Tis The Season - Vizlsa Allergies

Last Sunday Ralphie and I spent the day at my daughters house.  Ralphie just loves it there, not only he has crazy Bubba the Pug to play with, but he has a lot of space to run around...a nice big back yard.  He played hard...running and running and a little swimming.

After a full day of fun, we came home and I see he developed a lot of pimple-like bumps along his back.  Ralphie always has seasonal allergies that look like prickly heat with a loss of some hair, but this was different.  I was thinking it was just an extreme of seasonal allergies.  I bathed him and brushed him.  I decided to try to nurse this myself before going to the vet.  I've been to the vet numerous times and I seem to get speculation, that's about it.  So  I gave him a couple of Benadryls for a couple of days.  I didn't see any change.  I then gave him a couple of Zyrtecs.  Gosh, it seemed to be clear after one dosage.  I gave him a couple more tablets the next day.  It cleared!!   I believe he must of been bitten by a mosquito, horsefly, fire ant, or spider and had a bad reaction.

If you decide to use Zyrtec for your V's allergies, do not get the Zyrtec-D which contains pseudoepehedrine that is dangerous for our fur-babies.  Just purchase the plain Zyrtec that only contains cetirizine.  The dosage is .5 mg per pound every 24 hours.  So Ralphie at 70 pounds should have 35 mg.  However, I only gave him 2 tablets which was 20 mg.  I'm always afraid to over-medicate.  That's just me.  I used it for two days and it worked wonders!

Bumps....

...and more bumps!

Dogs Are Better Than People

I'm convinced I like dogs better than people.  Sounds strange, huh?  At first I thought so.  Am I weird, abnormal, strange to have this feeling?  So I googled this topic.  There are tons of people who feel the same way.  There are many articles and forums declaring their love for their pet.  I've talked to numerous dog-loving friends and acquaintances about this topic and they all think the world of their pet giving them the best life ever, which they completely deserve.   Pet owners know they are getting that unconditional love that no human can give.

This past week  was a tough one for me. I experienced such sadness when Ollie left me and I got the most comfort and sympathy from Ralphie.  Sure people said they were sorry to hear the news but life goes on.  Ralphie was there for every tear I shed.  He was my true support.  Besides going through Ollie's passing, I also experienced a couple of human disappointments last week.   I was betrayed by an uncaring human that didn't care about my feelings...a behavior you'll never see in a pet.  Again Ralphie was by my side during this sadness.  He simply makes me happy.  He knows when I'm happy and when I'm sad.  It's amazing how he knows how to act and react to my feelings.

Last week is over and I know I'll never have another day with my Ollie but I have wonderful memories that will make me smile the rest of my life.   I know the people who betrayed me are a part of my past now, life goes on.  The positive side of last week is having Ralphie as my moral support.

Yep...it's a sure thing...Ralphie is better than people!

Grieving - Pet's Death

I remember awhile back I was at the dog park and a nice young girl who is a regular at the park was sitting on the bench crying.  I asked her what's wrong.  She looked at me and said, "I miss my dog."  I thought to myself, wow, her pup has been gone for a few months now.  I didn't get it then.  But I get it now.  It's happening to me.  I've been reading a lot about grieving the loss of your pet.  Those bursts of tears are normal and they can occur for months and months. I've been on edge, not myself since the loss of Ollie.  I'm unmotivated.  I haven't been on the treadmill all week.  It's been a challenge to put on a happy face to appear everything is okay.  But it's not.

This evening while walking Ralphie, two different neighbors ironically asked me about Ollie.  Ollie hasn't been able to take walks for about a year.  They haven't seen Ollie for a long time.  But this week, two separate times, two different neighbors asked me about Ollie.  Was it the look on my face that showed there's something horribly wrong in my life?  Probably.  My life is not normal.  I'm sad, very sad.

Even though I have Ralphie with me, there is an eerie lonely feeling in my house.  I miss when I walk in the house after work, to lift up my little fur ball and kiss him and take him outside.  I miss holding him in my lap, rubbing his ears.  I miss his feistiness.  I miss his licks, his kisses.  I miss his excitement when I'm getting his dinner ready. Oh, Ollie I miss you so much.  I can't stop myself from crying uncontrollably.  I keep thinking of our last goodbye.  You were my little boy that I loved so much, oh why did this day have to come.  I miss you so much my sweets.

I love you Ollie.

Goodbye to Ollie - Ralphie's Brother

It's been a sad day today.  Tears been flowing from my eyes all day today.  I had to make a very difficult decision this morning to put Ollie to rest after 15 1/2 years of a wonderful life.

Ollie has been declining rapidly the last few days.  He's been challenged the last few years with seizures, blindness, unable to hear, old age dementia.  Everything he loved to do was stripped from him the past couple of years.  He was just existing.  Existing miserably...falling, bumping into things, walking in circles, getting stuck in corners, no control of his bodily functions.  Old age is the pits!

I thought many times, "Is it really his time to go?" or "Am I rushing into this?" or "Can I make his life longer and better in any way?" I researched for days, "when is it time to put your pet asleep?"  I read if your pet isn't enjoying two of the three things he loved to do, maybe it's time.  Ollie loved to eat, take walks, chew bones/play with toys.  He's been unable to take a walk for about a year.  He hasn't any interest in bones and toys for a long, long time.  But he loved to eat till the end.  However, he never knew where his food was. I had to carry him to direct him to his food for the past year or so.  His quality of life has diminished.

At 9am this morning I took Ollie to the vet, crying my eyes out.  He had high anxiety in the car.  We get to the vet office, I prepaid for the procedure and his urn.  Tears just flowing.  I sit in the waiting room and Ollie is snuggled on my lap, snoring away.  More tears flowing.  A kind lady in the waiting room asked if I'm okay.  I nod.  They call Ollie in.  The doctor came into the room. I started bawling my eyes out, shaking.  What a horrible feeling.  The doctor gave Ollie the injection in his paw as I was holding his other paw, petting his head, talking to him.  Quickly Ollie's eyes closed and fell into deep permanent sleep.  Goodbye to my feisty little guy.  The doctor gave me time in the room with him alone.  I cried and cried.  I kissed him.  I ran my fingers up and down his back.  He looked so content, no more dementia, no more frustrations from being deaf and blind.  But I'm so sad, very very sad.

I come home and I really don't think Ralphie noticed Ollie was missing.  However, Ralphie was quite alarmed when we were leaving the house this morning.  Water just pouring out of my eyes all day uncontrollably.  Ralphie has been by my side all day, sometimes licking my salty tears.  I wonder if he knows his brother will never be back?  It's now just me and Ralphie.

Rest In Peace Ollie, my little feisty man.   Love you so much and will miss you so much.  I will never forget the 15 1/2 wonderful years we had.  I will never forget you.  Goodbye My Sweets.

Ollie's younger days.

He loved to smile showing his teeth. So cute.

Snoozing...

Fun times!

Love.

Ollie's last birthday. Goodbye my sweets!  Love you!

The Drooling Vizsla

Okay, it's my fault....

That's my boy...drooling while I eat my dinner!  He just started doing this.  Can it be that I always share my food with him? Yep! Ralphie now knows human food it worth drooling over.  He now has a sophisticated palette.  LOL 

WARNING...if you don't want a drooling Vizsla...don't feed him human food, especially at the dinner table.  

Personally, I don't mind about his drool.  I like seeing my boy enjoy my food.  

Saturday Morning with Ralphie, My Vizsla

I work very hard during the week.  Monday through Friday begins at 5AM each day for me.  I wake up extra early to get a workout in, do a little clean-up around the house, care for Ralphie and Ollie, and getting ready for work to leave the house at 7:30AM to get to work on time.  Yay, then comes the weekend...no alarms, getting to sleep in...NOT!

Around 5:30AM Ralphie (who sleeps in my bed), jumps up, then I feel a paw.  That's right, Ralphie plops his paw on my head, my back, then comes the wet big nose...poking at my face.  Then comes the long wet tongue...paw, poke, lick, paw, poke, lick.  He then shifts his 70 pound body towards my side of the bed, on my pillow, scooting me out of bed!!  This happens every Saturday and every Sunday!   Do I get mad...well I groan a little, but how can I get angry.  Ralphie actually motivates me to get my day started nice and early to get to see the sunrise.

I get up, put on the coffee, take Ralphie and Ollie outside in the dark to do there thing.  I let them in, prepare their breakfast, they gobble it up.  Then Ralphie jumps on the sofa, curls in a ball like a little cinnamon roll and starts snoring away.  I am up and awake!!  Aha...no way is my boy going snooze away after getting me up at 5:30AM on Saturday morning.  "Ralphie, up, up, let's go for a walk."  Yep, it's time for our morning walk.  Truly Ralphie doesn't mind, he wouldn't pass up a walk for anything.

Our walk is at a medium pace, a lot of stops for sniffing, doing his business and picking up cans for Richard at the dog park, who collects cans for extra income.  I can say Saturday mornings are most enjoyable, cool, quiet, peaceful.   I feel so blessed to have Ralphie in my life to enjoy our mornings...it would so not be the same without him.  LOVE.

The Vizsla's Wiggle Waggle Tail

There sure were a lot of dogs at the dog park yesterday evening!  Most of the time I'm out in the park playing with all the dogs rather than just sitting on the bench chatting with the dog owners.  As I was playing with the dogs I noticed something a little different with Ralphie compared to the other dogs.  Ralphie's tail is wagging all the time, 100 MPH, not only his tail his whole butt is wagging!  Sure the other dogs' tails wag, but not like Ralphie's.  I begin to wonder is it because his mama is out there playing with them while the other dog owners are doing their own thing at the bench?  I just started watching and analyzing Ralphie's behavior...he wiggle waggles walking up to the humans, then he stands there in front of them just waggling away...fast!  I watch the other dogs walk up to me...unlike Ralphie, I get a couple of sweeps of their tail...that's it!  I pet them, maybe another few tail sweeps.  Is this a Vizsla thing...their happy-go-lucky nature?

Out of curiosity I had to google this...why do dogs wag their tail...this is what I found...

Tail wagging reflects a dog's excitement, with more vigorous wagging relating to greater excitement.  

In 2007, researchers discovered that the way a dog wags its tail also gives clues about what it's feeling.

Specifically, a tail wagging to the right indicates positive emotions, and a tail wagging to the left indicates negative emotions.

This phenomenon has to do with the fact that the brain's left hemisphere controls the right side of the body, and vice versa. Research on the approach-avoidance behavior of other animals has shown that the left hemisphere is associated with positive-approach feelings, and the right hemisphere is associated with negative-avoidance feelings.

Interestingly, a 2013 study found that dogs understand the asymmetric tail wagging of other dogs — a right-wagging tail relaxes other canines, while a left-wagging tail makes them stressed.

My Ralphie is wagging (tail & butt) ALL the time and ANY time.  He's sitting right now on the back of my couch, with his paw on my hand as I'm typing, and his tail is wagging, hitting my shoulder!  This boy is always full of excitement!  But for some reason I really think he wants to go for a morning walk..."Mama, pleasssssse let's go for a walk!"  Wiggle-Waggle.