He's Feisty Today - Must Be Feeling Better

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love and leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion"

Author:  Unknown

I have had that on a small piece of paper, on my refrigerator held by a small magnet. It has been there for more than 10 years at least, maybe even longer than 15 years. I have always believed what that said, consequently there are many times I don't do something because it wasn't the best for any of the hounds I have or had.

Last week I received an email telling me to take Winston's recovery hour by hour and notice any improvements he made. That suggestion has helped me a lot in getting through the dim periods. There have not been many, if only a couple of dim periods due to the little things he does in his recovery, still that "hour by hour" mentality is a good one.

Even though I was excited about seeing his right leg bent around 11:34am today. I also took the leg and gently flexed it in a normal range of motion without any yelping from Winston -- no sign of pain while I did that. There was other excitement though from Sadie and Stella. It wasn't quite noon.

Only 4-1/2 hours after their last meal, they were more excited about getting me to serve them lunch about an hour early and BEFORE noon. They both like Winston but when you are talking food, then everything else stops. This is the look Sadie and Stella will give me before Stella starts her howling if I don't respond with food.

It was a restless afternoon for Winston. Highly active, wanting out of that gated area. He didn't want on the couch, nor on the floor and not in his bed area. He wanted outside and went outside about every 30 minutes for almost 2 hours. Luckily it was a beautiful day, sunny, no wind, cool temps but warm enough to melt the frost on the grass.

Finally Winston takes me out to the far edge of the field. He was still showing the 'walking motion' with this rear legs as we headed toward the back of the field. I knew what he wanted. Around the spot he chose, nothing happened with me holding him with the harness. So I decided "what's a couple of feet of scooting really going to do?"

He went about a foot in distance, rowing with this right rear paw on the ground ... getting done what he has been trying to do all morning.

Back inside he was still whining a little. I think he was feeling that good today and wanted to take off wandering outside. Instead I pulled out my Marmot sleeping back and threw it over the top of him. I think it's his favorite blanket. He moved himself deep inside and went to sleep. No gate was needed.

After another trip outside ... it was a quick one as he only went the gravel driveway ... he came back and was pretty happy that I had let him use my sleeping bag again. No gate now and he stayed around, but it's the sleeping bag doing that. He would move around a different couple of positions. His last one put him outside the bag ... but he was happy to get back under with my help. He slept for quite a while in that position.

My barricade is still working okay. It's a baby gate in front just leaning again the corner of the wall and my portable heater which is not turned on. Next to that is a box with a DVD recorder inside that I bought but haven't used. Behind those sides I sat two 15# dumbbells to hold them because had figured out if he nosed his way between the box and heater he was on the highway to freedom. So far the dumbbells have prevented that.

It wasn't a few hours later and I hear noise coming from his area of the living room. He decided he had enough of sleep and wanted to move around. I take this restlessness as a sign of healing. He has never been this confined this long since he was a 8 week old puppy. I am guessing the more he wanted to "walk" the better he feels and the closer we are to him standing on his rear legs.

From this photo, I carried him to the couch. For the first time I can remember he laid on his RIGHT SIDE and has been sleeping every since, submerged between two Mexican blankets.

The weather was great today in the "tropics" of Southern Indiana.

A New Day Brings Better News

At 9:45am this morning as we went outside, his stiff right leg was making a walking motion and his right paw would move from dangling to the correct position with each of these "steps". 

I still had his hips raised with the harness and his feet barely touching the ground -- but there was a defined stepping movement with the paw in the air.

******

At 11:34am this morning when I sat him on the couch, gated, he was sitting with his right rear leg bent. This leg has been locked in a straight position since Dec 19. Picture below of the bent leg. If you look back through the other posts of him sitting you will see a stiff straight right rear leg.

Right rear leg is bent for 1st time since injury

It might be a good time to trim his toenails. If those nerves are rebuilding he might be able to feel me cutting them and flinch his paws. Otherwise I can trim them without any reaction.

******

Before I get started on this post today I wanted to clear up something that maybe was taken wrong yesterday after I posted that I wasn't sure about Winston's recovery. Not soon after I posted that I had a couple of different blog comments and more emails in my inbox. It may have sounded like I was considering putting Winston down in the next few days to a week.

That's not the case.

I am going to give him every opportunity and option to recover to the point of walking again. From the start of this (Dec 19) I have had a date in mind to where I would have to decide for the best for Winston. That date seems to adjust with each new article I read or every new link that is sent to me by this blog's readers.

Basically it boils down to science and Winston.

At times he gets "Basset Hound feisty", is always stubborn and has a never give up attitude. A typical basset hound. About the time I think there is no chance for him to recover enough to walk - he does something that gives me hope. Like this morning.

While outside on the "frozen tundra", he had peed and after I slid the harness off him so I could carry him back into the house he takes off scooting across the frost covered grass -- slightly pushing off on his curled right paw. If I put his paws in the correct position while holding up his hips with the t-shirt harness ... he can handle a little weight on those legs before having to sit down.

This link sent to me yesterday by Contessa over at 5C's Que Pasa has a very good vet explanation of what Winston is going through right now and in a way is ahead of schedule because he has been showing some improvements after two weeks, and nothing should be expected for 3 weeks. Contessa's dachshund Carmeh had similar issues last May and recovered by July.

It's just that when you see a face like this, you hate seeing him going through what we have been doing through at all hours of day and night ... only after two weeks ... it also makes me to keep trying to help him recover, by time and different treatments.

I have no doubt that the laser treatments are having some effect on him. He will sleep a lot the day of those treatments. I also think he may "twitch" more than the other days. By that I mean he will be laying down, possibly sleeping, and then all of the sudden he sits straight up and doesn't move for a minute. When he does that I am thinking he is feeling some kind of pain in his back.

Last night he started whining around 7pm. He had already been outside plus had drank almost a full small bowl of water. I knew what he was wanting. He was tired of the gated area just on the other side of the end table. He wanted on the couch. He could hear the ballgame on tv.

Whining to get on the couch

Stella never woke up when I lowered Winston to that spot

So I gently laid him down on the couch next to Stella and myself while I watched a football game. He moved around gingerly finding that one comfortable spot -- was asleep soon after. It was almost 3 hours later where he jumped straight up in the sitting position and started whining. Outside we went.

By the time I was able to slide the t-shirt harness under him, he was half way to the opened door. I could tell he was in a hurry, faster than normal. He trotted to his spot with me holding his feet up almost off the ground (I try to keep his back as straight as possible). He had to poop.

The thing is, he will "walk" around the yard to smell out his spot but his new spot is not in the yard. He decided a few days ago that his new spot was at the back of the field behind the house, all the way out to where the bushes start separating the field from the trees. Once he is there he will go and it's a long trip back inside from there carrying a 60# basset hound.

He walks that distance to the bushes on two legs and me holding his hips up

The problem is his back is so long, even if my left hand is as far back to the hips as I can get, the way he is built his lower back with curl down by gravity as we walk. There is something about that right side of his back ... the right rear leg that will not bend ... always laying on his left side or sits on his left side. So I always pick him up on his right side.

He rested most of the night and the night ended at 11:09pm. I was hoping for about 6 hours of sleep, but that was not the case. Sadie came into the bedroom to wake me at 2:18am and I could hear Winston whining in the distance from his gated living room area. Sadie has been sleeping in the chair next to the gated area since Winston has been hurt. Same urgency from him as last night with the same results.

Any car that is driving by at 2am in the morning on the highway (there are a few) within site has to wonder what is going on if they glance up to the yard. I am walking around holding Winston by the harness, small camping flashlight in my mouth facing the ground and walking in small choppy steps to keep up with his pace ... all in the middle of the night and in 20° weather.

I am not saying that to make myself something special ... but to just show how weird that must seem to drivers passing by in the darkness.

We were able to sleep a solid 4 hours this morning before the hounds had their breakfast. Stella must have been hungry because she started that howling thing she does. This is the first day of not giving Prednisone to Winston. His dose is every other day for the next week, then he will be all out of Prednisone.

On a different topic and maybe some are following my flood photos. Believe me this is NOTHING compared to what the people in the St. Louis area are going through. I can barely imagine going through that in the spring but it's indescribable those people have to go through that in sub-freezing temperatures.

If you can look at the photos from yesterday's post, you will see this morning that the water in the field across the highway had a large majority of it disappear. On the other field across from that, yesterday afternoon it looked like you go go sailing with whitecaps on the water. Today a lot of that water is gone and has frozen on the edges.

Almost gone over night

Edges are frozen with less water

With no wind that high 20's temperature doesn't seem so bad ... Sadie, Stella and I head out for a walk before the last NFL kickoff of the season starts.

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.

A Small Pop In Winston's Back

Sadie and Stella start 2016 the right way by not even making it to the yard to wrestle, they barely made it past the FJ before they started. It must be the warmer than normal temps, it was 0° last year, high 30's today.

We barely stayed awake past midnight last night. I did anyway, all the hounds slept most of the night including Winston. At one time he was in the snoring stage and I take that as a very good sign. The good signs seem to be appearing more and more ... very encouraging.

The day started with the same routine as yesterday and really about the same time. Sadie came into my bedroom whining loud enough to wake me ... just to let me know that Winston was whining to go outside. It was 4:44am. It was about a second after I took the gate down and he started marching to the door while dragging his legs behind him. A "stop Winston" got him stopped so I could prop the door open and put the t-shirt sling under him to lift his hips.

He came back inside and went straight to sleep. That lasted another 3 hours when all the hounds let me know that it was time for their breakfast. When I put the gate down, he sat on his blankets wagging his tail ... a small bowl of water later ... we are "sprinting to the yard.

So now it's 730am I am still feeling I need more sleep but this time I took a chance and put him in the center of the bed. Here is where the next 'good sign' of improvement happened. As he sat up after almost 3 hours of sleeping, there was a small pop in his lower back ... like a chiropractic adjustment. Once again when he saw me getting out of bed he went to the edge of the bed ready to get off. He waited until I lifted him and carried him to his blanket.

Same routine to go outside dumping both tanks ... came back inside and went to sleep until Stella began howling to be fed lunch. His next laser treatment will be tomorrow around 1:30pm. I am thinking with the reduction of swelling around his spine, the small back pop today, more tail wagging these past few days ... this next laser treatment could be really good for him and speed his recovery even more.

With his legs up off the ground as we walked outside at 10:30am, I noticed a little movement with each rear leg in a walking motion, not just dangling free. His left paw was in the normal position while his right paw was somewhere in between the normal and hanging straight down.

As you can see Stella and Sadie are ready for their first day in 2016 to stand on alert with Winston.

One of the blog readers has a real interest like myself, in old steel bridges. So with all the rain we've had this past week along with the photos of the field across the highway flooding .. I decide to take a photo shoot break and see what was up with that bridge with flooded fields ... and to give him an update.

Here is where I talked about that bridge last May, along with some photos:  Click here:

I didn't get far today.

The first photo is the same road last May 2015.

Here is that same road to the bridge today on 2016 Jan 01.

Bridge Is Just Past That White Sign

Here is a current photos from late this afternoon of that field of yellow weeds (flowers).

Sometime around the normal "anytime after 12 noon", if Stella is sleeping she will wake up to let me know it is time to eat. They just had their breakfast at 7:30am so not quite 5 hours and they are wanting to eat. Even Winston was sitting in his gated area today wagging his tail while Stella begged to be fed. For the first time ever I was able to capture Stella howling ... it's a soft howl ... a bloodhound howl ... and I think it's her bark also. I have never heard Sadie bark ... ever.

Her ... "I want to be fed call"

Sadie seems to be looking at her wondering what the hell is she doing???

There were 3 things today that showed more improvements. They keep coming and that's a great thing to see.

1. While holding him up by the t-shirt harness, he peed in a squatting position (his normal) instead  of sitting on the ground.
2. While holding him up by the t-shirt harness, I let him walk to anywhere he wanted thinking he had to poop. He walked all the way through the field to the tree line straight back from the house ... then pooped while standing with me holding him up by the harness instead of in a sitting position. That's a pretty long walk with only his front legs. I carried him back to the house after that.
3. At the time I was bringing his bowl of food to him he was trying to do his patent 'mini hop' on his front feet. He does that when he is excited. 

I know for those readers that are not pet owners it might seem gross to talk about this type of stuff, but it's part of of owning a dog and in this case a dog that is in recovery from a back issue. He continues to do the best he can to get better. Basset Hounds are a stubborn breed and loyal ... Winston is no exception.

It was a beautiful first day of 2016 here in the "tropics" of Southern Indiana.

Winston Has More Signs Of Improvement

Again this daily post starts off where the previous night ended. Last night that was around 1am as I turned off the Holiday Bowl from San Diego early. Good game but my desire to sleep was winning. After sleeping all day, Winston continued his slumber just like he is suppose to.

I did notice something around 10:30pm while he was sleeping that I had not seen in a while. While laying on his side I could see his rib cage. Finally that area that is normally his waistline was visible once again ... just one of the new small changes.

He was sound asleep when I went to bed. So I did the same thing before, I headed to my bed in the next room and left him be. Around 4:44am, Sadie and Stella came into the bedroom whining loud enough to wake me up. I could hear Winston whining in the distance. For the first time I remember he turned down his water. Yet, he was anxious to get outside and pee. I slipped the t-shirt harness under him and we went walking for the drive, his tail wagging all the way.

After sleeping another hour, where the bloodhounds had spent their time on the dog bed and at the foot of the bed on the floor, Sadie and Stella jumped up when they heard Winston whine and ran out to him. This time he guzzled water, then the same routine as always ... harness, tail wagging, walking toward the yard/driveway.

This time I kept the harness under him out in the driveway to see if he would walk back to the house, he didn't. He made a right turn and headed for his area to poop ... over by the southern edge of the yard along 'his' embankment. Firm stool and normal color -- a healthy sign.

It was during this walking to the edge of the yard I noticed a very slight "new change" ... with his right leg out straight, right after I sat him down thinking that was where he wanted ... there was a slight motion like a oar, using his right leg a little to move forward in a rowing motion while he scooted only a foot in distance ... another "new change"

On Winston's trip outside around 10am, HIS LEFT REAR PAW WAS IN THE NORMAL FORWARD POSITION AND HIS RIGHT REAR PAW WAS TRYING !! I feel this is a GIANT improvement for his recovery. I still had his hip elevated with the t-shirt harness.

Since December 19 his rear paws have been dangling facing the opposite direction, to the rear instead of pointing forward.

"I sleep a lot but I'm feeling a lot better"

All of the hounds slept most of the morning if not all of it. Around 11am they all moved into positions think the first college football bowl game started at 11am...once they found out kickoff was not until noon, they just slept.

Caught In The Middle Of A Head Shake

"My Only Choice If Winston's On The Couch

I decided that since Winston did so well the last 3 days/nights ... he needed to be rewarded, no matter what that link about bad backs said. I moved him up to the couch (under my supervision) next to me until he the next time he had to get up to go outside ... yes, he'll get carried off the couch to make his periodic trips outside.

As I write this it's 12:34pm and not a word...not a word from any of them wanting lunch. Stella is usually begging me for food by 11am if not earlier. Instead she spent most of her morning chewing on her favorite bone.

Not soon after I wrote that, both Sadie and Stella woke up and knew it was past time to eat lunch. Winston's appetite is still good. He wagged his tail as I followed lifting his hips off the ground ... only this time he searched long enough to do both of his jobs. Then it was back in his area for a nap.

All the hounds slept until 4:00pm ... right before the Clemson - Oklahoma football game I wanted to watch, he decided he needed to go out right before the kick off. When I came back inside I brought him straight to the couch and he has been sleeping every minute since.

Once again when outside this after noon - HE DROPPED HIS RIGHT REAR PAW IN THE CORRECT POSITION and then he almost tried to stand!!!

He does feel where he didn't before. I tried to shove up about 5" forward on the couch from his lower back by his tail, so I could have room enough to sit down. HE FLINCHED!

I am happy the way these past four days have gone. I don't know which is the cause for the improvement, probably a little of both, the Prednisone and the Laser Treatment but he has had a lot of improvement in small steps.

Heidi moved out to join all of us and kept the chair with her blue Mexican blanket. Stella and Winston shared the couch with me while Sadie was not happy being relegated back to the area where Winston sleeps.

Happy New Year!!!!

Bloodhounds Save The Day

It all started with me setting the small oven that is above my stove,  at 425° and baking one of my two pizzas received late afternoon Wednesday from three of my closest friends. The 35 minutes were up and the cheese pizza looked just as good as the one in the photo on the left. It tasted even better. 

Winston was behind his gated area wagging his tail from the smell coming from the kitchen, Heidi woke up and came running from the bedroom and Stella along with Sadie sat at attention watching every move from the plate to my mouth.

That part of the baking was okay. 

Photo from TastesOfChicago.com

Where the bloodhounds come in as lifesavers involves the apple pie, pictured below that is baked inside a brown bag. If frozen, which it was, the baking time was 90 minutes - open the bag and then another 45 minutes to make the crust just like the photo below.

Photo from TastesOfChicago.com

Since the oven had already been running at 425° for around two hours, I knew that 45 minutes to brown the crust may take a shorter amount of time so I sat the timer at 30 minutes -- took off for the computer room to answer some emails and catch up on my football/basketball scores.

It wasn't long before I had two bloodhounds running into my computer room, tails between their legs and very agitated. I first thought with Stella's "guilty look" she had found and finished off the remaining pizza that I had sitting on the kitchen island. As I walk away from from desk around the corner to see what the bloodhounds had gotten into ... I see a kitchen full of smoke that is bellowing from my small oven door.

Stella was at the door trying to move the locked door handle lever with her nose to open the door and get out. Sadie was sprinting to the door to get out. I shut off the oven but left the oven door shut, not go give it added air to help fuel a potential fire.

Stella and Sadie ran to just the edge of the yard and field, sat down looking back at the house. Winston is sleeping though all the excitement and Heidi never left the bedroom. She decided if she didn't get any pizza then apple pie was not a possibility.

I walked around and opened windows, brought out a stored floor fan and proceeded to get the smoke from my kitchen to outside ... all in 40° weather. I opened the oven door to let the remaining smoke out along with pulling out the perfectly baked apple pie. The pie still smelled like a freshly baked apple pie.

My mistake was not using a cookie sheet as instructed because mine was too narrow. Instead I used a pizza pan that had holes in the bottom. I did not know the amount of juices that would come from the pie, through the brown bag and drop on the very hot oven floor. It should be quite fun to get that off (any suggestions) but it was well worth it after tasting a slice of that great apple pie.

It took almost 15 minutes before the hounds decided to re-enter the house. Sadie ran to the bedroom and hid with Heidi while Stella followed my every move and glued herself to my desk chair as I ate a slice of pie and continued to read all the news I had missed while sleeping the day away.

So ... 2015 Hounds of the Year go to Stella and Sadie!!