This morning I wanted to try another errand with Thane. We had woke up early (or I should say I had) I convinced Thane to get up, which usually takes a while. While he is waking I begin my second tick check as he lays their limp trying to steal more Z's. I do the best overall checking when I am grooming him and can superficially brush hair one way or another (no skin contact) so I can reach to the skin with my hands to feel for anything odd, but I seem to have learned to take advantage of times when he is much more limp and thus easier to check over. Once I am satisfied that at least primary areas have been checked, I say OK Time to get out of bed. Over he rolls and off the bed he goes in a flash. This morning took a little more convincing to get that *flash*
Convincing myself and him that there was a reason to be up early, we got up and around, medified, fed, even laundry done- harnessed Thane up with cool packs and spares in the cooler just in case. We headed out the door with a package for Auntie Sharon at After Gadget blog. She is going to be my tester to let me know just how well the Tick Key works in comparison to the tool she uses, but I've digressed a bit here.
Yesterday our outing was not quite as successful as I had hoped for. That was my own fault for accidentally feeding Thane something that happened to have a known trigger for his reactivity. Today was a new day and I was hopeful of a better experience. Between the added supplements, the meds, the changes in his diet to accommodate one of the nasty tasting supplements, with a dog with a history of drug, supplement, and food triggers- all bets are pretty much off as to what kind of day we might wind up experiencing.
Today was going to be better. Today we walked to the post office with minimal issues. Thane had remembered the lack of curb cuts at the end of a side street near the college. I forgot of course and overrode his decision one block earlier to take a cross street down to the main road. We managed alright with me telling myself, Listen to Your Dog- he may have Lyme, he may not be his normal self yet, but he knows your town! LOL
There were very few instances until we got to the entrance to the college where Thane was pulling harder into harness. This is often triggered by meds and supplements but can be triggered by how calm I am and by his level of sound reactivity. I decided I would rather work with the instances than put his leader (head halter) on him. As we came up the hill we normally use to reach the exit pathway, Thane did a firm traffic check. I could not for the life of me figure why at first. I reached down and discovered that our winter storms had really played havoc with that side walk. There must have been at least a two inch difference in the two sections of side walk (maybe more). Rather than attempt that and feel the hard impact on my back, we found another way around it.
After that accomplishment, Thane began showing cautiousness. I worked with him the best I could but it was clear he had a discomfort with what had presented itself. There was a huge gathering of a team of bicyclists and when I say team there must have been thirty or more. I'm sure we have encountered them before in town over the months and years we have lived here, but today Thane made it clear he was not too gung-ho about the situation. It was short-lived though and once across the street, I took a few extra moments for composure before heading across one more street and down to the post office.
I got a chance to better evaluate the automatic door buttons for future training, dropped off the package, and came outside for some shade and water. Overall Thane was a far cry from what he was like a week and a half ago where had it not been for the carabiner leash attachment, I could have lost him when he went into such panic and intense reactivity. What he had done, though it needs some fine tuning work, was superb as far as I was concerned at that moment.
I had every intention of taking the bus home with him. That was my goal. It was hot and the distance probably a bit long for a dog who has had musculoskeletal Lyme involvement. When we got to the main street though, Thane got pretty reactive to some construction going on. I figured we would go down a block and then try and catch the bus from there so we did not have to sit right by the construction waiting to cross the street. Besides some off and on harder pull though, Thane acted like he wanted to walk it so we did. I did not think about the musculoskeletal side of things until after we were home. He has not exhibited any symptoms of that nature since coming home though.
After his routine wet towel wipe down for allergens, a brief check over for ticks (gosh I was tired- I've gotten out of shape these last few weeks), a short rest, and he was nudging his ball at me.
It was so overwhelming to me to come home to our gift from Nutramax. Its not a gift in the sense that I knew it was coming soon, but it is a gift in the sense that they provide these products for IAADP members. The Denosyl alone is close to three hundred dollars of gifted supplementation for Thane's treatment, not to mention the Cosequin they also sent. Some may look at these types of things as automatic benefits owed if they have membership in IAADP. I, on the other hand, look at them for just what they are- a gift that they don't have to give, but for which I am most grateful for.
I am different since Lyme Disease entered our lives. It seems everywhere we go, where there is overgrown plant life, I find myself thinking, I wonder if there are ticks in there, or there, or there. I don't obsess with it, but its something I really never thought about until that day when his labs were faxed to me with a positive titer for Lyme Disease.
Today though was a sign, despite some of the harder pull in harness spikes (some triggered by construction or unexpected occurrences), that life will be back to normal soon. We will probably take it easier tomorrow- maybe a short walk up to our problem tree behind a convenience store that needs some clipper action or something else simple.
One good thing I have noticed today which confirms my suspicions, Thane has not been licking. He has been bored without his walks and job. He has needed more than I could give him while he could not work. Life will be OK again, but I have to be careful to not forget that he does have some limitations right now. I don't want a decision I make to amplify his troubles. I know I have to live with the fact that he has this disease and that I was not proactive enough- but I don't want to live with regrets because I pushed him too far and made things worse.
So far, today, it looks like what we did was OK. Now Auntie Sharon can see if the tick keys I carry everywhere, are worth while or not. smile
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