It’s mud season here in New England, and that means a lot of muddy paws. However, that’s not exactly why we’re thankful for clean paws today.
Last September our beagle Cricket had an arthritis flare-up that put her out of commission for a bit. She slowly got back into her favorite ball playing as we did our best to manage her condition. I wrote about our plan of action in our post “Managing Our Dogs’ Osteoarthritis“.
This winter we had her wearing boots on her back paws much of the time. When she ran, her back paws would sometimes flip over and scrape the ground, so the boots were to protect her paws and help her with traction. When we recently had fresh snow, we didn’t bother with the boots since the soft snow didn’t bother her paws. As it started to melt, I headed out to play with her one day. There were some bare spots, but we didn’t plan to play for long so I didn’t put her boots on. She doesn’t mind wearing them, but she hates having them put on and off. I planned to keep checking her paws for scrapes as we played.
She didn’t get any, and as I watched her play I realized something I hadn’t noticed: her paws weren’t turning over like they had been. She was running far more normally. There were no scrapes and the tops of her paws were not muddy like they would have been if they were flipping over and dragging! As I discussed it with the Dadz later, we both realized that she had been getting around much better. We were rarely seeing her stumble or fall over anymore, even when maneuvering the couple of steps off the deck, or down her steps off the couch.
She was due for her blood test at the vet, an NSAID panel to check for side effects from the carprofen she’s been taking. The blood test came back fine and I asked the vet if we could cut back her dose and see how she did. He approved that, so we are giving it a try. She is now taking half of what she used to. I like to be conservative with using meds, but when she had her flare-up, we didn’t hesitate to put her on the maximum dose because she needed it. Now that she’s doing better, we don’t see the need. Plus we want to be able to go up on her dose if needed again. We will watch her closely for any sign of worsening on the lower dose.
I took a little video to show you how well she’s getting around, and for my own observation. I can see there are times one paw drags just a little bit, but that’s it. The truth is, as I shot the videos, I had trouble keeping up with her at times!
Thank you to Brian’s Home for hosting the Thankful Thursday blog hop! Please visit other blogs through the links below.
I could barely look at Cricket’s paws, that adorable tail had me distracted! I’m so pleased for you that she’s showing improvement! Good news!
There is no better sign that she is feeling well and happy than that constantly wagging tail! 🙂
Fantastic news that Cricket is getting around better. Hopefully she’ll be keeping those toes right-side-up without bumping up the meds.
We did find she was still dragging her paws just a bit…she scraped the sides of a couple of toes. So we’re back to putting the boots on her, but other than that she’s still doing great!
Cricket can really move. Glad she is doing better.
What kind of boots was she wearing? Mom wonders if maybe they helped to correct her walk, just thinking. She does look good walking around the yard but noticed how stiff legged she is in the back. But she sure doesn’t seem to mind! Love Dolly
She was wearing her MuttLuks snow boots. I guess it’s possible they helped in that way!
She is stiff-legged in the back – her arthritis is in both back knees. However, she has always walked that way! We noticed it when she was younger – always bulling forward with her legs stiff. Maybe that’s why she ended up with arthritis back there? But you are right, she does not mind, and that’s the important thing. She also does like a bunny hop when she runs hard, and we think that she has adapted herself to her issues, and figured out better ways to move.
That is terrific news! She is certainly moving and having fun!
Those are great news. I’m happy for you & Miss Cricket 🙂
Yay Cricket! I’m so glad that she’s doing better! That’s wonderful. I’m also amazed that her paws would stay so clean–Rye has looked like the swamp thing every time she’s come in lately.
What’s really surprising is how clean Luke stays too! He’s not running as much as Cricket, but still. I do try to get Cricket to walk through what snow we have left out there before she comes in the house now too. 🙂
awe Cricket that makes my heart smile that your doing so well. Keep it up GF!
so fun watching her go! But really, SO glad to hear that she is doing better, and you can try cutting back on meds-that is great news!
That wagging tail says it all !
We’re glad to see Cricket doing better, too.
Awww… she is adorbs! It’s sad when they get older and can’t move around like they used to but thankfully there are some aids out there to help. I’m glad she is getting around better now and hope she continues. 🙂
Bren
Thank you, Bren! It is tough to see them slow down, especially a dog like Cricket who has always been 100 miles per hour. We’ll all enjoy this good spell for as long as we have it!
That’s wonderful she is doing so much better!
The last year was rough, with pretty much everyone but Luke having health issues. So having a break from it all right now is such a relief; and we will enjoy it for as long as it lasts.
That’s great that you’re able to cut back on Cricket’s arthritis meds! I feel the same way you do about the NSAIDs; but Shadow’s not quite to that point yet where I feel comfortable about cutting back. The last few summers I was only giving them to her on an as-needed basis. I think now, though, as she gets older and a little less active, I might just cut back to one a day. We’ll see what the vet says.
For the longest time, we were able to have Sheba on her nsaids only as needed too. But when she started to worsen last fall we put her on full dose full time. But I think some of her issues were just weakness from the cancer too.
Cricket was off her meds completely last summer, but I’m not sure we’ll get to that point again, especially if she keeps playing so hard!
Good luck with Shadow…if she needs to stay on her full dose, I think that’s OK too. I feel pretty safe as long as the blood tests keep coming back fine.
I am glad Cricket is feeling better. I know all about mud season ion New England 🙂
Mud season is such a joy, isn’t it? 🙂
Oh yes, that is really good news! Keep on keeping on Cricket! Thanks for joining the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!
Look at that tail go!! What a sweetie. She looks great and that’s definitely something for which to be thankful. ❤︎
We like those good reports from the vet
Lily & Edward
Hopefully Cricket will be able to be on less meds for a long time. She’s so cute, I’m glad she’s doing better.
Thank you, Edie!! ♥
I’m so glad for you and Cricket!
Look at Cricket go! A lot of my clients have arthritis and I’m so glad she’s doing well! Always hard to watch our pups slow down.
It is so hard, especially with a dog like Cricket who has always been very high energy. We are going to enjoy this for as long as it lasts!