westiemum

Bit of a spending spree here after Macs recent surgery and new disability. (We need ' Disability Care for dogs! ) - thicker vet bed, (Victoria) a new woollen blanket ( eBay from Qld), an elevated dog bowl (made in the UK) and a new harness (from Cleanrun in the US). And of course if Mac has a new harness then Andy and Sarebear will need one too... All up just over $200 - and then there's his surgery... And the 19 year old microwave which gave up the ghost on Friday night... Been an expensive fortnight. And I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

Well Olly is well and truly settled in his new home. Council registered, microchip changed over, new bed and toys and his coat is looking really good. He's quite the star of his new Mum's weekly coffee mornings and goes everywhere with her in the car. He's commandeered the booster seat ( with his new harness). He arrived today to stay for a week while his new Mum and Dad go away. Must admit I think he's a bit sad but unfortunately this trip was organised before he was on the scene. And his Mum thought he was better off here than a strange place like a boarding kennel. But it's lovely to have my funny busy little man back for a while. I'm very lucky that I can still catch up with him.

Mita that link is terrific - have bookmarked it for future reference. Thanks for posting. Have a good look Jo - something might be helpful there. Good luck for tomorrow - will be thinking of you.

Yep Mita, Andy my littlest Westie likes to do that too but the others don't.

Good post Marion. I think it supports the need for a thorough investigation ETA pleasure YG - as other posters have said too this might be a number of things so I hope they get to the bottom of it for you tomorrow. All fingers and paws crossed for you here.

Don't know, Cody. But I notice there's saliva dripping. Laryngeal paralysis wouldn't make it easy to swallow. It's also constant. Not coming in episodes because the paralysis exists all the time. Yes blue is a symptom as is high CO2 levels. These dogs are not getting O2 which can lead to all sorts of things eg fainting. Actually paralysis can be progressive - it can be underlying until its suddenly clinically obvious. So it can seem episodic to start with - particularly if there is an underlying more generalised neurological cause as is starting to be seen in these dogs - GOLPP. Swallowing is an oesophageal not tracheal function although the 'cap' at the top of the trachea ( airway) - the epiglottis- covers the top of the airway during swallowing to prevent solids and liquids entering the airway. Hope that helps. ( I'm an ex- Speechie )

Mita thanks for posting - and yes that's what I woke up to last Sunday two weeks ago. But it got to that continuous point suddenly - his panting ( or what I thought was panting ) was quite episodic for the previous three to four days so I suspect the paralysis was progressive. Mac was periodically uncomfortable and restlessly pacing overnight until the Saturday evening before his crisis where he didn't settle at all. The emergency vet explained he couldn't get air lying down so was pacing - and boy was he pacing. But I was still putting it down to dementia. So YG saying he's more comfortable upright and the vid of his breathing suggests to me he needs comprehensive investigation sooner rather than later. Could still be upper respiratory or lower respiratory or both - looking at the vid I'd guess upper but only proper investigation will tell definitively. Good luck Chester. And YG.

Hi J, don't want to appear like I'm pushing a barrow but are his lung X-rays normal and has the vet actually scoped him under light sedation? If his lung X-ray is normal then it's likely an upper respiratory tract issue (trachea/ larynx/ pharynx). In small dogs tracheal collapse is more common but as I've just found out laryngeal paralysis, usually seen in a few large breeds is not unknown in small breeds. In Macs case I'm suspicious that it was progressive and I mistook his increased panting prior to his respiratory crisis two weeks ago today, as dementia panting when it was actually worsening airway obstruction. Can't be sure, but he is so much better since his surgery two weeks ago today it makes you seriously wonder. So I suppose what I'm suggesting is a lung/chest xray if he hasn't already had one and a sedated tracheal examination ASAP so you get to the bottom of what is going on really quickly. See Macs dementia thread for his laryngeal paralysis details. ETA things like O2 tents, masks humidifiers are not likely to solve this if its a mechanical/ airway obstruction. I know diagnosis isn't cheap but you can spend a lot of money chasing rabbits down every hole when in cases like this you really need a firm diagnosis. So don't be afraid to get second opinions if your current advice isn't helping.

Westie, the US people I passed it on to, were so, so impressed. Great to see Australian researchers come up with something as practical as that. Thank goodness for corvus.... who passed it on. I love his Mac Cave .... he's like a senior doggie Batman! And good on him for advancing the knowledge about aging & dementia. Thanks Mita - I think the next frontier in old dogs is to tease out early markers of dementia,as distinct from other neurological disease processes - and how can we be sure we aren't confusing them? And then to define some reasonable and helpful canine rehab. I see that as a real deficiency for these dogs at the moment - I worry about my 'trial and error' approach to helping Mac. Would be good if there were some principles and simple processes/suggestions to help us. For example, clarity around the use of elevated bowls would be good!

Hi everyone, Thanks everyone very much for all your suggestions. I looked at and considered every one of them. So after mulling for a few days I've ordered Mac a Walkeez fleece lined harness from Clean Run It appealed as it was fleece lined for old skin, but more importntly, the 'V' in the front is really deep and well away from his neck and it has wide straps - not quite the vest that I initially thought would be best (many of these ended up being quite high up the front of the chest) - but I think it will work very well for a boy with neck surgery. And a design away from the neck was critical and the most important factor. Interestingly, those that needed neck measurements were a bit of a give away as well - this harness only asked for a chest measurement which I took as a good sign. So thanks everyone - I'll post a pic when it arrives so you can hopefully see why I've been so fussy. In the meantime, if anyone is interested, I've posted a pic of his surgical neck wound on p28 of the dementia thread in health and nutrition which also shows why I've been so careful. Thank you all again - don't know what I would do without this wonderful community

Thanks Rosetta - yes all three of mine are very cute! And no I'm not biased - no not at all ;) Yes I had a look at his thunder shirt last night and I think it will be low enough across the front for him to still wear it. Will wait until he has his stitches out on Friday and then play around with it on the weekend. I love tartan on westies - and Mac has a lovely black bow tie that I used to put on him if he was having a bad day continence wise and needed to wear a (black) belly band. He would look really smart and it would take the emphasis off his belly band and continence issues. Will need to see if I can come up with a modification so he can wear his bow tie across his chest instead of around his neck. Thoughts?

Oh no... I cringe at the bad memories after 18 years in Darwin. One year I found a very frightened Lhasa Apso in my drive. I put him in my backyard and fed him and started looking for his owner. Two or three days later I finally found her through the RSPCA. She was a radiographer up from Katherine on a training course staying with friends three streets away when the dog got spooked on cracker night and escaped over a fairly high fence. She came to collect Digby and promptly burst into floods of tears. So did I - it was so good to reunite them. She left me a lovely card and some wine as an unnecessary thank you on the doorstep. I was just so pleased Digby went home. Grrr. NT cracker night has always been nothing but idiots and a menace. My mother, a long time paediatric nurse at Royal Darwin loathed them - so many stupid injuries.

Thanks Missymoo - I think so too. There's something really special about the oldies - and my darling old boy is great example IMHO.

Thanks k - yes it can be really difficult teasing out what's dementia & what's something else. Which is why I think studies like that which M posted re so important The only thing we can do is do our best to keep on top of things s they crop up I think. Very good news for Mac Do you think that the trachea problem may have been the reason for his night-time troubles WM? Thanks Rosetta. That's a really astute interesting question - and one I've started asking myself now the dust is settling. I think you're right - it's quite possible that his breathing difficulties were gradually worsening and the cause of the increase in frequency of his night wanderings and real inability to settle overnight over the last couple of weeks. I still think he has dementia - those symptoms I think were obvious prior to this recent episode - but I am wondering if he has an additional underlying neurological disease which has just become clinically more obvious? GOLPP? I guess time will tell. I guess you may never know re neurological issues because some of the symptoms can be similar. Kayla has a neurological issue and also dementia - perhaps some of her dementia symptoms are part of the neurological problem, I don't really know, but for her at this stage the risks associated with neurological tests outweigh the benefits. So I think you're right about the night wandering and that there are other issues that can contribute. Glad to hear he is doing so well anyway.

Perfect!! I want!

These are wonderful suggestions everyone - except he's now not allowed to have anything around his neck - which rules out the tuxedo and scarf- but open to other 'neck less' suggestions!

Mac using his new elevated bowl for dinner this evening... I think it gets him into a really good position?

And for completeness here's the actual surgical neck wound - the dressing finally fell off today - it really clean and healing well... He has his stiches out on Friday...

And for your sins here's another one which I think shows how good he's looking.... Mac and his dinner tonight eating out of his new elevated bowl..

Just love it!!! And so did Mac!!! Thanks Perse.

Can you please stop flashing that thing in my face! Mac one-week post-op

Happy to oblige! Here's a shot of Macs surgical wound to give you an idea of what the poor little man has been through... And one of Mac and Sarah cuddling up on the lounge earlier this afternoon - Mac facing the camera... Will try and get one of him up and about later (he's snoring at present... )

Well its a week ago today since Mac's respiratory crisis. And thank God he's a different dog. He's moving around much more easily, his back end is much less unsteady, he's bright eyed and interested in his surroundings and eating like a horse! There's still no sign of coughing or spluttering after eating or drinking. His surgical wound is neat and clean. He's happy and smoochy. He's still sleeping through until about 6 am which means i'm doing much better too. I'm sure there are some who would question the wisdom of operating like this on an almost 14 year old dog. But as a dear friend and I discussed yesterday, he was a fit and well oldie with a perfect blood panel to prove it up until this crisis - and he still is. He had nothing wrong with him that couldn't be managed and he had very good quality of life. And once I knew there was a relatively simple surgical solution to what was essentially a mechanical airway obstruction it quickly became an issue of 'why would you not do it'? (costs aside). I'm just soooo happy to still have him and that he still has a really good quality of life. The age of miracles is not over.

Has anyone used the vetbed gold for seniors? What's it like? Anyone know where to get it in Australia? TIA