Tag: goldendoodle

A promise to Freddy…

Three months later, I am still hurting over the loss of my Freddy, but I am finding ways to honor his memory and focus mostly on the good times we shared. I still look for him in the house at times, thinking he’s right there next to me, eager to give me kisses and whining for my attention. To me, he was my child and I was his mom, he was a special being who opened my heart as it has never been opened before. Because of Freddy, I know I am forever changed for the better.

On that note, I have started to hide my grief in front of people who have never had a dog pet, as they may see it as a bit of an overreaction. Most people are too polite to say that it’s “just a dog” out loud, even when they are thinking it.  I have been lucky to have a few people who truly understand how deep and intense the pain can be and thus respect and honor my grief. Plus, those of us who have loved a dog know the truth: Your own pet is never “just a dog”.  Anyone reading this who may be going through a loss of a pet and is seeking advice, I promise I will share what has been working for me in another post in a few weeks.

—-Now to the promise we made Fred.  My husband and I planned to get another dog –a brother, a fellow canine playmate once we got back from our wedding and we were starting to look around for one we were stopped in our tracks. 

After struggling to find what our new normal could be like, we realized that Freddy made us dog lovers,  our normal absolutely needed to include a dog. 

We started to look again and came across a photo of an adorable puppy with a DOB of 8/11, we knew it was a sign,  I mean 382 miles away, a puppy was born the town over from where we got Freddy — on “that” very same day.  We went back and forth emotionally, but ultimately decided to go and adopt him.  Well, the puppy from the photo was already taken by someone else and we came home with one of his litter mates, only to find out a day later that we got the wrong dog. . We were kind of bummed about it, but had so much love to give. We figured that maybe it was another sign that things got mixed up and the one we came home with was meant to be in our lives. We named him Theodore,  the named we always planned to name Freddy’s canine brother.

Theo seemed to have a drippling problem. He soaked my clothes every time he lay on my lap and every time he slept, he drenched his back legs. It was only a few days of having him so I tried not to over-analyze. I mean a 10-week-old puppy is bound to have a ton of accidents like that. Well, his belly looked bloated and we saw a worm in his stool. Being super nervous to take him to the same exact animal clinic that Freddy was a patient at, I decided to go to *Banfield Pet Hospital at PetSmart.  I was relieved when the Veterinarian seemed to ignore our concerns about the urine drippling (said he was a “silly puppy peeing on himself”), bloated belly (saying he “just has a big wormy belly”) and the black discharge in his ears (saying “it’s just waxy puppy ears”).

She said we have a “very healthy puppy”, gave him some de-wormer and sent us on our way.

Well, my worrying habits would soon prove beneficial. I was overly worried about the leaking, about the dark wax in his ears, about the bloated belly. I swallowed my anxiety of going to Fred’s vet and took Theo there Friday afternoon.

There, I explained the same concerns to Dr. L just like I did at Banfield 5 days prior. As he was examining T, there was worry in his eyes and he immediately took him for a “fast” ultrasound.

I am getting the ultrasound images sent over to me and will post them shortly.

Dr. L told me there is a severe problem: a massive amount of fluid outside of his bladder and no visibility of a right kidney. He alerted me that he needed to take x-rays immediately. At this point, I walked outside to update my husband, as things seemed to be escalating rather quickly.

After the x-rays, Dr. L brought a gasping Theodore wrapped in a towel back in, put him in my arms on the examination table and started to explain, “this is not good, this is not a healthy puppy whatsoever…”

I am embarrassed to admit what happened next. But as he was explaining the situation to me and as T’s head was collapsing in my arms, I had flashbacks of holding Freddy after he was hit by the car and died in my arms as I frantically administering CPR. The next thing I remember from the conversation, was that my brother kept repeating, “please breathe” and the paramedics were taking my pulse…

I had blacked out.

As my eyes started to open, all I could see was Theo’s little head and puppy eyes looking at me from the corner of the room still so aspirated. I regained strength — I needed to see if I could save him — I would not lose another precious soul.

Next steps were to take blood work to see if there were abnormalities associated with kidney function. I gave Theo a kiss as he was taken away and the paramedics escorted me out.

I did not know if I would see him again.

This is where we are now.  He was sent to the ER at the Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital. 

A conclusive ultrasound was performed and again there was no identification of a right kidney, and the concern was the massive fluid pocket, which was urine.  Our options at this point: 1) send him back to where we got him from with a high probability he would be euthanized or 2) try and save his life with surgery.

Once they open him up and remove the nonfunctioning right kidney tissue (as planned), attach the suspected ectopic ureter to the bladder, he has a chance to survive.

We can’t give up on such a helpless living thing that in just 6 days brought us joy again. The bloating and pain he’s been in have not stopped him from showing us love and dedication, so how could we give up on that? There must be a reason that we got the wrong dog – that we got a sick dog – someone knew that we would fight to save a life.

We want Theodore to have a chance at a good life just like his brother Freddy had.

If you would like to contribute to Theo and share our story, we would forever be grateful. You can always follow along as I will post updates on his condition here.

I know I will have more dogs in my lifetime, but Freddy will always be my first dog and the dog who taught me so much about myself. Theo already can thank his big brother for allowing his momma to always examine him and knowing what is normal and what may not be 🙂

*In no way am I bashing Banfield Hospitals. I just want people to be aware that misdiagnosis can happen and your responsibility as a dog owner is to always look for signs of discomfort and do your research on what’s normal and what might not be. If I did not do so much research with my first puppy, Theo would not have a chance at life. That was confirmed by the doctors. The large sac would eventually burst ending his life.

If you’re planning on getting a puppy for Christmas…

I have been wanting to write about my experience with Freddy for a while, but it’s one of those things that I’ve kept putting off because I had so much to say. Lately, I’ve had more people asking about our experience with him and about getting a dog in general.  I thought now would be a good time to share what I’ve learned, since I know there are a lot of people thinking about adding to their family this time of year.  I’ll tell you how we ended up with Freddy, and what I’ve learned since.

If you’re one of those who’s thinking about getting a puppy for Christmas, you’ll find this post helpful! (more…)

Snowed in Boston… we (and our pets) have had enough!

unnamed (1)Freddy is starting to go stir crazy – o.k … I lied. Freddy has gone stir crazy! I mean who hasn’t in Boston?  My seasonal depression has reached its limit and I don’t think I’m alone! The airlines have reported more than a usual amount of travelers heading out of Boston than in recent years… can’t say we’re surprised. We need some Vitamin D STAT!IMG_2828I used to go on long walks every day with Fred and head to the dog park a few times a week. Now, the dog park is nowhere to be found and the long walks have turned into us letting Fred out in the somewhat shoveled out path in the backyard for 5 minutes tops – Boston has estimated about 7 feet of snow in the past 4 weekends with temperature/wind chills getting down to -25 degrees some nights! So, unfortunately for our pups, shoveling and plowing out the dog parks is not on the Mayor’s priority list and neither is their owner’s desire to walk in the freezing temperatures— wait— walk? where exactly? or HOW? People are skiing around town!

Freddy’s trainers the other night told us that many dog owners have been asking for Help, explaining that their dogs are starting to get aggressive….

So what can we do inside the house to keep these pups entertained? 

  • Hide and Seek
    This is by far my new favorite game to play with Freddy. Have your dog sit and wait while you go find a hiding spot. Call them once when you’re hidden and praise them enthusiastically when they find you. Freddy runs up and down the hall peering in every room and then repeats until I call his name a few times. It’s really cute. He gets SO excited when he finally finds me.
  • Find The Treats
    Grab some smelly treats and have your dog stay while you go hide them around the house. Start with some easy hiding spots and work your way up once your dog is accustomed to using his nose. When we started working on this game I would let Freddy watch me hide some of them and then he would use his nose to find his way to the others. I do this when I leave the house in the morning, so he can have an activity to do while I’m away. I love seeing if he finds all the treats…. and he usually does!

    You call to a dog and a dog will break its neck to get to you. Dogs just want to please. Call to a cat and its attitude is, “What’s in it for me?” – Lewis Grizzard

  • Teach Your Dog The Names of Their Toys
     I didn’t realize this, but dogs have the ability to learn hundreds of words. Freddy’s favorite toy is Mr.Elephant. I started calling his little stuffed elephant “Mr.Elephant” while we were playing with the toy. Once he could pick it out, I started to play with a different toy, calling it “Nemo”. He has so many toys so I’m excited to teach him the names of all of them to keep him busy.
  • The “Go Find It” Game
    I always ask Freddy to go find Mr.Elephant and bring him to me. I love doing this while I’m cooking and he’s bothering me to play.  We have a small toy container that Fred goes to pick out the toy! I try to keep this fun for him by rewarding him with a treat or quick game of tug when he brings me the correct toy. This game is a good mental workout for them.
  • Basic Obedience Training
    Freddy knows (almost) all the basic obedience commands. Does your dog? One thing I need to make sure we have is a reliable recall and stay. Living in the city, it doesn’t leave much room for dogs to be off leash and run where they please (which is why I’m super excited to take him to Vermont this Spring!), so its super important to make sure Freddy comes to me when I call him. Even well-trained dogs need a refresher course now and then to keep them sharp and this is perfect weather to practice just that! All dogs should have a basic sit, down, stay, drop it, and come here. We are still working on Drop it with Fred — that is one strong jaw!!
  • Tug of War
    Tug of war is extremely tiring, both mentally and physically. The good news is you don’t need a ton of room to play so it can be done indoors.. It’s a simple way to exercise your dog as long as you follow a few basic rules. Caution: This game should probably be played on the ground! I was playing tug of war with Fred on the bed, which is pretty high – and the doodle decided to let me win? – I can never win at this game so I clearly was not expecting this and flew off (dramatically) the bed, slamming into the door – which slammed into the wall and finally landing on the hard wooden floor. My bruises look like I was beaten…. and I was… by my dog! at tug of war!
  • Teach Them To Say Please by Sitting
    I have tried to teach Fred that sitting politely is the key to gaining our attention– this requires you to completely IGNORE any other actions — as in barking, crying, nudging your hand– Don’t be afraid to teach your dog how to act – without guidance they develop bad manners. Our dogs look to us for cues all the time, they like to know what’s expected of them. Reward polite behaviors handsomely, with consistency your dog will get into the habit of asking for things in a polite manner.
  • Make a Dog Play Date
    I had to babysit one weekend and what little kids don’t love a puppy? Well, they asked me to bring Freddy with me! and he got to play with the family’s 3 year old Cockapoo. A dog playing with another dog is the BEST workout they can get— Fred slept the rest of the day after that! and so did his friend, Rocco!
  • IMG_2747*Ideas adapted from puppyleaks.com*

 ‘Money can buy you a fine dog, but only love can make him wag his tail.’ – Kinky Friedman

Weekly Recap

Where have I been? Well, let’s see, between starting a new job, being pounded with over 2 feet of snow and then slammed again with another foot ….and taking care of a sick puppy — I’ve been a little busy. 

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Freddy is my first pet. If he was a human child, I think I could help if there was a fever, throw up etc. I speak from experience -been up all night with plenty of babies and young kids to know I can handle it (babysitting since I was 12)…but an animal- now that is something I was NOT even slightly prepared for- how could I have been?

It all started my first week of work, Nico was traveling and I was stuck one day, so decided to give doggy day care a try. After getting some good feedback and everyone telling me to stop worrying and “just do it” I had Fred get picked up by a dog service and taken to “day care”.

All seemed fine and well the next day, until I went home for lunch & he threw up…hmmm..was I suspicious? (more than I already was to begin with)… you bet ya!

I just HAVE to share this screen shot of the convo I had with my parents that day when I told them Fred threw up…

Hilarious? Yes? Did it freak me out? mhmm

It only started to worry me (MORE) when he threw up again, hardly touched his food and he had diarrhea that night.

At first, I was convinced that he was just anxious that Nico was gone for a few days – (he threw up the first time we got him when Nico traveled), but now I was starting to think it was something else…so I switched him to a bland diet of boiled hamburger meat (extra lean) and white rice for 3 days (Vet recommended- I called them)

Nothing happened the next day as far as Fred’s bowel movements, so that was good and he was loving the meat and rice diet. Nico came home that night and all seemed well again. Saturday, we went to tour that day care facility and Freddy needed to get “evaluated” for 30 min so we were asked to leave. This was to see how he played with the other dogs that were there.

I didn’t like that.

Nico said I was being crazy.

Anyways, next stop was the groomers. Freddy’s first groom!! 2.5 hours later and we didn’t recognize our dog:

IMG_2346They let us know that he would be shaking his head a lot because they plucked hair out of there…and he shook…a lot.

The next morning, I noticed what looked like dried up blood in his ears – and his diarrhea was back.

We were slammed with a snow storm so we were outside a bit and Freddy was LOVING the snow.. loving it….

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 That night, bad bowel movements returned and no water or food was touched all day. Nico took him to the vet in the AM.

He was given 2 types of medicines- one for the diarrhea and one for being nauseous and he was injected with electrolyte fluid because he was borderline dehydrated. That was ALL the information I got.

So,

I called the vet and asked how his ears looked to her..silence..she FORGOT to look. Not ok.

I took him back after work and we got an ear swap done, came back with a yeast infection- which they treated and he still has the ointment in his ears (stays for 2 weeks)

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I asked a million questions to conclude that he must have caught some type of “puppy virus/flu” – things that young kids get from school especially during the colder months. Oh fabulous. $330 later….

He was not in the mood for puppy crazies the rest of the day/night and the following day. It was pretty bad! He just lay there like a helpless, motionless body. My heart broke. Cue the dramatic music…

I left work early the next day after talking to my boss and used a syringe to force water down.  Every 15 min, as Freddy lay on his bed. Finally he stood up, I forced down more water/his pills and I made him boiled chicken and rice- which he LOVED.IMG_2432

He was coming back around by that night and his puppy crazies are finally returning. I am back to not knowing where the matching pair of my shoes have gone…but that’s okay with me.

Conclusions:

I was VERY BUSY (not even mentioning all the training and new information I’m being flooded with at work)

A Prius is NOT a good car for the snow.

Goldendoodles have sensitive stomachs and are prone to get ear infections, so, I just ordered this product:093824-808529348_1_640

Highly recommend if you have a floppy ear dog where moisture can build up. I’ll take a video to show you how to use it on your pup.Use it after a bath or anytime your pet could of got a lot of moisture in their ears.

Even if your pet is all up to date on vaccinations, viruses exist for dogs(and cats) – especially puppies as their immune systems aren’t built up yet – same as for children.

I got pet insurance.

Force water (I got the electrolyte infused water from Target) using a syringe if your pet is not drinking for more than 48 hours – better yet- get him injected for electrolyte fluids at the vet.

Always go with your instincts – of course- you can’t shelter a pet or your children forever… I was sheltered by my mom a lot – which was great and I’m healthy and all – but to some extent, children, as well as animals (see Puppy Socialization post) need to get out there in the world, even if you just want to protect them forever, their immune systems will build up and get stronger after being exposed to the world.

Hopefully Freddy’s immune system will boost up and be stronger and he can be back to being our healthy, happy little dood.

Puppy Socialization- Is it really necessary?

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6 month old goldendoodle and 3 month old Freddy!

Freddy has been going to Puppy Play time on Wednesday nights from 7:30-8:30 at his vet’s office! Last night, he was out of his mind excited and ran straight into the glass door before I could open it!

He is even excited when we go for his shots because he remembers it being a “happy place”- how genius of the staff to organize this puppy program at the animal hospital.

So as he is approaching his last play time (it ends when the puppy is 16 weeks- as they begin to play differently), have I noticed a difference from his first class to now?  Well what actually is puppy socialization?

Socialization is very important when your dog is between 8-16 weeks old. This is when they learn important skills that they will remember as they get older.

Here is a clip of the hand out from one of his first classes:

 What Is Puppy Socialization?

Socialization is the learning process through which a puppy becomes accustomed to being near various people, animals, and environments. By exposing puppies to different stimuli in a positive or neutral way, before they can develop a fear of these things, owners can reduce the likelihood of behavior problems in the future and help build a stronger bond between pets and the rest of the family. The critical time to socialize a puppy is during the first 3 to 4 months of its life.

Why Is Puppy Socialization Important?

Unfortunately, behavior problems remain the top reason that pets are relinquished to animal shelters. Proper socialization will help make puppies more tolerant of changes in their environment and help prevent common behavior problems in the future.

A quick breakdown of his progress:

Play 1: Freddy hiding from the Wheaten Terrier puppy – He was very scared, defensive, in a way,  aggressive. He played “OK” with the other puppies -had a few time outs as the Wheaten and him did not get along! I guess it meant they both were very unsure of who would be the more dominant one. Also, the pups did not look like his litter mates! I was a little discouraged and was worried that I might traumatize him around other dogs! I was a scared mommma :/

Play 2/Take 2: He seemed more comfortable, but still had 1 or 2 time outs when play got too aggressive. The nurses that monitored the play were great! so encouraging and informative and helped the puppies get adjusted to one another.

Yesterday (Play 6): like I said above, out of his mind excited to go inside! Some new puppies were there and Freddy made an attempt to play with them although they were at “play 1 phase”. He would bring toys over and slowly nudge them to the younger puppies. Him and the Wheaten would cross paths and play a little but decided to avoid each other for the most part- He played with Hunter, his German Shepard brother from another mother! Those 2 are inseparable and its so cute to watch them play – so cute that I had to take a video:

 

 

BONUS!!: He sleeps all the way home because he is so tired out – a win win!

So, is puppy socialization necessary?  YES, I recommend to all new puppy moms and dads. I can’t talk long term yet – but I have noticed such a difference in Freddy’s behavior even when we play at home. His biting has tamed down and he will only playfully bite lightly. Every dog he meets, he will attempt to play and is gentle, observant and excited!

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