Aloha! It's been a while since my last update, because we've been busy traveling to Hawaii. There are lots of things I want to write about, but just didn't have the time. Hopefully I can cover most of it at once.
Boarding
While we were on our vacation, Maya stayed at a doggie daycare. We were really glad that they provided webcam and an iphone app for owners to check on their dog. We've been constantly spying on her wherever we go, even when sunbathing on the beach. We missed her so much! Special thanks to our friend who picked her up, so we didn't have to pay for an extra day and we get to see her right at the airport.
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| Picture sent by the daycare center |
Swollen Paw
About a week before we left town, Maya started to yelp on our way back from a hike. I know something's wrong, but she just sat there and cry, giving us no clue to figure out the cause. She stopped after a minute, so I thought she might just want to get out to play or that she's hungry. Over the next few days, I started to notice her lifting a leg after jumping off furnitures or growling when I wipe her paws. It took me longer than I should to realize what might be wrong and checked her paws. And there I found her front right paw pad swollen and pinkish. When I press on it, she'll give me an "angry face" and would want to bite me if I held on longer. (She did stop once her teeth touched my skin.)
For the following few days, I put some antibiotics over the paw and wrapped it with a doggie sock. When we go out for walks, I also put a plastic bag over the sock so it doesn't get wet. I believe it should just go away on it's own, but as our vacation got closer and with no improvements, we started to panic. Maya's daddy then insisted on taking her to the vet. I kind of lost the argument, so off we went to yet another vet visit. It was on a weekend, and our regular vet and all other "better" ones around us were all closed, so we ended up taking her to a chain clinic located in a pet supply store.
To be honest, it was probably a total waste of money. The doctor trimmed the hair around her paw pad, which I should have done so myself, cleaned the area and checked if anything's stucked in there, which I already did so myself. We also got some antibiotics and pain killer for Maya to take orally. Then she asked us to come back again in a week. I ended up not even giving her the pain killer and canceled the follow up visit.
I did some research online, and found that many people recommended soaking the paw in epsom salt water, so I started doing that 2-3 times per day (while shoving lots of treats in her mouth). By the time we left for Hawaii, it seems to be better. She was able to walk normally, but would still whine if I press against the paw pad. We asked the daycare to continue with the meds and took off worried. Fortunately, by the time we picked her up, it all cleared up. I'm not sure if it's the meds, or the epsom salt, or because she stayed in doors for five straight days, or simply just because of it's time to heal, I'm just grateful that it all went away. We were even thinking that it may require surgery to remove. Whew...
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| SPA and food therapy |
Allergies
Since my last post about Maya got
bitten by fleas, there has been some ups and downs in her situation. Some days she's fine, some days she'll scratch like there's no tomorrow. One day I came back home finding her nearly destroyed half of her face as well as blood all over the wall. Apparently, she was rubbing her self against it. Ah, poor girl. :(
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| Blood on the wall |
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| Huge wound on her face |
After that big outbreak, things did get better. She was itching much less and by the time we send her to the daycare, we lowered her meds back to once every three days. Staying indoors at the daycare seems to help as well. Her wounds pretty much cleared up and her black eye was gone. It's been five days since she took her meds and she's been doing good.
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| Looking much better today |
Food Trial
After finishing off the 4 lbs box of THK Zeal, I switched her to Verve to save some cost. She's been doing well on it, but doesn't like the taste as much as Zeal. Since she got her tooth crown put in, I've been starting to give her some raw meaty bones as well. So far nothing gave her any bag reactions and the tooth seems to be holding up well. Chicken did give her some loose stools, so I'll probably avoid that it for a while. Since we're back home and most of her health issues are under control, I'll be switching back to home prepared raw soon.
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| 10 lbs box of THK Verve |
Shedding
Yep! It's that time of the year again. Everything and everyone is covered in fur. Every time I brush her, I can collect a mini-Maya. When she came home from boarding, we felt like she seemed much smaller. Thank you for leaving all the fur at the daycare!
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| Maya and mini-Maya |
A Flower in the Greenhouse
There's a Chinese saying that calls someone who's so delicate and vulnerable to survive in the wild a "flower in the greenhouse" (溫室裡的花朵). I guess we got a precious little flower. It seems like staying indoors for five days at the daycare fixed everything that was bothering us. Maybe next time we should just send her there when she's sick... sigh. I seriously think we should all go "
pacify Taisui" (安太歲), a prayer session with a Taoist Priest to ask for blessings and avoid misfortune, as we really had some bad luck over the past months. It's been normal and peaceful after the vacation so far, and we are enjoying it.
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| Cuddling with daddy |
