Updates and Abbi's Not Doing So Hot

[JMFS]

Been super busy - our work is exploding with people wanting to move out of the city and into a more rural area.  Good for us, but holy cow it's nuts to find myself working at 3 am!

Just popping in for an update and some advice.

Momo's doing great.  Got him on a glucosamine supplement called GlycoFlex that has 3 stages - have him on the 2nd stage.  No more medication has been needed since finishing his loading dose.  He's back to running circles around Gertie.  Peppy old man.  :D

Gertie is my heart and star.  I am going to attempt to train her to get my slippers.  The idea struck me this morning when I went to put my foot in my house shoe and there was a Gertie paw in it already, lol.  Her recall is getting better and better.  I believe if I stay on top of it I will be able to recall her off all manner of things.  She ran up to me with a headless bunny a while back (poor bunny mama - that's the 3rd one that's met it's doom, but then again rabbits are über prolific breeders).  Gertie hasn't killed one (this one had perished before she got a hold of it), it's Monkey (the cat) or it could have been dropped by one of the hawks who had loftier goals than it could handle.  I'm thinking Monks, though.  I swear he has a sacrificial altar made of squirrel and bunny heads somewhere on the property, the little sicko.  Horrified and not knowing what it was (it was dark) I said, "Gertie, drop!"  And she did!  She'll crunch down harder on whatever treat she's found in the yard instead of dropping so this surprised the heck out of me that she dropped such a unique trophy.  I really need to work her over on the "drop" thing in the yard.  One of the multitude of workers we've had over lately left pizza crusts in our yard (I was Livid - who does that?!  There was a trash bin 10 feet away And littering in my yard, are you kidding me?!).  Well, Gerts found those and now everything she finds in the yard has increased in value.  /sigh

Gerts has also earned her freedom while we're out of the house.  She's been left outside her gated area 7 times now and the house has been fully intact upon our return.  Watching her on the Furbo she seems to wander up and down the stairs.  Likely lying on My chaise lounge, which she is not allowed to do, but occasionally gets caught doing.  I love my dogs, I despise the hair, sand, and drool.

So, Abbi.  She's not been eating well the past 3 weeks and I finally convinced the husband to take her in to the Vet In his defense, she's prone to hunger strikes and is a super finicky pup so it's tough to tell when it's an emergency.  Momo or Gertie not eating?  Instant trip to the Vet.  Abbi - 90% chance she's being picky.  She has a mass on or around her stomach - I'm hazy on the details.  She goes in for a sonogram tomorrow morning.  As of Friday she'd lost 10% of her weight and I'm fairly certain she's lost more since.  We're trying to get her to eat but she's not interested.  Yesterday she devoured the chicken and rice (husband cooked it up last night with bone broth and I helped him package it into several servings); today she's not having it. I got her to eat a beef jerky but that's full of things a bad belly ought not to have, though at this point it's almost like even a bowl full of sugar would at least give her energy and weight.  She also gobbled down half a chicken jerky (that one's just chicken, no other ingredients) but with it being so tough I didn't want to feed her too much of it.

She's on two antidiarrheals, which I couldn't get down her this morning (I don't blame her, the consistency and smell were offputting). I did get the hunger-inducing pill down her so will try the food again later today.  I'm thinking it's going to be like someone who gets bariatric surgery - she's going to have to have numerous small meals rather than two big ones because with that mass her stomach has less room.  I offered cheese, Cheerios, whipped cream . . . we really don't have much on hand at the moment and those seemed somewhat safe, though I'm dubious what with the diarrhea and dogs tending to be intolerant of dairy.  Husband got sardines and she gobbled that up the first day but now she just licks them.  They're supposed to be good for producing red blood cells - she's anemic currently - and all sorts of other things.

If anyone else has had experience with a dog who wouldn't eat, I'm open to suggestions.  Or how to get these nasty pastes down her gullet.

His daughter came over yesterday to spend some time with Abbi, just in case.  She's got no energy, doesn't really want to move around and only seems happy sitting outside in the sunshine.  I'm about to take her out again because if that's her last joy in this world then she's sure the heck going to get as much of it as possible.  We tolerate one another, but damn if I want to see the poor old girl suffer and I'm going to do what I can to ease her through whatever is down the road.  I told her yesterday illness enacts an automatic truce. 😆

Edited January 25, 2021 by JenniferM.
Clarifying Gertie is not a killer - it's always the cat!

[Adrienne]

Oh no, poor Abbi!

Went through something similar with my Rottweiler Petra when she was almost 11. She started not eating well, and then we did an ultrasound and she had a growth on her spleen which was putting pressure on the stomach making her full fast. On top of this, she was also anemic.  

We had to give her small meals so she wouldn't feel that annoying sense of fullness. I also had to tempt her with different foods. This seemed to work but only momentarily. What she would eagerly eat one week, was refused the following week.

What I think was happening is that she developed taste aversion. Petra  would be enticed by new food, but as nausea or a sense of uncomfortable fullness set in, that food would become associated with the unpleasant sensation so she would no longer like it. A new food would then be offered and this situation would repeat over and over again until we exhausted several food options. To further complicate things, switching her over foods creating diarrhea so I had to use very easy to digest foods that wouldn't upset her stomach. 

We went through a pasta and grated cheese phase, a boiled chicken phase, a boiled fish phase and then we went through a meat-based baby food (types with no onion or garlic). Then she stopped wanting all of that. I did a trial of Entyce but didn't help much. We saw an oncologist who did a CT scan and she was found to also have nodules in the liver. So oncologist said to put her on prednisone to increase her appetite and that worked well although temporarily. 

She had to take a lot of pills and it wasn't easy. If Abbi was prescribed Flagyl (metronidazole) that pill is notorious for having a bitter taste and it is difficult to disguise the bad taste.

I can share here some strategies, but please check with your vet first because some foods may not agree with her or should not be fed or the meds she takes should not be opened. 

-Cheese Balls

In this case, I would  roll up my dog's pills in slices of American cheese and closed the edges so the pill is undetected. This works well with most dogs, but at times, the cheese may unroll in their mouth and the dog may detect the pill. Afterward, they may get finicky and will not even want the cheese anymore because they associate it with the bitter taste.

As a better option, I then tried making cheese balls. I just came up with this idea one day, as I was about to pill a dog I was boarding and sent him out briefly to potty with the cheese in my pocket. Being almost 100 degrees as it often turns out to be in sunny Arizona, the cheese softened to such a degree that it was the consistency of play-dough. I placed the pill in the middle and made a tight ball.

We then did a bit of training exercises, and he was rewarded with the cheese balls, which he readily ate. So if you want to try cheese balls, leave the cheese out of the fridge for some time, and warm it up keeping the sealed slices between your hands. That should do the trick to make it as soft as play-dough.

Note: There are some medications that shouldn't be taken with any dairy products such as cheese. This info may be on the label or accompanying medical leaflet, but not always. Ask your vet before trying this trick.

-Hot Dogs 

Most dogs won't turn down hot dogs. In this case, you'll need a big enough chunk to hide the pill. Remember: Should the dog to detect the pill, he may lose trust and then become suspicious of any future tricks you may try. I'll share a trick on how to prevent or remedy this, should this happen, shortly. 

So back to hot dogs: This works well for dogs who will just gulp down the hot dog, no question asked. However, the disadvantage is that often parts of the pill may stick out the hot dog, which will be readily detected. You can't make hot dog balls like with the cheese, so hot dogs may or may not work out.

-Meatballs

 In this case, you can soak some dry kibble in water and then grind it up until you can make some "meatballs" you can hide the pill in. If you feed raw, just make a meatball with ground meat.

Another option is to use some canned food to make the meatball or some meat-based baby food with no onion or garlic in it mixed with some ground kibble to make it more dense. You can get creative here and use anything your dog likes, grind it up and then add the ground kibble to get the right consistency. For a special touch, roll the meat balls in the ground kibble.

-.Creamy Textures

Foods with a creamy texture can also help camouflage a pill and transform it into a tasty treat. In this case, we're talking about things like peanut butter, plain pumpkin and cream cheese. Veterinarian Karen Becker also suggests using coconut to hide pills. These work well because they are sticky, so it's hard for the dog to separate the pills from the creamy texture. Most likely, the dog will just take it all together and gulp the whole concoction down.

One of my friends said the only food that worked for her dog was wrapping the treat in Braunschweiger (liverwurst-type stuff). This spreadable organ meat apparently ranks high for stinkiness.

Note: If you use peanut butter, make sure to avoid the sugar-free versions made with xylitol. Xylitol is highly toxic to dogs!

-Opening capsules

For this option, make sure you read the medication's label and instructions carefully, and if in doubt, ask your vet. Some medications should not be crushed, and capsules should not be opened as they can do harm this way.

If your vet gives you the OK to crush the pill or open the capsule, you can sprinkle it on your dog's food in hopes she just eats it all. However, consider that you may lose a pill this way if your dog refuses to eat her food and that he may leave some food behind and this will prevent him from having the full dose he needs.

A better option is to mix the powdered pill with the dog's canned food. Most dogs love canned food and since the canned food is sticky, it will be difficult to separate any pill particles from the food.

In my dog's last days, the only way I could get her to take her pills was opening the capsules, mixing them in with meat-based baby food with no onion or garlic and smearing it on her gums as she would lock her teeth. 

- Pill Pockets

Alternatively, you can try pill pockets. These are sold at the vet's office or at your favorite pet store. They consist of hollow treats in different flavors that can be filled with the pill and then closed. There are pill pockets made for capsules and pill pockets made for tablets. Flavors to choose from consist of Chicken, Peanut Butter, or Hickory Smoke.

When Your Dog Discovers You're Hiding Something

So your dog was always great in taking pills well hidden in some cheese, and now, suddenly, she casually discovers that there's a pill inside. If so, she may start getting all suspicious carefully sniffing the cheese as if he lost trust.

To help overcome the problem, you can try to give her several pieces of cheese in a row WITHOUT the pill. Start with small pieces that your dog can visibly see there's nothing inside. Then make them bigger and bigger, and then shape them as if the pill was inside. Once she's taking these, then casually add the piece of cheese with the pill inside, immediately followed by one without it.

Giving a piece of cheese immediately after the one with the pill, will help her gulp the pill down in her eagerness to get the next piece of cheese. It doesn't hurt to do this exercise sometimes if you have a dog who gets suspicious every now and then.

Give like five treats in a row, and then randomly mixed in give one with the pill followed by one without it. If your dog is used to you tossing treats as a game, toss her pill hidden in food as well. Many dogs are so eager to catch the food that they'll just swallow quickly in hopes of continuing the game.

If Your Dog Is Sick and Won't Eat

This is when things get difficult. One option is just that, forcing the pill down. In this case, you'll kneel down at your dog's level and hold the muzzle with one hand upwards facing the ceiling. With the other hand, you'll pry the mouth open and push the pill as back as possible. Afterwards, massage the dog's throat to encourage swallowing. Praise and pet your dog to reward her. It's very important to check if your dog actually swallowed the pill. Some dogs are artists in this and will hide the pill in their mouth and spit it out later when you're not looking.

Alternatively, you can employ a pill popper. This tool is simply a sort of syringe that will deliver the pill without the need to stick your hands in your dog's mouth. There should be videos on YouTube on how to use these. 

Another option is to contact an apothecary, a compounding pharmacy that formulates and dispenses pharmaceutical products. They can turn bitter pills in tasty delicacies. When we had clients at the vet's office I used to work at, with finicky dogs and cats, we referred them to a pet apothecary. Some had many lip smacking options. For instance, Pleasant Hills Apothecary in PA offers over 100 flavors just dedicated to animals!

 

I hope sweet Abbi will get some appetite back! Keep in touch with your vet on what type of foods you can try and options on giving her pills. With Petra, seeing specialists helped us a lot to make best decisions and get the support we needed. We first saw an internist and then an oncologist once she was found to have cancer. They were always happy to help even when I called them with questions. 

 

[JMFS]

Thank you, as always, Adrienne, for your thorough response.  It's so very much appreciated!

She turned her nose up at Everything today.  All of her meds can be crushed so my husband did that this morning and gave them to her via oral syringe.  Chicken, beef, sweet potato and chicken baby food, jerky, Zuke's (now we Know it's dire that was more a litmus test than an earnest attempt at getting food into her), oatmeal, trying to think of what else we tried.  Going to have to return some of the baby food - husband grabbed fancy stuff with leeks.  Bless his heart, I say plain, he wants to give her gourmet.  He's trying so hard to make her happy he kind of misses details sometimes.  I had him look up all the ingredients and leeks are on the no-fly list for dogs.  I'm going to suggest apple juice to him instead of water so it takes the edge off of the bitter taste of those pills.  She's got 6 or 7 medications, including prednisone.  Maybe even sugarless apple sauce, hmmmm.  That should pass through the syringe and it's no thicker than the nasty paste medication she gets.  Or perhaps pumpkin puree with apple juice to thin it . . ..  We'll just have to keep playing food roulette and getting imaginative.

The sonogram came back with no blockage but an enlarged gall bladder, numerous ulcers, and a slightly enlarged pancreas.  After Mo's bout with pancreatitis I was suspecting that because Abbi was exhibiting the same symptoms, but Doc thinks it was only a small part of a (to use one of your favorites) multifaceted issue.  Her red blood cell count is lower than it was and she goes back Thursday to see if she needs a blood transfusion.  We're over $1000 now and no real answers.  The money isn't a big problem, the lack of a game plan in exchange for the amount spent is frustrating as heck.  Her Vet is an excellent one so I have faith he's doing all he can and this is just one of those really difficult to diagnose and treat things given how many maladies are contributing to her condition.

I keep taking her outside - she seems to be reveling in sunning herself in the yard and if we are towards the end of her journey then I can at least afford her that joy.  The weather is warm but not hot so she has that small grace to enjoy.  We moved our office upstairs and I can see 80% of the yard from my "perch" so I can keep an eye on her for the most part.

I'll keep this updated as we get information.

[Adrienne]

Thanks for the update, it's so terrible when they don't want to eat-makes your heart sink. 

Prednisone may hopefully get that appetite back. Although gets them panting and restless, but the increased appetite is a welcomed side effect. Worked like a charm in both my Rotties, Petra when she was diagnosed with spleen cancer and stopped eating, and Kaiser when he got enlarged lymph nodes and loss of appetite. Hopefully will work for your doxie too.

Careful if the applesauce has xylitol-sugarless always raises my worry antennas! 

I am so sorry you are going through this. Hugs to you at this difficult time. I hope sweet Abbi bounces back with all the meds and care you are giving. 

Keep me posted.

 

[JMFS]

She's been back a week and life has been its usual whirlwind of events. 

She was at UF Veterinary Hospital for 5 days getting poked and prodded.  They had her good 'n drugged up for her anxiety.  She's chewed the plastic wall anchor on her gate and left enough blood behind to make any of the horror movie masters nod in approval.  She was still very subdued last Monday when she came home.  They gave us mostly drugs that can be crushed or are suspensions, but there's one important one that's time release.  With all the steroids she's on, and the prednisone, this hasn't been an issue - she's famished!  I'm even giving her dry food during the day as a snack!  I was carrying her upstairs and had Gertie's food in the other hand.  Abbi stuck her little snout in the cup and started wolfing down Gertie's food!  Plain ol' dry food - shocked me.

She's down to 8.4 pounds from her regular 10 - 11.  Purina i/d is what she's been prescribed so I got Chewy right on that for us.  She's still lacking in energy, but that's a tough tell because she's been low key for years now.  We just need her to keep eating and getting some meat back on her bones.  Her little arthritic legs are even sadder these days, but she's mentally alert and doesn't seem to be bothered by it so quality of life is still present and when the weather cooperates I hold true to my promise of allowing, and encouraging, sunbathing.

The best they can figure is that it was (is) some type of immunosuppressant disease.  The blood tests weren't in favor of cancer, but the docs haven't ruled it out entirely.  They skipped the bone marrow test, opting for comfort rather than putting her through that at the age of 13.  Even if it was cancer it's not as though we're going to put her through chemo and whatnot.  We feel that would be selfish and instead we'd opt for a hospice type care, giving her whatever she wants / needs in the time she has left with us.  For now, though, she's doing very well and after 2 transfusions, an iron shot, and goodness-knows what else (the bill was 5 pages long) she's on the mend and doing far better.  Yesterday's blood test showed her red cell count was back to normal, woo hoo!

I did have a gentle talk with my husband, trying to get him in the state of mind to accept that she is aging and 13 is an accomplishment for this little puppy mill runt.  Brownie was taken suddenly and there was no time to prepare (he was also 13 at the time, but still ornery and doing fine).  The man was a wreck - that was his buddy - for a month so I'm hoping with Abbi he'll have the time he needs to come to terms with what's eventually going to happen.  I'll be here for him through it, as much or as little as he wants (he holed up in the bedroom with Abbi for the first 2 weeks after Brownie and didn't want me seeing him in that state).  He says he never wants another dog because it's too painful when they leave.  I'm the opposite, I think my pups would want me to rescue another pooch from the pound and spoiling them instead of being sad so when it's Mo's time I'll adopt another dog to turn my attention to right away.  I can't think of a better way to deal with the loss than to have a fluffy friend there to help me through it!  Mo is going to outlive everyone, though, lol, so that's a day I may never see!  11 years old and still a puppy, running circles around Gertie.

For now we focus on the positive!  Abbi just started crunching on her dry food again.  :)  Hopefully some of it will start sticking to her ribs soon!

[Adrienne]

Thank you so much for the update, I am glad to hear Abbi started eating again (and with such good appetite!). 

Hospice care is also what we did for our sweet Petra at almost 11 when she got ill. I took a couple of courses on hospice care to help her through and worked along with a very supportive vet that made sure we always had access to any meds to make her comfortable. Chemo and surgery was out of question due to her cancer being a very aggressive type and the oncologist said she would have spent most of her time recovering, when we wanted her to instead enjoy her time at home in a quiet setting surrounded by all the things she loved. She was weak (had anemia) ad not very mobile, but my hubby helped her despite his back pain (bless his heart!) to get up when she signaled to us a need to go potty or simply wanted to enjoy some time outside just watching birds and enjoying the views. I agree with you that being out in the sun and fresh air can help improve their morale. 

Hugs to you at this difficult time. With Petra we tried to make the best of every day with her, spoiled her rotten and took many pictures with her and went through a bucket list in her last 3 months. Focusing on the positive as you claim is the best approach for both them and us. Enjoy every moment you can, and take each good day as it unfolds as a wonderful gift. 

[JMFS]

We took her to the UF hospital again after her bloodwork from the Vet's office showed a steep decline in red blood cells.  UF is thinking there was a false result, or another patient's records got mixed in with Abbi's last week because a 40% increase and then 30% decline is unusual.  So frustrating!  That happened once with Momo's weight.  Someone marked him down as 42 pounds.  He's normally 34 and at 38 he looked like a plump sausage that would burst the casing.  No way he's Ever been 42!  So, a wasted trip to Gainesville (45 minute drive, 3 hours of waiting for results, 45 minutes waiting for check out), and wasted money.  I'm keeping it to myself for the husband's sake, but inside I'm Fuming over the mishandling and increased cost.  If it had been a necessary cost, fine, but money spent on someone else's mistake boils my blood! 

She's still weak from all the muscle loss and healing.  Still toileting fine so that's a relief (ha, pun!).  Thankfully she's always been good at vocally alerting us to potty needs and continues to do so with her little, "errr," sound.  Eating like a little piglet, too, which is encouraging.  Husband acknowledged that we're at the point of spoiling her and making her as comfortable as possible, but isn't ready to let it play out entirely so I can see more trips to Gainesville in our future.  I can agree to a point - she's alert, oriented, and doesn't appear to be in pain; her body just isn't cooperating with her will.  His thought is that if her life can be extended without pain, why not do it?  With Brownie being taken from us without warning I'm letting him work through this on his own time on the condition that he continues to keep Abbi's best interests at the forefront.  It's too easy for we humans to be selfish with our emotions.  Our hearts are in the right place, but it's unfair to our furry companions.  If only we humans had the rights animals do when it comes to these things!

It's easier for me than my husband because Abbi and I never really bonded.  The mister and I have very different views on raising dogs.  He says they're family to be spoiled, I insist on at least a moderate degree of training and manners.  He doesn't mind if they stare or beg while we're eating, for example - I most certainly do.  Gertie and Abbi sit on the couch with us while we eat (we're living room eaters, complete with TV trays, lol).  Abbi stares at him while he's eating, Gertie ignores me and usually opts for sleep while I eat.  All that is to say because she has no manners, and because he refuses to let her acquire them, Abbi and I are often at odds with one another.  She's staring at me now . . ..    Good thing I like dogs, even those lacking manners!

I will continue to update and I hope this information helps someone in the future with decisions for their own pooch.  I'm being candid about all these feelings, costs, and events with the goal of helping others with their own decisions when the time comes.  I'm trying to strike a balance between logic and emotion and it's a tough stretch of road to navigate.  My hope is that at least part of our journey will resonate with someone and help them work through the process.  I keep the thought that dogs have such short lives because they learn everything they need to know about love far quicker than humans do.  Cats live longer than dogs because . . . lol!  Had to cheer myself up. 

[JMFS]

BTW, pee pads make Excellent water absorbers for those dogs who splash and drip (ahem, Gertrude).

[Adrienne]

It's very frustrating when there are inaccurate weight readings, let alone mismatches of medical records and test results! Reminds me of when I once boarded Einstein when he had Valley Fever and the attendant forgot to give him his fluconazole meds for his entire stay. I gave them a bottle of 10 pills and he came home with a bottle of 10 pills! Ironically, I boarded him in a veterinary hospital because I felt he would get better care due to his illness so I paid extra just for the extra peace of mind of having medical staff attending to him. I was so angry at that time!

Thanks for sharing the picture, Abbi looks comfy and that's what counts.  She's surrounded by those who love her in familiar surroundings and it's great that she's in no pain and that she still has an appetite.

With Petra, our oncologist reassured us that she would not be in pain, but that she would just start getting gradually weaker, but I still kept pain meds on hand and luckily our main vet was happy to prescribe those just in case. We really never needed them fortunately,  but it was reassuring to have them on hand just in case. My vet was also on call should her condition have gotten worse and it was reassuring knowing that she did house calls.

Her illness was made of many normal days initially and then some ups and downs. It was emotionally draining as we were often worried about what the next day brought around the corner. Nights and weekends were worrisome because our home is in a rural area and the only emergency vet open at those times was almost 2 hours away. We decided though to make the most of her time and so we pampered her a lot (Einstein seemed to understand fortunately).  

To change subject completely...I love donut beds especially for smaller dogs and great idea on using pee pads to catch water bowl messes!

[JMFS]

She loved that bed.  My only complaint is that they're awkward to wash - ours don't have removable covers.  I have a larger one for Gertie and her glands leaked onto it and I'm not sure how the heck to wash it when Abbi's barely washes.  We found a new set up for Abbi at IKEA.  A "fold out couch," that's entirely waterproofed And it was only $50.  Can't find many dog couches for that price.  It has stiff tall arms to keep her coralled so she can't slide off.  She's lost most of the use of her back legs and there's a shunt in the one now for drainage because it kept filling with synovial fluid so wouldn't ever dry out.  She's pulled the stitches several times because dogs are insanely tenacious about mobility.  She's more seal-like than ever these days! 

The medication they put her on is working well for the autoimmune issue and she'll be on that indefinitely.  She fell off the human couch tonight, sigh.  Husband came over to sit next to me and Abbi decided to try to walk over to him, missed the couch and fwoop!  Down she went.  Then when he picked her up she tried to attack Gertie, as if it were Gertie's fault.  Poor Gerts.  Abbi didn't seem hurt, she kind of slid down instead of a solid fall so that likely helped.  I Knew she was going to take a header sooner or later because she keeps getting excited about her food and seems to have no depth perception any more.  I have to watch her every night to ensure she doesn't fall off.  Did Not expect her to try to come over to us tonight so I wasn't paying attention (and it's been a long 3 weeks so I'm tired and not on top of things).  It's a couch with a chaise lounge on each end.  My best guess is she tried to come up from the lower part of the chaise to step onto the couch but that corner of air was too much for her to traverse.

She'll probably be sore tomorrow and fortunately didn't reinjure the leg.  Going to have to rethink the couch set up if she's going to pull these stunts! 

She's absolutely Ravenous from the prednisone.  Despite having a healthy appetite to rival a Mastiff's, she's only gained 1 pound and needs 1 more.  She tried to snatch a pretzel out of my husband's mouth the other night, lol.  She went from a finicky eater to food thief!

I'm super busy with work but wanted to give an update.  Bought the course for my kiddo so she can train her roommates' dogs so you may see her popping up around here for some advice to get those two settled.  I've given the advice I can and decided she needed a more expert set of hands to help.  :)

[Adrienne]

 Glad to hear Abbi didn't injure herself from falling off the couch, that must have been very scary!

I hear you about being ravenous with the prednisone. This drug caused many behavior changes in our duo too. Petra once started getting very angry at Einstein just for walking nearby her food bowl (very out of character for her) and Einstein (who was on it too at some time) started to want to eat his own poop which is something he never-ever considered doing all his life, other than once as an experiment as an 8-week-old puppy 😉 

I am sure she'll be extra happy and will feel pampered with her new couch. 

So nice of your kiddo wanting to train her roommates' dogs! Training can be really fun.

Thanks for the update. 

[JMFS]

Poor Abs just can't catch a break.  Her legs are still being sewn up and she keeps popping the stitches.  Today it was her usual excited hop to see the husband when he gets home and that was too much for her leg.  We're guessing there must have been a tear in one of her veins all along causing the swelling.  We thought it was synovial fluid build up, but when she hopped today she burst the dam.  The husband had a hand full of her blood, it had to have been 3 or 4 tablespoons' worth.  It was pretty intense for about 5 minutes as it was going Everywhere and soaking right through the gauze. I ended up grabbing a towel and paper towels because 4 x 4 gauze pads weren't cutting it.  Of course it happened at 4:30 when the doc was going home.  We called him, sent pictures, and he said he'd stay for us.  Once the flow was down a bit and the husband could hold a paper towel against it we loaded all the dogs into the truck and I drove us all to the vet's office.  Both Gertie and Esther were due for a potty break but with as much blood as Abbi was losing we couldn't pause and I wasn't going to leave them here.  Snap decisions!

We got to the office and yep, it was her vein.  Doc cleared out a second clot (one came out during the flood here) and stitched up the vein and cut off a skin tag while he was at it.  No one prepares you for all the growths dogs start getting when they age.  🤢🤢🤢  I can remember not wanting to pet my aunt's dog, Rose, because she had a bump on her neck.  Her other dog, Jon, did not so I did pet him.  I am sometimes not the most accepting person, I admit. 

So, an hour later she's all wrapped up and we headed home.  I'm Really hoping this does it this time.  The two back legs are finally healed so now we just need the front legs to follow suit.

She's off the prednisone - doc was thinking that may be preventing the legs from healing - and her appetite has waned as a result.  She seems to prefer sleeping in the morning now to eating, but still devours her evening meal.  I can respect that - it's how I do things.

I'm relieved the issue happened when the husband was home and while we were awake.  Trying to wrangle Esther and staunch the flow would have been so very difficult.  It was tough enough to clean the floor with the husband taking care of Abbi, Esther kept wanting to see what was going on.  Fortunately she's caught on to "bed" and went to it every time I asked.  Then came Right back, lol.  Puppies. 

I'm grateful the weekend is coming up so we're both home for the next few days.  I've never seen anything like that and it was a bit over the top, whew!  Seriously considering buying some mega jumbo sanitary pads just in case.  The husband laughed at the idea last night.  Dog legs are so awkward to wrap and I thought the adhesive on the pads might help hold the gauze roll in place instead of using Telfa pads.  Sanitary napkinsare absorbent, sanitary (to state the obvious), and less expensive than gauze pads, lol.  Sure wish we would have had a couple up here earlier today!

[Adrienne]

Oh my! That must have been horrifying! Kudos to you for keeping a clear head with all of this going on. 

Both my dogs when senior had all sort of lumps and bumps. Petra had a bunch of lipomas, every time I pet her I could almost swear I would find a new one. I think I got most aspirated, just in case, but it was getting annoying to have them aspirated every time, especially with Petra hating needles. Einstein once had a black looking rather innocent skin tag and it turned out being a melanoma.  Fortunately, we removed it early. 

When Einstein was recovering from it, I had to remind him several times to "leave it" and at night if I heard him move around, I had a flashlight under my pillow just to make sure he wasn't messing with the stitches. 

I hope Abbi heals quickly now that she's off the prednisone. If her appetite goes down, maybe you can ask your vet whether Entyce may be an option for her. 

[JMFS]

Thank you - I'll ask about the Entyce.  I was teasing the husband last night.  The bigger girls go to Banfield for the insurance plan, but they both need nail clippings, and Gerts could use an internal expression, which I don't know how to do.  So I said, "you know, for the amount we're paying these guys to take care of Abbi, they should throw in a complimentary nail clipping and gland expression." 

Abbi's chest is covered with funkiness because she's a low rider and without the use of her legs and the rain I think she's growing all sorts of stuff from the moisture.  The flashlight comment resonates with me, lol.  I finally moved Esther's crate into the room because I got tired of waking up to tell her to stop eating the bed.  She's destroyed 3 of them so far so now she just doesn't get a bed because I need sleep in order to handle all this chaos, lol.  I do have a crate bed and a crib sheet on the way.  My thinking is to put the crate bed in, then use the fitted sheet over that so she doesn't have any good seams to work on.  She and Gertie are the same in that respect - if there's a seam it must be explored, and likely ripped up.