Scooter Again, Again

Good news! Scooter is doing fine now. No further seizures. I couldn't be happier! What looks like is happening to Scooter, is a reaction to the treats he was getting just before bed. All of his dog food is free of grain, or gluten. I ran out of the regular dehydrated sweet potato treat I normally give them before bedtime and gave him a 'dog pretzel' type of treat that I had stashed in reserve. This treat, we feel, is the culprit and I have tossed those. After looking a couple of places for the ‘right stuff’, I picked up new treats (no grains or gluten) and he has done fine since. He is back to his old self and we are keeping an eye on him. I am a Celiac so usually I don’t have things around that contain gluten anyway. I also had very mild seizures (among other things) until they figured out I was a celiac and I removed gluten from my diet. We are hoping this will conclude Scooter’s issues. Fingers Crossed.

A Whirlwind Just Blew Through

Today was a taking care of 2 year old grandson day. It is quiet at 6am, and total chaos at 6:30 through 4:30. Those are the hours he is here and everything is his playground. The dogs are amazingly tolerant, though they really have no choice in the matter. The kitties just stay out of the way...out of sight, out of mind pretty well works for them so they use it whenever Kee is over. He loves the animals and has been taught nearly from day one how animals need to be treated with gentleness and respect. He is really pretty good with it most of the time. He does have a Greyhound and 3 kitties of his own and he loves his Ruby (the GrandGreyhound) totally. When ever Kee is here, Ruby comes too. She is a sweet girl and is very good when she is over here as well. The whole gang does keep me hopping the whole day through though, with not much time for any thing else. So the school work and other things all wait until he is gone. He gives the dogs their food in the morning, and then picks up the bowls for me. He also feels it is very important to accompany me in taking the dogs outside each time. When he leaves within about 25 minutes or so I have all the toys put back away and messes cleaned up and suddenly it seems that sanity is restored. Things are all back to normal and the cats can tell that coast is clear and reappear. One is laying on my arm right now as I type. It seems as though the craziness blows out of the door just as quickly as it blows in.

Scooter Again

So early this morning Scooter was at odds once again. My husband took him down stairs to take him out because of his being so out of sorts and then Scooter would not come back up the stairs. I went down and tried to help, even tried the leash but it was just freaking him out, and normally he is still calm when he is going through this sort of thing. But the more we tried to get him up the stairs, the more upset he was getting, now starting to pant. So I just slept down stairs with him last night. I did end up putting him in his crate, which seems to be about the only way to get him to lay down and though he is wrestless, he does finally lay down and a couple of hours later he is fine. I was watching him much of the time because I keep thinking there is a possibility of it escalating into a more violent seizure or something. On top of this yesterday (after his issue in the early morning hours) Scooter had another small episode which did not last very long, kind of came and went in a matter of 30 mintues or less. Don't know why this would be happening with him. So, I do believe we are going to go into the vet again about this and maybe do some chemistries to make sure things are okay there. Further discussing this with the vet as well.

Scooter's Seizure

Scooter has been with us for, well it will be a year toward the end of March. During that time he has had two seizures, early this morning marking the second one. It was pretty much the same as the first one. Both of them occured in the very early morning hours and on the weekend (the ones I know about, but I'm with him a lot, so hopefully those are the only ones) he starts to pace and then it wakes me up. I try to get him to lay down but he just can't get comfortable and paces some more. All the while his head is looking all around quickly, his neck is extended more than usual and his walking is not as coordinated has usual either. All in all he seems disoriented. I figure out what was going one (took me longer the first time than the second) and got him downstairs, he goes outside and still manages to go potty and kind of slowly walks in almost like he can't see very well. The foot movement is almost highstepping, like he is walking through muck pulling his feet up out of it to step again. Offer water - he sniffs it and walks away. Still he cannot lay down for more than a second and continues to walk with his neck extended fully, head looking around like he can hear something coming but doesn't know from where...sniffing everything, so I am thinking he is trying to get his bearings or his senses are heightened.?? I then go ahead and put him in his crate because he just seems to be safer there, maybe even a little more secure feeling, though he still likes me to love on him when all this is going on. He has trouble settling in his crate, I put in more padding and I stay there watching him. He finally lays down a couple of more times, then stays down. I would say the whole thing probably takes maybe 2.5 hours or so (I am never sure because I am asleep and he wakes me up already in progress). I am not a heavy sleeper, so I am pretty sure no violent shaking or anything goes on prior to this. As I watch him, eventually he will get up turn around and lay down...like he normally lays down, not in the way he does when this is happening, and I know it is over. He comes out no worse for wear.
I have had many many dogs with seizures and all of the seizures have pretty much been different dog to dog. I have had many special needs animals in my life and this was one that we took in thinking it was time to shy away from all the special needs for once, so we would not have to worry so much. I guess it was just not meant to be. Hopefully his seizures will remain very mild and many months apart. We love Scooter very much and if this is only as bad as it gets he is really a piece of cake compared to some of the others we have loved and had as part of our family. Regardless of what his future holds for him healthwise, he has us as his forever home and nothing could change that.

Yesterday

Yesterday was beautiful out, and was just shy of 50 degrees here in MN. Very odd this time of year. I joked that Mother Nature was just trying to get the January Thaw into January real quick, being it was the last day of the month. The good news there is that I still see water dripping from the roof which means we are still doing a little more of the thawing that comes with a little warmer weather. Yesterday the dogs spent a lot of time (Comparatively) outside running around and being super silly...rolling in the snow and what-have-you. They are certainly enjoying the warm up. And yes...sunshine - all animals spend some time hunting down that perfect sunny spot!

Scooter Is A Loud Layer

I don't know how many times now Scooter startles me with this. But he gets me nearly every time! There is laying on dog beds, and then there is laying on the floor. Scooter does both a lot more than the other hounds, most of them stick to the beds. Scooter will have a nap attack when he just walks across the floor and finds a bit of sunshine and then Boom - he's down. He gets part of the way down and then just throws all 80 pounds of himself on his side in one large movement that can be heard and felt from another room. I run in to see who fell and there is Scooter laying all spread out on his side in the sun. At first I'd run over to see if he was okay...he'd crack his eyes open and kind of squint at me like, 'and the problem is...?' Now I just run in to make sure the loud thump I just heard was Scooter and not something else. You would think that it would hurt to lay down like that, but I'm pretty sure that Scooter wouldn't do anything that hurt considering the way he is when we try to trim his nails.

Monty and Vinni Keep Me Under Control

Monty and Vinni must feel that my hands and arms are over active. They can hardly wait for me to get into a position where they can climb onto my hand and/or arm and lock it down into a mode where only my fingers can move. This would be the 'typing on laptop while sitting on couch' postition prefered by my cats. And though I spend a lot of time typing this way without a thought, there are times when it get a little irritating to have one cat laying across my left wrist while the other has control of the right wrist. Occasionally I shake one or the other off, but in less than a minute I am again afflicted with purring arm weights on both arms. I have been asked how I can do anything with cats laying across my arms and hands like that, how do I stand it. To be honest I am not really sure, first it takes me a while to realize what has happened. I think I am so used to it that it doesn't occure to me until I want to scratch my nose or something that I can't move my arms. I also believe that some sort of mutation has taken place where my fingers can now type with heavy objects laying on them. There are times when I could swear I have grown extra fingers and then realize it is just a paw adding a few key strokes of its own. I believe the cats consider this biological evolution at its finest.

Snowy Reactions

I love a fresh snow in the winter time, it makes the potty area of our yard look nice and new. White, not icy yellow spots all over. The hounds run out and 'OH...What's This?' and sniff all around like they have never seen it before. There is some vigorous romping for a minute or two, followed by serious business, then more vigorous romping. Fun to watch even at 5:30 in the morning. Then they all run in wagging and looking up at me like 'did you see that!!These hounds can make fun out of anything.

Back To School and Renner Is Glad

Renner is the man when it comes to destroying Books, Papers and what have you. I am in school again, none the less it is just the 3rd day and I am still in semi-panic mode trying to get it all organized and fit in to my schedule. Feel like I am losing my mind half of the time and Renner thinks I should just 'relax'...chew on a good book, rip out a page or two. Words are better digested through the intestines than the mind. He is always kind enough though to rip up the parts that I have already digested mentally. So far so good there. Not sure how he knows which thing I haven't read yet and leaves it in tact. But I really do appreicate his thoughfulness in that area. Meanwhile, I do believe he has giving the term 'bookworm' a whole new definition.

Nothing much else going on here today, the temp is above freezing which is a change. Looking at 7 degrees right now. The day started with water all over the counter and under the sink, so I pulled everything out and cleaned it up. I guess we are having issues with the reverse osmosis. So I'm guessing we will be looking at dealing with that as a weekend project. Meanwhile Monty (kitty) was bugging me about 'food' 'food' 'food'. This sort of thing always helps when you are stuck under a kitchen cabinet trying to clean up a large mess. Then of course that pretty well marked the start of how this day was going to go. Yep...right on target. One frustration after another. Got the dog nails done though, I'm sure the pooches are real happy I found time for that, and also their teeth brushed, another thing they are always thrilled with. But right now everyone is cooling it for them, the worst part of the day is over. I have just finished cleaning up the large poop bag's spillage when I tried to change it and it developed a hole, spilling frozen poop all over the garage floor as I tried to move it through the garage. Hey - wait, the day is only half over, the clock says NOON. :)

Today Comes Action!

On Tuesdays I babysit my Grandson all day, instead of him going to day care. The dogs hit the family room in the morning and see the toys are in place for a little visitor. I think if they could speak they'd say 'OH Noooo'. But they stop and look at the toys then look back at me. Slowly go lay down. They know that their otherwise quiet day is going to be filled with hoots and hollars, and just general chaos.

I figure it breaks the monotony for them, but I bet they would tell me differently.

(Grandson is napping now)
Burrr...in the deep freeze again today, right now I am getting a reading of -3 on the thermometer. The sun is brightly shinning in and Scooter has the sunniest place in the house right now. Even Vinni is sitting there staring at him waiting for his chance to take over Scooter's spot. Scooter does look pretty comfortable all spread out over his big dog bed, sun bathing his entire body. Very relaxed. hummm..maybe I should go lay down there and join him. zzzzzz

Let The Craziness Begin!

Today I am back at school. That statement alone should be all anyone needs to understand exactly where I am coming from. I really hate it when a new session begins because I am all stressed feeling awaiting what all the Professors have in store for me this session. Each time I am afraid I won't be able to handle it all. Even my dogs and cats pick up on it and very quietly go lay down...like 'well...Mom needs her space today.' My cats are kind enough not to lay on my hands as I try to type, I really appreciate it that. I know that in just a week or so I will be 'in the groove' again and will mellow out, but right now I am just way too wound up. It is the type of thing where you just feel like you have so much to do that it paralizes you and you get to the point where you just get nothing done. So - time to step back, sit down...make a list, and then do it one thing at a time. No looking at the big picture for that is too scarey right now, just step by step get through everything that needed to be done and before you know it, it is all under control. I really think that is a plus for animals, they live their days one moment at a time and don't worry about the 'big picture'. Now if I can just focus on things the way they all do, I will do all right!

Good Memory For Bad Things.

One thing I have noted with my animals is that I can try to teach them a trick, or train them in some way, using positive reinforcement and so on, and sometimes the effort seems to take forever for them to finally catch on. But if you screw up just once and something bad is the result, they remember it and act accordingly from that moment on. Renner is a prime example of this. I worked with him quite a while to get him to bow on command. Now he does is very well and will even do it in tandom with the other dogs. I am not sure how long that took to teach him but it was more than 5 minutes I can assure you.We also have a media cabinet in our family room and there is a dog bed in front of it. Renner enjoys laying on that bed and 95% of the time there is no issue with that. However, he is a retired racing Greyhound and is quite tall, so we always make sure we shut the door to the cabinet so that when he stands up he won't hit himself on it.One night my OH was doing something in that cabinet and left for a moment to get something. He didn't close the door. Coincidentally Renner got up (and Ren never gets up slowly, he usually bolt up off his bed to go do whatever...) and hit the edge of the door quite hard with his back. This freaked him out just a bit because he couldn't figure out what happened and what hurt him. It didn't break the skin or anything, but from experience, I know how it hurts to bang into something and still not bleed from it. We were concerned about him, but physically he was just fine. However, the incident stuck with him and now any time someone walks over to the media center and even looks like they are going to open the door he takes off and you find him clear into the kitchen laying down on the rug out there. It went from weeks of training him to do something we wanted him to do, to just taking a second to learn that if that cabinet door is open it could hurt him.We try to even more careful with it now and usually,if we are going to open the door, we move the bed first. Still it is amazing how there was such a different in 'learning times' when one situation is getting continual 'goodies' until you do it right, then the goodies are reduced to just one if you do the trick correctly and a second of real pain. Of course this is not just true for animals, but I still leave the kitchen cabinet open and then turn around and bang my head on it. Which, I guess, would make Renner quite a bit smarter than I am huh....

Dogs Are Down.

The hounds have the blues this morning. They are laying here on their beds, chins down between their paws staring at me like, 'Don't just sit there....Do something!' This of course, would be because the thermometer is showing -14 right now. It is back...and just when they were thinking 'party outside' everyday again! The potty area has turned into kind of a strange colored ice rink with...actually it probably would resemble the surface on the moon as we see it from the earth, a surface will little pock marks...well at least something melts this ice when it hits the surface. ;) There is no fowl smell, it will come in the spring, but when temps are this cold...nothing has a chance to stink. (Except the weather of course). So I go out and spread sand all over the area so no one falls. Then it is good to go again until the next snow fall covers the area and then we start all over, mucking it up as it all freezes. Sanding it when it starts getting slippery...eeewwwww why am I thinking about this first thing on Sunday morning? Because I have had a large multi animal home for most of my life and discussing how many poops everyone did today has been a topic of conversation over the evening meal for many years now. As normal as talking about who you saw today and what you did, the ins and outs of your dogs and cats working digestive system is quite often the track your discussions take at any point in your day. No shame at all. When we are out to dinner there has been only a couple occasions where all the sudden it has occured to me there could be people now sitting over their dinners quietly, listening to the conversations of people around them, who were hungry until they tuned in to what we were talking about...and now just want to get their check quickly and leave