Rex not giving up yet

Rex has over the last few days shown some very impressive improvements. He has tripled the distance he can walk. He is lifting his leg noticeable more with less dragging. He has now been on Cosequin for over a month and I have a feeling this is what's starting to kick in. I have lowered the doze of Rimadyl to 100mg a day, down from 200.
He is also taking a break from his acupuncture treatments.

Rex hanging in there

I have not posted in a few days. I've been super busy with a web design project. In this economy I have to take what I can and sometimes that's a little more than I can fit into a day's work.

Yesterday Rex looked better than he has in a long time. I have plowed a large circle in an open area where I walk him. It's a lot of snow here now and he can't walk through the deep snow. This circle is also a good measurement for how far he can walk. For the last week he could walk this circle one time before his limping became too severe. Yesterday he made this circle twice and still he was not limping as badly as he normally would have done after one lap. That's my boy!

Rex is still on:
Rimadyl 200mg a day
Cosequin DS 4 tablets a day
Acupuncture once a week

What's working or not is hard to tell. I think the combination of the above is all beneficial to him.

Rex a little better

Rex is showing more energy and sometimes gets up off the couch by himself. He has not done this in a long time. He shows signs of walking better at the beginning of his walks. After 5 minutes, he's pretty much done and needs to go back in and lay down. I don't see any signs of pain. I have not heard him make any noises this past week. He has now had 3 acupuncture sessions. I'm still not sure what have caused the improvement, the Rimadyl or the acupuncture. Tomorrow he has been on Rimadyl for 2 weeks. I have not noticed any side effects so far.

Rex not improving

Resting after 2nd acupuncture session

This is so frustrating. We can't seem to get Rex's leg to improve. He has now been on Rimadyl for one week and completed two acupuncture sessions. It pains me to see him limping so severely and not being able to walk for more than a few minutes. In all other areas he is perfect. Very alert, energetic and have so much willpower to keep going. I'm torn between keep trying and to put him down. I don't see any pain and the vet and the acupuncturist agrees. This is the only reason I keep going. The moment pain enters the picture I know what to do. I will try two more sessions and if that does not show any improvements I will have to make a decision.

More energy, still limping badly

Rex seem more alert, and energetic this morning. He walked out of the RV with more determination that he has had for the last few weeks. He also wanted to walk faster this morning despite his limping. It does not seem to bother him much. It's looks awful to me, but if he can handle it I guess I have to go with it. When he was sick with a kidney infection last year he did not want to get up from the couch and go out. He's nothing like that at this time.

No change

Loving the couch

I was warned by the acupuncture doctor that Rex may get a little worse the day after. He seems the same today. Still limping badly, but he has good energy and appetite.  He wants to walk, I have to coach him to keep these walks short.  I gave him 200 mg of rimadyl today. He's been on 100 mg a day for two days. Our next acupuncture session is on Monday. We're taking it one day at the time.

First acupuncture session

Today we went for Rex's first acupuncture session. He did very well. He had a few moments when he got a bit restless and started panting a little, but overall  he was a good patient. The Dr. said we can't expect too much during these first sessions. Rex may even appear to be worse due to the treatment. She also tested Rex for pain and discomfort and agreed with me that he does not seem to be in much pain. I'm very curious to see if this will help. I'll keep my mind open to this.
He is now resting peacefully on the couch after having his meal. I could tell he was relaxed  and a bit weak since he could not  finish his meal standing up. He was so cute, right in the middle of his meal he stumbled over to the couch looked at me to indicate he wanted me to help him up. He finished his meal laying down.