Too much time has gone by without a post. It has been a roller coaster ride, which was hard to update. Seems we have taken two steps forward, one back. But even a little better is better than not at all, right?
Lance is doing much better. Now that his ears and teeth are cleaned, he smells much, much better. Making it a lot easier to just hug on him, which he enjoys. Everything healed nicely, and his fur is growing back very slowly. We are down to only two health issues now, but still just as tiring.
He does have arthritis in his spine and possible neurological damage in his rear, which is what causes his back feet to turn under. He isn't aware when it happens, so he doesn't correct it. We do use Paw-tectors when we take him out, which has helped protect his back nails. They seem to last awhile. Unfortunately there is not much we can do about the ortho issue, just ride it out, as we did with Sasha.
The most current exhausting issue is his intestines/bowels. Since we've had him, his stool was pretty loose, some times almost to watery. After eliminating the worms, and being on medicated dog food, metronidazole, and Tylan powder, he firmed right up. Then we went back to his regular dog food (good stuff) and it was awful The vet does not feel there is an allergy issue yet, she thinks his bowels may still be inflamed and may have been damaged. So we are currently experimenting with different recipe's of the regular food, medicated food and drugs. Trying to find the most effective at the least cost. So needless to say, we still have occasional interrupted sleep. And planning our day around who can come home for lunch break.
So there is the update. Now for the fun stuff...
Lance doesn't seem able or willing for much walks anymore, but we still want to keep him from becoming a bed-potato. He still likes to pull out his toy and have it tossed for him to leap up and catch, or play tug-o-war with daddy (mommy doesn't do it right), or just do circles with us. This is about the only time we see a wag in his tail, which is what makes my heart patter.
Lance has always been a kisser, since the day we met him. Beware when you get your face near his. This was a rare moment that I was able to capture, but then...
the licker came out. He wouldn't stop for nothing. Thank goodness for Doggy toothpaste!
We know that dogs live in the moment, and probably don't care about what we worry about. With that in mind, we are committed to loving him to the end, but avoiding wiping out our savings trying to fix it all. We will live with what we can, keep him comfortable and just love, love, love him.
4 comments:
You are such a loving and understanding human, lance is lucky to have you. We hope with all our heart that he gets better soon!
Lots of love from Indigo and Malach the Great Danes
Lance is fortunate to have such understanding humans around him. Totally understand about living with what we can and keeping them comfy without wiping out savings etc. We are going thru some things with Sasha our 13 yr old lab and Ernie our 7 1/2 yr old Schnooodle. Keep loving on him.
Barb for the clampets
We're so happy to see a post and to read that Lance is enjoying some improvement. We're keeping our paws crossed for him. He's so lucky to have found you to spend the rest of his life with.
Lance may never be able to resume a regular diet. Jed developed irritable bowel syndrome with his autoimmune disease. Most mornings he can manage kibble and fat-free grilled chicken, but at night all he can manage is rice and hard boiled eggs. He gets vitamins and supplements, of course, to complement his new diet. Good luck finding the right diet for Lance.
Much love to your boy Lance. He seems to endure so much, and loves so much right back. You're the best mom and dad! I send him well wishes with lots of hugs and kisses throught the virtual world.
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