Nugget’s Aging Issues

It’s been a while since I uploaded an entry. That’s because I have been dealing with the passing of both my mother (for whom I’ve been caring the last six months) and my father (who’s been on dialysis for the last six years then developed cancer). They passed on from this earth two weeks apart.

Too tired to even get all the way into her
bed, Nugget hangs half out the back!

Nugget’s Knees
During all that’s been going on with their health issues, Nugget has also been a challenge. She is about 12 years old now. We got her when she was approximately 18 months old, according to the vet at the time, so that would make her 12th birthday around Christmas time. In the last year in particular, her knees have been giving her huge problems. She has her good and bad parts of every day, but quite often, I am picking her up off the floor when her back legs have collapsed and she can’t get enough leverage to get back up. I keep her on carpet as much as possible, otherwise it’s like skating on ice for her when she is on the hardwood or laminate floors.

She sits like a little person, with her back legs straight out in front of her. When her knees get out of joint, she can’t bend them to get back up. Even her back feet seem to be just limp and drag backwards when her legs are moving forward at times. I take her every few months to an animal chiropractor who has helped her comfort factor a lot, with her back being so arched in the first place, which he attributes to a breed tendency coupled with perhaps some malnutrition when she was a puppy. But the vet said that the operation that corrects her knee joint problem would be too much for her to take at her age, and doesn’t always work as well as we would like for a long period of time. There’s also the fact that the dog has to be kept still for six weeks to recover. That alone would be extremely difficult!

Going to the bathroom…
When she needs to go to the bathroom, if she can hold it long enough till I get her outside, she looks like a helicopter coming in for a landing when she has to pee. Her back legs are way up in the air, moving side to side to try to keep her balance, with her back arched up. Then she comes down for a landing, but often will lose it, and get stuck sitting with her legs straight out again. When she has to do her business, she is often sitting on it and getting it on herself. It’s a little hard to get it out that way too, I imagine! So I am the one who has to wipe her rear and keep her clean!

Bathing, eating and drinking are another problem…
She doesn’t even lick her fur to give herself a bath anymore, as it’s just too painful and she can’t even reach the spots to clean herself very well. But usually that’s not too much of a problem, as she will often trip over her water bowl or something nearby, whirl around as she loses her balance, and fall in backwards, splashing water everywhere and getting her butt thoroughly wet in the meantime. Although it looks funny sometimes, her inability to care for herself and to even eat or drink without me holding her in place are heart wrenching. When she leans over to eat her food, her back legs rise up off the floor. If she is unable to maintain her balance or get her legs to come back down to earth again, she will twist around sideways and fall into her food or whatever else is nearby. She is constantly tripping over her dried food and scattering it everywhere. I have to change her water often, as it gets contaminated with everything from food particles to dog hair with her falling into it.

Sleeping & hanging out…
I have barricaded her into a padded area so she won’t hurt herself or get stuck when I am away from her or trying to get a good night’s sleep. I used to have her in the bedroom at night, but couldn’t get a peaceful sleep, as she was always restless and would pace for hours, banging into the wall and furniture in the meantime. When I first moved her downstairs for the night, I was awakened at midnight by the loudest howl I ever heard Nugget make. She hardly ever makes any noise, other than an occasional little groan or whine if she is hurting. She never really even barked. At this amazing sound, my sister (who was visiting) and I both bounded out of bed and raced down the stairs to see what the matter was. Apparently, she had fallen over the pillow on the marble hearth and gotten wedged between the fireplace and the home entertainment center, and couldn’t get up. She must have been trying for a while and decided it was time to voice her frustration!

When I hear her struggling in another room at home, I will call out to let her know I am coming to rescue her. She often will stop struggling and just sit there, looking up at me pathetically, waiting for me to come and save her strength. In struggling she sometimes has gotten sores on her rear, sometimes bleeding, and the fur on her tail is getting scarce where she sits on it. I keep thinking I should put her in doggie diapers or some other padding for her rear.

What are your thoughts? Have you had any similar experiences with your dog? Let me know what you are doing with your dog’s aging or other health issues. Maybe we can pass on the information to help each other retain just a little more sanity, and in the meantime, help our best little friends out too!

Enjoy your little blessings!
Nugget’s Mom

P.S. If you're interested in seeing other pictures of Nugget, she has her own calendar with lots of pictures at www.LoisGalloArt.com/NuggetCalendar.html