Dontworrybeappy
Well-Known Member
I "rescued" Bean 5 years ago from a bad breeder. At 10 months old he had 8 rotten teeth! (plus more removed each time we have his teeth cleaned.) They were planning to use him for breeding - which would have been interesting as he had 2 retained testicles... and other reasons he shouldn't have been bred, including a nervous temperament. They had dumped him in a pen full of yorkies to wait for him to get old enough to breed. He was a matted, yellowed, furry skeleton. They couldn't figure out why he was thin (with that many rotten teeth on largish hard kibble?)
Once he came home with us and got clipped, fed, had his bad teeth out (and his testicles, too) it became apparent that Bean was a MOMMA'S BOY - no other person mattered to him but me.
If I could have tucked him into a pocket and taken him everywhere with me, he'd have been satisfied. Over the last 4 years, he's gradually begun to accept a few other people, and even to play with my husband now and then.
Bean is the hardest working 4 pounds in Norco - of all our dogs, including the Great Dane and the Anatolian, Bean is my best watchdog and he will guard me from all dangers, from unknown birds, to cars and visitors.... even earthquakes! He hasn't let anything "get me" yet!
Yesterday I woke up to hear him crying - found him standing on the floor, 3-legged lame. Vet says it's a torn ACL, and that it's an athletic injury, can happen from jumping, climbing, etc. I have steps to the bed and to the couch, and Bean doesn't jump up on things, he uses the stairs. Still, it could have happened because a cat got in his way, making him slip or fall or something - we'll never know what caused it exactly.
The vet feels it's best to see if he'll recover on his own - he has a couple things in his favor, he's not overweight, he's not a large dog, and he's careful about his own body. He's getting meloxicam 1x day as an anti-inflammatory, and I'm looking for a good MSM/glucosamine/etc joint supplement.... I'm making him stay on the ground, in an ex-pen instead of letting him sleep with me or get on the couch.
This is not making him happy - or me either - it makes me very sad to see him hobbling along on 3 legs, or just curled up in his little doggie bed.
Has anyone had to deal with this problem? What did you do? I'm afraid he'll hurt his good leg too, apparently that happens often. I don't want to go too far and baby the leg so that he doesn't keep full use of it, but I don't want him to overdo and hurt the other one. I just want to do as much as I can to make things better.
Help?
Once he came home with us and got clipped, fed, had his bad teeth out (and his testicles, too) it became apparent that Bean was a MOMMA'S BOY - no other person mattered to him but me.
Bean is the hardest working 4 pounds in Norco - of all our dogs, including the Great Dane and the Anatolian, Bean is my best watchdog and he will guard me from all dangers, from unknown birds, to cars and visitors.... even earthquakes! He hasn't let anything "get me" yet!
Yesterday I woke up to hear him crying - found him standing on the floor, 3-legged lame. Vet says it's a torn ACL, and that it's an athletic injury, can happen from jumping, climbing, etc. I have steps to the bed and to the couch, and Bean doesn't jump up on things, he uses the stairs. Still, it could have happened because a cat got in his way, making him slip or fall or something - we'll never know what caused it exactly.
The vet feels it's best to see if he'll recover on his own - he has a couple things in his favor, he's not overweight, he's not a large dog, and he's careful about his own body. He's getting meloxicam 1x day as an anti-inflammatory, and I'm looking for a good MSM/glucosamine/etc joint supplement.... I'm making him stay on the ground, in an ex-pen instead of letting him sleep with me or get on the couch.
This is not making him happy - or me either - it makes me very sad to see him hobbling along on 3 legs, or just curled up in his little doggie bed.
Has anyone had to deal with this problem? What did you do? I'm afraid he'll hurt his good leg too, apparently that happens often. I don't want to go too far and baby the leg so that he doesn't keep full use of it, but I don't want him to overdo and hurt the other one. I just want to do as much as I can to make things better.
Help?