Anger and Frustration

I've seen several Pem litter announcements lately- in neither case were the parents DM tested, and in both, at least one parent was a definite DM carrier (and possibly At Risk.) These are litters conceived AFTER the test became available. It makes me angry and frustrated and sad.

Breakthrough!

Tonight Merlin wanted to go out, and when I got his cart, he got excited to go! Yay!

I also went to click/treat mainly after crossing streets. That way he will hurry up the block and not dawdle in the middle of a street. It worked very well and he is enjoying his walks now.

Merlin's lift

It is often useful to have a sling or lift for a dog with DM, so that one can help them move without putting them in the cart. I've tried several such slings for Merlin, from a harness-type, to a Bottom's up leash, to a towel, and all have one thing in common- he refuses to move.

This is the only lift he will accept (although he will also let me bend down and lift his back end.)

Some good news...

Janine, Merlin's "sister", is not At Risk for DM. She's a carrier, which doesn't matter as she has never been bred and is spayed. So now we know none of the rest of the dogs (Teddy, Janine, Jack, and Candy) will get DM.

Good days, bad days

Merlin had a couple of very good days earlier this week. He walked 1 1/4 blocks on his own, and walked around the house, not knuckling. Then yesterday morning he was back to knuckling. It seems to have a lot to do with how weak his "good" leg is. (The right is weaker, the left knuckles more.)

He had a very bad night last night. His anti-seizure meds make him hungry and he kept crying for food. (I know that is why as he sits by the food and stares at it.) When he finally stopped doing that, he had to go out, and then he barks to come in, but it was 6 am and after letting him in I was still exhausted and went back to bed for an hour. If I let him eat when he's hungry, he'll weigh too much to be lifted, and I frequently have to lift him. (Candy can climb our hill in his cart but Merlin can't.)

Listening to him last night I was glad I opted out of the family cruise in June- no way can I leave him alone at night or with someone else. Tonight he gets an antihistamine to help him sleep.

I got him a bike trailer but am taking it back- the front window is too high for a corgi who can't sit up (as eventually will be the case.)

Walking with the cart

Merlin's walks now are all in the cart as he completely walks on the front of both back feet. I've been using clicker and treats to motivate him and reward him for handling challenges in the cart. He's doing very well with it but won't use it in the house.

March 14 update

It's Pi day. Merlin woke me at 5:45 to go out- he wouldn't walk at all so I put him in his cart and bribed him to go out, then he wouldn't pee in the cart so I took him out to pee, then put him back in it to come back inside. Later on he was walking again without the cart- morning stiffness may make things harder. He needs booties on the cement but I think they do make walking harder. I need to try the Transderm tape again.