Today I'm Not Sure

 It is becoming the same routine, which is very good to get back to one that is similar to the one before Winston's back issue. Only this time we all almost 'slept in', it wasn't until 5:16am before Sadie walked in to wake me up to let Winston outside. We came back inside and slept to 7:58am, which about an hour later than normal ... it was breakfast for the hounds and the last day where Winston gets a daily dose of Prednisone. For the next week it will be a dose of 80mg every other day until the tables run out.

It was awful tempting to let Winston out of his gated area and let him "scoot" around the house. He was really active, whining to get out of jail and had that look that he was ready to resume a normal basset life. He is still very strong walking with only two legs since in the past two times he was walked me to the back of the field near the tree line to poop. He walks all through the field with me holding his back legs up off the ground.

It was only a few minutes after I resisted the urge to let him roam the house, that he was asleep. We headed for the vet about noon for his 3rd laser treatment. How do you know if they are really working? There is nothing to compare with. He could be improving just from the anti-inflammatory meds and the amount of rest he has been getting. I will still continue the laser treatments though.

While Winston slept this morning, Heidi took her normal position, Stella found her favorite bone and Sadie sat right next to my desk to bother me.

I am sold on the 4Health No Grain dog food with the Duck and Sweet Potato combo. Duck is the only protein source. She has only gone through about 15lbs of food. Her "raw" spots or really anymore just "problem" spots because they are not raw ... have hair trying to grow back but the big difference is the skin is not hard but soft as normal skin would be. Her coat is not as "greasy" as it was with Earthborn Grain Free but soft and shines.

As I was bring out the dog bed from the house to the back of the FJ for the trip to the vet for Winston's laser treatment ... he started barking and howling nonstop and his tail was going a mile a minute in his gated area.

It was a great day today but for some reason I've not been able to shove the idea away that this might be the best he gets. That thought actually started this morning when I had been awake before the hounds woke up. You know the time of day ... dark, middle of the night, quiet ... when any doubts you have about anything come out to screw with your mind. It was then I started thinking he may not ever walk again.

So I had to ask the vet tech that has been doing the laser treatments ... again ... what kind of success has she seen with this treatment. They have used this laser treatment a lot, but Winston is their first basset hound getting the treatment. All Dachshunds ... some have started walking again, some have not. I told her I didn't think it was fair to the dog to have him use the two wheel cart. Sorry but I've never been a fan of those.

I told her that I planned on waiting for a while and continue these treatments but I know that I might have to put him down if he can't come back to walk again. She reminded me that what I am having to do now is hard on him. Hauling 60#'s back inside, pressure against a sore spine area, compressing his organs while I carry him ... isn't good long term. She also thought the use of carts are also hard on the dog, especially the way the basset hound is built, makes them hard to take on and off.

My concern is his right rear leg has been in a locked straight position since he hurt his back. That has never changed. To protect that leg he will always sit on his left hip. At times when he is walking and I am lifting his hips to keep the paws from dragging the ground it does look like that leg is trying to move in a walking motion but from the hip joint, not the knee joint. I can't get that leg to move when doing a little movement therapy.

I know you and I have seen the photos of the two wheel carts used by basset hounds ... but is that really fair to the hound?

When we came back from treatment it was time for lunch. Sadie and Stella were loving being outside. It felt a lot warmer than it was (around 30°) and they would love to go for a walk. The problem is the field is really saturated where the ground will come up over their paws and the edges of my shoes .. We will have to wait a few days for the daily  walk to resume.

Notice the edges of the water froze during last night and stayed that way most of the day.

A few times today the bloodhounds acted like they wanted outside but once there they were not interested in doing much but posing for the camera. I think they have become bored with the current routine.

Sadie was sure she heard the words "eat" or "food".

After the treatment, some lunch and water, a trip outside ... Winston was settled in for an afternoon of sleeping.

This post is a little early for the day but I'm going to post it now anyway and that will be it for today.

It's cold but it's a beautiful sunny day here in the "tropics" of Southern Indiana.

Winston Loses Two More Teeth Today

It was my fault and maybe not just from today when I left the house. I came home after a short trip for groceries and gas. He had blood on top of his nose when he came back inside and I thought at first he had possibly ran into a stick or something sharp in the field to cut his nose. WRONG.

As I walked into the bedroom there is one of his molars laying on the floor and sure enough under the same hard Nylabone I had left for the hounds to chew, laid his other molar. I was simply sick about what I had done. I had forgotten about his teeth and the hard Nylabone!!

Talking to my friend last night that is the retired dentist, I mentioned that Winston lost two teeth the other day and one of them had been pulled out by the root. He explained that was not what happened. The good gum material is or was running away from the bacteria (plaque), thus his teeth would be loose. So they practically fell out.

Now today with those vacant spots on his gum it wouldn't have taken much to "roll" those molars to the point of falling out of his mouth. I keep thinking it's my fault because I never took care of his plaque problem when I first noticed it years ago. I always thought feeding kibble  and having him chew hard bones controlled the plaque problem.

He still ate all of his dry kibble with on issue.

It does look like the new 4Health food for Heidi is going to work. Her skin has improved and she definitely itches a LOT less. In fact he hardly itches at all anymore.

Stella did not have any separation anxiety again today. I was gone for almost an 1-1/2 hour. When I opened the bedroom door she was barking/howling at Winston trying to get him to play. I wonder if they fought over that Nylabone?

Sadie's coat, as well as Winston's and Stella's, remain very soft even after switching food from Fromm to Diamond Naturals.

Here are some photo's from this morning's 30° weather ...

Damn cold today.

Heidi Itching Less On Day 2

I don't have any photos of Heidi's skin because she only goes outside twice per day and when she does I don't have my camera ready. After 4 feedings (2x day) of the 4Health Grain Free, Duck/Sweet Potato ... she is itching a LOT less, skin is NOT red but does need a bath. I'm too lazy to give her one.

Sadie must had just a one day bug because yesterday fed her the Diamond Naturals mixed with Diamond Grain Free ... she had no digestive issues.

Winston is getting antibiotics 2x a day. He has no issues with his missing teeth and eating dry kibble.

I do feel some regret shutting the blog off to those that liked reading it. I know it's "special" to a couple of readers and one in particular. I'm thinking of opening the blog back to public - yet there might be different photos along with more detail than they are used to.

Sadie's Upset Stomach

It started Sunday night where she starts by being obsessed with licking the carpet. On the way of letting her outside she is going ballistic hopping up and down. Once the door is open she sprints to the field and starts eating the tall grass. It is something I have noticed before when feeding Diamond Natural dog food. I don't recall her ever doing it when I fed her Fromm.

Last summer I thought it was because it was too hot inside and outside. Sunday night I instantly thought it was Diamond Naturals dog food. Yet Stella and Winston have no issues with it.

Monday night was different. After about 8 hours she puked up her whole meal I gave her at 1:30pm....plus the grass she had ate. While sleeping on the couch and having the run of the house last night, I found 2 small places she had gotten sick.

Today I fed her 100% Diamond Grain Free that I am finishing up since Heidi is now eating 4Health Duck and Sweet Potato. Sadie didn't go ballistic today to go outside, nor did she puke but she stayed outside a long time roaming the field alone, eating as much grass as she could find.

She was pooping grass today, a lot of it. So she has had a thorough intestinal cleanse. It 5:52pm and she has had no issues today.

The other dogs are fine. It's hard to imagine but Heidi has rarely scratched today after one day on 4Health dog food. That has to be way too soon to show any differences.

New Dog Food & No Damage By Stella

This morning I was talking about different dog foods. A few days ago I posted photos and wrote about Stella's separation anxiety and a lot of damage.

Well in the past 2 hours, I bought a brand new type of dog food and rearranged my bedroom so Stella would not continue to tear the wall apart that was next to the door handle.

Last March, my vet (John Royal) suggested I try 4Health Duck & Sweet Potato for Heidi's skin problems. He had a client that showed a certain breed of dog, that had similar skin issues as Heidi's. Another words ... severe. He didn't know the name of it but it was Tractor's Supply's brand of no grain food. It's made by Diamond.

I have a 'gut' feeling this is going to work for her for a couple of reasons. One, there is only ONE protein source (duck, duck meal), whereas all the other brands that have Duck as their #1 ingredient also added chicken or lamb further down the list of ingredients. I have always suspected that the chicken or lamb could be an allergy problem, especially after emailing Fromm Dog Food and hearing them say that chicken was a problem.

Why did I wait so long to try it?

I am trying it now because I am desperate for Heidi. The bison, chicken, lamb, duck with chicken meal, pork, and the duck with quail and chicken meal never really worked. All no grain food. The times I tried to put her back on Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice ... her skin was red within 2 days.

So the Diamond No Grain I bought for her November 30 is now for Winston, Sadie and Stella since it was time to buy food for them. The 30# bag will last Heidi almost 2 months.

It took 38 minutes and 31 miles to drive to Tractor Supply in Bedford. That was less time and less miles than driving to T&T Feeds in Bloomington, plus they had a great selection of all the different dog foods, just a much lower prices.

I'm sold.

Before I left, I moved my chest of drawers from the west wall of the bedroom to the small south wall that is between the door and the closet door. That blocked the wall so Stella could not dig into the wall and continue to tear it apart like she has the past two times I've left the house.

I also opened the right closet door all the way, then locked the baby gate perpendicular inside the close to give support to the closet doors from behind pushed in and also block Stella from getting into my cloths that are on hangers.

I am not sure what changed for her but when I got home 1:40 minutes later, there was zero damage and no signs where she tried to tear down the baby gate or try to move the chest of drawers. The door was NOT scratched either.

That is a great thing.