Oct 20, 2007
Telly on his ride home. He's a little nervous, as everyone at HUA has been fussing over him all day. He had a bath and got his nails trimmed and everyone has been holding and kissing him and saying goodbye. He knows that something big is happening and his eyes and nose have been running.

On our drive home, we swung through Lincoln to pick up our boat and he really enjoyed the stop at Runza! Unfortunately, we got stuck in NE football traffic and it took almost two hours to get home to Elkhorn from Lincoln.

Oct 20, 2007
Telly is exploring his new yard.

Oct 20, 2007
He's fast! Going downhill is easy!

Oct 20, 2007
Telly, Ashley, and Jeau.

Oct 20, 2007
Telly and my daughter, Ashley.

Oct 20, 2007
What a cute boy!

Oct 20, 2007
Telly LOVES his meals. Even if he were nervous on his first night, he wolfed down his dinner! Then he turned around and was going to help Teena finish hers. She's a nice girl and let him...but I rolled him away. Chubby little weiner dogs dont need two dinners!

Oct 21, 2007
We are all a bunch of couch potatoes...and Telly adapted to that right away!

We brought Telly's crate from HUA that he has been living in for the last two years. I wanted him to have something familiar. Bob had cleaned it yesterday and we set it up last night. When I put him in there at bedtime, it took him about ten seconds to tunnel under the blankets and he didnt move again! Poor little weiner was worn out!

Oct 22, 2007
Telly went outside this morning for some fresh air, but he didnt move around much and got cold in about five minutes. The little man isnt going to be going out much in the winter! He loves when we go back in the warm house!

Oct 22, 2007
Telly is in his giant crate and ready for a quiet day, as I am working until Dec 28th. I pulled a bunch of warm blankets out of the dryer and he made some contented little noises when I covered him up. He's such a good boy. Never a whimper.

Ashley is coming out to the house at Noon to let everyone out. She'll be staying for the afternoon.

Tonite, Telly will be getting another bath and lots of gentle lotion. I'll be working on exercising his legs every night, as he seems to have a little bit of deep muscle movement.

On Wednesday, he'll be meeting his new vet, Dr Dritley, at the Elkhorn Animal Hospital. He'll be getting a well-puppy check, scheduling a dental, having a lump on his tummy looked at, and possibly an x-ray of his back leg....which seems to move at odd angles. I am worried that it is broken or dislocated.

The urine expressing has been my biggest challenge thusfar. I seem to accidentally hit the right spot, but can only get it to work twice a day. It may be due to the fact that he isnt drinking much and he just doesnt have a lot in there! I'm sure I'll get it down pat in the next week or two.

We keep thinking of new animals that Telly looks like. At first, he looked like a little seal. When he leaves his rear end and tail hanging out of the blankets...a large rat under the blankets. Then we decided that his skin looks like an elephant. And finally, with his little hairless rolls, he looks like a hippo. We'll be working hard on getting more exercise and dieting!

10/24/07
Telly had his first vet visit. I had four things I wanted to go over with Dr Dritley (from the Elkhorn Animal Hospital in Elkhorn, Nebraska)

1) Show me any tips on urine expressing, as I'm still having some problems. It seems to be hit or miss whether I can get it to work. He showed me to squeeze right in front of the pelvis and it worked like a charm....for him. I still had problems last night. I was frustrated.

2) Telly has a little tumor under his right arm. Dr D did a needle biopsy and checked it. It's just a fatty tumor.

3) One of his paralyzed legs seems to move weird. I wanted to make sure it wasnt broken or dislocated. It wasnt. He has just lost a lot of muscle tone.

4) Schedule him for a dental. HIs teeth are in pretty bad shape...but they are all solid and he shouldnt have to have any removed. He'll be on a course of anti-biotics for about a month after the dental.

Bob asked why I didnt have a test done to check for a UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) I forgot. BUT...if he does have one, the antibiotics should take care of that...so I guess my forgetfulness saved some money on a diagnostic test.

10/25/07
We had a turning point this morning. I took him outside and was trying some different things with the urine expressing. Instead of pushing up and squeezing, I put my hand inside his thighs, grabbed everything right above his weiner and squeezed together horizontally. It worked. I tried it a couple of more times and it worked each time! It worked at lunch and again when I got home from work! YAY ME!

Halleluiah! The belly bands showed up today! Now I can put one on him while he's cruising around and he can wear some of the onesies that I got for him and they wont get all tinkly. I bought the kind that dont have any legs...theyre more of a bag

10/25/07
Telly's resting after dinner.

All the other dogs are starting to act normally around him. Even Linus.

10/26/07
Telly smiles. He was on the giant dog bed next to the couch...within reach of me. He was on his back...all four legs up in the air... and I was rubbing his tummy. I looked at his face and he had smile wrinkles.

I'll get a picture of him smiling tonite.

Telly is lazy in the mornings! I get him up, tinkle him, and he wants to go right back to bed. He definitely peps up for breakfast...and eats like it's his last meal...but then goes right back to bed in a big pile of blankets.

I was worried that the quiet here would be take some getting used to for him...as he is probably accustomed to the din of barking. But, I think the little old man really enjoys the peace.

10/30/07
He really enjoys our forest of a backyard...though his cart gets stuck a lot between the small trees. In that event, he either starts barking...or pulls an escape act! Sometimes I have a hard time finding the little pudge...as he blends in with the fall foliage and tree trunks.

10/30/07
Digging! He dug for over an hour! He followed the fenceline and dug at the base of all the little trees and the fenceposts. I figured it was good exercise for him...and his holes are small. Boy, is he motivated! He must smell mice, rabbits, and squirrels.

I am sad about the cold weather arriving. Telly has really enjoyed 70 degree October days for exploring his big yard!

10/31/07
I found his cart abandoned. As I walked around looking for him, I heard rustling. He was in the leaf pile!

10/31/07
Jeau is playing fetch with one of his favorite toys...a squeaky Cuz ball. He is so happy!

10/31/07
Please throw it one more time, Mom?

10/31/07
I have been working on Telly's legs. He can stand! Though only for a second or two, it is a great start! I am hoping Telly will be walking in a few months. Maybe wishful thinking...but he can move those legs! And maybe he just needs some intensive PT. I massage them in the morning and make him stand until his legs are too weak to hold him any more.....and then we do this again at night. Another hopeful sign is when I hold him against me facing outward. He pedals his legs in a continuous bicycle motion. I let him do this for about five minutes or until he's too tired to pedal them anymore. Great exercise for those little muscles!

I think he has already lost a little bit of weight. His skin seems a little looser on his trunk and he keep escaping his cart. I need to tighten up the straps!

10/31/07
He goes in for his dental tomorrow. I am 99% certain that he has a UTI or bladder infection, as his urine is starting to smell really bad in a strange way. I know he will be on anti-biotics after the surgery, but I called the vet to make sure it was ok for him to HAVE surgery while he has an infection. He is acting fine. They said it would be no problemmo. The other three rats are going to the PetsMart PetsHotel to Day Camp. Say a little prayer for Telly Belly that he has a perfect dental.

Regarding urine in general. We've had Telly for eleven days and the urine expressing is just a routine now. I usually do it about four times a day. If I cant get anything to come out within about 20 seconds of trying, then I know he just doesnt have much in there and I dont worry about it.

11/02/07
Telly's dental went great. I could hear him barking when I walked in to the vet's office to pick him up. I had the 'senior dog' diagnostic testing done on him before surgery and it came out normal. He was pretty wiped out last night : )  He's on Clavamox for ten days and Rimadyl for four days. Even with sore teeth and post-anesthesia, nothing has affected his appetite!

He is really looking thinner in the rear end, so I measured him this morning. His previous measurement (from ordering the Belly Bands) was 18 inches. This morning he was 17 inches! Losing weight will really help him with the potential walking. Even if he doesnt walk again, losing weight will help him pull himself around easier. He is a fairly small weiner dog and small-boned, so I think that 10 pounds will be a good weight for him. (he was 15.6 lbs on 10/24) I am not starving him! He gets the same amount of food that my 'tweenies' are getting...plus what he scores from begging from Bob and me.

I am a bit worried about his urine. I havent been able to get him to go since I picked him up from the vet. : ( His bedding pad was almost dry this morning, so I wonder if all the meds are just making him retain water. If I am still having problems as of tomorrow morning, I'm going to run him up to the vet.

11/03/07
Today we went to a dachshund meet-and-greet at the Little-Dog Park. There were probably twenty weenies that showed up. : ) Telly was a maniac. The park is an old ballfield and he lapped it at least three times! (including the outfield!)

Everytime I retrieved him and plopped him back in the group, he took off like a two-year old at a mall. Everyone loved Telly! There was a dad and son (in a wheelchair) and they were really impressed with Telly's 'wheelchair'.

Teena was very concerned about her brother Linus's infected eye. She's been kissing his face all day. He just closed his eyes and let her. We took him to the vet. No scratch...but a small infection. He's getting drops three times a day for a week. We are EXTRA careful with that eye. It's the only one he has! His right eye is blind (from an infection after he was born)

Linus is very handsome. He gets a lot of compliments  : )
He is a very stoic boy and he's my guard dog.

11/06/07
Telly played with a toy today! Jeau and Teena were playing chase with the Cuz ball and it rolled near the little blue dog. He picked it up and ran over and tried to climb in his crate...with his cart attached! I took him out of his cart and put him in his crate where he chewed on the ball for a little while. But....

Little Jeau was a very unhappy boy about the whole situation. He was barking and whining so loud that I finally had to put the ball away. (it's usually put away because it causes such a ruckus among the dogs. It's one of those special toys that gets taken out once a day...along with th Jolly Ball)

I moved Telly's daytime crate over near the window. He loves looking out the window and barking at squirrels!

11/06/07
Telly did not enjoy the "hydro-therapy". I have found that he doesnt move much at all with his life vest on. He just floats around on it like a raft. So, I took it off him and he had to move!

He was so scared. I have a couple of ideas for next time. After he got out of the tub, he got dried off, lots of lotion, and some leg exercises and massage. When I press on his pads, he does a strong bunny-kick with both legs. It really surprises him!

11/09/07
Telly snagged Jeau's Cuz ball again and pulled himself out of his cart (and belly band!) climbing into his crate for some chewing privacy.

Notice his nice white teeth! They had been brown. The vet did a really good job on them!

11/11/07
He gets so excited when we play ball. But he always runs off and wants to lay on a bed and chew it. I just get the reserve ball out of the closet for Jeau. He doesnt care...he just wants to chase it when I throw it. But, when anyone comes near him, he growls! But not at people....just dogs.

Do you like his stylish puppy-dog belly band?

11/12/07
We had fried egg sandwiches for dinner, the hoover crew helped clean the plates, and then the little blue dog disappeared for his after dinner nap. I started laughing when I saw this. When he's tired, he'll find a bed and bury himself (half of himself) under a blanket and the other half will be hitched up in the air because he's still in his cart. Or, he will go as far into a crate as his wheels will allow. Poor tired little weiner!

Hints for Urine Expressing a male dog - Pet Urine Expressing

1) Hold dog's chest with your left hand and hold him against your body (watch out for random squirting!)
2) Reach with your right hand...under and through his back legs as you lean him forward
    - I have many places that I express his urine - the sink (lots of hot water and then follow with bleach), into the toilet (works great, but if he squirts randomly, then you have a mess to clean up), and outside in the grass.
3) Put your hand about two inches behind and two inches down from the tip of his weiner
4) Massage a little bit and squeeze firmly
   - Keep your four fingers flat and straight
   - Keep your thumb parallel to your fingers
5) Dont put any pressure on the part of the weiner that is underneath your palm (that will cut off the flow or prevent it)
6) Squeeze your thumb and fingers towards each other (like you are doing a "duck quack")
7) As the flow starts, increase pressure gradually
8) If you can only get a few second's worth...try again in an hour.
9) It took about two weeks to get really comfortable with the whole process. Now, I let the other dogs out the backdoor, go to Telly's crate and pluck him out and express him. I always have a belly band ready with a pad.
10) Feel free to email me - noelle@elleon.com

Hints for Urine Control between expressings -

I use belly bands for when we are home and he's in his cart or in a bed. I also put one on him when he's outside so his weiner doesnt get dirty. The Maxi pads to use are the ones with wings. Name brand only! And, I have found that the Always nighttime maxi pads (the most absorbant) are the least amount of work! Only two peels strips and two pieces of trash (the wrapper is attached to the main peel strip) to chase around and throw away...compared with SIX pieces to deal with on the Stayfree nightime maxi (the main peel strip, four wing pieces, and the wrapper) The two larger wings on the Always work better than the four wings anyway. I change his pad twice a day on weekdays and three times on weekends...so it makes a difference! If you dont change a pad soon enough, you will be sorry. His belly band will get urine-soaked, he will leak when you pick him up, and you will have to wash the whole shebang. I 've only had this happen once. I'm a fast learner ; )

Always have a hand towel handy (good name for it : ) so that you can hold it against his weiner when moving him for various urine tasks. Especially when getting dog out of crates after any amount of time in there. Telly leaks and will spray if he has to go or hasnt been properly expressed. He'll dribble any time, actually.

During the day (in his crate) I use piddle pads with a towel over them (yes, a new towel for each occurance...lots of laundry)
A TIP - DONT buy piddle pads at a pet store!!! They are well over $1 each! I found two different brands at Target that are soooo much cheaper! Arm and Hammer has the large-sized piddle pads (with baking soda!) and they are only about $.33 each. They also had Foster and Smith brand (large-sized) for about $.50 each. I go through two a day (one for bedtime and one for his daytime crate) so $.66 a day sure beats $1.50. Times that by 365 and it adds up! (365 x $2.25 = $821 versus 365 x $.66 = $241)

I use babywipes to wipe him down after he has been laying for any length of time on a towel-covered piddle pad...or if he dribbles on himself. I try to warm it up with my hands. That's cold on his nekkid little blue body!

LAUNDRY HINTS
- Dryer sheets make towels waxy (I found this out from Consumer Reports about a year ago) I still use fabric softener, but no dryer sheets
- Bamboo fiber towels are softer than ANY cotton towel you can buy! And they STAY soft!
- To get mildew smell out of towels, add a couple of scooprs of OxyClean. Bleach doesnt do it. I've heard ammonia works, too, but havent had a reason to try it since the Oxy works so well!
- Store tinkly towels and blankets in the garage until you are ready to wash a load. (our laundry is on the main floor)

11/15/07
Telly has lost 1.5 lbs! He was 15.5 lbs when we got him and now he's 14 lbs! He was 18" around his middle and now he's 16.5".
He gets two meals a day, a couple of Pupperoni treats, and a few bites of people food...so he's not starving!

His interest in toys is growing : )  He chased the Cuz ball at least twenty times yesterday out in the yard. I'm so glad we're having a mild November! It's really helping with Telly's activity level. We need to tighten up the straps on his cart, as he keeps escaping. I am worried that he's going to scratch himself or get a weiner infection, as his escape act always includes leaving his Belly Band behind, too!

I need to get a short video of him playing fetch. It's really cute. He bounces when he runs.

11/17/07
Telly will crash anywhere. And it never ceases to be amusing! This is his usual method of crashing...onto one of the many beds scattered around the house.

11/18/07
I had him upstairs and he was playing with the other dogs. When I checked back in on him, he was asleep, half-buried in the corner pile of pillows! Very cute : )

Last night, I had Telly on my lap and was petting him. He gently took my fingers in his mouth. I think he was play-biting me...but he was being so gentle that he couldve picked up a pat of butter without damaging it! What a sweet little man : )

11/25/07
Telly is a FIEND for toys! He loves squeaky toys and especially squeaky balls! I think he has lost a pound this week alone from all the games of fetch! He hangs out in our hallway by the closet that contains the 'special' toys...the Jollyball and the Cuz balls. He goes crazy for the Cuz balls!

It is so much fun watching him learn to love things like toys. And he loves to snuggle! I had a migraine today and took Telly up to bed with me. We spooned. Everytime I pet him, he made cute little throat noises : )

We're having pictures taken this week for our Xmas cards. Bob's friend, Kevin Binder, is coming over to take our pics. Bob is going to hold two weiners and I'm going to hold two weiners. We should probably split up the black ones so they dont blend together. I cant wait to have them taken! They'll be wearing Christmas bell collars : )

Poor Telly. I am 99% sure that he has a UTI. Last week, I was glad at how normal his urine smelled (expressing the boy puts me up close and personal with his tinkle : ) Anyway, as of Thurs PM / Fri AM, it started to change odor. On Saturday morning, I called the vet. I was hoping that I could just pick up some anti-biotics and start treating him, but the gal who answered the phone said that I needed to make an appt and he needed to be tested for a UTI and they couldnt see us until Monday. And, when did I want to come in? In the morning? or the afternoon?

I asked, "Do I need an appt to handle this? Cant I just drop off a sample?" I was looking to save a little bit of money, as I already know he has a UTI...and now I am going to be paying for an office visit AND a test for UTI and the anti-biotics?

I suppose I need to have a conversation with my vet and not the one tech who answers the phone that doesnt know me and my dogs. Whether it be an at-home test that I can perform or whether my vet can trust that I know when Telly needs treatment.

I know that the expressing is going well. I do it at least four times a day...usually five. He never wears a belly band for more than a few hours. I change his bedding in his night time crate every day and also his daytime crate (LOTS of laundry!) I guess he is just prone to UTI's, as I've read about dogs that need to be expressed.

I'll let you all know how Telly's test comes out tomorrow.

11/26/07
Telly's urine had a lot of bacteria and a little bit of blood. He is starting a course of anti-biotics for ten days - Clavamox 125mg twice a day. The UTI test was $29 and the pills were $27.50. At least there wasnt an office visit on top of that, as I already knew the outcome of the UTI test. I asked the vet tech whether there is a preventive maintenance for dogs that get this frequently? She said that they can put him on a low dose of Amoxicillin or Clavamox. I'll go ahead and treat this one and if he gets another one in the next month or two, I will probably take that route. (cost is never an issue when it comes to treating our animals, but when you absolutely know what is wrong, you hate to waste money!)

Telly is the easiest dog in the world to give pills to! He is a food GOBBLER! I just put the pill in his food and it disappears with the rest of his meal in fifteen seconds flat! The other three rats can eat their whole meal and leave a clean pill neatly in the bottom of their bowl.

GREAT NEWS! I was noticing that he is getting skinnier, so I weighed him last night. THIRTEEN POUNDS!!! He has lost 2.5 pounds in the five weeks that we've had him! He plays fetch until he is exhausted : ) If I can get him down to 12 pounds, I'll be happy. Ten would be ideal. All of this weight loss will be great for his potential walking again.

Bad news on the physical therapy/accupuncture/hydro-therapy issue. There isnt a single vet in town that does any of that! And Omaha is over 500,000 population! The vets I talked to recommended making an appt at K-State and taking him down there for a couple of days for some Physical Therapy lessons (for me). Maybe I should check the phone-book for people accupuncturists and see if any of them can recommend someone who does animals?