Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Delilah’s Annual Check-Up

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Last Thursday I took Delilah in for her annual check-up. As a senior dog, she should probably go in every six months, but considering what a worrier I am, my dogs typically see the vet at least three times per year.

Still this was the BIG one, the one where we talk about subtle health changes, vaccinations, food, supplements, etc.

To start off, Delilah hopped on the scale where she weighed in at 71 pounds. This is up slightly, by about one pound, from her last weigh in. I’m not sure what this is attributed to, because we are walking just as much as we always have. It could just be her metabolism slowing down, she is 10 1/2 after all.

We discussed the type of food she’s on, (raw) and the importance of rotating her proteins. Currently they go three days with two proteins (one at night and one in the morning) and then we change proteins for the next three days and continue on in that fashion. Dr. Soutter agreed that rotating proteins is the way to go.

Then we spoke about her exercise. She currently gets two walks per day, averaging close to 2 to 2/1 miles total. She would absolutely walk longer, but morning time is at a premium and lately it’s been so hot in the afternoon I don’t want to over do her.

We discussed the supplements I have her on, which are very limited. She takes a multi-vitamin recommended by my vet, her thyroid pill, a liver support supplement, a low dose of natural estrogen and just for shits and giggles, I give her 1/2 the recommended dosage of green lipid mussel.

Before physically examining her, my vet asked if I had any concerns. Well they aren’t exactly concerns, but I have made a couple of observations. 1) Delilah now likes to go outside and lie in the sun when I get home from work, 2) she is sleeping a lot more than she used to. Times once were that you couldn’t do anything without Delilah right under foot, and she still is a good portion of the time, except there are actually times when I’m in the kitchen and even though she’s with me, she’s….gasp…sleeping! I know, I know.

Oh and there was one more thing, lately she’s been munching on grass; which Dr. Soutter said, this time of year the grass is sweet. Which seems to be pretty accurate, as Delilah is particular about which grasses she eats.

No I'm not part cow, I just like grass. Thank you very much.

No I’m not part cow, I just like grass. Thank you very much.

The physical exam didn’t indicate anything to suggest there was anything going on that we should be concerned about, so we then went ahead with a blood draw to check for Heartworm, tick-borne diseases and of course, those liver levels that haven’t been checked in a while.

For those who maybe new to the blog, two years ago at a routine exam, we discovered Delilah’s ALT levels were high. After an ultrasound which showed her liver appeared to be the right size, shape and texture, we opted not to do a biopsy. Our vet feels that Delilah has hepatitis but it can’t be confirmed without a biopsy. You can read more about it HERE.)

Delilah was also due for her annual Leptospirosis vaccine (she had her rabies vaccine last year) so we went ahead and got that.

While Dr. Soutter was writing up her notes, there was the loud sound of two dogs having a kerfuffle in the lobby. Delilah stiffened up, head erect listening.

Dr. Soutter said, “She’s trying to decide if she needs to intervene.” We laughed because it’s typical Delilah, she always has to be right in the middle of everything.

When we got to the check out to settle the bill, Delilah stood right up on her hind legs and checked out the treat jar. Dr. Soutter said, “I’m pretty sure she’s not having any issues with those back legs.”

Chocolate Lab counter surfs

Similar to this, except the counter was higher.

Friday Dr. Soutter called to tell me Heartworm was negative, tick-borne was negative and her ALT (liver level) was at 220. Now 220 is in the ‘high’ stage, but it’s at the low end of the high stage, so as long as we can keep her levels from skyrocketing, we’re doing okay.

I’ve just gone back and read the Caring Critter’s post regarding the elevated liver levels and her original levels were at 238. So as far as I’m concerned we’re doing good, but I noticed there were some supplements she was getting then, that she’s not getting now, so it’s something to consider.

All in all though, I’m pretty happy with the visit. Except for the bill. Yeah, with all the supplements and meds I stocked up on, I got a pretty hefty bill.

If I had any doubts about how Delilah’s feeling, she put that to rest yesterday morning, when she pulled a container full of meat flavored water out of the sink. The sink which is fully as high as that stove.

Oh Delilah!

What types of things do you have your vet check for?

Close Encounters of the Feline Kind

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Some of you may recall we have a cat that lives two houses over.

The first time I noticed the cat was when it was still just a small kitten.  I was really surprised to see the kitten outside, considering all the wildlife in our area, but the kitten was in its own yard, and while it didn’t exactly bother us…it did make for an interesting walk, once Delilah saw it. (You can read that story HERE.)

King of all he surveys.

He was such a little guy!

The next time we encountered the cat, it was up close and personal. That was the day that Delilah chased the cat up the tree, where it sat all night lawn causing me all kinds of angst. (You can read that story HERE.)

Cat stuck in tree

The colors are lovely, but I felt bad for the kitty.

After our third encounter, I wrote the silly cat a letter. (You can read the letter, HERE.) Most of you found it amusing (as it was intended to be) because I would never, ever let my dogs loose to chase a cat. 1) I’d be afraid that my dogs wouldn’t stop chasing and I’d lose them. 2) I’d be concerned that they’d have a real close encounter with the cat and end up injured and 3) it’s just plain mean and I don’t roll that way.

Delilah likes chasing cats

I like cats.

Since the encounters I’ve written about there’s been two more instances where we’ve had closer encounters with this particular cat. The first incident since the post Dear Kitty letter, happened when Sampson and I were coming back from our walk. Kitty was in our yard and as we turned the corner into the driveway Sampson spotted him. Sampson is a very strong dog and even with his injury (which makes it that much more important to not let him run) he’s difficult to keep under control when something excites him. Thankfully Kitty heeded the warning and ran over to hide behind a tree to watch us. (Newsflash Kitty, that tree is coming down so you better find another hiding spot!) Sampson of course sniffed the driveway over and wanted to climb the hill to find the cat, but we managed to get inside the house.

Then came last Friday. Apparently Kitty decided my driveway is a nice spot to lie down in. The spot he chose gave Sampson a perfect viewing spot, of the cat. It would have given me the same advantage had I been looking. But I wasn’t.

No, I was more concerned with the webs that were hitting me in the face, so like I do every morning, I opened the gate.

Typically when either one of my dogs spots something they give a clear alert signal. I’m sure Sampson did this particular morning, but again, I wasn’t paying attention.

Instead, I opened the gate, and turned around to close it and that’s when Sampson started barking at the cat.

All I can say is thank Dog I was holding onto the gate, because the lunge that Sampson took, coupled with the fact that we were at the top of a small incline, could have been disastrous.  However, what added even more mayhem to the incident was the fact that I had left the back door open, so Delilah could go out and do HER business.

Of course, when she heard the commotion at the gate, she came barreling around the corner of the house.

There I was, 90 pounds of injured, but still strong dog trying to rip my arm out of its socket, while I stared down 70 pounds of brown fury.

What happened next was mind boggling.  WHY am I not wearing that GoPro? WHY?

We have a retaining wall on that side of the house. Because Sampson is not allowed to be doing any running, Hubby has placed some fallen branches across the lowest spot of the wall. It is enough to deter Sampson, because he has never been a jumper. But for our resident Diva, a wall is a minor inconvenience.

So there I am standing at the gate, watching Delilah barrel towards me and bracing my body for the impact. Right at the last second, she snaps to her right, and without missing a beat, runs up the hill and does a loop around the back yard.

I snapped the gate closed, and maneuvered Sampson down the driveway. Per his usual, Mr. Kitty had darted for cover in the trees/bushes at the side of the driveway.

Stop watching Merida Kitty, you do realize she has a bow and arrow on her side, don't you?

Stop watching Merida Kitty, you do realize she has a bow and arrow on her side, don’t you?

Do you have any bold and brazen cats in your neighborhood? How do you manage your dogs around cats?

You Make Me Smile – June 19, 2016

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You make me smile (or laugh), the sweet, funny, loving things my dogs do on a daily basis that brings a smile to my face or a laugh to my lips.

Delilah the way you sniff certain cars over, as if you were a car inspector…

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You make me smile.

So the funny thing is, she only does this to certain cars. Some she passes right by, others, she sniffs them all over.

Just yesterday my sister and brother-in-law were down from New Hampshire, and Delilah sniffed their car for five minutes before I coaxed her along for her walk.

Do your dogs sniff cars? (Not professionally, like Emma, mind you.) 😉 Speaking of Emma, we send our deepest and heartfelt sympathy to her, Bailie and her mom. We were so sad to hear of Katie’s trip to the Rainbow Bridge. Sadly our furry babes leave us way to soon, always taking a giant piece of our hearts with them.

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