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Collen had a really lousy day today. I noticed that he had been fussing with the area below his tail quite a bit during the last week, and when I looked, it looked a bit swollen. Normally they take care of that when he goes for grooming, but I didn’t want to wait that long, so on Tuesday, I took him to the vet. The doctor said he was pretty full, expressed the glands, and Collen seemed to be feeling better.

The next couple days, however, he seemed to be even more focused back there, and was obviously in some distress, so I took him to the vet again today. His glands were fine, but the vet noticed a raw spot on his tail. Apparently when the glands were bothering him, his licking and fussing was directed at the tail as much as his rump, and he wore it raw.

Collen was very unhappy as they shaved his fur around the affected area and applied some medicine. The poor dog was about ready to come out of his skin. As soon as we put him back on the floor, he went right for the spot again, so on went a cone collar. He has to take antibiotics and steroids for a couple weeks, and the doctor says that when the steroids kick in, he should start leaving the spot alone. Until then, though, the cone stays on.

Since he returned home, Collen has alternated between sulking/moping/pouting and bumping into everything. Plus he can’t get to his food or water dishes easily, so I’m feeding him by hand and giving him water from a cup. The things I do for my little baby.

Here’s a peak at Collen and his cone collar. Poor guy looks like he got stuck in a lamp shade.

We noticed that as his medication dose was decreasing, Collen wasn’t feeling as well on the days without pills. While the medication helps make him more comfortable, it also makes him think he can act like his old self. Unfortunately there isn’t any way to explain to him that even though he feels OK, he isn’t healed yet.

I took him to our regular vet this morning, and he prescribed some more medication, enough for a couple weeks. He said Collen is doing OK, but he stressed that he has to be resting as much as possible. No stairs, no jumping, no active playing, all the things he wants to do. This kind of injury can take a month or more to heal, so it can be difficult. Especially since we have two steps that lead from our kitchen to our backyard. I have to get a ramp or something in place so he doesn’t have to go up and down anymore.

Collen is doing quite well and acting like his old self. I’m not sure if the drugs are that good or whether his injury wasn’t as bad as it seemed. We kept him in the kitchen for a few days and just started letting him into the rest of the first floor. This weekend we’ll probably let him upstairs again. I think our bed will stay off-limits until we can get him some steps to shorten the distance for him.

On Monday night, we took Collen over to the Emergency Clinic for an unplanned visit to the vet. That morning he didn’t seem to be acting as he usually does, but I wrote that off to him being more tired than usual. When I came home from work, though, I knew right away that something was wrong. He wouldn’t play, jump on the couch, or anything else he normally does. He was very tentative going up stairs and would bunny-hop his back legs coming down.

Of course, by this time I’m a wreck with the thought that something serious was wrong with him. After calling the clinic, we decided to take him in. Collen seemed to perk up a bit when he realized he was going for a car ride.

After examining Collen, the vet determined the problem was in his back near his hindquarters, a slipped or otherwise injured disc probably. Since Collen’s long and low, it is something he is susceptible too, like dachshunds and beagles (even though they aren’t long and low, but go figure). The good news, is he isn’t overweight, he’s young, and he doesn’t show any outward signs of impact on his back legs. So medication should take care of the pain and give the injury a chance to heal.

By the next morning he seemed to be acting as normal as ever. We’re keeping him in the kitchen area for a few days to make sure he rest and doesn’t try to jump up on anything. We’ll probably let him back into the hours soon and see how he does. We’re looking at getting some steps for him to be able to get up on our bed without jumping which is what he normally does. He’s a bit of a daredevil, leaping from ottoman to couch and so on, so we’ll see what we can do to convince him it isn’t a good idea.

I’m trying to get him to promise me he’ll never scare and worry me like that again, but so far no luck.