Spondylosis

[kjwarnold]

Steroids might help him feel a bit better but they can cause their own problems.  It's a good idea to have a long conversation with your vet about the side effects.  I think Brad has the idea, just give Dempsey the keys to the Gator (or if you're like us, the key is always in it) and let him motor around where he needs to go to do his job.

[Dempsy's Mom]

I liked that idea too!  Demps could drive Elsie around and tell her what needs to be done. 

I will definitely inquire about Adequan.  Thank you. 

 

Edited April 4, 2017 by Dempsy's Mom

[pkcrossley]

steroids can do wonders, they are a short term fix --but sometimes that is what is needed. after a break you can probably use them again without worrying a lot about side effects. in my experience the side effects with people, dogs, cats and horses are marked --some good, some bad. but they certainly do the job. tramadol seems variable. it is powerful. some animals and people can take it long term with very few side effects, others get dopey and depressed --see how your experience with it is (it might take more than three days to know how it would work long term). previcox seems less powerful but might target the problem areas better. we have horses on it very long term, most do well, a few experience intestinal problems (big deal for horses, not so much for dogs). pain management takes time and experimentation. but i want dempsy to feel better right now!

[lindasue]

Going back to acupuncture - my last dog (golden/shepard)) went for it for the last 3 years of her life.  It worked wonders.  Our local vet has quite a doggie/cat following on the elder pet circuit.  She would go every 3 weeks; the difference was profound.  It gave her 3 extra pain free years.  Would highly recommend it if you can find it. 

 

[Dempsy's Mom]

Dempsy has a sneeze.  He sneezes from time to time during the day and last night he had a sneezing session.  Started yesterday - I was in a moldy grain bin the day before and I was covered in mold spores - he may have sniffed my clothes when I dropped them on the floor to take a shower.  I know that my respiratory is slightly labored.  Moldy crop is horrible to deal with or could it be from the meds?  He tried hard to keep up with Elsie during our poo walk this morning but then decided to sit and observe.

Yesterday I noticed this tumor by Dempsy's eye.  All this has really came on suddenly.  Soon we will be in the fields planting and poor Demps will be left for hours.  There is never a good  time for medical issues.  But Demps is happy, alert, still loves to let everybody know that this is his farm and everybody else is expendable.  

[Sam I Am]

Glad he is still the farm manager ....just keeping the home stead safe instead of the fields seems to be his responsibility now. An important job! Someone has to protect hearth and home.

Rosie can get those sneezing fits plus post nasal drips that bother her all night, when she has gotten into something mouldy in the yard. I give her a bit of Benadryl and it help.  I wonder if what's on Demps head is just a sebaceous cyst? 

Any answers to trying Adequen?

Edited April 8, 2017 by Terrier lover

[Malcolm's Dad]

Oh poor Dempsy, another problem to deal with. Hope gets some relief soon.

[hheldorfer]

Dempsy, you don't deserve to be having all these problems - especially with planting season coming up.  

Lori, sometimes when Buffy gets an attack of the 'sneezies' I spray a little saline solution up her nose.  Seems to help to flush things out and give her some relief.  It's not easy to get her to cooperate, though . . .

[LindaMC]

Maisie has sneezing fits at times, both regular and reverse sneezing, especially in the spring and Benadryl has been very helpful.  I am so sorry to hear that Demps is having to deal with all these problems.  When my old Lab Cocoa was 10 years old, he started having problems with his rear legs, protruding discs on his spine for one thing and his vet recommended Laser treatments which I found to be very helpful.  He was also given Tramadol and it helped.  You have a lot of great information here and I hope that Demps can benefit from some of the advice.  You gotta love these stoic little Cairns, they sure do find a way to muddle through no matter what.

Feel better Demps....

[hheldorfer]

Lori, I know you're very busy but wanted to check in and see how Dempsy is doing.  Give him a hug for me.

[sanford]

On 4/8/2017 at 11:15 AM, Dempsy's Mom said:

Yesterday I noticed this tumor by Dempsy's eye.  

 

Edited April 10, 2017 by sanford

[sanford]

Lori, this is appears to be the same tumor that Ruffy has and it seems to be growing a bit larger. After diagnosing it as benign, the vet did not recommend removing it because he would have to anesthetize Ruffy, but I'm concerned about leaving it. I considered giving Ruffy homeopathic Thuja, but the instructions require that 4 - 5 of the minuscule granules be placed on a folded business card and slid under Ruffy's tongue 3 times a day... then I have to hold his muzzle shut before he spits them out! If I wasn't so concerned, I would laugh at the absurdity of any sane person attempting this with a cairn!

Instead I will swab the growth with apple cider vinegar, a dubious remedy, but harmless and easy enough to try. Let me know if your vet has any advice for treating Dempsy. Thanks!

Edited April 10, 2017 by sanford

[Dempsy's Mom]

Everything took a lot of time today.  I stopped by the vet office on my way out of town only to find Rachel with her arm up a cows behind.  Stupidly, I asked her if this was a bad time.  I think she was so dumbfounded by the question she said, "It's fine."  So stupidly again and was asking some questions about Dempsy's medicine and that's when the old cow gave her a thrashing against the side of the chute.  Finally, my senses came and I told Rachel that I would stop back later in the afternoon.  God bless her.

Finally I was arriving home just before 5:30 and I dared to stop in.  They are two female vets Rachel and Roberta, really like them both.  They looked like hell and I offered to stop back tomorrow, but they were very gracious.  Visited about where Demps was at.  Talked about Adequan and she says that they have good luck with that for Osteoarthritis but Demps has more of a malformation of his backbone.  She drew out his back bone on a piece of paper.  Showed me how his backbone curves and explained how it pinches.  They both thought to stay with the Tramadol.   They added Gabapentin to manage the pain.  They said that every dog is different and you just have to keep trying until you hit upon the drug that helps.  Demps won't get better.  So I asked Roberta how does a person know that you are helping them ..... I liked what she said .... "Everybody is different when it comes to their pets, but I like to say if you can list off 5 things that your dog really loves doing and gets really excited about and they still get excited about doing them and can do them - then they are enjoying life and you are doing good.  When the 5 things get down to about 3 things that your dog can do, but struggles to do and doesn't have that same excitement  you are probably getting to the point to where you can start questioning if they are happy and if the medication is doing it's job."  I am happy to report that I can list a whole bunch of things that Dempsy is excited about and can still do well.  When I finally got home - Dempsy was ready to get out of the house.  He went for a gator ride to check cows.  He ran around with Elsie out in the pasture.  I was surprised to see that he really did well compared to the past week and he didn't ask for help once.  So it was a good day.   I guess - live for the moment - celebrate what this day gives you and hope for tomorrow.

It's calving season, bull testing and these gals are busy.  There is a huge need for large animal vets and I admire these two so much - so I hated keeping them after hours - I neglected to ask them about Dempsy's tumor in the corner of his eye - I forgot all about it until I came to this site.  I am going back to see them in a week ... I am watching it ... there is a small change in color.  It is so close to the eye that I am wondering if they would do anything.  I will ask.  

I did ask about Dempsy's sneezing and they did not think that it was related at all to the medications.  He does this in the mornings a lot.  I am going to video him tomorrow and maybe I can just send that with a pic of the tumor to Rachel for a quick opinion.  I go back on Monday.  Right now I am going to get Demps and Els settled in and we are all going to bed.  Good night.  Thank you all.   

Edited April 11, 2017 by Dempsy's Mom

[tlwtheq]

My babies Shadow, Teddy, and Olie were nuisance-tumor kings (nuisance to them).  Most of the time, it didn't bother them.  Olie's more serious ones plagued him up to year 15 when he lost his life to cancer, 12/31/2015.  My first Cairn, Holdsworth developed a tumor (nodule that looks like the picture in the post) between his eyes right after we adopted him.. We had it removed almost right away.  It surprised me to see the eyelashes left intact...at that point (1983) never quite thought about dogs having eyelashes.  Holdsworth never developed more tumors.  For my baby Olie, his body had a tumor-fest starting around age 12.  I loved/love all my babies.  Nelly (almost 5 years) and Max (4 years), relatively new to us, are beautiful and healthy so far.  I've got to get myself right and post some pics.  Love to all Cairn Families, Tara

[Hillscreek]

  Demps sounds like he knows what he can manage and he has Elsie and you guys to help when needed. Plus wonderful vets to talk with and explain to you what's happening. That also is a BIG bonus. Large animal vets seem to be a special breed. On call 24/7 often. I remember our horse vet who also took care of our dogs. I had a retriever in crisis in the middle of the night -3.00am. I called and he answered at once "Bring her in". I got there and apologized and he just said, "Thank God she's not a cow twenty miles away that I have to drive to in a hurry. Let's have a look."!

 

[kjwarnold]

Don't you admire these young women who are brave enough to work with large animals, as opposed to sticking with just a small animal practice?  Our vet (who recently left for another opportunity) was about 4'10" and worked with both large and small animals.  That's got to be tough!

I'm glad Dempsey has perked up and had a good day.  Most likely there will be good days and slower days, but heck, I'm the same way.  Can't you just picture him later in the day, settling down with Elsie, hearing her talk about what she did running around with the cows and Dempsey giving her advice on what she did wrong and what she could do better?  He'll have a good view from the Gator and can provide direction!

[pkcrossley]

i can say as somebody with a degenerative back problem and some experience with both people and animals with the same: The condition does not get better. That doesn't mean that life doesn't get better. Problems can be managed and everybody deals differently with discomfort. Life and discomfort are related, for sure. But they are also different, and can have different patterns. We're all degenerating, but it doesn't mean every day life will get progressively worse.

[Kathryn]

2 hours ago, kjwarnold said:

Can't you just picture him later in the day, settling down with Elsie, hearing her talk about what she did running around with the cows and Dempsey giving her advice on what she did wrong and what she could do better?  He'll have a good view from the Gator and can provide direction!

Oh dear - "man-splaining"...cairn-style. You are better than that, Demps!

[hheldorfer]

As one aging Cairn to another, Buffy understands how Dempsy feels.  On her last walk yesterday she seemed stiff and not particularly interested.  Then she saw a squirrel at the bird feeder when we got home and ran like the wind to chase him off.  Sounds  like Dempsy is the same, saving his real energy for the things that matter to him.

It's not that I *want* Buffy to have aches and pains but, well, I have them too now and the two of us can rest in the recliner and commiserate in the evenings.  She has matured beautifully and I couldn't ask for a sweeter friend.

[hheldorfer]

Lori, I found this image on Twitter and thought you would like it.