Nothing Left To Do But Wait

Leah had her vet visit today, and our vet found nothing physical to explain her behavioral issues. As far as "the noise" he is in agreement with Nick and I that we shouldn't pursue further testing unless (a) it happens more frequently, (b) she has appetite changes, (c) she has bowel issues, (d) she loses weight, (e) she starts vomiting.

In regard to her recent aggression, he said the twitching and lack of tolerance to being brushed "could" be related, but he can't condone any type of brain scans at this time. He also knows of Debi, the trainer who we have a private scheduled with, and wants to see what she says when we have our consult. But he strongly indicated that behavioral meds (along with a behavioral plan) might be necessary to prevent her aggression from getting worse, which he said is often the case. Have I mentioned that Nick and I are loathe to use those types of medications, and we struggled enough with the decision to use them on Meadow?

So, we got no answers about Leah, and a warning that things might worsen. Which they appear to be.

Last night, she "went" for Meadow - merely because Meadow was chewing on a Nylabone nearby. Luckily, Leah was safely inside the confines of her x-pen, but still the incident worried me. Leah is not usually protective about toys, and it wasn't like Meadow took it from her either. Additionally, the night before that, Leah started barking at me, for no determinable reason. Surprised, I said, "Hey, Leah, what's the matter?" and she didn't even wag like she usually does when I address her. Next, I asked her for a "Sit," and instead, she laid down and ignored me.

I have to make a point here to say, I have NEVER felt threatened by Leah, and I didn't during this incident either - she was only barking and not growling, lunging, or snarling. However, it also wasn't "normal" behavior for her, and it certainly concerned me, more because I wonder if she does have an underlying neurological issue, and that it is going to get worse.

And while you're pondering what's troubling Leah, let's move on to Toby's new troubles.

On Monday while I walked Leah, Nick played with Toby and Meadow in the yard - no accidents, no falls, no slips, no collisions, no problems. Toby was walking fine after playing, and he was also fine at dinner time when I took him out to relieve himself before I fed the crew. The rest of the night he lounged around on his bed, until around eleven, when Nick made himself a bowl of ice cream.

Toby got up to investigate, and was holding up his right rear leg.

At first, I laughed at him, "Hey, Toby, did your leg fall asleep?" After all, he hadn't gotten injured just lying on his bed.

Well, something must have happened at some point or another, because although he started putting pressure on his leg soon afterwards, he continued to limp on it. Now concerned (and sorry I had laughed) I checked over his leg and found no visible injuries on his foot, and he allowed me to move his leg around with no complaints. I also didn't find any (new) lumps or bumps. But when he got up later to go out before bed that night, and yet again the next morning, the same thing occurred - he held his leg up for a few steps, then put weight on it, but continued to limp.

Since he was putting weight on it, I decided to hold off on the vet for a few days, but I put him on strict leash walking in case he twisted something - and by Wednesday night into Thursday morning the limp appeared to have completely subsided. (Phew) My vet's office said to rest him another week before allowing him to play again, and to bring him in if the limp returns.

Please pray that the limp doesn't return because Toby is already going bonkers and it's only been a few days. He does not handle "bed rest" very well and already slipped away from me last night while I was wiping his feet and zoomed around the front yard like a crazy dog before I could catch him. The good news is, he didn't limp after doing this - so I'm hoping that whatever it was, has healed. I can't imagine what might happen if Toby has a real injury and needs long term rest. I also can't imagine how bad another vet bill would be right now, especially, because, well, we just had another vet bill - compliments of Meadow.

I noticed that Meadow has started licking at her privates a LOT lately since her surgery, and then the other night she leaked a fairly large puddle on her new bed (which thankfully, is waterproof). While cleaning the spill, I noticed it looked very clear, almost like water, so Nick caught a sample yesterday and brought it in. Today, while at the vet with Leah, we found out that Meadow's urine was abnormally dilute, but had no signs of bacteria. Our vet asked us to get a clear catch sample to send out for a culture, which we also did today, and now we're waiting on the results of that.

Oh, and did I mention that Meadow licked open one of the suture sites after her stitches were removed, and of course, she chose the only area that was actually cancerous? So she is now back to living in the comfy cone while we are waiting for that, too, to heal - which seems to be taking forever.

So, not much more to do here but wait - and wonder why the dog gods are frowning on me and my crew.

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