Dolly

For those seeking advice on caring for incontinent pets and animals with kidney-related problems.
User avatar
critters
Founding Member
Posts: 14362
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2001 7:00 pm

Re: Dolly

Post by critters »

Yeah, I'm NOT impressed.
User avatar
CarolC
Moderator
Posts: 13698
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2003 7:00 pm
Contact:

I messed up. What an idiot.

Post by CarolC »

We have this routine where around 9 PM Dolly comes to me and asks to get into her crate. She gets treats at bedtime. I put fresh bedding in her crate, then I take a handful of treats (consisting of cat kibbles) and give some to each dog in their own bed. As I was approaching Dolly's crate and she was bouncing along eagerly to accompany me to where I would toss treats into her fresh bedding in her crate, I accidentally hit the door and dropped the treats on the carpet. I started picking them up and she only ate a few off the carpet, then I tossed them into her crate where they belonged and she went in after them and I closed her door and thought everything was fine.

This morning I heard Dolly crying at 7 AM. It's the sort of sound she makes when she has a flea. One flea will drive her nuts. I haven't seen any fleas but she's sensitive to them so I gave her a flea tablet because I thought that's what it was. Then I did the before-breakfast pet chores and looked around to be sure everything was done and realized to my horror, Dolly had a diaper on! She normally sleeps bare-bottom.

Our routine is, when I toss the treats into her crate at night and she goes in, I hook a finger into the waistband of her diaper and unzip the velcro and whip it off as soon as she goes in, so any dirt that might be on the seat of the diaper will not get on her clean bedding, where she will be sleeping without protection. She has an open vulva due to her spinal condition and I do not want her getting germs on her bare skin that might cause a urinary infection.

What happened was, when I dropped the treats last night and picked them up and put them in the crate, I got distracted and forgot to remove her diaper. So she wore her 6 PM-to-bedtime diaper till breakfast. I took it right off as soon as I realized. I wonder if the crying this morning was because of a wet diaper. :( :( :(

She seems to be OK. I'll put extra ointment on her today. This is the only time I've forgotten to remove her diaper at bedtime since I got her. That won't happen again!
Christine
Moderator
Posts: 4089
Joined: Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:50 pm
Location: Sautee Nacoochee, GA

Re: Dolly

Post by Christine »

It is so easy to feel guilty because we care so much. I am sure she is so used to the routine you have created for her that she was just saying "Hey Mom...what the heck????" She's fine. You are probably one of the few dog moms who does not let her dog sleep in a diaper.
Image
Christine... and Bailey, playing at the Bridge
?/1999 - 10/25/08
User avatar
CarolC
Moderator
Posts: 13698
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2003 7:00 pm
Contact:

Re: Dolly

Post by CarolC »

LOL!!! I'm sure she was! :lol: I learned that here. I think it was from Paul Coover. Better to let them sleep without a diaper at night because it's good for the skin. It's been working for us all these years. I've said so many times, she's a good little groomer and I think she really *likes* to be in her crate with her clean blankets, and stretch out and give herself a nice luxurious bath all over. I guess we can relate to that! :wink: :wub:
User avatar
CarolC
Moderator
Posts: 13698
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2003 7:00 pm
Contact:

Re: Dolly

Post by CarolC »

Dolly's neck is bothering her again. I think this is the 4th time. Twice in 2019, then in March of 2021. She's having a harder time this time. She was given robaxin, tramadol, and diazepam, which did the trick the last couple of times. This time she was still painful with all the meds. Managed to get her a Saturday appointment. Now she has gabapentin. It seems to be working better than the tramadol but she's not 100% pain free. I'm just thinking if this keeps happening, she needs to be checked for what is causing the muscle spasms. I'm sure part of it is her own special way of getting around. She will be 13 next month. The vet examined her and she did not cry out until one yelp when moving on the floor, but when she cries out it is not obvious to anyone what exactly caused the pain. I can't see what she moved, or how she moved, that caused the pain. I was beginning to wonder if it wasn't her neck because the medication that worked before wasn't working as well, but it is her neck because the symptom of not being able to lie down is part of it. The one vet says it is just muscle spasms. I'm starting to wonder. If this is IVDD then she needs to be crated for 8 weeks. You'd think if it was just muscle spasms the robaxin would work.
Christine
Moderator
Posts: 4089
Joined: Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:50 pm
Location: Sautee Nacoochee, GA

Re: Dolly

Post by Christine »

Oh, gosh...I hope between you and the vet, you can figure out a solution. This is several times lately and I know how helpless it makes you feel. Have you ever gone to the Nzymes site and watched any of their videos? Also wondering if cbd tincture might also help. I have been trying the gummies for my knees, but am going to switch to a tincture or oil to see if that is any better.

You might check out their site at Blue Moon Hemp. Get better, little Dolly! :wub:
Image
Christine... and Bailey, playing at the Bridge
?/1999 - 10/25/08
User avatar
CarolC
Moderator
Posts: 13698
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2003 7:00 pm
Contact:

Re: Dolly

Post by CarolC »

Thanks for reaching out, Christine. I read a little bit of the nzymes website. We are trying to get through one day at a time, this is day four. I don't like not knowing exactly what to do. Everything seems to be in a state of flux. My main vet closed their entire hospital because someone got Covid, and they just reopened Wednesday. They haven't been allowing owners into the building for months and still are not. I got medication refilled Thursday and again Saturday. Then it still wasn't working so I ended up taking her to VCA to a vet I know there and they added another med. It still does not seem to be enough.

If this doesn't work, our next step would be a specialist and the one I always went to and trusted for years sold the practice to a chain that is not nearly as good. Their website gives little information and it's hard to get anyone on the phone and they even closed their PT department when it used to be so good. I called them yesterday to get information on what to do in an emergency and see if they still have a surgeon on call. They do, but she literally told me to call first before I come to be sure they have an ER doctor available. If I have an emergency, it will take 25 minutes to get there and even if they have a doctor when I call, I don't know if they will by the time we arrive. What kind of ER is that? I don't want to take a chance on them.

The only other option is a newer place that might be OK. They have a neurologist I like and trust but they just got their MRI machine and I don't know if it is even in use yet and I'd rather not have Dolly be one of their first patients in it, but that may turn out to be the case if they even have it up and running yet. How are they going to diagnose her without an MRI? They are a specialty hospital that also takes emergencies during the night and weekend, so that is where I will transport her if we have to. I wish she could be there now because her pain is only semi-controlled with all 4 meds on board, I don't know what else I can do for her, she should be sleeping and she's not. She is lying down right now, but she doesn't stay lying down, she keeps getting up.

Maybe her pain will subside. I think I'm going to be asking someone to call me tomorrow from the vet if we can make it till then. I just want to cry.

EDIT TO ADD: Also, if we can get through this, I need to remember not to let her go up the ramp. I decided that before, then gradually slacked off because she seemed to be OK and she didn't have any problems all last year. The problem is she can run up the ramp all the way if she does not stop in the middle. Now that we have this new little dog, she has been running halfway up the ramp and stopping. I hate to remove the ramp altogether because one of her greatest joys is when I put her diaper on in the morning and then she goes bouncing down the ramp to go outside. It makes her happy. I wouldn't want to take that away from her. If there was just a way to let her go down but not up. The only way I know is to block it after she goes out, and that would depend on remembering every time.

I was just looking at her records. The Best Friends foster, Cathy, said she was 7.5 months old on 4/10/2009. Her record has estimated dob as 9/8/08 but 7.5 months would be more like 8/29/09, which is 13 today. She is sleeping right now, the very best present.
Christine
Moderator
Posts: 4089
Joined: Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:50 pm
Location: Sautee Nacoochee, GA

Re: Dolly

Post by Christine »

Holding you and Dolly close in both thought and prayer. Just know that if she was with anyone else, they would not be as knowlegeable and diligent as you are. You and Bendy can teach a few vets things. It sounds like you definitely have to have an mri. I was almost wondering if you could create a little sling/bed for her, but without that mri, you have no idea what is pressing on what and she might cause more damage perhaps by struggling with it. Your thought of possibly crating her seems to be the most practical thing right now. I would be putting the crate up on my bed so I could see her and talk with her though the night!

I hope you get to see someone tomorrow. Take care.
Image
Christine... and Bailey, playing at the Bridge
?/1999 - 10/25/08
User avatar
CarolC
Moderator
Posts: 13698
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2003 7:00 pm
Contact:

Re: Dolly

Post by CarolC »

Thanks, Christine. Glad I"m not pulling all of the weight myself. She has been lying in a more comfortable position this evening.
User avatar
CarolC
Moderator
Posts: 13698
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2003 7:00 pm
Contact:

Re: Dolly

Post by CarolC »

So the other vet called back and said it's probably a disk leaking causing inflammation. Muscle spasms are usually athletic younger dogs. When we get old the disks get brittle. He said it would be hard to test her reflexes because she's already paralzyed. He said the gabapentin is OK. I had some left over prednisone from a previous illness and we are trying that for one day to see how she does with it along with the other meds.

He said put her someplace where she is not watching activity and constantly moving her head. He said some people try to crate the dog for 6 or 8 weeks but the dog is constantly moving their head watching activity and it never gets a chance to heal. He said don't worry that she will feel lonely or separated, put her in another room where there is no activity and she will sleep. Not hurting is what will feel good.

I set up a crate in the middle bedroom, which the other pets basically do not go into. She can see into the kitchen and see me wash dishes or work on the computer, and that's very boring so hopefully it will be about right. I had to carry her in to her new crate but we did it without crying.

I guess we start crate rest from today. 6 weeks will be October 11. She was on crate rest already since Thursday morning, but she was moving around, and we had activity Saturday when I took her to the vet. So we are starting over today.
Christine
Moderator
Posts: 4089
Joined: Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:50 pm
Location: Sautee Nacoochee, GA

Re: Dolly

Post by Christine »

Awww...I know this crating is going to bother you more than it will her and it will be so hard not to check in on her every five minutes. Might not be necessary, but do you know there are video with relaxing music for dogs on You Tube? I got a cheapo blue tooth speaker (under $5) and I put music out on my shop porch from You Tubes I play on my Kindle...works like a charm.

Give that sweet pup a nose kiss from me and you take it easy too... :grouph:
Image
Christine... and Bailey, playing at the Bridge
?/1999 - 10/25/08
User avatar
critters
Founding Member
Posts: 14362
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2001 7:00 pm

Re: Dolly

Post by critters »

It's too bad so many of your vets have sold out. I HATE that!! Good luck! :grouph:
User avatar
CarolC
Moderator
Posts: 13698
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2003 7:00 pm
Contact:

Re: Dolly

Post by CarolC »

Thank you both. Christine, I remember Dianne liked music therapy, too. I don't have wifi here unfortunately, so it's mainly just the radio.

We are hopefully still going in the right direction. She's still not totally comfortable. She is out of the diazepam (Valium) and I am trying to see how she does without it. She didn't have it last night and slept through the night. She is now able to lie down, but I don't know, if she gets anxiety, it might make her tense up.

I made a kind of list of stages with her neck pain. Four stages.

Stage one: She can't lie down, will sit on her bottom propped up on her front legs and prance her front feet because she just can't lie down.

Stage two: She can lie down in an alligator position, flat on her tummy and chest and throat, neck and spine all in a line.

Stage three: She lies in alligator position but with a slight curve in her neck, so her head is slightly on one cheek. Her may also lie at a slight tilt, but still on her stomach.

Stage four: She can lie on her side.

Yesterday I saw her tilted slightly a couple of times. This morning she is in alligator position, but then she gets up and digs the blanket, which probably isn't that good for her neck, I don't know, however she has always done that. I guess it does not involve the particular movement that bothers her.
User avatar
CarolC
Moderator
Posts: 13698
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2003 7:00 pm
Contact:

Re: Dolly

Post by CarolC »

Just an update on Dolly. She's doing quite a bit better. I've seen her grooming her front paws. She can lie on her side now. We ran out of Tramadol (diazepam ran out days ago) but she still has Robaxin and gabapentin and we are down to twice a day on those. Something is giving her soft stools and she didn't want to eat breakfast twice. It may be the Robaxin or the canned food I hide the pills in. I am going to try no meds tonight because I think she'll sleep, then we can have meds tomorrow morning if she seems to need them.

I've been leaving her window cracked and changing her blankets about 5x/day. Having the window cracked, I decided I'd better reinstall the burglar bars in that window, and it's right by her crate. There have been a couple of strangers on our street this week that don't belong. I was thinking, "Great, she's supposed to be resting and now I'm going to be hammering and screwing things right next to her". But with her not having her diaper while she's resting, it only takes a little dribbling and you begin to smell it, and she dribbles 24/7, so even if I'm changing the blankets every 3-ish hours, she needs that little bit of fresh air to keep her area fresh. It was a lot of commotion but she was calm and we got it done. Now I don't have to worry about that.
Christine
Moderator
Posts: 4089
Joined: Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:50 pm
Location: Sautee Nacoochee, GA

Re: Dolly

Post by Christine »

Sounds like she is improving with your amazing diligence. Keep the good news coming!

Have you ever thought of buying a hydroyxl generator? We have used them for more than 15 years and Glen made me get one for my shop when Covid hit. We bought them originally to prevent mold and mildew, but having them during this pandemic is also somewhat comforting. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KZ ... UTF8&psc=1
Image
Christine... and Bailey, playing at the Bridge
?/1999 - 10/25/08
Post Reply