Some still pics of him

 

New labs done - some new results

Dachuny got a rework of labs done last week, and I just got back the results.  His kidney values look like they are better but one of the liver values are higher and out of range :(  

The only thing I realized later is that I shouldn't feed him soon before the blood draw - it should be when he's been fasted 🤦

At least I'll know for next time.  In the meantime, I've added a liver supplement and increased his thyroid meds by 1.5x.  So will get him checked out again in maybe 2 months or so and see if his number have gotten better.  

It sure feels like a roller coaster of emotions whenever I get results now.  Half the time, I think he's ok, he's doing good and will be around for awhile longer.  Then the other half, I get the panicked, super sad thoughts of he may not be here this time next year.  Then I have to shake myself out of it and remind myself to just stay in the moment, and appreciate every day. 

The good news is the high triglycerides is likely from the recent meal, as well as the elevated BUN, but bc his SDMA and creatinine are low, his kidneys have likely improved from the Rhemannia 11 supplement and new home cooked diet from Dr. Judy Morgan's recipes (arrows in the first image below).  And ofcourse I added the values in a spreadsheet to track it over time since I've been using different labs/vets. Here's his results over the last 6 months. January's labs were just to test thyroid and liver values so it's not a complete set.  Red is high, darker red is very high, blue is low.  That crazy high Cystatin B could have been an early marker for kidney issues.  I should have started Rhemmania then :(  My vet didn't emphasize it and he is already on so much, so I didn't start it.   

The ticks below - indicate when Denamarin Advanced (liver supplement) was started, as well as when Thyroid meds were started (0.1mg - now increased to 0.15mg)

- T4 2.2 was taken around 4 hours after his morning thyroid pill, so it was a good value

-  T4 1.3 was taken 6 hours after his thyroid pill, so the vet told me this was ok as it fluctuates

- but T4 0.952 is now low again after 4 hours, which means he definitely needs to increase his dose

And here are some pics taken of him the last week.  His allergies are acting up again so I had to trim all his hair on his body close to his skin, which means he gets cold really easily so this is him in his grandpa sweater while his thermal pj's are in the wash. 

HMB

 We took Dachuny to HMB, close to the Mavericks beach.  He did so well, had a spring in his step for most of it, and he still looks back for me when walking with Ron.  It's the sweetest thing to watch them walking together - warms my heart!

Some more recent videos

Few things get Dachuny excited these days, but none more than the anticipation of a meal or treat.  This is the daily morning hops he gives me when we're heading to the kitchen to get breakfast

And this one is him getting his puzzle treat to work on.  Getting him to get up on his back legs is part of his muscle exercise training :) 

 

Lazy days

Dachuny doesn't like walks around the neighborhood much anymore but he loves treats, so everyday at 3:30pm it's his playtime and that includes him following me around the house back and forth for treats for 10 minutes, then a puzzle game to find his treats once or twice, then a balance game on a foam roller, and then hopping over the foam roller back and forth a few times for treats.  It takes about 20 minutes in total and we both get a lot out of it that by evening he's pretty pooped. 🥰  Here he is with his puzzle game - he's not great at it but gets maybe 1/3 of the treats by himself.

His tongue hangs out sometimes bc he doesn't have his little bottom teeth anymore 😔. This is him looking at me after Ron snuggled him

Dachuny days

Dachuny's been doing pretty well on the home cooked diet and supplements, he's been coughing less than before; more like 2-3x per week or less.  He has accidents 2-3 times a week though, which is a reminder that cognitively he's still having some issues.  But for the most part he is eating, sleeping and playing well.  Sleeps a bit more than usual but can still sleep comfortably.  SRR is around 20-22 bpm and is being tracked in the Cardalis app.

He'll get another blood draw to check levels this week during his acupuncture visit.  Hopefully we can get a good blood draw.  

 

Dachuny update

Dachuny's been doing pretty well so far, though there have been a couple of poop/pee accidents the last couple of days :(  Which makes me think his CCD (canine cognitive disorder) is progressing.  I've ordered some puzzles from Chewy that will hopefully help to keep his brain stable.  So many things to juggle and manage but I guess that's just life and overall he's still a happy pup (as long as I'm not far from eyesight)

This is him watching Ron inside the Paris Baguette bakery.  Nothing helps a sad mood like cake!