misst
Well-Known Member
Not sure why I am posting this but maybe it will help me get a handle on things. Its going to be long I am afraid. Sorry.
Two and a half years ago we took on a lovely dog age unknown but somewhere between 9 and 11 so now she will be somewhere between 11 and a half and thirteen and a half. She is a beautiful (to us) cross breed - maybe some corgi maybe some staff and others too. She is a heavily built (not fat) medium sized dog approx the height of a small lab.
She is wonderful and has always been a good girl with a lovely loving nature and good in all ways. She has always been stiff and arthritic but has got worse in the last 6 months. She can still do the stairs and get on the sofa so we just live life at her pace and she seems content. She is a real treasure. We love her to bits.
The vet thinks she is ok on her pravicox and occasional gabapentin and we have decided that we will not get joint replacements etc but manage her conservatively. She has had a tough life so we feel she would not cope with major surgery etc. She enjoys her walks with a bit of a run around ( 30 seconds worth( then a slow steady plod. She then sleeps most of the day.
Lately she has taken to barking a lot if we go upstairs - as if she is looking for us even though she knows where we are. Even when our other dog is in the same room she will randomly start barking. We don't mind - on the whole we just laugh - but it is a change in her and new.
She has always been a clean dog in the house unless her tummy is upset so we watch her diet and she has wainwrights duck and rice senior as she likes this and it suits her tummy - firm poos etc. However we have notice that instead of squatting to poo she now often poos walking along "bombing" as she goes! The vet thinks it is because it is uncomfortable for her to squat but she squats to wee.... For the last week and a half she has pooed randomly in the house even after going outside for a wee. She seems unaware of having done it and it is always in a line from wherever she has been sitting/lying to wherever she finishes up. She is never told off for this as I believe she is not being naughty - I just pick it up and we carry on as if nothing has happened.
Sooooo are we doing right not telling her off? In the past if she had an upset tummy she would always look frightened and upset (thinks she has been punished in the past). I cannot confine her to one room - she will bark. She sleeps in our bedroom on a bed next to us and I think she would be very very unhappy stuck downstairs.
I suppose the question I am asking is are we reaching the end? Her back legs do give way sometimes but overall she is pretty ok. She likes her walks and even tries to play with other dogs sometimes until she realises she cannot. She loves her cuddles and she loves lying on the sofa watching the squirrels out of the patio door. Although we have not had her long we do love her very much and always thought we would not have her more than 2 or 3 years given age and arthritis but intended to give her a "happy retirement" after her rubbish life. She owes us nothing. BUT my husband finds the poo in the house difficult and I must admit it is getting me down.
So all you dog people - any suggestions please? Am going to speak to the vet again but I don't think it is pain related as it is totally random and she seems completely unaware. She has had her spine checked she has normal but stiff preprioconception (is that the right word?).
Thanks for reading my rambling post.
Two and a half years ago we took on a lovely dog age unknown but somewhere between 9 and 11 so now she will be somewhere between 11 and a half and thirteen and a half. She is a beautiful (to us) cross breed - maybe some corgi maybe some staff and others too. She is a heavily built (not fat) medium sized dog approx the height of a small lab.
She is wonderful and has always been a good girl with a lovely loving nature and good in all ways. She has always been stiff and arthritic but has got worse in the last 6 months. She can still do the stairs and get on the sofa so we just live life at her pace and she seems content. She is a real treasure. We love her to bits.
The vet thinks she is ok on her pravicox and occasional gabapentin and we have decided that we will not get joint replacements etc but manage her conservatively. She has had a tough life so we feel she would not cope with major surgery etc. She enjoys her walks with a bit of a run around ( 30 seconds worth( then a slow steady plod. She then sleeps most of the day.
Lately she has taken to barking a lot if we go upstairs - as if she is looking for us even though she knows where we are. Even when our other dog is in the same room she will randomly start barking. We don't mind - on the whole we just laugh - but it is a change in her and new.
She has always been a clean dog in the house unless her tummy is upset so we watch her diet and she has wainwrights duck and rice senior as she likes this and it suits her tummy - firm poos etc. However we have notice that instead of squatting to poo she now often poos walking along "bombing" as she goes! The vet thinks it is because it is uncomfortable for her to squat but she squats to wee.... For the last week and a half she has pooed randomly in the house even after going outside for a wee. She seems unaware of having done it and it is always in a line from wherever she has been sitting/lying to wherever she finishes up. She is never told off for this as I believe she is not being naughty - I just pick it up and we carry on as if nothing has happened.
Sooooo are we doing right not telling her off? In the past if she had an upset tummy she would always look frightened and upset (thinks she has been punished in the past). I cannot confine her to one room - she will bark. She sleeps in our bedroom on a bed next to us and I think she would be very very unhappy stuck downstairs.
I suppose the question I am asking is are we reaching the end? Her back legs do give way sometimes but overall she is pretty ok. She likes her walks and even tries to play with other dogs sometimes until she realises she cannot. She loves her cuddles and she loves lying on the sofa watching the squirrels out of the patio door. Although we have not had her long we do love her very much and always thought we would not have her more than 2 or 3 years given age and arthritis but intended to give her a "happy retirement" after her rubbish life. She owes us nothing. BUT my husband finds the poo in the house difficult and I must admit it is getting me down.
So all you dog people - any suggestions please? Am going to speak to the vet again but I don't think it is pain related as it is totally random and she seems completely unaware. She has had her spine checked she has normal but stiff preprioconception (is that the right word?).
Thanks for reading my rambling post.
