I smell like vinegar. How about you?

At lunch, I was making a big bottle of a concoction that always blows the lid off the gallon container I mix it in, if it has a chance.  It’s my secret dog pee shampoo for the ground.  Well, I guess it pretty much happened as the minutes ticked by and I was getting later on the leaving home part and going back to work part, so I did a quick turn of the bottle to mix it, and when I flipped it over and flipped the lid so it could breathe, MOG!  That’s when Fort Doberdale had its first volcanic erruption. Would’ve been nice if it smelled better.  Lots of foam.  And vinegar fragrance.  Yes, one of the secret ingredients IS vinegar.  Uh huh.  That is why I sit at my desk at work this afternoon smelling like a Ceasar salad.  I’m trying to be a hermit.

On another front, last night Leissl the Wubba player…

…cut her paw and I do not know how.  What I do know is when you have a few paws around, it’s not as easy as one would think to track the dog and paw that’s leaving bloody imprints all over the white tile floor.  When I did, eeegads, it was ugly! 

I cleaned the paw with peroxide, put some Qwik Stop on it, cotton and gauze.  After that, I washed the blood off the floor.  Later, I found more blood spots.  Leissl’s bandage was leaking blood.  Mon Dieu!  This was some time around 11:30 on the p.m. dial.  Bandage was blood soaked, so I had to remove it, and get out the liquid Qwik Stop.  That stuff stinks.  And so does blood.  I don’t like the smell of either.  I bandaged Leissl’s paw again, and this time, I put her in a crate so she would be still all night.  Went to bed.

During the night, I heard what I now believe is a paw boomerang.  This is when Leissl would hold onto the end of the bandage, pull her back paw away while clamping onto the bandage.  When the pull outweighed the grasp, the paw would go flying against the side of the crate.  Bang!  This went on during the night, and by morning, the bandage was off – it was just sitting in her crate like a complete and whole cast.  Yes, she pulled that off in one piece. 

When I let her out in the morning, Leissl had her back leg in the air and her toes were contorted.  Imagine my surprise!  I’ve seen a lot, but this was special.  Mind you, her back leg was shaking as if it was having spasms.  I have about one hour to do everything I need to do in the morning, and I knew I was in trouble with this fine mess.  So I hauled Leissl’s hiney inside, gave the paw a peroixed bath, pulled off the caked on Qwik Stop, (yuk!), and slathered some Neosporin in the paw crevices, wrapped lightly with gauze, put a sock on, wrapped top of sock with gauze (hot pink), and put a no bite on her.  Then I fed her and the FDSP breakfast.  She actually ate! That was a relief.  Though I’m not sure if she did so in order to have amunition to poop out later in the day so I will have something to come home to. 

At work, I called my vet’s office to be sure I’d have a slot to take Leissl in this afternoon should we need it.  But when I went back home at lunch to see how my poopsie woopsie was doing, she was much much better and there were no gifts on the floor.  She was standing on her socked paw, wiggling butt, so I took off the no-bite collar and let her be free.  When I left, though, I re-collared her because I know her.  She’d have taken the sock off by the time I got home, otherwise.

Let’s see what surprises await me when I get home tonight.

Helen

The Mighty Pippin

I stated yesterday that Pippin over-estimates her limitations and animal prowess, which leads her to have her own shelf in the medicine cabinet filled with Pippin bandages, antibiotic creams, anti-inflammatories, and the like.

Here is an example of Pippin’s over-inflated self-image at work. It’s as if she thinks she’s a super Dobie. She is body slamming Annie as Annie is coming in for a landing as she jumps off the table. The light bulb over Pippin’s head isn’t too bright about things like this!

Pippin body slams everyone. She body slams Luigi, and he’s the biggest kid on the block. Lucky for her, he’s tolerant. Ollie’s not so tolerant, and Pippin found out yesterday that Aussies do not appreciate body slamming. It’s not even in their vocabulary. But jumping out from under a body slammer and nipping the snoot belonging to said slammer is!

Pippin chooses to relax in one of the spots voted most like to get trampled while sun bathing.

She’s a pip!

Helen

Help For Baby’s Arthritic Back – A Follow-Up

This is a follow-up to the post “Baby’s Arthritic Back.”

Baby has been on Platinum Performance Plus since March 5. She is on 3 tablespoons in the morning and 3 tablespoons at night. That’s a therapeutic dosage, not the maintenance dosage recommended on the label. The folks at Platinum Performance prescribed the higher dosage for her Divaness.

What is more impressive is they called me several weeks after I received the order to ask me how Baby was doing on it. I don’t know any other company that stands behind their supplement products like that. Baby was on Arthrimaxx for 3 months and before that, OTC glucosamine. Nothing helped until Platinum Performance Plus.

And how is Baby doing?

– – – Before – – – – – After – –

Baby is able to move a lot better and without yelping-out-loud pain. Before Platinum Performance Plus, jumping on the bed at night was a big ordeal. I oftentimes had to help her up, and lifting a 65-pound Diva is not so easy, especially trying not to hurt any spots on her that were sensitive. Now, she jumps right up on the bed.

Baby loves playing with Luna. She’s always at it when Luna is up to the game.

Along with her Platinum Performance Plus, Baby Diva Puss lies in the sun to soak in the heat everyday, weather permitting.

Interestingly, Pippin, who came from the shelter 4 years ago with a bum front leg, had hurt it playing like the feisty rascal she is recently. The vets told me that Pippin was a good candidate for arthritis. It is setting in. After the pain from body slamming someone the wrong way, she yelped when she turned around in her bed at night. So I started her on Platinum Performance Plus – therapeutic dosage – too. She’s been on it for 3 weeks now, and the nightly yelping has stopped. She is moving better, but due to her feisty personality, she can’t help but get into trouble almost daily as she continues to ignore her limitations. Here she is taking on the duty of sniffing a new place.

Since taking the Platinum Performance Plus, Pippin’s happy and more pain free than she’s been since the arthritis in her leg’s started to take over.

We at Fort Doberdale highly recommend Platinum Performance Plus for arthritic dogs.  It’s also an exceptional daily supplement. They also have supplements for most any pet – dog, cat, horse, exotics, and people, too.  Click here to go to their website:  Platinum Performance

Helen

Taylor’s New Room

This was what Taylor’s crate looked like up until this morning.

Last night, I forgot to latch Taylor’s crate before bed. Evidently, she figured this out, and got busy relocating her household to a preferred spot in the house – the Dobie sofa. Taylor used all crevices of the Dobie sofa to stuff her belongings into. Taylor’s belongings used to be shared belongings amongst the FDSP.

We are working on teaching Taylor some new rules, but for now, we humor her. She was spayed by a shelter a week ago today with a full belly of puppies. She may be using the toys as a replacement for her litter. Here she is adding one of Leissl’s favorites to her collection.

This is what Taylor looked like when I stood by her crate and told her to go in her room, which she has been doing for a week up until now. Now her room has changed locations, it seems.

“I am in my room.”

This is what Taylor’s crate looked like this morning. I pulled her green blankey out to wash and put down a new one, but none of the toys were disturbed…

Quite a difference in furnishings from light’s-out last night!

Helen

Skies and Paws

This is the beautiful pastel sky at Fort Doberdale on Friday, the 18th of April.

Another beautiful and colorful sight is Taylor, who is as good a paw crosser as any Dobie I’ve ever met.

Helen