TBT Old Man Edition

So, since I haven't posted in like 2 years, it's TBT is a great time to catch you up on stuffs! Today I'm catching you up with the Old Man aka Duncan and some medical stuffs I think all doggies and their parents should know.

As I mentioned earlier this week, Duncan turned 16 this year. Not only does that mean he can drive now, but it does also put him the the Super Duper Senior Category. Part of being in that category does also involve having some "health scares" to freak out the parents. We had one big one in the last year and I'd like to share it with you, cause the symptoms were quite scary (but ended up not being that scary, so it's okay) and for something not a lot of people knows about, but you need to knows if you have an Super Duper Senior Dog.

Last September, we made our annual trip to North Carrylina for vacay. It was great! Duncan only made it out on the trails around the cabin, but he still got out and did good for an old fart. Mom called him the "Jack Lalanne of dogs." I have no idea who that is, but I guess Jack sleeps, poots and eats a lot?

 

Anyhoos, we was having a great time. Dad noticed once that when walking up a little hill, Dunc got a little wobbly. He mentioned this to mom and mom was all: "Oh, I'm sure he's fine, just a little winded from walking up that hill." and he did seem fine after that, so we went on vacaying.

Before we left the last day, dad took me and the old man for a power-potty walk. Mom lagged behind with the Bald Puppy, and when she caught up with us, Dad was like: "Have you ever noticed if Duncan looks down when he's walking, he gets wobbly?" Mom was like "No" and so they watched him and he didn't do it again. So they were like, okay? loaded us up and off we went.

About a few hours in, we stopped in South Carrylina for a potty break. Dad went to get us out of the back of the car, mom to tend to Bald Puppy in his carseat and dad was like: SOMETHING IS WRONG!

Duncan couldn't stand. He'd just fall over and his head was tilted to the side. It seemed like a whole side of him was parylized. He wouldn't eat or drink (not eating scared the crap out of mom), he couldn't keep his head still and he was drooly. So here we was, in the middle of NO WHERE with a bad-off Duncan. Mom and dad decided to keep going and the best thing to do was to get home. All they could think of was a stroke. Mom instantly got on the interwebs and looked up "dog falling over" and found that all of his symptoms were perfect with Canine Vestibular Disease.

Canine Vestibular Disease is also known as Old Dog Disease, which is kinda fitting. It seems that something does go pop or bad in the ear canal which makes the Old Dog all dizzy and wobbly and seems like everything is going round and round and round. Mom said it must be like vertigo on crack. We stopped a few more times, and mom was able to get Dunc to drink, but they had to help him stand to potty and stuffs.

It seems that this goes away on it's own, but mom still got him into Dr. Vet the next day, especially since Duncan wasn't eating. Dr. Vet said this is very common in old, larger dogs and it typically happens in the Fall. They have no idea what causes it, but she gave him some anti-nausea meds. Another sign of CVD is the dog's eyeballs do go side to side quickly and their head is tilted. Now, Dr. Vet said even though she was about 95% sure it was CVD, it could also be something very bad like a brain tumor, so she said do the "wait and see" approach and see if this went away on it's own. It went a way in like 5 days and Duncan was normal as he can be! He began eating cheese on day 2 after the Dr. Vet visit so those anti-nausea meds must have worked.

Sometimes the dog can be left with a head tilt, but Duncan was fine. His head is a little crooked anyway. He had another quick case of it about a month ago, it only lasted 2 days and mom and dad knew exactly what it was this time, and even though he still ate he did get pukey once so they gave him leftover anti-pukey meds.

Why we wanted to share, is because there are horrible stories out there of peoples not knowing what is wrong, thinking its stroke and they have their dogs put down! OMD! First, these peoples must not have great Dr. Vets like we do, but also they later learn what it really was and feel HORRIBLE for not knowing what it was. So, we wanted to share.

Also, for his b'day, mom did get Duncan a Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Duncan nommed that in like 3 bites! Mom says for 17 she will get him like a whole happy meal!