• Welcome to Autism Forums, a friendly forum to discuss Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, High Functioning Autism and related conditions.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Private Member only forums for more serious discussions that you may wish to not have guests or search engines access to.
    • Your very own blog. Write about anything you like on your own individual blog.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon! Please also check us out @ https://www.twitter.com/aspiescentral

Dog people , your help is appreciated please - Update!

Suzette

Suzette

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
My dog is a Cocker Spaniel Labrador cross (Cockadore). He is 13 1/2 and has arthritis.
He has been on a daily dose of prendesolone, 12 mg, for about 6 months. Our vet here in Mexico and ours in the states has tried him on a variety of NSAiD pain relievers but they do nothing. On the Predenselone he walks fairly well. He does have side effects such as extra thirst and a pot belly but he has only gained 1 lbs.
Anyway he has a new symptom in the last two days and I am not sure if it is a problem. His toungue, normally pink has suddenly turned brownish red. Is this a side effect of the Prednesolne or could it be heart issues?
We will get him into the vet a.s.a.p but the vets here do very little in the way of diagnosis.
Any thoughts you might have would help a lot!
Tiggy and I thank you!

*******UPDATE*********
We gave Tigger a new bone today. Suprise! The bone cleaned his tongue and it pink and healthy again! Which is really good, he was starting to look like he had gotten into the black licorice!
 
Last edited:
I'll preface this with, I'm no doctor or vet..
Prednisolone is a steroid. Steroids stimulate growth, and can stimulate extra bacterial growth in the mouth, and that can cause the tongue to change colours. It can go different colours (white, brown, black) depending on the bacteria that is running amok.
I gather usually in people it can be resolved by brushing the tongue with an antiseptic of some sort. That might not be so easy with a dog though.. :/
I think it's a good idea to take him to the vet to see what they might suggest you do about it (if anything).

Another thing though, glucosamine is something else you can get (without a prescription here at least) that helps with arthritis pain. I know people that have given it to their elderly dogs to help them move around better. And I don't think it would have side effects the way prednisolone would.
 
Thank you! I had not thought of bacteria. Perhaps it is thrush? (I know it is not a bacteria)
We do give him viamins with glucosamine and condroitin. Very little effect!
 
I thought about thrush first as well, but from a bit of reading it sounds like thrush turns the tongue white, at least in people. I would think that would be the same for dogs since it's still the same fungus (candida).
Sounded like brown/black was more associated with bacteria.

I hope it all works out for you and Tiggy! :)
 
Perfusion issues or lower oxygen saturations can change the color of the mucus membranes and tongue,...but usually it is more of a darker red - to purplish blue - or a washed out grey,...depending upon the degree of deoxygenation. If it is this,...you will see the discoloration inside the lips, the gums, inside the eyelids, etc. Plus, it is likely that the level of activity will have dropped down to shorter bursts of activity.

If not,...you've likely ruled out the heart.

Discoloration of the eyes and mucus membranes can also occur with liver disease,...jaundice.

Of course, not a vet,...you should probably call just to make sure.
 
Definitely call a vet… but yes, steroids can do that. If you’re looking for a better pain reliever, one of my dogs takes Rimadyl (Carprofen) which I believe is an NSAID but it’s not a steroid… you said those types of medications don’t seem to work well for him but it’s been more effective for my dog than some of the others.
Gabapentin is another one I’ve used for my dogs… it’s a human medication but it’s safe to use for dogs (you can get a prescription from a vet). It’s not a steroid or an NSAID.
I hope this advice helps… and your dog sounds adorable!
 
crewlucaa_ said:
Definitely call a vet… but yes, steroids can do that. If you’re looking for a better pain reliever, one of my dogs takes Rimadyl (Carprofen) which I believe is an NSAID but it’s not a steroid… you said those types of medications don’t seem to work well for him but it’s been more effective for my dog than some of the others.
Gabapentin is another one I’ve used for my dogs… it’s a human medication but it’s safe to use for dogs (you can get a prescription from a vet). It’s not a steroid or an NSAID.
I hope this advice helps… and your dog sounds adorable!
Click to expand...
Our older dog gets Rimadyl too. It is expensive if you buy chewable tabs. I just give her the pill with a little bit of cat food and it is instantly gone. Always give right after a meal.
 
Au Naturel said:
Our older dog gets Rimadyl too. It is expensive if you buy chewable tabs. I just give her the pill with a little bit of cat food and it is instantly gone. Always give right after a meal.
Click to expand...
Yes, I should have specified that you give it with food. Oops. Thank you for pointing that out! The chewable tabs are expensive, yes. I have a care plan with my vet that covers at least some of most treatment costs (I use VCA, which I believe has animal hospitals in almost every state. They have a care plan that will cover emergencies and at least part of the cost of most medications and vaccines.) I can upload a pic of the details of the care plan if that would be helpful for anyone who has a dog or a cat with special medical needs.
But in Suzette’s particular case, I should’ve specified that Rimadyl and Gabapentin are both given with food or right after feeding them. There are also a lot of natural alternatives to pain relievers and anti-inflammatory meds for dogs but I would have to do more research on that because I haven’t used them. I can also provide a phone number for a veterinary advice hotline if that would be helpful, @Suzette
 
Thank you lovely people. Alas, carprofen and gabefentin have been tried, along with two others (which I don't know off the top of my head).
It is funny that you mention pills though. Tiggy is such a good boy. Appearently, hard, chalky, pink pills taste pretty good. These are not the chewables! He will just eat the pill on it's own. No fancy cat food dressing for him!
 
Last edited:
@Suzette - I empathize. My big white German Shepperd is over 14 years old, has a gamey hind leg that he can not really use anymore so he tends to slip and fall more often, and he eats much less than he did during his prime. He used to weigh 120 pounds but is now down to about 65. He takes a daily NSAID prescribed by the vet for his arthritis but it is very hard to trick him into taking the pill. We usually break the pill into two pieces and "hide" each half in some cheese. His taste in cheese is evolving - one day he likes Havarti but won't eat it the next day; then he likes cheddar or Swiss cheese for a day or two before I have to shift to something else to hide the pill. I'd use a piece of precooked hot dog or a small meatball to hide the pill but he has so many food allergies that I'm hesitant to give him hot dogs or other meats.

I love my old dog but we won't get another dog for a long time after he dies so we can travel without worrying about pet care.
 
Suzette said:
Thank you lovely people. Alas, carprofen and gabefentin have been tried, along with two others (which I don't know off the top of my head).
It is funny that you mention pills though. Tiggy is such a good boy. Appearently, hard, chalky, pink pills taste pretty good. These are not the chewables! He will just eat the pill on it's own. No fancy cat food dressing for him!
Click to expand...

The fact he chews them makes me think it's more likely the tongue issues is a bacterial overgrowth.
Typically for people we either swallow the pills, or in the case of steroid inhalers they tell you to rinse your mouth after using them. Maybe you can get him to take a drink right away after the pills to help minimize how much of the prednisolone stays in his mouth?
 
@Varzar, we were giving him Gabafentin for a few days, at night, as it seemed to help him rest better. We think the discoloration showed up at the same time. We stopped the gab last night. Hopefully that will make a difference.
As I mentioned above he will take pills without enticements, so I was just giving him a pill followed by a drink of water. He does not seem bothered by him mouth thank goodness.
 
@Mary Terry, I had a Great Pyranees cross that lived to 15. He was a giant of a dog with the sweetest heart. (150 Lbs!). Mo never had any health issues and had almost all of his teeth when he died. We kept chickens and he would let them snuggle into his fur to keep warm. You never forget the good ones!
 
Suzette said:
@Varzar, we were giving him Gabafentin for a few days, at night, as it seemed to help him rest better. We think the discoloration showed up at the same time. We stopped the gab last night. Hopefully that will make a difference.
As I mentioned above he will take pills without enticements, so I was just giving him a pill followed by a drink of water. He does not seem bothered by him mouth thank goodness.
Click to expand...

Ahh, ok. Sounds like a good plan.
Also, that is super convenient that you have a dog that'll just eat pills so you don't have to employ any "tricks" to get him to take meds. lol :)
 
Varzar said:
Ahh, ok. Sounds like a good plan.
Also, that is super convenient that you have a dog that'll just eat pills so you don't have to employ any "tricks" to get him to take meds. lol :)
Click to expand...
Yeah, it almost makes me feel obsolete. I am the one who gives him his meds, I am rather useless if I can't fuss about it and find the secret ingredient. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Top Bottom