I’m not exactly sure what’s going on with me. Perhaps it’s my lack of sleep, perhaps it’s exhaustion or stress from dealing with a post surgery Sampson, maybe it’s just blogging burnout but right now I feel like I can’t manage to string two sentences together to make a blog post.
None-the-less I’m going to take my best shot for Thursday’s Barks and Bytes.
Sampson – A post surgery Sampson is exhausting me. He wants to run, and he’s tired of being confined to a little room, in fact yesterday he made his way down the STAIRS. If I’d put some thought into it, I would have led him out the garage and back into the yard, BUT in my blind panic, I led him back up the stairs!
I’m still kicking myself and praying he didn’t damage anything.
Since he and I are sleeping on a futon mattress in the office, and he’s pretty bored, he’s taken to waking me up shortly after 3:00 am so I can take him outside where he stands forlornly at the gate staring out into the great outdoors. I think he’s dreaming of life outside the gate. Once back inside he seems resigned to his fate and snuggles up with his head under my chin.
He’s also wise to how we are giving him his pills. He used to take them willingly in a big ball of coconut oil and then that stopped working. I switched to Ricotta cheese and when that stopped working, I started rolling the Ricotta Cheese in some dried beef liver. He’s wise to that now too. Yesterday I started out the day with him spitting pills on my wall. My comforter was covered in Ricotta, he was covered in Ricotta and when I got in the car I realized I too was covered in Ricotta.
Yesterday we had a great conversation on my Facebook page and Carol Bondy suggested Liverwurst. I stopped by the grocery store and picked some up (I can use it for training if need be) and last night he took the pills without a problem! Thank you CAROL!
There were lots of good suggestions, such as peanut butter (which I’m trying to stay away from because of the calories and his limited exercise,) Tripe, Vienna Sausages and would you believe Marshmallows?
On a positive note, Delilah and I have been getting out and enjoying some nicer weather with some half hour walks. It’s a start.
And because I can, some photos I’ve been wanting to share.
Sampson and me the day after surgery when I picked him up.
Holy Woof, please tell me my hair doesn’t really look like that from the back!
When he first came home we worked super hard to keep the dogs separated. Let’s face it, Delilah can be a bit of a bull in a china shop. But the first morning she came in to check on him and it was SO cute.
You gonna be okay Bubba?
VOTE NOW
Remember that pancake I dehydrated? Well now is the time to vote. As of right now, I’m getting my ass soundly handed to me by a BICHON. WTF? Please, please for the love of dog, CLICK HERE and vote for #9!
I did mention that it was Thursday’s Barks and Bytes, didn’t I? The blog hop for pet bloggers and non-pet bloggers and everyone in between! Hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like a Dog. Grab the badge, add your link and join the fun!
Sounds stressful for all involved. How long does Sampson need to be resting? And glad your found a solution to the medicine problem for now 😉 Hang in there!
LOL we so know the pill game. In the end we got wise to all the tricks. Peanut butter and jam is choice of last resort over here and with that it still involves a tussle. Take it easy we say if you can.
Best wishes Molly
Marshmallows?! I wish I’d thought of that when Tucker was still with us. He dearly loved those horrible things! Well, you have some other things to try if Sampson wises up with the liverwurst. Sweet photo of Delilah with Sampson. Our dogs all visited Tucker frequently throughout the day. The cutest was Rudy. Just a puppy and would lay right outside Tucker’s enclosure to keep him company 🙂
off to vote for you know – that last photo is so precious!
now not know stupid woman. I think I’m joining you in the constantly tired camp – but mines due to gutting a house my two pups are fine!
Hi Y’all!
You do sound a bit like a frazzled human…hmmm…guess that’s ’cause you are a human and frazzled…
Sampson, I totally understand how tough it is to want to do stuff and not be allowed. If you want to be back to your old self, get your butt over there when your human gets your meds, sit politely, let her stuff the pills down your throat then accept appropriate treats. I get pills 3 times a day and, this time of year, weekly shots. If I can do it, you can do it!
Y’all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
I am sure it is super tiring and stressful trying to keep a pretty healthy dog down. My sister Katie is lousy at pills. Mom has tried everything including liverwurst and it does not work, so she has them shoved down her throat. Luckily she doesn’t need pills often. Take a bit of a blogging break, cut down on posting and post when you have something to say or the mood hits. We all understand. PS Why is there not a photo of the new Ricotta Cheese look?
Jodi, you know that if you want to take days off from the blogging we will all understand. Dealing with a pre- and post-surgery dog IS exhausting, both physically and mentally; not to mention spiritually. Especially a dog like your Sampson and my Callie, who want to be moving around and active and can’t understand why they aren’t being allowed to run and play.
Don’t worry about the stairs thing. Just find a way to keep it from happening again, at least until the surgeon gives the okay. I would mention it at the stitch-removal appointment though and ask the surgeon to check to be sure no damage was done. That is, if you’re going to freak out over it. Or, call the surgeon and talk to him/her about it so s/he can put your mind at ease. Callie pushed the snack trays on the couch aside one night and climbed up there to sleep about 4 nights after her surgery. The stinker. I happened to be going to our regular vet that next morning anyway to pick up their flea stuff and told him about it. After laughing over the visual in his head, he said not to worry. That’s when she started staying in the soft crate when I had to be out of the house. And I slept on the couch at night.
I love the pix! Especially the one of Miss D checking on Sampson! I’ll go vote again — maybe this time it’ll work.
You are dealing with a lot so it is totally understandable that you would be frazzled and have trouble sitting down to focus and write. If you feel you have to do something just share some photos….that last one of those two is so precious.
Maybe if you switch around what you’re using to put the pills in….try liverwurst one time, something else another, etc., he won’t catch on that way? I’m just throwing that out there, I don’t know if that would work or not. Hang in there….do the best you can and he will be fine.
Although it must have given you a heart attack when he did it, it sure seems promising that Sampson feels well enough to dare the stairs. 🙂
I’m glad you found something that worked for him with the pills. Meadow got wise to her pills once and we had to change it up several times before finding something that worked. We’re now on cold cuts too…Boarshead ham. LOL!
Aww Sampson looked so happy to see you at the vets office!! And so sweet of Delilah checking him out like that! i don’t blame you for feeling like you can’t string two sentences together!!! You’ve gone through hell, and that’s putting it lightly!
Of course I will vote for you!!!!!! I am on my way right now!
Can we vote daily? Or just a one time thing?
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Hi again, just wanted top let you know I just tried to vote and it says the linky tool has expired and the list is not available to vote. I have let them know as well. i will go back and check shortly.
Ahhhh, that was so nice of you to check on brother. I’m like that kid on the china shop too
Lily (& Edward)
All I can say is this too shall pass. Hopefully sooner, rather than later. I love that picture with Delilah, they really do sense what’s going on.
You have my sympathy. Hoping you can all get through the surgery recovery as smoothly and quickly as possible!
If it’s a tablet, rather than a capsule, it may taste bad once it gets wet. (Think Aspirin that sticks to your tongue.) I switched to a freeze-dried treat with Silas’s daily pills and immediately he started taking them better. It has to be a small/pointy pill for that to work, though, because otherwise you can’t get it in the treat.
I triple heart your photos. 🙂 I also triple heart liverwurst and might need to pick some up this weekend.
Seriously? A BICHON? This has to be remedied. I’m heading to FaceCrack …
Dang it! The list is down. I can’t link to it. 🙁
The list is down. : (
It stinks when a dog becomes smarter than you, and does not want to take their medicine. I have had to resort to the tried and true method of shoving it down the throat, which makes me feel terrible.
I’ve always been able to get pills in my dogs by melting very stinky cheese for a few seconds in the microwave, just until it is soft and then completely wrapping the cheese around the pill. Then I give them a couple of pieces of the cheese until they lose their suspicions about what they are getting and get greedy. Then the cheese pill. It works every time on my guys.
You are welcome jodi…glad it worked…part,of that that trick is the three pieces…the first piece is so goo..and the secon piece is just swallowed whole in anticipation to the third piece dangling by his nose…lol..hope he doesnt get wise to that
Believe it or not…thats an old trick from show dogs…the trainers rub liverwurst on their hand so the dog will stay by their side and watch their hands…sneaky, right???!!!!!
Having lived through a Lab with 3 different orth surgeries (2 ACL 2 elbow dysplasia) I SYMPATHIZE with you. They are so forlorn. Sally did all sorts of things she wasn’t supposed to and luckily cam out the other side okay. I had the same problems with Becca and her pills. All of that failed and then Pill Pockets worked for quite awhile. Good luck.
I am sure you are exhausted. Stress exhausts me more then anything else. I am glad you found something to help Sampson take his pills. I used to be able to get them down the dog’s throats without anything extra. I would wet capsules and they would slide right down. But then they all got wise. Now I use peanut butter. 🙂
I already voted for you as soon as the voting opened! But good luck!
We went through everything under the sun to get Lilac to take her pills. What I learned was never to give her the pills in the same thing twice in a row. I switched it up all the time, and sometimes gave her a little taste of one of them that didn’t have a pill in it. Juuuuust to keep it interesting! 😉 I feel your pain, though. I swear, that dog would have spit out steak if she thought it had a pill in it!
Sweet sweet photo of Sampson covered up, I love it. Will head over and vote.