Officially Diagnosed!

I picked sniper up Sunday afternoon from the kennel and he immediately hopped into the car through the open window. At first I thought it was cute and that he really wanted to go home but once we got home it was obvious that something was wrong with him. The right side of his face looked "lopsided". I emailed the kennel thinking that maybe he got stung by a bee, and they confirmed that there were wasps near by. I gave him a benadryl and hoped that he would sleep it off.

This morning, it was obvious that something more was wrong. The entire right side of his face looks like it "fell off". He seriously looks like he has Bells Palsy. I took him into the vet and he immediately said "your dog has neurological issues" I wanted to say "Duh! he is a Malinois!" but I knew what he meant and was slightly glad to hear it wasn't just me imagining things. We checked everything over carefully just to make sure that it wasn't an inner ear problem or something else. We found nothing other than the obvious. The vet thinks that he probably ran his face into the kennel door or something. He said that it should take about a week or so to heal.

 

His ear is the only really obvious thing in this photo, but if you look closely, you can see his eye too. The drooping continues down his face and affects his lips too. He is acting completely normal other than the excessive drooling. He is having a hard time catching a ball and biting down for a game of tug, but he doesn't really seem bothered by any of it.

I hate to say this, but he looks absolutely adorable all droopy! It's hard to imagine that this makes him even more lovable than he already is! Finally his outside appearance matches his goofy personality!

Dogs, Shmogs. . . I Have A NEW Best Friend

I am currently living with FOUR dogs. And between the muddy paws, the vomiting (always, and only, in the middle of the night) the long-term housebreaking issues, and the never ending supply of hair, things can get pretty gross around here. I try very hard to sweep and vacuum and do laundry as much as possible, but sometimes it's still not enough. I've had the carpets professionally cleaned a few times, but it's really expensive and, honestly, I need to do it more than I actually have it done. For awhile I've been wanting my own deep cleaning upright, but they are also a bit expensive. Luckily, it's my birthday, and I used all that birthday dough for a Bissell!!!!



It's one of those "steam cleaning" machines - easy to assemble and easy to use. It's a total pain to clean it when you're done, but still completely worth it! You can move as much furniture out as you want, but you don't have to feel guilty if you don't move all of it out because you aren't paying for someone's time and labor. Also, you don't have some creepy guy coming into your house, scaring your dogs, and giving you dirty looks for all the hair you didn't vacuum up before he got there.

The cleaning itself took about 30 minutes and the carpet looks great. I think it smells better in here too, but my allergies are terrible with 4 dogs, so I can't smell much. The carpet is still a bit damp, so I have towels all over the floor to absorb the excess water. I am super happy that I finally took the plunge and got one of these things!

What Wouldn't You Do For A Dog With A Face Like This?

 

This is a picture of sniper hanging in the new office. He loves the new office configuration because he can lay at my feet without getting yelled out for pulling out the computer wires. Poor boy just wants to be close to me. . .

I did something today for this dog that I thought I would never do. I grabbed a wasp with my bare fingers. It was 6:30 in the morning, and I hadn't had any coffee yet, so that might've had something to do with my poor judgement. . .but when your dog is jumping around frantically trying to bite himself, you do everything you can to make it better. And in this case, he was being stung repeatedly by a wasp - probably trying to protect it's hive from his giant nose! 

Our normal hiking trail is undergoing Trail Restoration; which means that many of the trees are getting cut back and the trail itself is being widened and the damage from the mountain bikes is getting fixed. Up till today, it seemed like a great idea. We've had more room to play on the trails because I can see farther ahead and the ground is flat, so there is no worry about sprained ankles. Sniper's favorite thing about all this work is the tractors at that trail head that he gets to pee on! But all this work has also damaged some of the homes of the creatures that live there. We haven't seen a squirrel, a rabbit, or a deer since it started. I'm sure they'll come back once it quiets down, but for now, they are no where to be seen. I can also assume that when they cut back the trees that some of the insects also had their homes destroyed. In this case, there was a wasps' nest broken on the side (didn't see it until after he was stung). I'm sure sniper just wanted to check it out, but that was a bad decision on his part. And wasps are the worst of the stinging creatures because they can sting repeatedly without loosing their stingers. I really had no choice but to grab it and squish it. . .luckily my brain is a bit foggy in the mornings otherwise I might've thought twice about grabbing it.

Because I'm such a weirdo about my dogs, I always have a pet first aid kit handy and I had plenty of benadryl on hand to give him. He seems to be going fine, and is resting comfortably. He has a few small lumps on his side and his leg, but they aren't getting any bigger and his face isn't swelling and his breathing is good. I'll keep an eye on him for awhile and might give him more benadryl later - if only to keep him calm so I can finally relax!