"Old Dog" Vestibular Disease

This particular post is a little bit more about Ginger and "Old Dog" Vestibular disease. Special thanks to http://www.dogfencediy.com for making this post possible.

 

I've been thinking a lot about this, and many folks that I mention "Old Dog" Vestibular disease to seem to not really know what I'm talking about. That is, unless they've had a dog with it. At risk of repeating myself, I thought I might explain a little more about what's been going on.

The day Zippy went to the bridge I came home and noticed that Ginger seemed wobbly on the back end. It was so vague that I thought maybe she'd injured herself somehow. I even mentioned to Robin that I thought maybe her back or one of her legs was hurt. It would have been very easy to miss as it was very subtle.

That very next morning, however, Ginger was falling down on the floor. In some cases she'd actually fall and roll over several times (also referred to by some as gator rolling). Robin had mentioned the idea of it being vestibular related, so I immediately started reading up. The first clue? Her eyes. I took a look, and sure enough her eyes were tracking side to side - known as nystagmus. She was wobbling all over the place, and sometimes walked with her legs slightly splayed to the sides as if trying to get as low to the ground as possible. Her head was tilted to the side, too.

Days two and three she could barely stay on her feet. She (fortunately) was able to eat and also able to keep her food down, but she was clearly in trouble. Many dogs are unable to eat, or throw up what they do eat. I took her to our vet, and had a full blood panel and examination done. His diagnosis matched up with what I was thinking.

She was very slow to recover - in fact over the course of about 2 months she only recovered to about 90%, or what I call her new normal. Some of the things I've read suggest that most dogs recover fully, but some do not.

After having had a relapse at the end of June, I'm pleased to announce that she is actually back to better than her new normal. She's still wobbly sometimes, and seems to have the most issues when she is walking and tries to crane her neck around to see me behind her. She also seems to really struggle on uneven ground. When we're around ponds I have to watch her carefully - a few times she's almost fallen in (and Ginger does not believe in swimming, though she physically is able). She's able to jump back on the bed again without a spotter, though the ramp now lives next to the bed. She uses it as a spring board, and I'm OK with that.

There have been some things I've done to help her out a little. I do find that it's easier for the bigger dogs to knock her over now, so I've not been letting her stand on the porch and jockey for a spot with the bigger dogs. I put rubber backed (read that - won't slide around) area rugs on the linoleum floor in the kitchen, hooked her up with a ramp for the bed, and  made extra sure there weren't sharp corners/objects at Ginger height. Because she's not 100% steady on her feet it's a bit dicey sometimes.  I've also had to be very alert to not let her launch herself off of the bed in the mornings.

The scary thing about this is that often these symptoms come on like a freight train.  Many people think their dogs are having a stroke, and after seeing it I can understand why. I've even read heartbreaking stories of people having their dogs put to sleep for what may well have been vestibular related.  It's very, very scary.

 

Things to note if you suspect your dog is having a vestibular episode:

- It makes good sense to have a vet visit and blood work up.
- Ear infection is a possibility!
- Sometimes benadryl will help mitigate the symptoms just a little (it seemed to help Ginger).
- I shared my meclizine (for my vertigo) with Ginger per my vet's dosage instructions.
- Some vets suggest a round of prednisone.  Mine says the efficacy is debatable, but when she had the relapse we did a round just in case.
- pretty much the treatment is time - most cases resolve on their own

There is still some fear in my heart over the possibility of a brain lesion or tumor, but I keep reminding myself that we'll cross that bridge should we ever get to it. For now I'm just trying to keep enjoying every day I have with her, because it will never be long enough!

ps - Pia says "Hi Everyone!"

 

Weeble Wobble Ginger

I'm updating more for my benefit than anything - as I'd like to be sure that I keep track of this all for Ginger.

After my brief relief that Ginger's second vestibular episode was so short-lived, she had another episode starting this past Sunday, 7/29/2012. Same sort of deal - wobbly, eyes jerking, and so on. It appears that this time her eyes are jerking side to side, with a slight rotation to them (the rotation is... not a good sign).

My vet and I talked about Ginger when I went in to get Linc's stitches removed on Monday. He felt (and I agreed) that it might be a good idea to throw some drugs at it. So Ginger is having a course of prednisone, along with a course of antibiotics (in case of a deep seated inner ear infection).

Ginger is, as per usual, in good spirits. She's her normal spunky self, and that is a relief in itself.

It's been three days, and just yesterday afternoon she seemed to be showing some improvement. Her mouth/eye coordination has been off (this has not been an issue for her before) and her head tilt is now to the opposite side. She seems to be sort of rocking her head back and forth side to side some, though that is lessening. I get the impression that she feels like someone trying to get her sea legs.

My vet says that he's not thinking brain tumor at this point as he would expect brain tumor symptoms to NOT get better but to steadily go downhill. On the other hand, a friend with a dog who had a brain tumor tells me that her dog's symptoms came and went earlier on, and only went steadily downhill towards the end.

I think if she has another round I will go ahead and do the neuro consult. I'm not likely to go through with expensive testing and so on, but if it continues I would like for our neuro guy to at the least get his hands on her.

I'm trying to take some comfort in what my vet is telling me, but I'm not finding myself able to do that as well as I'd like. The one good thing is that she doesn't seem to be having any other symptoms, so I keep hoping that this is simply old dog vestibular stuff. I'm not ready to lose her yet.

Ginger Update

When I got home from work Tuesday evening, Ginger was back to normal. Or rather, she was back to her new normal. She's only ever recovered about 90-95% from her first round with the vestibular stuff. So I call that her new normal. Tuesday evening if her eyes were tracking I couldn't see it. She was still the tiniest bit wobbly, but she's occasionally wobbly at times now anyway.

All of that being said, Tuesday night had I not seen what happened that morning I wouldn't have noticed anything off.

The real test came at bedtime. I knew that if she was back to normal she'd just get on the bed. If she wasn't back to normal she'd wait for a spotter. When I came into the bedroom she had already claimed her spot on the bed!

I'm still feeling rather cautious about it all. Here's why: according to my Vet (and Dr. Internet), the vertical nystagmus is often associated with neurological stuff like... brain tumors. We talked briefly about that, which of course sent my terror and dread into overdrive.

I'm going to try to just wait and cross that bridge if we get to it.

Also, for full disclosure, Linc's stitch had untied itself by the time I got home the other day. So I decided to just leave it alone, since that particular portion was already healing well. He gets his stitches out on Monday anyhow.

Happy Weekend!

Worries

Yes, Ok, so I'm going to break my (3 months? How did THAT happen?) silence to dribble out a post on some of my dog worries. I feel like I'm going to pop, though, if I don't lay them down.

This morning Ginger seems to be having a relapse of her vestibular syndrome. I understand that relapses do occur, but the part concerning me is that her eyes are tracking differently this time from the last. First round her eyes tracked side to side, with a slight rotation. This time they're tracking up and down and she's blinking a lot. I don't know how normal THAT is. I'm going to watch her for the moment. She's in good spirits and having no issues eating, which is a good thing. She's not nearly as unsteady on her feet as she was in round one, but it may get worse. I worry mostly about the implications of the nystagmus.

I have this irrational fear after losing Zippy in April that I'm going to lose another one of my dogs this year.

I'm stressed because I have a 14 month old puppy that's not even started on sheep yet. I've had her out a few times but I haven't really started her yet. Part of me feels like I'm not doing her justice. I know that I WILL do her justice in time. It just frustrates me to be stuck in this place that I'm in.

That being said, though, I'm doing things for myself to get my financial house in order (which once done I'll be able to get my dog started, and hopefully get Linc finished!). I'm so tired of worrying about money, so while it makes things very tight for me in the short term I see the light at the end of the tunnel. That's a good thing! But it means my dogs are getting very little work (ie and Pia's not started yet). We have a set-out job coming up in a few months, and should do some farm-sitting in the fall. That'll help.

It frustrates me that the finals are going to be so close to home next year and I don't have the financial wherewithal to even *try* to get my dogs qualified (and with Nick in his prime).

A week ago I had a suspicious lump removed from Linc's wrist. It turned out to be a histiocytoma, which is good news indeed, so I can at least stop worrying about that part of things. I was a bit concerned as the incision was still oozing ever so slightly up until Saturday night, but only after going out to potty. The oozing has stopped though, thankfully, and the incision is looking good.

However, last night it appeared that one of his sutures had come... untied I guess, for lack of a better term. The incision looked good and closed in that spot, but because it's a high tension area I was concerned about losing it altogether and applying more tension on the spots that are already struggling to stay closed. So this morning before work I got out a flashlight and two pairs of tweezers and retied it. This was no easy feat, for sure. Lucky for me the vet left long ends so I could count stitches... and so I could retie, though I'm guessing she didn't exactly have that scenario in mind.

I'll be glad when Linc is able to get out of lock down. With his incision being near his wrist it's a very un-meaty place with a lot of tension, so he's on lockdown in the lampshade of doom. He's taking it mostly in stride though.

I suppose that's enough of this rambling pity/worry party. Those are the ones most on my mind. Maybe now I can let some of it go a little.

To add a little levity - this morning I ate my yogurt with a fork. Desperate times and all.

I'm reminded and comforted by the fact that the greatest gift I give my dogs is a good life and the opportunity to do things with me, and just BE with me.

If you even managed to make it this far without your eyes glazing over, cookie for you!

Tell Me Thursday 2012 - #15

...and she's back! Life has gotten slightly less hectic, so I'm taking TMT back starting today. So today's TMT is hosted by yours truly, The Pruninator.

As many of you already know, I had to let Zippy go to on April 9th. I'm still trying to work all of that out inside of my heart. I know it was the right thing for him, and I know equally for sure that it would never be the right time for me. It's never, ever going to be long enough.

Anyway, this week's questions (and I hope you guys will play!) are:

1. Are you a morning person? A night owl? Do you pop up out of bed full of song and happiness? Do you just hit your stride after dark?
2. What is your favorite candy?
3. What is your biggest driving pet peeve?
4. How do you prepare yourself and your dogs for summer?
5. Lets talk about grass in your dog yard. Do you have any? How much maintenance do you do?

My answers:

1. Are you a morning person? A night owl? Do you pop up out of bed full of song and happiness? Do you just hit your stride after dark?

I really don't want to speak to anyone until about 10am. That's about when I get going, and then I don't want to eat until about 10:30. Nevermind the fact that I've been up since 6:00 am and start chugging coffee not long after that.

Mostly I just hate people chirping at me in the mornings. Our receptionist here at work chirps at me every day and I want to claw her eyes out. One day she found out that I'm not a morning person and so now she chirps at me and then makes asinine comments about how she knows I'm not a morning person and therefore she'll keep her greeting quiet... and goes on and on until I want to choke her. I usually have visions of my vaulting over the front desk.

No. Not a morning person. The ex-hubs and I had an agreement about such things and didn't speak except to say "have a good day". It was an excellent arrangement.

On the other hand, I start turning into a pumpkin at about 9:00 pm or so. Sometimes I'm even good until 9:30. The way I see it, is I only have a few really good hours a day.

2. What is your favorite candy?

My favorite candy is a king-sized Mr. Goodbar. It has to be king-sized because I like the mouth-feel of the chunks. When I buy it at the store it cannot be broken, and then I break it up into little chunks and eat them one by one. I just don't want someone else fondling my candy. This started for me in college and I've never quite gotten over it.

My runner-up candy is the reese's eggs/trees/pumpkins/hearts that they have around holidays. They are smack-yer-mamma good.

3. What is your biggest driving pet peeve?

Nothing makes me want to go all road rage on someone like when they don't give a thank-you wave. What has happened to the thank-you wave? It infuriates me to slow down and let someone in, and what, they can't have common courtesy to wave their appreciation? It makes me want to tailgate them to their destination and MAKE them wave.

More coffee, please.

4. How do you prepare yourself and your dogs for summer?

Summers here are hot and humid, and I start trying to acclimate us as soon as the weather starts getting warmer. I try to let the temps in the house increase gradually be as warm in the house as I can stand it, so that when we go outside to work the dogs and I aren't in total shock. I take all of the winter gear out of the van (tarps, thick dog bedding, etc.) and make it as airy in there as possible. I make sure I have all of the shade screens are loaded up, and for certain situations I have enough crate fans to go around.

For myself I mostly just hide my head under the pillow and lament about how I miss winter. Nevermind the fact that in winter I hide my head under the pillow and lament about how I hate summer.

5. Lets talk about grass in your dog yard. Do you have any? How much maintenance do you do?

It seems like my grass area is decreasing each year, and the bare spots are increasing. I'm trying to figure out what to do about it. In the summer the weeds usually fill in, but I'd like to get more real grass out there because when winter gets here about 50% of my (very small) yard is dirt. The houses in my neighborhood are built on what is basically sand rock, so it's a challenge. I've picked up some Scotts' Eazy Seed and I'm thinking I might put an expen around one bare spot and then after it grows move around seeding and such until I'm happy. That sounds like a lot of work though. I'm just not sure how much effort I want to put into it.

So far my method has been to just ignore it. That doesn't seem to be working out all that well.

Here is your button thingie code:

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Here is where you link up:

Tell Me Thur... Tuesday

First let me say... blogger just forced this new format on me. Hate.
 
Secondly, it's time for another TMT hosted by Rockin' Ewe Stockdogs. I'd like to give a big shout out to Jaenne' and say thank you for taking this on for a few weeks. Since Jaenne' is starting a new job and my life is settling back down some I'll be taking Tell Me Thursday back starting... uh... the day after tomorrow! It'll be fun, so put your thinking caps on.
 
Here are last week's questions:
 
1) Given the current "state of things", I have been very lucky to get a job so quickly after becoming unemployed and to have other, even more attractable job possibilities pop up. So, give me at least one good thing that has happened recently - dog wise, non-dog wise or both!
 
One good thing is that I got a sweet deal and was able to refinance my house and save a lot of money. With the housing market as it is it does not look like I'll be selling any time soon, so figured I'd go ahead and do it. The other good news to it was that I only borrowed what I owed, so I didn't increase my mortgage by much. WOOT! Big thanks to Beth Chuck who got me to consider it.
 
In other good news... I finally bought myself a set of pruning shears, and last night just pruned my hiney off. I was a pruning fool. The Prunemeister. The Pruninator. Prunilicous. Trees everywhere fear my wrath. Muaaahahahahaha! What that really means is I can now mow the back corner of my yard without putting an eye out.
 
For some reason Pia found the pruning thing to be exciting. Nick thought it was scary, and went inside to hide.
 
2) How did you end up working in the field/profession that you are currently in?
 
Well, it was sort of accidental. I started out working as "summer help" in the billing office for the Radiology dept. at our hospital (one of them). My first job there was just shredding papers. Then I got to do more things, and over four years of summers and winters I got to learn many different jobs. When it came time to find a job in college I just looked for a light secretarial position, and it went from there. I never really intended to go the Executive Assistant route. I'm good at it - and I used to love what I do. Some days I still do.
 
I'd still like, some day, to go back and get my Master's and get licensed to counsel. That's really where my passion lies. Unfortunately life has gotten in the way, and it's not in the cards at the moment.
 
3) I got the typical "What are your hobbies?" question at this interview yesterday. What kind of response do you get when you tell people that you "train and trial dogs for (fill in the blank)"?
 
Oh goodness. I usually just hope they don't ask about hobbies. If they do I sort of hem and haw a little and try my best to put it into terms that make the most sense to laymen so to speak. I usually just leave it at "I do sheep herding with my dogs". Yes, the "herding" word rankles me, but it makes the most sense to people. Most of the time they just nod and go on. I try to just sort of glaze right past it - they can figure out my real deal later.
 
One time at an interview I struggled and squirmed as the person continued to question me. She even asked me how many dogs I had. Squirm. She had more border collies than I do, and also works sheep with them. It turned out that she hadn't trialed in a few years, but we knew some of the same people. THAT turned out to be a great interview. Too bad the job didn't pan out.

Tell Me What Day This Is?

Yeah. Ok. Late to the party again. But in my defense... chaos abounds in my life lately. So this week's (last week's?) TMT is hosted by Rockin' Ewe Stockdogs.



1. One thing that you would totally redo (if you could) in regards to dog training?

Mmm. Listen to my instincts more for Linc. That's the best way I can explain it. There were some methods that I used earlier in his training that I wasn't comfortable with, and it's taken time to undo what was done. It's turned out OK, but I would do many things differently with him if I had it to do over with.

The main thing I'd do over is marry a nice farmer dude instead and have my own sheep. He could use them, of course. My sheep, I mean. I think a lot of things would be different for Linc if I had my own sheep. I plan to rectify this in the future. The sheep thing, not the farmer dude thing. Though I wouldn't turn down one of those either. Assuming it was the right person, obviously.

2. One thing that you enjoyed doing in the past that you no longer participate in (dog or non-dog related)?

Golf. I suxxors at it. Couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. But it was nice to ride around in the golf cart and wear the cute skirts. Go figure, since I don't like skirts in any other context.

3. Best dog and/or training books you’ve read (fiction or non)?

Maybe not the best, but my favorite and most useful book was the little pink book about training tiny dogs. Crud, I can't remember the name. Something about "Pint-Sized Companion". Hm. AWESOME resource. You know, cuz it SO helped me teach Zippy to not bite the ex-husband. NOT. Not not.

4. What is the best part of dog trialing for you?

I like getting to see the different dogs, and I love hanging and listening and chatting. I don't go for the bad stuff, but I like to hang with folks. I also like working. Work is good. Keeps me out of trouble.

The worst part for me is the part where I actually run my dog. Makes me want to barf. Every. Time.

Oh, and one more favorite part: HANDLER'S DINNER!! Woot!

I could do without the tent camping thing. I'm sort of over that now.

5. I totally have puppy fever (thanks to Robin and her adorable litter of Rhyme x Bill pups - I'm totally in love with Tib aka Mouse!) so please post an adorable puppy picture of one (or all!) of your dogs!

You asked for it. Puppy Linc photo by Julie Poudrier.

Pia on Sheep - 11 months

I haven't worked Pia at all since January. I thought last weekend I'd give her a whirl to see where we were, see if it's time to start actually training. I was very pleased - and do think it's time to start a little with her. I think I'm going to like her a lot. Back in January she was a little sensitive, so other than speaking to her a little when she was thinking about diving in, I just let her work.

Zippy - Jan 1994 to April 2012

Today I made the very difficult decision to let Zippy go to the bridge. Run free Small Dog - you have been well and truly loved. Zip made many friends over the course of the 6-1/2 years he lived with me, and I felt blessed to have many adventures together. Adopting him at 11 years old I thought surely we might only have a year or two together. Little did I know it would be almost seven.





This photo here was taken on a walk with Julie. He did loves him some walkies. I will miss him something awful. I already do. Though blurry, this is my absolute favorite picture of him. It captures his essence:



Safe journeys, Smallness, until we meet again.

TMT - Just In Time

For the next few weeks (months) Tell Me Thursday will be hosted by Jaenne' over at Rockin' Ewe Stockdogs. Go take a look and join in!

This weeks questions:

1. Where were you born? Did you grow up there?
North Carolina, baby! I actually live now just a mere mile from where I grew up. Both of my grandmothers live within about a mile of my childhood home, and my mother is still there. It was a good place to grow up. I fed my brother rabbit turds. Good times.

2. How did you come to end up living where you are now?

I went to school for a while in South Carolina - Southern Wesleyan University. When I realized I needed a break I moved back up here. I took about 9 months to get on my feet, and once I was able I moved into this little rental house with my dog, Ginger. About 3 years later I bought my house... and now I'm stuck until the housing market gets better. Sigh.

The other part of the story is that I love my family. I not only love them, but I like them a lot too. It makes me happy to be near them, even when I don't see them that often.

3. What is the most unusual trick you have taught your dog? Or the most unusual animal you have taught tricks?

Um... well... I taught Nicky to play dead. Except his version of playing dead involves thrashing around on his back. Oh, and it doesn't really have a command yet. So I just stand there and eventually he remembers what I want, and does it. Ok, so maybe this doesn't count. - certainly it's not unusual.

I once taught a horse to stick his tongue out. Ok, I didn't really so much teach him that... he liked to have his tongue scratched so it didn't take much effort to get him to start doing it when I asked him to.

4. What is the most unusual food you enjoy?

Unusual... hm. My new found love for sushi grosses my family out. But all things considered I'm pretty plain jane when it comes to food.

5. I know this has been asked before, but I'm always looking for a great book to read so what was the last book you read? Did you like it? Would you recommend it?

I'm pretty much a bandwagon sort of reader. I'm not terribly adventurous and I prefer to read either books by my favorite authors, or books that seem to be popular. I finished The Hunger Games books in about 3 days a couple of weeks ago. I can't WAIT to see the movie. Right now I'm reading A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. It took me several chapters to get into it, and honestly I had some trouble following in the beginning. However, I've been watching the TV episodes on Amazon.com, and once I got a bigger picture from them I really got interested in the book. It is certainly worth a read. I would definitely recommend The Hunger Games.