So this morning my son reports that the hound appears to be “about 80% better; largely acting like his old dog self.” The hot spot has completely healed (reminder to dog owners: acquire hot spot spray from the vet…it works!), and though he still has a little difficulty getting up and down, mostly he’s walking normally and has returned to bossing the human around.
It’s amazingly good news. If you’d asked me ten days ago how long it would take the dog to recover — or if he’d recover at all — I’d have guessed it would take 6 to 8 weeks for him to arrive at the stage my son describes. And I’d have guessed he’d never get much more than 80% of his functionality back.
But if he’s that much better now, it looks like there’s at least a chance he’ll return to normal.
He must not have had a 107-degree core temp for very long. It’s a five-hour drive from Phoenix to Show Low, even if you fly low on the open road. But they didn’t do much aviation: the road was closed in the Salt River Canyon, and they were stopped dead for an hour. At 107.4 degrees, if he’d been in that state for even 45 minutes or an hour, he surely would have died.
Okay. So it’s good news and bad news. If my son is right that the dog worked himself into a state of hyperthermia because he’s that terrorized by a car’s interior, it presents a problem: you can’t even get that dog to a vet without taking him in a car. And when Charley is under the weather (he’s given to unexplained collywobbles), my son will usually bring him to my house on the way to work. Same if he’s going out of town or has some other reason to have the dog babysat. All of those escapades will now take two people — one to drive and one to sit with the dog and try to keep him calm. My son likes to go camping and fishing, and he’s always taken Charley with him — after this, the minivacations will have to be dog-free.
And why would a man go fishing without his dog, eh?
A Man, a Dog, and Its Neurosis:
The Malignant Hyperthermia Soap Opera
Day One
Update
Homeward Bound
Back in Town
Home Again
Crisis, Continued
Hot Spot!?!
This is great news! Maybe he’ll need to start working with a behaviorist or trainer to figure out how to overcome this weird aversion to the dog has to the car. It’s pretty amazing what dogs can be trained to do (or not do, as the case may be), but it does take a lot of repetition and time.
Yeah. I’ve suggested to him that he try that.
I’m so happy for your son and Charley! I see the makers of the Thunder shirt now make some kind of mask. (I looked it up on Amazon-it’s called a calming cap). Maybe that would work for the car rides.
They also have an interesting leash/harness combination similar to the lash-up I jury-rigged to keep Ruby from dragging me down the street. Ah hah!
I’m really glad to hear the good news about Charley. May he continue to improve.
Glad to hear. Has your son tried taking him in any different car other than his own? Just to rule out potentially something having happened in that particular car versus a problem with cars in general?
Yes. He gets frantic in my car, too. It’s strange…very strange.
Glad to hear Charlie is out of “intensive care”…