Neck Injury--Ruby

[5blackgreys]

What a wonderful update! I'm so glad she's doing so well.

[silverfish]

WONDERFUL news!!!

[RaineysMom]

glad to see such a postive update! :yay

[rascalsmom]

Today's Ruby update.

 

--Today Ruby is able to go from the house out to the patio. It is only one step down, but until today she was unwilling (and I was afraid to let her!) to do that step. She can also get back into the house.

 

--She also was quite resistant to her syringe feeding this morning, which I expect is a good sign!

 

--She ate about 1/3 of a can of dog food (chunks in gravy) this morning, standing at her table. She did not eat very much of the 1/2 cup of kibble I put under it, though.

 

--At lunch she ate about 1/2 package of deli chicken (those little prepackaged tubs--Hillshire Farms).

 

--She also pooped today without any support!

 

--She is up and walking around in the house a LOT more than a few days ago. She is once again following me from room to room.

 

 

I am still concerned that she's not eating enough. However, she IS pooping at least once a day--not as much as she used to, but pooping nonetheless. That's a good sign, right?? The first week she was home she only pooped THREE TIMES the whole week. Maybe I am just impatient, I want her to eat eat eat so she can regain the weight she's lost. Not to mention, with her not too interested in eating, the other two dogs aren't eating as well, either.

 

Ruby's recovery has been, to me, nothing short of amazing. To think that two weeks ago, she was in the hospital, unable to get up on her own.

 

I want to thank every one of you who have followed her story, and given me encouragement, and sent prayers for my sweet Ruby. It means the world to me. I am also very grateful to our vet, who tolerated phone calls at home from me, who patiently explained things to me...she is more than our vet, she's our friend, too. Also, I am grateful to Ginni, the woman in my bell choir, who suggested that we take Ruby to the chiropractor; she told me about him while Ruby was still in the hospital, and then the following Sunday she again URGED me to give it a try. Without her repeated urgings, I am not sure Ruby would still be with us today.

 

I will continue to update this thread as she progresses....tomorrow night she's going to the chiropractor again, so hopefully we'll see even MORE improvement after that--and hopefully an improved appetite, too!

Edited April 25, 2011 by rascalsmom

[Batmom]

Really wonderful to hear how well she is doing, Melissa. I'm so happy for you.

 

Sending best "hungry tummy" thoughts to your precious girlie.

[queenwinniesmom]

Thank goodness! This is such encouraging news, Melissa. We will keep sending out good thoughts, and hope that she feels better and better.

[rascalsmom]

Here is what my husband did with the screen door (after he replaced the screen). We knew it was going to get warmer this week, so we needed an instant solution (not something we'd have to send for). He found this screen guard at Home Depot, put it up, and then added a few strips of surveyor's tape, just to make it MORE visible to the dogs. We'll take the tape off once they get used to this.

 

I took a short video of Ruby walking around outside, but it's taking forever to load to Photobucket...

[racindog]

[5blackgreys]

I swear the older they are the tougher they are! I'm so glad to hear that Ruby's improving so much. When my Agatha wasn't eating really well, I got some canned Tripe and that perked up everyone's appetite. Maybe it would do the same for Ruby.

[robinw]

This is the most fabulous news!!

[rascalsmom]

OK, here's the very short video. Just remember, two weeks ago, she could not even stand up without help!!

My link

 

She can even make it across those bumpy "cobblestones"!

Edited April 25, 2011 by rascalsmom

[robinw]

Absolutely amazing!! She looks fantastic!

[DesiRayMom]

OMG!! She looks terrific!

 

I think all of us were as scared as you were. I know, in my case, one of the first things I'd do on this amazing site

was to CHECK ON RUBY!!!

 

I'm so glad she's doing so well.

[Guest leemc]

I am soooo glad that she is doing better !!!!!!!!!

[IansMom]

So happy to see that Ruby is doing so well! She's such a beautiful girl.

[Batmom]

Incredible video. GO RUBY!!!!!

[Guest eaglflyt]

OK, here's the very short video. Just remember, two weeks ago, she could not even stand up without help!!

My link

 

She can even make it across those bumpy "cobblestones"!

 

What a wonderful update and video! I'm thrilled for Ruby, you and all your family!

[silverfish]

How wonderful to see her, walking and looking fairly comfortable!! It brought tears to my eyes, especially as I imagine Renie would have looked a lot like her if she'd lived to grow old.

 

I'm SO pleased to see her doing so well. As others have said, this is the first thread I check when I come in here.

[racindog]

She looks G-R-E-A-T! I like the way she kind of gave the screen guard/protector a sniff at the end too. Thanks for posting her video. For Ruby:

[Guest jettcricket]

Wow....that is wonderful!!!! Look at that girlie go....God bless her.

[EllenEveBaz]

Give me an R! Give me a U! Give me a B! Give me a Y!

 

What's that spell? Ruby! What's that spell? RUBY!!!!!!!!! :

Edited April 27, 2011 by EllenEveBaz

[rascalsmom]

Ruby had her chiropractic adjustment yesterday. Since then, she seems to be uncomfortable. She couldn't seem to settle last night, after we went to bed, and I ended up getting up, letting her out (she pottied), and then of course I couldn't get to sleep till after 2:00.

 

She still does not want to eat. Well, I guess she wants to eat SOME stuff, but not 'good' stuff. Last night we grilled some chicken, and put wing dust on it--she LOVED that, believe it or not, and ate a bunch. But this morning, she only ate a few bits of the Natural Balance dog food roll, then quit. I also bought some frozen Bil-Jac yesterday, and she won't even consider it. Fortunately Jack and Rascal seem to like it--they aren't eating well either.

 

Now, I think this could be various things.

--She still isn't feeling well--the vet suggested her liver values were a bit higher than normal, her bilirubin was up; and there was the possibility that she had pancreatitis, although the bloodwork didn't really indicate that. Should I get the bloodwork rechecked? Although it does seem odd to me that if she doesn't feel well, she'd eat WING DUSTED CHICKEN!

--Maybe she is just getting spoiled. Oh, big shock there, huh? Giving a dog anything she'll eat might tend to 'spoil' them for dog food...

--Maybe she is enjoying the attention. After her chicken-fest last night, I felt we should give her something else. So we made up some baby food oatmeal and syringed that in. She took it all quite willingly--more willingly than my kids ever did --as my husband is squirting it into her mouth and saying, "goo goo ga ga, eat up little baby bird", and me laughing the whole time.

--We thought maybe the antibiotic she was given, for the possible UTI, was upsetting her tummy. She took the last one yesterday morning, so she's not had ANY pills today--I did not give her the Pepcid or the appetite stimulant because neither of them seemed to make a huge difference in her appetite. I was SO hoping she'd start eating more, not having any meds in her stomach.

 

So, possible solutions to the above are:

--Recheck blood values, to rule out (or in) any liver malfunction

--TOUGH LOVE--eat the dog food or don't eat. This is kind of scary, since she is still very thing.

--Keep force feeding her until she decides she's had enough and starts to eat on her own.

 

Any thoughts?

[robinw]

I think sometimes chiro makes them feel uncomfortable. Phene went Monday morning and hasn't seemed right since. I guess the same happens to us.

 

Is it possible that her meds may be upsetting her tummy?

[racindog]

Chiro has worked miracles on ME twice. One of the Drs told me it was part of the healing process to go through what would otherwise appear as a setback or lack of progress-in other words what you described. I found this to be true in my case too. Don't know what to do about her appetite. There are some accupressure points that may help, rose oil aroma may help(I put some on a dogdanna and then put it on them) and tripe is great too. I think best of all is the prayer though so I'll pray for her appetite to wake up! For Rosy:

[rascalsmom]

racindog, yes, the chiropractor did tell us we could see a bit of a setback after an adjustment. He told me to bring her back in two weeks, unless she seems worse; then bring her back next week instead.

 

The appetite thing is killing me. I am so frustrated with that!!

 

Thanks for the appetite-awakening-prayers...I hope they work. I've been praying for that, too.