Meandmy

OK, well it only took two posts to convince me to call the vet She has an appointment to get it checked out. Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it.

My girl Tori, who will be 12 in early December, has something odd going on, but I can't decide if I should be worried or not. Over the past month or so, sometimes when we walk her left hip/knee buckles occasionally. It's just like if one of our legs were to buckle - it trips her up for a second but she gains her stride easily and is fine. It's been happening slightly more frequently as time goes on. It happened twice on her walk this morning. She is in absolutely no pain. She doesn't limp or favor her leg at all. I can poke and prod with no reaction and she doesn't hesitate to use it to run, jump, etc. Honestly, it doesn't seem to bother her one little bit. So if it's not bothering her, is it something I should be worried about? Should I just keep an eye on it? I can't think of anything I'd actually go to the vet for, unless maybe for an x-ray, but that seems a bit extreme at this point. I'd love your thoughts.

Sounds like bile to me. My girl also does that when her tummy is empty - particularly in the morning. We found that a biscuit at bedtime helped with that a lot.

I'm very, very sorry.

Just want you to know that I'll be thinking of you and yours today.

I'm so so sorry. You did so much to try to help him. It's just not fair.

I'm so, so sorry...

Heather, I've been wrapped up in myself for the last several days, but wanted to say I'm so sorry about Scout. She sounds like she was an amazing girl and I'm sure you miss her terribly. I'm thinking of you.

I feel your pain this morning and I'm truly, truly sorry.

Just two days ago, I started this thread about Pretty Girl. I could feel our time together growing short, but I didn't know everything would change so quickly. I'm glad I took a moment to snap a picture of my darling girl, as it's the last one of her I will have. Pretty Girl came to us last year at the ripe old age of 12 1/2. She was returned due to divorce, by a nurse who worked twelve hour shifts and couldn't bear the thought of her being alone after having been part of a bustling house full of kids who were now grown, and other dogs who had already crossed the bridge. From the start she was full of sass, and was just what we needed after having lost Shadow earlier last year. She trained us quickly, giving me a raspy bark (she had LP) whenever she wanted something from me, which was often. She loved to gallop across the yard in her old-lady way. We sometimes called her Forrest Gump, because if she was outside she was always running. She loved to be outside and would go in and out all day long if we'd let her. I can't tell you how many times she would want to go outside in a day, just to be out in the fresh air and sunshine. Everyone who saw her adored her. She was a tiny girl - only just over 50 pounds - with the soft face that comes with age. So many people would come up to her and say "she's such a pretty girl!" just to find out that was her name. She chattered and nipped when she got excited and always had to stand close enough to touch me with her nose. I went to work every day with nose prints on my clothes and often a bit of her breakfast,too, as she'd rub on me when I said goodbye for the day. Pretty Girl slowed down quickly in the last week and I could see that she was getting tired. She also had LS from the time she came to us; we tried several remedies during our time with her, but they didn't work. Suddenly, though, she got much weaker and became more and more uncomfortable. Her cognitive issues also got much worse, with her bouts of momentary confusion turning into anxiety. I've read here a lot that you just know when it's time to say goodbye, but didn't know if I actually would. I also have read that when an animal can't do two of their three favorite things, it's a good indication that it's time to let them go. It's all true. By last night she couldn't go in and out of the yard as she couldn't keep her feet under her, and she didn't want to eat - by far her two favorite things. But she was comfortable with her extra pain meds so I thought we were okay until Tuesday, when we could go to our regular vet to let her go. But tonight I saw the light go out behind her eyes. I felt it happen. It wouldn't be fair to make her stay any longer - it was so clear that she was ready to go. So we let her. Goodbye, Pretty Girl. We will forever treasure every moment we had with you. Sleep peacefully, sweetness.

I'm so sorry. You have had a tough couple of weeks. I'll be thinking of you.

Love your latest update! I hope things continue to go well for Steak and for you

I can't believe it's been a year already. Tuna has always been one of my favorites on GT

Your latest post brought tears to my eyes - in a wonderful way! Sounds like you both had a great day and I hope you have many more. I have a senior with LS myself and it's been so hard to watch her fade. She's still got lots of happiness left, though, so I'll continue to concentrate on that and not worry about what "tomorrow" brings. Hugs to you and Ava

Welcome from Western MA! Indy is gorgeous. Welcome to the world of greys!

I'm so sorry that you had to say goodbye to Minny, but I'm so glad for the both of you that you had the time together at the end. I'll be thinking of you.

I got tears in my eyes when I read that Minny is home with you. I'm so, so happy for both of you - he's where he needs to be. That vet sounds absolutely awful. Not wanting you to visit because Minny made too much noise when you left? Not acceptable!!!! There are so many things I want to say about that, but the important thing is that Minny is home where he is comfortable and can get all the love he needs.

See here is where I would be screaming bloody murder - I can not believe that this is what they're doing to Minny. And you. Is there anyone there that gives a crap? Who owns the practice? I agree! I know you have a lot to worry about and bigger things to think about right now, but I hope somewhere down the line you raise holy hell. Personally, I would be going to whatever the state's governing board is about this. I feel sick just reading about it, I can't imagine what you must feel like living through it. BTW, check your bill very carefully. There is no way in hell that I would pay for any of the treatment, meds, etc. from the damage that they did by not caring for poor Minny properly.

I've read that it is a possibility, which is also worrisome to me. Has anyone gotten the Depo shots for their dog and noticed that as a side effect?

Pretty Girl has been exhibiting signs of LS for quite some time now - uneven gait, knuckling under in the back, sinking hind end, etc. She is on both Metacam and Tramadol. They help, but don't always fully get rid of her pain. I spoke to my vet about it and showed him the article from Suzanne Stack. My vet is open to new ideas, but wants to have a lot of information about them first. He went to a vet-only discussion board and found very few that had tried Stack's method and those that had in general didn't seem to think it worked. We've been trying Adequan shots to see if it was more of an arthritis issue, but they haven't been successful, so now we're on to the next step. If it is LS, are Depo-Medrol shots the best form of treatment? My vet said he'll do it, but he would be more comfortable with oral steroids. I don't want to do that because of the side effects. Pretty Girl is 13 1/2 and has bladder issues already. I don't know what we'd do if she had to go out more often than she already does She also has a sensitive stomach sometimes and I don't want to irritate that further. I would love to hear your thoughts on some possible next steps. My little old lady has a lot of spunk in her yet, and I don't want that to go away because of the pain she has.

I'm watching this thread with interest. After watching your video that's exactly what Pretty Girl has been doing as of late. She has the early symptoms of LP and also arthritis/possible LS so I don't know if it's related to one or the other (or both or neither!). She just started the panting thing within the last couple of months. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with the heat as we have central air and she'll sometimes start panting after being inside for hours at a steady temp. But it did start overall once the weather started getting warmer. I brought it up to the vet but he didn't have much to say about it. And it doesn't seem to bother PG too much, either. She doesn't seem agitated when she does it and she'll just start up for a while and stop after a few minutes, sometimes without even moving.

To me, Dasuquin is pretty spendy, especially if you haven't seen any signs of arthritis. I've always been happy with Springtime supplements (I use both Fresh Factors and Joint Health). When I talked to my vet about them he researched them and thought they would work fine. I've used them for years.

I can "hear" the stress in your posts, so give yourself Saturday and Sunday to relax - guilt free! She's well taken care of and obviously adaptable. She'll be fine. I went through a major leg surgery with my Shadow once (removal of a hemangiopericytoma) and they had to remove such a huge portion of his leg muscle right around his knee. It took forever to heal, we had to keep in open to air, it didn't stay closed well due to being so close to his joint, he wouldn't stop licking it, etc. etc. I know just how you feel. I was ready to tear my hair out. But eventually it healed up and was worth all the time it took. He was happy, healthy, and good as new. He even forgave me for making him wear one-legged sweatpants all summer

We'll be thinking of you and Albi.