Good news..Lukies arm is healed yay! His birthday was last friday…hes 6 years old!! He got 2 new toys-(named them “puppy” and “basketball”), more food, treats, new toothbrush and toothpaste and poop bags. He even got to go to petsmart! He was too excited when he got his toys, especially when he saw “puppy”! lol its been forever since he got a new toy!!!
birthday gifts
squeaking…he was actually starting to get mad with it! ahh i love toys that boggle his mind!
who got the milk carton out of the trash? he looks very guilty…
It’s been over 6 months since his second surgery. We moved back up to Indianapolis for the semester, which I got him on a good routine. His ‘leg locking’ stage has ended, which I’m very glad. He’s been on Reconcile (prozac) for his separation anxiety for about 5 months now. We figured we would try the generic brand since it was cheaper; $15 for a 30-month supply over the $60 for a month supply. I noticed it wasn’t made for a dog to take, wasn’t flavored or chewable like the regular brand. I had to put it in cheese while he would out smart me but sucking on the cheese and spit out the pill. It would end up taking hours for him to just swallow it. After a week on generic, he was running around crazy, it was like he was going through prozac withdraws…he was just so hyper. Last Monday night (another holiday-go figure) I came back from dinner, and he was just so excited to see me, like he hasn’t seen me in a year. He started running around like crazy. I asked him if he needed to go outside, and he even got more excited and ran faster. It scared me so much cause he hasn’t acted like this for over 6 months (since before his surgery or before Prozac I should say) I finally got the leash on him and took him for a walk, we usually go around the block but he stopped half way and he didn’t want to go anymore. I picked him up and carried him home. I put him down and he started walking but couldn’t walk on his right arm. I thought there might be something in his paw since he was walking just fine outside. I could tell by his eyes and the way he was looking at me when i was examining his arm that he hurt himself. I called my parents before they got too far from my place and told them to come back. Of course it was after 6 pm and all vets are closed. We called the hospital where lucas got his surgery from and they had us come in. after an hr…he was walking on it, so the doctor knew his arm wasnt broken if he can walk on it. the doc said he must have pulled a muscle in his shoulder. He got a shot of morphine that night….whoa, a handicap dachshund on morphine is not a good match. He started seeing things, and was scared of any fast movement. He walked drunkly, which scared me to death. I had to put his ‘red legs’ back on him cause his hind legs were so weak! I couldn’t sleep a wink that night, thinking it was something more serious then just a pulled muscle. By morning, he was back to normal, ate peed pooped, and came with me to get the regular brand of Prozac. No more generic!! Generic=fake. All week hes been sleeping and resting. Doctor gave us rimadyl to give him twice a day for a week. I’m just so thankful that hes okay. This incident has made me realize that he will have to be on doggie prozac for the rest of his life. It has calmed him down a lot and can proudly say he’s halfway normal when hes on Prozac. His birthday is next Friday the 23th…everyone is coming to celebrate it next weekend. 6 years old! His birthday is always very special. Maybe he will even get a new toy since he hasn’t gotten a new one this whole year!! (I don’t let him play with many, since he likes to ‘kill’ them and shake them to death…its just an accident waiting to happen) *pictures were taking this wednesday…4 days ago.
Last friday, the day before his check up…i came home from work and noticed lucas’ bark was different. Like its scratchy and a bit hoarse. I was very worried cause the last time this happened 3 days later he was paralyzed and he was going in for surgery for a ruptured disc. I examined him making sure he was walking okay, and to make sure there were no signs of a ruptured disc. No watery eyes, no muscle/body stiffness, he was peeing and pooping…there were absolutely no signs of anything serious and the fact that we had a checkup with the doc the next morning i felt okay. We talked to him about his nerves and about his legs locking up which i explained in previously postings. He assured me that it was just a stage which i figured it was as he went thru alot of different stages during his first surgery recovery. His nerves are just getting their feeling back in them and the same with his bark. Since lucas lost his voice completely before he went into surgery, were all amazed that he can even bark at all. So he told us lucas looks great, and theres nothing to worry about with his bark. His personality and playfulness shows us all that hes just being lucas and this is how his bark is and prolly will be. I remember after his first surgery his bark was different and i was a bit sad cause i knew id never hear his ‘normal’ bark again. but then i got used to this new bark, and now ill just have to get used to this hoarse scratchy voice. As long as he is happy and enjoying life like he is then any bark will do. One good thing the past two weeks there has been no locking of his legs when he goes #2. Actually he can now hold up his weight by himself. He doesnt need me to hold him in that postition anymore. Ahh so proud!
Since the last posting, Lucas has been doing so much better when he goes #2. Hes legs dont lock as much as they use to. Its about once a week now!! He been having the greatest week! He’s so hyper and he has his personality back. We go for a walk every evening now. I never let him go too far tho. I try to make him his favorite meals once a week: Boiled chicken livers or salmon. I usually always put 1000 mg of fish oil on them also. Eats them so fast…doesnt even take 30 seconds. We are so proud of him!!! He is one little strong boy. I got some pics. Finally!
Loves to roll in the grass!!!
Cooling off in the garage
Found a stick
Lucas loves his bath time….so do i esp after rolling in the grass!
Its been a little crazy for me and lucas this past month. We have moved back ‘home’ for the summer and I have started a summer job. He’s been doing okay on his prozac and we have seen a change esp when we leave him. He’s an independent man now lol. His back has healed pretty good, you can hardly see the scar now. But there is still some concern we have about his going “more potty” issue (#2). For the past month everytime he goes #2 his legs get ‘locked’ in that position and basically his legs go paralyzed. there no feeling. he cant get up and walk. its the strangest thing and the only way to get him out of that position is to put him in the bath tub and he puts his butt and legs right under the hot water, its like a relief to him. But then hes fine and back to running around the house like hes ‘normal’. All other times he’s perfect. we couldnt ask for a better recovery from him. He’s even been wanting to go on long walks too, so this leg lock is just a mystery to us. We go back to the doctor on the 18th of July and we’re gonna talk to him about it. But im assuming theres really not much we can do and just hope its a stage that he will get better in time. This past weekend was the first time it didnt happen to him. So maybe we are heading that way. I still do therapy on him even tho im not home during the day, we try to get an hour in after i come home from work. Of course all he wants to do is play and eat when i get home. lol. im at work now but ill post a few pics later.
We went to a new veterinarian here in indy on friday. He is very smart and the best thing is lucas isnt scared or nervous around him. He’s known to be the best in Indiana and only the best for lucas. We ended up spending over an hour talking to the him about lucas…everything from day one. We have always thought he had separation issues, but since his surgeries it has gotten worse. We told the doc about when anytime we leave he flips out, screams, throws tantrums, and leaves us pee and poop to come home to. He was officially diagnosed with Separation Anxiety and was put on Prozac. lol its kinda funny looking back at the convo at the doctors office. I mean a dog on prozac? we told the rest of the family and they laughed and thought we were joking. But 10 million dogs suffer from Separation Anxiety. They put him on Reconcile and to do basic training and the “bond” training from Eli Lilly.
We took a road trip to my brothers place this weekend, n I was a little worried about going but we went and he behaved so good! he got his own room and we started the bond training by awarding his good behavior. We start taking the pills tomorrow so I hope he does well on them and starts showing signs of improvement.
We went to pick up lukie from the hospital this morning. He looked thousand times better then how he was on Thursday altho he is still a bit weak but now that we have him home hes doing better. He got some naps in, some food in him and at the end of the day he was playing with harley. Hes on a very strict diet. He’s on prescription dog food (which heee lovesss) and chicken with small amounts of water every few hours at least for a few days. He’s taking ranitidine (Zantac) and metronidazole (Flagyl) which he doesn’t like. I swear he heard him say yuck after i gave it to him. Hopefully he will continue letting me shoot it down his throat for the next week. I got some pics then im off to bed. I havent slept for past 3 nights. I couldnt function without my lucas.
Poor lil lukie woke up early yesterday morning (5 am)and starting having diarrhea. I didn’t think much of it because he’s had diarrhea just few weeks before. I gave him a shower and 2 hrs later I was off to take a final. Then when i came home around 10 there was diarrhea and vomit everywhere in his crate. so much that he was covered in it and all his blankets was full of it. I pulled him out of the crate and he started his diarrhea again AND vomit all at the same time. That went on for an hour til i called the doctor. She told us to bring him in as soon as possible. I waited for my parents for a LONG 2 hours…consisting of continuous vomit, (*later knowing it was actually bloody vomit*) so much that i couldn’t keep up on cleaning it…I def need to call Stanley Steamer asap. So we finally get him to the hospital and he was given an ultrasound on tummy, it came up good…everything looked normal. She figured that he just had some sort of virus and wanted to keep him for a few days to make sure he stops vomiting and starts to eat and drink like normal. I haven’t heard anything from when i left there yesterday. The doctor is gonna call this afternoon to give us an update and i hope its a good one.
*update*
Doctor just called She said after we left she did the blood work and she figured he was going to be dehydrated but he was extremely dehydrated. Everything on his blood work came back bad, nothing was ‘normal’. She believes and most of the doctors agreed with her that he has HGE. (Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis) He probably wouldn’t of made it another night. I’m glad we took him in when we did! They want to keep him another night to try to get more food in him…we gotta fatten him up again…he lost alottt of weight!
Taken May 1….Have I ever mention that he LOVES laundry and is obsessed with washing machines and dryers lol
May 1 NO LUKIEEE!!! lol He’s always so “proud” of himself when he gets milk cartons.
May 4…no sun.
May 5 Laying out!!
May 7 (yesterday) around 11. he looked…like death.
Tuesday we took him to get his staples removed and since he was walking and doing good he got released. The nurse said 2 more weeks in crate (i say forever) and now we can start his water therapy!! yay!!
This is lucas everyday still working his puppy dog eyes and making me feel sorry for him just to get a treat.
Before staples are removed
After…you can see the two scars now but in few months wont even know theres any scars.
Lukies going to the door now!! another big improvement. Still not one pee accident in the house. (cant say the same for pooping)
I couldn’t resist not putting this up! at the vet hospital there was these two whippets….the “wife” was pregnant and scared and the “husband” was on alert and protective. LOL so very cute!! Too bad lukie cant have a girlfriend and have babies. Altho honestly i dont think lucas would make a good father nor a good husband. He’d be the type to cheat and neglect or kill his kids by shaking them at the neck. LOL. Hes too immature to have all those responsibilities.
He walks!!!…kinda. Past few days he’s gotten stronger in his legs and is standing longer but hes just not sure what to do after he stands. I been trying to teach him and show him his legs DO move and tonight he tried it on his own. He’s still not sure how to move that left leg yet or where it even is. I’m constantly putting it in the “right place”. In time he will learn and in a few months he’ll be running around the house like he always does. I’m just so surprised and proud at how he’s improving so much faster then his last surgery.
Lukie covered himself up!! He’s a pro even when paralyzed.
Posted by lucas8 
*pictures were taking this wednesday…4 days ago.
Posted by lucas8 
Posted by lucas8 
We start taking the pills tomorrow so I hope he does well on them and starts showing signs of improvement.
he looked…like death.
