Another Kinda Gross Reference

Just a nasty reminder of the wonders the lemons work for Stella - here is another picture of a recent spit up she had of phlegm. She usually spits up a few of these before she is feeling all better. Last night I was up with her at 3 a.m. as she was awake and seemed to not be able to rest well. The minute I got out of bed, she jumped down and ran for the stairs to head to the kitchen, wagging her tail faster than you can imagine. She knew I was going to go down and get her a lemon, and she started biting it and licking it immediately - I swear she knows its good for her, and sorry to sound dramatic, but I think they help keep her alive and happy.

Stella Update! Long Grow the Lemon!

Just a quick update to let everyone know we have abandoned our regimen of Benadryl - it just seemed to not really do much in the long run. What DOES work is a constant lemon half as a fun toy that she gets a few good bites on every few days. Seriously, I can't begin to convey how much this simple treatment helps her, and how amazed I am that more vets haven't heard about it for helping difficult breathers. We also have her on a new food that is a simple protein source, and she seems to have much better results with this than the last round. She still vomits up fresh food right after eating when she is getting "phlegmy" - or is too active right after eating, but if she is feeling clear from her lemon treatments and isn't trying to wrestle Rufus or the kittie, she is holding it down pretty well!

Benadryl for Breakfast and Dinner!

After a quick visit with DocSide vets tonight, and reviewing how well Stella was breathing during her treatment for her hives, Dr. K has given us the green light to try keeping Stella on the Benadryl over the next few weeks to see how she does. We will give her approx. 1 gr. per 1 lb. of her weight (38 pounds) twice a day. I will report back on how it does for her. Right now she is snoring away peacefully, happy to have her nails trimmed and be on the path to breathing easy! (we hope).

I hope everyone likes the switch of the blog to a white background - I have a feeling it will be easier to read for everyone.

English Bulldogs LOVE lemons! (or they should)

Ok - so we had read online here and there about "old school" bulldog owners carrying lemon juice with them to squirt into their bulldog's mouths to help clear out the phlegm. The next time we were faced with the reality that Stella had definitely had too much activity and we were already dreading the next morning's trip to the ER - we decided to be proactive. We discussed the old lemon remedy - and decided to give it a try. We cut a fresh lemon in half length wise, dug out the seeds, and started to get Stella interested. For those of you who know English bulldogs, you know that they aren't afraid of much, and when tempted with something, they will generally build up enough courage and determination to lunge at it (at least this is what Stella does). So, after moving the lemon half back and forth in front of her face, saying "get it get it", she lunged for it, and immediately squished up her face and backed away, getting a mouth full of lemon juice. "Good Girl!!!!" we praised her, "You get that lemon!". We kept it up until she decided to make another clumsy lunge for it - grabbing for it with the side of her mouth, eye already squished closed in anticipation of the sour juice.