# Happy 12th Birthday Toby



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Yesterday my Toby Dog turned 12! 
Happy birthday to my heart dog.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

:drummer:Happy birthday Toby , happy birthday!!:drummer:

We hope you have a great day and your Mom gives you lots of hugs and treats!


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Happy Birthday Toby. Hope your day is filled with all your favorite things!!!!!!


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

Happy 12th Birthday to Toby!!!!! Have a great day sweetie!


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## C's Mom (Dec 7, 2009)

Happy Birthday Toby!


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## maggie1951 (Apr 20, 2007)

Happy birthday Toby have a great day and make sure you get spoiled.


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## Bob Dylan (Mar 31, 2009)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOBY!!!!!!! and many many more.
Hugs and Kisses from Dylan, Frankie & Erica.


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## GoldenCamper (Dec 21, 2009)

Happy birthday to your heart dog Toby, hope it was a good one! arty:


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Aww, Happy Birthday Toby!!!!


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## magiclover (Apr 22, 2008)

Happy Birthday Toby!! 12 years old is wonderful!!!


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

Happy 12th Birthday Toby!! Hope you got lots of special treats!


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## Abbydabbydo (Jan 31, 2007)

Happy Birthday Toby!


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## Adriennelane (Feb 13, 2008)

Wow! Happy Birthday, Toby!


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## cola3812 (Nov 29, 2009)

That's wonderful! Happy birthday Toby - hope it was a grand day for you all!


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## janine (Aug 8, 2009)

Happy Birthday Toby!!!!


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

Hope you had a terrific birthday, Toby! May you live happily as long as my Cody's brother Toby did....sixteen and a half years


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## moverking (Feb 26, 2007)

Happy Toby Day! May you have a dozen more, good boy :smooch:


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

Many happy returns, Toby. Have a wonderful day! 

Do you have a picture of the birthday boy? We'd love to see him.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

thanks everyone!
Here's the birthday boy. He's pretty shaggy looking. We keep him shaved because of the never ending battle with demodex mange, but right now it's too cold to shave him down so he just looks shaggy.


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## younggtx (Jan 30, 2009)

Happy Birthday Toby,
Wow! Enjoy your golden years and you are blessed with such good parents and families.


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## goldencontriever3 (Nov 7, 2008)

Happy Birthday Toby!! You are such a handsome boy. Hope you are spoiled on your special day!


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Happy Happy Birthday!


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## riddle03 (Jun 9, 2005)

Happy Birthday Toby !!


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

Have a great day Toby. Love that sugar face.


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## MyMaggieGirl (Nov 12, 2008)

Happy Birthday mister Toby!!!


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## Miss Happy (Dec 22, 2007)

Happy, Happy Birthday....love your sweet face.


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## AlanK (Jun 28, 2008)

Happy Birthday Toby Doggy....you are a sweet pooch:smooch:


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## BearValley (Nov 30, 2008)

Hooray Toby! Happy Birfday you party animal you!!

Whoo HOO!

:--king:


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## coppers-mom (Jan 9, 2009)

Happy Birthday Toby! What a wonderful day for you and Barb.

"You're so sweet, from your head down to your feet, (da da da -I forget).
Let me tell you unconditionally, you're so sweet."

Toby is not shaggy - he is gorgeous! and my inspiration.:
Next Wednesday will be 1 year since his wonderful story gave me the encouragement to have Copper's splenectomy with full expectations for a wonderful result. Thank you both from the bottom of my heart.:smooch: I hope you had a great day.


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## k9mom (Apr 23, 2009)

Happy Birthday Toby!!!


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

Oh, Toby- you are just cute as a button! I hope that you had a wonderful, treat-filled birthday!!


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Happy Birthday Toby. You are one handsome fella and I love your sugar face.


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## Bogey's Mom (Dec 23, 2008)

Happy special day sweet boy!!!!!!!!! I hope Tito and Tiny got you a big cake!


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

Happy Belated Birthday!


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Toby sorry I missed the party. I am sure you had a great time without us!! A belated 
Happy Birthday!! 
arty: :greenboun :banana: :wiggle: :woot2: :artydude
​


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

tito thinks oriana should have come to the party....



AmbikaGR said:


> Toby sorry I missed the party. I am sure you had a great time without us!! A belated
> Happy Birthday!!
> arty: :greenboun :banana: :wiggle: :woot2: :artydude​


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## coppers-mom (Jan 9, 2009)

How's the handsome Mr. Toby today? He's in my thoughts and prayers all the time.

Happy Birthday +5 days.


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## davebeech (Feb 11, 2006)

*** Happy 12th Birthday Toby *** you have a GReat day now !!


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

WOO HOO! Happy Birthday, Mr. Toby!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

thanks.
He's having a real hard time with his back end today. I think it's from the ivermectin, the stuff really gives him problems, on top of his other problems. Makes him walk like he's drunk. This is only supposed to happen to herding breeds, and a "rare other dog". Figures it would be MY dog.
But I can't stop giving it to him, the mange is still in a flare.
And I'm not giving him his rimadyl until after his next blood draw (Feb. 15), so it might also be that.
The poor guy. He's certainly had better days.




coppers-mom said:


> How's the handsome Mr. Toby today? He's in my thoughts and prayers all the time.
> 
> Happy Birthday +5 days.


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## coppers-mom (Jan 9, 2009)

I am so sorry to hear Toby is having a bad day.

I'll just pray hard that his day improves and his next blood draw reveals improvement.

Give him an ear rub and smooch and hug from me.


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## Jerseygirl (Jan 22, 2009)

happeh birfday da tobys!
~Da tacos and da zalzas


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

Barb, can he take Tramadol in lieu of Rimadyl, although he may need the anti-inflammatory effects of Rimadyl which Tramadol doesn't have? Also, do you have a sling for days like this? Drs. Foster and Smith Comfort Lift is a good, simple to use and relatively inexpensive one if you're looking. Please give the poor fella a smooch from me, and tell him I hope he's feeling better real soon.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Thanks for the ideas. I do have some tradadol here that the vet gave me just in case he's really miserable, but I'm trying really hard not to give him anything at all until after his next blood draw on Feb. 15. I want a clean draw, no drugs. I'm even taking him off the ivermectin for 4 days before the blood draw, although that risks the mange getting worse. If the values are improved, then I will add back the ivermectin and take a new blood test in 2 weeks. If the ivermectin isn't causing the problem (in theory it shouldn't but you never know with this dog), then I will add in something for pain and see where that takes us. 
I'm almost to the point of getting the harness for him that stays on, it goes both on their hips and shoulders. You can lift them whenever they need help.
I think (hope) a lot of his current problem (the instability and weakness, not the blood values) is the ivermectin. It's a neurotoxin, and in theory doesn't cross the blood/brain barrier except in some of the herding breeds and a very few other dogs. My vet and I think my dog is one of them. It seems to make his eyesight weird, too. 
Poor Toby.
But he's always got a tail wag for me. Oh, and always begging for treats, too, so that's a good sign!





Finn's Fan said:


> Barb, can he take Tramadol in lieu of Rimadyl, although he may need the anti-inflammatory effects of Rimadyl which Tramadol doesn't have? Also, do you have a sling for days like this? Drs. Foster and Smith Comfort Lift is a good, simple to use and relatively inexpensive one if you're looking. Please give the poor fella a smooch from me, and tell him I hope he's feeling better real soon.


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## coppers-mom (Jan 9, 2009)

I hope you find out what the culprit is and Toby gets better.

I can just see him wagging his tail and begging for treats.: he is happy regardless of his "issues". I know because I have his alter-ego.


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

Barb, the Tramadol wouldn't stay in his system until Feb. 15th. If I remember correctly, it's only in the system for 12 hours, which was why I needed to give it every 12 hours. The Drs. Foster and Smith harness is the least expensive and would help him right now, so you might want to grab that for the short term. I think you know how devoted I was to Cody, and I'd never do anything that would have a negative effect on him. I'm giving you my thoughts based on that!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

if today is anything like yesterday, he's getting the tramadol for sure.
And I'm not going to give him his ivermectin today. He was just miserable last night, stumbling around.


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## coppers-mom (Jan 9, 2009)

I gave Copper a Tramadol Thursday to counter his possible soreness from Wednesday's hike and he got a little dopey so don't be surprised if Toby does.

I hope you two have a better day. I just hope and pray he feels better.
I love him even if I have never met him. He has been my inspiration for Copper post spleen.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

How is Toby doing today? 

I agree with Copper's Mom that the Tramadol may make him a little dopey/lethargic but getting relief for the pain is worth a little lethargy. 

I also used the Drs Foster Smith Lift aid with our first Golden. During the last 2 weeks we kept it on him 24/7 to help us get him up.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Toby seems better today. He was barking at Tiny to get her to play with him.
Like so many, I sure wish he could talk because I really don't know if he's in pain or not. I don't want to give him a tramadol if he's not in pain! 
What he seems is weak and unsteady. I know that's a side effect of the ivermectin with him, it's why I have to keep taking him off of it. 
He'll be standing and you can see his back legs just starting to collapse slowly. He stumbles when he walks sometimes. 
But he's not panting or trembling, so I'm not really sure if he's in pain or not. Normally when he's in pain he will pant loudly and harshly, and I haven't heard him doing that at all.
This is so hard. I don't want him to suffer if I have something I can give him, but if he's weak and stumbling from the ivermectin, and not in pain, then giving him a tramadol seems like it might exacerbate the situation.
I'm not giving him the ivermec tonight. Hopefully he'll have a good day today and tomorrow and I can take it from there.
Thanks for all the good thoughts and helpful ideas. 
Toby says hi to Copper. He feels very attached to him!!


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

HUGS to Toby! I hope he has a good day today!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

thanks, Toby seems better today and I think it's because I didn't give him his ivermectin for the mange yesterday. Thought I'd give him a day off from it.
That's good because it tells me that a big part of his problem is, in fact, the medicine. But it's bad, because he can't go without it....
I'm going to give it to him today and see how he does tonight.


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## coppers-mom (Jan 9, 2009)

How's our baby today?


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## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

I'm sorry that I missed this until now. It's been a crazy couple of weeks here.

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TOBY!!!

I hope he's feeling better today. I take it he cannot have aspirin either? Aspirin worked best for Sam. I had a script for Tramadol but rarely used it. I just made sure to use coated aspirin. Poor guy. Sending snowy hugs from Maryland.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Toby is not-so-good again today, which is probably good news because it points again in the direction of the ivermectin being the biggest culprit in the way he's feeling. He's not nearly as unsteady as he was the other day, though, so the one day off did help him. I will give him today off, too, then go ahead and give it tomorrow, then 4 days off of it because his next blood draw is Monday and I want it "clean" and drug-free. I'll have a skin scraping done then, too, to see how bad the mange is so we can decide whether or not I can cut back on the ivermectin.
I do love my vet. We are in uncharted territory, as he says, with Toby, and we just experiment and try to find what will work for him. 
BTW, I asked him about duralactin and he said he was at a pain management conference recently and it got 2 thumbs up. When we get the results of Toby's next blood work we're going to discuss putting him on duralactin. I don't put him on anything without my vet's okay, even supplements, because he has autoimmune inflammatory bowel disease and I don't know what will cause it to flare...


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## MyMaggieGirl (Nov 12, 2008)

Hi Toby!! Poor guy. You really know your kids, Barb. They are lucky to have you as their mom.

Is it a blizzard out your way yet?


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

blizzard AND earthquake!


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## coppers-mom (Jan 9, 2009)

We have room at the "Haven" and no snow or earthquakes (yet). It's just a little south of you......

Poor Toby with his autoimmune inflammatory bowel disease and Copper with his pancreatitis. It sure makes it hard to know what to give them without risking making things worse.

the only side effect Copper has had from Duralactin is some pretty major gas. Soemthimes it is not silent and deadly and then he will turn and check out where it is coming from! I guess the gas is because it is a milk based product. I did start him on a 1/2 dose for the first 7 - 10 days to let his body adjust.
I figure it is a small thing to put up with since he feels so much better. MIL was appalled when she was here though.:uhoh:


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

coppers-mom said:


> We have room at the "Haven" and no snow or earthquakes (yet). It's just a little south of you......
> 
> Poor Toby with his autoimmune inflammatory bowel disease and Copper with his pancreatitis. It sure makes it hard to know what to give them without risking making things worse.
> 
> ...


I don't know but maybe extreme doggie gas is a way to get rid of the company that has overstayed the welcome mat?!:uhoh:

Earthquakes in Chicago??? Yikes--this is indeed starting off to be a strange year. We started having minor earthquakes in the North Texas area and they traced it to gas drilling in the area. 

Toby, I hope you feel better and I hope your blood work comes back good on 2/15 so you can get on the durlactin (without the doggie gas....)


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## Olympia (Jan 11, 2010)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOBY BOY! :--heart:arty2:arty::banana:


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

thanks everyone! Keep your fingers crossed for better blood work on Monday. I keep explaining to Toby that he just HAS to have better numbers this time, PLEASE!!!


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## coppers-mom (Jan 9, 2009)

hotel4dogs said:


> thanks everyone! Keep your fingers crossed for better blood work on Monday. I keep explaining to Toby that he just HAS to have better numbers this time, PLEASE!!!


You've got all good thoughts and prayers from me! Come on Toby, good numbers.......


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## coppers-mom (Jan 9, 2009)

I did find a model number on Copper's massager, but I still couldn't find it online.

Here's a photo.

I also kept the heating pad on Copper a lot longer this morning. He is still sleeping it off. I hope it helps Toby.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

perfect, thanks Teresa. Now at leastI know what it is I'm looking for!


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