Friday, July 31, 2015

FFHT - Phod's Annual Check Up

Today is Murphy and Stanley's FFHT. For this post you have to use one sentence, it will be in red in the story.



Yesterday was Phod's annual check up at the vet. Step one was getting him into the car. He went outside with me happily enough, but when he realized Hailey wasn't coming too, he went by a tree and made himself as flat as possible. I had to carry him to the car. I couldn't lift him all the way in, so I put his front paws in and stood behind him until he jumped in. This took about 5 minutes and I wished I had someone tape it.



He did well on the drive. He was happy to look out the window. He drooled but was not sick. It was the first time he ever had eaten that day and not thrown up in the car. Mind you I only gave him half his breakfast.

Phod was a champ at the vet. He was a little nervous, but in control. Friendly to others and cooperative during his exam.

Here is the summary of Zaphod:

Weight: 75 lbs (34 kg) - he is perfect and needs to maintain this
Teeth: A little wear but great (Man was worried)
Ears: Has a yeast infection again. We will clean it up and then make sure we are cleaning his ears at least 2 times a week. Shepherds have a lot of ear infections.
Joints: I have noticed some stiffness, especially in his hips. Woody did a full exam and didn't notice anything.  He said it is hard to tell just from feeling and listening in a large dog, but he isn't too worried. He suggested that since it is an always occurrence we don't do any more tests on it now. He said to try some glucosamine. He said it may or may not work, but there are no real side effects so worth trying. He gave us the dose and said to go to Costco because it is cheaper.  The Man wants to take some, so we will pick some up for the boys in our house!
Overall: He is great!


Now on to the Hailey talk:
First, I had noticed that a lot of foods say adult to age 6, so my first question was, should she start senior food in the winter?  He said no - she will be fine until she is 8 or 9.

Next anxiety - we talked about our options and ended up with prozac. We will pick that up tomorrow (hopefully our little drug store will have it) and try it for 30 days to see it if it helps. The main side effects are weight gain and overeating. We will watch her carefully.


This visit was very much a dog focused visit, which is totally different from Hailey's visit in the spring where we just chatted about the family. (Woody and I have been friends for 21.5 years now, so my visits are social and medical).

Tomorrow cousin Emma and Uncle Chris are coming for a visit, yay!

Catch up with you all soon!

18 comments:

  1. Good job Phod on getting an excellent report.

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  2. See Phod, that Dogstrr is not to bad. Good job guys. We don't eat senior food either and we are 8
    Lily & Edward

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  3. YAY fur Phod, you were pawfect, well done!!!!
    Have funs this weekend
    Loves and licky kisses
    Princess Leah xxx

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  4. Bravo Phod! That's great that you good good news and that you had a good car ride... I dislike cars too and it's a challenge for my mom to bring me in the car... she has only 10 kg more than me, it's a mission impossible to lift me up...
    I hope the Prozac works for Lee, my paws are crossed that it goes better with the meds.
    easy rider

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  5. I take glucosamine for my joints too. It takes about two weeks for it to build up to a therapeutic level, so don't worry if you don't notice any difference at first!

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  6. I take glucosamine for my joints too. It takes about two weeks for it to build up to a therapeutic level, so don't worry if you don't notice any difference at first!

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  7. Hari OM
    Yaayyyyy for Phod... I can just imagine the getting into the car routine! Glucosomine is definitely worth the go and as Casey says, give it time to work into the system. Hugs and wags, YAM-aunty xxx

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  8. Yay you Phod!! What great news...on your car ride.
    Hugs madi your bfff

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  9. Sounds like a great check up for Phod. Bailey takes the Cosequin DS from Costco, it seems to help his very bad hips
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Mabel

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  10. We are glad the car ride went well and The Man is coming to a logical decision! We take the same stuff from Costco for prevention.

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

    PS - Watch for the addition of our "BAR" page on Wednesday so the latest information on the Blogville Awesome Retreat in June 2016!

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  11. Sounds like a pretty good checkup!

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  12. Sounds like the pack is in great hands!
    Enjoy your visitors!!
    Smileys!
    Dory, Jakey, Arty & Bilbo

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  13. Excellent checkup! Thanks for sharing!
    Kisses
    Nellie

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  14. WoooHoooo!!! Great job Phod! YOu do betters than I do at the vettie! I cause QUITE the commotion! BOL!!! Butts, hey, everyone knows I'm there, that's fursure! I gets ear infections too, butts the Benadryls helpin' lots. I'm glads there's a plan for you Hailey! I hear that Prozac works for a lot of pups, so I'll keep my paws crossed!
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  15. Great job Phod! I'm glad he got a good bill of health! Koda just had his vet trip (to be neutered) yesterday!
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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  16. We're glad to hear Phod is doing well and had a good check up. We hope the meds help Hailey too.

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  17. I've b going back to read about Hailey's anxiety and treatment. Sydney is also taking Prozac and we're seeing a decrease in appetite. She eats the same amount as before but it takes her all day to finish it. It's too soon to know if the drugs are going to help but we're hopeful. My adult dogs all take glucosamine and fish oil for aging joints and it helps. I started them on tumeric a few months ago and I started taking it at the same time. I can really notice the difference in my arthritic fingers.

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  18. I've b going back to read about Hailey's anxiety and treatment. Sydney is also taking Prozac and we're seeing a decrease in appetite. She eats the same amount as before but it takes her all day to finish it. It's too soon to know if the drugs are going to help but we're hopeful. My adult dogs all take glucosamine and fish oil for aging joints and it helps. I started them on tumeric a few months ago and I started taking it at the same time. I can really notice the difference in my arthritic fingers.

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