Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

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Children and Vacations

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I’ve had my great-niece with me since last Monday. She is eight, and has been moving from house to house, visiting with family. I took vacation starting Wednesday, and every day, I’ve been picking up my grandkids, and doing something fun with them.

So far we’ve been to the Sweet Frogs (frozen yogurt,) the pool, the Children’s Museum, Home Depot for project day, and today, we’re heading for the Farmer’s Market.

I took LOTS of pictures this week, but only a few of dogs. Most of my photos were of kids, and most of our funny moments were also…with kids.

Because my great-niece and my granddaughter are close in age, my granddaughter has been with me Weds-Friday.

My niece was sleeping on a fold-put chair, and we decided my granddaughter would sleep with me.

Turns out, it was like wrestling a toddler.

I have a futon in my room, and because it was my granddaughter, Sampson had to sleep on the bed with her. So it was me, Sampson and my granddaughter.

After being awake most of the night, I decided to sleep on the floor the next night. I have a thin mattress topper that I threw on the floor, and I assumed Sampson would sleep with me. I was right.

Delilah started out on her bed, but then jumped on my bed, and my granddaughter wasn’t happy with that, so I had to call Delilah down.

She came, but wasn’t happy about it. So when I woke up in the morning, I wasn’t surprised to see that she wasn’t on her bed.

But when I went looking for her, I couldn’t find her.

Turns out, she curled up on my niece’s bed, and both of them were snoozing contently.

There is no sweeter chocolate in the world.

It made me smile, because of all the dog beds, couches and places to sleep in my house, my dogs choose the people. And I can’t help but smile at that.

What did your pet do that made you smile this week?

When Pee on the Floor Makes You Happy

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Sunday morning, my day to sleep in, Delilah woke me up at 4:00 am, to go outside. I took her out, she peed and then we went back inside. I’d just settled into bed, when she barked at me again.

I swore at her, but got up and took her out. This time she just stood at the door, nose in the air, sniffing.

I called her back in, coaxed her onto the bed, and tried to go back to sleep. After about 10 minutes, she seemed calm enough, so I thought I’d turn over.

That pissed her off, she growled at me and jumped off the bed.

Needless to say, I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep after that. I lay awake thinking what was the reasoning behind this? Was there something outside? Was something wrong with Mom? Did Delilah have a UTI?

I dozed off and married those two ideas in my dreams. Which equates to something wrong with Mom and Delilah peeing on her.

Don’t feel bad, I’m shaking my head here too.

I watched Delilah intently on our morning walk. She squatted frequently, but very little came out.

I’ll just sleep through this bit, if you don’t mind.

Crap! I wondered if she had a UTI.

Signs of a Urinary Tract Infection:

  • Urinating frequently
  • Peeing in the house
  • Blood in the urine
  • Dribbling pee
  • Crying when peeing
  • Straining to urinate (this can be tricky, because dog straining and people straining are two different things. With dogs this simply means they are squatting often, but nothing is coming out. When humans strain…let’s just not go there, okay?)
  • Obsessive or frequent licking of the genitals

I watched her when we got home, but there was no urgency, or frequency to go out.

Again I asked myself, WTF?

On our evening walk, I watched her again. Again she squatted frequently, and again only drops came out.

My WTF turned to what the actual fuck?

Before smart phones, I would have called Jen, or my vet’s office. OR I would have called Jen while waiting for my vet’s office, but instead, I pulled out my phone and consulted Dr. Google. Can dogs have urinary blockages?

Turns out they can. Now my watching bordered on obsession. What happens if a dog can’t pee? Bladders aren’t balloons,  I mean, that little tiny bladder can only hold so much? Will her body start absorbing her pee? Can her bladder pop?

Signs of urinary tract blockage:

  • Straining to urinate
  • Urine stream can be interrupted or cloudy.
  • Your dog may feel lethargic.
  • Vomiting may occur.
  • Lack of appetite.
  • Crying out when trying to pee.
  • Soreness or tenderness in the abdomen.

I read the signs to watch for, and while I was rubbing her belly I took the time to gently push it see if she had any discomfort.

She looked at me like I had just sniffed her ass, but she didn’t seem uncomfortable.

I decided to take the wait and see approach, and instructed Hubby to watch her when she peed, to make sure she had a good stream.

At dinnertime, everything seemed fairly normal. She was bouncing around like a fool, waiting for me to dish it up. After their food, I gave them their pumpkin and started working on Sampson’s “go-go” juice. Suddenly Delilah darted to the door. This is unusual because she typically waits around to make sure she gets her applesauce, and then she licks Sampson’s bowl. Sometimes she licks the bowl between each course, so running to the door is rare.

“SHE HAS TO GO OUT,” I shouted to Hubby.

He opened the door, and out she ran.

I kept working on Sampson’s juice, then I put Delilah’s applesauce in her bowl, and waited for her to come back.

“Did you see her pee?” I asked him.

“No, she was too quick, she ran out and around the corner.”

She’s just too fast for his old bones.

When I went to pick up her applesauce bowl, I turned on the light, and that’s when I noticed it.

She HAD peed.

On the floor. And it was a good amount.

She has peed on the floor before, and (knock wood) it happens at dinnertime. I think she’s too focused on food, then all that jumping around and it’s too late, she just can’t hold it.

Oh, she tries to get to the door, but the trouble with that is she’s already peeing…so there’s a trail. If only I could teach her write her name while she was peeing.  Wouldn’t that be something?

For the record, I said to Hubby as we were standing on a towel trying to absorb the pee, “Well at least we know she peed.”

One day, I’ll make a list of things I never thought I’d be happy for. Pee on the floor will be right there at the top.

Disclaimer: I am not a vet. I don’t play one of TV, and I did NOT stay at a Holiday Inn recently. The symptoms listed above are not written to provide you to self-diagnose a urinary blockage in your dog. If you even suspect your dog may have a blockage please take them to licensed veterinarian AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Delaying diagnosis and treatment can be the difference between life and death.

 

To Sampson On Your 14th Birthday

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Dearest Sampson,

I’ve been thinking about this post for weeks. I had so many things that sounded good in my head, but when I sat down to write them, it just didn’t flow.

But you’d expect that from me, wouldn’t you? You know how much I strive to be perfect, and I guess the Big Dog in the sky knew that too, and so he sent me you.

I truthfully don’t know what I did to deserve a dog like you.

You were such an easy puppy, you learned not to potty in the house quickly and rarely got into mischief. The times you did, we couldn’t get mad at you.

Who could get mad at this face?

Grandma’s love seat still has those little teeth marks from the time I caught you tugging at the fabric with your teeth. You were having a grand time. Grabbing the material, pulling it out, then letting it snap back.

You were always really good about only chewing on your toys, and only rarely focused on something else, but when you did, you preferred to chew wood.

Sticks in the yard? Yup.

The coat rack I picked up one Thanksgiving. Yup.

And then of course there was the footrest on the breakfast bar. The Daddy and I had just remodeled the kitchen and I came home, and you had chewed the breakfast footrest. I was terrified to tell Daddy, but here’s the beauty of you. You had us so thoroughly wrapped around that little paw, that the Daddy just laughed and said, “I didn’t like it anyway.”

We never did replace it.

Once we got into a rhythm, we loved walking together. Back in the day, we could walk for hours, wandering the local parks, and rail trails. You still love your walks, but these days those bad back legs just can’t handle a long walk anymore.

Of course, there’s always things I wish I could change, because well, you know, me and perfection, and if I could turn back time, I’d handle the issues with your back legs differently, but I cannot.

I cannot focus on the things I cannot change because that is just wasted energy, as you well know. No, today I’m just going to focus on you and all the special times we’ve had together, and make sure your fourteenth birthday is as special as you are.

Ocean swimming

Swimming in the ocean…St. Petersburg, FL

Happy Birthday my love, I loved you yesterday, I love you today, and I’ll love you tomorrow and all the tomorrows to come.

Today we’re sharing photos and memories on our Facebook page. Be sure to check us out.

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