We had just finished our afternoon walk on Saturday when Stella stopped in the north part of the backyard, normal for her. I had not noticed anything different than other afternoon walks where she walks slower than she does in the mornings. Nor had I heard anything up to that time during the day. As I rubbed the top of her lower back on top near her left hip, she let out a loud yelp ... then started wagging her tail a little. I thought that was strange but she is taking hip/joint supplements and has shown signs in the past that her hips bother her at times.
What wasn't normal was when she tried to raise her left front leg to step up on the couch, she couldn't do it. I thought she might walk away and lay on the floor but bloodhounds are stubborn and if they want to do something they are going to find a way to do it, no matter what I say or what I do. A few minutes later she climbed on the couch like every night, circled and laid next to Heidi to sleep.
Around 10:30pm while I was still watching football games, Heidi hopped off the couch and either stepped on Stella's front foot or brushed her left rear hip ... whatever she did Stella let out another loud yelp obviously in pain. It wasn't continuous, just a short few seconds.
Looking a little closer I could see a difference between her left and right front leg. That left leg area was where she had three staples taken out last month after they had removed a growth. When I squeezed it to see if what she would do, she did nothing. I remembered it was her hip I had touched in the afternoon that made her yelp.
An hour later she was able to stand up enough to make a turn so she could sleep on her left side instead of the right and did not make a sound of any kind. I normally would have given her some Buffered Aspirin but had ran out last summer, forgetting to buy more. A long time ago a vet prescribe that for my first basset hound that had sprained his knee ligaments ... so I have always used Buffered Aspirin for any kind of sprains or back problems. 5-10mg per pound of dog weight is what they recommend for dosage.
The interesting thing was as she was getting ready to step off of the couch and head to bed, she hesitated. I put my hands under her stomach and front shoulders to kind help her for a soft landing and she yelped again when I put my hand under her front armpit. Maybe that swollen front leg has something to do with it?? If so, why was she yelping when I touched her left hip earlier in the afternoon?
So today I was going to keep a close eye on her, probably cancel any walking for her and keep her still as much as possible. But remember, she's a bloodhound and has a mind of her own. Around 9am, she starts that now familiar sound of whining letting me know she wants to go for a walk. She TROTTED outside like her back and leg were perfect ... what was going on?
That is until she heard rain drops hitting the big leaves of the Sycamore trees and then a roll of thunder. She stopped in her tracks and lost interest in walking.
What was different, it was raining lightly and I could hear thunder in the distance but to the south the skies were blue and the sun was out.
To the west there was a little blue sky trying to creep in ... but it was raining.
When we went back inside ... the rain stopped. I put on a light Columbia rain jacket over my fleece jacket and once Stella saw me grab the ball cap from the door hinge she wagged her tail and whined her way to the door. It wasn't raining ... really wasn't sprinkling ... just a few drops of sporadic rain drops.
Stella wasn't sure whether to go on or come back to the house.
Then here was the SHOCKER of the day .... I turned around to see what she was doing ... SHE'S RUNNING !!!
She proceeded to finish the half mile walk like nothing was wrong with her and trotted a few times along the way.
Just like older people, there are some aches and pains that never go away. Some days are better than others. I am hoping it was just a bad few hours where she might have tweaked her back during the day changing sleeping positions. I'll keep an eye out for the next few days and see what else she will do or not do.
These photos do not show a bloodhound that is in any pain.
High winds are in the forecast today ... 30-40mph, mixed with rain.
She can smell that large field cat that lives in the neighbors wooded area.
She was actually tracking a scent today.
After stopping and thinking about what her nose was telling her, she was sure whatever it was had walked through the yard.
With this pose I am thinking field cat.
With this pose I am thinking deer.
With this pose I am thinking field cat again.
What a difference a couple of hours make when it comes to weather. It barely rained as much as they predicted, although it's windy and the skies are now blue. Not only did Heidi make those steps, which are taller than her legs ... she hopped off the other side for her path to the front yard.
Sunny and blue to the west.
Sunny and blue to the northeast.
Heidi's normal after lunch routine. She follows this exact path through the front yard back to the house. If rains or snows of course that path changes to less than a minute and no further than 6" from the side of the house.
When I think back to what my fall Saturdays use to be like when watching college football ... I used to eat a TON of food from 10am all the way through 2am. The day would usually start with eggs, waffles, peanut butter and a lot of maple syrup. Soon after, chips and salsa, sandwiches throughout the day and burritos during the night games. I didn't drink a lot of beer if any at all but I would drink liters of Pepsi during those 14 hours .... Over the past few years someway my mind and body have adapted to drinking ice cold water and instead of chips by the large bag ... I eat raw carrots during the games. My sandwiches are no longer beef or even meat based but avocado, sliced tomatoes and mayo.
When you are a sports addict and there are too many games being played at the same time you have no choice but to do this to your tv screen. The top screens have a banner at the bottom showing scores of other games. That is Washington State and Stanford on the left, Washington and Cal game on the right.
After numerous trips off and on the couch, Stella never made a sound like yesterday afternoon and last night. Heidi decided she would play like a puppy but for her to do that I had to get on the floor as low as a basset hound. Stella stood and watched and no clue what was going on. After about 5 laps, back and from me to around the living room she decided she had all the excitement she needed for one day. I spent this afternoon inside reading while the hounds slept.
The winds are howling from the west/southwest and blowing all leaves out into the field away from the yard. With that and Stella back to her old self, all was good today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.