A Taste of Spring

Re-cap from our week-
Gabbi came to stay with us while my parents went on a vacation to celebrate their Anniversary. Michael and I survived with 3 dogs! We had a blast and the girls had an even better time playing together. To top off the week, we took the girls to the farm Friday night. This was Gabbi's first visit to the farm and she absolutely loved it. Mom and dad met us at the farm on Saturday to pick up their sweet Gabbi girl. Since Gabbi has gone home, Lola-Jane and Garland have been wiped out and mom says the same for Gabbi. Before you know it, they'll be back at it and ready to play together again!

Picking up Gabbi for the week!

Sweetness💟

Gabbi enjoying her time at the farm

The weather this weekend was amazing! It gave me just the taste I needed of Spring time, which is right around the corner. Saturday was filled with sunshine, trail riding on the ranger, dogs and small town eating in Garland, NC. We came back home on Saturday to go to the Guiding Lights Share to Care Gala held that evening in Raleigh. My community sponsored the event, so a few of my co-workers and our spouses got all dolled up to support a great cause! Please see the link below to learn more about Transitions Guiding Lights and how they can support caregivers.

Let's not forget, Sunday Funday!

Sunday was beautiful and so warm outside. Michael got up to put the pork butts on at 6am so they could cook all day. We had planned for friends to come over with their two pups for a BBQ. While the meat was cooking we did a few house chores, outside maintenance and I actually convinced him to take a jog with me:) I could not of asked for a better Sunday in the sunshine with my hubs, the girls and friends. Cheers to a great weekend and to a great week ahead!

XOXO

Robyn

Transitions Guiding Lights

Three’s company

My parents went on a little vacation this week to celebrate their anniversary, so we have a special furry guest living with us, Gabbi! When Michael and I picked up Garland as a puppy we also picked up Gabbi girl to bring back home to my parents, so the two of them get to see one another often.

Gabbi girl

For the next 7 days my house will be full of wagging tails, wet noses, dirty paws, and lots of kisses. 

"Dogs are like potato chips, you can't just have one."

XOXO
Robyn

IT'S RUFF BEING A DOG

To say our Lola-Jane is a low maintenance dog would be false! Unfortunately, our girl has had it rough. After we got her, I’d say about a month and a half later we noticed she continuously would scratch and lick every part of her body especially her paws. After routine visits to the vet, a yeast infection in her paws, antibiotics, multiple rashes, hot spots, emergency visits to the vet and changing her food 3 times we decided to put her on apoquel. Apoquel is a prescription medication given to treat and control itching and inflammation in dogs. While this medication was a last resort we felt that it was needed given the situation. 
I also purchased EarthBath hot spot and itch relief with tea tree oil to spray (see link at bottom of page to purchase) on her paws and/or skin when they seem to be irritated. Given her potential skin allergies, Jane's food ingredients are important. The saying “third times a charm” holds true because we finally found a food that works for her after trying three different kinds. She seems to love it! But who am I kidding? The dog loves any and EVERYTHING to eat. Lola-Jane currently eats Taste of the Wild smoked salmon flavor (see link at bottom of page to purchase) which is grain free, rich in protein, fiber, antioxidants and omega fatty acids. I would recommend this product to anyone who has an animal! 

One more awesome product that we give her is Welactin (see link at bottom of page to purchase.) It is rich in omega 3 fatty acids to help her skin and coat health, aiming to provide extra relief for her itchiness. I can’t say that given all of this she is completely itch free, but I can say it is 10 times better than it used to be and we love these products.

Just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse for our little LJ, we found out she was born with a degenerative disease, hip dysplasia most common in Labs. Back in October we were at the farm where we spend many fun and relaxing weekends. One of Jane’s favorite things to do and now Garland’s is to run the trails in the woods. Michael and I follow in the ranger while the girls lead the way. We accomplish many things by doing this, but the most important is two tired pups at the end of the day!  

As I was saying, back in October as the girls were running the trails Michael and I sped up in the ranger (they love to try and catch us) and as we slowed down we looked behind and Garland was there, but where was Jane? Garland then stopped to look for her sister and as we all waited, suddenly a glimpse of white appeared and there was our Jane girl! It was obvious her ability to run long distance was hindered by something and then it became apparent that she was limping. 

Living for the dog dayz of summer

Once we got home both girls rested up for a few days and Jane seemed to be back to normal. As the week went on I continued to monitor Jane to see if the limping continued. She began to bunny hop when and if she ran; she didn’t want to go outside as much and she didn’t find as much of an interest in playing with Garland as she used to. As the limping got worse we decided to give the vet a call. On our first visit we were given a prescription for pain medication and instructed to take them for two weeks, as it could have been a sprain. After just one week of pain medication and no sign of getting any better I called to schedule another appointment this time requesting X-rays to be taken. Sure enough the films showed Lola-Jane with two hips displaying hip dysplasia.

Farm girl

We were given all of our options and next steps to take. First step, have a board certified surgeon review the films to give us their opinion on surgery.  After we received the first opinion we decided to get a second opinion to be on the safe side. Two weeks ago, Jane and I went to a different surgeon’s office for her to be examined and for us to hear his opinion on what to do next. The first step recommended by him is to give two weeks worth of tramadol to see if we notice a difference in her mobility and stiffness hoping to prolong surgery. Although she still has a few more pills to take, Michael and I have not noticed a huge change in her from when she takes the tramadol vs not taking it. Our next step is to discuss with the surgeon which surgery option to take and when to schedule it. 

As hard as it will be for her to recover and for us to assist in her recovery, it is even harder to watch your dog be in constant pain and mope around the house at the age of only 2. We are looking forward to Lola-Jane’s next step in this journey to becoming pain free because she has lots of trails to run and fishes to catch in the sea. Stay tuned for more on LJ’s story and her road to recovery!

Must haves for your animal-

EarthBath hot spot itch & relief

Welactin

Taste of the Wild

XOXO

Robyn