Stiff Dog Saturday Our Daily Dinner

Stiff Dog Saturday

MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago
Good morning.

We woke up to find Homer, our old Aussie shepherd, having difficulty standing. Once he is there, he can walk although it is stiffly. The obvious choice is see the vet. We want to help loosen the stiffness but not put him thru extensive treatments / pain. It is probably hip dysplasia and/or severe arthritis. At 12 years old, he does not need to go thru any extensive surgery for anything. I have half an hour to decide whether to self-medicate or seek professional advice. As it is, we have to help him up - then he can navigate fairly well. I hate it when the poor critters age. We had to physically lift him to a standing position. Will start Ramadol and see how that works.

The trip to the John Deer museum was so cool. I love the autonomous tractor that supposedly does the work while you sit on your porch and watch. Ha ha. The walking harvester minimized environmental damage by walking on six legs, thus avoiding wheel-track damage to the floor of the forest...we had personal experience with that when our daughter took her 3/4 ton pickup thru a wet, soft ground and 7 years later the six inch deep tracks are still there. Wayne enjoyed the simulator, which lets you “operate” a machine that digs up gravel and transfers it to a waiting wagon for transport - but we both decided it was not a viable second career move - ha ha. The size of some of the machines was unreal!

The trees are turning and it should be really beautiful in a week or so. Fall is my favorite time of the year. I’m not into Halloween - but really love the autumn colors. We even have wild turkeys parading through the hayfield more often this time of year. Very cool. Deer season starts in a few weeks. With the price of ground beef hitting over $4.50 a pound, I hope he gets a deer!

The pictures are: the John Deere stag outside the pavilion - the autonomous tractor, a prototype that is SO-O-O cool - and myself beside the walking harvester, a machine that walks through the forest on six legs and grabs the tree and fells it!

Guess I better get moving. Sitting in the chair isn’t accomplishing anything and this house definitely needs a good cleaning / dusting. Not to mention working with the dog.
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laurieg 9 years ago said:

Morning everyone!
Went to a comedy night with the people from work last night.
Dropped Rachel off at 7:30 am to take her PSAT. I'm off to Macy's in a little bit. Not sure what's for dinner tonight. We had pasta last night.

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

Hi Laurie. It sounds like you have a busy day. I'm not sure if MO students take the ACT or PSAT tests now. Wish her luck.

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NPMarie 9 years ago said:

Good morning all:)

Karen, I'm sorry to hear Homer is having such a difficult time standing & walking..it probably is arthritis..poor guy. I do hope there are some suitable options out there to give him some relief..keep us posted.
How cool on the farm equipment! It's just amazing..I love the tractor that does the work for you! I imagine the price tag would be quite high on that one:)
Good luck with Homer..hope he gets better soon...

Hi Laurie:) Good luck to Rachel:)

We were up early this morning..I don't know why..I guess it's because he sleeps so well wearing his CPAP..he says he does try to be quiet when he gets up early (his definition of quiet is far from my definition of quiet) so of course I'm awake, the cats are awake..we are all awake at 4:30 am! It's now 6:45 and he's back in bed, the kittys are fast asleep..and I'm wide awake! I'm sure looking forward to an afternoon nap I tell ya!

Grilled 1/2 chicken for dinner..I'll make a macaroni salad to go with:) Maybe some garlic bread as well:)

Happy Saturday everyone:)

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

We are working with Homer - trying to get him moving as much as possible and at night we go out with him so if he does go down somewhere we can help. It is probably arthritis. The problem will be when he is at the kennels - maybe we can take his dog bed along to keep him off the hard surface.

CPAP machines are wonderful - now I can sleep because my husband uses one and does NOT snore in my ears. Yes, their definition of quiet is not our definition of quiet. And once I am up, that is it. I am awake for the day.

A.C. and Mel are on the couch resting up for the early morning romp - rampage - you name it. I need to do something constructive. Sitting here is not dusting or cleaning. Sigh.

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Good4U 9 years ago said:

Karen, We had a Husky named Hoover and when he was about twelve or so we went through the same thing with him. The Vet gave us some liquid green Glucosamine for horses, and it really helped him get up and move around. He loved it poured over his Special dog food for aging dogs. Hoover weighed about 150 pounds and he was a dead weigh to pick up and move before he started taking it. Something like that might help Homer? It is so hard to see our pets grow old:( I think you are right about Homer sleeping on the hard surface in the kennel. Very cool picks of the John Deer Pavilion. We still see a few John Deer tractors and such around here. Sadly John Deer stopped dealing in big farm equipment Canada etc. in 2009:( Now they only sell small residential equipment like lawn mowers and such.

Laurie, Sending the best of luck to Rachel on her test.

Marie, I hope you are able to get a good nap in this afternoon! I know you are normally an early riser but, 4:30 AM is NUTS! I love my short hair too, it is so easy to keep. Grilled chicken and a macaroni salad would be very welcome here as well as some garlic bread:)

Tina, I would get Fred tested or evaluated. I would worry about him driving if he is getting like that. Maybe he has had more little strokes? It must be so frustrating for him. If it is Alzheimer's he will be more cognitive in the morning and gradually fail through out the day. Have you noticed that? It is so sad to hear poor Fred is going through all that:( Congrats to Jill and Matt:) LOL I love your Hippy costume pic:)

We aren't up to too much today. Den did the grocery shopping this morning along with his beer run. He will have his normal Saturday cheeseburger and fries. It is too early for me to decide what I am having. The kids dropped by in the evening of my BD and brought me a lovely bouquet of flowers and a chocolate BD cake! We had a very nice visit, which ended a lovely day. We might go away for a few days and we haven't decided whether to go to Kingston or Peterborough Ontario. Both are about two hours away. At the moment I am leaning towards Kingston b/c, the shopping is better there. Den can stay and watch TV, read and relax while I go shopping for clothes etc. He doesn't mind grocery shopping but, he hates any other kind of shopping.

Wishing everyone a pleasant Saturday!

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

Hi Joce. Homer is on bacon flavored liquid glucosamine and it does seem to help. He has deteriorated somewhat even with that. I guess we will have to do a vet run sometime next week if he doesn't improve with TLC, glucosamine, and rest. He is laying on the hard floor at the moment - so much for soft, comfy bedding - his soft, cushy bed is beside him. We are giving him Ramadol ( ? sp.) also as it had helped our other dog.

The John Deere pavilion was super cool. We liked it! Be careful of buying John Deere lawn mowers in Home Depot or Lowes - they are NOT made by John Deere, are knockoffs / imitations / cheaply made / NOT good. I have known two people who fought to have their lawn mowers fixed to no avail. We bought our mower from the dealer and paid much more than Lowes - no problems, backed by John Deere, runs great for the last four years.

Most people around here either have JD or Kubuto (? spelling) but I like to buy as close to U.S. made as possible. Our size JD is not put together in the U.S. - the huge mega agricultural behemoths are still made here. That is my sum total of knowledge about the JD Company.

The kitchen floor should be dry by now so I have no excuse not to finish cleaning. Sigh.

Hi all.

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NPMarie 9 years ago said:

So true Karen! Once he's up, I'm up and ready to start my day! Of course after a few hours I start fading fast! LOL

Oh Joce, how nice your kids brought you flowers and a cake for your birthday! Love chocolate cake..yum yum:)
Love that you 2 are planning a getaway:) Sounds really nice..I was just telling Rick this morning (because I had the TV on and Sideways http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgDxPPOHy_U was on, so we watched a few minutes of it and he went back to bed) anyway...I was thinking a trip to Napa for wine tasting would be a nice getaway for us:) Now, what to do with the cats...our best option is http://www.paradisecatresort.com/ I do believe..they are nice people who are cat lovers so our kittys would be well cared for:) Anyway...we need to get away!!!!

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

Marie - if we are gone for only 4, or five days max, our cats are happy by themselves inside the house. Any longer and our daughter comes by to keep an eye on them or clean litter boxes, feed and check the water. The outdoor cats are fed by whoever feeds the horses, they are independent enough to be on their own as long as food and water are replenished daily. My sister has a pet sitter stay with her's. Cats are so much easier than dogs!

Enjoy your trip. A good cat boarding place is indispensable! Love the name!

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

Hi Everyone! I've had a most lovely day thus far. Jim and I didn't get home from the David Suzuki Evening until going on 11 and we always like to relax a bit first before heading straight to bed so didn't go to bed until midnight which is most unlike us. :) So I managed to sleep in 'til almost 9 a.m. Late start to the day!
Headed to the Farmer's Market. It's getting pretty slim pickings now. Not as many vendors by far. Bought some honey, apple cider and beets. Then on to Costco. It's always a zoo I know and today was no exception. I was most pleased though as I visited their Optometry Centre for the first time and ordered a new pr. of glasses. I'd been to the Eye Dr. way back in the summer time but hadn't gotten around to choosing frames. Jim and the lady there helped me and I'm quite pleased. They'll be in in a week and a half or so. I like fun, funky glasses and these are orange and brown with neat squigglees on the side of the frames. :) Also picked up a ginormous bag of bird seed and some socks. :)
And lastly, lunch at Hockey Sushi. So good. Tried Salmon belly for the first time. It was coated in tempura batter and served with a thick teriyaki sauce. Most delicious. Had dumplings, sweet potato and avocado sushi, (Jim had salmon and mackerel sushi too), shrimp tempura, sweet potato tempura, etc. Full, full, full.
Home now and Jim's reading by the fire. Bets on to how fast he'll fall asleep. He only managed to sleep 'til 7. :)
Took out some chicken pieces for dinner which I thought I could turn into
Chalet Style Chicken
although at this point I'm wondering if we'll truly be hungry for dinner. Sens Game on tonight. Yay! Bought a bottle of bubbly to go with. :)
Had a good giggle over the thread title and only because it's an amusing one not because poor Homer is having troubles. Poor you Karen. You've had more than your share of losing pets recently and I truly feel for you. I really agree with you in not putting him through anything painful or stressful but just do what you can to make him as comfortable as you can. Also enjoyed hearing about the John Deere Museum and seeing the pictures. That tractor and the harvester are super cool. My Dad would be amazed. I have to tell my one and only John Deere story. :) My Dad had a small farm and did have some John Deere equipment but he was also a very smart man who knew how to work with his hands (he was a welder by trade until he retired to farming) and he actually built some of his own pieces of equipment. I don't exactly remember now what pc. of equipment it was but in his latter years he'd built one all by himself from scratch and then painted it the John Deere colour. After he passed away my Mom had a John Deere rep over to look at our farm equipment to help her get an idea on pricing as she auctioned all that stuff off. The John Deere rep went around and told her what prices he'd set and then he saw the pc. of equipment my Dad had built and he said "Oh, what about this one?" to which Mom replied "No, that one's not a real John Deere, my husband made that". "NOOOO" said the rep and it took him a bit of really close looking before he realized infact it was a home job and not the real thing. Makes me proud of my Dad. :) And he would have really enjoyed hearing that exchange. :) Also got a giggle out of " bacon flavored liquid glucosamine", again, just because it sounds amusing. :)
Fun, fun on the Comedy Night Laurie. Jim and I were just saying recently that we hadn't been to one in a long time and a good belly laugh is good for the soul. :) Good luck to Rachel!
Oh my goodness at Rick waking up so early Marie and then heading back to sleep with you wide awake then! :) And I totally agree....Jim's idea of being quiet is VASTLY different from my idea of being quiet. Shaking head. :) Your dinner plan sounds great. Too ka-ka here to BBQ. You undoubtedly have had more experience with California wine regions that I but Jim went to the Napa Region and found them horrendously expensive, both for the tastings themselves and for the wine compared to the Sonoma which we really, really, really enjoyed and felt was tremendous value. Is Napa a lot closer for you than Sonoma? And would you consider leaving your cats with your parents or sister or would that be too much for them?
Yum on Den's cheeseburger Joce. :) Did you decide yet what you feel like? Lovely that you got more flowers and a cake from Chris and family.

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

Just going through the posts from later on yesterday that I had missed.
No Michelle or Tina yet today. (I wasn't the last to check in after all LOL!)
Glad to hear your pumpkin pie turned out tasty and now you can just work on improving the crust for next time. Although, I bet even without a crust altogether it'd be yummy am I right?
Yes Marie, I keep my hair short. Always have except for a very brief time in early high school when I had it hip length almost. I look a lot better in short hair and like Joce says, it's way easier to maintain. And I am fortunate in that I do still have pretty thick hair so it does fluff up well. :)
Sorry to hear your concerns re: Fred Tina. You, my lady, have more than you should on your plate. Gentle hugs. Indeed, it'd be wise to get a Dr.'s opinion and I hear you about Fred being able to fool the Dr. but you being more aware of the true state of the union since you're with him 24/7. That's how I felt a lot with my Mom. Did you get the loveseat put together? Has Liv's frame of mind improved today? :) I hope you didn't catch her germs.
Karen, those dried bean chips you were snacking on last night sounded fabulous. What's the brand name? I'd like to try those myself.
And we didn't end up getting to Baan Thai last night for dinner. I got lost getting to the theatre. What's new? It's not at all surprising. :) And I didn't get REALLY lost, but did drive right past the damn thing without realizing and had to circle around again, then made the left hand turn one drive way too soon and ended up in the wrong parking lot, yada,yada,yada......so...by the time I got there I was flustered and didn't want to make the trek to the Thai place so we just ate at the Royal Oak Pub. I had a Chicken Quesadilla and Jim had quite a nice Asian chicken salad.

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

(Jim's asleep) :)

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notyourmomma 9 years ago said:

Afternoon, folks!
Aw, Homer....you have all my sympathy, stiff joints are no fun. I cringe thinking of our pets hurting. Karen, that 6 legged walker looks just like something out of Star Wars. Nice pics of the autonomous tractor. I bet it is expensive. I had a BIL that sold Kabota engines in the US. He was on an Olde Timers Hockey League that I used to rent rooms to every spring for their hockey tournaments in St. Pete. He met my sister at the pool and they were married for 3 years. He was a nice fellow. What a memory.

Laurie, good wishes to Rachel on her SAT. I was such a bad girl, oh, I better not tell you what I did, but suffice to say, I turned it around was only .03 from being Valedictorian of my graduating class. My mom did NOT take me to my SAT test, if she did, it would show she was interested in me. (Sorry)

Kitchen is clean. Sheets are in the washer. Towels were done yesterday.

Joce, nice that you had a good visit with family for your birthday. Cake and flowers are always welcome. Now leaving Den to watch TV while you shop is an ideal solution. Why have I never thought of splitting us up?

Marie, ohhhhhh, I hope you get to take a mini-vacation. Napa Valley would be so lovely.
Enjoy that roast chicken.

Liv and I discussed Fred late into the night. He refuses to let me go with him to the doctor. She said she would go with him. Um, the loveseat is still in pieces in the family room. She felt too yucky to help and I can't read Japanese.
Thank you everyone for your kind advise and wishes on my ever-loving hubby. I appreciate your comments. He is a handful. He has used up five of his nine lives and I fully expect our journey will always be a bumpy ride.

Dinner is simple, we will polish off the pan of cabbage rolls, salad on the side.

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

Janet - love your John Deere story! Your new glasses sound cool!
Homer won't eat the beef flavor liquid glucosamine any more - he only wants bacon. The ramadol pills are flavored so he thinks he is getting a treat but will turn up his nose if you try to give them too often. He is a trip.
The chips don't have a brand name - just "green bean chips" on the label and produced by Dutch Valley (I think) Food Producers in Pennsylvania. I have found them (different brand) for less at the commissary), so you might try WalMart or one of the health food stores. I liked these because they did not have all the preservatives that most brands do. I bought them at a wholesale food place about 24 miles from home. They sell all kinds of neat, but overpriced, stuff - the 22.95 mini muffin tin I can do without or buy elsewhere for half the price. But there are some good deals - they do have black angus beef in their freezer. Very expensive black angus beef, I might add.

Tina - our prayers are with you. If Olivia goes along, at least there is one other voice for the doctor to hear. Or Fred might decide tomorrow to have you accompany hm? Maybe if you called and left a message with his nurse describing the problems? Keep us informed.
Our doctor had a super nurse who runs interference if needed. Becky got me in when I ran a very nasty UTI by telling him, "She never complains. You have to work her in."
The John Deere pavilion was super cool. We both loved it. They have chairs to sit in so my back didn't give out half way through. And short videos to sit down and watch if you want. Even a kid's area for younger ones to play with toy tractors etc. The gift store was nice - typical stuff - I bought a J.D. pen and Wayne got a J.D. mug - we have 9 million mugs in the cupboard already but what is one more - LOL.

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

When things do get 'bad' enough I'm sure you'd be able to talk to some health care professional that could get Fred seen to. There are oodles of people suffering from dementia and alzheimer's, etc. that can't be their own spokesperson anymore even though they think they can. They need an advocate. Sorry the love seat is still in pieces. Instructions are helpful if written correctly but often that isn't the case. Japanese doesn't help either. :)
If you get a chance to post a pic of Homer for us to see please do Karen. Always nice to have a face to a name. :) I'm so going to keep my eyes open for Green Bean chips. I am easily seduced by pottery and as such must really watch myself and exert willpower when put in situations. :) At one time my mug count was very high. I have shown good restraint for many years. :)

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notyourmomma 9 years ago said:

SP Janet.....lol on Jim's quick descent into a nap. You have had a busy day and evening.
Sorry the drive was so stressful. I love your lunch. Tempura anything would be lovely.
Great story about your dad and the JD representative. Very cool. Glad you got some jazzy glasses. Always fun. Enjoy your Sens game.

Marie, don't forget to take a pic of your hair, m'dear. I like short myself.

Karen, I'll have to get some of the gloucosamine stuff for Charlie Brown, he limps once in a great while and I have to think his hip hurts him. He is rapidly getting a whiter muzzle. Even Molly has a few white hairs on her chin. She is four years old.

Fred is off to take a nap. He is really off-kilter today. Today is my older sister's birthday, sent her wishes on FB. Mailed her card late. She will be mad at me. Oh well.

I'm going to see if I can try again on the loveseat. I'm not really strong enough but if I get the pieces lined up, maybe he can hold it while I tighten the bolts. Or we wait for Scotty's day off and see if he can help.

I'm kind of stuffed up and off-kilter myself and my scratchy throat is burning. Hurts to swallow. Sneezed so hard, I scared Lola Jane. She did a complete somersault. Too funny. Windows are open, the house is airing out nicely. We are supposed to be around 68 degrees this evening. Wahoo!!!

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

Thanks Tina! :) I'm just naturally directionally challenged. I take a lot of rides on the Disorient Express. :) It does sound like you're coming down with something! :( LOL@ Lola's somersault! :)Glad you're getting some cooler temperatures. We went out for a Hot Tub around five and had to snuggle ourselves down low in the water as that North wind is blowing cold!
"HI HOMER". He's a big un alright! :) Thanks Karen!

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

Janet - I put Homer's pix on as my avatar. He is older now but that is a good likeness.

Tina - We get the liquid gloucosamine at WalMart in their pet section. Not all carry the bacon flavor one. If you don't find it I will check the brand name so you can Google it. Good luck in putting together the loveseat.

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