Old age and arthritis is just the pits sometimes. Buddy has been slowing down as of late. He is having a lot of difficulty in his back left leg, which is the leg he tends to rest on the most. (His amputated leg was his front right leg)He was having good days and bad days with it. He need’s a lot of help getting up. We were assuming it is arthritis so we texted the vet. (Did I mention how awesome she is?) He’s on Vet Best (which has Glucosamine)and Tramadol. We asked if we could increase his Tramadol to ease his discomfort. She thought that would be fine but also suggested adding Gabapentin but at a low dose until he gets used to it. We tried it for 2 days and his condition just got worse. Yesterday, he couldn’t get up at all and needed full assistance. It was like he just couldn’t figure out where his legs were. So we texted the vet last night and she suggested we immediatly take him off of the Gabepentin as it can have a sedating affect but to add in more Tramdol the next day instead as we had first suggested. The hope was that perhaps today he would regain his strength.
Unfortunatly he needed full assistance this morning. We took him out front this afternoon and he still needs full assistance. BUT…he was smiling in the sunshine which was REALLY good to see. There were no smiles in the past few days. He did try really hard to get up on his own but that back leg will just not allow it. So now we are fearful of an ACL problem or perhaps something else. The good news is that he does not appear to be in any major pain. And yep, we know..dogs are pretty stoic about pain. But he smiled a lot in the sunshine today! I’ll take that for now. He is horrified of seeing the vet because remember…he woke up one day there missing his leg! We are frustrated and worried and have decided to wait a few more days to see if the previous drug just needs another day to wear off. I fear we may be off to see the vet wether we like it or not in the next week. Old age is really rough. 
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Old dogs can learn new tricks!
How old is Buddy? Our girl is 12. Two years post right front leg amputation. She could not take Tramadol, too many side effects for her. Hope he has many more days in the sun!
HI Lisa! Buddy is 15. I hope he has lots more days in the sun too! Tramadol seems to be his drug. Nothing else works so far. 🙂
My Sessy will be 12 in a couple of weeks. She does not have arthritis that I know of, but she did developed a blood clot in her remaining back leg in sept. Until then she could easily walk to the park and around. The damage to her leg was significant enough that she can only walk about six houses down the street. Her physical therapist put her on low dose gabapentin as well, and it seems to help. She only takes it at night to avoid the sedating effects. Not sure if for buddy it might work better if only at night. She is also going for physical therapy with acupuncture and water treadmill. It will be a slow process for her to rebuild the muscle, but she does seem to be getting better…… fingers crossed that things will get better for your baby.
Oh! Thats wonderful news about your Sessy. Sounds like you are doing everything possible! We were thinking of having him take it at night but he was just not himself at all. We’ll talk to the vet on Saturday and see what she thinks. 🙂
I just realozed I missed a couple of blogs of Buddy’s and thst bums me out! I looooove everything about this very special senior and don’t ever want to miss anything about Buddy…ESPECIALLY his wonderful photos!
So a belated HAPPY TWO YEAR AMPUVERSARY!!! Yiur are such a photogenic pup!! I love allnyour close ups! And then I missed the blog prior to the Two Year Amputation one. Caught up now though! And he really does SMILE! I love the one of him rolling jn the grass just grinning ear to ear! 🙂
Now, as far as today’s blog. Yeah, getting old is not for sissys…And I can attest to that! It’s full of aches!
Based on what you’ve said though, Buddy is NOT in pain and he seems comfortable. After all, you got that great Buddy smile today! 🙂 I love that photo of him smiling in the su sunshine…..sooo. sweet!
Buddy sure looks like he’s content in this photo. Being immobile is no picnic, but being able to aide him like you are makes it bearable. Do you have a wagon that you could put some cushioning in and give him a ride in? Many dogs when having walking issues seem to adjust and enjoy veing carted around.
Will the Vet come to your house to check him out? I know you hate to take him in for anything. Check around and see if you can find a mobile Vet who will come whenever yiu need a visit for whatever.
As always, we’ll continue to cheer for this Living Legend who inspires every single senior dog facing this journey!! 🙂 Buddy is, and always will be, a Beacon of Hope! 🙂
Lots of hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS. Sure you’ve tried Rimadyl. How about at home acupuncture? And before he does try to get up, maybe some gentle massages over a towel warmed in the dryer.
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Awwww!! Thanks so much for the encouragement! We are taking him on Saturday. Luckily his appointment is on thir bottom floor which will be easier to get into. Most times its on their upper level which is really hard on him. He has Rimadyl years ago and it gave him terrible diareah. He seemed to do well with Tramadol 3 times a day yesterday. Im going to talk to her about the possibilty of trying Rimadyl again to see what he does. Steve and I were just talking about maybe looking at a wagon for him. I love the warn towel! Thats a really gret idea! I did stick a heating pad under him a few days ago before he got really bad. He wasn’t sure what to make of it! LOL! He wa able to bear a tiny bit more weight on that leg this morning. Just a tiny bit! So we’ll take that! I think that the other drug really threw him off. I am hoping that perhaps we might see something more postive today. You just never know. I keep praying! He really was so much happier yesterday! I was afarid that smile was gone forever! I will update everyone after the vet visit on Saturday! Thanks for all the hugs! 🙂
Have you tried hemp turpenes? I got some at my local pet store and it’s working like magic on my tripawd. He now leaps into the car where before he resisted stairs. Worth a try. Hope he feels better!
Will have to take a look at that! Thank you!
We are keeping our paws and fingers crossed that you got good news from the vet.
Buddy looks like he’s really enjoying that sunshine! It’s got to be medicinal for him.
Hang in there you guys. You are being so loving, kind and compassionate to Buddy’s old age needs. Not an easy task but you’re holding as strong as he is.
We are thinking of you!
Thanks so much Jerry! I’m going to update this morning!