FinnishLapphund
There's no cow on the ice
Some might remember my thread from September 2020, There is something wrong with Blomma, where it turned out she have Diabetes Insipidus. To put it simply, it has nothing to do with insulin, it involves a substance from the pituitary gland, and the kidneys, with the symptoms increased thirst, and peeing.
One risk with drinking way too much is that it can disturb the salt balance in the body, if it gets to the point where you have too little salt in the body, it can be lethal. Stupidly enough, the medicine which helps with Diabetes Insipidus can sometimes cause low sodium = salt.
The later happened earlier this year. Went in some time in February to check up her Insipidus, blood test showed too low sodium, and we had to stop the medication completely.
Thinking about how to get her salt back up, without her medication, and free access to a water bowl, made me decide to remove their water bowl. So I put up stuff so that Cilla the cat have a small water bowl only she can get to, and my bitches gets water in their food bowls 4 times per day.
Sure, Blomma was thirsty after she'd been out during daytime in the garden or for a walk, but I felt it was acceptable if it took me 1 or 2 minutes to get their food+water ready, and from the kitchen to the living room. After all, if I'm thirsty after a dog walk, I wait until they've gotten theirs first, and if I can tolerate being thirsty for 1-2 minutes, so can she.
After 5 weeks we went back, and fortunately her sodium level was okay again, so we could try starting with the medication again. But before she'd gotten 75% of a pill x 2, now it was 25% of a pill x 3.
Which initially felt like a new problem, because the medicine shouldn't be given with food, so have to fit in 1-2 hours before, or after, food. They get 4 meals per day due to it being easier for Blomma's old mum Jonna's liver with several small food portions per day, rather than 1 or 2 larger portions.
My new life started, with alarm clock, kitchen timer, and now also a few alarms in my mobile phone going off at different times through the day, to remind me about what to do with my dogs. I even wrote up a schedule to work out how to fit everything in the best.
This is how most days goes. Before 8 o'clock: Let them out in the garden, and give them breakfast with water. Jonna decided last year she only wants to eat yummy canned food for breakfast, so that's what she gets. Most days I go back to bed for a little more sleep.
10 o'clock: Blomma's medicine.
12 o'clock: We eat dinner, let the dogs out again, they get dry food with water, and maybe some peas, or pieces of apple, or something else suitable of what we have for dinner, to make the water more tasty. Soak next meal in water, for at least Jonna, but sometimes also Blomma, and her sister Beata.
15 o'clock: Reminder that if I've forgotten to soak food, I really have to do it now. I also have to start thinking about that it's soon time for a little walk before their 3rd meal.
16 o'clock: 3rd meal + soak 4th meal in water.
18 o'clock: Blomma's medication + soak next meal if I haven't already done it.
20 o'clock: Home from a small or longer walk, time for 4th meal of the day.
22 o'clock: Time for their daily little gnaw bone. Probably not so good for Jonna's liver, but it makes her happy, and life should be more than just existing.
Midnight: They've either been out in the garden one last time, or we're home from another small or longer walk (they get 1 longer walk per day). Time for their daily small cooked carrot (my very first dog came with food instructions which included giving a daily carrot, and I've continued with it. If they're only let out in the garden, it makes them do their business quicker to get in to get their carrot. We prepare several carrots, cook them, put them in boxes, and freeze them, so we only need to cook carrots once or twice per month).
2 o'clock: Blomma's last medicine.
Tuesday the 10 May we went back to check so Blomma's sodium levels hadn't gone down again. They where still good, so the veterinarian asked if I wanted to try giving 50% of a pill x 2, but that would mean pill at 22 in the evening again, as we had it before, and Jonna have been so happy when they can get some vegetarian dog treats (milder for the liver than meat based treats) after 20 o'clock. Her sweet tooth seems to get really active in the evenings.
Besides, Blomma seems to be doing really well as it is. One evening when Beata seemed a bit thirsty, I took out their food bowls, and gave everyone some extra water each. Blomma started drinking, and I thought she would drink every drop, but then she stopped, as if she realised she wasn't that thirsty after all, and actually left some water! So it really feels as if what we do now suits her really well.
Now to the borrowed time limbo part.
Around two years ago we found out Jonna's liver wasn't tip top anymore. Switched to a better for the liver food, and more feedings per day, to make it easier for the liver. We've expected her liver to get worse, and her to die ever since, but besides walking a bit slower, and some other usual old age signs like e.g. not hearing as well, she's continued on as if there was no end in sight.
With Jonna's age, and liver, and Blomma's Insipidus, we've started to presume one of them would die first. Beata (Blomma's sister) was the healthy one, and I sort of hoped she'd live as long as Jonna. But Tuesday the 10th of May I also had managed to get an appointment for Beata at the vets.
She'd seemed quite down, and low in energy Friday evening, we thought she'd maybe caught a tick disease (though they get anti-tick treatments).
I gave Beata some of Jonna's good for the liver food, because it have a bit more energy in it than their regular food, and took a pram with me on our longer walks during the weekend, so she didn't have to walk the whole walk without would get a good chance to regain her strength again. She started to get perkier, but I called my vet clinic on Monday, and they had a time next day, after Blomma.
Beata's liver values was extremely high, one of them was off the chart. Monday the 16th we came back for an ultrasound, and her liver is huge, wrong shape, and wrong colour making it impossible to see if there's a tumour, but there was definitely some large cysts with fluid, so altogether the vet believes there's a tumour somewhere in her liver.
I asked if I needed to euthanise her there and then, but the vet said she was too happy, perky, and not in pain for that to be necessary. But her liver can shut down anytime, it could be days, or weeks. The vet told me to look out for bad poops, tiredness, and no appetite.
Eating Jonna's food, Beata is now her usual self, gallops out in the garden in the morning, rolls in the grass, and have absolutely no problem with the appetite. But I'm in limbo, wanting to hold her tight, and stop time, hoping to get to keep her as long as possible, but knowing it could be the end any day.
Then the day after the ultrasound on Monday, I suddenly realised Jonna has had a bit bad poops for around a week. I had thought it had to do with the warmer weather, but called the vet, and got an appointment to check Jonna's liver values on Thursday. They're worse than before. The vet could also feel that her liver is enlarged, and given her age, the vet thinks it's basically just as with Beata, it could be days, or it could be weeks, but she's happy, and perky, so no need to do anything yet.
She now have another food which is okay for the liver, and milder for the stomach. Her poops are a bit better, and she's her usual self. Have managed to make me give her 6 or so treats this evening.
So now I'm in a double limbo. Maybe I'll soon just have one dog, instead of three. Who knows, if Blomma's sodium levels begins misbehaving again, and the Insipidus can't be controlled, perhaps I'll soon just have my cat, before I manage to find a new suitable Lapphund.
At the same time, I'm so grateful for that I've had these three for this long. Beata, and Blomma's 14th birthday is in the second week of June, Jonna's 17th birthday is in the end of July.
If you made it to the end of this long post, here's a picture of them. (Sorry, it's sideways, tried fixing it, but I ran out of patience. It will just have to do.) Beata to the left/top, Blomma in the middle, and Jonna to the right/bottom.
One risk with drinking way too much is that it can disturb the salt balance in the body, if it gets to the point where you have too little salt in the body, it can be lethal. Stupidly enough, the medicine which helps with Diabetes Insipidus can sometimes cause low sodium = salt.
The later happened earlier this year. Went in some time in February to check up her Insipidus, blood test showed too low sodium, and we had to stop the medication completely.
Thinking about how to get her salt back up, without her medication, and free access to a water bowl, made me decide to remove their water bowl. So I put up stuff so that Cilla the cat have a small water bowl only she can get to, and my bitches gets water in their food bowls 4 times per day.
Sure, Blomma was thirsty after she'd been out during daytime in the garden or for a walk, but I felt it was acceptable if it took me 1 or 2 minutes to get their food+water ready, and from the kitchen to the living room. After all, if I'm thirsty after a dog walk, I wait until they've gotten theirs first, and if I can tolerate being thirsty for 1-2 minutes, so can she.
After 5 weeks we went back, and fortunately her sodium level was okay again, so we could try starting with the medication again. But before she'd gotten 75% of a pill x 2, now it was 25% of a pill x 3.
Which initially felt like a new problem, because the medicine shouldn't be given with food, so have to fit in 1-2 hours before, or after, food. They get 4 meals per day due to it being easier for Blomma's old mum Jonna's liver with several small food portions per day, rather than 1 or 2 larger portions.
My new life started, with alarm clock, kitchen timer, and now also a few alarms in my mobile phone going off at different times through the day, to remind me about what to do with my dogs. I even wrote up a schedule to work out how to fit everything in the best.
This is how most days goes. Before 8 o'clock: Let them out in the garden, and give them breakfast with water. Jonna decided last year she only wants to eat yummy canned food for breakfast, so that's what she gets. Most days I go back to bed for a little more sleep.
10 o'clock: Blomma's medicine.
12 o'clock: We eat dinner, let the dogs out again, they get dry food with water, and maybe some peas, or pieces of apple, or something else suitable of what we have for dinner, to make the water more tasty. Soak next meal in water, for at least Jonna, but sometimes also Blomma, and her sister Beata.
15 o'clock: Reminder that if I've forgotten to soak food, I really have to do it now. I also have to start thinking about that it's soon time for a little walk before their 3rd meal.
16 o'clock: 3rd meal + soak 4th meal in water.
18 o'clock: Blomma's medication + soak next meal if I haven't already done it.
20 o'clock: Home from a small or longer walk, time for 4th meal of the day.
22 o'clock: Time for their daily little gnaw bone. Probably not so good for Jonna's liver, but it makes her happy, and life should be more than just existing.
Midnight: They've either been out in the garden one last time, or we're home from another small or longer walk (they get 1 longer walk per day). Time for their daily small cooked carrot (my very first dog came with food instructions which included giving a daily carrot, and I've continued with it. If they're only let out in the garden, it makes them do their business quicker to get in to get their carrot. We prepare several carrots, cook them, put them in boxes, and freeze them, so we only need to cook carrots once or twice per month).
2 o'clock: Blomma's last medicine.
Tuesday the 10 May we went back to check so Blomma's sodium levels hadn't gone down again. They where still good, so the veterinarian asked if I wanted to try giving 50% of a pill x 2, but that would mean pill at 22 in the evening again, as we had it before, and Jonna have been so happy when they can get some vegetarian dog treats (milder for the liver than meat based treats) after 20 o'clock. Her sweet tooth seems to get really active in the evenings.
Besides, Blomma seems to be doing really well as it is. One evening when Beata seemed a bit thirsty, I took out their food bowls, and gave everyone some extra water each. Blomma started drinking, and I thought she would drink every drop, but then she stopped, as if she realised she wasn't that thirsty after all, and actually left some water! So it really feels as if what we do now suits her really well.
Now to the borrowed time limbo part.
Around two years ago we found out Jonna's liver wasn't tip top anymore. Switched to a better for the liver food, and more feedings per day, to make it easier for the liver. We've expected her liver to get worse, and her to die ever since, but besides walking a bit slower, and some other usual old age signs like e.g. not hearing as well, she's continued on as if there was no end in sight.
With Jonna's age, and liver, and Blomma's Insipidus, we've started to presume one of them would die first. Beata (Blomma's sister) was the healthy one, and I sort of hoped she'd live as long as Jonna. But Tuesday the 10th of May I also had managed to get an appointment for Beata at the vets.
She'd seemed quite down, and low in energy Friday evening, we thought she'd maybe caught a tick disease (though they get anti-tick treatments).
I gave Beata some of Jonna's good for the liver food, because it have a bit more energy in it than their regular food, and took a pram with me on our longer walks during the weekend, so she didn't have to walk the whole walk without would get a good chance to regain her strength again. She started to get perkier, but I called my vet clinic on Monday, and they had a time next day, after Blomma.
Beata's liver values was extremely high, one of them was off the chart. Monday the 16th we came back for an ultrasound, and her liver is huge, wrong shape, and wrong colour making it impossible to see if there's a tumour, but there was definitely some large cysts with fluid, so altogether the vet believes there's a tumour somewhere in her liver.
I asked if I needed to euthanise her there and then, but the vet said she was too happy, perky, and not in pain for that to be necessary. But her liver can shut down anytime, it could be days, or weeks. The vet told me to look out for bad poops, tiredness, and no appetite.
Eating Jonna's food, Beata is now her usual self, gallops out in the garden in the morning, rolls in the grass, and have absolutely no problem with the appetite. But I'm in limbo, wanting to hold her tight, and stop time, hoping to get to keep her as long as possible, but knowing it could be the end any day.
Then the day after the ultrasound on Monday, I suddenly realised Jonna has had a bit bad poops for around a week. I had thought it had to do with the warmer weather, but called the vet, and got an appointment to check Jonna's liver values on Thursday. They're worse than before. The vet could also feel that her liver is enlarged, and given her age, the vet thinks it's basically just as with Beata, it could be days, or it could be weeks, but she's happy, and perky, so no need to do anything yet.
She now have another food which is okay for the liver, and milder for the stomach. Her poops are a bit better, and she's her usual self. Have managed to make me give her 6 or so treats this evening.
So now I'm in a double limbo. Maybe I'll soon just have one dog, instead of three. Who knows, if Blomma's sodium levels begins misbehaving again, and the Insipidus can't be controlled, perhaps I'll soon just have my cat, before I manage to find a new suitable Lapphund.
At the same time, I'm so grateful for that I've had these three for this long. Beata, and Blomma's 14th birthday is in the second week of June, Jonna's 17th birthday is in the end of July.
If you made it to the end of this long post, here's a picture of them. (Sorry, it's sideways, tried fixing it, but I ran out of patience. It will just have to do.) Beata to the left/top, Blomma in the middle, and Jonna to the right/bottom.
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