Hi everybody! Sorry we've been so scarce but Mom has been cleaning poop and obsessively sanitizing surfaces all week. The good news is that Sluggo had a semi formed poop this morning. Not sure why that is cause for celebration, but you humans seem to like to monitor these things.
Hopefully this is the tail end of this episode. Ha ha get it tail end?! Oh yeah, speaking of tail ends, we've been having to have ours wiped lately. Oh, the indignity. I mean what's up with that?
Anyway, Sluggo seems to be feeling better, and can only be a good thing. Imagine that guy, who's baseline personality is that of a sad sack, when he doesn't feel good. Pathetic.
he is quite bummed out to hear we will have submit doot samples in a couple weeks. I mean, haven't we given enough?!
We hope all of you have a nice, drama free weekend. I know we are due.
Hello peoples! Sluggo here tonight. I would like to talk about pug bellies, and also what can be put in them. Ever since Wilma had her gas explosion and subsequent drama last week, the parents have been on a strict no treats policy. I mean NO TREATS! We used to at least get a little crumb from the dinner table, or a bean from the fridge, but we have only been getting our kibble, and known treats. that was until I started puking and having diarrhea this past weekend, but we'll discuss that later.
Here's the deal. All along, Mom has been trying to feed us all with quality food. She has done a lot of research, and has found some good foods. When I came along, my belly didn't like the food Will and Britte were eating. They were on dehydrated raw which they really liked. So she just found me another thing to try. Well, someone( Brigitte is her name) doesn't like it when someone has something she doesn't, so suddenly her food was no longer good. She refused to eat. Fast forward to more research, including home cooked, and samples, and she came up with Innova. what was really great about it was that they had a low fat senior variety with glucosamine, and an adult small dog. It has tiny kibble which is nice for me because I like to puke up large pieces of dog food. Both varieties have the same ingredients in different amounts to satisfy our differing needs. Sounds good right? I get a nice small kibble, the girls get something for their joints and waistline, and it smells close enough that Brigitte doesn't think she's getting ripped off.
Well, everything seemed to be going along alright, until Mom went to pick up our food. They didn't have the size she normally gets for the girls, and by chance this started a conversation between her and the folks at the store. Who, by the way, are really knowledgable, and helpful about dog nutrition. Well, it turns out, that unbeknownst to Mom, Innova was sold to none other than Procter and Gamble last Summer. That is the reason the display had been getting lesser and lesser. People are preemptively changing foods due to the practices of larger companies when it comes to production of dog food.
Did you know, that according to the FDA, a dogfood company can change the ingredients in their food and they don't have to change the label for 90 days?! Yeah, well neither did we. Also, the difference between small companies and larger producers of dogfood is that the small companies usually contract with local farms for the sources of their food. But larger companies, take bids and choose the farms with the lowest price. That means that even though there may be the same ingredients in a formula, the ingredients may come from all over, and different places with each batch. This all is a little confusing to me, cuz I can be somewhat slow on the uptake, but the bottom line is that Mom is shopping new dogfood companies.
This is where you guys come in. What do you all eat? And how did your people figure out what to feed you? Mom is looking into cooking our food herself, but it does require some diligence in supplementing with proper amounts of vitamins and minerals. She wants to be sure, if she does it, that we are getting what we need. Plus, she's not always so good at planning and preparing meals for her and Dad, so us pugs don't want to get some half baked excuse for a meal either.
I know there is a ton of different choices out there, and many different schools of thought. But, since a lot of you are pugs, we figure you will have a lot of good feed back(pun intended) into what works for you.
And about my belly. We pugs got a case of this giardiasis. No one was really symptomatic, but the girls had annual poop exams that came back positive. So we were treated, and then two out of three were still positive. So then came a different treatment, three weeks apart. This weekend was when the second treatment was to start. I started puking up foamy yellow stuff early Sunday morning, then today I had a bad case of diarrhea. I got some chicken and rice tonight, and if I keep it down we will start our treatment tomorrow. The vet thinks it may be the infection. Well, I hope that's what it is, I guess. Cuz Mom is trying to stay cool, but she sure doesn't want there to be anything more serious going on. Geesh! Pug bellies!
"It is important, when you are feeling under the weather, to come back hard and strong"
Whenever we have a little brush with ill health or injury, our parents tend to get all tender towards us. Which is fine, however, you can't allow them to forget that you are strong, in charge, and bad to the bone.
An example of how I have been practicing this most recently, is by putting on my best greased pig performance.
The thing is, I rarely come when I'm called. I will only come if A. I feel like it & B. There is something in it for me.
This morning, I put on a double whammy. Sluggo puked on the sheets last night, so the rents were trying to strip the bed. Well, I wasn't ready to get up, plus, I could smell the tasty treat and needed to investigate. So I proceeded to wiggle myself just out of reach every time dad dove for me.
It looked something like this, except insert cute fawn pug queen.
Then there was the matter of coming in after doing business. This time, I did come when called, but when I saw that Dad wanted to clean my feet off, I wasn't having it. Have treat in hand, or expect this...
I will simply exit, and wait just outside the door until all conditions point to treats in my belly!
So, in the words of the great LL Cool J
Don't call it a comeback I been here for years
In the spirit of coming back strong, I also need to put out the call for a Sunflower Power of the Paw.
Our girls ICleo and Lulu have been having some health issues of their own. Cleo with nasty mast cell tumors, and Lulu with seizures. Please go over and offer them some love. Take it from the source, it works!
Yep, I'm feelin' pretty good. I'll tell you, you can't fart sideways around here without the humans having an all out panic attack. Literally.
I mean, I hate to say a cup of whippy, organic bakery dog treat and an extra treat from the barista gave me a gas bubble... No, really, I hate to say it, because I am afraid I will never enjoy the sweet delicious bliss of whippy across my mug again. I suppose the combo of these treats could maybe have possibly caused me a tiny bit of gastric distress, but I doubt enough to swear it off forever, right?!
And then there is the matter of my me time with Mom on Friday. I was having a great time throughout our adventure, but, I fear I may have to scale things back a bit. Any room in the bingo club for me Tuni & Pearl?
I don't know, I think I still have plenty of pep in my step, maybe a dose of Geritol would help.
Either way, I am sorry for giving everyone a scare. I honestly do not like to see that look in Mom and Dad's eyes. I was just feeling a little under the weather. So try not to worry about me.
I would love to tell you all about my me time now, if you don't mind.
It started out at my beloved Dr Erickson's office for a little adjustment.
Since I was feeling so good, she only gave me an adjustment and we skipped the acupuncture.
After my appointment we spied a tag sale sign. So we took a quick detour to check out the offerings.
Then we stopped at this great little bread bakery.
So tasty
Normally I have to lay low after my pins, so since we figured I should be able to handle some activity, we decided to stop at one of my favorite places White Memorial Conservation Center.
I am afraid that this may be where we began to err. It was such a beautiful day, and me and Mom were really enjoying spending time together, so we took a leisurely walk around the grounds.
There were so many photo ops, I really didn't have an opportunity to get tired, but we did cover a lot of ground.
We stopped for a drink, and Mom pulled out the special treat she got for me, and only me.
I really enjoyed it!
This rock was the perfect table for lunch.
After that, it was off to visit Nana.
First, a detour to Starbucks.
Please enjoy what could have been my last whippy treat. Had I only known, I would have demanded what remained in that cup!
Nana got a new computer. Time to fill it up with pictures of her number one grand pug!
So, that's it folks, From there, it was home, dinna, and snuggle time. I was tired for sure, but who knew what lay ahead?
I truly would like to sincerely thank each of you for sending good juju and healing vibes. I could feel them.
A big thank you goes out to Dr Matz, who hung out with me all day Saturday. She took me out lots of times for walks. She even forgave me for pooping inside. So, I will let it slide how she fed that chick next to me without even sharing a morsel with me.
Also, thanks for taking care of the parents, they can be so dramatic at times!
Good morning friends, it's Wil's mom again. I wanted to get up and help Wilma post a snarky retort to yesterday's report, but she is still not quite herself. I don't want to get all cocky just yet, but I do want to give you all an update.
Wilma had a quiet night. She snuggled up in her favorite velour blanket for a long nights rest. This morning she has eaten her breakfast and is still moving about a little gingerly. No screaming, and less restlessness. I say screaming because that is the only way I can describe these noises that came out of her yesterday morning and evening. We have never heard anything like it from her, and trust me she has a wide variety of vocalizations in her repertoire.
As it stands, I am hoping she over did it with me on Friday and is still feeling sore. I am still waiting to let her tell you all about her me time with Mom, but we did go to White Memorial for a hike. We really just walked around the grounds and took it slow and had frequent breaks and snacks. While she seemed to be tolerating it well, it was more walking than she has done in a while.
I will gladly take the blame for giving the old dame more than she could handle(please don't tell her I said that), as long as she bounces back soon. Everybody misses her bossing them around, and giving them the business.
We are having a chill day at home, and the vet is there if we need her. I will also take Wilma into work with me tomorrow to keep an eye on her. Hopefully we won't have any worries by tomorrow morning, but we are keeping it as an option.
Thanks to everybody for your well wishes. I am giving Wilma all your messages and she really appreciates them. She did tell me there was nothing to worry about, and I had better not be saying anything to embarrass her on the blog. Wil's dad and myself also really appreciate the support. We can really feel the love, and we know you all care very much about Wilma and her well being. It means the world to us.
Wilma has adjusted her position during the writing of this post over to a nice puddle of sunny sun.
Wil's Mom here, trying not to panic, it might be gas.
OK, woke up this morning and Wilma didn't seem herself. She was lethargic, listless, and shifting back and forth when trying to sit. Her and I had a big day yesterday, which I was about to help her post about when she just didn't seem right. I'm sure you all know how that goes. So, I called the vet and she couldn't see her 'til 4:00pm, or I could drop her off, and a tech would check her vitals and keep an eye on her until the Dr could see her in between patients. So we opted to drop her off.
Of course while waiting to hear back, all the worst case scenarios have been going through our heads. You know how you reflect back on certain subtle changes and wonder if that was a sign of trouble? Because Wilma has been having some slight changes that I attribute to age and her diminishing vision, I worry that I could have missed something important.
Either way, we don't have any definitive answers yet, but the vet did call. She said Wilma's temp is ok, her abdomen feels OK, and she appears not to be in distress right now. She went outside and didn't do any business, until she came back in. Then she pooped. There's a sign that she's up to her old tricks! After pooping the Dr was checking her abdomen and she,(Wilma, not the vet) expressed a bunch of gas.
So, Wilma will stay a little longer while the vet finishes up her last two visits, and then she will have another, closer look at her.
So, it seems like we are looking at a gas bubble, or something else of unknown origin. Hoping for gas, so I can get her home and get pissed at her! She did have a couple of dietary indiscretions while we were out yesterday, so we'll see.
In the meantime, Brigitte are staying close by, taking care of Mom and Dad.
I'll post as soon as we know anything. Hopefully we can return to the light and fluffy stuff pronto. This worrying business is going to be the death of me!
Wilma's home. She ate, peed and pooped. She did cry out the same way she did this morning twice. She does it when Sluggo or Brigitte approach her. Otherwise, she seems fine. We are watching her, and the vet will be in tomorrow if we need her. Paws crossed. Thanks for all of your kindness, it really helps a lot.
We have definitely been getting a little cabin fever lately. Between the weather and some nonsense about schedules, we have been totally deprived of getting our proper socialization. So I made sure Mom and Dad took us on a field trip for some whippy this past weekend.
Here is Brigitte in the car on the way hogging the center console...
So , we had to go through the drive through because all the tables were taken. I made sure Dad pulled right up close to the window, so that I could ensure our treat was properly prepared.
"Hey lady! I don't care what the humans said. We want three individual cups of whippy! We will not be sharing!"
"Hurry! Please!"
So, the cheapskates only got one cup of whippy for the three of us. They thought there would be less of a mess if they served it from their fingers! Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!
The following is a series of pictures of us proving that they couldn't have been more wrong.
Ha! Look at Britte's head!
"Can't quite reach that... whippy on ..the...seat..."
As you can see in the side bar, we have winning entries for the PRONE photo contest. Thanks everyone for voting, it was fun, and a huge help!
Mom promises to help me post tonight, she had better!
A reminder for the invitation to guest post for Wisdom Wednesdays. Anyone who is feeling particularly wise, is welcome. Even if you are just being a wiseacre.
We will be attending the annual Pug Rescue of New England Pug Social again this year.
We are also entering the photo contest.
Can you please help us to choose a picture of each of us to enter?
We are having such a hard time picking!
Wilma 1
Wilma 2
Wilma 3
Wilma 4
Wilma 5
Brigitte 1
Brigitte 2
Brigitte 3
Brigitte 4
Brigitte 5
Brigitte 6
Sluggo 1
Sluggo 2
Sluggo3
Sluggo 4
We have placed polls for each of us in the sidebar. We will keep the contest open until Saturday at Midnight. I can't wait to see which photos are chosen as your favorites!
