Bode and the Bed

Every now and then we get our hopes up that Bode, now 4 years old, is over his chewing stage. With that hope, he got a new dog bed. He kept it nice for about 6 weeks.

THEN, this happened...

Sometimes I feel like we're living through our own version of Marley and Me.

Weird Question Number One

Recently I received 10 questions by Mike via text.  He thought maybe they would be questions to spawn some thought-provoking posts for me. He's so helpful, isn't he? The weird thing was, we were sitting side by side in our own living room so I'm not certain why he felt he needed to text the questions to me. Really, though, as you read the questions over the next few days, I think you'll find hints that my husband is not a normal run-of-the-mill kind of a guy.

Mike feels certain that his questions are so fascinating, I need to provide an entire post for each of his clever queries! OK, I will try. I think through this process it will be revealed that I live with a strange and curious man. Here we go with weird question number one.

1. If the U.S. passed a law that allowed people to chew with their mouths open would you move to Canada?

Absolutely! If you are insinuating that all Americans would be chewing with their mouths open, I'd simply have no choice but to leave. Really, it would be comparable to living someplace where you were constantly inundated with the sound of people's fingernails on a chalkboard! Who could deal with that?

On many occasions I have quietly left a room when someone was chewing with their mouth open. It seemed a more acceptable choice than what I really wanted to do. What I really want to do when someone is smacking away on their food with their mouth open is to reach over and pinch their lips together for them! Seriously! Maybe I could just say something like, "Dude, use your lips!" The rule is, once the food is in your mouth, those lips need to come together!

photo from allisalleyway.blogspot.com

So, here's the thing...

Did you know that digestion actually begins in the mouth during the chewing process, medically known as mastication? In case you don't commonly use that word, here is the definition:

mastication - chewing, tearing, or grinding food with the teeth while it becomes mixed with saliva

Doesn't that sound rather private to you? I do not think anyone's digestive processes should be on display for others to see or hear, do you? I mean, most of us try to keep digestive sounds to ourselves, right? 

So there you have my answer. Digestion is a private matter, from beginning to end. Let's keep it that way so I don't have to move to Canada. (No offense, Canada!)

Bode... Puppyhood Rewound

Today is Bode's 1st birthday!  We know that because it says so on his papers.  We did not know him until later.

Although I like to call Bode a "rescue dog", we actually "rescued" him from a mall pet store.  Mike and I had decided we were not going to get another dog.  We wanted to be a little more free to travel on a whim and things like that.  We knew it would be hard to resist but we tried to keep each other strong.  I'd occasionally mention a rescue dog (never puppies) but Mike would be strong for me.  He'd mention that he really wanted a puppy, and I'd talk him out of it.  Puppies are soooooo much work!

The trouble started with mall lunch.  About once a week I pick up Maria and Cordelia and we meet Mike at the mall for lunch.   After we would eat our lunch we'd wander around a bit.  It quickly became a tradition to take Cordy through the pet store.  It was such fun to see her enjoying the puppies!

One day a Vizsla puppy was there.  He was so cute!  Mike really liked that breed and it was clear that the Vizsla puppy was the main attraction for him.  Still, we remained strong.  We resisted.  Nevertheless, we kept stopping in weekly and enjoyed watching that little cute puppy playing with his cagemates.  As he grew, he went through quite a few cagemates.  When one was sold, another would appear.  He seemed to enjoy them all.

Eventually, though, that cute little puppy started to grow long legs.  The cage he was in seemed to become smaller.  We started noticing that the Vizsla puppy was not as rambunctious.  He often was sleeping or just laying there looking out the glass at us.  He did not have much room to move.  It was horrible.

Then, it happened.  One night in May I had a dream that the Vizsla puppy was losing his spirit.  He was sad!  He was already 4 months old a now he needed rescued.  In my dream I realized we were supposed to rescue him!  In the morning I told this to Mike.  He was supposed to gently talk me out of this crazy idea.  He made a feeble attempt and I dropped the subject.  It wasn't long, though, before Mike said that we could maybe just go to the mall and check on him.

Now, I have to give you a little more background.  Mike's birthday had been earlier that Spring.  Instead of buying him a gift I mentioned 2 things I knew he really wanted, a puppy or a mandolin, and I told him to choose.  By the middle of May, he'd still not made his choice!

When we got to the pet store of course that poor sad puppy was still there.  We asked to get him out from behind the glass and the guy let  us play with him in a little enclosure.  We'd never touched a Vizsla puppy and he was stunningly soft!  I know, all puppies are soft, but Vizsla puppies feel much softer.  They have no undercoat and they are slick and smooth and incredibly fun to touch.  Well, of course you know we had no resistance left.

When we took that puppy outside that day, Mike set him in the grass outside the mall.  He cringed and plopped down.  He was afraid of grass!  His little paws were so tender that when I took him for a walk that first week, they bled!  He was most definitely a rescue dog... an expensive rescue dog!

Bode has continued to be very expensive.  Besides all the things he's chewed up, like every one of our vertical blinds, he's had several runs to the vet with partial obstructions from all the weird things he has swallowed.  Now, we have learned that he will need surgery on both hips.  He was probably the product of an irresponsible breeder and by purchasing him, we helped support the puppy mill business.  I am sorry about that.  I am sorry his hips hurt.  I am sorry he eats blinds, and yarn, and furniture, and rocks, and plastic bags, and newspapers and anything else he can find.  If we'd known all this, perhaps we'd had sense enough to get out of that pet store!

On the other hand, Bode has a bright and happy spirit now.  He loves us and anyone else with unrestrained enthusiasm.  He has given us many, many moments of laughter.  He sleeps well at night.  He loves to go for rides in the car.  He still feels awesome to pet.  He's so pretty we've had people stop their cars when they see us walking him, just to tell us what a beautiful dog we have.  His best friend is Bumblebee.  He greets us with a bouncy wiggle and a dog toy in his mouth.  He is a velcro dog, enjoying life most when stuck to our side.

He's part of the family.

Happy Birthday Bode!

SUGGESTIONS?

Well, Bode has moved on from cell phones to tv remotes.  We try to keep them out of reach but sometimes one gets left on the end table...

And just so you know, he has LOTS of things to chew on.  These are the toys/bones I found in just one room this morning...

Suggestions? 

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Hello? Hello? The Final Hang Up

 Bode is still chewing and eating anything he can reach.  It is still driving me CrAzY!  However, some good has come of it...

Yes, that is my phone.  Yes, I said this was a good thing.  If you are confused, please click here.

Thank-you for stopping by. Feel free to use my photos but please link them back to my blog. I am honored if you wish to share content of any of my posts on Facebook, Twitter, etc. as long as it is linked back to my blog.

Bode is Still Bode

One of the first things I got to do this morning was chase after Bode as he gagged.

Why is it that dogs always want to throw up on carpet?

I saw him gagging and sweetly called for him to go outside.  He actually runs right to the door then swerves, zips around the table and over to the carpet, still gagging.

I had to grab him by the collar and drag him out.

That can't feel good but what else can I do?

We made it, at least to the top step.  He couldn't manage to get off the deck but I was grateful to have made it out of the house.  This time is was just a pile of grass but a few days ago this scenario played out with Mike chasing him around the house.  When he finally threw up Mike discovered it was a big chunk of corn on the cob from dinner the night before.  No, I don't mean corn from the cob, I mean corn still ON the cob.

Afterward, he seems just fine...

...and ready to play.

Bode really is getting more pleasant.

He still chews things up but not at such a frantic pace.

Yet, it would still be premature to relax.

When I see what passes through him, I wonder about his chance of survival.

We try to keep things out of his reach.

The garbage is barricaded.

Our high shelves are loaded with things we've plucked from lower locations.

Still, he eats things like sticks.

How can that be good?

I hope he makes it through this stage before he perforates something.

Bode Update

So, where did I leave off?  Oh yes.  Saturday morning, VERY EARLY, we awoke to a really really disgusting smell.  Bode was sick in his kennel, which is in our bedroom.  Eewwww!  I won't go into details but he was showing some signs of an intestinal blockage (pretty much the same stuff coming out both ends) so I ended up taking him to the vet.  The vet agreed wtih my worries and x-rays showed that he had a partial obstruction.  We could not tell what it was he'd eaten, but it was NOT food.  That did not come as a surprise to me as he is ALWAYS trying to chew and eat anything he can find.  You wouldn't believe some of the things we have found when we scooped poop in our yard... like an entire, freshly pooped out, plastic shopping bag!  I will be so glad when this phase passes.

Anyway, since he wasn't totally obstructed the decision was made to just give him fluids, as he was already dehydrated, and treat his symptoms while watching for signs of further distress.  Instead of IV fluids, he was given subcutaneous fluids.  That means they just put a lot of fluid under his skin, between his shoulder blades, and let his body absorb it from there.  As the tech said when they brought him out to me, they installed a camel hump!

Doesn't that look weird?

Can you see those streak going back from the hump, where it looks wet?  Well, it was wet!  As time passed he squished fluids out his skin.  It was like petting a sponge!  He slept most of Saturday but livened up by evening.  I was directed to hold his regular food and cook some easily digestable foods for him.  I cooked rice for him and gave him just small amounts... no problem.  Hours later, I boiled hamburger for him.  The vet explained to me that boiling it would get the grease off it.  So, after boiling and draining it I gave him a little of it mixed with rice.  That seemed to go well also.  I was glad that I took the time to avoid giving him all that grease. 

Not long after this I heard him in the kitchen and it sounded like trouble so I went to investigate.  This is what I found...

See that suspicious stuff on his chin?  I found him with his face buried in a margarine container, a previously FULL container!  Like I said, I'm so glad I went to all that trouble boiling the hamburger for him so he wouldn't get all that grease!

Sunday, Bode seemed to feel fine and was C-R-A-Z-Y with energy!  He was running from one naughty adventure to the next.  I spent the afternoon chasing him from one thing he was chewing...

...to the next...

I'm so glad that he is feeling better but I am really exhausted!  Did you see the movie, Marley & Me?  Well, we are LIVING it!  When I am chasing him down, pulling yarn from my current crocheting project out of his throat while screeching at him that he needs to show me more respect, I imagine that I look just like Jennifer Aniston, so it's not all bad.

Best Friends!

Bode is a bit of a challenge lately!  He is getting bigger but still has the need to chew ANYTHING.  We can't turn our back on him for a second as he is very, very fast!  Last night he jumped up onto the couch, dug his head down behind the cushion and came up with a mouth full of cushion!  I think he swallowed some of the stuffing before I got to him so I suppose we'll be seeing that later.

This morning he just went from one object to the next, biting!  It will be such a relief when he is past this "mouthy" stage.

Eating non food items can be bad for you it seems.  This morning he ran to the top of of the stairs of our entry and threw up.  I grabbed him and threw him outside saying, "This is where you are supposed to throw up."  I couldn't get him down the deck stairs before he threw up more.  I ran back in and cleaned up the mess on the carpet.  By the time I'd returned to the deck, he'd pooped on it as well!  Lovely.

I love it when my daughter, Maria, brings her basset hound, Bumblebee, over to play.  Bode needs a lot of play time and Bum is up for the challenge.  She can wear him out for me today as I am trying to clean house for company this evening.

Bumblebee played with him Saturday for quite awhile.  Bode had such fun!  When she comes over he is just beside himself with excitement.  Eventually, though, they both wear down.  These pictures are from Saturday but I'm hoping for a replay this afternoon...

...love the ears!