Old dog keeping us awake most nights.

[zeta1454]

Update on Louie. My Wife collected some tablets (15 in all ) from the robbers today to settle his stomach but only succeeded in upsetting mine. The cost of tablets only...£85. What a rip off!

So sorry to hear of Louie’s issues. You mention that he has been prescribed a painkiller and wondered if you had checked with the vet as to the likelihood that this is causing the issues with his poo and sickness. I don’t know what was prescribed but, just as an example of certain side effects - Metacam which is commonly prescribed for pain in dogs has these warnings:

“ Do not use in dogs suffering from gastrointestinal disorders such as irritation and haemorrhage, impaired hepatic, cardiac or renal function and haemorrhagic disorders.”

And lists these side effects:

“ Typical adverse reactions of NSAIDs such as loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhoea, faecal occult blood, lethargy and renal failure have very rarely been reported from post-marketing safety experience. Very rare cases of haemorrhagic diarrhoea, haematemesis, gastrointestinal ulceration and elevated liver enzymes have been reported from post-marketing safety experience.”

The full link for Metacam is here:

https://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/?id=-4 ... _printview

I know personally of several people whose dogs have suffered serious reactions to Metacam in particular but you can check the data sheets for any prescribed medication online if you have not been given the data sheet when the product was prescribed at the NOAH site. The description of some of the reactions as ‘rare’ or ‘very rare’ can be taken with a certain amount of caution as so few vets ever report adverse reactions to medication and few dog owners may even realise the issues their dog has are related to the medication.

https://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/

Louie’s issues may not be due to whatever medication he is on but it is something to check out with any dog who is or becomes ill while taking medication.

With our dogs if they ever have digestive issues I use Tree Barks powder and homeopathic Nux Vomica:

https://www.dorwest.com/product/tree-ba ... cats-200g/

I do hope the prescribed tablets help Louie too.

[al shookup]

Latest on Louie,
After further tests it appears the vet is confident Louie has Pancreatitis (apparently fairly common in mini Schnauzers) and he is now on anti inflammatory tablets as well as the others. If no improvement they will look at diet change.

[al shookup]

Latest on Louie. He has been having problems for weeks now and further tests have shown that he is suffering from Pancreatitis which is fairly common in mini Schnauzers.
We have changed his diet to reduce his fat intake and have him on IAMS senior kibble and FORTHGLADE low fat wet food. He is on the last of his medication so the next couple of weeks will show if we have been successful in calming the inflammation down. He seems much happier in himself so fingers crossed.

[zeta1454]

Sorry to hear that Louie is still unwell and that he has been diagnosed with pancreatitis. Studies have estimated that the risk of a miniature schnauzer suffering this condition in their lifetime is about 5% so it is not very common but many miniature schnauzers do have high blood triglyceride levels (high levels of fat in the blood) which is thought to be why, as a breed, they are more prone to pancreatitis than some other dogs.

Glad to hear that Louie is much happier in himself now. That is good news and I hope he does have a full recovery.

[al shookup]

Thanks Zeta!