# Boomer passed his senior exam



## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

He's good for another 6 months or 30,000 miles.

He gained weight this time (a good thing - back at 65lb) and they were impressed with no hot spots since switching food. I brought the label info in and she said don't worry about the protein content, he's doing good.

Boomer has been having a little trouble breathing. He has some signs of laryngeal paralysis but nothing near requiring treatment. I'm supposed to keep him on the quiet side and give him benadryl as his nose is a bit inflamed and runny.
She felt no change in the soft flabby lump next to his package and was not concerned about the nodular one next to his spine.
I asked for a prostate and heiney check, which were normal. Heart, lungs sound normal.
Bloodwork and urine sent to lab. No poopie was required.

Boomsie got his vaccines and a report card w/ A+. We got off easy today financially too. Thank goodness for credit cards ...


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Hooray for Boomer!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

what great news!! I hope he gets many, many more passes!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Yay Boomer!!! He's a special boy and I and I am so happy he got the pass!!

About the start of LP - darn!!!! Rowdy had that - the surgery ended up killing him. I do not mean to scare you since many dogs do fine after the surgery but please consider getting his collar off and replacing it with a harness - I think you probably already use raised bowls? and keep him cool and comfie?


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## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

Thanks u guys. I do remember all about Rowdy and did think about the dilemma of the risks vs the disease. I still think I would do the same as Sunrise did. If it got to a certain point. We can't let them go around unable to breathe. Will cross that bridge when we get there.
Thank u Sunrise for the suggestions. We do have a raised feeder but I started using the slow feeder bowl which doesn't fit ... will go back to raised feeder. And I didn't know about the collars. Will look for harness today. 
Thank u for helping me take care of Boomer


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Good for Boomer! 

I just ordered a raised feeder last night in preparation for Toby's cataract surgery. His ophthalmologist believed it will be better for him during his recovery. He also recommended the halter during the recovery period. We switched Toby over to a halter several years ago because he pulled so hard on walks we feared causing larynx damage. Thank goodness we did that because he doesn't pull as much now and he's already used to it. 

I'm glad your vet does the anal exams too--our vet does it as well, especially for the seniors, in an effort to catch any anal carcinomas early.


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## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

Actually DallasGold, she didn't do it, but I specifically asked her to due to a thread we had here on it, I think you started it. So thank you !!


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

boomers_dawn said:


> Actually DallasGold, she didn't do it, but I specifically asked her to due to a thread we had here on it, I think you started it. So thank you !!


Good to know we are starting a trend for more anal exams for our seniors! I'm not sure all the vets will appreciate it, but....if it results in one anal adenocarcinoma caught early on, it's worth it.


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

Congratulations, Boomer!! So wonderful to hear of another healthy senior! Love the mileage comparison.


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## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

Thanks for the good cheer u guys!

Well we got the lab results now. There were 2 issues but she said not to panic, just to think: One liver enzyme was slightly elevated and there was some protein in urine.

She said the liver enzyme could be caused by some of Boomer's existing problems including arthritis or skin irritation (which he doesn't have at the moment) and the urine protein could be from a contaminated sample, or the food change, or we should consider Cushing's disease if none of the other issues are ruled out.

I looked up Cushing's disease and it all makes sense - the pointy head, the muscle atrophy, the panting, the history of prednisone use for hotspots ... but we look at the other stuff first.

No rush, but since I can't find a satisfactory non-allergenic senior food, I am considering cooking for them. But I have to do a lot of work first. The store at the end of the street has all kinds of natural and organic stuff and I'm sure they have raw and supplements. I'll go see what they have over there. 

So ... try the diet change, urine re-test ... go from there ......


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

boomers_dawn said:


> Thanks for the good cheer u guys!
> 
> Well we got the lab results now. There were 2 issues but she said not to panic, just to think: One liver enzyme was slightly elevated and there was some protein in urine.
> 
> ...


How much protein in the urine? If it's not a big number perhaps you can do a steril sample at home using a container or ladle and a syringe and have it re-tested. We've done that a couple of times with dogs and in both cases the the protein wasn't in the sample take from home. I hope it isn't cushings.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Rowdy had protein in his urine. Casey has had dilute urine. Both dogs had results that were fine when I collected first thing in the morning.

Faelan had elevated liver enzymes which returned to normal after a round of antibiotics (lepto tests showed exposure and/or infection - scared the heck out of me since the blood draw was right before his lepto booster). 

So, I would agree that it might be cause for consideration or not. And hey, Boomer does NOT have a pointy head!!







boomers_dawn said:


> Thanks for the good cheer u guys!
> 
> Well we got the lab results now. There were 2 issues but she said not to panic, just to think: One liver enzyme was slightly elevated and there was some protein in urine.
> 
> ...


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## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

Dallas Gold said:


> How much protein in the urine? If it's not a big number perhaps you can do a steril sample at home using a container or ladle and a syringe and have it re-tested. We've done that a couple of times with dogs and in both cases the the protein wasn't in the sample take from home. I hope it isn't cushings.


Thank you for the advice. I don't know exactly how much.
The vet's office is kind of far away. She said to come back in a couple weeks and don't let him pee first then bring him in for a sterile sample. I don't even want to know how they get a sterile sample from dogs, I hope it isn't the same way they get a sterile sample from humans.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

boomers_dawn said:


> Thank you for the advice. I don't know exactly how much.
> The vet's office is kind of far away. She said to come back in a couple weeks and don't let him pee first then bring him in for a sterile sample. I don't even want to know how they get a sterile sample from dogs, I hope it isn't the same way they get a sterile sample from humans.


Don't let him pee and the office is far away??? :uhoh: That seems cruel and unusual punishment to me, poor Boomer.  Can you call and see if they will let you collect the urine in a sterile container and bring it in? If you have a syringe handy you can take the needle off and just fill the syringe from the container and put that in a ziploc bag to transport. You can even put it on ice if that is necessary to preserve anything. That's what they suggested we do and if that still showed urine then they would do the draw with a tube and needles there getting it directly from the source (I don't remember what they called it sorry).


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Good boy Boomer. Hopefully, the little irregularities are just fleeting. If not, I babysit a cattle dog with Cushings who does absolutely awesome.


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## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

Thanks again for the suggestions and good cheer. The office is about 1/2 hr to 45 minutes away. He should be able to hold it for that. I was traveling for business and didn't even get any chance to look into diet alternatives, stop in the natural pet store to ask, so I didn't call when I was supposed to :-( Will do tomorrow and make plans to re-check the wee-wee.


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## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

So to continue Boomer's senior exam ... I stopped in the pet store. We compared bags. The food protein wasn't significantly higher than the other brands, and was on the lower side. So the food was ok and I checked w/ the vet, ok w/ her too.

So now we have to retest. I'm supposed to first thing in the morning when he is full of pee, get Boomer to pee, then catch it in something mid-stream. I can't wait to see this. 

If it's still positive, she has to take a clean sample, I asked how is that done and did not like the answer - needle in the bladder. That seems extreme to me but she said it's common and no big deal .... oh boy it is to me. 

Hopefully this will turn out to be a non-issue after my mid-stream collection project.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Boomer*

Glad to hear that Boomer did well on his exam.
Sorry you have to do the midstream project-sounds a bit challenging!


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## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

Boomer's senior exam still isn't over yet. Mid-stream urine sample was easy with him being a male and lifting his leg for easy access.

The protein was negative this time! YAY! No sterile sample with the needle.
No worries about all that other stuff. Woot woot!!!

He's being treated for a UTI and I can start saving up for his next senior exam.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

what great news!!! Great way to start my morning


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