On his first day back, walking a few steps would make him pant.
On the second day, he could prop himself up at the dining table to check out what we were having.
On the third day, he tried to bark with the neighbour's dog but could only emit a growl.
On the fourth day, he joined in the doggie chorus.
On the fifth day, he could scuttle around a bit without breaking a sweat.
On the sixth day, he was protesting being confined in the air-con study with me and scratched the door and yelped to be let out.
And, as his energy returns, so do the pitchfork and tail.
Yesterday, I scolded him for the first time since he came home when he barked at me to share my lunch. First time I scolded him all week. (Normally I'm yelling at him everyday.)
Today he tried to snatch dad's socks - got yelled at again.
Hubby is really happy though. He said that this meant that Danny was getting better. (I was surprised cos he's been trying to make Danny a lap dog ever since he arrived.)
It's true, and yes, we are glad. But I think I'm with dad when he said with an air of resignation, "When Danny gets better, he gets worse."
"I'm back!"
8 comments:
So glad to hear devilish Danny is feeling better. I bet you're so releived. Poor little mite.
It sounds like he's a volcano of energy waiting to explode though. Just as soon as he is pysically able to!
RE: the post about training and toys, from what you've said it certainly does sound like he's an attention junkie. And he's definitely getting rewarded for his bad behaviour (good attention/bad attendion - it's all the same to him).
Hopefully clicker training will help you, if you decide to give it a try. It's all about rewarding the good behaviour (no matter how little of it there is at first) and ignoring (within reason of course) the bad behaviour. Then they learn they have to do 'good' things to get what they want - treats/attention/food/walks etc. They actually end up becoming clicker junkies instead - wanting to do whatever they can to get that click (and then the reward of course!)
Good luck. And a speedy recovery to Danny!
Fortunately, young liver recovers quickly. I heard something like, a person can loose 70% of the liver and it will grow back again at quite a good rate... not sure if thats the same with dogs... but seems like he is recovering fast.
Its good that you guys know the root of the illness... Liver damage is usually cause by alcohol. Excessive drinking.. which I dont think is the problem here causes liver damage. Another cause is exposure to alcohol thru skin or inhaling the fumes. This is usually associated with industrial use alcohol and sometimes in cleaning solutions. Did Danny get his jaws on lens cleaning fluids? Or something in the garden like pesticides or herbicides?
I guess you have to be more careful with Danny the hyper active dog.
Hi all! Sorry for the late reply!
Schnoodle Mum: Thanks! Yes, Danny's back on track and we are all very, very happy! He seems to take our commands a little more seriously since he came back from the vet. We ignore him when he grabs unimportant things, unfortunately, he has learnt what we value (and what can harm him) and aims for those instead. Still, he is better than when we first got him 2 years back and hope it continues! If not I'll check out clicker training. Thanks again!
Heng Lan: Yes, we're a lot more careful with him. Now, when we can't watch him, we normally confine him to a particular area. We don't use pesticides but my neighbour had his house repainted during that time. I suspect that some paint or thinner could have splashed onto something in our garden and Danny happily chomped on it.
Also, when he gets too hyper, we normally try to calm him down now, just in case.
Thanks for your concern!
It has been long since I checked your blog, got me worried when I saw that Danny has liver damage. But is really glad that he's recovering. So did the doctor say what could be done about the liver damage?
Hihi! The doc said that the liver can regenerate itself, so Danny is now on supplements and a special formulated diet meant to help the liver. Will be bringing him back for another blood test in June to see whether his liver is recovering on track. Hope for the best!
Like the vet's assistant said, it's a good thing it's not his kidneys cos then we're in trouble!
He's now back to his old energy level. Will try to post some Danny camwhore shots soon!
Yea, my friend's poodle had kidney problem which only starts to surface during the last stage, after seeing vet, within a week, went over the rainbow bridge. Doggies are so fragile! What makes it worse is that they can't speak for themselves and tell us what's wrong. :(
Danny is really a miracle, based on his 'diet' (be it given, or stolen), LOL! Hope he recovers asap but quit the bad habits by a little?
Oh dear! Poor thing! Your friend must have been heartbroken! Ya, dogs just tend to keep putting on that happy face until something is really, really wrong...
Even his vet thought he was a miracle. He is a lot better. Bad habits are still there but I think maybe a bit more controllable? I guess the good thing for Danny is that his illness made the family more forgiving of his naughtiness!
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