Concerns over the swollen private parts of your dogs : Additional info
September 18, 2008
The other day, I told my wife how this blog generated a lot of hits. I wondered if the phenomenon is quite common to all dogs. This article would somehow end up as one of the TOP POSTS almost every week.
The article though was not about the medical help – but the processing of thoughts after the whole experience.
I thought I would share some more helpful things now for the dog owners.
So if your dog (in my case, Sgt Beans, my black lab) is having swelling on its private parts – maybe you can consider what I have learned from my research and from what the vet had told me.
1. I did not take action right away because I thought it was just one of those things that will go away anyway. SO WHEN YOU notice something that is not right, INSPECT. LOOK and ASK questions.
2. I did my research when the swelling was a lot greater. I could have saved Sgt Beans from more pain had I acted right away.
3. I researched through the internet – and GOT SCARED BECAUSE diagnosis is more important. I was inundated with WHAT IF questions. One vet student mentioned a virus that could infect humans. I researched that and got afraid because it said, it is dangerous when it comes in contact with human skin.
4. Yes it is going to be costly. But PETS like children are costly anyway. I tell myself that is ok because “Sgt Beans won’t have to go to college anyways..”
5. If your vet is like a good friend, maybe you can work out a reasonable payment plan.
6. Sgt Beans was injected twice on that visit. Then I was told to give him antibiotics (the same antibiotics we take as people).
7. The antibiotic cream helped a lot too.
8. CARE FOR THE DOG: Sgt Beans likes water a lot. I just have a tub that we fill up for his needs esp when the temperature outside is really high. MAKE SURE THAT THE WATER IS CLEAN. THROW the water after one using. I thought I could save more by reusing it for BEANS. BUT NO. The bacteria may have already infested that water – and do not allow your dog to lie down on the tub using the old and already dirtied water.
9. SGT Beans would always mark certain areas (pee certain areas)… and sometimes these areas are places he considers his haven as well esp when the sun is OUT. Under the bushes, next to a tree etc. When the vet said that he may have been lying down on his urine, I vehemently said NO because Beans has a house and the house is somewhat elevated. A couple of days later, I realized that there are at least 2 areas where Beans would mark most of the time. He would also lie down on those areas. It had been raining and the mud, mixed with what used to have been dried urine, have stuck on his soft testicle skin covering. In time, the bacteria had eaten away the soft covering.
10. Maybe you could pour hot water on those areas where your dog marks the most. Lessen the bacteria from cultivating.
11. Every time Beans has his bath, or his play in the tub – I always make sure that his balls are wiped dry with a clean towel. CLEAN TOWEL. When it rains and he plays outside, I make sure I dry that part of his body before sending him back to his house.
12. Carefully apply the antibiotics that the vet will prescribe. Make it as pleasant as possible.
13. Give positive reinforcements before, during and after placing the medications.
14. It was easier to apply the medications when Beans are slightly pressed against the wall (on all fours)…
I hope these things are helpful. It took less than a week for me to see major improvement on his privates. Up to now, I still reinforce the command “raise leg…” and he would give me access to check, to wipe , inspect and to just make sure that he is okay down there.
From one hurricane to the next
September 18, 2008
We are just beginning to see the aftermath of “Ike” – and even before we could fully assess the damage and the dramatic stories of the people who survived, financial hurricanes were blowing Wall Street. Reverberations of these financial meltdowns will have its effect in markets overseas.
Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and then the AIG (my Philippine insurance company is a subsidiary of AIG!) that needed BAILOUT.
What was touted to be the MOST STABLE among them needed an $85B infusion. I could not at the top of my head count how many zeroes you write after $85 much less comprehend what it all meant.
While everything may seem to be going back to normal, ( if we could still ever go back to that one, yeah) I am beginning to wonder about all the other banks (CITIGROUP and others). It was not just the reliability of the levees that were tested. It was not just the financial powerhouses that are being tested. It seems like ANYTHING that would claim to be STRONG, RELIABLE, FORMIDABLE are being tested to its very core.
In the global economy, climate change, OFW migration, corruption that are undetected to the highest levels, dirty political campaigns, showdown of powerful countries, continued bombings in Iraq and the unchecked wars in Afghanistan… NOTHING in this world is ever sure. The very core of our belief and foundations are being shaken.
How about you? How is your life? How are you doing?
If your life is like a small raft sailing a raging ocean, you are not alone.
It does not need an IKE in our lives to render our foundations, morale and sure-footing in crumbles. Sometimes it takes an unexpected call. Or you were waiting for the call that never happened. Maybe you just touched the wall of your job that said DEAD END, or you see the value of your hard-earned money dwindling before your eyes as you stare at the prices at the gas pumps, or you sigh at the end of another day and wonder “when will it be over?”. Or the relationship you cherished are now being thrown back at you like a used rag. Or the nights are getting shorter and the days are getting longer as you wait for a son to come home.
You are not alone.
I wish I have some magnificent words that will act like a balm over your searing pain.
I wish I could tell you when all these will end.
One thing I do know, is that all of these will also end for you.
Just like Hurricane Ike, the stormy weather will also pass.
The sun will shine again as you mend the broken panes of your windows to the world.
Hang in there.
It will be over soon.
