Heart Like a Dog

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

Some Big Easy

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I updated via Facebook on Friday but for those that may have missed it, Sampson’s ACL tear was confirmed by the surgeon on Friday and he is scheduled for repair on the 25th.  I feel bad he has to go another week, but I’m terrified all at the same time!  As you can imagine I wanted to make sure he was as comfortable and happy as we could make him.

So, this weekend we took our dear friend Molly the Wally‘s advice and made time for some big easy.

Saturday was mild, still on the chilly side, but not cold.  Sampson has been bored out of his mind and wanted to spend some time outside.  Since he can’t be outside by himself, I went out with him.

I'm starting to see some yard, I sure wish I could run up there.

I’m starting to see some yard, I sure wish I could run up there.

We laid out on the deck, soaking up the beautiful day for about 20 minutes or so.

Hey Mama, thanks for taking me outside.

Hey Mama, thanks for taking me outside.

When Hubby came home he had make some repairs to one of our gates, so he took Sampson with him out front.  Our grandson happened to be over and Hubby asked him if he could stay with Sampson and keep him company.

Excuse the cars in the drive, but isn't that an adorable photo?

Excuse the cars in the drive, but isn’t that an adorable photo?

Sampson loves spending time just sitting in the driveway watching the world go by.

Yes it's true, I like sitting in the driveway.

Yes it’s true, I like sitting in the driveway.

Since the first few weeks after surgery are going to be extremely restricted, we will try and give him as much of the things he loves as we possibly can.

How about you, did you make some time for some big easy this past weekend?  What’s the weather like in your neck of the woods?

 

Jumps, Lumps and Spam

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Jump!

So I get this text from my sister the other night asking if Hubby was home, because she needed his help putting something together.

I told her yes and asked her what and when and then Hubby and I left and took the dogs for a quick walk around the block.

As we approached our house Hubby said, “Is someone at our house?  It looks like your sister’s car.”

And then I remembered that my niece and a friend were coming to spend the night to watch a show she didn’t get at home.

Well my sister bought this pair of bouncing shoes and she needed Hubby’s strength to put them together.

Image courtesy of dailygeezer.com

Image courtesy of dailygeezer.com

I can’t imagine her actually using these shoes, but let’s give her the benefit of the doubt.

Yes, she had to hold on to something, you don't think we are THAT coordinated, do you?

Do these bounce shoes make my ass look big?

Sonofabitch!

She did it, she put those suckers on and started bouncing around my house.

SPAM!

Last week I told you about my problem with spam.  I’m not kidding you when I say I get a TON of spam.  For the record, at 2:15 yesterday afternoon I emptied my spam folder and cleared out 386 comments (and approved one comment from Jackie Bouchard.  FYI Jackie, that’s where your comment went when it disappeared.)

As I schedule this post for tomorrow, it is currently 9:30 and I have 34 spam comments.  That’s 7 hours folks.

I know some of you have those “confirm you are human” captchas and I was wondering how you all felt about throwing one of those little check boxes down at the comment section.  I wouldn’t make it anything fancy, like “type this…231934335938374342143294-94394”  it would just be a little box that you would have to check.

I don’t want to lose comments though, so if it would deter you, please say so and I’ll keep clearing out the spam folder.  And there may be times when I deactivate that little feature too, I mean some of those spams are damn funny if you ask me.

I found a little lump on Delilah.

Actually I found it a month or so ago, but with everything that was going on with Sampson, it kept slipping my mind. Besides which, I couldn’t pinpoint exactly where it was to have it checked.  Then last week I found it again (under her chin) and I scheduled an appointment to have it checked.  That appointment was yesterday morning and I’m very relieved that it is just a cyst.  No need to worry.

The funny part of this is Sampson.  Since the beginning of January, he has been to the vet at least seven times, each time I give Delilah a lovely frozen Kong and Sampson and I ride off to the vet.  Delilah is delighted to have the treat and happily parks herself on the rug to enjoy this unexpected pleasure in peace.

Sampson wasn’t quite as thrilled.

First it was like Laurel and Hardy trying to coordinate.  I put Delilah’s collar on and she knew she was going somewhere so she was hot on my heels.  And so was Sampson.  I tried to give him the Kong, but he wouldn’t take it, so I placed it on the rug.  Delilah ran over and tried to grab it.  I got her by the collar and coaxed her away and headed toward the door, clipping her leash on once we got there.  I opened the door and while I was trying to get Delilah out, Sampson was trying to get out too.  I finally got her out and tried to close the door, but Sampson’s head was in the way.  When I finally closed the door, he barked.  Then instead of going to the rug to enjoy his Kong, he ran to the window and barked at me some more.

Eventually he found his way downstairs to Grandma’s, where he stayed for a good part of the 45 minutes we were gone.

Can you say SPOILED?

Barks and Bytes

First you may have noticed that the pictures in last week’s hop aren’t showing up.  Sadly it’s a problem with the Linky tool and they are working on it, but there is nothing we can do about it.  Just so you know, it wasn’t anything that you did!!

When Linda and I first started talking about a new blog hop we didn’t know what to call it.  Linda wanted something that would be appealing to pet bloggers as well as non-pet bloggers.  Eventually we settled on Barks and Bytes.  The Barks part caters to the dog bloggers with the Bytes part being spelled the way it is, in the hopes it would appeal to non-dog bloggers as well.

Barks and Bytes is very similar to This ‘N That Thursday as it is so versatile.  You can be “barking” about something, have a small (or large) “byte” about something else or totally combine the two.  Which is just what I did.

So have you joined us in Barks and Bytes yet?  If you have, thank you for supporting this blog hop and if you haven’t what are you waiting for?

Heart Like a Dog

Today is Thursday’s Barks and Bytes Blog Hop hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like a Dog.

Five Pills in One Gulp

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Our initial directions for supplements we purchased when we were told Sampson had Degenerative Myleopathy was one dose, twice per day for the first week and then increase it to two doses twice per day.  I was slightly concerned as the Immuplex was over $60 a bottle and at that dosage we would be tearing through a bottle like an iguana through a head of lettuce. We would have figured it out though, because my boy is worth it.

Supplements

After the diagnosis changed to a partial ACL tear, my vet said we could just continue the Immuplex and the Neurotrophin at the lower dosage, but increase the Canine Musculoskeletal Support as she felt this would be the supplement that would do him the most good.

So for those keeping track, Sampson was talking 1 Immuplex, 1 Neurotrophin, 1 Gaba Pentin, 1 Tramadol and 1 Carprofen two times each day.  That’s five pills per day at the low dose!

The Musculosketal Support is a powder which is sprinkled on his food and it must taste alright because he eats it with no problem.  (Thankfully he has finished the Gaba Pentin so our pill count drops to four.)

Anyone who has ever given a dog a pill knows, it’s not always easy. 

Once long, long ago I could hand Delilah her thyroid pill and she would swallow it, but I think she’s wised up to the fact there are other ways to take pills and it’s better to hold out for the good stuff.

Sampson on the other hand has always been very picky with what he eats.  Once the teller at the drive thru window gave him a Milk Bone which he politely took and then dropped it into my purse.

So the issue became, how do we get him to take all these pills?  I mean we could use peanut butter, BUT it’s fairly fattening and he’s on really limited exercise so he’s not burning as many calories on a daily basis.  I can’t imagine the size of a peanut butter ball that was full of five pills.

One of the pills, the Tramadol has a bad taste and my vet said some dogs will drool if it touches their tongue and some will stop taking it.  I can deal with the drool (I have labs after-all) but the refusal to take it is never pretty in my house.

You do the math.

One stubborn lab + one stubborn Mama = Bad Times.

Hubby came up with a great idea using Coconut Oil for the evening dose.  Since they are getting Coconut Oil anyway, he puts all the pills in the cap of the jar and then drops the Coconut Oil into the cover and wads the pills up.

Gulp, it’s gone.

The morning dose was slightly more problematic, until I had the BRILLIANT idea (if I do say so myself) to use some left over Ricotta cheese.

Typically Ricotta cheese is not the best thing to give your dog as it can be very high in fat and calories and some dogs don’t do well with dairy.

I however bought the no fat Ricotta cheese which has 40 calories for one quarter cup.  Don’t freak out I’m not giving the dogs 1/4 cup of Ricotta!

You guys, this stuff is SO EASY to use.  We use a cereal spoon.

Ricotta

Smear the spoon through the Ricotta. (It might look like a lot in the photo, but it’s barely 1/2 the spoon.)

Hollow

Using your finger, spread the Ricotta and flatten it down, making a small hollow in the base of the spoon.

Ricotta 1

Add your pills.

Ricotta 3

Fold the Ricotta over the pills.

Ricotta 4

Roll it around if you’re concerned about the presentation.

Viola, five pills in one gulp.

Of course I would advise you to make sure you are giving this in small doses and you’re aware of what your dog can tolerate.  Some dogs will NOT tolerate dairy well and others may be able to handle little bits.  My dogs get yogurt or Keifer every day so I’m comfortable with small doses of Ricotta Cheese.

If you are unsure at all, always consult your vet!

Totally switching topics here, how many of you will be joining us tomorrow for the inaugural Barks and Bytes blog hop?  Did you remember we are having a giveaway for all participating blogs.

You can get your badge here, from my side bar or head on over to 2 Brown Dawgs and check out her badge.

Resized B and B Then come back tomorrow to add your link.

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