Meandmy

So happy to see a new video of beautiful Nell. She doesn't have to do anything to take my breath away We moved downstairs late last year to cater to our old gal who can no longer manage a flight of stairs and refuses to be carried up them. We've gotten used to it and it's a small price to pay in the long run. Hugs to you for all you've done for your girl.

Thanks so much for sharing the info from the other thread about the licking - I'll definitely be bringing it up to my vet. And now to try to be helpful to Jen, when Shadow was dealing with LS, he received both acupuncture and gentle chiropractic adjustments. Despite GeorgeofNE's not-so-helpful post, chiropractic can be benficial for dogs with LS. While it doesn't help the LS itself, other things can be pulled out of alignment as the dog tries to compensate for the weakness, and the chiropractice adjustments can really help alleviate that. Shadow was always out of alignment in his shoulders and lower neck because he carried his weight differently due to the LS. I was lucky enough to have the same doctor do both the adjustments and the acupuncture. If I had to choose one or the other, though, I would definitely go the acupuncture route. I was amazed at how much more comfortable Shadow was with regular sessions.

Jen, how did you determine that licking his front legs was a symptom of LS? What is it indicative of? I'm asking because Tori obsessively licks one of her front legs and I was thinking it was just one of her idiosynchrasies, but I'm wondering if it has anything to do with her hind-end weakness (not diagnosed as LS, but getting progressively weaker and more painful as she's getting older). I've never mentioned it to her vet and am wondering if maybe I should. Thanks!

I love the idea of heat packs. I make my own (basically just microwavable rice packs) so I'll make one for her this weekend. Great idea!

I think one of the reasons she has been so creaky of late is because she hasn't been able to get her daily walks. We've either had too much snow, below zero temps or ice most days for what seems like forever. We usually take a walk around the neighborhood every morning (about 1/2 mile, takes about 10-15 minutes) or shorter if she doesn't seem too interested. We're going to be warm the next couple of days so I should be able to get her outside for a couple of walks. I'm sure this will help. She does move around a bit inside, as she's always been a pacer, so hopefully that is helping a little bit at least. Just to share a cute story about Tori's walks, on Sundays we go to a local community college to walk around and smell some new smells. Tori's in charge of these walks - we go anywhere she wants to go and I'll stand around for however long she wants to smell something (these oldies can smell one spot forever!). I set my timer for 15 minutes as I don't want her to go longer than that. It just wears her out too much. These days our walks last about 10 minutes. She walks everywhere she wants to go, then leads me back to the car when she's done. It's amazing to me that she always knows exactly where the car is. We always walk in different directions and the car is often out of sight for most of the walk, but she always knows just how to get back to it. It's so funny when I see her start to make a beeline to the car. ETA: My siggie pic was taken after one of our Sunday walks. You can see that they really wear her out!

My old lady, Tori has had arthritis in her rear hips and front right shoulder for quite a long time. She's 14 and 2 months, so I suppose it's to be expected. She's been on 50mg Tramadol 2-3 times daily as well as Metacam per her body weight once per day. This med combo has kept her comfortable. Unfortunately, she is getting creakier in her hips and I feel like we need to change something to make her more comfortable. I have a vet appointment set for next week, but would like to go in armed with knowledge from you folks Other than her arthritis, Tori is in great health *knock on wood*. Her back end is a bit weak but nothing out of the ordinary for a girl her age. She is currently on the Get Up & Go supplements of glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM and Vitamin C from the Greyhound Gang. We tried acupuncture but she is not a good candidate. She hates it, it stresses her out, and the acupuncture vet agreed that it's not doing what it needs to do for her. So I'd love to hear any and all ideas. I am so blessed to have her with us still, and want to make sure her days are as happy and comfortable as possible. Thanks!

I get teary with every one of your updates. She's such a beautiful girl and it's so clear how much you love her. Thank you so much for keeping us updated on her wonderful progress

My sweet old gal is starting to become a picky eater. She eats dry kibble with different wet foods mixed in (along with hot water to heat everything up!). However, she only wants to eat a particular wet food for a day or two before she won't eat it again for a while. If I add it back into the rotation later on she's happy to eat it again. I moved to the smaller cans of wet food, but now even those end up with too many days in a row of the same food for Tori's tastes. So, has anyone frozen wet food? I was thinking of freezing individual portions in a muffin tin, then defrosting and maybe warming it up in the microwave before meals. Any reasons why this wouldn't work?

She is just so beautiful It sounds like things are progressing, and I hope she is able to come home with you soon. I'm sure that will do all of you a world of good

Your lates update made me teary. What a difficult day you had! I'm sending all the good wishes I can for your girl and your family. I don't have personal experience with amps, but I've ready many stories with happy endings here on GT and I hope that you are able to add to that list. Best, best wishes for you all!

Welcome! I'm also from western MA George is quite the handsome fellow. Congratulations on your new addition!

What a wonderful update! Hugs to you and your boy!

We have successfully used child-sized sweatpants or long-sleeved tshirts to keep the pups from licking over the years. They get used to them quickly and it really does help a lot. The skin is still able to breathe which is very helpful.

You are all so sweet! I really appreciate you all taking the time to share your stories, experiences and ideas Laying down straw worked wonders and now Tori can wander the yard safely and comfortably. Walks are still hard as the whole neighborhood is one big sheet of ice. We can only walk in the middle of the street (which is safe, luckily, in our very quiet neighborhood) but Tori hates to walk anywhere but the sidewalk, so right now walks aren't fun for either one of us. We should warm up into the 30's on Friday, then have a few days in the 40's. Hopefully that will melt off some of this ice and things can go back to normal, at least until the next snowstorm. I'll be looking into a harness and will be checking into some supplements again. We used to give her Joint Health, but when they changed the formula a while ago she stopped wanting to eat them. I recently tried Fresh Factors, but she won't eat any of her meal if they are in her bowl. She eats great otherwise, though, and I don't want anything to jeopardize that. If I remember correctly, Greyhound Gang sells supplements in powdered form and I'll give that a try. She currently takes both Meloxicam and Tramadol to keep her comfortable. Bless all of you that have cared or are caring for an old dog. It isn't always easy, but what we get back makes up for our efforts a thousandfold

We do put pee pads down for Tori and, for the most part, she uses them. It's the poop that is the "problem". I've noticed that having to go kind of sneaks up on her these days and for some reason when it does, her first inclination is to walk so we end up with a trail down the hall. It's well-formed, so it's not the end of the world, but definitely more cleaning up than DH would like to do. Ah well, such is life. And although DH complains, he takes such great care of her. He let her out this morning after I left and it was clear that she hated it, so he didn't make her go out again before he left for physical therapy. He said he'd just deal with any suprises she left while he was gone. He also dragged out the straw bale (one handed since he has almost no use of his left arm right now) to spread hay along her paths to hopefully help with slipping. I'm just hoping it rains enough to get the paths all the way down to grass before they refreeze.

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your input and ideas. Most of all, I appreciate your empathy. I know that having an old dog is a good problem to have.

I don't need specific advice, I'm just lamenting on how hard it is for my old girl this winter. I figured Health and Medical was as good a place as any to talk about it. Tori's 14, and we didn't expect her to see this winter. I'm so happy she's still with us, but life isn't easy for her these days. The snow is tough enough. We keep things well shoveled for her and have paths through to all her favorite places in the yard. But neighborhood walks are impossible some days as I just can't keep her safe. Her balance and strength are waning and she's fallen a few times trying to walk through snow in the neighborhood. Today we have freezing rain and everything is a skating rink. I put down ice melt (the kind that's safe for paws) every time she goes out but it keeps getting washed away. And the paths that I shoveled for her are now icy. I hold my breath every time she goes out, especially going up and down the 3 steps from the deck to the yard. Of course all this difficulty means some accidents in the house. We contain things as best we can, and I'm ok with it. DH, however, is getting frustrated. He tries to be understanding, and never scolds her when it happens, but he is home all day (recovering from surgery) so he gets to clean it up. He can get her to go outside, then half hour later find an accident in the house. I think it's because she just can't move well enough outside to find a good spot to go. I really hope she's with us long enough to be able to see Spring. I'll be sad if she doesn't have a chance to enjoy being outside in the sun again.

I just saw the pictures of Coal you posted in Cute & Funny and thought "that looks like CO!" Had to come here to find out I grew up in CO and miss it terribly. I'll be back there someday, with greyhounds in tow! Your boys are beautiful!

I'm so very sorry. I'll be thinking of you and yours today.

That last picture of you and 'bari just says it all. I am thankful to him because I wouldn't have met you if it hadn't been for him, and I'm so, so sad that I never got to meet him. You are in my thoughts. I'm so very sorry.