BB’s first satisfying game of tuggie in 2 weeks. The boy loves his squeaky mat toy! 30 wks old
Archive for July, 2008
Em bounced on her bottom…by Auntie Lisa
please let me out to play, BB 29 wks old
BB looks so sad in his pen here, poor little guy. His staples were supposed to come out yesterday, but the vet can’t see him until Monday. But at least he doesn’t have to stay in his pen nearly as much until then! He’s been following Mom around, and playing with his toys some too, so he isn’t a total prisoner. He has been kept much quieter than his puppy energy can stand though.
So today I plan on taking the boy out for a teeny tiny romp in the field.
Emily came yesterday morning, since my brother has been off work while the company computers are down. That means a 3 day weekend with a 2 year old. My hard work with Beebs and Em is paying off: he was loose while she was in the room and he did very well at not being reactive to her. She just won’t leave his toys alone, though, and when she got into the toy box while he was there, he bonked her with his head when he stood up.
Em bounced on her bottom and kinda sat there, and BB went off with his toy. Not good manners, but my brother just doesn’t get the idea that Beebs isn’t gentle like Kenai. He’s been cooped up for a week, which makes it worse. So you can’t just turn him loose with a two year old while you sit your butt on the couch. He meant no harm, that’s just BB: bump, lean, wiggle and swat. Now later when Em sat down on the floor, BB came over and lay down near her when he was called. He did fine because an adult was right there overseeing the play.
With some reminding, Em is learning not to run at him, and he doesn’t react. If he is in his pen or on the couch, he still barks when she comes. He must feel either trapped or barking because he doesn’t want to be ignored. If he can walk up to her, he’s fine. So the toots has come a long way!
Beebs has gotten a reprieve from the planned pool dip, since his staples aren’t out yet. And Mom hasn’t done a thing all week with his physical therapy. I’ve been really sick, so there was no getting to it myself. She has less and less control of him almost every day, too. She can’t get him to come when she calls, let go of a toy he shouldn’t have, stay on the bed while we eat…she can’t even get him to go to bed at night.
So I’ve come downstairs with Kenai for his morning piddle and meal twice this week, to find that I have to split up the ruckus and seperate them before my eyes are focusing. While she’s in bed asleep. He doesn’t mind her because he doesn’t respect her, and she makes no effort to change that. It’s going to become a big problem if BB gets in his head that he can be top dog and rule the pack. He’s started marking…
I don’t understand my mother. She can sit there and watch the dog whisperer show, but not get the idea that she cannot just get frustrated and give up after 3 seconds. If he doesn’t get up the moment she says, she gets mad and walks away. BB wins the battle. Every time. It’s like she’s abandoned his management to me, she’ll just babysit when I’m not there.
I don’t understand, but I do know that with 2 unnuetered males in the house, a lack of control of one can lead to some serious fights. Sick or not, I’m going to have to ramp up and try to solve the problems with the 2 boys myself. With a passive, frustrated, weak energy from Mom. Does the Dog Whisperer take on charity cases?
So that’s our good news, and the not so good news. The Beebster is doing well for the most part, and is putting his weight back on nicely. His coat is still a bit dandruffy and dull, though it’s improving. I can’t get Mom to brush him and use the conditioning wipes, which would correct this quickly.
I’ll try to get more posts up, not realizing it had been so long. The past couple weeks have been downright punishing. Maybe this next one will be better.
BB is Bored…by Auntie Lisa
Poor BB can’t run and play, 28 wks old
Our funny little gameboy is having a hard week. He got home again late Thursday night, and Friday evening we discovered he’d popped out an inch long area of staples in his suture line. BB! So I bandaged it well enough to hold until the next day, and Saturday he was back at the vet. The rest of the day was a wash, with him stoned on sedatives from being reclosed.
Oh but Sunday, he was bouncy and playful again. Yay and uh-oh at the same time! I’m glad to see his personality again, but he’s on bed rest until Friday when the staples are out. He’s gonna be worse than a ferule cat by then! Especially with all the extra calories we’re pumping in him. He lost weight, of course, and now we’ve got to get some meat on his bones again.
He was a mess when he came home, and it’s taken two days of brushing and baby wipes to get his coat back to shiney and not shedding. He’s made the switch to Eagle Pack lamb with his brother which he scarfs right down. The boys have both always loved lamb meat. So heat or not, BB’s eating well again, and hopefully when he goes to get his staples out, he’ll have gained back what he’d lost. Right now, he’s 35 pounds lighter than his brother.
And he’s not nuetered…
So for the sake of his bored little bent puppy tush, Mom, Kenai and I went to the puppy store to pick out a couple really snazzy new toys to entertain him. We found this fuzzy baby in the shape of a checker board, with squeakers in every square. That one was a big hit! He tossed it about and squeaked it for a few minutes before he got too sore and laid down.
He doesn’t care for the other toy, a bone shaped tennis ball with a squeaker. But I’ve found that a toy that doesn’t go over at first becomes the greatest thing ever a month or two later. Or if brother decides to play with it. Whichever comes first. He’s got his squeaky mat until then.
I was really getting worried about Beebs Saturday. He just wasn’t throwing off the sedative. He’d been knocked out something like 4 times that week, and he had that glazed over look. He couldn’t even sit up without wobbling. He got lots of cuddles and soft touches, and even Kenai gingerly sniffed and licked him. Thankfully Sunday morning he woke up with mischief again.
Unfortunately, his leg’s PT progress became backsliding, and he’s not using it at all, curling it up and carrying it around. He can’t go swimming, and we can’t take him walking, so it’s back to the laying down stretches. Stretch and massage, massage and stretch. At least he does have some pain pills for his tummy, so we can mess with him while he’s sleepy and he can’t resist as much.
Come Friday, he’ll burst out of that expen like a race horse at the starting gate. PLAY, GIMME PLAY, will be the cry. He’ll get some of the evil and cruel splish splashing in the pool, poor baby, but at least he’ll also get to take a zig zag through the field. That should make up for the dunk.
This little guy seems to take all the hits. He starts doing better, and whammo, another problem. He’s got the biggest heart, though. He just keeps on pulling through. Our little heap of scar tissue hasn’t lost his fun at all, so we just keep on nursing him back. How could we do anything else?
BB don’t eat out…by Auntie Lisa
BB eats his supper… home from the vet, 28 wks
Appearantly, BB’s not big on eating out. He prefers his meals at home, so home he came. He’s in need of a good brushing and baby wiping, and lots of food, one cup at a time. Lost some weight there buddy. I’ll try to get him cleaned up this morning. His staples come out next Friday, and we need to watch him for complications. But he’s home, where he’s happiest.
I’m getting more and more worried about the shape of his three good legs. Especially the front ones. Sometimes he stands there like Charlie Chaplin with his feet pointed straight out to the sides. He’s splaying very badly. I’m considering putting them back on Eagle Pack food, in hopes of correcting some of the problems before they become real problems.
Beebs can’t run, play, or swim until the staples are out next weekend, so he’s going to be bored out of his mind. I’ve really got to be on my toes with his “look at that” game this weekend, to prevent as much barking as possible. That can stress the sutures too. Emily just stresses every part of little bent up BB. Lord, give me strength, I need it.
BB is back in the expen for awhile. I don’t think we’ll be lifting him up on the couch much either. We’ll try, though, so he can get some cuddle time from Mom. And I’ll try to see he gets to be outside, though he can’t go running and playing. A nap in sunshine is good for what ails a boy, you know!
Beebs is home…life is better.
BB the Blunder Boy…by Auntie Lisa
Heading for the shade!
BB’s back in the puppy hospital, as of yesterday. He had gotten ahold of a “lost” bone we thought Kenai had gone off with, or had dropped into the back of the couch. Ate the whole thing, too, because he was completely plugged up with bone chips. The colon, the large intestine, the small intestine…
We have him on low amounts of laxatives because his pelvis is so narrow from being fractured. His stools need to be on the loose side to get everything out. That bone was way more that he could leave in a puppy scrap pile. Bless his heart, he’s getting enemas for his birthday, 7 months old today.
First thing in the morning BB was barfing, and crying when he tried to go potty. We packed up the car with puppies and went to the local vet. They sent us straight to U of Missouri where he’d had his leg surgery. Didn’t even get to use deoderant. Just jump in the car and drive. It’s four hours each way, 3 1/2 if I can pass the dunderwunders who like to plug up the highways as bad as BB plugged up himself.
Thank God, Beebs is having small bowel movements on his own today, 3 enemas already done. It will probably take 2-3 days of that to clean him out. Just hope and pray he doesn’t rupture a bowel or puncture it with a sharp bone fragment. That’s the greatest danger to him, and could easily kill him.
The surgeon that did BB’s leg said he doesn’t want to do surgery on his pelvis if we can avoid it, because it’s a huge and terribly painful surgery. But if Beebs starts obstructing regularly, we won’t have a choice. So no more edible bones or pig ears for the little buddy. He’s gonna have to make do with pressed rawhide which is tough enough he can’t swallow bunches of it.
This poor kiddo, he’s been through the wringer already. I may have to go get him to come home, since Mom really MUST return to her own pulmonary therapy. That means Kenai has to make the drive again, to fetch little brother. He’ll get home just in time for the weekend, which means the boogey man will be here: my 2 year old niece.
No rest for the weary and sore bottomed, I’m afraid.
Tuesday afternoon, BB was taken to surgery because his intestines were beginning to swell. The bone chips were gone, but they found a collar he’d swallowed. Of all things, Beebs, honestly. Stop that!!! How on earth he got it and swallowed it unseen is a mystery. Had to be overnight, the same night he decimated that bone
He is recovering well, and had no peritinitis, so his prognosis is good. We’re hoping still to have him home this weekend. But he has to be eating and pooping normally. So cross your fingers, and wish him well! We miss our funny little bananna butt…Beebs is doing very well, though, and had his stomach “tacked”, called gastroplexy, to prevent his stomach from twisting if he happens to bloat.
But the vets at the Univeristy of Missouri put such pressure on Mom to neuter him I got mad. They called 3 times, not to tell Mom about her uppy’s emergency surgery but to pressure her to neuter. Not a word about how long the surgery would be, what complications might arise, etc…nothing but neuter, neuter, neuter. The final call, they said since we weren’t going to castrate, they’d just go do the surgery and hung up. Mom was sobbing, and I was pissed. (pardon my french fries)
BB has an undescended testicle, which isn’t too rare. It’s hanging out up there, atrophied and useless in his abdomen since it can’t get through the super narrow pelvis. Undescended testicles are more likely to grow tumors and even become cancerous. I know that, having had a dog with the same problem. That one single sentence was all those vets had to say, and we would have replied thank you for being concerned for BB’s future health, but no.
It would be nice to not have to worry about another surgery to nueter him later, but we have medical reasons NOT to neuter yet, if at all. You cannot look at his smashed up pelvis, his damaged leg and tell me he won’t ever need another surgery to keep him walking. It’s not like there won’t be an opportunity later.
Nuetering is an elective surgery, it is not medically necessary. BB cannot risk developing the super fast bone growth that giant breeds usually will have if castrated before adulthood. Male Danes will grow super tall and super skinny if neutered before 12-18 months old. Experts in giant breed growth are starting to say it all over the place, finally.
If BB’s leg bones grow too long and too fast, he is far more likely to speed up the process of deformity in his impaired leg. He bears most of his weight on his front legs, and they are splaying already because of it. Neutering him now would make those other legs longer, faster, and weaker. He could even fracture the smaller bones from nothing but improper distribution of the weight of his body.
Our sweet Bananna Butt could wind up an amputee or even need to be put to sleep if the deformity cannot be repaired again, or the other legs give out. I WILL NOT ENDANGER HIS LIFE FOR SOMETHING NOT MEDICALLY NECESSARY. I was so angry at the heavy handed tactics and the fact that they told us nothing at all about his emergency surgery, that I called Dr. Fox, the vet that had done BB’s leg surgery.
Ten minutes later, Dr. Fox called back after going into the operating room and finding out what was going on. He certainly knew I was mad about the inappropriate way we were treated. He did as he always does: give a complete and detailed report of what was being done, what complications we need to worry about, how long BB would likley be in intensive care, and asked if we had any questions. THAT is how you talk to a dog’s owner.
The vet in charge hasn’t called us yet today. She’d better suck up her pride and either apologize or seriously alter her bedside manner. Mom’s still very fragile, so I have the phone. Boy do I have the phone… I better not get avoidance, either. Can ya tell I’m a little displeased?
So we’re waiting for news, now.
Brat Boy gets WET…by Auntie Lisa
BB waiting for lunch, 27 wks old
BB has had a stressful week, full of icky things that a boy don’t like none at all. Thursday he got stoned so the vet could take an xray, Friday afternoon his beige bottom got put in the pool, and the weekend meant he had a small child in the house. Icky!!
The pool was a new torment for him, the prissy boy who doesn’t want to get wet. I had to carry him from the deck stairs to the water by the handle of his puppy life jacket. Bless his heart, he was scared, even with Mom and me both in the pool with him. But he used all four legs like a normal dog doing the puppy paddle. All four! Count ‘em, one, two, three, four. And it carried over into his normal walking some, with just one dip. I hope to get him splish splashing 3-4 times a week.
His progress with physical therapy had stalled, since Mom just isn’t doing it or exercising him enough. I can’t always get to him every day, having my hands full with Kenai, BB’s littermate. Now that the pool is open, though, it wipes out most of Mom’s excues: it’s too hot, I’m too tired to walk, I’m scared of snakes in the field… Yeah, we’ll probably have a new crop of excuses, but one batch at a time, right?
As for the typical torture of my 2 year old neice, BB is making improvements in his ability to handle the noise and suddenness of a small child. Again, I can’t get to his training every day, hoping and encouraging Mom to work with her puppy. Beebs the b-ratatouille can now quietly sit in the kitchen when Emily is at the table for meals, he can watch her playing in another room without getting upset, and he can watch her outside, too.
But Beebs cannot handle Emily running into the room to see him and Mom on the couch. It’s frightening to a timid dog, to be charged and looked at in the face. Em doesn’t know better, being only 2. My brother at least has learned to keep his daughter somewhere else most of the time, and to carry her or hold her hand so she doesn’t run ahead of him. I won’t leave BB stuck in his expen all weekend: it’s his home, and they are the visitors to his turf.
The “look at that” game has very much helped BB, but I have developed a new game for the gameboy: “watch this” game. During the week I will move quickly towards him and Mom when they are on the couch, and mimic my niece. Any time BB is quiet and stays, he gets a bounty of treats. It’s actually called a “relaxation protocol”, but I prefer games, and so does BB. This game is going to take longer, but we’ll keep at it.
Saturday, Emily caught me without any treats when she charged into the living room, trying to jump on the couch with Mom and BB. Of course, Beebs woke up and lost it, his barking and growling scaring the devil out of Em. Nothing settled him down, either. Those kind of setbacks are frustrating, but part of life.
So I got myself a bag of treats and kept in on me, like I should have in the first place. Later, while Mike was in the kitchen, Em did it again. But this time I saw her coming: I was up and had BB’s full attention before she got to them. “Look at that” prevented any barking or freaking out. Yay! Thankfully we also had the barrier up, so I didn’t have to insist Kenai hold his down stay… some days I need eyes in the back of my head.
The last time Em came, to say goodnight, I also saw her coming and put BB in his crate. He feels safe there, where she can’t touch him, toss toys at him, or get too close. And I wanted Em to give him the treats–if he can see her as a source of pleasurable things and food, it can change his fear of her. Her little fingers could reach just far enough for Beebs to get his treat, but he had to move towards her instead of backing away to get it.
It worked like a dream, just those two episodes where distraction and treats took his attention away from Em as a possible threat. The next morning Em was in the kitchen eating breakfast in her chair when Beebs got up, and he walked right up to her to say hello. He gave kisses, wagged his tail some, and laid down on the bed. I’m not fool enough to think he’s “cured” of the scare when she runs towards him, but my efforts obviously have affected his feelings towards her.
My biggest problem with the re-conditioning is actually my brother: he gets mad, gets a threatening attitude towards BB, and has even once hit him. I warned Mike after he hit him (I wasn’t there or it would have been a whopper of an explosive butt shredding) that the next time Beebs meets up with Em he will be far worse in his reaction for it: not only is Em scary to him, she is the cause of physical pain.
Sure enough, the next time BB didn’t bark, back away, or hide. He snapped at her, without warning at all. Mike sort of got the point, but I have no doubt at all that he would hit the boys when we aren’t there. So neither of our puppies are left at home when Mike is there. Please, Lord, let him get the idea that he will not be living here the rest of his life…
Even with all that, BB is doing better. What a good boy! Having spent so much of his puppyhood in hospitals, he’s a bit behind in the basic puppy lesson-learning department. He never was able to do alot of the puppy no-no stuff, so now that he is able, he’s got some behavioral oops. But he’s frighteningly smart, quick to please, and just a generally happy little boy. So he’ll be fine, our little boy.
BB the Game Boy…by Auntie Lisa
The Brother’s Grin, aka the red eyed monsters… 26 wks old
BB has another new game. He’s the local game boy, since he learns best when what you want is a game. We’ve had the touch footie game, the carry it game, the look at that game, the look at me game, the eat breakfast game… Well, he has a new game now: the footstool game.
His baby bottoms have gotten a bit heavy to boost onto the couch. He can do “feet up”, which means he gets his front end situated on the couch, but the back end needs a lift. And considering how he likes getting on and off the couch… it’s time he got all his lumps up by himself!
So Beebs has himself a footstool, and is learning the footstool game. He’s not really sure he likes it. Once he figures out he can do it all by himself, though, I bet he’ll drive us nuts with the ups and downs. And downs and ups. And downs agains…
We’re also looking at wide, low angle ramps that fold up, which he can use getting in and out of the car. He’s surely topped 70 pounds now, and I’m not much on Olympic dead lifting, especially when it wiggles, the little squirmy worm. He wants to leap out, like big bro. Did that once, and went splat. BB heap was slow to get up, and my heart rate was slow to normalize. So no repeats, please.
Beebs gets a break from the usual nightmarish weekend, since my niece is going to the lake with her other grandparents for the holiday. She came over for a few hours Sunday but no marathon this weekend. Everyone but my brother was glad for the respite. It’s been 12 weeks now.
And thank God, Mom stuck to her guns about Mike not bringing his own Dane to live here too. As if we don’t have enough of a circus. The attempts to get us to take her in started during week one of the invasion. I can’t imagine the insanity of feeding, exercising, and caring for 3 Danes all day every day. After 12 weeks, the idea is for him to move OUT, not bring more IN.
BB’s weekend was still a bit stressful, with all the fireworks going off. He’s a barker, and has gotten his bro started with the racing around barking! I’ve never allowed the charging rhino around here. Calmer is better. Once you know what the sound is, don’t bark at it. When it’s just Kenai, he looks, then returns to his bone. Put the Brother’s Grin together, and we get the “shush” practice. Oh BB, chill out, honey!
Speaking of practice, BB has his puppy school basics nailed now: sit, down, stay, come, and stand. He’s learning to do them with either words or hand signals, instead of both together. He has such fun with it. We do some two pup puppy school every day, mostly to break up the bite and smush games. But Thursday is his BIG day: practice and maybe learn a new trick for Mom.
It’s too hot now for him to go with her on the once a week errand day, at least until fall. So we work on whatever’s been giving her trouble: go to the bathroom rug (he’s scared of the shiney floor), walk up on the pool deck, stay when somebody runs up to him, don’t chew the leash, drop the sock…
Whatever it is, Beebster gets to be the star of the puppy show when she comes home. He bounces around like a puppy ping pong ball, wiggling his happy little banana butt, and soaks up the attention!
It kinda makes up for Mom being gone most of the day, since he misses her so, and keeps his mind entertained. Not to mention, makes him slightly more domesticated! That’s always a good thing.
