When I got Dolly she was very sick. She had a horrible cough.but I really didn't know it was a cough because her hole chest and stomach were emitting this huge cough. The pet store checked her 4 times before I left and they said she was fine. The next morning I took her to the vet.pretty bad respiratory infection.he never really said kennel cough, but he didn't say anything else either. He was being paid by the pet store so in that case he was probably not so eager to say kennel cough as he was that she had an infection. She didn't respond to the first meds, then he put her on stronger ones and then the next check he kept her on the stronger ones for another couple of weeks. Then, when the respiratory infection got taken care of, she started having colitis.she would poop and then there would be drops of blood from her puppy pad to wherever she was walking. That was so bad that she was on special food until she was about 10 months old. I think that made me more committed and each victory was a huge deal. She still has respiratory issues and I have learned to listen to the little sounds and then take action. I have talked the vet into prescribing the antihistamine at a maintenance level so that she can lay outside and bask in the sun and she won't get attacked by the allergens that then leads to the respiratory infection. If she sounds a little worse, I just give her the meds twice a day instead of once, and if that didn't help I might take her to the vet or if it isn't at that level I go to an entire pill instead of a half. She has done pretty well the last two months.
Desi had other issues.issues from poor breeding by a so-called breeder. She had been breeding Chihuahuas for 20 years but she didn't know to remove the dew claws before the puppies are 5 days old and she obviously was using a breeding male that had genetic issues that were passed on to every male puppy. Before he was 4 months old he went through a surgery to remove the dewclaws from both of his front paws and then had four incisions in his belly so that the vet could locate and remove the testicle that was not attached to anything inside. She let all the puppies free feed all day long, and I am afraid that Mr. Desi Lou was hogging all the mother's milk, too. He was OBESE at 8 weeks old and it took all the way to when he was 10 months old to lose enough of the fat to make him acceptable, but has now lost more and he is very lean and very healthy (except for him eating/chewing something that scraped his hole mouth up.) I think that if I was not disabled and was working, that my two may have been a huge challenge juggling taking off of work to get them the vet care needed and the hours of attention that they needed. Like I said, I don't look 20 years in the future.it might be my way of hoping that everything stays the same, but you do what you can. You have already rescued Pia and got her on the right track and you are nursing her back to health. The rest of the ride may be real smooth. I would just say to take each day as it comes. If you have to re-home her at some point, I know that you will find a good home for her. Until then, relax and enjoy her. Joan From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of freddyscribbles Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2011 7:05 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [Chihuahuas] Re: First time dog owner panic? At this point - I have her for at least a month. I want to get her healthy. I want to make sure she gets spayed and finishes up her vaccine routine. Right now, the anxiety is really wearing me down. Will she be okay. Is this health thing going to be a problem to deal with. At the moment, I suddenly feel really, really unready to be handling this little girl. Which is odd - I'm usually very hands on, get done what needs being done. I've cleaned out maggoty horse wounds. I've rescued the same horse out of a pool (long story...). I've regularly had to clean up the dead carcasses of whatever the cat and resident dog have decided they don't want to eat. I had a gerbil get sick. I kept him next to me in my hoody pocket to keep him warm. I took him to the vet the next day and brought him home only to have him die in my hands. That last one was really unnerving. But you deal with it. For whatever reason, this little dog makes me very nervous. In the 'What the hell have I gotten myself into' sort of way. It may turn out that I'm better as more of a foster mom. Whatever happens, one way or another, this little girl's going to have a good home. With me or with someone else if it turns out that this just doesn't end up working out for whatever reason. sigh --- In [email protected] <mailto:Chihuahuas%40yahoogroups.com> , Joan Croft <joan_croft@...> wrote: > > AMEN to that! > > > > > > From: [email protected] <mailto:Chihuahuas%40yahoogroups.com> [mailto:[email protected] <mailto:Chihuahuas%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of twopenns@... > Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2011 5:38 PM > To: [email protected] <mailto:Chihuahuas%40yahoogroups.com> > Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] First time dog owner panic? > > > > > > Dogs adjust to the owner's lifestyle. I have often read not to leave a puppy alone for more than an hour and yet, I know many who gets pups and go home to check them on their lunch hour and then leave again and their dogs are well behaved and adjusted. Get her an x pen and train her to be happy and feel safe there. Put food and water out, a piddle pad or my preference a litter box, a soft bed and some toys. At two yrs of age my Emiliano still feels comfortable in his pen when I put him there when people he is uncomfortable around (cleaning lady, small children, etc) come over. I also keep his sleep tent in there and that's where he sleeps at night. Yes, your life will change and if you travel you willl have to pay for a pet sitter who comes over at least twice a day. Also, check ups and unforseen medical bills can be costly, Emiliano had issies as a baby, a 3 day stay in intensive care was expensive. Several people (including the vet) told me the breeder sold me a sick dog \and some suggested I take him back to the breeder. But I looked at it differently, I figured the Lord send him to me because he was going to need medical attention and I could afford to pay for him to have it. He is worth every penny I spent on him. Yes, a lot to think about. > > > > Gloria > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: freddyscribbles <freddyscribbles@...> > To: Chihuahuas <[email protected] <mailto:Chihuahuas%40yahoogroups.com> > > Sent: Wed, May 4, 2011 4:07 pm > Subject: [Chihuahuas] First time dog owner panic? > > > > I think I should address two things first > > 1. Adopting this dog was not an impulsive decision. Was it a purely logical one? Probably not. But it was not an impulsive, spontaneous decision. > > 2. I do not regret adopting this chihuahua > > That being said, have any of you dealt with first-dog panic? I have owned pets before. They've gradually gotten bigger over time - fish, hamsters, gerbils, rats. Of that lot, I think that the fish had the longest life expectancy - the mutant fish lived for at least eight years. And I've never shirked responsibility - when the gerbils fell ill or tore each other up in a fight, I took them to the vet. Yes...gerbils. To a vet. Granted, this was not in California where gerbils are regrettably (and annoyingly) illegal. I never had any anxiety associated with these animals. Although, there were some issues with the rats. > > I've grown up with dogs although not directly - my neighbor used to breed Siberian huskies, and the joke was that I was the bipedal child. At any rate, I spent quite a number of summers taking care of the various litters and dogs she had. I'm currently house sitting for a family that has two horses, a dog, and a cat - these are all predominantly outdoor animals. The dog and cat come in at night. Sylvie isn't allowed near the chihuahua until she gets a clean bill of health. > > To my knowledge, this is a very well behaved dog with a very sweet disposition. But that sort of post-excitement panic is starting to settle in just a little. The 'Oh man, what have I done' sort of thing. A friend said he had the same reaction when he first purchased his chameleon. And that it also passed within a week of ownership. > > But for now, as things settle in, there is a definite sense of anxiety. Will this end up being an animal that might, at some point, have to deal with my potentially long work days? How long can I expect to be able to leave her on her own? What things are now out of the question due to a dog? How will this later my current lifestyle? Will I be able to provide her with everything she needs? Did I really just commit myself to a relationship that could easily last 10-18 years? > > I am glad that I rescued her. This sweet little girl definitely deserves a second chance. But in spite of having gone out of my way to make sure she has what she needs - bed, sweater, food, treats, carrier for car travel - part of me is freaking out about the whole thing. I definitely want to make sure she gets healthy. And I suspect that this relationship will work out. Worse case scenario, I re-home her - although I'm hoping this is mostly the (temporary) panic talking. Bottom line - I wanted to save her and get her healthy. Could my life have been easier by finding a healthy dog? Definitely. That's just not the way things worked out. > > Right now...I'm just sort of feeling a little in over my head suddenly. Have any of you ever experienced this before. > > Thanks as always for your support! > -A >
