Oh Ike

Friday when I got home to walk Ike he seemed like he was extra pokey and was moving gingerly. I called Dr. F and left a message - then we went to Ike's first acupuncture appointment.

Surprisingly it went really well. Dr. M feels Ike has slow spleen qi and his yang pulse is faster than his yin. She said this is not uncommon with people and dogs who are on antibiotics. While Ike never could fully relax he stood very patiently while Dr. M worked on him. She showed me how to do a type of massage similar to myofascia massage that works on the digestive points. You start by gathering a roll of skin right over the base of the tail. You slowly roll the skin forward up to the withers. Then you use a long stroke to release it. Do this three times. She said given Ike has had so much digestive upset I should do this 2 or 3 times a day. When I did it yesterday he immediately burped afterward! Success!

Unfortunately Dr. F informed me that acupuncture and homeopathy do not work well together. I thought I had told him I made this appointment for Ike, but obviously I only thought it and did not actually tell him. He told me to hold off cancelling Ike's 2nd appointment until we see how he does, but in general the two modalities do not work together. This is apparently because both modalities are working at the energetic level.

Ike seemed perkier on Friday evening, but by Saturday morning he was again curled up in a ball feeling like crap. The doxy is wreaking havoc on his poor belly. Dr. F had me re-dose with the belladonna.

Ike does not seem to want to eat certain things. I don't know if this is because he is nauseous or because his jaw/teeth hurt. I checked his teeth and gums and did not see anything that jumped out at me. He ate his duck necks no problem but didn't want his Nu-Pet chews until I broke them into smaller pieces.

We went to visit my mother yesterday and Ike seemed like he felt better than he had. He didn't ask to go home once, so we will see.

I am going to call the vet's office on Tuesday and schedule a CBC and have her look st his mouth and I am talking to the CVH about taking Ike off the doxy.