Vocal Voices

I called into the vets today to pick up some more of the AD (the critical care food - I am keeping her on that until she gets up to her old body weight - mixed with her trays of Wainwrights).

I rang them on Monday to say that I would come in to collect some and also for them to speak to Dan for me about worming her (we realised that she hadn't been wormed since before the accident) and also for more of her tablets.

Unfortunately Delectable Dan wasn't there today but he had left a message to say that she can finish on the last lot of tablets that she is on. And that once we have finished this tray of the AD he doesn't really see any reason to keep her on it and to let her weight gradually increase just from her normal food.

I have a worming tablet the size of a wagon wheel to get down her so I will crush that up and give it to her at the weekend.

So after this week, Millie will be drug free.

That is brilliant news!!
Is she still using her special food bowl?

Woweeeeeeeeeee Debih, that's brilliant news!!!

Minnie had just one 5mg steroid yesterday, and will have one tomorrow. She has an antibiotic for tonight and two for tomorrow. We see the vet on Saturday, I think whether she has any more will depend on the blood results, but we might be free of charts too

JoM wrote:That is brilliant news!!
Is she still using her special food bowl?

I think she'll be using it for ever now Jo. The stricture will always be there. Delectable Dan did say that when she is back up to her normal weight he might consider having another go at stretching it a couple more times but he will wait and see how she is getting on.

She is very funny with the bowl - although I'm sure she doesn't think so. She gets very cross with it if she can't get to it (it has to be in a corner to stop it from falling off the stools) and growls at it. Yesterday she was barking at it as some food had fallen behind it and she couldn't get at it.

The feeding is still a bit of a pain - she has at least 8 small meals a day (more if she comes looking). I split the tray of food into 8 portions and she has that (her recommended daily intake is 3/4 of a tray but until she gets back to normal weight we can feed her as much as we want) a quarter of a tin of AD for each feed. It probably takes around 5 minutes to sort out each feed. But I think that will be forever too - I can't see her going back to normal meals.

But at least the meals don't have to be evenly spaced out during the day now. So on my two longer days at work she has 3 small meals before I leave and then has the rest from about 3pm onwards. The rest of the week she just gets fed whenever. We tend to feed her when she comes looking for food. She doesn't generally tend to want anything after about 8pm - she takes herself off to bed and we don't see her again.

She is off to my mums next week whilst we are at Legoland and I feel much happier about leaving her with my mum. I am hopeful that after next week she can start to go to my mums one day a week again. It means that she isn't home alone on one of my longer days and my dad enjoys having her. It will mean Mick remembering to take her food and her bowl with him when he drops her off though.

She used to go to my sisters on a Tuesday and Roy took her out on long walks with their dog. She isn't quite up to that yet (her leg starts to play up if she walks/runs for too long) and my sister doesn't have the cleanest of kitchens so I am worried that she might pick food up off the floor.

The most important thing is that we have to watch her to make sure she doesn't pick food up whilst we are out or let anyone give her treats (its amazing how many bar staff automatically give dogs chews!) as she can't swallow anything big and that makes her sick.

So, other than gaining that extra 4 kilos, I think how she is living now is how she will be forever. It is perfectly sustainable - not as easy as it used to be before the accident but a damned site easier than it has been over the last few months.

Diflower wrote:Woweeeeeeeeeee Debih, that's brilliant news!!!

Minnie had just one 5mg steroid yesterday, and will have one tomorrow. She has an antibiotic for tonight and two for tomorrow. We see the vet on Saturday, I think whether she has any more will depend on the blood results, but we might be free of charts too

It all sounds so promising with Minnie now Di.

I am so, so pleased.

Doesn't it just Debih

The mortality rate is 70-80% in the first two weeks, and I can easily believe that; it struck so fast, and then it can kill them before the drugs get a chance to start working.
Plus of course not all vets recognise it as quickly - it's heartbreaking to read people's accounts, saying the vet thought it was probably an infection so gave antibiotics, and another couple of days go by...

Anyway. Back to Millie, if picking up food becomes a problem then maybe consider one of those muzzles? I've met a few people whose dogs have to wear them to stop them picking up things they shouldn't
Such a relief though to be able to leave her with someone else now

That's great news Debih.

Good to hear about Minnie too Di.

Fantastic news for both of you - well done those pooches!!!

Debih, I know they're not the cheapest, but would it not make sense to buy a second bowl and leave it at your mum's permanently. That way you don't run the risk of forgetting the bowl either at yours or at hers and you know Millie will have it wherever she is?

Great news about Minnie too Di! Fingers crossed for good blood results this week!

At least the bowl is giving you a bit more leeway with feeding her, I expect going away to Legoland wouldn't have been such an easy prospect if you were still feeding her the other way

No Jo. We'd have gone (as its all booked) but I would have worried about how mum was coping with the constant feeding of the dog on top of looking after my dad.

At least this way, although its a pain to have to mash the food up and smear it around the bowl, you can walk away and leave her to it.