ramonaghan

We have and like the Freedom No-Pull Harness from 2 Hounds. (It's also available on Amazon.)

Free two-day shipping?

Happy gotcha day, Tuna-girl!

What did she find in your trash can this time?!

Thanks! I know she's got arthritis in her toe(s) so that very well could be worsening (maybe aging or just winter weather). She gets Previcox for that as needed. We'll all have to get used to her sleeping downstairs, but it definitely makes for a less stressful start to the day when she does.

She's beautiful! Those muscles do make her look bigger than she is. I'll follow you guys on IG.

Ain't that the truth! I hope Gus continues eating better for you. Do keep me posted. Also, fawn girls and their manipulations...getting a second treat is a trick Sweep knows well. Thanks, Laura--good to hear from you! Definitely sounds like the same behavior as Luna. She does the 2-3 step thing coming down (and the past few nights, coming up too). And when she finally gets up her nerve, she's taking them faster, like she wants to get it over with...which of course makes it more likely that she'll slip or trip. She really doesn't fit most of the list for dementia symptoms, so hopefully it is indeed just normal age-related changes. (But how will I sleep without her snorts and snuffles and horsey lip flapping?!) I wonder if the back-to-back potty breaks are anxiety about the stairs. She has almost always just peed at the last turnout, so maybe it's a stress poop. In any event, I feel better after hearing from everyone, so thank you all.

Thank you for this. Connecticut Jan said something similar. It's always comforting to have the experts weigh in, since Sweep is my first hound and I tend to catastrophize. I appreciate it!

Well, last night she wouldn't come upstairs at all. Maybe she knows what goes up must come down. She slept by herself downstairs. She's also been wanting to go back out after her "last" out. She pees, comes in to get her bedtime cookie, we do the stair dance for about 10 minutes, and then she decides she wants back out to poop. Once she comes in from that, she sleeps through the night. I am worried this might be the first signs of dementia. She's not getting stuck in corners or staring off into space or anything like that, and she plays and responds to her name and commands, but this is just weird behavior. Ugh. My girl. I'm not ready.

I got Sweep a new Cordaroy insert for her slumberball cover (her ortho slumberball is still doing great, but the cheapo* slumberball was pretty flat), and it's awesome! No issues for her 10-year-old self getting in or out. It's a cheaper option if you have an existing cover that more or less fits and just need new "guts." They're still offering 20% off too. Thanks for the post, Miss Jan! * Can't remember its real name. Not the original and not the ortho. Has a sherpa cover and the stuffing is just loose polyfill which made washing the cover a pain. No more!

Chris always has great advice, so I don't have much to add other than that sometimes racing injuries are undocumented and symptoms may only resurface as the dog ages and the site becomes arthritic. We went through that with Sweep and spent a ton on diagnostics and therapies for a limp that appeared when she was almost 6. She's now 10 and we have been able to manage it with Previcox. With any NSAID, Clover will need to have bloodwork done every 6 months to make sure everything remains normal with her kidney and liver values. We only give it as often as needed to keep the limp at bay; depending on the time of year, that can be daily or not at all. Believe me, we tried every kind of natural alternative, but only the NSAID has worked to eliminate the limp. Keep up the joint supplements and definitely get the xray if you have the means to do so. I'm in Nashville, and $300 seems high to me. We pay $75 for an x-ray (one view) at the regular vet, and $55-80 at the specialty clinic plus $79 for a board certified radiologist to review. I'd expect ATL to be a little higher than here, but not that much.

I'm so very sorry for your loss. Rest well, Penny.

Sweep can be rather opinionated too. Glad everyone enjoyed their adventure!

Will do! These are the lights I ordered if you think that might help in your situation. (There's a plug-in version too, but we don't have any outlets in our stairwell.) I think I've determined it's not Sweep's vision though--we did some tests at home by throwing treats in a dim room and she went right to them, without having to sniff them out. She must have psyched herself out about something. These guys are so sensitive; it could be anything! She came down a *little* better this morning, so I'm hopeful we're making some progress. She also had to do the steps to the basement today because it's stormy and she's a thunderphobe, so that's always been her safe spot. The more she does it without anything bad happening, hopefully the more confident she'll feel. Anyway, good luck with your boy too--please keep us posted!

Exactly! I so wish they could talk.