Stairs: the game

Mishka has been limping around for some weeks, and last time we went to the vet, she refused to tell us what hurt. We tried two weeks of anti-inflammatories and rest, but the limp worsened after one day at the Dog Park (my fault but she looked so pitiful, I had to let her go). I called for a follow-up appointment, which was yesterday afternoon.

After taking her on a run and a romp at the Dog Park to tire her out and make her stiff, Geoff took Mishky back to see Dr. Lewis. This time, she was able to elicit guarding on the physical exam and diagnosed her with elbow dysplasia (basically arthritis).

Mishka is now on chondroitin sulfate, a dietary supplement to the tune of $90/150 pills. We are not to let her jump off of places higher than 2-3 feet and we need to take it easy with the exercise. No more Fiesta Island, unfortunately for our poor puppy. She'll need anti-inflammatories for bad flare-ups. No need for an xray, though. Our vet is really reasonable and doesn't order things willy nilly. We like her.

It turns out our bed is above the height limit for Mishka. Since Mishky jumps on and off of it several times a day, we needed to find a solution. When we bought our bed set, it came with a little set of stairs which has ironically stayed on Geoff's side of the bed (like he needs it). Before we swapped out the regular box spring for the quarter-sized one, since I could hardly climb into bed, I needed the stairs to get up there. Now they just collect dust.

Last night I had 5 minutes free before dinner, so I called Mishka, got 6 little treats and we both headed for the bedroom. I was going to teach her to use the stairs. At first she was timid. She looked at me frustrated. Cautiously, she outstretched a paw. She let it rest lightly on the slippery step then cocked her head a little as if to say "REALLY?!" But I kept encouraging her. I held the treat out of her reach, so she'd have to step onto the step. She kept trying to lean out and snatch it in her mouth, which was hilarious. She looked at me like I was taunting her.

Finally, she took that step...then hoppity hoppity and she was down. Going up was much easier. In less than 5 minutes, Mishka was going up and down the steps reliably, basking in our effusive praise every time she did it. She wiggled her body around ecstatically, her long tongue wagging with her exuberant tail. She looked goofy.

So now our handicapped pooch has this new game called "Stairs," all made possible by her impressive canine intellect coupled with an intense desire to please us. Good thing her smarts don't clue her into the fact that this is really about as exciting as a handicap ramp.