Had a scary moment last Friday. Grady was wrestling with me along the pond and suddenly yelped and headed for the house with his tail tucked. He wouldn’t jump up onto the deck like he normally does, but slowly walked up the stairs. That night he wouldn’t come up on the bed or even onto the couch. I was sure from a past dog, Riley, that he had blown a knee. Since he wasn’t limping, Barb was more optomistic.
The next morning I had to lift him into the back seat of the truck for a ride. Jake has always had me give him a lift but Grady always hopped up with ease. I was sold that his knee was blown. But he never limped, or sat with his leg out in a skewed way that would say it was bad. He didn’t have any problem jumping off the deck to chase the geese back to the pond but came back tentatively and wouldn’t jump onto the deck. He also laid around a lot more than normal.
Of course hunting season is not far away, so I decided to get Grady into the vet as soon as possible. Jake, although we’d be limited to less ground coverage, could still do the job by himself if he had to. But it’s hard to find it in my heart to leave one behind.
The vet gave me woderful news. The knee was fine but he had injured some soft tissue. I have to keep him inactive for a week and slowly bring him back. Twice a week he goes in for lazer treatments for four weeks and hopefully he’ll be good as new. That even gives me a couple of extra weeks before the season opener.
My point is, don’t take any chances. Our canine friends deserve all the same care we would give ouselves. Maybe more. Everything they do is to please us. Vet bills can be expensive, but in my opinion they are worth every cent paid just to have my partner by me side again.
I could have hoped for the best, but the vet said that had I not have brought him in there was a good chance he might tear that knee. And I know from experience that once a dog blows one knee there is a 60% chance they will blow the other. A well worth trip to the vet.
A little p.s. While Grady was getting his Lazer treatment, I took a short trip into the hills north of the office where I sometimes chase chukars and huns. I was tickled to see two covey of chukars with somewhere around ten chicks. The chicks were only two to three weeks old and could only fly a short distance to the sage. I only saw one adult in each covey, but the second could have been running. I also saw a covey of quail. The chicks couldn’t be any bigger than a silver dollar but they could fly up into the thick cover with no problem.
Great news all around, for my dogs and the birds. 46 days and counting.
The Reigning Chukar Champions 
Great news! And I couldn’t agree with you more…These dogs give to us way more than we could ever give to them. In the end its about more than $$$$s, its about experiences and memories.
We about lost our then 5 year old female English Pointer Greta last fall. She ended up being diagnosed with Addisons Disease. She’s on a daily dose of prednisone, and a shot of Zycortal Suspension every 25 to 27 days.
I’d love to connect with anyone who follows your blog that has any experience with an Addisons hunting or field trialing dog.
Thank you for your passion of the outdoors and love of bird dogs.
Sincerely,
Greta and Cale
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Cale. We had a female shorthair that was diagnosed with Addison’s at 4 years of age. I believe it was prednisone that we gave her also. The vet never mentioned nothing about Zycortal. Like you mentioned, we almost lost her before the vet diagnosed her with Addison’s. It was like she had just given up. She lived a great life for the next 4 years, hunting and being a great family pal. One day she was looking down and Barb and I thought we’d take her for a drive like she liked to do. Before we could get the truck ready she walked over, laid by me and closed her eyes. Her heart gave out. We loved that girl and even as I type this I still get tears for her. I pray that you have the same luck with Greta as I did Alli and hope that she lives a long life. Cherish each moment with her as she does each moment with you.
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Any time you put one down , it can be thaw last time. Good news
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Our dogs are athletes and should be treated as such. Finding a vet that understands this helps—a lot. I’m lucky to have access to a couple who either have or do hunt their dogs, and it makes quite a difference. (If nothing else, it avoids silly conversations like suggesting having the dog run at about 70% for a while.)
Soft tissue injuries can take a long time to heal. This early spring, our pointer hurt a front shoulder and wrist by running back-and-forth over slippery, rounded rocks. I’d rest him and leash walk him for a few weeks, he’d stop limping, I’d let him run, and he’d start limping again. After a few *months* of leash walks, he’s. back to almost 100%.
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I am pulling for Grady—-hopefully he is back in the saddle soon.
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Thanks guys. Grady’s third lazer treatment is today and as you all probably know, keeping a hunting dog quiet is almost impossible. Grady only knows one speed.
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