Caring for your dog after surgery.

In reference to my post in April about Blacky my 8-month-old puppy that had to go through surgery for his hind knees. Well on May 20 he was scheduled for surgery on both knees.

I didn’t get any sleep the night before the surgery wondering if I was taking the right decision for him. Surgery was inevitable Blacky couldn’t walk anymore. He was dragging his hind legs as he tried to run after the birds. It was heart breaking to see him try to run just to give up in the end because of the pain. You could see he was exhausted as he collapsed on the grass panting.

He looked so helpless with those dark black eyes staring at me. I would pick him up and bring back into the house.

When I picked him up at the Vet’s after his surgery he was laying on a mat, the Vet said they preferred not to put him in a cage in order not to traumatize him. They know him well; I’ve been to the Vet’s so many times with Blacky that he’s become some sort of Mascot at the clinic. 

Poor thing, he looked like a poodle that had been trimmed, no fur on his belly and legs, just a strip on his back and on his paws. You know those punk style haircuts when they shave their heads and leave a strip on top of their skull, just like the Iroquois Indians. (See a few Google images on Iroquois)

                                                           Poor baby, all wrapped up.

The first night he slept on his mat in front of the couch in the living room. I slept on the couch so I could keep an eye on him. Neither of us slept much. He was in pain even with the painkillers the Vet subscribed. Check out this link, Post-Operative care for Pets. There’s even a picture of a dog that had knee surgery like Blacky, and that was shaved in the same manner.

I believe the worst problem was that he couldn’t understand what had happened to him. Why he was in so much pain, and why he couldn’t get up to pee?

That night I ended up sleeping on the carpet with him. He calmed down as I petted him when he got nervous and tried to move in vain. I’ve had many animals; domestic and not that I have cared for in the past 30 yrs. An animal needs to feel safe when it’s sick, otherwise it feels threatened, it’s an innate reaction for men and animals alike. If you are sick and weak, you ‘re easy prey, so you panic.

Last night after taking the bandages off his legs as the Vet had subscribed, I decided to put a mattress on the floor. It was much more comfortable for me, and I was right next to Blacky. He slept pretty well through the night but a 4am he was wide-awake and barking. I picked him up and switched him around, thinking maybe that he was tired of being in the same position. 

Finally, he stopped barking as I spoke to him with a soothing voice while petting him. At 6 am here we go again, he gets fidgety and barks repeatedly. Okay, now I try hard to figure out what  he wants? I noticed he hadn’t peed on his absorbent pad underneath him as he had the night before.

I delicately pick him up; go on the balcony, prop him up by holding his butt up in order for him not to stand on his hind legs. Not easy I must say, he weighs 12 Kg. There you go, he finally pees, what a relief, I bring him back into the house and set him down, he falls fast asleep, and so do I.

Today, he’s doing a lot better, in fact, he wants to stand on his own, and I can’t have that. He’s a puppy and he wants to play, my husband says not to worry and that he won’t get up. I insist I have to be near him to avoid that he stand on his back legs, the consequences could be disastrous; it has only been two days since he has gone through surgery. The Vet insisted that the dog not stand on his hind legs before his check up next week. I intend to follow his advice no matter what.

 Blacky on my mattress on the floor, guess who gets to sleep on the couch tonight?

Good thing is that he has a good appetite and drinks as well. The only problem is that he hasn’t had a bowel movement since the surgery. I will have to find a way to hold him without him standing on his hind legs go to the bathroom; it won’t be easy for either one of us.

I will keep you posted.

Do you have a dog that has been through surgery like Blacky? Did he have to go through rehabilitation afterwards? Was he able to run, play, and jump as other dogs naturally do?

Please let me know, I would love to hear from you.

Take care now.

I’ll be back next week

How to choose a pen name. Are you sure you really need one?

YOU can become whoever you like, BUT be yourself, don’t try to impersonate anyone, it will complicate things. 

One good example is the following;  I wrote a book thinking I could use my real name and then found out I had to get a pen name, now that was a problem. So here I am trying to write two Blog’s at the same time and trying to be earnest and overall honest with my readers, writing under two different names is difficult, it’s time consuming, and I have less time on hand to write my books, or do my gardening or, or…

 I was always told as a child that truthful words stand the test of time; but lies are soon exposed. I hate the fact of using a pen name, it’s not me. I don’t invent things on my Blogs; it is still me writing about my real self on the other Blog, only under another name unfortunately. I would have preferred to write for one Blog that’s all. 

Anne R. Allen gave me some good advice and sent me a link to Kristen Lamb’s Blog on the subject. If you are going crazy as I am, look them up, I found it very useful. Anne posts very good content in her Blogs.

Remember seeing the poster 'I can do it' years ago?

It’s been around a lot for commercial use and has been used way too much, but I like it.  It was J.Howard Miller that re-interpreted the photograph by UPI and created the poster of Geraldine Hoff age 17. At the time she was a factory worker.

Miller added muscles and rearranged the photograph. 

You can read about this on Wikipedia.

When I look at it, it gives me strength, you can do it Eleanor, hang in there you’re not a quitter.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a feminist. I work like a man when I need to and foremost when I want to.

I am and will always be a Tomboy and I enjoy jobs men usually do such as carpentry, masonry or working at the lathe in our plant.

I may not have the muscles men have but I can use my brain. Women are usually pretty good at getting around things. Women are multitasking robots.

When it comes to being a Mom, I am a mother to my children that often complain I am too apprehensive at times.

I can become a lover and mistress for my wonderful husband.

I can escape from adulthood by having long walks in the woods, observing tadpoles in a pond and picking up anything that seems new and interesting as I did as a kid.

If you want something bad enough grab it. Perseverance is the secret. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again. (Written by Thomas H. Palmer’s Teacher’s Manual). 

It works, I never to give up.

I just bought another book on platforms written by Michael Hyatt, Platform Get noticed in a Noisy World.

I have read two other books on the subject and find that all three of them are useful. Whatever information is lacking in one book you can find in the other. One written by Kristen Lamb and the other by Anne R Allen.

If you have any comments or have any suggestions regarding pen names please let me know.

I would love to hear from you. I hope this information was useful.

How to deal with your neighbors and not lose your temper.

Here we go. A few years back I had 11 American game hens and 14 American roosters/cocks. Why so many? Because I don’t eat my birds and these little birds fly and reproduce very easily and hide their eggs.

So when you least expect it, here she comes out of her hiding place walking around with her little chicks. It was the hen you thought the fox ate a month beforehand when you couldn’t’ find her.

It came to a point that I couldn’t keep all of them and so decided to put an ad in the paper and at local stores so animal lovers could adopt them. 

I had many people call for the ad; I interviewed them and met them personally. I disregarded the people that evidently came to grab the poor hens to put them in a pot and have them for dinner. One person even told me, “Why do you breed them if you don’t eat them.” Well you guessed he didn’t get any.

Fortunately I did find animal lovers that adopted my hens and roosters and I was left with three hens and two roosters.

Meanwhile I had adopted two stray dogs and had renovated the hen house for them. Poor hens, they kept on going back to their home but discouraged by the dogs they found another home in the trees and behind the barn. 

They are great flyer's; they would lay their eggs behind the barn, well sometimes, and sleep in the trees. The only problems were the neighbors. They didn’t appreciate being woken up by the rooster at 3am. Even though the rooster only sang for about 30 seconds. Well you know how it is; people nowadays are stressed and nervous. They don’t seem to be bothered by the heavy traffic or the trains whistle but if they hear a sound they are not accustomed to they go berserk.

To make a long story short, one 90 yrs old neighbor had sleeping problems and started complaining about the rooster. What happens, one person tells the other neighbor, “Did you hear that rooster of theirs sing at 3am?” At first, they deny it then they become aware there is a rooster singing, and that triggers the other neighbors. With the power of suggestion the whole neighborhood can hear him sing.

Meanwhile my neighbor started shooting at my rooster with a BB gun while it was perched on a tree facing his home. It is not legal, but I didn’t complain, I tell you, I was upset. Fortunately, he didn’t hurt him.

 Moral, I tried to capture my hens and roosters but it took me a month. I then brought them to a caring family that adopted them. A few weeks later, when I didn’t have any roosters left a friend of mine at the City Hall told me my neighbors had signed a petition.

 Well nothing happened but it did bother me, I had tried to make them happy in capturing and transferring the birds elsewhere but some people are just mean.

Therefore, which is the best way to deal with bad neighbors that complain about a few leaves that fly on their lawn or because you don’t cut your grass regularly, it’s not easy believe me. Know your legal responsibilities to avoid further disputes.

For example, my tree branches overhang the fence, and my neighbor wants me to prune or cut them down.

Well the law in Italy provides that if the trees have been there since they moved in 30 yrs ago he couldn’t ask me to cut them down because more than 20 yrs have passed since so he has no rights whatsoever. However, I must trim the branches overhanging the fence. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past two weekends.

You have to be super nice with these people, and try not to lose your temper. It’s not easy to smile at people you know are just a pain in the neck. However, if you intend to live in peace you have to be nice, if you get as aggressive as they do things get worst. I found that being diplomatic almost always works. 

As Isaac Asimov wrote in the Foundation Trilogy, “Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.” Stay calm, reflect, and learn how to cope with certain people. Here, ignorance is our enemy.

Another trick is find out, as I did, if they had a construction permit for the shack they built last summer near your fence. My neighbors didn’t but I didn’t go to City Hall and complain. I kept it in mind until his next complaint and sure enough, he complained that a bit of dirt would get onto his patio, and that the rain had pushed the grounds against the fencing and moved a few bricks, oh jeez. I smiled and reminded him about his shack, and that a corner was on my property, strangely enough, he never complained again.

Live and let live will you.

Another neighbor came out with another complaint when we had a flood last year; he called me up and told me to stop the water from flooding his grounds, his cellar was flooded and it was my fault. Well, how could I stop the water, his home was lower than mine was and water flows downwards and not upwards. 

Besides, most people in town had their cellars flooded; I suggested he get a water pump, and replied that I couldn’t do anything to stop the water because my name wasn’t Moses, the whole town was on alert for God’s sake, please.

I told him what I could do was to put some planks of wood against the fence so some water would go down the road instead of pouring into his lawn. He seemed satisfied and stopped complaining.

These are little sacrifices we have to make in everyday life in order to make the best of a bad lot.

A few tips:

1 -Don’t let things get out of hand for little things, you should always talk about a solution with your neighbor as a first step.

2 - Avoid disputes; being on good terms with your neighbors makes it easier to resolve problems.

3 –Of course if your neighbor gets too aggressive and out of hand try getting help from the authorities or a lawyer. This would be as a last resort.

Oh, remember that at times your neighbor may be right, so keep a step ahead of them, and know your rights beforehand.

I found interesting the information on Wikihow on the subject, check it out.

Do you have problems with your neighbors? How did you resolve the problem? Do you have any suggestions of your own on how to deal with bad neighbors? Please let me know.

Pruning trees and caring for animals

I’ve been to the Vet’s with Blacky for his X-Rays. His tail bone is soldered and crooked so that is why he  doesn’t wag his tail like other dogs. I don’t know the right terminology seeing I am not a Veterinarian, so bare with me.

His pelvis is lowered and he has a hard time when he goes to the bathroom just to put it nicely. This is due to a few caudal vertebrae’s that are soldered therefore the dog can’t pull up his tail.

As for his knees, both have to undergo surgery. The left hind legs kneecap (Vet calls it kneecap or patellar luxation) is out of place and he is in pain.

The Vet suggested operating on both knees since the right leg’s kneecap seems to be moving around as well. I am worried mostly about Blacky’s epileptic seizures, he hasn’t had any for a while with the medication, but general anesthesia may be risky.

I have decided to wait a while and see if he gets any worse. Probably we will have to put him through surgery. When we take him out for a walk, he wants to run but then stops and lies down because of the pain in his knee. Did someone out there put his or her dog through surgery for the same problem? How did the surgery go?

Is your dog now running through fields as other dogs do? Can he jump up on the couch or go up the stairs on his own? Blacky can’t do any of these tasks now. Please let me know, thanks.

Blacky on his mat with a slightly crooked nose.

On a lighter note, my family worked hard outdoors this weekend. I am very proud of them. It has been raining most weekends so I couldn’t cut the grass. The forecast gave rain again this weekend but thank God, it didn’t rain yesterday. I practically ordered them to cut the grass and prune the trees.

My brother in law popped in with his gear to prune an old tree. The branches were far too long and were shading my little herb garden and greenhouse. We managed to save the green house. Now I have a week’s worth of work to clean up the garden. Have a look at the mess.

Drastically pruned tree to the left and my greenhouse and herb garden to the right.

                                                            

I can’t do everything on my own; old age is creeping up on me as well. I can’t do what I used to do 20 yrs ago. Even if I do exaggerate at times I end up with aches and pains for a week. It means I’m alive I guess.

The good thing about working out in the garden is I get rid of tension. I may be tired after a days’ work but I sure sleep well at night.

My bunnies have dug a few rabbit holes. Holly, a female bunny made three holes dislocated here and there on the premises. I wonder which one she will use for her bunnies. I stalk her but she is clever, she won’t go near the nest but in the opposite direction as soon as I get too close.

This is Holly

My Lilacs and apple trees are in full  bloom I find  they are gorgeous.

See my lionhead bunny on the grass?                                           My Lilac plant

 

I have had problems with a hunter’s dog visiting us occasionally. One morning as I was getting ready to go to work I could hear my dogs barking. They were alarmed by something. I ran downstairs still wearing my pajamas when I saw Little Lord a hunting dog running after Holly. Holly ran faster than Lord did but I think my French hen got the worst treatment. I can't blame the dog, he is real sweet and is happy to see me when he visits, it's his animal instinct after all to hunt. It's the dogs owner that needs to be educated.

In fact, today I saw her perched up high on a basket behind the barn. I went up to pet her and noticed she was missing quite a few feathers on her back. She stayed still while I inspected her back and pulled up her wing. Indeed, the dog had hurt her. She has a bad scar that is now healing on its own. 

Poor thing, one of the roosters this autumn poked her eye while mating. She recovered during the winter. I had placed her in the tool shop where I would light up a wood stove now and then to keep her warm. I hope that she will survive it’s not easy to heal a hen. Most people tell me to snap her neck and cook her for dinner. They just don’t understand I couldn’t do such a thing. I can pick her up and pet her, I softly speak to her, and she seems to understand that she is safe in my arms. No, I’m not crazy I just love animals.

 

                                                                       The poor hen.

 

One of my three roosters.