Thank you so much to all of you who put him in your prayers.
We saw a specialist today. Joints are all okay, bloodwork looks good. No obvious signs for the discomfort/pain he is in. What did come up was an irregular heartbeat and signs of atrial fibrillation. However, he's in pain and atrial fibrillation does not explain that. For those that don't know, atrial fibrillation typically just makes you feel lightheaded, dizzy and just "off" in general. He responds well to pain medication so while the atrial fibrillation might be related, there's something else going on.
Next steps are going to be an EKG and an echocardiogram and most importantly (in my opinion) an X-Ray. He's very large (175lbs) so we'll be taking him to a local university as soon as they have a slot open. In the interim, it's just going to be keeping him as comfortable as possible with pain medication and love.
I humbly ask for you to keep him in your prayers. I love my boy and I'm very worried this could be something serious. He's too damn young (4 years) for me to lose him.
Thank you for the update. I will definitely keep your big, furry boy in my prayers. I know it hurts you to see him in pain. I hope they can find out soon how to treat him.
Thank you, DA. Just kills me to see him in discomfort. Thankfully the pain meds seem to be working well for the most part.
Love dogs. Will pray. Lab and big dog lover….,,
Thanks for the update fren. Will keep your furry friend in my prayers.
What's his name? Sending prayers for him and love to you. We love our Louie, he'll be 8 in May. I find myself dreading that awful day that will come. He's such a sweet pit.
His name (lol) is Grimlock. Thank you, AC :)
I'll say a prayer for your boy Louie to have a good, healthy and long life.
That's cute.😁🐶
Perhaps try a chiropractor and/or an acupuncturist who works on animals. Holistic/natural medicine/treatment is often better at diagnosing afflictions and healing them than "modern (human and veterinary) medicine".
He will be in my prayers.
Fren did you look up genetic issues in the Landseer lines of Newfies you dog is from? For heart or liver issues. Might just be giideposts for things that have worked well for others. I have a rescue and over the years the purebreds seemed to all have issues courtesy of generations of breeders not being careful about inheritable issues. Anxious to hear what you imaging of his body revealed?
Very good question, HCAZ. I researched this breeder very, very carefully. But what you allude to is absolutely right, American breeders have ruined many a breed. Most purebreads in this country have so many more problems than mutts because of bad breeding practices by bad breeders.
My other dog is an Australian Cattledog which up until recently has not been a popular dog here in the States. Consequently it's a very healthy genetic line. But now i'm seeing the breed become more popular and that means American breeders will inevitably ruin the genetic line. I dream of a day where I can line up these shitty breeders and backhand them all one by one.
Imaging for my boy's heart is next Thursday. I'm hoping we find out some meaningful info then. On a positive note, he did sleep well last night and even wanted to go for a 45 minute walk tonight. So today is a good day :)
Hey... do they ever put pacemakers in dogs?
In other news, my car broke down yesterday. I’ll be sure to keep you all updated as I know it’s vital to the work being done here.
And yet you took the time to comment.
Lol some people just don't comprehend our dog love. Their loss.