Poor puppy ... again!

Pepper started vomiting yesterday morning and lost his appetite (highly unusual for him). After he also got some bumps (hives) around his left eye I took him to the vet (after all, it was Saturday noon and they close at 2 for the weekend... perfect timing, as always). He got a steroid shot which helped the eye, and he was doing much better in the afternoon/evening (i.e. eating, walking, even a little play).

Over night, however, he threw up in his kennel, and when I let him out to clean it up he immediately went outside - nasty diarrhea. He drank some water but threw up almost immediately after. Since then he has been sleeping on the couch, no appetite whatsoever. Poor pooch. I hope he'll get better... Keeping a close eye on him.

And yes, he's cuddling with the elk and seems to enjoy its company (we even got a tail wag when I gave it to him!) - he's never done that before, he usually tries to tear stuffed toys apart.

UPDATE, 08/23/11:

After a rough Sunday we woke up to a dog with really, really bad diarrhea Monday morning, no appetite and no desire to drink either. So - another trip to the vet, more meds, an X-ray, and subcutaneous fluids in the evening (as he hadn't drunk anything the whole day). 

This finally seemed to help: He was already much better about 2-3 hours later (he ate a full 1/4 cup of food, yay!), and muchmuchMUCHmuch better Tuesday morning. The simple joy of watching a dog chomp down on his kibbles as if it's the BEST. FOOD. EVER! :) So far he's kept it down, fingers crossed.

In other news: Pepper's agility class started yesterday. I went without him as he was not well enough, which was not as much fun as it would have been with him, of course, but I think we'll have a blast. Can't wait to bring Pepper next week and see how he likes it! In the mean time, we're practicing our "touch my hand and/or that yoghurt lid" skills.

New bathroom sink

About a week ago or so we noticed that one of our bathroom sinks was leaking. Turns out the bottom of the bowl was rusted through! Dang. So after sharing the remaining sink for the last week we finally had the time to replace the leaky one. Some action shots are below (Jan did most of the work, I just snuck in briefly to get some credit ;) ).

Georgie after his dental cleaning

George got his teeth cleaned last Thursday. This is him a good 6 hours or so after - still quite wobbly on his feet. We had to keep him inside Pepper's old kennel for a while (he wanted to jump up onto things, and that just wasn't a good idea). Of course, he did not like that at all.

He was still a bit wobbly at around 9 pm but good enough to be let out of the kennel. He made his way safely to our bedroom and fell asleep on the floor.

Georgie

just because he is a very pretty kitty:

Poor pooch

Pepper got attacked in the dog park this morning. He's fine, thank goodness, but there were some intense moments.

Only one other dog was there when we arrived, and Pepper and that dog have played together before so I was not worried. They did some running and chasing and then went their separate ways; everything looked good. While Pepper was on his sniffing mission I was chatting with the owner and found out that she had several problems with her dog before (he attacked another dog the other day (!), he is possessive of a field where he likes to dig, etc., so a huge red flag went off right there). I decided to call Pepper and leave while things were ok. The other dog came as well. As I was praising Pepper for coming, the other dog started to charge him (jealousy?). The owner got him quickly, so nothing happened. I did not want to leave with this experience in mind, so I let Pepper go on another sniffing mission. Instead of holding on to her dog the other owner let her dog loose again, and that's when he decided to charge Pepper, who by then was peacefully sniffing the ground some steps away. Definitely unprovoked attack (he wasn't even looking at the other dog). Pepper was trying to get away, was on his back, was whining. It took me a few seconds (felt like minutes!) to get the other dog off him. Pepper did not bite back. He only barked twice at the dog once the other owner had her dog on the leash, and then sat right next to me, panting heavily but looking at me for guidance. He did an excellent job in reacting in the best way possible. What a great dog. 

The other dog's owner decided to leave at that point (good!). It took us a few moments to recover from this. Pepper was following me closely for a good five minutes. I made a point of sending him off to play (well, more like sniff as there were no other dogs there), just to make sure he leaves with a good feeling and doesn't resent the dog park from now on. 

Yeah, the pros and cons of the dog park. Another dog added to our list of dogs we want to avoid from now on...

Update 08/17/11: I ran into the same dog and owner this morning again. Thank goodness, they decided to stay in the smaller area. I talked with her a while, and she said that she is now seeking professional help to deal with the problem. Good. 

Fun in the dog park

Pepper was pretty antsy last night, despite an earlier dog park visit and a long walk in the evening. So, I took him to the dog park again in hopes of some fun canine interaction. I was not disappointed!

Here he's playing with Lexi (the smaller one) and Greta... and his beloved squeeky toy.

And this was taken toward the end. Both Greta and Pepper are a little tired here, but not yet willing to stop playing! Love how they share the toy.

Poor kitty!

So, turns out that Abby's fur loss on her legs is most likely not caused by stress (that's what one of the vets suspected in December (!) - I found that hard to believe anyways, her behavior had not changed and she didn't seem to be stressed) but by - drum roll - allergies. Yup. Another pet with allergies. That makes 3 out of 3. What are the chances...

And speaking of which, POOR ME for that matter! Turns out that I am allergic to ... oh... just about any grass, weed, and tree that grows in the valley. Except ash. Yay, one tree left to hug without sneezing :).

Oh, and did I mention that I am allergic to cats too? No kidding....

Poor puppy

Poor Pepper is battling with his allergies (pustules, itching). After a good month of some new food mixed into his old one his body decided to not like it. So for now: Back to the old one and lots of TLC for our pooch!