Traneman

OK I will try and get this written, last night at 11 pm Pebbles had a stroke ( we think) left her incapacitated until about 2am

and she was able to move her front legs.

By this afternoon she had not eaten anything or drank any water,her hind end was still not functioning.

We got her to the Vet at 4pm and he helped us decide to put her at rest,why is it if its the best thing to do ,its so hard to do.

She went VERY peacefully and we were by her side.

I want to Thank again everyone for their caring and uplifting comments We have a lot of good memories of her and her brother BamBam and those make us smile.

She will be better now. Us, well that is another story,just going to take some time.

Frank and Mary

Well we are still doing a juggling act trying to get Pebbles eating. We have so many different foods for her it is crazy.She will eat about 1/2 can,then the next day wont eat it at all.

Tonight it was cube steak, she ate it like crazy.

The Vet called today to see how she was doing and agrees with everyone else,forget about the KD and just let her eat

whatever she wants.

I will keep everyone posted.

Thanks to all.

I think we are fighting a loosing battle. Pebbles will one day eat her food that is good for her KD and other days she wont.

The last 3 days she wont touch anything we give her that is good for her.

I am starting to think that at 14 years of age what is the best way for her to pass on.

She is still active but now sleeps way more then ever,still drinks water well.

So I guess my question is this, Is it better (easier) for her to die of kidney failure or starving.

Like I said she will eat most anything that is bad for her kidneys and would just like to get some opinions

as to what other people think at this stage.

Thank you to everyone for helping us through the latter part of our Best friends life.

Frank and Mary

Thank you, I will join that group.

We did get her to eat lean hamburger and rice tonight so at least we feel better for tonight. She is still drinking

water

Will be doing more research tomorrow and seeing the Vet.

Just thought I would follow up whats happening here.

2 weeks ago Bam Bam, Pebbles brother died. SHe was doing good until 2 days ago and she has stopped eating her

dietary food for her kidney desease. The only thing she will eat now is turkey and a hot dog.

Going to try and get her back on her dietary food tonight and hopefully she eats it.

I think the time is coming near for her as well.

SO SAD.

Guess I need to call the vet or maybe someone here might know.

When do you suggest I take Pebbles back in to get a blood test done to see how she is progressing.

Just curious if we are doing all the right things,the Vet Tech said she could go back to stage 2.

Any thoughts

Well I wanted to give an update,Pebbles is doing great tonight,this morning she ate about 1/4 can of food and this evening she ate 1/2 can. She has her spunk back and seems to be hydrated well (the vet taught us how to check).She is drinking water and really seems her old self. We found " Prescription diet canine Renal Health" she seems to love it.

The one thing I did not mention in my first post is she is healing well from maggots. She is long haired and we knew she had diarrhea but didn't know flys would cause a problem. We noticed her running from one place to another,then another. The emergency Vet shaved her and removed all the bugs. We were devastated and disgusted that we didnt know what was going on.

It has been a VERY stressful 6 days for us,but seeing her come out of it is exciting. I know we are not out of the woods yet but things are looking up.

We also have her Brother "Bam Bam" he is mostly blind and diagnosed with diabetes about a year ago. We give him shots,watch what we feed him and test him often and he is doing well. So we are prepared to do whatever we have to to extend a good quality life for as long as we can.

I want to thank everyone for their in put and encouragement, we know we will have to learn a lot about renal disease

But seeing her happy and getting better is awesome.

Thanks again everyone and I will post updates from time to time..

Our little 13 yo Pebbles was diagnosed with stage 3 kidney failure this weekend.

The last week she started not eating well so we tried different foods beside her eukanuba senior. We could not get her to eat anything for 2 days so Saturday we took her to the emergency room. She spent until this am there so they could give her iv's as she was dehydrated.

She is doing better but she still wont eat much, the vet said at this point it does not matter what she eats she just needs to eat, If we can get her to eat then we can slowly change her diet to one suited for her stage 3 kidney failure.

I am baffled, we have tried most all caned dog food including Old Roy. Baby foods, hamburger/rice,chicken/rice and hot dogs. Tonight she did eat 1/2 of a hot dog and a spoonful of Prescription Diet renal Health.

Does anyone know of something that a Border Collie just cant refuse ?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Thanks for the reply's every one. I am going to take her in Monday and have some blood tests done at least.

This is the 4th episode that she has had that we know of ,she has come out of them in a couple of hours.

Hopefully they can find something by doing the test.

We are guessing Strokes. She just lays down and cant get back up for awhile. She shakes alot after also but I think its because she is scared.

Wouldn't a seizure be more like shaking violently ?

Our little 14 year old girl has had 5 little strokes that she has come out of pretty well.

She has had 2 this past week,it takes her about an hour to start walking again and in about 2

hrs she seems fine.

The Vet said there is really nothing we can do, is this true?

Every time she has one it breaks our hearts.

Thanks for any advice.

Bam Bam is also 13 years old and is starting to have problems with his back end.

We were thinking of giving him Rimadyl to help it.

A couple of years ago his sister Pebbles hurt her left leg and the vet put her on it but she did not do well with it. Had a bleeding nose for a day until we took her off of it.

Question we have is it more likely that Bam Bam would have the same problem ?

Would like to find something to give them during their aging years to make them more comfortable.

As always,

Thanks for the advice

Well she actually had a bad tooth.. The vet said it was hurting her so that is why she was acting that way.

Will see for sure in a day or so.

Thanks for the reply's.

Thanks everyone, We will take her to our vet here, the closest doggy eye Doctor is 200 miles away.

Is it possible that a Border Collie can go blind or partially blind in one eye?

Pebbles is 12 years old and has one brown eye and one blue eye. Just recently if we go to pet her or give her treats from the right side ( the brown eye) she gets scared and cowers. If we retry from the left side a few minutes later there is no problem. Also she gets very tentative coming up the stairs at night, if we turn on the light no problem.

any thoughts on this.

Thank you

He is on Novolin for insulin, yes I meant 17 units. We feed him 3/4 cup of Eukanuba Senior in the am and 3/4 cup in the pm.

The Vet was very excited with the curve and even more excited that we are taking his diabetes seriously.

I asked him about the increase at 4 pm and then drop at 6 pm. He thought it might be due to the insulin wearing off ( around 4 pm) and then the drop at 6 pm due to not eating.

The one thing I am trying to find now is dog treats for diabetic dogs, He loves treats and the only treat he gets now is a little cheese.

I need to take a video of him, I can say "Bam Bam shot ! " and he lays down, I can say "Bam Bam test ! and he sits and raises his lip alittle. Its amazing on how smart this breed is.

To think at the beginning of this I was petrified of the future, Me and Bam Bam are bonded more then ever now.

OK Here it is.

Sunday May 17th

8am 236

8:10am fed

8:15 Gave 17ml shot

10:00 am 156

12:00 pm 115

2:00 pm 129

4:00 pm 150

6:00 pm 125

6:10 pm fed

6:20 pm Gave 17ml shot.

I will send this to the Vet in the morning but how is it looking.

Thanks

Frank

Yes he does seem like himself during the day, I will do the curve tomorrow (Sunday) I will be home all day.

And report the finding here.

Thanks

I have checked him several times before we feed him but nothing like every four hours.

Tomorrow I will be home all day and could do a curve. Would you suggest starting just before feeding him at 7am

them at 10am,1pm.4pm, then we usually feed him around 6.

Would that be a good curve.

Thanks, I cant wait until we get this under control and are comfortable with his diabetes.

Frank

No he wants me to bring him in on the 19th of this month to check him. Iam just worried about his blood sugar getting too low.

We live in a small town and sometimes our Vet gets overwhelmed and kind of hard to get a hold of..I am actually getting most of my info from everyone here.

I have checked Bam Bam several times and so far his lowest reading has been 185 just before feeding.

Thanks for all the input.

Frank

He wants to check him every couple of weeks, I am a little worried about going that long until we get him regulated.

I do have another question,Wednesday we have an event we have to be at and wont be home for his normal feeding time which is around 530-600pm. We have someone to feed him at that time but I wont be able to give him his shot until 830 or 9pm. Would this be a problem or should I try and find someone who can give him his insulin shot.

Thanks

Well I finally broke down this am and tried the inside of his lip, that worked and he didnt seem to mind it at all.

I am excited that the reading was 231 (fasting) a lot better then the last reading the vet had at 450.

​I will call the Vet tomorrow but does anyone know how often I should test him?

Thank you everyone,with everyone's help and encouragement this is not as big of a deal as I thought it would be.And its so great seeing him getting close to being his normal self.

Thanks again

Frank

ok ran into a road block today, I was trying to get a blood sample to do a BC test.

I was trying to prick the inside of his ear, I did it 2 times in one ear and once in the other ( he is such a good boy)

my problem was that I barely got any blood,not even a good drop for the tester.

The vet told us either his ear or his gums, I didnt like the gums part.

Is there any other place I can try and get a sample from?

Thanks

Well all went way better then I had imagined at the vets office. Bam Bam did not even flinch.

The vet is starting him off with a lower dose to begin with just to be safe and I need to prick his ear and do a test tomorrow

.

With his Blood sugar at 450 he said there is no way he would drop to low.And over the next 2 weeks depending on his numbers the vet will adjust the insulin.

I think in a week this will be old hat and just part of our daily routine,we just need to figure out what to do if we leave for a weekend and cant take him.

Thanks again everyone.

Frank

Thanks everyone,our vet had an emergency today so we had to reschedule to see him tomorrow.

I have already made a list of questions,my biggest one is this.

We usually feed Bam Bam at 6:30 am and around 5:20 to 6:00pm.We leave for work at 7am.

Should I change my schedule for a few days to be able to be home with him in case the insulin drops his blood sugar to much.

Thank you for the advice to have Karo syrup on hand, my wife has a couple of packets of sugar in her purse just in case she needs it.

Thanks all for the reassurance that everything will be fine.

Frank