Heart Like a Dog

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

What a Goofy Dog

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One of the rules that is fairly strongly enforced in our house, is that the dogs must lie down while we eat dinner.

We started off with mats and used the “place” command, but a mat is just one more thing I have to wash, and we already use throw rugs for dispensing treats, so the mats just went by the wayside. Instead, we let the dogs lie in front of our chairs while we’re eating.

Well in Sampson’s case, it’s wherever he wants to lie. Sometimes he stays in the bedroom, or in the kitchen, but usually at some point during the meal, he’ll get up and wander into the living room.

AND in Delilah’s case, she’s never quite mastered the “place” command. She likes a position where she can monitor your food intake, and be ready to pounce, on the off chance you happen to drop some food.  There’s usually a bit of yelling (on Hubby’s part, not mine) because she just refuses to lie down when Hubby is home. When Hubby is not home, she lays down just fine for me, and I release her when I’m done eating. And yes, I do have a little smug superiority regarding it, but we shan’t tell Hubby, okay?

Usually we are watching TV while we’re eating, which is why the dogs are in the living room.

As I said, Sampson is the easy going one, and at least three times a week, after we’ve finished eating, we look down to see him with all four paws in the air, or a big smile on his face, and he’s just waiting for some loving.

Last Tuesday night, I looked down to see this.

Thankfully, I had my phone handy and quickly snapped a picture. Of course, then we laughed because really, 1) look at the smile on his face, 2) THOSE EARS! and 3) check out the way his back legs are crossed.

Honestly, these dogs really do make me laugh every single day.

You make me smile, or laugh. The sweet, funny, loving things my dogs do that bring a smile to my face, or a laugh to my lips.

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

Why We Blog About Dog Injury/Illness

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Making decisions for our dogs as they age is probably the hardest bit about owning dogs. It is something I really wrestle with, and I know you all do as well. Am I doing the right thing? Who does this benefit, them or me? What kind of decision would I want, if someone were making it for me? Those are the questions I struggle with when trying to make decisions.

As my dogs have aged, they’ve encountered illness and injury and I’ve tried to share that here, giving as much information as I can. Why? Why do we blog about dog injury/illness? For me, it’s to share knowledge I may have, that might help someone else be comfortable with a decision for their pet.

The other reason, is there are so many other animal lovers who have already dealt with illness and injury with their pets, and perhaps they have some insight, that can help me or you in the decision process.

Diagnosing Degenerative Myelopathy

Two of my friends have actually had vets tell them they suspected their dogs had Degenerative Myelopathy (a.k.a. DM).  Unfortunately the diagnosis of DM is only confirmed postmortem BUT there IS a test that can rule it out.   This test will tell you if the dog is clear, or if the dog has the DNA marker for DM. I couldn’t wait to share that with my friends. The test is simple, you send away for it, take a DNA sample and send it back.  Both of my friends confirmed their dogs did not carry the marker for DM, what a relief!

How do I know about this test? Because Sampson was misdiagnosed with DM when he had his first CCL tear.

She about lost her mind on that one.

Sampson will be fourteen the end of July, and Delilah is around twelve and a half. Other than the graying of their fur, you wouldn’t really guess their ages by looking at them.

Unfortunately, outward looks can be deceiving and they are both facing some serious issues.

Just before Sampson tore his second CCL in 2016, he was diagnosed with an arrhythmia, and a heart murmur. We had an ultrasound performed to see if they could determine the cause. The heart ultrasound showed nothing, but they discovered a mass on one of his adrenals. At the time, our vet said the only way to know about the adrenal was to remove it, which would require surgery, which wasn’t recommended due to the arrhythmia, so we passed on that. When the CCL tear came a week later, we didn’t know enough about the heart issues to have surgery, so he’s had to manage on his own. Knowing then what I know now, I would make a different choice, but I cannot turn back time.

A couple of months ago we had another ultrasound of his heart to check on that arrhythmia and murmur and were thrilled to find out there has been very little progression in two years. His heart disease is slow moving and his murmur is graded at a 2. At this point, he needs no medication for either of them.

Which brings me to the next issue, Sampson has a couple of bruised teeth, and some really bad tartar on his back teeth. My vet is concerned that somewhere down the road, Sampson will need those teeth pulled, and his age or health will not allow, and we will be faced with a very hard decision.

I’ve been wrestling with having his teeth cleaned, which I realize at the ripe age of fourteen, is a very scary thing. I looked into an anesthetic free dental, but my vet said she would never recommend it, because firstly they cannot get below the gum line while your pet is awake, and they also cannot do x-rays to check for issues, nor can they pull teeth.

Secondly, she’s seen many pets have problems with aspiration pneumonia.

So we took this one right off the table.

Dental Cleanings in High Risk Dogs

After the heart ultrasound, I discussed dental work with my vet. She recommended a vet who specializes in high risk cases. So last month I took Sampson in, and had a discussion with the vet.  I made sure they won’t warm him with electric heating pads, and asked about his monitoring during the procedure. He has two assistants in the room with him. One is his extra pair of hands, while the other one’s job is strict monitoring of the animal.  While Sampson is under, the vet will do x-rays, and if he sees anything that needs attention, like a tooth being pulled, or a root canal, he will call me right then, and everything will be done in one visit. That way there is not a risk of putting him under twice.

As of right now, he’s scheduled to have this cleaning July 31st, the day after his 14th birthday. I won’t lie, I’m still on the fence, wobbling about this, so if you have any thoughts, I’d love to hear them.

Endothelial Decompensation

As for Delilah, last year she was diagnosed with Endothelial Decompensation in her eyes, a condition where the cornea thins and liquid gets behind it, causing blisters which can turn into ulcers.  She has had problems maintaining her weight and initially the vet thought she had Cushings, but testing ruled that out.

Can you see how her eyes have a ‘blueish’ tint to them? That is actually the Endothelial Decompensation.

A number of years ago she had some higher than normal liver levels, but we are using milk thistle and it seems to be keeping it under control.

Another Type of Arrhythmia

Delilah went for her annual on May 31st and she was free of tick borne diseases, her liver levels were the same, she had no blisters/ulcers in her eyes, BUT, Dr. Soutter also discovered an arrhythmia with her as well.

It was alarming enough for Dr. Soutter to ask us to come back in a week and run the EKG again, which confirmed her suspicions. Delilah has a heart arrhythmia that involves all four chambers of her heart.

This type of arrhythmia is usually attributed to a tumor on the spleen or heart (rare, although dear Katie from MY GBGV Life had one), or a disease called Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM). As best I can tell, and from speaking with a friend who is pre-med, this is due to the arteries becoming blocked, which causes the heart to work harder, and it also becomes enlarged.

When I consulted Dr. Google, I found that hardening of the arteries has to do with the Endothelial membrane, which set off all kinds of alarms in my brain.

Canine Cardiologists

I love my vet, but when it comes to an injury or illness, I prefer to seek the services of one who specializes in whatever disorder/injury I’m dealing with . Delilah sees an Ophthalmologist for her eyes, and I want her to see someone who specializes in the heart.  Dr. Soutter recommended a Cardiologist who is about 40 minutes away. When I called, the receptionist told me they were booking six weeks out, but she did have times for emergencies. Then she asked, “Is she showing any symptoms, is she collapsing?”  It totally caught me off guard, because really, to watch her, you would never suspect there could be a problem. When I walk them, Sampson is always panting. He starts out panting, he pants the entire walk and he pants for a while after we’re done. He pants so loud, that our friend Karen can hear him coming. Delilah on the other hand, will pant lightly, but not right away. And as soon as she stops walking, she stops panting.

I told the receptionist that I wasn’t seeing any symptoms, but because my vet found the arrhythmia, it is considered emergent, so we have an appointment scheduled for this Friday. In the meantime, I’m trying my best not to speculate, or to think doom and gloom. I’m trying to be positive and wait to see what the Cardiologist says.

There are a lot of things up in the air right now, issues I’m wrestling with, and things I’m not sure how to handle.

But I do know one thing, I will not watch Delilah struggle to breathe.

 

Ten Things I Love About Sampson

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Two years ago, I wrote a post, Ten Things I Love About Delilah. (You can read it HERE if you missed it.) It was a fun and uplifting post to write, and I truly hope you all do it for your pet. Especially if you are struggling with a challenging dog, because truly, focusing on their positive traits really does help.

Jan indicated that she wanted a list about Sampson, and I really dropped the ball. Part of this post has been sitting in my dashboard for two years. But today, I really didn’t know what I was going to write about and so I thought it might be time to finish this post.

Please keep the typing to a minimum…I’m trying to sleep.

Sampson is my heart dog and with the exception of a few traits where he acts like an asshole, most of the time the sun rises and sets with him. So here, in no particular order, are ten things I love about Sampson.

    1. Devotion – This is not to say that he doesn’t love his Daddy, or other members of our family, but he is devoted to me. When I am away from him, he sleeps in my bed and typically when I come back he is plastered to me. One day I brought him to visit our disabled neighbor and I wanted to help her out by grabbing her mail. She was sitting on the steps in her garage and Sampson settled in on the floor in front of her. I told him to “Stay”, dropped the leash and walked to the end of the driveway. As I was walking I could hear her talking to him, telling him to stay with her and that it was okay, so I looked back, thinking he was getting up, but no, he wasn’t. He was still right where I had left him, but his head was up and his eyes never left me. That’s devotion.
    2. Friendliness – Yes, it’s true this can sometimes be a huge pain in the ass because he thinks every car and every person are there just for him. He will stop whatever he is doing to look at person/car and then surges forward with a jaunt in his step anxious to greet his new or old friend. I think I can count the times he has growled at someone on one hand. Once it was directed at Delilah (I laughed, because really….all the times she has sniped at him, I admit, it gave me a little pleasure to see him standing up for himself), one time in North Carolina on vacation he growled at a man walking the beach. I later found out he wasn’t very nice man at all.  And I think one time he may have growled at one of the grandkids when he was hurt, but I can’t say that with certainty.
    3. Laid-back attitude – For real you guys, this dog is so easy-going. I can literally roll him, shift his back-end, look in his ears, and it doesn’t bother him a bit. Except for nails, he hates having his nails clipped, or filed.
    4. Snuggle ability – This happens on his terms. When he wants his snuggling, you will comply. He loves his ears rubbed, and he will lie next to you (on the bed, or floor) moving his head into your hand for what seems like hours. I’ve actually fallen asleep trying to satisfy his need for ear rubs.

      Golden Lab

      Snuggle bug

    5. Confidence – Sampson is a confident dog, in that he knows his peeps love him, and he normally does not compete for attention. Although I will say, there are times, when one of us is loving on Delilah and Sampson will push his way over and want some attention, but for the most part. He knows he’s the top dog.
    6. Sweetness – People continuously remark to me what a sweet dog he is. Truthfully, I was wondering about counting this, because I wonder if it’s a redundancy of friendliness, but since this is my post, it stays.
    7. Patience – Sampson is such a super, patient guy. He knows he will get his walk, snack, or dinner. He will remind you, but in a very gentle way. Instead of giving you the Lab Death Stare, or barking at you, he simply gets up, moves closer to you and watches, and patiently waits.
    8. Obedience – Sampson is a good boy. He learned his manners, and he learned them well, and he remembers them. You could set a plate of food down in front of him, tell him to “leave it” and walk away. You can come back 5 minutes later, and that plate will still be there. Intact. Of late, he’s losing “Wait,” but any of the others. He’s spot on.
    9. Charm – This dog can charm the socks off just about anyone. Granted there are a few people in our neighborhood who have managed to snub him, but for the most part, he sets his sites on you, and he Roos you. It starts with the Roo and the tail wag, and sooner or later, they are speaking to him, then before you know it, they are petting him, and now it’s a daily stop on our walk.
    10. Adaptability – You want to walk? He’ll walk. You want to cuddle on the couch? He’ll cuddle on the couch, he’s almost like having a camouflage dog.

It only took two years, but I finally got it done!

Have you ever listed your favorite things about your pet? Did you find it easy or hard?

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