Chase Needs Prayers

[EllenEveBaz]

Chase

 

And here is some of the tartar that came off. I've never seen it this thick.

[Guest MZH]

You're doing a great job with her, Lindsay. And what a sweet girl she is and she looks so happy with you.

[Guest 2dogs4cats]

You are definitely Chase's angel. I don't know, I think she may have found her couch with you.

[Guest Swifthounds]

One concerning thing is that she doesn't like to come inside. (This would be a problem for a home with a doggy door, for example). She gets caught up in smelling stuff and exploring the yard, or she has some dementia going on and she gets "lost". I usually have to go outside and retrieve her, and sometimes she'll be shivering or wet from the rain/snow.

 

Trojan does this as well. I initially thought it was him associating food with the yard, since my hounds are fed outside much of the year, but it's really not that at all. He will walk around the yard, wandering around and enjoying himself, sniffing around. His hearing isn't great anymore and he has some vision difficulties (especially when it's dark or shadowy), but man does his sniffer work! He really gets a lot of enjoyment out of toddling around the yard, looking around, and sniffing. He and Comet used to do it together, and now he explores on his own - even in very cold weather or 2 feet of snow. In the snow they had shoveled paths, but darn if he didn't leave the path and wade through the deep snow.

 

No one really wants to stay out as long as he does, though Vixen will stay out with him. I stay out with him when he's out wandering, so I've gotten quite a bit of "outside time" in the last two years. I have taken to just throwing his heavy winter coat on him for trips outside because he will wander around outside in snow and sleet and rain and bitter cold.

 

It makes sense that an old dog would enjoy wandering in the yard. They know the territory, so there aren't likely to be any challenging obstacles. They're safe. When you can't romp and play with toys as much as you once did, and your joints get stiff from the resting you need, a nice safe walk has got to both feel good and seem like a good time. (Not that he doesn't still run! Silly dog picks the youngest dog in the pack to run in the snow with - who's also the smallest and most agile - and breaks a toe - at 14!)

 

She will pace and pace until she gets the bed she wants, she's stubborn.

 

Sounds familiar. It's funny how "set" the old dogs get about "their" bed. Comet and Trojan used to fuss at one another when they weren't each on their self designated beds. If someone was on the wrong bed there would be pacing and then barking and grumbling. The first time I heard the fuss and poked my head into the doorway I was confronted by two grumbly, barking dogs - each laying down but on the reverse of the usual bed order. Nobody got up, they just kept up a racket. Neither was giving up the other's bed, so I roused them both and had them lay down on their chosen beds. No more fussing. Not a peep. Silly old men.

 

Neither one ever had the issue with the younger dogs, who would simply get up and pick another bed.

[Guest LindsaySF]

You are definitely Chase's angel. I don't know, I think she may have found her couch with you.

She is welcome to stay here in the meantime, but I have high hopes that her forever home is out there somewhere. She is being very spoiled and well cared for with me, but a different home with fewer hounds and fewer stairs would be ideal for Chase.

 

 

 

~Lindsay~

 

 

 

 

[juliemac]

Oh, what great updates!

 

When I took my little Paige in, she had been in a foster for almost a year that had gotten almost 10 pounds added to her frame (she was removed from a home at 10yo nearly weighing 25-30 pounds below racing weight). I figured out how to get & keep weight on her, but learned that her muscles would not support any more than 47 pounds (her racing weight was 57#). So when it comes to proper weight for a senior, Chase's own muscle strength will determine that.

 

Paige had horrible teeth as well -- the roots were exposed below the "V" in her back molars, but neither of the experienced vets I used were willing to put her through a dental because the teeth were solid (no wiggles). I should also say that Paige didn't seem to have any pain or infections from her teeth, which made decisions easier. So my job focused on keeping her mouth clean and having a friend do regular scalings.

 

From a food perspective, Paige was eager to eat (early on, we had food aggression issues that subsided as soon as she realized she would never again go hungry and Riley realized that he would always get some of the 'good stuff' that Paige was eating). Paige's diet included:

> free-fed kibble (which was never as interesting as her meals)

> 1 bottle of ensure (can of Equaline) - minimum 250 cal (preferred 350 at the beginning)

> cooked chicken or beef with rice or pasta. She'd get 2-3 cups of this per meal (I put food out in 1 cup servings until she seemed to get tired or full).

o chicken: I would debone multiple rotisserie chickens to make 2 days of food at a time.

o beef: I would throw ground hamburger into a pot of boiling water with uncooked rice & seasonings (and veggies), & cook them together to make a 'stew' -- I never worried about the fat content, and didn't care about excess watcr/broth because it helped avoid issues with dehydration)

> Paige liked chicken strips to gnaw on ... or chicken-wrapped sweet potato treats if I could get them (my local stores ran out of them often)

> Steve's raw food comes in small, frozen chunks (like small ice-cubes), and was a nice variation for Paige -- it had a high water and fruit content, and Paige enjoyed them as a meal or a treat (I'd take a bag of Steve's and portion it into 1 cup bags, which I could partially thaw (for a treat) or thaw completely (for a meal).

> probiotics and vitamins were added to meals

 

It sounds like Chase is doing really well, and prayers are still coming that Chase finds a forever home soon!

Edited March 12, 2011 by juliemac