Chandler update

Chandler is REALLY not having a good summer.

The good news:
His hot spot is better, and we're almost through with the antibiotics.
His lame leg seems to have cleared up, we went to the dog park for the first time in a month yesterday, and there was no yelping or limping.

The bad news:
He ripped up his pads zooming at the dog park yesterday.
I guess they've lost their toughness after a month of rest.
There's no sign of blood, but he has only a single paw that doesn't have some kind of scrape or a flap hanging off it.
Needless to say he's a bit sore, and we're resting.
(I'm also glad he's still on antibiotics)
I'm probably heading out later to look for some sort of dog booties for him to wear to keep the scrapes clean for a few days.

dog is better, fish is not...

Chan seems to be doing fine during his convalescence.
He's trotting around, and doing his best to bounce while I'm doing my best to stop him.
The cats are being driven crazy, because he wants to play.

So the dog is better, but my betta Snark is looking a bit ill.
He's all washed out and was sitting on the bottom of his little hex tank.
I've changed his water, and I hope that will perk him up.

well...

...the fish didn't make it, despite administration of medication. *sigh*
I'm bleaching his tank to make sure bacteria and viruses are dead before I try to put another fish in there.

Chandler is just not having a good summer.
I discovered a large hot spot with painful scabs on him.
So, after another trip to the vet, he's got antibiotics for two weeks,
and I'm trying to keep him from licking at the spot.
I may need to borrow an Elizabethan collar from a friend,
and I'm sure he won't like that.

In the meantime I'm trying some green tea compresses on the hot spot,
as I've heard these can help dry them up and stop the itching.

At least the weather is going to be beautiful this weekend. :)

The results of today’s visit to the veterinarian.

Although Chandler is favoring the leg, his limp is not pronounced, so they knocked him out to do x-rays and manipulate his leg.
There is no laxity in the right knee-so if there is a cruciate tear, it is tiny.
They also said xrays showed nothing abnormal.
(Plus his hips look good (informally); Yeah!)
Diagnosis was either a soft tissue injury or panosteitis, which I guess translates into he did something to a muscle or has growing pains.
The bottom line is that he is supposed to rest for another month, although he can go on leash walks and do other easy exercises like swimming. No bouncing or running allowed.

Chandler rant...I need to vent worries.

This first showed up on the 14th, when a dog collided with him in the dog park, but he had been playing very roughly with another dog two days beforehand so I can't rule out anything. Anyway, he yelped at the collision, yipped once again when he flopped down on his side, and yelped coming up the riverbank during his last "you just yelped; we are going home" rinse. And complaned a bit while settling into the back seat. He seemed fine the next day, so on the day after that we went out on a play date with a friend's ES dogs. He then yelped a few times that day, but nobody could pin anything down by looking at him. (There was no obvious limp and there never has been)

Rested him for a week, he seemed ok, so we went to one of his Akita friend's birthday parties. He won best swimmer, and only yelped once while playing-but I thought his Akita friend stepped on him. So we went hiking with my friend and her ES the next day, whereupon he hurled himself over a fallen sapling-and yelped. This time my friend could definitely see his limp, so we went into the vet on Tuesday.

The vet felt his hind legs, and watched him walk. She declared he had a stiff right knee, and proclaimed it either a sprain, strain, or a stretched or partially torn ligament. She then gave us anti-inflammatories until Friday, and orders to rest in the apartment for a week. After that, we were supposed to "take it easy". I was and still am not pleased with the vagueness.

We've mostly rested for a week-keeping a 9-10 month old ES from galloping around the house is not easy. We went to his class last night and his trainer said his right heel was wobbling a bit, and it was messing up his gait. It also looks like he's not putting all his weight on the leg-it has a tendency to toe-out.

I took Chandler out for a swim today.He seemed rather quiet for his first time off leash.
On land, it looked like his right leg was moving out to the side a bit when he walked, or something.
The fact that it's not easy to see is driving me crazy.

So we're back to the vet on Friday, because he's not quite right. This time we're seeing the head vet of the practice, so its sort of like having a second opinion.

It's just frusterating because his limp is so subtle, and they're being very vague. Plus I have other opinions ranging from "did you check for lyme?" to "it could be growing pains"...none of which have been ruled out as far as I know.

*FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS*

Anyway, here's a view of Chandler's valiant defense of the mud puddle, before all this happened.
Yes, he soaked up most of it into his fur.

Overdue update, and my poor puppy. :(

I haven't posted in a while. So I'd better first say that I had a great time on my first vacation in years down in DC with friends, even if I did find out that Goths were dangerous. ;)

I have also discovered that there seems to be absolutely no Indian restaurants in Waterbury. Argh. Just when I finally got to try some Indian food in DC. Too bad, as it was delicious.

Otherwise life goes on, and lesson plans for next fall are being worked on.

My major worry at the moment is Chandler.
he has been showing some pain in his rear hind leg (occasional
yelping running or coming up a steep slope, with very infrequent
limping that tends to be subtle) and after a week of rest didn't
settle him, I took him to his veterinarian yesterday.

The verdict was that he'd done some kind of soft tissue damage to his
knee. He's only 9 months old and must have overdone it somehow. The
joint seemed "stiff" but not loose, so perhaps he'd stretched or
slightly torn his anterior cruciate ligament. We were sent home with
anti-inflammatories to take until Friday, and told he needed indoor
rest with only potty walks for a week, after which we could "take it
slow", depending on how he is.

That last bit is unsettlingly vague for me.

His trainer thinks I should treat it like a full ACL recovery, and
only let him walk on leash or swim for the next three months, and make
sure he doesn't back up, play with other dogs, or make tight turns for
the next 6 months.

Complicating this is that he was supposed to start a puppy agility
class on Thursday, which I am thinking we had better put off for now.
*sigh*

In Requiem

Today I start my day with tears.
My friends' dog is gone, taken by the problems of old age.
I knew her well, because they were kind enough to let me and my cats stay with them for a time.
Sometime in the past week, they had to make that choice that is so wrong for you, and yet so right for a suffering pet.
That is love.
I wasn't there to offer support because I was off on vacation, and didn't know.
I offer this now, and the fruits that will come of a few extra errands today.

I remember Candy and her sled dog smile...
I remember her "woowoo!" which startled a friend of mine that was not northern breed saavy.
I remember how joyous she was when my cat Rowan snuck out the back door when I let the dogs out. She thought kitty had come to play.

I'm sorry she never got to meet Chandler. They probably would have adored each other.

I start my day with tears for an old dog and her "mommy and daddy", and also with a few good memories that I hope will not be forgotten in the pain.

This is for all three of you, and Melody too.