Cady gets frequent ear infections, which seems odd to me -- wouldn't ears this big and open be well ventilated? Apparently not.
Paddington leads the way with frequent vet miles. We got him (at a little over a year old) in July 2008. Since then we haven't gone more than 3 1/2 weeks without a trip to the vet. By the end of 2008 he'd had whip worm, ring worm, skin allergies, a urinary tract infection, and rocky mountain spotted fever. In October he started limping on both front legs. The normal vet couldn't find the problem, so in January we took him to the ortopedic specialists at VOSM in Maryland. A few months of rehab didn't work so 6 weeks ago he had surgery on both front shoulders. Since then he's been wearing hobbles, which are front-leg braces that inhibit any shoulder movement while he's healing.
As cute as he looked, it wasn't meant to be: the shirt kept bagging down and he'd trip on the sleeves, which is not the greatest movement for a dog who just had shoulder surgery. He did look super-cute in his shirt, though.
For a total of 8 weeks he has to keep his shoulders as immobile as possible. We do daily exercises on his elbows, knees, and toes (knees and toes) to keep them healthy while he's wearing the hobbles, but the shoulders are outta luck for 8 long, long weeks. Can you imagine keeping a 2-year-old corgi inactive for 8 weeks? Let's think about that a moment. How long is 8 weeks exactly? Two months! Fifty-six days! Oye. Sadly, Paddington does not speak English, so it's been a challenge explaining this to him. As he's felt better every day he's tried to be more and more active. So, we've had to crate him or tie him to a handy piece of furniture. Most of the last 6 weeks have been spent with his new best friend, the coffee table. (It's a love-hate relationship.)
Today Paddington had his 6-week checkup, and he's doing pretty well! I was worried because he started limping on his front left leg, which is the one where the surgery was more intensive. The vet thinks that he's limping because he's got a lot of muscle tension in that shoulder. Phew! Now just 2 weeks to go until we can start shoulder stretches and they can check that his shoulders healed properly. Six weeks down, two to go!
Wow! What a little trooper - that's a lot to go through. Woof!
ReplyDeleteI had to ask about Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever? Was he trekkin' out west? I didn't know that was in these parts. When I was growing up in Montana, every year we had to get these awful, painful vaccination shots.
Hope he's doing better now!
Hi dutchindian,
ReplyDeletewe live in the mid-Atlantic. There has been a big tick problem out here the past couple of years. A lot of humans have been coming down with Lyme disease. It's not happening just during the summer -- it's been just warm enough the past few years that people and dogs are getting sick year-round. Our other corgi, Cady, got Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever during the winter. And they never run through long grass, fields, or the like -- they're suburban dogs through and through!