One Month

Duncan made it almost exactly four weeks between grand mal seizures. His last one was Tuesday, April 17, and after that one we increased his dosage of Phenobarb. This morning, he had two grand mals back-to-back at 2:50am. The first one lasted about a minute, he was clearly post-ictal for another minute, and then he fell over and had a second grand mal lasting about 45 seconds. Then another minute or so of post-ictal, followed by some ice cream once he was up and moving. After his usual twenty minutes of anxious pacing and a meaty snack he went to sleep, the lucky pup. I stayed up with him until nearly 4:00, just to make sure another seizure wasn’t waiting for me to turn my back. I finally managed to fall asleep when my clock went off at 5:00.

I don’t know what we’re going to change, if anything. I’m waiting on the vet to give me a call. Duncan’s still having a hard time with the side effects from the Pheno so I really don’t want to increase the dose again. Unfortunately, I think he’s also had two partial seizures since we increased the dose the last time. I didn’t witness either one, but I saw evidence of a partial both times. Maybe we’ll look at adding a second medication to the Pheno to see if the combination helps. I’m sure there will be more side effects, though.

Agility Star!

The disk of photos taken at VALOR Nationals came in yesterday. The ladies of Shutter Paws Imaging did a great job! These are a few of my favorites....

Yes, I'm giving Duncan a pre-run pep talk. And it apparently worked.

Playful Pups

I just want to point out that it took about three hours last Sunday for Kodiak to get over his fear of this particular squeaky toy...

Love those shiny raw-fed teeth!

Duncan's Not-So-Spectacular Weekend

This past weekend, Duncan and I had an APDT Rally trial scheduled (four trials over two days). Normally, I would have entered him in all four trials ahead of time, but because of the seizures and meds I decided to do day-of entries. That gave me the option to enter him based on how he was doing at the time. My hope was that we would finish up two titles. Duncan needed two qualifying Level 1 runs (score of 170 or better) to finish his RL1X title. He also needed two QQ's (qualifying runs in Level 1 and Level 2 in the same trial with scores of 190 or better) to finish his ARCH.

We started with Level 1 Saturday morning. Duncan was very spacey and clearly had trouble concentrating on what he was doing. Amazingly, he still managed to get a 187. Its just as well his score was under 190, because I might have felt like I needed to enter him in Level 2. I'm glad I didn't, because I don't think he would have done very well.

Saturday afternoon, we tried Level 1 again. I definitely had Duncan back with me. His focus was great and he responded promptly to every command. He ended up with a 204, finishing his RL1X on a high note. The lady holding the two qualifying ribbons was the morning judge, and the lady holding the fancy RL1X was the afternoon judge.

I was optimistic going into Level 2, but it just wasn't to be. I put Duncan in his crate while I walked the course and then got him back out to keep him warmed up. I really think he had a partial seizure in his crate while I was walking - his behavior changed significantly within that few minutes. He was still focusing, but not like he had been earlier, and he was slower to respond. We started the course, which had a jump as the second exercise. For the second time in his rally career (the first being the first time he ran a course with a jump), Duncan refused the jump. That was an automatic NQ, of course. I decided we'd finish the course, since practice is always good. Duncan did the next couple of exercises with no problem and then I lost him. Even the judge could tell something was wrong because she came up to me and told me to take him out, that he wasn't enjoying himself. Not only was he not having fun, he'd also started having trouble with his back legs. I decided at that point that we wouldn't go back Sunday - there will always be more Rally trials.

After we got home, I figured Duncan would just rest. But no, he wanted to play with Kodiak. Unfortunately, the meds make him clumsy, and when you add in a partial seizure and balance issues, you have a problem. Duncan turned too quickly, lost his balance and fell hard, resulting in yet another rear leg injury. Poor boy, he just can't win. Thankfully, Duncan seemed content to do nothing more than sleep on Sunday. He's not limping anymore, but he's still worrying at the knee a little. I swear, I really wonder sometimes if the meds are doing more harm than good. Preventing seizures is great, of course, but the side effects cause so much trouble on their own.

VALOR Nationals - Day 3

Today was the last day of VALOR Nationals. It was significantly warmer than yesterday which made running the courses a bit more difficult. Duncan started out energetic, but the heat wiped him out pretty quickly. He ran a clean Intermediate Jumpers course first (I figured we'd get the harder course out of the way) and then a clean Beginner Jumpers course. Other than occasionally thinking maybe he'd like to go around the obstacle rather than through/over it, Duncan did a great job. I really love that VALOR doesn't have a time limit - that means we can run the course at the speed that works for us, as well as take our time lining up for the jumps. VALOR also doesn't disqualify a dog for passing/refusing an obstacle. All you have to do is turn the dog around and try it again.





Here's my pooped pup with all his loot from this weekend. He was happily snoozing away just a few minutes after I took this picture.

Duncan and I had a great weekend. He showed that he enjoys doing agility, which makes me happy. But the absolute best part of this weekend is that we made it through without any seizures. We're 12 days seizure-free and counting!

VALOR Nationals - Day 2

My boy is awesome! Duncan had a wonderful day at VALOR Nationals today. We started with the Beginner Jumpers Round 2 course. Not only did Duncan have a clean run, but he did it on the first try! I love watching this video and seeing his energy and enjoyment of what we're doing.



Qualifying with this run gave Duncan his Beginner Jumpers title, which means he can continue at the Beginners level to work on his Cum Laude title, as well as move to the Intermediate Jumpers level. For kicks and giggles, we gave the Intermediate course a try. We decided the best plan was to take our time, line Duncan up for each jump, and give him plenty of room to build his momentum. Duncan did a beautiful job, earning his first Intermediate leg on his first attempt.



We have the chance to get another Intermediate leg and a Beginner Cum Laude leg tomorrow. Its supposed to be a lot warmer, so we'll just see how things go. The photographer working today got some great action shots and will hopefully get more tomorrow. I can't wait til I get the disk!

VALOR Nationals - Day 1

Despite the fact that we've only had two training sessions, Duncan and I are participating in VALOR Nationals this weekend. The league is still small enough that "National" means a group from North Carolina and a group from New Jersey, but its the idea that counts.

Yesterday was the first official day of the event, with an early-bird option Thursday evening. Different Jumpers and Standard agility courses are offered each of the three days, giving teams multiple chances to earn legs. Duncan and I signed up for a late evening slot on Thursday, since I wasn't sure I could get out of work early enough Friday. We only run Jumpers - Standard includes obstacles that neither of us wants to attempt. I was concerned that Duncan might not do too well Thursday as he's still dealing with side effects from the increased dose of Phenobarb (a week and a half seizure-free!). My boy tried so hard, but he knocked a bar on the first run and things went downhill from there.

I decided we'd give it another try Friday (same course, yay!), so we signed up for the last slot at 5:30. I rearranged a few things at work, did a conference call from home and we made it out there with time to spare. We ran our first attempt just after 5:30. Duncan was moving nicely but he knocked two bars - including the very last one. 45 minutes and 6 attempts later, success! And no, Duncan was not running full courses for the 45 minutes. A couple of attempts were aborted at the first or second jump and he had a nice break while we let a couple of other people run their dogs. Unfortunately, it was a good bit warmer than was ideal for Duncan, so by our last run his tongue was hanging practically to his knees. As always, though, Duncan did his best to give me what I asked. Our last run was a lot of work for both of us - we've learned he does best when he basically has to chase me through the course, and if I slow down, he slows down. I also have to line him up and give him plenty of room to build up his speed before each jump. This was not a pretty run, but it was clean, and that's what matters in VALOR. And yes, I am pulling up my pants in a couple of places...it turns out I've lost almost 10lbs since I started back on my meds and I didn't realize how loose those jeans had become. Not to worry, though - I'm wearing a belt today!



We got home around 7:15, I fed the pups and cats and before I could even get my dinner started, Duncan was passed out cold on his bed, snoring away. He was one pooped pup. Not that I can say anything - it was all I could do to stay awake until bedtime.

Last night gave Duncan his second leg towards his Beginner Jumpers title (he earned one a few weeks ago during our training session). Today should be a lot cooler than yesterday, which should help both of us considerably as our run is scheduled for 2:30. Paws crossed we nail it on the first try, or even the second.

Mirabelle

Happy 15th birthday, Baby Girl! 

I love you! 

Kittens!

Happy 7th birthday to Khar'pern and Parm.

Its a bit of a sad day (for me, but probably not so much for them) since this is their first birthday without Per'la.

Mama loves you, kittens!