Damp Days

Hi Everybody

Did you all have a nice long weekend? It rained here quite a lot, but there were no thunder boomers, so it wasn't too bad. We all had to hurry when we went outside because we got soaked pretty fast but that's OK.

Mom was lazy this weekend. She just hung around the house and watched hockey. She did take care of Morgan and Bailey, so I guess that counts. Morgan is doing really well for a crabby old lady dog. She goes outside and wanders around the yard, even in the rain. Mom gets soaked, ha ha..... Morgan has decided that she doesn't like to eat in the morning but boy, can she pack it away at night. Mom feeds her kibble by hand, then tops it off with an Ensure milkshake. We just stand there and drool.

Bailey is feeling a lot better too. Her temperature is back to normal and she's walking a lot better. Her right leg is a little stiff but the really bad pain is gone. The doctor says she has to have two more weeks of bedrest, so as soon as she goes outside on leash, she has to get back into her crate and rest her back. She doesn't seem to mind but by next week I  bet she's making a fuss about it.

Last Saturday was World Turtle Day and Mom was hoping to celebrate, but she got off track because of Bailey, so pretty soon we'll do a nice turtle post to salute the guys with shells.

You all know how much I love sprinkles. I like them on cupcakes and cookies and dog biscuits and I think it would be great if Mom put sprinkles on my dinner. Well, I guess I'm not the only one who likes them. Dad found this picture on Facebook. He and Mom laughed but I didn't see what was so funny.

Till next time, stay safe and dry.
Your pal, Fudge

Oh, My Aching Back!!

Bailey's back hurts. It hurts a lot.

It started earlier this week when she seemed to be limping. I gave her a Rimadyl and she seemed a little better. The next morning she was worse. She didn't want to come out of her crate and didn't want to eat breakfast. I gave her another Rimadyl and told Rob to keep an eye on her when he took them all outside.

He came in and said there was something wrong with Bailey, so we put everyone else inside and examined her. I checked her back legs and feet but didn't find anything wrong. She just wanted to lie down so we started walking her back to the house when Rob ran his hands along her sides. When he got to a certain place, she collapsed. We put her in her crate and called the vet.

This morning we took her in to see Dr B. He said he wanted to start at the nose and work back to the tail, but when he got to that spot in her back, she again dropped . He checked her legs for strength and balance, they were OK. He took her temperature and she was running a fever of 103.5 degrees.

So, for now we're hoping that she has an infection that has settled in her back. We're treating her with a strong antibiotic, a muscle relaxer and pain pills. She has to rest except for outings on leash to relieve herself. He told me certain things to watch for and if she's not better by Monday night, she'll have xrays on Tuesday.

She's being a very good patient. She just wants to stay in her crate and sleep. When I looked in on her a few minutes ago, she was asleep with her leg across her teddy bear. She looks so sweet.

Chewy Does It Again

Look what the big truck man brought!

This time the treat was something for just the boys.
As you know my three boys all have intestinal issues. Sebastian has pancreatitis, Noah has colitis and Fudge has leaky gut syndrome. This make my work extra complicated as they can't just eat a bowl of dog food as the girls can. I have to watch Sebastian's caloric intake because extra weight makes his condition worse. Fudge and Noah can't eat beef or chicken or dairy. Yikes!

Sebastian gets a kibble light plus lots of green beans. Fudge and Noah both eat a home cooked food with turkey as the protein. To that I add some duck protein kibble. As treats they usually get sweet potato chips that we make here at home, but occasionally they'd like something else, especially when the girls are getting treats.

Chewy has  helped me in the past by finding turkey or duck based treats for the boys and this time they did a super job. These are Wellness Core Protein bars and the ingredients are turkey, duck and kale. These were just made for my boys. So what do they think?

The three boys checked out the package. Looks good.

Who wants a treat?

Fudge says they're great.

Noah agrees.

Sebastian thinks they taste wonderful.

And the bossy old lady dog insisted on trying them, too. She says they pass her inspection.

These contain turkey, peas, flaxseed, duck, broccoli, carrots, kale and some other things that are all healthy and tasty. I'm sure these will be on our list for reorder. Thanks Chewy for helping my boys stay healthy.

Chewy sent us this package of delicious treats at no cost, for our review. The opinions expressed are our own, because you know dogs don't lie.

It Must Be True

April showers

bring

 And this is my Christmas cactus still going strong in the middle of May.

 Today we're getting more showers so maybe we'll get some more flowers before the summer heat sets in.

Moms

Today I'm thinking about my Mom.

And I'm sure the pups are all thinking about their Mom.

Happy Mother's Day to all the 2 and 4 legged mothers.

It's In The Genes

I've been exceptionally lucky to be able to keep most of my litter of puppies. Not only has it been fun but it's been a great learning process, too. This week I had yet another lesson in genetics. Over the last week I took all the Porties to the vet for annual checkups. Everyone did great but when the blood reports came back we learned that all the girls have low thyroid levels and need a supplement. That means that all Samba's surviving puppies are hypothroid like their mother. Dr B  has suggested that I report this to the breed club.

I've been able to observe these dogs from their first breath straight thru to adulthood. They are a close group and enjoy each other's company. They occasionally have a spat but have never actually gotten nasty with each other, though they can get too rough with other dogs not in their family group. They also form little sub groups or best friends. Lola and Bailey are BFFs and like to go off by themselves to play. Tess and Norma Jean are BFFs as were Noah and Sky. Since Sky's death, Noah and Tess have become close.

 Samba loved to  swim and all but two of her pups inherited her love of the water. Bailey and Sky were not thrilled with water and found other interests.

Samba was a great retriever and all but Noah are excellent retrievers. It was Sky's favorite activity and Tess loves it, too. Samba liked to track and hunt and that's Bailey's favorite thing to do. She's good at it and has captured several prizes such as squirrel, rabbit and of course, lizzards.

Samba was an insomniac. She liked to get up in the middle of the night to sit on the porch and watch the sky. Of course, she assumed that I wanted to go with her and it became a regular event for us. Noah is also an insomniac. He doesn't beg to go outside to stargaze but I hear him padding around the bedroom at night and when I open my eyes, he's sitting there beside the bed watching me.

Samba was a world class counter surfer and passed the talent on to all eight of her kids. Fudge used to surf too but stopped after an ugly incident when he scared himself. So their pups inherited the urge from both parents.

Fudge likes water and is a lazy retriever too. He's not much of a hunter and he's a good sleeper but he loves to jump and spin. He's passed those techniques on to all his pups. They all jump, especially Tess and Norma Jean and they all spin. Dinnertime can be very interesting around here. As I'm busy filling their bowls, they're all spinning as fast as they can go. A stranger observing this would think they were in a looney bin and they'd be partially correct.

I'm very grateful that I've had this opportunity to  closely observe a whole litter from start to finish and I think they're all very happy to have spent their lives together. We include Gracie in our group because we're in close touch with her Mom and we see her several times a year. If you ever get the chance to raise a litter of puppies, grab it. It's a lot of work, but it's so rewarding.

Looking Up

Nothing lasts forever, including the long months of health problems we had starting with the deadly case of Crypto. Lately our luck seems to have changed. Last Wednesday Fudge, Lola and Norma Jean went to visit Dr B for their annual checkups. These are always nerve wracking visits for me, but the dogs actually seem to enjoy them.

Fudge was the first one up. He's having a problem eating and we couldn't figure out exactly what the problem is, but we have him on a pain killer for ten days to see if it helps. Yesterday he seemed better for the first time in a couple weeks, so maybe we're onto something. The thought is that he has either a touch of arthritis in his jaw or a little nerve damage on the right side. We'll keep an eye on it and try to help him feel more comfortable.

Lola went next. She has a little cyst on her muzzle just above the nose, nothing to worry about. She's also carrying a few extra pounds. The next day when the blood results came back, it showed that her thyroid was too low to register, so she's on Soloxin now and her weight should come back into line soon.

Norma Jean went last. Everything looked good on her but her blood showed that her thyroid is borderline. We'll retest her in about three months.

So far, so good.

This afternoon we took Noah, Bailey, Tess and Morgan in for their turns.

Noah had his  problem eye tested for dryness. He's been on his Restasis ointment for about six weeks. The number we're looking for is 12 or above. Last time he was at 7 but today he registered 17. Everyone in the room was jumping around in excitement. Now he only has to use the ointment once a day and that makes us all happy. The rest of his checkup was good and blood report will be back tomorrow.

Bailey was next. She has a little soreness in her left elbow but everything else checked out great including her weight and her teeth. Yeah Bailey!

Tess has a couple of fatty tumors that should come off later in the year when she gets her teeth cleaned. Her front legs don't seem at all painful even with the deformities.

Finally it was Miss Morgan's turn. She had a rough weekend , running a little fever and having messy stools. I treated her with some of Fudge's tummy meds after speaking with Dr B. Friday night her temperature was back to normal, on Sunday she regained her appetite and today her stool was normal. Because of her age, she seems to pick up these little bugs more easily. Also there is a killer dog flu in the Chicago area. There have been no cases in Missouri but we decided that it might be a good idea for her to get a flu shot anyway, so today she had that and an Adequan injection for her arthritic legs.

Dr  and I were both relieved that everyone had such good checkups and he said the girls seem younger than their actual age. After the issues of the last few years, I'm glad to see my kids happy and healthy again.