Pip diagnosis - Central cord syndrome

[CarolC]

We're having a problem that I guess is nice to have. For a while now he has apparently been standing up against the side of his playpen and peeing at night. The problem is that being at the very edge of the mattress, it gets the mattress, side fabric, netting, and bottom of the playpen wet to various degrees, in spite of 2 layers of bedding. I didn't realize what was happening till I started noticing a urine odor when I changed his bedding. I wiped everything down, and moved the playpen out from the wall, and realized we need to protect the floor if he might be partially spraying through the netting, so I've been hanging a crib pad inside that end of the playpen and it has paid off. He also seems to sometimes do the front side, so I have a potty pad on the floor.

Well, wiping it down really wasn't getting it, so a couple of weeks ago I took the padded accordion-fold mattress out to the back yard and draped it over the stepstool and hosed it real good. I do not know what substance the firm boards inside the mattress are, whether they are plastic or fiberboard or wood or what, so I worried about hosing it, but it seems OK. No warping, and it dried. But either I didn't get it good enough (without soap) or it needs to be done again. I've been waiting for warm weather to hose it again, to be sure it dries. I saw a video where a gal immersed hers in the bathtub, so I'm going to take a chance and try that, because there is still some smell.

If I could get it really fresh smelling, it's tempting to encase it in a clear $6 shower curtain and seal it with lots of packing tape so it will be "wipe-clean" in the future. I can wipe the rest of the playpen sides and bottom and get good results because they are single layer, but the mattress is some kind of firm boards covered by some kind of foam, then covered by the a synthetic printed fabric which is water resistant but not waterproof. Even if it were waterproof, there is potentially access for urine along the edge where he pees, because it is stitched with a binding.

Anyway, depending on how the day goes, today may be the day, or tomorrow. Supposed to be high 80's.

His playpen is almost 5 years old. He was officially adopted on 8/12/21, but he had a month-long foster-to-adopt first, so I got him in July 2021 (Edit to add: 7-19-21), and I already had his playpen in preparation for his arrival. I've been looking at playpens and the biggest issue is most of them have dark colored or splashy multicolored mattresses. You want something light-colored for an incontinent pet, so you can tell whether it's clean(!) That's true of blankets, too, you want a light color, not some dark color that camouflages dirt. Hiding dirt might be OK for a toddler wearing a diaper and shoes, if all you're hiding is footprints, but not for a disabled dog that pees every night. Hopefully Pip can get a new playpen soon, as he has also chewed some small holes in the netting, not too bad...

[critters]

I agree about light colors, which show puke and the rest too, but many people like to camouflage, I think.

[CarolC]

So. I washed the 5-year old playpen mattress in the bathtub with laundry soap, soaked it an hour, scrubbed it with a cloth, and did many rinses, pressing out the suds and water every time till it ran clear. Results not good. It took forever to dry. I had it hung up, folded in the middle with half hanging down on each side so it would drip, but 2 days later it was still wet. Then I tried laying it flat on top of a crate, and it still smells. I gave up on it. He has another playpen on the way from eBay, light colored like the current one. For now he has a wipe-clean camping pad for his mattress. His "guessed" birthday from his vet record is tomorrow.

Now for a serious subject. When I adopted Pip, I had 2 other dogs. Dolly was a 3-legged partially paralyzed chihuahua mix who moved by bouncing on her bottom. She passed last summer. Millie was a non-disabled Yorkie mix, who passed last week. I said I wasn't getting any more pets after having the mini stroke, but it's been 2 years with no more issues, so I have been considering it.

Finding another dog compatible with Pip is a challenge. We learned a very big lesson with Millie during her last year. She was always a very active dog, and she didn't slow down much even when she began to lose her eyesight and hearing. If I had her and Pip out in the back yard together, she would risk running right over him. If she wasn't running, she would slowly circle and also risk tripping over him repeatedly. If she got right up near where he was lying, he would bark up at her, but she couldn't hear him. She seemed to only notice him when she was close enough that she could sense his breath and the flurry of motion when he barked. I decided I could not have them outside together (without me being there) after one incident when I was near Pip and Millie apparently knew I was there and came running at us in a joyful full gallop, and would have steamrolled him if I hadn't put out my arm and physically fended her off to prevent the collision at the last minute.

I know there are dogs with limited mobility that would be safe with him. There aren't many like Dolly, but one like Dolly would be fine. Any small dog in a drag bag would be fine. Really any dog that can't trample him, because he can't jump to his feet fast enough to avoid being run over when he's lying down as he normally does. I contacted his rescue, which focuses on elderly and disabled, and she has one dog that army crawls due to front leg deformity, but the dog is too old to rehome. So I don't know. Pip may be an only dog from now on. He still has a kitty sister. I think Pip would like the company of another dog.

[critters]

You could always do meet-and-greets & see who might fit. Most (all?) places here demand it anyway.

[CarolC]

Good idea. That's the way we did it with Pip 5 years ago. The rescue brought him here and we put the three of them in the yard together. Then we did a 1-month foster-to-adopt to be sure it was going to work.

He is 12 today. His new playpen arrived from eBay and you can't tell it's ever been used, I am thrilled. I wrapped the mattress in a sturdy painter's dropcloth, several layers thick, taped with clear packing tape. Should be wipe-clean now no matter what. Hopefully this one lasts 5 years like the last one did. The old one was still basically good except for the mattress problem.

Happy Birthday, Pip!

[critters]

What kind of party are y’all having?!!

[CarolC]

We didn't do much. I just told him 'Happy Birthday' and set up his new playpen. I started to sing to him but I felt dumb so I didn't, which was lucky for him.

[critters]

He probably wouldn’t have minded!