Long story, ignore if you like
My dog (13 year old border collie mix) had a rough past 12 months. He had pretty major surgery last September. He was acting “old” and was unable to move around easily and was acting lethargic. He was having constipation issues and that is when the vet found a growth inside his abdomen that was about the size of a baseball.
My bride and I opted not to do a needle biopsy (his blood work was fine) and took him to a veterinary “specialist” for the surgery. Good thing we did not do the needle biopsy as the growth ended up being a blood pocket (I forget the term) and that would have probably killed him.
He was in rough shape for a few days after surgery but bounced back rather nicely and within a month was acting much “younger” and not having the discomfort that he was. His spleen was also removed as were his testicles
. (I never had him “fixed” before because it was never an issue in any way)
He was feeling very good but started acting lethargic (not as much) this June. Maybe it was the warmer temperatures and his age catching up with him. We decided that we should take him to “the farm” for possibly the last time. He was born there and we have not been back there in a few years. We found him there years ago.
The drive was 1,300 miles (each way) but it was well worth it. Pal travels very well (by land and sea) and he had the whole back seat to himself. Granted he would prefer to ride shotgun, but my wife would not like that so much.
Anyways he was like a new dog once we got there. He ran and played like he has not in a couple of years. He was in and out of the pond dozens and dozens of times trying to help us fish. It was a lot of fun seeing him enjoy himself so much.
He even squeezed into a spot to get under the house that was barely big enough for a cat to fit in. He had a little trouble getting out but managed fine.
After we got home he was doing well but a few weeks ago started acting “squirrelly”. He did not want to go in the backyard like he has for years just before I go to bed.
I ended up coercing him to go for a walk around the block but I really had to work at it. He did not want to go. Unusual behavior as the only time he did that previously is when something spooked him. He did this for a few days.
One day during this odd behavior I saw him “leak” urine onto the tile floor. Not a lot, maybe about 2-4cc but enough to concern me. He did not even know he was doing it.
I took him to the veterinarian the next day. My vet loves my dog as he is well behaved and lets him pretty much do anything to him without complaining. (as long as I am in the room
) He calls him his “feel good” dog because the way he came through last year.
He did blood workups and took a urine sample. His blood work came back perfect, so perfect the doctor mentioned that he wished his blood was so good. The urine test showed a little too much water in the urine. He has been drinking more water than normal, but he never really drank a lot of water previously. He was “borderline”. The drinking of more water than normal (for him) concerns me.
It was not an emergency but the vet recommended depriving him of water from midnight then taking another sample to see if his levels increased. (Make sure his kidneys are working as they should)
I was going away for a 4 day weekend and the doctor said that it could wait and to do the urine test when I got back. My dog stayed home with my bride and she had a hard time with him. Pal loves my wife very much and while she might be “Jesus” to him, I am the “Almighty”.
He is very clingy to me and now clung to my wife much like the nickname I gave him years ago “Velcro Dog”. (I can’t even go to the bathroom alone)
She had a very difficult time getting him to go out. He would go out of the house but not venture far off my deck. She could not convince him to go for walks around the block. She took him to the beach (like I do daily) and he did go for very short walks then, but once did not even get out of the car.
She got upset and of course the dog senses that (He is almost as sensitive as an Irish Wolfhound
) and gets “upset” himself. When I got home my wife was almost in tears because she felt like he was “dieing”.
I met her in the driveway and she had just gotten back from the beach where the dog would not get out of the car. Another dog even came by and tried to get him to play but he wanted no part of it.
Once I got home Pal was much happier. I know that he has separation anxiety, sometimes it is worse than others but I felt that something else was wrong. After I was home a couple of days he started acting squirrelly again. I did the second urine test and his water level dropped and he was within the normal range.
Pal started getting constipated again and when that happens I give him some plain vanilla yogurt (1/2 a serving) to help him along. But before I could do that last night he went when I took him to the beach. He went a few times
and cleaned himself out rather well and was feeling much better.
He was feeling so good in fact that last night while I was barbequing and watering outside he spent a good amount of time with me and wondering around the yard just like “old times”.
His urinary leaks seem to have gotten better and from what I can see stopped. (most of my flooring is wood, tile, or laminate so it shows easily)
Pal seems fine at the moment and since I have a good relationship with my vet and take him there regularly so I really don’t know why I wrote this essay out and posted it.
Any advice is surely appreciated but I really doubt many people would read this deep into drivel.
For those that did and are interested here are some recent photos of “grandpa”
On the farm doing his best crocodile impression Waiting impatiently for my father to put his line back into the water Dog fishing 
Enjoying a good roll Travels well by sea And I mean really comfortably
