Nightmare's seizures

I have so much to catch up! Let me tell you about Nightmare's seizures and how we are managing them.

The first seizure

The first time it happened, I was upstairs and my husband called me to come quickly because Nightmare was having a seizure. She had never had one before, but it was unmistakable. She was on her side, her legs spasming involuntarily, as if she were trying to swim, and she was drooling. We held her head to avoid her hitting it and wiped her mouth. It was thankfully over in about a minute or so.

We of course rushed her to the vet. He examined her and sent us to give her a head CAT scan As you might remember, she had had a deeply infected wound on her forehead when we found her.

The diagnosis and treatment

We went and did the tomography (that was a huge ordeal, I was the one to go in with her and Nightmare doesn't like to be handled and held). The results didn't show much, nothing we were afraid of, such as a tumor, but there was some liquid accumulated.

That is the fluid buidup

We showed our vet the results and he concluded it wasn't epilepsy, but maybe high pressure in her brain that was causing her the seizures.

He gave us some supplements for circulation and told us to be careful that her gums wouldn't turn purple, which meant she wasn't getting enough oxygen. We wouldn't have to worry about her swallowing her tongue as with humans, in fact, he advised against putting our hands in her mouth, as she could clench her jaws and hurt us.

If the situation worsened, he would prescribe her some epilepsy medication.

The seizures become more frequent

Over the next few months, even with the meds, Nightmare still had seizures, more and more often, even twice in one day.

We went to the vet again and he decided to start on the epilepsy medicine for dogs.

The seizures stop

We were giving her three types of pills every day at this point, but she was a good girl and took it. To avoid shoving the pills down her throat, we put them between two layers of cream or yoghurt and she ate them right up.

And it really showed an improvement. The epilepsy pills completely suppressed the seizures and she hasn't had one in many months now.

The vet stopped one of the supplements and even if it costs us quite a bit each month, we are happy she is feeling ok.

Snoooooore!

Bad doggie!

The past week, doggie has become uncontrollable towards me. I know everyone will jump with an explanation, but I really have none.

Spoiled? PMS-ing? Jealous? I don't know...
 

Evil doggie sample.

It seems that, when the three of us are in one room, she's an angel. She plays nicely, eats, sleeps, occasionally steals a slipper or sock. Some people would argue Aschiuta can't even bark. She's the friendliest doggie in the world and wouldn't bite anyone.

Except for me, of course. As soon as Scorp goes out of the house (which he has done every evening for the past week trying to get a business deal), the little angel turns into a little devil with sharp teeth and loud barks.

I'm sorry to say I can't really do anything about it and I've tried a lot of good advice.

I'm sure it's probably all my fault, and she's always been a bit insensible towards me but how could I fix things?

"The dog ate my homework"

The oldest excuse in the book, right? "The dog ate my homework" is a classic excuse for a missing homework the next day at school. The interesting part is that it's entirely plausible.

The manual paper shredder

Aschiuta loves to shred paper. Tissues, toilet paper, random pieces of paper lying around are doomed to be torn to pieces by this little paper shredder. One day, when we came home from an evening out, we saw that she had also torn pages off a book in the bookcase. The book was about Mathematics, so I totally agree with her choice.

"This is my paper. Get your own!"

 

The terminator doggie

Recently, I have been wondering what to do about her chewing habits, especially when she's home alone. She has chewed parts of the bed and couch and also the table legs. If there are any objects that look interesting, especially made of plastic or rubber, she would chew them. Even the cables have felt the sting of her fangs, as you can read in my post Spaghetti? Yes, please, with meatballs!

We have several chew toys for her, including a nice new one from Scorp's mom, but she barely looks at them. Instead of letting her chew on the furniture and other things, I had to give her a more interesting alternative. And, cheap, since we're both kind of out of jobs.

I actually had the idea of making her stuffed toys out of old rags and cotton, but Scorp argued I shouldn't use cotton, so I was still wondering what else to do.

Confetti is the way to go!

Somehow, she gave us the answer herself. While we were out one day, she found a couple of old notepads and tore the papers out. We were happy to know she didn't even bother destroying anything else.

Working on that confetti.

 

Since then, we've been out three times and every time, I would leave some pieces of paper at the edge of the table, in a handy position. When we came home, the papers would be shredded and the doggie happy.

I'm glad we have a safer alternative for her chewing madness, at least for a while.

Leaving the scene of the crime.

Spaghetti? Yes, please, with meatballs!

Sometimes, you have to learn the hard way, if there is no other way. Aschiuta did too and I hope she will stay far away from cables, shoelaces and spaghetti. Well, at least from cables.

The low-roof oasis

It all started this summer, when she was a lot smaller and still learning about life and its many dangers. She also learned that there were such things as internet cables. And she found them delicious.

The good thing was that she never got shocked by them, even if she chewed and chewed. The bad news is... well, you can imagine it. Scorp had to repair the cables over and over again.

At the same time, the summer was a hot and scorching one (as all summers in the tropical Romania are) and poor Aschiuta was overheating, with all our attempts at cooling her off. One day, she decided that it might be a lot cooler under the bed. And so, she would crawl under there, go all the way to the corner and nap.

Cable proofing number 1

Of course, after a nap, she would get hungry and the handiest thing she could find was the roll of spare internet cable that we had tucked under the bed so we wouldn't trip on it. After many such "snacks", Scorp finally decided he'd had enough of patching wires and we'd have to barricade the bed. He used an old carton box and artificial snow (the kind found inside the carton boxes, keeping the monitor or computer safe from damage), lots of double-sided tape... Well, you can imagine the rest. But she never got through it again.

 

The view from the inside after pulling the mattress aside. You can admire the masterwork on the left. The green and yellow is the end of a patched cable.

That was wire doggie-proof number 1.

Cable proofing number 2

Number 2 was when she noticed the wires coming out from behind the bookcase and out through the edge of the door. She subsequently began to munch on those.

We weren't short of ideas, as you might find out. We put a chair that would block the access to the wires. It was rather tricky, because we had to close the door at the same time. It did hold pooch back for a while. But only for a while.

 

Notice the chair blocking the wires. Hmm, who might the puffy green cow slippers belong to?

 

And number 3...

So, Scorp had to get the tools out again and patch up and barricade these wires too. With a lot of scotch tape.

Aschiuta, curious about the new decoration, decided to rip a piece off. Unfortunately for her, the piece she ripped revealed some naked tv cable. A jump and a small yelp and she never touched it again.

And that was the story about our efforts to get ahead of doggie's wire chewing and how she eventually learned her lesson... Poor silly pooch, good thing it was a very light zap.

Beauty is in the teeth of the beholder

Aschiuta most likely thinks I have great taste. Why else would she chew on my phones, my darts and my hair scrunchie? It's her way of telling me that she too shares my good taste in technology and accessories. And also that they taste good.

Phony excuses for chewing

I can't bring myself to understand why, all of a sudden, she grabbed my phones (first my nice expensive phone, then its cheaper replacement) and chewed them? My phone has always sat nicely on the nightstand or laptop table, happily unnoticed and unchewed.
 

"I can see the charger. Where did you hide that phone?"

 
Now, it seems she just can't part with it. I'm at the third phone now and I'm sure that if I left it within reach, she would devour it in the blink of an eye. That's why I keep it high out of her reach.

Duck à l'orange?

And my darts? They often stay on the laptop table, but today I went to feed the neighbour dog and when I was back, one of the shafts was chewed at the end and one of my new flights destroyed. I'd just changed the flights today, proud that the new ones worked a lot better (and were more stylish, with a duck on them). I even played a few games. Scorp did too and his darts were just a few centimeters away from mine on the table. What drove her to pick mine? Does she perhaps like duck?

All I can do now is keep a constant eye on her and keep any plastic item (with or without ducks) away from the little chewer. Especially if it's something of mine. I do have good taste, after all.

Pooch away on holiday

We sent Aschiuta off to a dog hotel today. It was just on the spur of the moment, since we didn't think we'd have the money to go to a big darts competition. However, a couple of good friends offered to help us out, so here we are, about to go away for a couple of days... without Aschiuta.

Aschiuta... home alone

We have never been away from home for an entire day since we got Aschiuta and even a few hours alone would make her sad, anxious and bored. And what does Aschiuta do when she's bored? She chews on things. Lately, her newest obsession has been the headboard, which is made of wood and her teeth almost wouldn't want to part with it. Unfortunately, she also chews on wires sometimes and after she got a small shock from the TV cable, we were hoping she'd learned her lesson about not biting thin long plastic things. Yesterday though, she chewed on other, more dangerous cables connecting Scorp's monster sound system. We don't want to take any chances.
 

Even with the great new toy, wood is still yummier for Aschiuta. Hence her name.

 
Doggiesitting mom

I originally asked mom to doggiesit, but she was going out of town for the weekend too. After finally agreeing to take care of the crazy pooch, we had second thoughts. Yes, we can't trust mom with taking care of Aschiuta. She lives with us, but stays far away from her and has never walked her. She even insists on giving the doggie away to my grandpa, which we vehemently refuse.

Five star hotel? Does it have a jacuzzi?

We searched around on the internet and found a few dog hotels that offered nice accommodations, with a small indoor space for each dog that had heating through the floor. Which is in my opinion perfect for a dog (I'll tell you more about this later). They offered to walk her 2 or 3 times a day and I'm pretty sure Aschiuta will be comfortable there. We sent her the blanket on the bed, food, treats, her toys, even "how to" instructions in her medical dossier. She also loves meeting new people and dogs, so if the caretaker will become friends with her, I hope she won't miss us... too much.

Maybe the blankie will make her feel more like home.

Missing silly pooch already

However, waiting to hop in the car and leave, we can't help missing her already. Nobody to greet us at the door. Nobody to jump and run around my legs and sniff everything in sight. We can leave the door open without the blonde hurricane darting out.

Hope she'll be ok there. Take care Aschiuta!

Fun with doggie - Games and Toys

Doggies are a lot like children. They like to play and have a lot of fun. Aschiuta is the perfect example for this. Ever since she was a small puppy, she has been very energetic and growing older hasn't changed that at all.

Toys

Since I said dogs love to play, I should also add that they really like toys, just like children do. A new toy is always a reason of joy. That could also mean that your dog might get bored of old toys. So, here is where you need to outsmart them: make old toys seem new again. Invent new games to be played with them or rotate toys. You will have a happy dog if you do that.

There are many toys for dogs on sale, such as ropes, rubber chew toys, "pinatas" with food inside, balls, frisbees and tug toys. Of course, if you don't have a lot of money, there are always alternatives to the shop offers.

For chewing, we use a lot of harmless and even nutritious things. Check out the post on chewing for more info on what we give our dog to chew on.In short, Aschiuta has several socks, shoelaces, a rubber toy that squeaks and a rope as toys. For eating, we give her carrots, cowhide bones (used to, but not anymore), beef meat on the bone (watching so she doesn't eat the actual bone, it's dangerous).

The rope, shoelaces and socks are also used for games like tug-of-war and to make the doggie jump up to catch them from our hands.

And of course, the favourite toy of all is the tennis ball. She loves to play catch with it. We are currently at our second tennis ball, since the first one disintegrated after being chewed and played with a bit too much. All the balls before (made of foam primarily) disintegrated even faster, so we thought a more solid ball would be in order.

Aschiuta with her tennis ball

Games

Now, toys wouldn't be too interesting if they weren't played with. The topic of games is really vast and dogs can be taught to play quite a number of games.

First of all, there are games that need no toys. They are as simple as running around with your dog, chasing it or letting it chase you. Scorp's mom told me that when he was little, their dog taught him to play tag.
 

Aschiuta also loves to run and we've lately found out the best way of getting her back in the room after she dashes out: run away from her and let her chase us inside. It is also a good way to catch a dog that is trying to run off on its own. If you run after the dog, it will think you want to play chase and it will just run away from you.

Another game to play without toys is wrestling. I wouldn't recommend this game to just anyone, since dogs have teeth and claws and use them when they play. But it can be good fun for both you and your dog.

Now, for games with toys...

The most popular game to play with your dog is fetch. You throw an object (such as a ball or frisbee) and the dog has to catch it and bring it back. This practice is also closely related to hunting with a dog, as hunting dogs are trained to fetch the game the master kills.

Notice the concentrated look... She means business!

It is also important to teach your dog to bring things to you, to save you time and energy running after it to get them back when your little pet turns into a little thief.

Aschiuta learned to play fetch all on her own. It's one of the mysteries of the dog's mind. Maybe she just wanted to keep playing and understood that, for the ball to be thrown again, she'd have to bring it back to us. She also brings us toys when she wants us to play with her; it can be really hard to do any work when she does.
 

Here is my home-made video of Aschiuta as a puppy playing with us. Enjoy.

Tug-of-war is also a popular game and lots of toys have been invented for this purpose. We use the socks, shoelaces and rope. She will grab hard on one end and skid on the slippery wooden floor, but she really wouldn't give up easily. If we don't play with her, she starts mopping the floor with the poor sock.

These are just a few of the most well-known games to play with your dog. The rules of playing are simple: be creative, have fun and stay safe. You can act silly for your dog, jump around and behave like a little kid - your dog will love it!

Playmates

Yes, you play with your dog, but you can also let your dog play with other people or even other dogs (careful about fights, possible diseases or dogs in heat). Let your dog socialise and play; it's good fun for dogs to make friends. Aschiuta would want to play with every person or dog we meet.

The game environment

One more thing to add here is that where you play a game can also be quite important. For example, Aschiuta loves grass and simply going out in general. She feels free and loves to run - she is almost unstoppable in the grass. We went to Brasov (a city close to the mountains) and she went really wild there.

Exploring the great outdoors

All in all, go ahead and play with your dog. You will most likely both enjoy it.

When the cat's away...

... the mice get separation anxiety.

This post doesn't deal with cats and mice, but with people and their pet dogs. In a past article, To chew or not to chew..., I discussed some of the chewing habits of dogs. One cause that I failed to mention then was owners leaving their dogs home alone. It is a real emotional problem for the dog, who feels abandoned and forgotten. You know how little kids cry on their first day of kindergarten "I want my mommy!"? Your dog would say the same thing when you leave it all alone.

I would also like to link to an article in the Dog Training Classroom, where you can find more details about this issue.

Why is the dog anxious?

Like I've said before, all dogs have different personalities and some might simply be prone to anxiety and insecurity. We can also mention trauma... A dog that has been abandoned once by its pack will be afraid you will do the same, even if you're only leaving to get groceries.

How does this anxiety manifest?

In short, the dog will cling to you when you leave or come back. While you're away, don't be surprised if your dog starts stealing and destroying your things. Most "potty accidents" happen when the dog is left on its own.

Scorp and I also have this problem with Aschiuta. He goes to work almost every day and I stay at home most of the time. When he leaves, she is upset, but not too much, because I'm still around. But when I leave too, it's the end of the world for doggie. We often find things chewed and spread all over the floor and the bed. She chews anything that she can reach: some toys in a shelf, my jewelery, newspapers and lately even a book.

We usually leave her on the balcony, because there are less things to chew on and it's easy to clean if she makes a mess. But one evening, when it was colder, I asked my mom to open the door for her and let her inside. When we came back, disaster... and she hadn't soiled the room's floor for a long while. It seems that the poor dog had a double shock. First we leave the house, then my mom lets her in, only to leave her alone as well.

I still often worry when I leave her alone in the room... This separation anxiety seems to work both ways.

What can be done?

The site I linked to gives a number of ideas and tricks to make it easier for your dog to cope with separation. Mainly, your dog needs to know that you will come back every time.

"Where are you going?"

Don't make a big fuss about leaving and coming back. Aschiuta is all over us when we come home and it's really hard to ignore her, but it has to be done. Also, to get the dog used to the idea of coming and going, do it often and for short periods of time as a training session.

"She is such a good doggie when she's sleeping!" we often say. A tired dog has less energy to destroy things and is likely to nap while you are gone. Playing or walking will help get your dog tired and also in a better mood.

All in all, I hope this little article will help you have a happier dog. I will also try and see how Aschiuta will fare. And remember, patience is the way to go.

To chew or not to chew...

Sock thief in the news. Click to enlarge.

"Come back with that sock!" "Stop chewing on the wires!" "Oh, no, not my favourite earrings!"

If you're a dog owner, you're probably used to saying things like these.

I myself, as the proud owner of a crazy sock thief, say them all day long.

But what drives doggies to steal and chew and make a mess?

Usually, it's boredom. A dog will steal things and play with them. Your brand-new cell phone is just another fun toy for it. Ever noticed the "Wow, look what I found! Great toy!" look on your dog's face, even when you are absolutely furious at having your best and most expensive things chewed on?

We also have the case of itchy gums. Puppies change their teeth when they are about 3 months old and all the process will drive your doggie crazy. They can't help trying to chew on your sofa trying to relieve the itch.

Yes, I've seen them both. I'm also keeping the teeth I could find in a small box, along with bite marks on the legs and corners of tables and sofas. Needles to say, she still likes her lumber, as her name suggests. Old habits die hard.

What can be done about these habits?

Give your dog chew toys, go out and exercise and keep the temptations out of sight. It really helps to play with your dog to calm it down when it gets overexcited and rebellious.

Experts say that discipline is crucial. When your dog is chewing on something it shouldn't, firmly say the usual restrictive word (I use "no") and give them a suitable alternative. Be creative.

For instance, Scorp gave our doggie an old sock (and now she loves all socks) and old shoelaces. We also have a thick rope with rubber handles from the pet store. However, if you use cloth or rope, be careful of falling threads - they aren't so good on the stomach. Another fun toy she has is an old rubber toy with an air valve that makes it squeak when you squeeze it. All are good for chewing.

If you want edible chew material, pet stores offer "cowhide bones". We have also heard that you can feed your dog raw bones (particularly beef), but you must be careful; if the bone proves too brittle, it's better to take it away. One good idea I found while browsing the internet was giving your dog a carrot instead of a bone. Aschiuta really likes them.

Is chewing good for anything?

The answer is yes. Chewing is the best way for your dog to clean its teeth. You can't expect a dog to start flossing or brush their teeth to remove plaque and bacteria.

On another note, take into consideration how dangerous chewing some things can be for your dog. Mine tried all materials and all objects, from wood to concrete and from socks to jewelery. It's not just your things that have to suffer, it could be the dog too. Check for toxic substances and sharp or brittle objects and don't hesitate to contact your vet if your dog has health issues.

So the answer is to chew... on the right stuff.