1st Emergency Vet Visit

As you may recall from previous posts, I like to "counter surf" or put my front paws on the counter to make myself as tall as I can get to see what yummy things I can find. 

Well, my daddy made homemade fried chicken for dinner one night and left the pan with the vegetable oil on the back burner of the stove top.  The next morning while my mommy and daddy were in the other room I helped myself to the pan.  I heard my daddy coming down the hall to check on me so I jumped down.  He didn't catch me in the act, but he noticed that vegetable oil was splattered all over the counter and floor and about half of the oil was missing from the pan.  The fact that my face smelled like a a deep frier made my crime a dead give-away!  

Mommy and daddy immediately googled "dog ingestion of vegetable oil" and saw that it could be toxic if ingested in large amounts.  In the meantime, I puked once outside and my daddy called the vet.  The vet said that it was up to my mommy and daddy whether or not to bring me in but if I get more lethargic then they definitely should bring me in to be seen because the ingestion of vegetable oil could cause pancreatitis.  They weren't sure if I was just napping because I hadn't yet that day or if I was lethargic--so my daddy took me to the vet.  Mommy was a nervous wreck because she had to go to work at 3pm and couldn't come with us.  

At the vet I puked once in the office while the vet was examining me.  She said it was very good that I was puking and ordered that I not eat anything for 24 hours.  We opted not to do any blood work to check for pancreatitis since I was acting normal (and because they were so expensive!) When I got home I puked one more time in the bedroom--this one was the worst of them all and took my people a long time to clean it all up!  However, I felt much better after that and slept for the rest of the night.  

In the morning when my mommy woke up with me, I sat by my food bowl waiting for breakfast but I couldn't eat anything yet.  The vet ordered me to eat only bland foods like boiled chicken or turkey and rice.  So for lunch my daddy made me some chicken with rice ....and I loved it :)  I could definitely have gotten used to that meal but the next evening I could go back to my dog food.  I tolerated it fine and didn't puke anymore.  My stool was a little runny for a few days after but luckily I dodged the pancreatitis bullet!  Phew!  

Hopefully I won't have anymore emergency vet visits in my future.  My mommy said that the initial phone call to the vet cost more than the visit itself!  I'm glad they called though instead of having me drink hydrogen peroxide to make me puke like my daddy read on the internet... mommy put the kibosh on that one!  I think we all learned our lesson--well I might still counter surf, but at least my daddy cleans up after himself when he cooks dinner now :) 

The Day I Was Neutered

In late February, my people had me neutered.  I had no idea what I was in for that day.  My mommy had to drop me off at the vet at 7AM.  I started out very excited since I love to go for car rides.  However, when we pulled into the vet I knew something was up!  I don't mind going to the vet... I think it'll be a different story next time we visit though.  My mommy had to fill out some paperwork at the desk.  We were both very stressed at this point.  I was getting manic and pulling on my leash a lot--I didn't have my harness on so I was way stronger than my mom and she couldn't concentrate to complete the paperwork.  I think she was also annoyed that the vet tech was not helping at all!  After my mom finally signed the papers, the tech took me to get my weight and told my mommy that they would call by noon.  My mom said that she wanted to cry after leaving me there, especially since as she was walking out the door the tech was struggling to control me while she got my weight.  What happened after that I'd rather not discuss here...

The vet called my people at noon and said that it went well but that I should stay until 2 PM.  She also told them that I pooped while I was there and she was concerned because it still looks very soft so she wanted to repeat the stool culture that I had done a few months ago.  (I think I'm beginning to be a very expensive puppy...)  My people came right at 2 PM and not a minute later to bring me home!  I was in the back in a kennel but could hear their voices and started whining and barking.  They knew it was me, too, and my daddy said he wanted to run back there and let me out right away!  The tech told us that we should definitely keep the cone on me because I was acting so hyper and crazy already while I was in the kennel.  However, when I finally felt safe back in my home I couldn't even keep my eyes open!  My pupils were like pin points and I was falling asleep standing up!  Of course my people thought this was hilarious and took a video of me trying really hard not to fall asleep.  

Here is a link of the video: 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10153819386700431&l=8590731309994530669

Try not to laugh too hard!  Beware of the adorableness!!

I slept for most of the day, but had all of my energy back by the next morning :) So much for thinking that this would make me a calmer puppy.  Joke's on you Mom and Dad! 

I didn't bother my incision too much so if my people were home then I didn't have to wear that ridiculous cone.  I only had to wear it when I was in my kennel alone.  Mommy let me sleep in bed with her for a few nights, too, so I wouldn't have to wear the cone at night.  It was almost impossible to lay my head down with that thing on!  Here are some pictures of me from that day.

My daddy felt very bad about the whole thing 

Trying hard to look alert and stay awake

It was no use...  

Taking advantage of the sedated dog for pictures 

Four Month Check-up

Hello everyone,

Can you believe that it's already January?!  We have a lot of catching up to do!  I haven't JUST been doing this for the last couple of months...

I had my four month check-up in early December.  I got my booster shots in the butt and had my poop re-checked for Giardia.... It came back positive again :(  So the vet ordered a different antibiotic that came in powder form.  We had to mix it with a small amount of canned dog food once a day.  The people thought it was gross, but I loved it!  

A couple weeks passed but my poop was still runny at times and very stinky (but who's poop doesn't stink??) So we brought another sample to the vet and they had to send it to Milwaukee for further testing.  Turns out if came back positive for Camplyobacter, a bacteria that's a fairly common cause of GI bacterial infections.  I most likely got it because I'm a puppy and have had recurring Giardia infections... bummer!  So I had to take another antibiotic twice a day.  The vet had to call it into a pharmacy and when my daddy went to pick it up it was under the name "Edwin Dog Swanson".  Not sure where they got the name "Edwin" but I kind of like it :)  The medicine was a suspension that I had to take through a syringe.  It tasted like bubblegum or cherries--either way I had no trouble taking it!  

My poop has been better since the antibiotic.  I still have some runny ones, but they are becoming few and far between.  We tried changing my food during all of this at some point, too, but it didn't seem to be the food so we switched back.  I have to schedule an appointment for February to get neutered (eek!) so we will ask the vet if we need to send another sample to make sure the infection is all gone. 

The good news is that I still eat and tolerate all my food without any trouble and am just as playful as ever (to my parent's dismay at times...) There is a certain lamb bone that my daddy bought me that I can't seem to tolerate and puked up.  Other than that though I'm great if you ask me!

Three Month Check-up

Hi everyone!  No worries I'm still here... I've just been busy these past weeks. 

During my time away I had my three month vet appointment.  I was really brave!  Everyone at the vet was really nice and they gave me lots of treats!  

First, I had my weight checked and I was 26lbs!  Then we waited in a small room for the vet.  While we were waiting, I was a little nervous and kept farting... I just didn't want my mommy to forget to ask about my stinky gas.  The vet smelled it as soon as she came into the room (how's that for a first impression??)

I had also been having some occasional loose stools, too, so the vet wanted to check my stool for giardia.  Giardia is a parasite that both humans and animals can get from the environment and it is passed through stool, causing diarrhea and sometimes vomiting

The vet did her exam and gave my my three month vaccinations--she said that I appeared very healthy!  Then as we were about to leave she came back and said that the stool sample just became positive.  She was concerned it may be a false positive but said it wouldn't hurt to treat me with some antibiotics just in case.  So I had to take Flagyl for 5 days (my people just threw it in with my food and I never even noticed it).  

We think it might have helped some.  My gas is not as frequent but it's still quite potent if you ask my people (or any of my recent visitors--sorry!)  My stool is more formed sometimes but other times it is still loose to liquid-y.  I will go back to the vet in a couple weeks for my final booster shots so we will follow-up about my pooping issues then.  

In the meantime, everything else checked out just fine and I tolerated my vaccines great, too!  I was very tired for most of the night after my appointment, but otherwise the shots didn't effect me at all!

My mommy didn't take any pictures of me while I was at the vet but I sure am getting to be a big boy!  The vet said I am right on track though!  I can't wait to find out how much I weigh next month!