Technorati Tags: daschund, dogs, puppies, wiener dog

If you said they both have back problems, you would be closer.  After all, Friday is a daschund and my father is a dentist, both of which are prone to back issues.

But if you said they are both diabetic, well then, give yourself a pat on the back because you win the Kewpie doll. 

Less than a month after needing to have one of my dog’s teeth extracted, he stopped eating and started drinking alot.  And peeing.  Alot.  He was always a little overweight, but we managed to get him down to a healthier weight recently.  But he was suddenly looking a little toothin.  Ribs too prominent.  Waist too narrow.  I can think of several women in my life who would love to shed four pounds in less than a month, but this is definitely not healthy for a dog who spends most of his life sleeping and gnawing on bones.

So, having our suspicions, we took the dog to the vet where they did some blood tests, and they came back with a diagnosis of canine diabetes.  After doing some research ourselves the night before, this basically confirmed our suspicions.

Freaking diabetes.  In a five and a half year old dog.

I know how much the vet bill is, and while not astronomical, its significant.  But I can’t even imagine the cost of the soon to be needed daily insulin injections.  Or the cost for weekly or bi-weekly blood sugar tests at the vet.  But it is what it is. (My wife hates it when I use that expression)

Someone at work asked me what I was going to do.  I looked at her strangely.  But I guess that’s the mindset of someone who doesn’t own a dog.  What am I going to do?  Try to give him away (because there is a waiting  list for diabetic dogs)?  Put him to sleep?  Not get him the medication he needs?

The dog is almost 6.  My children are 2 1/2 and 6 months old.  He’s part of the family.  And we treat him like part of the family.  He’s been around twice as long as either of the kids.  Now, if his back gave out and he was borderline crippled, well, that’s another story.  That’s a quality of life issue.  But he’s sick, and can be treated with meds, so that’s what we’ll do.

Its this part of pet ownership I don’t think a lot of people understand.  You have kids coming out of college or grad school and living in their own house or apartment for the first time and they suddenly have the desire to have a dog.  But its not that easy, and I don’t think enough people truly understand the responsibility of owning a dog.  It’s more than feeding them and walking them and putting a house of their head and playing with them.   It’s being aware that, like children, like adults, like people, dogs get hurt.  They get sick.  They get diseases.  And you must, as a potential pet owner, understand the financial toll of having a sick animal before you own one.

A dog isn’t a fish or a hamster.  He’s your friend.  Your strange adopted child.  And when you own one, you better be prepared, and willing, to do everything and anything required to maintain his health.  If not, you should probably get a fish instead.  That, at least, can be flushed down the toilet.

My dog has diabetes.  Maybe he will get better.  Maybe he won’t.  But I love him, and if I have to sacrifice so that he is healthy and happy, then that’s what I will do.

Because that’s the price of being a dog owner.

Technorati Tags: canine diabetes, daschund, diabetes, dogs, pets, vet, weiner dogs

My wife and I adopted a wiener-pup over five years ago. We were told he was a tweenie, not quite a mini, up to 7 pounds, but not a massive standard dog, either. But the breeder was wrong. Our dog Friday is a beast.

To read the whole post and see some adorable pictures of Friday through th years, click over to the Lighter Side.

Technorati Tags: Children, Daschunds, dogs, wiener dogs

We have a slight ant problem right now.  it’s that time of year.  Not big ants, just the tiny ones, but they are there nonetheless.  So I went out and bought some run of the mill ant traps and dropped them in the areas where the little buggers were at their greatest concentrations.  One was behind the couch, the other under a table that is difficult to access.

I went to the bathroom, and moments later I hear some banging from the kitchen, and I ignore it, figuring it is just my wife.  But when i eventually get out, what do I find?  The table bumped out of the way and my Daschund with the little plastic trap in my mouth.  And when I tried to take it from him, he growled at me like he was hoarding a juicy piece of steak.  So, like any time, my dog misbehaves, I got my spray bottle filled with bitter apple.  I didn’t even have to spray; the threat was enough.  He dropped it and I promptly gave him a piece of bread and water.

What makes this whole think funny is that it is not the first time it happened.  He ate his first ant trap two years ago, and my wife freaked out, wondering if the dog needed his stomach pump.  So she got on the internet and starting looking through forums.  And every post on every site said something different: bring him right to the vet, do nothing, feed him this, feed him that.  It took ten minutes for her finally find a post that had the most sensible suggestion; call the company and see what they say.

We called, and basically they said not to worry, the poison, if the dog actually eats any, isn’t strong enough to even make him sick.  The biggest problem is the plastic casing, which, if swallowed, can tear the esophagus and intestines.  They suggested givign  a little bread, but it wasn’t necessary.  So I collected the plastic, made sure it was all there, and then treated my dog.

It’s so funny how people throw up posts without knowing what the hell they are talking about.

The dog was fine two years ago, and he was fine this time.  I just find it amusing how my stupid dog made a bee-line for the ant trap.  i smelled it.   it smelled like crap.  But then again, dogs do lick each other’s asses.

I should write dog food companies and suggest ant-poison flavor.  My dog can’t seem to resist it.

Technorati Tags: ants, dogs, treats

That’s how long I’ve been sleeping on my couch.  Not that I’m complaining.

Why am I sleeping on the couch, you may ask?  Well, if you have been reading my blog, you know that I have a newborn daughter,  That is not the problem.  The problem is, I have a dog.  And now just any dog, but a livable Daschund, who drives me crazy.

Anyway, people have this misconception that wiener dogs are sweet dogs.  They are not.  They are borderline psychotic.  Not mean.  Just a little crazy.  They (I do not know who they are, mind you) that Daschunds are responsible for the most dog bites every year.  This isn’t common knowledge because no one goes to the hospital for a weiner dog bite, so the actual count is not very high.  But they bite.  A lot.  Because they are crazy, temperamental little beasts with inferiority complexes.

How does this relate to me sleeping on the couch?  With my wife nursing, we don’t feel cofmortbale with the dog on the bed.  I don’t think the dog would maul the baby.  Or hurt the baby.  Not intentionally, anyway.   But every so often you read a story about a Daschund chewing off a baby’s toes, or soemthign else horrible like that.  So better safe than sorry. 

So for now, it’s me and the dog on the couch

He keeps me warm so I can’t really complain.

Technorati Tags: daughter, dcshund, dogs, weiner dog

My wife gave birth to my second child, a little girl, and life has definitely changed. 

I remember when my son Nathan was born.  My wife and I spent so much time with him as an infant, picked him up just for the sake of picking him up, looking at him just to look at him.  It was a novelty.  Something new and different in our life.

The second child is so much different.  She’s more like a guinea pig or some other caged pet.  I look at her once in a  while, pick her up once in a while, but I definitely don;t spend as much time with her as I did with my son.  It’;s not because I love her any less.  And it’s not necessarily because the novelty has worn off.  She is adorable and I do so love to hold her.  

It’s because I now have a two year old to watch as well.  And he is a handful.  As most two year olds are. 

People will say that it’s not the first child whose a life changer, it’s the second.  And they’re right.  Especially at the beginning.  Because at the beginning, all you really do is feed the baby and change the baby, and life isn’t altered all that much except for sleep patterns.  It gets more complicated as that first child gets older, but its never too complicated.  But the second child, the second child transforms life into a a balancing act.

Before my daughter Eliana was born, on days I didn’t have to be up for work until 9:30, I would stay up will 2:30, 3:00.  I am a night person, and can get so much more done at night: laundry, bills, work, writing.  My wife would get up with my son.  But now that there is a second child, I can’t sleep late anymore.  My wife nurses, which wreaks hell with her sleep schedule, so now I get up with my son, and he can wake any time between 7:30 and 8:30.  So no more going to bed late and waking late.  I have to be in bed relatively early every night just in case he wakes at 7:30.  And if he sleeps later… I guess I’ve gotten a little more sleep.

It’s a huge change to adjust to, the second child syndrome.

I’m looking forward to the day the two kids can get out of bed and get breakfast themselves without waking mommy and daddy.  of course, that’s years away, but a man can dream.  I probably won’t get more than 7 hours of sleep again until that happens because I simply can’t get to bed before 1:00.  I just can’t.

The early stages of having family is a weird thing.  A stressful thing, riddled with changes and new responsibilities.  And sometimes I think to myself: I’m way too young to have children.  Of course that’s insane.  I’m 31 years old.  A generation ago, people had families at 25.  You know what it is?  you don’t feel like a grown up until you have children.  Until you have real responsibility.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my family.  It’s just that, the jump from1 kid to 2 is such a major jump, one that requires such a lifestyle change, it can be a shock to the system.

I’ll get through it.  Everyone does.  And I’ll wear my scars proudly.

Oh, and by the wya, I;m goign to go to the vet next week and get neutered.  I. Am. Done.