So many people talk about the difficulties of raising human children. Now I don't have any human children, but I do have a canine child. Let me tell you, canine children are very difficult to raise.
Now, before I have an angry mob of mothers (lead by my sister) attacking me for claiming my dog is like a child to me and is "more" difficult to raise than a human child, let me say this, he is not MORE difficult. Cosmo is just difficult in a different way. Like infants, he can only communicate with me in a very limited way. He has certain barks, whines, and grunts that tell me what he needs from me from hunger to needing to go potty.
Being a dog mom is a very eye opening experience to understanding life with an infant, the only difference is, dogs never outgrow this infancy. Sure they learn how to become independent like a toddler or a child, but they remain limited in communication.
When I am taking care of my twin nieces, they are at an age now when they can tell me exactly what it is they want. Cosmo has to work harder. Cosmo has been in my life now for about a year and a half (August 15, 2008 is when I brought him home), so I am well versed in what it is he wants. I can't explain it, but I just need to hear one sound and I will immediately know what he wants or needs. A lot of times he is just an attention whore and wants me to acknowledge his existence. However, there are times, like last night, where he is able to confuse me.
Another thing about dogs is that they can't have their diets changed rapidly. They are carnivores which means they eat meat. However this also means that their stomachs can't handle a varied diet. I worked in a pet store for a year having this explained to me and me explaining it to customers. Omnivores, like humans, require a varied diet, whereas dogs and cats, who are almost strictly carnivores, can't handle that. Cosmo is most definitely not a strict carnivore, he likes honey crisp apples as I learned the hard way one night (so now I know how to treat him when momma is having a midnight snack of honey crisp apples -- I just give him the core)
So let's back up to the beginning of the week. We ran out of dog food and mom had the check card...since my recent banking issues with TCF, I don't have a checking account right now. Well that's a lie, I do, but I can't use it right now for various reasons...but that's a different blog. So Cosmo was out of food Monday morning. I sent dad a text asking him to pick up some canned food for that night and the next morning. He complied and returned with Alpo. He bought more than I expected him to, but I am glad he did.
I give Cosmo canned food as a treat night every so often, so it's not like he doesn't eat canned food. He gets very excited when he hears me opening the can and smelling the delicious meat waiting to be devoured, and Monday night was no exception. Mom was supposed to return home from my sister's house (she was staying with her since my Brother in-law was out of town for a couple of nights) Monday evening. However, she is a sucker for her grandchildren (not saying I'm not...they have auntie wrapped around their little fingers too) and stayed a second night. So from Monday night to Wednesday morning Cosmo was living off of Alpo canned food. Mom brought a bag of food home with her Wednesday night, but Cosmo had already eaten.
He was already starting to show symptoms of a bad tummy on Wednesday night. Mom had brought him down a pet bone and he had been chewing on it for hours. As she was going upstairs to go to bed, she looked at him and asked why he was breathing so heavy. I shrugged it off and said, "he's been chewing on that bone for hours, he probably wore himself out." She laughed and went to bed. When I woke up yesterday morning I noticed his breathing hadn't changed. Now I was starting to worry. I started feeling around his chest to see if there was something wrong. Another thing I learned while working at the pet store was how to check for colds and other issues dogs have. Cosmo hasn't had a cold since I worked at the pet store and brought a bug home with me from the other dogs. But, I wasn't going to chance it. He's still pretty communal (which is why pet store dogs get colds so much) since all of our neighbors have dogs and they all meet up at their respective fences and do whatever it is dogs do to communicate with each other (I have always believed it's like Homeward Bound where they communicate telepathically).
The real symptoms showed up last night when he came in and ate his dinner at around 7:30. At first I didn't realize it because it is normal for him to eat and have to go back outside anywhere from a half hour to an hour later. Mom was alarmed at this, however. I explained it was normal and she didn't worry so much. I let him back inside about fifteen minutes later and thought everything would be fine. However, about another hour later he was begging to go back outside. I finally started realizing what was going on, Cosmo had the runs.
This is the third time in his life he has had the runs. The first time was when he was still very young. He was about five months old. It was back when I had given up on trying to crate him and locked him in the bathroom when I was out of the apartment. It was actually about this time last year when I stood outside with him every couple of hours and watched him be really upset at the diarrhea (I am not going to get too graphic...but it was funny and sad all at the same time). I knew my puppy was sick then, he showed it. I finally called the vet after about a week. They told me a home remedy and it cleared up within a couple of days. However, the worst part about that time was when I returned home from work at 9:30. I had worked a six hour shift that day and I knew I was going to come home to an absolute mess in the bathroom, but I really had no idea. It was worse than I imagined. He was COVERED along with the bathroom floor. If I could smell, I am sure I would have thrown up at just the stench alone. Thank God for my loss of smell.
The second time was when he ate my aunt and uncle's dogs' food at my Grandma's over Thanksgiving. He didn't get it nearly that bad. Just loose stool and couldn't really control it. He was also stressed since it had been the longest car ride so far in his life. So I am sure his stomach was turning from that as well.
So I knew I wasn't going to have a good night, unless he was able to sleep through the night. Cosmo normally does, it's very rare for him to be awake at all when I am sleeping. There have been a few times he wouldn't sleep soundly, like the night before my Youmacon trip since Momo was here and he wanted to play with her. I'll tell ya, driving twelve hours on four hours of sleep (and not consecutive), not fun. I said my goodbyes to my friends and went to bed at about midnight. Cosmo woke me up about every hour to go outside so he didn't get yelled at for going in the house. I must say, I was pretty impressed with his ability to hold it until he got to the area he poops in (by the fence, I am assuming because he claims it as his own) which I found today as I took a walk around the yard with him to see if his runs were in fact still around.
Staying up all night with a sick dog isn't exactly "fun" but it is all part of the job. And this is truly why I liken having a dog is much like having a child. If they are sick, you worry about them and if you need to, you will stay up all night to make sure they are okay. It may not be a glorious moment in your life as a parent, but one that proves your love and one of those defining moments that make you a good parent.
~~Home Remedy for the Runs as per Dr. DeBlieck~~
~Half a pound of Ground Beef cooked in Sloppy Joe form
~Boil a cup of white rice
~Mix the two
~Let cool
The meat is to make sure the dog is getting protein but apparently for the dog's digestive system the rice hardens stool.
Please share some of your stories as a dog mom :-)
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