Waldo Update

So, we took Waldo to the emergency vet last night. He was just bleeding everywhere, and he had some new spots along his spine, which made us nervous about more open sores. He also has some new spots on his face--his right lip is all fat. Since I haven't felt comfortable with our vet (and since the last visit to our vet his spots have quadrupled), I wanted to take him in.

I was honestly worried that she was going to tell us that the best course of action was to put him down. With all the trauma to this major organ, I wouldn't have been surprised. She said its one of the worst cases she's ever seen. She thinks that there's an abcess of infection under the skin, and the body is working extra hard to try to fight it--his temp was about 104.5. Thankfully, she said that he's doing just what he's supposed to do--and that putting him down was definitely not something we'd have to consider immediately. She said if it continues to worsen, he'll probably need to see a dermatologist. We're just to continue doing what we're doing--giving him hydrotherapy twice a day to wash away blood/pus, Clavamox, Ivermectin, add some Benadryl to help him sleep. I've also added fish oil and Vitamin C as a twice-a-day regimen--thanks to all for the suggestions for that. We're giving it to my Golden, also. She also gave us a larger ecollar--dopey Waldo has such a giraffe-y neck, he needed one that is 21" long!

It's "funny"--although he doesn't look too much better, I feel better because she said we were doing things right, and he wasn't going to need to be put down anytime soon. The thought of losing him so soon was making me crazy.

Honestly, I don't think I would be doing very well if it wasn't for all of you thinking of us and giving me suggestions. I REALLY appreciate all of the suggestions and the help. I'll keep everyone updated.

From bad to worse

Here's Waldo now (I'm not putting the picture here, just a link. Because the picture is kind of disturbing, and not everyone likes looking at illness unless they have to.) This was taken last night after a soap and water bath. The pus had built up so much on his back that we washed it off. But then he was bleeding afterwards for about 45 minutes or so, because his skin is so thin.

I'm starting Waldo on a fish oil supplement, and possibly Vitamin C, as well. He's also on Ivomex and an antibiotic. The skin is so raw because he kept licking and biting, which is why I'm pretty sure it spread so quickly. The secondary infection is pretty nasty.

Thankfully Gus seems to be okay still. Of course we're hyper-sensitive to any biting or scratching he is doing, so we'll probably give him a medicated bath tonight, just in case.

Sadly, we're missing the Santa photo shoot tonight. I don't think I can take Waldo out. People might think I'm abusive and set the Humane society on me. :(

Poor Waldo

Waldo was licking his sores so badly we decided to get a cone for him. Now he's totally docile.

Happy Thanksgiving, America!

Now, this picture isn't of one of us, but it's the message we want to send you today:

Congrats to the POINTER, who won the American Dog Show today!

Poor Puppy.

Although the title of this entry is one of my favorite children's books, sadly it has nothing to do with how many toys Waldo owns. It has to do with a recurring problem that Waldo has--his skin.

When Waldo was 17 weeks, he had mange. Little red bumps over his chin, front legs, chest, neck and rump. Loss of hair all over--my poor balding baby. We treated it with weekly baths, a medicated collar, and some medicine from the vet--about a $200 visit. Thankfully, he was able to get over it, and had pretty good skin after that.

Well, something else has appeared. And it has appeared hard core. Flaky skin, losing hair, nasty red bumps and irritation. I feel so bad, because I know its uncomfortable for him--the spots are so itchy he's bleeding. We've been on antibiotics and topical cream for 2 weeks, with no result (well, with negative results--its only gotten worse). I've taken to not giving him the medicine and cream anymore. Just baths. With Christmas and Thanksgiving approaching, its not really feasible right now to go and have another $200 vet bill...especially since we went 2 weeks ago only to be told "it's allergies". I'm SO over the vet telling me that every time!!


p.s. On a positive note, Waldo made it 6 hours this afternoon with NO pee in his cage!! GOOD BOY!

Wordless Wednesday...I mean, Sunday!

We'd like to say thanks to all of our friends who wished Dog Mom well this last week. She appreciated everything everyone said about her Grandpa. Thanks also for the great suggestions for Waldo's peeing episodes. Since the entry, he hasn't had any accidents (find some wood!). Maybe it was just our crazy routine and everything with Grandpa that was throwing him off.

Since we missed Wordless Wednesday last week, we thought we'd add our entry today. This is what mornings and evenings look like at our house. Enjoy!

The Breaking Point

Dog Mom here.

I need help. Waldo is about to drive us to drink. He is a 7-month old Great Dane with what appears to be a severely small bladder. It's so frustrating! Everyone says that dogs should be able to "hold it" one hour for each month. Well, Waldo is the exception to that rule. Everyone also says that dogs don't like to pee in their cages because then they have to lay in it. Well, Waldo's the exception to that rule, too.

Today marks the 3rd day THIS WEEK that Waldo has peed in his cage. And its not just that he pees a little. This is GREAT DANE pee we're talking about here! It's like every time he goes, he's emptying a tankard. I go through almost an entire roll of paper towels cleaning it up--not to mention the extra load of laundry we have to do because his blanket's completely soaking wet, and the floor we have to clean because it drips when we take it to the basement.

Nick is totally done--and now relegating Waldo and his cage to the basement. I would like to solve the problem, instead of banishing our youngest to scary land.

HELP!!

Here's what we're already doing:
1. We have cordoned his cage off, so he only has room to turn around. After he pees, he ends up standing for the rest of the time.
2. We don't leave him all day. Nick leaves for work about 9:00. He comes home for lunch about 12:30, then leaves again about 1. I get home between 5:30 and 6. So at the most, he's going 5 to 5.5 hours.
3. Nick restricts their water at lunchtime.
4. I KNOW he can hold it longer. A few times we've forgotten to put him in his cage overnight, and he makes it 7 or 8 hours without having an accident in the house.

I let him out often when I'm home, and he always goes potty in the yard. I take him out every hour or hour and a half, because he will literally stand in the dining room and start peeing (and I'm NOT ignoring him). This is where I think part of the problem might be--he hasn't worked his bladder-holding muscles enough. But I don't really know how to work on that--he'll just pee where he stands. Recently he has started whining when he needs to go out, which is helpful, and I always praise him up and down when he does that.

Doggie mommies and daddies--any suggestions?

Bye-bye, Great-Grandpa

This is our great-grandpa Hume (Dog Mom's grandpa). He passed away tonight. He and his wife had been together 63 years. Can you believe it? He loved us a lot. Even though we made him sneeze, he still loved to hear stories about us and the silly things we do. He always saved the good bits of pot roast and chicken for us. He was a great man, and Dog Mom's going to miss him a lot. But she knows he's living in Heaven with Jesus now, so she feels better.

We're sitting close to Mommy tonight, because we know she's feeling sad. Maybe you all can say happy thoughts for her? Kthanx.

My LOL dogs

I Can Has Hot Dog is one of my favorite dog sites. It's just so silly! All these funny pictures of dogs (they now have cats and celebrities, too) with ridiculous captions. The captions are not standard English-friendly (which sometimes makes it difficult to read), but they are so funny that it works. Kind of like Chick-Fil-A cow writing (chikin).

Anyway, I tried my hand at a couple. Whaddya think?

Wordless Wednesday

Walks, Allergies, and Football, oh my!

So, I tried to do the walk with the boys on Saturday. Either the people left early, or there wasn't anyone that showed up, because we arrived at 9:02 and saw no one. Rrgh. We ended up walking a mile or so down the trail, then turned back and went to the dog park instead. Guess we'll have to make sure we leave extra early for the December walk. I was a little sad (the dog park had a couple of pesky and growl-y dogs on Sat.), but we'll be okay, I guess.

Both Gus and Waldo are following in their momma's footsteps with the allergies. Gus has several hotspots on the back of his neck, and Waldo's coat is dull and his skin has some flaking/rashiness. The vet gave them some Cephalexin (doggie strength) and some antihistamines that make them both drowsy. It's kind of funny watching Waldo stumble around when he's groggy. :)

I thought this picture was funny. A couple of weeks ago, we were playing "fetch" in the backyard. My favorite is to throw it high in the air for Waldo to catch it. I managed to throw a good enough throw with my left hand to be able to take an airborne picture of Waldo, my tight end. :) Gus, of course, is my wide receiver and waiting for the long ball.

p.s. Nick and I watched Wall-E tonight (sooo cute). We think Waldo makes Wall-E noises. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Can you come up with a caption for this pic? :)

Happy Election Day, America!

If we had opposable thumbs, we'd totally be voting today! But since we can't--make sure that YOU do!!
Woof,
Gus and Waldo

This has been a public service announcement. The dogs in the blog are not affiliated in any way with either political party, and do not endorse political candidates of any kind. They are, however, swayed with treats of a delicious kind, and are therefore not to be held accountable for their actions.


A note from Mom:
Found this--anyone want to join me?

Get Walking Greene County: Paws to Lose Pounds

Saturday, November 8, 9 a.m. @ Beavercreek Community Park

Your well-mannered dog on a non-retractable leash will reap the benefits while walking toward a healthier lifestyle with you. Don't forget your passport - if you don't have one, you can pick one up from the staff member at the hike. Hike a total of 30 miles in any combination of hikes offered in this program and be eligible to purchase a Greene County Parks walking stick! This hike is Free.