happier puppy news-with pics

[sandra]

haha...you must be like me...one HUGE obsession at a time please!!

As far as the breathing thing...is he snorking?.. How do I explain that..is it like he can't get air into his lungs and he's pulling so hard that he's making noises?

My dog does this only occasionally, not often. What does that mean?

[aly]

Elk- that's pretty much exactly it. He'll do it for a few long seconds and I'll get worried, then he's fine. He didn't do it last night though...

Here are a couple more pics-




They really don't do him justice, but I haven't been home before dark yet this week. Sometimes he actually looks really happy and fun-these are a little more somber. I'll be going picture crazy over the weekend.

[sandra]

ahhhhhhh. He looks like he is settling in and relaxed though.

[aly]

And one more- because I can't help myself...

[aly]

Sandra- How is your little guy? I thought about you quite a bit while we were at the vet. I'm sorry you had such a difficult situation, it made me very happy to see the pictures of him recovering and nestled in your house- where he belongs.

[sandra]

I ran him back to the vet this week for a check. He is frisky and feeling great. The new diet is working so well, he is now off lasix. He was getting fat, gained one pound from 7 to 8 lbs, so we have to cut him back. I'm so happy that we made the decision we did and he's doing so well. Thank you for asking.

It's not him that does the breathing like that though. It's the female. She almost acts like she got a nose full of pepper for just a second...snorting and blowing.

[Beane]

She almost acts like she got a nose full of pepper for just a second...snorting and blowing.

Is the dog asleep when this is happening? Almost all the dogs I've ever lived with/owned have done this weird breathing/squeaking thing when they are deep in dreams (at least I think so, cuz their feet are twitching too). Since they've all done it I've always thought it was a normal dreaming thing.

[elk]

It's probably reverse sneezing..and that's all it is.

Why do they do it? Not sure...My papillons do it after they've been grazing (literally) and I think its kind of like an allergy sneeze.Or a nose tickle. I woudn't be alarmed unless it really increases in intensity and occurance.

Dreaming dogs mutter... like we do in our sleep.

e

[crazycanuck]

Aly-your dog is so cute! I want to jump through my screen & give him a big hug!

awwww..

c

[Tuckervill]

They're just trying clear their sinuses when they do that. My old broad Percy had serious sinus issues and was always sucking backwards through her sinuses. It's not dangerous or harmful. It's normal.

Percy, however, lived for years with constantly draining sinuses, and would sneeze great gobs every morning. So if your pup's nose starts running, too, or he sneezes out gunk, be sure to go and make sure it's all okay. It was late in her life, so we never took xrays of her or anything, because it didn't seem to bother her (the great gobs of stuff bothered me a LOT but I dealt with it). Could have been a sinus polyp or a foreign body from digging--we'll never know. But a young pup might have an infection that could be nipped in the bud.

Clearing sinuses (reverse sneeze)=no problem.
Clearing sinuses with green goo=get checked.

Karen

[sundial]

Aly, thanks for posting more pics of your new boy. I'm in love.

My girls do the backward sneeze too--usually in the spring. If they do it often, I give them a Benedryl and it seems to help.

[LBTC]

Right now I have to put a gate up across the kitchen when I leave so the dogs can come and go and still get the food. But I don't have to worry about whatever my son has left in the living room, or the furniture. She (my new dog) can't get to anything in the kitchen. I just set her up for success.

Great ideas, Tuckervill. But you must not have border collies! They see an obstacle, like a gate, and they put those border collie brains to work to find a way around (or over or through) the obstacle. Ours trained the neighbour dog, who had previously been quite happy to stay in the kitchen, how to get out through the maze of dining room chairs placed there to stop her. Oops.!

Aly, Chester is so wonderful! Thank you and congratulations!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[OakLeaf]

What a cutie. You are so lucky to have found each other.

I wouldn't worry about changing a dog's name, just because I'm remembering all the different nicknames our dogs had. Just like when someone comes up with a new nickname for you, dogs know you're talking to them just by context and inflection.

I think our attachment to our own names these days has more to do with the inconvenience of paperwork than anything else. Remember all the cultures that used to mark a major milestone in life with a new name. We still do it today in limited circumstances: changing a surname on marriage, joining a religious order. Why not let your dog mark his milestone the same way (not the way dogs usually mark milestones ).

[Tuckervill]

Great ideas, Tuckervill. But you must not have border collies! They see an obstacle, like a gate, and they put those border collie brains to work to find a way around (or over or through) the obstacle. Ours trained the neighbour dog, who had previously been quite happy to stay in the kitchen, how to get out through the maze of dining room chairs placed there to stop her. Oops.!

Aly, Chester is so wonderful! Thank you and congratulations!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

Oh yes, this wouldn't have worked with my previous Jack Russell, either. (Her name was Ladybug, and she weighed just 10 lbs.) She could leap over almost anything. Whatever she couldn't leap, she could climb. We had to electrify the fence to keep her in the yard. She only got shocked once and then we turned it off but left the wire there.

We set her up for success, too, though. Her doggie door opened into the sunroom which had an exterior type door leading to the house. (different house than this one) She just used her wiles to get out of the yard, instead. ::eeek:::

Karen

[sundial]

When I hear the name Chester, I think of Chester Cheetah of my fav snack treat. He smiles like your boy.