Mornings start out with 4 pills for Sofie and 1 for Louise.
Then at dinner, Sofie gets another 3, and now Charles gets 1.
On the alternate days, Louise gets 2 for breakfast, Sofie gets 4, and Charles gets 1.
It has gotten more and more complicated at the Zoo as we all age. The dogs are now 10,11, and 12.
Oh and that doesn’t include the monthly Heartworm or Flea stuff.
Thank goodness, only Noel, the Christmas Cat who is 14, gets something in the morning, and the other 3 cats are good, for now.
Does your human give you medicine? How do they do it (or maybe they do it so well you just don’t know)?
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤ 
Tags: Blog, blog hop, dog, dog health, dog medicine, Dog People, dog rescue, DogBlog, DogDaz, Dogs, giving pills, lorian lipton, Pet, pets
One of my coworker’s dog just had surgery for his other ACL (he is doing fine), but she told me that the dog is crated and on meds and is having trouble going potty. Of course the first thing that comes to my mind is PUMPKIN. This made me realize that maybe I should share with all my readers the remedies that I have used over the years. Since Louise has colitis, she goes back and forth with the consistency of her bowel movements. I find that pumpkin actually can work both ways, help them go, or go less. Here is my list of remedies for constipation. Add any ones you can think of into the comments.
1. Pumpkin: I feed the dogs pumpkin regularly. A tablespoon in their food is all they need. Make sure to use 100% pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix (which contains a whole bunch other stuff especially sugar). When I make dog food, pumpkin is a main ingredient,
2. FiberSupplements: For regularity (we do this for the cats), add fiber, like Metamucil, to their water. There are many over the counter fiber supplements that could work. Check with your vet to see what she recommends and also for how much per pound of the animal.
3. Bran: You can try any kind of bran: rice, oat, wheat. This is one one of the most common remedies for animals and humans when it comes to constipation. I used to give my dogs wheat bran but I soaked it in chicken broth first, so that it was more easily digested and flavorful. Again, ask your vet how much bran per pound of dog.
4. Browm Rice: Did you know that brown rice is much more beneficial than white rice when it comes to fiber? You can sprinkle some on top of your dogs food with each meal.
5. Vegetables and Fruits: When not giving the dogs pumpkin with there meal, I give them either green beans, carrots, or peas. I buy the NO SALT cans (sodium is really bad for dogs) and wash the veggies well. This is just another source of fiber to keep it all pushing along. Louise doesn’t like fruit at all but Sofie loves cantaloupe. I know people whose dogs love apples. (Just make sure to remove the core and the seeds, because the seeds contain bits of cyanide which can be toxic.). Also try unsweetened apple sauce; Mojo and Zelda’s Mom freezes the little apple sauce cups and gives them as an alternative to Frostypaws.
6. Mineral oil: Mineral oil can get things moving but don’t give it directly. Make sure you put it in food. I give 1 tsp for 10 pounds of dog weight, but check with your vet.
7. Exercise: There is nothing like getting the blood flowing through exercise to help move things along. Take Fido for an extra long walk if you can.
8. Laxatives, Milk of Magnesia, or other medications: Some vets may advise a mild laxative or other medications. If it gets to this point, listen to the doctor.
There are many reasons why our furbaby’s get ‘concentrated.’ Hopefully some of these ideas can help loosen things up.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Tags: animal awareness, constipation, dog medicine, Dog People, DogBlog, DogDaz, lorian lipton, nature, pet blog, postaday, remedies
My eye surgery went very well. My challenge now is trying to see with one eye that has the new long distance lense but still has trouble close, and the old eye that still needs glasses for everything and also has a cataract. I thought I would jump right back on the computer, but that work seems the hardest of all to see. The Doctor recommended store-bought readers to help the new eye (can’t use my regular glasses because they are too strong for the new eye). Oh my! If the doctor doesn’t want to fix the other eye soon, I will have to figure out a long term solution. But for now, I am doing my best and feel fine, though I can’t see the way I want to.
While I had surgery, Louise and Sofie went to Sonya’s, the pet sitter. They were there for 3 nights (brought them home a day early because Nine ran away and I was feeling well enough to take care of them). This was the first time since Sofie has been on the Clomicalm and the Melatonin that she has been away for me. She has been sleeping through the night without night terrors for about a month. The first few night’s home she was fine then BAM! – 2 nights in a row the night barking and anxiety behavior returned. Also, while she was gone, Sonya said she had an asthma-like attack. It is allergy season, but the Vet did not want me to give her Benadryl because of all the other stuff. Sonya did say that she thought Sofie was too sleepy and she cut back the Melatonin to 5mg from 7.5mg. Could it have been that? The short separation?
She slept through the night after those 2 events but, my luck, I had to leave on a business trip the following Sunday for 2 nights (so back to Sonya’s for the doggies). Sofie did not have any breathing problems that time. However, 2 days after she got home, she had a night terror. Clearly it wasn’t the smaller dose of Melatonin because I went back to 7.5mg as soon as she came home. Maybe the separation from me or from home? Does she go into a deeper level of sleep at home and that takes her into the terror state?
We went to the vet last week and agreed to 20mg of Zyrtec (a non-drowsy allergy med). She is sleeping and seems her old silly self. She is no longer wheezing or scratching (my other giant fear with an obsessive dog because of the damage she can do to herself). You are a lesson in balance for Mommy, that is for sure, my little Sofie Bear. Now if I can only figure out my eyes.
Someone cannot pass a pile of leaves without a good roll. – That’s my girl!
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Tags: Animal, animal awareness, animals, dog, dog medicine, Dog People, DogBlog, DogDaz, Dogs, lorian lipton, nature, pet blog, postaday
DogDaz Zoo 