Sabrina's Adventures

Hospital Again

Diesel is at the ER again. Yesterday afternoon, he had 3 seizures, one of them on the way to the ER. I will be able to get him after noon today. He was doing so well on just 1 pill a day; however, I feel like he now will have to stay on 4 pills a day. They said there is another medicine, Potassium Bromide, that he can take with his phenobarbital that will help with the seizures and eventually reduce the phenobarbital that he has to take.

Please pray for him and hopefully things will get better.

The Aftermath

Diesel came home yesterday morning and is totally fine. No pain pills, no crying, just his normal self. His phenobarbital did have to be increased per his vet; but only for 2 weeks and then back to normal.

He will have his stitches taken out next Saturday, the 7th and hopefully, nothing else will he have to endure.

Thanks for everyone's thoughts and prayers.

Another Surgery

For over a month now, Diesel has had a bump on his upper lip. I've watched it to make sure it doesn't get bigger and it hasn't but it hasn't gone away either. I took him to the vet and they suggested we do surgery to have it removed. They think it's a benign tumor, but better safe than sorry.

Yesterday, Diesel had surgery. I was really scared that his lip would look deformed because they had to cut out the tumor and then stitch his lip back together. When we picked him up, his lip looked great!! You couldn't even tell where it had been stitched up.

Once we got home, I watched him and it wasn't a happy time for all. He was in pain and started crying (howling) and he has never done that before. Then I couldn't calm him down enough that he started having seizures. I know he was having the seizures because he was scared. Every time his lip would hurt, he would start backing up (backing away from the pain) and then within minutes he would have a seizure. He ended up having 5 seizures within an hour.

We ended up taking him to the ER Vet and they kept him over night for observation. (they actually called while I was typing this). She said he is doing good and seems to be back to normal. The only thing is this morning once they took his catheter out, he wouldn't stop bleeding; however, he is fine now and I can come pick him up.

So, I'm off to get ready to go get my baby dog.

Health Update

Just wanted to keep you updated on Diesel and his health. Since Feb., he has had only 1 seizure and I think we finally figured out what happened. We have always given him the 94 cent bag of treats from Walmart(not Walmart brand), but we are now thinking we were giving him too much and whatever was in it; was making him have seizures.

He no longer gets those treats anymore; he does still get bone treats though. We have taken him down to just 1 pill a day and he seems to be doing fine. After a month of being seizure free; we'll see what the vet says about it and how to wean him off the meds.

I'm so happy that we've finally figured out what was wrong with our baby and he is getting better and can live a good healthy life.

If anyone gives their dog the Canine Carry Out Treats; beware of over feeding.

Another Thought

It has been going on 7 weeks since Diesel had his last seizure and another thought hit me last week.

When we first got Diesel, we were giving him these treats about 4-5 times a day. Well, recently, I haven't been buying these treats and when I do; I only give him about 3 of them maybe twice a week. So, I'm on a mission now. I've reduced Diesel's medicine to 2 times a day(was on 4 times a day) and so far so good. I let the vet know about my theory and he agreed with me that it could be the treats.

I just gave Diesel the last of his treats(3 pieces) and will be monitoring him to see if I see any signs of seizures. My neighbor brought up the fact that these treats have a lot of sugar in them; so that got me and mom thinking, "I wonder if he was having a diabetic attack when he was having his seizures?".

Well, keep Diesel in your prayers as we would love to be able to know what causes these seizures and hopefully, one day, get him off his meds and him be 100% healthy again.

Dale Jr Wins the Bud Shootout

I used to be a huge Nascar fan; would never miss a race and went to several races a year. Once Dale Earnhardt passed away, racing was never the same for me. I picked up cheering for Dale Jr and still enjoyed racing, it just wasn't the same.

Over the past few years; I've slowly grown away from watching it on tv. In 2008 though, Dale Jr was driving for a new team and I thought I'd give it a shot and really be faithful to it this year.

I watched the Bud Shootout and Dale Jr won with his new Hendrick Motorsport Team.

I will admit I only watched up until about lap 50 (there were only 70 laps) and I fell asleep. I will watch the Big Daytona 500 next weekend though.

Is Nascar back to where it isn't so boring anymore?

Poor Baby

As I write this; Diesel is at the ER Pet Hospital. He has been there since last night. Let me start from the beginning.

We give Diesel his medicine every 12 hours, which is normally between 6:30-7:00 am and then again 6:30-7:00 pm. After dinner, I went out to give Diesel his medicine and he was acting funny. He was acting like there was something in the room with us and it was after him. I knew then something was wrong. Diesel started slowing just shaking his head and then he went down to the floor and started having a seizure. I went to get Shane and Shane talked him out of it. It only lasted at the most a minute. We were able to give him some treats along with his pill. We made sure he was fine and went inside. We still watched him very closely and within minutes; he had another seizure, then another and then yet another.

He had 4 seizures all within a 30 minute of each other. We immediately called the ER vet and was told to bring him in. After his seizures; he often can't see and is disoriented, so Shane was walking him to the car. Well, he walked right off our retaining wall. It's about a 3 foot drop!! Scared me to death; but he was okay. I think by being out of it saved him from getting hurt. I don't know though.

Anyway, we took him to the vet and they wanted to keep him for observation overnight. They put an IV in his little paw in case he had a seizure they were ready to shoot him with Valium. The vet there really didn't do what I expected; however, I spoke with my normal vet's office and they said all they are meant to do is stable the pet and then you take him to your normal vet the next day. (i still don't agree with it).

So, I'll be taking Diesel to Dr. Martin this morning at 10:30 to get his blood levels checked. This is all just so stressful watching your dog have to go thru this. It's very scary when he has a seizure and just very frustrating not knowing why this is happening.

If anyone knows anything about Bulldogs and seizures; please contact me. I welcome all advise.

Updates

I haven't really been doing much of anything on here since I started working from home. It seems I'm working over my 40 hours and it really doesn't bother me. I really enjoy my job!!!

Anyway, back to Diesel....

He is still having about one seizure every 2-3 weeks even though he's still taking his medicine. He had a really bad seizure last week so the vet said to up his meds to 2 pills a day, every 12 hours. So far, so good.

Diesel is just such a loving dog; I hate to see him having seizures. It really affects him afterwards. He's very drowsy and can't see good afterwards and runs into things. This last time, he barked at Shane like he didn't know him. We are guessing it's because he couldn't really see Shane. We stay with him until we know he's back to normal.

My work desk is set up in Ashley's room, so at night, I bring Diesel in for a couple of hours and let him get warmed up. He automatically goes straight to the lower bunk bed and lays there. In no time, he's out like a light and snoring his little heart away.

Here he is sleeping away and dreaming of Paris....

Devil Diesel

Diesel likes wearing clothes...if I say, "Diesel, want momma to put on your shirt?", he'll come right to me and sit like he is saying, "Yes". Last year, I just bought him a Halloween shirt, but this year, I got him a devil costume. He is the most precious thing I've ever seen; but I'll let you decide for yourself.

Another episode

We took Diesel to the vet Saturday and he checked out fine. He weighs 76.2 lbs and the vet actually doted on him for being in such great shape. He said you can really tell he is well taken care of. My reply, "He's spoiled". Anyway, we told him about Diesel getting choked and he said just to watch him; but he didn't see anything wrong. He did say, Diesel's tonsils were swollen and big but he wasn't going to treat him for it since he wasn't showing any signs of being sick.

Diesel has been fine since last Saturday when we thought he had gotten choked. Well, last night, Shane told me to go check on Diesel because he heard something. Sure enough he was having another episode. It wasn't as bad as last and I didn't panic; but Shane cleared his throat again and he was fine, just disoriented. Shane said he didn't think he had choked on anything but something is definitely wrong now. We kept him inside most of the night. I woke up at 6:15 this morning and Shane wasn't in bed. I looked thru the house and he wasn't anywhere to be found. I went to check on Diesel and Shane was sleeping in Diesel's room with him. awww

Anyway, I thought of something last night and am planning on taking off from work today to take Diesel back to the vet. Last month, we switched Diesel from Pedigree to Iams dog food. I wonder if that is what is causing the episodes?

I'm hoping to find something out this morning at the vet.

Big Scare

Today is supposed to be a nice relaxing day off from work to just relax and/or have fun with family and friends.

Our friends, Don and Mariel and their son, Conner, came over and we had a good time together. Mariel tried on her maid of honor dress and we just basically had a good time relaxing and chatting.

After they left, I went into the kitchen and heard a weird noise. I asked Shane if it was him and after no answer; I looked out at Diesel. What I saw absolutely shocked me and about made me have a heart-attack. Diesel was having a convlusion. I yelled something is wrong with Diesel and Shane went running.

I was crying hysterically and ran to get my vet's phone number. I couldn't bare to see Diesel like that and just stayed away from him and let Shane handle everything.

The vet's office was closed but they tried to calm me down and gave me the number to their emergency clinic. In the meantime, Shane came inside with Diesel and said he is pretty sure he was choking on something.

He was able to get whatever was blocking Diesel's airway out and Diesel is fine now. I'm keeping a watch on him; but so far, he is fine.

He just scared momma and daddy but we are Thankful he is fine now.

Vote for Me

Diesel is now featured on Gotpetsonline.com and please go check him out and vote for him for Pet of the Day/Week and Month. He would love you for your vote.

He'd love you without the vote because he loves every one he meets. He's our precious baby dog.

Thanks for your vote!!!!

Getting to be a Big DOG

Diesel will be 1 year old on May 28th. He is so big now too; he weighs about 73 lbs. He is such a sweet dog though, just a big ole baby. Here's a picture of him at The Battlefield in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.

Puppies For Sale

No, Diesel isn't for sale...Never, no way, not in a million.
Neapolitan Mastiff puppies are so cute and they are a part of the Bulldog family. They are so precious, all wrinkly and just down right adorable.

Again, I wouldn't trade Diesel in a million years; but these fellows are so cute. Check out the site if you are interested in an adorable puppy. These puppies come from Champion Bloodlines and are actually listed as their color is BLUE.

A D O R A B L E!!!!

What a great Christmas (late) or Birthday present for somebody.

this is a sponsored post

Diesel & Santa

Well, all went well at PetSmart today with Santa. Diesel was great and as usual, everyone loved him. He now weighs 57.5 lbs. and we got a new bed and he loves it. Hasn't peed on it yet. (keeping my fingers crossed)

Anyway, here's the picture of Diesel & Santa; oh yea and Ashley too. hahaha

Diesel & Santa

Tomorrow morning, we are taking Diesel to meet Santa. He is going to get his picture made with Santa and I'm so anxious to see how he acts around him. Normally Diesel is so loving and just loves everyone; but who knows, he is getting bigger.

Last week when Shane took him for a walk; someone wanted to pet him and he actually growled at the guy. He has never growled at anyone before; not even another animal. Well, there was this one time with a cat...but that's another story for another time.

Anyway, we are also going to get him a new bed tomorrow and tonight will be his first night without a bed whatsoever. I'm so hoping he won't pee in this bed. Shane said he is peeing on his bed because we've scolded him about peeing on the carpet.

I just don't know but I hope a visit with Santa and a new bed will be just the right medicine that the Vet ordered.

And, yes, I will be posting his picture with Santa tomorrow.

Another Tooth

Diesel is so much like a new baby it isn't funny. He lost his 3rd tooth yesterday and it really scared me.

The previous 2 teeth didn't bleed; so when we saw blood on him we(well, I) freaked out.

I had just picked Ashley up from school and she went to play with him and said he had blood all over his arm(front paw). I immediately freaked out, yelling for Shane. When we went to Diesel's room, there was a stick in there with blood on it. I'm still freaking out until Shane finally gets a hold of Diesel and sees that his mouth is bleeding. We finally found the tooth and got him all cleaned up.

He's also wetting his bed. He has finally stopped using the bathroom on my carpet in the laundry room; but all of a sudden he is peeing on his bed. And I don't mean just a little, he's using his bed as the bathroom for peeing now. I just don't know what to do.

We are going this weekend to buy him his 4th bed and hopefully this will be his last for a while.

He is a baby for sure; but he's my little(big) baby!!

Diesel & His Bed

Diesel is now 6 months old and has his own little personality. I told you about how he has chewed up 2 beds within the last 2 weeks; well, after the 2nd bed, I didn't buy him a new one.

Diesel has a blanket that I cover him up with at night and most of the time, he keeps it on him and sleeps with it. Well, after the 2nd bed got the stuffing chewed out; I wrapped his blanket around it and just made him sleep on his blanket.

Last night, I look out to check on him and he has the blanket off the back part of the bed and his hind legs in the bed and then his body laying on his blanket across the bed. He's use to being covered up, so we figured he chewed his bed in order to keep warm by being able to put his legs inside it.

So, last night, I took a sheet and wrapped his bed up in it so that he could have his blanket back as a cover. What's weird is every time I wash his blanket or put something new on his bed, he pees on it. I know he's just marking his territory; but he's stinking everything up. I just don't know what to do with him.

I think Santa needs to bring him one of the nested beds. This is the type of bed we bought him when we first brought him home and he loved it. Didn't destroy it or pee on it.

Santa, are you listening?

Doggie Bed Problems

Okay, we are having major bed problems with Diesel. When we first got Diesel, we got him one of those enclosed wool-type beds and he played with it but never destroyed it.

Now that he is bigger, we had to get him another bed. The enclosed ones are too expensive for his size; so we bought him one of those pillow-type beds that are only $10 at Walgreens. The first one, yes there has been more than one, got demolished. I'm talking about every stitch of stuffing out of it and thrown all over my laundry room.

Well, last night, I stopped at Walgreens again and bought him another one. It lasted ONE day. I came home tonight and all the stuffing was all over the floor again. Diesel and his daddy had a long talk and I stuffed the pillow back together and wrapped his blanket around it. He's laying on it; but how long it will last is up in the air.

Does anyone have any suggestions on a good, durable, kinda cheap doggie bed? If so, I would love to hear them.

Update

Diesel went to the Vet this morning and everyone at PetSmart just loves him. This one lady wanted to trade her Yorkie for my Diesel!!! I was like, no.

Anyway, Diesel weighs 47.2 lbs. now. He's doing his spa thing and we will pick up back up later this afternoon.

He'll be so excited to see his mommy and daddy.

Diesel's Day at The Spa

Tomorrow, we take Diesel to the vet and it will be his last shot for a year. He's getting to be such a big dog.

I can't wait to see how much he weighs. Of course, he'll go back for regular check ups; but no more shots.

They say the shots don't hurt him because he has such thick skin; but it makes me feel better to know he doesn't have to have anymore for a while.

He'll get his monthly treatment of a bath, brushing, clipping, ear cleaning and smell good stuff. They usually give him a bandana afterwards too. He's like his day at the spa.

Healthy Living

We brought Diesel in tonight and measured him. He is 32 inches long and his chest is 29 inches around. He is about 19 inches tall. He's getting to be a big doggie.

Since we put him outside during the day, the bottom of his paws are getting rough. I try to keep his nails trimmed, his coat brushed and his breath fresh with treats for fresh breath. He's an overall good dog to maintain and his personality is great.

While I was on N101 Nutrition looking for some medicine for Shane, I ran across this medicine called Paw Saver.

It soothes cracked, chapped, dry paws and supports healing of any irritations he may get while playing outside. I have to take care of my baby.

Traveling with Diesel

Saturday, we are going to my sister's house up in Westmoreland, TN. It is a 3 hour drive from Chattanooga and since Shane is also going; we are taking Diesel with us.

Diesel's not a big fan of riding in the car, but I'm hoping he'll sleep most of the way. I know it will take us longer to get there because we'll have to stop with him and let him go potty, but it will be worth it to have him with us.

My sister and her family haven't seen Diesel in person yet, just via photos. Anyone have any suggestions for making the car ride smoother for him?

First Night In the House

As I've stated before Diesel is not an outside dog, meaning he can't live outside. Living in our laundry room was fine in the summertime because it was cool out there for him; however, now that it is cold; it's too cold for him.

Last night, we decided to bring him in the house to sleep. We cleared out everything from the master bath and put his dog gate up and his bed and Squirrel in there and then put him in there. He was hesitant at first, but Shane eventually got him in there.

I went to bed at the same time so he wouldn't be lonely. He whined a little at first, but I just kept talking to him until I fell asleep. He was good all night. Once he settled down, he got on his bed and went to sleep. He didn't whine anymore at all.

This morning when I got up, I had to wake him up to take him outside to potty. He went right outside and pottied. During the day, he's fine staying in the laundry room and going back and forth outside; but at night time, I think he's got a new room.

New Bed for a Big Dog

Diesel has outgrown his bed we bought him when we first got him 2 months ago. He is getting to be a very big doggie.

Dog beds are NOT cheap. I mean at this store in Lexington, the size that Diesel would need was $65. We decided against that one; so my mom kept saying, "Maybe he'll get one for Christmas".

Before we finally got home today, we stopped at the dollar store and found one for him for $15. What a deal and he seems like he liked it.

He's so spoiled!

First Loose Tooth

First of all, let me start off by saying; I didn't know puppies lost their baby teeth.

When I got home today, Shane told me that one of Diesel's K-9 teeth was loose. Of course, we couldn't keep Diesel still enough to look at it; but how neat.

Shane said Diesel was kind of winey today and chewing funny so Shane looked at his mouth and found the tooth loose. I think that is neat that he "almost" goes thru the same things as a baby. Of course, he is my baby.

Anyway, I will miss him this weekend as I go on my semi-vacation to Lexington, KY.

PS: Shane had a job interview so please pray that if it's meant to be, he will get this job.

Getting to Be A Big Boy

Diesel went to his last vet appt. until February of 2007. He now weighs 42.6 lbs. and is in good health. He is all caught up on all his vaccinations and is getting to be a big boy.

Everytime we take him to the vet and get him groomed; everyone just dotes on him. They love him because he is so loving.

He's getting a little better in the car and this evening, we brought him in the house and he was a good boy. He even let us know when he needed to go out. I took him right out and he was right; he did need to go out.

He's my baby and he's a keeper.

It's Getting Cold Outside

Diesel is NOT an outside dog; meaning, he can't live outside all the time. Bulldogs aren't made to live outside. He gets really cold if it's cold and really hot if it's warm outside.

Last night when I came home around 7 pm, I put him in and his ears were cold. I told Shane we needed to put a blanket out there(laundry room) for him. He has a bed that is toasty warm so he has been sleeping in it instead of the floor. I found an old, but warm, blanket and covered him up last night. Eventually the blanket came off sometime in the night; but he looks so dang cute all cozy in his bed with his blankie.

Call Off the Hunt, Squirrel Has Been Found

This afternoon I went to talk Diesel for a walk. When I walked out onto the deck, I saw squirrel laying in the yard.

I think Diesel took the squirrel under the deck. There is about a foot of space under our deck that he sometimes goes under for whatever reason.

Anyway, squirrel has been found and I know Diesel was happy that we could play together with the squirrel.

Where is My Squirrel?

Diesel has several chew toys and then his stuffed brother, but the night we got Diesel we bought him several things at PetSmart and one of the things included this stuffed squirrel.

If you know me, I love the squirrels in my yard and then the ones that play on my bird feeder.

Well, Diesel loves this squirrel. He always takes him in his bed with him and ends up sleeping with him. Since he has been staying outside during the day, he took Squirrel with one yesterday.

Shane and I play with him with the squirrel. We'll throw it, he'll go get it and then bring it back to us. Last night when we went to let Diesel in, squirrel was missing. We took a flashlight and went outside and looked everywhere for this squirrel. We couldn't find it anywhere.

Diesel slept without his squirrel for first time. This morning when I took Diesel out, I looked for squirrel again; I cannot find that squirrel anywhere.

Is it possible that a real squirrel carried it off?

New Play Area

Diesel is really an inside dog; however, I don't love dogs that much so we keep him in our laundry room. Don't get me wrong, our laundry room is really huge and is basically inside. It has a vent for heating and air; so I know he is comfortable in there.

The problem I have is the potty situation. At first, he was using pee pads but then he began to chew those up even though he has plenty of chew toys.

We finally fixed our fence so that when we leave in the mornings, Diesel can be put outside to play in the yard all day.

This has worked great and actually has eliminated the potty problems in my laundry room.

So, Diesel has a new play area and I have my laundry room back. Well, during the day anyway.

How Diesel Got His Name

When Shane and I talked about getting a dog; we knew 2 things that were a definite. He had to be an English Bulldog and it had to be a male.

We had discussed names once and Shane said he liked the name Samson for a male dog because it was a strong name and Bulldogs are very strong.

I liked Samson, but knew I'd end up calling him Sam. So one day when I was researching English Bulldogs, I came across a picture of a puppy named Diesel. Instantly, I fell in love with the name and that is how Deisel got his name.

When we picked him up, we already had a dog tag made for him with his name on it. We knew he would be a Diesel and he is.

This website Alldognames.com - Dog Names is just like a baby name website giving you ideas for dog names and how they rank.

I checked it out to see if Diesel was on there and guess what?

Diesel wasn't even in the Top 20; nor was his name even on the site at all. That's good because it means it's an original.

Did your dog's name make the Top 20 list?

Cutest Puppy Around Chatt-town

I, personally, think Diesel is the cutest puppy around Chattanooga. Of course, I'm partial to him.

Tomorrow, he will meet his other grandma, Shane's mom. She has never seen him so I know he'll be excited.

Shane took some photos of him outside playing and I think this one proves my point.

Diesel's Second Vet Appt.

I took Diesel to the Vet today and he weighs a whopping 35 lbs. He gained 7 pounds in 2 weeks!!!

The Vet said he looked really good and he was healthy; but go ahead and cut his feedings to 2/day instead of 3 times. He also got 4 sets of shots, but he took like the Bulldog that he is.

After his checkup, I took him for a grooming. He got a bath, massage, blowed dried, nail clipping and a good brushing.

Everyone just went on and on about how loving he was. I had 3 people ask where I got him because they wanted one.

He's getting so big and so cute.

Diesel Update

Diesel is now 4 months old and getting big. He goes for his 2nd vet visit this Saturday. I'd love to take a class with him to teach him some basic commands.

He knows stop and sit and somewhat, come here; but he could know more and that's what I want to teach him.

Pet Smart has a class you can take and on their Web site, they even have a coupon for a free lesson. I may do that Saturday if we have time.

We are going to fix our fence this weekend so that Diesel can stay outside and play during the day while we are at work and then stay in the laundry room during the nighttime or when needed.

He's a cutie!!

What is Normal?

Diesel is now 15 weeks old and I still have a lot of questions about dogs and their behavior.

Is it normal that everytime that I take Diesel out to potty that he eats leaves, grass and sticks?

We feed him 3 times a day, so I know he isn't hungry. Is this just something Bulldogs do?

If anyone knows, I would appreciate any comments and/or suggestions.

Potty Training

We have been trying to potty train Diesel even though he doesn't stay in the house with us.

We stays in our laundry room so I really don't want him using the potty in there either.

He does pee on his pee pads; but it's the other that bothers me. We have finally worked with him enough that he does his business outside and not in the laundry room.

We take him outside about 4-5 times a day and play with him, then around 6 or 7, we take his food bowl up so he doesn't eat all throughout the night.

So far, so good. Good DIESEL!!!

First Dr. Appt.

Today was Diesel's first doctor's appt. We took him to PetSmart initially for his nails to be trimmed; but ended up taking him to the vet there also.

He got his nails trimmed and his ears cleaned in the grooming area. At the vet, he got his next shots that he needed and a thorough checkout. The vet said he was a good puppy and he was healthy and checked out fine. He had a couple of fleas, but we got him set up with some stuff for that.

He weighs 28.5 lbs now and has a follow-up visit in 2 weeks. So far, so good.