Woof's troubles.

Woof has chronic pancreatitis. If you don’t know what pancreatitis is basically the pancreas becomes inflamed and forces digestive enzymes into the abdomen. These enzymes get to work doing their job but unfortunately they are digesting other organs in the body. This as you can imagine is quite painful and can even be deadly.

Woof went a long time without being diagnosed because he wasn’t showing the typical signs. There was no fever, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, depression, or difficulty breathing. He would get tense in his abdomen and have these episodes of extreme pain as he ran around the house and dragged himself along the floor biting whatever was in reach. These episodes would last 24 – 48 hours off and on and varying in intensity. We went to several vets and none could figure it out or seemed to be that bothered by it. Our current vet gave us a few options, scope him which we’d have to likely travel out of province, exploratory surgery which had its own risks as it was very invasive or just for the heck of it test for pancreatitis.  We opted to test for pancreatitis just to say we did, not expected it to be positive but they were.

Pancreatitis can be brought on by a whole list of things, it’s not a one size fits all diagnosis and you may never know the true cause of it. We have no idea what caused Woof’s. Some breeds are prone to it, sometimes being fed a high fat dog food or fatty human food such as bacon, being overweight, side effects of medication, low protein, high fat diets and even an injury to area can bring it on among other things. Females are more prone to it than males and usually it occurs in older dogs. But it can happen at any age. There are also two different types of pancreatitis, acute and chronic. Acute is the more severe and quick. It is often a one time thing if the dog survives but caution should be taken to avoid it happening again. It can cause a build up of fluids in the chest and abdomen, cause kidney failure and random bleeding since the body’s blood clotting abilities are affected, it can be fatal. Chronic is when the pancreas is permanently scarred, it’s a low grade inflammation that is reoccurring. It will require the dog to be on a low fat diet for the rest of its life.

So then we had to find a food. Of course the common choice was to feed one of the veterinary Rx diets but I’ve never been a fan of them, I don’t like the ingredients and I don’t like the companies themselves. I told myself if I absolutely had to I’d put him on it, for his sake but I’d try other foods first. We tried him on Natural Balance Potato & Duck LID, 10% fat. It didn’t seems to work out for him as he was still have quite a few episodes but it was hard to tell as we were living with my parents and my father had a habit of feeding the dogs whatever despite being told not to. So we switched to Chicken Soup for the Soul Weight Management, 6% fat. Shortly after this we moved out. He’s been on this for 6 months now and only a few episodes usually after he’s gotten into the garbage, got into the other dogs food or was given something we didn’t thing would set him off like a tiny bit of popsicle. I’m not happy with his overall condition on this food though, his coat tends to be greasy and dull, his ears dirty and lately he’s being licking at himself obsessively. So when we were in town last week for a funeral I picked up a new bag of food to try. Go! Sensitivity + Shine Salmon, 12% fat. I started him On October 29^th so very early days yet. Keeping fingers crossed as I’m a big fan of the company and food.

Yesterday evening when we went out he managed to get at the garbage despite it being put up in what we thought was out of his reach. 3am this morning he was pacing the house, I thought maybe he had to go to the bathroom as he often gets distracted when he’s outside and forgets to go. He did pee right away but still seemed off when he came in. I tried to feel his abdomen but he was reluctant. I ended up giving him a pepcid and tramadol just in case. He was restless but didn’t seem to be in any pain, he finally settled shortly after 5am and I headed back to bed. He was given his breakfast and I did dishes, leaving the garbage can down on the floor, I ended up catching him with his head buried licking of the remains of pasta I had scrapped out of a bowl. A little after noon he became restless again, his abdomen was a little tense but nothing striking I gave him another pepcid just in case and shortly after he settled again, got his supper and has been fine ever since. I can’t say if it is the new food that bothered him or the garbage raiding or maybe it wasn’t his pancreatitis at all, who knows. He’s been known to be gassy and we all know how uncomfortable that can be. So we’ll see and keep our fingers and paws crossed. 

Who needs a cat when you have a Woof?

We got home yesterday afternoon after a rough week away. We were both looking forward to an early night in our own bed and in our own home. We started unloading the truck; let the dogs in the house. Woof was bouncing around a little more kooky than normal, we ignored him anyways “it’s Woof”. After unloading and getting everything put away we couldn’t find him, the first thought that crossed my mind was he’d slipped out the door but no he was right beside me monitoring my cookie eating abilities as my husband shut the door. It’s not a big house; it’s quite cozy so he couldn’t be far. We find him in the bathroom staring at the floor vent intently.

Oh great, do we have some squatter living in the vent? Is it Chucky? Some gruesome evil creature ready to eat my brains? Can you tell I’ve watched a few too many Halloween horror movies lately? I try to drag him away but no way will he go, he was going bug eyed at the vent and it was really weird but again we wrote it off as “it’s Woof”. Then Boone started acting funny at the wall vent in the porch. I looked down to see him and was surprised as he never goes into the porch unless we’re there. He too is staring at the vent and pawing at it. By now we notice a weird smell wafting through the house, like a dirty hamster cage type smell. Then we hear Woof, digging and doing his high pitched shriek of excitement when he sees something that he wants but can’t reach. Holy smokes what is in that vent!?

I call Boone upstairs, my husband brushes off the smell to not having lit the wood stove in a week and we continue to ignore Woof. Woof ends up in the porch and after a loud bang husband goes to see what his problem is. He’s got the wall vent half pulled off and is fully intent on getting the rest of it off and getting in the vent. Husband grabs his axe figuring if there is something in there he’ll be ready, removes the rest of the vent cover and before he can stop him Woof is up to his shoulders in the vent and comes out shaking a rat! It clearly hadn’t been dead long, either the heat in the vent got to it or Woof did when he grabbed it. What a way to go either way, but good boy Woofy! The house smelt like a dirty hamster cage for the rest of the night and Woof spent it going from vent to vent in the house making sure the house was clear. He’s really building his reputation as a rodent hunter that’s for sure. Guess we’ll be paying more attention to him from now on, our bad. 

Talk Big Tuesday - How Small is Too Small

Anything under 5-6lbs is too small, that’s my standpoint on this. I understand small dogs play a part for many people, but there comes a point where you have to ask yourself is this really a good idea?  I’m a groomer; I can’t express how hard it is to groom a 3lb dog, especially when that 3lb dog wants nothing more than to not be groomed. Most of my tools are bigger than the dog which makes it hard and if you have to restrain the dog in anyway such as for nails you’re constantly afraid of hurting it because the dog is so tiny.

Medically I can only imagine how hard they are to treat, a lot of medications aren’t meant to be cut down to such a small dose, so vets either end up being limited to what they can use or they have to send it out to a pharmacy to get it compounded. A lot of their tools are larger than the dog and make it incredibly awkward for both the vet and the dog, not to mention the health risks for a dog that small. Hyperglycaemia, UTIs, immune system sensitivity, Legg-Calvé-Perthes Disease, Hydrocephalus and Chiari malformation are all extremely common in these dogs.

I can’t even fathom why anyone would want a 2-3lb dog. I’ve know of a woman who had two 3lb Yorkies, both ended up with broken legs by falling and jumping off the couch. That is too small.  If 5-6lb is too big for you, get a stuffed animal. People need to stop with this fad, its dangerous to the dogs. There is nothing wrong with wanting a small dog but there is a point where small becomes too small.

What happens when the unexpected happens?

I’m currently dealing with a death in the family and it’s gotten me thinking about other things. Like what happens if I die unexpectedly, what will happen with my dogs? It’s not something we normally think about, chances are our dogs will die before us; they weren’t blessed with long life spans. It’s something that every pet owner should be thinking about honestly because you never know. The last thing I would want is for any of them to end up in a horrible situation because of my lack of planning.

Should anything happen to me, my other half with care for the dogs and vice versa that is a given. But what if something happens to both of us? Boone would be euthanized, no question. With his behavior issues I wouldn’t be comfortable for anyone to have him, he’s also quite attached to me and I just don’t believe he would handle it well. For me to leave his sight now to go to the store he goes in a panic, pacing, barking, howling and crying until I come back, doesn’t matter if someone is still home with him or not. Woof same thing, he has behavior issues and special needs. While he could likely fit into another home I would worry about keeping those behavior issues in check and his medical issues. Ranger would either go to friends of ours or to my parents; he’s adaptable, has no major health issues and has a well rounded temperament. He’d fret of course but I fully believe he would come around as long as he was with people he knew.

In the case of a medical emergency where I or both of us may end up in hospital we have friends and family that would be willing to care for the dogs.

But back to the euthanasia requests. There are people that will likely call me awful for it. But these are my dogs, I know them best and I don’t feel that family or friends would be able to deal with their needs. I also don’t feel that they are great candidates for adoption, with their behavior issues and medical needs. Even if you have this written in your will the court can overrule it and has in some cases if they think the dog can be adopted out. I’ve told my wishes to my family, I’ve made it crystal clear and they agree, so no worries that they’d go against my wishes and hand them over to a shelter or rescue.

This article actually goes a bit more in depth with planning and other things you can do.
Providing for Your Pet’s Future Without You

Sunday Confessionals of a "Bad" Owner #2

I use a prong collar on one of my dogs. He was a puller when I got him, he still can be, he has high prey drive and an awful attention span (doggy ADHD anyone?). Walking him was horrible, training was miserable. I opted not to use a Halti/Gentle Leader as he absolutely abhorred it and I couldn't be bothered to go through the adjusting period of it as we were both miserable. So I bought a prong and guess what? He did wonderfully on it from day one, our walks are enjoyable now and it helps get his attention back when he zeros in on something.

I am a collar addict.

I have a collar obsession. I’m not going to deny it, never have and never will. I have spent ridicules amounts of money of the years on collars, not one of them every getting the chance to become well worn and tattered. It’s a silly obsession because frankly the dogs don’t care if they have them or not but a fun one. But I noticed today I also have a leash obsession.

I was going through their collars, taking out the ones that I really didn't care for anymore or that they hadn't worn in the past year to donate to rescue when I realized I have twice as many leashes than collars. That is a lot of leash when I don’t use them very often; Boone is hardly ever on leash unless we are walking on the highway or in town around people. Ranger pretty much the same thing. Woof is the only one who uses them daily and the majority of these leashes I’ve had before I ever had Woof or Ranger. Even more surprising is that a majority of them are well worn and some even broken. Apparently I can let go of collars that have nothing wrong with them but can’t let get of broken leashes.

Now back to leash/collar shopping since I’ve cleaned out my horde. I’m thinking a little internet trip to Collar Mania is in order this time. This would be perfect for Woof, it explains him so well. 

Talk Big Tuesday - Overweight Dogs

People with overweight dogs and are blind to it are really starting to aggravate me. How can you not see that your Dachshund looks more like a stick of baloney with toothpicks for legs? How can you look at your Border Collie and not see that it resembles the good year blimp instead of the fine tune and sleek working dog it’s supposed to be? I don’t care if it’s “only” a house dog and doesn’t need to be at “working weight”, fact is it is incredibly unhealthy and unfair to your dog. This is a man made problem and completely unavoidable. You want to know why your 2 year old baloney stick dog is limping and has a has constant back issues? Because it is morbidly obese, you are killing your dog. Why does your 3 year old dog have issues with stairs and can’t even get up off the floor some days? Because it is overweight, the body of that dog was never designed to carry that much weight, you are hurting your dog and you are killing your dog. The "it's only a few pounds", don't try to down play it, even as little as 5lbs extra on a Beagle sized dog can cause issues, that's like an average sized person packing on an extra 20lbs.

It is not “more to love”, it is not “all muscle”, they are not “fluffy” or “big boned” and it definitely isn't cute. They are overweight, obese, fat unhealthy and dying. I look at a picture of a dog that is grossly overweight and I don’t think it’s cute at all. I can’t even bring myself to comment or like it. That saying of if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all is put to work and I just scroll past it. If I happen to encounter an overweight dog I seriously want to cry, I look at that poor dog and feel so bad for it. I don’t doubt the dog isn’t loved, so don’t pull the “well we love our dog so don’t make us out to be bad owners”. I’m not saying you’re a bad owner, I’m saying your dog blind, you can’t see that your own dog, that furry little member of your family you love is suffering silently because you are killing it with kindness. It needs to stop, up the exercise, stop the extras, decrease the amount of food, change the food and get a check up at the vet to rule out a medical problem or side effect of a medication causing the weight and do something to address it.

If you love them you’ll get them back on the road to a proper weight, so they can be happy, healthy and around for a long time.

Talk Big Tuesday – The Frequency of Bathing

So I decided that every Tuesday I’ll do a little entry about something that has bothered me at some point in the week.

Only bath your dogs twice a year, less is better. That was the common belief once, these days most people bath their dogs more often than that. At least I’d like to think so. I came across an article on the internet about how often you should bath your dog and yes it’s more than twice a year.

Think about it, does your dog sleep in the bed with you, lay on the couch, snuggle? Now think about what your dog has done lately, have they been outside, rolled in dirt, swam, been used as a drool rag on at the dog park? Most likely yes, to everything. They’ve likely licked a butt or two and maybe even eaten poop. I don’t know about anyone else but considering all of that and then they want to snuggle or sleep on my bed… kinda gross. Do you really want all that dirt, drool, even insects where you lay your head or plant a kiss? Nope.

Dogs coats are pretty good at repelling nature’s “fun” but get real, they DO get dirty and smelly much to your “mine don’t even smell like dogs, you guys are idiots for bathing your dog more than once a year” argument. You want to sleep next to a dog that has rolled in god knows what on that hike or swam in lake water that very likely has shit and piss in it be my guest. But if that were a person you wouldn’t be caught dead spooning them if they only washed once a year. You can’t tell me that you’re once a year bathed dog isn’t dirty. I’ve bathed once a year dogs, even once every 5 year dogs and the water is like coffee and grits that comes off them. The difference in the feel and look is astounding. But to be honest I was in the twice a year camp for a long time, now knowing and seeing the difference I want to go back in time and slap my old self then wash my poor past dogs. Seriously, your dog is dirty, I can smell it and feel it despite you boasting about it.

Frequent bathing even helps pets with itchy, problem skin. Dogs absorb allergens through their skin as opposed to us who usually absorb it through our mouths and noses. So by upping the bath routine to a weekly deal you can wash off the irritants before they have a good chance of settling in and causing your dog discomfort and likely the discomfort of your wallet due to vet visits.

Overall your dog should be bathed anywhere from once a week to every 8 weeks. Personally mine get bathed every month unless they have gotten into some particularly “fun”. You have to look at a few things though, breed matters. Coat texture really, those dogs with harsher coats (like Terriers, Retrievers and Collies) will repel the “fun” better then those with soft coats (like Shih Tzus, Yorkies and Havanese). The harsher coats I like to see done at LEAST every two months if not every 4-6 weeks, the softer coats even more every 1-2 weeks. If you have someone in the home or family that drops by who has allergies bathing and grooming can make a huge difference, especially the frequency of it, the more the better, it’ll remove the dander and saliva that is causing the allergy. That all being said shampoo matters too. A lot of shampoos in big box stores are pretty low quality, they will strip the coat of the natural oils, create dry skin and some even leave a gross residue. Do yourself a favour, put back that $5.99 bottle of shampoo and pick up a $12.99 bottle from your local pet store or grooming salon. And for goodness sake STOP using human shampoo on your dogs! Mild, high quality shampoos don’t strip or dry out the skin and coat, don’t leave a residue and leave your pet smelling and feeling great.

Now get up and go bath your dog with a quality, mild shampoo and quit talking twice a year nonsense.