7 months 3 days old
This is a post to say I haven't died! Not sure how long it will be....
Since the show we have had days and days of rain, to the point yesterday the nearby storm water drains were flooding their banks and going over the footbridges. It was an impressive amount of water!
Poor Knightley hasn't really been for any walks since the show, so he has had a lot of time to digest the experience! Every time he comes back inside he needs toweling off, even if I put his rain jacket on him. I hope he doesn't get any hotspots (caused by a fungus from having damp fur) because its almost impossible to get him dry at the moment.
His raw feeding is going excellently. He is loving eating chunks of meat for his meals. I recently got some turkey drumsticks for him - absolutely massive things - and wondered how he was going to handle them. However, it only took a couple of minutes of chomping and grinding (the noise as he breaks up all the bones is amazing!) and the whole thing disappears! He has been on raw for a couple of weeks now, so according to the schedule he can start to branch out to more adventurous meats. I'd like to get some interesting organs for him. I did get some chicken hearts for him last week but they are counted as meat, not organ. I need to find something like spleen, tripe, trachea etc. A raw diet is complete with the ratios of 80% muscle meat 10% bone and 10% organs (of which half must be liver and the other half whatever you like). I am looking forward to finding more interesting foods for him to eat now he is over the first couple of weeks.
His lump is definitely reducing, even though his antibiotics have finished - I guess they have done their job. I won't be happy until it completely disappears however. It seems to have been an infection of some kind though. We were lucky!
I haven't been well since the show. I'd had a sore throat leading up to it, and since then I've been down with a virus of some kind. I've also had a bit of a lupus flare as regards my skin... I get rashes when my immune system is struggling with myself. It's a sign I need to take it easier. I couldn't go into work this week, which I was sad about.
We're working on Sue Ailsby's Training Levels, Level 3 at the moment, even though I'm not very well. I'm working on getting Knightley to watch my eyes for 15 seconds even when I am not maintaining eye contact with him. We can now *just* do 15 seconds, but only in low distraction environments.
We're also doing lots of door zen, so that in the future I'll be able to have the front door open and he will know it's a boundary he can't cross. I already have it down with some other doors.... for instance I don't want him following me into the garage from the house, as the garage might have potentially toxic spiders in corners where Knightley could find them, and now Knightley knows that door is not to be crossed. He also waits to be invited through the front door when we are going out or in, although it isn't quite as solid when we are going out. The problem comes along when someone is outside and he wants to join them. Door zen just disappears. It makes taking deliveries difficult!
The last thing we are doing is recall with higher levels of distraction. He is good now in the house responding to my "come!", but at the dog park for instance, he is .... well... hit and miss! So I am throwing his favourite toys and then calling him back to me in mid run towards them. Stuff like that, just to increase the distraction level a bit. He is doing well.
We have also received our Comfort Trainer halter, so have swapped to that instead of using the Gentle Leader we got temporarily. I'll let you all know in a future post what I think of it.
Anyway, that's all for now. Time to get warm again and stop feeling like death warmed up!
Showing posts with label antibiotics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label antibiotics. Show all posts
Friday, March 2, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
More days of socialisation, planning the show trip and the antibiotics continue
6 months 3 weeks 4 days old
So yesterday Knightley and I went into our town centre. Canberra is a city which was very deliberately designed from the very beginning, and is made up of five main 'satellite' cities - each a smaller city in its own right. There is a main CBD area, but we have yet to take Knightley down there. Instead, yesterday Knightley and I went into the centre of the satellite city that we live in, which is fairly busy and built up but not overly so like the CBD. There is a lot of traffic and lots of people to practice not jumping up on.
We had a really successful time, about two hours, we'd walk around, then we'd relax, then walk around again. There's a park near where we were that we could have some peaceful time in, time for him to smell, do his doggy business and have a lie down. He really did very well. At first he was trying to pull, but about half way through he started to get that pulling meant going backwards and not getting to where he wants to go. Things went well after then. We spent quite a bit of time around the major shopping centre as there were lots of people there, and also random rubbish and occasional food on the ground to practice not eating. Knightley's behaviour was good, I was very happy with him. The only real thing I would change is Knightley's behaviour when he's getting attention. He doesn't try to jump up on people anymore - neither on people patting him nor passers by - but the thing left that is somewhat annoying but rather cute, is he very often rolls over onto his back to get a belly rub and partly because he's a reasonably submissive dog. I have started to teach a behaviour called 'visit' to try to combat this, and to keep him calm when my mum or dad come over. For 'visit' he sits and gets patted, possibly ears pulled, possibly feet picked up, fingers stuck into mouth..... all the things a small child may accidently do in a second being corrected. So I get him in a sit and every time I do something a little unpleasant to him I give him a really great treat and make a big fuss of him. Visit is starting to become a really good thing, but it will be a while before he can hold the position in a high distraction environment and before it will cancel out the urge for submission and tummy rubs!
There was quite a bit of garbage and food on the ground, the most of tempting of which was half an uneaten banana, which was a great opportunity to work on our default 'leave it'. It took about 15 passes by that banana until Knightley didn't go for it, and then he got a big handful of treats! There were lots of other things that Knightley ignored, and some things he went for and then listened to my 'leave it' cue and stopped mid grab, and some things he did unfortunately grab the tempting item. The vast majority of the grabbed items he happily gave up for a treat, although with a very few of them he was more stubborn.
Today we had two visits to our local shops for more socialisation and getting used to as much bustle as the local shops have to offer in preparation for our weekend escapade to the big agricultural/food/amusement rides/entertainment etc show. I've been reading about how to introduce Knightley to the show when we get there. As soon as we reach the main centre of the show we should start trying to find a nice quiet place for him to unwind, away from the noise and people so that he can start processing what he has just seen so that he doesn't get overloaded with new sights, sounds and smells and start going over threshold to where I couldn't reach him. Then periodically throughout the time we are there, we should return to the same spot for 15-20 minutes to let him unwind away from the crowds. I might do some massage, and also take some toys. If a dog can play happily, especially if they get really into it, then they aren't all that stressed. So, play would be good to see. I plan on not feeding him the night before, or the morning of the show (we are likely going on Sunday as we think it will be less busy, although Sunday looks like worse weather) so that I can use food to shape him to explore things that may spook him.
Another issue for the weekend will be the heat. The forecast puts it at 30 C (86 F) for Saturday and 28 C (82 F) for Sunday. While it won't be too bad for us humans, for a dog that is quite hot, especially if that dog is going to be walking around in the sun. Dogs really don't cope with heat well, as they can only lose heat through their mouth/tongue, nose leather and foot pads. They do of course lose some heat just through their body and wetting or applying other cooling packs to the dogs abdomen can be quite effective in cooling a dog down. It isn't the dog's back or neck that you should be concentrating - many of those dog cooling products are largely gimmicks that don't work much at all. Really the only place that works for cooling a dog down nicely is to apply cooling to its stomach and chest, also getting their underarm region. When we've had particularly hot days this summer, although it has largely been a cold wet summer, I've used a little spray bottle to spray Knightley's chest and stomach to cool him down. This gives a surprising amount of relief, he always perks up after a good spraying. I think I will take the spray bottle with me. The other thing that is essential is that Knightley stays very well hydrated. A dog's main cooling system relies on them having a nice wet mouth, so I have to make sure he keeps drinking throughout our time there. I have considered what to do in order to pump as much liquid into Knightley as possible and think I will boil a chicken carcass the day before, then boil it down some more to get a more concentrated stock. Then I can take a small bottle of it with me and all I need to do is add a tablespoon of the stock to Knightley's water in his portable water bowl and he'll be keen to lap it all up. It's important you don't go crazy with giving too much water on a hot day, but considering all the distractions that will be around I think the stock is a good idea for getting him interested in drinking when he might be a bit more interested in what is happening over there.... or over there.... or there...!
We continue with the antibiotics for Knightley's lump and I *think* .... maybe....... it is a bit smaller. It certainly isn't bigger. Please please please be an infection , that would be nice and simple. The antibiotics are a five day course, and after that period I was to call the vet if the lump hadn't gone or seriously shrunk..... so that's Saturday. Cross your fingers for us.
So yesterday Knightley and I went into our town centre. Canberra is a city which was very deliberately designed from the very beginning, and is made up of five main 'satellite' cities - each a smaller city in its own right. There is a main CBD area, but we have yet to take Knightley down there. Instead, yesterday Knightley and I went into the centre of the satellite city that we live in, which is fairly busy and built up but not overly so like the CBD. There is a lot of traffic and lots of people to practice not jumping up on.
We had a really successful time, about two hours, we'd walk around, then we'd relax, then walk around again. There's a park near where we were that we could have some peaceful time in, time for him to smell, do his doggy business and have a lie down. He really did very well. At first he was trying to pull, but about half way through he started to get that pulling meant going backwards and not getting to where he wants to go. Things went well after then. We spent quite a bit of time around the major shopping centre as there were lots of people there, and also random rubbish and occasional food on the ground to practice not eating. Knightley's behaviour was good, I was very happy with him. The only real thing I would change is Knightley's behaviour when he's getting attention. He doesn't try to jump up on people anymore - neither on people patting him nor passers by - but the thing left that is somewhat annoying but rather cute, is he very often rolls over onto his back to get a belly rub and partly because he's a reasonably submissive dog. I have started to teach a behaviour called 'visit' to try to combat this, and to keep him calm when my mum or dad come over. For 'visit' he sits and gets patted, possibly ears pulled, possibly feet picked up, fingers stuck into mouth..... all the things a small child may accidently do in a second being corrected. So I get him in a sit and every time I do something a little unpleasant to him I give him a really great treat and make a big fuss of him. Visit is starting to become a really good thing, but it will be a while before he can hold the position in a high distraction environment and before it will cancel out the urge for submission and tummy rubs!
There was quite a bit of garbage and food on the ground, the most of tempting of which was half an uneaten banana, which was a great opportunity to work on our default 'leave it'. It took about 15 passes by that banana until Knightley didn't go for it, and then he got a big handful of treats! There were lots of other things that Knightley ignored, and some things he went for and then listened to my 'leave it' cue and stopped mid grab, and some things he did unfortunately grab the tempting item. The vast majority of the grabbed items he happily gave up for a treat, although with a very few of them he was more stubborn.
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| Knightley at our local shops today. I have patches on his harness that read "In training: Please pat me" because I've wanted him at this young age to get lots and lots of contact with people of all shapes and sizes. However, he is about to 'graduate' to a "Don't pat me" patch, as I want him to start learning to concentrate on me some more, and less on trying to get pats. He's still a long way from being an official Assistance Dog trainee, but I can slowly start to train some of the basic public manners. |
 |
| More of Knightley up at the shops. Wanted to point out that he is panting, even though it was not a very hot day. It was quite humid however, and a day can be quite cool but only has to be humid for a dog to get really very hot. Humidity effects dogs more than purely heat, but both together is a killer - literally in some cases. |
We continue with the antibiotics for Knightley's lump and I *think* .... maybe....... it is a bit smaller. It certainly isn't bigger. Please please please be an infection , that would be nice and simple. The antibiotics are a five day course, and after that period I was to call the vet if the lump hadn't gone or seriously shrunk..... so that's Saturday. Cross your fingers for us.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Lump news a bit unsure....
6 months 3 weeks 2 days old
So, we saw the vet early this afternoon and the news is a little unsure for now. I definitely did the right thing by taking him there as it could be serious, and either way definitely needed looking at.
The vet thinks it could well be an infection of a hair follicle (folliculitis) that has turned inwards and has become hard and boil-like. We have some rather strong antibiotics for the next five days in the hope that they will clear it up.
Another fairly likely possibility is something called a histiocytoma, which is a benign tumor usually found in young dogs on their heads or limbs. They usually shrink and then disappear on their own, after 1-4 months, although occasionally do require removal. In the past they were routinely removed but more often vets just leave them now. Looking at images online of dogs with histiocytomas, it looks quite possible it could be one of those.
The most dangerous possibility is that it could be something malignant, but the vet said in a young dog like Knightley he'd guess at a 1% chance of something like that.
The idea is that he goes on these antibiotics for five days, and we hope the lump goes away. If it doesn't then he goes back in for sedation and a needle biopsy for diagnosis. The vet gave the go ahead for the show this weekend, Knightley shouldn't be experiencing any symptoms.
Cross fingers for us that it is just the infection and is nice and simple. Keep Knightley in your thoughts!
So, we saw the vet early this afternoon and the news is a little unsure for now. I definitely did the right thing by taking him there as it could be serious, and either way definitely needed looking at.
The vet thinks it could well be an infection of a hair follicle (folliculitis) that has turned inwards and has become hard and boil-like. We have some rather strong antibiotics for the next five days in the hope that they will clear it up.
Another fairly likely possibility is something called a histiocytoma, which is a benign tumor usually found in young dogs on their heads or limbs. They usually shrink and then disappear on their own, after 1-4 months, although occasionally do require removal. In the past they were routinely removed but more often vets just leave them now. Looking at images online of dogs with histiocytomas, it looks quite possible it could be one of those.
The most dangerous possibility is that it could be something malignant, but the vet said in a young dog like Knightley he'd guess at a 1% chance of something like that.
The idea is that he goes on these antibiotics for five days, and we hope the lump goes away. If it doesn't then he goes back in for sedation and a needle biopsy for diagnosis. The vet gave the go ahead for the show this weekend, Knightley shouldn't be experiencing any symptoms.
Cross fingers for us that it is just the infection and is nice and simple. Keep Knightley in your thoughts!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Pup recovering, a short early morning walk
5 months 2 weeks old
Well, the pup seems to be recovering. He has a bit more spark today, he's interested in more attention and so far is spending more time with me. Yesterday he lay down in a different room, which is very rare... usually he stays in sight of me at all times.
He's actually chewing on a toy right now, so that's really good to see. He's still a bit... well, I think serious is the right word for it. I think you can see what I mean in the photo. I think he's getting hungry too, he seems to be sniffing around quite obsessively for crumbs of any sort. Ooh, I just got a wag. Yep, my boy is going to be just fine I think. A little patience and we'll be back to our walks soon enough. We did go for a short one this morning - VERY early, at about 5:30am. I got up super early to give him his next antibiotic and take him out just in case his tummy was hurting him. It was a beautiful morning outside, although the coldest and windiest we've had for a while, which was actually quite refreshing! I was inspired to take him for a short walk because he seemed to have a reasonable amount of spark and hadn't been for a walk for two days. He did well, wagging a fair bit of the way, keeping a nice loose leash, just being a good boy and forgetting about his ouchy tummy despite the lack of food in his world. He is less happy inside the house, I guess the walk helps him forget out the stomach cramps.
The annoying thing is even if he starts to feel better later in the day, we can't train! I mean, I could try using toys as rewards, instead of treats, but I don't think he'd be quite up to tugging or running after a ball.
The other issue this no eating rule has brought up is FADING TREATS. Now, I am not one of those trainers who don't even want to fade treats. We faded treats for sit pretty early, and faded them for down probably too early. However, I hadn't started trying to fade treats for getting into the crate, and sometimes at night he just doesn't want to get into his crate. If he knows I have treats, that's fine, he'll obey the cue. But, I have discovered, if he thinks there is absolutely no food in the offing, he will jump in the crate, then jump out immediately. A cheeky way of doing what I want without actually completing the whole behaviour. I need to start keeping treats in my pocket to surprise him with - or wear my treat pouch ALL the time so he doesn't know when a treat is coming, since a good chunk of my clothing doesn't have pockets. It was the same at the vets yesterday... there were several behaviours I could have had him do to make him more manageable, but without treats to get his attention in a place as exciting as the vets.... well it was useless even trying. Giving treats only occasionally for behaviours is meant to be very effective, based on the gamblers principle... eg will I get one this time? Maybe I will this time! I'll try again because maybe it will be this time?
Anyway, the pup will be allowed to eat again late today, and he's only had one lot of diarrhea today and it was small. So all is looking good. I am going to work harder on his zen when out and about with me so he doesn't eat random things, so that it reduces the likelihood of this happening again.
Well, the pup seems to be recovering. He has a bit more spark today, he's interested in more attention and so far is spending more time with me. Yesterday he lay down in a different room, which is very rare... usually he stays in sight of me at all times.
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| Knightley still looking a bit sad and sorry for himself the morning after the vet visit. He is happier than yesterday though. |
The annoying thing is even if he starts to feel better later in the day, we can't train! I mean, I could try using toys as rewards, instead of treats, but I don't think he'd be quite up to tugging or running after a ball.
The other issue this no eating rule has brought up is FADING TREATS. Now, I am not one of those trainers who don't even want to fade treats. We faded treats for sit pretty early, and faded them for down probably too early. However, I hadn't started trying to fade treats for getting into the crate, and sometimes at night he just doesn't want to get into his crate. If he knows I have treats, that's fine, he'll obey the cue. But, I have discovered, if he thinks there is absolutely no food in the offing, he will jump in the crate, then jump out immediately. A cheeky way of doing what I want without actually completing the whole behaviour. I need to start keeping treats in my pocket to surprise him with - or wear my treat pouch ALL the time so he doesn't know when a treat is coming, since a good chunk of my clothing doesn't have pockets. It was the same at the vets yesterday... there were several behaviours I could have had him do to make him more manageable, but without treats to get his attention in a place as exciting as the vets.... well it was useless even trying. Giving treats only occasionally for behaviours is meant to be very effective, based on the gamblers principle... eg will I get one this time? Maybe I will this time! I'll try again because maybe it will be this time?
Anyway, the pup will be allowed to eat again late today, and he's only had one lot of diarrhea today and it was small. So all is looking good. I am going to work harder on his zen when out and about with me so he doesn't eat random things, so that it reduces the likelihood of this happening again.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
The puppy is indeed sick
5 months 1 week 6 days old
Well, it's official. I did the right thing in taking him to the vet. I also did the right thing in putting him on chicken and rice. I was considering taking him off food completely, and that would also have been a good step to take.
The vet checked his temperature (whilst hoping Knightley wasn't going to spray diarrhea on him) which was normal. Felt his stomach which apparently felt very 'squishy' which meant there wasn't any solid stool in there and it was all completely liquid. Listened to his stomach which apparently sounded 'extremely noisy'. Listened to me saying it had gone on for a few days, I had put him on chicken and rice two days ago and if anything it had got worse with about 7 episodes of diarrhea today, and that he had been very flat for most of the day until he got to the vets where there were so many exciting things to see and his tummy didn't matter quite so much anymore.
So.... the vet diagnosed a bacterial stomach infection and has given him antibiotics (metronidazole) for a week, and instructions not to eat for 24-36 hours. He says Knightley is likely to be ok after that, but to watch for him stopping drinking, or becoming so flat and depressed he doesn't want to move at all, or if the diarrhea is still going on after 36 hours.... and then he will have to go back to the vet. Immediately if his behaviour changes dramatically for the worse at any time, as it means it is a severe case of stomach inflammation and he may need to be hospitalised. He did say that he did not think that is the case though, or Knightley wouldn't have perked up from being at the vets. So cross fingers my little furry boy may be better in a day or two.
After his fasting I am to start him back on the chicken and rice with a few bits of kibble mixed in, and then slowly increase the ratio of kibble : chicken&rice.
Can't wait to have my happy crazy puppy back. Now we're back home he's back to being sad.
Well, it's official. I did the right thing in taking him to the vet. I also did the right thing in putting him on chicken and rice. I was considering taking him off food completely, and that would also have been a good step to take.
The vet checked his temperature (whilst hoping Knightley wasn't going to spray diarrhea on him) which was normal. Felt his stomach which apparently felt very 'squishy' which meant there wasn't any solid stool in there and it was all completely liquid. Listened to his stomach which apparently sounded 'extremely noisy'. Listened to me saying it had gone on for a few days, I had put him on chicken and rice two days ago and if anything it had got worse with about 7 episodes of diarrhea today, and that he had been very flat for most of the day until he got to the vets where there were so many exciting things to see and his tummy didn't matter quite so much anymore.
So.... the vet diagnosed a bacterial stomach infection and has given him antibiotics (metronidazole) for a week, and instructions not to eat for 24-36 hours. He says Knightley is likely to be ok after that, but to watch for him stopping drinking, or becoming so flat and depressed he doesn't want to move at all, or if the diarrhea is still going on after 36 hours.... and then he will have to go back to the vet. Immediately if his behaviour changes dramatically for the worse at any time, as it means it is a severe case of stomach inflammation and he may need to be hospitalised. He did say that he did not think that is the case though, or Knightley wouldn't have perked up from being at the vets. So cross fingers my little furry boy may be better in a day or two.
After his fasting I am to start him back on the chicken and rice with a few bits of kibble mixed in, and then slowly increase the ratio of kibble : chicken&rice.
Can't wait to have my happy crazy puppy back. Now we're back home he's back to being sad.
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