NINA

[Olesia711]

WAHOO!!!!!!!!! Great news!!!! So glad to hear that Nina has responded so well to SLippery Elm. We have had other EPI dogs that simply needed a little bit of SLippery Elm every day and their poos were great..... just like what you are reporting. WHile others only needed to use it to fix a problem and did not have to use it every day. So this is something you will need to figure out.

In the meantime, great news and thank you for sharing!!!!!!!!

[Chance]

Oh that's great! You've had problems on and off since the beginning. Mostly on. So 5 days, take that as a win!

Well after a few days on gastro elm, I have to cut back. Poop is still very solid. But very large. And she went 4 times today. Though she was active ALL day.

[Tuckaboo Pam]

Soooooo, Miss Nina shook hear head so hard, she got a hematoma on the tip of her ear. It just started a few days ago, and touching it didn't cause her any pain, so that was lucky. She acted like she had an ear infection, so I started treating it.

A $700 surgery was recommended, and from what I've read that was reasonable. However, I opted for the $110 needle draining, followed by steroids & a re-check.

The reason I came to you all is, to ask if any of you have had luck with what he called "soft compression". He said to Google it, but all I find is ear wraps not meant for ears that are erect. Apparently, soft compression may decrease the likelihood it will fill back up with blood.

Just in case anyone has an idea, I thought I'd post this. Thank you!---Pam

[Olesia711]

Yikes Pam..... once thing after another, eh?!

I personally don't have experience with this, but a neighbor of mine had a little dachshund dog that had this issue and i remember they had it needle drained first... and it worked... for a while.... but then it flared up again, so she had to have surgery. I don't remember the details, except that the needle draining worked for a long while and then it didn't. I would love to ask for clarification, but the neighbor has since moved.... SO.... just sharing the little bit that i know.........

[Tuckaboo Pam]

That's what the vet said would/could happen, but if we have to go back it'll be $50 for a re-do. I know they really want to do things the right way, but I appreciate being able to opt for a back-up plan. If it keeps filling up we'll bite the bullet & pay for surgery.

Funny, on the receipt it says "Cheap Hematoma Drain". HAAAAA!

[Olesia711]

cheap?????!

Nothing about dogs is "cheap" .....................................

[Chance]

Oh poor Nina. I don't have personal experience with this. If my understanding is correct, they sometimes recommend surgery vs draining because if the risk of it having a cauliflower look in healing. Vs a normal looking ear if surgery is done. But I am not sure.

I probably would choose the "draining" option after a million questions. Surgery kinda makes me nervous for setbacks :/ it seems quite easy to cause setbacks.

In a few months time, I need to think about getting the looney toon spayed. That has me concerned about setbacks too :/

[Tuckaboo Pam]

Well, maybe blame it on Hurrican Debby & the low pressure system, but the poo has gone south.

I'm going to try increasing the enzymes for a few days, but if that doesn't help I'll do a course of Tylan.

My question---Do I still give slippery elm, and do I give them at the same time?

Thanks All---P

[Olesia711]

If Nina is extra sensitive.... it is possible that the stress of an extreme change in weather, like a hurricane, can have an effect on the stools.... HOWEVER... that being said, my guess is that it would be wise to just go ahead and give an increase in enzymes.... for a few days... see if that makes a difference/corrects the issue.... if not, then the next step would be to try SLippery Elm.... for a couple of days... if that fails, THEN i would implement a course of Tylan.

And yes, you can give Slippery Elm with Tylan,.... but if you do the once-thing-at-a-time as mapped out above, you will figure out if Slippery Elm is needed or not if/when you progress to Tylan

[Tuckaboo Pam]

Olesia---Thank you.

Now here's another thing. When I made her dinner last night, I happened to have my reading glasses on, and I could actually see. A week ago, I found a sample pack of Diane's, and I placed it on top of other enzymes that were human grade & developed differently. I had used all of Diane's, and was back to the other, which I wanted to end the jar with.

In the jar, I noticed a sort of reaction, with some curly pieces that were,'t there before. The human grade ones were always more granular, and Diane's more powdery, so I knew when I was finished with hers. The texture of the human grade enzymes was different than before I put Diane's on top.

Isn't that interesting, and might I have interfered with the effficacy by putting them together?