I Think Darby is Feeling Better

[lotsadox]

Today when I was doing the heat and cold on Darby's back he was awful. Wiggling around obsessed with Cash having a ball. I finally tossed the ball out of the study and Cash chased it so I shurt the door. Then I took Darby out of the crate to do the heat/ice. He wiggled and kept trying to flop over on his side so I had to put him back in the crate and was able to finish up. Then I wanted to go upstairs and sew so I thought I'd move the extra crate from the den to the sewing room so Darby could be up there with us. I put it on a plastic sheet, slid it down the hall and lifted it over the doggie gate into the sewing room. I took Darby out to potty and brought him upstairs. I put him in the crate and he starts his barking, squeaking, whining, squeaking, screaming and barking act. After a half hour I went downstairs to do some laundry and he kept it up. I finally went up and got him and brought him downstairs to the study so I could at least turn up the volume on my tv and drown him out. I could hear him during the quiet scenes and he kept it up for an hour before he quieted down. It was just intermittent from then on. Then when Jim came home, it started again. Now, I"m back upstairs and Jim is outside and he's making noise off and on. I'm so glad that he's feeling better, but wish he didn't have to be so vocal about it. I was just thinking earlier that you could tell he was feeling better because he was taking more interest in things like his ball and acting much perkier. Right now, I could use a bit less perkiness. *sigh*

[Rae]

Glad that he's feeling better, and I totally feel your pain about the indignity of the noises that emanate from the crate. Savannah isn't on crate rest and she still protests.

[LexieLuvr]

Good news, I guess . Sorry he has to be so noisy about it, tho. More get well soon !

[Alex's Mom]

Ear plugs are your friend

Heidi just sits there and looks sad...then kind of mumbles to herself . I must admit that I've been slack on the crate this weekend (except at night). She's doing really good, and just sleeps. However, we're starting to wean her off the pred starting today, so we'll see how it goes.

[lotsadox]

I talked to Dr Cooper about it yesterday. We decided that freaking out in the crate (He had almost pushed the plastic tray out and thrown the bed and blankets all over the place) wasn't doing him any good. So now Darby is on very restricted movement. He's on the least 24/7 when he's out of the crate and only allowed any freedom when he's gated in the the kitchen, sewing room, or bathroom with me. There's nothing to jump on in those rooms so I consider them pretty safe although I leave the leash on him still when he's in those rooms so that I can grab him if he does start to do anything. He's much happier now and so am I.

I was so upset yesterday because I didn't know what to do. The crate nazis say that they have to be crate all the time except for a few potty breaks, but my thinking is that a freaked out, upset dog isn't going to heal and might even do himself more harm so I was upset and confused. I felt so much better after talking to Dr Cooper and so did Darby I'm sure.

[oceangirls]

Ignore the crate nazis and do what you know to be best for your dog. Very few doxie owners do ANY crating and very few vets recommend strict crate rest, and you know what? A lot of those doxies do just fine, and a lot of ones who were crated have recurrences. We on DLC do way better than most just because we are educated about what is going on.

[lotsadox]

Ignore the crate nazis and do what you know to be best for your dog. Very few doxie owners do ANY crating and very few vets recommend strict crate rest, and you know what? A lot of those doxies do just fine, and a lot of ones who were crated have recurrences. We on DLC do way better than most just because we are educated about what is going on.

Thank you so much, Kim! I tend to get too caught up in "I have to do what everyone says is best for my dogs". My vet is like you. You do what is best for YOUR dog in it's circumstances and it all works out as it should.