My poor little doggie, only three years old, has liver damage from taking prednisone for her severe allergies (I've tried every other known allergy remedy). She had to come off the pred 2 1/2 weeks ago and her allergies are out of control again. She sneezes till she throws up; she scratches till she bleeds. And when she got off the steroid, she was so miserable that she didn't want to get out of bed or eat for two weeks. I don't know yet if that was caused by the liver damage or by getting off the steroid. Fortunately, she's eating and energetic again now.

I spent 2 1/2 hours at the vet's office today. In part of our conversation we talked about her being so miserable that she may need to be put down (now I'm crying again as I'm typing). Need more test results before anything is decided. (I'm simplifying the story: my regular vet is in the hospital and probably won't ever return, the second vet was incompetent, this is now the third vet.)

How could I possibly say, "yes, go ahead, kill her"?

Why do I want to cope with this by stuffing my face?

Oh I am so sorry to hear about your dog! I have had to make the difficult decision to put down a pet and it is one of the hardest choices ever. I wish I could give you a hug right now.

Well do whatever you have to do to get through this time, but you know, it's okay to just cry for a while. You don't have to do things like eat to block out the emotions, just experience them. Try not to be alone too much, it may tempt you to eat more and you don't want to give yourself an additional reason to be down later on.

Perhaps also getting out in the sunshine as much as possible will help cheer you, that does sometimes help me from being depressed.

Best wishes and prayers to you.

(((hugs)))

Our fur babies take a lot out of us. I wish I could give you some answers.
My heart aches as I identify how our Furies are part of our family.

Here's a suggestion: feed your dog boiled chicken, boiled potatoes and boiled assorted veggies (no onion) at a 1:1:1 ratio for 2 weeks. See if the allergies are still there.

Most severely allergic dogs are eating something that is the base allergen and makes all the other allergies much, much worse. Given the choice between my dog suffering horribly and being put down, I went for the chicken/potato/veggie diet and he was fine for the rest of his life -- 9 years after the day he started the diet.

Thanks for the sympathy.

I wish your suggestion worked, Liz. I know it works for many. I've been through several diet trials. 2 - 3 months each. Single source of protein and single source of carb. Salmon, mackerel, bison, chicken, turkey, duck, beef, lamb, pork, elk, venison. She hasn't been on commercial food since she left the breeder. Tonight she had fresh leg of lamb while I had thawed ground beef. She eats well every night. I eat well 2 nights out of three.

Oh, sweetheart- this may be late but I feel for you so much. *HUG*

One of my clients (French Bulldog) has so many allergies the only thing he can eat now is canned brush-tailed Possum. No kidding!

The liver will be able to regenerate itself somewhat...but I suppose the biggest obstacle is finding the allergen. Do you know if it's food or environmental?

http://www.k9cuisine.com/p-55-addic...d-dog-food.aspx

bike2work, I am so sorry your furbaby is ill. But, miracles can and do happen, and I hope one happens for you and your dog. Sounds like she IS eating now and that is always a good sign.

Best wishes, y0u.

My little baby is a French Bulldog too.

I'm glad to hear that the liver can regenerate itself. I didn't know that.

Brushtail possum? That's a new one. It has venison in it too, though, which I've already tried. Thanks, though. The weirdest one I found was beaver in a can but by the time I was ready to try it, it was off the market. There's an over population of bunnies in my neighborhood, but I have no idea how to go about the job or if it's legal. I think a local store is now carrying frozen kangaroo. Allergies are becoming a common problem in dogs.

I don't know if it's environmental or food-based. She's gone through three rounds of blood serum testing and had allergy shots for the pollens that she reacted to most. Depending on how bad her liver is (I'll know today) we'll send her for scratch tests which may yield different results. If her liver is in very bad shape the doctor wants to put her back on the steroid so she can be comfortable till ....

I dealt with the agony last night with a handful of chips, two glasses of red wine, a small portion of freezer-burned ice cream and two glasses of cognac. Sigh.

And it didn't make anything better.

((HUGS))

Yes, I walk a Border terrier who lost 70% of her liver function...and has now gotten some of it back.
Her situation was different though....I guess you'll have to see what the Vet says.

Good luck to you and your Frenchie. They are dear little dogs.

OMG...I'm sorry to read this.
I hope that you find a good specialist to do the necessary allergy tests to find out just what your poor baby is allergic to. I have not read this entire thread as I just don't have the time.

But I do know that there are good vet hospitals out in Colorado and you need to find one.

What do you feed your girl? Have you gotten her off all grains? Have you had any allergy tests run yet? Do you give her Benadryl daily?

IMO, even if her liver function is not so bad...she needs these scratch tests anyway.

Also, you may want to ask them to check her TSH/thyroid.

I have had to put a kitty down several years ago, and it is still emotional. They are a part of our lives just as much as children are. They depend on us, to make the right decision, and sometimes that is just so painful and heartbreaking.

I am an emotional eater too. I didn't realize why I had really packed on so much weight before, but now I see it. Very clearly. I was depressed, and lonely, and then I ate got bigger and the cycle festered from there.

Hang in there!

YAY! We got the blood tests results: huge improvement! The liver enzyme that was most concerning (ALT) dropped from 442 to 88. Another liver enzyme was also down (good) and a third one was up, but he's not too concerned about it. The thyroid checked out fine too.

The crisis is averted for now. Next week I'll take her to a canine dermatologist for the scratch tests and new immunotherapy. $1200 for the scratch test. Gulp.

I can't believe how much I've cried over that little dog for the past three weeks.