Day 6 - New Meds & Treatment

Sometime after lunch yesterday I had the feeling that Winston was not feeling good. He had whined most of the afternoon, slept very little like had the previous days and one thing that really started to worry me ... every time I had picked him up on Wednesday he cried a little. That told me something was injured or hurting inside him.

Of course with the heavy storm activity that was not a real help to getting him to dump his tanks outside. He is house trained too good to go inside. With the heavy storm winds and a very wet carport, he wouldn't go there either ... so he didn't go at all since his last around 1130am. Even into the night he would just sit there.

In previous days as soon as I would open and prop the door open before I would go back to pick him up, he would always take off dragging his legs and try to get out the door. Not yesterday afternoon nor last night.

He was restless ... couldn't find a place or a comfortable position for him to lay in to sleep. I also noticed he quit laying on his sides and when he did lay down he would move his front paws outward in short choppy steps one foot at a time. Then would lay down but only on his stomach.

All through the afternoon watching him and hearing him whine at different times, I thought we might not even make it to treatment and I might have to put him down. You could tell by his eyes that he wasn't feeling well, even though with basset hound eyes that is sometimes hard to tell any day, good or bad.

I called the vet office and was able to connect with my regular vet and who just saw Winston last week for annual rabies shot and annual check up. He passed with flying colors and has a very strong heart for his age.

He decided a different treatment than the 5 days of Rimadyl and see if he would come around. They gave me a 40 pill Pedrisone schedule, heavy at first and then tapered down in 5 day increments. Also the big news is, Winston will get his first K-Laser treatment on Saturday afternoon. Those will take place twice per week.

After reading about the laser treatment I am feeling pretty encouraged although I know there are no promises. The pednisone I have used on past basset hounds I've had and even at times Winston has used a small dose when tweaking his back.

So was we turned out the lights last night I was not sure what was in store for today .. Christmas Eve. I took his gate down, gave him a pillow and placed mine next to it. Opened the sleeping bag up and crawled in for what I expected to be about a 3 hour nap before I would hear him whining to go out.

The GREAT news is ... he slept through the night until the bloodhounds woke us up around 630am. I slowly picked him up with both arms under him ... no yelping!! About the time I get to the open door to go outside I see a shooting stream of pee, something I had not seen since the last time I changed the diapers of my friends little boy ... too many years ago. That shooting stream lasted at least to the driveway maybe longer.

Proof of the large projectile 

 Luckily the storms with tornado warnings yesterday afternoon had blown through there was a clear star studded sky with a full moon that was bright enough I could see what Winston was doing. Since he had dumped his tanks on the way, yes about the time we got to the driveway he dropped "firm bombs" from the drive into the yard as I carried him.

So as he sat still with his nose in the air sniffing the breeze. Stella and Sadie stayed nearby but found their spots to dump tanks, while I enjoyed the clear sky and full moon. We did the normal routine of piling back in bed before their breakfast and sleeping a few more hours. That bed mattress never felt so good. We also got about an hour of sleep longer than normal until 838am.

All the hounds had breakfast, water. Winston has figured out his new kingdom is the living room blankets gated and blocked. He seems fine with that today as he lays there sleeping since breakfast.

The bloodhounds??? Well they are playing quietly and almost like in slow motion ... my only guess is they don't want to wake up Winston. After I post this the Sadie, Stella and I are headed outside where they can blow off some cabin fever.

Stella did patrol the perimeter for the first time in a long time this morning.

Merry Christmas everyone ... with extremely warm weather today it doesn't have a "feel" of Christmas ... reminds me of the times I lived in southern California.

That's it for this morning from the "tropics" of southern Indiana.

A Lot Of Questions Today

Storms coming from the west

First of all after being back to a "public blog" status only 24 hours, I have shut off "anonymous" as an option for people to make comments. As in the past, all that produces is large amounts of spam. So they are shut off.

Maybe it's the 67° weather at noon here in the Midwestern "tropics" and two days before Christmas that has caused my mind to go into internal analysis mode.

I think it really started this morning after slipping my taped rolled long sleeve t-shirt under Winston to help him raise his hips. His legs dangled straight down and more important his rear paws both faced outboard.

After moving his paws to the correct position and then lowering him slightly to put a little weight on them ... his rear hips collapsed. I was hoping he would attempt to walk with only his front legs and try to put some weight on the rear legs.

I know .. I know ... it's only been 5 days since his injury with mostly laying around to rest and zero use of those back legs. You can't go too long before muscles start to waste away beyond repair. It started the brain waves to move inside me and nothing was positive. Obviously his quality of life changed drastically early Saturday morning. When it has come to my hounds over the last 28 years, "quality of life" has always been an important thing to me.

As I mentioned when this injury started, as long has he had his normal functions and that look of life in his eyes ... I would battle through thick and thin to help him recover with hopes of him regaining the use of his rear legs. As I held him with the t-shirt under his gut and at a normal height for his feet to touch the ground ... there didn't look like one chance in a million chances of that happening. I thought it might be time. His eyes/face tell me different.

So the questioning started with me realizing that he is 11 years and 7 months old, toward if not the end of the life expectancy of a basset hound. Sure they grow older than that. Harry was over 13, Max was just past 12 years old. With Winston that age has changed due to his recent injury.

How long will it take if it WERE to improve enough for him to walk again ... that's the million dollar question ... an older hound with nerve damage ... no idea how long. Also no idea if the use of his legs with a lot of rehab will every come back.

Is it worth putting Winston through all of that just to find out it's not any better than today????

Yes, he has his normal functions at this time. Due to his age that might change at anytime. Really though just because he has his normal functions doesn't give him a good quality of life. He can't do what he wants to do, things he use to do:

• Walk all over the field at his leisure
• Follow me, Sadie and Stella on the daily walks
• Crawl, not jump, upon the couch for a nice siesta
• Steal Sadie's or Stella's bone and take off running.
• Due to loss of teeth recently, bone chewing is out of the question

Even though he has been on a blanket amongst all of us, blocked by a baby gate ... he has been whining continuously for the past two hours. He's had water, been outside to relieve himself multiple times and even slept a little before this whining period started.

Is he hurting inside? Is there pain I cannot see and he can't tell me where it is? When I sit and pet him .. he always stops.

Again today he is restless which probably means frustration and confusion for him. He wants to do those things he likes on his own and can't figure out why he can't. He hasn't been crated since he was a puppy.

What to do???????

I thought I had it figured out ... but I don't. If any of you readers are pet owners or past pet owners, we have all probably been in this same situation more times than we want to remember.

I've asked around for opinions from friends and two different vets. Of course in the end it is my and Winston's decision. I always thought the time would come when "he" told me it was time. It's been that way in the past for me with other hounds. Not a surprise that different vets have different opinions on what to do 5 days into this injury. It's also not a surprise that friends also differ in their ideas.

Here are some of them.

• putting him down now - no chance of improvement  (vet on Saturday)
• at the end of life expectancy, regardless that he is "functioning", his quality of life has taken a turn for the very worse, considering his age he will probably deteriorate rather quickly now, "its time"
• think positive at all times, know it's going to take a very long time, consider a cart for him to use, still doesn't know if he will ever regain his leg use, a cart can extend his life with his injury
• able to just maintain his functions doesn't mean he has a good quality of life .. he doesn't.
• 4-6 months of good rest and rehab can get him back on his feet with the same activity he had before

Personally I swing back and forth from one extreme to another. Looking at him when he looks up at me makes it even harder especially since those eyes still show life and "how can I get out of here" instead of telling me "it's time".

Luckily my other 3 hounds are helping me get through this period of time. It's never easy.

Day 5 - Winston Continues To Hang In There

I have to admit, there are sometimes it's really hard to stay positive and believe that Winston is going to recover. That just maybe it's a pinched nerve or a muscle sprain, or a inflamed disc. There are those moments I really have to fight to stay mentally positive on this situation. I want what is best for him and at the same time I don't want to make a decision that I cannot reverse.

At the same time there are millions of other people in much worse situations than me, here in the USA. Mine are very very small compared to them. We are experiencing a "bump in the road", while many others are facing a life threatening circumstance.

Yet with just a glance from Winston looking up at me looking like he always has I find in that split second connection with him that things are going to be alright ... it's just going to take time.

He needs all the rest he can get but he is wanting to walk everywhere by dragging his hind legs. He doesn't understand that he has to rest. I didn't have to gate him in this photo and after the blanket was laid over him he was more than happy to take a nap. Winston spent the afternoon and early Tuesday evening in a deep sleep ... good for him.

When I moved to the couch to watch some football and basketball last night, he whined a little and I could tell he wanted to take his seat on the couch next to me. He stood there for a while and then was able to move himself into a position he wanted. During these movements he makes throughout the day ... he never yells in pain.

Last night when it was to shut it down for the day, I had to decide whether to move Winston from his sleeping slumber to the closet area for the night or leave him there, gate the front of the couch and sleep out here with him. I gated the couch, grabbed a pillow and my sleeping bag. That worked out well for the 2nd night in a row.

Around 1:35am, I heard something to wake me up on the floor. He had scooted back into Stella and was sitting up while laying his neck and head in the fold between cushions above them. I brought him down to the floor to sleep. He did his normal nosing a spot under the sleeping back so he could crawl inside of it with it unzipped all the way and spread out like a blanket. He slept soundly.

At 5:30, Sadie and Stella woke up, much too early for them and me ... wanting to start their day. They made a quick trip outside. By the time I had walked to open the door on the opposite side of the house house, Winston has "sprinted" dragging this rear legs behind him, he was already at the door to go outside. Down the steps and out he went before I could even pick him up.

We all moved to the bedroom, the bloodhounds taking their normal sleeping spots. Heidi of course was still asleep. At 7:30am the daily routine started. I have to really watch the bloodhounds during this time because they get excited when they know they are going to be fed. Stella has a tendency to back up and walk out of control, Sadie hops up and down as she has done for over 7 years before being fed.

I had put Winston on that blanket at the corner of the living room where you see him with Sadie this morning. When he heard the containers of dog food being opened and the dishes filled, he once again "sprinted" UNDER Stella and between her legs to his food dish ... ready for breakfast.

It's times like those "sprints" I wonder if it is better for him to remain active on his own or should I prevent that type of walking for the next 6 weeks?

This morning he is looking pretty good. By this time he has had his breakfast and water, plus went outside to dump tanks. I alway feel encouraged when I see him doing that. Of course the best photo of him, sitting straight up looking at the camera and very distinguished ... was interrupted by Sadie walking in front of him about the time I snapped the photo.

 Sadie is ready to assume her role for another day as Winston care-taker. She has done a good job of that the past 4 days. Besides taking the field walk yesterday, Sadie never leaves Winston too far away. Stella helps out by sleeping with Winston on the couch.

A new encouraging sign this morning. As I was cleaning Winston's under belly with a baby wipe, I started wiping the inside of his rear legs ... he moved each of them as soon as he felt me touch them. I hope that means that any nerve damage and his back is healing. I guess one sure way to find out what he feels or doesn't feel today is to cut his toenails.

Heavy thunderstorms are forecasted for this afternoon with some tornado potential. Really strange to hear that two days before Christmas. With all the rain we may get this afternoon I hope that Winston decides that it is really okay if he pees on the concrete in the carport and his spot in the yard can wait for another day. In this case he is house trained too well.

About the time I was about to post this I hear a low whine from the living room. He is wanting to go outside. It has stopped raining, very warm with winds from the SW. After sitting him in the yard, he produces another normal size, normal color firm stool. I know it's gross to some talking about dog poop but that being normal has to be a good sign of being healthy. He decided he wanted to sit and enjoy that breeze and enjoy the warm air ... warm enough that I am wearing a t-shirt and wasn't cold.

That's it's from this morning in the "tropics" of southern Indiana. I'll post more later today.

My First "Private" Blog Post

DEC 23 - FOR SOME REASON THIS WAS MOVED TO THE TOP AS A NEW POST PUBLISHED WHEN ALL I DID WAS UPDATE IT. NOT SURE WHY IT MOVED UP HERE.

Now back to the original post:

When I finish writing this I hope I remember to click "Close" instead of "Publish". It will be hard to do I am sure, after 4 years and 2 months of posting. This is my first blog post here, written in advance since I will not change the status of the blog from Public to Private until tonight. I had comments and emails after my announcement last night. Still, I think it's the best decision to stop the public side of the blog.

Yes, I know it will take the same amount of time to edit photos, write a narrative in a private status as it does now. The major difference is, the blog will be for "my eyes only". It will be more of a personal journal now, where I can read it in future years after my memory is shot. It will be a place I can store photos of the hounds and what they were doing when the photos were taken. It will be like the handwritten journal I wrote in 1976 during my summer bicycle trip. I still look back in that and read it sometimes.

I can now write and post photos without being judged, without letting people know the ups and downs in my life. I was way way too open in previous years expressing my thoughts and "rambling".

On the other side it's sad in a way. It's like I am moving out of a neighborhood of great friends. Or moving out of state where I will know nobody once I arrive at my new destination. I'll have less communication with the outside world, except those on Facebook that comment on my photos or those that send me an email.

I've noticed the past couple of weeks of two other bloggers "closing shop", more than a few bloggers that I follow have almost stopped blogging and haven't posted in 3 weeks or more. RVsue has to constantly remind her readers that she would like to not be bothered if someone sees her camping and finding her location based on what she blogs about.

A few of the long time bloggers that I started reading 4 years ago have stopped blogging without an announcement ... they just disappeared.

So it's done ... I mean it will be finalized late tonight. "Hounds and RVs" is going private.

When I returned home yesterday from a short trip to the library and lunch in Linton, I am shocked to see two different dog's teeth laying on the dog bed. The hard Nylabone was laying on the floor next to the dog bed. I could tell who they belonged to and at first it scared the crap out of me because Winston's mouth was full of blood and I had no idea how long he had been like that.

So I washed them off the best I could, loaded him into the FJ and headed to the vet. Thankfully all is good. The vet was not surprised nor shocked. He gave me a week of antibiotics, gave him his annual rabies shot along with a inspection. Winston's heart is very strong, great coat and good muscle mass he said. He said that Winston will let me know when he needs to have me soften his hard kibble. There would be no problems with the roots that are still attached to his gums, broken off from the teeth.

He drank a lot of water before we went to the vet so his mouth was washed out pretty well and the bleeding stopped soon after.

Winston had lost 12 pounds this past year but Scott (vet) that was not a problem and that he looked good. He said it was normal for them to lose weight as they got older in some cases and for me to keep doing what I had been doing.

Well I have a bunch of photos to load from the past 12 days of not blogging. I also have more "in advance posts" to write since I will try to keep each post on one subject at a time. It already feels weird because when I finally do "publish" this post, no one will be reading it except me.

Should I continue to end this post and future posts with "that's all from the tropics of Southern Indiana" ??

Winston Is Really Feisty Today

Winston must be feeling better because he has been really feisty today. Meaning he will not sleep for hours and hours like he did yesterday and last night. It has been a day of a more whining than the past few days. It could mean he is feeling better and voicing more of what he wants.

At times that means he wants to go out and does what he needs to do. That is very very encouraging that he has bladder control. At times he wants to move to a different spot that has been set up for him in various places in the house to be confined. That baby gate is pretty versatile.

I am finding out there is a fine line between confining him so he can rest and recuperate or let him walk inside, dragging his rear legs. Like just now he has been whining at the corner of the living room blanket. I pulled the gate away to see what he would do. He scooted over to the water bowl for normal consumption, turned and laid on the floor.

So I'll keep him confined, even now. He got his water now it's back to rest.

There is also a fine line between spending every minute with him when he is awake instead of just letting him be, maneuvering on his own for him to get in the position he wants. I have no doubt that he is confused, frustrated ... but like all bassets ... stubborn as hell.

The vet tells me it is ok for him to "walk" to find his spot to pee after I set him down in the yard. Here is his new walking style. He had moved way too many steps (scoots) in the time it took for me to run inside to get my camera.

I do get a response from him when I ask different questions and trying to figure out what he wants. At times he moves to his front feet from the laying position, sits up with his ears forward and shows me with his eyes that I have guessed the correct answer. I am beginning to think he is starting to enjoy his pampering a little too much. LOL

On thing I have caught on to though ... when he is whining, he isn't looking for attention. He never goes in the house and never has since trained as a puppy. So when he is whining he has to do one of two things or both. I confirmed that again this afternoon. He came back inside and went to sleep without any gate standing around him.

He doesn't care for the baby gate blocking his "way out" in various locations, but it is what it is.

This next photo is of Sadie. For over 7 years of her life she has had no interest on getting on the bed. That is until Saturday night when she figured out that Winston was hurt. I caught her and Stella with Winston after they had their lunch.

Winston started his afternoon siesta like this until the two hounds woke him up. After I moved him to a different location, that is when Sadie jumped up next to him for a nap.

My new t-shirt "helper" is working  pretty well. He will walk while I use that but not all the way to where we are going. I am sure that he gets tired hauling his 50+ pounds on just two legs. I have measured around each leg and his belly like the manufacturer showed on their website and have ordered a hip harness for him. That will change the pressure points from around his big belly to up in his hip/leg section. The vet office also suggested this today.

I have a section in the corner of my closet that I cleared out when all this happened. I then put in a stack of pads and blankets for him to sleep on. With the baby gate in front that is his location at night to sleep, when I leave to house to run errands or like today when I took Stella and Sadie for a walk through the field.

They were both excited to walk ... We haven't been able to walk since Friday due to Winston's injury and the rain.

A Heidi Update

If you remember a few weeks ago I tried the Diamond Grain Free with Chicken. I have always suspected chicken as being a possible problem for her. Don't know but just a hunch. It didn't work out really well. Her skin cleared up but she was itching more than I had ever seen her. A big clue.

I gave her a soak in warm water and Epsom Salts to relieve some of the irritation. It seemed to work, and then Winston was hurt and is keeping me quite busy. Still her skin did improve on the Diamond Grain Free.

So for the first time I am trying the 4Heath Grain Free with Duck, duck meal and sweet potatoes. Only one protein source. I can buy this at the Tractor Supply 30 miles away yet faster than when I go to T&T Feeds in Bloomington. It is their brand name of dog food, made and packaged by Diamond.

So far the changes have been an eye opener. Hair growing THICKER, less to no itching and chewing.  Have I finally found the right food for her?? You will notice that hair has grown back on her paws, the back of her front legs, sides of her stomach and her lower rear hips ... all those areas were bare skin at one time. The vet in February told me not to have that hair to grow back.

She is not interested in staying outside long but she always finds the time to search under and behind the yews. She would not look at the camera today with me begging for her to "look up". I imagine she smells that stray field cat I saw one night after midnight running in front of me.

I will say that I have not seen more improvement in a faster amount of time than when I was feeding her the Earthborn Grain Free. They did not have a duck/sweet potato blend.

I am not sure I am going to continue labeling each blog post title with "Day #". I like it because I can track improvement. Yes ... I do have a spreadsheet for Winston where I am tracking stuff as it happens by date, time plus the color red for signs of improvement and blue for any negative stuff. So I am thinking since the blog is back to public I will make the first post of the day with the "Day #" in the title and leave it off for other posts on the same day.

Stella's Massive Destruction

It's really strange. I had a post about it and photos showing all the damage to my bedroom. Today I went in to edit a couple of names, hit "update" and for some reason Blogger moved that post to the top of the list as a new post for today, December 22 like it was being published for the very first time. A few readers viewed it before I edited it. I couldn't figure out how to fix it after a few different attempts, so I deleted it.

I guess I should have never let her alone with the other hounds that long, but on November 24 I took a trip to see a friend, not only to visit to but deliver my iPad Mini to him. Decreasing my internet footprint I guess. A month later, I haven't missed it. Anyway she was doing fantastic until that day ...  I was gone too long, all day and she freak out.

Because of that incident plus a couple of more recently when I've been gone only an 1-1/2 hour, I have basically stripped out my bedroom to the bare necessities. Leaving only what I don't mind having destroyed (whats left) in the room. There are no blinds on either window (she tore them down) with no plans replacing them. That means my bed is stripped down to the sheets and one chest of drawers.

Last week she did much better, no damages and I was gone a little longer than an hour. So we are starting from scratch in her training for separation anxiety. She came with that reputation when I decided to get her, so it's not a surprise but she literally goes totally nuts for longer periods of time. She is too great of a bloodhound to be mad at her. She just doesn't like being left alone.

It was a beautiful day here in the "tropics" of southern Indiana today ... not quite t-shirt weather outside.

Blog Re-Opened

After a lot of emails from past readers wishing the blog was not closed, they enjoyed reading about the hounds ... and even me wondering if it was the right thing to do closing it, I have decided to reopen the blog ...

But there is a WARNING before you look at other posts.

The tone of the blog has changed since I closed it because has a a tone of me talking to myself ... not to a viewing audience. Which I was at the time since it was in the 'private' status.

I have some photos that might offend some but I'm going to leave them there. It is what it is.

When I closed this blog I changed it to a "journal" format not expecting what has taken place since Saturday.

I would suggest starting at the post titled "My First Private Blog Post" if you want to get caught up in the order events took place.

I am still a little hesitant doing this ... yet, life is constant change. It's good to be back in the blogsville neighborhood.

The "tropics of southern Indiana" is a lot warmer than normal in December.

Day 4 - Continued Improvement

After Winston moved to the couch last night he slept soundly. Around midnight I decided to keep him there, put the baby gate in front of the couch and move my sleeping bag and pillow to the floor next to the couch. He slept through the night until 445am.

He yelped as I slid my hand under his belly to pick him up. That concerned me. His belly seemed "full", kinda hard. Bloated?? He did pee outside.

I tried putting him in bed once we got back inside but he was restless. I then put him in the gated closet area. We slept until 715am when all the other hounds woke us up. He yelped again when I slid my hand under his belly. He did NOT pee outside, just sat there enjoying the warmer weather.

Last Night

Back inside as I was filling the dog bowls of food, he walked dragging his legs very very fast from the living room blanket to his food dish and ate his food faster than I had ever seen. Out of curiosity I let him sit there without any gate to see where he would go. He moved over to the dog food container as if he wanted more. Then he took off for the living room blanket.

Refused the water I sat in front of him, laid down and slept. Sadie slide in between Winston and the wall and slept beside him.

A short time later he started whining so outside we went. He sat for a second, started moving to his spot and had a large amount of pee come out of him. He did NOT yelp when I picked him up to take him back to the house. I put him in the chair, gated the front of it and he slept until 10am ... when he started whining.

I moved him to the blanket and gated it ... he has been whining a lot ... I think he needs to poop.

I thought instead of using a towel that was too bulky, a long sleeve t-shirt, wrapped in the middle with the sleeves behind my handles would work better. I had just ONE of them from 1977. It worked great,  he walked down the steps out of the house and to the carport. The sleeves were long enough I did not have to bend over while I pulled his rear paws off the ground. He sat and peed. He may not have been strong enough to keep walking, so I carried him to the yard where he had 2 firm stools.

Before using the shirt harness, I called the Linton vet and asked if it was okay to use the harness and let him walk if he wanted to instead of carrying him. They said a "definitely yes". They also suggested getting one of those fitted harness that fit around his legs and hips for "different pressure points".

I feel so much better now than I did at 7am when he just didn't feel the same. I thought something was wrong when he yelped.

Sadie is playing "nurse" today.

I have changed my mind and will be doing multiple postings per day. I just received two more emails about opening my blog back up for all to read. I might do that but under current circumstances it will have a different feel to it. It will be more like I am talking to myself, because basically I am while it's closed.