Greetings All:
Thank all of you for your
sincere and well thought email related to our Pyr, Fermat.
I realize now our Pyr is going to go through some changes - thanks for
all of your input.
Our Pyr is an
outside dog - especially when it is very cold (we live in southwest
Texas)
What I did not
realize is how much time he actually spends with me during the day: a lot
As a result, I never
considered how my grief is contributing to Fermat's...and how I
could be a contributer to negative habits.
As a result. Gary's email
hit the nail on the head:
There is comfort to familiar
things and if interactions not previously allowed are now allowed I
could envision longer term problems.
Our dog has three spots he
settles when in the house and he comes upstairs to my computer room
if he is indoors and it is raining outside. I find so much comfort
with him it did not register he has
been following me everywhere the times he has been in the house the past few days.
This morning
is the first time since he was a pup I had to reinforce the "Stay"
command.
I mean all over, as he had never been taught: no crooning or cajoling but firm tone and
dog treat under the nose.
(recall: he is 9 years and 7 months)
Anyway, I know what
to look for and we are going to be ok - so thanks again :)
**One last thought related
to this entire experience:**
I have have followed
Pyr-Net for some time and talk to other Pyr owners when I can.
Even though this is not a new thought - and all of you are more
experienced than me,
I feel compelled to reiterate
the importance of good x-rays: especially for large animal dogs.
My husband and I went to
the vet this morning.
We were both sickened with grief at sight of our majestic Newf almost completely lame.
It does not matter that we knew he likely only had to the end of December to live
functionally.
We were horrified when
the vet compared:
1) x-rays we had done 7 months ago that we brought with us when we
dropped our dog off
to
2) the x-rays he took of our Newf taken a few days go
and
3) x-rays & the skeletal structure of a *much younger* normal Newf
Further, the (large animal)
vet allowed us to watch how a large animal dog x-ray is taken
and how errors or possible misdiagnosis can (in some cases) result by
improper positioning, or
improper restraint - especially for a large animal dog.
In short: He explained the reasons why the x-rays we brought with our dog were very
poorly done.
Our Newf is 12 years and
7 months of age.
He lived a long and healthy life and brought us much joy (Past tense
since we are putting him down on Wednesday)
Second guessing things we could have done differently is, I think normal in the
beginning - and fruitless.
Still, I can't help but wonder what the prognosis would have been for
another dog at very early stages of hip or joint problems.
Thanks again to all~
Happy Holidays,
Christine, Jonathan and Fermat