ok..i have got it now....took long enough!

max is not so much depressed..he is in pain. i kind of thought he was so we have been trying to give him anti-inflammatories (metacam)..but it is hard cuz somedays he won't eat and if he doesn't have a full stomach with that med, he will get a GI bleed. i also added a very low dose of tramadol just in case..but i did not want to give him a higher dose in case he was depressed because the tramadol would sedate him, making him feel even more depressed....and the low dose we have him on is not enough to help any real significant pain.

sometimes i just need the opportunity to be sitting quietly doing something i am easily distracted from (like reading my email) before everyone arrives here and the chaos begins....just watching what is going on around me.

max was up on his bed in the laundry room..mandy wanted to come out, so i let her....a few minutes later max gave a few barks..he wanted to come out too. he was still laying stretched out with his chin on his bed...i opened the gate and out he came with his head still hanging a bit low.

but he was perky and wagging his tail and he followed me back to the computer for a butt scratch.... when he turned his head around to lick me...he started screaming again.

ahhhhhhh...max, i am so sorry...it is your neck and upper back/shoulders hurting you. thats why you sometimes yell, that is why you LOOK so depressed...it hurts to hold up your head!

so....the laundry area is the absolutely worst place we can have him...it is two small stairs up and down...the meds we are giving him are not nearly enough to control the kind of pain he has now.

here i was blaming 4lane for driving the poor dog insane when it probably was that single step from my room to the big dog room that hurt max's neck instead....all it takes is one awkward stumble to mess up a really old guy.

geezus i am stupid sometimes. so today we will start max on some muscle relaxants, anti-neuropathic pain meds, we will give him the anti-inflammatories along with some stomach coating meds...and we will get that dose of tramadol up to where it may actually help him to feel better....we will do a few other things for him as well...a no stairs, quiet area, raised food and water bowls, some gentle heat and massage...and then we will see how he feels in a day or two.

i am so sorry max..i truly thought your mind was gone...i really suck sometimes, i should have known better than that....what do i ALWAYS tell folks with demented animals? it is almost ALWAYS pain (or cardiac) related..i should listen to myself once in awhile.