My Eldest Golden Retriever, Poppy(aged 11years) has had occasion to be a bit Senile over the past year or so, fair enough, she has spells of 'being in a world of her own'. Today she has been her 'normal' self, until about an hour ago and she has been, vomiting all her dinner up, then walking back to the water bowl, drinking, going back into the Garden and squatting as if she was weeing but no puddle, also vomiting up the water too, also panting(but it is quite warm here) she must have done this on and off upteen times. She has now layed down and is napping.

Help
Sweep :(

Mmmmm, I'd opt for the vets if possible.......but you know your dog best :-)

could be a blockage, could be cystitis (sp?)......

How is Poppy today? Hope all is well

Well after her strange behaviour last evening, she slept for the rest of the evening, when I put all the dogs out before bed I had to wake her to put her outside, she went out did what she had to and then went in to bed as usual. This morning I had to again wake her to put her outside, but she seems slow but not acting as she did yesterday
She is at presnt curled up in her bed.!!!

Sweep X ;)

Just thought I'd update you regarding Poppy - Since her strange episode she is as she was before, just plodding around - tired but not drinking excessively or vomiting and she is eating well!!??

Thanks for responses

Sweep X

Hi Sweep,
Pleased Poppy has picked up again. They worry us at times don't they !
Sara

Remember the problem with Poppy my golden oldie - well she has been fine until last night and the same problem is back, no sickness as yet, just panting, drinking, squatting then resting - then the same again? I have only given her a small amount of food this morning and she has kept that down. I am going to see how she gets on today and take her to the Vet tomorrow.

I have a bad feeling about this.
Sweep :(

Sweep, hope all will be well might be a virus I will keep my fingers crossed
and keep reading this post for up dates

Luv Pat xx

Have just been out for about an hour and Poppy has been squatting and weeing a little all over the Kitchen floor!! Looks like we may be off to the Vets?!
Sweep x

Fingers crossed things work out ok for you and Poppy. Could it be cystitis?

Fiona
x x x

I hope everything goes well for you at the vets, and that poppy gets better soon.

Well, I managed to get an appointment at the Vets and of course I had to explain the 'episode' of 2 weeks ago and what she has been like since with yesterday and todays info too. The Vet wanted a urine sample and Poppy bless her, did a wee on the consulting room floor so it was just a case of using that!! The test showed nothing out of the ordinary, Poppy was checked over and nothing really is apparent, so she has a course of Anti biotics and tablets for the pain(she is in a bit of discomfort). But the Vet and I have more or less come to the same conclusion, that she may have had a minor bleed in the brain 2 weeks ago and possible another yesterday. I have to ring the Vet tomorrow morning with an update and also Monday too.

Poppy has taken her tablets under much duress, which usually she is no problem taking them, she doesn't want her dinner, she is now asleep.

It's just a case of wait and see :(
Sweep x

sweep, I have everything crossed for you both xxx

Me too. Good luck Sweep and Poppy:)
Ali

I hope Poppy is on the road to feeling better.

Poppy is back to her 'normal' self again - What is occuring?

Sweep x

Dont know sweep, but really pleased to hear it, whatever the reason

Spoke too soon - pacing and squatting again!!

Sweep x

Up during the night with Poppy - peeing in the House(it smells) have to contact Vet tomorrow with update, what will he suggest!

Sweep x

Hugs to you both :(
LynnT

Hi Sweep - I do hope Poppy is OK. Your comment on the wee smelling - did you mean a "different" smell ? If so could that be a sign of an infection - bladder or kidney ?

Hope you're able to get to the root of the problem so you can work on it.
((((Hugs))))
Sara

Thanks for the 'hugs' SaraW & Lynn T - the smell I mentioned could be the wee, but it seems more like Poppy herself smells, but I guess that then could be the wee on her coat! She was checked at the Vets on Friday for any Urine infection but it was clear, slight trace of blood but nothing significant, as the Vet said nothing to say, "ah ha that's what it is".
At present Poppy is still pacing in and out for a couple of hours doing the squatting and panting then resting for an hour or so and then off we go again! Poppy has eaten some dinner today but not her usual amount. She is taking her anti biotics some what reluctantly, which isn't like her.
You can imagine 100 and 1 things going through my mind as to what it could be and as always we fear the worst.
I will just have to wait to see what the Vet advises tomorrow when I update him on Poppy's Problem.

It is going to be a long night!
Sweep x

awww Sweep - it is so hard not to worry and imagine allsorts isn't it.

Can bladder stones cause anything like this I wonder or would the urine sample have picked it up ? Just thinking if she had stones would it make her bladder feel full so she thinks she needs to keep weeing ? I don't even know if I'm clutching at straws here and if dogs get them but so hoping it's something simple !

Take care, Sara

been searching on Google and found this site re bladder stones Bladder stones in dogs

The following is taken from the site :

Symptoms
Typical symptoms include:

Straining to urinate (stranguria)
Blood in the urine (hematuria)
Urinating small amounts frequently (pollakiuria)
There might also be excess urination (polyuria), pain in the rear quarters, reluctance to jump or play, or even lethargy and a poor appetite.

Some of it seems to relate to Poppy but not all I suppose. My ex used to have Kidney stones and the pain would make him vomit sometimes. Could her vomiting be caused by pain I wonder ?
Let us know how you get on please Sweep
Sara

That is just what I thought of too, and I know that dogs can get several different sorts of bladder stones!

SaraW & Brainless Guess what!!!
Well news is that yesterday after speaking to the Vet in the morning he said as there was no change the next course of action would be Xrays. My hubby and I went out in the morning just for an hour and when we came back Poppy had peed in the hallway but there was somemthing in it .......... a stone!!! Contacted the Vet and then took it down to the Surgery to send off for analysis(should get it back this week) Poppy has passed 2 more stones that we know of & we have to wait and see the outcome of the test, but evidently there were no crystals attached to the stone, which I was told means they hadn't been there long?

So possibley the 'episode' of Poppy's funny turn and these stones are not connected.

Sweep X

Several members of my family have had kidney stones. My Dad's sisters daughter, and my Dad! That is why I thought the fruitless painful straining and wetting were down to these!

Sicknes during these attacks is also common!

Aw sweep,
I've been following your postings. My sympathies to you. I went through similar problems with my aging Yorkie...especially the illogical incontinence right after being outside. We discovered her kidneys were in serious failure, so I had her pts out of kindness. She just wasn't herself by then, mentally either. I hope yours isn't headed in the same direction and she improves soon. :)

I do understand the 'smell' you're talking about. It's like a permanent sickroom/nursing home odor. No matter what you do, it hangs around in the air and carpet :( It's frustrating and it gets very hopeless after a while. Hang in there. You're doing everything you can. Don't lose confidence in yourself. I'm rooting for you both.
take care,
toodles

hopefully soon you'll be able to know what to do to help her Sweep :) At least if you get to the bottom of part of the problem with her it is better than nothing.
Hugs to Poppy
Sara

Thank you all for your posts re:Poppy.
Eophania - That is exactly how I would discribe the Smell - Sickroom/Nursing Home!!

She is such a treasure and going through this constant weeing(bless her) she has the look of total embarressment when she has done it indoors, but we know it can't be helped.
We are hoping that the results of the stone analysis will be back by Friday, as we are going away on Saturday!! Poppy isn't going to the Kennels with the other Dogs, she is going to be looked after at Home by my Son and his Girlfriend, I am also leaving Sweep(my boy - Poppy's Son) out of Kennels to keep his Mum company.

Thank you again for you help and wishes - Will update when I get the analysis report ;) They are a worry aren't they!?
Sweep XXX

Sweep,
I just received my Dog Fancy yesterday. Amazingly enough for coincidences, this article was in it. It's long, but I hope you find it of interest and some help :)
toodles

Hope for slipping seniors: Medicine helps dogs with cognitive dysfunction syndrome
By Arnold Plotnick, DVM Sept. US Dog Fancy pp 26-27.

Tim Nolan of New York wasn't too concerned when Colby, his geriatric Shih Tzu stopped greeting him at the door. "I figured that at 16 years old, he wouldn't come leaping out of this dog bed anymore." But a few weeks later, Colby shocked Nolan by urinating on one of the kitchen table legs. "He can be temperamental," Nolan says, "but he has never had an accident in the house."

Fearing a urinary tract infection, Nolan took Colby to his vet, where a complete blood count, serum chemistry analysis, urinalysis, urine culture, and a thyroid test all came back normal. "My vet also grilled me about Colby's behavior. Some or the things that I reported, Like Colby's increased sleeping, his wandering around the apartment at night, his occasional staring off into space -- I thought they were normal, old-age changes," Nolan says. "I was suprised to learn that Colby might have cognitive dysfunction syndrome."

Over the past decade, veterinarians and researches have increasingly recovnized a syndrome in geriatric dogs similar to Alzheimer's disease in humans. Termed cognitive dysfunction syndrome, this decline in memory, learning, perception, and awareness can manifest itself in several ways that dog owners need to recognize.

Much of the tratment for CDS involves drug therapy, including L-deprenyl ---an enzyme inhibitor. About 69-77 percent of dogs with CDS improve within the first month of therapy, according to a study published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 1998.

Because of chemical changes in the brain, dogs begin to act like their formal selves. Dogs that improve need to receive medication for life, unless the syndrome progresses to the point where drug therapy no longer controls the dog's condition. Most dogs live 18-24 months after diagnosis and die of other health-related problems.

Changes in diet might also help your CDS-affected dog. Vitamins E and C, L-carnitine, lipoic acid, and fish oils have been shown to reduce symptoms. Hill's Pet nutrition in Topeka, Kan. earlier this year introduced a veterinarian-prescribed food that addresses CDS.

You can take steps to make life easier for your dog -- and you. Dogs with decreased fecal or urinary control might need more frequent trips outdoors, installation of a dog door, or reinstitution of paper training, especially if other medical conditions contribute to the problem.

If your dog has hearing difficulty, you may need to use hand signals or keep a 10-ft leash on your dog to maintain control and communication.

Colby responded dramatically to treatment. "About three weeks after I began giving him L-deprenyl, he stopped pacing around the apartment. I no longer get those occasional blank stares," says Nolan. "Best of all, I'm getting my usual tail-wagging, noisy barking greeting when I come home from work."
Arnold Plotnick, DVM, is a board-certified veterinary internist practicing in New York

Inserted box within article
Clinical Signs of CDS
If your dog exhibits one or more of these symptoms of canine dysfunction syndrome, consult your vet.

*Disorientation. Your dog seems lost and confused, and doesn't recognize familiar people or places.

*Altered or decreased interaction with family. The dog exhibits less interest in receiving attention and doesn't tolerate petting like it once did.

*Decreased greating behavior. When you arrive at home, your dog no longer greets you or greets you with much less entusiasm.

*Changes in sleep and wake cycle. Though a dog might sleep less at night, it sleeps more in a 24-hour period

*Increased aimless activity. Your dog wanders aimlessly or paces.

*Loss of housetraining. The dog urinates or defecates indoors and signals less to go outdoors.