I’m sorry I didn’t have time to post until now. I tried desperately to get some work done so that I can take care of Lilly when she comes home, which is right about NOW. Tom is picking her up as I write this. Lilly’s sodium and other electrolyte levels stayed in the safe range…
Managed to sleep from 11 pm to 3 am, despite worry. Just called to check on Lilly. She is tolerating treatment pretty well, poor baby. Not a single seizure yet. Her latest electrolyte check shows that her sodium dropped from 157 to 154 (very much in normal range), which is good.
Yes, that’s the headline. Paintball poisons dog. I’m too tired and worried to explain everything, but Lilly is at the ER/ICU animal hospital getting treatment for paintball poisoning. She got into a bag of paintballs in the basement. We’re still trying to figure out how many she ate, but it was a LOT. Much vomiting ensued. Natural and induced.
Let me describe a few all-too-real situations where dogs needed protection, then I’m curious about your thoughts about how much you’d do, how much you’d risk (especially if it seemed like you were in danger).
A few months ago, I saw a discussion on Facebook between a few dog training folks that essentially blamed people who wear bait bags for ruining the reputation of positive reinforcement trainers. Personally, I disagree, but I wanted to open up the debate.
Perhaps I’m prickly after 15+ months of seemingly endless worry and sadness. (There was another death in the family last week.) BUT, there are a few words used in dog circles or quasi dog circles that I’d be perfectly content never to hear/read again. All of them take root in dominance theory baloney:
We ask our dogs to LEAVE IT all the time. It’s a handy dog training cue that essentially means “Let it Go.” Ignore that food on the ground. Stop fixating on that squirrel in the tree. Don’t snark at that other dog. Yes, I know he’s being rude, but keep on walking. We ask, and if we’ve done all the groundwork, our dogs often comply. They let it go. They move on.
A while back I delivered a full-on rant about the (insert strongly-worded editorial comment here) FedEx guy. So, what’s a girl to do when one of many UPS guys feeds barking dogs treats?
Remember, my quest to get written prescriptions with plenty of refills so that getting Lilly her medications wasn’t such a hassle? Remember how it took two visits to get the prescriptions because of another emergency at the hospital? Well, imagine my frustration to find that the prescription was wrong — all wrong — when we…
Last week, during one of our regular walks, Lilly and I got chased down by a couple of spaniels with whom we’ve had trouble (off and on) for years. Considering that Lilly is suddenly hiding again inside the house (behind the toilet, in the basement, etc.), I suspect the scare is having lasting effects.
