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« on: January 06, 2021, 07:53:32 PM »
Calling all dog experts! I could really use some help with my older pup.
He's got a number of health issues which have snowballed since August.
Long story short - he's been in physical therapy since Feb 2018 for arthritis and a chronic limp. This past March, his therapist had to shut down due to government order, but they're part of a university hospital and never opened back up. We moved to a different facility.
We can't go into the building with him. We bring him up to the door and they take him in - covid precautions. In August, they called to say he was under a lot of stress and we should take him to the ER. We did and he was kept overnight. The night following his release, he had 2 seizures which he'd never had before.
He had a couple more episodes of seizures and tremors but he went on anti-seizure medication and has been seizure free for almost 3 months. Due to a need to manage his anxiety, he has not been able to return to physical therapy.
In early October one day he became unable to walk at all. He had been able to get up and walk around the house a bit. This lasted for 2 months. Finally around this time last month, thank God, he began to be able to walk with assistance. We're working on building his muscle mass back up. He started going to acupuncture twice a week in November and it helps him. He showed significant improvement throughout December but is now having a hard time again.
However, he goes through periods where he is restless at night and he will bark and howl and cry literally all night long. It's impossible to tell if he's in pain or where is discomfort might be. His acupuncturist is also certified in advanced pain management for dogs and she does not believe he is in chronic acute pain, she thinks his pain is well managed.
We walk him, feed him, give him his drink, reposition him, nothing helps him to sleep. The vet recommended 5mg of melatonin as a natural remedy but he began having tremors after we took it.
He does have a Thunder Shirt but sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. He has a DAP diffuser and an Assisi loop but they don't seem to provide much relief.
Any ideas what we could possibly do to help him sleep comfortably and allow us to get some rest as well? He sleeps fine during the day. However, he is very difficult to rouse and keep awake so that he can sleep at night and he's so old he should try and sleep when he's tired. He's a rescue but could be as old as 15, possibly as young as 13, we don't know.
Thanks in advance.
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