Rough second half of the week for me. I've been sick and took yesterday off. Today I'm at work though really wishing I was at home in bed. Luckily I have Monday off so I'm planning on a recuperating weekend. No gym for me since Tuesday which really makes me cranky and makes my weight skyrocket. I feel like a fat blob.
Last night, my great dane, Jozi, had her first seizure. It was a big one and she couldn't stand or walk after. The vet was about to close (5:45 and they close at 6:00). I couldn't get them to answer the phone so dd and I hoisted her into my car (remember, I am sick and feeling very puny)-- she weighs 125 ish pounds! Off to the vet where they checked her out-- took blood, checked her blood sugar (low) and gave her a shot for nausea (her eyes kept swirling in her eye sockets making her dizzy and nauseous). Waiting to hear about the blood results today-- best case scenario is that she had a seizure and we'll never know why. Other possible not so nice causes include pancreatic cancer (which would explain low blood sugar) or a brain tumor. I am barely holding it together after just losing Ozzie two weeks ago. Dh is still out of the country and returns tomorrow night.
Please keep us in your thoughts-- I'll update later.
Just heard from the vet. Her bloodwork was normal so it could be either idiopathic epilepsy (no known reason), or a brain tumor. We will wait and see if she has any more seizures and if she does, we'll have to decide what we want to do treatment wise.
Glad the bloodwork came back normal. Idiopathic diseases are not fun, though. Buddy had idiopathic vestibular disease--with at least one recurrence. It took him weeks to get over the first bout. I hope everything turns out ok for Jozi!
I'm so sorry to read of Jozi's illness & hope that the testing results turn up something tangible (so you can stop worrying about all the things it might be) and treatable & curable (so you can take actual steps to help her, rather than having to endure passively all the wheel-turning that worrying can bring).
My financial adviser owns a pair of Great Danes & their pictures are all over her desk at work. There's this little blonde & these two big galoots on either side of her. One is black-spotted with a blue eye; one is pure black. In the picture I like best, they're inside her car, which is surprisingly small & sporty for someone with such big dogs. Their heads are hanging out the window & tongues lolling. Their paws look huge. When I go to see her, I love looking at these pictures & asking about her dogs. They're such emphatic personalities. It's like she owns a pair of horses.
Michele - I'm glad the bloodwork was normal and that your DD was there to help you get Jozi to the vet. Could it be possible that she had the seizure because her blood sugar was low? Like hypoglycemia? Since she has been mourning for Ozzie maybe she isn't eating enough?
Last edited by paperclippy; 02-18-2011 at 03:29 PM.
Jessica,
Actually, they did check her blood sugar and it was a little low (at the vet with the quick test). The vet checked it further and it wasn't low with the extensive testing. It is good that it wasn't low because that would have been a sign of pancreatic cancer. She hasn't been eating well (has lost 4 pounds) and I did talk to the vet about that too. She suggested giving her complex carbs. I gave her some cheez-its and other crackery things. She is a picky eater so it is hard to get her to eat normally, let alone when she is depressed and has no one else to guard her food from. We are already thinking of getting a puppy this summer so she'll have some food competition then which should improve her appetite. We are looking at getting a miniature dachshund. Can you picture a mini dachshund and a great dane together!? We've had two dachshunds in the past and they have been great (long-lived) pets.
Michele, I hope Jozi is ok and it was just a one-time thing. Scary - will keep you in my thoughts.
I've been really sick and finally went to the Dr. today. Both of my ears are infected - haven't had this problem since I was a pre-teen! Anyway, in the midst of my pain and misery I have not been working out or making any attempt to eat healthy food (well, I DID have some broccoli last night with my soup...) so like Michele I am feeling like a fat blob.
Hopefully next week all of us and our dogs will be doing much better! =)
We had "small stinky dead fish" treasures today. Frozen in the ice mountains and now thawing in the 10+ degree heat (well for Feb. that's hot in Canada). Quince gave me 5 of 'em - beat Javi's 2!
Sorry to hear Jozi's ailing Michele. My dog had the idiopathic vestibular thing and she only ever had the one seizure. It did take her several weeks to come totally back to normal but she did. Hope Jozi's the same.
I just turned down a lab puppy to walk. Former client - bad history with me and other major problems as well (rehab didn't take). I saw her (puppy) in his driveway weeks ago and my heart just melted for her. She's in for a rough time of it.
He's already boarding her with one of the other walkers (I think she's can't be more than 10 weeks old) while he "recovers from pneumonia". SIGH.
I have nothing in the house to eat or I probably would be stuffing my face right now to deal with the sadness I feel for this little puppy. Maybe my former client will man up and straighten out - hope so for her sake!
Turns out I've been focussing on the wrong thing to try to get DH to lose weight/work out. I kept emphasizing the health benefits of aforesaid (always wanted to use that in a sentence).
I should have been appealing to his vanity! He's been desperate to get some clothes for this presentation he has to do this weekend.
The lack of things that fit him (even remotely well) has spurred him to begin on the road to slimness. Last night he asked me to not bring any more chips, crackers, etc. when I grocery shop.
"If I want a bag of chips I'll have to walk for it". DH's plan is to walk through the neighbourhood for an hour if he wants a bag of chips. If he really, really wants the chips then he'll get them from the grocery after the walk.
That's a great start for him (and something he might be able to commit to) and I'm hoping we can find more options like this for him as he progresses.
Dagmar, I hope the chip walk idea works for your DH!
Iris, get well soon!
Michele, the thought of a dachshund and a great dane together is pretty funny! Ben's cousin has a great dane and a puggle -- apparently the puggle is the alpha dog. You should be aware though that dachshunds are prone to the same kind of ruptured disc injury that Carter just had. I'm sure they are much easier to nurse back to health though since they are so small!
Carter is doing great. Last night he didn't whine at all and he got up to turn himself over all on his own several times so DH and I managed to actually be in bed mostly sleeping for the whole night. We've got him back on two meals a day and are mixing kibble back into his food and he seems to be doing okay. His stomach sticks out but that might just be because he used to have a bunch of fat covering it so we didn't really see it, and now he's so skinny that you can see it. In any case he doesn't seem to be uncomfortable at all after eating anymore. He is still very attention-hungry though but hopefully as he starts to be more mobile that will calm down too.
Right now I've got him sleeping in his play pen. DH is out for his group run (1 hour run) this morning so I'm going to leave Carter in the pen while I go upstairs to take a shower. Hopefully since he's already asleep he won't notice that I'm out of sight.
Sigh. No luck keeping him calm during my shower. I set up the webcam on my laptop to record him while I was upstairs. I was gone for 14 minutes. He started whining after 2 minutes, barking after 3, he got up around 9 minutes and kept barking until I came back to get him. I need to try recording when I'm actually not in the house as well.
Historically Carter has been fine with us leaving him alone in the house, but he has been not okay with being confined to one part of the house while we are in another part. I'm wondering if his barking when we leave the house right now is because he is confined to the play pen, and if he was free range he would be okay. Of course for his recovery we cannot leave him in the house unless he's in the pen for another three and a half weeks. I'm reminded of the time we tried to leave him in the backyard while we were gone and he ripped up the screen and jumped through the window to get into the house.
Jessica, I had a dog that refused to be confined as well. The day after we moved into our new house, the painters had to return to do some touch-up. DH locked both dogs in the spare bedroom (which might be an idea for Carter). Anyway, the darn dog ate a 2' x 3' (yes FOOT) patch of carpet. BRAND NEW carpet in our BRAND NEW house. I was beyond mad. Thankfully the carpet guy fixed it and no one could tell.
Dagmar~it is sad when irresponsible people get animals. It is so unfair to the animal.
Last night DH and I went to a cocktail party honoring some new architectural graduates. It was held at a home that DH did work on and it is simply a piece of art. Amazing house. As soon as it's published in a magazine I'll share links. One item that is amazing is the spiral staircase. The risers are glass and the panels that hold the railing are glass. It's breathtaking.
Today we're planning golf, but it rained all night so I don't know if we'll go or not (it's not until this afternoon). If it doesn't warm up and dry up, we'll probably go see a movie. Unknown got some great reviews.
DS is going with a friend to San Diego tomorrow for a Linkin Park concert. He should have fun (his first concert!).
Jessica-- yes, I know all about dachshund's back issues. Both of my previous dachshunds had minor back problems (thankfully no ruptured discs). Usually (though not always), if you keep weight off of them and keep them from jumping, their backs are okay. My only concern is that the Great Dane might accidentally hurt the puppy but we certainly wouldn't leave them alone together until/unless we could trust them.
I am also well versed in dogs that are destructive when they don't want to be locked up. My in-laws unfortunately were always on the receiving end of this! Every Christmas we used to go to their house for the day. We had to bring our dog/dogs as we would be there from extremely early to extremely late or overnight. My in-laws have a spoiled dog that is the Queen of the house (cocker spaniel) and fairly nasty. Their dog always got free rein while we had to lock up our dog. We tried to come up with compromises but to no avail. One of our dogs (I can't actually remember if it is was our Dachshund or our Boston Terrier) destroyed the carpet trying to dig its way out of the room it was locked into. Another time, they insisted we lock our DOBERMAN into a TINY bathroom while we went to church. We tried to insist this was a bad idea. While we were gone, there was a thunderstorm and we got back to find she had tried (and almost succeeded) to get through the door. The door was ripped to shreds and had to be replaced. We told them!
I haven't exercised since Tuesday as I got sick. My shoulder has hurt since yesterday as I think I hurt it lifting Jozi into the car Wednesday. I think I'm going to try the gym but not sure if it is a great idea. I'll have to listen to my body.
I'm glad the bloodwork was normal and that your DD was there to help you get Jozi to the vet. Could it be possible that she had the seizure because her blood sugar was low? Like hypoglycemia? Since she has been mourning for Ozzie maybe she isn't eating enough?
(well for Feb. that's hot in Canada). Quince gave me 5 of 'em - beat Javi's 2! 
