To Bad He Can’t use Listerine

Well yesterday was full of hope after our Vet visit. Bueller’s bolting pain turned out to be a nasty mouth infection with a back molar I couldn’t see when I looked.

Top left molar just below his eye. No wonder he wasn’t sleeping at night. Or at least this is what I am clinging to as the reason for his increased nocturnal activities that are really sad to see. Vet gave us an antibiotic (Clindamycin) 300mg to give Bueller twice a day.  He said we should see improvement in Bueller’s discomfort probably within 5 days.

 

Hence to say last night was another no sleep night however, I did get to sleep in until 7am. Bueller got up at 10 went potty (yeah), then went to his mat in the bedroom where I slept with him long enough for him to sleep then back to bed with the Dude I went. At midnight Bueller was up again, outside he went to pee, kind of hung out but wasn’t altered like he has been YEAH. Got him to go back to sleep on the mat. Yes I slept with him again, it is the only way to get him to settle down he is very anxious with these wake ups but not enough to Xanax him. Then when he starts snoring I get up and go back to bed with the Dude.  Up again at 2pm but he just wanted to go climb into our bed which he can’t do anymore because it isn’t safe for him it’s too high. The only thing worse than waking up to a Dog who doesn’t know who he is, is one that just fell off the bed with a huge clunk. We were so lucky he didn’t break a leg or something worse.

I have to admit he is such a cuddle I really don’t mind these types of wake ups. It’s the ones where he won’t settle in at all that wears on my fatigue, and the Dude is realizing that my method works much better than his. Which is treating him like a normal dog. It just freaks Bueller out then we do have to Xanax him.

The Vet had a GREAT therapy session with us I call it as we have reached a point where we are confined to being home due to Bueller’s issues. We talked about quality of life with Bueller and ours as well. Our Vet is Dr. Robert Dammeyer at the Silverdale VCA Animal hospital. He is so caring and not quick to judge at all. He said that what is most important is that we don’t get to the point of Bueller’s care that you start to resent him and put him down just to be done with him. He has a point, the Dude gets so frustrated with Bueller when I go out for the day and until the Vet said something he realized that this might be what is happening already.

We left feeling that we had hope that Bueller’s recent decline is due to a mouth infection and that we would give this 5 days so see how he is doing. I am crossing my fingers. Plus the Dude is actually considering boarding Bueller so we can get away for ourselves.

Feeling blessed and happy today!!!! Bueller woke up at 8 and I even got the stretch which is the doggy down yoga motion which he hasn’t done in a while. I know I know the meds don’t work that fast. Let me be in denial a little.

You are Not Alone

Howdy there. Well Bueller was good. I think I am going to change Bueller’s name to Nocturnal Bueller as all his issues happen mostly at night so far.

Apologies for the next paragraph I just had too much to make clear at once. giggle. Would love an english lesson if you feel the need to reply on how to fix it and not loose the point of it. Hopefully I am getting my point across mind you..

Last night we all got up twice but we all got a good night’s sleep… I cheated though as instead of playing the go to your mat game after his going outside to potty adventure (the mat game involves coaxing Bueller to the mat, lay there with him until he gets settled then go back to bed only to repeat that every hour for the rest of the night and it is a guaranteed 5am wake and say up) at 2am I played lets go to sit on the couch game after the first bout out off the mat. I just couldn’t deal with not getting another night of no sleep. I did give the mat a try mind you, one round of it.

The next thing I know it is 7am and the Dude is like “what happened to you”? God Gwad I can’t even remember the last time I slept in that late and I went to bed at 8:30 last night. Feeling smooth today!!! yeah… Bueller is still sleeping… so I get to write this even..

Bueller and I were peacefully snoozing on the couch… Feels soooo good to have gotten some sleep, but now it’s time to kiss up to the Dude he is feeling slighted.

For those who read this blog if you know of anyone dealing with an elderly dog with Dementia issues this book is a must Click here for a help. Remember Me? Loving and Caring for a Dog with Canine Cognitive Dysfunction is a newly released e-book by Eileen Anderson of eileenanddogs.com. This book helped me a ton…

 

Normal What’s That

Howdy there, short and sweet.. Bueller is dry and somewhat normal. The end for now.

A Different Bueller but Dry

Well yesterday was weird, it was so wet it rained like 2 inches here, broke records everywhere, but at least Bueller was dry this AM and wasn’t twitching/flinching as I will detail below….

Yesterday afternoon things got weird. Bueller started this twitch/flinch or more like a reaction to someone poking him in the eye type reflex. He would be in a nice sleep and then he would start twitching or flinching (not seizure movements but something poking him, flinching) then he would jump up as if something was jabbing him. This was making Bueller very anxious.

I looked at his eyes, suspecting a nasty eye lash, as he has already had two surgeries to fix lashes growing into his eyes instead of outward like normal lashes but saw nothing and his eyes were not irritated so I am suspecting it’s a mouth thing as it starts to act up after a good chew… mmmm…I noticed him twitching/flinching before he went to sleep as well but not as bad. His breath and mouth after inspection appeared ok – this requires flipping him on his back, and playing with his jowls. He loves this game — scratching his back on the carpet he opens his mouth easily with an “awwwww that feels so good” action.

Yes, I know what you are thinking, Bueller tolerates a lot of inspections from his Mom. There is a lot to keep track of trust me.

We hung on the couch and watched some TV, and when it was time to migrate to bed for the Dude and I something happened. I was in the bathroom and the next thing I know Bueller is in there. Now he HATES the bathroom as this is where he gets his B.A.T.H. He was totally frightened. He had a stare in his eyes that looked like a stranger. 

“CRAP he is having an CCBD episode!”

This all started about 10pm… so need less to say we pulled an all nighter. Got him into the bedroom, verified with the Dude that Bueller wasn’t right, then the Dude said that when Bueller got off the couch, he was acting funny and wanted back on the couch, so when he went to lift him up Bueller snapped at him….. NOT GOOD…..

So I got him a Xanax – I don’t mess around, I gave him a whole pill. The Dude always starts with half but my philosophy is Bueller needs to relax not half relax… Well the one pill worked but NOT as expected which was a little un-nerving. He went to sleep not too long afterwards (normally regardless of whether he got a half or whole pill  he would go into a play mode for an hour or so then settle in). He woke about two hours later but went right back to sleep, then one hour later (I had to lure him back to his mat to sleep), then one hour later, (lured again) and so on… I finally just got up and made coffee about 5:30am… Bueller and I did our morning routine food, meds, pee, poo, biscuit, butter bone, final tummy pill… then he went to his mat and barked lost in his bed, so I got him settled (Yes I admit it I crawled on the mat and slept with him a bit and finally he fell a sleep.)

This Different Bueller that is coming out isn’t trustworthy. If we were on the farm, Bueller would be going to college no questions asked. But we aren’t on the farm luckily and the Dude is so not ready. Basically I would say we are at the 7 days out of the month with nights like this. However the number of nights we get a good night’s sleep are dwindling… Sad face…

Getting to Know the Other Bueller

Well this should be fun…Take two of an exercise Nat Russo on twitter suggested to his students.

So Bueller who are you?  It’s 11:30pm and that’s a good question. I just woke up to a warm sensation when my nose kicked in and I got completely grossed out so I immediately got up and just stood there for a bit to get my balance which seemed impossible for some reason. Who am I? This is a great question, better yet where am I after I go thump… mm ok, that must be the floor. Still not sure who I am yet…then my attention gets challenged even more as the lights go on, my eyes squint in pain thinking to myself what the heck? My next impulse was to smell my way around trying to figure out where I am before I can answer who I am… Bonk…Soft but boney feeling human I think… move another direction Bonk… Hard and cold, must be a wall. I keep hearing this sound from the human but can’t make heads or tails of it, I am more worried about where I am right now so please next question.

What do you look like? Who Cares. Next.

What do you care about most in the world? Right now I am sniffing every surface available to try and figure out who I am and where I am and why the heck this human is washing my tummy (forgot already that I peed the bed)… Sniffing Sniffing, pacing, pacing.. I am exhausting myself really so now I am panting and it’s only 60 degrees where ever I am. Extremely freaked out actually. Wait the human just stuck something smelly in front of my nose (at least I know what that is) – I quickly open my jaws and snap it up, YUMMMMMMMMMM… (sneaky human put little pill inside to reduce anxiety)…..

What really ticks you off? Sneaky human sneaking pills in my mouth and luring me into a place that is much smaller than where I was originally.

If you could do one thing, and succeed at it, what would it be? Remember who I am and where I am as I continue to pace, sniff and hit walls.

What people do you most admire and why? No one right now. Very annoyed.

What was your childhood like? Your guess is as good as mine.

What was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you? When I started peeing the bed. ooo wait I am remembering… (12:30am)… ooo I am starting to feel pretty good actually. Where is my chew, ooo Mom and Dad are up how fun is that!!!!!

OK one last question, how did you sleep last night? Terribly, I peed and forgot who I was for a bit.  Enough said…

Looking into my Magic Ball

   Short post today folks. All is good in Bueller world. He let us sleep in and I actually saw a smile on the Dude’s face this AM which has been MIA for a while now… So I am trying to see if his Pee episodes have a pattern to them… It seems like they are followed by sleepiness but that’s about it really.

I need to see if I can start predicting better… as my night time medications to go to sleep need to change from “Please let the dog sleep through the night and not wet the bed or have a CCBD episode” to “Gratitude for a wonderful life with my bulldog”…..

Getting to Know Bueller

I decided to interview Bueller today and report to you his answers… This is an exercise Nat Russo on twitter suggested this morning so here it goes.

So Bueller who are you?  Well I am a dog, an english bulldog to be more precise. I was born in Port Ludlow of all places into a house the exact copy of my human owners and I was immediately orphaned as my Mom died while giving birth to me and my two other brothers.

What do you look like? Well now I  have a grey push in nose skin fold covered face with watery bloodshot eyes. My hair color was brindle but now I am almost 13 so I am going more gray/blackish…

What do you care about most in the world? Food of course. In particular cheddar cheese but it really upsets my tummy so I don’t get but a pearl size if I am lucky. It is actually a tell that my human Mom is going to do something bad to me like give me a bath or something. She thinks she is being clever but she really isn’t.  Second most is my bear though, I once loved to hump him, but now a days I have to be very careful as my pee pee doesn’t want to go back into the cave and then Mom has to rescue me. I won’t go into details because it isn’t pretty.

What really ticks you off? When my human Mom tries to force me to do stuff I am not ready to do, like when I get up to pee, she seems to think I am just going to run back to bed but I like to wander a little, maybe drink some water. It is annoying. Another thing that really annoys me is when she is on the computer and/or doing art stuff and not sitting with me while I am sleeping or chewing my bone. I will tolerate the IPAD but that’s about it really.

If you could do one thing, and succeed at it, what would it be? To fly with my human Mom to visit my favorite Human Aunt in Greece… She buys me toys and spoils me rotten. Although I heard she got a cat and I am totally afraid of cats.

What people do you most admire and why? mmm that’s a tough one for a dog like me as I am quite happy being solitary and pretty much hate any other dog. But my Mom really wishes she could meet this artist Adrian Smith in the UK for some reason as I peak on her IPAD and she is always admiring his art so now I have a little crush on him, so does that count?

What was your childhood like? A blast, I had a great back yard and a full house to wander and I so loved to hump my Bear. But now a days, I sleep mostly as I am so stiff and sore all the time. But I get a good hump in every once in a while as I noted above.

What was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you? When I started peeing the bed. That’s easy.. I hate it, I don’t know why it happens, it makes me very sad and sleepy too.

OK one last question, how did you sleep last night? Terribly, I peed twice. Enough said…

SUNDAY – Dry Again but very Clingy

Well the beast was dry again, YEAH… But the night wasn’t so easy, BOO….

We all settled in on the couch about 6:30pm – Bing watching “The Affair” on Showtime as it is free this weekend. Bueller kept spinning around on the couch like he just couldn’t get it right for his position or to make sure I was still there. But I enjoyed him as he used me as a pillow many times during his process.

The show was very depressing but a good study on marriages and how easy they can fall apart. I can relate to the characters very well actually it is a little un-nerving…

Back to the Beast, ok so hubby and I went to bed about 9:30… Pup was up at 10:15 – I took him outside – new thing to prevent bed wetting that seems to work (its hell on my R.E.M sleep though as I sleep with one eye open now).  What do I mean by that? Well usually when he jumps down off the couch he just sees no one is around so he goes to his mat, he doesn’t really need to go outside or so he thinks…. But I popped out of bed and lured him outside. He did a good pee, then came in, and hovered in the kitchen. Not a good sign, but rule number 1, never rush an old Bulldog…. This rule could be a blog in itself actually… You see if I rush Bueller he gets really cranky and takes twice as long…

OK back to hovering in the kitchen, I just let him figure it out as I go to the bathroom my self, then I hear it, drinking water… ooo no don’t do that I think in my head but oh well.. It’s done and you don’t want to discourage water drinking with CCBD dogs as they will forget to drink water and that is worse. So off to the TV room to get him settled back into the couch… I climb into bed and sit there listening to him dig into the couch trying to make his little nest… My stomach is getting more and more tight (my nervous Nelly is creeping out) so I get up to see what progress he has made as it is very important that the pee pads stay in place..

Everything was in place but he was kind of stuck on the couch – CCBD thing – so I climbed up on the couch with him and he settled right down. I thought ok, once I hear him snoring I can go back to bed. WRONG… But it’s ok..

Hubby is fighting a sore neck and he is finally sleeping so I am trying very hard not to disturb him while fussing with Bueller in the middle of the night. Alright so he stands in the hall just staring. My new trick is to set up pillows by his mat and sleep there, then he smells me down there and comes to check it out. Then he happily crawls into his mat, puts his tail by my head – this is what he use to do when he slept with us which he doesn’t anymore because of CCBD as he would wonder off the bed falling – not pretty. Anyway, I slept with him for a while, made sure he was snoring good and back to bed I went, this was about maybe 11… He popped up again once more but I got him back to sleep, then he woke  at 5:25am. Yeah I got to sleep an extra 25 minutes. Then he did his routine and went back to bed.

 

 

Early Bird Catches the Dryness…

Well it’s another beautiful day in the neighborhood!!! Bueller is dry as a bag of flour… YEAH…. In a good mood too.. So even though he got me up at 4:55am – I so enjoyed playing with him for his hour. Now he is fast a sleep and here I am blogging.

Bueller is so funny, he knows his routine. This AM, probably because I wasn’t totally awake, I forgot to give him his Metacam. Which is a squirt from a syringe of pink sweetness jelly he loves to help with his joints.

It wasn’t until after exhausting everything in my stash of things to entertain Mr. Bueller that I realized holy crap I forgot to give him his most important med of the morning.  You see Metacam is the anti-inflammatory med from heaven…. Goodness how did I miss that? I even had the syringe all ready for him too just sitting on the counter.

Weird… Sleep deprivation will do that to ya I guess. No Canine Cognitive behavior to report soon happy!!!!