I just want to walk my dog

The myth that black dogs are a menace has not been dispelled this week. A week ago I was taking my dog for a walk and got slammed  in the leg by a black labrador retriever barrelling angrily down its driveway growling and headed straight for my dog. Went straight into my leg and then tried to get my dog. The owner said he was a nice dog but never gets out but he let his dog have two more goes at mine while I was trying to work out if my leg worked or not. I accept dogs do accidentally get out even when you don't mean them to. I accept some dogs are just kept in the back yard, but my dog now hasn't had a walk for over a week because I can't walk. I had X-rays and 3 days  off work. There is no major damage but having taken the full weight of a big dog against my leg, I have to now wait until it's better. I can't live my own life and all I wanted to do was take my dog for a walk. She comes from the RSPCA and I have had her 7 months now. She was physically and mentally abused and this walk - which was the same very time,was to get her steadied down and reassured. She took no notice of the attack. She was by my other leg, which is why I got slammed into I suppose, and then she lay down until it was all over. We had been walking the same walk for 7 months and had crossed over to that side of the road because a corner house on the other side had two mad dogs which ran up and down the garden, leaping at the fence and barking a lot. They had been trying to dog under and once the weather changed I wasn't going to go down that way because it was only a matter of time before those dogs got themselves out and were a menace on the street. Maybe the labrador retriever needs to get out on a walk too to get used to other animals and people. Maybe the owner should have got hold of him and put him back inside but the owner seemed to be convinced he was a nice dog and would settle down. While my knee is healing I have time to think how I can now walk my dog in my area but stay out of harm's way as well.

Walking the dog

I confess I don't take my new dog walking rain or hail but I do do shine very well. This is one dog who really likes to walk. The last 2 were not at all keen but would play. The one before that was a beach dog and my first dog used to take herself for a walk . Such an escape artist! This new dog comes from the RSPCA like my last 2 and it is important for her to go walking. She needs to reacquaint herself with the nice life and the sights and sounds of the suburbs. I am grateful the RSPCA volunteers do such a good job of training the dogs to leash and walk. We have had a few issues to deal with so the daily walks, now it is sunny, are important for steadying her. She loves walking. As you can see , she waited patiently as I took the photos so we are coming along nicely. The good thing about here is so many people are now out with their dogs on a leash. Everyday you see quite a few dogs and their owners going for a nice walk to the shop or the park or like me, just a walk. It has been one of the really good changes in our neighbourhood. it means the dogs are happy and you can see that  and the owners are getting some fresh air and exercise. Our unspoken  practice, should we see another owner and dog, has been for one of us to go on the other side of the road or down a side street out of the way so there is no chance of the dogs having a tangle. If people know their dogs know another dog then they often stop and chat. Walking the dog has become a really positive activity and has made for a happier neighbourhood.

Spindle Cell Tumour in Dogs

My dog has just come back from a day of blood tests at the vet. You can clearly see the spindle cell tumour in this photo. She has had it for two and a half years now. When it was first operated it stayed down for a year. I am blogging about it because if you click on the link you will get  the links to all my other posts. If you are here it is probably because you have a dog with a spindle cell tumour. They are nasty but my dog has lived happily for two and a half years and the good vetinary care and some googling on my part have enabled her to be a normal , happy dog. She literally takes it in her stride. She was at the vet today to have the blood tests to see if she really does have Cushings disease as I blogged about in my last post. It could be caused by the cortisone and it could be that she has developed it as an older dog.Recently she has had trouble getting out the back. She can no longer go up and down the steps and she has trouble getting up the ramp. She does it though. The heat made her breathe hard and we need to know what is going on so she can be helped. The bare skin on her leg next to the lump is from where she had her anaesthetic for her dentistry! She is even famous and on the vet website. She was glad to get home today but they had taken great care of her and said she had spent a quiet day, as she does these days. The lump has ballooned a bit because she needs the cortisone to keep it down but had to come off the cortisone for a few days so the tests could be done properly. It is a big balancing act. She'll lie quietly these days and then amble around the back garden. Her spirit is very strong and at peace but her energy levels are quite low...but then she is eleven and a half, likes to take an interest in things but is content to mosey along!

Spindle Cell Tumour in Dogs

My dog is still here and she is eleven and a half now. She still has her spindle cell. She also has the hard skin on her back still. Last week she had her teeth cleaned so she would not get any infections from her back teeth. They had suddenly become quite discoloured . While she was under anaesthetic the vet had a chance to take blood tests and have a better look at her. She has been on cortisone tablets for quite some time now. He shaved some of that hard skin off and told me to halve the dose of cortisone. She has Cushings disease which does not have a good pathway but dogs can live with it. It could be the cortisone has brought it on or it could be a tumour on her adrenalin glands or pituitary glands and the vet needs to establish what is causing it. In the meantime we have to manage that lump on her leg which grows without the cortisone. Cushings was not news to me. She has  all the symptoms - the black, hard skin and loss of fur at the back of her, the panting, the excessive drinking and  then the food fixation. She also pees a lot when she does pee. It varies from week to week how the symptoms are. She has been living with it because it seems to have been brought on or exacerbated by the cortisone tablets. She has been happy and led a quieter but pleasant life. You can see she is quite relaxed and has a really good coat  except for near her  tail. Since I have cut down the cortisone a bit then her hard skin is starting to soften and there has been a bit of an improvement. She doesn't pant as much. She has been fairly droopy though and not as energetic as she used to be. I have to take her age into consideration and that stupid spindle cell tumour on her leg. It has grown but not affected her walking at all. I take her back next week because Christmas week probably wasn't the best week to see how she was going. At the moment I'd say not too badly at all. My concern is she has a quality of life and can live with whatever comes her way. So far I have been able to navigate that path along with the help of my vet. His knowledge and level of care have been invaluable in keeping my dog going well. I am just taking things as they come and going from one day to the next. I am glad we have managed to get her this far because it is two and a half years since the operation on her spindle cell tumour. She has not put on weight as it says in some of the articles about Cushing's disease. She has lost a little but that is not a problem. So we'll see how we go.

Wild Dogs Eat Cars

I had a Doberman X who used to have a preference for plastic. I would come home to rubbish bins which had been eaten and plastic pots which had my plants were eaten. She could demolish them ,chew and eat them without any trouble. I obviously didn't let her  when I was home and changed all the plastic in my garden...then she grew out of it. How she digested the stuff I have no idea but she was a strong, happy dog. This man has had his car eaten by wild dogs and about 3 months ago his girlfriend's car was pulled apart and eaten by dogs. It doesn't necessarily mean they are hungry. My dog ate really well...but she was always hungry! These wild dogs must have cast iron stomachs and be very strong.