Loving my Oldies

Tamar is doing well. She eats like a horse, but is not putting on much needed weight. Back to high calorie Nutrigel. I took this photo this morning - note the absence of dining chairs . Only two remain, but Tamar continually likes to get underneath the rungs. Please don’t be worried for her: after I took the photograph, I kept watching her to see if she needed help. She certainly didn’t - she moved from under the rung, did a couple of circles and walked back under. Love this litle girl more than I can say. Coming up to 16 years (July 2004) when I swooped down and took her from Canterbury Pound. One of the most welcome changes is that when I go downstairs to collect her, she comes when I call her and she does not struggle at all when I cuddle her - something she always did even when she was a young dog - and snuggles into me as I give her a heap of kisses. fullsizeoutput_c4d by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr

This is the thing, of course. Finding that person. However, with all the good reviews, I am starting my search.

Yep, talking about my dogs. Thanks for the link, @Dogsfevr

Does anyone have a recommendation for a practitioner in Sydney, please? Hills/Hornsby area but could travel. A discussion popped up on FB which made me wonder if my littlies could be helped. Experiences good, bad and indifferent welcome. TIA

WOW. How did you find this thread? It is from 2013. I hope both John and Carrie are well and happy. It would be good to know more about how you became involved and helped them. Great news.

My brother, long retired, ran his own veterinary hospital for over 30 years. My blood still runs cold when I recall some of his stories. Unpaid bills were the least of it and he was constantly being told “if you loved animals you’d do it for free.”

Oh, @Kirislin, what a shocking, devastating thing to have happened. Poor, dearest little Arkey, so young and so beautiful.

@Cat, Hamish was very special and I, for one, loved following his antics on FB. You must miss him dearly. As @sandgrubber says, emotions, like and dislikes etc of our dogs will mostly remain a mystery, but real grief can be interpreted; I have seen it personally in my dogs and others and it doesn’t seem from your description, Yuna has it, acknowledging of course that she has you at home during these restrictions. As for Yuna's wanderings, I wouldn’t read too much into it .... I think it is something some older/elderly dogs do. Are Shar Pei known for getting dementia? Maybe a little bit of this has started? I have to agree with @Dogsfevr. Wait until YOU want another dog and start a bit of a routine with Yuna for when you go back to work. Thinking of you and Yuna.

Not at all . I did suggest stickers

Thanks, Marg. Tamar is fine and, at the moment she has polished off a meal of roast chicken and kibble and has moved on to finish what Sooty left. Yes, it is obvious she is getting worse, but she is amazingly resilient. I have an appointment with my vet on Monday, so I hope I am allowed to be face to face - I actually forgot their Covid-19 regime when I made the appointment . I have glass sliding doors from the house onto the patio and I always make sure the screen door is aligned with the glass door, otherwise dogs, whether sight impaired or not, will bump into the glass thinking the door is open. With your Sasha it could be that she is just getting old and not completely blind or has your vet confirmed sight loss? If you don’t have screens, perhaps you could put some decorative film over it.

She definitely will be let go with more love than I can express .... when the time is right. Tamar is still a happy and, UMN notwithstanding, healthy little dog. She loves her cuddles and her food and as I said above she and Mezza still have little bouncy mouthy play times. Thank you, @PepperP. This is how the situation stands at the moment. She is not in pain and I would never countenance that. There are 24 hours in a day and for probably half that time my dogs are asleep or snoozing as they are all very old. Then there are the times downstairs, or with Sooty, dozing sitting up in the patches of sun on the deck, feeding, getting cuddles, eating, etc etc. Those who think I should “let Tamar go” please be assured she is not at that stage yet and the second that happens, I will do so.

All the Corgis I’ve ever met have been delightful and I call them all, regardless of gender, Queen Elizabeth. My recently deceased little Bunter was, I believe, a Corgi x Pom. He was a delightful little fellow who was devoted to me. He became a little snappy in his later years, but I think that was because of his age (he was 17 when he passed away) and a little bit of senility. I didn’t notice any great shedding, in fact the worst for shedding was Jeune, who was a large Chihuahua. One cuddle and I was several pounds heavier .

@Papillon Kisses, my vet told me that UMN affects the brain, too. It became obvious a while ago that something was going on when I took her downstairs last thing at night; she wasn’t able to find her way upstairs. At first I thought it was a case of night blindness until my Vet told me about UMN. I would also have to start talking to her before I approached and make sure she had computed my presence otherwise she’d jump a mile high and run away. That seems to have stopped of late which is good. It is horrible to see them startled because they’ve lost some of their cognitive abilities.

You bet

Thanks @Snook. You are right - I won’t be relying on physical pain in terms of making any judgement, there certainly is more to life than just not being in pain. Her stumbles don’t seem to disconcert her, but getting caught can a different matter. Sometimes she just seems to go into a bit of a trance and even at those times when she realises she can’t extricate herself, she doesn’t seem to get too upset. Last night’s experience of getting caught down in the garden was just awful though. I am moving some of the dining table chairs into another room to help her in the house and I have put up a barricade at the back stairs. The vet I want to see is now back on deck and I have an appointment for Monday. Happier days when we were all a lot younger: Tamar Jeune 2 by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr

I saw on FB that parcels were taking an inordinate amount of time to be received and so let it go for a little while and sent another email, to which I received a reply today saying that it was on its way and giving me a tracking number. So far I haven’t clicked on that because I am concerned that it is a scam. I will try the website again.

@Rebanne @persephone At the moment, Tamar is happy and healthy. She eats well even if sometimes she falls over her bowl or ends up standing in it!!! When I take her and the others downstairs which I do several times a day, she still enjoys sniffing around. I watch her to gauge when the enjoyment changes to “the wandering”. The best is that she and Mezza still have their moments of puppy play. ETA: Tamar is not in pain and if she were and it could not be controlled, I would never let her suffer.

Thanks @stellnme. I did some googling when my vet first told me about UMN, but found the below just today after doing more searches for UMN in dogs. My vet also told me that little dogs manage better than big dogs, because of the difference in weight as the larger dogs cannot support their weight. I thought the same re your comment about wheels and at the time my vet said she had UMN he said that despite all the wonderful videos we see on social media, etc, dogs can find wheels very difficult. That said, I think Tamar’s front legs would be very strong as, all her life, her way of doing wees was to stand on her front legs and totter forward weeing the while !! I do have a video somewhere and will try to find it. "Spinal muscular atrophy is a collective term for a group of motor neuron diseases. Motor neurons are the nerve cells which transmit electrical impulses to the muscles in order to generate movement. The exact symptoms of these disorders depend on the specific condition however generally your dog will have difficulty in supporting their own weight, degraded reflexes, an awkward gait, and a loss of muscle mass. These diseases are currently incurable and with the exception of the German Shepherd they will also worsen over time. Treatment will consist of keeping your dog comfortable until they need to be put to sleep."

@jemappelle, I’m beginning to wonder, despite my concerns and care, I have been dudded. Still have not received the beds and despite two emails have heard nothing

Tamar is a Maltese/Shih Tzu whom I collected from a pound for another rescuer on Friday 2 July 2004. She was approx 6 months old, severely traumatised and, surprise surprise, she ended up staying with me. Although Jeune was totally ambivalent, Tamar clung to Jeune with a sort of desperation. For years, if Jeune moved, Tamar moved. If Jeune went downstairs or even went to look out the front door, Tamar followed and she always slept next to her. For the last few years of Jeune’s life, this need for closeness ceased for which I was relieved as I knew Jeune would go before Tamar and was really concerned as to how she would cope. Some years ago, I noticed when we were out walking Tamar’s right back leg would bend over at the “ankle”; at first it was so fleeting, I thought I had imagined it or that she’d just caught it on grass roots or something. However, over time it because very evident, but stayed at just that one leg for quite a while and then the same thing started with her left hind leg. After some time of no escalation, she became very wobbly on her back legs. By the time she had reached this wobbly stage, I had taken her to the vet who diagnosed nerve damage with nothing to do; on one of my visits with her the vet more or less said she would die before the condition worsened to the state she couldn’t use her legs. On 6 Feb this year, I saw another of the vets at the same hospital and he said she had UMN. I have noticed quite a deterioration in the past few weeks and had a very distressing experience yesterday. I headed for the couch to read/watch television and, of course, fell asleep very quickly. I woke a couple of hours later when it was dark and heard some sort of squeaking noise. I raced around the house looking for but not finding Tamar, grabbed a torch and ran downstairs calling her. The squeaks turned to squeals and I found her huddled on the ground in one of the gardens. As you can imagine, I was so upset at her distress and, worse, because I’d been asleep, I had no idea how long she’d been there. As she can no longer negotiate the stairs (up or down) or the ramp, I can only assume she must have tumbled down. As the other two (Mezza and Sooty) can't go downstairs on their own either, from now on, I will be putting up a barricade when I go out The vet told me that UMN affected the hind legs, back part of the spine and brain. As to the latter, for some time now, Tamar starts walking around and around and around in a manner I have seen with brain damaged dogs. During these wanderings she regularly gets caught up in chair legs, behind the curtains, plant stands and anything frankly. I few times I have found her caught in the gap between the piano and the wall, and also the gap between the frig and the pantry. I have attached photos to illustrate this. The vet who told me her condition was UMN has been away, but as soon as he returns, I will be taking Tamar to see him. In the meantime, I wonder if anyone has had any experience of this? Would Tamar be a candidate for little wheels? Has anyone used leg braces for anything similar to this condition? IMG_1200 by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr IMG_0690 by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr fullsizeoutput_c49 by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr IMG_1201 by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr

OMG little Maisie is a heart stealer

@twodoggies2001. I had a similar experience many years ago. My dog was fine with other dogs in the off leash park, but as soon as his leash went on to go home, he would carry on if any dog came near him. Many dog owners don’t understand that being on a leash isn’t inherent in a dog. Many believe that dogs pop out speaking human, sitting and walking on a leash.

Being a money spinner started a while ago, @asal . I well recall my first vet in the mid 1990s showing me how easy it was to slip the bones in and out. He had his own veterinary hospital practice for over 30 years and said that, in that time, he’d done one operation on a luxating patella. So many dogs condemned to pain through to agony in their later years because of the venality of some vets. Good and bad in every profession. A vet says to a trusting, wide eyed client ..... oh, if you don’t do something now your dog is really going to suffer in later years and the owner, trusting the practitioner to want nothing but the best for the beloved pet, gasps in horror and the dog has the operation. Well if they live long enough most dogs (and people) will get arthritis to some level. It is criminal. My same vet was attending a conference where the speaker was talking about luxating patellas. My vet said, in disgust, to the man sitting next to him, that the vast majority of these operations should not be done and that he’d done one lp in the whole of his career. The man said, “Don’t say that, mate, that’s how I make my money.”

Very lightweight collar straight away. Put lead on puppy a few times a day and just let him run around with it on to get used to it - fully supervised of course to ensure no tangling up in anything, including his legs.

Does your little dog’s new companion have to be a Toy Poodle? I can understand why, of course, as I have shared my life with a few over the years . Take a look at Chihuahua Rescue Queensland (they are very active on facebook, with constant updates). They often have other breeds and at the moment have a couple of Maltese. And, if they can’t help, they would certainly be able to point you in the right direction. Good luck.