[Dailydrool] Rupert amputation, sleeping, and toads

[Opal-Deitering, Gaylene]

Rupert: A basset that doesn't eat for a day but pukes bile is a basset who may have a blockage.  GET THEE TO THE VET for and xray.  Rule out a blockage first, it could save his life.  Check him for socks, plastic, rocks, foam from the sofa, anything.  Also, keep a good eye on the color of his gums.  If they go pale, he has restricted blood flow and can have organ tissue start to die.  Better safe than sorry!

Amputation: My vet agrees with the person who posted about not amputating the front leg.  Get the dog on Ester C for a few  weeks and see how he does on that.  Maybe someone can send the original poster the link to the article from a few weeks ago.  I can't find it again, but putting my Clover on Ester C has greatly improved her movement and eased her pain.  Cutting off a body part should be a last resort, and then a cart should be provided to ease the suffering that the added stress will put on the other leg.  A long legged dog can compensate waaaayyy better than a short legged one.  BTW, we had a 3 legged schnauzer who lived to 19 with no difficulties, until she ended up with congestive heart failure.  Her shortened limb was in the back, and was gone below the hock, so she could still
balance with it when necessary.  Happy and active until the end.

Sleeping: None of my dogs sleeps in the bed with me, I find all the dog hair disgusting when I sleep, and the possibility of TICKS is just too gross for me.  I do hug and smoosh them all the time, clean things out of their mouths, and I am one of those people who doesn't care about the hair in the rest of the house.  Vacuum the fur bunnies? heck, we name them!  On the practical side of it, I don't like the idea of dogs A. interfering with what little intimacy that my husband and I share, B. feeling dominant and expressing dominance over the others, especially since I have 6 and there is no way that they could all sleep in the bed.  C. Did I mention Ticks? D. I fart enough to kill anything with its nose under the covers! E. Vet bills from spine injured dogs are very high.  My dogs aren't allowed on the furniture. F. Did I mention Ticks? G. I need some place where my work clothes can be safe from all the hair, and the bedroom is it!

Toads:  Clover thinks they are crunchy and delicious.  She has carried live ones in the house and let them go.  She apparantly doesn't eat the big ones tho, because Howard the House Toad spent a couple of weeks coming up the ramp into the back sliding glass door, until I removed him to the garden.  Nobody much bothered him, and he would be on the ramp with 3 dogs prancing over his head.  Its a wonder he didn't become Howard the FLAT toad.  I don't recommend letting the dog eat them, because they do have a toxin in their skin that can have a bad effect on them over time.  So far, Clover doesnt' seem to show any signs of problems, and she mostly ate them when she was pregnant.  All the pups came out just fine.


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