The Creator of Ziploc Steamer Bags is a God!

Logan's new diet is so much easier because of these steamer bags!! Love 'em! I can slice up a salmon fillet, put it in a steamer bag and zap it in the microwave for 4 minutes! The fish actually tastes pretty good, too. Same with veggies! Takes 2 -4 minutes to steam Logan's veggies too!

Now if we could just get the salmon smell out of our kitchen....

Logan seems to be doing really well. He eats his new home cooked part of the diet as long as we mush the veggies in with the salmon! Then we give some of the veggies to Logan's brother Rudy too (just not the salmon.....otherwise Rudy will itch and itch and itch)!

Logan's doing really well. We continue to back off of his meds and he's been going on his little w.a.l.k.s frequently and loves it! One think he's not to crazy about that needs to happen in the next few days is a bath!!

This Restricted Diet Stuff is Tough!

So frustrating! Ok, not only is Rudy (Logan's brother) allergic to chicken, but he also seems to be allergic to duck as well (which if you think about it....really does make sense...)! The poor little thing has been itching like a crazy pup, so I know it's the duck that I've been trying to gradually switch him to so he and Logan can eat the same kibble. So, I gave seafood-based another shot today. Both pups ate Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish (salmon) today! So, if we stick to it going forward for both of them, we won't have the hassle of having to feed them separate foods. However, I feel bad messing around with Rudy's diet since he's just fine with his Solid Gold lamb-based kibble (which as I explained previously, Logan can't have)! AND....whatever protein Logan gets in the "commercial half" of his diet, is the very same protein he needs to get in the "home cooked half" as well! Meaning I would have to cook fish every day for him! Granted, this would just be short term until we're able to confirm that he doesn't have an intolerance to whatever protein we decide on. After a while, we can bring different proteins back into his diet and will be able to know right away if something is causing stomach issues by process of elimination. The thing is, we have to be sure that anything and everything that Logan eats does not contain any other protein (treats, whatever we hide his pills in, etc.). I got them all-vegetable treats today, and they seem to be a hit. But, of course, Logan hates the canned food version of the salmon food - so no hiding pills in canned food! The pill pockets we were using are beef-based, so those are out too!! ARRGGHHHH!!

For the home cooked portion of the day, Logan is supposed to get either 1/2 meat and 1/2 fresh veggies or 1/2 meat, 1/4 oatmeal and 1/4 veggies. I might mention....Logan has never liked veggies! He's never tried them steamed or doctored up, though so....guess we'll try that route.

Anyway, he's making a great come back it seems!! He's been bringing his stuffed toys to the door when I get home from work once again which is wonderful to see and just makes me smile :)

Another Meeting with the Nutritionist

Well, I just about had a breakdown last night after all of the books I've read and research I've done about what to do with Logan's diet and supplements! So confusing! It figures that after all of that, the specialist we saw today (for a 2nd time) didn't agree with much of anything that I've read. ugh. She's been doing this a long, long time - so I suppose we do trust her opinion. Anyway, we're planning to go with 1/2 holistic commercial kibble and/or canned food and 1/2 home cooked. We're still in the process of nailing down exactly what this will consist of. I think we're most likely going to go with Pinnacle Duck and Potato (as lamb-based Solid Gold hasn't agreed with Logan's stomach, and he refuses to eat anything seafood-based, and his brother can't have anything chicken-based) dry and/or canned and we're still discussing what we'll be giving him for home cooked items. So....we'll get him going on the kibble and canned for this week, then add in the rest next week!

The powdered supplement that he was refusing to take no matter what - is no longer necessary as it was focused on his GI issues after chemo, which he no longer has. The liquid, however - we still need to figure out a way to get him to take this. The vet suggested to mix it with some canned EVO 95% duck and see if that works! So - we'll see. We'll be adding in other supplements as soon as we get the diet in place. At least we're getting somewhere! I'm just so frustrated and bummed out about all of the hours of reading and research I did already :(

Logan's appetite is back, and then some!! I almost lost a hand....and a refrigerator (ok, not really) today! The vet gave us the ok to stop the Mirtazapine and lower the dose of Prednisone...yayyy!

I also took Logan for a little w.a.l.k (we have to spell it at our house or chaos ensues) - very slowly, and just a few house down the street, but he was happy as a clam!!

Information Overload!

Well, first of all - Logan began to do a real turn around since I last posted, thank god! The few rounds of fluids at the vet and the antibiotics helped him so much. Now, he's an eating machine!! It's mainly the Mirtazapine and Prednisone he's on. He still won't touch canned dog food, but has been scarfing down dry dog kibble. I just don't want him to get too used to it because it's really hard on his bad tooth and the roof of his mouth due to the surgery.

So, I purchased a few books over the weekend to begin researching holistic treatments for Logan on my own. My head is spinning!! I'm learning so much, though. All of the info also applies to humans if you really think about it, so it sort of makes me take a second (third, forth and fifth) look at the way I've been eating for so long too....ugh. So, I'm first trying to nail down Logan's meals and how we want to proceed with his diet before we look into herbs and supplements any further. I have another appointment with the specialist/nutritionist tomorrow to talk about everything. I have tons of notes and questions so I'm sure she'll just love me! I'm just extremely overwhelmed by all of the information I'm taking in!

Bottom line, Logan should be eating a low protein, high fiber diet! Will let you know what I find out tomorrow!

Forget the Pot Pie....Arby's is the Ticket!

Yes, Logan's new lunch of choice is a warm Arby's roast beef sandwich! Yummmm! He scarfed this down after our vet visit this morning!

As I mentioned yesterday, we had to go back to the vet this morning to determine if Logan needed more fluids (3rd day in a row), or if we could get the cath out of his leg. I'm happy to report that Logan's wbc is almost back to normal, his kidney numbers looked great, and no fluids needed today! He's still been drinking a lot and has been eating some deli meats, cheese and bread for me here and there. But then...the smell of that juicy roast beef sandwich could not be ignored! The vet would be so proud as he suggested taking Logan to the Crystal Burger drive-thru on the way home, but Arby's is much better :)

The vet tweaked his meds a bit. We'd like to get him off of the metronidazole asap (used as anti-diarrhea med, but can have neurological effects, etc.) and added tramadol (light pain med) . Why the tramadol you ask? Well, we can't have a blog entry without some drama, right? Logan is experiencing what's called "drift" due to his partial mandibulectomy. His bottom jaw slides back and forth at will since there's a lack of support now on his right side. As a result, the bottom canine tooth that's left has started to dig into the soft tissue in the roof of his mouth. There is also an issue inside the tooth with the pulp (can't remember the big fancy med term for it), and the vet said it's probably very sore :( Our options are to either get it pulled or have a root canal done and get it capped. The 2nd option is safest because if we opted to get the tooth removed, there's a chance his jaw could fracture during the procedure. So, we'll keep him on light pain meds for now until he bounces back and stabilizes. Then at some point in the near future, we'll need to proceed with all of this. At least it's minor compared to everything else he's going through! I just feel like we can never just stop putting the guy through hell! Jeez!

Well, thanks for all of the positive thoughts and well-wishes. Hopefully Logan will continue to improve over the weekend.

Back to the Vet

Well, as discussed with the vet yesterday - I just took Logan back to either get his catheter out or get more fluids. Turns out he hasn't improved all that much since the fluids and antibiotic yesterday. I gave him the Cerenia (anti-nausea meds) and antibiotics that the vet sent us home with last night before we headed out this morning.
I have to pick him up around 1:00 this afternoon, so hopefully he'll feel a bit better.
He did eat a little deli meat, bread and cheese this morning and held it down - so that's good.
Just can't wait for him to bounce back.

Oh yeah....I'm tired!

Please Keep Your Arms and Hands Inside the Ride at All Times!

What a roller coaster ride!! I ended up going into the office yesterday morning as opposed to working from home. Logan was a little out of it, but I figured he'd be ok - at least for a few hours. I came back home for a late lunch to try to feed him, and found him alone in the office lying in a pool of drool, wouldn't lift his head and barely opened his eyes. He was also burning up and panting. Took his temp and it was above the max we're supposed to allow it to get to before we take him to the emergency vet (103.5 - Logan's was 103.9). I couldn't get him to stand up and walk. I had to use a beach towel under his back end to get him out to the car. He was in some sad, sad shape. I took him to our regular vet because he's closest. They checked him quick in the waiting room to make sure it wasn't a real bad emergency, and we waited for 2 hours.

Basically, Logan's white blood cell count has been completely knocked out by the chemo. The vet said it was the lowest count he's ever seen in his career! So, as you know - this opens his system up to infection. Well, that's what the high fever was for.....his body was fighting some sort of infection (not exactly sure where - could be anything, even just the general bacteria that's always in his stomach - just like humans). They also did an x-ray of his lungs (doc said they sounded very "harsh"). They're still clear - at least in the area he x-rayed. They kept him for another 2 hours for the x-ray and another fluid IV and added an antibiotic fluid this time. I came home in the meantime, and had myself pretty convinced the cancer had spread to his lungs, etc. I was 99% sure I'd have to call my husband and prepare him for the "decision". But...nope...clear lungs. My husband was able to skip his work dinner with clients and met me back home to help me get the pup out of the car and into the house.

The drugs started to kick in, and he had to keep the catheter in in case they needed it again today. Thank god we're not doing anymore chemo!! He was a total mess this time and much worse than round 1. Our vet says they call Adriamycin the "red devil"..... I can see why!!

It's been a week since round 2, so hopefully by the weekend, he'll be more like his old self.