It's all change here

[JudyN]

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Jasper really struggled to get downstairs this morning :-( his back end is getting increasingly weak, and his length means he's at a steep angle when going downstairs, putting his joints at an awkward angle. He's too big to lift, and in the end it was just encouragement that got him downstairs - once his back legs had taken the first couple of steps he was OK. But I don't think we can let him upstairs again, because he's only going to get worse, and next time he might be truly stuck.

Night times will be an issue as he's used to sleeping wherever the fancy takes him, and even if he sleeps elsewhere at night, he always comes in with us in the early morning. So now we're rearranging all the furniture so we can move a bed downstairs and I can sleep down here with him. We would make do with a mattress, but he'd probably go back to his old bad habits of sleeping right by me and then grumping if I so much as move, or threaten me with menaces if I try to go for a wee in the night.

Daytime could bring problems too, as he spends almost all day in the spare bedroom supervising Mr N's work. If he finds not being allowed to be up there too stressful, Mr N is going to see if he can go back to the office. He's already had a little complain, but seems to have settled down again...

 

[Hemlock]

What a thoughtful dog owner you are. I hope the change of circumstances goes well - sometimes they surprise us by how well they fit in with the new regime. Fingers crossed it goes well.

 

[JudyN]

Thank you Hemlock - I'm motivated in part by knowing what a complete, 24-hour, PITA he'll be if he doesn't adapt to the new regime! So far, we've had minimal whingeing... Fingers and toes very much crossed here.

Plus, the washing machine is playing up, possibly terminally, and my PC has an intermittent problem with both shift keys - given the importance of getting capitalisation in my work, this is not good. It looks like we need to reinstall drivers, but Mr N isn't at all confident that that will fix it, or that it won't actually break it. Oh well, I'd better do some work while the shift keys are behaving themselves and the washing machine is making up its mind whether it's going to actually complete the wash....

Oh, and the milkman failed to deliver too!

 

[Hemlock]

Well, that's the three things then. Onward and upward! Maybe something super duper good is on its way.

 

[JoanneF]

If you are stuck, the Fn button and F3 switches a word between lower case, all upper case, and first letter upper case.

 

[JudyN]

If you are stuck, the Fn button and F3 switches a word between lower case, all upper case, and first letter upper case.

no, it's shift f3 that does that - at least, it does when shift is working

jasper wasn't too bad on his afternoon walk, though getting up after lying down is more difficult. you know when you really need a friend and they turn up as if by magic? I was feeling really down, having no idea how long his back end will hold up for, but bumped into a dog-walking friend i haven't seen for two or three years, and her deerhound. she asked how jasper was doing... and i burst into tears her last dog was a deerhound, and she lost him when his back end gave up the ghost. 'oh, i'd give you a hug, but...', she said - swiftly followed by 'Sod it!' and a big hug Boy, did I need that

 

[Hemlock]

How sweet of her.

Have a cyber hug from me too.

 

[JudyN]

Thank you Hemlock I'm feeling much more positive now - once he has his gammy left leg properly underneath him he moves pretty well, and at a decent pace. And let's face it, it sometimes takes me a while to get my joints working when I get up from sitting on the ground.

 

[JBP]

True love between human and canine, people who don’t have a relationship with dogs will never understand, your a lovely person.

 

[JudyN]

Thank you JBP

 

[JoanneF]

no, it's shift f3 that does that - at least, it does when shift is working

Oh, sorry - well, that's a bit of a design fault. If only it had been something to bypass the problem.

 

[JudyN]

Much to my surprise, Jasper slept through downstairs on his own till 6.30, and when I called downstairs that it wasn't time to get up, settled down till 7am, which is when the alarm went off I'd put his 'upstairs bed' in the study, along with the 'human' bed we've moved from upstairs, but he really doesn't seem keen on it - not sure why - and has had a brief bark at having to be on his own in the front room.

 

[Finsky]

Much to my surprise, Jasper slept through downstairs on his own till 6.30, and when I called downstairs that it wasn't time to get up, settled down till 7am, which is when the alarm went off I'd put his 'upstairs bed' in the study, along with the 'human' bed we've moved from upstairs, but he really doesn't seem keen on it - not sure why - and has had a brief bark at having to be on his own in the front room.

One of my past old girls had to be restricted to live & sleep downstairs after years of sleeping next to me in a bed like a human being....(head on a pillow and blanket over her body ). When the day came that the bed sharing came to an end, she knew why and readily accepted the new arrangements. I suppose it was easier for her as well and it was only me that seemed to get worried of the change.
Since Jasper has mighty working brain in him...I'm sure he to will figure it all out and won't make fuss over the changes (too much)
Something that came to mind while I was reading about your walk with Jasper....how about if you were to carry a belt of some sort with you? As his back end fails...you could loop it under him and over your shoulder to lift some of his weight and maybe it helps him that little bit that he is able to hobble back home little better?

 

[JudyN]

Something that came to mind while I was reading about your walk with Jasper....how about if you were to carry a belt of some sort with you? As his back end fails...you could loop it under him and over your shoulder to lift some of his weight and maybe it helps him that little bit that he is able to hobble back home little better?

It's a good idea - someone mentioned a while back that a Bag for Life, cut down the sides, can make a really good sling. I'm going to have a go at making one but, because we don't stray far from home now, and Mr N is working from home, if Jasper couldn't get up, I'd get him to bring it to us in the car, then we can bundle him in and take him home or to the vet.

He's very unsettled this morning - can't be up with Mr N as usual, and doesn't like the bed in here with me. I'm sure he'll work out his own 'comfort zone' in time though.

 

[RGC]

How sweet of her.

Have a cyber hug from me too.

Yes, and from Mabel and me plus George.

 

[Dibbythedog]

Sorry you're having a rough time. Hope Jasper settles downstairs .

 

[JudyN]

At least I now have a shiny new pooter, which does CAPITALS and (brackets) and xxxxs and yyyyyys

Jasper's not been too bad, though a bit whingy at times. He hasn't asked to go upstairs, but seems generally dissatisfied with the alternatives. His legs are holding up too - I've realised he's like a ridge tent - perfectly reliable when all the poles are properly organised and assembled, but it can be difficult getting them into position. And it doesn't take much for one to come disconnected and the whole structure to become alarmingly unstable.

He's been settled enough at night that Mr N suggested I move back into the marital bed. But I've found I quite like having a bed/bedroom to myself I don't have to poke him in the ribs whenever he snores, for starters.

 

[Dibbythedog]

He's been settled enough at night that Mr N suggested I move back into the marital bed. But I've found I quite like having a bed/bedroom to myself I don't have to poke him in the ribs whenever he snores, for starters.

 

[Hemlock]

Somehow a dog snoring is never so disruptive. Mr. H and I have always had our own rooms.

Re. Jasper's new arrangements - do you have a sheepskin rug you can put over the bed for him? I've yet to meet a dog that doesn't snuggle in a sheepskin rug.

 

[JudyN]

Re. Jasper's new arrangements - do you have a sheepskin rug you can put over the bed for him? I've yet to meet a dog that doesn't snuggle in a sheepskin rug.

No, I don't, though one of his downstairs beds has a fleecy cover. It's worth considering a sheepskin rug for if/when his joints become more uncomfortable, though.

He slept fine again last night - barked at one point, probably hoping I'd let him out into the garden so he could bark at the foxes for half an hour, but I called downstairs telling him he couldn't, and he needed to settle down sleepy on his bed (I string together a lot of words in the hope they'll have a cumulative effect), which he did. So I'm back in the marital bed tonight. Mr R was really cold in bed, he needs me to act as a radiator!

So far today he's been much more settled. Long may it last