Athena Pupdate February 21

On Wednesday I took Athena & Volos on a small walk in the neighborhood.  Athena was sort of dragging.  I know she has her days, so I didn't dwell on it too much.   

I have noticed that she is ending up on her butt more and more. Yes she can walk and be very quick some days, but a majority of her time is ending up on her butt and needing assistance.

Friday morning as we were getting her ready in her cart and she wasn't standing right. She had her front legs forward & out a big (like a V).  She wouldn't necessarily stand up right.    While it could be that she's tired, it also has a bit worried.  

I checked in on her while at day care and she was doing it a bit with her one leg.   So something we definitely need to keep an eye on.   

She came home all happy and alert. We took her out of her cart and got her settled onto her bed.  It was also one of the rare nights that we go out.   

We were gone for maybe 3 hours and when we came home, it was a disaster.  Athena was found in the kitchen--on the floor-- stuck.  Not only that, she was on the hard flooring where there is no carpet AND to make matters EVEN BETTER.... she had gone #2.   

Gone #2 and smeared it all under her and on the floor in her efforts to get up. It was smelly, gross, and a big mess!   Rich took her out and then immediately she got a very thorough bath and I was stuck with cleaning up the smeared, dried, and nasty smelling stuff.

Poor girl. Don't know how long she was there like that. Such a traumatic experience followed up by a bath. 

Moodwise today she's still her energetic and alert self, but physically she's feeling yesterday.    I've decided to give her a break from playing this week.  I think she needs to recuperate.   Additionally we need to make sure this isn't a progression of the disease instead of just being tired.   


Progression of the disease means her timeline is shortening.  When she is no longer able to hold herself up or play in the cart, her quality of life will be non-existent.   So keep her in your thoughts.




EDIT: 2/23/2020  Today is a very bad day. She cannot stay on her legs at all. This morning when we went outside, it was a long struggle.   Inside the house hours later, she's can't hold herself up or walk or stand.   

Either this is an off day, which we hope or it's the progression of the disease (which is more likely)

Enjoying play care

Time out nap with Lada & Lada's BFF

Athena with Lil Bro

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.

Athena --week 2a-4

Well, overall it was a better week.   She's still no where near 100%.   

We received the harness on Monday and it has definitely helped us and her out.   Getting her up and down the stairs and up from the floor when she slips is definitely much easier with this harness.

Never realized I started a post and didn't complete it.


We're going on week 4 of Athena's ...convalescence. SO for all this time she has not been at playcare, not been to the dog park, and has not "played".   It really is hard to say if she's doing better? I think whatever happened to her may be permanent.   

Not once has she walked 'normal' for her.  She either walks with her body bent at an angle or she can barely lift her body up.  The few times she stands right, her paws fold under her.

My biggest concern is her mental well being.   I'm afraid she'll become depressed from inactivity or stimulation.
We've taken her up to day care to say HI and she's been quite happy.   However otherwise, there isn't much else.  She does interact with her siblings, so that is good--but overall I fear she's not living life.  

Our vet has indicated she is a good candidate for a new therapy.  T-Cyte injections. However, as of right now we cannot afford $125 an injection.   Maybe after the holidays.

Her current regime of meds:

AM
    200mg of Gabapentin
     50mg Rimadyl

1ML 250ml of Cannabidiol

PM
      200mg of Gabapentin
     50mg Rimadyl

Week 1- Update

A week ago today I picked the doggos up from play care and they alerted me to her limp.
It's been a very exhausting week. 

Athena has not been to play care nor has she done much else    She's been pretty bad.
On Tuesday it was absolutely horrible to watch.   She could not hold herself up at all.   She was literally dragging her lower body around.   Could barely hold herself up. 
We've never seen it this bad. 

Wonder if something happened at day care that might have been "normal" for other dogs, but enough to mess her up.   A new person was there, so I will never know. All I know is this is bad for her and we've never ever seen it like this. 

She sleeps like the dead when she is sleeping (definitely her meds).  We've done a lot of assisting and carrying her up and down the stairs.

We purchased a special harness for her.   This will be helpful for even when she gets better. 
Considering wheels for her as well.  We'll wait a bit more on that.

We're getting her a "Help 'Em Up Dog Harness".

One view

Another view

Today she seems to be doing a bit better getting around.   Still falling and paws still rolling under, but she's stayed on her legs more than she has the past several days!.   

Through this all, she's still in good spirits. Wanting to get cuddles and attention. Barking along with her siblings.. Wanting to be in the room with us.    So that's a good thing.  

She won't be attending day care anytime soon though.   We want her to get some rest and some more time on the meds.

Keep her in your thoughts!

Athena Update-Update (update #2)

It's been very crazy since I posted Thursday morning. 

"Good" news, if you wish to call it that, is that it is arthritis only. 

Doc called and it's not the best news, but considering other issues it could have been, it's ok news.
She has severe arthritis.  Pretty much 70% of her lower spine is riddled with arthritis.   Her hips are bad and so are her knees. 

So it is arthritis as we suspected, but it's a lot worse than we thought.

She is now on medication for inflammation and pain.  She will be on these pills everyday for the rest of her life.   
Small price to pay to allow her to keep going.

She's supposed to go to play-care today.  We'll see how that goes.

Athena-Update

Adopt Me!

For anyone who has followed this blog since day 1 knows that this bog was originally created to track the progress of Athena.  Read the first post chronicling about her condition at adoption HERE .

From day 1 Athena has had back leg issues.  They've never been strong and all indications-callous placement among them-are that she lived in or spent a lot of time in a small cage.   
In the early days watching her run to try and keep up with other dogs was bittersweet.   She wanted to run with them so badly, but her legs didn't give her the strength to keep up.

It was a joy to watch her legs gain strength so that she could easily climb stairs, keep up with the dogs at the park, and climb onto her window perches around the house.

Overall, Athena has blossomed since adoption.  She is a very happy dog and very emotional.  She expresses her emotions with her whines, moans and barks.   She adores all dogs and is a great big sister.   She absolutely loves to run with dogs at parks and day care.

With us a few weeks here 2014

Nothing makes her happier than being with her "Pack".  Whether it be outside, at the park, in the car, or at play care if she's with them, she's content.  

She also knows her own body.  If she's not ready to go out in the morning, she won't go out.   If she doesn't feel like going to play care, we let her stay home.    We never push her to over do it.

In the last year and a half, we've seen issues with her back legs.   They bother her and when they do it is pretty obvious.  You can see it in her run, her lack of climbing into her bed (a chair in the bedroom), and her need for assistance in getting in the car. 

Sadly this year has been pretty rough for her.   We've noticed her leg issues extending beyond just "getting weak".  At the park once, when her legs gave out, we noticed her dragging her paws.  They were being scraped under as she walked.   Other times she runs "hopping" her back legs along. She can't 'run' with them some days.

Sisters!

Recently her legs have locked up on her.   She ends up sitting in these weird positions because her legs won't bend appropriately.

Best company

In her bed

This morning I dropped her off at the vet for them to look at her.   We're hoping it's something that can be addressed with a shot, pill, or massage even.   We've begun to wonder if maybe she was injured before us and it never healed properly.  All sorts of questions we'll never know the answer.

Besides all this, she's still her wonderful self. At the vet there was a pug there and she was introducing herself to the little thing-like she does anytime she meets a new dog. Her body may not be cooperating with her at the moment, but she's still raring to go.  
Athena is the sweetest dog you will ever meet.  Hoping she gets some relief!  

playing with lil brother

Having a blast at Play Care.

So beautiful

Mommy and Athena

Running with lil Bro

With Daddy!!!!!!!!!

UPDATE on Athena

at play-care

Athena, like Duchess, has changed a bit since bringing in the little ones. She plays a lot with Lada. They seem to have this sweet bond and I love watching them play.   Athena loves to go over with the Cattle dogs to play with MC or Bridger.   

She's also very clingy as of late.  She really lets it be known when she wants affection and does not shy away from DEMANDING it.   She really loves play-care as well.  She's still a sweet girl and couldn't hurt a fly.

She's still a barker and that really comes out when any of the dogs OTHER THAN her are playing.  

Physically she's doing OK. If she plays too much she ends up overdoing it.   Her hind legs/hips still bother her.  In fact when I picked her up from play-care I was told she started limping and was forced to rest for a bit. Sounds totally Athena.   

Mommy & Athena

She has problems getting in and out of the car and we often have to help her. She still hates going on car rides (or I should say she still whines and barks).

She definitely is a dog who is loving their second chance at life.  Whatever bad stuff or horrors she may have had prior to us, haven't effected her emotionally -- that we can tell.   

She LOVES being outdoors. She loves to just watch and chase squirrels.  She absolutely hates gunfire and barks whenever the shots from the gun range sound.

She loves her pack. She loves to sleep and will NOT get up once she's down for the night. She has a bladder of steel.  She loves going to dog parks and you will always find her zipping around looking for some fun. She enjoys jumping in the water with the other dogs, but doesn't swim or play with them once in. 

Resting at play-care

She loves our neighbors and she loves us.  
Her physical pains are going to be the thing that most slows her down, but she is a very happy girl.

Her visible injuries from her previous life are barely noticeable these days. Again, the only real reminder is the problem with her back legs and hips.     She really is a doll and we're so happy she's with us. 

Nature watching

Running at the park

Puppy Updates...

Hey all.   Hope the summer treated you well.   So those of you wondering how the pups are doing, here's your info:



DUCHESS:

Duchess at the park

She's becoming more social at the dog park.  She's always been a bit of a loner. She'd be walking along the fence line or searching in the woods all by herself. She may run with a dog or two, but she's never really played with any dog.   She's never been overly affectionate and tended to be aloof.

Prior to Peryn she would become playful with her food, tossing it in the air and such. She and I would play a bit after I gave her a cookie.  She had her 2 stuffed animals: Lambchop & Hedgehog that she would play with on the bed.    

She would play with Athena until Athena discovered other dogs, now they don't play (or I should say Athena doesn't really play with her).

Since Peryn though, the jealousy Duchess has is showing. She competes for attention from Peryn. 
After getting over the initial "shock" of having Peryn in the house, she often played with him. Actually it was more of her pushing him around.   Peryn loved it though and her rough play helped him out.
With our wanting to socialize Peryn as much as possible, we often had meetups with others to have the dogs play. This additional one on one time with other dogs has made Duchess a little more comfortable around other dogs.  

While at the park she still tends to be by herself, she'll join in with the group more often than not.
Additionally at home she tends to seek out attention and affection much more often. While she still isn't very affectionate (she does NOT lick ) she has mellowed some.  She tends to curl up against us all the time now.   Her competition with Peryn has made her a much sweeter dog.

While the two of them do not play together as much, and I think that has to do with the constant exercise and dog park visits, pay too much attention to one or the other and a "fight" aka Playing starts.

Duchess is a good dog and very protective. I still don't trust her with strangers.  

One good thing that has happened is now that the dogs play often with Huskies (remember Duchess is half Husky) things are better.  I don't feel I have to explain her when she does some things (like her drive buys or aggressive play) because I'm with others who have dogs that are the same way.

So overall Duchess is good.   She is "aging".  Her snout which had been brownish when we adopted her 3 1/2 years ago is all white.  I am unsure her exact age and that worries me as Duchess is my favorite dog of the current 3.   

Current Likes:  Loves Grafton, Kirtland, & Medina dog parks for their sizes. She loves Grafton because it is wide open and in the country. She LOVES the country.  She loves Median for the woods. And she loves Kirtland for the water and the play area.  She loves to splash. She loves to explore and run free.
Loves running with ponies.   Loves her schedule: morning brusha and cookies & her out times.
Loves to lay or sit at the back of the yard, in the shade, and monitor. She loves to lay out on the patio and sun bathe.

Favorite toy: Anything that dispenses treats as she plays with it.
Car rides?   She is a horrible traveler. HORRIBLE. She paces back and forth and whines and husky howls until she can stick her nose out an open window.

Favorite sibling: Peryn

Athena getting some loving at the park

ATHENA: Athena has come such a long way. I was looking through her paperwork from when we adopted her.  She's gained weight (14 lbs),stronger legs, and her infections are gone.
Personality wise, Athena hasn't really changed much over time. She's pretty much the same dog as she's always been.
She really loves us and loves being with us. She loves playing with other dogs..sort of.
She'll play with Peryn, MC, & Bridger, but at the dog park she's happier to run after other dogs and bark at those wrestling.   
She and Peryn are ok. Peryn loves to bug the crap out of her. He will "munch " on her as she goes up and down stairs.  
They're more likely to play with one another than Duchess and Peryn would.   

She loves loves loves going to the park to "play" with other dogs. She's still obsessed with smaller dogs as she tries to mother them. She tries to break up "fights" (dogs wrestling with one another) and sometimes ends up as a protector of weaker dogs by doing so.

She does not sleep in the bed with us as the uneveness of the bed bothers her legs. She still has weak legs from her life before us. While we've strengthened them by allowing her to play and walk, she still has issues with them.  Her own bed is either the big chair next to the bed or the dog blanket/bed on the floor in front of it. 

She has a bladder of steel and once she's in bed for the night, she won't get up until we force her out the next morning.

She's the best listener of the bunch.   Call her once or ask her to stop and she does. She is a barker.  I call her Barky Bark and the Furry Bunch...
  

Current Likes:  If the place has dogs, she loves it.  She loves other dogs.
She's a doll who loves to be outside. She could be outside watching all day long if we would let her. 

Favorite toy: Rocky the Raccoon.

Car rides?   She is a horrible traveler. HORRIBLE from the minute she got in the car with us. She's better than she was, but only if no one (Duchess or Peryn) encroach on her space in the car.  

Favorite sibling: Peryn

PERYN the Pup: Peryn. Peryn. Peryn.   Lil dude is a handful.  He's an extremely happy dog who loves his Mommy very much. He loves Daddy too, but it's like a 60/40 attachment with Mommy being 60.  Personally I think it's more, but we don't want to upset Daddy!

Peryn loves playing.  Other dogs, balls, toys, anything he finds on the floor, the tie outs... 
He is full of life and loves to show it.    He still is not to be trusted alone, so is crated during the day. 

He loves to swim, play rough with his friends, and most importantly FETCH.   The dog can play FETCH non-stop for hours if you have it in you to keep up.  

He LOVES bodies of water. He loves to run, play, & swim in water.  It's going to be a long winter for him.

If you read up on Cattle Dogs, he's matches everything perfectly.   He has more than the regular puppy exuberance.  We've had 2 dogs at the 9-10 month age and neither of them had Peryn's energy.    We've discovered that if he is not regularly exercised, he's a monster.
He will chew anything he finds, walk all over Mommy in the middle of the night, and just bug the heck out of you until you play.  

We started him in day care 2 days a week-starting last week.   A big difference it's making.  It makes dealing with him the rest of the day and the whole next day much more bearable. 
Yay!


He has a few friends he LOVES to play with: MC, Akira, Apollo, & Kato (last 3 are huskies)

Current Likes:  Fetch, balls(Squeakier the better), going on rides, parks, other dogs, walks, playing

Favorite toy: ALL

Car rides?   He's WONDERFUL in the car.  He's like Galen was.  Quiet, comfortable, and enjoyable. He is a great traveler.


Favorite sibling: to play with: Athena.  TO sleep around & run with: Duchess.