Pink Pants

It's never a dull moment around here as Zoe is now officially in estrus, commonly known as "in heat".  I kept denying to myself that it wasn't too bad and I could live with her condition and within 2 days things got worse.  So, it was off to PetSmart to see if they had some "girl pants".

They have lots to choose from except try fitting them on a Bulldog; little butt, big chest and Zoe has no tail.  The pants have a hole in them where the tail goes and that helps them to stay in place, well forget that idea with her.

The pants have elastic that goes around the stomach and velcro on each side, so they are adjustable.  I chose LARGE as she now has blossomed to 50 pounds.

The first few days she wore them around the house like she was a princess.  Then she discovered that she didn't want to wear them over night and you could hear her "ripping" them off of herself when she pulled on the velcro tabs.

Thank goodness we are almost done with this mess I don't think  I can take another night of velcro rippng at 3AM.  Before she has this condition again it will be off to the vet to get spayed.

But, until then here's Zoe modelling her pink princess pants sitting in her new bed.

Update #3 - Ding Dong the Mites are Dead!

Zoe had an appointment at the Vet yesterday and there are no live mites!  There are some dead disfigured ones but none moving around.  So, we continue with the treatment as we have been doing and then she goes back for another skin test.  If she's clear of mites then we're done!

She's been so good about taking the nasty tasting Ivermectin and with the good news we got today we stopped at the Pet Store and bought some of her favorite bullie sticks to chew on.

Happy weekend everyone and pray that it stops raining so we can get our Tail Waggon bike trailer out and go for a ride.  We're tired of hangin' around the house.

Update #2

It's been 2 weeks since I've posted an update to Zoe's condition.  Zoe's symptoms have really improved AND we actually have a diagnosis of what was going on with her.   My vet is a gem; in actuality I go to a vet clinic that has two (2) vets and they confer with each other daily about their animal patients and confer with a specialist if needed.  Dr. Carter decided to contact a veterinary dermatologist about Zoe's problem with the meds she was taking; the fact that she has demodex mites and her allergy symptoms.  The vet specialist stated that it is quite common for dogs to have an allergic reaction to the dying mites on their skin and it is not necessarily a reaction to the Ivermectin itself.

We decided to take her off of all the medication for 10 days, but continue with the Benedryl if she was having any redness or swelling in her face.
I then began a new regimen of .5cc's of Ivermectin and 2 Benedryl, two times per day.  Our goal is to get rid of the mites with the Ivermectin and treat the mite allergery with the Benedryl; it seems to be working.  We'll see when she gets tested in 3 weeks.

I thought Zoe deserved a little bit of a treat after all of this medical trauma going on in her life.  So, we took a trip to PetSmart and she got to pick out a new "big girl" bed.

Allergic Reaction - Update #1

After 2 days of benadryl Zoe still had a reaction again last night...lots of face rubbing on her blanket and hives in her ears.  She just had 2 pills at 7PM so she wasn't scheduled to have any more until 3AM.  I waited to see if the redness and swelling subsided and it did.

She's such a sad little girl when she's not feeling well.   Although she still wants to go for her evening walk to explore all the spring things.
 
In the mean time while all this is going on she has developed an unsettled stomach and is eating very little, just some chicken and rice.  After consulting the vet again (I've been talking to her every day) I am giving her Pepsid AC twice a day.

Hopefully, all of this will subside in a few days and we can get back to our normal routine.
Besides obedience class started again this week and Zoe is raring to go!

Scary Allergic Reaction

Zoe has been taking Simplicef for a bacterial infection she had in the folds on her face for the past 11 days on top of the Ivermectin medication for her demodex mites. When I got home from work I noticed her eye lids looked a little puffy and her cheeks were pinker than normal. I didn't think anything of it. At 9PM my husband noticed that her eyes were getting puffier and the skin around her mouth was very red. In 1 hour's time, her eyes are almost totally swollen shut, her face is red all over and she's running around the house rubbing her face on anything she can to relieve the itching/swelling.  It was getting worse by the minute and I was worried that she could have a breathing problem; although she was not panting. I gave her a 25mg benadryl and called the emergency vet clinic. They advised me to give her another benadryl and wait 1/2 hour to see if there was any improvement...if not or if I thought she was having problems breathing to get her there asap.  In 1/2 hour at 11PM she had calmed down and was sleeping comfortably. I set my alarm to check her every 2 hrs, all seemed ok. At 3AM I gave her 2 more benadryl.

I took her to my regular vet this morning and she was still swollen and red but not as bad as last night and now had some hives on her body. The vet gave her a shot of epinephrine, and instructed me to administer benadryl every 6-8 hours for 2 days; at that time all the swelling and redness is gone and not give her any of the other medications; as obviously she had developed a reaction to them.

I just wanted to relate this story as I thought all was well and suddenly she developed an allergic reaction that could have been life threatening after 11 days of taking Simplicef and Ivermectin. Keep a box of benadryl in your medicine cabinet...you never know when you may need it in an emergency situation.

Eyes swollen shut, Muzzle red and inflamed

Oh No! More Snow!

Ok, so it's 10 days into Spring.  We had a few warm days and then today it happened at 3PM in the afternoon, 3 inches of heavy wet snow that stuck to all the trees:

Looking out my back door

 

 

 

But Zoe thinks it's fun to blaze a trail to find a place to do her business...scooping snow on top of her nose and making a snowy mustache.

We can not wait until we are tip toeing through tulips instead...and get ready 'cause we're going to dig out that skateboard as soon as the snow melts!

Road Trip to Cincinnati

It has just been such a busy couple of weeks with dental and doctor appointments for myself...not Zoe.  She's tolerated me not feeling well and finally getting my life back to normal and getting to go out for our usual evening walk in the rain or snow.

Welcome Spring!

We decided to take a trip to Cincinnati, OH to see my husband's favorite guitar player in concert and then the next day I convinced him to take me to see the Newport, KY Aquarium.  While Zoe stayed with her friends back home for the weekend.

There was a 5K run the morning of the Aquarium visit and ALL the roads leading to parking for the Aquarium were closed.  So, we had to make our way around the city numerous times down one way streets to find a place to park fairly close to our destination as it was pouring rain.  We did get to see the World Peace Bell, which is pretty cool.  The bell is just sitting under a plexiglass covering and isn't marked so you don't have a clue why it's there.

While making our way through the neighborhood we found this establishment and as you all know I just had to hang out of the car window and take a picture.     

Zoe had a great weekend with her doggie friends back home and I picked her up later in the evening.  She loves riding in the car, and usually lays down in the seat when we're on short trips; otherwise she's in the back of the van in her crate.

Zoe's obedience class starts up again next week so we'll be working on getting prepared...stay tuned.

Ultimate Couch Potatoes

Zoe and I have just been couch potatoes over the past two weeks.  The weather here has been bad from 6" of snow on the ground, then 2" of pouring rain and then 8 more inches of snow on top of that.  I've had a root canal last week, on top of having a terrible cold and if that wasn't enough my cold turned into a bronchial infection with a 102.8 degree fever.  So, I drove to the doctor's office in a blinding snow storm just to get a bottle of mega-antibiotics to combat my illness.   

Zoe has been such a good girl sleeping with me in bed and keeping me warm.  She was supposed to be going to her new obedience class, but with me being so ill we haven't trained at all.  The instructor sent me the homework; but I couldn't even think about practicing...so we've nixed the class altogether and will be starting it all over again at the end of March.

Zoe decided it would just be best to hang out at home, watch movies on Starz and sleep on and off for 3 days straight until her Mom was finally feeling better to go out for a short walk.

Fido Fleece

It's been cold and very snowy and in spite of the weather Zoe loves to go outside and play.  Our local pet boutique, the Grateful Dog Bakery was having a sale and I couldn't resist stopping by to see if they had any doggie coats or sweaters that might fit a Bulldog.

I found the most fabulous design for bullies made by Fido Fleece.  They have multitudes of sizes some of which come in BC-Big Chested perfect for the bullie in your life.

The coat velcroes at the neck and all the way down the back for a secure fit.  The fleece is "stretchy" so the jacket fits snug but allows give so there is never any bunching up of the jacket under the chest or around the legs making it a very comfortable fit.

Last week it got warm and all the snow melted and then last night, again we got 6" of snow.  So, Zoe donned her Fido Fleece to help go out and shovel a path out the back door so she could go out and play in the snow.

Thanks to everyone who voted on the Urbanbulldog.com website.  Zoe didn't win the T-shirt, but they are going to feature her modeling her new snowflake patterned Fido Fleece jacket so stay tuned.

Vote for Your Favorite Sherbert Lookalike - T-Shirt Contest!

Ok Everybullie, Zoe is entered in the UrbanBulldog T-shirt contest.  You can go to the following website below to cast your vote.  Zoe is "Q-Zoe_2" in the voting booth.

Voting is open until Sunday, Feb. 20 until MIDNIGHT.

Go to:  www.urbanbulldog.com to cast your vote

Zoe thanks everyone in advance for voting for her  :o)


Good Luck Zoe!

Where in the World is Zoe?

You’re probably wondering where has Zoe been these past two and 1/2 weeks?  Well, she’s been right here but not able help me work on her blog due to me requiring emergency dental procedures, a killer cold that kept me home from work and all activities for five days, AND our iMac computer died after 5 years.  Luckily, my dear husband has a backup of everything, but I couldn’t do a thing until the computer was repaired or replaced.   

Then to top it all off, while I was sick with a cold, Zoe was ill for 4 days with some type of stomach problem causing diarrhea.  The vet couldn’t find anything after doing several tests and sent her home with a recipe for a bland diet and medication.  She’s much better now and so am I. 

So, that’s the story…Zoe has been a busy little girl starting her Beginner’s Obedience class and ended up taking the day off  yesterday as the vet felt she better stay home just in case. 

Things are looking up, both of us recovering from being ill, our computer got replaced and after tons of snow and cold weather it’s finally in the 40’s.   

SittingBullies "Top Dog" Gabe Video

The Knit Sweater and the Pink Collar

It has been so cold here lately as we've had temperatures in the teens during the day and single digits at night.  It's definitely been a 3 dog night around these parts except we only have one dog named Zoe.

The cold doesn't really seem to bother her too much, but she doesn't really want to hang out for very long outside.  Yesterday morning it was 5 degrees and I decided to pull out Elmo's old knitted sweater that had fit him perfectly when he weighed 50 pounds.  Zoe on the other hand only weighs 40ish, so it is a little big on her and way too long.  I need to alter it but there is no time as she needs to have it now.

Zoe is such a trooper when it comes to doing new things and trying on the knit sweater is no exception.  So here's some photo's of the fashionista herself modeling her comfy warm knitted sweater.

Zoe is also donning her new pink Lupine collar style "Puppy Love".  Her very first collar that wasn't a hand me down from Elmo.  I decided on pink because everyone thinks that all bullies just have to be male dogs when in fact there really are female bullies; very cute at that I might add.

Sleepover

Zoe was so excited when she saw me gathering her belongings together in the "Zoe travel bag" last night.  She knew something was up, and she was going on a journey in the van real soon.

On Friday morning I loaded up everything in the van and Zoe could not wait to jump into her crate (she can't reach it so I have to lift her into it)  with her favorite blanket to take a ride.  What she did not know was I was taking her to work with me.  Then in the afternoon she was going to go for a weekend long visit with my friend Patty and her 2 dogs, Dakota a Siberian Husky, and Red a rescued Golden Retriever.

Zoe plays well with others (dogs and people) so I wasn't worried that she had not previously met or spent time with Dakota or Red.   According to Patty all of them had a blast running around her fenced in yard, playing in the snow and sharing nylabone's, toys and ripping up cardboard boxes.

Who's calling me a chubby?

  

Red's nylabones taste better than mine

 Then there are all the things that you have to put up with when you have a puppy versus having adult dogs.  Like stealing your gloves and taking your boots!

Thank you Patty, Dakota and Red for letting Zoe sleep over and having a fun weekend!

Zoe's a Big Girl Now

Zoe is coming into her own.  She's getting bigger and more mature with each day.  I can hardly believe that she's 6-1/2 months old now and weighing in at 44 pounds.

Bladder Infection Update:  Zoe continues to take her medication and seems to be totally cured but has 4 day left to take her pills.

Raccoon Nip:  The little mark on her butt has completely healed but she continues to be a little leery of hanging out on the deck by herself.


The weather here has been snowy and we have about 10" of the white stuff on the ground.  I shoveled a path for Zoe, but she would rather "bull" doze her way through the piles of the white stuff just for the fun of it.

My husband and I are taking a road trip for a couple of days so Zoe will be staying with my friend.  It's a great opportunity for her to get more socialization and play with the other dogs at her house.

Have a great weekend everyone, stay safe and keep warm.

Once bitten, Twice Shy (Great White 1989)

Never a dull moment in Zoe's World.  Zoe goes out for her evening ritual after dinner and then sits on the deck checking out the scenery since it's finally above 30 degrees here.  I'm doing dishes and watching her through the window when all of a sudden I hear this screeching and see her dash across the deck and disappear.  I run out the door to deafening screeching and activity under the deck.  I'm screaming Zoe's name because at this point I believe that she's under the deck with some crazy wild cat.   Here comes Zoe as fast as her chubby little body can carry her out the side of the deck and up the steps and then I see the screaming creature hightailing it in the opposite direction.  It's a RACCOON!!

My mind is racing thinking of all the things that could happen to Zoe if this raccoon has bitten her.  I grab Zoe and put her in the kitchen to check her over and don't see any marks.  She's out of breath but looks just fine, thank goodness.

After a few minutes when everything has calmed down I notice she keeps turning around to try to see what is going on behind her; but she can't see because she's too chubby to turn her body in that direction.  Then I notice a red mark on her butt.  It appears that this wild animal has indeed grabbed Zoe in the behind; but fortunately did not bite into or tear her flesh.

Now it's time for my animal first aid training to kick in.  Clean towels (check), Provon antibacterial soap (check), neosporin ointment (check).  The wound is in a very precarious place, so I have to be very careful not too get the soap or ointment near/into part(s) of the body where it shouldn't be.  Zoe's such a good patient, she just stands there and lets me do my thing.

I called the vet and she told me that it's good that Zoe was already on the mega dose of antibiotics for her bladder infection and just to keep an eye on the wound to make sure there are no signs of infection which can rear it's ugly head within 3 days. 

Zoe is doing well both with the bladder infection and the raccoon bite so far; the medication  seems to be doing it's job and my first aid treatment twice a day appears to be working.

By the way, the Once Bitten, Twice Shy...Zoe's not sure about hanging out on the deck now; one paw out the door and a look around first to check to make sure the raccoon isn't lurking.

Here's Zoe relaxing and soaking up all the attention she can get after such trauma.

Happy New Year! Bladder Infection

Zoe was six months old on 12/25/2010 and she was 99.9% house broken.  So, when she started having accidents in the house last week and there seemed to be a foul odor I was wondering what the heck was going on.  Sure enough after my successful attempt of collecting urine from a squatting female puppy and dropping it off at the vet's office at the crack of dawn; Zoe tested positive for a bladder infection.

Dr. M. explained to me what she saw under the microscope and felt that an aggressive treatment of antibiotics were in order.  Dr. M. usually recommends taking the medication for 10 days, but she felt that Zoe had quite a lot of "bad" bacteria, so she extended the meds to a 14 day regimen.

It's been 2 days of treatment and we've already seen improvement in the accidents and the odor.  Zoe is a much happier girl than a few days ago for sure.

Bullie in a Bucket

For the New Year I decided Zoe needed a new toy box, since she pretty much destroyed her cardboard toy box by chewing it into shreds.  The new toy container needed to be sturdy and something that could not be easily mangled into oblivion.  I had this Red Cross bucket that came out of the flood relief we had here over 10 years ago when our county was declared a disaster area.
It's the perfect size for Zoe as she can reach into it with no problem AND it almost fits all of her toys.

Zoe has decided it is the ideal dimension to jump into it head first!