Happy Tales

Cath

Cath

MLF Sales Coordinator
Would reusable female dog nappies help to keep the flies off her botty? You wouldn't want flies to lay any eggs there.
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
Natalie said:
So without being too graphic, did the surgery change her anal muscles / anus and she can't always control when she goes?
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I'm not exactly sure what the surgery was. I don't even know what the accident was yet. I'll find all that out when I see the administrators next. All I know is she's had two surgeries on her back, and with the position of the surgery, there's a good chance that the trauma (either from the accident or the surgery) has caused faecal incontinence. Combined with her diarrhoea (which almost all the shelter dogs have), this is a very messy situation! There is a chance that firming up her poo will enable her to keep it in, but that's something we won't know for sure until her tummy is sorted. I've talked to some people who have experienced faecal incontinence with older dogs and they have given me some tips and tricks, as well as reassuring me that, once the consistency is sorted, it's really not that much of an issue, you generally just find the odd "nugget" in their bed. And with her being so teeny, it's not as if that will be monstrous. But, it's very much a waiting game to see what happens once she's firmed up.

I have considered doggy pants, but I don't think I want to go that route just yet. I would rather the poo is released than is stuck against her skin. But I'm open to trying if I feel it would be better, once we've got her.
 
HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
Just a thought I'm sure you've already had @snowbunny - there's all sorts of unknown potential for regaining control/sensation from a psychological perspective once she's in a different, more settled environment as well as the GI potential for improvement. I'm no dog expert but the research I did recently on improving continence in children who had undergone various types of physical trauma was really eye-opening, in terms of what can potentially be regained by mediating psychological and behavioural factors - often unanticipated. Definitely a range of possibility for improvements of all sorts.
 
Jelinga

Jelinga

Location
Malvern Worcestershire
snowbunny said:
I'm not exactly sure what the surgery was. I don't even know what the accident was yet. I'll find all that out when I see the administrators next. All I know is she's had two surgeries on her back, and with the position of the surgery, there's a good chance that the trauma (either from the accident or the surgery) has caused faecal incontinence. Combined with her diarrhoea (which almost all the shelter dogs have), this is a very messy situation! There is a chance that firming up her poo will enable her to keep it in, but that's something we won't know for sure until her tummy is sorted. I've talked to some people who have experienced faecal incontinence with older dogs and they have given me some tips and tricks, as well as reassuring me that, once the consistency is sorted, it's really not that much of an issue, you generally just find the odd "nugget" in their bed. And with her being so teeny, it's not as if that will be monstrous. But, it's very much a waiting game to see what happens once she's firmed up.

I have considered doggy pants, but I don't think I want to go that route just yet. I would rather the poo is released than is stuck against her skin. But I'm open to trying if I feel it would be better, once we've got her.
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I adopted a cat years ago from the vet surgery where I worked, she had been in a car accident and had dreadful diarrhoea for weeks and weeks and we finally clogged her up with charcoal. I named her Cloggie. So charcoal (medicinal!) might help.
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
Jelinga said:
I adopted a cat years ago from the vet surgery where I worked, she had been in a car accident and had dreadful diarrhoea for weeks and weeks and we finally clogged her up with charcoal. I named her Cloggie. So charcoal (medicinal!) might help.
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Thanks @Jelinga I'll look into that if we don't have any success with regular decent diet. The shelter environment and crap food is what causes the diarrhoea in most of these dogs, so I hope that the ProMax and some decent food will make a difference to her.
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
HAH said:
Just a thought I'm sure you've already had @snowbunny - there's all sorts of unknown potential for regaining control/sensation from a psychological perspective once she's in a different, more settled environment as well as the GI potential for improvement. I'm no dog expert but the research I did recently on improving continence in children who had undergone various types of physical trauma was really eye-opening, in terms of what can potentially be regained by mediating psychological and behavioural factors - often unanticipated. Definitely a range of possibility for improvements of all sorts.
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This is interesting, @HAH, do you have any papers or articles on this? It's not something I was aware of.
 
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HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
snowbunny said:
This is interesting, @HAH, do you have any papers or articles on this? It's not something I was aware of.
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The usual caveats apply - improving paediatric continence in children with neurodisability is an under-funded and under-researched area, so high quality evidence (particularly in trials) is lacking. But there is some evidence for improvements in continence for children with functional spinal cord pathologies (mainly spina bifida) from behavioural interventions (Dietrich 1982), some also using enemas (Schletker 2019) or irrigation (Choi 2013) alongside bowel training. We ran a survey with health care professionals and parent carers which highlighted the importance of challenging expectations and preconceptions around continence. The research I was involved in (including this survey) is still with the funder NIHR but I'll you know as soon as it's out - should be in the next few months.
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
So I changed the name of my little project from "Dog Tales Photography" to "Happy Tales Photography". I hope that will be an enduring theme for these shelter dogs over the coming days, months, and years.

Little Bella joined our ranks today. I will start a new thread for her. The timing for us may not be absolutely ideal, what with Talia having her vet appointment tomorrow, but for Bella, every day will be a better day. She is a total sweetheart, and the first dog we've had from the shelter who actually likes J straight off the bat! She's a funny little thing, very affectionate and I think she'll end up part of the clan pretty soon. Anyway, she's calling, so I have to run... :D
 
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