What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

[JudyN]

Happy birthday, Swanny I've probably not been paying attention, but was Chetan's AI not done via the normal route, 'turkey baster' method? Does a surgical method give a higher chance of success?

Jasper is a happy lad because he spotted some deer this morning and had a lovely run. He was far enough away that he wasn't going to catch them before he lost them, and he managed only to pick up a few minor scrapes, so it was all good.

I went to a chilli festival this afternoon with DS1 - it's like a country show, but with about 6 billion bottles of chilli sauce and not much else. It was very odd not having Jasper with me - I found myself checking out any nearby dog and keeping a wide berth if it looked like the wrong sort, then when we sat on the grass to eat I noticed a bit of sausage on the grass and expected it to disappear within seconds

Amy, I have the odd occasion when I shout at Jasper, usually when he's been whingeing for ages with no apparent reason. It feels like one of those moments when you decide to indulge yourself even when you know you shouldn't and you know you'll regret it, like the enormous cream cake or the third glass of wine. Just for a moment it makes me feel better, then when I see it does no good whatsoever, I can go back to being positive and being nice to him again

[Swanny1790]

Thank you all for the lovely B'day greetings.

Judy N, Chetan's A.I. was surgical rather than vaginal. Doc May (with over half his own team being pupsickles) recommended it when doing an A.I. with frozen (versus chilled) semen. In part that's because the 'death' of some percentage of sperm is inevitable when freezing. In this case, there was about a 20% loss, though with Phoenix's count being SO high when it was collected a couple of years ago, it might not have been that much of an issue. The success rate of Mark's surgical A.I.s (he's done lots of them) is well over 85%, actually higher than natural breedings, and much higher than the literature reports for vaginal A.I.s with frozen semen. Chilled semen wasn't an option in this case, as Phoenix was neutered about two years ago.

Of course the down side is the need for anesthesia and time to heal the incision, which is similar to an incision made to spay a female.

Although I'm giving her the pain meds anyway, Chetan is acting as though she isn't even the least bit uncomfortable. It did take her quite a while to recover from the anesthesia, but that was expected. These darned "primitive" northern breed sled dogs frequently require higher doses of ketamine to achieve anesthesia, and then tend to take longer to recover afterward. Capella and Cassie were much the same when they were spayed, years ago.

[JudyN]

Thanks Swanny I'm sure you have explained that before, but my memory's useless. My long-term memory's OK, but nothing stays in my short-term memory long enough to make the transition

[Sanna]

Happy birthday Swanny and thanks for your kind comment; and to Judy, WufWuf and Nettle too

Precious has mainly been sleeping for the last 3 days.. It's like someone's replaced my hooligan with a 'normal' dog He's just wanted a short morning walk, then sleep all day, an evening walk, dinner and then more sleep! I'm thoroughly enjoying it, think we may have to go away more often Will be interesting to see how long it takes before he gets back to his usual self, demanding non-stop action and entertainment..

[MPbandmom]

Happy Birthday Swanny!

Puppies! I will be looking forward to pictures.

It is looking like there may be a couple of litters of Samoyed puppies around here. I have heard two people talking of breeding. Being involved in a breed club, I am learning there is so much more to looking for a puppy from a responsible breeder than I ever imagined. There seems to be a big debate over temperament issues and breeders breeding dogs who have shown aggression. What is aggression to one person, is normal dog behavior to another. I notice that the kennel that is said to have the best temperament of dogs in the area also, puts a lot of time and effort into positive socialization of the dogs. Which then brings up the nature vs nurture question. I have listened to discussions of breeders as to how a newbie is supposed to sort this all out and come up with the best chances for good temperament and it all seems to come down to a give it your best go at the roulette table kind of thing.

I am still undecided as to whether my future samoyed will be a rescue or puppy. I know I want to have a more socially comfortable dog next time. Puppies are just so darned cute. It is a good thing I so far have very firm resolve that my dogs would not be good mentors for a puppy.

[bendog]

Poppy is being a raving sex mad lunatic.

I had thought we had got off lightly this season, but apparently not. This one WILL be her last (I said that after the last one and then never got round to booking it at the right time ) I've had to shut the boys upstairs to give them a break from her and now she is just crying at the door after them.

Fun day today for the dogs. They each got valuable 1-1 time.

Took Charlie to a fun dog show where he came 3rd in Scruffiest dog, 5th in Best Trick and was generally a lovable little scamp. Tried the "have a go" agility and "have a go" flyball and he was totally useless at both, but he had an absolute blast anyway. I came away with a ton of treats and a dog first aid kit. He doesn't like larger dogs very much, but was fine if I made sure he had enough space and went all wiggly and loving when anyone showed him any attention. Met a few other Border terriers who were all taller than him, which was weird because I think of him as fairly big for a border, especially compared to Bendog. He wouldn't drink from any of the water bowls though so I had to buy him a bottle of spring water. Only the finest for my boy!

Then Pops got an hour and a half walk on the quiet fields where we wouldn't meet any other dogs.

Then Bendog came with me to meet a new client for a walk with her 2 collie b*tches, which ended up taking around an hour and a half as well. He didn't put a paw wrong, which was good considering I was trying to make a good impression!

Sashdog has done a bit of clicker training, and had a kong and some cuddles.

[Nettle]

Yesterday the terrier went on her annual outing to our local hunt terrier show. We didn't show this year because she was rather unhappy in the ring last year thanks to a heavy-handed judge, and it's supposed to be her fun day out.

I went with a friend who adores her, so she had a great day sitting on laps looking at other dogs. Then she had her annual ice cream. I asked the man for a very small cone for my terrier, and he duly obliged with a tiny terrier-sized portion. When I put in on the ground in front of her, she did a classic double-take An ice cream OOOH AN ICE-CREAM! and was very quiet for the next five minutes hoovering it up. She even ate all her cone, like a good tidy terrier.

She is all over me like a rash today - obviously enjoyed a day out All By Herself.

[JudyN]

Five minutes to eat an ice cream? Jasper would have downed it in 5 seconds, max, with his muzzle on, and including licking every last little shadow of a smell off the grass!

[JudyN]

The good news is, I've worked out why my neck's been so tweaky recently. The bad news is, I'm going to have to stop playing tug with Jasper. Is it possible to teach him to play gently, do you think? The moment he grabs the toy he shakes his head hard enough to wrench my arms out of their sockets

[jacksdad]

Five minutes to eat an ice cream? Jasper would have downed it in 5 seconds, max, with his muzzle on, and including licking every last little shadow of a smell off the grass!

Same for Jack...but he would of course not settled for a terrier portion..he would want the great dane portion...and still finish in 5 seconds... good thing this has never been allowed to happen...the brain freeze would be a killer.....


Jack is finally, finally off phenobarbital as of Saturday. we have been able to confirm potassium bromide was for sure a factor in the diarrhea issues he had a couple years ago and he for sure had side affects that are also attributed to pheno....but he is off both and doing great. So that is the good news....bad news...he is still on two other meds to control his seizures and we are still struggling to control the frequency of his seizures, but at least the new meds (kepra and sodium bromide) are much better tolerated.

The challenge is finding a medication that will control the seizures without him experiencing side affects at dosages so low you might as well not even give the medication.

[DianeLDL]

Trying to quickly catch up here. Been off for several days.
Sorry to hear about Jack's seizures. I really hope these meds help.

We arrived at our house in Maine on July 23rd. I think on Vent Erica was mentioning the creep crawlies in an old house she was in. Well, I our house is old front half from 1955, back half in 1975. After being empty for 10 months, I began vacuuming the living room to have a mouse run out from under the sofa to under Sandy's recliner, I ran out screaming, and left OH to take care of it. Then, we needed a plumber as when we turned on the faucet the water streamed out of the sprayer and not the faucet. And the bathroom shower head on the floor. Then our wifi was out with a dead router.

Then, we have not been used to not having air conditioning and so with the heat and humidity, even with the fans going all the time including ceiling fans, it has really affected us, especially Sandy.

We have tired to keep him in the house, taking short walks on the grassy areas during the cooler times. But, he has been lethargic. And today was the third day in a row he has vomited. And his appetite has fluctuated. One day he gobbles down everything, then like today, even with chicken in it, he wouldn't even touch it. He wouldnt even eat any of his favorite treats, either.

He has been preferring to lie around in his bed or when OH or I are sitting on the sofa, he snuggles up with us. He was lying down next to me with his Kibble with chicken next to us. Just turned his nose around,

We have been giving him cold water from the refrigerator.
And after we took a short walk during which he peed, he then vomited on the grass.
Finally, he drank some water today although I had to used a dropper to get him drinking. And only after playing with one if his treats, he finally ate it. Now, we gave him as couole of dry treats and hoping it will get him to drink more water.

And he isn't the only one feeling the heat and humidity. Even OH is feeling horrible as I am too.

At least, on Wednesday, we will be going down to Portland (Maine) where I am scheduled for my every 12 week Botox injections for my eye and facial spasms and neck stiffness and pain. It is the main reason that I havent been on the forum for a while.
At least, that means two nights in an air conditioned motel room.

Anyway, we have been very worried about Sandy, especially today.
He has had days like this before, but today he has basically been fasting and not getting enough water.

And a question about ice cream. We were told that ice cream and all dairy is not good for dogs especially small dogs. I know big dogs have been given ice cream, but we were told that Sandy is too small to handle it.

As you can see, he also has a very sensitive stomach. He developed severe diarrhea and had to go on antibiotics after eating a piece of cooked steak. So, we have never given Sandy any ice cream.
Is there a special ice cream for dogs or would vanilla frozen yoghurt be okay to give a chihuahua who has a sensitive stomach?

Anyway, that is what is up with us, not counting my husband is still suffering from piriformis or sciatica pain. The zxray didn't show much, and on Wednesday, OH begins physical therapy Wednesday morning before we go down to Portland.

I will let you know how Sandy does, as well as us. (Depending on my eyes.)

Thanks for any suggestions.
Diane

[gwd]

We have been giving him cold water from the refrigerator.
And after we took a short walk during which he peed, he then vomited on the grass.

I've had several dogs that couldn't tolerate cold water at all, they'd puke shortly after. Others would happily chomp on ice cubes with no ill effect....... my last setter male was the worst. In the winter, even water out of his bowl would have to be changed in the morning before he'd had a drink as it had gotten too cold overnight (even in san Diego)

[DianeLDL]

gwd,

Sandy vomited before he drank water. I wrote it backwards.

He actually has tolerated cold water quite well. After he drank it, he had no problems. So, it is the reverse. First, vomit, then drink cold water.
And he has been drinking cold water for months, long before we left Albuquerque.

He has this vomiting problem quite often. Usually, our first sign of a problem is when he won't eat his treats in the morning. That is our red flag his tummy isn't feeling well. (Even though, he loves them.)

Ironically, once he vomits, then he is ready to eat anything or drink. It is as if something is sticking in his stomach. And what comes up is full of mucous and very thick. I am wondering if he may have a problem with stomach enzymes or swallows a lot of phlegm. Perhaps, I need to take a sample for analysis.

His vet checked him a couple of years ago in the radiograph and said that his stomach is small for a dog his size.
But, they never analyzed the sample.

Thanks for the idea, though.

Diane

[Swanny1790]

I'm so sorry to hear about your ailing dogs. Whether too much heat, seizures or any other issue it just isn't any fun at all for them.

Bless her heart, Chetan has been wanting back into the dog yard since yesterday. Everytime I take her out of the garage on her leash she tries to dash to the dog yard gate and rejoin her buddies.

So, today I laid in a nice, deep bed of clean straw in the single-pen at the end of the row, replaced the dog house with one that has an oversized door, enough to accommodate her modified Ecollar, and then put her in there. She was SO happy, yet also smart about it. I kept a close eye on her while I did some trenching to try to drain some pools of standing water, and then brought in a mix of dirt and rotted straw to fill some holes. She trotted around for a bit, snarked at Nels a time or two (as if to say "I'm back you nasty big mutt"), and then settled right down. No wild and crazy running or jumping, so I'm feeling confident she'll do was well there as she would in a crate, isolated from so much of her world.

Most of the day was pretty, not raining and blue in the sky. I went to town for building materials for a couple of projects, and got home just before the storm front rolled in. Now most of the dog yard is just as sloppy as it was two days ago (sigh). Chetan is in her house, her chin propped in the door, using her Ecollar as an umbrella. Everyone else is curled up in their houses, just kind of gazing out and wishing, as am I, that the rain would go away for a while longer.

[Nettle]

Diane - ice cream is NOT good for dogs. That's why our terrier only gets one a year. She is in great health with no digestive problems, and so it does her no harm. For Sandy's hydration, I suggest you cook up some chicken into a broth, add a pinch of salt and a teaspoon full of honey, remove the chicken and see if he will lap the fluid. It can be whatever temperature he likes, and will keep for a couple of days in the 'fridge.

Jacksdad - fingers crossed for Jack's meds working out. What would have happened to that little chap if he hadn't come to you? You go so many extra miles for him - it's wonderful.

Judy and Jacksdad - the terrier is a dainty eater of ice cream - she holds the cone between her front paws and slurps blissfully.