And by kids, of course, I mean pets.
Poor Rerun has had a tough time lately. Never one to suffer his space being invaded, I had a nightmare about two weeks ago and my left foot got too close to him in my sleep. He snapped at me in self defense and also because I’d probably kicked him. I wound up with two bloody and bruised toes and he got yelled at rather unkindly at about 4:15am by both parents.
Rerun has also developed the habit over the years of having entire conversations with us in either whines or growls. He’s a very vocal dog (most dachshunds are) but he chooses to look at us and whine or whimper rather than bark. Unless of course we’re working, on the phone, or watching a movie, etc.
Anyway, last night he started whining while under the covers. This is unusual behavior for him and it was the, “I’m in pain” whine, and it was very soft. We promptly pulled him out, muzzled him, and thoroughly inspected him.
He was not impressed.
Everything seemed OK, but he was upset when I manipulated his right hind leg. We took off the muzzle, gave him a doggie aspirin as a treat (Thumbelina got a treat for sitting patiently during the exam) and then he settled in and went to sleep.
Geoff took him to the vet today. Rerun is, thank goodness, OK. We were worried that he’d developed back, neck, knee, or hip problems as dachshunds are wont to do. This appears to be a pulled muscle that’s causing him pain, though we’re treating him as though he’s got a a disc problem as we want to be absolutely sure. This means that he’s on limited activity and not allowed to do stairs or jump on and off the couch for at least a week.
Rerun is a bit of a bull in a china shop and he doesn’t always think things through or look where he leaps. The fact that he pulled a muscle or possibly injured his back is unsurprising. He’s also 10 now and his body isn’t as resilient as it used to be.
The fact that the dogtor was worried about this enough to prescribe Tramadol is what surprises me.
While he’s on this drug he may be the most relaxed he’s been since I met him 5 years ago. This is a serious pain reliever and it also has sedating effects. This is a drug I can’t take because of the side effects. We’re going to keep a very close eye on him and monitor his dosages very carefully while he’s on this.
In short, we’ll be babying him in a major way for the next two weeks. Then, he goes on a diet and back to gradual exercise. Turns out he also needs to lose about 5lbs. What’s that old saying? You can tell you don’t get enough exercise when your dog is fat? Yeah, that.
~Kelly
The Books are Taking Over... 