Hippy Hippy Shake

On August 2nd, Duncan and I went to the German Shepherd Club meeting, as we try to do every month. This month’s speaker was a vet from the NCSU Vet School, who specializes in orthopedic problems in dogs. His talk was on osteoarthritis in dogs of all ages, which, while interesting, really isn’t relevant to this particular post.

Duncan was up and down throughout the talk, visiting with folks and trying his hardest to get to a female dog that he likes. Apparently, the vet’s assistant was watching him, and she thought he was having trouble getting up and down, so she asked if I would let the vet look at his back legs. I’m always up for a free hip exam, so I agreed. Duncan’s breeder heard, and she immediately started insisting that he was perfectly fine, just hadn’t grown into his back legs. Which I tend to agree with.

So, the vet watched him trot and then did a quick manual exam of his hips – took maybe a minute. He then announced that Duncan has a disease called genu valgum. He said its mild now, and it might stay mild, or it could cripple him. No way to know without tests. He also said its been a relatively recent discovery in dogs, for vets to recognize it for what it is and diagnose it. A cat scan would apparently prove it, but wouldn’t necessarily show the extent. And for those that are scratching their heads and saying “ge-what?”, genu valgum results in a look that is similar to knock-knees, but instead of the knees coming straight together, the hip is rotated in to some degree. Its caused by a bone growing longer on one side than the other, and the only way to correct it is major surgery that involves cutting out the longer bone, pinning everything together, weeks of recovery, and lots of rehab. Somehow, I don’t think its particularly inexpensive…

While the vet is telling me all of this, the breeder is insisting that everything is fine, he just hasn’t finished growing. Of course, what set her off is that the vet said genu valgum is hereditary. So she’s naturally stressing over the potential for issues with Duncan’s littermates, the litter before his from the same parents, and how to find out which parent might have this gene. The vet also mentioned this might be why Duncan has trouble getting into the truck, although I’m more inclined to think that’s just laziness. But who knows?

After the meeting, I looked genu valgum up on the internet. I found a few articles about it in humans, but nothing much about it in dogs. Since I was at my regular vet’s office the next day, I asked him about it. He’d never heard of it, but he said that this vet is basically God’s gift to canine orthopedics, and that if this vet were to look at his dogs for even 45 seconds (never mind the whole minute Duncan got) he’d take anything he said as the gospel. He did say that he’d probably wait til Duncan is 2 years old and full grown before getting a cat scan, since they would be able to determine the severity a bit better then. So that’s what we’ll do. Sigh.

Happy Birthday, Mycroft!

My sweet Mikey is 6 years old today. His first few months with the family were a bit difficult for various reasons, but he grew up to be a good natured, affectionate boy. Happy birthday, Mikey!

What Am I Thinking??

Clearly, I feel a need to punish myself for something. Not only am I working on my MBA, but I just enrolled in a 6-month compliance certification program. Granted, the company is paying for it completely and it will most likely boost me up a pay grade and title, but still... Unfortunately, there will be some unavoidable overlap between the certification classes and the MBA classes. So, anyway, if you don’t see me much from, say, August to March, this is why:

Commerce/EAR 8/24 - 10/4
State/ITAR 10/5 - 11/15
Operations Management 11/7 - 12/18
Documentation 11/16 - 12/27
Project Management 1/9 - 2/19
Ethics 1/11 - 2/21
Final Exam TBD
Strategy Formulation & Implementation 3/13 - 4/23

Home-grown Shredders

Duncan has developed the fun new talent of pulling papers out of my office trash can and scattering them throughout the house. I’m pretty sure Reyna showed him how to do this (and I know she participates in the scattering and shredding) because she used to do it as a puppy. The reason I’m assuming its Duncan pulling the papers out - and not Reyna – is because he will meander over to the trash can while I’m sitting at my desk and start rooting through it. He clearly hasn’t made the mental leap from being told “no” when he does that to the idea that maybe Mom would say “no” all the time. I hate to admit it, but its really kind of cute. I heard them happily ripping and shredding this morning, and I just didn’t have the heart to go fuss at them. And as long as its just trash from the trash can, I doubt I’ll get upset. Now, if that suddenly morphs into taking stuff off of my desk, we’re going to have a little chat. Reyna clearly thinks she’s ridiculously cute when she brings me a piece of paper. And she’s right, she is. They both just look so pleased with themselves……

It's Not a Tumor

Mikey went to see the vet today to have a lump on his side checked. Doc was able to get a needle in it and suck out some of the ickiness (ew) and check it under the microscope. He said that it definitely wasn’t attached to anything, that he could move it around, and it was just inside the skin (again, ew). He also said that he’s seen that kind of lump a lot before, and it's never anything to worry about. Basically, it's all the crud that normally comes out of the pores, but the pores right there are blocked, and so all the crud is backed up. He said it could get bigger or smaller, it could go away and come back a year later, it could stay the same and never bother the cat, or it could become a huge irritant. He also said that if it gets very big – a size I don’t like looking at – he can lance it or even cut it off. Apparently, that’s almost always a cosmetic issue, and very rarely done because it's actually bothering the cat. So, yay! Mikey doesn’t have a tumor, or anything else really wrong with him. Just a few blocked pores. We can live with that.

Up on the Catwalk, Yeah...

The cats now have a way to get from the back of the house to the front still avoid the dogs. A catwalk was installed - through much hard work and cussing - over the 4th of July weekend. There are three platforms on the hall wall between my bedroom and the guest bathroom, and the actual platform starts over the guest bath doorframe. It runs along the hallway over the library and office, around the corner to the front door, and over to the wall separating the living room and kitchen. In the kitchen, it runs from one set of cabinets, across the bay window, to the other set of cabinets. There’s still a bit of cosmetic work to do, such as caulking and touch-up painting, but it is functional. I thought about painting it some fun colors, and then realized that would annoy me in less than a week. So, the boards match the color of the walls they’re mounted on.

Khar’pern has used it several times…she really seems to enjoy the idea of coming out for a stroll. Mikey is using it a good bit, too, but mostly so he can stay up high and watch everything. He hasn’t used it for a foray into the kitchen (or even out of the hallway) yet. The others aren’t using it, but I figure it’s a matter of time. Reyna and Duncan just don’t know what to make of it. Reyna was very excited to see a kitty strolling along above her, and Duncan just looked vaguely offended by the whole thing. What is really funny is that if someone talks to a cat, Reyna looks up now, instead of at the hall door.

Happy Birthday, Duncan!

My sweet puppy turned 1 year old Tuesday. He's getting to be such a big boy!

News Flash

Gee, here's a shocker....second-hand cigarette smoke is bad. Who'd'a thunk it?

An Epileptic Mouth

The spiking pain on the right side of my head that has confounded doctors for two years finally has a name. I have been tested for temporal artery inflammation (and later told that was impossible – I was too young), had cat scans done on my sinuses, had my teeth checked and my eyes examined, taken antibiotics, endured repeated blood work for who-knows-what possible illness, been told “you get headaches” and given medicine that would eat my stomach if I took it for more than 6 weeks. And then one day, almost two months ago, I went to a new dentist. When I got there, I realized it was a woman I knew when I was teaching at the dance studio – she’d gotten married and changed her last name since then. After my cleaning and x-rays, she said she had no idea, but that I should go see an oral pathologist, and she gave me a referral to one in the area.

I saw the oral pathologist Wednesday. After two years of hearing “I dunno,” he had it pinpointed, diagnosed and explained in under 10 minutes. I love this man. Just knowing I’m not insane (about that, anyway) was a huge relief. The short version is that I have epilepsy in my mouth. The longer version is that I have a tic douloureux of the middle superior nerve bundle in the upper right soft palate. The easy version is that some nerves in my mouth have become exposed and cold temperatures trigger a seizure (the epilepsy connection) that sends a horrible spiking pain up the side of my head. But it can be fixed!!

There are some surgical options, which I’m not nutty about. I mean, really now, who wants to think of some doctor cutting open the roof of their mouth and pulling out nerve bundles??? There’s also radiation to kill the nerves, but doc says that’s not too reliable, that the relief period varies for everyone, but never lasts more than two years. So, first we’re going to try some medication, and my regular doctor will have to monitor the dosage and side effects, and I’ll have to have blood drawn periodically to make sure its not screwing up something else. The meds will basically raise the seizure threshold a good bit, so that it takes a much colder temperature to trigger an attack. Doc says I’ll be able to drink sweet tea and eat ice cream pain free, once we get the right dosage. I’ll probably be on these the rest of my life, but if they work, I’ll deal. And who knows, maybe they’ll come up with a less hideously invasive and yet more permanent solution.

Loki

Happy birthday to my sweet boy! He came from Mecklenburg County Animal Control, so I’m not totally sure of his age, but I picked June 15 as his birthday. Based on the information they had, Loki should be 8 this year.

No Talent Required

Reyna and I entered the Hand and Paw Pet Hospice “No Talent” Talent Show. We were supposed to do our freestyle routine, and were interviewed by a lady from the Chapel Hill News prior to the event. Thankfully, we didn’t get a lot of space in the article, because Reyna refused to perform. It was outside, hot, at 6:00pm (not her best time), with no significant shade. When we started, I got the opening move out of Reyna, and then she walked off. We tried again a few minutes later, and she wouldn’t even do the opener. She had absolutely no interest in doing anything but finding her brother and getting a drink of water in the shade. The coordinator gave me a “My Dog is Better Than Your Dog” t-shirt, anyway. She said she knew that if Reyna had actually done it, we’d have won easily. After all, the dog that won did nothing more that chase his soccer ball between his mom and dad. Next year, I’m going to enter her again, but her talent will be “Digging a hole in the water bucket.” I think we’ll be able to take the division with that.

The Video Taping

We did the video taping for the MDSA film festival a few weekends ago. It just wasn’t fated to go well. When we got to the Elk’s Lodge, the guy that was there didn’t know we were coming. And then it turned out that they’d had a wedding reception there the night before, but it hadn’t been cleaned up. So my good friends - who came to watch, not work – helped clean the place up. The guy who was working there didn’t even come help for more than a few minutes. We had to clear off and move tables, clean up the floor, and take down decorations. Poor Reyna followed me around for a while, and then I put a bowl of water for her, and she just stayed next to it. I had a feeling the distractions were going to be a bit much for her – after all, the place reeked of beer, there were chicken wings scattered around, and the remains of a roast in a tub on the bar. She also kept finding interesting tidbits on the floor.

Once we were ready to go, we tried it first without treats, doing the 1:30 version. I lost her attention so often, it was ridiculous. I always got her back, but it was easy to tell she was focused on everything but me. And the guy kept coming in and out of the little kitchen attached to the main room, snagging her attention every time he opened the door. So we tried it with treats, which meant we had to do the 2:30 version. It felt bad, but after watching it, I realized that even though she didn’t do everything I asked, and even though I forgot a couple of moves, there’s only three obvious times when I lost her. The biggest one was because I dropped a treat, and she found. The second time, we passed by the same spot, and she decided to double-check and make sure she hadn’t missed anything. The third time, she started to walk away from me, towards the kitchen, and I’m betting that’s when the guy decided to leave the room again. I gave it one more shot after that, but she was done. She did the opening “stick ‘em up” and then walked off the floor.

The funny thing was that I had more difficulty with the humans in the room than with the dog. There are parts on the video where, even though I specifically told everyone to be quiet, because there shouldn’t be talking on the tape, certain voices are very clear. Jeff got some spectacular pictures, though. And it was definitely a good learning experience for me. Of course, I was also glad to hear that several other people in the group had trouble getting their dogs to perform on video as well as they’d done in practice.

Our goal now is to really wean Reyna off of treats before the next film festival. I’m going to start listening to music again, and try and find another song I like, but I’m certainly not going to stress over working out a new routine for a while.

Its just too much...

I can't get over how much I love this picture...

Happy Mother's Day

My animals bought me a Mother’s Day card. They pooled their allowance (raided my change jar), and their Uncle John picked it up at the store. After all, its not like one of them could just stroll into Hallmark and buy a card...

Artistic Pups

There was a Dog Painting Booth at the SPCA walk last weekend. Duncan went first, and then Reyna. Who knew they had so much artistic talent inside?

Final (hopefully) Back Update

On the upside, the physical therapist has released me, as I generally feel okay. On the downside, I still have to be very careful about my activities, as certain things will cause my back to hurt for a few days. For example, walking the dogs, which is great exercise, tends to upset my back – mostly because Duncan can’t walk next to Reyna without pulling. Mowing and weed-eating doesn’t feel particularly spiffy, either. The worst part is the sheer frustration of having to ask for help with something I was perfectly able to do just a few months ago.

I went to the neurosurgeon today for my follow-up, and he said everything looks great, but that I need to continue being very careful with my activities and keep up with the stretched the physical therapist gave me. He also wants me to start doing some light aerobics and regular exercise to help strengthen my back muscles (not to mention just generally get in shape). Doc said I don’t need to come back and see him unless I start having significant problems again.

Silly Puppy

Duncan was napping on the couch a little bit ago when he rolled and fell off. He landed with all four legs propped against the couch. Now, instead of getting up and moving, or acting like something was wrong, or even making himself more comfortable, he just looked around, closed his eyes, and went back to sleep.

CF #8

I just picked up Reyna’s performance collar. It’s a pink froufy thing made of different types of material. I think it’ll look cute on her, and I can coordinate my shirt to match. And one of the materials in her collar is a gingham, so we get that little bit of country in it, too.

We video the routine in two weeks, and I’m still not totally positive she’ll do everything without a fuss. I’m really banking on her love of performing. And her interest in the treats I’m going to put in my pockets. And the fact that she’ll be hungry, because I’m not giving her breakfast before we go. I really do think she’ll do fine. I just have to remember to not stress if she changes the routine halfway through (she has one place where she’s supposed to turn around me, but she likes to shoot under my legs instead). I’m pretty sure that, as long as she doesn’t just stop or walk off, we’ll look cute, no matter what. And the audience will clap, and that will make Reyna very pleased with herself.

Wobbly Boy

Duncan weighed in at 92.5 pounds Friday, and the vet upped his full-growth estimate to 115 pounds. It’s a very good thing he’s so sweet natured. Especially since he likes to put peoples’ various body parts (like heads) in his mouth.

Anyway, while we were at the vet’s Friday, he voiced some concerns about Duncan’s back legs. He said that any vet or orthopedic doctor would watch him walk and assume he has horrible hip displaysia. After all, he should have grown out of the wobblies by now. When he walks, he criss-crosses his back legs. When he runs, they straighten out on their own. And when he trots, he has the cutest sashay. After manipulating Duncan’s hips, the vet said they felt okay. He said I should talk to the breeder about him, and might need to consider x-rays. Unfortunately, the cut off for any type of corrective surgery for hip displaysia is a year and a half. Duncan’s at 9 months, so there’s still time, but the vets can do more when the dog is younger. Of course, it could just be that Duncan has “sissy” hips.

I emailed the breeder this morning, and described Duncan’s legs. She said she’s had several large puppies that took longer growing into their back legs, just because they were so big. She also said that the sloped back makes it look worse than it is (but I’ve seen adults with steeper slopes than Duncan’s walking without the criss-cross motion). At any rate, its good to know that she’s not concerned about his legs. I am, however, a bit worried about this “growing into them” thing. After all, how much bigger is he going to get???