(no subject)
I must have some pretty weird, crappy Karma.
Robot Danger is a really sick puppy.
When we first brought him home, we fed him more than what he was probably used to getting to himself, and he threw up for about two days. We figured it was just because he was used to having to eat as much as he could as quickly as possible, because otherwise his littermates would eat it all. We started to then just feed him spoonfuls at a time throughout the day. That seemed to do some good. He still was vomiting sometimes, but we thought it was because we'd play too much with him right after he'd eat.
So, we thought we were on the right track! Today, Robot and I come home to do some clicker training. I'd say a command like "sit"; he'd sit; I'd click the clicker immediately to mark the behaviour as positive; then I'd give him a treat to reward him. We did this for a while and then I got up, fed him a little, and went to make some rice for myself. As I was doing that, I heard him start making some noises I'd never heard, and his throat area was getting swollen! I was scared and thought he had something lodged in his throat! So, I tried calling a vet and no one answered (who still uses a busy signal?!!?) so I went with Robot to pick James up from work. Robot threw up a little single piece of food and I thought it was over! He had thrown up what he was choking on and everything was going to be fine! Nope. He continued to cry and threw up more. He was also incredibly bloated. James and I took him to the animal hospital to get x-rayed. It wasn't good news, and it wasn't as simple as just getting the bad out of his system through inducing vomiting or something.
He has congenital Megaesophagus which means that his esophagus is enlarged and the muscles don't contract to help him get food and water to his stomach. So, instead, he just ends up passively vomiting almost everything he eats and really only gas is what remains in his stomach. To top it off, he has a pneumonia from inhaling food into his lungs.
It will be okay, though. It just means changing his eating habits.
It makes me really sad for him.
Now, we have to give him his antibiotics twice a day for two weeks to help with his lungs. We also have to feed him corn syrup from now on (having him sit up) to act as a natural laxative so he can go to the bathroom after eating instead of having all of that gas inside him and then wait 45 minutes for him to eat. We ALSO have to feed him while sitting him up straight. So, one of us holds him up right and the other feeds him small doses at a time throughout the day. We have to hold him up straight for 45 minutes to an hour to make sure the food gets to his stomach. Once it's there, there isn't a problem; it's just getting the food to the stomach that is the hard part. We also have to raise his water bowl so that when he's drinking, gravity will help pull the water to his stomach.
I wonder what I did to make it so I can never just have a normal fucking dog.
A few years ago, it was I had to put to sleep my 11 week old puppy that I had for 3 days because she had parvo.
Now, my dog has to be fed like a child.
It's okay, because I love him.
I'll tell you something, though. I'm definitely not ready to worry like that in the case of a child! Not just yet.
Robot Danger is a really sick puppy.
When we first brought him home, we fed him more than what he was probably used to getting to himself, and he threw up for about two days. We figured it was just because he was used to having to eat as much as he could as quickly as possible, because otherwise his littermates would eat it all. We started to then just feed him spoonfuls at a time throughout the day. That seemed to do some good. He still was vomiting sometimes, but we thought it was because we'd play too much with him right after he'd eat.
So, we thought we were on the right track! Today, Robot and I come home to do some clicker training. I'd say a command like "sit"; he'd sit; I'd click the clicker immediately to mark the behaviour as positive; then I'd give him a treat to reward him. We did this for a while and then I got up, fed him a little, and went to make some rice for myself. As I was doing that, I heard him start making some noises I'd never heard, and his throat area was getting swollen! I was scared and thought he had something lodged in his throat! So, I tried calling a vet and no one answered (who still uses a busy signal?!!?) so I went with Robot to pick James up from work. Robot threw up a little single piece of food and I thought it was over! He had thrown up what he was choking on and everything was going to be fine! Nope. He continued to cry and threw up more. He was also incredibly bloated. James and I took him to the animal hospital to get x-rayed. It wasn't good news, and it wasn't as simple as just getting the bad out of his system through inducing vomiting or something.
He has congenital Megaesophagus which means that his esophagus is enlarged and the muscles don't contract to help him get food and water to his stomach. So, instead, he just ends up passively vomiting almost everything he eats and really only gas is what remains in his stomach. To top it off, he has a pneumonia from inhaling food into his lungs.
It will be okay, though. It just means changing his eating habits.
It makes me really sad for him.
Now, we have to give him his antibiotics twice a day for two weeks to help with his lungs. We also have to feed him corn syrup from now on (having him sit up) to act as a natural laxative so he can go to the bathroom after eating instead of having all of that gas inside him and then wait 45 minutes for him to eat. We ALSO have to feed him while sitting him up straight. So, one of us holds him up right and the other feeds him small doses at a time throughout the day. We have to hold him up straight for 45 minutes to an hour to make sure the food gets to his stomach. Once it's there, there isn't a problem; it's just getting the food to the stomach that is the hard part. We also have to raise his water bowl so that when he's drinking, gravity will help pull the water to his stomach.
I wonder what I did to make it so I can never just have a normal fucking dog.
A few years ago, it was I had to put to sleep my 11 week old puppy that I had for 3 days because she had parvo.
Now, my dog has to be fed like a child.
It's okay, because I love him.
I'll tell you something, though. I'm definitely not ready to worry like that in the case of a child! Not just yet.