Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Pupdate

Took Kal for his annual vaccinations last Thursday (and I realized he's always going to be due on/around Leo's birthday...).

He still weighs 87.something lbs. Still hasn't really gained any since last fall, or since February.

He was good for the vet, and mooched A LOT of treats,

which is probably why he started breaking out in hives again Friday evening.

It was that or the vaccines, but since the hives were only located on/around his right shoulder, and the vaccines went into the right and left hips, I'm sure it was the treats. There was probably chicken in them.

I wasn't even thinking.

But those are the only two variables that have changed, recently, so...

It hasn't spread, at least, and they are all cleared up today, after looking much better yesterday.

He's disemboweled his bed 4 mornings in a row, so far this week, but I've been yelling at him to "HUSH!" when he begins fussing in the early mornings (or getting up and going to tell him to hush, on the mornings where his daddy is home asleep, instead of just coming in from the night shift),and it seems to be working. He still wakes at 5:30 am and amuses himself with his Nylabone (or, apparently not...) for about half an hour, but now he doesn't fuss until 6:30/6:45, instead of 6:00 or 6:15.

DH has been walking him on a prong collar for about 2 weeks, now, after a particularly adventurous and challenging walk one morning where a pair of bunnies, followed by a pair of ducks,  followed by a pair of squirrels proved to be too much excitement for Kal to handle.

I guess there's progress in this post, somewhere...

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Monday, January 2, 2017

11 Months

11 Months
27 and 1/2 inches tall
87.8 lbs (as of two weeks ago- probably more like 90lbs, now)

Too skinny, too bony-looking and too many ribs showing. Not sure if it's the cold, the extra activity chasing squirrels, or something dietary. Definitely he grew a lot more, in recent months. Poop issues: the same, despite being on probiotics for a month. They've helped with the majority of the gas, and maybe there's less midday diarrhea (as long as I can keep him from eating any other poop) but no real, significant changes, otherwise. I can't just keep feeding  him more, if his stool is indicative of overfeeding, already...

Supposed to try a friends' recipe for adding weight to dogs. Keep forgetting to purchase the ingredients. Plus, we're trying to keep him grain-free, so the rice in the recipe needs to be substituted, but.. with what? He's already getting plenty/too many other carbs in his daily kibble, in various forms. Probably will just go with ground beef and kefir (if I can't find goat's milk), or cottage cheese. Still... that's only adding more volume to his already over-filled tummy...

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Dude, You're Killing Me

I was trying to put off posting until tomorrow's 11-Month post, but, after the week we've had...

'Member when he was just a puppy and the biggest problem was taking him out repeatedly, all. night. long. and it taking FOREVER for him to go back to sleep?

'Member when the above was also then accompanied by making sure to remove any toys that had hitchhiked back to the crate, in order to avoid them being disemboweled and/or eaten in the wee hours?

'Member when the "wee hours" wasn't synonymous with both of the above, and also checking his bedding to see if it was wet before putting him back to bed?

Because that's how this week has gone. Probably it's the recent bout of sunny, 50-degree days we've had that he's been outside enjoying for the first time in weeks, that have caused him to drink just enough more water.

Not only is he back to going out at 12:45am, or 1:45, or 2:45... he also has been up at 6am every morning.

Basically he's gone out every 4 hours, every night. All. night. long.

Oh, and now he wets the bed.

In his sleep.

Sometime between bedtime and that first late-night potty break.

And, me sick with bronchitis and not getting any rest, despite going to bed as soon as the dogs get put to bed (7pm).

Two night of hearing him thrash about, making ridiculous racket, and getting up to find he'd shoved his pillow to one end of the crate and was curled up on the flat crate bottom.

I really don't think his bed was peed in the second night. It didn't smell like pee, though it was damp in a rather large area- nothing like two nights prior, though.

Thank goodness that last new duvet coverhttps://www.dogbed4less.com/products/diy-cover I bought him (after he chewed through not one, but TWO duvet covers, and bypassed ONE lined pillow of stuffing to tunnel through the next layer) came with a waterproof inner liner. It sure has been handy to just remove/wash the outer cover.

He's already chewed that, too, btw... It lasted a whole week, then one morning I heard him rip through the zipper track- in TWO places. Couldn't have chewed a hole somewhere else, had to just put his teeth two inches from the end of the zipper and PULL.

God. I hate this dog.

I managed to mend most of it, just shortening the zipper but, after washing twice, there's still a hole right next to where the zipper seam begins.

Going to have to patch it, or order another one... maybe canvas, this time...