Beanie Mangetout Part II

Posted on January 16, 2009 by Paul

Back in November Beanie swallowed strips of a plastic material while she was playing in her regular park, and had to have an operation to remove them. At the time wondered if this was a one-off, or whether Beanie had become a serial swallower. We got our answer this morning, when she again swallowed pieces of soft plastic from a burst football or dog toy. As soon as I spotted her pick it up and use it to start a chase with Biggles and other dogs I did my damnedest to get it off her. Unfortunately that may have actually made her more inclined to swallow it; when Beanie senses she’s got something you want, she knows she’s got the perfect leverage for an exciting game.

When I finally got hold of her she was quickly back on lead and on her way to the vet for an induced vomiting session. The procedure started pleasantly enough – she got a big bowlful of smelly, moist dog food. Biggles went crazy when he saw her eating it, and to avoid being deafened by his protests I took him out to the car and gave him a couple of sausages left over from last night’s obedience training. Then Beanie’s dream visit to the vet turned sour – she got a few drops of vomit inducing chemicals in her eye (yep, eyedrops – very different from the mustard concoction famously used in the James Herriot film). Before long Beanie had deposited the food and hopefully all of the plastic stuff onto large puppy training pad. Not a pleasant thing for her or for us, but a lot better than another operation.

The problem we’ve got now is that Beanie clearly has a weakness for certain types of plastic, in particular the type that goes down smoothly then hardens when exposed to stomach acid – just perfect for causing a blockage.

One sure-fire cure is to get her a muzzle, but the more we think about this, the less we like it. Yes it would stop her swallowing things, but it would also stop her playing with toys and using them to start chases, and chases are what she’s all about when she’s off lead. It would also preclude any possibility of her being able to stand up for herself if she was on the receiving end of aggro from another dog, even Biggles. After a lot of thought, we’ve decided instead to go for a compromise: (1) work really, really hard on her training (which in reality means improving our dog handling skills) so that we can get some kind of control over her when she’s in danger, and (2) spend more time in other parks. Her current regular park is fantastic for socialisation with other fit, young dogs but it does tend to have more Beanie hazards.

This won’t eliminate the risks, but it should reduce them while maintaining the quality of life our little girl has come to expect.

I’ll have what he had, please

Posted on January 15, 2009 by Paul

They say that colds and similar ailments don’t go across species, but it’s very common to see an owner struck down with a pesky bug at the same time as his/her dog. On the same day we took Biggles to the vet with a respiratory infection, I could feel the back of my throat and nose tickling slightly. As I write this I’ve now got a blocked nose, an annoying chesty cough and feel like I’ve been run over by a bus.

Biggles of course is back to 100% health, and better than 100% naughtiness. He’s currently got an all-consuming obsession with socks and tea towels, and will pull out all the stops to get them, even when they’re way out of reach. Unlike his sister, he still hasn’t sussed that he can jump onto furniture to use it as a stepping stone. Instead he goes for the brute force approach, hurling himself at the target over and over again, in the hope that he can time the snap of his jaws just right and secure his prize. You’ll be sitting quietly at the table when suddenly Biggles’ head and flapping ears burst into view opposite you, then just as quick they’re gone. Then they’re back. Then they’re gone again. He’s like a possessed pogo stick.

Nearly…

Got it!

His recovery from his illness was nothing short of miraculous. I don’t know exactly what the vet gave him but I want some of it. No really, I do, and I’ve been considering various schemes to get it. Maybe with the right costume I could pass myself off as a horribly deformed Great Dane. Of course there would be drawbacks. I’m definitely not keen on being on the receiving end of a canine rectal thermometer.

Anyway, feeling as crap as I did this morning, the normal off-lead walk in the park was out of the question. Instead, Susan took Beanie & Biggles for a local on-lead walk, then broke out one of their Christmas pressies – an agility tunnel. Both of them just loved it, and were trying to run through it even before we’d got it fully opened up. I don’t think they’re supposed to go through it together though!

I did manage some off-lead walks earlier in the week. Here are a few shots of a terrific play session with Penny:

Penny gets a stick…

but doesn’t get to keep it for long…

And finally, I’d like to wish Beanie’s labradoodle pal Zak a somewhat late Happy Birthday. He turned three this week!

Soggy Sausages and Sick Biggles

Posted on January 10, 2009 by Paul

Over the last couple of days Biggles has had a chesty cough, and this morning he was really off color: weak, shivering, breathing fast and shallow and not particularly interested in food.

Earlier in the week Beanie had been uncharacteristically lethargic, and Biggles had appeared genuinely concerned about her, staying close but not trying to engage her in play. She quickly threw off whatever had been troubling her, but this morning she didn’t feel any need to return Biggles’ gentle treatment. Instead, she just tried to eat his breakfast. Actually that’s probably fair enough since most mealtimes we have to stand guard over Beanie’s bowl, ready to repulse Biggles’ lightning fast raids on her kibble.

Anyway we took our little boy to the vet suspecting kennel cough, but apparently it didn’t quite fit the bill. The treatment was pretty much the same though: an anti-inflammatory and a course of antibiotics to fight the infection and bring down his high temperature. Within an hour of treatment Biggles was more like his old self and got so excited about his breakfast he left a little trail of pee en route to his bowl. It was great to see him back on his feet, but he had to miss the hilight of the day: another trip to Allers Farm for a Glasgow Dog Training Club pool party.

This was the second pool party Susan has organized for the club, and this time around the dogs were in the pool in pairs for 20 minutes each. Beanie was quite eager as she waited for her turn..

..but as usual her enthusiasm waned once her harness was on. To help restore it we had a plentiful supply of sausages and a secret weapon – a tennis ball with a slit cut into it.

I’ve been using this in the park – loaded with tasty treats – to try to get Beanie more interested in ball games. It’s been working well, and it proved even better as a target for agility practice when we had another session at the barn earlier this week. With a sausage placed half way into the ball Beanie got a target to chase, an immediate reward for completing the circuit (the bit of sausage hanging outside the ball) and an incentive to stay put until we arrived to liberate the remaining piece of sausage from inside the ball. Could the slit tennis ball also get Beanie playing in the swimming pool?

Absolutely! She seemed to forget that she was in the water, and went sprinting after the ball every time it was thrown. Not once did she look bored or try to exit the pool to raid the treat bag. Whenever she caught the ball, she got a little taste of sausage with the promise of more once she dropped it in Susan’s hand.

There were some near disasters though; a couple of times the ball took on too much water and sank leaving a distraught, sausageless Beanie circling the pool and giving serious consideration to diving down after it. Fortunately Jennifer, the resident hydrotherapist, always came to the rescue with her pole-mounted fishing net.

When the session ended Beanie almost needed to be dragged out of the pool and seemed keen to get back in there even after I’d dried her off with a towel. I think we’ve finally got a way to combine all the health benefits of swimming with the fun of a run in the park!