Power of the Paw Please

Hi,

It's Emma's mom and I just wanted to share with you some new developments.  We had posted previously about Emma not eating.  The doctor said it's unfortunately a part of the aging process.  He prescribed a steroid to help with inflammation and it will also increase appetite and increase thirst to help motivate her to eat and drink.  To start with it's 2 pills a day for 5 days, then 1 pill a day for 5 days and then 1 pill every other day until gone.  Emma did awesome on the 2 pills a day.  Then when we went to 1 pill a day she started showing signs of not wanting to eat as much though she was still eating more than she had been prior to the Prednisone.  It's still very upsetting to see her reverting back to leaving uneaten food in her bowl after showing such promising signs only 5 days earlier. This morning she looked at her breakfast and took a couple bites and left the kitchen spitting kibble out as she went.  Tonight she did eat 1 cup of kibble mixed with 1 1/4 cups cooked macaroni and about 1 cup of cooked beef liver.  The doctor said to try feeding her beef liver because it has a lot of nutrients in it.  We try to rotate feeding her chicken and rice or beef liver and macaroni or hamburger with either rice or macaroni with her kibble at each meal.  She doesn't like the rice very much so my plan is to see how long she will cooperate with the macaroni.  She doesn't seem to like any kind of dry kibble anymore so we have decided to try feeding her only things she is happy to eat and after she is reliably eating on a regular basis then gradually adding back the kibble. 

We were concerned part of her aversion to eating might be related to all the pills she has had to take since about last Nov.  She's had recurring infections of some kind or another.  Most troublesome has been the cyst/infected gland on her leg that she was licking and making worse.  Each time that flares up it takes 2 rounds of antibiotics to clear it up.  We were trying to "hide" those pills in food.  She accidentally chewed into them a few times and I'm sure they didn't taste very pleasant and she's hesitant if not all out refusing to take food and treats we offer by hand.  Stupid me even tried hiding the pills in her meals and she found them.  The vet has advised we give all pills separate from any food so there is no negative association with the food we give her.  I feel really horrible thinking we may have contributed to her not wanting to eat.   

Does anyone have any other suggestions to encourage eating?

The not so good news is she is eating and still lost another 2 pounds in about a week.  The doctor says unfortunately that may happen because her body is not adequately using the food she is eating.  Even if we tried to feed a high calorie food like puppy food her body wouldn't be able to utilize it and it would just be eliminated via bowel movements or diarrhea. 

Emma's rear end is becoming weak from the loss of muscle and we have to try and keep her active to prevent further muscle loss and weakness.

I asked the doctor what we do if she continues to lose weight while eating more or what happens if she doesn't want to eat.  He said that's when the organs will begin to shut down and those are the animals that will usually pass away in their sleep.  He said it would be peaceful and she wouldn't be in any pain.  Those were the most difficult words I have ever had to process. I can't lose my best friend, my heart and soul girl, the love of my life. 

I don't understand what happened.  She's always been this big happy perky full of life girl with an I'll eat anything appetite.  Everyone that sees her has always thought she's just a young dog.  They're amazed to learn her actual age.  Now, I look at my sweet baby and I see a very old and very slow dog.  I see a much different dog than I had only 8 months ago.   

I wish I could go back and make her life better.  I wish I had never broken promises of walks and play times and homemade goodies.  I wish I had never at any time raised my voice or gotten upset about anything.  I wish I had spent less time on the computer, less time doing whatever it was and more time with her. 

I hate writing such a depressing post.  I know people like happy and uplifting stories and events.  I wish I had one to tell.  Hopefully our next post will be better.  I plan on making the rest of Emma's days happy and enriching.  I want to make sure to allow her plenty of opportunities to do the things she enjoys like laying in the yard soaking up the sunshine, going for car rides, walks, drive thru hamburgers and God willing she will still be with us for our annual doggie vacation in November.

If we are absent from Blogville its because we are trying to spend as much time together as possible.  I will try to post to our blog as time allows and if I don't make it around to comment on our friends blogs please remember you are not forgotten we are thinking about all of you and hoping you are having a wonderful summer and Good Luck to all our friends competing in the Blogville Olympics.  Best of Luck !

This is Emma's first professional photograph.  I was thinking her very first collar was the black and white spotted cow pattern collar but after finding this photo I forgot she had a plain one first.  Yeah, we went through the cow phase with her.  She politely indulged our craziness.  What is it with big dogs that have spots?  For some reason we find it fun to dress them in cow prints.  Did you know she even has "cow spots" in her mouth?  A little Emma trivia.

This is Emma's annual photo from 2011. 

My sweet wonderful Emma I pray your weight, health, strength and appetite will be renewed.  I love you!