Hi there, we've 4 amazing dogs, the oldest of which is well over 13. We've had a really bad week with DDdog1 who had what the vet thought was a small stroke, followed by a larger second stroke, on Monday. He couldn't stand or walk without collapsing, kept shaking, lost continence - we honestly thought it was the end.
Vet said it would take an MRI scan to diagnose for certain but at £1600 and we just don't have that. Even if we did, I'm not quite sure there's benefit in putting him through too much at his age :-( Vet gave him a steroid/ anti inflammatory injection. DD1 is in London 70 miles away but she rushed back immediately - he's her dog really and they miss each other terribly. (She went to uni in Sept) She was texting from the train and I honestly didn't think she was going to see him alive. But she made it and as soon as he saw her he seemed to turn a corner.
Nearly four days on and he seems much brighter, can walk again, is continent, is happy and enjoying life, and scrounging scraps. But he is slow and reluctant to eat his dinner and I want something to really tempt him. He's been on varied stuff in the past due to us trying to find something that suits all four - from Orijen to Burgess Sensitive to Wainwrights to Nutriment. He's currently on Chappie which is crappier than the rest but the main reason we went to it was he was so keen to eat it (and dried kibble tends to make him cough).
I so want him to pull through, I just can't tell you. He's been in our lives for nearly 14 years now, and DD2 can't remember a time without him. I don't care what the food costs - he can be the only one on it if need be. I don't want a change of diet to upset him but I can mix it in slowly and most of all, I do need him to eat. Any suggestions?