Sunday, 27 January 2013
Sam
Although this blog is called samandtess, all of the posts have been about Tess, so this is an attempt to remedy that. Sam is a very happy, friendly, and sociable boy - willing to talk to anyone. He is very food-driven, and would get fat if we let him. He loves fruit and vegetables, and will eat them in preference to meat. He behaves towards Tess as if she is exactly the same as she has always been - except now she can't steal his toys quite as easily. His nickname is Snuggles, because that is what he loves to do.
See our Chester self-catering serviced apartment at Black Diamond Park
Update On Tess
Tess is now 12 weeks down the line with her spinal problems, and I thought it was time for a review. We know, from x-rays, that she has an ankylosing spine, and the vet believes that this has prolapsed a disc and damaged nerves, but without an MRI it is impossible to be certain. An MRI would cost in the region of two thousand pounds, and she is 12 years old. I am not sure that we would or should resort to surgery, although she was very fit and healthy before these problems, and continues to be so - one vet estimates a cardiovascular age of 5-6 years old. It therefore remains a possibility, although an unlikely one. She shows no signs of arthritis.
Tess is also having recurring problems with the muscles that control her bladder; sometimes they work, sometimes not. Currently she is having problems emptying her bladder fully, and has an infection which is undergoing investigation. We hope to get the results on Tuesday. She has been prescribed Cystaid (to strengthen her bladder) on a permanent basis.
Outside, she uses a trolley, as you can see below. She goes for 2-3 walks a day for up to an hour with no real problems, although the snow has slowed her down a little. The wheels have been excellent, easy to use and store, and we are considering getting another set of the wheels for more rugged terrain. The trolley has been admired by our vets, and recommended to other owners. Tess had no problem learning to use them - we put her in and off she went. She has now also got used to the need for wider cornering. Inside the house we walk her round by supporting her rear end with the harness that detaches from the trolley, although we are giving some thought to how we can make her a bit more self-propelling.
We are trying various therapies with Tess, including swimming, hydrotherapy, acupuncture, physiotherapy, and adjusting her diet.
Diet: Tess is VERY fond of liver, which is high in Vitamin A, and, since we got Sam, she has been stealing his whenever it has been fed to them (he doesn't really like it). She is now on a diet with a reduced vitamin A intake, as this has been implicated in studies of ankylosing spondylitis in dogs. We have also been deliberately not feeding her 2 days out of 7. This is partly so she would lose weight - if she is light she will find it easier to get back on her feet, and partly to see if the repair genes would switch on to repair the nerve damage. Additionally, we are feeding her more eggs and fish, less meat.
Swimming: She goes swimming twice a week, for an hour at a time. She doesn't enjoy it, but has resigned herself to doing it. When she first used the trolley it put quite a strain on her front legs, and she had tremors in them after walks. Swimming has resolved this problem, and has greatly built up the muscles in her front end. She swims for between 5 and 15 minutes, has a 1 minute rest, then goes off again. One of us goes into the pool with her and works her back legs. Sometimes there is resistance, sometimes not.
Hydrotherapy: This is done by a vet, in a water-filled treadmill. She currently goes once a week, the vet gets into the tank with her, and encourages her to use her back legs. as well as her front. Each time we go we see a small improvement, but it is very small.
Acupuncture: Usually done just before hydrotherapy, sometimes we see muscle movement in both back legs and tail, sometimes nothing. We started doing this because of reports of nerve regrowth at acupuncture sites. Afterwards effects have ranged from nil to her regaining full control of her bladder. It is difficult to separate this out from the hydrotherapy.
Physiotherapy: Done by us, so cheap and easy to administer, it is essentially to keep her muscles in a good enough condition so that if there is nerve regrowth she will still have the muscle mass to make use of it. We do this usually twice a day. We have also tried using a 'peanut' ball to balance her over whilst exercising her hind legs, but this was deeply unpopular with Tess, and we have discontinued it at present.
Environment: We got rid of her old hard plastic bed, and she now uses a couple of single inflatable airbeds, with covers over the top. They are easy to clean, and protect her from pressure sores (although she is probably mobile enough for those not to be a real problem). She also has an electric blanket that can be switched on underneath one of the airbeds during the very coldest nights.
Temperament: Tess is very stoical, and shows no signs of the depression that we were warned was likely to happen. Everyone who sees her comments that, mentally, she seems just the same as she was before all this happened. Her appetite is undiminished, and she enjoys her food with relish. She can still do approximately 80% of what she did before, and chases balls and sticks when outside.
Improvements: She has regained feeling in her back paws - if you tickle them her legs twitch. If you extend her back legs she will draw them back towards herself. Muscle tone has definitely improved from what it was at its' lowest point, and, in the hydrotherapy chamber, she is attempting to use her rear legs, though minimally. Her paws had begun to hold themselves in a more correct position, rather than dangling helplessly, though this seems to have disappeared again.
Going forward: we have just started keeping a log of all Tess-centred events, so that we are better at pinpointing cause and effects; and I feel we need a discussion during the coming week with all the people involved. At the start we were told that the received wisdom was that she would get 75% of what she was going to get back within the first 12 weeks, and we have now reached that point. If anyone has any thoughts or ideas they will be gratefully received.
Friday, 4 January 2013
Swimming
Tess goes swimming at Beachin Dog Therapy Pool, just outside Chester. She usually goes twice a week, and after each session she seems a little better, and it certainly benefits the muscles on her front end. The people who own the pool are very kind, and we do all the work, Tess paddles round using her front legs, whilst one of us works her back legs for her, although occasionally we get a little flicker of her helping. It has also benefited her back muscles, and she can now support herself a little if we get her into standing position, although she definitely cannot stand unaided. You can see a video of her here:
You can find out more about the pool here: http://www.dogtherapypool.co.uk/
We are lucky to have such good veterinary support places locally - I guess it's due to the proximity of Leahurst, the veterinary college.
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