Tooth decay vs Fractured teeth and Dog Chews-

In my search to find out how to prevent Toby OR Meeka from loosing anymore teeth I came across this article written by a vet. (obviously his rough draft!) This is a VERY interesting and eye-opening article and thought I'd share it!

http://www.bestfriendsvet.com/pdffiles/SlabFxWa.pdf

Obviously that will have to be copied and pasted - but it is worth while!! Check it out!

It's a "WOW" moment because how many of us KNOW this??? It makes me mad that these are even sold at our pet stores if they are so unsafe. You'd think someone would be other there protecting our pets but stopping the sales of dangerous 'chews'!

Here is some other information I found from a blog by Dr. Sherry Weaver:

"Rawhides have the advantage of being tasty and relatively inexpensive. Most dogs love them. The disadvantage of rawhide is that it can be quickly chewed into small chunks, and dogs have been known to swallow pieces too large and get blocked up. These blockages are extremely rare, especially with single-ply rawhide, but you should watch your dog play with the rawhide and take it away if he is breaking off large chunks to swallow. When the rawhides wear down to a swallow-able sized piece, they should be thrown away. If your dog is a slower chewer and makes a rawhide last for a day or two, then it can be appropriate. When you do buy rawhide, try to get it from a reputable manufacturer, although the recent pet food crisis has made us all aware that even that is not enough to guarantee a lack of harmful chemicals."

"I have recently been seeing “bully bones” in the pet stores. This piece of cow anatomy is relatively new to the pet market, but it seems very safe. It can be chewed up relatively quickly, but appears to be pretty digestible. The only disadvantage I have found is that they can be a little expensive and often don’t last very long. But, so far, this is one of the safest chew products that I have found."

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Anyway, We will NEVER again have the option of Toby having his teeth cleaned again so, this information is very valuable to US. Maybe you will think so too.

LOOK AT THOSE LEGS!!!!!

 

LOOK AT HOW STRONG HE LOOKS- AND HAPPY!! Toby is perfect! he even took advantage of an open staircase and went on down- then back up! THEN he jumped onto a chair and then back DOWN when he saw me coming! He is fine!! IT DIDN'T SEEM TO HURT HIM AT ALL!!! SO, the days of worrying are over for us and Toby. He was so BAD a week ago- requiring pain pills every 12 hours. Then the grand kids came....and we put his shirt on him...and WA-LA! It was a miracle! I can't explain it. I don't even want to try. All I know is Toby is FINE. Look at his straight legs. 5 1/2 weeks......and it is over.
By The way- his shirt says "I'M USED TO THE ATTENTION"....

THANK YOU TO ALL MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHO HAVE GIVEN US HELP, AND WORDS OF SUPPORT...AND LOVE. IT IS ONLY THOSE WHO HAVE A DOG WHO CAN REALLY RELATE. I THANK YOU. IT MEANT A LOT.

Haircut.....what a day THAT was.....

 

 

 

 

A week ago tomorrow Toby got a haircut. He needed it so BADLY- he was obviously uncomfortable and had a hard time with the mats that were forming over his eyes! So, we found a company that comes to your house to groom dogs- and even takes special care with Special needs dogs. This gal was wonderful with Toby!! She talked to him and soothed him...and soothed my husband who helped. It was very scary actually, as Toby wasn't happy with the procedure which took 2 full hours as she was verrrry carefully taking her time with him. He had to be 'taken down to the skin' practically, although there was one lower setting, it left him all pink and spotted and definitely NOT looking like a BICHON! The process left him seemingly worse off, weaker,more apt to fall to the side and shaking a lot. He required pain pills twice a day (they are 12 hour ones) and at first he didn't eat a thing- for two full days. But the GOOD news- coupled with the grand kids visits and maybe the haircut (he has always loved being 'pretty') well...he has been running around the yard for the last 2 days as though he is a healed dog!! No more pain pills, no more leash. We DON'T let him jump up on the furniture or run up and down the stairs (we have 2 full flights of stairs in this house)But let me tell you- TOBY thinks he is fully healed- acts it- plays like it- the depression is gone- in fact, when he saw Eliza (our oldest Grand daughter who he considers his 'other mommy') he SMILED- and gave her a kiss! We hadn't seen a smile from him in over 5 weeks......... I am happy to announce that I can NOW change the subjects in this Blog!- WELL- after I TAKE THE FINAL PICTURE- I am HOPING to DO that tomorrow or Tuesday- BECAUSE now it is ME who can't walk.... or bend...or play... some kind of weird bug has hit me BIG time - verrrry painful joints (all of them I think!), my muscles then got involved and a pretty good fever has gone along WITH it. So, tomorrow I am off to the doctor to make ME feel better! (although, my joints have backed off in the pain department leaving only my knees and lower back painfully hurting, I think I'd better try to figure this out- besides my MOM is making me!!)

a light bulb goes off.....

Emotions in dogs are a lot like humans. They can be happy, mad, anxious, scared, loving and....depressed. Now we know that we have seen this in Toby and have been very worried, as anyone keeping up with this blog knows. But a funny thing happened during the 'pill' event that has kept us wondering...and thinking! As I said in yesterdays blog, we decided to take Toby on an experimental walk. The reason being is during the 'pill event' my husband pointed something out that Toby was doing. While waiting for the hydrogen Peroxide to bring the pill up and out of Toby's tummy, Toby started walking around Linet's yard...exploring. Again: he was WALKING AROUND LINET'S YARD. That morning I had blogged that I was so scared for him as he wasn't able to walk...he was swaying and losing his balance etc. BUT THEN, given a new place, some other doggy scents...a new VIEW so to speak, he became MOBILE and was walking almost completely normal. Sooo we started analyzing this. Could it BE that Toby is faking? NO. A dog doesn't have that capability. So, could it be that he is just so depressed that he doesn't CARE to walk..to TRY? I mean- one day up and about, the next day darn near crippled. Well yesterday evening we decided to try our theory. We took him too far, he even stepped up a curb and right back down before we even THOUGHT: STEP! We've been warned NO STEPS and there it was, disguised. I later added a foot note to the last blog entry that it was a mistake! We were devastated as we just KNEW we hurt him. But later, he started walking a bit better. Today we tried again. Once again this morning and all day long he hasn't been walking very well. As soon as we opened the gate for his walk- he pulled my husband along! He still didn't get far before wearing out- but he was only taken one house and their yard width and back home. He is sooo HAPPY about these little walks that it is very very obvious that we just MAY have found the answer. As my son Ryan pointed out "he needs some physical rehabilitation". After all, 4 WEEKS lying around...who wouldn't? With our Vets blessing, (Dr. Clark of "Critters Care") we are about to embark on just what Ryan suggested! And I truly believe, especially after his eager response both days, that this just may be what he needs now. Nothing else makes sense!

The Emotional Roller Coaster ride for Toby and US...

I am beginning to think this is the way it is going to be forever....

Toby can be doing so well one day, and then super weak and clumsy the next. I don't understand it. As I pointed out, the vet gave him a long-term steroid shot a few days ago along with a vit. B shot. Man, the next day, and especially two days later- he seemed darned near healed! It was amazing how well he was doing! In fact, once again we thought..'YEP! He's going to be FINE'!!
and then yesterday he once again began showing signs of weakness, it started yesterday afternoon. Today, the same thing, even losing balance when he was trying to go poo. I am beginning to feel the same mental exhaustion my husband is feeling....losing hope when I don't want to. It wouldn't be BAD if he was just going to BE this way and we could let him live as is. But BECAUSE he is still showing this 'weakness' in his hind legs we are being told to keep him calm, contained and basically, depressed!! The vet still isn't sure that surgery is the route we want to take since it hasn't any promises and not the highest of success rates. Then he'd still be contained (even if it worked) for most of the summer! Toby's depression is very hard on us...and it is catching. Nothing makes a person feel more hopeless and HELPLESS then trying to deal with a depressed animal that you can do nothing about.

My husband wonders if all this lying around is making him weaker in itself. I mean, if WE were to lie around all day long it would make US weak and sore!! IF we were to break the 'rule' of limited activity and take him for short walks down the street and around the corner for instance, would that be so bad? Of course, there are the fears- what if a loose dog is out? would Toby get hurt trying to be sociable? (he never DID learn to HEEL) we can't pick him up so that wouldn't be an option either. And so...do we chance it? What are our options for a depressed dog? Prozac? Do they make such a thing?? well at any rate...we are still at odds as to what to make of all of this and time is wearing on us and TOBY and our emotional roller coaster ride with this injury is really taking a toll.

I wish I had more answers.....
PS- just talked to my husband and we have decided to take him for a little walk after he gets home from work. Two of us together ought to be able to protect him. Wish us luck....the little guy needs this...it's always been his favorite thing to do (not counting playing with the grandkids!!)

UPDATE at 8:20 PM...

I'm not sure that that was a good idea after all. We took him- he was so HAPPY at first he was even hard to control. right away he jumped the curb. We never THOUGHT of a curb as being step...but it is and we allowed him to go over it and before we could do a thing, he came down it as well. He continued on...seemingly unaffected by the curb. so I don't THINK it hurt him...but it wasn't long at all and Dan realized that Toby wasn't really using his hind feet- his front legs were propelling him forward and he was kind of dragging his hind feet to some extent. He was weak in a flash, and hasn't done too well since we got home. I'll update.......

Long few days-

After the fiasco with what is now known as 'the pill day' followed by the "we can't get him to stop throwing up!" days, Toby is once again improving. Dr. Clark came day before yesterday to check him out AGAIN and decided to give the VERY wobbly, very WEAK little pink-faced dog a shot of vitamin B complex and another steroid shot as well. This one is long term, so we don't have to worry about trying to hide that little white pilled called Prednisone in his food! He was doing so GOOD before the pill incident which will haunt me for a very LONG time. Now he has suffered a set-back but the vet said that he is still considers it a good sign that he has not gone into complete paralysis. He thinks that if he was going to, he would have by now. Four weeks...and counting.

The two shots have helped remarkably! He has improved once again and the real worry was, when holding him down to get the 5 or 6 syringes filled with hydrogen peroxide down his throat (see post before the Pepto Post by clicking on blog header~ which will take you to my entire blog) and then two days later having to struggle with Pepto Bismol to stop his puking. We were VERY WORRIED about having hurt him further. We had done everything possible to brace his back when administering those life-saving meds...but man- even sick, a dog can struggle!! SO, we are MORE then relieved to see that once again Toby is beginning to walk- he is still wobbly of course, but he is getting stronger and a bit crankier with our other little bouncy, happy chihuahua Meeka. (good sign- she is pestering him from boredom!)

Another bit of GOOD news- we were able to wash his little face, which is still PINK, but lighter!

The pepto-wrestle...

 

Toby's stomach lining is burned and his esophagus probably in the same condition. This is caused from the hydrogen peroxide that he took yesterday to make him throw up the pill he was given by accident. He has been vomiting ever since. So, after 36 hours of not being able to keep stuff down longer then 2 hours at a time, he had to be given Pepto Bismol@ to coat his stomach and calm it down. I can give him a couple of tablespoons of water at a time, about 1-2 hours apart. He isn't dehydrated as my daughter in law pointed out. He wouldn't be going pee if he was, and he did. SO, that is a good sign- obviously some of the water we have given him is staying in his system. He hasn't had food stay down - and he is hungry! But in order to help his tummy we have to hold off on the food until his stomach has had time to rest.

I tried and tried and coaxed and plead to get Toby to open his mouth and take his pink medicine, but he refused and I am sooo afraid of hurting his back that I just couldn't FORCE it in him. So, I called Jennifer, my daughter in law- who is in town for three weeks, staying with her parents first and then when my son gets in town they will come here (on the 16th OF JULY!)ANYWAY, she is amazing with animals...and people. She is very calm. I am very NOT calm right now. I am quite frantic in dealing with my poor Toby. I am afraid...and so I over-react...panicking a bit too quickly over things like this. So, she came over and the 2 of us were able to pry my little guys mouth open enough to get the stuff in him...and on him..and nope- he will NOT allow me to wash his face. I think tonight he has HAD IT WITH ME. I cannot blame him.

With seconds ticking...

I never have, in my life...felt the uncontrolled horror of my own actions as I did yesterday. Today I thank God for the answered prayers of my sweet Grand daughters who never left their knees once they found out the horror that Toby was going through. (they absolutely love him) With seconds ticking down the time span for that pill to dissolve into Toby's system we were all frantic. ME especially, as I was the one who gave it to him by accident. After one and one half hours the pill was removed, in tact...WHOLE, as though untouched. I am still amazed! The Vet was as well (he called around 7PM. He had been on vacation!)

Toby's tummy was upset all day long after 'the incident' and he threw up everything that he was given, even water. But today is a new day and I feel so grateful that Toby did the simplest of things when he saw me. He wagged his tail. I guess he doesnt' understand that I was the one who caused the day to spin out of his control, and ours. But even if he did- he would forgive me, that I have no doubt. Dog's are amazing. Little Earth angels, with tiny horns! LOL!

Thanks Linet for 'being there' when no one else could be. We didn't have time to drive clear up to the south hill to save him...we had minutes to get that out...it should have dissolved and been gone...but the pill waited for us! THANK YOU, thank you...thank you.

it went down hill...

While waiting for the vet to call we knew that, although Toby had NO appetite, we HAD to get his prednisone in him. We tried all the usual foods to hide it in but he wouldn't even pay attention to it. We kept coming in, with foods of choice, pill in hand thinking we could quickly stick it in the food when he opened his mouth to eat whatever it was. NOTHING was working. IN the mean time, I had to take MY med, which is taken with food or it upsets my stomach,so I had taken it out and put it on the counter top when I thought- wait- PEANUT butter! SO, waiting to take MY med, I quickly grabbed the jar and a spoon and went in to see if he would be interested! YEP- he was! SO, I went to the kitchen, grabbed his pill and went back in to feed him a spoon of peanut butter laced with the little white pill.....GOT it in him! felt great relief- and went in to take my own pill with my cereal....
but I couldn't find it...
... MY little white pill was GONE!

My husband had seen Toby's pill sitting there and put it back in his bottle. I didn't know it. I FED MY MEDICATION TO TOBY. So, NOW we are in panic mode as we haven't yet been able to get hold of a vet and the pet emergency clinic had just closed. (open all night) SO, I dial 411 to find a number of another one- only it can't recognized what I am SAYING because when I am scared, my voice shakes. I SLAM the phone DOWN and Dan calls the poison center- and they say that my pill can cause 'severe seizures' in a dog- take him to Pet emergency. PANIC!!
SO NOW I am trying to FIND SOME VET THAT IS OPEN AT and I can't and SINCE I AM SHAKING SO BADLY I CAN barely EVEN READ THE PHONE BOOK let alone TURN THE PAGES. so we call Linet, my daughter in laws Mom, who has 3 dogs and ask HER if she knows a vet we could call- she says to give Toby a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting. I THINK I have some... at least 10 minutes have NOW passed. My husband runs upstairs, I run to the other bath- to the laundry room...NONE- we call her back- do you have any??!!! YES- My husband puts Toby into the Kennel and rushes over there. now 15-20 minutes.... Linet gives him the first dose, then 10 minutes later another one since he didn't vomit with the first dose. I don't know how many doses she gave him but STILL NOTHING- so she tests the hydrogen peroxide with baking soda. It's DEAD! SO Dan rushes to Albertson's to get more- by now....about an hour has passed. I am thinking...He's going to die and I did it to him. I am frantic and broken hearted. My eldest son, Ryan who was contacted by my youngest son Scotty, got on the computer and looked up area vets and talked to a vet asst on the south hill who sounded like 1 hour? oooohhh noooo....it might be too late..(he didn't' tell me THAT tho) and then Ryan's kids hit their knees praying for Toby. He said they didn't even get up, they stayed there praying for him- they love him like their own dog. FINALLY Toby Puked and the pill emerged after about 1 1/2 hours (SEEMED like 6) The pill was WHOLE. It was completely formed and the numbers in tact. Prayers answered. My blood pressure is quite high after this fun episode and I can't remember when I have EVER felt so completely helpless. We are so exhausted, and Toby is still not feeling well- but he is safe from the pills harmful canine effects. Now to get this little guy back on his feet.

The name of this Blog is "NOT MISTAKES...Lessons". Daddy always said that if you aren't going to do that again it is a LESSON not a mistake. This was a lesson. I know now to have a syringe, (no needle-it's used to squirt the liquid down the dogs throat) and to have FRESH Hydrogen Peroxide on HAND always- throw out the old- it does expire!! I will also never give a pill to an animal or any other, without re-checking that it is the correct one!! Lesson learned Dad.....

with hands shaking....

...I'm waiting for the vet to call, I wonder- "what the hell"? How does Toby go from being GREAT yesterday to not wanting to eat a THING (not even tuna (his favorite) and walking 'tipsy' today??!! He acts like he hurts again- and like he is too weak to keep his back side from swaying. This, once again is the day AFTER an 'off day' of his prednisone. Can that alone be what makes him do this? Is he worse then we THINK so just 'one day' without the steroids cause this to occur?? We are waiting right now for a call back from Dr. Clark. Are we going to HAVE to have the surgery done?? If so- maybe we should just DO IT- so that he doesn't have to spend the entire summer in a crate!! I want to scream, I want to cry. I'm glad that my husband is home today or I would have to take the day off to tend to him. He needs someone with him again...this is really scary.
........and here I thought I could start posting things that aren't about TOBY.....

Toby's SLIPPERS

 

We were wondering WHY Toby has the hardest problem with our wood floors- which he HAS to walk on to get to the French doors where the ramp is built! He does fine outside, he does fine on the carpet...but when he comes in the house we see that he has a little less ability to 'stay afoot'.... slipping...slidding...then when he was laying down in the TV room I saw WHY- Toby is wearing SLIPPERS without GRIPPERS!! He was DUE for a grooming when he was hurt~well, now he is past due!! He needs his foot-hair cut! Kind of like Nose and EAR hair, isn't it? You have to keep it trimmed or the guy will grow a forest!

Anyway, he continues to improve! In fact, he is doing VERY WELL now! We still do the 'chiropractic stretch' on him, but not as often as we would like. Why? because Toby want's to SEE what we are doing! He turns his head to LOOK, causing his body to turn as well. We have to keep his body straight during this procedure. It's not a big deal now, as we see such an improvement in him that we aren't worried now. He is obviously on the road to health. He will be re-evaluated the week of the 18th and we feel that the vet will give us a thumbs up on letting him be a happy FREE little guy!

GREAT morning!

Yesterday turned out to be a difficult day with Toby, for the first half anyway. The afternoon brought a change- and I think it had to do with GREEN GRASS. He ate it...lots of it. I think he had a tummy ache. After he consumed more then I thought he would- he acted so much better. He 'patrolled the perimeter of the yard, even going around and through the bushes! He hasn't DONE That once since this began. I'd say that is another 'very good sign' of improvement!

This morning he was 'up and at em' first thing! His mood seems good, his body is moving all right- he still has some obvious weakness in his left hind quarter but...it's is most diffidently improved from the beginning.

I think it is obvious that there will be some up days and some down days. From what I can find through other peoples blogs is that it seems to be the norm to feel that way. Slipped disks or herniated disks, (which I was told are the same thing by the vet) take time. They are painful, ask any human! I don't imagine that it is any less painful to a dog. Now, For my husband and I to learn to 'ride with it' is going to be the assignment from me!! We are 'up and down' right along with Toby! Not good. Too emotional!! Another thing that makes this all even harder- try to get stuff DONE!! Geech!! It took me all day yesterday to weed ONE flower bed and mow the lawn! I was out standing with Toby waiting for him to 'be ready' to come inside! He has 'gotten it'...he has figured out that we cannot pick him up, drag him in....or anything! He has all power!! LOL! This must be kind of entertaining for him.............

What NOW?

Day 14 has started out badly. I can't figure out what happened. Toby did get up, walk out on his leash outside...verrrry slowly though, like he was sore. He squatted (he's been lifting his leg) and ever so slowly came back in. I tried to give him his pill (prednisone which we give every other day now) in the normal canned dog food. He wouldn't take it. So I put it in tuna- and he did. (first time he has turned done the alpo) and then he started to slightly shake. Right now he is STILL laying down and refusing to do anything but that. SO, yes.... we are back to being a bit worried about him. He was doing so WELL. The ONLY thing that I can think of is we let him lay on 'his doggy bed' last night. It is round, with edges and a pillow. I don't know if that alone could cause a back ache as he DOES slightly bend when he is laying in that bed...and maybe sleeping like that all night made him stiff??? I just don't know, it doesn't SEEM like that could cause a set back... but maybe it did. SIGH. We have just been worried about him being so MAD/SAD about the crate that we THOUGHT he'd be OK in his bed. Maybe we were wrong.

continued improvement!

Toby continues to get better and is even able to scratch his ear on the right side! His left foot still doesn't 'quite do it' however. He is working hard to master his 'SAD-eyed look" and doing very well. We have him out of his crate a LOT, so we are constantly watching after him with a short leash and a lot of calm words to keep him from over-exerting himself. He can only WALK...and still cannot climb into our laps, which is very difficult for him to understand.

We do the 'chiropractic stretch' on him but not as ofter or as many times as 'we' would like. He tends to turn to 'watch' what we are doing. He needs to be looking straight ahead.

He is eating and drinking, chewing bones and pooping....isn't that a dogs life? He is still a little weak on the left hind quarter, but it is obviously stronger. I don't know what to expect exactly after the one month anniversary, when he can be out of the crate (baring any unforeseen problems) I don't know if there may be some 'residual' weakness as in stroke patients...or if, once 'healed' he will be back as he was? At any rate, I just hope that we can be told that we no longer have to WORRY about his back...but I have basically taken one day at a time until now. NOW I can SEE that he is going to be OK....so..what do we expect AFTER this type of problem?

one NEW problem...

How does a dog get a GOOD chew on a bone when he is minus 8 teeth? Poor Toby!! Chew chew chew chew........but the bone is like....making CIRCLES in his mouth while he chews!! This poor little guy!! LOL...it's kinda cute to watch him though because he is so happy to have a bone...and yet this ONE BONE might just last him all WEEK!!

ALSO~ he is in a FULL Happy bouncy mood PLUS and the vet said "there is nothing we can give him to keep him calm but a tranquilizer which would knock him out all day!" we do NOT want that....so...our new sentence to Toby? "DOWN TOBY!! calm down....GOOOOD BOY...NO! DOWN!!!" Oh boy...what a difference a DAY makes!!


He is dancing while he walks. We can't make him stop! This is BICHON all over the place...TOBY'S BACK!! Now to get him to stop this.......we HAVE to the vet said!

DAY 11.....what an IMPROVEMENT!

My gosh! We woke up to a little HAPPY DOG this morning! He wants to BOUNCE, he wants to RUN...he want's to be the BICHON HE WAS BORN TO BE!!! Oh oh....this is GOOD...but this is is bad at the same time! We can't let him re-injure his back...but my GOSH! What an amazing difference. My husband said "Maybe we should ask the vet for something to calm him down"? Oh wow...this is a BITTERSWEET situation for sure!

I will be heading to the grocery store to get him some bones bcause I got THIS suggestion from a friend "in the Know":
One thing you could do (I do it for Bengy my dog every day) for Toby is buy BEEF ribs cut off all the meat you can then I nuck usually around 7 bones for 5 minutes, let cool (if you need one right away put in ice water for about a minute), then give Toby one in his crate and he will be rewarded in his crate. He will eventually want to go to his crate because he gets a bone. I give Bengy one everyday around 5 and about 4:30 he starts whining for his bone. I have done this for 2 years since choosing never to have his teeth cleaned again. It doesn't get rid of all bad breath but helps alot better then greenies which we have also used. It costs about 7 dollars aweek but what the heck. VERY GOOD ADVICE that I am about to put into action! Thanks Connie!

is he in pain?

I THINK maybe Toby's depressed because they took him off pain killers Friday. He is still on Prednisone...but I believe he hurts. The vet DID say that we could give him 1/4- 1/2 of an adult aspirin. BUT then I remembered what happened with my little dog that I had when I was first married- a Maltese mix. I did that and he went PARALYZED- couldn't walk a single step- until it wore off! The vet back THEN said "that's not uncommon, dogs shouldn't be given aspirins as that is a side effect that sometimes happens. When it wore off, he was fine. So, I'll ask for something a bit 'safer' that won't cause ME to panic!!!

Until then- I don't know what else I can do...has anyone any ideas for me?? Has aspirin ever done anything negative to YOUR dog??

How hard can you tug?

I wish I would have gotten a clarification on 'how hard' I can tug on the leash...because Toby doesn't want to come back inside today! I take that as a very good sign. However, I have to go to work soon and I was beginning to get worried as to whether or not I'd get to come back inside with enough time to get ready to leave! LIES that worked before...don't work now! He's ON TO ME!! When I said "is that DADDY?!!? he actually GLARED at me...I am not imagining that , I swear it. He looked at me through eye slits.
Today he walks even steadier. He is losing the drunk sailor walk almost completely. He drinks a lot. Do dogs drink more when they are stressed or Nervous? Of course, THAT makes me worry...kidney trouble? Obsessive drinking was another one of our beloved dogs first sign of kidney disease. Toby hasn't reached THAT so I need to sit back and figure he is just thirsty.

Depression sets in...

SO, how do you explain to a little DOG how important it is for him to be in a crate 24/7? Today Toby is crying...today I have begun to as well. It is almost too much- like the proverbial 'frosting on the cake". I take him out, and let him walk a bit around the yard, then he plants his hiney and stays...I cannot bring myself to get FIRM enough to MAKE him MOVE, so I stand or sit and wait until my back begins to tire and my mood begins to slip...then I gently coax him in with lies. "is that Daddy?" come see daddy! No daddy......sorry Toby ...I had too....

I didn't want to FALL IN LOVE...

....not with another animal. I wanted only to love them and take care of them but not get so emotionally attached to them that I would FEEL like I feel now. I love this little guy almost as deeply as I see my husband love him. I was raised on a farm. I KNOW better then to get too attached...but it happened in a weak moment watching him stumble and try so hard to walk, or lift his leg to potty...or sit and cry in a crate with big eyes pleading to "PLEASE stop punishing me". That is what it FEELS like he is saying. It doesn't matter, it is how I feel he is thinking.
He seems to be a tiny bit better? I can't tell for sure. He did slip twice on the wood floor this morning in his excitement to go outside. My fault. I had put him on the "wanna WALK? leash"! He thought I was going to take him for a real walk...not just outside for a potty break. I let the leash be a bit longer then the 4 foot one we have been using...it made him happy... until his potty break was done, and he was back in his crate. That was the moment I KNEW I had fallin in love......and I cried.

The RAMP....

 
 
SO, Toby cannot walk up a single step or it COULD paralyze him...so what do we do? We treat him as we would ourselves, I guess-my husband built him a ramp! It is WIDE, so that he doesn't decide last minute to JUMP the edge, it is carpeted so that it isn't slippery. He likes it- and so does Meeka who runs up and down it over and over like a little kid. (She's a "deer Chihuahua"- so not too small- 15 pounds!) Really though, there is a very good reason for this "Handicapped" look. If we pick him up wrong, it could be the end of his life as he has known it. It is very difficult to pick up a dog, any dog- even small ones like him without causing an unbalanced feeling to them- and in response, they arch their back or 'squiggle'!! VERY scary. SO! This is for Toby ~ but it also gives US peace of mind.

Doggy Jail...

 
This has to be the worst thing for Toby. JAIL! But he is outside watchng 'daddy' build him a ramp. He will be livng in this BOX for 3-4 weeks (hopefully not LONGER!!!!) and a ramp will make it easier for all to get him up and down the steps. He cannot be bent 'whatsoever'... so try lifting a dog and NOT bending them to some degree! Pics to follow...with updates.

not the best morning....but not the worst.

Toby had a bit of trouble getting up and out the door to go potty at 4:45 AM. (I'm glad it's light outside at that time!) He did his 'duty' and then sat down. My husband and I both tried to coax him to stand up and come back in the house on his own: "Want a treat? Come get your TREAT Toby!" "Want some CHICKEN? Yum! COME GET SOME chicken Toby! Come on!! Get some chicken! want some chicken???" Even offering some of HIS chicken to our other little dog, Meeka, didn't do the trick. He just sat there... This is NOT his 'normal way'...but after gently lifting his butt off the grass FOR him...he was able to walk to the house for his treat. Poor little guy. The hard part for us gets even harder because he doesn't understand WHY we keep putting him back into his crate. To him, this is punishment I think. He acts SAD. His job is to sit in our laps at ALL times...and to follow us everywhere, no matter what. This isn't what Toby DOES and it is making him depressed I think. That worries me too. He can't understand that this is just for 3-4 more weeks ....

The Chiropractors advice for my dog...

SO, I took Toby to MY Chiropractor this evening. She said that her little dog was even worse then Toby seems to be at the moment. (he was waaay worse this morning, and she said that that is even so with humans; morning stiffness kind of thing) Her little guy had a herniated disk seven YEARS ago, and has done really well ever since. She was taught a certain 'stretch' exercise for her dog by a vet/chiropractor. So, she taught it to us. Very simple to do...yea! She still advises us to have the steroid shots and the anti-inflammatory meds continued and to keep him in his kennel for 4 weeks, as advised by all the vets. Plus she said that if he takes a turn for the worse- to take him right in for surgery. Her response to this type of surgery's effectiveness was better then the vets seemed to give us (50% effectiveness) she has seen it have good results although she has a very SMALL group of dogs to use as an example since the other dogs all healed on their own. SO, our day started at 7AM with a very BIG scare...2 vet appts, lots of internet exploring on Chiropractic care in dogs,and ending with a trip at 5:45 to my personal chiropractor, Dr. Susan Barrett. WHICH by the way she did NOT do as a 'dog' appt. She just saw him for ME...and didn't charge us a dime. she simply loves dogs....

I feel so much more in control now. There is hope that he won't have to go into surgery...that we just might be able to help him heal himself. "This is a temporary thing"......

you can always smile...a little!

 
  Even when you think you can't smile...you find something that makes you anyway! These were posted on the Vets office wall. Click on the picture, it'll get big enough to read!

my Dog Toby...

 

My grand daughter Eliza is Toby's 'other mommy'....but Toby is hurting right now and she doesn't know about it.
A week ago tomorrow we had him in for a dental cleaning at which time the vet elected to remove 7 of his teeth. We brought him home later that afternoon after dropping him off at 7:30 am. When we got home we noticed that he seemed to be walking like a 'drunk sailor'. Thinking it was the effects of the anesthesia, we were not concerned. The next morning we were. He woke unable to use his back legs correctly. We rushed him into the vet who said that it was a pinched nerve caused by a preexisting problem. HUH? We never KNEW he had a problem with his back. NEVER an indication that we saw. She gave him a steroid shot, some muscle relaxants and something else and sent him home after telling us "Zero activity for one week". Today is day 6 and he seems to be a bit worse after seemingly being a tad bit better yesterday. SO, we called another vet for a second opinion. He then sent us to yet another vet for x-rays and a consultation. We aren't any closer to a decision then we were this morning. We 'did' make am appointment for tomorrow morning with a surgeon but I am thinking right now that we should wait and try more meds and a chiropractor. We have an appt this evening with one. She used it on her own dogs herniated disk and it worked. I am willing to try. The bad side? Toby can become paralyzed with ANY of the methods the vets prescribed. It is all risky yet hopeful..and yet...any of the decisions we are about to make can cause him to lose his ability to move his back legs forever.

And so...one more visit and then we add prayers....

lessons learned...the hard way.

My Dad once asked me, after I was rambling on about a mistake I had made, if I was "going to DO IT AGAIN"? I replied : "OF COURSE NOT DAD!" He said to me "Then, it's not a mistake, it's a Lesson". so, there is the reason for this blog title. All my lessons in life seem to come the hard way...my mistakes I have learned from.

This blog is for no other reason but to share. I hope that when I do someone else will share what they have experienced and then maybe through all of this we can all become wiser for it.