Fear of Nail Cutting

Swimming, particularly in warm water, can help your dog relax and also drain her energy. If you have a small dog, you don’t even need a pool. You can use a small tub of water. Simply hold the dog by the sides and let her paddle. If your dog is uncertain about the water, start by holding her on an incline, just let her bottom half touch the water. Wait until your dog begins to paddle with his front legs, and then you can slowly lower her front half into the water. If the dog begins to splash around and panic, calmly return the dog to the inclined position again – with the back half of the dog touching the water. Then once the dog relaxes and begins paddling with the front legs again, send her back in! Continue this until she becomes comfortable with the water.

Once your dog has reached the lowest level of energy, begin by holding a paw and presenting the nail clipper to it without cutting anything. Then send her right back into the water to drain even more energy. At the same time, you are softening her nails, so they will actually be easier to trim. Then, after another round of swimming, you present the nail clippers again. This time cut a little bit, just to let her experience it and see her reaction. If she panics, send her right back in for more water therapy, but if the dog remains calm, do the whole foot – and then send her back into the water! This way, you’re not giving the dog time to focus on the nail clipping, instead she is focusing on the water. We are exchanging one challenge for another! Your dog can learn to associate the nail trimmings with the time in between swims that she gets to relax and collect herself.

Keep repeating this process – allow your dog to swim, trim the nails, and put her right back in – until you’ve trimmed all four paws.

I encourage you to visualize the scenario going well before attempting it. Don’t panic or feel sorry if your dog is stressed. Instead, make your dog feel safe by maintaining the calm and assertive energy of a pack leader.

GOOD BYE TO MISS ABBY ROSE

Well I don’t know where to start, we started boot camp ten days ago with a very unbalanced Abby Rose. I have to tell you what a good news, bad news situation this was for me, Abby is just over 5 months old and I can honestly say that I haven’t in a very long time seen a dog with this many issues at such a young age. Good news was she is so young that she is very workable, bad news was it was going to take a lot of specialized work. I am so very proud to say that all our hard work as paid off, Abby is now a very charming, fun-loving, happy, balanced dog who no longer barks her head off, but more importantly does not bite any more. Abby would bite her owners at every turn, move her from a spot, bite. Clip her nails, bite. Tell her to come, pee than bite. Abby now lets us do anything to her and does not even attempt to bite anymore. Abby still pee’s a little bit when she is excited to see us but this will subside as she gets older. I have to say Abby has taken a lot of work but the rewards, well lets just say we will miss her cute little face when she is gone. Abby who once didn’t like to be in our pack of dogs, now never want to leave them. She has plenty of new friends that will surely miss her energy when she goes home tomorrow.

 

How to Clean and Care for a Dog’s Incision

Has your dog just been neutered or spayed? Did your dog undergo another type of surgery? Proper care for a dog after surgery is vital to promote healing and prevent infection. Surgery after care for a dog must include cleaning the incision, but many owners are unsure of how to properly clean and care for the dog’s stitches and incision. Keep reading for tips on how to clean and care for a dog’s incision after surgery!

Instructions

1. • SOFTEN THE DRIED FLUID AROUND THE DOG’S INCISION: Saturate a washcloth with some very warm water. Hold it over the dog’s surgical incision for about 5-10 minutes. This will soften the dried fluid, making it easy to remove. This is usually only necessary for the first day or two after the surgery or injury. If you are seeing significant discharge from the dog’s incision or wound after the first 36-48 hours, there is a very good chance the dog has developed an infection in the surgical incision or wound – cause for a visit to the veterinarian.

   • REMOVE THE DRIED FLUID THAT’S FORMED AROUND THE DOG’S INCISION/WOUND AND STITCHES: Dampen a Q-tip with hot water and gently clean the dried fluids that have formed near the incision. The dried blood and dried fluids around the dog’s surgical incision should come right off; if not, reapply the warm washcloth for a few more minutes and then reattempt to clean the area around the incision.

     APPLY BETA-DINE ONTO THE INCISION OR WOUND: Clean the dog’s incision using a generous amount of beta-dine. The beta-dine can be applied to the incision by simply pouring a little bit onto the incision or wound. Dog owners can also apply a generous amount of beta-dine to a sterile gauze pad and dab the antiseptic onto the dog’s wound. Dabbing (rather than rubbing or wiping) is best when stitches are present. Beta-dine should be applied to the dog’s wound or incision, and to the area within a one-inch perimeter of the site to prevent infection.

     • ALLOW THE BETA-DINE TO AIR DRY: Allow the beta-dine to air dry. Do not blow on the incision or wound to dry the beta-dine; this will only transfer bacteria to the site.

     • REPEAT THIS WOUND OR INCISION CLEANING PROCESS FOR THE DOG 2-3 TIMES A DAY: Frequent cleanings are necessary to keep the dog’s surgical incision or sutured wound clean and free of infection. Monitor the dog’s incision or wound closely. The dog’s stitches should not appear taught; the edges of the wound or incision should not pull apart; the dog’s wound or incision should not increase in terms of swelling, redness or discharge after the first 24 hours. If you see any of these signs, it suggests that the dog’s incision or wound is infected.

     Tips & Warnings

     •  Always keep an e-collar on your dog until the healing process is complete. E-collars are also known as “lampshades” or “cones.” Pain can trigger licking; itchy skin later in the healing process can cause the dog to bite at the stitches, resulting in premature removal of the stitches.
     • Muzzle your dog during the first couple days when cleaning the dog’s surgical incision or wound with stitches. The wound will be tender and painful during the first couple of days and this can cause even a very loving, friendly dog to nip or bite.
     • NEVER USE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE TO CLEAN AN INCISION OR WOUND! Hydrogen peroxide will damage the tissue; this will extend the healing period for the dog’s incision or sutured wound. Hydrogen peroxide may be used full-strength for the first 24 hours of cleaning; after that, it must be used at 50% strength (mixed with water.) Hydrogen peroxide should not be used unless absolutely necessary; it is much less effective than betadine, an orange-red fluid that’s used to disinfect a patient’s surgical site prior to surgery.

     Read more: http://www.ehow.com/how_4728639_clean-care-dogs-incision.html#ixzz2baHoPQzf

AN ENORMOUS THANK YOU!!

I would like to send a huge shout out to MOIRA VET CLINIC for the great job they did with Daddy and I today, At 8:30am I was a nervous wreck and an anxious owner. Dr. Chris Tummon and his entire staff took such good care of all my needs both medical and emotional. As some of you who know me and know me well will admit that I am not an emotional or unreasonable dog owner, maybe a little bit of a control issue in the sense that I need to know where my dogs are and that they are SAFE! Well for those who have never seen me vulnerable or emotional, where my dog was concerned today and yesterday I was horrible ( wanted to slap myself ) but the entire staff at Moira Vet Clinic made me feel so at ease I couldn’t imagine leaving my dog anywhere else. When I arrived at 8:30am I was greeted with a warm hello and a smile from the receptionist who also was just coming in to start what looked like a hectic day. Dr. Chris Tummon arrived shortly after to explain what was going to happen today and answer all my questions ( boy did I have a lot ) and introduced me to the surgeon doing the actual operation, Dr. Brodeur.  I went from feeling sick to my stomach to a huge sigh of relief, and out the door I went to go home and wait, and wait, and wait some more. During the entire surgery the vet tech Julie was giving me updates on his progress, and again easing my stress! As soon as the surgery was complete the surgeon was on the phone with me telling me all that he had done and how good Daddy was and that he was going to pull through just fine and with some recovery time and plenty of exercise Daddy will be as good as new!! I’m going to nick name him the bionic dog! He has so much metal in him he will never get through air port security! lol

 

I was told by Julie that I was now welcome back to the clinic to see my poor boy and I was in the car quicker

DADDY FIRST WAKING UP

THE MILLION DOLLAR LEG

STITCHES ON THE INSIDE TO NOT HINDER HIS SEXINESS

TRYING TO SIT UP, DIDN’T GO WELL

than lightning! When I arrived I was brought to the back where I found Daddy fast a sleep and heavily medicated, poor guy but he did look great all considering. I sat with Daddy for about a half hour when Dr. Tummon came over and showed me the new x-rays of his million dollar leg, a little shocked to see what was done but happy that it was done, and done well. I am now back home and I have left my big boy behind, again if any of you know me, know what a huge ordeal that was for me to go home with out him. I did this happily I may add simply because Dr. Tummon assured me he was in good hands ( which were not mine by the way ) If I had any doubt, I mean any doubt that he was not in the best place possible I would not have left him! So you know I have trust and faith in Moira Vets and that says a lot because I don’t trust anyone with my dogs!  Again an enormous thank you to the entire staff and the surgeon that came in to do the operation, THANK YOU!!!!!! I can’t say enough good things about these guys and will be recommending him to many beloved dog owners!

THE GANGS ALL HERE…….

left to right: Loki, Mylo, Junior, Justice, Dusty, Puppet, & daddy up front

Well as you can the gangs all here, what you’re not seeing is that I am in front of them trying to keep them there because I just painted the new french door and didn’t want anyone brushing up against it, let me tell you this was no easy feat. Puppet and Dusty the ring leaders were determined to go through this door to go play ball, I know what your thinking, but they look so innocent! They are not. I had to stand vigilant for 45 min, thank god for quick drying paint, thanks to Lowes for showing me that. I am happy to say the paint was dry enough after the 45 min that all hell was able to resume. Dusty and Puppet are new BFF’s and they are never apart from one another for much more than about 5 min, Dusty is our newest boot camp kid and he is doing remarkably well today, I wish I could take all or most of the credit but I have to say Puppet is doing most of my work for me, Thanks Puppet for making my day a little bit easier and allowing me to get some house work done!

FRIENDS HELPING FRIENDS…….

Well this is day two that Tucker has been in boot camp and she is doing very well. My friend Olga was here who just happens to be Tuckers vet tech, pure coincidence that she dropped in while Tucker is here and she was telling me that when Tucker goes to see her at the vets office she cannot get near Tucker with out a muzzle on, surprised me! As Olga sat at my table Tucker on her own came over to see her and asked to be petted, Olga pet her and then replied this has never happened before  she has never been able to pet Tucker with out a muzzle. She also replied what a fantastic job Tucker is doing and she said she can see great improvement already from Tucker. Puppet my 13 week old puppy today on her own continually pulled Tucker out from under the table or any other hiding spot Tucker found, every time Tucker tried to pull herself away from the goings on of the house Puppet would go over and draw her back out. Now Tucker is following Puppet around and starting to play a little bit with Puppet, Tucker is still very unsure of things but Puppet has seemed to take her in under her wing. This is why I love the innocence of a puppy, Puppet just did what she does best which is play and simply wouldn’t allow Tucker to retreat. This is when sometimes we as humans need to butt out and just let dogs be dogs, sometimes they know more than we do and sometimes one dog just needs a little help from their dog friends.We as humans can only do so much to help the dogs and sometimes we just need to let things play out between to puppies. Well done Puppet keep up the great job!!

Did you say COOKIE!!

Left to right: Loki, Junior, Mylo,Daddy, Ghost, Justice, and Tobey

Well as you can see we have their attention!! Who knew cookies could do that? Well had a great day making sweet potato carrot cookies for all the dogs. My friend Sherry, and her dog Ghost came to help and have some lunch! What an awesome day, cookies and a doggie play day, How can life get sweeter? Just feed them cookies and life is perfect in the dog world, it truly is the simplest pleasures in life that makes a grey, dark, damp day become that little bit brighter!! Thanks guys for coming and joining our party!!

your tired when!

bulldogs

Our little bulldog Misses was so tired, but afraid to miss out on something that she fell asleep while standing in the middle of the livingroom! I have seen them fall asleep while sitting but never standing before, I’m starting to think that im getting all the reject dogs! lol I think its funny that all my dogs are just that little bit off and a whole lot of not right, which makes them perfect for me and my house because we humans are not right either! Perfect match, I always said you don’t get the dogs you want, you get the dogs you need! Apparently somebody thought I need more humour in my life!