Dog Post
...or more specifically, a Gryphon post. I think I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was bringing him to the vet because he wasn't putting much weight on his back right foot. I felt around the joints, and the right was swollen. We go, he gets x-rayed, he gets lots of medicine, and oh yeah! surprise runaway ear infection.
I'd noticed other stuff about Gryphon before all this though. For a couple/few years when we walk, he occasionally stumbles his back feet. It usually happened at least once during a long walk. No big deal. He never fell, just kinda misses a step. Or something. Anyway. Earlier in the summer, he was coming home with a bloody toe pad. Not every time, but often after a long walk. Then it got hot and the walks basically stopped.
Then he started not wanting to evenly distribute his weight on his back legs *points to beginning of post* I watched the way he walked and saw that he was not looking right. Odd lower back leg instability/shuffling/don't know how to describe it. I mentioned it to the vet when I brought him in, and she said could possibly be disc disease, we'll wait and see how he does with the cocktail of anti-inflammatories that he was prescribed.
I had him back on Friday for a follow-up. Ear infection more or less gone. And most probably disc disease for the weird gait/walk. The good news *?* is it's chronic. He's had it a while and will still have it and he's not in pain and he's not going to fall apart overnight. His muscle mass is heavy and solid. She recommended getting him exercise again (he's had next to nothing while waiting for his right foot probably bursitis to clear up) starting with short walks and working up to longer. This is all good :D He loves going out and I haven't done much with Darwin, who has likely gained a bunch of weight. So family dog walks after dinner instead of me power-walking with both of them. That's all fine.
Also when he does deteriorate, the meds have improved a lot since the last time I had to deal with this. We've had to put down two dogs and it is up there with the worst possible experiences ever. The fact that non-steroidal meds have come a long way is great.
The down side to all this is I cannot take him on long fast walks anymore. Especially if they involve sidewalks. We went for a short one this evening, and he had a toe pad on each back foot rubbed raw. This moring's walk was mostly on grass and that was not an issue. So I guess I'll have to look into booties or socks of some sort. Like the poor guy needs something new to draw attention to himself ;P
And hopefully short fun walks will keep his muscle mass where it needs to be and the disc disease will not get worse to the point that he can't get around comfortably. I know that end of life is a part of pet ownership, but I feel like I've gone through this too recently to deal with it again.
Here he is lying in the entryway with Raven.
So much laziness in my household.
I'd noticed other stuff about Gryphon before all this though. For a couple/few years when we walk, he occasionally stumbles his back feet. It usually happened at least once during a long walk. No big deal. He never fell, just kinda misses a step. Or something. Anyway. Earlier in the summer, he was coming home with a bloody toe pad. Not every time, but often after a long walk. Then it got hot and the walks basically stopped.
Then he started not wanting to evenly distribute his weight on his back legs *points to beginning of post* I watched the way he walked and saw that he was not looking right. Odd lower back leg instability/shuffling/don't know how to describe it. I mentioned it to the vet when I brought him in, and she said could possibly be disc disease, we'll wait and see how he does with the cocktail of anti-inflammatories that he was prescribed.
I had him back on Friday for a follow-up. Ear infection more or less gone. And most probably disc disease for the weird gait/walk. The good news *?* is it's chronic. He's had it a while and will still have it and he's not in pain and he's not going to fall apart overnight. His muscle mass is heavy and solid. She recommended getting him exercise again (he's had next to nothing while waiting for his right foot probably bursitis to clear up) starting with short walks and working up to longer. This is all good :D He loves going out and I haven't done much with Darwin, who has likely gained a bunch of weight. So family dog walks after dinner instead of me power-walking with both of them. That's all fine.
Also when he does deteriorate, the meds have improved a lot since the last time I had to deal with this. We've had to put down two dogs and it is up there with the worst possible experiences ever. The fact that non-steroidal meds have come a long way is great.
The down side to all this is I cannot take him on long fast walks anymore. Especially if they involve sidewalks. We went for a short one this evening, and he had a toe pad on each back foot rubbed raw. This moring's walk was mostly on grass and that was not an issue. So I guess I'll have to look into booties or socks of some sort. Like the poor guy needs something new to draw attention to himself ;P
And hopefully short fun walks will keep his muscle mass where it needs to be and the disc disease will not get worse to the point that he can't get around comfortably. I know that end of life is a part of pet ownership, but I feel like I've gone through this too recently to deal with it again.
Here he is lying in the entryway with Raven.
So much laziness in my household.