Maureen's Stevie 5/12 RIP

WOOHOO!!! We did it!!! Again!!

Congradulations Stevie!! Way to go!! Now go snuggle with your mama you earned it!

Wonderful news. Seems like time really went by fast. Probably not for the two of you. She is a big sweetheart and you're great too. We'll be praying this is the last.

Congratulations Stevie!!! - you made it with the help of your wonderful mom and Dodgerslist. Wishing you continued improvement and a long and happy life. Can't wait for my dogs to be graduates

With her graduation yesterday we started a new medication to try to help control her seizures. Now that we know how she walks we can watch out for side effects - one of the possible side effects of Potassium bromide is ataxia, hind end weakness, oh yay! (are you freakin' kidding me!) She sure did enjoy her bits of freedom yesterday thanks for all of the well wishes.

Praying that Stevie doesn't experience that side effect.  Please do keep us posted.  

I ordered the toe grips for Lucy because I have all wood floors.  They worked great!! Only problem I had was getting them on. She HATED me putting them on. Once they were on she was fine.  They did fall off soon after I put them on but I think that was "user error".  Also she was having water therapy so that might have been an issue also.  In summary the toe grips were great - I just couldn't keep them on. 

We did get the toe grips and they do help - keeping them on is problem because of the shape of her nails- they curve really close to her pad, so the grip has to be closer to the tip. Stevie was the Vets first toegrip patient, we had a blast putting them on-Stevie really is very tolerant:) I will have to order them in bulk because they fall off and are lost.
another bit of good news is that she hasn't had a seizure for 23 days - the longest since the beginning of April Here's hoping that the new medication keeps on helping!

Such great news. Way to go. I had a dog with epilepsy and getting the meds right can be such a challenge. Hope the toe grips keep helping, I checked them out for Bonnie but they seemed tricky to get the fit right so I have opted for Grippers dog socks ( only available in Canada unfortunately) They should arrive this week so then she can then have access to the hard floors.

Maureen, could you send pictures of the toe grips and a bit of explanation of how you have learned to put them on.

That is funny feet to yards of indoor/outdoor carpet. Little Stevie can go on hikes now in the back yard!

Stevie had a blast camping - so many things to smell and hear. She really liked the canoe too - just laid down under my seat and slept - only waking up to move to sun or shade as needed.
Can anyone recommend a life vest brand? - we have ones from Outward Hound and it didn't fit her well (it wasn't purchased for her - it belonged to my beloved Odie) Stevie's head and neck kind of extend straight out from her body and the life vest was forcing her head up into a weird and uncomfortable postion. She just stood there and then tipped over sideways.
It did look funny but she wasn't amused at all!
Just looking for suggestions from those who have succes finding a life vest for a tube shaped dog

Hi Michelle - I have to replace one every day or so, but Dr Buzby has a video on actually gluing them on with crazy glue, on her Facebook page. I am going to try that, but I will need help - her demonstration is on a big dog with short hair - Stevie has really fuzzy little toes. Can you say recipe for disaster?
When I put them on I have to make sure that they are far enough up the nail to stay, but low enough to provide a gripping area. Are you sure that you have the right size?? Stevie was 15mm and we chose the small size (red) that are for 13-15mm.
With her lying down on her left side, I sit behind her with her head pointing to the left, I hold her foot in my left hand with the pads against my palm. Then I can put my left thumb against the back of the nail to push it forward and provide counter pressure - then slide the toegrip on with my right hand. I soak the grips in rubbing alcohol to lubricate them (like her website showed) not the gel in the pack (which had them shooting out of my fingers and all over the place).
I hope that this helps I really need to take some pictures....

I am still new to this, as my boy Rusty just went thru surgery 3 months ago-- But he has had a pretty successful recovery so far; but what I do notice is the effect the cold winter weather seems to have on him. He seems a bit wobbly and stiff, especially when he is first getting going in the morning, or after he has been sleeping for awhile and gets up to go outside before bed at night. Do you think the cold weather could be effecting our pups?

Nop not gonna believe anything is wrong with Stevie. You have been one of my rocks through this whole process. I am sending tons of prayers your way that this is nothing. Please let us know how she is doing.