OMGosh Linda, as I said before, Thank God you know and understand how to help Olivia with her medical conditions! I'm so happy to know she has you as her mommy. ;)
Praying there's a way to help Olivia with the Lepto strain. Poor baby, I hope you can find an easier way for her to take her meds. :(
You and Olivia are in my thoughts and prayers.

Wow, she is on so many different kinds of medicine. Confusing and difficult! It does sound like there was some good news today, so answered prayers.

I am very happy to hear Olivia's ALT is good!

Hoping the Lepto results are from a vaccine before you adopted her. Very unsettling.

Poor girl and all of those meds. Hope you can find a way to make taking them less of a battle.

I am thrilled about her ALT...but yes, concerned about the lepto. My vet has always said that it is not common where I live so she does not encourage the vaccine. The specialist did not express concern .. he basically was happy to see the improvement in liver values.
Not much I can do until the other test is done....so trying to not think to hard on it. (that is not easy .. haha.. I almost called him back a few times today).

Honestly, it lepto has caused her issues, my guess is it started in October when she was diagnosed with PLN. Not much I could do now to undo that. I don't know....I have pups that run crazy in my yard and get into everything. Olivia is not like that...I simply cannot
fathom her getting lepto. But from what I understand it is not that difficult for them to get it if it is around. I don't know....just need to let it go until the final test is done.

As for her meds....I think I just have to resign myself to the fact that it is not going to be fun. Until now I only had the Enalapril and the aspirin. The aspirin is liguid. If it continues like this, I can get the Enalapril compounded....I had done that once but left it out overnight so I tossed it and just went back to the pills. The denamarin is the one she really has an issue with...I guess because it is larger? Last night I had to put it down her throat at least five times...just crazy. I could also get the liquid form of the Clavamox if need be. She used to be good most of the time with pill pockets...now not so much. I tried mozarella cheese and american cheese...the bottom line I think is her appetite which is kind of hit and miss now. I just have to give her meds at certain times whether she is hungry or not!

Good news and more questions....I guess this is better than bad news...heres hoping it gets better and better everyday and no Lepto...uggghhhh....keep us posted....continued prayers.

Whooo, the pill giving sounds tough. If she doesn't like the different kinds of cheese used to disguise a pill, I guess that leaves you no option put to put it down her throat. :( What a great way to start the day. She has such a pretty face, guess that face is a fooler when it comes to her attitude. :rolleyes:

Indeed...don't let the face fool you. Innocent she is not. :D She was no problem this morning....maybe she is tired of me gagging her.....:eek:
I gave her the liquid meds first and had myself mentally prepared for a challenge but she took her meds in pill pockets with no problem. She is a MESS.

I know it is really not funny trying to get all of her pills down her....but it does make one wonder WHO is in really charge, this cute little toy dog or ........

Good luck, Lady Jane :D
And, yes, like Lisa said she does look so sweet and innocent :)

Hahaha....I already know who is in charge in this house and it is not the face that looks at me in the mirror. :D

No question about that huh! My whole world revolves around animals. But then I think about how lonely it would be without them.

Indeed! They are wonderful companions! :)

Isn't Lepto the one that can enter through the nose and even the eyes through droplets? It's always at the back of my mind when I am walking the boys and Max is sticking his face in damp grass, eyes wide open, sniffing away. Praying Olivia's final test will return happy news. I have a good feeling it will.

Relative to taking meds, Olivia reminds me of our first dog, Puff. We could give her a pill and think we had done our job. She would spit it out 10 minutes later. She was unreal! lol

Yep, they can sniff where another animal voided and contract it. I just cannot imagine her getting this...she goes out on the patio or uses the pee pads in the house. She is not much for running around outside. I have others who are all over the place and sniffing everywhere. Nothing I can do but wait for the next test. Makes me crazy because I like answers to questions before I ask them; but that is not going to happen.

Oh yeah...I have to watch Olivia for a while after I *think* she has swallowed a pill. Just crazy.

Poor Olivia. Could you put her pill in a dab of peanut butter? I used to do that for Sammy. He had his own jar of Jif!

She just kept it in her mouth until the PB was gone and then spit the pill out. Mess I tell you!

Poor baby :( I tried to think of a million ways to help you with Olivia to take her meds but it sounds like you've tried them all. I will continue to pray that as time goes on, Olivia will get used to her daily routine or more ideally, take less meds. Keeping you in my prayers also Linda.

Thanks, Carla. :)

I haven't read all of the posts but, have you tried putting the pill in watermelon?

One of my Rainbow Bridge babies, Ashley, needed to take a number of pills when she was sixteen. It was a daily struggle to give her medication, and i will never forget it. For a while broccoli with cheese sauce worked because it was sticky. Other times baked ziti worked. We gave her anything she would eat that wasn't harmful to her. Some days it was a struggle to get Ashley to eat, and we had to force the pills down her. It was so upsetting for both my husband and me, and we felt like we were being bullies to our baby. She needed her medication, so we did what we needed to do to get her medication in her. We started calling her our vanilla bean baby because for a while vanilla ice cream was all that worked. I pray it gets easier for both of you and that ultimately Olivia won't need as many medications.

Olivia is adorable, hope she's better soon, maybe try cream cheese for the pills, that worked for us. Good luck!

I'm just now trying to catch up on YT after being away on vacation..... and am so sorry to hear Olivia is having problems.

Geez, Linda, you have had so much going on I can't believe it. Way too much.

Anyway, I'm sending prayers for Olivia and hope she'll take her meds and get better.

Can you crush the pills between 2 spoons to make a powder that you can mix with PB (then they can't spit out), or is it ok to disolve in water so you can get it in her without spitting out. I used those methods with Tiki, but I know not all pills can be handled that way. Good luck. As always, you have got your hands full.

Thanks, Sandy. It has been a difficult year...and that is an understatement. They say that what does not kill us makes us stronger...I don't know that I want any more strength. Having people bash me for making suggestions makes it even more difficult.....what they do not understand is that it is not that I expect anyone to do what I do....I merely suggest it because it is what has worked for me and my pups. It is not that I have the money...it is that I sacrifice other things to do it. My pups are simply my priority and why I am vilified for it is not something I can comprehend. It is, at times, difficult to offer my help to others because there is a *force* that is ready to pounce on me and say how dare me tell people what to do. OR say that I think they are bad people and should not own yorkies...that is SO far from what I believe. Now, if you are out and out making a pup suffer, sure I believe that. Most people are not that way...they love their pups...everyone loves in different ways. To some, I am over the top with the money I spend...I get that, but it is my money, my pups. BUT people must know by now that if I see something that is possibly scary/dangerous/not in the best interests of a pup, I will say it...does that mean everyone has to agree? NO! I say it because I have an obligation in my mind to educate and also to speak up for the voiceless. Am I perfect? No. Could my words be different at times? Sure...but no one is perfect and honestly in the years I have been on YT I believe I have changed my posting manner quite a bit. I will never be what others want me to be...I am not going to say "you are a good mommy" to someone who is making horrible choices for a defenseless pup. I am not going to say "your are a bad mommy" either. I simply make suggestions for people to use IF they choose.

I have thought of starting a thread about such things, but decided to just post here since clearly there are people who have issues with how I treat my pups....OR have issues with me because I must, by doing what I do for mine, make them feel that they don't do enough. So....I know everyone will see this. What I do is NOT what I expect others to do...and I am quite sick of those insinuations. I post so that those who wish to do it know how. Just saying because I feel strongly that others read my threads and think I have a lot of money OR think that I believe they should do the same. I don't TELL people what to do. I strongly suggest it at times because I see sick pups and it hurts me. I also do not have money as some seem to think.....I am in a BIG HOLE right now because of the nightmare year I have had. I honestly have no idea how I will climb out of this debt. BUT...I simply don't know another way...in my way of thinking, if I am going to take in pups, I owe it to them to provide the best that *I can*. We each have to do that...and find what is the best for each of us. I believe in God...and I believe that if I care for his little creatures it will work out. I said that when we founded YHR...we had I believe eight fosters at the time and NO money. But...I said that we should "build it and they will come" and we believed and it did! :) The same will happen for my personal pups and expenses...I believe that.

OK...enough of that. As for Olivia, I have tried SO many things. The issue is really not what she likes. She just has moments where she is not hungry and she won't eat a thing. The problem is that when she needs to take meds, she has to take them on time...not when she is hungry. I have found that in the end, the only solution is the pill popper and/or my finger. It usually takes a few times, but in the end I win. I hate doing it, but she has to take her meds. The one pill that is a problem is the Denamarin and it cannot be cut or crushed...by the time I am finished cramming it, she has a blue tongue and I have a blue finger. Poor Olivia...heck, poor me. haha Thanks so much for your suggestions and well wishes! :)

Thank you for your well wishes...very nice to wake up to a nice post. :)

I want to add that I sincerely hope that people will not comment on the things I have said here.....I just had to get it out of my system so to speak. I don't want to start a whole thing about what is right and wrong...I merely wanted to voice how *I* feel since it seems everyone feels that they need to voice how *they* feel all of the time. I rarely expose myself this way. But...I have blood just like others and I bleed like them. "nuff said.

Linda, I'm sending you huge hugs right now. I can't even imagine waking up in your shoes, battling your own health issues, and those of multiple pups. I pray that you will be lifted out of the hole.

Your compassion for pups is deeper than many people can even comprehend. While newcomers may not "get" you, I think that in time they will see where your heart is, and have better understanding.

I am a better dog mommy BECAUSE OF YOU. I have learned so much through the years by reading your posts to others, and whether it was well received or not, I just want to say THANK YOU for educating me.

Thank you, Sandy...you are always so sweet. :) Are you home now from your vacation??

Yes, I got home Saturday night after 12 hrs. of airport & airplane time, exhausted. Enjoying laying around with 4 pups kissing me. They all want to be touching my body..... nice to be loved, just sayin' :)

They are so precious...and love unconditionally. :)

Hope you had a marvelous time!!

Had a good time but it was hard to be away from home and pups. I rarely do that, but DD took great care of them. She was nervous about the responsibility, and relieved when I got home. I was afraid the pups would be mad at me for leaving (have only left them once before in 5 years), but all is well.

:thumbup::thumbup:

I also would like to thank you Linda for always being available to answer my questions, and for your generosity that helps me and, therefore, my pups.

Happy to hear all went well. I'm sure your babies are very, very happy to have you home. When you live in paradise, where do you go to vacation? Other parts of paradise? ;):)