You are viewing entries tagged with the keyword Health
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
We had a very nice, but low key Fourth of July weekend. Benny is still on the mend and we spent a lot of time with the pugs just relaxing around the house.
Benjamin had some expected inflammation from his surgery. He sounded like a very congested pug. As the weekend went on, the inflammation went down, which meant Benny's mood and energy level went up. And even though he was feeling a bit better he really wasn't well enough to do anything. He picked himself out a bone that we had to take away because bones don't fall under the soft food category. He scratched on the door to go outside, but was disappointed when we didn't take him for much of a walk. By Monday night Benny was fed up with us following doctor's orders and he was a cranky mess, pacing around the house, desperately trying to find something to do. So we pulled out one of our Solsey tricks and took the pugs for a car ride. This was exciting to Benny, but did not get him bouncing off the walls so it worked well.
We are still supposed to keep Benny quiet for the next few days, but at this point Benny is as well rested as a pug can get. His batteries are fully charged. Depending on how he does today, I may try and take him on a short walk to the corner and back to see how he does. I think that would perk Benny up a bit. I don't think he can handle being cooped up on the house much longer. After all, he has grass to smell and trees to mark.
Friday, July 2, 2010
I wanted to let everyone know that Benjamin is home and is doing very well. He was very excited to see us this morning and was bouncing around like his usual self. He certainly did not look like a pug that just had surgery the day before.
After we got home and Henry and Luna frantically smelled him for clues to see where he had been, Benny hopped up on the couch and took his usual spot on the pile of pillows. He is still there now, snoring away, getting some much needed rest.
Thank you for the well wishes and have a great weekend!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Yesterday, Benny had his consultation for his soft palate issues at the the specialist. The consultation went very well. So well, actually, that Benjamin had the surgery yesterday.
The surgery wasn't planned, but there was an open slot on the surgery schedule and after the consultation wrapped up the surgeon said it would be no problem for Benny to have the operation that day. It went against all of my instincts to have Benny's surgery yesterday. It was unexpected. Well, it was sorta expected because I knew he would be having it, I just wasn't planning on it being so soon. I didn't feel prepared. But, then I thought to myself, what exactly do I have to prepare for. It's not like I am doing the surgery. As odd as it sounds, since I didn't have a night or two to worry about the upcoming surgery, I didn't feel ready.
I managed to get a hold of myself and realize how ridiculous my thoughts were and I gave the go ahead to put Benny on the schedule. After all, we were there and Benny had already skipped breakfast for his requested consultation fast. If we scheduled the surgery on a different day, Benny would need to fast again and I know how much he hates to miss a meal. Plus, with the holiday weekend, we would be off on Monday and be able to tend to Baby Benny while he recovers.
So we left Benjamin yesterday morning to have what they called his Brachycephalic Surgery. The surgery includes soft palate resection, a rhinoplasty (widening of the nasal passages), and if needed laryngeal sacculectomy. It turns out that Benny needed the laryngeal sacculectomy but not the rhinoplasty. During the surgery they determined that Benny's nasal passages were not too constricted and they would only be able to improve them a minimal amount. So they opted not to do the additional procedure.
When we spoke to the surgeon after the operation, he told us that Benny's soft palate was "definietely elongated" and his saccules where very much in the way. Shortening and removing these items should help Benny tremendously.
Benny had to stay at the vet's office last night, but we get to pick him up today at 10:45 AM. I will be so happy to get the little guy back home. He was bouncing off the walls of the exam room with nervous energy when we left him yesterday, so I am pretty sure he will be happy to get back home and relax with his brother and sister. Benny is all about sticking to his routine and yesterday was no where near ordinary for him.
I hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend. I am looking forward to a nice quiet weekend with the pugs. Happy 4th of July!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
For the last week, we have been telling Benny that today is his "Special" day. But, I am pretty sure that the type of "special" that today holds isn't quite the "special" that Benny has in mind.
This morning we are off to see the Specialist about Benny's soft palate surgery. Being all healed up from the surgery to remove his mast cell tumor, we wanted to get in to see the specialist to hopefully rid him of his cough. He still has been waking himself up with a little cough pretty regularly.
Hopefully, the consultation will go well and we will be able to schedule Baby Benny's surgery. Then, fingers crossed for another quick recovery and that Benny will be breathing a lot better after the operation.
Monday, June 21, 2010
In our quest slim down the pugs we have brought back swim camp (more here as well). Swimming is not only great exercise for the pugs, but it is pretty much the only way they can exert themselves during the summer. The risk of them overheating is still there, but soaking their bodies in cool, pool water does a lot in helping to regulate their body temperatures.
To avoid shenanigans, we changed things up and the pugs now attend individual swim camp sessions. Which means, swim camp is a two camp counselor event. One person conducts swim camp while the other keeps the other two pugs occupied and away from the pool area.
A swim camp session lasts a total of 10 minutes. Each one of the pugs likes to spend their time doing different things, but the goal is to get in as much swimming as possible. They swim a bit, take a break, then swim a bit more. Repeat this process for ten minutes and then you have a swim camp session.
While one pug is at swim camp the other pugs do various things to pass the time. Depending on the time of day, they may go for a little walk, or they may assist in pulling weeds from the garden. Sometimes, we just sit under a tree in the front yard and enjoy the shade.
Completing 3 swim camp sessions takes about 45 minutes. Even though there is only 30 minutes of swimming, the exchange and suiting the pugs up takes time (life vests/harness). We try to do swim camp 3 times a week. That frequency seems to work well for the pugs. It keeps them from getting over exhausted.
This weekend, the pugs hosted media day at swim camp so I was able to get some pictures and take some underwater video. I was going to tell you about one of the pug's swim camp adventures each day this week, but I thought it would be more fun if I let you decide the order. So tell me, which pug would you like to hear about first? Although, I'm pretty sure I know your answer 
Monday, June 7, 2010
When we took Benny to the vet for his cough a few weeks ago we talked with our vet about breathing issues in pugs and ways to deal with the hot weather here in FL. Our vet had a few good tips for us. For example, he suggested that we swap our evening walks for early morning walks. Morning walks would be a bit better for the pugs since the pavement would be cooler in the earlier part of the day. Clearly something I should have realized, but I think my disdain for all things morning got in the way.
Another thing he mentioned was keeping the pugs as trim as possible. Keeping them at an ideal weight not only helps them deal with the heat, but also helps with breathing issues that chronically plague pugs.
Our vet also pointed out that Benny was up a pound from his last visit in September 2009. At our recent visit, Benny weighed in at 25.4 pounds.
The truth is that we have become very relaxed with our treats and table scraps rules. When the boys were younger, we were very diligent in making sure the boys stayed fit and trim. Our main motivation was Henry and his hips. When Henry was diagnosed with hip dysplasia, we were told the best thing we could do for him was to keep him at a healthy weight.
So the boys grew up on carrots for treats and very rarely ever got a scrap from the table. But, over the years we gradually started giving them a little bite of dinner or breakfast and then dinner and breakfast. Heck, for about 15 months they got a little bowl of spaghetti each week. (But no one has had any spaghetti since Solsey passed. I just haven't been able to bring myself to make it.)
So, we are making a few lifestyle changes around here. Table scraps are being cut way back and I stocked the fridge with carrots. The difficult thing so far is that Luna does not like carrots. So it is a real pain to give the boys carrots and Luna something else. Especially, when I have not been able to come up with a healthy something else that Luna likes.
Our goal is to have the boys lose 3-4 pounds and Luna to lose around a pound. The weight has slowly crept on the pugs so our approach is to have it slowly creep off. We are in no rush and are not making any drastic changes so hopefully over the next year or so we can get the pugs in a bit better shape. The downside is that the FL heat is in full force now and the pugs usually gain a bit of weight during the summer months because their walks and any other outdoor activity is severely limited if not totally eliminated by the heat.
So, our short term, summer goal is to be more mindful of extra curricular eating and not have the pugs gain any it's too hot to even move weight. And remember, the camera adds 10 pounds 
Thursday, June 3, 2010
The shaved patches on Benny's front paws from his surgery keep reminding me of wristbands. Which for some reason has the song "Physical" by Olivia Newton John stuck in my head.
Don't ask me how I made the leap but for the last few days all I have been singing is "Let's get physical, physical,..."
In other news, Benjamin had his stitches taken out and his incision is healing very nicely. I am very happy to see him on the mend and getting back to being his spunky little self.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
I know I talk a lot about Luna's eye drops and how I need a spreadsheet to keep track of them all, but I don't think I have shared a recent rundown of all the eye medicines she takes. But before I list all of her medicines, I think it would be helpful to list what ails her.
Diagnoses Right Eye
Diagnoses Left Eye
And to combat the above issues Luna is on the following drops:
- Tacrolimis 0.03%: 1 drop in the left eye, 2 times a day
- Cyclosporine 1%: 1 drop in both eyes, 2 times a day
- Pilocarpine 0.2%: 1 drop in the right eye, 2 times a day
- KCS Solution/NPD: 1 drop in the left eye every other day, 1 drop in the right eye 2 times a day
- Genteal Gel: As needed
Once I learn the routine, keeping track of the number of times each day she gets a drop is not a problem. I mainly get confused in determing if it is an "every" or an "other" day. I used to make a spreadsheet but that got too tedious. Then I tried marking things on a calendar, but frequently I forgot to mark down the days so that plan didn't work too well. So, I came up with something that has been working well for about 4 months now.
I took a regular piece of paper, folded it in half and created three boxes by drawing lines. The first, and largest box, is labeled "NEEDS". The second box is labeled "ONCE" and the third box is labeled "FINISHED". Inside the finished box, I have an area labeled "NOT TOMORROW".
At the beginning of each day, I move all the appropriate drops to the "NEEDS" section. Then as I give her a drop during the day, I either move it to the "ONCE" section or the "FINISHED" section depending on if she gets the drop once or twice a day. If it is an "every other" medicine and it is done for the day, I move it to the "NOT TOMORROW" section. That way I know not to put that eye drop in the "NEEDS" section the next day. Instead, the next morning, I move it to the "FINISHED" section so I will give it to her the next day. It is hard system to explain, but it has worked very well for us so far.
I have also color coded all the drops so I can figure out if they go in the left eye, the right eye or both.
A few people have asked me why Luna is on Tacrolimus & Cyclosporine in her left eye. To be perfectly honest with you I don't know. I asked the eye vet and she gave me a perfectly reasonable answer, however, I can't recall what it is.
On paper, it seems like I am sticking a drop in Luna's eye every hour of the day, and I probably come close to it, but Luna is an absolute trooper about taking her drops. She sees me coming with a bottle of drops and she just sits down and waits for me to plop it in her eye. I think she doesn't mind the drops because ultimately they make her more comfortable. A chronically dry eye is irritating and can become very painful. But the drops keep her eyes moist and make her more comfortable. And if you miss a few drops a day it is amazing how dry her eyes can get. Luna sees the drops as a good thing, not as a bad thing.
Cost wise, the drop regime adds up quickly. The KCS Solution and Tacrolimus are each $48.00 a bottle. The Cyclosporine is $42.00. The cheapest is the Pilocarpine at $22.00 a bottle. Luckily we can get the Genteal over the counter for about $9.00.
But seeing the difference they make in little Luna's eyes makes the cost and the crazy systems all worth it.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Getting the pathology results on Friday helped us enjoy the holiday weekend. Benny started feeling better and was almost back to himself and after just one day of Luna's new eye drop, we started to see an improvement in her eye. Both of those things were very relieving and helped make for a relaxing weekend.
Good news, good friends, family and fun. Those were the ingredients of our much needed and much enjoyed holiday weekend.
Friday, May 28, 2010
We just received the pathology results for Benny's mast cell tumor. It came back as a Grade II tumor with clean margins. I am so very relieved that we got clean margins. I was hoping that it would come back a Grade I, but I knew that was highly unlikely. I am very happy it is a Grade II and not a Grade III.
In any case, our next course of action is to keep a very close eye on Benny to see if any other tumors develop. Which just means more petting or him.
And for those who like to see the gory details, here is a picture of Benny's incision. It was taken in low light with my phone, so it isn't the greatest picture, but it gives you a good idea of the size of the incision.
It is such a relief to know that the vet got clean margins. Hopefully, there won't be any more tumors popping up on Benny anytime soon.
Enjoy the holiday weeekend!
< 1 2 3 4 >
Want more? Wander through our archives.
