I wonder if you could do some thick padding around her in her seat so she would be more stabilized. Knowing little Layla she'd chew it up;) But it might help her feel a bit more stable.;)

I just love Miss Layla! Her personality shines through in everything you write. :D

:) Thank you.

Maybe we could try stuffing a little blanket around her in the carrier so she's snug!

The rehab vet called before lunch and said it was a nice surprise to see Layla back today! She has gained a lot of weight, which we know, but most likely just from being on crate rest for so long. She has gained almost half a kilo since November!

The vet also suspects she may have another UTI, so if she has a full enough bladder to be expressed by the end of the day they'll get a sample. She thought it smelled a little funny and I thought it has been darker than usual, so at least we'll have it checked!

For the good news, her reflexes are just as strong if not stronger than they were when she was last there in November. She did really well in a lot of her exercises. Her neck movement is really good, except she hesitated a little to turn to the right but the vet was sure that didn't mean anything. She didn't manipulate her at all, just made her turn her head for cookies :) On the underwater treadmill, she took a little while to get going but did her full 8 minutes. She wasn't as coordinated as she was before, but she still did pretty well for not doing it in 3 months!

This is our last session until we buy another package, but we can't afford it right now. So we'll just focus on losing weight, and doing more exercises at home!

I have been searching the internet for a diagnosis for my yorkie. The same thing happened to my dog 2 days ago. He is 5 1/2 years old and weighs 12 lbs. He is at the vets and they are giving some medications to see if they will help. I thought he looked constipated at first by the way he was walking (with his back legs stiff). He would then walk around with his neck stiff looking and when he would walk on the wooden floors he wood immediately fall over and not be able to get up. It progressed quickly within 24 hours to him not being able to walk at all. I would have to carry him from room to room with me. I have been doing a lot of research now on degenerative disc disease. Thanks for your posts. I pray that we don't have to do surgery. I live in the country and I know that he would not want a life like that, he is too full of energy to be contained to wheels. It would not be fair to him. I am glad everything worked out for you! Thanks Again, Its nice to know that this is not a rare incident.

Hello and welcome to YT!

Please don't think of it as "contained to wheels" Layla loves to run around and go for walks, no matter what the terrain. They can definitely keep up their same energy levels and live a long and happy life whether they are on 4 legs or two legs and two wheels!

my thoughts and prayers are with you and layla hope all is going to be just fine

Aaaaahhhhh, Layla giving mom and dad kisses brought a smile to my face, how precious is that?
I do hope you are able to make Layla's car rides more enjoyable for her...I can only imagine how it must feel to not to be able to balance yourself to keep comfortable while in motion. Keep trying everything you can think of, something will ease her and calm her down. Just how secure is she in her care seat, I mean is there a lot of wiggle room? Is she able to lay down and still be secure? Winston has his snuggle bunny, which I believe is his security blanket with him at all times...even in the car, does Layla have something like that?
It's good to hear she did pretty well in rehab, sounds like much of this can be done at home with her, so keep up the good work...she's so worth it!!!

I just wanted to give another little update :)

Layla is still getting braver every day! If she gets too hot in her bed at night, she will crawl out and lay down on the hardwood floor. She has no trouble scooting back and forth between the living room and kitchen on the hardwood either, and if we're upstairs for too long and she misses us, she will scoot across the hardwood to the bottom of the stairs and bark until we come and get her :)

Last Thursday we went to the pet supply store to get some food, and we saw a 50% off bin and Layla and I went over to look through it. We found a seatbelt harness, size Medium for 20-40 lb dogs :rolleyes: but we decided to try it on anyway. Amazingly, it fits! Her upper body is so muscular now. So we bought it and gave it a try on the ride home. I fed her some treats on our way out of the city and she didn't make a peep! I think we have found our solution :) We drove almost 3 hours on the weekend to visit Scott's parents, and she didn't sleep but she just laid there on the backseat on her little blanket the whole way back home (she cried a little more on our way there!). This morning she was really good again, although she did cry more in the city. But at least now we know she's strapped in GOOD and she's not going to fall off the seat or try jumping to the front seat and she won't get hurt. There's also nothing for her to chew! Her carrier was getting pretty beat up :(

The weather is starting to warm up a little here and the snow is just beginning to melt, so we're going to be able to spend a little more time outside soon! She is just loving the time she gets to walk in her cart from the car across the parking lot to the office, and back again at the end of the day :)

So glad to hear how well Layla is doing. It is wonderful how you work through her difficulties and find solutions to make her more comfortable. I am happy she is responding well to the new seatbelt. Best Wishes to Layla and her family!

awwwww thanks for the Layla update! I am so glad to hear things are working so well for her and making her and you more comfortable. :)

Shes a dollface! Post more pics of her! :)

That seatbelt harness sounds perfect for her. I just knew there had to be a solution to make the rides easier for Layla, and you found it! :)

Thanks so much for the new update....I think about Layla a lot. Someday, I'd love to meet you and your little girl and thank you for your strength and for being the pet parent I'm inspired to be. I'll never forget Layla's journey and love of life. Love you guys!

Bonny

Aww thanks! I will try to find a spare minute to post pictures! I have to get them off my camera first lol.

I guess Layla still doesn't like driving in the city. She is crying so much! I can ignore it better than Scott can and he gets frustrated. I don't know if it makes it worse if we give her attention when she does it. Petting or letting her lick our hands calms her down a bit. If I give her something to do, like lay down and wait for a treat, she forgets about crying! I tried a bully stick but she wasn't interested. We'll need to figure something out. At least she's good on the highways!

Bonny, we'd love to meet you too!

Yippee a Layla update...I've missed you guys! Thank you for sharing your stories with us, she's such a sweet little girl and you will always be my inspiration.

Just now catching up with you and Layla.:) I'm glad things are going well. I think the car rides will work out in time. You'll find something that works for her. I'm just happy she's doing as well as she is. She's so very precious.:p

Thanks everyone :) We're still having issues with car rides in the city, but I'm more convinced that it might just be crying for attention. If I so much as turn around and talk to her, she forgets we're in a car :rolleyes: I'm hoping that if we just ignore the crying, it might stop. I could let it go and tune it out in my head, but Scott would get annoyed and get me to give her attention eventually. She'd stop, but I think it was just teaching her that if she cries long and hard enough, we'll eventually give her attention. So Scott and I had a talk about it and we decided that this week, we will not give her attention if she's crying. We'll see how it goes! We had another trip this weekend, 3 hours away, and she just relaxed in the back seat for the whole ride!

Woohoo! Layla's rehab vet just called, and said she had a favor to ask me. She is teaching a group of students right now but they don't have any good "back" dogs in the animal hospital right now, so she said "Can Layla come play?" She thinks she's a great candidate for the students to see because she does a lot of neat things with her reflexes. In the end, the students get a learning experience, and we get a free rehab session :) Oh, and Layla gets a day away from the boring office :D

That's very good of you. Some people would have refused. I think Layla will do great. She's going to receive some rehab and I think it's so nice of you to allow them to study her, so to speak.:)

Wow...it is so nice to come back to this thread and see how well Layla is doing. I have followed her progress from the very beginning and was amazed at how wonderful you both have been though this entire experience. It is a really great that you are allowing them to observe Layla and that she will be able to receive her rahab at no cost other than the observation. Layla (and you & Scott of course) are an inspiration to all of us.

Thanks :)

It was really hard to leave her this morning. The ladies at the front desk were so excited to see her again, and Layla was excited to see them, until she realized we were leaving. She tried to follow us out the door, but the animal assistant was pulling her in the other direction :( It just breaks my heart! And now I have seperation anxiety! I keep looking down to where she sleeps at my feet but she's not there. I'm counting down the hours to go pick her up!

I truly think we suffer more than they do when we are separated from our babies :( I am sure that once you left she settled in and was fine. I would miss her too ;)

I can understand that. You know they feel abandoned.:( I'm anxious to hear how she did. I already know how you did!:p

She did really well! The students got to practise doing range of motion, her exercise ball routine, the underwater treadmill, and they put her in her cart and let her run around and play :) The vet said she had a fun day, and all the students wanted to thank me for letting her come in. She said they may be calling me to use her again in the future!

On our way home yesterday, I decided that I can't stand Layla screaming and panting and being so scared. She was leaving big pools of drool on the seat, and her beard was drenched :( So this morning I sat in the backseat with her. She barely panted on our way out of town, and she laid down while we were on the highway, rested her head on my lap, and fell fast asleep :rolleyes: When we got to the city, she was pretty good, until we got closer and closer to Scott's office, and she was panting and making some sounds halfway between a bark and a cry with each pant. I couldn't calm her down. When we dropped Scott off and I drove to my office, she was screaming the whole time :( I just don't get it.

I think we're going to start seriously thinking about paying someone from our town to come to our house once a day to express her while we're at work. I think she'd be more comfortable without the daily car ride.

That is so heartbreaking. Have you ever considered using Rescue Remedy? It's supposed to be all natural. I've never used it, but I know lots of people have mentioned it and here is a thread about it:

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...try-again.html

I looked up the web site in case you were interested in reading about it:

Natural stress relief for pets - Rescue® Remedy Pet

Thanks! We did think about using Rescue Remedy but I haven't been able to find it! Maybe I will order some online and give it a try.

We did have sort of another agenda for looking at someone to come to our house and express her during the day... I think the time is getting closer to leave my job. It's great that I get to bring her in with me, but I just need something a little less stressful :( Even if she's at work with me, I can't be a 100% good pet owner, girlfriend, friend, or even homeowner when I'm constantly working and stressed about work :( It's still a few months away if I decide to take a step, but we just want to see what our options are for now!

It turns out Rescue Remedy Pet is not available in Canada, only the human version which contains alcohol :(

I understand about wanting something less stressful. Maybe you could order the human kind for yourself.:D JK I saw there was an 800 number on that page. Could you call them and ask about ordering? They probably don't send it up there, do they?

It was nice to hear that Layla had such a nice time at rehab, but so sorry about her being so stressed about the drive. I have no thoughts to offer you, but wish you luck in making your decisions about leaving work. It sounds like the drive is very stressful for all of you. Is there some way you could work from home or at least work parttime?? Or maybe there is someone you would trust to pet sit for Layla while you are at work....if that was cost efficient. I know my vet's office (which is also an animal hospital) does doggie daycare for certain pups....maybe this is an option for you (although again, I have no idea how expensive it would be). I'm sure you will do what is best for you and Layla....you have been amazing all along :)

I just finished reading the entire thread. What an amazing story. Praying that Layla is doing good.

Linz, my Dexter is the same way in the car... but I found out it was just with me. He whines and pants and its sooo bad I think hes hyperventilating. Its terrible and my heart breaks for him. Yet when he is with my boyfriend alone or the dog sitter or anyone else really alone in the car, he is fine. He sits on the seat and is quiet. As much as it pains you, you might have to put her in a restraint in the backseat and kind of just let her calm herself. They make these stadium seating car seats for little dogs. They attach up high so the pup is in it and can see out the window too. its great!