Back to another work week and I reckon Bianco and Tequila knows that its another 5 days that no one will be at home with them during the day.
Yes, we kept to our word that Tequila will be kept in the kitchen and he was, despite some displeasure from him as he was heard whining as I left for work. However, we do not want him to pee on the floor and having Bianco to rub his body on the pee as he crawls around.
When we got back from work that day, as usual, we'll get a big welcome from Bianco and each time he gets really excited seeing us back home. Sometimes, being too excited, he'll pee ..but most often, we'll try to get him to pee before he can dirty himself.
So far, he'll wait till someone is at home before he poos. Either when my dad returns home mid day to check on him or in the evening/night when we are at home. I am not too sure if he is holding his poo so that someone will be around when he expels it. But so far, we definitely have no complaint over it as his habit is keeping him clean. As long as it doesn't cause any health issues, we have no issues on it as well :)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Bianco's Update from Home - July 27
Being a Sunday and since Bianco has been home for 5 wks now, we initiated a short family outing, coupled with lunch and movie - The Dark Knight, while leaving the two rascals together.
It has been awhile since we actually went out as a family over the weekend, as we have been busy fussing over Bianco after he was discharged from the animal hospital. Now that Bianco is more mobile and the fact that Dr Tan has assured us that Bianco will be fine even if he lies on his back, makes it easier for us to introduce some outing back into our lives.
We left Tequila and Bianco from 12.30pm till about 5pm. We thought that with us gone for that 4hrs or so, everything should be alright. Boy, were we wrong and guess who is the only culprit? Tequila of course..... he pee on the legs of the dining chairs, climbed on the coffee table and started shredding some kitchen papers that we have folded for Bianco's emergencies when he poo and he played around with Bianco's towels......
So, we have come to a conclusion... back to the kitchen on Monday for Tequila.
It has been awhile since we actually went out as a family over the weekend, as we have been busy fussing over Bianco after he was discharged from the animal hospital. Now that Bianco is more mobile and the fact that Dr Tan has assured us that Bianco will be fine even if he lies on his back, makes it easier for us to introduce some outing back into our lives.
We left Tequila and Bianco from 12.30pm till about 5pm. We thought that with us gone for that 4hrs or so, everything should be alright. Boy, were we wrong and guess who is the only culprit? Tequila of course..... he pee on the legs of the dining chairs, climbed on the coffee table and started shredding some kitchen papers that we have folded for Bianco's emergencies when he poo and he played around with Bianco's towels......
So, we have come to a conclusion... back to the kitchen on Monday for Tequila.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Bianco's Update from Home - July 26
Today, Bianco had an appointment with Dr Tan for his follow up as its been about 2 wks since his last review. Following that, accupuncture with Dr Oh.
Dr Tan said tat Bianco has gotten back most of his neuro system back since he has been using his right hind to scratch his ears. The only thing is to get him to work on his strength and motor skills on standing and bending his hind legs, which till now, isn't really quite up to it.
Dr Tan also said that to tune a dog's mentality vs that of a human is different. First is the level of understanding between a human and a dog. He gave an example that if a human is paralyze, you can tell that person to try to move his legs. This person will then try to use his brains to give instructions to move his legs. Whereas a dog can never understand or even comprehend such complexity of instructions.
The other thing that Dr Tan mentioned was that his concern is Bianco being too comfortable with his surroundings and also his crawling that he is contented. As such, he will not push himself to try to walk and perhaps may even forget what walking is all about and how it is being done.
It was really a wake up call for me when Dr Tan said that as I know that Bianco is pretty comfortable where he is now but to forget how walking is being done? I mean, someone like me who does not have any experience.. how should I handle Bianco and fine tune him to try using his hind legs? As it is, he is getting lazy for sure. Each time when I stand him on all fours, he'll use his front legs to push himself back and then goes into a seating position.
We have also tried standing Bianco elevated. We'll prop his top half on a stool and force him to use his hind legs to support the rest of his body weight. It is tiring, but at least it will help him to gain some muscles over time.
Dr Tan suggested putting Bianco back to hydrotherapy. He said that Bianco is not a swimmer but with most cases, dogs who go through hydrotherapy, recoveres faster. Only thing is that Bianco is known to be a lazy swimmer.
After the review with Dr Tan, Bianco went for his accupuncture. We spoke to Dr Oh about Dr Tan's suggestion to put Bianco thru hydrotherapy, but Dr Oh thinks otherwise. He feels that its too early for Bianco to try walking, as it will take about 6wks for him to get himself in place. He told us to give the little fella more time, as he is still confident that Bianco will start to walk. He is still confident that Bianco is stronger on his left hind compared to his right, but I still think otherwise. I'm still quite puzzled why he thinks that Bianco's left hind is stronger. Perhaps time will tell.
Bianco went through the accupuncture with ease and was resting throughout. Dr Oh used some low heat treatment and it caused Bianco to pant.
While waiting for payment to be made, we were chatting with this lady whos dog came for accupuncture as well. Usually when we meet other owners with dogs in the same situation, we'll exchange some info on what happened etc and how we are handling our furry ones back home.
She told us that her sis boyfriend bought her dog out for a walk. He came across a drain and jumped across it. However, not realizing that the dog has limited jumping ability, he made her dog jump across the drain too. As the drain was rather wide, her dog, a cross of maltese and shih tzu, didn't manage to jump across, fell into the drain.
The next day, she was wondering why her dog couldn't control the bladder despite being toilet trained and the 2nd day, was in total paralysis. She told us that the first sign of paralysis, as mentioned by the vet is that the animal will lose control of the bladder.
Since the incident, she also started accupuncture sessions and was hoping that it'll help her dog as well.... (haiz.. the ignorance of some ppl, to cause such unnecessary misfortune to the animal and the owner)
After everything, we went to Holland V to leave Tequila with Pet Lovers Centre for grooming. Knowing our experience, they really ensure that Tequila is well taken care of. We headed for the XO fish slice noodles and Bianco had a jolly good time eating the fish from the noodles. While waiting for Tequila, we went to Coffee Bean to have some coffee and as usual, Bianco in his pram attracted some stares.
When we went to pick Tequila up, we were introduced to get a product called 4 Life, which is good for the animals as it'll help to boost their immune system and also help their body to easily absorb all the nutrients from the food that they eat. As I haven't heard about it, I just took a trial pack, which costs me $20.50 (and can only last me a week!) Am now trying it.. so will update my review on this product a wk or so later :) .. but in the meanwhile.. will try to read up on this product and what are the benefits when consumed.
Website: www.4life.com
At the end of the day, Bianco was totally knocked out from the tiredness and was sleeping in the car all the way back home.
Dr Tan said tat Bianco has gotten back most of his neuro system back since he has been using his right hind to scratch his ears. The only thing is to get him to work on his strength and motor skills on standing and bending his hind legs, which till now, isn't really quite up to it.
Dr Tan also said that to tune a dog's mentality vs that of a human is different. First is the level of understanding between a human and a dog. He gave an example that if a human is paralyze, you can tell that person to try to move his legs. This person will then try to use his brains to give instructions to move his legs. Whereas a dog can never understand or even comprehend such complexity of instructions.
The other thing that Dr Tan mentioned was that his concern is Bianco being too comfortable with his surroundings and also his crawling that he is contented. As such, he will not push himself to try to walk and perhaps may even forget what walking is all about and how it is being done.
It was really a wake up call for me when Dr Tan said that as I know that Bianco is pretty comfortable where he is now but to forget how walking is being done? I mean, someone like me who does not have any experience.. how should I handle Bianco and fine tune him to try using his hind legs? As it is, he is getting lazy for sure. Each time when I stand him on all fours, he'll use his front legs to push himself back and then goes into a seating position.
We have also tried standing Bianco elevated. We'll prop his top half on a stool and force him to use his hind legs to support the rest of his body weight. It is tiring, but at least it will help him to gain some muscles over time.
Dr Tan suggested putting Bianco back to hydrotherapy. He said that Bianco is not a swimmer but with most cases, dogs who go through hydrotherapy, recoveres faster. Only thing is that Bianco is known to be a lazy swimmer.
After the review with Dr Tan, Bianco went for his accupuncture. We spoke to Dr Oh about Dr Tan's suggestion to put Bianco thru hydrotherapy, but Dr Oh thinks otherwise. He feels that its too early for Bianco to try walking, as it will take about 6wks for him to get himself in place. He told us to give the little fella more time, as he is still confident that Bianco will start to walk. He is still confident that Bianco is stronger on his left hind compared to his right, but I still think otherwise. I'm still quite puzzled why he thinks that Bianco's left hind is stronger. Perhaps time will tell.
Bianco went through the accupuncture with ease and was resting throughout. Dr Oh used some low heat treatment and it caused Bianco to pant.
While waiting for payment to be made, we were chatting with this lady whos dog came for accupuncture as well. Usually when we meet other owners with dogs in the same situation, we'll exchange some info on what happened etc and how we are handling our furry ones back home.
She told us that her sis boyfriend bought her dog out for a walk. He came across a drain and jumped across it. However, not realizing that the dog has limited jumping ability, he made her dog jump across the drain too. As the drain was rather wide, her dog, a cross of maltese and shih tzu, didn't manage to jump across, fell into the drain.
The next day, she was wondering why her dog couldn't control the bladder despite being toilet trained and the 2nd day, was in total paralysis. She told us that the first sign of paralysis, as mentioned by the vet is that the animal will lose control of the bladder.
Since the incident, she also started accupuncture sessions and was hoping that it'll help her dog as well.... (haiz.. the ignorance of some ppl, to cause such unnecessary misfortune to the animal and the owner)
After everything, we went to Holland V to leave Tequila with Pet Lovers Centre for grooming. Knowing our experience, they really ensure that Tequila is well taken care of. We headed for the XO fish slice noodles and Bianco had a jolly good time eating the fish from the noodles. While waiting for Tequila, we went to Coffee Bean to have some coffee and as usual, Bianco in his pram attracted some stares.
When we went to pick Tequila up, we were introduced to get a product called 4 Life, which is good for the animals as it'll help to boost their immune system and also help their body to easily absorb all the nutrients from the food that they eat. As I haven't heard about it, I just took a trial pack, which costs me $20.50 (and can only last me a week!) Am now trying it.. so will update my review on this product a wk or so later :) .. but in the meanwhile.. will try to read up on this product and what are the benefits when consumed.
Website: www.4life.com
At the end of the day, Bianco was totally knocked out from the tiredness and was sleeping in the car all the way back home.
Bianco's Update from Home - July 23 till 25
Bianco's recovery has slowed down quite a bit. The initial 5 wks have been fast on recovery as we see different movements from him and him trying out new and different things.
Though it has been pretty stagnant, we will still 'push' him to try on his own
Nothing much has changed and also there was no deterioration.
We are hoping that he'll progress slowly from here. At least for now, we have managed to get him mobile in the sense that he can crawl.
Sometimes, when he crawls, we can see that he is trying to push himself... but we're not too sure if its becoz he doesn't have the strength or he is too lazy to try. Perhaps getting a little comfortable crawling since he was introduced to this motion.
On Wednesday, July 23, my mun and dad had some probs bringing him for the accupuncture as he could not sit still in the car and kept moving around. They were concerned that he may just fall. During the accupuncture, he also tried to avoid Dr Oh and was scrutinizing him with each movement as he place the needles on him......(hhhmmm.. funny, coz I didn't have such problems with Bianco when I'm with him)
The few days since we were trying to change his pee habits, it worked quite successfully. He can go without wearing a diaper at night. Every 3 hrs, we'll get him to try to pee standing up on all fours, with support of course. This practise has gone really well. This even goes on during the night when we sleep... I'll get up mid early morning to just get him to empty his bladder before putting him back to bed. So far, it hasn't been tiring for me as long as I don't have to pacify him to sleep..... he's been a pretty good boy so far .....
Sometimes, during the night, should he needs to go urgently and when we didn't get up, he'll whine to let us know...overall, Bianco likes to keep himself clean if possible, tho the occasional mess... but he'll try to move himself out of his mess if he can
On Friday, July 25, before I left for work, I thought that since its the last work day of the week, I want to try something. That is to allow Tequila to be with Bianco in the living area. Usually during the work week, we'll separate both Tequila and Bianco. But thinking that just in case Tequila is thinking why is he always locked up in the kitchen, why don't give him that chance to prove himself? After a huge speech with Tequila before I go to work, telling him not to be notti, don't any how pee and also don't bully Bianco, I don't think he gets it.
Coming back home from work, the only mess came from Tequila, who actually pee on Bianco's pram. In the end, had to clean it all up before attending to Bianco. Looks like I have to see if I can try leaving Tequila with Bianco again sometime soon, just to see how he gets along with Bianco alone.
Though it has been pretty stagnant, we will still 'push' him to try on his own
Nothing much has changed and also there was no deterioration.
We are hoping that he'll progress slowly from here. At least for now, we have managed to get him mobile in the sense that he can crawl.
Sometimes, when he crawls, we can see that he is trying to push himself... but we're not too sure if its becoz he doesn't have the strength or he is too lazy to try. Perhaps getting a little comfortable crawling since he was introduced to this motion.
On Wednesday, July 23, my mun and dad had some probs bringing him for the accupuncture as he could not sit still in the car and kept moving around. They were concerned that he may just fall. During the accupuncture, he also tried to avoid Dr Oh and was scrutinizing him with each movement as he place the needles on him......(hhhmmm.. funny, coz I didn't have such problems with Bianco when I'm with him)
The few days since we were trying to change his pee habits, it worked quite successfully. He can go without wearing a diaper at night. Every 3 hrs, we'll get him to try to pee standing up on all fours, with support of course. This practise has gone really well. This even goes on during the night when we sleep... I'll get up mid early morning to just get him to empty his bladder before putting him back to bed. So far, it hasn't been tiring for me as long as I don't have to pacify him to sleep..... he's been a pretty good boy so far .....
Sometimes, during the night, should he needs to go urgently and when we didn't get up, he'll whine to let us know...overall, Bianco likes to keep himself clean if possible, tho the occasional mess... but he'll try to move himself out of his mess if he can
On Friday, July 25, before I left for work, I thought that since its the last work day of the week, I want to try something. That is to allow Tequila to be with Bianco in the living area. Usually during the work week, we'll separate both Tequila and Bianco. But thinking that just in case Tequila is thinking why is he always locked up in the kitchen, why don't give him that chance to prove himself? After a huge speech with Tequila before I go to work, telling him not to be notti, don't any how pee and also don't bully Bianco, I don't think he gets it.
Coming back home from work, the only mess came from Tequila, who actually pee on Bianco's pram. In the end, had to clean it all up before attending to Bianco. Looks like I have to see if I can try leaving Tequila with Bianco again sometime soon, just to see how he gets along with Bianco alone.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Bianco's Update from Home - July 21 till 22
Another new week for Bianco to be alone at home. After a week of it, we were quite certain that he is going to take it better.
But as usual, somehow he knows that we're going to work that very day, he'll look really bored and quiet.
As usual, I hope that Bianco will pee and poo before all of us leave for work.. so that at least the mess is minimal. So on Monday morning, I was asking Davion if Bianco has poo yet and he said not yet.... in less than 2 mins.. I hear a cry "Dear... Bianco's shitting"... I was in stitches as I saw Davion's hands were smeared with Bianco's poo..... and both of them just looked at me helplessly......
So I had to clean Bianco up before taking a shower and Davion gotta clean himself up to get dressed for work... luckily he didn't wear his long sleeved shirt while handling Bianco hehehe...
Bianco's condition is still the same but at least now when we stand him up, he is able to hold himself steady for awhile... his motor skills on his hind legs are still lacking... that is the reason when he crawl, he drags his hind along with him.
Hopefully soon, he'll be able to bend his hind legs on his own and work on his motor skills.... but at least him being more mobile now, the chances of him trying to use his hind will be higher. Hopefully.......
But as usual, somehow he knows that we're going to work that very day, he'll look really bored and quiet.
As usual, I hope that Bianco will pee and poo before all of us leave for work.. so that at least the mess is minimal. So on Monday morning, I was asking Davion if Bianco has poo yet and he said not yet.... in less than 2 mins.. I hear a cry "Dear... Bianco's shitting"... I was in stitches as I saw Davion's hands were smeared with Bianco's poo..... and both of them just looked at me helplessly......
So I had to clean Bianco up before taking a shower and Davion gotta clean himself up to get dressed for work... luckily he didn't wear his long sleeved shirt while handling Bianco hehehe...
Bianco's condition is still the same but at least now when we stand him up, he is able to hold himself steady for awhile... his motor skills on his hind legs are still lacking... that is the reason when he crawl, he drags his hind along with him.
Hopefully soon, he'll be able to bend his hind legs on his own and work on his motor skills.... but at least him being more mobile now, the chances of him trying to use his hind will be higher. Hopefully.......
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Bianco's Update from Home - July 19 till 20
1st and 2nd Picture: Bianco sits himself on the flr
3rd Picture: Bianco sitting on the flr close to Tequila
For the videos: I do apologize for the 2nd to 4th video as it was taken in a portrait sequence but shown on a landscape version.
1st Video: Bianco walking on his 2 front paws (finally managed to post a video on Bianco walking on his two front... guess that the video size shouldn't be huge)
2nd to 4th Video: Bianco walking, dragging his hind legs
We have been trying to get Bianco to pee standing on the newspapers in the kitchen every now and then. As he can stand on his two front legs, we just need to lift his hind legs waiting for him to pee. He still need some help to empty his bladder, therefore we would need to express his pee. By getting him to pee on the newspapers, it will help us to reduce the use of pee pads and also hopefully help him to recognize where his usual pee spot is before the accident.
The last few days as he empty his bladder at about 11pm, most of the night, he did not soil his diapers. First thing in the morning when I wake up at 6.15am, I would bring him to the newspapers, pull his diapers off quickly and get him to pee.
Saturday, after his usual morning pee on the newspapers, I placed him down on his mattress and when he heard Tequila's bell from my parent's room, he wanted to walk over to their room. When he reached there, he started whining. We thought that he wanted my mum to carry him (as he always do that)... she did and he shitted on her bed. Luckily his stools were hard, so it did not stain much. However, I think he, whinning at that time, was an indication that he wanted to poo.
Tis morning, the same thing happened. At 7plus in the morning, he was whining quite desperately that I woke up from my sleep. I carried him and rushed him to the kitchen. Unfortunately I didn't notice that his 'little brother' was out from the diapers and as he couldn't control any longer, he started spurting his urine along the route to the kitchen. Because of the little mess he made along the way, a cleaning session has to be done after everything.
Bianco's accupuncture on Saturday was an easy one for him. Unlike his Wednesday session, he was pretty relax and was almost dozing off during his accupuncture. When Dr Oh took out the needles from him, one of them close extracted close to his spinal cord actually started bleeding. He said tat it was bad blood......and sometimes, such things occur when there is an increase flow of blood travelling within. However, there is nothing to worry. The next day, I notice that there was a little bruise in that area. There was no pain as I pressed a little to test it. So I reckon Bianco would be alright.
Dr Oh asked a lot of questions that day; questions like: Is Bianco depressed at home? Is his stool alright? How is his appetite? Was he more active and starting to have more movements? All questions got positive answers..... and Dr Oh is more optimistic this time about Bianco's condition. He even emphasized that Bianco's left hind is stronger and that it is normal for dogs to try to start the use of their third leg when they are ready. He even added that once Bianco can use his left hind, it'll be approx another month before he will start using his right hind.
Am really looking forward for the day to come when Bianco can use the third leg and then following that.. the fourth. Hope that I don't have to wait too long for that to happen... perhaps in about 2 mths time?
Anyway, I guess that you all would agree that there is a great improvement on Bianco's conditions based on the pictures and videos that you have seen.
Last week, on Saturday, during Bianco's first accupuncture session, we saw a dog, about 3 times Bianco's size.... he too had an operation on the spinal cord. It's been a week since and Concordia was telling me just yesterday that that dog wasn't as lucky as Bianco. They have been trying to pinch him on his hind for the whole week and till now, there hasn't been any response.
I do hope that this dog will recover soon and at least get back the use of his 3rd leg. I also hope that this dog's owner wouldn't put him/her down without trying. But I guess letting him/her go through a surgery is a chance given.
As I have said many times... Bianco's recovery or even being alive is a blessing ...and will always be a blessing.....regardless of how his eventual recovery will be......
Bianco's Update from Home - July 17 till 18
Picture: Bianco with some allergies on his skin
The next two days, whenever we opened the door, Bianco would be close to the gate at the kitchen. Guess he must be there so that he will be close to Tequila.
We kept Tequila in the kitchen as we don't want him to jump on Tequila or be rough on him. The diapers worn on him during the day when we are not at home didn't really help much. When we return home from work, his diapers will always be off or either that, his 'little bro' will be out in the open.
Either way, each time back home, we would have to clean up the entire floor and also Bianco. He has also started to get some rashes between his scrotum and inner thighs. We are trying to contain his rashes with some antiseptic wash and cream given by Dr Tan's assistant.
On Friday, when we are back from work, we notice that a floor mat left near the chair in the living area will damped in pee. What we gather is that perhaps Bianco may have gone on it and peed on it so that it'll absorb his pee, keeping him dry.
We have also noticed that with the pee on his the last few days, it may have also started some allergies on his skin as you can see in the picture attached. We are actually quite hesitant to apply more creams on him as having pee on his will always be existing till the day he can start walking and pee on his own.
Bianco's Update from Home - July 16
Bianco went for his second accupuncture today.
The accupuncturist (Dr Oh) was asking my brother if Bianco is more active after his first session on Saturday and he was informed positively. Dr Oh said that there some slight improvements from the last session and that we should keep a lookout to see if there would be any other improvements.
Based on Dr Oh's observation, he said that Bianco's left hind is going to be stronger than his right hind. However, we told him that Bianco would always straighten his left hind and lock it whenever he wants to move.
Whenever Bianco tries to stand on all fours, he would use his left hind to help support but his right hind would be pulled back up, suspended midair.
Bianco wasn't as comfortable as he was the first time round. As feedbacked by my brother, he seems to want to move away from Dr Oh and each time Dr Oh inserts a needle, he'll try to move away from him. Which is unusual as we had no problems with him when he went through his first session.
P.S I do apologize for the late update as during the weekdays, am hardly at home due to work. Therefore, may miss out certin of his progress or actions while at work. Therefore, do be patient with me and will definitely update all of you accordingly.
The accupuncturist (Dr Oh) was asking my brother if Bianco is more active after his first session on Saturday and he was informed positively. Dr Oh said that there some slight improvements from the last session and that we should keep a lookout to see if there would be any other improvements.
Based on Dr Oh's observation, he said that Bianco's left hind is going to be stronger than his right hind. However, we told him that Bianco would always straighten his left hind and lock it whenever he wants to move.
Whenever Bianco tries to stand on all fours, he would use his left hind to help support but his right hind would be pulled back up, suspended midair.
Bianco wasn't as comfortable as he was the first time round. As feedbacked by my brother, he seems to want to move away from Dr Oh and each time Dr Oh inserts a needle, he'll try to move away from him. Which is unusual as we had no problems with him when he went through his first session.
P.S I do apologize for the late update as during the weekdays, am hardly at home due to work. Therefore, may miss out certin of his progress or actions while at work. Therefore, do be patient with me and will definitely update all of you accordingly.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Bianco's Update from Home - July 14 till 15
Its two days that he has been left alone at home and each day when we come back... theres a lot of cleaning for us to do.
Initially we were concerned that Bianco will bark when no one is at home... but the last 2 days.. he was pretty alright and just slept.
My dad came back to check on his mid day and yesterday, wiped him clean and changed his diapers. I guess that my dad didn't know how to put the diapers on him properly... when we came back... his diaper was on the flr, off him and he was soiled with his urine, lying on his pee. We have to clean him up and wash the flr thoroughly. It didn't really take us long... about 30mins to attend to him before making dinner for him and Tequila.
Monday night, I showed my dad how to put on Bianco's diapers...... Tuesday, he did that... but when we came back.. diaper was on but his little 'bro' was out peeping! LOL.... and yes, he soiled a couple of places but didn't really soil himself much. Cleaning was much easier and we had to once again sanitize the flr.
Each day when I come home, besides looking forward to seeing him everyday after work.... am also thinking what kinda mess he'll make. To me, the mess he make is secondary.. but seeing him after work... is something that gets me going and looking forward to seeing him somewhere around the house.
Today, when we opened the main door, he was there greeting us. God knows how he got there..but I guess when he heard our keys ... he must have rushed there.. or perhaps even drag himself to the door real fast.
He can move really fast even from crawling.... that is why we must never leave him out of our sight when he is placed on the bed... just in case......
Initially we were concerned that Bianco will bark when no one is at home... but the last 2 days.. he was pretty alright and just slept.
My dad came back to check on his mid day and yesterday, wiped him clean and changed his diapers. I guess that my dad didn't know how to put the diapers on him properly... when we came back... his diaper was on the flr, off him and he was soiled with his urine, lying on his pee. We have to clean him up and wash the flr thoroughly. It didn't really take us long... about 30mins to attend to him before making dinner for him and Tequila.
Monday night, I showed my dad how to put on Bianco's diapers...... Tuesday, he did that... but when we came back.. diaper was on but his little 'bro' was out peeping! LOL.... and yes, he soiled a couple of places but didn't really soil himself much. Cleaning was much easier and we had to once again sanitize the flr.
Each day when I come home, besides looking forward to seeing him everyday after work.... am also thinking what kinda mess he'll make. To me, the mess he make is secondary.. but seeing him after work... is something that gets me going and looking forward to seeing him somewhere around the house.
Today, when we opened the main door, he was there greeting us. God knows how he got there..but I guess when he heard our keys ... he must have rushed there.. or perhaps even drag himself to the door real fast.
He can move really fast even from crawling.... that is why we must never leave him out of our sight when he is placed on the bed... just in case......
Bianco's Update from Home - July 13
1st Picture: Bianco's fur plucked from his ears and cotton buds showing how dirty his ears are
Video: Bianco using his right hind leg to scratch his ear
Have been trying to upload a video on Bianco walking with his 2 front paws but to no avail. Been trying for the whole day. Will see if I can convert it to AVI format before trying to upload again :)
It has been more than a mth since Bianco's accident and it has been longer since his ears were cleaned. With all the hydrotherapy and showers... his ears smelled a little foul. So I decided to powder the inside of his ears and pluck his fur out. Look at all the 'treasures' found in Picture 1 :) hahhahaa.......to end it off, a liquid antiseptic was used to ensure that it helps to ease off any infections.
Bianco has been trying to walk on his own. However, he is just as happy walking on two legs as it gives him freedom to move. Will try to take another video of him walking on his two front and load it up sooner. Perhaps its the file that is too big for upload.
Holding his hinds and walking with him have been also tiring as we have to bend our backs and follow him from behind. Sometimes, he gets excited and starts running. Looking at this, there is definitely no doubt of some improvements on his motor skills.
At night while he was resting on the bed, he was trying to entertain himself and his right ear itch.... he lifted up his right hind leg to reach his ear and luckily, the camera was just next to the bed.. I managed to take a shot of the video...
He's due for another accupuncture this Wednesday. Will have to see how much accupuncture can help him and hopefully it does.
Right now, am trying to get him to pee on the newspapers (every 2-3hrs and of course with our help to hold his hind) in the kitchen. At least it is something familiar to him and at the same time.. it can help to slightly reduce the use of pee pads. It is also more hygienic this way as the pee will not be in contact with his stomach.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Bianco's Update from Home - July 12
1st Picture: Bianco in his 'Mercedes Benz'
2nd to 4th Picture: Bianco undergoing accupuncture
Video: Bianco under Electrolysis
5th Picture: Bianco doing hydrotherapy 3 hrs after accupuncture
Bianco's appointment with Dr Oh, the accupuncturist, was at 10am. Having met with Dr Oh, he went through Bianco's x-ray and also his current condition on how much has he improved.
He tried standing Bianco up and was rather optimistic about his condition. He said that he never believe in putting an animal down unless really necessary. He would try his best to do whatever he could through accupuncture to help an animal. He has been working in the Zoo for many years and have been accupuncturing both humans and all kind of animals in his line of job. To me, I thought he sounded really experience and was glad that such a type of specialization exist so that more animals can be helped.
Initally when Bianco saw Dr Oh, he looked very worried and flustered and was trying to move from the table. But after the needles were in and Dr Oh sent little waves of currents, Bianco was more relaxed and even rested his chin on the towel that we have prepared for him. The session took 15mins. After the session, Dr Oh said that Bianco needs to consume some chinese herbal medicine which will help his kidneys and joints. We were also advised to only do hydrotherapy 3 hrs later after an accupuncture.
Bianco has to go back for two sessions of accupuncture per week and Dr Oh will explain on his improvements each time we go back. A 15min session of accupuncture costs about $86 and his chinese medicine... $130 for 130pills which he has to take 6 each day!.....
We bought Bianco to Holland Village for lunch before going back for his hydrotherapy. Him being in his 'Mercedes Benz' brought on a lot of attention. Two kinds of ppl... one kind that think we are nuts and the other think that its cute to see him in a pram.... not knowing that he cannot walk.....
At about 1pm we went back to Mt Pleasant for Bianco's hydrotherapy. We thought that he'll be looking forward to it.. but he looked scared. He was shivering and his hydrotherapy only lasted 15mins as we did not want to stress him out too much. His front paws were paddling but his hind legs were just floating and his lower half body was just flipping from side to side.
At the end of the day, he was just so smashed out that he was sleeping most of the rest of the day.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Bianco's Update from Home - July 9
Tried updating some videos to show yer guys how bianco used his right hind leg to push himself.. unfortunately trying a few times.. it wasn't successful.
Not too sure if it was bcoz of the size of the video... (does anyone know?)
Anyway there isn't really much update as we're still exercising him regularly and also trying to get him to stand whenever possible. But it seems that it is tiring Bianco out quite a bit as most of his weight is all to his front two paws.
He is getting more excited now and tries to get up on his own... but still unable to. Our concern is that he may just topple over or even sprain his hind legs by doing so, as most of the times, he is dragging his hind legs.
Will keep trying to upload the videos if possible... as from the video you can see that hes trying to use his right hind to push himself forward.
Updates will come soon.... I do apologize for the delay as been spending time taking care of him after work and too tired to do anything much at night.
Not too sure if it was bcoz of the size of the video... (does anyone know?)
Anyway there isn't really much update as we're still exercising him regularly and also trying to get him to stand whenever possible. But it seems that it is tiring Bianco out quite a bit as most of his weight is all to his front two paws.
He is getting more excited now and tries to get up on his own... but still unable to. Our concern is that he may just topple over or even sprain his hind legs by doing so, as most of the times, he is dragging his hind legs.
Will keep trying to upload the videos if possible... as from the video you can see that hes trying to use his right hind to push himself forward.
Updates will come soon.... I do apologize for the delay as been spending time taking care of him after work and too tired to do anything much at night.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Bianco's Update from Home - July 5 till 7
1st Picture: Bianco trying to crawl
2nd Picture: Tequila and Bianco sleeping on my bed
1st Video: Bianco pushing himself up for awhile when he sees food
2nd Video: Using of snack to motivate Bianco to walk in water
3rd Video: Bianco entertaining himself
We went to see the surgeon last Saturday and when he checked on Bianco he said that Bianco has gain some strength.. but its still not enough to support his back or even stand on his own. However, he can stiffen his legs straight to support his back for a while.. but still very wobbly.
He has also stronger resistance on his right hind compared to the last few days and his pullback when tickled is more apparent. Right now, we are using the same method to just trigger him to pull back his left hind leg.
The only thing that can excite him is food. Only the use of food will encourage him to move himself. It is the only thing that can keep him alert. Otherwise when we come back from work, he'll be excited only for awhile... which ends up peeing on himself due to him being too excited to see us.
We have also made an appt with the accupunturist tis coming Saturday to speak to him on Bianco's condition and to see what is his suggestion. Most likely is that we'll put him through accupuncture treatment.
While we were at the hospital, there were some intersting animals that we met:
1) A jack russell that just went into full paralysis for no reason. After 3 mths of accupuncture, the JR can walk and even run and jump up and down chairs in the hospital
2) An owner actually brought her rabbits in for accupunture as it has also lost the use of its limbs
3) A golden retreiver who was there to do her hydrotherapy and her owner is going into the pool with her to motivate her (I will do that with Bianco this saturday as we got the idea from her. Dr Tan said that Bianco is a lazy swimmer... so I guess that we have to find alternatives to motivate him)
4) A JR was brought in as his hind legs suddenly went limb during a jog with its owner in the morning. The JR is unable to move and just laid on the flr.....
** Apparently what we found out was that conditions like these are very common in JRs.... so to all those owners with JRs... please take note yea....
Friday, July 4, 2008
Bianco's Update from Home - July 2 till 4
Picture 1 and 2: A walker made by my Dad for Bianco
Video: Bianco trying on the walker, but it is of a better use to support him so that we can do leg exercise for him
It's been 3 days since the last update.
The above was made by my Dad about 2 days ago. Initially when we introduce it to Bianco, he was skeptical and really scared about sitting on the walker. He cannot balance himself and each time he moves, he'll pull his body towards the front of the walker which can be rather dangerous. Therefore, he has to be fully supervised whenever its in use.
Today, he is more comfortable with the walker. But after a while, when he gets tired, he'll just lay limp on it while I massage his hind legs. In fact, I feel that instead of using it as a walker, it is better as a support to sit him in so that we do not need to have 2 person holding him and 1 person massaging his hind legs.
Bianco's bowel has been pretty good and everyday, he got some output...... and today.. interestingly, he output when I put him on the walker.... it was easy to clean him up.
Each time when I massage his hind legs, I would tickle him to see how his response towards the tickle is like. Today, he was able to pull back his right hind leg away from me when I tickle him. However, it was not so apparent on his left hind.
Tis morning, he surprised me by using his right hind leg to reach his ears and was trying scratch them. He managed to reached his ear... however, was unable to scratch it as there wasn't enough strength for that action to be made. In the end, I have to help him scratch his ear :)
It's close to a week since he came back from the hospital and tomorrow, we have another appt with Dr Tan for his follow up. Will have to update Dr Tan on his progress for the week and also find out what is wrong with Bianco's bark as it is almost inaudible. However, he is still able to yap pretty loudly........
I do see some slight improvements day to day and hope that he can regain some strength on his hind legs esp his left one. Guess we'll only know in due time........
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Bianco's Update from Home - July 1
Picture: Bianco under his blanket
Top Video: Bianco playing around with his blanket
Centre Video: Bianco eating some snacks
Bottom Video: Bianco hates being blown at....
It's 2 weeks since his surgery and 4 days since he's been home. I am on leave starting afternoon today so that at least the next 5 days, there will be another person to take care of him other than Davion.
Hes been doing well so far but there isn't much improvement on him being able to walk. He was playing around with me after I got home and we took an afternoon nap together on the flr, including Tequila.
After his nap, we made him stand on all fours again and after resting for abt 45mins, I tried putting him in a bath tub filled with water. His hind legs are still not moving, but he used his front legs to stand in the water. We're not too sure when he'll start using his hind legs but we're trying to see what we can do to get him to hopefully use them as they're still limp.
However, I notice that he is getting into this bad habit of licking his little brother very often especially when he is leaking. So each time, we'll try to express out his urine to prevent him from doing that, or at least use his lickinn as an indiccation that theres still urine in his bladder.
Tis evening while he was happily eating.. he startin pooing at the same time, yet he didn't even try stopping for while .... it stained his sheets and we had to stop him from eating, change his sheets before he went back to eating.... well.. at least he poo-ed.....
Will see tomorrow how else to motivate him to move as currently, the only motivation is food... but we cant be using that as a form of motivation or him....
Will update yer guys soon... till then.....
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