0 Comments
I am gratified to be able to report that Owl is doing MUCH better! If I were to rate him on a scale 1-10, 10 being normal, I would say a solid 9.5. He is walking a straight line! Active. Happy. Jumping. No discernible head tilt. The only things I am seeing are that he appears to stumble slightly in the rear when turning right, he has a minute wobble when lifting his leg to pee, and his movement appears very slightly rigid, like he is not 100% trusting or finding total balance. I would say most people would not notice these things but I am seeing them because I know Owl so well.
Thank you for all your support! "I thought I was going to watch him die!" I am glad this turned out okay and thanks for this warning about elevators posted by Tamara Seibert on Facebook today. I am reminded of Mary Trinkle who raised standard longhairs on Long Island years ago. There was a small elevator in her home for her husband Fred who was confined to a wheelchair. Mary lost a dog when the elevator door broke his neck. Those of us who travel with dogs use elevators on occasion. Let this be a reminder to use them with good awareness! Post by Tamara Seibert. I am so looking forward to my first litter in 4.5 years! Owl mated Taya last evening, on the 9th day of her cycle. The mating took place just as nature intended, with no interference from me. Taya was willing and Owl was eager, and I was happy that it went so well.
Later, though, I noticed that Owl looked a bit 'strange.' He was hunched a little and mildly hesitant to walk but it was subtle. He lifted his leg fine but wobbled just enough for me to notice it. He retched a couple of times, then seemed better. At bed time at 0200, Nexus and Viljo went into their crates and I put Owl on the bed with me. He had a slightly vacant expression as if he wasn't feeling well, then he sighed, stretched out, and went to sleep. At 0415, I was awakened by a noise. Owl had fallen out of bed. I heard him retch. I got up. Two minutes later, it looked for all the world like Owl was having a full blown seizure. On his side, arched, rigid, flailing. It went on, too long, before he settled. Oh God. I went out into the 15 degree night to start the car and put a crate in there. I put Owl into his crate in the bedroom while I dressed. I heard sounds like he was seizing again. Owl's crate was moving and shaking from his spastic movements inside. I carried him out to the car and headed for Medvet in Columbus, 90 minutes away. In the car, there were two more episodes, both of them brief, when it sounded like Owl was seizing again. Each time ended with a soft whine. I noted the times and kept thinking, praying, Oh Lord, PLEASE don't tell me I just bred Tayter to Owl on the same day I find out he has a seizure disorder. The ramifications of that scenario hit like a ton of bricks. Thankfully, what I was told three hours later was that Owl is having a bout with Vestibular Dis-ease. Vertigo. A problem with his balance. My dog is dizzy. Oh, you could have cut my relief with a knife. The vet was great but he wanted to consult a neurologist. He said he could tell me what the problem was but could not tell me why. Is the problem originating with the inner ear(s) as is most often the case? Or is it, worst case scenario, coming from the brain stem? He left me to think about what I wanted to do. Well, I just got a smart phone on Wednesday and, boy, is it smart! I consulted my phone for information on Canine Vestibular Disease. I learned that it is actually not uncommon, affects mostly older dogs but sometimes middle age dogs, too. (Owl and his O littermates will be 10 in June. The fact that they are all very healthy and active at nearly 10 is one of the reasons I decided to use Owl in the first place.) One vet had an article saying she basically adopts the wait and see plan; improvement is often complete all the way to baseline, and often within 72 hours. So I told the vet I was taking Owl home and he was fine with that. They hydrated him with some subcu fluid and an injection of anti-nausea med. They gave me the same medication, Maropitant, in pill form, to be given once a day for the next three days. Before I left, I asked the vet why the symptoms mimicked seizures so closely. I said that I have seen seizures a number of times, in dogs and especially in humans. Earlier this year, in fact, we had a patient who seized repeatedly something like 20 times before we got him transferred to a medical unit. The vet said basically, the vertigo was making Owl nauseated which is why he was retching. When he fell on his side that first time at home, and flailed, it was because he could not find equilibrium. Owl literally could not tell up from down. He was arched and rigid because he was trying hard to right himself. He was moving and shaking the crate when, again, he was trying to find balance and couldn't. And some of the body tension likely came from finding himself in a frightening predicament. Outside of the vet hospital, I put Owl on the grass to see if he had to pee and he sat there looking like a bobble dog in someone's car window. When we got home, Owl did walk - like he might walk if he'd been into the Vodka - and lifted his leg and peed. He ate some soft food (canned cat food!) that I fed him with a spoon. He didn't want anything to drink. Tonight, Owl is walking better but moving sideways, like a fast-moving crab. He has a head tilt and a bit of a body wobble. No retching though, no falling or flailing, and he knows which way is up. Owl appears much more relaxed. Until I open the front door and he sees the cat on the porch. Until he pulls toward the kennel building where Taya is. : ) Nice to have a warm day off and work on a couple of projects! Tonight, I looked through more photos I took earlier this month. This one is Taya and Viljo on the road muddied by melting snow.
"Snow falling and night falling fast, oh, fast In a field I looked into going past, And the ground almost covered with snow, But a few weeds and stubble showing fast." Desert Places by Robert Frost Nostalgia and sadness, regrets and gladness. It has been one of those days, fairly uncommon for me, that I have to really work to sort things out. I am thinking mostly about the passing yesterday of Hannelore Heller. During my 40 years 'in the breed' no one has had more influence on standard longhaired dachshunds than Hannelore. That is how active, committed, knowledgeable, and instrumental she was. It is truly impossible to express the impact that Hannelore made. But there are exceedingly few in the forest of longhairs today that are not rooted somewhere in time to her life-long labor of love. Hannelore was strong and smart, and she smiled and laughed a lot. I remember that she was amused when my H litter was born in 1987, (sired by DC Han-Jo's Cassius L), and I told that I had named two of the four puppies Hanna and Hella. I met Joe & Hannelore Heller in the '70s when I was a teenager. I believe that Hannelore was specialing Java at the time. Joe had a dog supplies business at the shows. He occasionally asked me to help him and he paid me well. My mother, Hannelore, and a few times Maria Hayes, all of them German born and raised, would be at some show with their beloved 'Germanic' longhairs and converse in an eclectic mix of German, English, and dog show vocabulary. It is nice to think that they are visiting again. I can imagine the reception that Joe is giving his beautiful and devoted bride. Speaking of devotion, Sue Hauser promised Joe before he died that she would see to it that Hannelore was taken care of. And she did, for so many years, in so many ways, and so very well. Sue, I admire what you have done beyond my ability to describe it. I regret that I did not visit again in the year that it has been since I last saw the two of you. Rest in Peace, in God's Love, and in your tremendous contributions to all of us, dear Hannelore. You have been called an icon. Yes. You were. Are. Ashley Roseberry, owner of Kurbis, sent these great shots from her place in Michigan. Talk about snow photos!
Thank you, Ashley! What a sparkling, jewel-encrusted landscape this morning! Clouds were rolling in while I was out taking photos but some of them are pretty good. I am only posting this one before I leave for work.
Opened my eyes this morning, saw sunshine in the window and couldn't get out of bed fast enough! Now I am waiting for the sun to move up over the evergreens and shine on all those iced up trees!!!
In the meantime, these are photos of my dogs that I took on our walk early evening yesterday. I DID figure out how to walk four dogs and carry my camera, too. And I felt safe carrying it with me on the icy road because I had on my Yaktrax. If not for the Yaktrax, I would not have been able to walk the road. Played around a bit and had some fun with effects, too. I haven't quite figured out how to tone down the reds. It shows up pretty dark and brilliant in snow. But then, they are brilliant. : ) My neck of the woods this morning. It is beautiful! But I cannot say as much for the road since I must be driving on it later today. I went out and took a few photos after the dogs came back in. We don't have a lot of snow but with a layer of ice on top, snow shoes may have been useful.
Breakfast afterward included a chicken & pineapple hot dog cut up into what I call 'pan luck.' It was good! Who would think? Apparently not many. Kroger had them marked way down as a manager's special! I took some photos of Owl outside in the dark in the snow tonight. Then I cropped and edited the very last and best photo and this is what I came up with. I like it. But that's easy, because I like Owl! I am learning a lot about photography as I go along trying things out. It is fun to discover what works and what doesn't.
I have added an article reflecting my thoughts on dachshund coat types, primarily longhaired coats, with regard to suitability for field work.
Stan Knoll and Oslo bested an entry of 59 dachshunds in Kirbyville, Texas. They are pictured with Absolute judges Ashley Dumas (left) and Sandi Myers. Super proud of Daddy and Oslo today! Called back second in a class of 15 Field Champion Dogs, Oslo won the class, then went on to win his 14th Absolute! Thanks to the judges and all the people who put on the trial. It was a great weekend! - Laura Knoll, MS In the class of 8 Field Champion Bitches, Oslo's daughter Seiko had the second best run in 1st series, was High after 2nd series, then finished in second place. Super Seiko was handled by her owner Laura Knoll.
Congratulations to Stan & Oslo, and Laura & Seiko!! Seiko was called back 2nd of 8 Field Champion Bitches and finished 4th. The field trials this weekend are hosted by the Dallas-Fort Worth Dachshund Club and being held at Windsong Acres in Kirbyville, Texas. Seiko was handled by her owner Laura Knoll who is responsible for this excellent photo of Seiko with her prize! Thank you, Laura, and Congratulations to both of you!
Cliff, this is just awesome all the way around. Congratulations to you and your super tracking partner Tasha! Good girl, Tasha! I will write it up, a really hard track with track 1.94 miles and ran him to the bank of the Mississippi River. What a great way to end the season. - Cliff Shrader, LA This afternoon, Viljo and Taya were playing hard and Taya dashed under the dining table. She was effectively surrounded by table legs and chair legs and rungs. She was daring Viljo to come in after her. Queen of the Fort, a version of King of the Hill. As I watched, Viljo picked up what is left of some stuffed toy they have demolished and tossed it in the air. Taya watched it hit the carpet while Viljo watched Taya. He was using it to entice her to come out into the open! Taya wanted that thing and tensed as if to go after it, but in the end, she didn't fall for it. But I thought it was quite clever of V to do this!
I came out of the kitchen this morning to see Owl watching KITTY TV - again. He is obsessed with the star of that show; never misses an episode if he can help it. Thinking that my view of the dog and cat 'lineup' was interesting, I went to get my camera. No concerns that Owl would move. He would be watching as long as Kiki was on screen!
I have been thinking about my nephew Michael Nance ever since I realized, after the fact, that his 30th Birthday was this month. Today's throwback Thursday photo, then, had to be one of Michael. Here he is with me in 1996.
Michael, age 12, had flown by himself from South Carolina so that we could participate in the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure that year. GOBA is an annual event with more than 2000 cyclists riding a week-long tour of Ohio. Starting June 16, the '96 GOBA tour began at the county fairgrounds in Mansfield, Ohio, traveled a circuitous northeastern route up to Cedar Point on Lake Erie, then a southwestern circuit which ended in Mansfield again on 22 June. 350 miles altogether, we saw a lot of Ohio and it is a great state. (Every state is great if we really see something of it!) This photo was taken at Seneca Caverns which was a stop on the tour. Happy 30th Birthday, Michael! I see a German Chocolate Cake in your near future. In the aftermath of the proposed (and rescinded) revision to our breed Standard this month, I have finished an article expressing my thoughts about piebald. It was important for me to do it. Some things need to be said.
Viljo has so many facets of character that I don't really just want to say that he is funny. But he IS funny. He reminds me of Karl in that respect. Like some people, I guess, Viljo strikes me as humorous and makes me laugh whether he intends to or not. He is FUN and I love having him around.
Here is a small album of Viljo from today. There might have been a few more photos. But as Viljo said in the last one below, I am wondering if you would be so good as to put that camera away now. And so I have. At least for today! In this weather, my dogs are getting more chew time than usual. After lunch, I gave them American-made rawhide to chew for 30 minutes so that I could get some stuff done. They started in on their rawhides, I watched 'em for a minute and decided to take photos. There went my 30 minutes!
The photos are interesting from a lighting perspective. All of them were taken in the same room. As I have said before, the coloration of red dogs is an evolving, revolving light show anyway, and different lighting makes the red tones even more interesting. The 1st and 3rd photos, the older Owl and Nexus, have more artificial lighting, because Owl claimed the couch and Nexus the dog bed which are further from the patio door. 2nd and 4th photos, Taya and Viljo, were taken on the carpet nearer the natural lighting from the glass door. Natural light is really beautiful, isn't it. Hey, Anna Knoll in Mississippi, have I got a snowball for you!
Taya also loves this stuff. You can come up here and the two of you can go dashing through the snow. This afternoon after it stopped snowing, the wind became stronger and I looked out and watched snow cyclones dance! I bundled up (way, way up!), and went out into the frigid air and took something like 120 photos under an ever-changing sky. These are my Pick Four. I love living up high but there's a whole lot of wind crossing these hills!
|
A
February 2015
Categories
All
|