Any veterinarians?

[cute fuzzy bunny]

She's doing great so far. We're not having much fun with the 3rd round of antibiotics as she's too smart to be fooled by the pill-in-a-sausage trick.

Now the only thing thats worrisome is that she's developed a swollen squishy spot about 2" in diameter on her abdomen right next to the inside of the 'bad' leg. Might just be some sort of fluid build-up. Its firm on the left side, squishy on the right. Guess I'll run her by the vet tomorrow to have a quick look at that...

We're a little overbudget on veterinary bills this year...

[citrine]

I'll be at the vet's too....Casanova is not eating today and I think when he licked off the scab...he ended up re-infecting the area. I already have a second job for all of the vet bills....sheesh.....good luck cfb...

[simple girl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cute fuzzy bunny She's doing great so far. We're not having much fun with the 3rd round of antibiotics as she's too smart to be fooled by the pill-in-a-sausage trick. Now the only thing thats worrisome is that she's developed a swollen squishy spot about 2" in diameter on her abdomen right next to the inside of the 'bad' leg. Might just be some sort of fluid build-up. Its firm on the left side, squishy on the right. Guess I'll run her by the vet tomorrow to have a quick look at that... We're a little overbudget on veterinary bills this year...

Makes me wonder if it is lymph nodes swollen due to the infection.

Good luck with the pilling. I always thought dogs were so much easier than cats, but I guess she's figured out your tricks!

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I have a cat that simply cannot be given a pill of any kind, period. The dog is definitely easier but we're pretty much down to pushing the pill in manually

I tried to give that cat a wormer pill about 6 years ago and it was a one hour ordeal of horrifying proportions. Then as soon as we were done, she ran behind the couch and threw it up.

[simple girl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cute fuzzy bunny I have a cat that simply cannot be given a pill of any kind, period. The dog is definitely easier but we're pretty much down to pushing the pill in manually I tried to give that cat a wormer pill about 6 years ago and it was a one hour ordeal of horrifying proportions. Then as soon as we were done, she ran behind the couch and threw it up.

Oh, I can so totally relate!!! We had a cat that became impossible to pill, too! Despite using a piller, wrapping him in a towel, etc. etc. We then found these cool pill "pockets" that were flavored salmon/chicken, etc. You put the pill inside and squeeze it shut. They actually worked for a little while, but, like your dog, our cat figured that one out, too. Eventually we tried a liquid medication...uh,,,that ended up in my cat foaming at the mouth, shaking his head, and spewing medicine all over the walls!

I feel for you with having to push the pill in manually. Doesn't especially do much for the relationship you have with your pet, but it must be done

[Martha]

It does help when giving a dog drugs manually to hold their head up and stroke their throat after you stick the pill in their mouth. Helps to get them to swallow rather than store the pill.

[Khan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martha It does help when giving a dog drugs manually to hold their head up and stroke their throat after you stick the pill in their mouth. Helps to get them to swallow rather than store the pill.

Put your finger over the nostrils at the same time (they have to swallow).

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by simple girl that ended up in my cat foaming at the mouth, shaking his head, and spewing medicine all over the walls!

Been there, done that, have the spotted t-shirt and my wifes cousin has the couch that has to be put up against the wall due to the funny brown crud all over the back of it.

[kaudrey]

simple girl - I'm going through that with my cat right now!

I'll spare the long story (it's on the Motley Fool Pet Lovers board), but my cat has undiagnosed problems that we are trying to kill with antibiotics and painkillers. He was OK with the liquid painkiller, and I could even get him to swallow the pill by holding his mouth closed til he swallowed, but he HATES the new antibiotics - leading to the spewing thing! Ugh.

cfb - good luck with pup. My thoughts are with him.

After a few visits to the vet, including an overnight, bloodwork, x-rays, 4 different medicines etc, I am way over my vet budget too.

Now, if only I can get the kitty to eat more (he's lost a lot of weight). Sigh.

[citrine]

kaudrey....I am so sorry......it's frustrating to say the least.
One great method I use to give Casanova his antibiotic is to put encircle him with my left hand while he is on the kitchen counter, tilt his head to see me....pop in the pill while holding his head back and with the right hand stroking his neck so the swallow reflex is activated.......and I do the hokey pokey with my legs at the same time

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I finally got the perfect method (for this mutt anyhow), with Khans suggestion putting it over the top. I tip her head back, pry the jaws open, toss the pills as far back as possible, close the mouth, stroke the throat while gently shaking the head and cover her nostrils with two fingers for a few seconds. Boom, they're gone. Worked great for the last few pills.

Staples come out on tuesday. Funny swollen area is a 'seroma'. Now the fun part is deciphering which of the differing opinions on handling these is best. Some say hot compresses and let it go down on its own. Some say drain it several times with a syringe plus more antibiotics (no!). Some say install a drain until it stops draining, plus more antibiotics (NO!).

Sigh.

I spent most of the afternoon at chuck e. cheese. I need a vacation.

[Dreamer]

I feel for you, CFB. Hope things turn around for you and your dog quickly. Gabe is growing up quickly and you will soon turn around and wonder where time went with him.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

She goes in to have her staples taken out tomorrow. She hates going to that vet because so far every time she's gone she had to stay overnight and get operated on. At least this time she comes home with me.

Gabe is already too darn big. He's baking with my wife every few days, has his evening tea (herbal) with her, lets the dogs in and out of the house, and he's started playing practical jokes on me.

Just yesterday I had to hold his bottle for him.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cute fuzzy bunny Just yesterday I had to hold his bottle for him.

Eh, lemme offer another perspective-- do you miss the diaper changes?

By our calculations our kid only has about another 970 days under our roof... flap those wings, little birdie!

[cute fuzzy bunny]

No, i'm not because i'm still doing them! We've had two bouts of toilet training. When we first moved into the new house he insisted on using the toilet exclusively for about a month, then lost interest.

Then when we told him that his grampa would give him a ride in his RV if he used the toilet (because Uppa doesnt allow diapers on his bus!) we got another three weeks of steady use. The day after he got his ride, back to the diapers.

We'll get there. Hell, he isnt even three yet. I just have to get him potty trained by august so he can go to the preschool we got him into.

Yesterday I went around spackling and puttying miscellaneous nail holes in the house. Gabe has now spent two hours walking around with my maglite identifying another 350 holes from the floor level up. "Dada!! Hole!!! GET IT!!!".

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cute fuzzy bunny We'll get there. Hell, he isnt even three yet. I just have to get him potty trained by august so he can go to the preschool we got him into.

Plenty of time. And at that age, peer pressure can be a wonderful thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cute fuzzy bunny "Dada!! Hole!!! GET IT!!!".

Sounds like someone's ready for their own putty knife. How messy could that possibly get? Are you using the putty that tastes like peanut butter?

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Aiyee! No babies with putty!

He does have his own tools and they're well used. Whenever i'm working on something he's usually found nearby "fixing" something himself.

In this instance, I had just glued this door panel and hammered a few brads into the edge to hold it until the glue dried, then wandered off for a few minutes...



Staples are out of the girl doggie, and she was most pleased to leave immediately after.

Unfortunately the doc wasnt able to figure out what we previously thought was a seroma. He says its a fatty tumor of some kind, but will need aspirating to determine what it is. I've been able to shrink it with a hot compress, so he says that means its probably benign. I found another hard lump about the size of half a peanut on her back in the middle of the rib cage.

Hopefully it'll allllll go away...

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Dogs get lots of sebaceous cysts and lipomas, accumulating into a bunch of skin lumps and bumps. We never bothered with them unless they were in a real bad spot (like the collar line or near the ear). Figured most won't ever be an issue and in the rare case one of them turned out to be something serious we probably would only treat symptomatically, in any case. Otherwise you'll spend a lot of time and money at the vet, gotta be scarey for the pooch, and in the end it's probably not worth it.

I know everyone has their own approach to how much care they are comfortable with for their dogs, but that's what we did.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Thanks Rich, thats going to be our approach. Next time we're at the vet for shots (about a year from now) I'll have our old country doctor have another look at it. We'll monitor for size changes and I'll keep trying the warm compresses, which seemed to be reducing it.

In the meanwhile, I have about a pound of roast beef to give out to our vet traumatized pup...