Postings by Belle

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Belle Will Take you- On!     Barked: Mon Jun 17, '13 9:58am PST  She needs to see a vet immediately. This could be caused by any number of things, some very treatable, but given the symptoms it needs to treated as soon as possible for her to have a chance at pulling through. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Belle Will Take you- On!     Barked: Tue May 7, '13 8:10pm PST  Everyone is totally just guessing. There's no way to accurately discern any sort of breed in a pup that young. Most of what you're dealing with now is general puppy behavior, not breed-specific behavior. Inherited drives don't come out until the dog is a bit older. Issues like guarding food are normal (although not acceptable) and can be worked through. Similarly, liking dogs as a 4-month-old is no guarantee of liking dogs as a 2-year-old. Breed can be used to guess at adult traits, but it's not 100%. Even the shelter's guess of Chi/Lab mix for the mother is pretty far-fetched. Unless the Chi was the father and there were some serious acrobatics involved, she was not a Chi/Lab!! It's a gamble to adopt a shelter puppy in every respect. You have no idea what the pup is, or where they're from. Their personality as a baby is not what it will be as an adult. The only way to accurately assess these things is to adopt an adult dog from a rescue that uses foster homes and gets to know their dogs before placing them out. It's up to you if you want to return her. Honestly, if you do, now the time. She's still tiny and cute and much easier to place than if you wait 6 months until things are out of control. OTOH, it could work out fine. Everyone second-guesses their choice in the weeks after bringing a dog home. Most of the time it is fine. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Dog Health > Losing small clumps of hair and I'm a non shedding breed?

Belle Will Take you- On!     Barked: Mon May 6, '13 2:13pm PST  Agreed with the above, and would like to add that Poodle coats are very different from Shih Tzu coats. When you combine the two, you can end up with one or the other, or some odd combination of both types. I've seen Poo' and 'oodle mixes come out with straight guard coats and curly undercoats that shed like any other double-coated breed. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Senior Dogs > This Portland woman wants to put her old dog down herself. Please advise.

Belle Will Take you- On!     Barked: Wed Mar 20, '13 4:22pm PST  Unfortunately there's no good, legal way to do what she wants. If the issue with having a vet come to the house is that the dog panics around strangers, I would ask for an oral tranquilizer to give prior to the vet's arrival. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Senior Dogs > Decision time

Belle Will Take you- On!     Barked: Wed Jan 9, '13 9:07pm PST  I like to get a vet's opinion, but at the same time find vets very focused on the scientific end of things. On paper, Belle should have been dead a year before she passed, Vance at least 6 months. I have known vets to talk clients into euth'ing because "the bloodwork looks bad" without much or any thought of how the animal is feeling. When he jumps when you pet him, he likely just isn't sure it's you. Being blind and deaf, he has no indication of what that feeling is until he recognizes the pattern of your petting. With my blind/deaf client, I used to slowly wave my hand a couple inches from her nose (far enough she wouldn't bite me if I startled her) so she would know I was there before I touched her. Here is a blind/deaf dog support group. I think it's very likely he is slowing down, and keeping a journal is a great idea. His loss of sight is probably a big contributing factor to his confusion too, and talking with other owners may give you a better sense of what is coping with loss of senses, and what is cognitive dysfunction. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Belle Will Take you- On!     Barked: Tue Jan 1, '13 5:49pm PST  It's a very gray area, and ultimately only you can make the right choice. I've had two seniors of my own who were in very poor health for a very long time - both over a year. There are always things you can try, although you reach a point where there are no longer any feasible ideas. When you have multiple health issues, it becomes a balancing act of what you can try versus overall quality of life. So, looking at things you can try... What stood out most to me about your post was that he's suddenly become obsessed with his privates. Was a urinalysis included in his recent vet trip? Just a basic UTI could produce a lot of the symptoms you're seeing. If the infection has reached his kidneys it could even exacerbate dementia. Even if everything looks clear, a course of general antibiotics could help - we actually saved Belle at least 3 times by giving general antibiotics and steroids. She was failing, the vet couldn't pinpoint a problem, so we decided it was worth a try. There came a day when it didn't work anymore, but the 3 times it did were worth it. I don't know if he's currently on any medications for his cateracts, but if not, they may help too. Have you looked at any websites for blind dogs? I spent a lot of time reading from various support groups when Vance lost his right eye and it was very helpful. It's worth looking for info on blind and deaf dogs, too. It's so common - and can mimic dementia quite a bit too. I had a petsit client who'd had both eyes removed from glaucoma and gone deaf... I only lived with her a week at a time, but I developed a pretty good system with her using a short lead to guide her so she didn't get lost - even in the house. I did a little with scent too but I didn't have time to get too detailed... If she were mine I would have tried to drop some kind of unique scent trail to her bed, because she would get up at night and get lost in the kitchen every few hours. In terms of snow glare, there actually are doggie sunglasses. I don't know anything about that particular store, it just shows the product well. Dog gear like that seems so silly, but by my Vance's last winter, he was wearing snowboots and a flannel-lined wool jacket most of the time. He'd never have accepted it as a young dog, but by the time he needed them, they made him feel so much better that he was very happy to wear them. The complicating factor for you is the dementia. It's very possible he won't know how to deal with wearing something on his head, but it may be worth a try. All of it depends on what he and your family can manage. I'm sure you'll know best what direction is right for all of you. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > Suddenly agressive with mother in law

Belle Will Take you- On!     Barked: Mon Dec 24, '12 10:37am PST  How is she with other people she doesn't live with? What does she think of complete strangers? Some dogs are extremely suspicious of everyone outside their immediate family. I had clients I knew from the time they were 12 weeks old and petsat as often as once a month who would still react to me and take 1 - 3 days to settle down. Some of them didn't settle down, and I had to work out a system of cues rewarded with the lack of my presence to care for them safely. This is behavior that is typically emphasized as a dog matures... You wouldn't necessarily see it right from the start. There are things you can do if that is the case. Many of my clients who behaved this way had owners who didn't care and wrote off the behavior as normal and unchangeable. But if she only reacts to your MIL and aunt, no one else, I'd say something happened while she was at your MIL's - intentional or accidental. There are still things you can do to make things better, but it's a bit of a different issue. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Food & Nutrition > Pancreatitis please help so my baby doesn't have to eat W/D for life :(

Belle Will Take you- On!     Barked: Sat Oct 27, '12 5:55pm PST  Pancreatitis is typically about fat, not protien. I'm not sure why they would say no red meat - protien is protien - except that red meat tends to be fattier than poultry. Feed lean red meat and problem solved. Belle had acute pancreatitis when she was young. We stopped feeding Kibbles N' Bits (we actually knew it was crap; we were more using it as a treat) and got a lot pickier about the quality of leftovers she got. She had no further problems with pancreatitis for the rest of her life. Vance had liver issues, which directly affect pancreatic, spleen and galbladder function. Again, the solution was no fat, and adding fiber since he had been eating prey-model raw. I did end up cooking for him since his GI system became too compromised to risk the bacteria that may be in raw. Pureeing everything aids in digestion. I would cook ground meat in big batches, then flip the whole pan over on a screen for the fat to drain, then blot it all with paper towels. Time-consuming and messy, but much more cost effective than buying 2# of 97/3 ground meat a day. Feeding fish helped, since the fats in it are different than in other meats and better for pancreatic function. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Dog Health > "Old Dog" Vestibular disease..HELP!!

Belle Will Take you- On!     Barked: Mon Oct 1, '12 5:41pm PST  Our friend never made any snoring noises or had difficulty breathing. I would consult with your vet. As to no appetite, if she is drinking, I would puree all her food and let her drink it. You could soak down kibble and throw it through a blender, but honestly, with her level of health issues in general I would not be feeding kibble. It's tough to digest and derive nutrients from. A good canned food, or better yet a DIY bland diet would be preferable. I used to put together truly disgusting pureed meals when Vance's tumor pressed his stomach and he didn't want to eat. I once threw canned fish, tripe and cooked liver in a blender with beets and sweet potato. And then proceeded to hand feed it to him 5 times a day - when they aren't eating much at a time, just feed them whenever they will eat. Wicked gross but it worked. For her last year, Belle used to eat dog food in scrambled eggs every morning. Except for her tumor-episodes, though, she was typically fine with food as long as we dressed it up a bit. At night, we would soak her kibble in low-sodium broth (this was before I knew to switch old or ailing dogs off kibble!) None of it is ideal or balanced, but when they need to eat, they need to eat. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Belle Will Take you- On!     Barked: Sat Sep 29, '12 1:48pm PST  I've known one dog (very well) who suffered a bout of "Old Dog" syndrome. He literally looked like he had a stroke. He was fine when his owner went in to work, a few hours later when she was done his head was tilted and he could barely move at all. There isn't anything you can do. How much did the vet explain? In simple terms, what happens is that their neurons all misfire at the same time. Their brain temporarily loses connection with their muscles and they can't move. It's scary, but it's not painful. They should start showing improvement within a few days, as connections start to correct themselves. The dog I knew was walking (shakily) by the end of the week. He was never 100% back to his old self... After the episode he always had a bit more pronounced of a wobble, and his head frequently tipped slightly. But if you didn't know what had happened, you wouldn't have been able to tell. He lived to 15, about 2 years past his episode and never had another, although there is a chance of reccurrance. If the vet gave you a basket of drugs, be mindful that they may mask improvements. No one's going to be up and about if they're woozy from meds. If she seems to be in pain or you want answers now, you can do an MRI. They're expensive but informative, especially if you may be looking tumors. While tumors are a tough diagnosis, there is still hope for management. Belle had episodes from a tumor that pressed against her neck, possibly into her brain - we never did extensive testing because it would not have changed treatment. We managed her episodes with prednisone and she did fine. It was actually heart disease that finally killed her. I've seen similar results with other dogs too. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

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