My goodness, it has been too long since my last update and
so much has been going on. I will write
about the major happenings, as you know the rest is like water down the bridge.
The puppies are now 8 weeks old and have taken over the
garage as their home. They are very
comfy in their whelping box, which is attached to the wire cage. Underneath
there is a soft rubber like under pad so they do not get cold and our portable
heather keeps the garage at room temperature. Lots and lots of dog toys are
laying around for them to play with and occasionally we add some suitable
plastic items from the house for them to chase and toss everywhere. Of course
we take turns playing with them when they are out of the cage to run free in
the (spotless) garage. I think nowadays I
am spending more time in the garage than in the house and that is why I have no
time for anything else. ;-)
When the doxies were 6 weeks old all of them had an
appointment at the Erie Veterinary Hospital where Dr. Hussain gave them their
first vaccine shots and deworming medication and pronounced all of them to be
in good health, not to forget being very cute and lovely little Dachshunds.
However, at the same time I had to take their momma, our
Elsa, in as well. She had been vomiting a couple of times and I discovered
fresh blood in her stool but she ate large amounts of food with good appetite. She
also had now become very thin after weaning the pups. I dropped off a stool sample
at the clinic to be tested before our appointment. The results were none conclusive so the
doctor took a blood sample (poor Elsa was shaved on her neck for the procedure
to be performed there) and a CBC test was done. Shortly after running the
diagnostic I could view the results displayed on the computer screen and the
doctor explained that there were no abnormalities. He suggested that she might have internal
parasites (although she had been dewormed during pregnancy) and if the
prescribed medicine would not make a difference then an x-ray might be needed. We
left the Vet armed with three different kinds of medication, a dozen cans of
specialized dietary dog food and a hefty bill.
Over the next ten days I was to dispense the various kinds of
meds.
I started administering the meds right after arriving back
home and I was to continue with the antibiotic every 8 hours. Elsa was not
enthusiastic about the canned “Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets, Gastro enteric
Dog Food” The label stated it contained as the first ingredient “meat byproducts
and the second water” and I didn’t blame her. For the next two days I managed
to give her the meds and food, but Elsa brought up the morning meal an hour
after eating on the third day and she became listless and withdrawn. Then on the fourth day she gagged when I put
the canned food in front of her and she could not hold down any food at at all.
This made me very concerned. I decided
to stop all medications and to let her tummy rest. At the same time I went online researching
the meds. The Metronidazole that I had
to spray her every eight hours by syringe into her mouth listed the common side
effects as: Nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, drooling, gagging/ regurgitation,
fatigue, loss of appetite, blood in urine and fever. Furthermore a warning of
an overdose (the dosage is measured by dog weight) and treatment for extended
periods said: Irregular or abnormally slow heartbeat, tremors, seizures,
stiffness and dilated pupils might occur. I was horrified reading this! Additionally
the website stated that this antibiotic product is not yet approved by the FDA.
At the time of writing this I can say that after a week long
diet of dry “Royal Canin Adult Dachshund” food, in small portions, Elsa seems
fine and she now also eats my cooked chicken, rice and vegetables again mixed
with the dry kibble. She’s back to being
active and playful with Reggy. Perhaps the few days when she took the meds have
killed off whatever ailed her. However, we are careful monitoring what she eats.
Although she’s lost some weight, she looks great. Reggy, on the other hand, has put on a little
weight because he liked to participate in the extra food we had given to Elsa
while she was still nursing. I think
some exercise might cure this problem.
In the meantime we'd received a phone call from the lady who
organizes the annual Wiener Dog Races at the local Leamington Raceway. This
year our Elsa had to skip this event but we registered Reggy for the race and
Elsa came along to watch. There were not
as many participating Dachshunds this year, and no, Reggy did not win, but we
had fun and he loved the experience and he got many compliments for being “very
cute” and so “adorable”. The winner of
this year’s race should have gotten an additional award for having the longest
legs ever seen on a Dachshund.
So while I have been busy with all 8 dogs, Benno had his
long awaited shed being delivered to our property. Rather than building the shed ourselves we
went with a custom shed from “Wagler Mini Barns” These sheds are built to
order, or stock of which they have several different models and styles sitting
at their yard. A professional Amish crew
of carpenters is building these mini houses by hand and you can have your shed
match your house profile, which we did. Is has the same siding and shingles as
our house. Once the shed or barn is
completed it will be delivered to your property and put in place with
ease.
If anyone is interested, their address is 10055 Carter Rd.
Malahide Township, RR1, Aylmer, Ont. N5H 2R1.
Tel: 519-773-2218. Strangely, they have a website http://www.waglermini-barns.com but if you want to contact them by phone and no one is answering
the telephone when you call, don’t worry, because the office does not have a phone. It is located in the old
school house, so try again in a
while and Laverne Zehr will get back to you. (Don't try and text him I suspect the phone is the old style rotary phone :-)
Our shed is very neat and well built, but the inside was
bare because Benno opted to finish it himself and I am giving him a hand when
needed. This new project of ours
requires many trips to the home building center and hardware store for the
materials needed to finish the inside.
Of course there will be more pictures to come.
For today I think the post is long enough and I hope my next
update will not take so long.
