Molly, 13 yr, shih tzu - lhasa aspo - Molly has passed

Hi all,
Another funny story that Just happened with Molly and her daddy.
So, when dad comes home from work, he always grabs a treat and head for the couch, where molly meets him. He then proceeds to break off little pieces of the treat and say high five and they slap hand/paw. Molly is quite happy to participate in this little meeting of the minds they have going. He gives and she receives and they both know the game.

If he is lucky when they are done, she'll still hang out with him, but sometimes she uses him and leaves him in heart break, jumping down to go find the next adventure.

So today, after the treat is gone and she is still hanging out with him, he says high five molly. Nothing. High Five Molly, still nothing, she won't even look at him. This goes on for a bit and then finally he is holding his hand up, and she still not looking at him, puts her paw on his hand, like, Fine, are you happy now.

He cracks up laughing, saying this is the most begrudging high five ever. Lets try again. So he says High Five Molly and she puts her paw up, heading for his hand and almost there, she changes direction and brushes it over Her Eyes instead. I was rolling laughing and told him that Molly just totally faked him out.

I'd say she is doing just fine thank you and now she is curled up against his leg napping. :)

Life is good, so glad the weekend is here!!!

hugs all,
Sharlene and Molly "fake out" Muffin

Cheeky little minx!

That is so cute, funny how they do anything for a treat eh!! I have been trying to teach Elle the Siamese to shake hands, not too successfully I might add. Using treats of course. She sits on her chair giving me her superior Siamese eye, while I am like "shake hands cat" waving a treat about.. the other night, Flynn came over to watch but I was not really concentrating on him and Mum is like ohhhh he breaks my heart... I glanced over and there he was with his little paw up in the air, already to shake hands with me with a look on his face to say "I know that contrary cat won't shake hands with you, but I WILL Mum" now "give me the treat!" :):)

Thanks for the high five-story Sharlene. It was priceless!:D
I love to read happy stories.:D

Hugs,
Kathy and Buddy:cool:

haha...love the "fake out"!! So funny. :)
Barbara

That's great :)
I love how each of them has their own personality and quirks.

Awesome story, and who says dogs aren't smart, goodness thats so funny!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

Sharlene:
What a cute story. Molly has a special place in daddy's heart too! The things they do that are so precious, make you want to keep them forever. If it were only possible! Bllessings
Patti

My husband and Molly definitely have a special relationship. :)

He likes dogs and has taken in rescues and found them homes, but he'd never really had one of his own until Molly. He has always had cats. Tasha, my golden, sort of came with me as a package deal (along with the cat Tipsy) and she was already having a lot of problems because of the steroids, so he didn't get a chance to really Know her when she was a baby and all the great years when she was so playful and felt so good.

Molly he took to right away and hasn't let go since although when it comes to her treatment, vet visits, feeding, etc, he leaves to me. He is the one who will spoil her and give her whatever she wants though, even as he tries to be her alpha.

It's kind of funny to see really. There is a test of wills there sometimes and I'm never really sure who comes out on top. I have a sneaking suspicion it is molly though. hahahaha

Molly is happiest when we are both here together and she loves it when the kids are here or my Mother In Law. 5 - 6 people seems to be here happy pack level, anything more and she starts to worry about keeping everyone in line I think. LOL I think, that she thinks, that us humans are harder to keep in line than herding cats sometimes. So much work!!

Oh yes Patti, I'd have her forever if I could, but I know that isn't possible :( I live somewhere between realism and denial of the future. It's not a bad place. :) As long as Molly is having happy care free days and they aren't always like this, sometimes she doesn't feel so awesome and we adjust, but for the most part she is very good and happy and we are happy when she is.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Sharlene,
I don't know about you, but I plan on having Buddy with me forever!;). Yes, I am completely, happily, deluded!!!!:D. Your husband's relationship with Molly sounds adorable. :) It is incredible about how these little tiny bursts of personality completely take over our life. :) I'm thrilled to hear that Molly is doing so well and has all of her people family towing the line. Someone has to be in charge!:D

Hugs,
Kathy and Buddy:cool:

Hahahha, Kathy, it's a fine place to be that deluded space. Works for me. :)
Yep, we're staying in line. Behaving ourselves.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Hi Sharlene, I LOVE reading your stories about Molly. She is such a sweetie. Happy to read that you all are doing well and that Miss Molly is enjoying herself. I'm trying to get a bit caught up on everyone, sheesh, it is so easy to get out of touch, and quickly!

Hugs from me and Jasper

Hi Sharlene,
So sorry to hear that Molly is feeling a little stiff this morning. When you finish baking those Rockyroad cookies, send a batch over. They sound wonderful!;)

Hugs,
Ksthy

Hi Sharlene
Mmm..pulled pork and rocky road cookies-no wonder Molly's nose is twitching,she must be in heaven!Grace would just sit,wait and watch for any stray crumbs that may fall to the floor.:).Sorry that Molly is feeling a little stiff today.Not sure what your weather is like there but the humidity here is dreadful and my mother's arthritis has really been acting up as a result.Hopefully she will feel better as the day progresses.Lol...love that she may have been fluent in French:D.That occurred to me when I was in Italy-so many dogs that only understood Italian-had to remind myself to greet them with Ciao.:).

Wow,I can't believe you fostered.I would love to do that now that I've been reading about all the rescues.Molly just didn't want to "share" her mom and dad with anyone else.:).Fella would NEVER have been happy about that either.He loved having me to himself and that's the thing I miss about him the most.He'd just look at Grace and Buster playing as if to say"you can have your fun with your toys,I have mom and that's all I need".

Well,happy cooking today and thanks for welcoming Romeo.Hope Molly is having a better day and enjoying all that wonderful aroma!

I would love to foster too, bit tricky when I am still working will be looking into it though for my senior years!!! I also thought of offering to the vet to perhaps take any of the pets in the hospital out for the weekend. I guess they might be too sick, but maybe some would like a pass for a day or two. :D

I can just picture Miss twitchy nose hovering waiting for crumbs, I would be too... your cooking sounds divine! What times dinner??? Can you feed 30 of us as we all coming to Canada!!

I love barbecue so am defo there. And dessert well you already am aware how fond I am of that too..

:) Thanks Ladies. I did cook some just for Molly without seasoning on it. She seemed to think that was okay. :) Dinner is whenever you want it to be. I tend to just make it and now it's in the crock pot, and anyone can just wander in and make a sandwich (toasted buns of course) and made some coleslaw on the side.

Great way to do dessert with cookies, is 2 cookies (1 cookie if had too many sandwiches), with vanilla bean ice cream. Easy peasy and I'm all about easy. LOL
Kathy I swear I was gong to send some over, but not sure what happened, they kept disappearing on me.

Molly is just like Gracie, right there in the kitchen waiting to see if a morsel is coming her way. :) It's been a fun day. Molly's back end loosed up and she has been jumping in and out of the window seat in between trips to the kitchen. We even sneaked in a nap while reading a book (that always makes me sleepy).

Huggers!
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Sounds wonderful Sharlene. Glad Molly is feeling better. I know her nose is twitching. Crock pot foods smell so good. We cooked in the pressure cooker yesterday or my husband did, I am afraid of the pressure cooker and it is electric. Just call me a scaridy cat or smart since my husband believes me (hehe). Love JoAnne

Stop with the food already girls, Tipper is salivating all over and wants your address. I just saw her packing a bag and heading out the door with her nose in the air!!
Blessings
Patti

We'll keep a look out for Tipper and her bag. :) Expect she'll be showing up any time now. LOL

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Glad Molly is doing better, praying it continues!

Sharlene:
Tipper said the food trail went cold so she decided to come home. She wants to know if you deliver?? Blessings
Patti

Did Molly enjoy some pulled pork?? :) I think my husband would enjoy a pot of that waiting in the kitchen with toasted buns and slaw! :p
Across the street from me is a gourmet grocery where I get Trixie her "pulled" turkey. They cook and sell whole fresh turkey breast at the deli...no seasoning or brine. After they carve it for the deli they pull all the extra white meat off the bones and pack it into containers and sell them for less than the slicing prices. That's what Trixie gets along with her wet dog food. She always, without fail eats the turkey off the plate first before the dog food. ;) No surprise there!!
These gourmet dogs are probably watching the Food Network too much! :D
Barbara

LOL Barbara I knew I shouldn't have left the remote for her. She is suppose to be watching Discovery and National Geographic! The Food Network, no wonder she gets all happy when I head for the kitchen! LOL Gourmet dogs!! ROFL

Well gang, it's that time again. Molly won't be happy with me in the morning when she doesn't get breakfast but it's time to redo blood work and see where her liver values are now. She's been on the Hepato Support for quite a while and there was a tiny bit of movement on the last blood test, but not much. We'll see if it has gone down any further.

She still isn't over drinking and has no problem walking away from her kibbles if she decides she isn't interested in them. She might return later in the day or late evening to finish them off. She might not. Usually she does, so she is at about a cup to a cup and half of SO food a day. She gets her glucosomine and liver support daily, but nothing else. Some treats during the day and I've found some good ones without extra crap in them that are made local.

She is still running around most days like a crazy thing. Not a fan of the heat, but that isn't anything new, she has never liked it, but will lay in the sun for awhile when she feels like it (obviously not the same as taking a walk in the heat). Her leg gets stiff on her, but usually loosens up as the day goes on. You can always tell when she first gets up, she's a bit stiff, but doesn't seem to stop her from running around. If she doesn't feel like jumping, she'll make noise till you go pick her up. An hour later she might be jumping on and off the couch like nothing was bothering her.

I know my vet still thinks cushings but can't explain why no symptoms and nothing positive on 3 LDDS tests over the last 2 years. (her first was in 2011) I feel like they are just waiting for the shoe to drop and her to be full blown or something.

She hasn't gained any weight in the last couple years, staying around 19.3 - 19.6lbs. She drops to 18.6 if we go on vacation, so she's pretty reliable weight wise. The belly goes away and I'm sure it's because she doesn't get the treats she gets at home and refuses to eat much at all when she is being boarded. Not a likely scenerio I'd think for cushings.

I've ruled out thyroid with a thyroid panel, all negative, everything in perfect range. Same with glucose, so not diabetes. Asked the vet about liver disease, and was told she has none of the other values that would lead them to think liver disease. Kidney's is probably my biggest concern at this point, due to the crystals, numerous infections, etc. (but no pacreatis so far, that is good, her lipase has never been elevated).

Oh well, I'm rambling on. Hopefully the numbers will come back at least status quo if not improved.

Till later gang,
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Hey Sharlene, Simba loves the Animal planet channel, especially when animal cops are on, he would like you to tell Molly to check it out :) He loves it when the bad people ( who are mean to animals ) get caught!!!!
Anyways, praying little Molly gets some good test results on her liver, and hope her appetite gets better too....take care and hide the remote!!!

Hi Sharlene,
Give Molly a belly rub for me and tell her that I completely understand her frustration with no breakfast and what's up with that!:D just because mommy wants another blood test!:D Seriously, I hope everything checks out okay.;) We worry so about our babies.

Hugs,
Kathy

Wishing that the time at the vets goes super quick for Molly so she can get home and have her breakfast! ;)
Hope those liver numbers go down!!
Barbara

Awww poor Molly, they seem to know something is up when we bundle them in the car with no brekky!! Smart wee things :)

Hoping for good results for Miss Molly especially in the liver department and that nothing else has cropped up!

She sounds good Sharlene, you are such a good Mom with your eagle eye and take everything in your stride.. you are an excellent example to all of us and a big shining star of hope to this group!! If anyone deserves good results it is you!!! Tuck a wee treat in your bag to give her once she is released!! A VERY tasty one as I am sure she is going to be a good wee girl for the vet :D xxxxx

Well, molly wasn't thrilled with the ride to the vets. (she hates car rides) but was fine when we got there. Funny, she goes in the door and walks over to the scale, sits down and waits for you to say, okay got it.
18.8 lbs today, so a bit of a drop, but it seriously might have been that really big, well formed poop she took right before we left to go there. I'm sure that sucker was a few ounces. (sorry to be graphic :) )

So, next we have S-Adenosyl the generic Denoysl, which is sam-e, milk thistle, other things available now in canada for the last 6 months or so. If these numbers aren't down enough, then when I retest in August, I'll move to that instead of the Hepato Support supplement. http://www.amazon.com/Adenosyl-SAMe-.../dp/B000O5K7IQ

Also, discovered, the Farley Foundation in Ontario, created by Ontario Veterinary Medical Association in 2002, to help out people whose pets need testing, vaccinations , etc and need help to do so financially. So I like that. http://www.farleyfoundation.org/

Found out that Molly has her own case file number with the medical specialist at medi-cal for her food and supplements. Interesting. Like Dechra in that respect and it is for her urinary crystals, etc.

So, the vet will call me when the test results come in and go over any abnormals, change of plan, etc. Then I'll swing by and pick up a copy of the results probably later this week, or maybe have them faxed to my office, whichever. I'll get my grubby little paws on them, that's what counts, so they can go into my trusty file folder on little miss whipper snapper molly.

She turned her nose up completely at some new teeth cleaning treats we tried while there. Well, not literally up, literally was to put it in her mouth, move it around a bit and then spit it back out on the floor and look at it with disdain, hmmmphhh. I'm like, well that didn't get much of a chance to clean anything did it and we all laughed. We all moved on to discussions of shopping and wedding attire. A very productive morning was had.

So, this weeks New recipe was Chicken Caprese Pasta. Molly was especially fond of the smells and didn't seem to mind that her chicken was plain. (nice of her to be so accommodating about that).

Have a good weekend everyone. :)
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Molly sure has some work to do to get her people straightened out!:)
No breakfast, then a teeth cleaning treat! I would've spit that sucker out too!LOL:D
Sharene, You either have to quit talking about food or start an international delivery service! :DMolly's plain chicken sounds better than what I end up eating half the time!:rolleyes:;)

Hugs,
Kathy

I often think that when weights fluctuate a little. Flynny's does that too - ranges up and down 500g. I agree it is probably how well they emptied their bladder or bowel prior to the appointment so I don't tend to worry about little changes like those but look at the bigger trends.

How do you manage cleaning her teeth Sharlene, I tend to only brush Flynn's teeth with his special toothbrush and chicken flavoured toothpaste when I shower him. He hates it. He does not get bones, I tried giving him those chicken necks but he would give them one crunch and down they went :eek::eek: I could just imagine that bony little neck making it;s way down his gut :eek: Other bones tend to make him constipated and as we know he is not that great with biscuits. Just wondering how others manage this.

Have a good day, what's for dinner?? :D:D:D

I agree Trish, I am not fixated on Molly's weight, unless it goes up enough to cause her problems with mobility, etc. Then she'll be getting some longer walks! LOL

I think I take spells, where I try to do something different sometimes on the weekend, food wise. Probably because I don't do much during the week. Get up work, and then too tired to go all in the kitchen. Today is leftovers. We'll see what tomorrow brings. I had a wonderful soup at a restaurant that I want to find a recipe for. They no longer serve it so I'm going to have to be creative if I ever want it again.

Molly likes the effort though. hahahahaha Teeth, ugh! She hates to have anyone messing around in her mouth and I'm the only one that can go in there without too much risk of a nip. So I have a brush that fits over the finger. Throw some doggie toothpaste on it and go to town till she has had enough.
Molly is No Buddy who will let you do anything grooming wise to him. (didn't Buddy sleep through his last hair cut?!) Me I have to bribe the little miss to get her in for a comb and trim and then she tries to hide her face in my stomach so I can't trim around her nose and eyes.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Hmmm I like the sound of that finger brush thingy, will have to have a look in the pet shop for one of those. They do go into cuddle mode to try and distract us don't they... bit hard to try and do the business at hand when they smooching in!! I look in his mouth and he tries to kiss me which makes it hard to see! I think the trick is to make it part of their usual routine right from when they are wee pups, if I ever get another I shall do that!

Heehee...Molly, you crack me up. Love a dog with personality plus! So funny that her review on the teeth cleaning treats was a "No thanks!". Sharlene do you know what those treats were called?...we could use some more teeth cleaning options.
Trixie is impossible as far as me trying to clean her teeth. I have the little finger brush and she's just "oh no you don't!".
Anyway I hope Molly's numbers are good when you get the results! :)
Barbara

ack, I don't remember what it was called, or if they just said it was a new tooth cleaning treat they got in.
When I stop in to get results I'll ask them what it is called.

Hope you are having a fine day. We're getting ready to leave to see if we can go find a wine my husband wants, that supposedly they just got in. I guess it got rave reviews or something. You can always tell when it's a saturday. LOL This would never come up during the work week. :)

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Have you ever tried the Greenies treats? toothbrush shaped chewables? My boys now are getting one each at night, have to say their breath is considerably better! I tried the toothbrush and paste years ago, don't know who was more traumatised by the experience, me or the boys, so it didn't last long :D

Hi:
Just a caution with the greenies. They were on the news as the dogs were chewing pieces off and they had a blockage in the intestines, which required emergency surgery. Tipper loved them, but I quit giving them to her when I saw this. They do sell them ground up though. Just wanted to let you know so your babies aren't having any other problems- lord knows we don't need other problems since we are already dealing with Cushings! Blessings
Patti

yes be careful with those. Kinda like the pigs ears. Many years ago my dogs loved them, but I was told they could get lodged in the intestines, Yikes. You know how it goes anything we or they LOVE, has gotta be bad in some way. Actually they probably would be okay, but my dogs almost inhaled them, so there was the problem. :eek::eek:

Hope Molly is doing okay and you get a good report. Happy weekend (and wine hunting):):)

Pat and Peety

Just some info on the teeth brushing "stuff" (with 3 pugs I know bad breath issues):

1) Greenies used to be non-digestible, which is when the blockages occurred...they changed the formula years ago and are now completely digestible so no worries like with rawhide and the like (though they are high in calories so look to Zuke's Z-bones for a healthier, similar option)

2) Ark Naturals makes healthy, yummy treats called "Brushless Toothpaste"...you can get them in little bits or bigger chew treats. Yummy outer core of cleaning/breath freshening stuff and an inner circle of actual dehydrated enzymatic toothpaste

3) There's a number of "gel" products you just put in their mouth at night and it works enzymatically to eat off the old plaque. I use the PetzLife product but there's lots of other (TropiClean, Vet's Best, other). These actually work really well (I've been using the PetzLife for about 5 years as I won't put the pugs under for a dental) and keep the mouth fresh-smelling and clear of infection (mouth most common place for infection in cats/dogs).

I was reading your posts as I was getting ready for some brushing (I use the Petrodex toothbrush gloves and the TropiClean gel as the "paste") on my old man so figured I'd share the "love" :)

~~Lisa and Vince

I have in the past used the greenies, but then I switch to small size dentastix. Same idea.

I like the idea of the of the gel you put it in at night. I might give that a try. Thanks for the tip. Hopefully they have it here in Canada too.

hugs all, thanks for the tips,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Our Molly really has it in her head that she rules this house. LOL When she is Not happy, she is quite vocal in letting us All know.

So last night we had some friends over, rather late, I admit and Molly is a creature of habit for sure. Anyway, we were all outside under the pavilion, talking and having fun. Molly was out with us till about 10:30, when she wanted to go inside. (not inside the downstairs door at pool level, only upstairs at the main floor level) so I let her into the house. 15 minutes later, she shows up downstairs barking at the slider door, so I open it but she wouldn't come outside. So, smart gal that I am (or think I am) I leave the door open so she can come in and out if she wants.
No go. Fail. go back to start. She sat at the door and barked at us. Then when that didn't work, she turned her back and laid down with her butt facing us, in a huff. Then when that didn't work either, she went back up to the main level and commenced to barking for all she was worth at the upstairs slider to get us to come back up there.
Let me tell you, that dog has some powerful lungs and is stubborn as they come. She was having none of it. We, being just as stubborn, stayed outside and finally she went to sleep. See, normally somewhere between 9:30 - 10:30, she'd get her last walk in and then go to bed. Not that she had to pee last night, she'd already done that outside when she was with us, but she is just habitual creature.
Finally around 1:30am our guests left and I took molly for a short walk that was basically down the driveway, up the street about 2 houses, and she turned around and was ready to go home and to bed. Nothing was happening though in her world, until she had gone out, checked the trees for mail and left her signature that she had made the nightly check on you know her favorite tree in front of our house.
She rules!

Now she is going to be unhappy again tonight, if I can convince hubby that we absolutely MUST go downtown and see the last show of a 5 day Canadian premier with John Malkovitch as Casanova. I love live theater, but not sure if I can convince hubs that this is a must do item on a Sunday night. LOL When he has been out with his buddies all morning playing racquetball and hanging at the local pub afterwards. (his sunday tradition). I'm going to try and I'll just have a ticked molly getting another late night walk if it happens.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin