How does your dog do at the vet?

All the dogs are good at the vet except Chance.  Even though the other 3 are a little nervous, our vet is able to perform any exam or x-ray needed with good cooperation from the dogs.

And then there is Chance...

Siberians are known for being hyper, anxious dogs, but Chance takes it to a new height.  He screams when the vet just starts to come close.  Hubby, Mark and I always have to take him together to hold him down for blood work and shots.  Forget any kind of physical exam, it's fight or flight for this boy!  He has to wear a muzzle, because he'll nip.  He just doesn't like being touched or messed with in general, so a vet visit pushes his limits.

I avoid taking him to the vet until it is absolutely necessary.  This last visit had been one of those occasions.  He had been limping on what seemed to be his left front leg, holding it in the air even and I couldn't tell if there was also a problem with his back leg as well.  It had been going on for a while and seemed to be on and off thing.  So I broke down and made an appointment.

Well, we lost Chance's muzzle over the summer so Mark picked up one the day before the appointment.  It was called a "Comfort Fit" muzzle which meant the mouth opening was bigger than the narrow one I'd had before.  Chance needed a refresher course for the muzzle while I fitted it to him and for the most part he was fine with everything.

The whole appointment was our vet massaging up and down Chance's back and legs, searching for the point of pain.  Chance was doing fantastic.  He was so relaxed and actually enjoying this visit!

She located the source of pain, in his toe and his super long nails.  I knew they were bad.  I've never had to trim them before with walks and dog sledding, his nails stayed manicured.  The thought of me clipping his nails was intimidating to say the least, but for the vet to do it right then and there with no problem was another OMG moment for me and Chance!  bol

I was so blown away by how cooperative Chance was, how relaxed and easy he was, it was encouraging. Not to mention the fact that we didn't have to pin him down to do the exam was a HUGE bonus and made a big difference on Chance.

Now I don't know if this was a one time thing, or just the fact there were no needles being stuck in him, but it was the happiest I'd ever seen Chance at the vet's office in 11 years.

And that made for a very happy mommy and daddy!!

How was your dog's last exam??

What's a "rough day" for Brut?

I just wanted to let everyone know that Brut isn't in any pain.  I know his pain signs and he isn't showing any of them.  He may uncomfortable or not feeling well, but he not in pain.   

A rough day for Brut consist of bleeding into his abdomen from the mass on his spleen and because of the internal blood loss, his blood pressure drops.  The more or heavier he bleeds internally, the lower his blood pressure drops.

When his blood pressure drops, he has a difficult time moving, like getting and up down and he has a wobbly walk.  He is very sleepy and will only get up food, water, and using the facilities.  I usually keep a water bowl right next to him so he doesn't have to move, when he isn't feeling well. 

Brut was feeling a little better today than the last few days.  He laid outside for most of the day, but was alert with his head up most of the time.  The last few days of not feeling good he could barely lift his head or stay awake for any length of time.  Brut got up and down more often and walked to further corners of the yard and although his walk was still wobbly he was making the distance.  As oppose to yesterday when he did get up he stayed close to his hole that he lays and only for the basic necessities. 

Being outdoors must make Brut feel better, because every nice day we have had he has been out well after dark. 

Brut growled at Zappa and Fiona when he became possessive of me and his territory.  So believe me he's still has a lot of fight and life left in him.  He ain't going down easy.  :)  And we respect his right to life by making him feel like the king that he is.  

The differences between two spayings: Mother and daughter

Blaze has been spayed for a couple of months now and is doing fantastic.  She is being Blaze, with all her quirks and silly attitudes and I have been breathing a great sigh of relief after she finally healed up because she is still my girl.

One of my many fears with getting Blaze spayed was what I experienced with Silver who was spayed at five years old, one year after having her puppies.  Silver had a hormonal imbalance that caused false pregnancy, depression, and anxieties.  She passed this on to her daughter Blaze.

When Blaze was returned to us (she is one of the pups from our litter) I couldn't have two intact females along with Brut and the rest of the dogs.  The whole situation with Blaze coming back was chaotic enough and we had to make a decision of spaying Silver or Blaze.  Since Silver already had a litter of pups, we decided to keep Blaze intact if we ever wanted another litter to keep for ourselves.

It took Silver nearly a year and half to come back to herself after being spayed.  She was mopey and depressed for a long time and just didn't seem herself anymore.  There were many contributing factors at time that I think made the difference between Blaze having such a speedy recovery while Silver took so long.  

One of the biggest difference between Silver and Blaze was that Silver had just had her first pregnancy and litter about 9 months before and was at the beginning of her first cycle since being pregnant when we had her spayed.  This meant her hormones were soaring and she was probably emotionally looking forward to being pregnant again.  Blaze we had fixed after her entire heat cycle, including the false pregnancy was over.

Our vet was booked up for surgeries at the time and we ended up having to take Silver to a different vet in order to have the procedure done.  Blaze was done at our primary vet and we were comfortable with her there.  

Silver was sick from the anesthesia and I stayed up with her while she vomited all night long.  She really took the whole thing pretty hard.  Blaze was fine and slept through her first night home.

Life at our house had just changed with Blaze coming back and dividing the house.  Everything was out of control, especially Brut which made Silver's healing all that more difficult.  When I look back at that time period, I can barely remember it, except for that first night Silver was home.  That's how crazy things were.  About the time frame that Silver came back around to being herself again, was about the same time that things began to calm and settle in the house of the 24 Paws.  Silver kind of got the raw end of the deal with our urgency to fix her in order to create less problems whereas with Blaze I was able to take care of her better and not make the same mistakes I did with Silver.

I don't know if this info may help anyone else out, but there are definitely things I would do different with Silver if I had it to do over again.  I would wait until she went through her heat rather than do it right before including going through the false pregnancy.  Although as hard as the spaying was on her, it might have been a blessing that she didn't go through a false pregnancy, after finally having a real one.  That may have been a bonus I didn't think of.  And I know her progress was slower or didn't show as clearly because of the upheaval in our home with Blaze coming back and then Chance.  That knocked all of us off our feet and I'm sure Silver as well.

All in all I'm just glad they both made it through the surgery and are both sound and happy dogs.  It is still amazing to me what time will do for all of us.   

Job of an aggressive dog Mom is never done

I'd just got done walking Blaze and Chance on separate walks, I let the Back Dogs outside.  They were all pretty hyped up thinking they were next, especially Brut, he'll do anything to go on a walk.  Brut,  Silver and Zappa were on the back deck, right in front of the sliding glass door.  There was potential of tension with the boys being so frantic and close to each other, but I blew it off.  Things were going so well and Zappa tends to take pretty good care of himself when it comes to Brut.

I had just opened the freeze for some ice, when I heard that all too familiar sound of fighting dogs.  I ran from the kitchen through the door that separtates the two packs and saw Brut and Zappa standing on hind legs leaning against the other glaring and growling at each other.  I had no idea what to do next.  Any move I was to make was going to set Brut off.  So I watched and waited thinking maybe, just maybe one of them would concede.  Not likely but they were not fighting at this moment and I thought they might just resolve it on their own.

Then just as quickly the fight started again.  I banged on the glass door and they quickly broke up.  Zappa was hurt, limping and whimpering.  I took care of him first with some antibiotic cream and gave him a boo-boo sock to wear as he slowly began to calm down.

I was angry that Zappa was hurt.  Which meant I was angry at Brut.  So I sort of ignored him the rest of the day.  He tried to be all lovely dovey with me, but I was quite firm with him.  Later in the evening he tried to intimate Zappa and strut around like he was top dog.  I sent him to his room.

It wasn't until bedtime when he laid at my feet and I began to tell him I was angry with him that it really hit me why I was angry.  One, because he hurt Zappa and two because it was more my fault than Brut's.  I saw the recipe for a fight in the making and I knew Brut has been a bit testy lately and I made the mistake of overlooking both those factors.  And I confessed my part to Brut.  And while we had a quick make up session, I'm still not thoroughly settled.  A dog fight is still hard for me to digest very easily.

No worries though, Brut and I will probably have a good heart to heart talk about it and forgive each other.  This is just another way to keep me on my toes and not let my guard down so much.  Fights used  to be the end of the world feeling and it would take me days to make peace with Brut.  Now they so rarely happen anymore it is just a good reminder that my job as a dog mom is never done.

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About yesterday's Black/White Photo, you all guessed Chance and you were all right!   

Silver Sparkles

I don't usually attribute a single factor to what makes a happy dog but I became very aware how much food plays a part in that when I switch Silver over from a hypoallergenic food to our current kibble of 4Health from our local Tractor Supply Company. 

It was about a year ago that I finally talked my husband into letting Silver trade foods.  She'd been on the previous one for what was assumed to be a food allergy.  She was constantly licking her paws and having ear infections.  There was some improvement, but Silver was still getting regular ear infections.

I saw such good results with the rest of the dogs, I figured it couldn't hurt to try.  I started noticing a difference with mopey, moody Silver who never wanted to do anything was getting up and going outside with Brut and staying out for a longer time.  She was playful and happy.  Her energy increased and she has a noticeable pizzazz, it's like she has suddenly come to life out a long slumber.  I don't think she would have enjoyed the dog sledding as much as she did this year and with the zest she had if I'd kept her on her other food.  Most sled dogs retire around her age and she handled it like a champ!!  And if that's not enough her ears have cleared up!

I do believe their are many other factors involved, but the difference with this new food just can't be denied.  She has finally awoke from her coma it seems and is actually living and enjoying life again.

What a difference!

Have you made a food or dietary change where there was a noticeable impact on your dogs mood or behavior?