Loving my Oldies

I can’t believe I wrote this. Mezza is a BOY !! Trouble is . . . HE is so damned pretty I’ve really dropped the ball, @PANDI-GIRL I think we will be starting from scratch in terms of Mezza’s weight loss.

And then you pay again because mobile vet has to refer you to a vet who has the facilities needed to properly treat your pet.

Good to see someone putting out how much money it takes to run even a basic veterinary clinic. Too many people think other people should pay for them, their pets and other problems.

What’s a UX designer? Hard to understand why you are assuming at the start of your research that there is a problem?

It’s years since I’ve had even young dogs, let alone puppies, but your puppy is very young, still just a tiny baby who must be really missing his mum and siblings. There are Vizsla owners on DOL so hopefully they will come in with some advice. Some trainers remind of a woman (in the UK I think) who’d set herself up as an expert on babies, how to settle them, how to calm them, etc etc. She’d never had children of her own !! Following advice, I once (yes once) tried ignoring one of my dogs because she would jump all over me when I returned home from work. It was horrible. She was so upset and starting whimpering and crying and crawling along the floor. Never did it again. If your dog is happy after you pay attention to him why not just do that? If you had a toddler who ran to you in delight when you came home what would be your reaction? There are a million posts here and on other social media platforms from people who can never go to the bathroom alone once they’ve become dog and/or cat owners .

Myrtle Street four legged inhabitants down to five. Simba went to his new home yesterday and I could not be happier for him. Another dog who chases balls until he drops (not that that is allowed), a very relaxed, semi retired couple, active, walking and dog loving, with three adult daughters living at home. Cafes and relatives close by and visited regularly with dogs.

This gave me a laugh. It is amazing how one’s ideas change over the years and with much greater exposure. I remember going to training with my first puppies and there was a lady there with a four year old ..... I thought he was old. My foster boy, Simba, is 9 and I think he is young.

You are absolutely right, @stellnme. One of the considerations people have to look at, however, is how extremely expensive they can be if you want to look after them properly. I have an A4 sheet listing all the medications that need to be dispensed daily. I cross each off through the day as they are given and this meds regime requires someone to be home at regular times through the day. I do not know how I would manage if I still worked (I’m old and retired ). There are lots of things to consider. When I get my debit card statement, so many of the entries are for the vet . Out of curiosity, I went back through my statement in in the past three months I have spent over $500 a month at the Vets and that doesn’t include food or supplements (I am trying Rose Hip Vital). I hope it doesn’t need to be said, that I don’t begrudge a minute or a cent.

And the saga continues . . . . “As the day dawned beautifully cool and overcast, Sooty decided that LMO has spent more than enough time in bed. She knew that if she moved out of her bed, Simba (another rather rambunctious foster youngster in the home of the Myrtle Street Moochers) would start his growling advice to LMO that another dog was daring to move around his patch and she needed to get her act into gear. Ever obedient to the demands of the “select individuals", LMO leapt to attention and carried Queen Sooty downstairs so she could attend to her morning ablutions. “LMO tottered groggily back upstairs to attend to her own needs [TMI dear readers ??] and then went back to gather up the little black and curly one to go back to bed. This is a new development: as Queen Sooty no longer needs to be fed several times a day and LMO loves her bed as much as any old dog, after the early toilet all the tribe settles down again for a few more ZZZZZZs. (It should be added here, that the permanent members of the tribe have not even raised their heads.) “This morning, however, being blessedly cool and the bed was so comfortable, LMO overdid it by going out like the proverbial light. A brief hour later, she was brought back to reality by Queen Sooty’s whimpering demands that her needs were paramount.” To be continued. For gods sake, get me a coffee someone !!!!!!!

There are so many dog breeds that would suit your family circumstances, it is hard to know where to start. There being so many, I think it would really come down to the breed of dogs whose looks appeal to you. If that is Maltese, go for it. I’ve owned, rescued and fostered many Maltese over the years and they are delightful little dogs and are always up for cuddles. However, they have strikes against them for two of your wishes. 1. They shed and they need regular grooming, particularly when they are puppies as their hair is so fine. Maltese should come with a warning: High Maintenance . 2. I think I contributed vastly to the profits of cheese producers over the years trying to train the various Maltese who’ve lived with me. Spectacular failures one and all and that includes me. I am sure plenty of people have had success, but I’m not one of them. They are notorious for having bad teeth even with a good diet. Here is my Tamar, playing at being The Lion Queen. I put this in to show you that they love going through the bush as much as any dog. She is off lead here and having a wonderful time. IMG_0496 by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr Edited to add: Tamar is not full Maltese, she has some Shih Tzu in there somewhere

If your dogs are outside all day and “allowed” into the house only at night, they are being deprived of so much that they need to be happy and adjusted. Dogs should be family. Family isn’t shut outside.

It is really heartbreaking. They do look stunned, poor little babies. What you and your colleagues are doing, @grizabella, is just so heartwarming. Our world would be so much poorer without you.

Yes, you are right. Mezza finds it difficult to go down and does it very slowly. She is now following Simba’s lead and lifting her leg on the deck. I can no longer leave my “downstairs” shoes on the floor

You get Nutrigel from the vet. It smells (and probably tastes - I haven’t tried it ) like molasses. I use a medicine measure like this. I put in a little bit of nutrigel and bone broth, crush up the tablets and then give it to Tamar via syringe. IMG_1001 by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr

Don’t panic yet. I have a large deck and eight fairly steep steps at the back !! The ramp built especially because the dogs were getting old is hardly used now . Tamar still uses it come upstairs, but she has to get downstairs first. And now the dogs think that the deck is outside ....... no further explanation required. Luckily I have a groomer just down the road who can supply me with mountains of newspapers.

Well, that was my first thought, but examinations don’t show anything and he can bolt down the stairs when the leads come out. Wish they could talk human . . . . .

Hi @PANDI-GIRL. Simba is still with me. So many enquires, so many unsuitable. I guess people don’t read or somehow think they are exempt from certain criteria such as “not suitable for apartments.” Sooty is doing really really well as you will have seen from my thread on her. My four: Mezza, Bunter, Tamar and Jeune go on as usual. Jeune is now 18 and is quite well considering she has a tumour (under relative control with Piroxicam) and has those little granules on her eyes which require eye drops thrice daily. My puppy, Tamar, is now 15 and I think she is deaf now and showing signs of dementia in that she gets “caught” between chairs and walls. Bunter is now about 16/17 and has become grumpy in the past year. I have to muzzle him to groom him and if I pick him up he fights me and tries to bite me. This is so sad because he really wants attention and cuddles. He is always close to me when I am at the dining table and when I am on the couch, he lies so I can drop my hand over and scratch his head. Mezza hasn’t lost another ounce, but he seems to be okay. I had his coat dramatically trimmed at the beginning of summer , but I became used to it. They keep me poor financially, but rich and happy in others............. Just don’t ask me about the toileting habits of old dogs.

She sure is, LG. Strangely though, since those first couple of times, she will not go up or down the stairs . I even bought a roast chicken to try to tempt her up, but even that failed and she LOVES her food. I’ll try again later this evening. Back yard gets north/west sun and is very very hot.

No, she will be up for adoption eventually. Hard as it will be . . . . .

Finally !!! Photos have transferred from phone to computer so I can Flickr them: fullsizeoutput_a7e by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr fullsizeoutput_a7d by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr IMG_0994 by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr IMG_0993 by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr fullsizeoutput_a7f by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr

Thanks @Boronia. Sooty does quite well really, wandering all around the place. She does bump into things, but never with great force. At the moment she is enjoying licking my legs.

@MARY H B, I have nearly gone mad over the years with some of my dogs eating barely enough to keep them alive. And I’ve posted exactly the same as you have and spent $$$$$ on trying all the foods and treats in which to bury pills. One of my dogs was impossible to medicate in the normal ways because she was like your Angel - food was something you had to endure to stay alive and there was no way you could force a pill down her throat (I hate that anyway) or put it in food because she wouldn’t eat. I have found success in two ways: 1. For the dogs who are difficult to feed, I crush up tablets in a tiny bit of Nutrigel and home made bone broth and syringe this mixture. 2. With the other dogs who will eat, I also found the skin of roast chicken was 100% fool proof provided the pills were wrapped up tightly so the dogs couldn’t work it around and spit the pill out. All other things, cheese, omelettes, liverwurst, cabanossi, etc didn’t work at all. I’ve stopped using the roast chicken skin as it is very fatty and both the dogs whom I medicated like that are a bit overweight. I now buy human grade chicken mince and bury the pills in that and that, thank goodness, works as well as the roast chicken skin without the calories. In desperation, I also have medication (Anaplex) for the dog who wouldn’t eat and was skin and bone. As she is a fluffy Maltese x Shih Tzu this wasn’t noticeable until you picked her up. My heart used to sink as she was so skinny and a feather weight. Since being on the medication, she is now a good weight (maybe some would say plump ) and when meal times comes, she is bouncing around as if on springs. Anaplex is quite expensive, but worth its weight in gold as it does the trick. I have recently (after seeking advice from my vet,, of course) started giving another of my dogs Anaplex and although it took about a week to kick in, she is now eating so much better. This latter dog is 18 so she is watched extremely carefully and she does have a tumour, but she was going up to two days without eating and losing weight at a frightening rate. She is now eating at nearly every meal; not a lot but enough to stop the weight loss. Hopefully this is of help.

I read the whole thread and did not notice the date until @ryansmithnzmade his post. We need a thread “I wonder what happened to . . . . "

Adorable

@Boronia, I can’t open any of your vids - even those on the joke threads . Any ideas??