ArbDogs? Pics!

[gary112]

23 hours ago, Big J said:

Thanks for all the warm wishes guys. It means a lot. So many of us here have companion dogs that we see more of than our partners, children, friends or indeed anyone else. Nobody goes into dog ownership blind - we nearly always outlive them, but it doesn't make the prospect of that end point any less traumatic.

 

So to update - she's doing a lot better today. Much perkier, and she's somehow managed the convince the (obviously easily manipulated ) nurses that she only eats gravy bones. Her temperature is stable. Her heart murmur persists and her breathing is a bit laboured still, but it's a positive step and we can take her home tomorrow morning. With a bucketful of meds (to quote the vet).

 

I don't think that she's out of the woods, but she'll hopefully recuperate better at home. There will be lasting damage to her heart with the endocarditis and the recovery from that is 4-6 months usually. It'll require her to have a change of pace in life, but hopefully she's on the road to recovery.

 

 

Hi J, just wondering if you managed to get Katie home today and how she is doing?

[Big J]

6 hours ago, gary112 said:

Hi J, just wondering if you managed to get Katie home today and how she is doing?

 

Really good Gary - as well as we could have hoped. My wife collected her from the vets and came to my site with lunch, and Katie was cheery and bright. Panting a bit (it is warm, and she's always been crap in the heat) and not so quick on her feet but in no way withdrawn.

 

I'm so pleased that she seems to be out of the woods. We've got a massive pile of meds to give her every day for the short term, and she'll be on heart meds for the rest of her life. 

 

She went straight to bed for a bit when they got back home, but then spent the rest of the afternoon outside, potting around the farm and sitting in the shade under the bench.

 

Edited June 12, 2021 by Big J

[Big J]

This was her when she first got home, with my younger daughter cuddling her.

 

[gary112]

1 minute ago, Big J said:

 

Really good Gary - as well as we could have hoped. My wife collected her from the vets and came to my site with lunch, and Katie was cheery and bright. Panting a bit (it is warm, and she's always been crap in the heat) and not so quick on her feet but in no way withdrawn.

 

I'm so pleased that she seems to be out of the woods. We've got a massive pile of meds to give her every day for the short term, and she'll be on heart meds for the rest of her life. 

 

She went straight to bed for a bit when they got back home, but then spent the rest of the afternoon outside, potting around the farm and sitting in the shade under the bench.

 

Brilliant stuff,she looks pretty good there,hope she keeps doing well now

[Tippin Alaybye]

This was her when she first got home, with my younger daughter cuddling her.
 

That is the best arbdog picture ever[emoji3590]

[Big J]

To update all you kind folk: 

 

Katie is doing really well. Back to her normal self, albeit with much diminished cardiovascular capacity (though it's improving, and her heart function seems to be improving too). She's eating like a horse, popping pills like there's no tomorrow and seems to have developed a fan club at the vets. 

 

We're so relieved that she's pulled through this 😎

[Doug Tait]

That's really good news Big J, pleased for you. I take it she's not joining you in the woods yet? You must miss having her at work with you

[Big J]

2 minutes ago, Doug Tait said:

That's really good news Big J, pleased for you. I take it she's not joining you in the woods yet? You must miss having her at work with you

 

Thanks Doug.

 

She's home for now. I'll have her back out again, but not in the height of summer and not on the kinds of jobs I've been doing of late with long extraction routes. I have been careful not to overwork her up to now, but she can't even run up a hill at the moment whereas she was very rapid before this episode of ill health. I really do miss having her with me, but not as much as if she had died. You have to look for the silver linings....

Edited June 16, 2021 by Big J

[Doug Tait]

3 minutes ago, Big J said:

 

Thanks Doug.

 

She's home for now. I'll have her back out again, but not in the height of summer and not on the kinds of jobs I've been doing of late with long extraction routes. I have been careful not to overwork her up to now, but she can't even run up a hill at the moment whereas she was very rapid before this episode of ill health.

Yes the heat isn't helpful with heart problems, though humidity is the worst thing in my experience. Had heart failure myself a few years back and our wee dog Cassie has it now too, we both struggle for oxygen when it's humid. The good thing I find with dogs is they're usually a good judge of their own abilities, unlike me as I expect to be unstoppable all the time!

Keep us posted on how Katie does please 

[Doug Tait]

 

I've got one foot on the naughty step today. Had the dogs through a wood and then hunting at a wood pile.

 

As you can see much fun was had, but Wee Poppes got muddy and worse still, her paws are caked in sap.

 

Anyone have a suggestion for removing sap? I vaguely remember reading here somewhere that mayonnaise works, or was it butter, or tomato sauce, or maybe it was red wine...