Day 2 - Winston Shows A Little Improvement

Well it's been a little over 24 hours since Winston hurt his back. I feel encouraged for his improvement here on Sunday morning at 11:50am.

HE HAD A NORMAL STOOL !!!

He also controls his bladder and bowels. He will whine when he needs to go outside. I carry him outside, sit him down and he will scoot to a place he smells to piss. It is recommended I clean him afterward with baby wipes to prevent infection from the urine. I have baby wipes.

I made a bed for him last night on the floor of the closet and then used a baby gate to block him inside. He slept there soundly. I was afraid that either I or one of the bloodhounds would roll over on him if he slept in the bed with me.

I heard him whinning at 4:05am. He wanted to go outside. He peed immediately in the sitting position. When we came back inside I put him next to me on the bed and covered him with my sleeping bag. We slept that way until a little after 7am.

Once again I took him outside and he walked dragging his rear legs to a spot he "smelled" to pee. As the normal routine I feed all the hounds when they got back inside. I included the 50mg of Rimadyl with his food and he ate it with no problems.

He drank water after that like normal.

I am seeing a little improvement:

• Urination and bowel movement is normal with control
• He did a full body shake this morning
• He can turn his head far enough to touch and smell his tail  (spine flexibility??)
• He is sleeping well this morning which will be good for his back
• By the time I caught him he walked dragging his legs from the bedroom to the door to go out
• He had to go pee and he never pees inside ... he is trying to be normal!
• SHOWS NO SIGNS OF PAIN

With that I am much more encouraged than I was this time yesterday or even last night. I honestly think he will recover from whatever hurt his back and it might not be as bad as I thought. IF the vet told me to look for improvement by Monday (48 hours), THEN THERE MUST BE A POSSIBILITY FOR HIM TO IMPROVE!!!

I always second guessed myself when I euthanized Harry a few weeks after his surgery. His condition was a little worse than Winston's. From what I have read, this condition CAN improve but it might take up to 6-8 weeks of confinement. To me, as long as I see life in his eyes, (that Winston look) normal appetite and no signs of pain ... I will keep working on his recovery.

The vet said yesterday after Monday we would know if there "wasn't any improvement". He is already showing slight improvement within 24 hours.

This morning instead of the bloodhounds playing, chewing their bones and begging attention from me ... they jumped on the bed and slept next to Winston. The whole house has been kinda quiet since yesterday ... all the hounds know something is up with Winston. Even Heidi last night jumped up in the same chair to sit with him instead of staying in bed.

I guess it's good I pulled the down comforter off the bed every morning.

I think he can and will pull out of this and even get back to standing and walking on all 4 legs.

These are from yesterday afternoon after seeing the vet.

Last night Heidi decided to jump on the chair to stay next to Winston. Normally at this time of night she would be in the bedroom on the bed off to herself.

This morning after they had eaten their breakfast, instead of playing and chewing bones or begging for my attention ... they climbed up on the bed to sleep next to Winston.

Stella and Sadie went out side but was not enthused to do too much but dump their tanks and sniff around.

Winston had his first crap and it was a normal stool ... very encouraging I think.

This is my temporary 'kennel' that seems to be working to keep him isolated and confined. I still want to get 2-4 portable panels to use as we move around the house during the day and night.

I feel encouraged about the little improvements I've seen so soon, within or a little after 24 hours after treatment.

Day 1 - I'm Crushed - Winston May Have To Be Put Down

I might have to euthanize Winston. I will have a better idea what happens by Monday.

Resting Before The Vet Visit

About the time we normally wake up I hear Winston crying out like he is hurt. It's dark, I'm about half asleep. He had been sleeping next to me in bed. Stella was in her normal spot at the foot of the bed during the night. Normal routine has Winston jumping off the bed on his own, along with Stella if the hounds wake up at the same time. They like to go outside as soon as they get up so they head to the door.

By the time I woke up, Winston was in the hallway along the wall STANDING ON ALL FOUR LEGS. He wasn't crying nonstop but he did yell out a couple of times. My first thought was that Stella had jumped down on top of him when she jumped out of bed. (That might be what happened ... hard to say) Sadie had just woke up so I knew it was not her. Stella is clumsy, walks on me at times and over the bassets like she is not paying attention ... at times.

Anyway Winston could stand but could not walk. He would have had to walk from the bed to the first part of the hallway outside the bedroom. So I am confused what had happened. By the time I had a clear mind from waking up, getting some jeans on to take them outside ... Winston was walking dragging his rear legs on the floor. He could NOT even stand up.

Scott (vet) was open in Worthington 10-2 from what their hand out showed. I get over there and Scott doesn't come in until 2pm and they are open until 4pm. He was aware of Winston's 'old age' back from past examinations. I didn't want to come home and then go back at 2pm, I wanted to get Winston a shot for pain and some anti-inflammatory meds as soon as possible.

I called the vet in Odon (my neighbor). We had a bad cell phone connection but he said his office closed at 10:30am and by this time it was 10:39pm. He sounded ALOOF and said he would NOT be going back to the office. Because of his tone of voice, I will NOT be taking Heidi back to him for her skin exams.

I decided to drive back home and stop at the Bloomfield Vet since I had seen cars on the parking lot on the way to Worthington. I walk in and there are SIX vet techs standing behind the desk but the vet had left for the day.

I seriously thought of just driving home and give him the NonBuffered Aspirin I had given him, thinking it might just be a pulled muscle or inflamed disc. Rest and aspirin would work.

Still I wanted a vet to take a look at him, check his back and give some powerful meds ... ASAP.

I then drove to Lueking's Vet in Linton. Winston had not visited that vet in NINE years. Mr Whittman was still working there. We brought Winston from the FJ to the lab table on a gurney with wheels. He did the following tests:

• Folded rear paws to see - NO RESPONSE  (it's been that way for the last 3 years)
• Ran his fingers along the spine and pressed hard on each side - NO RESPONSE
• Strange that Winston was able to wag his tail coming into the building and on the table.
• Laid him on each side while pinching his toes with a caliper - NO RESPONSE
• Inserted a needle along each side of his spine about a 1/3 up - NO RESPONSE

WINSTON IS PARALYZED

Mr Whittman said Winston was showing no signs of pain. He gave him a shot of cortisone and a shot of some high powered anti-inflammatory meds. Also prescribed a 100mg of Rimedyl, cut in half, fed with food 2x day. He didn't suggest x-rays and did not even talk or suggest possible surgery. 

He said there is not much you can do for this condition in basset hounds. I always knew it might come to this. Harry had the same issues after his bladder stone surgery. He could not walk etc. Yet, he was recovering from surgery.

Mr Whitman said that if Winston did not improve on these shots and meds by Monday or Tuesday then his condition is pretty bad. 

I WOULD PROBABLY HAVE TO EUTHANIZE HIM.

Just like that a life is changed ... perfect health for 11+ years ... just like that in bad shape

It's hard to believe. 

When I asked Mr Whittman about using the two wheeled cart for his rear legs ... He replied ... "Would you really want to do that??"  I answered "no". He then said "I've never thought that was fair to the dog and putting him down would be the best option".

IT WOULDN'T BE FAIR ... he is right about that. It was that exact reason that I put Harry down in October of 2000. 

So as I sit here on the couch typing this, Winston is next to me sleeping soundly. He ate his food when we got back from the vet so there is no loss of appetite. Still, will he be able to poop? He has peed but did it while his hips and rear legs were laying in the yard.

He will lose his ability to control his bowls and urinary functions. 

So I will have a better idea by Monday what Winston's future will be. Mr Whittman didn't sound very confident. 

I am NOT confident either. 

The problem is, for years I thought I put Harry down too soon and didn't give him enough time to recuperate. But they are different. Winston didn't have surgery. Winston's lower back and hind legs are paralyzed. It is just so hard to imagine how quick life can change ... IT SUCKS!!

Maybe with Winston wagging his tail while waiting to be examined and during the exam is a good sign. The vet was surprised he was able to still use his tail for anything. 

I physically hurt thinking about this ... really knowing that it's probably the end for Winston.

How long should I wait to see if Winston regains use of his back legs if he shows no improvement by Monday?????

A Freezing Sunny Friday

It was really quite boring and I didn't do a damn thing today. I spent a lot of time online reading, took a mid day nap for three hours, more internet, a dog walk that was too cold and some photos taken in the afternoon ... nice light.








Heidi's skin looks the best it has been in a long time ... she still needs a bath.

Last day for Winston's antibiotics. He doesn't seem to be in any pain after losing two more teeth. He is also not leaving any signs of blood in his drinking water.

You can tell it's winter though. Very dark early in the morning. I sure don't miss driving to work that early but at the time it seemed normal. After the hounds come back inside Stella and Sadie have decided that blanket on the bed I use for a sheet is warm. Since Stella has decided this is her home ... she and Sadie go to the bed after they eat for a nap the rest of the morning on the cold days.

I take off the down comforter every morning in case the hounds decide the bed is the place to sleep. i don't need to come in and find a destroyed down comforter and feathers all over the place.

Heidi takes over the living room chair and Winston heads for the couch.

I am getting more and more emails asking either for "invite" to read the blog or that they miss seeing the hounds and reading about them. Even one reader mentioned she missed reading about "the tropics".

It will be a great thing to look back and read ten years from now or even longer. Much like looking through an old photo album that I have never kept.

Here are some hound photos from this after noon, 38° and felt much colder.

I am seriously considering making the blog public again even if some of the photos are a little gross.

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.

Dog Food Indecision Continues

It's time to buy dog food for Winston, Sadie and Stella. I've analyzed this over the years to the point that I am tired of it. I know for good food and the best bang for the buck, Diamond Naturals for Large Breeds, 40# bag and $33 including tax is the best overall choice. I can drive right downtown 2 miles away and buy all I want.

All three hounds scarf the food up, they love it ... but they seem to love any kind of food put in front of them. Switching back and forth between Diamond Naturals and Fromm I have always noticed a change in their energy levels. Their stools are firmer. Their coats are soft and shinny. The bag will last 15 days instead of 18 days before I got Stella.

I am still so tempted to go buy a bag of Purina Dog Chow. Grain is the source of protein, corn etc. No meat but "meat flavor". That would give me 10 more pounds and $11 less. A huge savings. The propaganda train says that dogs HAVE TO have meat as their top ingredients. Then why is Purina Dog Chow still being manufactured after 80+ years?

Does the expensive, highly rated food prevent health issues? All 3 hounds have a clean health history.

Now Heidi is a different problem. Her skin allergies flared up beyond control in June 2014. The steroid shots stopped working after 7 days. We tried Atopica but it was said to be dangerous plus I could not afford the cost. I tired RESPIT shots but after 15 weeks there was little change. Did I stop those shots too soon? Those shots did make her lethargic thought.

She has been on the most expensive and no grain food there is over the past 15 months. Even longer but never changing the past 15 months ... except the brand/mfg. I have a spreadsheet to track her skin condition, changes in food, any supplements, etc. Her skin never really changes. She still chews non stop, itches, craps in large amounts ... more than any of the other three hounds. In the mornings her skin looks the best ... by late at night it can be flaming red with raw spots where she has chewed.

I thought of putting her back on Earthborn No Grain, but looking through my spreadsheet I saw no differences than now with her on that food. With the Diamond No Grain we just switched to on November 30 she seems to itch and chew a LOT more than before. I could buy her a new bag of something else and have the other three hounds finish her Diamond No Grain. A 15# bag will last her a month.

I was thinking last night "what if ... ", I was to change her to Purina Dog Chow and it worked!!! What if that would happen. What a joke that would be after spending close to a $1,000 in meds last year on her and nothing really worked.

It's a gamble isn't it.

This Blog Is Closing

Instead of just disappearing or stop writing entirely, I thought I at least owed blog followers, regular readers and even the newest blog visitors an explanation on where "this blog went" and where it's going. So this will be my last "public" post for 'Hounds & RVs'.

I've gone back and forth on this decision. It's nothing that any of you have done to make me come to this conclusion. It's entirely my thought process. Nothing in the past made me re-think about having a blog for all to read, to see. It's just my own DNA.

By nature I've always been a private person, somewhat of a loner although some close friends say I was entirely opposite. Still you can't be the "life of the party" forever. I need to keep this short and to the point.

The fact is I like to write. It's why I came back to this blog a couple of times over the blog's 4 year history, but really this blog has ran it's course. It started about RVs, my research, my RV thoughts and ideas. It migrated to my hounds and toward the end it was only about my hounds and my boring lifestyle in retirement.

I still want to keep this blog as a personal journal, a reference.

Believe me there isn't much here to write about. As time went on, it became harder to set down, edit photos and write a narrative. I lost interest. For some reason I no longer wanted to share what was going on here in "the tropics of southern Indiana". I still wanted to take photos of the hounds. I wanted to document what is going on with them for my own personal record that could be used as a reference in the future. Those postings would be in longer intervals.

A few months ago I started to write less about my ideas, less of what I was doing and less of what was going on around here. I mean you have to admit when I am taking photos and writing about the five days it took me last summer ... pulling weeds out of my driveway ... something has to change. That's just not a good blog topic.

Yet, I was never comfortable putting personal information out into a format for all to see. I was putting more information out there, than I wanted. Even by accident sometimes. So, I guess I've always had those lingering thoughts in back of my mind, asking myself what is too much personal information? Where does this blog end? I wanted to travel to get away, to escape. A blog would let people know where I was.

The blog has turned into a place where people visit and enjoy all the photos of the hounds. I understand that. So for those that enjoy that, I strongly urge you to bookmark this link. I will start posting photos of the hounds there from now on for public viewing.

I've decided this blog is moving to the "private" status within the next few days. The domain name will not be renewed next year and it's very possible I will shut it off within the next few days also. I wanted to keep this blog for my own record for when I might need to look something up later. I also wanted to keep this blog because of all of the photos and stories about the hounds, similar to a photo album I guess. A journal about them.

I guess for selfish reasons, I no longer want to share what they do, what I do and what is going on.

Thank you for all your comments and emails over the years. Thank's for following the blog. I met a lot of good friends by blogging.

Old Injuries Never Die

This post will be short due to my current issues. It started out with me not feeling like blogging and even wondering if I was done blogging. I was finding it hard to come up with new daily material to write about. All my photos seemed to be in the same location and the same action shots of the hounds. Maybe the blog had ran it's course.

Before I could come up with an answer I woke up one morning a week ago, to find out an old injury from a serious car wreck I had in March 2010, had come back and it has put me on the sideline so to speak.

It's 24/7 of constant nerve pain and at times I cannot lift nor use my right arm.

All of the exercises given to me by Physical Therapists in 2010 to use if/when I had a flare up, usually work but for the past week they have not worked. Other techniques have not worked. Anti-inflammatory meds have not worked.

So once I can raise my right arm long enough to type, I'll post an update. Maybe by then I can decide if I want to continue to blog. Even with the pain challenges, the decreased time I have spent on the internet has helped me remember what it's like to live 'normal' again. I've been on the internet since 1996 for either work, enjoyment, and a lot of hours in a desk chair ... so maybe it's time.

All the hounds are fine, maybe Winston and the two bloodhounds have a little cabin fever but all of them are good.

I have enjoyed my vacation away from the internet.