PT and Pee

You may have noticed that I've been a little distracted for the last couple weeks. We've been dealing with some Samba issues, but now it looks like we may be getting things under control. It started when we were at the lake two weeks ago. Samba was excited about having us throw her floating toy and charged right in to get it.

I noticed that after a couple of throws, she was holding the toy strangely and then dropped it and swam back without it. One of the other dogs would have to go get the toy. Samba would bark to have it thrown again and would swim to it but wouldn't bring it back. She'd start to grab it, then drop it and swim back leaving the toy behind.

I was worried enough to call Dr B from the lake. We were both concerned that the MMM might be flaring up again. He said to double her Prednisone and he'd see her in the morning. We arrived at the clinic the same time Dr B did and he took her right into the exam room. Fortunately, she didn't appear to be having a flare up. Instead the remaining jaw muscles seem to be stiffening a bit and it's uncomfortable for her to open her mouth wide. That's a real problem with this disease and we need to get those muscles stretched.

Because it's painful for us to open her mouth, she has to do it herself. That's where the PT or physical therapy comes in. We have four balls of different sizes and materials.

Several times every day Samba and I go into the yard and I throw a ball for her. We started with the smallest ball. She has to pick it up and bring it back to me to earn a treat. Samba is very food motivated, so she caught onto this quickly. We started with just a couple repetitions and work up a few each day. Once she is reliably returning the ball, we move on to a slightly larger, harder ball until we reach the glow ball which stretches her mouth beyond her comfort zone. So far we're only on the second ball, but we're making progress.

Over the weekend while I was throwing the glowballs for Sky and Norma Jean, Samba got tired of all the fuss and started bringing the glowballs to me. She isn't known for her patience.

We've been treating Samba for a bladder infection and when the first round of antibiotics failed to clear it up, we went on to a second stronger course of antibiotics. Monday morning I took a urine sample in to be checked but there was still blood in the urine. We had a consultation with Dr B and he felt we should look for kidney or bladder stones.

So, yesterday Samba skipped breakfast, much to her dismay, and went to the clinic for x-rays of her urinary tract. She was a good girl and didn't need to be sedated while they took seven x-rays over a several hour period.

When we picked her up in the late afternoon, we went over the xrays and Dr B showed us that there are no stones, deformities or tumors. Everything looks good, but there is still an infection present. We agreed to try a different antibiotic for two weeks, then check the urine again. If this doesn't clear the infection, we'll be consulting with a specialist at the University.

There was one slight accident. While we were looking at the xrays and discussing our plan of action, Samba got tired of waiting for her treat and decided to help herself. She stood up at the counter where the treat jar is kept and while reaching for the jar she knocked the otoscope off the counter. It broke. I wasn't sure what to do beyond reprimanding Samba and saying I was sorry. I would expect that such an accident is a part of doing business as a vet, but I felt very bad. Samba, on the other hand, didn't seem to care at all.