Wee-Wee Pads: Help :(
 

Recently I mentioned my Maltese had suffered a trauma to her eye causing a severe hemorrhage. The problem now, is it was not a hemorrhage - it's a tumor. A biopsy, culture and shaving was done today, the surgery was finished and they sewed her eye shut (I thought I'd take seeing it better, but didn't handle it well).

She is still on the prednisone along with a truckload of drops and pills. I'm sure you could imagine after sedation plus the medication, she's drinking a lot. She gained a pound in the past week and a half (she got rather plump, fast).

She is peeing around every 15 minutes (straight water). She seems to just stand by me and pee, and give me the "I have to pee right now, sorry" face.

I put down wee wee pads but she wags her tail and lays on them. :o My dog doesn't like toys, she likes blankets. I think she believes this pack of pads is a pack of blankets because she sleeps on them and pees next to them.

At any rate, she can pee wherever - I have a mop and two willing hands. BUT! If you know of anything else she may pee on (she wont pee on paper, she dislikes the texture - she also hates grass, sigh).

Anyway, I won't know any results from her surgery today until Wednesday (biopsy) and Thursday (culture). From what I understand, this was done to confirm a tumor (it may just be an enormous blood clot) and check for cancer (since it's growing rapidly fast) and/or infection...and something else. Should be a fun result week, I get my latest VEEG results on Tuesday.

Also, do you know of anyone who sells padded lampshade cone head thingies? I don't know what they are called. I have a picture of hers (I won't show her face since the eye may upset people). It doesn't look cozy to lay on, so I was thinking of maybe trying to pad hers with something nice and cushy. If you know of people who sell them, let me know. I'd give a limb to make sure she's comfy.


.


She has jammies and socks on because she is shivering (I guess from surgery and the socks are so she can't get a grip on the cone shes trying to take off).

Suggestions -
 

Poor honey .... to be on a fluid retaining medication, and then having it pour out of her too.... and her having to "be a bad dog", not having a way in the world to control it... I really feel for her ... and you..


Now as to your immediate problem... I would immediately try another brand. Some advertised online claim to have a "real grass smell" ... or maybe some brands may have more of the odor that signals a dog, "here's the place" ....


My mother's pup would always tinkle on the pad, but would only poop BESIDE it. :D


Perhaps you might blanket the area just at the door where she used to go outside before? Hang her collar and leash from the knob? ANY sort of clues?


Don't leave the package of pads anywhere she can use it as a cushioned surface.


The CLOSER she pees to the pad, the more you brag on her. Even get some of her urine on a papertowel and then wring it out in one spot on the pad (the center??). This will give her something to sniff and think about.


I hope a change in pad brands might do it -- and if not, I hope you can lure her into using one at least once so you can praise her to the heavens!


Teri

ellie

what about getting a scrap of vinyl flooring? home depot nd places like that have it. even some discount places. you would still have to mop it...but it would be in one place.

i dont know about the cones. maybe petsmart?

I bought her cone at petco which has a semi-padded neckline but it doesn't look very comfy.

My house is full marble and my bedroom is that fake wood stuff (I don't know my floor names well). I tried to put pee on the pad but she still peed next to it. Wherever I put the pad, she lays on it.

Keep in mind, once a month we buy her a new blanky. She doesn't like toys so we buy her blankets (she looooooves blankets). I think I have done this to her. Anytime I lay something on the floor, it's always hers to sleep on. She likes towels fresh from the dryer, a lot.

I saw the scented pads and the ones I got were cheaper (haha, I'm still cheap). She doesn't wear a collar or leash outside - I have a fenced in area aside my house for her to poo and pee because it has a concrete sidewalk for her to go on (she hates grass, dirt, rocks, etc.).

I'm trying to find her a kitten, which has been a hoot. I know it sounds funny to buy a pet for your pet, but shes been trying to lick this poor cat and she's been hiding behind my washer for two days (it's my friends cat). My dog won't play with dogs, toys, nothing. She hardly kisses us unless we just get home, we get ONE lick and then a SNORT of dogsnot in our face.

She licked this cat so much it hid from her, hah.

I'm hoping to find a dog friendly cat who doesn't mind the dog grooming it.

I've been bouncing between my dogs making sure Nysa is comfy and OK and my other dog is OK (he gets very jealous and he is worried about her, wanting to lick her eye).

It's a pee party at my house! woo-hoo.:eek:

Swiffer wet jet things are great for dog pee!

A
.
Your poor baby :(

I love her jammies -- she's so precious.

I don't know anything about home health care for dogs. My experience is all cat-related.

I was just wondering if you could put some sod in a litter box if she would use that for her business. But, I see you said she doesn't like grass.

Maybe if you got a large, low empty litter box and rubbed the bottom with paper towel soaked in pee-pee, she might use that. It's smooth, so it would be the right texture. And it would have "her" smell.

One of my old cats had a huge fat tumor -- it wasn't a cyst -- in his neck. I was lucky the whole thing was encapsulated so it didn't spread. But, it was huge. Couldn't put the cone on because of the location of the stitches. Had to put him in XL t-shirts to keep him from scratching out the stitches. He was the cutest thing wearing a red Coca-Cola t-shirt.

I hope it's not cancer. There's a lot of different things that cause fast-growing lumps. My cat's grew unbelievably fast -- they think it started from a cat bite.

Good luck. And hugs to your puppy-baby and you, too.

Barb

Thanks (all of you) for the help and kind words. I really thought I was prepared, I knew deep down it wasn't an injury - I searched my whole house for what she could have hit her eye on (he said blunt force trauma initially - so I was on a hunt).

Before I left I kept saying to my friend/caretaker (God bless her for moving in, whole new topic), "It's not an injury, her eye is turning grey and then blood red..I see something in it...the medicine is making it worse" and so on. Soon as he said tumor, cancer, eye loss, and all of that I didn't know if I had a seizure coming or if I had real nausea for once.

It seemed to not hurt her which is why I questioned an injury, she was fine up until today since, well, her eye is sewn shut and it looks so painful. Ugh, I hate seeing it, I feel horrible. She's so ****** at me. She is associating me with eye drops, forced pills, vets and then I left her with a man who sewed her eye shut. My boyfriend wouldn't even put her drops in tonight saying only one person needed to be the bad guy.

I'd give anything for her and I don't wanna be the bad guy. :(

(((((((((Ellie)))))))))))))


as she likes concrete to "go" on, have you thought of maybe getting a couple of those large concrete paving stones at Home Depot and putting them in a few strategic places around the house.

you could also scent them with some of her pee so she recognizes them as "go" spots

re the padding.........you could DIY maybe with some fabric glue and cushioned fabric ?

more ((((((BIG HUGS)))))) to you and the sweety pooch

Oh, Ellie...
 

poor little thing. It is really sad when they get sick this way, since they really don't understand what is going on. I always feel for them.

My son left his cat (who he rescued from a very dismal situation) at an emergency vet 2 weekends ago (she was vomiting non stop and close to collapse), and this freaked her out, as she thought she was abandoned again. She ripped out her IVs, and gave them a hard time (normally she is docile). She is much better now ($800 later)... but I really felt for her too. Animals just don't understand. (she had some infection, thought to be bacterial hepatitis --which I had never heard of)

I hope this sewn shut eye is just temporary? Do they do that so it won't dry out? Or don't you know yet? At least she is home with you.

I am so sorry that you and she have to go thru all this. :(

The eye is sewn shut (from what I understand, mind you - I went kind of blank for a moment as he spoke) to prevent infection since her eyeball itself is exposed.

They had scraped (I think this is right) the top layer from her actual eyeball. I think that he said that was to remove any "bad stuff" (I forgot what he said) in case it is/was an infection. I believe that had to be done anyway, in order to get a culture and then biopsy the area.

From what I can tell, there seems to be 2-3 stitches sewing her third eyelids shut. She is still on a bit of medication, she has two drops and one pill type.

I'm going to give it another day, but she has picked up a sniffle today. It mimics her pout, so I'm having problems telling if he's just upset or getting a cold. I'm keeping an eye on her temperature as well as the surgery site to check for redness, swelling and any form of hot spots.

On the bright side, I am getting new pots and pans of my choice for being the bad guy.

I finally collapsed today, I laid down around noonish (heck, I don't even know when it was) and slept for nearly 5 hours. I'm reminded of the days my son was a preemie, he couldn't cry well so I'd stare at him for hours since I had to pretty much watch for him to cry, the monitors didn't pick up his cry (it was a little squeak of sorts).

Her stitches come out on Wednesday, and hopefully I will have her results then as well.

Oh...
 

I remember those preemie days! But my son could cry...like an air raid siren!
The doctors were happy with that...exercise the lungs etc. But it was tough on us at home!

We had to feed every 2 &1/2 hrs for a month! He came home at 4.5 lbs.

I am reading this thread too, about the wee wee pads, might need those someday.

I wonder about the frequency of the urination? Was this doggie tested
for diabetes? Steroids raise blood sugar, and in a hidden diabetic, this would be pronounced. Diabetes also lowers immunity and leads to infections and eye issues. (retinal hemorrhages).

Sorry to be late to this thread...I have been working a ton the past few days.

She seems to have gotten super fat and has been lethargic (shes naturally lazy but when I sit her down, she lays where I put her). Shes drinking 5 times what she eats. She started around 7lbs 4 weeks ago and is 9lbs now. I know it doesn't seem like much, but she's looking big. Like, a pregnant dog would.

The vets always say Im a great owner for her looking so healthy (most maltese owners in OC have theirs 4-5lbs - it's a small dog trend and sick). Mine was healthy looking, now she looks fat. But I don't know why, she's not eating like she was, shes eating less (I measure their food).

Her last check was 4 weeks ago and I make them check everything, since she was a mill rescue I try to stay on-top of her health (3 grand in dental so far to keep her from losing her teeth).

Maybe I'm paranoid. I just don't see why she'd be so big when she pees all she drinks. Then again, she isn't pooping as much. Maybe thats it?

Ah hell, I'm gonna call the vets cell again (yes, he gave me his cell!). If anyone is around OC - let me know, this vet is perfect. He did her dental for free while he had her sedated! I love him. :D

Ellie,

There is a type of cat litter called "Yesterdays News". It is a pellet type of litter that is made out of recycled newspaper. It is soft on their feet, but it absorbs very well.

Because the pellets are large (it's not like regular litter which looks like sand) you could just pour a pile of the litter pellets right on the floor, and then vacuum them up if they are unused, and use papertowels to grab them if they are used/wet.

When we got a cat over the summer, he was 9 months old but because he had previously lived with a lazy guy the cat had a habit of peeing in the bathtub.... I used the "Yesterdays News" type of litter by puring it on the bottom of the tub... that got the cat accustomed to peeing on this litter so it made it easier for him to adjust to using a litter box properly.

And because the pellets were large it was easy to keep them from falling into the drain, and it was very easy to clean up the used and unused litter.

So, maybe using a pile of these yesterdays news litter pellets on your floow would help - and then once your dog is accustomed to using the pile on the floor, maybe you could easily train the dog to use an actual litter box.

Oh, Ellie, the poor little puppy dog. :(

Don't know if they sell them in the U.S. but I was watching a show here called The New Inventors and they had this petloo (loo = toilet) contraption. It looked really good actually but it was topped with artificial grass so it might not be something your dog would go for right now with everything else going on as well. They do have information on the net, but am not sure I should post it as it's to commercial site. Dogs can be trained very easily to use them... just using praise mainly and routine/habit signals. I was very impressed with the whole thing.

I'm not sure about what you mean with her looking fat. Is she bloated, like with wind or her bladder? If she's drinking heaps and still peeing heaps then that is a good sign... unless she had something wrong with her kidneys to begin with. If she's looking fat and eating less, it certainly could be bloating from wind or from constipation.

Let us know how she's doing.

Oh Ellie!

I didn't realize this had all transpired. I haven't read here in a while I guess, and missed the whole surgery/tumor part of this somehow. I'm so sorry to hear you little pooch is going through all this :(.

I'm sorry I can't add any ideas for making a comfortable pee spot she can use.

You are right~ They should make a more comfortable cone collar for our dogs and cats...especially the little ones.

Cara

She's doing much better now. They said today no surgery is needed, they are waiting until next Monday to re-open her eye, though. She's going to be so happy. :D

I hope she will be back to her old self very soon~

Cara

Doggy Litter Pans & Puppy Litter
 

Last night I was at
.
(my window shopping fix) and there was a new product by Purina (but also made by other companies, apparently) -- and it is a litter pan (available in various sizes) and a recycled paper pellet litter.

Lots of testimonials, including those by people with ADULT DOGS who have suddenly had to train an adult.

The pan is said to please dogs, to be easy to clean, and to be relatively odor free. People talk of having it in the kitchen or near the front door or whatever the dog is used to going out.

They even have a training tips "film" to coach you on how train your puppy, and ideas on training older dogs.

Check it out! One woman and her sister actually took SEVENTY POUNDS of the litter in their combined airline luggage to PARIS so she could take her two adult dogs with her. She trained them just before they left on the trip.

Teri

Just dropped her off to have the stitches removed and get her groomed (her hair is so gross, it's wrong). I'm so happy!!

((((((Ellie)))))),

AWW!! She's gonna feel so much better when she gets 'spiffed up' and gets the crummy stitches out.

She's been such a good girl!! Give her a hug for me.

You've been a good girl, too -->> BIG HUGS.

Barb

She seems much happier and rolled on her blanky for a good 30 minutes. That's her favorite thing to do.

Oh, good...
 

The worst is over? Is the eye healing up normally now?

You both have been thru the "mill". So you deserve to celebrate. In this house
it would mean a food treat..but I don't know what you do with her. :icon_wink:
You on the other hand, also deserve a "treat" too! :Dancing-Chilli:

Ellie,

I'm so happy to hear that she is feeling better! I hope she continues to heal and continues to do well and feel better :)

Liz

Ellie
 

Hi, I am new to the board and your's was the first post I seen, my name is quietthyme or qt for short.
I am sorry about your furbaby. You got a lot of info on the pads. I was
thinking about the Elezabeth collar. You could go to walmart and get some spray adhesive and some soft material, cut the material to fit the collar and
spray the adhesive on the collar and put your cut material around it. Hopefully a lot of her wee-weeing is stress and she will be back to her old
self soon. qt

Hi QT and welcome!

I am hoping the worst is over. Her eye still doesn't look that great, but at least it works and it's open (with a slight squint). She seems to happy and before was a fan of belly rubs, now she just can't get enough of her face touched. If you barely touch her head her eyes close and she makes a grunty sound of joy. :D

I had her hair cut very short, so she looks scrawny right now. Heh. I don't think I have ever seen her so happy. I may be paranoid, but I've been considering buying those Doggles online (doggy goggles). I don't think I could handle it if this happened again.

Oh, and she had plain pancakes as her "You made it" reward. Every holiday or special occasion I make them pancakes (nothing on or in them). Thanksgiving, they each get a small plate of food (one bite of each, excluding chocolate or anything super bad). I know it's bad, but every once in a while they deserve some of the good stuff.

My dogs love plain pancakes, whenever I make them they stand under the stove and stare at me. They know it's one of their birthdays or a holiday. :D

Your pancakes made me smile :)

It reminded me of a happy memory of Chelsea... every year for her birthday, we would take her for a ride in the car (one of her favorite things) and we would go to the McDonalds drive through and get her a plain hamburger as her birthday treat. :)

About the doggie goggles-

I had a neighbor years ago who had one of those small dogs with the bulging eyes (I think it was a Pekingese but I may be wrong because am awful at remembering dog breeds). Anyway, it was the dog breed that has the bulging eyes that can 'pop out' if they get injured.

My neighbor got her dog from the shelter, it had been rescued from someone who abused it and the dog had only one eye because the abuser had hit the dog hard enough to pop the other eye out... so the dog had one eye, and one empty socket that was stitched closed.

Because the socket was empty, the neighbor had to be careful to avoid further injury to the empty socket or to the remaining eye.... so she used to put goggles on the dog when she took it for a walk to prevent injury from debris blowing in the wind (sand, leaves, etc...), protect from sticks on the ground and branches on the bushes, and everything else.

The goggles she bought were not made for dogs - they were a childs size motorcycle goggles with a clear plastic front and a strap around the back of the head. The dog looked a bit goofy because you don't expect to see a dog wearing goggles, but the dog didn't seem to mind the goggles at all. It was part of the process of going outside and the dog accepted the goggles the way it accepted the leash and collar.

I wish the neighbor still lived here, because I would ask her if I could take a picture of her dog with the goggles to show you, but she moved several years ago.

It made me smile to think of her rolling on her blanket....something she obviously missed. Glad things are looking better for her.

Cara