Zander needs major vibes

[Lyzelle]

Zander has been doing okay. Normal breathing, no coughing. He slept most of the day with us.

We went out to get some food a bit ago. So, Zander apparently has a death wish. Or maybe he was thinking he wanted to get better faster, so he ripped open the bottle of Denamarin and ate half of it. On one hand, I got him to puke it up. On the other, it seems to not be lethal unless in huge doses. So now I hope the heaving doesn't mess around with his lungs. Ugggggh. My heart can't handle this.

I know the statistics and I know how he is doing. And Ai have no idea how to feel about any of it.

In the meantime I am doping him up with Benedryl though.

 

[ruffiangirl]

Silly dog!! I'm glad he is feeling better after having the air released at the very least. Here's sending vibes that he continues to improve

 

[Toller_08]

Poor guy. And you. Scary stuff! I hope he will be ok. Glad he is doing better today.

 

[Lyzelle]

Thank you everyone for all your support and vibes!

The research and information on this type of this is really minimal and scattered. All of the "research" (a couple of studies with a handful of dogs) says that our chances are slim. Owner testimonies on random areas of the internet like blogs and forums say that we have more of a 50/50 chance. And a re-occurrence could be tomorrow, next week, a month, or 3 years from now. But one thing is pretty straight forward:

He won't ever have an active lifestyle again. He won't be able to run like he used to, his excitement levels will have to be controlled. His allergies will have to be strictly monitored and he might have to be on steroids for them - if his liver can be managed in the next week or so. His food hoovering is no more. One bad cough, one bad sneeze, and we start all over again.

Honestly, I'm not sure what sort of life that will give him. He's a lazy old man dog, though. He is usually pretty happy laying around the house and soaking up sun in the back yard. But, I don't know. I already micro-manage him. I almost can't imagine becoming MORE of a paranoid Momma. I'll be terrified to leave him alone.

He is currently on the Denamarin for his liver. Antibiotics for controlling any infection that might be in his lungs, or any that could have been introduced while they removed the air. We go back in a week to figure out what to do with his liver.

If we get far enough down the road, I might opt for a CT to see if there are any bullae on his lungs, so we might be able to re-evaluate his lifestyle and recovery a bit. Unfortunately, knocking him out could be dangerous because it is messing with his respiratory rate. I've run through ever reason I can think of, and there aren't many. Kennel cough isn't likely, or there would have been more coughing and hacking going back at least a couple weeks. Allergies is likely. Foxtail is possible, leaning on unlikely.

I have him doped up on benedryl to keep him calm and cooperative. He's been super lovey dovey since we came home, and other than the tearing up the bottle of Denamarin, pretty calm and happy to lay around and take it easy.

 

[Sparrow]

I'm so sorry you guys are going through this. Just take it one day at a time, and I am sure you will be able to think everything through more clearly after you have had a bit more time for it to sink in. I hope his lungs heal well and it doesn't happen again.

 

[elegy]

Scary scary stuff. Lots of vibes Zander's way!

 

[meepitsmeagan]

So sorry you are going through this. I hope that you guys are able to find a nice balance and that his quality of life stays up there even though there will be many restrictions.

 

[SaraB]

Just caught up with this, I'm so sorry that you and Zander are having to deal with this! I am glad though that he is in capable, loving hands.

 

[Lyzelle]

Thank you for the support everyone. We are out of the major 24 hour window, so I made a new thread here for his recovery and I will update it regularly.

http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=271369