt. You can adjust the lactulose accordingly...if 2 ml is too much, you could try 1.5 ml., then 1 ml, etc. I had to "play" with the dosage until I got it right. It should be soft, but never watery or diarrhea-like. Is he still felling better on his new food and lactulose? |
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hes like a new dog....hes never had this much energy or been as playful. its such a pity he has to go through a horrible operation. I hope he will be just as happy after :animal36 |
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The easily digestable protein in his new food will break down quicker and the nutients will be absorbed through the intestines... the Lactulose will keep the food moving through his intestines quicker, allowing less time for bacteria to build up. The bacteria that break down the food produce the ammonia, so getting the food out of his system quicker also leads to less ammonia-producing bacteria, which is what is making him feel better. His poo should be formed, but difficult to pick up. (per my vet) |
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Not eating Kibble hi guys... Since iv had buddy the only way he will eat dry kibble is if you feed him it one by one.. he does a little dance and bounces around the piece then eats it. :rolleyes: Time consuming but very cute.... However with his new hepatic kibble he does the dance and all the bouncing but spits it back out. He is obsessed with the one from the tin and sits outside the press if he wants it. What will i do? I cant keep feeding him the tinned version can i? I want him to eat as much as he can but he seems to be refusing the kibble... Any ideas |
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I would feed him whatever food the surgeon has approved - wet or dry....and I would let him have as much as he wants as long as you are feeding him 4-6 meals per day along with the lactulose. As you said earlier, the surgeon wants to put some weight on him prior to his surgery and that will be the way to do it! |
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