Sept 22- Pupdate

Things are going well with Athena.    We're putting her in her cart more and more. She's become quite accustomed to it and loves to run back and forth with her younger siblings.

Playcare is familiar with her cart now, so she's been twice the past week and a half.  She's doing phenomenal.  In fact, after she's out of the cart--she does well on her own.  The cart is definitely helping as a rehab tool.

For those curios, we purchased her cart here: https://www.handicappedpets.com/adjustable-dog-wheelchairs/
 Her Walkin' Wheels Med sized pink rear wheels have given her a new lease on life.  I notice a big difference in her personality since she's been given more freedom to actually get involved again with other dogs--including her pack.

She and Duchess do share one thing in common though.   Hearing loss.  Yelling at them doesn't seem to work much anymore.   So once I have their attention, I do hand signals to get them to act.   They're

both pretty smart.

Duchess still loves playing with her numerous BFs at playcare.   She does love her new environment--inside and out.     She's adjusted very well to the new house. 

Lada still loves to pick on her big sister, but Duchess doesn't take it lying down.  She irritates her right back.. She's also taken a liking to try and get inside the in progress homes. Rich had to retrieve her from inside one a few nights ago.

Peryn--my boy.  He is pretty happy where-ever we are. If he has us and a toy-- life is good for him.

He likes the park, he's discovered the retention pond behind the homes and has chosen to cool down in there a few times. He's such a little stinker.

He's also attempted to enter some of the homes they're working on. Workers leave the front doors wide open and he will walk right up the path.    He'll be inside these homes before the home owners.

Lada.  She's still Lada. Still my little psycho and still my crazy girl.   If Mommy is there--then it's all ok.

Seriouslsy, they all have done well. For the most part--they stay in the yard.  The fact that we have grass and no one else does has made that easier....but they pretty much understand their territory. 

Peryn & Lada are still BFF's .   They do everything together and it's cute.         Wish they would wrestle with one another, but they're more in tune with playing tug and fetch side by side. 
I don't think they would know what to do without one another.   Almost all pictures from Playcare have them near one another.    Two peas in a pod.

UPDATE: Athena

Watch out world!

Athena Pupdate
For the past few years- we've noticed and remarked on Athena's back leg issues.   As it's been documented here, we've been aware of her weak legs and possible contributing factors.

Last November, when she began having the severely noticeable issues, we took her to the vet.  He took x-rays and determined she has severe arthritis AND her knees and hips are shot.   Again, not surprising as again this goes along with her suspected history.    

She's been on meds, soon going on a year.   She has some really good days and some really bad days.  We have talked about getting her wheels for the past 6 months.    FINALLY she received them on Friday.   
While there has been some slow "realization" of what she can do in them, she's quickly learning.  She got to play with her siblings in the back yard yesterday. She's going to enjoy being able to be part of the pack again.   

HOWEVER, this morning I found some very sad, yet not surprising news.  In trying to research how long she can safely be in the wheels, I stumbled on some not so surprising, but sad information. 

Degenerative Myelopathy
SOURCE
"Degenerative myelopathy is a progressive disease of the spinal cord in older dogs. The disease has an insidious onset typically between 8 and 14 years of age. It begins with a loss of coordination (ataxia) in the hind limbs. The affected dog will wobble when walking, knuckle over or drag the feet. This can first occur in one hind limb and then affect the other. As the disease progresses, the limbs become weak and the dog begins to buckle and has difficulty standing. The weakness gets progressively worse until the dog is unable to walk. The clinical course can range from 6 months to 1 year before dogs become paraplegic. If signs progress for a longer period of time, loss of urinary and fecal continence may occur and eventually weakness will develop in the front limbs. Another key feature of DM is that it is not a painful disease."

The pictures associated with this disease are what caught my attention initially. They were a perfect representation of Athena. 
EVERY SINGLE description of this disease's symptoms are Athena.   

I'm not saying the vet misdiagnosed her.  We took her immediately when she began having issues and with her history of weak legs. She does have arthritis.   What we didn't have was all the "symptoms" yet.    

Unfortunately breeds affected by this disease

How do we treat degenerative myelopathy?

There are no treatments that have been clearly shown to stop or slow progression of DM. Although there are a number of approaches that have been tried or recommended on the internet, no scientific evidence exists that they work. The outlook for a dog with DM is still grave. The discovery of a gene that identifies dogs at risk for developing degenerative myelopathy could pave the way for therapeutic trials to prevent the disease from developing. Meanwhile, the quality of life of an affected dog can be improved by measures such as good nursing care, physical rehabilitation, pressure sore prevention, monitoring for urinary infections, and ways to increase mobility through use of harnesses and carts.

Symptoms of degenerative myelopathy
DM symptoms progress slowly over the course of months to even years. From beginning to end, DM affected dogs typically remain alert and animated. The symptoms typically progress as follows:

Initial

• Loss of coordination (ataxia) in the hind legs
• Dragging the hind feet causing wearing down of the toenails.
• Hind end weakness (difficulty climbing stairs, jumping up into the car, going for walks)

Intermediate

• Knuckling of hind feet (weight bearing on the tops of the feet rather than their undersides)
• Difficulty supporting weight with hind legs
• Inability to walk without support
• Urinary and/or fecal incontinence

To come:

Advanced

• Paraplegia (paralysis of hind legs).
• Weakness in front legs.

Although this degenerative process is not painful, affected dogs can develop discomfort because of overuse of other body parts attempting to compensate for the hind end weakness.

SOURCE http://www.pethealthnetwork.com/dog-health/dog-diseases-conditions-a-z/canine-degenerative-myelopathy-its-dna

So essentially, it's not a great prognosis.  Considering she's in the intermediate stage, we don't know how long she'll stay here.     SO essentially we are going to be giving her the best life we can with what she's got left in her.    

We'll be sure to keep you updated.