Echo

I think this dog has a death wish. Is his life that bad, really?

Tuesday afternoon Echo started getting sick in the house. We're not sure why, and still not 100% sure why. Now, dog puke is gross enough, but Great Dane puke (like everything!) is MUCH bigger, and much grosser. Poor Marn had to clean it up as I was at work. From Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday night, he puked tree times on the carpet downstairs, 2 or 3 times outside, once upstairs, and many other times when nothing much else was coming up -- just lovely slimy watery spit. Oh, and don't forget the "loose bowels" - thankfully all of that was outside. Yes, I told you this is gross. If you have any experience with a small to medium sized dog, multiply your "experience" by 5, minimum. (keep in mind that a "large breed" dog is a LAB, and echo TOWERS over labs!)

So yesterday I gave him 1 cup of food for breakfast which came back up an hour later when I was at work. We were really starting to worry about him now as I thought it would have passed over the night, but didn't. It didn't look like Bloat, which is the first thing you need to think of when Dane's are not feeling well. I noticed on Tues. night that one of our bushes was "gone". It was a rather anaemic Rhododendron that we've been trying to grow for 3+ years, but just hasn't taken off. Marn and I also noticed that Echo kept going straight for a "stick" every time he went outside - you know, as soon as he was done puking or crapping himself. We suspect that this stick is the remnants of our Rhododendron bush that Echo had eaten pretty much to the ground. A quick search on Google will tell you that this particular plant is quite poisonous to dogs.... putting 1 and 2 together, we suspect this is what was causing his sickness. Just a little plant poisoning! It's only been 2 months since the last time he tried to "off" himself with boxes if chocolate, so why not with a bush that's been there for the past 3 years?!

We had called the vet to voice our concerns about this and what we suspected, and although she gave us some choices on what to do, she also said that if it was poisoning, there's not much you can do other than to "wait it out" and treat the symptoms. She was worried about bloat, a blockage from eating a toy possibly, or some other things that I can't remember and her choice of "treatment" was to come in for an x-ray and blood work to determine what it is if he didn't seem to be getting any better. We decided to wait out the evening and call in this morning if he didn't look better, since he was "acting" a little more normal by the time I got home. We fed him 1.5 cups of dinner last night which he kept down over night, so that was a good sign. This morning I gave him 2.5 cups of food and he gobbled it up. He must have been starving since we were withholding food for all of Tues night and Wednesday. I haven't checked in at home yet to see if did actually keep it down so far - Marn was heading out for a bit this morning as well, so who knows. There may be a little surprise waiting for her. If he did ok, she was going to give him another cup or two before I get home for dinner.

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In all of the "rush" to find flights for the short notice of going to BC for spring break, we forgot about finding a boarding spot for Echo. Nearly everything was booked since it's spring break for everyone. *smacks head* There were spots open at places that only boarded the dog - no play time or interaction with other dogs and we didn't like or want that, so we were really scrambling for something.
So we asked Mom if she would feel comfortable with staying at our house to watch him, even if it was just for mornings and nights - she doesn't need to be there during the day all the time as we normally aren't either. She agreed and saved our butts! I mean he's pretty easy to take care of, but when you're not used to it, I suppose it could be a little much, especially with him. She's been coming over almost every week to watch Violet when Marn goes to Physio, so he doesn't get as wound up anymore, and settles fairly quickly. I think he'll be fine with her. Thank you Mom!!!

Less than a week and we're in BC already! Normally these trips are weeks/months away, but this one was booked only 2 weeks before we were to leave. So quick and looking forward to it!