Quad cart for GSD - Page 10

My boy continues to improve. He can now walk anywhere in the yard he wants to, pretty fast sometimes but not more than about 100 feet before tiring. He can now turn both directions if he doesn't try to pivot, without falling. Front feet work on slick floors, back ones do not, so he needs a little help getting through the living room to my bedroom and back. His play drive is returning, which, although it is a huge effort for him sometimes, is very heartwarming to witness.

I weaned T off the pred about 5 weeks ago, started him back on Rimadyl this morning to help with his arthritis. He continues to improve, following me and Xena around, sometimes initiating some play with the ball. I actually took him to the Stanislaus County Schutzhund Club trial in Modesto last weekend. Sweet Abel gave my old boy a few "mercy bites" (not pretty, LOL) out by my car. A couple people said it was mean to make the crippled old dog work, even when I reminded them he is NOT in pain... I swear my dog's attitude and rate of improvement has DOUBLED since that night, as I expected it would when I hauled him the 2.5 hrs each way down there and back!

Even the vet is impressed with his recovery. I can't take much credit for it... it is more the work ethic and will of my working dog than anything I have done. I feel blessed with every day I have him as he approaches his 11th birthday this month.

Shell

A couple people said it was mean to make the crippled old dog work, even when I reminded them he is NOT in pain... I swear my dog's attitude and rate of improvement has DOUBLED since that night, as I expected it would when I hauled him the 2.5 hrs each way down there and back!



Stupid people! 
Hanny WANTED to work and would become depressed when she don't get a mercy bite now and again.......

Glad to hear that your guy is doing so well, keep up the good work.

Hey Shelly,

I just read through this entire thread and what an ordeal you and T have been through! I'm so glad to hear T is doing so well. I was just a the rehab vet's office the other day with my Shelby who has DM. They see many dogs with FCE and the vet tech told me that they have great success in treating the dogs. I'd never heard of FCE before!  THe vet tech actually just adopted a chocolate Lab with FCE that the owners wanted to put down after spending $2000 on rehab. The dog was a severe case and the owners said the care required for the dog didn't fit into their lifestyle  :( . The vet didn't have the heart to put the dog down, so she asked the owners to surrender the dog and they did. The vet felt the dog had a good chance of recovering and she was right. This dog is getting around extremely well now and is as happy as can be.   He now has a fantastic forever home too. Anyway, I know this has been a tough road, but "T" is sure lucky to have you as his mom :). Congratulations and keep up the good work!

The best,
Char

Thanks for all the kind words.
At 11 years old at the end of this month, sans spleen, hemangio removed last October, I know he doesn't have a long time left, but I am really glad to have the time we do. The Rimadyl, which I had to wait till well after we weaned him off the Pred to give him again for his arthritis, is obviously helping too. I caught him walking across the hardwood floor to get to the back door while I was outside prepping his food last night. He could not have done that a week ago.

BTW- I took him swimming last Saturday at the Knights Landing boat ramp on the Sacramento River, which is in a sheltered laggoon safely away from the dangerous current. Life vest firmly fastened on, (revolting in my own too-small swim suit ;-) I eased him out of the back of my car and into the water, slowly guided him out to where he couldn't touch the bottom, (but I still could) and encouraged him to swim.
He HATED it... but he did swim, a little... in the direction of the car.
I couldn't tell if he tired more quickly than I expected or if he just got pissed off and quit on me so I'd let him get out of the water, but he wasn't out of breath so I am thinking the latter bears the most truth. Still, I think it was god for him to move against the resistance of the water, his weight born by the water and the flotation vest..

I hope he doesn't think that's the last time I'm taking him to the boat ramp.

Glad to hear that T continues to improve, even if he did hate his aquatherapy session...

Now it's my turn to revisit the post-episode rehab duties for my 16 1/2 year old girl, Suess, who had a thoracic FCE Sunday afternoon.  Didn't think she was going to come through it, as she not only lost control of the hind legs, but her front legs were stiff as a board and remained that way for more than 24 hours; if I tried to get her on her feet, she was terrified she was going to fall, since her balance is also shot at the moment, and she refused to eat *anything*.  Things looked so grim that I made the housecall appointment with the vet for Tuesday afternoon. 

Fortunately, Tuesday morning brought with it significant improvement, as she started moving her hind legs, trying to walk on her own, as I carried her outside to relieve herself.  Her front legs were relaxed instead of stiffened, and she scarfed down a chicken breast in a minute flat...so I called the vet and told him he was probably coming to do an exam instead of what I'd scheduled for, which made him as happy as it made me (he's gotten very fond of the old girl over the years).  He was pleased with what he found when he checked her out, her heart and lungs sound great, and we just went over the rehab plans and upped her dosage on the meloxicam to help bring down the inflammation.  A few hours later, the chiropractor made a surprise house call as well, and gave Suess an adjustment which seems to have helped also. 

Unfortunately, by the time Suess has progressed enough to be able to make use of swim therapy, it will be far too cold up here to take her into any lakes or ponds...but at this point, every additional day is a gift-wrapped package in my eyes. I'm not expecting her to see in 2012, but as long as she's not ready to go, I'll do my part to make it possible for her to hang around another day.  Old dogs just totally *rock*.  :)  Hope T starts enjoying his swims, because I'm sure he'll be doing them as often as you can get out there...so he might as well start taking some pleasure in the activity.  Maybe he needs a floating Kong for incentive?

My 9 year old boy is havng some issues with his spine. It all began when one of his legs silpped off the grooming table when I was brushing him. Or maybe he slipped BECAUSE he had an issue...

Anyway, water under the bridge, and I'm finished with beating myself up for letting it happen...

A vet exam showed proprioreceptor deficIt in the right hind, and some bony changes to the lumbar spine, but nothing that was bad enough to explain his symptoms. The vet thought the problem might be in the lumbar-sacral area, but Ranger wasn't co-operative enough for them to get an x-ray of that area, and she didn't want to knock him out to do it.

She suggested taking him to a neurologist who works out of the local emergency clinic. Having paid through the nose too many times for visits to that clinic, I opted to go with trying some Metacam instead.

He had his annual exam yesterday, and the proprioreceptors seem to be just about back to normal. He tires easily when walking or fetching the ball though, doesn't tolerate hot weather well anymore, and sometimes has trouble with the stairs. Some days he wants everyone to leave him alone. Other days, he takes on my Shiloh pup in a knock-down-drag-out wresting match, and you'd swear he was just fine. (She is by no means gentle with him, either!)

Right now, I'm at the 'meh...he's getting old...deal with it' stage. If he were still acting like a pup, I'd be more concerned, but he's showing all the signs of aging, including being slow to shed his winter coat. At least the fact he responded to the Metacam eliminates the possibility of DM.  If he takes a turn for the worse, I may consider an appointment with the neurologist, but first I think I'd like my regular vet to do an x-ray of the lumbar-sacral area of the spine. If it shows something that could possibly be fixed by surgery, fine, I might go for it. Otherwise, I'm probably just wasting my money...

He did have his hips x-rayed at age 4, and they looked very good, but since he has no pedigree (and is now neutered) I never sent the x-rays to OFA.

I am so sorry you had to go through this too with your old dogs, Hexe and Sunsilver, but pleased to learn Suess and Ranger are already beginning to recover. T couldn't stand on his own for weeks after his FCE. He couldn't even roll over to his other side laying down for almost a week, was incontinent for nearly two weeks. I nearly lost hope several times in those early days after the incident. Sadly, there is no guarantee against a recurrance of such a malady. I know I could wake up any night, come home from work any day to find my old boy in as bad or worse condition than he was that dark day thre weeks into April this year... or dead. I just thank God for the days we do have, and his continuing recovery, apparent absence of pain.

It was actually worse when my old dog, Pallo, (T's great-great uncle) herniated two discs at age 11. He WAS in pain, needed steroids from the day it happened till the day they failed to provide him the quality of life needed for him to be happy and I sent him, mercifully, to Rainbow Bridge.

We TRY to prepare for what we ultimately know we must face with our beloved dogs, but we really cannot. What comes before the end is sometimes as hard as the end itself, or worse. I think it gets worse every time, at least for me, seeming to multiply geometrically, a cumulative variety of greiving not just for the dog I am losing at the time, but for ALL the beloved dogs that went before this one. Its the price we pay for the years of joy they gave us.

I wish both of your beloved dogs the best outcome possible, the best quality of life and freedom from pain possible, even if it turns out to be for the short term. I willl try to check this messageboard more often to stay current on their progress, but please forgive me if the long hours I am working don't leave a lot of time for monitoring dog lists. You can always reach me by phone if you need to talk. (The number hasn't changed.) or e-mail, although sometimes it takes me awhile to reply to my personal messages.

Shell