Roo

Glad you already have some blankets on hand! It can also be a good idea to practice crating at random times, not just when you're leaving. We tell adopters that if they're going to crate when they're not home, they should also crate occasionally throughout the day so that the dog doesn't start thinking "Crate = mommy leaving" and start refusing to go in. You can crate her when you shower, when you're going to be busy in another room, if you're going to be busy in that room and don't want her to wander off...The crate should be a comfy place where she's put to hang out and nap and chew on a treat sometimes, not that place she's put whenever you leave. Just a thought

Definitely a Kong! Frozen peanut butter Kongs are usually a hit. You can also use chews as special in-crate treats. We always fed breakfast and dinner in the crate (door open) so that the crate became the Awesome Food Place. Make it comfortable, but I wouldn't use beds or blankets with stuffing until you know whether or not she'll shred them. Try getting fleece blankets somewhere (a Goodwill or second hand shop is great for these) and using those until you can trust her.

Okay, well, we're going back to mostly wet food. She keeps pooping. Every time we're outside for more than a quick pee, she squeezes out some poo. She pooped three times this morning in the span of an hour. I think there's too much bulk in the dry food for her

Thank you! I'll have to try that one too. Merrick is super expensive.

If it only happens when she can't see you and she doesn't get destructive if you're in the room (but not paying attention to her) it could very well be separation anxiety. If you don't want to crate her, can you use an x-pen to keep her (and your other dog) in once space that you've thoroughly puppy-proofed?

It sounds (to me) like she's lacking mental stimulation, so she's filling in the blanks. She's bored. She's a puppy! How long are her daily walks, and how intense are they? Are they strolls, or are they walks? I'd recommend training. Fun training, not just potty training and "don't chew that!" training. Sit, shake, down, touch, come, etc. Things to engage her brain and make her think. Have you tried food or treat puzzles? I found this and wanted to try it for Daisy but she's not super motivated for anything so I haven't made one yet Also, if you can crate train her, that would help reduce the destruction while you're working on figuring her out. Make the crate a fun, comfortable, safe place (not for punishment) where she gets a special treat (that ONLY happens in her crate). Any time you can't watch her, crate her. If crating isn't an option, babygate her into a room that you've puppy-proofed. Others will probably have better suggestions for you, but these are what came to mind for me

Clark Kent is perfect! I love it! Be sure to post a picture of him once you have him

Ah, yes, Man of Steal! I remember that name. We all loved him When we were loading up, Kimberly said "I wish we could keep Steeler - he's gorgeous and so nice!"

Aww yay! Thanks for letting me know! Which one was your boy (what did he look like? Was Steeler his race/kennel name?)? I didn't get to look at all the collars and muzzles (it was so hectic!) but there were some really beautiful pups in this haul.

Thank you! So do I...She's starting coughing more often this past weekend (when she first gets up, when she's laying under the kitchen table...), so it's definitely time for the echo.

Alright, we have an echo appointment at 9:30 on Thursday morning.

Have you tried a harness and treats? If you don't have a harness and don't want to buy one, you can 'make' one out of the leash. Wrap the leash around his body then thread the end under the part that comes from the collar... Hard to explain but it's basically a Thunder Leash that you make on your own. Then you can grip the 'harness' and help lift his front end up the stairs and it can help him get the idea. Reward with treats (cheese, hot dog, lunch meat...) frequently to start with, and especially any time he moves a foot up the stairs on his own!

Cheese gives her the runs, so I'm hesitant to add milk I give her yogurt every day or two and that's fine, but it doesn't entice her to eat...

At this point, whatever she eats she gets! She got bored with her food halfway through the bowl this morning, so I think we'll soon be on to the next thing... Sigh.

I had to stop Daisy from eating kibble because she'd gorge on water afterwards. It's like it made her super thirsty. Still does, but now I'm mixing it with rice and warm water and some canned food, and that's helping - she'll drink a lot ut she doesn't harass me for more water anymore. She got so bored with her wet food that now she stops eating when the bowl becomes mostly canned

Thanks! That just about answers my questions. I'll have to try Kirkland once we finish this pricey bag

I'm trying to find a dry food for Daisy, who can't do chicken. I took a look at the Kirkland ingredients online and it looks to be totally chicken-free (no chicken meal, no poultry fat, etc). Can anyone confim that? Also, are the kibbles small enough for a 20 pound terrier to manage? She does fine with medium sized milk bones so she's totally capable of crunching things. Just wondering how big the kibble size is Right now she's eating grain free/chicken free Merrick that's $20/smallest bag size. It was the only one I could find without anything chicken in it... Would really love to get her on something that won't break the bank.

I met Bluebyyou's sister today! A hauler headed from Alabama to Maine/Canada ended up stuck at PRH for a couple days when their generator died - we housed their hounds (and the drivers!) while they got a new generator. I helped with turnout and loading them up when the hauler was ready today and how surprised was I when I grabbed a collar that read "Writers Block"! I had added the little girl to my VK (after you started watching Bluebyyou, I stalked siblings and just loved her name ) and watched her run until I stopped seeing her name back in April. It was surprising to look down and realize I was walking this little dog I'd been watching for a while Her kennel name is Queenie and she's precious. Tiny little black girl and seemed very sweet. Not sure what group she's headed to but it'll probably be in either Maine or Canada. Anyway, thought you'd be interested in what Bluebyyou's sis is up to!

Another question Has anyone noticed dogs with chf sneezing more than usual? Daisy is the sneeziest dog I've ever encountered. She just...sneezes. A lot. And usually they're not SNEEZES and are more like little snorts or like she's trying to force a smell out of her nose or something. That probably doesn't make sense but I can't think of another way to describe it... She's done it since I got her in November or I'd think it was seasonal allergies (goodness knows I'm suffering with them this year!). I've tried googling it but all I get are results about dogs with CHF coughing.

I tried to make an appointment but apparently they purged my referral I called our vet and he's going to re-refer us so I guess I'll call Monday... I asked about available appointments while I was on the phone with the woman and she said they'd be able to see her fairly soon - I was worried they'd have a really long wait.

Looks like you can get l-theanine on amazon.ca

I second the l-theanine suggestion. Works wonders for me! I used it on Daisy while she was adjusting to my house and it helped her settle in (she was a wreck - everything outside made her nervous). You can get it on amazon. One of my local walmarts had the 100 mg capsules too, but the other didn't. Worth checking!

The noodles in veggie broth were a hit! She scarfed the whole bowl down.

Ugh, no kidding - the heat and humidity is killing me! Can't imagine what it's doing to her. I cooked noodles in low sodium vegetable broth (because the only other low sodium broth is chicken, which she can't have ) and I'm going to mix a little of her canned food in with that. She's acting hungry, so that's good! I heard back from the cardiologist - it'll be a minimum of $435 for just the office visit ($133.50) and the echo ($301.50). It'll take a while to save for that ETA: Here she is begging for ice cream...

Daisy the 12(ish) year old 18 pound rat terrier was diagnosed with an enlarged heart (and something about the left ventricle) a couple days after I adopted her last November (this was after she received a 'clean bill of health' from the rescue - in addition to the enlarged heart, she was also later diagnosed with arthritis, progressive vision loss, and incontinence). I took her in the Friday after I adopted her and she was diagnosed with a grade 3 heart murmur, then I took her back the next Monday for incontinence and the pesky cough. The murmur was upgraded to grade 4 on that Monday. The vet did x-rays (I have the files on my computer at home, but I'm at work) and confirmed an enlarged heart and referred us to a cardiologist that I couldn't afford. I tried to raise money for the appointment but only managed about $50, which then went to other vet bills once I realized I wouldn't be able to afford the cardiologist. She wasn't really showing symptoms (only the occasional cough/gag) so I decided to just wait and see for a while. She's done really well since then. The coughing all but stopped. I found a food she'd eat regularly (and by regularly, I mean she only skipped a meal maybe twice a week instead of skipping one a day). She started to play with toys (as long as I was on the floor playing with her with the toys ). She tolerated her walks (she doesn't enjoy walking - cars and dogs and noises make her nervous, so she spends a lot of her walk checking her surroundings) and sometimes even seemed to enjoy them. She was super snuggly and wanted to spend lots of time getting loved on. Last weekend she started acting off. She was eating grass and threw up bile on Saturday (she hadn't thrown up once since I adopted her in November, so it's out of the ordinary). She ate probably half a can of food over the weekend (she's supposed to have a can a day). She was worse on her walks, but it's been warmer lately so I thought that was it. She met a greyhound on Monday (I'm contemplating a brother for her to help boost her confidence...) and this actually seemed to raise her spirits - she slept like a rock Monday night from all the excitement and woke up with energy and joy on Tuesday (she even scarfed down her whole dinner!). But today she's back to acting off. She threw up a little bile again this morning after refusing breakfast and drinking a bunch of water. Her other symptoms have been gradually appearing over the past week or two. She'll lay in bed and pant at night, which I assume is from her heart pressing on something (trachea? lungs?). She'll cough/gag, but only occasionally. She's never been keen on walks but now she's even less keen (she does really enjoy chasing the neighbor's cat, which makes her start hacking, and standing on the back deck, taking in all the smells, which she will gladly do for as long as I stay outside). She won't really play with me anymore, though she did manage a minute or two last night before she walked away. She's not super keen on cuddles anymore, either. She'll act like she wants to then when I start petting her she gets down and moves away and lays down sphinx-style, staring at me. The most concerning things, to me, are that her feet and lower legs are cold to the touch (not, like, ice cold, but definitely cold - I just noticed this last week) and she's stopped eating regularly. This weekend I was a wreck because she wasn't eating her food. She'd take treats and peanuts and popcorn and Cheerios (just a piece or two of each...cleaning up food I've "accidentally" dropped is her favorite hobby, so I make it a point to "accidentally" drop stuff regularly) and she'd act hungry for a meal, but when I put her bowl down she'd sniff it like it was going to bite her (seriously - she stands as far as possible and streeeetches her neck out to sniff) and walk away. She used to come beg me for my breakfast when she didn't eat hers but the past couple of days she's refused food, she comes and lays down next to me instead of staring at me intently and trying to mind-control me into sharing. She still gets excited about stuff - she races inside from her walks (we call it "Black Bart" from A Christmas Story because she will run in and look every direction like she's scanning the house for villains and only needs her trusty BB gun ), she play-bows at me when it's time to go to her crate (she loves her crate - I think going in for the workday and at night makes her happier than almost anything else nowadays), and hops halfway into my lap for cuddles (though this happens less and less often, and when it does happen she doesn't stay up as long as she used to). I'm waiting to hear back from the cardiologist about the cost of an echocardiogram. I still don't have the money (especially not after my own hospital bill arrived over a week ago, and especially not since I know I'll be getting more bills from the fish bone fiasco) but I can't just sit here and do nothing, so I'll figure something out. The problem I'm having, though, is that I'm fighting with myself over what to do. I know the echo is the first step, whether I can afford it or not (I can't, but I'll find a way). Then they'll want her to be on drugs, drugs that I probably can't afford and drugs that'll mess with her body. I did all this research when she was first diagnosed and if I remember correctly, the drug cocktail can eventually hurt her kidneys. Is it worth it to treat the heart disease only to send her into kidney failure down the road? I don't know. And she hates being fussed with. I can't get near her mouth to brush her teeth (I tried). She won't let me touch her ears (even when I'm just petting). She wigs out if I try to hold her still. She hasn't bitten but she's offered to bite if I do something she's not fond of (I don't recall what I was doing but I got a snap from her - she didn't get me but she made it totally clear that it was unacceptable for me to do that and I haven't since ) and I don't want to push it. (Honestly, I don't blame her - if I had an enlarged heart and was feeling crappy I may be a little less patient with people messing with me as well.) I've started having trouble getting her pill for incontinence into her (she's even hesitant to eat plain yogurt these days). I can't imagine trying to hide four or five pills and actually getting them down the hatch, and I can't force them down her like I do with the hounds at the kennel who won't eat their meds (I've gotten pretty good at it too ) - that would stress her out more than is healthy for her. And speaking of stress, I'm moving at the end of the month and she's coming with me. Two hours away from where we are now, out of my parents' house that she's finally comfortable in, away from my parents (who she adores), and to a strange place in the mountains that smells like black bears (there's one that appears in the neighborhood occasionally) with two loud hound dogs next door. That's a lot of stress for a little dog with heart problems. I'm not sure what I'm hoping to get by posting... Maybe I'm just venting my frustration at not having a clear idea of what to do, and knowing I won't until we can get in for an echo, IF we can get in for an echo. Maybe I just want people who've been through dilated cardiomyopathy and CHF with their pups to share their experiences... Namely, how you knew it was time. That's been on my mind a lot lately - I don't want to let her go too early while she's still happy, but I also don't want to drag it out until she's miserable, and recently she's having more bad days than good. Any advice would be much appreciated