A couple of years back our dog was stiff and sore to the point where he couldn't even shake his head. His neck was obviously sore, and we assumed that he had strained or sprained something. Our vet noted that his teeth were plaque-covered, and his gums were slightly inflamed, and said that bacteria from the teeth could get into the bloodstream and cause inflammation and pain elsewhere after a round of antibiotics and pain relievers he was feeling better, and we took him to a friend who was a animal dental specialist who did a thorough cleaning, but he said that some of his teeth were bad enough that they needed to be pulled. After that our dog seemed better and back to his usual happy self for a couple more years. I have no idea whether this could be that case for your little guy, but your description sounds similar. Good luck, I hope he feels better.

Those are very nice chairs, ML. I agree that they could go in the living room as easily as the dining room. I like the wavy "x" legs, especially. It gives them a little something extra. I have studied your diagrams and read your descriptions, finally. Ran around all day yesterday - went and got a Holter Monitor at the cardiologist's and then hit Salvation Army, where I got a sweet little bakers rack - solid metal, welded seams - for $35! Just needs a little 3M Rust Reformer. I think you have shown us the kitchen design before. I remember the sink across from the Bertazzoni, the big garden window, the baking area. I am not sure if you had the nice indentation there for the cook to have a safe zone, though. I do remember the sitting area outside the bedroom, though. It is neat to see the diagram of your home after all these years of seeing photos of little parts of it and imagining how it all fits together. The nosy neighbor, is he on the side with the clawfoot tub and your clothes closet? Is the new vestibule in the front new this time? I don't think I remember seeing that. I am also a bit surprised that you gave up on the storage/pantry units on either side of the window seats. I like your idea of base and wall cabinets with your favorite solid surface counter there, though. Does the table that you use in that space have extensions that you can use to fill the dining room if you have a large group? I am now struggling with an idea I have for my family room. We now have a nice (but huge) 1990s TV unit with the doors that slide out to shut the TV behind. Which I never do. The thing is 5 ft high, which is too high to place my gnome garden upon. I have my air plant garden up there, but it can hardly be seen. I want to ditch the furniture, get a larger wall-hung TV (old eyes can't see small print) and have a furniture piece that I can set things on and under. Craigslist had an beautiful console table for $230 that was under 2' deep at its smallest configuration that looked like a sofa table. It could be pulled out to 8' long! Yet it was only about 8" deep! I could set things on the floor underneath it, as well as on top. It did need a little restoration (it was from the 1930s), and I would not feel really comfortable putting a garden on it, as drips could happen. But since I made the entire kitchen into an island, I have no place for a table-height table, and thought I might want that option if I could ever talk DH into getting rid of the hunk o'oak that I once thought that I just had to have! I'd love to give it to someone to make into a nice play kitchen set like MamaGoose made! We could bring up dining chairs from the basement and have a sit-down meal if we wanted to. Currently, we eat at the island or sitting on family room furniture. I have a tea cart DH and I have used as a dining table, though. So I am imagining that you have the extending table that I wish I had! I hope that you are well by now, and that Marti is over her cold, too. I hear that both flu and colds are going around in Michigan, with Norovirus and RSV also hitting hard. We have been lucky, so far.

Agree about the vet visit. Also, our dog is also 15 and is on Arthritis medications. He gets a Cartophen shot weekly and is on a vet prescribed fish med daily. It does make a huge difference. Metacam added to our guy's food was an option but the Cartrophen shots have fewer side effects - although adding it to his food would be a lot easier and he is extremely food motivated. When there is food to be had he appears maybe 10. Of course you will want to ensure that your pup does have arthritis - no doubt she does at her age. However, you want to rule out calcification of her discs (we have had Dachshunds so I know all about this). Our current dog is not a Dachshund. Our dog has had a few dentals - shape of face and while his teeth are very strong he is inclined to develop tartar easily - and forget every type of tooth brushing, additive etc. out there - not having any of it. It is important that the vet check your pup's mouth to determine if she has gum disease or tooth decay etc. Re the incontinence, it happens but so far it has not happened to us, but we do take him out frequently, just in case. However as posted there are meds that the vet can prescribe to help with this and I think (but am not sure) that it is easier for the meds to work on females - but I hope to be wrong. There are doggie diapers and I have seen a lot of them. But the problem with them is that they can cause bladder infections - and of course our dog would consider them food. This was a major problem when he was a pup and we tried pee pads just in case at the beginning. I understand how hard it is when a pup gets older. I guess when you are at the vet you should ask for an honest opinion - but try the meds and have her teeth checked first. The fact that your pup is still excited to see you surely helps and I would mention this to the vet. The day that our dog is not interested in food will be the day that we have to do something. Of course our dog is also deaf - hand signals taught as a puppy have really come in handy and he is also hypothyroid - pills for the hypothyroidism too. Then there are the visits to the eye specialist. The vet tech at the eye specialist's office thought that someone had made a mistake re his age (making him considerably older than he is) - because she had cookies in her pocket which made him act much younger. Everyone at our regular vet clinic knows how he responds to food.

Cute, Sue! I'm enthralled with any quilts with doxies. We used to raise them. Princess Teenah Von Gratz. I've been wanting to make one for a long time, maybe now I will. :-)