Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Catching Up

Fudge is napping, so maybe I can get a post in before he's back at the computer. I thought I'd bring you up to date on a few things that we left hanging. First is Noah's eye. It's doing great!! Yeah!! We put his medicated ointment in twice a day and drops in between. The eye is clear, no goop, no red and no itching. He'll be visiting the vet later in the month for another dryness test but I think we have it under control, finally.
Next is Miss Morgan. The infection in her jaw is gone and she's eating like a little piggy to make up for any meals she missed. Because of her age and the fact that she's a little confused a lot of the time, I want to make sure she gets all the nutrients she needs from her meals. After a conversation with Dr B, we started her on Ensure. We used that when the dogs were all sick a couple years ago and they like it a lot. We pour it over Morgan's kibble and it looks like a bowl of cereal and milk. She thinks it's wonderful and laps it up. Lately she's been coming over to me n the evening and asking for a snack. Sometimes I give her a few spoons of canned food and other times I give her a bowl of Ensure.

Because she's a little shaky going up and down stairs, we put her swim harness on her. It has a handle on the back and I can grab it to give her a little help with the steps. She seems to appreciate it and she hasn't had any crash landings lately.
 Fudge and Noah are both eating their home cooked food mixed with a special kibble and both are maintaining their weight. The poops are more normal and they seem to be doing well.

Fudge mentioned Natto in one of his posts recently and a couple of you asked about it. When Samba and Sky were sick, Dr B suggested trying it. It's great for digestion and has lots of protein and vitamins. It's a Japanese food made from fermented soybeans. The dogs love it, but a word of warning, it stinks and it looks gross and though I haven't tasted it, I hear it tastes about as bad as it looks (to humans). If your dogs are like mine, they adore anything stinky and gross. We buy it at the Oriental food store and keep it in the fridge. The dogs get it about once a week.
It's been almost a week since the injection in my hand. This morning I took the brace off and I'm hoping the thumb is better. I can't really tell yet because it's still a little swollen and all my fingers are a bit stiff from not being used for a week. So far, so good.

Spring has arrived and with it came bugs and bees, and with them come bug bites. This morning Lola showed me her front foot. One toe is swollen and hairless. There didn't seem to be an abrasion, so I put some medicine on it and gave her some Benedryl. She's wearing a cone of shame for now. Tonight I'll soak her foot and watch it closely. Hopefully the swelling will go down soon. If not, we'll be going you know where.
So that's what's going on here, but things change rapidly.

6 comments:

Bella Roxy & Macdui said...

Paws crossed for the swollen foot....Hope there's some Natto for wearing that cone.

Never heard of Natto....don't think it sounds like anything we'll be buying. SHE loves lots of Japanese food, but that sounds, well...yuck.

Molly the Airedale said...

Great news all around! We hope your foot feels better today, Lola!

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

Julie said...

That's alot to keep track of!
All sounds positive though
Loves and licky kisses
Princess Leah xxx

rottrover said...

So pleased to hear that everyone is on the mend!

-Ruby

Lapdog Creations said...

We thought about Ensure for Zeus and I had asked our vet in passing if there was a version for dogs and she had just said no... I knew we should have gotten some of the human version. It certainly wouldn't have hurt to use that instead of water to add moisture to his food.

Glad to hear everyone seems to be on the mend... poor Lola. It's always something new with someone!

Hope your hand does well with the brace off!

Oh and I'm sure you've noticed in pictures that Zeus had been wearing his harness since August when he got Vestibular Disease, and Lola started wearing hers in December when she started limping. I know they sell fancy mobility harnesses, but those worked wonderfully to provide that little handle for stability and assistance!

Two French Bulldogs said...

The swim harness is such a good idea
Lily & Edward