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Dec. 26th, 2020 12:23 amMy old dog, Lady, is 16, at least. We got her in 2005 or 2006, and she was already at least a couple years old, and had been used in a puppy mill, probably.
Last year around this time, I nagged my dad to get her to the vet, because she had very bad skin and kept on scratched to the point she was howling. We figured it was because the next door neighbour was renovating, and we noticed she howled less when she was in the back of the house. We also got her some wet dog food and some supplements for her arthritis. Also, because she's older and has a weaker immune system, the regular microscopic flora and fauna on her skin has been going out of control, which resulted in the irritated skin.
This year it's been a see-saw of good and bad health, and as my dad goes back to being the cheapskate he is, buying only dry dog food and not the medicated wet food, she's become even more arthritic.
She's figured out that when she wants to be taken out, she can howl and one of us (i.e. ME) will come down to take her for a walk so she can pee, though we have to do it in time or else she'll pee in the driveway or on the road, rather than on the grass. She has trouble getting up because the tiles on the driveway are very slippery, and when she gets back, she usually just.... sliiiiiides down... on her front paws, as if she's given up on life.
When we took her to the vet last week the vet said that aside from muscle atrophy on one side (because she keeps sleeping on one side), some old-age arthritis, and a heart murmur, she seems to be mostly healthy. She gave us some painkillers and some glucosamine, and told us to try not to surprise the dog so much. Unfortunately, the dog doesn't like being touched, and if she doesn't see us coming, she jerks up in surprise. Since she's also deaf as a post now, we can't exactly call out to her to let her know we're coming.
This week I noticed with a bit of alarm that at one point while walking home, she began to hunch over, like instead of walking straight up, she was at half height with her shoulders down, looking a bit like a house gecko. I thought she found a comfy spot on the grass and let her lay down for a bit.
Today, the same thing happened, but on the road. I had been hoping to do our usual route of going down the road and back, but she could barely handle 20 meters before she just started plodding SO SLOWLY I was like "ok fine we'll go home." A few meters from the front gate she began that weird gecko walk again, and this time I stopped completely to pet her and she just slumped to the ground. I pet her for a bit, and let her lay down for a moment, and then eventually she got back up to make it back to the front gate.
There's a bamboo frame chair in my room, part of a set that's been in my family for decades that my mother refuses to give up for reasons (it's still good, it's been with us so long, of course we have space who cares if it's crowded, why won't you use it, etc). There's a shallow cushion on it, and it's not as soft as I'd like it to be, but I pulled it out and wrapped it in some leftover flannel from a bedsheet I've been using for sampling. My dog sleeps under a bench on the front porch, and I've managed to stuff the cushion under the bench and put her on it. We'll see how much she likes it. I hope she likes it and it makes her more comfortable!
Last year around this time, I nagged my dad to get her to the vet, because she had very bad skin and kept on scratched to the point she was howling. We figured it was because the next door neighbour was renovating, and we noticed she howled less when she was in the back of the house. We also got her some wet dog food and some supplements for her arthritis. Also, because she's older and has a weaker immune system, the regular microscopic flora and fauna on her skin has been going out of control, which resulted in the irritated skin.
This year it's been a see-saw of good and bad health, and as my dad goes back to being the cheapskate he is, buying only dry dog food and not the medicated wet food, she's become even more arthritic.
She's figured out that when she wants to be taken out, she can howl and one of us (i.e. ME) will come down to take her for a walk so she can pee, though we have to do it in time or else she'll pee in the driveway or on the road, rather than on the grass. She has trouble getting up because the tiles on the driveway are very slippery, and when she gets back, she usually just.... sliiiiiides down... on her front paws, as if she's given up on life.
When we took her to the vet last week the vet said that aside from muscle atrophy on one side (because she keeps sleeping on one side), some old-age arthritis, and a heart murmur, she seems to be mostly healthy. She gave us some painkillers and some glucosamine, and told us to try not to surprise the dog so much. Unfortunately, the dog doesn't like being touched, and if she doesn't see us coming, she jerks up in surprise. Since she's also deaf as a post now, we can't exactly call out to her to let her know we're coming.
This week I noticed with a bit of alarm that at one point while walking home, she began to hunch over, like instead of walking straight up, she was at half height with her shoulders down, looking a bit like a house gecko. I thought she found a comfy spot on the grass and let her lay down for a bit.
Today, the same thing happened, but on the road. I had been hoping to do our usual route of going down the road and back, but she could barely handle 20 meters before she just started plodding SO SLOWLY I was like "ok fine we'll go home." A few meters from the front gate she began that weird gecko walk again, and this time I stopped completely to pet her and she just slumped to the ground. I pet her for a bit, and let her lay down for a moment, and then eventually she got back up to make it back to the front gate.
There's a bamboo frame chair in my room, part of a set that's been in my family for decades that my mother refuses to give up for reasons (it's still good, it's been with us so long, of course we have space who cares if it's crowded, why won't you use it, etc). There's a shallow cushion on it, and it's not as soft as I'd like it to be, but I pulled it out and wrapped it in some leftover flannel from a bedsheet I've been using for sampling. My dog sleeps under a bench on the front porch, and I've managed to stuff the cushion under the bench and put her on it. We'll see how much she likes it. I hope she likes it and it makes her more comfortable!