Hey guys,
So the dog in my avatar is a rescued dog I found around 6 months ago. He was in a pretty bad shape with multiple infections and a skin condition when I found him. Also his tongue is always sticking out because he has already lost most of his teeth. But he is the cutest little fella ever with such a tame a sweet personality. He was doing much better until this morning. I was doing some house chores and as usual he was following me around and getting in the way. So I put him on the sofa because he usually stays put there. Then, my mother in law opens the door and with the excitement he just jumps down to the floor (which is very unusual for him, he is normally super quiet). Mind you he is a tiny dog so it was a considerable height for him and also he is like the clumsiest dog I have ever seen. So yeah he hits the floor with his jaw and starts whining and moving his head in pain like I never saw him do before. I was completely freaked out and ran to the vet with him. Also this is like the worst time here in Taiwan for this to happen because it's Chinese new year and everything is closed, but I did manage to find a vet. So basically he got a fracture on both sides of his jaw and needs surgery. I can't say the vet was super helpful because he didn't even give him an injection for the pain or anything. Also they don't do surgeries there and basically all he said was that it will be difficult to find a surgeon at this time because of CNY, good luck xoxo. He did prescribe some painkillers and antibiotics for these days while I figure out what to do. He also said that it is really important that he keeps eating. Thing is the little guy is in huge pain and putting anything in his mouth is like impossible. He did try to eat at first because he must have been really hungry but then the pain was so excruciating that he just quit trying. I blended his favorite and tried to feed him with a syringe but it was a huge struggle and he ended up spitting most of it. Same with his medicine. I'm like completely shaken and totally on a guilt trip. If only I hadn't put him on the sofa he'd be ok right now being the silly little doggy he usually is
. Also he is already quite old so the surgery might be risky for him. Anyway, I'm posting this wondering if any of you guys have any insight or any tips you share with me. Especially about feeding him. I've been looking everywhere for help. Thanks and sorry for this completely off topic post.
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Is your doggy still able to drink? His ability to drink water is much more important at this point.
I haven't seen him drink water on his own but I was able to give him some with the syringe. Water seems to go down a lot easier. I'm a little more calm now too. We will see how he is tomorrow...
Some things you might try:
Have someone help you while you feed him and give him water. They can pet him and talk to him to reassure him, and lightly restrain him.
Make sure you're applying the syringe to the corner of his mouth, so it's pretty much down his throat. This means whatever you give him food wise needs to be really watered down.
Some high calorie options to give him during this ordeal include coconut oil and puppy formula. If they don't sell puppy formula in Taiwan, here's a recipe for it. https://www.cuteness.com/article/milk-replacement-formula-puppy-recipes
And finally, remain as calm as possible. I know it's stressful (I had a terminally ill kitten I had to feed for months) but your dog will react to your emotions. Hopefully now that your calmer, things will go better tomorrow.
Good luck!
The best thing to do is just not to worry! It's good that you're not panicking as much anymore; panicking won't do anything. When one of our family cats started having seizures, I was the first one to see it, and it's always horrible to see an animal in pain. They always know if you're upset too, so the best thing to do is just stay calm and happy, because that will help him to stay calm and happy too!
That's all the help I can give to be honest! Good luck! Hope he gets better soon!
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Thanks for the recipes @mintycupcake! I will definitely try them and hopefully find out what he likes more. I've also read that dogs never resist vanilla ice cream lol which is not the best food you can give him, but under these circumstances it's better than nothing.
Thanks again for the support!
That's great to hear! I hope everything goes well and he'll be feeling better in no time!
https://www.thesimsresource.com/members/DarkSuperNinja
Don't feel guilty about it, you couldn't have known. I guilt-tripped myself once as well when one of my dogs (a very small one) got one of her paws crushed accidentally when she was still a puppy, and it was technically my fault, since I brought her there. But it wasn't really my fault: I couldn't have known. Neither did you.
Let us know how it went
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He is all drugged up at the moment but I think he will be okay. If things go smoothly he'll be home on Saturday.
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Any of the formulas you will have to make at home, but I'm sure there are some you can find from other places.
However, be very careful not to give him milk. He's probably too old for it. Once dogs reach maturity they become lactose intolerant. He
Raw eggs also might be a concern because his immune system is probably quite busy helping his body heal from his illnesses.
As of feeding medicine, giving medicine to a dog is a little tricky. You first have to be confident (a really tricky part) dogs respect confidence, and it makes them feel better. (Be a good alpha not a dominating alpha. One the dog WANTS to respect.) You need to give the medicine fast in order to squirt it all the way to the back of the throat, that way it doesn't taste all nasty. Then give the dog a treat to follow it down. Cheese is a good one, especially if it's strong flavored (Dogs love cheese and they can have a bit more of it than other milk products because it's cultured.)
I understand completely on the teeth thing. I have a cat who had a genetic immune disorder that caused her to have to get most of her teeth removed. She has to have wet food, although she can have small treats that are hard.
As a note, the dog may have been a stray. It may not have had an owner. It also might have had an owner that died and nobody checked up on for several months. That happens you know. (Yes, it's sad for both the human and the dog.)
Frankly, it's disgusting that whoever last owned him didn't look after him AT ALL, but at least you're clearly a great owner and friend to him; he's safe and happy in your hands!
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He will have to be fed through a tube for these first 2 weeks because his mouth needs to heal first. From my understanding it will not be "real food" during that time. I will have to be extra careful later because his jaw will always be very fragile, so dry food is out of the question. Will try what you guys suggested too thanks again
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While I can't offer advice, I just wanted to say please don't blame yourself. You can always look back and say "If I hadn't done this, that wouldn't have happened" but the reality is accidents happen all the time, and you had no way of knowing it would happen. And by taking him in, you have significantly improved his life, and made it so much better. So please don't feel like you are at fault.
Please keep us posted though. I hope he gets to feeling much better soon.
My toy poodle Rosie also takes a pill for seizures. She had a small seizure today after five months seizure free. The vet thinks they are caused by stress in her case. She usually goes anywhere between three and six months between seizures. It just depends. She fought me in the beginning when we started her pills three years ago, now she takes it without hiding it in her food.
My dog buddy chased his tail a lot when he was a couple years old, and I guess that's a sign of seizures. He's been on the same pill for at least 5 years and hasn't had one since he started it . Years later, it came out that the treats we were giving him were linked with dogs having seizures, so that's probably where it came from. He was a rescue and we got him when he was almost 2 years, so we don't really know anything about his parents or other puppies in the litter
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First of all, I'm so sorry about all of this! I hope that your dog will be okay. Also, dogs are lactose intolerant, so try avoid dairy ice cream! To emulate ice cream you could put bananas in the freezer overnight and then blend them (a popular, easy way to make vegan ice cream). Dogs shouldn't eat too many bananas at once, though, so don't feed him too much!