Dog Wheelchair

Cindy said:
I appreciate Gavin's fan club here :0
this weekend very low key..we had a long stroller walk yesterday but then I got a sore throat.
I had like 3 hours sleep fri night, so I wasnt terribly surprised..last night was 12 hours sleep, but still sore throat. so preparing for a cold :( no beach this weekend, but Gavin is cuddling with me on the couch!
Click to expand...

So sorry you are not feeling well. Hope it does not develop into a cold! You take such good care of Gavin... now it is his turn to take care of you! ;)
 
Cindy said:
I think as his world has gotten smaller (no hearing and less walking) that social interaction has become more prominent and important. If you think about it, is a normal dog walks 2 miles a day (45 minutes) he sees lots of people and dogs over those 2 miles. If I walk Gavin now for 15 minutes we only cover 1/4 mile and see and encounter so much less. On his longer stroller walks, we cover more distance but he is a bit removed inside the stroller.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I think that's what happens as they age too. Tully is so very, very bored by herself. She thinks she wants to walk a long way but then drags behind, and unfortunately almost all her doggy friends have also died so she won't run into any she knows anyway. I think Gavin is a very, very lucky boy.
 
Same for people, too. There was an older woman (maybe 80+) at fort funston with her caregiver/health aide. She was just walking around on her walker, and talking to people.
 
Sad news...withing the past 2 weeks Gavin has lost a noticeable amount of strength in his leg. A couple of times a week I do some PT exercises with him. He could not even stand on the BOSU today at all. I tried normal tripod stands, and he couldn't do the one where I pickup the good paw on his bad side. He has been getting regular walks of a couple of blocks, still is eager for walks. I noticed that he wasn't doing well on the leaves in the local park but otherwise has been walking decently (for him).

I really feel perplexed how this has happened without me noticing before. My only hint was he has been having trouble using the steps to the couch, but that has always been more difficult for him than the ramps. I really don't know what else to do beyond what i am already doing :(
 
Is it from pain that's preventing him from doing the exercises? I must say I'm quite amazed at how well Riley is doing on the CBD oil (it's the stuff I made back in December)...I give it to him 3 X/day and it really helps (also helps that it's legal here...all that 'hemp oil' on the market, most of them are useless).
 
It's not pain related as far as I can tell (CBD oil wouldn't help him gain muscle, sadly, although it has possible help with neuropathy which we assume he has. he is on gabapentin, I will increase him to 2x a day). He has more trouble getting up from sitting and/or laying down. His bad leg is just weaker now and he uses it less. He can compensate reasonably well while walking, which may be why I didn't notice it earlier. basically, in situations where he can't compensate with the good legs as much he is struggling more. As for why he won't use his now bad and incredibly weak leg, that is the mystery.
 
Perhaps it's partially age related? They do tend to lose muscle in the hind end as they age. I recall reading something awhile back that senior dogs actually require more protein (to help maintain muscle) and that many senior foods are lower in protein and higher in carbs.
 
At this point, it is not age related but dis-use related. I have been fighting this for over a year and a half as this super long thread can attest. Gavin has been on Wellness Core Grain free, so lower in carbs. He is also on a muscle building supplement from fertilized egg yolks that has been shown to help prevent muscle loss. Before all this, he had some minor muscle atrophy after his cancer and radiation therapy, but that only affected his ability to walk uphill. Not saying age doesn't play a part, but it is dwarfed by everything else.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top