Shop Dog
- Thread starter Festool Hill
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leakyroof
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[attachthumb=#]. A rare moment of quiet. Life with a Dalmatian is never dull. [smile] This is Jackson, he's 4 yrs old and we got him last year in late Dec.
Our previous Dal lived to be almost 17, which is rare, but was welcomed. We hope to enjoy that many years with Jackson.
He's actually more mellow than our last dog, so unless he's outside, he's pretty quiet. Outside, esp. around rabbits, ALL BETS ARE OFF... [scared] [scared] [eek] [eek] [embarassed] [embarassed]
He IS NOT a shop dog since he has NO qualms about whizzing on my Systainers of Tools and Abrasives[ Maybe he's a Dewalt Dog at heart??] [wink] [big grin]
He pulled that 'trick' twice in the shop, and has been banned ever since.......
Our previous Dal lived to be almost 17, which is rare, but was welcomed. We hope to enjoy that many years with Jackson.
He's actually more mellow than our last dog, so unless he's outside, he's pretty quiet. Outside, esp. around rabbits, ALL BETS ARE OFF... [scared] [scared] [eek] [eek] [embarassed] [embarassed]
He IS NOT a shop dog since he has NO qualms about whizzing on my Systainers of Tools and Abrasives[ Maybe he's a Dewalt Dog at heart??] [wink] [big grin]
He pulled that 'trick' twice in the shop, and has been banned ever since.......
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RKA said:Meet Chili. Not much of a shop dog as he's afraid of every power tool known to man and moreso when said power tools are in my hands. I thought they were supposed to trust us unconditionally...I don't think he's read the contract! His idea of play and my idea of play are two different things. He also has no sense when it comes to what he chews and swallows. Still waiting for a plastic bag from last week to make it's way out one end or the other. He's 3 now, so there is little hope he'll develop a better sense of judgement. He's in his feeding chair below (has to be spoon fed vertically and stay that way for long enough for the food to get to the tummy). The chair packs flat in 30 seconds for traveling. Need to build him something more permanent when I get time.
Well, Chili has taken an turn for the worse. As of Sunday night, I've no longer been able to get a full meal into him. It's so painful that he shakes and cries in his chair. Spoke to my vet who really couldn't offer anything to help. His only suggestion was to see another specialist for a second opinion. Dropped him off today, spoke to the doctor and within 5 minutes, I had an immediate sense that I was in the right hands. She asked the right questions, read the entire history, put her finger on the issue I suspected as at the root of all this (after more e-searching this week). Step one is an endoscopy to confirm her suspicions and dilate the esophagus with a balloon if it's possible. She warned me that it was not a sure thing. It may not work, may temporarily work, or might be a permanent fix. She said these things are tricky to treat and anything beyond this would involve surgery or experimental procedures. In my mind I've almost ruled those out as he's suffered too much in his 3 short years. Now to wait for that phone to ring....
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I am praying that the good hands turn out to be miracle hands. Thinking of both of you.
Peter
Peter
Well, thanks to both of you...and if you don't believe in miracles, read on...if you do...read on...
Endoscopy revealed nothing abnormal. She suggested a barium swallow, so I rushed some food over last night so they could perform the test when he awoke from his procedure. She showed me the video of the food going into his mouth, right past his throat, right past his heart, right past the diaphragm and *plop* right to the bank. While we talked, she formed meatballs with his food and fed him in the office. No discomfort, no retching, no vomiting, nothing. Perfect happy golden! She admitted she was stumped and sent us home with instructions to send back video clips if he had any signs of distress, meaning continue feeding horizontally if he will tolerate it.
I took him home and realized she hadn't given him his anti-nausea mediation. I've read some nasty stuff about it's side effects, but he never seemed to get well enough to warrant tapering the medication off. But at the office he did great without it. So I got home and fed him the second half of his dinner without that medication. No issues. Gave him water, which would cause retching within 60 seconds unless he's put in the chair. No issues and no chair needed. This morning we gave him breakfast slowly over an hour, and water following that. No signs of distress or discomfort. He stopped after 5 laps at the water bowl almost expecting the retching to start. Nothing. He quickly went back to the bowl and swallowed half the water bowl. I had to stop him because he was swallowing so fast. Still, no issues. My wife and I are without words right now.
So there was a time where this medication (Reglan) was necessary to keep food down. But since we found and managed his Inflammatory Bowel Disease, it appears the reglan has been doing nothing but causing issues, until they got so bad that he could barely eat. If I had to guess, it is causing the muscle around the valve at the top of his stomach to clench up tight so food can't easily pass into the stomach. I don't really feel the need to verify that.
So thanks for the good thoughts!! I was in a very dark place yesterday and really can't believe what a difference a day makes! It may take me a few weeks to really feel confident that he's okay, and maybe once we get past this, I'll make sure something good comes from this. While in the office yesterday I noticed a wall dedicated to a non-profit that helps provide care and services for animals with families in need. When dealing with Chili's conditions over the last 2 years, we've come to learn that there are virtually no places you can go to build a chair for dogs that need to eat vertically. You either devise something yourself if you have the tools and skills or you make do with a trash can or other solution. In some cases there are people trying to profit from this by selling a simple chair for $400+. My thought was to talk to the hospital about offering to build chairs for either people that can't afford it, or at cost for those who can afford one, but don't have the ability to make one themselves. Who knows, maybe I'll come back here and ask Festool if I can solicit help from other Festoolies one day? For those inclined to know more about what these families go through, search facebook for the Canine Megaesophagus page/forum/site. It's almost horrific and for many of these dogs, this simple chair is the difference between life and death.
I feel like a weight has been lifted! This weekend I'm going to take a breather and finally unpack that Kapex that's been patiently waiting for me for 2 weeks!!
Endoscopy revealed nothing abnormal. She suggested a barium swallow, so I rushed some food over last night so they could perform the test when he awoke from his procedure. She showed me the video of the food going into his mouth, right past his throat, right past his heart, right past the diaphragm and *plop* right to the bank. While we talked, she formed meatballs with his food and fed him in the office. No discomfort, no retching, no vomiting, nothing. Perfect happy golden! She admitted she was stumped and sent us home with instructions to send back video clips if he had any signs of distress, meaning continue feeding horizontally if he will tolerate it.
I took him home and realized she hadn't given him his anti-nausea mediation. I've read some nasty stuff about it's side effects, but he never seemed to get well enough to warrant tapering the medication off. But at the office he did great without it. So I got home and fed him the second half of his dinner without that medication. No issues. Gave him water, which would cause retching within 60 seconds unless he's put in the chair. No issues and no chair needed. This morning we gave him breakfast slowly over an hour, and water following that. No signs of distress or discomfort. He stopped after 5 laps at the water bowl almost expecting the retching to start. Nothing. He quickly went back to the bowl and swallowed half the water bowl. I had to stop him because he was swallowing so fast. Still, no issues. My wife and I are without words right now.
So there was a time where this medication (Reglan) was necessary to keep food down. But since we found and managed his Inflammatory Bowel Disease, it appears the reglan has been doing nothing but causing issues, until they got so bad that he could barely eat. If I had to guess, it is causing the muscle around the valve at the top of his stomach to clench up tight so food can't easily pass into the stomach. I don't really feel the need to verify that.
So thanks for the good thoughts!! I was in a very dark place yesterday and really can't believe what a difference a day makes! It may take me a few weeks to really feel confident that he's okay, and maybe once we get past this, I'll make sure something good comes from this. While in the office yesterday I noticed a wall dedicated to a non-profit that helps provide care and services for animals with families in need. When dealing with Chili's conditions over the last 2 years, we've come to learn that there are virtually no places you can go to build a chair for dogs that need to eat vertically. You either devise something yourself if you have the tools and skills or you make do with a trash can or other solution. In some cases there are people trying to profit from this by selling a simple chair for $400+. My thought was to talk to the hospital about offering to build chairs for either people that can't afford it, or at cost for those who can afford one, but don't have the ability to make one themselves. Who knows, maybe I'll come back here and ask Festool if I can solicit help from other Festoolies one day? For those inclined to know more about what these families go through, search facebook for the Canine Megaesophagus page/forum/site. It's almost horrific and for many of these dogs, this simple chair is the difference between life and death.
I feel like a weight has been lifted! This weekend I'm going to take a breather and finally unpack that Kapex that's been patiently waiting for me for 2 weeks!!
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That is GREAT news! We will keep sending good thoughts. I bet Chili will sleep great tonight - as will you. A progress report later would be appreciated.
Peter and MacGyver
Peter and MacGyver
mastercabman
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greg mann said:
No need to invest on a security system!!
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Upscale said:wow said:
Triplets!!! Must go through a ton of dog food every week. They look like they'd be great on a farm pulling the combine around.
Nope, not triplets - but I do agree most people can't tell them apart.
They each eat 2 cups of dogfood per day. We keep 'em a little hungry in case any scumbag ebay or craigslister shows up wanting to 'try out' my Festool stuff at their place.
[wink]
Haha! Wish that would work for me, but mine would just lick them to death!
Wow reminded me about this thread the other day...I haven't posted an update in a while. So chili still has issues with the valve at the top of his stomach, but much less severe now that we've discontinued medications. During the last 8 months I've only used the feeding chair during one relapse, otherwise he just needs to sit for 10 mins after eating or drinking and he's limited to 3/4 cup of fluids at a time. With that routine he's fine 99% of the time. A new issue developed, apparently his body is producing an excess of bile which leaks up to his stomach and causes him to throw up. I suspect the irritation caused by this is making the original issue worse. We've switched to a lower fat food, but that hasn't helped much. He's on a 4x/day feeding schedule so his stomach doesn't stay empty for long and that seems to stem the vomiting. But if I'm just 15 minutes late for his morning feeding, I'm cleaning up vomit. I'm going to try adding some soluble fiber to his diet to see if that helps. If any of you have run into a similar issue and have any tips I'm open to suggestions. All in all though, we're still tied to the house so we can maintain the strict feeding schedule, but no longer spending hours a day feeding him, and on his last dr's visit she said he could stand to lose a few pounds! The harsh winter was hard on all of us, since nobody was outside getting their daily walks in! All things considered, we'll take it! [smile]
Wow reminded me about this thread the other day...I haven't posted an update in a while. So chili still has issues with the valve at the top of his stomach, but much less severe now that we've discontinued medications. During the last 8 months I've only used the feeding chair during one relapse, otherwise he just needs to sit for 10 mins after eating or drinking and he's limited to 3/4 cup of fluids at a time. With that routine he's fine 99% of the time. A new issue developed, apparently his body is producing an excess of bile which leaks up to his stomach and causes him to throw up. I suspect the irritation caused by this is making the original issue worse. We've switched to a lower fat food, but that hasn't helped much. He's on a 4x/day feeding schedule so his stomach doesn't stay empty for long and that seems to stem the vomiting. But if I'm just 15 minutes late for his morning feeding, I'm cleaning up vomit. I'm going to try adding some soluble fiber to his diet to see if that helps. If any of you have run into a similar issue and have any tips I'm open to suggestions. All in all though, we're still tied to the house so we can maintain the strict feeding schedule, but no longer spending hours a day feeding him, and on his last dr's visit she said he could stand to lose a few pounds! The harsh winter was hard on all of us, since nobody was outside getting their daily walks in! All things considered, we'll take it! [smile]
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