Chulita's vet visit

Doberluv

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#1
This morning Chulita had a check-up. Her bad eye and her heart murmur were inspected. Her heart murmur is quite serious, but not worse than the last time... and he can really hear a squishiness to it and you can even feel it when you put hands over her heart. She gets along okay most of the time for now, has little episodes where she kind of gasps for air. But that may be respiratory, not the heart. Eventually, (he couldn't say how long) it will get too bad and she will have to be put down.

She lost about a lb so she's looking just right. Her teeth aren't too bad, but not great and I said I was worried about putting her under for a cleaning anymore. He wasn't worried and said that we don't have to do much fine tuning and to just let her enjoy life.

In the meantime she should have a blood work-up to see if she's a candidate for some kind of medication. And to see how her kidneys, liver etc is working.

It just sucks when they start having these kinds of problems and you wonder how long you have with them until that dreadful time.:(

She was so cute at the vet's...so sociable and friendly. Every time someone came through the door, (they have an automatic thing that sounds just like a door bell) she would yap. She just thinks it's really fun to go to the vet. She had a bright light shining into her eyes in the dark room. That kind of made her a tad bit nervous, but otherwise, it's just another social visit for her. She seems to be an old hand at most anything anyone does to her.
 
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#4
Isn't it great when they actually enjoy going to the vet and look at it as a fun time to meet more friends! It makes life for them & us so much easier. Even though we know they are getting older it does tend to hit home more when the vet actually confirms that their age could be the cause for some unwelcomed changes.

It's good to hear that she is happy and doing pretty well. Hopefully the blood work will have good results and there are meds that can help her continue being her happy self for a long time to come.
 

Doberluv

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#5
Thank you guys. Yes, she does seem to be quite all right most of the time. She does love to sleep a lot, but is up for a game and will run around my room with something from the dirty clothes basket, killing the "prey." She'll get the zoomies and do those little spins that little dogs do sometimes....then sticks her butt up into the air. She likes to chew on a Nyla bone a little bit. So, she's definitely still getting plenty of fun out of life. I told the vet she doesn't like going on walks around my neighborhood, but likes going to novel places much better, particularly Lowes. He got a kick out of that. He really seemed to like my little dog....very sweet and nice. And sooooo not in a hurry.

This is a new vet I tried....only been there once before. He's an older man and very nice and calming. He thought she shouldn't be on the raw because of the higher protein in some of these good foods. He thought too high protein could be harder on such an old dog's kidneys. I know we always wonder if vets really know all about nutrition, but maybe that....how it affects the body systems...physiology etc, he must know. So, I'm wondering what kind of good food might have a little lower protein content. Anyone familiar?

Well, thank you for the understanding and support.
 
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#6
Dober, this might answer some of your questions about the "excessive protein." :)

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=protein

And this one: http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=feeding_senior_dogs

Some of the special dietary needs of older dogs originate from

decreased activity levels,
mobility and joint issues,
decreased digestive and metabolic efficiency,
decreased immune and organ function,
increased occurrence of intestinal problems,
declining dental health.
I often see that veterinarians and food companies still promote feeding seniors foods drastically decreased in protein and fat, even though this is generally not indicated, and research has shown that especially senior dogs, as long as no other health issues require the reduction of protein for specific reasons, actually remain healthier with a higher protein level in their diet than on low-protein "Senior", "Less Active" or "Weight Management" foods.

Not only may senior dogs have a higher protein requirement because they can simply not digest and metabolize it as efficiently as younger dogs anymore and need to make up for that by increased intake, but a study also found a higher mortality rate after three years in senior dogs fed a diet lower in protein than the average adult food compared to those fed a diet higher in protein.*
 

Saeleofu

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#7
From what I have heard and researched, a reduced protein diet may reduce some symptoms of kidney disease in a dog that already has kidney disease, but does not cause kdney disease and does not affect the progression of the disease itself. Lowered protein can make a dog in renal failure feel better temporarily, and for that it may be useful, but ultimately it's not going to solve anything, fix anything, or prevent anything.
 

Doberluv

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#8
I read that Renee, on her site a little while ago. It is interesting to know. She certainly doesn't seem to be sick or anything but I guess I'll have to get the blood work done to know for sure about her kidneys. I looked at the raw food (pre-made Nature's Variety) and it says 13% crude protein. That isn't very much, is it? The vet said too, that it's the quality of the protein that matters more than the amount. So, how does one know what the quality is? Sheesh! It's too complicated. lol. All I know is they seem healthy and cheerful and they love their food.
 

Saeleofu

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#9
The raw has a low % protein because it has a high moisture content. You have to correct for that moisture content to get the real protein content.
 

Doberluv

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#10
How does that work? What does the moisture do to the protein? Hmmm. I'm a dummy about these things. So, what might the protein content be in this case of Nature's Variety when it says 13%?

Yes, I read that too...that if a dog already has kidney disease, it's hard for them to eliminate some of that extra stuff. But if their kidneys are functioning fine, they should be able to do their job without lousing up the kidneys. And that it isn't protein which causes the kidneys to get bad. I swear.....these vets need to go to more seminars or something. Why don't they read about these findings? Should I send him some of these studies? LOL.
 

PWCorgi

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#11
Here's some info on high protein:

One

Two


Three

There have been a couple recent articles that I have read regarding seniors and lower protein foods, and basically they all say that seniors shouldn't really be put on lower protein foods. Of course I'm not going to be able to find any of those articles now...
 

Saeleofu

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#12
What does the moisture do to the protein?
It dilutes it. That's why canned food has a low protein content - it's not really low, it's just diluted by water.

NV Raw Chicken:
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein (min): 13.0%
Crude Fat (min): 6.0%
Crude Fiber (max): 2.0%
Moisture (max): 68.0%
Other Nutritional Data
Carbohydrates: 2.05%
Linoleic Acid (Omega 6): 0.999%
Linolenic Acid (Omega 3): 0.249%
Arachidonic Acid: 0.115%
Moisture: 68%

So that means 32% not moisture. 13 of those 32 percentage points are protein, so 13/32=.406 or 40.6% protein as dry matter. Fat is 6/32 or 18.75%.

Even kibble has some moisture. Take my dog's food as an example - Victor Yukon River - 33% crude protein, 15% fat, and 9% moisture. 91% of the food is not moisture, so 33/91 is 36.3% protein and 16.5% fat.
 

Doberluv

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#13
Thanks PW...very informative and interesting. I'm finished with the first one and now reading through the 2nd one.

Do you think it would be rude to send those links to the vet? Or could it be seen as simply something interesting for him to read? I mean really now....it's no good that vets are spewing out old myths that have been debunked. It's really actually pretty scary if they don't stay abreast of modern science. Some of this stuff was taken from clear back in the 1900's I think it said.:rolleyes:
 

spiffy

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#15
Thanks the high heavens for small miracles. It good to know that Chulita is in good spirits and finds the vet visit exciting. Here's hoping that the vet visit gets good result and that Chulita remains with you for a long time.
 

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