Rita is not well again (update post #36) Health

I don't know what to say Debra. I hope Rita can stay for a little while longer, as long as it is not too difficult for her. Re. the food - I suppose you've tried sardines in tomato? Thinking of you both.

@CaroleC Got a spoonful of plain yogurt from my neighbor to see if she would take it in her water even though she is drinking. Thought it would be good for her since she won't eat. She wouldn't touch it. I should have known that. Rita has some odd eating habits for a dog. She won't eat anything that has gravy or broth with it. You have to rinse it off or she won't touch it. The only vegetable she eats is carrots and they have to be fresh. She won't even consider canned ones. Takes a sniff and gives you the "stink eye." If the pieces you cut for her are too big you get the stink eye again as she walks off. Water has to be at the top of the bowl or you get it again. I think it's funny so I don't argue with her.

@CaroleC Just saw your last post. About 6 months ago I put a cut up salmon patty down for her. The look I got was different from what I usually get and I realized it was a strange, new food for her. I had to force a piece into her mouth. Once she ate that I guess she decided it was good to eat as she ate the rest of it. I've again tried to give her a salmon patty and she refused it. I will try sardines, after I rinse them off, for the picky little princess. Maybe the stronger odor will entice her to eat.

My friend, Johnny, was just cutting up pieces of leftover steak for the other dogs and putting them in a big aluminum pan on the floor. Lo and Behold!!!! Rita caught the scent and ate about 15 little pieces. And I let out a huge sigh of relief. We're good for one more day.

That has given me the biggest smile I have had all day! Bless her, she knows what she wants! What Pereg would call Food with a capital F - she is raw fed but till eat kibble if she has to, but to her, food should be Food!

Rita is an opinionated little thing and when it comes to Food it's her way or no way. I did make up a container of chicken and carrots baby food for her. In case she won't eat again I can feed her with the big syringe. If she eats on her own either tonight or tomorrow morning I'll freeze it. I feel so much better today. Don't think I realized how badly this was affecting me until the relief came when she ate something.

@Malka How is Pereg doing? I don't want to give it a kunahura(spelled wrong but you know what I mean)but how long has she been seizure free this time?
@CaroleC How is Tweed doing?
I was getting so caught up in Rita I wondered but forgot to ask.

@manydogz - I think you mean kinaynahora [apologies to everyone else on this thread] - it is not Ivrit it is Yiddish and it is a word that my paternal grandmother, who was from a little village outside Warsaw that is no more... used. A word probably all old grandmothers would use when talking maybe about a baby or small child who had grown since they last saw him/her, or one that was recovering from bring sick... "he/she is looking so good kinaynahora" followed by the two or three p't sounds [like pretending to spit]

I think the best was of describing what it means is they hope that what they are saying, ie kinaynohora will "keep the evil eye away", in other words not put the mockers on it. I do not speak Yiddish but understand a bit, so I say Baruch HaShem which I write as B"H and which means a Blessing [to] The Name [ie G-d] and which non-Jews would say as Thank G-d. The same as when I write BS"D it is an abbreviation for what others would say as G-d willing.

So, to answer your question Debra, as Ram and I are not counting her last seizure as it was not her normal violent long lasting one, today, 5 September, is Day 41 B"H and BS"D she will not have another one for a while - [p't p't p't p't!] - and to think she was on a 10 day warning before having another drug added, which I was very against. I think she has shown that she is also against it!

Of course we all know she could have another Grand Mal seizure any second but ayn mah la sot. There is nothing that can be done. What will be will be.

Gentle cuddles for our little Rita - I am still praying for her and @CaroleC for our Tweed.

(((hugs))) to you both xx

Tweed still has her gentle cough, but is not hacking or losing the yellow stringy mucous. She is worse when excited - going for walks, someone at the door, or when food is on the go - but when relaxed she is much better. She loves her ball, and is back up to 5 retrieves a day before she starts to slow down. I'm starting to think the cough might be there for good, but the rest of her has a lot of life left yet.
Thank you to all who care about all our old, or ill dogs.
I'm so pleased with Pereg, I'm sure the loss of the Boom Booms has helped a lot. ((xxx))

Carole - I do not think that the war itself caused some of her last episodes - she mostly ignored the sirens and the boom booms - they were started off by the Seresto collar which Ram would never have put on her had Bayer put correct c/i instructions for its use. And it took a long time for it to get out of her system once I cut the bdooly thing off.

Pereg is not ill B"H - she is just epileptic. It is a horrible life-long condition which is not known as The Monster for nothing when a seizure hits. But the rest of the time she is the most normal healthy dog ever, albeit overweight, fat, and a darned nuisance at times with her gimme gimme gimmee food - caused by the crossed wiring in her brain.

We cope, she and I. I love Pereg and I am 100% certain that she loves me, however a dog has/knows love.

And I think that is all that matters really.

Yes, Malka that's the right word. I can't spell in Yiddish but I do remember a little of it from when I was a kid. My grandmother used to tell my grandfather in Yiddish "you should pee ice water" when she got angry with him. I remember the English translation but not how to say it in Yiddish. My grandmother was from a little village outside of Kiev. She told me that it was near the site of the mass graves and that it is not there now. She went back to Russia many years later to look for family and they are all gone, too. They traveled the world and wherever they went they looked and never found anyone. I do have cousins in South Africa that I've never met, but that's all.
Anyway, very glad that Pereg is taking a break and that Tweed is doing better. Rita ate again late last night, so I'm not so worried today. I know her days are numbered. I just don't want it to be too soon. I still wonder how someone could get rid of a dog after having her for 15 years. Especially one with the character that Rita has. Boggles my mind.

@CaroleC Has your vet tried giving Tweed allergy medicine? Dogs, like humans, can develop an allergy to something at any time. And the mucous can go from clear to yellow if having it for a while caused an infection. Something to think about.

Rita has fooled me again. After refusing food for several days and having me thinking she was on her last leg she surprised me. My friend, Johnny, was cutting up a small bit of London broil beef for the other dogs and dropping it into a tray on the floor. Rita caught the scent and attacked it. Ate all of it! She still won't take any other meat but beef. So, we are going nuts finding her beef as we almost never eat it because it's too expensive. Happily my friend, Lauri, cooks too much for her family of 3 and she just gave me a big piece of leftover beef. I don't know what to think about this dog. The only other thing I did was put her back on the benedryl and I doubt if that had anything to do with her eating.

I was just thinking of Rita and wondering how she is doing, and was on the point of asking you when I came over to Breedia and saw that you had already posted!

Rita obviously has her own ideas as to whether she is on her last legs or not, so spoil her while you can.

Gentle cuddles for her please from both of us. (((hugs))) xx

@Malka Thanks Malka....I was wondering where you were. I didn't mention it before but Rita's hearing is also getting better. Yesterday she caught me twice sneaking up on her to see if she was breathing ok and she's been barking with the other dogs. Don't think she hears voices but when she came to me she heard nothing. Seems as soon as she's had a few doses of benedryl her hearing improves even though she takes a daily allergy pill from the vet.

After several days of refusing to eat and me thinking the end was near the picky little princess is eating stuff she has refused ever since I've had her. Tuna salad, chicken salad, vegetables, etc. I've always fed her alone in the bathroom so the other dogs didn't bother her. Not any more. Now she has to be at my feet in the living room or she won't touch her food. Taking the benedryl, half a dose twice a day, has helped her hearing. She can hear loud noises, so when the others bark she joins in with this deep, gravelly voice. Pearl has the same kind of voice. Sounds like two much larger dogs. Needless to say, I'm thrilled that she's doing so well after weeks of worrying so much about her. I would not have gotten through it without everyone's help, so many thanx to everyone.

So pleased Debra - I had been thinking about her today, but didn't dare to ask!

Best wishes for a speedy recovery from me and Mouse.

@manydogz and @CaroleC - I am still praying for little Rita and for Tweed every night so am very glad Rita is eating again, and Carole - how is Tweed doing?

(((hugs))) to you both and your wubbles xx

@Malka Thanks for caring. Tweed is just the same - very active, very greedy, and a husky cough mostly when she's excited. Her heartbeat is very slow, but steady. She's now been put on to monthly checks, and the vet has started tailing off her prednisolone doseage. She is still on the Corvental and Vetmedin which are the expensive drugs - but she's worth it.
@manydogz I am also trying a childs dose antihistamine - no noticeable benefit yet, but I might try upping the dose as she weighs around 18 kg.
Our love to Rita, and to Pereg, who is having such a good run. Keep it up girls!