Thursday, June 20, 2013
Benny’s Vet Visit
As I mentioned earlier, Benjamin also had an appointment at the vet last friday. Our concerns with Benjamin were a nagging cough and his hearing.
A month ago, Benjamin had a similar nagging cough and the vet determined that he had an upper respiratory infection. A round of antibiotics cleared things right up. Last week, his cough returned, and even though it didn't sound quite the same as before we decided to take him to the vet just to rule out an infection. Our vet ruled out an infection and said that the cough sounded like it is trachea related. To help Benny, we are going to try out a cough suppressant and see if that helps.
As for Benny's hearing, we have come to the conclusion in the last week or so that Benny can not hear. Benny has had selective hearing his whole life, but lately he has missed some auditory cues that would have never slipped by him. The sound of the refrigerator door opening. The sound of a zip lock baggie opening. The clinking sound the dog bowls make. He has slept through these sounds on more than one occasion in the last week. A hearing Benjamin would never miss any of these things.
The vet checked Benny's ears and his canals were clear and there was no sign of infection. His "dullness" in hearing is being classified as degenerative and being chalked up as part of Ben's aging.
Having 3 aging pugs with health problems is emotionally taxing. The only bright side is that Sol gave us great pointers on how to handle trachea problems as well as hearing loss. We have already started teaching Benny the hand signals that we taught Sol, so that we can communicate with him in a different way now. And let me just say, Sol picked up on the hand signals a lot quicker! But, I know, Benny will learn them in his own time.
Sue VDB and Annie Fannie
06/20/2013
As pugs age they walk into a different realm and are very endearing, but they also come with issues as you are experiencing. You are being one fantastic mom and they are very blessed to have you. Don’t like the results of Benny’s vet visit, but all will learn to adjust. We simply keep on loving them and giving them our very best, all the while enjoying them to the fullest. Just as people age, we may not be able to do what we used to, but are ever thankful for what we still have. I think the same applies with our puggies.