[Dailydrool] Gotta vent, eating, peeing

[Jane Hay]

Every year it happens....I live in the south and I find at least one dog
left in a hot care every summer and call 911 to report it. We have a local
law that says it's illegal to leave your dog in the car but it's never
enforced. So the DH and I are loading groceries into our car and this idiot
woman pulls up in a black car, opens the windows a couple of inches and
leaves her little dog in the car. It was mid 70's but the sun was blazing
and any idiot knows how hot a car gets (especially a black one!) even with
the windows down. So I told her very nicely that it really is too hot to
leave her dog in the car. She informed me that she knew what she was doing,
she had had eight dogs and the dog would be just fine and went on into the
store. Well, we waited to make sure she came out quickly and she actually
did but I thought I was going to have to make my first call of the season
to 911. I would have given her a few more minutes before I called the
police but, fortunately, she really did just run in and come back out.
People think they're giving their dog a treat by letting them come with
them for a ride but it's not fun for a dog to suffer from heat exhaustion
in a hot car! It just makes me so darn mad that people are that stupid! I
need to take some lessons from Marlene so I can be more aggressive in
situations like that!

Riche, try some smelly cat food on your dog's kibble and see if that helps.
Shadow is our problem child and we have to get creative here to get her to
eat. Right now we're dicing up cheap hot dogs into her kibble and that's
working. We've done cat food, bullion, diced ham, diced chicken,
gravy.....you get the idea. It seems like we have to switch things up
periodically to keep her interested in eating. We've also used sharp cheese
to get her to eat. It seems like the smellier, the better.

Our Suzy is incontinent and just had a steroid shot for her ears so you can
imagine what it's like here. Fortunately, I'm home most of the time so I
keep track of when she gets a drink and let her out after about 20 minutes
or we'd have a puddle someplace in the house. I do actually put the water
up around 8 PM and she goes out at the last minute before I go to bed. I
also have her confined to her "bedroom" which is a full bathroom off from
our family room where the rest of the Houndettes sleep. I have to wash her
bedding fairly often and now even more frequently after the steroids.
Honestly, if I had an older hound who just can't make it through the night
without having an accident, I'd be using the puppy pads. No one wants to
encourage their dog to do that regularly but, in the case of a senior hound
or one who has an issue, at least the mess is confined to a specific spot
and easier to clean up.

I've already sent a note to Chris privately but I know every one on this
list worries that their hound is going to bloat at some time or another.
Debbie gave us all a heartbreaking description of what she went through
with Elder Clara and I know that Chris' experience with Daisy Mae was just
as bad. Chris is one of the most hound savvy people that I know and she
still got fooled by Daisy's symptoms so make sure you know what the
general symptoms of bloat are. There are a number of resources online that
have lots of information on bloat if you aren't sure of the usual signs and
symptoms. Make sure you know where the closest emergency vet is located and
have their number in your phone so you can call while you're on the
way. And make sure your whole family or anyone caring for your hounds knows
what to look for. Bloat is something that none of my hounds has ever
experienced and I'm praying that they never will!

The Houndettes are sending heart healing and get well drool to all in need.

Jane & the Houndettes
Jersey, Shadow, Suzy & Ginger
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