Buddy is my schnauzer golden baby 5 years old now. He was diagnosed with CRF a few years ago and we have hung on through vomiting, 6 days on IV at pet hospital, phosphate binders, EPAKITIN, ondansetron for nausea, famotidine for ulcers which I'm not sure he has yet, and not sure how I will know except when a human has ulcers they hate to eat bc of pain. This guy has a great appetite now, on Rx canned food, eats a few snacks a day, dental chews, a few bites of ham, hot dogs for treats. The other med he is on is Tramadol in case he is in pain. I cringe at the vet, every time I get to see doc in the exam room she says "oh yeh, this is your dog that was poisoned" well, my dog was not poisoned. We even had him checked for Lepto because we knew that we had no chemicals out he could have gotten to....breaks my heart every time she says that. We wracked our brains with the head vet/owner of the clinic and couldn't come up with any reason, so we've just decided to quit blaming and move on and just love this baby and concentrate on that.
Here's some questions. I need advice.
He has some new symptoms.
1 Despite his good appetite, he is losing weight. What causes that? I could understand if he didn't eat......
2 his eyes are oozing brown gunk every day I wash it and it comes back. Is that dues to toxins building?
3 he is mainly white in coat color but his tummy and feet are turning reddish brown. Is that toxins?
4 he is beginning to drip after urniating, as if he can't feel the "valve shutoff"? (Just guessing that's his feeling). Never did this before. Not a problem really, just something I noticed.
5 ammonia breath/ does this indicate he is near the end?
6 very shaky, also lethargic and lays in bed a lot, but when he is outside he is almost prancing, tail up.. And wants to snuggle.
He takes two walks a day and loves it, then gets right back in crate for hours and hours.
He drinks fine, urinates normally, and his elimination is soft, but not diarrhea.
I've heard of sub q injections of fluids. My vet has never suggested it, should I suggest it? Is this going to lessen any of these symptoms or make him feel better? The bottom line is, I don't want him to hurt. Even if I knew that the ammonia smell on his breath indicated mouth ulcers for example, I believe I would ask doc to end his life gracefully sooner than later. We can't stand to think of him in pain. On the other hand, he has always been very emotional and vocal. I think if he were in pain he night moan. He did have a bout of hip pain or sciatica or something the vet couldn't find the exact cause for pain but Buddy would yelp even when we would walk close, as if to say "you made me move fast, and that hurt my hip" for that time he was on some cortisone packs and a few cortisone injections for severe allergies, (no allergies now, thank goodness) Deramaxx, then switched to Mobic. That's his history.
The vet did say that the short time he was on Mobic and Cortisone could have hurt his kidneys, looking back for causes of renal failure.
She does give me his bun and creatinine counts. I never write them down, but they worsen every time, she says.