Well, first of all, I need to learn more about blogspot. I have a hard time finding where to create a new post. So, for me, not so much in the progress area for blogging. Sigh...
As for Oliver, it's hard to tell, and I'm glad to be documenting it for myself. I can't say he is worse, he is definitely not better, but, there are still moments I have the panic of "Is he okay?"
We've had a week long arctic blast in New England recently, and it's taken a toll on all my older four legged residents. And this two legged one.
Our 41, yes, 41 year old horse, for the first time, had a very hard time getting warm the second morning of the chilling blast. He's not big on eating hay due to his lack of teeth. Eating hay is one way for a horse to stay warm. He was quite beside himself this particular morning, shivering, hadn't finished his hay, which is hard because he is quidding most of it. (This is when they cannot break it down to ingest, but, instead, roll it around in their mouths, suck as much as they can from it, and drop a "quid" or a long balled up wad of hay on the ground.) Double blanketing, walking him around to get his blood moving, closing his stall up and some warm water, did the trick, and in 45 minutes, he was comfortable. Due to the 10+below 0 temps due to windchill, all my horses got double blanketed until the brutal temps dissipated. I learned some new things in the way of caring for a horse that has a hard time thermo-regulating, and also that it is okay to blanket in certain circumstances. That is progress!
Oliver continues to have moments outside where he is like a wind-up toy, not sure where he's going, anxious to get somewhere, and bouncing off the small snow banks. He even trudged through the inches of unplowed snow a few times, obviously trying to get somewhere fast, but not knowing where he is. It is hard to watch. Then, two hours later, he's back out; sure footed and fine.
He sleeps most of the morning, and I usually wake him up gently before noon to bring him out for a pee. Then, he is alert and upright for a while, until finally settling on the couch. If I could, I would take him for a walk every day. This is impossible, however. I need to really keep an eye on him, so I can't take the other dogs with him. Jacki, the younger of the three, and Casey, the other elderly dog, race around, from window to window, while we are outside. Casey in jeopardy of Jacki bowling him over in her excitement. So, I try to go out in the fenced area with the three of them, and walk "with" Oliver. He likes the company, and tends to follow along most of the times, doing a big loop and getting some good daily exercise. However, with this ice cold weather, he just wants back in. And so do I.
He starts to act up, aware of the time 45 minutes before supper time. Once I feed them, we all go outside. They stretch their legs, poop, pee and I pick up the yard. Once we go back in, Ollie's activity tends to depend on mine. If I'm busy doing things in the house or on the computer, he is pacing. But, if I sit and put my legs up with the tv on, he snuggles on the couch and relaxes. The pacing starts again after 7:30, which is an hour before "medication time," when he gets his last Tramadol for the night. Usually an hour after that, he settles down.
He is getting a very low dose of Tramadol. Right now he gets 3/4 of a tablet. My vet says he can have up to 1.5. I figure, as, or if, he gets worse, I will up the dose to his maximum. Once the maximum doesn't keep him comfortable, then we have to make decisions.
In 4 months we've doubled his dose. I really thought he would decline more quickly, but he seems to be holding his own. I am fairly certain his times of being unsettled are not related to an acute pain per say, but a general and low level discomfort, whether its dementia or physically related . He shows no signs of physical pain. I think he gets bored, and living in his mostly dark and quiet world due to hearing and vision loss are just unfamiliar enough to cause him to look for activity, or reassurance, maybe. The more we interact with him, the better he is. The reality is, though, I can't interact with him all day long. So, I try to check in with him numerous times a day.
There is progress. I am understanding and managing him in a manner that gives him love, comfort and support, even if it's not every second of every day. It is a huge "inconvenience" for us "humans", but even as soon as I type this, I need to immediately follow it with, we don't "feel" inconvenienced. This little dog has had a pivotal place in our lives. There is an unending, immeasurable love between us. I would never euthanize him due to an inconvenience. When I see, feel, or know that he is in pain, suffering, or lost his will to live, I will know it is time to let him go.This blog is progress enough for me at this time,
As for Oliver, it's hard to tell, and I'm glad to be documenting it for myself. I can't say he is worse, he is definitely not better, but, there are still moments I have the panic of "Is he okay?"
We've had a week long arctic blast in New England recently, and it's taken a toll on all my older four legged residents. And this two legged one.
Our 41, yes, 41 year old horse, for the first time, had a very hard time getting warm the second morning of the chilling blast. He's not big on eating hay due to his lack of teeth. Eating hay is one way for a horse to stay warm. He was quite beside himself this particular morning, shivering, hadn't finished his hay, which is hard because he is quidding most of it. (This is when they cannot break it down to ingest, but, instead, roll it around in their mouths, suck as much as they can from it, and drop a "quid" or a long balled up wad of hay on the ground.) Double blanketing, walking him around to get his blood moving, closing his stall up and some warm water, did the trick, and in 45 minutes, he was comfortable. Due to the 10+below 0 temps due to windchill, all my horses got double blanketed until the brutal temps dissipated. I learned some new things in the way of caring for a horse that has a hard time thermo-regulating, and also that it is okay to blanket in certain circumstances. That is progress!
Oliver continues to have moments outside where he is like a wind-up toy, not sure where he's going, anxious to get somewhere, and bouncing off the small snow banks. He even trudged through the inches of unplowed snow a few times, obviously trying to get somewhere fast, but not knowing where he is. It is hard to watch. Then, two hours later, he's back out; sure footed and fine.
He sleeps most of the morning, and I usually wake him up gently before noon to bring him out for a pee. Then, he is alert and upright for a while, until finally settling on the couch. If I could, I would take him for a walk every day. This is impossible, however. I need to really keep an eye on him, so I can't take the other dogs with him. Jacki, the younger of the three, and Casey, the other elderly dog, race around, from window to window, while we are outside. Casey in jeopardy of Jacki bowling him over in her excitement. So, I try to go out in the fenced area with the three of them, and walk "with" Oliver. He likes the company, and tends to follow along most of the times, doing a big loop and getting some good daily exercise. However, with this ice cold weather, he just wants back in. And so do I.
He starts to act up, aware of the time 45 minutes before supper time. Once I feed them, we all go outside. They stretch their legs, poop, pee and I pick up the yard. Once we go back in, Ollie's activity tends to depend on mine. If I'm busy doing things in the house or on the computer, he is pacing. But, if I sit and put my legs up with the tv on, he snuggles on the couch and relaxes. The pacing starts again after 7:30, which is an hour before "medication time," when he gets his last Tramadol for the night. Usually an hour after that, he settles down.
He is getting a very low dose of Tramadol. Right now he gets 3/4 of a tablet. My vet says he can have up to 1.5. I figure, as, or if, he gets worse, I will up the dose to his maximum. Once the maximum doesn't keep him comfortable, then we have to make decisions.
In 4 months we've doubled his dose. I really thought he would decline more quickly, but he seems to be holding his own. I am fairly certain his times of being unsettled are not related to an acute pain per say, but a general and low level discomfort, whether its dementia or physically related . He shows no signs of physical pain. I think he gets bored, and living in his mostly dark and quiet world due to hearing and vision loss are just unfamiliar enough to cause him to look for activity, or reassurance, maybe. The more we interact with him, the better he is. The reality is, though, I can't interact with him all day long. So, I try to check in with him numerous times a day.
There is progress. I am understanding and managing him in a manner that gives him love, comfort and support, even if it's not every second of every day. It is a huge "inconvenience" for us "humans", but even as soon as I type this, I need to immediately follow it with, we don't "feel" inconvenienced. This little dog has had a pivotal place in our lives. There is an unending, immeasurable love between us. I would never euthanize him due to an inconvenience. When I see, feel, or know that he is in pain, suffering, or lost his will to live, I will know it is time to let him go.This blog is progress enough for me at this time,
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