Éclair

Éclair has been bothered by his right eye.  He saw an ophthalmologist vet and after careful assessment & testing, enucleating was recommended.  He did well with his surgery; keeping him quiet for 2 weeks was another story.  The pathology report confirmed severe trauma very shortly after birth.

Monday I had his hips and knees x-rayed because I thought his gait was a little bit off.  To my sorrow, he has hips dysplasia.  The left hip is worse than the right and his right patella (knee) is misaligned.  Éclair has an appointment with an orthopaedic vet in Portsmouth to assess his hips and knee.  My poor little one may have to face more surgeries.  Please keep him in your prayers.  I am looking for a happy outcome.  I really want to do agility with him, so I am hoping it will be possible.

I sure hope that the person that bred him is aware that his line has dysplasia and halts breeding!  This is not fair to the little tyke born to this condition!  His day incontinence has improved.  The plan is for him to have a cat scan to check the position and connection of his ureters.  Testing will depend on his hips status as this is a priority.  My vet said I only had a 2 week window for that issue.

Éclair graduated from Puppy, level 1 and 2 obedience classes.  He earned his canine good citizen (CGC) certificate from AKC last Wednesday.  He is now enrolled in level 3 which will eventually earn him his Therapy dog certificate and trial.  He is also enrolled in agility and is a natural.

Éclair loves everybody and goes to everyone.  He has made several trips to my vet and each time saw someone different and they all love him.  At the end of February, my rescue border collie was diagnosed with lung cancer and nothing could be done for him.  I kept him as comfortable as much as I could for as long as I could.  The last 3 days of his life, Éclair would lay down by his side, lick him, and just watch as we hand-fed Rouskin.  It was a sweet moment in a difficult time.

Last week, he decided the Rouskin bed was very comfortable and is now his sleeping quarters.  Éclair had his own bed but he decided it was more fun to tear it apart.  I never realized how much stuffing this bed had; it was flying all over the living room.  All of his toys need to be "chew-proof".  He had one left that he was not chewing which was his dragon, the one you folks gave him.  Well, he dragged this dragon all over the house and then one day I started finding little piece of cloth and he finally chew it up.  His new passion is cow hoof.  He won one as a prize for the longest "down/stay" in testing.  Actually, he got it out of the prize box.

He is in daycare 2 days a week and has a play date on Saturday at noon.  He is so friendly and outgoing that he is very much in demand to help the shy and skittish puppies through therapeutic play and help the pups to come out of their shell.  He enjoys going to the park and playing with other dogs.  He prefers big dogs to play with such as German shepherds, Labs, Bernese, and Portuguese water dogs.  He
loves snow, does not mind the rain, and is in love with mud!  He really does not like the little yappers.  At day care he has some favourite friends.  I change days for day care so he can meet new dogs.  He is now 36lbs, but needs to lose weight.  My vet wants him leaner to decrease joint pressure.  So basically, he is happy, full of energy, has a good appetite, good character, has develop his bark and it is high pitch, oh la la!. 

He also growls when he does not want to do something but I have this under control.  He loves to steal, then stick his head out to check if someone is coming after the item he took.  He is learning to bring back the item.  He has not slept in his crate since Rouskin died on Feb. 26, but I do put him in for 3 hours, 3 mornings a week, until my housemate comes home then lets him out for the rest of the day.  He also goes for car and truck rides and still loves to ride and is now familiar with his riding harness seat belt.  He still curls up in the seat, and sits up at the traffic light stop.  He is his obedience teacher's "pet".  So he is growing up, full of life, clowns around and is very well-loved.

Update March '10 ...

Éclair has seen his surgeon yesterday.  After careful evaluation, he will not need surgery at this time for his hips; as far as his stifle goes we are taking the approach of "wait and see".  He is able to pop the knee back in on his own.  He does have extreme tenderness in the lumbar sacral area.  So, he is not to run or jump for the next month.  He will have an MRI or Cat scan of his bladder/ureter structures in the near future and at the same time will check on his lumbar sacral spine and also the thickening in his groin.  That should do it for his medical issues at this time.  He is adjusting to his modified diet.  I will be starting him this week on Omega, fish oil and chondroitin or cosequin.  He has a vet check in 1 month to monitor his progress and his lower spine.

Update May '10 ...

Éclair has been doing well.  His low back pain is now resolved.  He had a cartilage split at the sacral site of his spine which is common in young dogs.  He has lost some weight and the orthopedic vet said he is looking at 2 more pounds loss and he should be ok.  We finally found the cause of his urinary incontinence.  He has an ectopic ureter, causing the urinary dripping.  He has the kind that runs along the outside wall of the bladder.  The urologist is searching for a vet that can do the procedure via laser surgery so he will have a shorter recovery time and practically bloodless surgery.  He has been a trooper.  Everyone loves him.  He is doing well with agility although it has been low key due to his
stifle and low back issue.  He is now on Desaquin and fish oil to help improve his bilateral hip dysplasia.

We went to Hampton beach on April 26.  It was a warm, beautiful, sunny day.  Éclair sniffed every inch of the beach sand, got gingerly acquainted with seaweed, climbed the rocks, had a taste of sea water, and was unsure about the waves from the tide.  He had a ball!  He slept all the way home, had his supper and back to bed!

In spite of his medical journey and frequent visits to his 2 vets, he remains friendly, struts his stuff in the offices and just loves everyone.  All of the vet techs and DMV say they love him.  Next week, he will be returning to daycare 2 days a week.  He is missing his pals.  He always looks forward to his play date on Saturdays with his classmate.

He is a "chewer"; I have lost my slippers, my braces and my leather gloves to his teeth.  He peeks out and smiles at the deed he just accomplished.  I do not need to shred any papers, he is very willing to oblige.  He loves to play "hide and seek" with my shoes, hats and gloves.   He also has figured out where I keep those frozen peanut butter bones and will sit by the freezer waiting for his bone on the day he does not go to daycare.  As soon as I get the bone, he runs to his crate, and sits & waits for me to deliver the goods.

He is a gift wrapped in fur and so precious.  I am enjoying every minute of his antics. 

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