Mika knew where we were going right after we got out of the car. I was carrying her, and as we started walking in the direction of the vet hospital, she started screaming/barking. Poor girl wouldn't take treats and I didn't know what to do. I regret not spraying her collar with DAP; I don't know if it would have helped, but it would have been worth a try.
Then I weighed her on the scale; 13.6 pounds. She weighed 12.4 pounds at our last exam; she has gained more muscle mass since then, but I think she also needs to lose a bit of extra "flabby weight" as well! She's not overweight at all, but I like to keep my dogs very slim for agility.
Mika finally took a few treats as we were waiting for the vet. She was shaking, though.
Then our vet arrived, and we went into the exam room. She checked Mika over and had no concerns at all. Then I mentioned how I've noticed that Mika's fur has been thinning (all over her body, not in patches), and that I'd like to have her thyroid tested. (Hypothyroidism is a hugely underdiagnosed problem, and thinning fur is one of the symptoms of it.) Our vet wasn't too concerned about her thyroid, but agreed to start with a free T4 test, which can also be included in a huge collection of tests including tests for the liver, kidneys, pancreas, etc. I kind of wanted the full thyroid panel, but agreed to go along with her suggestion because it included a lot of other tests that are very important for aging Miniature Schnauzers.
Mika was taken in the back to have her blood drawn, and I felt just terrible; she must have bee so stressed and wondering what was going on, why these "strange people" were taking her away. I'm sure she was extremely cooperative -- she always is -- but I couldn't help worrying. Of course, in a few minutes she was brought back, and all was well again. The vet told us that we'll be called about the test results in around two days.
Then our exam was done. Our vet let us know that there was a German Shepherd outside in the waiting room, and so I was prepared as I walked out of the exam room with Mika in my arms, turning my body to block her view of the other dog; but then I saw that it was a big BLACK German Shepherd, ugh oh. But Mika didn't see the GSD right away, until the owner walked into the exam room with it, and then she was just so eager and relieved to be leaving the vet that she didn't care at all.
*****
I'm resting Wall-e for two weeks because a few days ago, on Sunday, I noticed that he was slightly lame in his front right leg (was limping a bit). He's not limping at all anymore, but I'll still continue resting him, just in case. I'm glad that it's not his rear leg again, although I'd been hoping that he could go the full year without any lameness, no matter how slight, but at least it's nothing big. I find it's ironic that Wall-e's been lame three times in the past year because he is SO fit and slim, and has awesome muscle mass...I guess it's just his hard-driving way of living that he chooses that makes him more likely to be injured. Especially running along the fence in the backyard chasing cars, which I've been limiting, but he's so crazy about doing it that I suspect it's caused two of the three lamenesses he's experienced (one was caused by agility for sure, but the other two are unknown).
We'll be keeping our paws crossed waiting to find out about the test results.
ReplyDeleteWe both like our vet, so we guess Dog Dad is lucky.
Essex & Deacon
It sounds like it went well for a vet visit...we ought to all post one of those charts at our house that some work places have that say _X__ number of injury free days-we can change the number each day and see how many days we can get up to--hopefully one day we would all get a number over 365-although since I too have a dog that makes that seem like a unrealistic dream ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt seems you had a successful vet visit day.
ReplyDeleteEva used to love to go to the vets until she has had her girlie surgery done and had a sleepover at the vet, the next time we took her back to the vet, she was shaking tremendously when we put her on the table, it was so hard to calm her down but when the examination was over and she was on the floor, she was alright and be her happy self again. The vet said when the dogs are puppies, they fear nothing but once they grow older, they are more concious when they are at the vets as they might somehow go through some bad experiences at the vets like having a shots or others. Like Eva's case, she was left alone for the surgery and then she was alone at the vet with other dogs.
Hope Wall-E is okay and fit for agility soon!
Glad the vet visit went well. I hope he feels better soon.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Mika's vet visit went pretty well (Marge stresses at the vet, too). Hope Wall-e's alright, I think resting him for a little longer is a good idea.
ReplyDelete