I realized it had been a long time since I had posted an update on Claude, our blind Great Dane who developed Wobbler’s Syndrome at 10 months of age … and hip dysplasia as well. I won’t rehash all the details of his complicated medical issues, because you can read his original story here. But I am happy to report that this big youngster is doing fine so far. We’ve been managing his Wobblers medically with prednisone, and that has made him very stable. Unfortunately, whenever we try and reduce his current dose — with prednisone, you want the lowest possible effective dose — he begins falling and dragging his feet again. But on the existing dose, which is 20 mg twice a day, you’d never know he has a serious neurological disease. And his hips are holding up okay, too.
So we’re quite happy that Claude has made it this far to enjoy a summer at the ranch. I took the photo of Claude this evening in the front yard of Widget’s House. It’s been a glorious if hot 4th of July — bright blue sky and sunshine — and the best part is coming up: No fireworks to upset the dogs! One of the many nice things about living in such a remote area is that there’s no one around to set off fireworks all night long. Thus Claude and all the other dogs will sleep soundly, and so will we!
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Update on Brynn: One of Brynn’s surgeons at Washington State University’s veterinary teaching hospital, Dr. Kristin Gablehouse, called yesterday evening to say they did the surgery late in the afternoon and Brynn was doing great. It will be a few days more before they know if the urethral extension is working properly, and at that point they’ll decide on when Brynn can be discharged. But one of the vet students called tonight to say Brynn’s recovery was going well and that she had postured and peed like a normal mare a few times today. That’s a very good sign.
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(Click on photo for larger image.)
Rolling Dog Farm Blog 
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