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!

The runs!

Sorry for not writing in a while, we do have some catching up to do. Let me tell you about Aschiuta's tummy problems...

I think it was last spring or summer when we had to go away without the dogs. When that happens, we leave them at a dog hotel that we had been leaving Aschiuta at before. The owner is a vet and Aschiuta had always been very comfortable there. He even spayed her.

But this time, the vet didn't have time to take care of the dog hotel full time himself like he did before, so he didn't take in many guests. But since we were repeat clients and he was fond of Aschiuta, he took the girls in.

One of the sad parts of dog hotels is that some owners drop their dogs there and never go back for them. The vet was kind hearted though and kept those dogs along, as permanent guests. So there were a lot of barks when we dropped the girls off.

Since the vet was very busy, the caretaker, who was an older man (I think it was his father) was going to take care of Aschiuta and Nightmare as well. We dropped some food, toys and a couple of blankets and left the doggies at the hotel.

Nightmare was also to be spayed during that time. She recovered ok, however she did have a small bump around the stitches which was solved with antibiotics. At this point, our usual vet believed there should be a longer period of antibiotics than the dog hotel vet.

All in all, when we returned, we picked up the doggies. I'm not sure (here is where writing about this sooner would have helped), but I think they did say Aschiuta had softer stools and to take care of that.

And indeed, Aschiuta had a very upset tummy and very loose and frequent stools. We had to run out every couple of hours and sometimes she didn't even manage to reach our usual bushes. We were still living in the old apartment back then, so I did my share of cleaning the building staircase and even outside on the alley pavement. Poor little one!

We phoned the vet at the hotel and he did say that the dogs had received some other kind of food after the one we brought had run out. But it was decent quality food that all the dogs ate without issues. But Aschiuta is a bit more sensitive.

We also called our regular vet and he prescribed Smecta, which is a medicine used to treat diarrhoea in humans. He said to put the medicine in her water and make her drink. She drank some of it (it was the vanilla flavoured kind) and I must say it actually worked. She got better very soon after. I think this whole ordeal lasted a couple of days and I was desperate. It is a good thing that she didn't have any other symptoms. Talk about a miracle cure! And I definitely don't believe in that sort of stuff.

Our vet sure has a few tricks up his sleeve. He has also prescribed activated charcoal (also a brand for humans) when I was afraid the doggies had swallowed some raisins. You must know that grapes and raisins should not be given to dogs. Some dogs eat several without issues, while others have serious problems because of just one. Luckily, our poochies hadn't actually eaten any. I also gave Aschiuta charcoal when she ran away from home and dumpster dove around the supermarket nearby. Just for precaution, the charcoal is supposed to absorb any bad chemicals my crazy pooch must have eaten.

I didn't eat nuttin'!

I hope you have such attentive and resourceful vets too and may you and your pets stay healthy!

Operation Nightmare

Continuing with our Nightmare story...

We were scheduled to go to the vet with her to get some tissue samples under anaesthesia.

We arrived there very early in the morning, when the doctor and the nurses were just having tea. The vet seemed very confident but we were apprehensive because of the sedative and also her infection...

The doctor and a nurse got ready and took the dog in one of the back rooms for the surgery and we were asked to wait in the waiting room. Of course we asked to join her as moral support, but we were politely asked not to.

My husband said he would go to a shop a few streets away to take out money from the ATM machine and also buy a few snacks. I waited patiently, tried to read, stare at the walls, make small talk with the older nurse, but I just couldn't concentrate. It was taking too long. The surgery and my husband's trip. Although my watch was telling me otherwise. I should know, I stared at it every other minute. Luckily, the older nurse was allowed to peek into the back room, so she checked and told us the dog was safely sedated and didn't show any problems.

My husband was finally back and we waited together, sampling some ridiculous "fruit water" he had found at the shop. The surgery really was taking too long.

After about two hours or so, the older nurse came in to tell us the doctor was stitching up the dog's forehead and she would be awake soon.

When the doctor came out, we bombarded him with questions. He had in fact cleaned out the infection completely, so it should heal without any more medication. He had also taken the tissue samples and would send them to a laboratory. He was very optimistic about the black dog.

We asked if we could go see her. He said yes, so we hurried to the room. She was lying on the floor, crying and trembling. She was trying to move, but her muscles were no help. Her pupils were dilated and I doubt she was able to see anything. My husband said her hearing sensitivity was most likely also heightened. We stayed with her, petting her, holding her and preventing her from hurting herself.

She gradually stopped whining and her pupils adjusted. She was eventually able to lift her head, then stand up.

Meanwhile, my husband went to the front to pay, when he realised he had forgotten to take out the money from the ATM. He had taken the card back but not the money.

The vet needed cash for the lab tests because he had to pay them in cash too, so we drove back to the shop (it was the closest ATM) and we took out more cash. He was also able to confirm with the shop manager that nobody had taken the money and the machine had retrieved the bills.

We hurried back to the vet and I waited in the car while my husband went to pay and fetch the dog. When he came back, he said the vet had undercharged us - we pair only the lab tests and the anaesthesic (probably less than the normal fee). He had insisted to pay more (we are not short on money anymore), but the vet would not have any of it. He had also taken to the gentle black dog.

My husband afterwards sent the vet a couple of small gifts to thank him for helping us with the dog. I also included a couple of tatted trinkets for the nurses.

The test results were in shortly and turned out fine, so the black dog should have no complications. We would still need to take care of her head and make her wear a protective collar, but she was going to be OK.

Our dear little Frankenstein's monster having breakfast in bed.

Tough treatment

Time for a new episode of Nightmare's tale!

If you remember, we had returned from the visit to Brasov and the black dog from her stay at the vet's.

I was going to be a nurse again. I bought gauze and oxygenated water and would clean the dog's infection every morning and evening, or even more often if I was home. She also received an antibiotic pill twice a day, which I shoved down her throat. Just like Aschiuta, she was not very keen about the taste of medicine. I don't blame them, I'm not either.

We eventually ran out of antibiotics and went back to the vet. The infection was still not waning and the vet sent us to a radiology clinic, to give her an X-ray.

My husband went in there with her (it wouldn't have been good to irradiate us both when one was enough to hold her). He told me how she squirmed and tried to run away, so a lot of the photos had more of his hand than her forehead.

We got the photos by mail soon afterwards and also sent them to our vet. It was obvious the infection had eroded the bone to her sinuses on the left side of her head. There was also no foreign object, which would have made the healing process a lot easier.

Notice the colour difference in the middle.

We were concerned about the situation, but the vet assured us that it wasn't that bad and that she was going to be fine in the end. If all else failed, he could operate and clean up the infection.

The next step would be to get some samples from the wound to make sure there was no extra pathogen or fungus that might cause bigger issues for her. The procedure was simple, but he would have to sedate her. And he didn't have the safer gas sedation that we preferred. We were slightly apprehensive about the anaesthesia, since there were small chances it would affect her mentally... or worse.

Nightmare's stay at the vet

I am back with another installment of the Nightmare tale...

If you remember, we had left the black dog at the vet's and left to Brasov.

We were supposed to only stay for 5 days, as promised. But we had a call with the clinic and they were asking us to try to pick her up faster.

It seems she didn't take well to having to stay in the cage and was making a lot of noise at night. She was crying very loudly and the vet and his family couldn't rest properly. The clinic is actually a part of their house.

We considered asking a friend to go get her, but it was not feasible. The big black dog had a problem with walking too far on foot. So we went home a little earlier and picked her up.

Other than the noise at night, she had felt right at home. She enjoyed sitting on the scale, got used to asking to go out and in and was very friendly with everyone.

We took her back home, along with more antibiotics... It seemed the infection on her forehead was not going to go away so fast. We had to bring in the heavy artillery...

A new hope

This is another episode in the tale about Nightmare.

You might remember that we were going to leave the town for about a week and nobody to leave the new black dog with. At the last minute, a young couple agreed to adopt her. We met with them at the vet and they asked to take her the next day, but promised that they would not back out. So we went back home, half hopeful, half worried.

The same evening, we got a message from them saying they wouldn't be able to take the dog in. They were worried about giving her the antibiotics and about their other dog and... Well, you know, excuses.

The next day we kept trying to find her a new family. Someone said they found a lost dog post on a private group and the dog resembled our girl. They told us to check if she answered to the name Sara. I tried but she didn't budge. I also tried a few other popular names for black dogs or dogs in general, but still no recognition. The person asking about the dog named Sara never got back to us when we asked for more info.

My husband and I tried to find a solution, but nothing was feasible on such short notice and for so many days. Eventually, we remembered that the vet was keeping some cats over for treatment and supervision. Maybe he would be willing to take the dog in too?

I called the clinic and pleaded with one of the nurses to take the black dog in for a few days. I was hoping that, since we were somewhat loyal customers (with Aschiuta), they wouldn't believe we would abandon her there. And also everyone at the clinic had taken a liking to the sweet black girl.

The vet was not in, so the nurse would call him and then call me back. Brrr, the waiting was driving me nuts. She called soon after and said that normally they only take in small dogs or cats and only for treatment, but they knew we were in a tight spot, so they would make an exception. We would of course pay for her stay and they would only keep her for 5 days. We were very happy.

We drove the dog there the next day and then left for Brasov, hoping that the black doggie would be a good girl.

A new family for Nightmare

Back to our Nightmare story...

As I mentioned before, we were only going to take care of the big black dog until we could find her a home. We also had a trip to Brasov coming up for a darts tournament and a mini holiday, so we had to get her adopted fast. Those who have rescued animals and tried to find them new homes and families will understand why "adopted fast" is a contradiction of terms... We were also still hoping that her former owners hadn't been the ones to give her the wound on her head and that they would be willing to take her back.

My husband took it upon himself to post an announcement on the lost and found pets Facebook group in our area. Our friends also helped to spread the word and we also checked all the lost black dog posts we could find on the internet. Our searches unfortunately didn't turn out any leads towards the former owners.

This is the photo on the Facebook announcement.

A few people answered the announcement and tried to give ideas or opinions or suggest other lost dog sites to check. We had almost lost hope and were wondering if we should leave the dog back on the street, but really hoping we wouldn't have to do that... My husband and I lost a lot of sleep worrying again.

But then something unexpected happened. Someone contacted my husband saying they were looking to adopt a second dog and would like to take the black dog in. We were both so happy that we wouldn't have to abandon the sweet doggie. We made arrangements with the future new owners to meet at the vet, where we would have the dog checked.

We took the dog by car (here are some car safety tips, if you are interested) and she acted like she had been in one a hundred times before. She was actually less nervous than Aschiuta in the car and wasn't even sick. It made us think she had been on such trips before.

The new owners would arrive a bit after us, so we went in with the dog to have the vet check her. She made friends with the nurses there and seemed to like sitting on the scale.

The vet first scanned her for a microchip, as it is required by law for them to contact the owner if she had had one installed. There was none though, which didn't mean much, because some people never take their pets to the vet and thus don't give them a microchip.

He then started palpating her to check for any hidden problems and also cleaned and felt the wound on her forehead. The new owners also came in, just in time to see him prodding and checking, with the doggie barely showing any reaction. She seemed very tame and never even had any intention of biting or struggling, not even whimpering.

The doctor recommended antibiotics for the infection and said that the dog looked ok otherwise. He also checked her teeth and mentioned they were very worn for her age. Apparently she was young (probably younger than Aschiuta) but had been chewing on something very tough.

The new owners, a young couple, were sitting shyly in a corner. The woman even seemed a bit scared and only touched the dog very lightly after the vet proved the dog would not harm her at all. They also commented that the dog was larger than they had thought and were skeptical about the vet's evaluation about the dog's age.

We also found out that they would be keeping the dog at their new house that was being built and wouldn't be able to go see her too much. When the vet said that someone would have to give the dog antibiotics every morning and evening (orally, of course), they were afraid that the workers at the house wouldn't want to do that.

There was also the problem of their other dog, who was apparently very energetic and they were afraid the two would fight if unsupervised.

All in all, our faith dwindled and we didn't believe they would want to take the dog in anymore. They insisted however that they wouldn't back out on their word, but asked us to meet again the next day so they can take the dog.

My husband insisted that we would pay for the check-up and the medicine the vet had given us and the couple left. The vet had been very open and encouraging about the dog, "advertising" her as much as he could to them, but afterwards admitted that he believed they would back out. We felt the same way, but decided to give those people a chance. They were pretty much our only hope. We were supposed to leave town in a couple of days...

Car safety for furry passengers

I mentioned car safety accessories in my last post. Traveling can be stressful enough as it is for pets, but we also need to think of their safety. I will talk here about accommodations for dogs to travel by car, since we haven't needed much extra protection when going by train and we have not been on a plane or boat yet with our poochies.

Welcome dear furry passengers! Please buckle your seat belts and keep all your paws and noses inside the vehicle at all times!

Seat belt for dogs? Yes, they exist and we have two of them and use them every time we take our dogs for a car ride. They are pretty simple to use. One side plugs into the car seat belt buckle, the other is a clasp to attach to the harness of the dog.

We always keep two of these handy in our car.*

It is important to use a harness instead of a collar, since in the case of an accident the impact could be quite forceful and harm the dog's neck. The harness distributes the force better. I also saw some vests that can work instead of the usual harness, those seem much more comfortable. Of course, they should only travel in the back seat.

I have also seen some sort of harness seat belts for dogs, similar to the ones used in toddlers' car seats. The dog is strapped in completely, almost standing on its hind legs, with its back against the back seat backrest. It looks very safe, however I doubt Nightmare (or even Aschiuta) would be very comfortable in one, sine they are a bit bigger than your average toddler...

Now, regarding keeping your noses in the vehicle... A lot of people seem to think it is fine to let their dogs take their heads out the window, but that is very dangerous. Better just to be safely strapped in the back seat. Here is an article that explains some of the dangers of doggies sticking their heads out the car window.

Protecting those leather seats from scratches, fur, drool etc...

I have mentioned before that Aschiuta has had problems with being car sick before and still is from time to time. We usually took care of this by having one person sit in the back seat with her, with plastic bag and wet wipes at the ready, watching her every drool.

This was until my husband found something interesting in the pet shop... a dog car hammock. It is a protective cover that is also water proof that covers the entire back seat area and straps to the headrests and upper handles. It also has velcro openings for accessing the seat belt slots. We don't have leather seats, but they are certainly cleaner this way!

The metal cage?

I honestly do not like these, although I have seen them used by one of our vets when transporting Aschiuta to the dog hotel. They are usually kept in the luggage area of small vans, where there is more room and the cages themselves are well anchored. The dog is quite safe inside, but not too comfortable and since it will be all alone, not very happy either.



Well, whichever method works best for you and your pooch, remember to stay safe!

* Sorry for not having actual photos of what we bought, but these are pictures from the store where we bought them from. My babble is not sponsored in any way.

Trials and tribulations with Nightmare

Continuing the Nightmare tale...

If you remember, I mentioned that the dog had a pretty bad infection on her forehead, which had oozed out and caked the fur around the wound.

My first order of business the next day after taking her in was to try to clean the wound as well as I could. The only disinfectant I had around was medicinal alcohol, but that one really stings. So I went with "grandma's recipe", camomile tea.

It took me about half an hour to clean the fur and then the wound and, even if the tea is very mild and wouldn't hurt her, my patting and rubbing surely caused her quite a bit of discomfort. Surprisingly though, she made no move to stop me or draw away, she just lay there with her eyes closed, in complete resignation.

Feeling down in the dumps, poor girl...

She was actually quite lethargic the first couple of days, sleeping a lot, eating only a little and generally unwilling to walk around much. She was also picky about the food and didn't want the kibble or treats Aschiuta had at the time. I eventually bought her a can of dog food and she seemed to like that. She also liked mozzarella. I later on bought a brand of kibble (Bosch) that we used to feed Aschiuta when we were on a budget at the vet's recommendation and which we have kept giving her from time to time. The big black dog seemed to like the kibble, so it is again a staple in the dogs' diet.

But I digress... After cleaning her wound, I continued to do it from time to time, since it was still suppurating. I decided I would have to finish work early and try to take her to the vet. This way we would get her wound checked and also verify if she had a microchip.

Our vet is not very close by and usually with Aschiuta it takes me about 30 minutes on foot. I gathered my usual supplies of bags and tissues, put the leash on the dog and we were on our merry way to the vet.

Unfortunately, we didn't get too far. We had just reached the public street (yes, there are private streets in my town...) in front of our building and made a few steps, when the dog decided she was not going to take another step. In neither direction. She planted herself on the ground, just like when climbing stairs, and would not budge. After a few good minutes of trying to coax her to go further, I had to spend almost as much time convincing her to go back. We were going home, no more scary long walks.

We would need to switch to plan B then... taking our car. Luckily, we have our own car, complete with safety accessories for doggies. But more about that next time...

Lost pet commercial break

Stay tuned for more tales of Nightmare! We will be right back after these messages...

Did your dog run away from home or got lost while roaming off leash? We all know these kinds of stories and it is very likely that if you are a dog owner, this has happened to you once or twice.

What can you do to make sure Fido does not take off on its own?

First of all, prevention. Yes, it is better to prevent than to solve a problem. Here is the recipe for success with a safe doggo:

• Ask your vet to microchip your pet or to register you on the pet's chip if you are not the first (responsible) owner. The microchip helps rescuers identify and contact the owner of the pet, if the pet is lost. It is a small implant and is very easy to insert, with little pain to the animal. Some countries require it by law and it is also the sensible thing to do. Tags on collars also work, but if your pet slips out of the collar, it will not be of too much use...
• The leash is dog's best friend! The majority of lost pets are those walked without a leash. There are far too many dangers and temptations in today's modern world, from traffic to other animals. Unless you are in a safe enclosure, using a leash is highly recommended.
  
  

  

  Extensible leashes... for that extra bit of freedom, without cutting on the safety.

• Sometimes, even the leash is not enough, as we have reports of some dogs slipping out of their collars or harnesses in fear or excitement. Avoid going out for walks during loud events such as fireworks shows or lightning storms. Use a harness rather than a collar and make sure it is not loose. And always, be mindful of your surroundings.
• Don't ignore your pet during walks. Do not tie up your dog in front of a shop while you go in and don't lose touch with reality (while chatting with someone or using your phone). It is very easy for the pet to get in trouble or even get stolen.

If prevention didn't work, act quickly and efficiently. Search for your pet yourself (mobilise a  small army of friends and family too if necessary). If the pet is out of sight, make use of those networking connections. Ask for help with the search on your social media and post ads on lost pet sites (rewards are always a good incentive). The classic poster is always useful, but takes time to produce and "publish" in the neighbourhood. Always check the "found" sections of the lost pet sites and don't lose hope. If your pet is found by nice people and taken to a vet, the microchip (or collar tag) is your best bet of getting your furry friend back!

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program...

Scarface

Arr! The pooch has gone out to sea, trying her luck at becoming a pirate. She even fought in a vicious sea battle that gave her a new nickname for a while, Scarface.

How did that happen? Did she come out of it victorious? Was there any treasure?

It all started with a short trip to the seaside with some friends, where we also took little Aschiuta. Now this was last year and you will be happy to know that the pooch has no need for an eye-patch.

You must know that our pooch is not the kind of dog that can be off-leash, least of all on a crowded beach. She runs off to meet people with food, throw sand on towels and pick a fight with other dogs if there are any. So, we always keep the leash on her.

One time though, she was napping on the sand so nicely, that I assumed she would stay like that while I read a bit, so I let go of the leash. Poof! Poochie performed a disappearing act.

Very comfy pooch. Too comfy...

She ran off a few towels farther after a dog she saw behind us, which she began to quarrel with. You must also know that, although she seems vicious, she really doesn't hurt any of the dogs she fights with. But she also doesn't know that they can hurt her.

We ran after her and Scorpio managed to catch her and break the fight. The other dog was fine, but Aschiuta had a nasty scratch on her left upper eyelid that was bleeding slightly.

We of course picked up our things and, since we were in a small village with lots of fast food places but no vet (none that would be open on a weekend anyway), I made her some chamomile tea to at least try to disinfect the eye and we drove off for home. Why chamomile tea? Because I used to have frequent eye infections and the chamomile tea helped. There was an improvement in poochie's scratches too.

We quickly went to a vet and, after consulting her, said that only the inner lid was a bit grazed, but the eye was fine. She must have had the reflex of closing her eyes, phew. The doctor disinfected the wound, prescribed her some eye drops and sent us home.

This photo was taken a day or so after getting back home. She was squinting because of the camera flash.

For a few days, the left eye produced more tears and we were often wiping her eye, but slowly, it got better and now you can only see a very faint scar if you look very closely. Most of the hair and eyelash in that spot also grew back. We are very happy that she has recovered so well.

This was taken close to her birthday this year. You can barely see any scar.

I must say though, it was all my fault for letting go of the leash that day. I was careless and things could have been worse. I'm sorry, poochie!

Missing something...

There are some days when we feel like something is missing. We feel an emptiness that we can't seem to be able to fill with fun and games or food and drink.

Sometimes it doesn't bother us. Sometimes we just remember to feel it again, but it's always there. Or, actually, isn't there anymore.

I wonder if Aschiuta ever feels that way sometimes too. And she does have something to miss. Something quite important. Poochie is missing the possibility of ever becoming a mother.

Tucked in, with her collar on

She was looking towards me just now, a bit accusative. Then she put her head back on my legs. She doesn't miss it all the time.

How did this all happen? Well, around her birthday last year (awful present, isn't it?) we had an outing with the extended family and were out of town for the weekend.

We sent her away to the usual dog hotel, where we know she is always well taken care of.

We had been thinking about spaying her for a while already and, since the owner of the dog hotel is also a good vet, Scorp got the idea to ask him to give her the operation.

I assure you I slept very little the night after we decided to do that. Poor poochie would have too if she'd known what was coming.

I had always imagined that I would be there holding her paw throughout the procedure, but we knew she would be in good hands. And she would also get gas anesthesia, which has the least side effects.

We called the vet that evening and he told us she was fine and the operation had been a success. He also told us that we were lucky to have done it at that time, since apparently poochie had had a growth on one of her uterine tubes. He eventually took it all out and there were no complications. Phew! I guess it was a good birthday present after all.

We asked him to bring her back to us the same evening we returned from the outing. It was pouring and I remember they brought her back from the van with the cone on. She was happy to see us, of course, and we her.

I walked her home after the rain had stopped (remember, this was mid-May) and she kept bumping into things, poor girl. She seemed energetic, but she just wouldn't climb up the stairs to the first floor apartment where we live, so I had to carry her. Her tummy still hurt.

Plenty of rest is the key to a speedy recovery

We were alarmed when she peed a little blood the next day, so we told the vet. He came to check on her and gave her an injection, which she took bravely. The bleeding stopped soon, but I still went out with her with a wad of tissues to make her pee on them, just to check.

All in all, she made a full recovery and is now back to her happy self, as if nothing had happened. You can barely see the stitch scar too.

Hey, who knows, maybe she will adopt one day, if she can't have her own.

Don't forget to tip the barber!

It's summer, it's hot and we all wish we could just sit in the shade in light clothes and sip a beer. I often look at pooch and think she would like to do the same. Of course, except the beer part, let's not be silly!

Aschiuta has changed into her summer clothes and is now feeling breezy and cool. We took her for a shave yesterday and she even lost about 1kg in fur. Hmm, here is a good idea for losing weight: having a haircut.
 

You can see poochie in a whole new light now.

Like last year, we went for a full shave, leaving the head, the bottom of the legs and the tip of the tail untouched. The roots of her hairs are lighter than the tips, so she looks a lot fairer now.

One interesting fact about Aschiuta is that she seems to have an excess of skin that is also very elastic. We pull on it and it apparently peels off her and when we let go, it just snaps back into place. It doesn't hurt her at all either. I wonder if it happens to most other dogs as well.

I'm glad her coat is shorter so she will be able to bear the heat better now. Some might say she looked better before, others that she looks younger now. Nevertheless, she is our cute little rat.

Rat? Who are you calling a rat?

Bath time for doggie

Drowning buggers

When we first got Aschiuta off the streets, she was full of fleas and ticks. We had to give her a bath, but the poor pup was crying because of all the skin problems she had. She was clawing at us, desperately trying to get away from the water basin. Good thing I had Scorp and our flatmate to help me out.

The parasites didn't all die in the baths, but I'd say we decimated a good deal of them. Of course, the vet gave her the drops that killed the rest of the bugs. We were also warned that those bugs were quite dangerous and could carry disease. It's a good thing that almost none of the parasites jumped on us. I was carrying Aschiuta in my arms for hours to the vet and back and none wanted to climb on me. I guess they were used to doggie blood.

Skin care

Another problem we had was a bad allergy Aschiuta got from food (although we didn't know the cause of that at the time). The vet advised us to give her a bath using sulfur soap and rinse her using apple vinegar. Some of you might remember my older post, The Vet, where I talk about this problem and others Aschiuta had.

Wiping away muddy paw prints

Today, we still use the sulfur soap. We also have hot water all the time, so we wash her with lukewarm water, not too hot and not too cold. She also has her very own towel. In fact, I am the one who washes her, Scorp does so only from time to time.

Aschiuta is very calm when she's in the bath tub. She usually sits still, folds her ears back and looks very docile. I usually only wash her paws after going out and she has learned to raise each paw as I put the shower on it. I soap her paws well and then rinse the soap thoroughly. After that, it's towel drying and she will sit inside the room for a while. Drying is quite uncomfortable for her, but the blow drier is worse. She would lick the water off her paws and sit in bed for a while.

After that, she's her usual happy self.

Hopping away happily (the towel is just a tug toy).

I'm quite proud of how nice she is during bath time. It helps, since we usually walk in the mud and I have to wash her after each outing. Stay clean everyone!

Taking care of the doggie economy-style

Scorp and I are getting by on one salary at the moment and Aschiuta is a third (albeit smaller) mouth to feed in our little room. We often have to cut down on costs as much as possible. And it's not hard to take care of a dog economically while also providing for all its needs.
 

Of course, some things can't be found at lower prices and good quality, such as some medicine or vaccines, but for the rest of the stuff, you don't have to spend a lot of money.

Food

The big issue for everyone. After trying a lot of options, we've realised a few important things:

• Cooked food can be cheaper than commercial dog food, but doesn't last as long and it might not cover all the necessary nutrients. As a compromise, we also give Aschiuta other things, like chicken, raw bone, cheese or sour cream (the occasional milk is ok too, but can cause stomach problems) and some fruits and vegetables (carrots, peppers and apples are her favourites). We give her a little of the food we eat if it's something that will be ok for her. Rice, oven roast chicken and soup are quite ok. You can find good recipes for homemade dog food and treats all over the internet; I'll recommend Doggy Dessert Chef (the writer is very careful about what a dog shouldn't eat).
• The cheapest dog food isn't always the best. There are some good cheap brands too though (our vet recommended a few brands to us) and we've found out that we can afford to buy relatively good quality food (stuff like Acana, Pro Pac etc.)

Bedding

We used to try and make a small bed for Aschiuta from a cardboard box and some old clothes. Aschiuta though had other plans. Once she grew old (and bold) enough, she started sleeping in bed with us or on the couch.

A wooden crate and old clothes (you can even make a pillow out of them) can be a good solution, depending on the size of the dog. Aschiuta kept outgrowing her carton beds.

Bowls for food and water

Scorp bought a plastic food bowl from the pet store, which we used for water. Other than that, we used big plastic ice cream boxes. Talk about recycling, right? My mom keeps all of those boxes, so I thought I'd put them to good use.
 

Unfortunately, Aschiuta chews on plastic things, so after a few of the makeshift bowls and the pet store one being chewed to pieces, we decided to not leave them within her reach. She has learned to ask for water too.

Bath

I'm still using a sulfur soap for doggie baths, since the vet advised me to give Aschiuta baths with sulfur soap and apple vinegar rinse when she had her skin problems. We don't use the vinegar anymore, but the sulfur soap does its job well. It's not expensive and it doesn't smell appealing enough for her to try to eat any of it. In fact, Scorp claims it smells too bad and Aschiuta's docile manner during bath time might be because she also hates the smell.

Toys

Another hot topic. Well, here we've improvised a lot. We have the famous old socks that she loves to play with.

Aschiuta helping the sock do some stretching exercises.

The two things we bought were a rope toy and tennis balls. But if you can find a sturdy rope, you can make a toy for your dog too. I've also read a lot of interesting ideas for makeshift treat dispensers. All you have to do is use your imagination.

Ever since she was a puppy, she's always loved her tennis ball.

Clothes

Not all dogs need clothes, but for the short-haired ones, it is a good idea to have a jacket on during the winter. Aschiuta's jacket was made out of one of my old t-shirts.
 

Not quite in fashion, but still necessary (saved us from red spots all over the place).

 
There are a lot of ideas out there about reusing old clothes to make jackets (or other clothes) for your dog. At Sew DoggyStyle, you can find some interesting ideas about making doggie clothes and accessories.

And, Aschiuta was lucky and got a nice winter coat from Scorp's mom for Christmas. Bought, but we're planning on getting the design idea, buying material and making others ourselves.

Spaying or neutering

There are programs for free or low-price cat or dog spaying or neutering. All you need to do is get informed. Consult your vet too for the best possibilities. We are waiting until spring and will spay Aschiuta.

Well, these are the tips I can offer for keeping your dog healthy and happy without emptying your pocket.

A trail of rice crumbs and chicken bones

If you've read my post Time for dinner! What are we having? you know that there is a huge debate among dog owners about whether we should feed our dogs commercial food or home made dog food.
 

Hmm, not bad... Needs more parsley.

 
Aschiuta's first diet

When we first got Aschiuta, we didn't know what to feed her. Her stomach was also a bit upset because of the odd stuff she had been eating and she also had a parasite.
 

To calm her tummy, our vet told us to make her some soup: chicken, rice and a few vegetables. It was meant to be easy on the stomach, since rice is easy to digest. She loved it and we kept making it.

After all the problems went away, we figured we should buy her some kibble. The vet sold some good brands too and gave us samples of each. Needless to say, she was very young and didn't know how to eat the small kibble, so we put it in her soup and all was ok.

Kibble dibble. Yum yum

Since the vet insisted that we feed Aschiuta only kibble, we tried to teach her to eat it. She didn't like it much, and couldn't chew it properly. She did eventually eat from our hands and that's how it was for a while.

One time, we decided to buy dog food from a nearby pet shop, so we got the most advertised one (one of the only we knew about). This led to a lot of problems and you can read about them in The Vet.

Just like Mom used to make it...

After all the problems with the dog food and visiting Brasov with Aschiuta for the first time, we went back to chicken and rice. My fiance's mother had two dogs of her own before the two cats and only fed them home made food. One of them, she kept saying, got to a "matusalemic age" with that diet.

Aschiuta didn't even want to look at kibble again, of course. She loved her "soup", which in time had turned into a nice pilaf.

No more time to cook for pooch

After I got a job, I barely had time for a lot of things, so we decided to switch back to commercial dog food. We were careful to get a good quality one and she eventually got used to it.

We might get back to the home made food again in the future... Who knows?

Time for dinner! What are we having?

You must be overstuffed with the discussions and advice all over the Internet about what a dog should eat to be healthy. I'll just add my personal opinion and some useful information that I found.
 

Munch munch

Commercial dog food vs. homemade dog food 
 

The big buzz is about kibble versus homemade dog food. There are plenty of people on each side of the barricade who are convinced that their idea is the best.

Kibble

Commercial dog food has one great advantage: it's already made for you. This means that your dog should get the right amount of nutrients, that it doesn't take any time to prepare and that it will last a long time.

The problems are various... The worst is that the food can be contaminated (see news of dog food being withdrawn), which can lead to serious problems. Another issue is food allergy. Aschiuta once had that from a very popular brand (which the vet clearly said we shouldn't have fed to her).

Let's not think about some things that go in the kibble. But of course, it also depends on the quality of the food.

Last but not least, I've heard about a lot of dogs that don't want to eat kibble. Also, feeding the same thing every day gets the dog bored of the food.

Homemade dog food

The benefices of this kind of food is that you know what goes in it and how it's made. It's also fresh (if you are a responsible cook) and your dog might like it better than kibble. Aschiuta loves homemade food. A lot of dogs won't eat anything else.

The problems can be pretty bad, dog nutritionists say. You should consult your vet when cooking for your dog, to know what and how much your dog needs. Insufficient nutrients can cause problems. One of the worst ones is the lack of calcium. This should most likely come from bones or dairy products. I give Aschiuta some cheese or sour cream now and then. She used to have quite thin little legs, but now they are very strong (packs a bad punch too).

Decisions, decisions...

No matter what you decide to feed your dog, one problem remains possible in both cases. Pet obesity. Remember to consult your vet about serving sizes and exercise more. Don't forget that treats are food too.

Consulting with your vet is very important. They can tell you if your dog is eating properly.

Danger in the grass

Remember my old posts, The doggie hits the road and Of booboos and stings? I said I would tell you more about Aschiuta's first trip to Brasov, especially our little medical problem.

Wrong way

Since Brasov is in a valley surrounded by mountains, we took Aschiuta and walked along the old city walls, at the foot of a smaller mountain, covered in grassy slopes and shady trees.

Tag! You're it!

We stopped at a bench and Scorp suggested we let Aschiuta run around without the leash, since she is very fast and loves to run in the grass. She took off like a bullet, prancing in zig-zag, like a rabbit. We ran with her and it was great exercise for everyone. Until we heard noise of broken glass. There was a pile of shards hidden in the grass. Aschiuta dashed away without care and went over the shards a second time before we were able to catch her.

Look mom, no pain!

Since Aschiuta didn't seem hurt, nor did she limp, we decided to go back. On the road we discovered that her hind paws were red and, after we looked closer, we realised she was bleeding from glass cuts. She hadn't even whimpered once. We took her in a taxi and rushed home.

At home, there were three of us washing Aschiuta's cuts, trying to stop the bleeding and worrying about the dumb pooch. We called the vet, but they said it's ok for a doggie's pad to bleed a lot, since there are a lot of blood vessels in there. One of her toe pads was split and bled for a few minutes. We bandaged her paw as well as we could and tried to get Aschiuta to calm down and go to sleep.

Aschiuta calm down? It's like telling a tornado to calm down. She kept trying to take the bandage off to lick her wounds and a couple of times the wound reopened and we had to bandage it all over again.

The next day, we went to the vet, who also bandaged the paw, but with such a sturdy adhesive plaster, that some parts of it were still stuck to her fur a couple of weeks after that.

Little Paw - Brave Pooch

Aschiuta eventually got all better, but she had to wear her little "sock" all the time and it was a bit uncomfortable for her. But she was a very brave little dog, although maybe if she had felt any pain at first, she would have stopped running. Although, would that have stopped her from enjoying a green sunny field of grass?

Did I step in something?

Girl talk

First of all, a small warning: if you're squeamish about dog heat cycles or any cycles (except for bicycles maybe) at all, I suggest you skip reading this post. It is however important, if your pet is a female dog, to know about these things.

I'm still learning myself.

Heat? When? Now?

Soon after I found out Aschiuta was a female dog, I started looking up information about heat cycles and spaying. That is how I found out that the first cycle usually happens when the dog is about 6 months old.

You see, when we first found her, we asked the vet how old she was and they answered "oh, about 3 months". Then came a lot of health issues and after they were all finally gone, we went to get her vaccinated.

I asked the vet again when the best time for spaying would be and he answered some time would have to pass after the shots. When I also asked for more information about the first heat cycle, he said the same thing I'd seen in the internet: "6 months". The interesting thing is that she was, to our knowledge, 6 months old. But the doctor decided to check again and, after he looked at her teeth, decided "this dog still has her baby teeth; she can't be older than 3-4 months". Wow, what a difference...

The vet we went to in Brasov during our first trip there also confirmed Aschiuta's "new age". Also, her teeth started changing.

Are we there yet?

Keeping in mind the "6 months old" rule, when Aschiuta reached that age, I started looking up heat symptoms on the internet again and also trying to determine whether she was in heat again. Since Aschiuta is a really friendly dog and because of the packs of strays around the parking lot, we didn't want to take any chances.

And there's also the story of Don Juan, also known as Dog Juan. He is the dog I mentioned in On the streets, the one that lives in front of the block next to ours. Well, his name comes from trying to get too friendly with Aschiuta, and that on a first date too... After we chased him off, he was so upset, he wouldn't notice Aschiuta for a while, but he didn't stay like that for long. Now they sniff and play nice when they meet.

Another funny thing Aschiuta does (which made me wonder if she might be getting in heat) is trying to hump our legs or the blanket. It's almost like a massage, but a pretty disturbing one. I still wonder why she does it.

Yes, there is someone hiding in shame under there... Bad Aschiuta!

 
Another fact that confused me was that maybe she was in heat, but we couldn't see any changes. The vet also said the first cycle might be like that. What if it had already passed? Were the dogs on the streets really that uninterested in her?
 

Surprise!

Yesterday, I managed to push a glass off the table and it shattered into a lot of shards on the floor. Scorp quickly kept Aschiuta from the glass bits, while I was cleaning them up. After a couple of hours, we see a bit of blood on the floor and on Aschiuta's hind leg. Thinking she got cut, I bring the vacuum cleaner for the second round of shard cleaning.

Another two red drops ended up on my sweater on the couch, but we thought it was from the paw. Needless to say, no more other blood that evening.

This morning though, I found a lot of red stains on the sheets, where Aschiuta had been sleeping. After a closer inspection, I realised that there had been no glass cut. Aschiuta was in heat.

After a quick bed and couch stain-proofing, I finally decided to make a little diaper for Aschiuta out of an unused pair of underwear and a pad tailored to her size... A hole in the back for a tail and poor Aschiuta has never been more humiliated. She first tried to bite it off, but has now resigned to napping with it on. We'll see how things go from here...

Swimsuit contest winner - Aschiuta

 
 I'm wonder if she's also getting hormonal-induced mood changes. Maybe doggie PMS?

Of booboos and stings

Let's take a moment to go a few months back with our story. Don't worry, we're not going too far back.

Aschiuta was my first dog and even if Scorp had had a dog before, we still had a lot to learn about taking care of our new puppy. And one of the biggest problem was that she constantly seemed to have a few health issues.

Dog vaccination

You all know it's important to vaccinate your dog against common diseases they could catch from going outside and playing with other dogs. This is also why Aschiuta wasn't allowed to walk around freely outside before getting her shots done. And since I've already talked about our neignbourhood strays, you know we had to be careful.

So, because we couldn't vaccinate a dog with health issues, we had to figure out how to make her better.

The booboo problems

Remember my older post about going to the vet? How Aschiuta had a huge rash that made her itchy and caused her hair to fall? It was all a simple food allergy, but we had been afraid of things like rabies or a fungus. Little skin problems kept coming up here and there even after that...

First of all, Aschiuta got a mysterious inflammation on the right side of her belly. We went to the vet alarmed. Could it be a liver problem? Did all the wood she loved chewing on so much manage to hurt her intestines?
 

Notice the inflammation on her right side.

 

The vet gave her an anti-inflammation shot and we just waited. After a few days, it finally started to fade and then it just disappeared completely.

After she was finally ok, with all the shots done, we thought we wouldn't have to visit the vet as much. Well, other things happened that made us go again...
 

One of them was another such booboo, but under her right eye. The vet said it might be just a booboo from hitting her head against something. She had very bad brakes back then and she still slips around on our floors. She got her shot done again and we waited.
 

It did go away after some time, but sometimes it still looks like she has a little bag under her eye. We heard that an aneurysm would have popped eventually, but this one never did. I've read that some dogs just have these and it's no real problem for them. We'll see...

Beware of stingers

One sunny day, Aschiuta was out on the balcony, seemingly sniffing around, chasing the flies. The next thing we knew, she was back inside, looking gloomy and salivating. Within several minutes, we could see the front of her muzzle getting bigger and bigger. We decided to rush her to the vet.

Of course, since we don't have a car, the fastest and safest way is on foot. Aschiuta was actually allowed to walk on her own four paws, but she just stopped and was whimpering at every sudden movement or when we accidentally touched her mouth. We had to carry her, just like old times. Only now she was bigger and heavier.

Again, we didn't know what to think of it. Had she eaten some detergent from the bathroom? Was it a bug bite? At the vet's, Aschiuta had her shot and we were instructed to come back in a few hours if the inflammation wouldn't go down.

Fortunately, it did and we were relieved. Scorp even found the culprit, a dead fly on the balcony floor. Let's hope Aschiuta has learned her lesson about playing with bugs.

Also, coming up in another post, I'll be talking about Aschiuta's hurt paw. A very bloody story.
 

Take care and remember to go to the doctor or vet when you feel you have a problem.