Just catching up reading..... I must say you are amazing with handling the illnesses of your dog! Great respect! I am glad he is on the mend!! It will stay a worry for you though!
Just catching up with Riddick's progress - I'm so happy for you that he's improving. You must be so relieved to see him more like himself.
RIDDICK JUST CLIMBED OFF OUR BED AND WALKED ACROSS THE ROOM TO THE DOG CUSHIONS ON HIS OWN!!! SLOWLY AND WOBBLY BUT WITHOUT FALLING!!! HE EVEN SHOOK HIMSELF A LITTLE!!!
At the moment Riddick is like a baby just learning to crawl... he can't quite get where he wants to go, he can't climb stairs, he battles to change direction, then he gets stuck and barks till someone rescues him! Its sad and funny, 'coz he waits till I'm not looking before scooting away on his bum!
Shoowee... It feels like its taking so long, but Riddick can now walk about 10m before he has to sit down and take a short break. He still needs help getting into a standing position, and he battles to change direction, but he is so much stronger! We decreased his Pb meds to 2.5 tablets in the morning for last week, and now she wants us to decrease to 2 tablets once a day for 5 days, and then 1 tablet once a day for 5 days. I would so love to decrease and stop it faster so I can get it out of his system without topping it up a little every day... But every time I talk to her she really stresses her concern about the possible risks of just stopping the meds, even though he is on the Pexion and we haven't seen any signs of an aura or a seizure. We have taken Riddick's harness off completely now too, and he almost looks strange without it! Thank you all for your support and concern!
Riddick's daily progress is so awesome, and I am beyond happy! Today he managed to stand up and take a short walk a few times without help (as long as he has something other than slippy tiles under his feet), and he managed to get off our bed and go to one of the dog beds without falling (I help him onto the bed, 'coz thats where he sleeps ). I want to start cheering and clapping every time! He still needs help to busy - he can hold himself up to pee, but the squat is a bit too strenuous yet... He can walk the length of the garden in three stages now, with a short seated break inbetween. When he walks he is all hunched with his back arched up, and a trip down the garden wears him out, but it gets a little less odd as he gets stronger.
How wonderful!! Well done to you for being his service human! Lucky boy. He looks so relaxed in that photo! I notice his nails look quite long. I can imagine they have no chance of wearing down from normal walking. Do you keep them long so that he can use them for gripping the ground when he walks? Do you think if you cut them he might feel more comfortable standing? I must confess I have become a little afraid to cut Snowie's nails of late cos he cried when I cut into one -- ooh I felt awful! I am now extremely cautious, tiny slivers now, so they have got longer than usual.
They got clipped two days after that photo! His grow quite fast, and I am nervous to cut them 'coz I pinched him once, so now I have the vet trim them when he goes for a sugar curve.
That's brilliant progress! It will take him time to build up his strength, but well done you and well done Riddick!
Hell's bells this feels like the longest two weeks of my life! Today was the last 2-tablet dose of the Phenobarbitone, tomorrow he gets just one tablet once a day, and the Pexion AED twice a day. The sooner it gets out of his system the better! We have made our ten days seizure-free goal, but he is still not strong enough to be left home alone. I have to remind myself that he gets a little stronger every day, I'm just praying he continues and doesn't plateau... We have another 5 days on the Pheno and then it could take another 5 days before its out of his system! :'( He can almost walk the length of the garden in one trip, but walking down to the water bowl and having a busy wears him out and he has to take a good ten-minute break before he can walk back again. We tried moving the water bowl closer to the house, but with his routine (because he is blind) he would still walk down to its usual spot under the tap and look for it, so we stopped bringing it closer. He wants to play, and he will grab a toy and hang on while one of the other dogs yanks on it, occasionally succeeding in keeping the toy. His walk is still strange and ungainly and hunched, but it looks a little more normal every day. I'm trying to stay positive and not see things that aren't there...
