Ginny

[Stacia]

Good luck @Jelinga . This is probably a really silly question, as no doubt your vet would have said this.... But when you tried the NSAIDS, you did give them with a good handful of food and definitely not on an empty stomach? Sorry if I'm stating the obvious.

Yes, thanks @Natalie, I gave them with his dinner But good to question me as some people really might not know.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

@snowbunny that gave me such a smile to read how well Ginny is doing. Let's hear it for Podenco Power! (and a mum who does everything to help her be her best).

@Jelinga , I hope you find a solution for Rourke. I like @Natalie 's idea about pushing again on your vet or maybe even getting another opinion from a different practice? There are a lot of different options and opinions out there, a fresh perspective could be helpful.

 

[snowbunny]

OMG Ginny is doing my head in at the moment. This "season" is never ending! She really thinks she's in standing heat at the moment, and is SO flirty. I don't have any option to separate her and Shadow, so it's constant monitoring and stopping her when she shoves her fanny in his face. This is my last morning of teaching on the ski school this week, so at least I don't have to leave them in someone else's hands after lunchtime today. If we didn't have Alan in our house in Spain, I'd be going there with the Labs to give us a break from her!

 

[Charlie]

Poor Ginny so wanting it and not getting it!! When Hattie had her first season I didn't notice any of this. I just had to contend with randy males following us and trying to mount her How long has her season lasted? xx

 

[snowbunny]

Squidge had two seasons and was no bother at all. Ginny is a total hussy! It's been going on for forever. As there's no bleeding it's hard to gauge exactly how long, but she started getting flirty before little Otter's, and hers is well over by now!

 

[Aitch]

Squidge had two seasons and was no bother at all. Ginny is a total hussy! It's been going on for forever. As there's no bleeding it's hard to gauge exactly how long, but she started getting flirty before little Otter's, and hers is well over by now!

All females should be in charge of their own sexuality.

 

[Beanwood]

All females should be in charge of their own sexuality.

Oh Bramble most certainly is! She came in around a week after Otter......to say it's been fraught here is an understatement...poor Casper gone and hurt his back again. Bramble is just so much taller!!! Told him earlier this year, when he did his back in, Casper don't do it!!!!

 

[snowbunny]

Heh, I'm more worried about Shadow hurting Ginny if he did try anything on, what with her being a little unstable (in more ways than one). And Willow is NOT amused in the slightest. She is the total Fun Police!

 

[snowbunny]

So Shadow found his sex drive in the last couple of days - or at least what passes for that in his world. I've had to tether him to me so I can keep an eye on him - and her! Luckily, as of today, she's certainly less tarty with him, and the swelling has diminished a bit. Poor boy, just as he was getting warmed up! He's still pretty easy to call away from her, but I feel like I can't concentrate on work, what with watching them All The Time. J is taking Shadow to Spain for the day tomorrow, so at least we'll have a day's respite, and hopefully that will be that then.

 

[HAH]

Awks, sounds like fun at chateau Snowbunny for now Glad you’ll get some respite tomorrow

 

[snowbunny]

On the plus side, I had a little spot of inspiration earlier. He was totally hyper when he got back from this evening's walk (because of Ginny). Like, hurdling the sofa from back to front sort of hyper . I didn't have any frozen Kongs, and he's not a fan of long-lasting chews. But I'd made a batch of treats in the silicone mini ice cube trays earlier and I thought, ooooh, this could work as a licky mat! So I smeared it with cream cheese and pate, and it kept him occupied for ages and got rid of the "fizz". Pretty sure Squidge would have ripped it into a million pieces, but it worked well for the boy

 

[snowbunny]

We were out walking before light this morning. Suddenly, from nowhere, a small bolt of orange appeared, streaking towards us. Shadow was muzzled, but recalled wonderfully, and we let Squidge intercept while we got the twins on lead. J then took Shadow away along the ridge we were on, to see if he could spot the owner below. No sign. Hmm. It soon became clear that he was a boy, and interested in just one thing - Ginny. Ah. There are so few dogs here at the moment that we haven't had to worry about this until now, but there he was, a little bundle of vibrating, squeaking, testosterone. Ginny was NOT impressed by him! Her heart belongs to Shadow
J took Shadow home while I managed the girls - Willow telling the cocker off in no uncertain terms every time he looked at Ginny the wrong way. She is such Fun Police!

J eventually came back alone, and I was able to pass Willow to him and coax the cocker to me to pop on lead. It was then I managed to get a look at his collar. He belongs to neighbours of ours; we never see him being walked, which is why we didn't recognise him. I called them to let them know we had him and they came to collect him from us. They were worried because he can be a bit of a twat with other dogs, but we'd had none of that. His mind was on other things!

Back home Ginny became Tarty McTartFace with Shadow again. She obviously has standards, and a short-arse ginger cocker does not meet them

Shadow is now heading to Spain with J for the day, so it's a girly day for the rest of us

 

[Stacia]

I enjoyed reading that and can see it clearly in my imagination

 

[Jacqui-S]

I know it's not deliberate, but Ginny is SUCH a troublemaker

 

[M.F.]

When I started reading that you tethered Shadow, i thought, Really, you would do that?? And then I read to yourself, and the world made sense again! But I guess most people would tie the dog up alone. I once had a similar situation—14 of us away in a holiday house. Snowie trying to mount a huge flirty pitbull (not spayed, resident dog). Me trying to cook dinner for 14 people, while wrangling a heaving, moaning ball of testosterone. It was exhausting! I didn’t tether him up only because I was sure there was nothing strong enough to withstand his pulling, and of course I wouldn’t have locked him up alone in our bedroom. Then I realized the 14-seater dining table (in the kitchen) was solid wood with solid wood benches attached and was immovable. So I tied his leash to that. I was finally able to finish cooking dinner. I can totally understand that you would not be able to work with Shadow tethered to you all day!

 

[Jacqui-S]

So I tied his leash to that. I was finally able to finish cooking dinner.

Personally wondering what your 14 "friends" were meanwhile doing......

 

[M.F.]

Personally wondering what your 14 "friends" were meanwhile doing......

Exactly!!! Even though we’d divvied up the cooking duties, I did feel over-burdened. To be fair, there were five kids who were no good at helping with cooking. So, the remaining 8 adults could’ve helped. But most were outside drinking wine and G&Ts or attending to their kids and one to a puppy. One adult eventually came to help me (my husband hadn’t come away with us, otherwise he’d have been helping me). The upside was I knew that for the rest of the weekend I would not lift a finger!! But yes, I was rather irritated, made worse by the vocal dog who was also annoying everyone else. It was a bad start to the weekend. But it ended up being wonderful. And Snowie calmed down, otherwise I would’ve had to go home!!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Had fun reading this though certainly no fun for you. Ginny is like the sassy (and sexy) old lady I'm not but wish I was.

Goals. :-D

 

[Aitch]

My mother toid me to grow old disgracefully. So I did! Praise to Ginny for doing the same but sorry it is landing on your shoulders.

 

[snowbunny]

Poor Ginny is really struggling the last few days. I'm not sure exactly where the pain is, but it's causing her to favour her rear left leg - the same side as her missing front, meaning that she's trying to walk just on her two right legs. We know she has compression in her lower spine from favouring her damaged leg for so long, so it's likely there, but I have a little niggling suspicion there may be something in her knee, too.

We've stopped all walks, other than very brief empties, until we can get her to the vet - first available appointment is Monday morning. She needs blood tests to check her organ function from using the Trocoxil (monthly NSAIDs) for a few months, followed by two months off. Unfortunately, because of these blood tests, I can't even give her meloxicam before the bloods are taken.

She doesn't seem low in herself at all - I guess having lived for many years in constant pain before coming to us, it's become a way of life. When I take her out by herself, she is like a spring lamb, bouncing around me; she looks so happy, bless her. They all love their mama time
But walking is clearly painful for her and, once the joys of spring settle, she's struggling to walk. I carried her the last 50m back home after this evening's empty because she was obviously hurting too much.

I can't wait to get her started on the Trocoxil again. I guess if the blood tests show problems, we'll look for alternatives, but at her stage of life I'm all about making it pain free, and pretty much screw the consequences (within reason, of course). I'll ask our vet about physio options here in Andorra, too. I don't want to put her through hydro again, but if there's anything else that is available here that may help, we'll give it a go.