The vet emailed me Samson's x-ray, so here you go! His right hip is fine, while his left hip is moderately malformed.
We've started giving Samson some glucosamine tablets. We're not doing the stuff from the pet section at the store, but instead we got stuff from the pharmacy section because glucosamine is glucosamine regardless of the packaging. ;) We're giving him two pills per day around the same time that he eats in the evening because they say it absorbs better when taken with a meal.
While I know the glucosamine pills won't heal his condition, we're hoping that it will help prevent his condition from worsening as quickly as it would without the glucosamine. Travis did a lot of research on it and has learned that the pills will help the cartilage rebuild as it is broken down by the malformed bone.
Anyways, I guess that's about it. We haven't really noticed any improvement in Samson's limping, but we've only been giving him the glucosamine for about three days, so we'll just have to give it a little time.
After a few weeks of treatment for lyme disease, we continued to see Samson occasionally limp on his left back leg, so we decided to have the vet do some x-rays to see if there's something else going on. Turns out there was: hip dysplasia. It's only of a moderate level in his left hip, but it still kinda sucks (though we are relieved it's not something horrible like bone cancer with which pyrs tend to have a bit of a reputation). There's not really anything we can do to fix it, and it will only get worse as he ages. All we can do is pain management.
We may try to get some glucosamine to help strengthen the cartilage in his hip joint, but that won't fix the problem which is the bone itself. Also, Samson's occassional dose of prednisone complicates things because he can't be given anything else while he's on it -- it just doesn't mix well.
We'll just have to take it a day at a time and see how it goes. Hopefully he'll age well, and his hip won't get too bad over time.
So here's Sam's two-week update after starting his treatment for lyme disease. His behavior is 100% back to normal, though every now and then we still see him limp a little. We're just grateful that he feels better and is acting like himself. :)
In other news, we've rented out our house for the Ole Miss vs. GA game this weekend so we're going to visit Travis' dad for a couple days. While cleaning the house and getting things in order, Travis commented on how Samson kept following him around. I think Sam knows that we're going somewhere and he thinks we're gonna leave him like we usually do for vacations. lol That big teddy bear will just break your heart! He'll be so excited tomorrow when he realizes he's coming with us.
So just a little update on how Samson is doing since we've been treating him for lyme disease for a little over a week now. We could tell he was feeling much better after just 24 hours of treatment, but he still seemed to have a fever, so the vet said to give him a daily dose of prednisone for four days. After that, we really started to see improvement.
In addition to the temporary prednisone, he also gets a dose of an antibiotic twice a day via a pill cleverly concealed within peanut butter-covered treats. Needless to say he loooooooooves to get his medicine, and he probably thinks peanut butter is a cure-all now. He even hurries to get back in after going out just so he can get a treat.
He's definitely spoiled now, and his appetite is obviously back in full force. :)
All in all, he seems to be back to his normal self, and we'll be able to stop his medicine next Wednesday. So thankful for this being an easily treatable illness!
We took Samson back to the vet yesterday after he refused to take a treat. A treat! He never turns down treats! Anyways, he had been acting pretty lethargic for about a month now, especially over the past week, so his not wanting a treat was a red flag that there was definitely something wrong with him. We loaded him up and left him at the vet's for the afternoon so they could do some blood work.
Turns out he has a low platelet count. Other tests didn't turn anything up, but the vet says that every time they see symptoms like this (low platelets, lethargy, fever, and limping) it's a form of lyme disease. Go figure! I'm glad that it's something minor that is easily treated with antibiotics. Sam was already acting more like himself by bedtime last night, so we're happy about that. Hopefully he'll be better before we know it!
Gave Samson and Abby their annual vaccinations (not including rabies) today. We bought the vaccines from a Tractor Supply Co. and administered the shots ourselves. They took it like champs and acted like they didn't feel a thing; I think this is more a tribute to their animalistic mentality of "acting like I'm in pain just shows weakness," and not so much my amazing skills at giving shots.
Samson was limping again yesterday but we haven't really noticed it since then, though he has been acting really lazy and not wanting to get up off the floor. I don't know if it's the weather or if he's getting arthritis or what. Time will tell, I guess.
Samson Stats: 5 years old, 128 lbs. Abby Stats: 1.5 years old
Samson's birthday was August 31st! Happy birthday, Sam! <3
I took Samson to the veterinarian today for a mini checkup so that we could get more refills for his prednisone (used to treat his allergies during the summer months). I came home on an early lunch break to load him up in the car and take him to the vet. I didn't make a big deal out of it, but Abby knew we were going somewhere and she got pretty excited. Unfortunately, she wasn't coming along. When I walked out with Samson and without Abby, she started barked kind of frantically as though she didn't want to be left alone. I felt so bad for leaving her, because after thinking about it for a minute, she's never been alone in the house --Samson has always been there with her -- so I think she didn't want to be left behind. I imagine she was also a little jealous that he was getting to go out and she wasn't. lol I don't know how long she barked after we left, but I don't believe she did it for very long; it's just not really in her personality to do that. By the time I got back from the vet, she was quiet and excited to see Samson. After a little while of greeting and loving on Sam, she noticed that I had come home, too.
As for the vet visit, Sam did ok. The vet is not his favorite place. Though he liked going when he was little, I think that all changed on a particular visit during which they clipped his nails and hit the quick a few times. He never enjoyed going there after that. And really, who could blame him?
Other than the anxiety he was experiencing, he behaved relatively well all things considered. He didn't try to bolt out the door or anything while we were in the waiting room, but he wasn't waiting calmly either -- lots of panting and restlessness instead. The vet finally came to weigh him and give him a good once-over. He weighed 128 lbs, and she said he looked good. So yay! New Rx of prednisone! :D
In other news, Abby likes to climb up on the couch a lot these days. She'll crawl up there usually when Travis is there on his laptop and she scoots close enough to him so that she's sure to be touching hm. It's pretty cute. And yesterday, she decided to just sit up there by herself for a little while. It was pretty funny:
