Here’s the raw truth. My dog Pearl eats poop. I’ve tried adding stuff to the dog’s food to make their bombs taste worse (?) and that didn’t work. There’s a new plan of attack coming online soon, but in the meantime we have to deal with the only thing worse than a dog eating poop: the gas and belching that accompanies it.

Enter the International Veterinary Sciences Anti-Gas pill for dogs. Purchased from Wal-Mart, the pill

is a pleasant tasting tablet specially formulated to promote healthy digestion and curb unpleasant gassy odors.

Does the product live up to it’s claim? Let’s break down the above sentence one bit at a time.
Read the rest of this entry »

My youngest dog Pearl has always been a bit of a klutz. I think part of it has to due with her mixed breeds (Akita and Border Collie), and part of it has to be due to her odd position within the house pack. Both sides of her heritage tend to be super-active, which leads to adventurous chewing when she is bored. While she is the youngest in the house, she is more assertive than Porter, the oldest. This leads to some interesting romps between the two of them as they half-play half-argue their way into some sort of social hierarchy.

All of that can lead to exciting times, like when Pearl inexplicably broke a toe on her left front paw last Friday.
Read the rest of this entry »

Rosie, taken on October 17, 2009.

I adopted Rosie four years ago today. My ex-girlfriend and I started looking for a second dog when we realized that Porter (a year old back then) needed even more playtime than we could provide. Just like with Porter (and eventually, Pearl), I put Rosie through a personality test. It was important to me to find a dog that fit my desire for a companion, and also a dog that fit fairly close to Porter’s dominance level. I wanted a pup that was inquisitive, but not too independent. Snuggly, but not too needy. Playful, but not aggressive. Rosie fit the bill down to the last line, and sealed the deal when she leapt fearlessly off of a planter box towards my outstretched arms.

To my surprise, it was much easier to raise a second dog with Porter providing a good example. He was top dog for about Rosie was about six months or so, when she finally outgrew him and realized she could get to things he couldn’t:

I’d like to encourage anyone looking for a companion dog to consult their regional rescue agencies first. We got Rosie from SHARE, and I don’t think they are active any more. However, Homeward Trails and the Washington Animal Rescue League are both great folks to deal with if you live in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US.

I can’t believe it’s been five years since I adopted Porter from Homeward Trails.

He has been a wonderful companion all of this time. As I added another dog (and then another), he gracefully and gradually slid lower and lower the pack’s totem pole. As the most omega of omega dogs, he is super pleasant and accommodating to everyone. Even though it makes me sad from time to time when Pearl gives him the occasional dick-bite, he is the most gentle dog I have ever been around.

Sometimes the topic of “which dog would you save first in a fire” comes up, and I immediately answer “Porter,” every time. He’s my number one hombre, and besides, he couldn’t really save himself. Rosie and Pearl would build a fire engine out of their water dish, some paracord, and a pack of zip ties.

I am so glad I adopted him, and highly encourage anyone who is thinking about a dog to please please please adopt one and not buy a dog from a breeder. There are so many wonderful companions out there. Porter and his littermates were discarded hunting dog puppies, and if no one adopted them they would have been put down.

I have three dogs that I love very much. I love them so much that I forgive them when they puke up bird guts on the carpet, or decide that perhaps eating poop wasn’t a great idea after all. As such, I use a lot of carpet cleaning products to keep my carpet as clean as possible.

I used to love Spot Shot, a product made by WD-40. It worked great by itself on simple stains, or in conjunction with my steam cleaner on hard stains, like blood or diarrhea. As I burned through my supply purchased at Costco, I started to get worried. I couldn’t find the three-can pack any more, and resorted to buying one can at a time at Target.

And then Target stopped carrying it.

I went to Wal-Mart and bought a can, but when I returned for another, guess what?

Wal-Mart was out of stock.

Oh shit.

In desperation I bought a smaller-sized can of it at my regional grocery store — at the same price as the bigger can. Yes, I love you Spot Shot, but not at the expense of searching all over town and then buying a small can at over $6.

I started looking for a replacement, and was excited to see Amazon.com carried a new version that came in a 22 ounce bottle. I placed my order and waited anxiously, hoping my last can would hold out before reinforcements arrived.
Read the rest of this entry »

My best four legged friend Porter is five years old today. He’s been such a great dog, and after losing about ten pounds since this time last year he’s feeling a lot better, too.

Last month:

and almost five years ago:

I wonder sometimes what became of Porter’s littermates. When I interviewed him in Maryland there were two of his brothers there. He’s such a good boy, I hope they are making someone else’s lives better somewhere else.

I love you buddy. May you live to be eleventy-billion.

Just a quick update on Rosie, my four year old dog who was diagnosed with epilepsy last month.

I took her in last week to have her liver and kidney functions tested. Rosie was fantastic as normal at the vet. She had a 10% increase in body weight (40 pounds, up from 37), which was expected given one of the side effects of phenobarbital. They drew two vials of blood — one for in-house testing and one for tests that needed to be done at a dedicated lab facility. We sat on the floor together and talked while we waited for the in-house results to come back.

Luckily her tests came back with acceptable ranges. Last Friday the vet called with her second set of results. Her phenobarbital levels are lower than expected, but since she isn’t having any seizures they didn’t want to adjust her dosage. The higher the dosage the better her phenobarbital levels would be, but that also meant a higher likelihood of damage to her body. As long as she doesn’t “get the spirit” I’m going to keep her at her current dose.

Thanks to everyone who has emailed, called, texted, or sent smoke signals. I love my dogs very much, and this has been a great reminder to stop what you’re doing every now and then and kiss your loved ones.

Happy birthday to my little quaker — who is four years old today.

She has been back to her old self lately; no staring absently at the floor, and certainly no seizures. I am taking her in to see the vet tomorrow and hopefully her kidney and liver functions will be within acceptable ranges.

In the meantime, there are plenty of adventures to be had in the backyard:

Happy birthday, sweetheart. Many more.

Rosie had a massive cluster of seizures almost two weeks ago. After two shots of Valium, I brought her home and immediately started her on a regime of phenobarbital. I am happy to say that after some initial sluggishness and “spacey” behavior (which my vet warned me about), Rosie is back to her normal self. She stalks squirrels and birds in the back yard like an apex predator, and runs around and plays with the other dogs.

She also loves sitting on the couch with me and watching television:

She’s not out of the woods by a long shot, but it makes me happier that she hasn’t had any more seizures. I was concerned that she may have a tumor or brain injury that was sparking them; so far the phenobarbital is keeping everything under control. The next hurdle is testing her blood in a couple of weeks to make sure that her medication isn’t adversely affecting her liver and kidneys. Depending on what the doctor says, we may lower her dose a little bit. She’s in the middle of the road as far as dosage goes for her size; it would be nice to wean her off a little bit to further protect her innards.

Thanks to everyone for emailing, calling, texting, leaving messages on Facebook, and being concerned about Rosie. I love her dearly and I really appreciate folks giving her hugs, virtual or otherwise.

I came home early last Friday to get some work done and then start an early weekend. When I opened the door, my middle dog Rosie was convulsing on the floor. Her rear legs were fully extended and useless as she paddled towards me with her front feet. Her entire face and chest wet from drool. Whatever happened to her, it had been happening for a long time.

At first I thought she had suffered a spinal injury, but everything seemed okay when I ran my fingers down her spine. I checked her hips next, then her legs. Everything seemed okay. I made a quick sweep of the house to make sure she hadn’t gotten into anything toxic. Everything was in its proper place except for the fluffy guts of a chewtoy. I came back to my little girl and held her close to me while I thought about what to do.

I spent almost five years on a farm as a kid, and we had two dogs with epilepsy. The symptoms looked familiar, and while I was thinking about it Rosie completely stiffened up again. Her eyes dilated completely and drool was streaming from her mouth. I put her collar on and carried her out to the car.
Read the rest of this entry »