So You Want To Be A Breeder – A Behind The Scenes Look At What You Don’t See Or Hear About.

I’ve heard numerous times “I want to breed my dog, puppies are so cute and cuddly I want to have a litter of my own” or ” your so lucky you get to have a litter of puppies, to get to play with them all day must be so much fun” or ” my dog would make such a great mom” or the best one “you can make good money having a litter”. Those might not be the exact saying’s that I hear but you get the drift.

The general public doesn’t get to see or hear what happens behind the scenes, they just see pictures of cute cuddly puppies and think that all went well and this might be something they want to do…. to have a litter of puppies themselves.

Is there anything cuter than baby puppies? They are cute and cuddly but when your a reputable breeder a lot of time and money goes into research, titles, health clearances, supplies, veterinary medicine along with blood sweat and tears.

Josey with her ribbon haul.

As you can see Josey has many ribbons which turns into many titles (and this isn’t all of them). She has her genetic testing done as well as her OFA clearances (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals). She was vet checked and healthy. This was all done before thinking about breeding. Once all the health clearances/genetic testing was done and results recorded the research began on finding the proper stud dog that had the same health clearances/genetic testing done, titles, healthy and who would compliment Josey. When you breed you breed to better the breed so there are many things to consider when putting a breeding together.

A stud dog (not guy) is chosen.

Another thing to consider is what type of breeding will take place, natural, side by side, TCI, Surgical AI. There are different things that need to be done with each procedure. This breeding Josey’s owners decided to go the all natural route as in the past they tried natural, side by side, TCI twice with all the same stud dog with no pregnancies (stud dog’s semen was collected and checked and viable), next was a surigical ai with frozen which resulted in a singleton so this breeding they went back to natural with a different stud dog than before.

The all natural route was the way to go, Josey is pregnant.

Around 33 days after a breeding you can have an ultrasound done to confirm a pregnancy. Some breeders have ultrasounds at home but Tom doesn’t so a vet visit was in order. Once a pregnancy is confirmed dewormer is added to the pregnancy regimen, adaptal collar and increase in food.

Around 55 days a radiograph is taken to count puppies so you know how many are going to arrive. This will be a trip to the veterinary clinic as you don’t have the ability to take radiographs at home. At this time it’s time to get the whelping room ready. Whelping box is needed, blankets, towels, pads, warming unit, heat lamp, kitchen scale, bulb syringe, thermometer, hemostat, dental floss and this is just a small start to the list. You need to be prepared for just about anything to happen. At this time you will talk to your reproduction vet about free whelp or doing a planned c-section. With Josey’s reproduction vet she recommends a c-section on litters over 8 puppies. Since no progesterone testing was done during her heat cycle to determine when Josey would ovulate the vet wanted to do a reverse progesterone test to determine when a c-section should be done. This was suppose to be done on July 23rd and a tentative c-section for July 24th.

Josey had other plans, she started to whelp in the early morning on July 22nd. This natural whelp would be Tom and Irene’s first natural whelp, Josey’s first litter was a singleton so she had a planned c-section. Tom contacted me early morning to let me know she started to whelp, I jumped in the shower then grabbed my supplies and off I went to help out.

A couple puppies were born before I got there, Josey, Tom and Irene all did an excellent job with the pups.

Josey started having contractions once I got there. She didn’t want to lay down, Irene said she had the other puppies standing up as well. Irene was there to catch them and take care of them after they were out. You could tell that Josey was getting tired. She still wouldn’t lay down and would stand there with her eyes closed trying to take a break until the next contraction. When she was having contractions the puppies already born were tucked away in a basket with a heating pad and a heat lamp to keep them warm until they could go back into the whelping box with mom.

I finally got Josey to lay down, once down she took advantage of laying down and took a little nap, while napping the puppies got to nurse. It’s not unusual to have one puppy a hour so we waited for the next one to come. At about a hour she started having contractions again and she delivered the next puppy laying down which is normal way to deliver puppies.

After 5 puppies Josey was slowing down, she was extremely tired by this time. While we waited for the next contractions there was a gush of water that came out of her vulva so we thought a puppy would be next, there was no puppy but a dark black and green discharge. We got Josey up and walked her around outside to get things moving again, more black green discharge and no puppy. By this time we made the decision to take her into the reproduction clinic and have her checked out. You need to catch things early when in whelp instead of waiting it out as if it seems like something is wrong it usually is and you don’t want to have intervention too late. So we packed up the puppies, supplies and off we went.

While Josey napped the puppies got to nurse on the way to the vet clinic as we weren’t sure if Josey would need a c-section to have the rest of the puppies so if she did at least the puppies would have been fed and could go a bit without a feeding. During this time Josey started having contractions again and out comes a puppy. Irene put pups back into the basket while I helped josey have a puppy in the van.

This puppy was having problems coming out, I needed to help it out as the sack was already off the puppy so it needed to get out before it ran out of air. We weren’t sure what was going to come out as it had been a long time since the gush of fluid.

It’s a girl and the puppy was just fine. No problems at all. Cleaned it up, tied off the umbilical cord and let mom snuggle with her. This was the only puppy born in the van. She stopped having contractions again. We finally made it to the veterinary clinic. Tom and Irene took Josey and the puppies in to be examined. I stayed in the car because of COVID-19 only two people were allowed into the clinic. I waited for news.

Josey had an exam, was started on IV fluids, different medications were given to help her with the whelp. The vet gave medications to try and have her deliver the puppies in the vet clinic vs going right to a c-section. The vet felt she was doing alright so she proceeded this way.

Dr. Greer at Veterinary Village delivered two of the puppies in the vet clinic. She needed to help one of the puppies out. Both puppies were fine. They were put into the incubator to keep warm and have oxygen while waiting. At this time a x-ray was taken to see if there were anymore puppies, we thought there would be 8-9 puppies from the previous x-ray. According to the xray there was one more puppy to be delivered. Dr. Greer did an ultrasound to check to see if the puppy was alive, she checked for a heartbeat and check gut motility. Unfortunately there was neither, this puppy had passed away most likely from an extended labor and being in to long once whelp started. At this time Dr. Greer decided to get really aggressive with the whelping medications so that Josey would deliver this puppy and not have to have a c-section to remove a dead puppy.

The last puppy was delivered naturally. It was time to have everyone nurse before the ride back home. The pups all got a clean bill of health. Josey now needed rest before starting to take care of the puppies.

Wednesday night we made it back to the Pawlisch’s house and got everyone settled into the whelping box. Josey was a good mom and took very good care of the puppies.

Willow was a good big sister and was helping care for the puppies. Two days had passed and Josey started going down hill, she stopped eating and was sleeping more and not wanting to do anything. She was still nursing the puppies but she didn’t have much milk because she wasn’t eating or drinking. It was time to pack everyone back up and back to the vet they went. Josey was examined and found to have a fever, she ended up getting an infection in the uterus so she needed more fluids and antibiotics to get her back to good health.

All the medications and supplies from the vet clinic.

Irene weighing the puppies to make sure they are gaining weight.

The puppies needed to be supplemented with goats milk since Josey wasn’t producing milk like she should. She was getting her antibiotics was getting SQ Fluids to help rehydrate her and a medication to help her milk come down. She was on a schedule to receive all her treatments. The pups took to the bottle just like that and were able to hang out with mom and nurse on her when they could.

It took a couple of days of round the clock monitoring, feeding pups and giving Josey medication before her fever came down and she was feeling better.

During this whole time of her having an infection and fever she still took care of her little ones. She really is a good momma. She needed two weeks of medications and now she is done taking medications and doing really well. All the puppies are doing very well too. This Wednesday they will be 3 weeks old, at this time gruel will be introduced and they will learn to eat on there own in order to prepare them for weaning. At this time they are being exposed to different surfaces, different toys and different noises. Right now their eyes and ears are open so it’s time to start the startle and recovery exercises to prepare them for the big world out there.

I am blessed that I live close to Tom and Irene so I could be part of this experience and help out when needed. There are whelps that go easily with no problems and there are whelps that have problems and it is up to us to know when there is a problem and address it. Anything can happen during a whelp. Just when you think everything is fine is when things can go arye. You do all that you can do to make sure momma and pups stay healthy, the worst thing about breeding is if you loose your momma which can happen so fast or puppies which can happen even faster since they are so small. I’m glad Josey was taken to the vet for treatment and recovered with no adverse reactions.

The boys.
The girls.
The gang.

If you breed correctly and are a reputable breeder you don’t make money at breeding. All your money that you make breeding if you do goes back into your breeding program to pay yourself back for all the money spent throughout the years to prepare for this day. People forget about all the money spent before, during and after a whelp. They just see a litter of puppies and think “cha ching” look at all that money. We don’t breed for the money, we breed to produce sound healthy dog for others to enjoy and spend their life with. We try to do it right so the puppies live long healthy lives, sometimes that doesn’t happen but it’s something we need to shoot for and in the end we do want we can to ensure the safety of our breeding stock as they whether it is a bitch or a stud dog are still part of our family and we choose to breed them they don’t ask to be bred so it is up to us to do it right.

Welcome to the big world little craws!

This litter is all sold.

If you would like to follow the adventures of the little craws for the next 5 weeks while they are growing and before they go to their new homes you can follow them on facebook at Crawfish Chesapeakes.

Thank you Tom and Irene for including me in this wonderful experience, for all the puppy visits and for letting me blog about your experience.

The Breakout ~ C-Section For Guilty

November 6, 2019 was the scheduled breakout day for the reforms. Guilty and Moses puppies will be delivered via a planned c-section. Guilty’s last litter was born this way because she was having 9 puppies. This litter I opted for another c-section because it was going to be a small litter and I wanted to be prepared for any problems that may arise being that I live 50 miles from my reproduction clinic.

We arrived at Veterinary Village at 12:30 pm to have pre-surgical testing done.

Blood Draw

Blood was drawn so a clotting panel could be run, I had her pre-surgical chemistries and CBC done a few days before. A progesterone test was ran as well to make sure the timing was right on the delivery.

ECG

A ECG (electrocardiogram) was done pre op as well to make sure her heart was in working order.

Abdomen was shaved
Ultrasound

A pre-surgical ultrasound was done to check for puppy gut motility and to check their heart rates. The puppies were doing great so it was time to prep for surgery. An IV Catheter was placed and different medications were administered.

Induction anesthetics were given
Guilty was hooked up to the monitors

Guilty was hooked up to the monitors to check her blood pressure, her oxygen level, heart rate during surgery. She was hooked up to IV Fluids to flush her system out while under. She was hooked up to general anesthesia and oxygen to keep her sleeping during the procedure. A technician was visually monitoring her as well.

Dr. Allman did the surgery
It’s the breakout
An incision was made into the abdomen and uterus brought out
The right horn of the uterus

When I had a radiograph done a few days before surgery it was believed that at least 5 puppies were in there. After the Dr. brought out the uterus all the puppies were in the right horn. Each uterus has two horns a right and left, usually the eggs get dispersed between the two and attach to each horn. Not this time for Guilty, all 5 puppies decided to cram into the right side which made it very big. After all the puppies were out the Dr. checked the other side and she could put her fingers up in it so it wasn’t blocked.

It’s a puppy

This happens to be puppy number two. Once the doctor removes the puppies from the uterus she breaks the sack around the puppy, she then removes the placenta and hands the puppy off to the staff so they can clear the airway and get the puppy breathing.

Getting the placenta out
The uterus after the puppies were removed.
The staff clearing the fluid out of the airway’s, wiping the puppies off and warming up

After clearing of the airway, wiping the puppies off and warming up the staff checked the puppies over for deformities. They will check in the mouth and make sure the puppies don’t have cleft palates that will cause a problem in the future. The third puppy born was very small compared to the first two, when his mouth was checked he had a full cleft palate. He wasn’t small due to the cleft since he wasn’t nursing yet as he was getting all his nutrients via his umbilical cord so something else must of been going on with him besides the deformed mouth. I made the decision to put this puppy to sleep. I have never had a cleft palate in all my litter, I keep thinking that my mentor told me once that if you breed long enough you see many thing and she was right. It’s unfortunate that this had to happen but nothing could be done to prevent this. Hopefully I will never have another one. Two more puppies were born after that. They were healthy.

Suturing up the uterus

Dr. Allmann suturing up the uterus and putting everything back in place. She then proceeded to suture up the abdominal wall and skin layer.

Removing the placenta

Once the airways were cleared and puppies doing well they removed the placenta and weighed each one along with putting their id collar on.

Lime girl was fiesty and rooing already
Finally settling down
Temperature was taken
More airway clearing
Guilty is finished and ready to be moved to recovery
In recovery
Measuring distance for feeding tube
Using feeding tube to administer plasma

Because Guilty wasn’t producing milk like she should I wanted the puppies to have plasma before they went home just in case Guilty didn’t produce mile and colostrum in the time needed to be beneficial to the puppies. The plasma will do the job of colostrum.

Sporting my tshirt from Moses family. This is their kennel.
All toasty warm and liking their oxygen
Guilty checking out her puppies
Hi little orangy
Thirty One bags make good puppy carriers
Welcome home
Once home I did need to start bottle feeding as Guilty still didn’t have any milk
All settled in

After seeing that all 5 pups were in the one horn and how big that side of the uterus as well as how big the puppies were I made the right decision to have the c-section done. It’s so much easier on the mom and pups to do a planned c-section than to do an emergency one. All pups and mom recovered nicely. I had to administer plasma two more times in a 24 hour period, I needed to bottle feed every 2-3 hours for 2 days until Guilty’s milk came in. By Friday afternoon Guilty’s mild started coming in and the puppies could nurse on her. I haven’t had to bottle feed since. The pups are all gaining weight and doing very well.

I thank the staff at Veterinary Village for another job well done, from the surgical AI to the c-section. Thanks for all your knowledge and professional staff.

Happy Howl-o-Ween 2019

Happy Howl-o-Ween from the Sand Spring gang.

Gambler, Slammer, Guilty and Glory

And of course the outtakes.

Slammer and Glory.
Unicorn Slammer.
Chicken Gambler
We’re free.
Guilty scrubbing her back.

We have Halloween week at Harmony Pet Clinic, the Doggy Day Care pups come dressed up and have a chance to win costume contests so Slammer and I wore our costume on Monday. I’m the Cheese Mouse and Slammer is a Chicken.

JoAnn and Slammer

I made some treats and brought to work as well.

I shouldn’t quit my day job eh?

We hope you and your furry one’s have a Happy Halloween and stay safe.

Wash’n Zip Pet Bed

I never heard of the Wash’n Zip Pet Bed until a breeder friend of mine recommended me to the company as another breeder. They contacted me and asked if I would like to try out their bed. I of course said I would love to try out their bed as I go through a lot of beds in my house with destructive adult dogs and litter of puppies that soil the beds before they are fully house trained.

Front, back and opened up.

Multiple Benefits:

  • Saves Money – Because it can be cleaned repeatedly, one Wash ‘n Zip Pet Bed will save you from having to purchase new beds when they become soiled, smelly and dirty.
  • Crate Pad – We chose the dimensions of your Wash’n Zip Pet Bed to fit the majority of pet crates on the market, so it can also be used as a crate pad.
  • Car Seat Cover – When travelling with your pet, simply unfold your Wash’n Zip Pet Bed and use it as a car seat cover.
  • Furniture Throw – Protect your furniture at home by unfolding your Wash’n Zip Pet Bed and covering your sofa or chairs.
  • Blanket – Some pets like to be covered when they sleep, so unfold your Wash’n Zip Pet Bed to use as a comfortable blanket.
  • Flea Prevention – Flea eggs and larva may penetrate the cover of a typical pet bed and infest the inside.  However, the ENTIRE Wash ‘n Zip Pet Bed is laundered, which destroys fleas, plus their eggs and larva.
  • Environmentally Friendly – Stop discarding old foam pet beds, which will be dumped in landfills.  One Wash ‘n Zip Pet Bed can last a lifetime since it can be laundered over and over again.
  • Odor Control – Wash and dry your Wash ‘n Zip Pet Bed as often as you want, which keeps your bed fresh and clean.
  • Great Gift – The Wash’n Zip Pet Bed is a great gift idea for your friends and family who love their pets. ~Wash’n Zip
Gambler in the surgical run at our Veterinary Clinic.

The Wash’n Zip is great for travel. It folds up nicely and easy to carry. I work in a Veterinary Clinic so many times my dogs will come to work with me. When they come to work they stay in the dog ward in a surgical run.

I have all the necessities.

I have the large pad and it fits nicely when zipped up in the run. When zipped it is thicker and more cushion for sleeping on. I have the puppy proofer cover on the pad as it helps protect the bed from chewing and wear and tear.

The boarding facility.

We have a boarding facility at our Veterinary Clinic, the above photo is Gambler laying on the Wash’N Zip bed zipped up and no puppy proofer on. He is using it on top of the cot that is in the kennel.

Puppy proofer pad on.
Puppy proofer pad off.
Unzipped.

In the above photo the bed is unzipped to open completely up so Gambler can lay stretched out in the kennel if he wishes. He still has a nice cushion of padding in the bed when it is only one layer thick. I love the versatility of this pad. It can be used many different ways and easy to clean by unzipping it and putting it into your washer and dryer. It holds its shape, no more lumpy pet beds. When I brought the bed into the clinic to show my co-workers there was one co-worker that had the same bed. She brought it in for me the next day to look at, she said she has owned it for about 5 years and it was still in really nice shape. Not at thick as it was in the beginning but still thick enough to keep the pooches comfortable and keep them from getting compression sores. I was happy to hear she had one for so long as this is a really nice bed I hope to have for a very long time.

Here are the Top 10 Reasons that customers prefer the Wash ‘n Zip over the thousands of other dog beds:

1. So easy to clean – Just throw in the household washer/dryer
2. Gets completely clean, inside and out, not just the outer covering like other dog beds
3. No annoying covers to wrestle with
4. Keeps its shape over time, stays looking new
5. Less expensive in the long run since it doesn’t have to be thrown away as frequently
6. Great for travel – use as a blanket over car seats, or as a blanket in RV or back of SUV
7. Helps eliminate fleas and pet odor
8. Multifunctional – dog bed, crate pad, furniture throw, car seat cover, blanket
9. Puppy Proofer helps deter pets from the temptation of chewing
10. GREEN and Eco-friendly since it doesn’t have to be discarded so frequently
~Wash’n Zip

Bones even loves the new bed.

There are 5 different sizes, x-small to x-large as well as 5 different colors. The sizes were matched up to fit in crates to be used as crate pads.

Wash’n Zip Pet Bed is offering to my friends a special web offer of 15% off of a new bed. All you need to do is click the link here and enter the coupon code of SAND at check out.

Gambler gives this bed 4 paws up and I think you will too. Thank you Wash’n Zip for your super pet bed. One more great thing about this company is that they pick a rescue group each month and when you buy a bed from them they will donate $5.00 per bed to the rescue group of the month.

You can find Wash’n Zip on Facebook.

I was given one pet bed to try out, I was not asked to review this item. I wanted to review it because it is a really nice bed.

Spay Day For Momma Bear ~Glory

Glory turned 7 last December, she provided me with 3 wonderful litters. She had a total of 29 puppies, 4 passed away either at birth or shortly there after, 1 passed away as a puppy and 2 passed away as young adults. That leaves us with 22 bundles of glorious joys filling their owners hearts with love. One of those bundles lives with me. Guilty has become a mother herself giving glory 9 grand puppies. Now that I have Guilty I’m my breeding program I feel it’s time to retire Glory. We’ve had some invasive breedings, and whelps, for the most part everything turned out fine so it is at this time I don’t want to take a chance that I breed her again and have something bad happen to her since she is now a senior dog. I also don’t want to leave her intact to risk an unplanned pregnancy or worse a pyometra so I decided to have her spayed. This happened yesterday.

Hello grand pups.

A little morning play with the pups before her surgery. Glory will be spayed at my work which is Harmony Pet Clinic. This year marks 17 years of business and I have been there from day one. My boss will be performing the surgery and of course I will assisting.

Harmony welcoming Glory.
Weigh in time, 83.1#
Today’s surgeries.
Glory is the best!!
Say what? I’m being spayed today?

Glory had pre anesthetic bloodwork done and it was all normal. We want to make sure her internal organs are working up to par. Once the bloodwork is done and checked she is premeditated to make her groggy so we can place an IV catheter to administer the induction medications and to give her IV Fluids during surgery. She is induced, clipped and prepared for surgery in the treatment area.

Moved to surgery.

Once prepped she is moved into the surgery suite where she is hooked up to gas anesthetic, IV Fluids, heart monitor, blood pressure, pulse ox. She is asepticly scrubbed and ready for the spay.

Using the laser.

The laser unit was used to do the cutting during her surgery. It cuts and cauterizes so there is less bleeding.

A big fat uterus.

Glory’s uterus was well used. It stored all her fat reserves. The uterus is the reddish tubular area in the above picture. The yellow subastance is all fat. A young uterus is normally the tubular structure without all the fat attached.

Full of blood vessels.

There were numerous blood vessels in the uterus and broad ligament. Since there was so much fat a lot of “tying off” of the vessels had to be done. Most vessels got double ligated so no bleeding would happen after the uterus was removed. Doing this took time to make sure other structures weren’t hidden in the fat and only the uterus was removed.

Lumpectomy

Glory had a small lump on the side of her abdomen. This was removed since she was under already. The lump was just a benign fatty lump.

Dental Cleaning.

Glory was doing very well under anesthesia so I did a dental cleaning and polishing on her teeth. She had mild tarter on her teeth and one pre molar had a piece fractured off of it that needed to be smoothed off so it doesn’t keep building up the tartar. She came in with all her teeth and she went home with all her teeth.

Sleeping it off.

Glory had a normal recovery, she was given pain medications and pretty much slept it off during the afternoon. She was still very groggy when I took her home which is normal since we finished up with her early afternoon. Once home she ate a little supper and up to bed she went. She can sleep it off tonight and should be back to normal tomorrow. Then the fun starts, after a spay she needs to be kept quite for 14 days while she heals. Once the 14 days are up and her incision looks good she can go back to normal activity. I chose to spay her now so when the weather warms up she will be healed up for training and then we can enter her in hunt tests this summer without having to worry about her going into heat and having to withdraw her entry. The biggest plus is that now there is one less intact girl in the house to drive Gambler nuts during their heat cycle.

A big thanks to Harmony and Dr. Johansen for doing such a great job on her surgery and taking such great care of us.

The Fugitives Are Microchipped

When I have a litter of puppies, I microchip all the puppies before they go home. I do this because I want to make sure all my puppies have an identification system in place before they leave my home. I also do genetic testing when warranted so I like them microchipped when I do the tests so I know who is who and there is a record of the microchip along with the test results.

Microchip time.
Checking microchip.

I use AKC Reunite microchips. I insert the needle holding the microchip between the shoulder blades of the puppy, it is like giving a vaccination but a little bit bigger needle is used. I do it while the puppies are sleeping and they don’t even notice what went on. I scan the microchip afterwards and make sure it is inserted and reading properly.

Reading the chip.

I use the ISO microchips so that if the puppy needs to be shipped over seas the proper microchip is used for their standards.

Back to sleep.

The microchipping took no time at all, was painless and they were no worse for wear, they went back to sleep once it was done. The chip is about the size of a grain of rice. You might be able to feel it in a very short haired dog but most generally you don’t feel it. It may move under the skin so when scanned the whole dog should be scanned to make sure it hasn’t moved and you didn’t miss it.

About the size of a grain of rice

Microchipping your pet is always a good idea because,

  1. It’s a way to prove the pet is yours if it’s stolen.
  2. It’s a way to get your lost dog back to you.
  3. Most pet’s don’t wear collars so it’s a back up identification method.
  4. If your pet wears a collar it might break or fall off.
  5. Disasters happen and it’s a way for displaced pets to make it back home to you.
  6. Microchips are required for traveling internationally.

Seresto Collar Update #chewyinfluencer

Chewy White

A month ago I introduced you to the Seresto Flea and Tick collar that was available at Chewy.com, if you missed the post you can read it here.

So far the collar has been doing a great job and I really can’t say anything bad about it. Glory has been wearing it each day, I’ve only taken it off for a couple of baths. When I first put the collar on her she would scratch at it as I normally don’t keep collars on her. When she would scratch it sometimes she would pull out the end of the collar from the tab that was holding it in place. The collar was still attached in other tabs so it never came off I just needed to thread the end back into the tab. Guilty will play with Glory and she will grab the collar and pull on it and it doesn’t harm the collar or Guilty one bit.

This collar has been worn out in the field while hunting, since I have hunting dogs and they are out in the field a lot it would be a good place to try out this collar as ticks love trees and marshy area’s all the places my dogs go for retrieving birds. October is a prime time for ticks wanting to attach to animals as the air is getting cooler and frosty nights could happen so the ticks latch onto something warm so they can continue to live during the cold months. So far after a month of use Glory has not had any fleas or ticks on her.

The collar hasn’t even affected me in any way. Glory sleeps in the bed with us and most of the time she has to lay her head on my pillow and put her neck right in my face. I can’t smell the collar nor does it cause any problems being so close to my skin.

I give the Seresto collar 4 paws up. Once I posted up my first blog post on the collar I had my facebook friends that use the collar tell me how much they like the collar and haven’t had any problems with it either. One person even said her puppy chewed up and ate part of a collar and didn’t have any problems at all. Nice to know other peoples experience with it which all were good.

You can purchase this collar at Chewy.com for $54.99 which is on sale right now. The collar will last for 8 months or 5 months if used in water and when baths are given.

Have Cat Nails Try OurPets Scratch-N-Sniff #Chewyinfluencer

Chewy White

Ding Dong #chewyinfluencer calling!

Have Cat Nails Try OurPets Scratch-N-Sniff Microencapsulated Catnip Oil Cat Scratcher.

Bones is my first kitty that I didn’t declaw right away at time of alteration surgery. With all his health problems going on I thought it was best to see how he does before doing a surgery like that.

Claws…..what claws?

These claws Bones. Cat nails will keep growing, they should be clipped on a regular basis to keep them from growing into their pads. Cats will “scratch” to sharpen their nails and to leave scent behind to mark their territory.

Scratching is a natural behavior of cats. It is pretty much impossible to stop this behavior so one should transfer the behavior to appropriate items such as scratching posts or toys. You may not have room in your house for big scratching posts so there are alternatives like the OurPets Scratch-N-Sniff Microencapsulated Catnip Oil Cat Scratcher.

The OurPets scratcher is microencapsulated with catnip oil to entice your cat into using that scratcher instead of your furniture.

You may need to train your kitty to use the scratcher. My niece was over so she worked with Bones. She would scratch at the area where Bones should scratch.

Description: Entice your feline friend with OurPets Scratch-N-Sniff Microencapsulated Catnip Oil Cat Scratcher. Provides your kitties with the benefits of a regular cat scratcher and the added benefit of microencapsulated catnip aroma bursts, made with North-American-grown catnip. Millions of micro-encapsulated catnip oil beads are embedded in the corrugated surface and only release the aroma when your cat scratches to break the capsule—eliminating the need to add messy catnip flakes to attract your pal. Since the catnip aroma is built-in and only activated by scratching, your cat will be interested in it longer as the aroma won’t fade as quickly as regular catnip—saving more catnip for later. ~Chewy

Key Benefits:

  • Catnip capsules lay dormant until activated by scratching to ensure long-lasting freshness, yet the scent is strong enough to draw the cat in before he scratches.
  • Millions of micro-encapsulated catnip oil beads are embedded in the corrugated surface to provide long hours of fun and scratch.
  • North-American-grown catnip oil beads won’t cause a mess, plus they eliminate the need to add untidy catnip flakes to attract your pal.
  • Latest development in cat scratchers that will keep your pal engaged longer by using his favorite fragrance.
  • Grooms and maintains your feline friend’s healthy claws while keeping him away from furniture scratching. ~Chewy

Bones thought Brittany was playing with him, he got a bit worked up and tried biting her just like he would if he was playing with another cat.

It didn’t take Bones long at all to use the scratcher by himself. This scratcher is on the smaller size with the dimensions of 5 x 1.5 x 17.75 inches and only weighing 8 oz makes it ideal for traveling, you can’t beat the price either, it’s on sale right now at Chewy.com for $7.19.

Why Chewy.com

Because: Chewy.com has more than 300 brands to choose from and is ready to fetch it and ship it, direct to your doorstep, anytime of the day. Have a question regarding the best food for your pet? Call us 24/7 and our helpful customer service team at Chewy.com is ready to listen.
Chewy.com lives and breathes pets. Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Chewy.com’s dedicated staff is committed to providing quality pet products to our customers in a fast and easy way. That’s why we have warehouses located throughout the country – so the products are delivered quickly and efficiently. Bottom line, Chewy.com delivers pet happiness – and there’s nothing really better than that. Their products are 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed (if your not happy call them and they pay for shipping the item back), they have expert pet care and product advice, over 200 of the best pet brands and 24/7 customer care. Another great benefit of Chewy.com is they have autoship for your pet food needs and orders under $49.00 are a flat rate shipping cost of $4.95.
Chewy.com 200 SW 1st Avenue Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 1-800-67-CHEWY
What’s new at Chewy.com? They now have autoship.

I was given one OurPets Scratch-N-Sniff Microencapsulated Catnip Oil Cat Scratcher in exchange for a honest review from Chewy.com.

chewy

Bones Is Getting Tootered

Hiya! Mom says it’s time for me to get tootered! I don’t know what tootered is but I’m not sure I’m gonna like it.

Bones came to work with me yesterday to have his pre surgical examination done for his neuter. He is about 18 weeks old now so he’s old enough for me to have him neutered before he gets any bright ideas to start urine marking in my house. His exam went good, he is growing and besides his mega esophagus he checked out so he received his last distemper combo vaccination and rabies vaccination. While he is under anesthesia the doctor will take a look at his upper airway to see if there are any polyps that might be impeding his airway as he will open mouth breath on occasion. If there is a polyp it will be removed.

Stay tuned to find out how his surgery went.

The In’s And Out’s Of Bones ~ Johnny Bones

What??? You say my insides are not normal???

From the outside to an extent Bones looks like a normal healthy kitty. Once he was treated for parasites and on a good diet the little guy was doing what normal kittens do, he’s eating, playing, getting into mischief, using the litter box, cuddling and growing right on track. Bones was due for his second FVRCP (feline distemper) vaccination on 8/24/18. The day before I was due to take him in for his vaccination I was watching him purr while he was sitting on me, his throat was moving in and out while he purred and breathed. It’s been 5 years since I had MK as a kitty so I was doubting myself as how a kitten looks when purring as MK doesn’t purr. I thought something was up and this isn’t right, bones should not look like a bullfrog when he purrs/breaths.

When I went to work the next day I told the Doctor what I was seeing, we got Bones out and she examined him and said “we need chest rads”, so off to radiology he went to get some films of his throat and chest.

Bones exam: Billwing of ventral neck noted with each breath, but resp difficulty. Thoracic auscult – cardiac normal. Rattles noted occasionally (referred upper airway?)

Radiographs VD and Right lateral thorax:

Opacity cranial thorax (thymus vs fluid). Dilated esophagus/no tracheal obstruction, aerophagia.

Radiographs and videos were sent to specialist to get a second opinion. This is the specialist’s response: This kittens radiographs show evidence of megaesophagus and gas in the stomach. Likely this is from aerophagia and this is commenly associated with upper respiratory disease, more often than lower respiratory disease. The paradoxical bulging you are seeing is most likely the air in the caudal esophagus being pushed (as the cats ribs and diaphragm contract) into the cervical esophagus.

I would want to get this kitten anesthetized and perform a thorough nasopharyngeal exam to rule out strictures, polyps, and obstructing tenacious mucus.

What you talking about MK?? I’m normal!!!

Bones was examined again on 8/27/18 their was no change in his breathing, he is eating, drinking well with no regurgitation. No signs of respiratory distress. Acting normal. So the doctor recommended empiric treatment for possible bacterial or parasitic cause. We started him on a dewormer for 10 days and antibiotics for 14 days. He took his medication great and continued to eat, play, purr, sleep and so forth.

I still like my cuddles!

Bones second FVRCP vaccination was put on hold until we knew his health status. He keeps going on like he should minus the throat breathing so I brought him in on 9/14/18 for his FVRCP vaccination. He is still eating well with no regurgitation. Good appetite/energy level. He is no longer on medications. Exam: Billowing of dilated esophagus with breathing ventral neck (improved since last exam), thoracic auscult – noisy breathing (upperairway?). Difficulty to stop purring.

Recheck radiographs were taken to see if things changed.

Right lateral radiograph: megaesophagus remains with aerophagia. No improvement noted on radiograph since completing antibiotics for respiratory infection.

If you look at the radiographs that are labeled showing where the esophagus is and air in the stomach the esophagus should not be that wide, it’s nearly taking up his whole throat. There shouldn’t be air in his stomach either. Since his esophagus is larger than it should be he is swallowing air along with his food so it’s dilating his stomach. Yesterday was the first time I witnessed Bones regurgitating. He regurged once while laying on his side hanging out, all of a sudden water came out. Here is a article that talks about the difference between vomiting and regurgitation, you can read it here.

Here’s a recent video of Bones breathing.

MK doesn’t care that Bones is sick she still bitch slaps him.

When I return from Canada if Bones is doing well I’ll get him neutered and have his upper airway checked for strictures, polyps and anything else that might be there. As for the megaesphagus there isn’t a cure. The specialist said Viagra has helped some cats with megaesophagus. I’m reluctant on starting a medication like that until he is really showing problems, so for now we will take it one day at a time and we will call him Jeremiah was a Bullfrog because you know he was good friend of mine!