So it is Christmas Day, we have company coming over, and we decided to take Bodhi's 'Lamp Shade' off his head (the Boxer Duo's appointment for stitch removal is tomorrow). Well no sooner did we take the cone off his head, he started right in on his arm trying to pull the stitches out. He was literally trying to RIP them out of his skin....
So I did a little Google research and decided to take the stitches out of ONLY his arm (none of the other places). I read that you snip only ONE side near the knot, so you can pull the entire stitch out using the know. If you cut the knot off, you can actually lose the stitch in the wound!
So, with the help of my daughter, I snipped and pulled the oh-so-pretty hot pink stitches out of his arm. I saved them in a zip bag to show the vet so they knew what I did, lol...
As soon as they were out, he did not mess with his arm the rest of the day! I guess they were pretty bothersome... So I did it, yay me! Too bad I could not send a bill to the vet for my services :)
Alethea Anderson
The Boxer Blogger
Have you hugged your Boxer(s) today?
PS I'm not condoning removing stitches yourself or suggesting you remove stitches yourself. I'm sharing a story of something I felt I needed to do on a holiday when the vet was closed...
Thursday
Friday
Astrid and Bodhi, Two-fer Surgery Day
Both Astrid and Bodhi went in for surgery and teeth cleaning today... They were quite excited to go on a car ride together! Bodhi is so much calmer when Astrid is with him in the car, he actually relaxed and laid down in the back...
Once we got there I did a quick sweep to ensure there were no dogs or cats in the front office, these two are a tough bunch to handle around other critters...
So I brought them in, Astrid was down to 56.7 and Bodhi down to 88.3, my little diet was working for them! (someone who shall remain nameless tends to give them a lot of hooman food, I've been working on making them stop!)
Astrid got a teeth cleaning, extraction of a few teeth, a couple lumps removed, some skin tags tied off and a nail trim.
Bodhi got a teeth cleaning, where they found he had never lost his puppy canines, so they pulled those, and he had some bigger lumps removed.
When I went to pick them up they were still all doped up, they appeared to have no idea I was even in the room. Eyes glossed over, looking loopy and stoned, poor sweeties...
They both looked like frank-n-boxers... they each had several squares shaved out of their fur with big stitches. So they looked kind of like patch work quilts :(
Grand total, $1604.50... however I remember that they said a 10% discount if I brought both at the same time, voila $1444.10. Still a chunk of change, but hey, what can you do?
Astird did great, even with teeth pulled she was eating that night! Bodhi did great too, however he was messing with his stitches on his front leg, so he ended up having to wear a cone! (he took to it quickly due to having to wear one so frequently in the past due to his prior foot issues)
Love your Boxers and care for them, healthy Boxers live longer, happier lives!
Alethea Anderson
The Boxer Blogger
Have you hugged your Boxer(s) today?
Once we got there I did a quick sweep to ensure there were no dogs or cats in the front office, these two are a tough bunch to handle around other critters...
So I brought them in, Astrid was down to 56.7 and Bodhi down to 88.3, my little diet was working for them! (someone who shall remain nameless tends to give them a lot of hooman food, I've been working on making them stop!)
Astrid got a teeth cleaning, extraction of a few teeth, a couple lumps removed, some skin tags tied off and a nail trim.
Bodhi got a teeth cleaning, where they found he had never lost his puppy canines, so they pulled those, and he had some bigger lumps removed.
When I went to pick them up they were still all doped up, they appeared to have no idea I was even in the room. Eyes glossed over, looking loopy and stoned, poor sweeties...
They both looked like frank-n-boxers... they each had several squares shaved out of their fur with big stitches. So they looked kind of like patch work quilts :(
Grand total, $1604.50... however I remember that they said a 10% discount if I brought both at the same time, voila $1444.10. Still a chunk of change, but hey, what can you do?
Astird did great, even with teeth pulled she was eating that night! Bodhi did great too, however he was messing with his stitches on his front leg, so he ended up having to wear a cone! (he took to it quickly due to having to wear one so frequently in the past due to his prior foot issues)
Love your Boxers and care for them, healthy Boxers live longer, happier lives!
Alethea Anderson
The Boxer Blogger
Have you hugged your Boxer(s) today?
Tuesday
Boxer Flea Treatment, Essential Oils
I am an essential oil junkie, I probably have over 40 different essential oils on hand at any give time. I love them, I use them, they have uses for so, so many things. So I thought there surely MUST be essential oils that will either deter or kill fleas, right?
So I did some research online and found several essential oils known to deter fleas (essential oils will not KILL fleas) however they help in keeping the fleas OFF of your Boxer.
Now Boxers are super duper sensitive, i.e. orange essential oil makes Bodhi break out in hives... So you have to be extremely careful when using any pure essential oils on your Boxers... Do your research, be careful, and be safe. Some essential oils, even though they smell fantastic, and some even smell yummy, can be TOXIC to your favorite fur ball!
So I blended a few oils with some purified water to make a mist and sprayed it into the fur, it definitely kept fleas OFF the Boxers - temporarily... Since I used only water, it and the essential oils, evaporated, and the fleas came back...
I chose not to use a thicker carrier oil (this would help the essential oils adhere to the fur).... as I was working fast and had limited ingredients on hand.
Since it was a short term fix, I used the mist on my bedding (sheets, covers, etc...), on their bedding, on places they sleep, etc... as a deterrent (and a great smelling air freshener!)
I also made a larger size to spray the yard (the vet told me that any creature walking through the yard can be the cause of the fleas, opossum, squirrel, mouse, rat, deer, raccoon, etc..etc...) So I wanted to make the yard a place fleas did NOT want to be by overloading it with natural fragrance essence. (Careful around plants! I used my mist ONLY on dirt and concrete!)
You can purchase several all natural, essential oil based flea treatments at your local pet stores. They are pretty pricey, about $15 for 3-5 oz or so. But if you don't have essential oils on hand, that is much less than purchasing essential oils which can range from $10 to $40 for 5 to 10ml!
In a nutshell, do your research and don't expect any essential oils to remove the fleas from your dog or home, but they are a great way to help keep fleas off the dog :)
Alethea Anderson
The Boxer Blogger
Have you hugged your Boxer(s) today?
Now Boxers are super duper sensitive, i.e. orange essential oil makes Bodhi break out in hives... So you have to be extremely careful when using any pure essential oils on your Boxers... Do your research, be careful, and be safe. Some essential oils, even though they smell fantastic, and some even smell yummy, can be TOXIC to your favorite fur ball!
So I blended a few oils with some purified water to make a mist and sprayed it into the fur, it definitely kept fleas OFF the Boxers - temporarily... Since I used only water, it and the essential oils, evaporated, and the fleas came back...
I chose not to use a thicker carrier oil (this would help the essential oils adhere to the fur).... as I was working fast and had limited ingredients on hand.
Since it was a short term fix, I used the mist on my bedding (sheets, covers, etc...), on their bedding, on places they sleep, etc... as a deterrent (and a great smelling air freshener!)
I also made a larger size to spray the yard (the vet told me that any creature walking through the yard can be the cause of the fleas, opossum, squirrel, mouse, rat, deer, raccoon, etc..etc...) So I wanted to make the yard a place fleas did NOT want to be by overloading it with natural fragrance essence. (Careful around plants! I used my mist ONLY on dirt and concrete!)
You can purchase several all natural, essential oil based flea treatments at your local pet stores. They are pretty pricey, about $15 for 3-5 oz or so. But if you don't have essential oils on hand, that is much less than purchasing essential oils which can range from $10 to $40 for 5 to 10ml!
In a nutshell, do your research and don't expect any essential oils to remove the fleas from your dog or home, but they are a great way to help keep fleas off the dog :)
Alethea Anderson
The Boxer Blogger
Have you hugged your Boxer(s) today?
Saturday
Boxer Flea Treatment, Diatomaceous Earth
Okay so I mentioned our flea problem, well I came across several places online that mentioned Diatomaceous Earth as a great natural remedy for fleas. From my research I found that you are to get the FOOD GRADE version, this is non-toxic (evidently you can actually EAT it with no harm).
My tip to you, find this at your local pet feed store (where people buy food for livestock, chickens, etc...) I got a HUGE bag for $5, so don't get ripped off!
What is Diatomaceous Earth? Evidently it is a type of dirt/dust composed of ancient teeny tiny organism skeletons. These little skeletons are super sharp and basically cut up adult fleas, causing them to dehydrate and die.
Have you ever seen pictures of video clips of animals rolling in the dust? Basically they know in nature what to do to rid themselves of pests...
So you're supposed to sprinkle this stuff all over your carpet, furniture, etc... then brush it into the fibers to do their trick. Leaving it there for as long as possible.
Please, allow me to share my experience....
So, I purchased my huge bag, I was SO excited that I found a natural cure to get rid of these fricken FLEAS! First I took the dogs outside and gave them a dry dust bath of the Diatomaceous Earth. I rubbed it into their fur from head to toe. They looked dusty and dirty, but I was thinking "HA BYE FLEAS"!
About the Diatomaceous Earth, when you touch it, it is super fine, it feels like confectioner sugar, very fine and fluffy. But don't let it fool you! Let me explain... Have you ever caught a flea and attempted to squish it between your fingers? You squish, rub and squash and you're SURE you've gotten the little sucker. Only to open your fingertips to see him grin at you and hop away?
Well when your fingers are covered in Diatomaceous Earth, if you catch a flea and squash and rub, it literally cuts the flea in half leaving a bloody little dead flea body. So though this dusty dirt feels soft, I then understood how the tiny little ancient skeletons must do their job! So DON'T GET IT IN YOUR EYES!
After intentionally covering my dogs in dirt, I then proceeded to vacuum the house and started sprinkling the Diatomaceous Earth everywhere, every square inch... I put on all the carpet, under the couch kitchens, etc... (I did not use it on the hard floors, I mopped and sterilized them but opted not to dust them).
After I sprinkled, I went back with a broom, to sweep and tap the dust down into the carpet fibers. After finishing the living room I could really smell dirt, you know the dusty, dirt smell? I literally covered my floors in dirt. Once in the dining room I looked back, the sun filtering through the blinds revealed that I had completely filled the room with dust too, I was standing in a dirt cloud...
After panicking and running to Google to see if this dirt was going to get into my reef tank and kill all the coral and tropical fish (it won't all was good) I proceeded to intentionally fill my home with dirt...
The whole time I was thinking how great this was going to be...
The websites all said to give it time to let the fleas run over the Diatomaceous Earth, and to get sliced up and dehydrate. Note: this supposedly only works on ADULT fleas, not the younger, smaller ones...
Several hours later, the dust had settled, on everything, in the home. Every surface, horizontal AND vertical, was COVERED in a layer of Diatomaceous Earth...
I told everyone in the house to not touch it, leave it there, suck it up and deal with it for a few days...
That night, I saw fleas running across the dogs, it was like it attracted MORE fleas ON to the dogs. I had read so many blogs online saying "the fleas were gone within hours". BS. BS. BS.
Three days in, I vacuumed... Holy horror, more dust clouds... it took a few weeks of daily vacuuming to finally get it all OUT of the carpet. Did it help the fleas? NO. Perhaps it worked for others, perhaps I was not patient enough living in a dust pit for all the multi-generations of fleas to hatch, grow big enough to dehydrate and die.
So, on to the next plan...
Alethea Anderson
The Boxer Blogger
Have you hugged your Boxer(s) today?
My tip to you, find this at your local pet feed store (where people buy food for livestock, chickens, etc...) I got a HUGE bag for $5, so don't get ripped off!
What is Diatomaceous Earth? Evidently it is a type of dirt/dust composed of ancient teeny tiny organism skeletons. These little skeletons are super sharp and basically cut up adult fleas, causing them to dehydrate and die.
Have you ever seen pictures of video clips of animals rolling in the dust? Basically they know in nature what to do to rid themselves of pests...
So you're supposed to sprinkle this stuff all over your carpet, furniture, etc... then brush it into the fibers to do their trick. Leaving it there for as long as possible.
Please, allow me to share my experience....
So, I purchased my huge bag, I was SO excited that I found a natural cure to get rid of these fricken FLEAS! First I took the dogs outside and gave them a dry dust bath of the Diatomaceous Earth. I rubbed it into their fur from head to toe. They looked dusty and dirty, but I was thinking "HA BYE FLEAS"!
About the Diatomaceous Earth, when you touch it, it is super fine, it feels like confectioner sugar, very fine and fluffy. But don't let it fool you! Let me explain... Have you ever caught a flea and attempted to squish it between your fingers? You squish, rub and squash and you're SURE you've gotten the little sucker. Only to open your fingertips to see him grin at you and hop away?
Well when your fingers are covered in Diatomaceous Earth, if you catch a flea and squash and rub, it literally cuts the flea in half leaving a bloody little dead flea body. So though this dusty dirt feels soft, I then understood how the tiny little ancient skeletons must do their job! So DON'T GET IT IN YOUR EYES!After intentionally covering my dogs in dirt, I then proceeded to vacuum the house and started sprinkling the Diatomaceous Earth everywhere, every square inch... I put on all the carpet, under the couch kitchens, etc... (I did not use it on the hard floors, I mopped and sterilized them but opted not to dust them).
After I sprinkled, I went back with a broom, to sweep and tap the dust down into the carpet fibers. After finishing the living room I could really smell dirt, you know the dusty, dirt smell? I literally covered my floors in dirt. Once in the dining room I looked back, the sun filtering through the blinds revealed that I had completely filled the room with dust too, I was standing in a dirt cloud...
After panicking and running to Google to see if this dirt was going to get into my reef tank and kill all the coral and tropical fish (it won't all was good) I proceeded to intentionally fill my home with dirt...
The whole time I was thinking how great this was going to be...
The websites all said to give it time to let the fleas run over the Diatomaceous Earth, and to get sliced up and dehydrate. Note: this supposedly only works on ADULT fleas, not the younger, smaller ones...
Several hours later, the dust had settled, on everything, in the home. Every surface, horizontal AND vertical, was COVERED in a layer of Diatomaceous Earth...
I told everyone in the house to not touch it, leave it there, suck it up and deal with it for a few days...
That night, I saw fleas running across the dogs, it was like it attracted MORE fleas ON to the dogs. I had read so many blogs online saying "the fleas were gone within hours". BS. BS. BS.
Three days in, I vacuumed... Holy horror, more dust clouds... it took a few weeks of daily vacuuming to finally get it all OUT of the carpet. Did it help the fleas? NO. Perhaps it worked for others, perhaps I was not patient enough living in a dust pit for all the multi-generations of fleas to hatch, grow big enough to dehydrate and die.
So, on to the next plan...
Alethea Anderson
The Boxer Blogger
Have you hugged your Boxer(s) today?
What the HELL is with these FLEAS?
We have not had fleas for TWO DECADES.
Back in the day we lived in an apartment, we had three cats, who at one point had no fleas. That was until a neighboring apartment bombed their apartment, forcing the fleas to invade our 680 square foot palace. Flea collars, carpet powder, flea spray - nothing worked... Then we'd bomb, they'd go, and it was a bomb war. Back and forth fleas, horrid, eww, grosss...
Now none of us (we nor our neighbors) ever addressed this flea issue with the apartment management because we ALL snuck cats into a no pet apartment complex, so... well yea...
As I re-read that I'm like, I had THREE cats in 680 square feet? WTF? Good gawd, that was another era...
Anyways... we moved into our first house and before we moved in, we took the cats, much to their displeasure, to have them flea dipped. We never had another flea with pets coming and passing to the rainbow bridge, for over twenty years.
Well this year, 2014, I don't know WHAT is going on. Astrid and Bodhi are IN the house or IN the yard. All of a sudden we have fleas, horrible, hopping, little beasts of torture. It just makes me feel GROSS....
I did a little Google research on this region of the country and apparently the dry, warm, drought weather has been the absolute perfect breeding ground for an over abundance of fleas. They are taking over local counties by storm... There are forums of people complaining and begging for cures...
So being the semi-crunchy-granola want to use only natural remedy type of person I'm on the hunt for something that works... I'll keep you posted!
Alethea Anderson
The Boxer Blogger
Have you hugged your Boxer(s) today?
Back in the day we lived in an apartment, we had three cats, who at one point had no fleas. That was until a neighboring apartment bombed their apartment, forcing the fleas to invade our 680 square foot palace. Flea collars, carpet powder, flea spray - nothing worked... Then we'd bomb, they'd go, and it was a bomb war. Back and forth fleas, horrid, eww, grosss...
Now none of us (we nor our neighbors) ever addressed this flea issue with the apartment management because we ALL snuck cats into a no pet apartment complex, so... well yea...
As I re-read that I'm like, I had THREE cats in 680 square feet? WTF? Good gawd, that was another era...
Anyways... we moved into our first house and before we moved in, we took the cats, much to their displeasure, to have them flea dipped. We never had another flea with pets coming and passing to the rainbow bridge, for over twenty years.
Well this year, 2014, I don't know WHAT is going on. Astrid and Bodhi are IN the house or IN the yard. All of a sudden we have fleas, horrible, hopping, little beasts of torture. It just makes me feel GROSS....
I did a little Google research on this region of the country and apparently the dry, warm, drought weather has been the absolute perfect breeding ground for an over abundance of fleas. They are taking over local counties by storm... There are forums of people complaining and begging for cures...
So being the semi-crunchy-granola want to use only natural remedy type of person I'm on the hunt for something that works... I'll keep you posted!
Alethea Anderson
The Boxer Blogger
Have you hugged your Boxer(s) today?
Tuesday
Licensing Your Boxers, Why it's Important
So I admit, I have been guilty of not licensing pets in the past... it seems so silly to PAY to have an extra tag on your dog's collar. Yet another fee/tax to pay the government... However, for the small amount it costs, it's actually worth it.
That tag is an ID for your dog, if your dog ever gets lost, they can look him or her up in the database and know where to find their home. Which could save their LIFE! A lost dog without ID has a very short time to live at the county, with so many dogs coming in, being abandoned, being dropped off, etc.. the rate of dogs being euthanize is saddening.
Side note, even if they get brought in and they are not wearing their collar, they can still look up the dog by BREED and have a good chance of finding you - just do it, your Boxer is your fur baby :)
In our neck of the woods the fee is only $20/year (for a spayed/neutered) dog - so $40 for the both of them...
I just went down to the County and paid in person, I simply had to have the paper from the vet proving they had been vaccinated, proof that they were spayed/neutered, and payment. Voila, new jewelry for their collars!
Alethea Anderson
The Boxer Blogger
Have you hugged your Boxer(s) today?
That tag is an ID for your dog, if your dog ever gets lost, they can look him or her up in the database and know where to find their home. Which could save their LIFE! A lost dog without ID has a very short time to live at the county, with so many dogs coming in, being abandoned, being dropped off, etc.. the rate of dogs being euthanize is saddening.
Side note, even if they get brought in and they are not wearing their collar, they can still look up the dog by BREED and have a good chance of finding you - just do it, your Boxer is your fur baby :)
In our neck of the woods the fee is only $20/year (for a spayed/neutered) dog - so $40 for the both of them...
I just went down to the County and paid in person, I simply had to have the paper from the vet proving they had been vaccinated, proof that they were spayed/neutered, and payment. Voila, new jewelry for their collars!
Alethea Anderson
The Boxer Blogger
Have you hugged your Boxer(s) today?
Bodhi's Check Up at the Vet
So it's been a couple months and I finally got to make Bodhi's Vet appointment!
Bodhi goes bat s#*t crazy when you get out the leash, and even MORE nutso excited when you say the words "car ride". So he was quite ecstatic to hop in the car for a trip! I love driving with one (or both) of the Boxers in the car as they love to peek out the windows (while smearing drool and dog snot all over them). The smiles and giggles from passing cars makes me happy! (basically because it makes me know I'm not the only Boxer hooman who grins like a fool when I see a Boxer in someone else's car, lol....)
Even though Bodhi LOVES the idea of going on car rides, he gets major anxiety while IN the car. He won't sit down and relax, he's all tense and hyper focused... silly boy...
Anyways, Bodhi was excited to get to the vet. More people to tell him how cute he is and marvel at his huge Boxer stature. He got his check-up all is good, he weighs 94.7 # now! Looking great!
It cost $99.50 in Northern California for an Exam and his DHP-P + Rabies. They want to do surgery to remove the lumps, Bodhi's treatment plan was less than Astrid's with a quote of $747.50. Dogs are expensive folks, don't get dogs if you cannot care for them (hugs).
I still need to get the Boxer Duo licensed... I had to wait until Bodhi got his shots so I could complete the process... Next, licenses and figuring out when to get the Boxers all taken care of. They did offer 10% off if I brought both in at the same time! (gulp)
Alethea Anderson
The Boxer Blogger
Have you hugged your Boxer(s) today?
Bodhi goes bat s#*t crazy when you get out the leash, and even MORE nutso excited when you say the words "car ride". So he was quite ecstatic to hop in the car for a trip! I love driving with one (or both) of the Boxers in the car as they love to peek out the windows (while smearing drool and dog snot all over them). The smiles and giggles from passing cars makes me happy! (basically because it makes me know I'm not the only Boxer hooman who grins like a fool when I see a Boxer in someone else's car, lol....)
Even though Bodhi LOVES the idea of going on car rides, he gets major anxiety while IN the car. He won't sit down and relax, he's all tense and hyper focused... silly boy...
Anyways, Bodhi was excited to get to the vet. More people to tell him how cute he is and marvel at his huge Boxer stature. He got his check-up all is good, he weighs 94.7 # now! Looking great!
It cost $99.50 in Northern California for an Exam and his DHP-P + Rabies. They want to do surgery to remove the lumps, Bodhi's treatment plan was less than Astrid's with a quote of $747.50. Dogs are expensive folks, don't get dogs if you cannot care for them (hugs).
I still need to get the Boxer Duo licensed... I had to wait until Bodhi got his shots so I could complete the process... Next, licenses and figuring out when to get the Boxers all taken care of. They did offer 10% off if I brought both in at the same time! (gulp)
Alethea Anderson
The Boxer Blogger
Have you hugged your Boxer(s) today?
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