Gilda 06-071

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3/1/06: Gilda is an 8 week old female Golden/Lab mix. But what she really is, is a spoonful of sugar. She is so very sweet. She follows us everywhere and loves to cuddle. Gilda is one of six puppies that recently came in to RAGOM, and I believe she must be the smallest - she will be weighed tomorrow at the vet. Gilda is already showing signs of quick learning ability.

She sleeps in her crate all night, with only minimal whines before settling down and no accidents. In fact she has had no accidents at all in the house. She stays in her crate while we are at work, although she has graduated to afternoons in the "fold-up" play area. Gilda is not as fluffy as some of her siblings, but she has the soft Golden coat. She comes bouncing when she is called and likes to please. Gilda shivered quite a bit in the cold outdoors, so she now has a nice warm coat so she can take a short puppy-sized walk with us. She had a blast on her walk and bounced right along with us; stopping to chew a few grassy stems and to inspect her foster sister's stick.

Gilda had some minor damage to her muzzle before arriving at her new temporary home when her nose had an unexpected encounter with a larger dog's mouth. She has a small fracture of a bone but it should heal quickly; however there was some red in her nasal discharge which is already much improved and she is on antibiotics for a few more days. She has some raspiness with breathing but it is very much less after only a day. At first Gilda was afraid of her big foster sisters, but appears to be pretty much over that fear of a bigger dog and has started to play.

GildaAren't I adorable in my little coat?GildaGildaGilda

At a Glance #06-071

Breed not specified Born: January 2007
Female Weight not specified

Status: Adopted

Profile

3/1/06: Gilda is an 8 week old female Golden/Lab mix. But what she really is, is a spoonful of sugar. She is so very sweet. She follows us everywhere and loves to cuddle. Gilda is one of six puppies that recently came in to RAGOM, and I believe she must be the smallest - she will be weighed tomorrow at the vet. Gilda is already showing signs of quick learning ability.

She sleeps in her crate all night, with only minimal whines before settling down and no accidents. In fact she has had no accidents at all in the house. She stays in her crate while we are at work, although she has graduated to afternoons in the "fold-up" play area. Gilda is not as fluffy as some of her siblings, but she has the soft Golden coat. She comes bouncing when she is called and likes to please. Gilda shivered quite a bit in the cold outdoors, so she now has a nice warm coat so she can take a short puppy-sized walk with us. She had a blast on her walk and bounced right along with us; stopping to chew a few grassy stems and to inspect her foster sister's stick.

Gilda had some minor damage to her muzzle before arriving at her new temporary home when her nose had an unexpected encounter with a larger dog's mouth. She has a small fracture of a bone but it should heal quickly; however there was some red in her nasal discharge which is already much improved and she is on antibiotics for a few more days. She has some raspiness with breathing but it is very much less after only a day. At first Gilda was afraid of her big foster sisters, but appears to be pretty much over that fear of a bigger dog and has started to play.

GildaAren't I adorable in my little coat?GildaGildaGilda

Updates

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Gilda went to the vet today. She made a lot of friends while waiting to see Doc and enjoyed socializing. The good news is that Gilda is much improved and does not need surgery in the immediate future. It is also the general consensus that the chance Gilda will need any surgery in the future is minimal.

Gilda was a bit embarrassed because she had to wear a kitty collar out in public - her puppy collar is still a bit too big. Gilda rides very well in the car and waits patiently if you need to run into the store - especially if it's a pet store with doggy treats. Gilda continues to have lots of energy and loves to run and play. Gilda is growing quickly - she now weighs about 13 lbs.

As Gilda is now ready for a forever home, I wonder if everyone knows the tremendous amount of mischief a puppy can get into. If not, this update includes a few naughty puppy pictures (this was a tough call, as I have so many new very cute, angelic pictures). A phrase frequently uttered by puppy owners comes to mind, "it's a good thing you're so cute." And this is so true. Gilda needs someone who will love her through the naughty times as well as the nice. Someone who will teach her and let her be an important part of their lives. As you know, puppy does not come trained and training takes your time and dedication. That said, Gilda is very easy to work with; she comes running when called, most often stops when you say "no," and will "sit" when told or even when not told, but when appropriate. Gilda has been working on walking on the leash this past week. She does very well for a 12 week old puppy. Because Gilda - as all puppies - will have lots of energy, a fenced yard is a very good thing.

No need to buy toys . . .Yeah, I broke that flower pot - but I'm cute.Hit while the belly is upWho has sharper teeth, a walleye or a puppy?There are plenty of leaves - why does mom keep saying NO!Who needs a pigs ear?

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Gilda refuses to let problems with her air passage stop or even slow her down. Gilda is a very busy puppy and has plenty of puppy energy. She loves to bite and tug on the big dogs' ears, tails and butts with her sharp puppy teeth. She also likes to chew on anything else she can get her tiny puppy teeth on (hands, feet, sticks) - but is quickly and easily diverted to her puppy toys. It does make quite the picture - the big dog walking along with Gilda clinging to their tail trying to stop them. I did catch the cat chasing Gilda off this morning. Not that Gilda meant to go anywhere near the cat - she prefers to leave those ornery critters alone. Gilda has grown and gained a few pounds, but is still a wee bundle. Gilda has been busy learning to "come" and to "sit." She really does learn very quickly. Gilda has graduated to sleeping on the bed or the floor on occasion, but still sleeps in her crate when/if she is restless at night. Gilda still stays in her small wire puppy play area while her people are at work. Her crate is put in the play area with the door open and she is usually found snoozing in her crate when we get home. She gets a break at noon and so far has had no accidents. She loves to play with the other dogs and would like to find a home with a furry playmate or two. Gilda's breathing appears to be improving and there is noticeably less rasping. Given the degree of difficulty breathing when we brought her home, this is truly amazing to us. She goes to the doctor on Tuesday for a follow-up and hopefully we will have more to report after that visit.

These sticks they call

Wednesday, March 8, 2006

This skinny little girl has had a difficult few days but has kept her spirits up. She still bounces around looking for things to "get into" and teases her foster sisters with her fierceness. Gilda's muzzle injury took a turn for the worse when she experienced increased difficulty breathing. It got to the point where every breath was a struggle. Gilda had to be brought to the emergency vet where she was put in an oxygen cage in an attempt to help her breath. A fluoroscopy was performed to determine whether the strained breathing caused collapse of the trachea; the trachea was fine. Next attempt was made to clean out the nasal passageways but it was found that one of the passageways was blocked solid and the other partially blocked; it would take more than a simple clearing of the passageways. Our goal was to avoid the need for a tracheotomy, so it was decided that stents would be surgically inserted to provide a clear passageway in which to breath until her passageways became stable on their own. This worked great and Gilda was breathing with no problem. She was able to catch up on much needed sleep; unfortunately, the tubes became too clogged. The situation was complicated by the fact that no pressure could be put on the muzzle due to the fracture of the maxilla, making it difficult to hold her still for cleaning of the tubes/stents. The stents had to come out. Gilda is currently still breathing easier, but there is only a slim chance that the passageway left after removal of the stents will hold; more likely the passageway will again become blocked. Gilda was able to come home to rest, try to eat, and get some "steam" treatment. Unfortunately, there are signs that her breathing may be getting more difficult again. Gilda's next option is for a surgery that involves opening the muzzle and "reaming" out the nasal area. Typically this procedure is performed on mature or fully grown dogs and is not often done on puppies. This surgical procedure may slightly slow down the growth of the upper mouth of a puppy - but she should then be able to breath and soon after go about her normal activities. Gilda received so much attention and loving by the great staff at the U of M Vet; everyone who met her fell in love with her and went out of their way to make her comfortable.

If you'd like to donate to Gilda's medical care, our address is:

Retrieve a Golden of Minnesota, P.O. Box 5567, Hopkins, MN, 55343-0492, or go to the Network For Good web site (copy and paste the address below into your browser):

http://partners.guidestar.org/controller/searchResults.gs?action_donateR...