Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Trouble on a Tuesday - Getting Old

This week, in an attempt to get on our bed in the dark, Hailey, aged 12,  missed and fell and hurt her back. She didn't reach the bed because her night vision is not what it is (she is losing sight) and her bounce isn't what it was. In the fall, she hurt her back.


Hailey has 'tweaked' her back a few times in the past year and a half. We treat her with some pain pills and rest. With the extreme cold, rest was much easier this week. It still seems a little sensitive and every few days since, she has moved in a way that makes her 'meep' (her little sound when she is in pain). Other than this, she seems fine. We will monitor her. Previous flare ups have taken a few weeks to settle.

We are trying to teach her to use a ramp to the bed, but she is terrified of it. The Man has been putting her on the bed, if she comes in when the room is dark. We will continue to try the ramp and are wondering if she would like stairs to the bed. If anyone has experience with helping dogs who are slowing down, I would love it.

11 comments:

  1. oh what a bad moment for you professor Lee... we hope the meds and some rest can do the trick....

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  2. my heart is hurting for Hailey and all of you, it is so hard watching them age. I don't have any advice, since our dogs don't sleep on the bed due to my ultra light sleeper self. i have a friend who has dog steps, but Lee might be afraid of those too. maybe a wide ottoman at the place she jumps from? prayers for her back to heal and feel better soon... I have a bad back and like Lee it takes a few days of rest to get back where it was. hugs to our sweet girl

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  3. Hari OM
    Oh Hailey - I know it well, that slowing down, the loss of flex and spring...sigh...POTP for that back, hugs and wags, YAM-aunty xxx

    [Kten - for Jade, I put an ottoman near the foot of the bed that was pretty much half the height - that was all that was needed to cut the height difference. Jade was about the same size as Lee... Yxx]

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  4. In my experience, the only "stairs" which have worked well as exceptionally wide and deep, akin to Yam's ottoman (which is a good idea, if Hailey can see it). I solved the same problem once by putting a large dog bed next to the human bed (located where no one would trip over it in the dark), that was just high enough for my dog to feel she was next to us, but not high enough that she had trouble getting on it. It helped, though, that we use a foam mattress, without box springs, making our bed lower than most.

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  5. We're sorry to hear you are hurting, Hailey. Our paws are crossed that you feel better soon. We don't have any recommendations since we have a platform bed that is much lower to the ground than most beds, so it's always been easy for any age dog to get into.

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  6. Oh no. We send you lots and lots of AireZen and healing vibes, Hailey, and we hope you feel better soon.

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  7. Oh poor Hailey. We hope your back is better soon. I, Bertie, have also lost some of my bounce, and sometimes 'miss' these days why trying to jump into the car. But as I am only 9 kg, Gail can easily lift me up. Gail and I both think Yam's idea for a step is a good one. Or what about placing nommy treats on the ramp as an inducement to use it?
    Toodle pip!
    Bertie.

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  8. We are so sorry to hear about Hailey. Katy is 13 and her vision especially depth perception is an issue. Thankfully we had the porch replaced before winter this year as the old stairs gave a little and it was terrifying her as she tried to climb them. Now she almost uses Annie as a guide dog as she climbs them. That being said she snatched a cookie out of the air today.

    Katy stopped sleeping on the bed when Bailey died but when she turned 12 she stole a pair of my fuzzy socks and started cuddling with a blanket Bailey used to have on the end of our bed. Now she insists on being tucked in at night. She never would have tolerated this when she was younger but now a nightly routine.

    As for help prior to COVID both dogs were getting monthly chiro and dog massage. Sadly, we've been able to get occasional chiro appts, but the massage seems to have disappeared and I haven't been able to locate a backup plan. While Katy is slowing down she is much more limber than Bailey was in his senior years. I can only think the massage really helped.

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  9. We hope Hailey can get some relief from her pain. Chester is getting older now too, and hates to go up stairs. He'd rather sit at the bottom and bark for us to come down to him.

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  10. Mom let me practice my ramp by putting it flat on the floor for a few days. We cuddled on it and she gave me treats there, too. Then she put it up to the bed and put my treats up there. Good luck, H. Hope you are all better soon. xoxo

    Love and licks,
    Cupcake

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  11. We are so sorry about Hailey's fall. We hope she is feeling much better soon. She might be less intimidated by stairs, but the idea of an ottoman might work too.

    Woos - Lightning, Misty, and Timber

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