We've moved!

Sierra's journey continues, but we've moved. I have combined her story with other tales of occupational therapy at www.eponatherapyservices.com

Hanging in there

Sierra is still hanging in and staying mobile. She is able to walk household distances, but has more trouble with community distance (going for a walk). With fall coming, it would be a good time to work on increasing her endurance before winter weather.

The ups and downs of DM

We've been doing swimming this summer, but less so then last year. She needs help to keep swimming with her hind legs this summer. Underwater treadmill would probably be more helpful at this point as it would require more hind leg use. She seems to enjoy the swimming and seeing her doggie friend Milkway while she is there.


She has both good days and days that are more difficult. I judge many of her days by how well she is able to get up/down the steps, whether or not she plays in the yard and how much trouble she has getting up from laying down. The DM journey is full of ups and downs.

Back to swimming

Sierra is back swimming again and has been very perky since her swim yesterday. We just did 5 minutes in the pool as I didn't want to push her too hard the first day. She swam the five minutes with ease and wasn't too tired the rest of the day. I am going to try for 7-10minutes tomorrow or Thursday (depending on the weather).

I am also going to work with the families dog that has been kind enough to share their pool with me as their dog is having some hind end weakness. Hopefully, I will have a video to follow in the upcoming weeks.


I only wish the water was this nice:

The pool water was a chilly 70degrees this week.

Waiting for aquatics

Sierra is having more mobility problems and has lost some muscle mass since she last hurt her foot/nail. I know pool season is just around the corner and I am hoping that will make a difference again in her mobility. Her biggest problem is the back three steps. There are too few for her to walk down carefully, so she tries to jump down her back legs and often looses her balance and falls. I try to cue her to go slowly, but she isn't always careful enough.

We also had some issues with the fabric from the CoolAroo bed. It's a stiff canvas and when Sierra sleeps her legs kick while she dreams. Since she has poor sensation she doesn't wake up while kicking her legs. This was causing rubbing and then bleeding on her legs. It required wrapping and protecting her legs. I am now using pipe insulation on the edges of the beds to protect her legs- it's been working great.

Finally, Sierra cut her leg while getting into the self service tub at the groomer. There was a lot of bleeding, but it healed pretty quickly and didn't have much of an impact on her overall. We are hoping to keep what skills she has until she is able to get back to swimming, then we might get some mobility and endurance back.

Canine Rehabilitation course tomorrow.

I am very excited to be attending the first Canine Rehabilitation course for occupational therapists tomorrow. It's going to be a great day with hands on training. I feel like I will come back with greater insight into OT's role in canine rehabilitation as well as tools for continuing Sierra's rehabilitation.

The last few weeks have been tough for her. She tore open a nail on a walk around town and has been limited to the backyard and house. She seems to have lost some muscle mass and stability. I am glad swimming season is just around the corner.

Spring is here

Time to get back into a walking program with Sierra.  She really loves her Coolaroo beds and they are really good at supporting her.  In addition, if she has anymore incontinence issues I can easily place a chux pad under them!  Here she is in her new bed

I bought the first bed in December and just purchased a second Coolaroo for downstairs.  She loves sleeping in this thing.

We're hanging in there!

Sierra has been hanging in through the winter.  She enjoys a quick run through the snow.  Here are a few pictures of her in her snow blanket for playing outside.

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Sierra went to the beach

Sierra got to take a few long walks on the beach this weekend. The beach is an ideal place to walk a dog with degenerative myelopathy due to the forgiving nature of the sand. She was able to walk for about 45 minutes the first day and over an hour on the second. This jump in the amount of exercise was a bit rough and it looks like she may need a few days of recovery, but it certainly helped improve her mood in the middle of January. Sierra did well in the car, but we continue to have difficulty with good positioning in the car. The back seat really isn't big enough to allow her to move around at all and the only movement she can get is a little weight shift or the weight shifts through the cars' acceleration and decelaration.

When traveling with dogs with limited mobility consider the following tips:

1. try to ensure good positioning and alignment when lying in the car (make sure all limb are aligned and not being crushed, twisted or laid on)
2. make sure your dog can shift his/her weight to avoid pressure sores, turn your dog from side to side every hour if they are unable to weightshift
3. offer water
4. stop and take rest breaks and get your pet out of the car, even if it's just onto the grass at a rest stop, allow them to take a potty break (including expression of the bladder if necessary) to minimize bladder infections
5. try to keep travel calm and decrease stress, some pets love to travel and enjoy the change of scenery and some become more stressed, know your dog and choose accordingly
   

winter blues

Sierra has been having a harder time getting around. She is a bit more unstable and the lack of exercise through the winter is really starting to show. If the weather will get a bit warmer it would be helpful for taking her on short walks. Right now her time outside is very limited. I wonder how much mobility and strength she will regain this year if we can get back to swimming. Also, she will be going in for her senior vet visit again soon.

Sierra in the snow

Waiting for winter

I had been hoping for winter with it's cooler weather for Sierra. Well it's here now and it's not all I hoped it would be. The weather seems to be hard on her when she is outside for dinner. It's also hard for me to be motivated to take her for walks when it's windy and very cold.

She is doing well overall. She is still ambulatory, but has sudden falls when walking. She is able to walk up and down the stairs without help. She has not had any more episodes of incontinence. She is still on the supplements, which truly seem to make a difference. Exercise would also make a difference, but I've been less then successful keeping up with that piece.

Overall, she is happy and just like her "normal" self.

Just DM

Sierra is still doing well and still ambulatory. She has good days and bad days, but her decline is gradual and I appreciate each day. She is eating her supplements well these days with very little encouragement needed. She has had a few incidences of urinary incontinence. I am using people's chux pads under her bed to protect the floor as a just in case measure. I have noticed that as Sierra gets more ataxic she continues to have good righting reactions and often catches her balance before she falls. I appreciate this and hope to keep working on and preserving her righting reactions. There are many others going through the DM journey and I would love to hear from you- leave us a comment.
Sierra this summer with the DM sit and poor hip positioning.

Down the DM journey

Sierra has been doing well since recovering from the UTI with no more night accidents. She has finished her round of antibiotics and is already showing a good recovery overall. I notice that she is less ataxic after being off the antibiotics. She seems to be doing well in this weather, but I would like to be taking her for more walks.

Vet results

Sierra had a UTI. This explains her urinary incontinence. She has been dry at night since Friday (actually before her vet appointment). She is back eating her supplements at each meal and has shown a rebound in her standing. She fatigues a bit slower since being back on the supplements (from the Clemmons protocol). I am working towards a regular walking schedule again soon.

Vet appointment

Sierra has a vet appointment this weekend. She's been having nighttime incontinence. I am thinking she has a bladder infection. I am going to get that checked out and hope that it will clear up the incontinence issues. It's very hard to find doggie diapers LARGE enough for a great dane! I am laying down a plastic sheet under her bed to protect the floor and made clean-up easier. Back to the store tomorrow for another attempt to find the right diaper size. Who'd have thought?

All is well

I didn't forget to update. Without swimming there is less to write about.

Sierra has had some feeding/eating issues- mostly centering around how much she was eating. Her appetite appeared to drop, but part of me thinks she was fatiguing during mealtime and she was giving up. She is now back to eating 2/3 chicken backs during each meal. She has also accepted the kelp supplement again and this is being used to cover her pill supplements (E, C, B, Fish oil, CoQ10, garlic, lecithin and probios).

Swimming is over for the summer. We never got back into swimming after my vacation the end of August. The mornings were too cold and my afternoons are busy with work. She is losing some of the muscle mass she had built. I have noticed the changes in 3-4 weeks.

I need a better winter routine, but haven't put the time into writing it down yet. Sierra is still ambulatory and navigates the stairs with close supervision. She is doing well overall.

I have been thinking of doing some consulting for other families with DM dogs to help with household safety and comfort for the dog and caregivers.

Coming fall

The weather is quickly changing and swimming is coming to an end. I am hoping the cooler weather is easier on Sierra. She has not gotten back to eating 100% as she was before the antibiotics, but she is doing better and starting to eat her pills again. I have to come up with an alternate plan to swimming for the fall/winter. I plan on taking her for accupuncture, walking with weights and I guess I should get back to my home exercises. She is doing pretty good and I don't want to lose ground. I had a vacation and need to get back into a DM routine.

Rehab is hard work

Most vets and canine rehab therapist say that for dogs with DM that rehab is only maintenance. There is some truth to that in the fact that DM will still "win" in the end. However, Sierra's rehab has been REHABILITATIVE, meaning she is building muscle strength, endurance, coordination and improved functional skills for walking and playing.

The swimming is going really well. I am now timing her, rather then measuring her swimming by laps. We are doing 10min 2x/week. When we get to 20min 2x/week then I will add another day. I am just not sure how long the weather will hold out for me. I am not sure I can find a place to swim her through the winter.

I can still see a right sided weakness in her hind limb. It is apparent when she swims, walks and stands for long periods of time. I am able to do AAROM in the water to gain more range. This also seems to cue her to generate more force with this extremity.

It appeared that she had a setback that corresponded with the antibiotic use for her infected foot. The infection in her foot was mild and the swelling had begun to go down prior to starting the antibiotics. However, taking antibiotics with meals three times a day was a challenge for all of us. She didn't want to eat and I was force feeding her the medicine more often then not. After the course of antibiotics I have seen a gradual return of her hind limb function. I am not sure what the interaction was for her between the antibiotics and the DM, but it sure did scare me.

• Rehabilitation Tips
o It is important that all exercise be performed in moderation. Fatigue will only increase your weakness and rob you of energy that you need for your daily routines and the activities your pet enjoys.
o Passive range of motion exercises can be performed standing or in gravity eliminated position (such as laying down)
o Utilize light massage, regular exercise, and keep your dog mentally active. These are extremely valuable in maintaining muscle function and bringing about remission of symptoms. Deep tissue massage can stimulate muscle spasms.
o Swimming is the best activity, or other exercises in the cool water, because increased body temperatures can decrease the function of the nerves involved and make symptoms worse.
o Acupuncture has been effective for many dogs with DM
o (from : http://neuro.vetmed.ufl.edu/neuro/DM_Web/DMofGS.htm)
Rehabilitation is best achieved by an increasing schedule of alternative day exercise. Running loose on the owner's property is not adequate; regular periods of programmed continuous exercise are the most important. It is equally important that the patient with DM be allowed to rest on the day when exercise is not programmed. This will allow strained muscles and tendons to heal and increase the build up of muscle strength. The dogs do not have to be confined, only that they are not encouraged to do strenuous exercise on the "off" day. I recommend starting with 5-10 minutes of walking or swimming every other day for 2 weeks. Then, increase the length of exercise time to a goal of 30 minutes twice a week and a long walk of 1 hour once a week.