carryonstrong:

Day has been made

My Guru

Too Cute for Words!

First. You must have a harness not a collar! Even on a good day, breathing is an issue for the average pug. You do not want to be putting any pressure on your pug’s throat.  

A harness prevents any tugging or pulling on the trachea, which can be very vulnerable in a pug. Even regular dogs of other breeds should only be wearing harnesses, because most people jerk their dogs around, heedless of what they are doing to their trachea.

Not only is the trachea an issue, but did you know you can also sprain the muscles in your dog’s neck? We all know how out of control and unpredictable dogs can be when something triggers their interest or aggression.

We yank on them and jerk them around in the heat of the moment, not realizing that we could be seriously injuring either their throat or their neck muscles. In this respect a harness is so much more humane. No pugs in collars! Ever!

Second. A short leash, not a long leash. A short leash gives you more control.  If you choose to use a retractable leash, set it to a short length and keep it there. This gives you more control. If your pug is not trained to walk yet, you do not want it running out ahead of you ten or twenty feet. You must think of your pug’s safety and keep it close to you. A standard, short leash is best for a pug.

Third. Walk ahead of your pug so that you are the pack leader. Go out the door first and have him follow you. If he goes out first and you follow, and this continues on the walk, the pug is the pack leader. It is okay to have your pug walk along side you, just not out in front.

When you have walked for awhile and your pug is behaving well by walking next to you or behind you, then you reward them by stopping to let them sniff around. When you get home, go in first and have the pug follow you in, not the other way around.

Fourth. Understand that walk time is your pug’s time, not yours! Plan to have enough time every day to take a leisurely walk with your pug, so that she can noodle around and enjoy herself. Do not rush your pug through her walk!

Dogs have many rituals that they need to perform on their walks. They need to read the pee mail that is left behind by all the other dogs in the neighborhood. Give your pug time to sniff and smell all the scents that are everywhere, sending your dog a myriad of messages. These messages cause your pug to decide where he will mark or poop.

Pugs have a pooping ritual. They often start circling and circling and sometimes they stick their noses into the grass and sniff the grass while they are pooping. Both my pugs do this!

Another ritual is that they will be walking along and need to stop and give their bodies that big all over shake to adjust their harness. If you are tuned into to all these little rituals you can watch for them and enjoy seeing your pug complete each one.

Letting them complete all these rituals on their walks is very good for their well being. If you are rushing them and do not let them complete these rituals they will come home frustrated and you will have missed your chance to enjoy those sweet moments of truly being present together.

Fifth. Reward your pug when you get home with either dinner or a treat, so that they know they have earned it by being well behaved on their walk.

Precious little Moishe

I have not posted in a long time because Henry has been very sick and you know how that is. When your pug baby is suffering the whole world grinds to a halt and you are focused on only one thing..getting that pug well!

Our vet said that one of the lobes of Henry’s right lung was “impacted” meaning, congested with an infection. She was amazed at how perky he was in spite of serious difficulties with breathing. She said that she had seen other dogs with the same amount of impaction that couldn’t even walk across the room.

Although he was perky at moments, especially when seeing his beloved Dr. Jenny, Henry was the sickest I had ever seen him, and I really thought he might die. Even Dr. Jenny thought he might not make it the first time he aspirated (regurgitated food into his lungs). 

In a previous post I mentioned the terrible, hacking, honking cough that Henry had. That cough persisted all through the bout with pneumonia, and I am happy to announce that it is gone! 

Although X-rays showed that he had some narrowing of the trachea, it turns out that the cough was caused by the lung infection and was exacerbated by the narrowed trachea, but it was not caused by the condition known as Collapsing Trachea.

After several months of illness, a time in which he could not bark without gagging, could not roll onto his back (which is his favorite expression of contentment) without choking, and could not drink water without choking and gagging, finally, Henry can do all these things again.

Hearing him bark in the window at passers by is music to my ears! That pug can bark his little butt off and I will love every minute of it! Also, while he was sick, of course the poor little guy could barely walk, so our walks had dwindled to just going down a few houses on our street and back. Now he is back to walking our usual 4 to 5 block loop. He is a miracle pug!

Or should I say, our vet is a miracle vet!! I believe Dr. Jenny Taylor at Creature Comfort in Oakland literally saved Henry’s life. She put him on a course of antibiotics that arrested the lung infection while she did a series of X-rays and exams to try to pinpoint the source of the cough.

When she realized that he had a narrowing trachea she counseled us on how to feed him so as to prevent choking and gagging. She also advised me on some research I was doing into Chinese herbs for lung heat, and approved my going ahead with giving him those.

Finally, she decided to give him an aqua-puncture injection of Baytril into an acupuncture point (not sure which one it was)…and I am telling you, within one day of that aqua-puncture shot Henry was on the mend. All of a sudden he could breathe easier and his energy increased.

I think the combination the the aqua puncture and the Chinese herbs did the trick.

A professional took this amazing photo of Louie.

Henry with digital fireplace.

Henry has gotten up in the years and is starting to have serious health problems. He looks pretty good for a Senior Pug and sometimes I can’t believe he is as old as he is.

About a month or two ago, He began a pattern of recurring health problems that continue to escalate. First, he scratched his cornea, a very common injury in the bulgy eyed set. Then, he began coughing and gagging on a daily basis.

He always struggles with a skin allergy that makes him itchy, but we have managed that with Vitamin B shots, which act as an anti-inflammatory and keep him comfortable.

Recently, Henry had some kind of seizure that caused him to end up on his back struggling to breathe. I quickly uprighted him and found that there was food coming out of his nose. He was trembling and gasping for breath, so we rushed him to the vet where he was put into an oxygen chamber and kept there all day to stabilize his breathing.

Turns out he had regurgitated into his lungs, resulting in what is called “aspiration pneumonia”. That means that anything that is in the lungs can cause an infection and is very dangerous. He has been on antibiotics (as well as probiotics) for weeks.

Meanwhile the coughing and gagging has increased. It is a sound like none other I have ever heard. Calling it a “cough” really does not describe it because it is more of a roar or a honk.

Our vet thought that Henry may have Laryngeal Paralysis or LP. After three sets of x-rays, on the chest lungs and trachea, she has determined that Henry’s trachea is collapsing, a condition common in older, small breeds such Pugs, Pekes, etc.

As the windpipe ages, the rings of cartilage become hardened, weakened and sometimes flatten out, narrowing the space for air to pass. The cough resulting from this situation is more of a honk coming from the compromised structure of the larynx than a cough coming out of the chest or lungs.

The cough itself can irritate the windpipe further and is hard on the heart. I have been researching alternative treatment for CT online and may have found a solution with TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). There are actually Chinese herbs and cough syrups that can moisturize and tonify the throat. I will be consulting with the Vet about trying these and will keep you posted.