Thursday, July 2, 2015

Twinkle Toes

Here's woofing at you :)
It was my turn to go and visit Dr W. yesterday but unlike the Dweeb - I LOVE going there and I especially love Miss Amanda who gives me LOTS of cookies. She already knows my greeting woof as I walk in the door and has my cookie waiting for me - yeah I have her wrapped around my paw already :)

I went to see Dr W. for a couple things this time - one was to check on my mouth and he says it is healing up beautifully. Mom has also been worried about my funky little twinkle toes as she calls them. Some of you may not know but my front feet have degenerative arthritis in the them which has caused my toes to become deformed and grow sideways. Dr W. also noted I have arthritis is my knee joints too now but trust me - that won't stop this Big Dog from going for his daily patrols.
My twinkle toes
My lefty that points right :)














Mom was also worried because I have been limping a lot more lately and she thought maybe it is as a result of a couple things but she also wanted to check I hadn't fractured a toe or anything. The first issue is our new house is completely tiled throughout (except the screened in sun room) and that is a bit hard on my feet. Mom has put down lots of rugs but it is not the same and a nice thick carpet with padding underneath. (We are renting our house and sadly are not allowed to install carpet :( The other thing is the grass here in Florida. It is either Bermuda or St Augustine grass - we are not sure exactly which it is but what we do know is it that it has very thick spiky leaves with rough edges and I do not like walking on it at all! Dr W. checked my twinkle toes all over and couldn't find any fractures or breaks but he did say the arthritis is really bad and he agreed the hard floors and grass are not helping. He said he would be okay for me to wear my boots more often even inside the house. He has also added a new arthritis medicine and some additional pain medicine so hopefully that will help.

The last thing Mom wanted to check was my eyes - she noticed they are looking blueish and Dr W. says it is quite common in older dogs - it is a result of cornea losing some of the protein that keeps them clear and is the most common cause of progressive blindness. He says it probably makes it a little harder for me to see at night and in the day it  would be like I am wearing sun glasses. He also said we doggies adapt very easily to losing some of our sight and it will be many years yet before it gets really bad.

Dr W also checked my Thyroid levels (can you believe that Dweeb brother of mine has the same thing now he such a copy-dog). I have been on medication for mine for the last two years and my levels are holding steady which is good.

Overall it wasn't the best of news we could of got but it could of been worse and we happy it is all things we can deal with. Dr W also told Mom he will do everything in his power to make sure I am as comfortable as possible so I can get on with my Bark Ranger duties.

26 comments:

  1. Well I finks you've got handsome twinkle toes!!!!!
    Its good to hear they've got your Thyroid medication worked out, paws crossed they can balance out Denny's as well
    Does the warmer weathers in Florida help your Arthurs-Eye-Test?
    Most impawtantly, its very good to hears that this is not gonna interfere wiv your Bark Ranger duties 'cos yous got some amazing Parks to patrol out there!
    Loves and licky kisses
    Princess Leah xxx

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  2. My older sister Nettie is practically blind. I hate it for her.
    You should get your mommy to give you a special treat. The dogter office can be very overwhelming.
    Xoxo MaddiethePug

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  3. Poor Reilly, thats sounds painful. I hope the new medication helps.

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  4. Sounds like a very nice vet. Glad you can wear your boots inside, and we hope the new medicine helps a lot!

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  5. Oh boy, it's tough getting older. I'm glad you have a nice, caring doctor to help you out.

    Is there a canine acupuncturist around you? That has helped a lot of dogs I know with pain/arthritis issues.

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  6. aww you've got cute twinkle toes my sweet friend! Tile is so hard on your feets. Mom/dad didn't realize it until they went with the hardwood floors how it would be for me. They also put down plenty of rugs for me. Hope you feel better my friend! XOXO - Bacon

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  7. Oh poor Reilly! Life sounds a bit tough on you but we're glad that you've found a caring vet who is there to help you out. We're also glad to hear that you can still continue your Bark Ranger duties. Hope the meds can help so you won't be in pain.

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  8. What a wonderful doctor you have Riley!!! We are so happy all of the things you went over are manageable....and hope the new medicine help your twinkle toes feel better!!
    Smileys!
    Dory, Jakey, Arty & Bilbo

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  9. We're so glad about your good check-up. Be careful with those toes. Can your Mom put in area rugs for you to walk on?

    Charlee's human agrees about the grass in Florida. It's one of things she misses about home in NYS, where the grass is nice and soft.

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  10. Sounds like a good visit. Our eyes changed a bit too
    Lily & Edward

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  11. We need to speak to the girls at our vet's office. They don't have cookies waiting for us like they do for you, Reilly! We hope the new medicine works wonders for you!

    Love ya lots♥
    Mitch and Molly

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  12. Mom says that trouble with her feet is the one thing she really doesn't like. It is hard to do much of anything if your feet hurt. We hope those boots will help you inside on the tile floors. Maybe your Mom could try some of those padded mats they sell for use in the kitchen where you have to stand a lot time. You might need a lot of them though:( Hope this new medicine helps.

    Woos - Ciara and Lightning

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  13. Hope your feet feel a lot better with the medicine.
    Dip and Elliot x

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  14. I thinks your feeties are pawsome Reilly! Sorry they cause you so many problems though. I am glads your Moms and your vettie have figured out a plan to help with your pain. Nows, abouts those cookies....how do I gets some of those????
    geesh. add that to my list....
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  15. Hope your new medicine helps. Sounds like your new dogtor is nice
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Mabel

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  16. You LIKE the Vet? Bella registers on the Richter Scale, she's so scared. Now, we think walking on sand might be the best for you.....help your feets. But then, what do we know, we're dogs. We must say your Vet does sound very caring--and that's what you want.

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  17. We are lucky we have good Vets aren't we? I was just there yesterday for bloodwork for my dental this week!
    We are all sending good wishes that your boots help and that the meds help.
    We sure wish you didn't have to take all of those meds, but they are impawtant to make you feel better!
    Barks and licks and love, Dakota

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  18. Lilac and Blueberry both had SLO, which is an autoimmune disease that affects the toenails, and Flattery has corns, but this is the first time we've seen twinkle toes! Good luck with your boots! Flattery doesn't mind hers and they do help, but Mom never lets her wear them when she can't watch her. She's afraid she'd eat them!


    Bunny

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  19. We are glad you have a wonderful dogtur to help get you in the best shape. Twinkle, twinkle little toe . . .

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

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  20. Tile floors are tuff on da arthur-eye-tis - I wears socks when I are in da kitchen sometimes and it helps some.

    P.S. - I got da blue tint to my eyes too now.

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  21. Crikey Reilly ...... you sure are a brave bloke, aye?? I'm still very young but we've got tiled floors everywhere in our house too and they are awful hard on my bones. Mum has soft beds everywhere for me to lie on. People think I'm spoiled with so many soft beds but I sure appreciate them. Our Harri had those thyroid problems. He was on medication all his life. It sure helped him. Keep up the good work on the bark ranger duties.

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  22. Reilly, it sounds like you're in good hands with Dr W. Gail says she understands the spiky grass problem in some parts of the USA. Here in the UK it is always lovely and soft on the paws. Tell your Dad to get a transfer! Our ground is often nice and soft and muddy too. And we have lots of beaches.
    Toodle pip!
    Bertie.

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  23. Katie's entire left front leg was turned in, and she was limping on it from the arthritis. Her claws were also worn off at an angle. We took her off all the prescription meds over a year ago and have been using natural supplements. Since January, she has been on Rejenease and the limping disappeared within a month and she got her desire to walk more back. Since going to the chiropractor her front left leg is also straightening back out. She still has a lot of issues, but she is a 75 lb, 13 year old lady. We are just happy she isn't on any meds that will potentially harm other organs and our treatments are working for her quite well. The chiropractor has also almost eliminated the dragging of her back paw as well.

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  24. You are aging nicely Reilly and it sounds like nothing too serious but your mom is taking the best care of you she possibly can. Love Dolly

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  25. Hey guys, wanted to make sure you get this so I'm posting on your blog. The product Katie uses which has helped so much is Rejenease, there are many with similar names and from your comment I think you had a similar but different one. We did the double dose the first month and then went to the normal dose. The link to it on Amazon is: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=a9_sc_1?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Arejenease&keywords=rejenease&ie=UTF8&qid=1435932798 Every dog is different, but this has changed Katie's life big time!

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  26. So glad you have such a good dogtor! I agree that St. Augustine/Bermuda grass is evil it makes me break out in a rash :/ We hope you get back to your patrol real soon.

    xoxo, Matt

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Thank you for woofing at us - we read each and every one of them