Nother naughty Norrie update
Posted: 09 Mar 2013, 19:37
From Ky :
well here we are 8 weeks and many grey hairs in and I am in a reflective mood.
Norrie has we know improved over the last 8 weeks, he has put weight on in fact in total from arriving he has put 6 kilos on and every single gram of it hard work on our part. Food does not interest him at all, he will have 2-3 days where he eats all in front of him and then 2-3 days where he will not eat anything at all. If he was up to full body weight it would not matter and we wold have the attitude " he will eat when he is hungry" but with Norrie he CANNOT afford to lose any weight and every 2-3 days of not eating or eating very little sets us back.
He is a survivor, he must be. He not only survived being emaciated and malnourished all his life but he has overcome the dreadful upset stomach he had along with kennel cough at the same time.
As you can probably read between the lines we worry about him and in fact I think some days we are obsessed with his eating to the point of the usual greeting when Geoff or David come in from work is " has he eaten?"
We love him to bits, he is a real funny character, what my dad would have called a "funnyosity" , he adores people, all people even the vets. When I pick my car keys up he runs to the car thinking he is going to his favourite place--the vets!!
Speaking of vets, his weekly check up went well, he had put on about half a kilo which considering we have had an up and down week is brilliant. He is still painfully thin and his back bone still visable but the ribs are very slowly covering. Touch wood we have not had a wobbly do this week at all, whether that is because he is getting stronger or whether it is the low dose steroids who knows.
Whilst at the vets I asked about hydrotherapy which is something we have been discussing for a while, anyway opinion now is he is strong enough to go for a trial session and he is booked in next thursday. Hopefully he will take to it and and if he does regular sessions should help build some muscles on his back end and hopefully sharpen his appetite.
So we carry on, we worry on the days he is not interested in food and rejoice on the days he eats.
Looking forward we obviously are aiming on him getting well enough and strong enough to be rehomed. Realistically he needs to put a few more kilos on and be eating regularly before the vets will discharge him as fit for adoption but every few grams he gains is a step nearer the ultimate goal.
We cannot believe he has been here 8 weeks, in many ways it seems like he has been here forever and in other ways it has gone in a heartbeat. When he arrived all we knew was we had a dog coming and it needed a blood test and possibly a biopsy. It goes to show you never know what you are getting, would we change it? not a single second of it, would we go through it again? in a heartbeat.
On a lighter note I have taken to wearing shorts as it is a sure way of stopping him swinging on my trouser bottoms.
Ky and Norrie
well here we are 8 weeks and many grey hairs in and I am in a reflective mood.
Norrie has we know improved over the last 8 weeks, he has put weight on in fact in total from arriving he has put 6 kilos on and every single gram of it hard work on our part. Food does not interest him at all, he will have 2-3 days where he eats all in front of him and then 2-3 days where he will not eat anything at all. If he was up to full body weight it would not matter and we wold have the attitude " he will eat when he is hungry" but with Norrie he CANNOT afford to lose any weight and every 2-3 days of not eating or eating very little sets us back.
He is a survivor, he must be. He not only survived being emaciated and malnourished all his life but he has overcome the dreadful upset stomach he had along with kennel cough at the same time.
As you can probably read between the lines we worry about him and in fact I think some days we are obsessed with his eating to the point of the usual greeting when Geoff or David come in from work is " has he eaten?"
We love him to bits, he is a real funny character, what my dad would have called a "funnyosity" , he adores people, all people even the vets. When I pick my car keys up he runs to the car thinking he is going to his favourite place--the vets!!
Speaking of vets, his weekly check up went well, he had put on about half a kilo which considering we have had an up and down week is brilliant. He is still painfully thin and his back bone still visable but the ribs are very slowly covering. Touch wood we have not had a wobbly do this week at all, whether that is because he is getting stronger or whether it is the low dose steroids who knows.
Whilst at the vets I asked about hydrotherapy which is something we have been discussing for a while, anyway opinion now is he is strong enough to go for a trial session and he is booked in next thursday. Hopefully he will take to it and and if he does regular sessions should help build some muscles on his back end and hopefully sharpen his appetite.
So we carry on, we worry on the days he is not interested in food and rejoice on the days he eats.
Looking forward we obviously are aiming on him getting well enough and strong enough to be rehomed. Realistically he needs to put a few more kilos on and be eating regularly before the vets will discharge him as fit for adoption but every few grams he gains is a step nearer the ultimate goal.
We cannot believe he has been here 8 weeks, in many ways it seems like he has been here forever and in other ways it has gone in a heartbeat. When he arrived all we knew was we had a dog coming and it needed a blood test and possibly a biopsy. It goes to show you never know what you are getting, would we change it? not a single second of it, would we go through it again? in a heartbeat.
On a lighter note I have taken to wearing shorts as it is a sure way of stopping him swinging on my trouser bottoms.
Ky and Norrie
hope he continues to improve and enjoys his swim
