Friday, April 20th

Let's get this day started!

I leave for Vegas tomorrow morning and will sleep at entrance of Bryce Canyon National Park tomorrow night! Eventually, later in week, I will make my way to a lipid conference, the real reason for me going to Vegas.

Peps, I just love your pups. Also, looking forward to a report on Justice on Cape Cod. (Let's make that into a Children's book). And more babies, please.

With that, I am off to my 5am workout.

More later, Shel

Am in the St. Louis AA lounge. Just finished eating blueberries, one at a time. Boy, have my airport lounge eating habits changed a lot in the last four years! Am lurking here and enjoying Cecile's pre-surgery meditations and everyone's advice. Best wishes, Cecile. I bet it'll go great. You are so fit!

Have a great trip! I'll be thinking about your relaxing and chillin' with the berries.

Weight 118.6, calories 1630. Not good!

It is 36 degrees (brrr), but the sun is out! My spirits are much better than they were yesterday when I kept thinking about everything to be done to get the house in order and all our appointments. Not only is the sun out, but I slept 10 hours (hadn't slept well in the prior 3 days) AND my extra key has turned up!

I'm looking forward to taking Justice for a long walk around his new land today (probably more than one). I did take him on a couple of rides in the car yesterday. He is so calm and easy to ride with - NONE of my other dogs were. He went to the vet yesterday and she thought he was wonderful as well (of course). She estimates his age between 2-4, so I think we will use 3! She took some blood to make sure that the heartworm treatment has killed all the stages of heartworm it was supposed to. Oh, and DS hade been worried Justice wouldn't like him. When I got up this morning, guess where Justice was sleeping?

So dog people, I have 2 questions:

1) When do you know it is time to euthanize a dog when they aren't terminally ill or dying? Chiquita looks so old and rickety. She can barely walk, her bed is wet most of the time and she only gets up to eat or defecate. She won't eat dog food, so it has to be homemade dog food, which is really human food. She did somewhat interact with Justice, and wanted me to pet her, but won't sit with anyone or stay out of bed for more than a few minutes.

2) Question 1 relates to Question 2. Justice was 100% trained to go outside - no accidents even on a really long day. He has peed and pooped on Chiquita's pads a few times already, because obviously he thinks that is appropriate here. What do I do about that?

Have a fulfilling Friday!

1) I'm like Cecily, I only have experience with older dogs that suddenly became very ill, with no chance for recovery. I had neighbors that were shamed by a vet for wanting to put down their very elderly dog down. If I remember right, about 16, deaf, and spent long periods of time sitting in a corner barking at the walls. Also peeping/pooping inside. But, still eating and mobile, tho feeble. So they didn't put her down that day but took her to a different vet a few days later. The felt her quality of life had gotten to a point where it was cruel to continue.

2) Justice may have had experience with pee pads in his past, too. And it is 36 degrees! Indoor peeping/pooping might seem mighty reasonable! He is such a smart little guy, hopefully you can get this turned around with frequent trips out and lots of praise for doing it outside.

Good luck!

Let me answer the pee pad question first. You are providing him an indoor potty. He can't be expected to understand that Chiquita gets to pee and poo on the pads, but he is not allowed to do the same. For now I'm afraid you have to accept that you don't get to have it both ways - inside potty for Chiquita and only outside for Justice. Trying to enforce one rule for Justice and another for Chiquita will be extremely stress inducing for Justice. He is incapable of understanding why there is a different rule ONLY FOR HIM. I live with a pack of dogs. I see pack behavior and mentality daily. People with one or two dogs don't often recognize pack behavior for what it is. Believe me, even a sign'e family dog relates to his family as a pack and behaves as such.

For a little dog a house often is too large to claim as an entire domaine. Rooms that are rarely used or are away from the bustle of everyday life activities often become inside bathrooms for small dogs. Large dogs on the other hand, tend to claim the entire house as domain at a very young age. That's the main reason big dogs are easier to housebreak.

Euthanizing elderly dogs. Touchy, touchy subject. Here is my philosophy: When we domesticated dogs we took away their ability, in most instances, to die a dignified, natural canine death. Chiquita has removed herself from her pack. She is not interacting and is eating to please her alphas. If you were to put food down in her old eating place, would she get up to eat? Most likely not. A normal, healthy dog will not lie in its urine or feces. It will do its level best to keep its "den" clean and free of disease (This is why *****es eat placentas. It has nothing to do with the hormones contained in the placenta helping trigger contractions. Believe me, I've been down both roads. All placental material does is cause super icky and tarry diarrhea!). It is not unusual for an elderly dog to become very finicky about eating. Dog food is often hard to digest - kibble especially. It is also hard for older dogs to chew. If you are cooking her a somewhat balanced food (meat, vegetables, fruit, vitamin supplements, maybe some rice or oatmeal) and she eats it on her own, that is a sign that she is quite okay. If you are having to encourage her, hand feed her...not so good. The one thing I never NEVER recommend is that "you will know when it's time." You MUST consider her quality of life, her pain level, and her ability to relate to her pack. Don't necessarily trust your gut. Our gut often tells us to be selfish and keep our dogs with us.

Hope that helps.

Thank you Devon for this. I was hoping you would see it and advise.

I kind of expected your pee pad answer. The good thing is that Justice is still primarily going outside and the pads/use are in one room only (part of the great room where Chiquita's bed is with a couple around her bed, but Justice is unlikely to use those).

Tough to make a call with Chiquita. She won't sit with anyone, which used to be her main way of "being with the pack". She used to love to sleep on the lap of her "special person" (originally DD, then her roommate, then me, then my son). Now she keeps to herself. She will get up to eat and she is eating the homemade food DS makes for her (from a dog food recipe). We started that when she refused to eat. We did use Darwins at first, but had to cook it for her. The homemade food is more cost effective. Sometimes she will "complain" about her wet bed until I recover it with clean towels (we have a huge stack of them), but other times she will just lie in it.

I guess we will play it by ear for now, but I was just shocked to see how much older she looked and acted after 3 months away.

Weight 169.2 Yikes

I've boarded my flight to Chicago on my way to Cincinnati. It's so nice to have lots of seatbelt slack! That's something I need to remember when the Lofthouse cookies are calling me at the grocery store. I ate more than several. When I weighed this morning I went right downstairs and threw the remaining ones in the trash. If there was ever a reminder that slider foods are dangerous and VSG doesn't operate on your brain, it's Lofthouse cookies!!!

Liz, I've only ever been involved in the putting to sleep decisions for sick dogs, so I have no advice for you. People always say they'll tell you when it's time. I don't know that that's the case. I think you jjust have to assess quality of life and go with your gut. Hugs to you while you decide.

Ann, have a wonderful cruise! Can't wait to hear all about it!

Have a great weekend everybody!

Best of luck with your surgery!

Thanks! I still have 17 days left to make you read my anxieties and worries though!