Saturday 5 December 2009

Lumps, bumps and a new addition

As promised, here's lumpy Jana and some puppy news. It's taken quite some time getting this post up due to computer and photo problems, hopefully these will soon be ironed out. Computers are wonderful...but only when they do what you want them to!

Jana-the-accident-prone-vizsla must have felt it was quite long enough since her last mishap (the wound which required stapling) and came out in quite spectacular hives last weekend. It started with a small lump above one eye and a slightly fatter lip and soon developed into more widespread bumps and a distinctly wrinkly-stocking look to the legs! Since she also brought up her last meal, I suspect it was an allergic reaction to something she ate, the most likely thing being a 'smoked barbecue flavour ' rawhide chip dog treat that she'd had for the first time. She won't be getting any more of those...just to be on the safe side.

Thankfully, the reaction soon subsided and she was back to her normal smooth-skinned self by the end of the next day.

EDIT I should add that Jana was promptly given a steroid injection by the vet and, although she got worse before she got better, she didn't suffer a prolonged itchy spell and has made a complete recovery. I suspect some form of added colouring in the treat was to blame but it's difficult to know for sure. The paps ate the same thing but none of them reacted.


Poor Jana




Now for the good news.

Pansy had a single dog puppy three weeks ago. It wasn't to be the conventional way of entering the world, Pansy did not get down to the serious business of pushing and so a caesarian was required. However, the pup was strong and soon sussed out where the milk bar was. His mother, still a little woozy during the first night, was quite horrified by this strange puppy which was being thrust upon her and had to be encouraged to stay still in order for him to suckle. She would run away from him to start with! That all changed the next day, she gave him a lick or two and then decided that of course he was hers and woe betide any of the other dogs who dared come anywhere near him!

She has proved to be a dedicated mother and, unlike her mother and grandmother, she does do bottoms.


Pansy and son


Three weeks old


He is tri-coloured, you can just about make out his eyebrows




The (contented) End

26 comments:

Gail said...

Strong mixed emotions here...I celebrate the new addition but feel so badly about the discomfort of Jana.

Life With Dogs said...

What a fun post - drama and pure beauty! I have to ask - did you give any antihistamine to Jana or did it resolve on its own?

Jo said...

Oh poor, poor Jana :<( I pray she's better already. And what a beautiful little lad Pansy has. I hope your computer problems are also resolved now. Thanks for sharing.

Gennasus said...

I should have said that Jana was given a steroid injection by the vet, who warned, correctly, that she might get worse before she got better. Despite how bad it looked, she didn't suffer a prolonged itchy phase, thank goodness.

Mary said...

First the Ahhhhh. He is beautiful, Sue, and you must have breathed a huge sigh of relief when everything settled down to pup normality after past problems.

Second - Poor, poor Jana. I've never seen such a dramatic reaction to anything. You must have been shocked when you saw it. Did you by any chance contact the manufacturer of the treat in case they have had other folks with a similar problem?

Martha said...

Poor Jana, thank goodness she is OK now - who would have thought she would have had such an extreme reaction.
The new puppy is just the sweetest!
What an interesting time you are all having what with one thing and another!
xxx

jabblog said...

Poor poor Jana - she looked most uncomfortable. Glad to hear it's settled down now and she's back to her beautiful self.
Well done Pansy (shame about the Caesarian though)! What an adorable puppy - he's going to look just like his mama. What a good mummy she is, too - attending to all the bath-time requirements!You're going to keep him?? How could you not . . . ahhhhh! (Now you know why we never bred Dalmatians!!)

Anonymous said...

Those hives look so uncomfortable! Poor thing!

And the pup is the sweetest - especially that little tail :) Beautiful photography.

Mal Burns said...

beautiful baby Sue :-) and so glad Jana has recovered. Debs

Chris said...

Poor Jana, she looks so fed up. Glad she recovered quickly. The pup looks sturdy and very cute, and Pansy looks very proud.

Chris said...

Poor Jana, she looks so fed up. Glad she recovered quickly. The pup looks sturdy and very cute, and Pansy looks very proud.

Lindy said...

Oh, poor Jana! But I am so relieved to hear she is better. That new puppy is just as sweet as can be!

Gayle said...

Poor Jana. I've never had a dog react to something. You must have felt a bit of panic.

What an adorable puppy. You raise beautiful dogs.

Pyatshaw said...

Lovely, healthy looking pup.
Jana is not what you would call the luckiest of dogs!

Claire said...

the puppies are adorable, of course! but poor jana!!! i think short hair dogs seem to be more susceptible to hives like this (ether that, or they just show up more on short haired dogs??) last summer roux had an allergic reaction a lot like that, only hers swelled so much that she literally couldn't open her eyes. poor thing! i'm glad she's feeling better!

Suldog said...

Oh, the poor thing! I had no idea dogs even GOT hives. God bless her.

Samantha ~ Holly and Zac ~ said...

Poor Jana, i am glad she recovered quickly.

Congrats on the cute little pup, he is adorable.

Sunny said...

Poor Jana, thank goodness she recovered in short time. The little puppy is absolutely adorable.
Sunny :)

Esther Garvi said...

Oh my, poor Jana! I'm glad she's doing better!

The puppy is gorgeous!

Sierra Rose said...

Hi! Sorry it has taken us so long to visit.
Jana...oh my goodness, are you ok sweetie!?!?! And, Pansy and son. How sweet!!
Hope everyone is ok and in good form these days. Love to hear from you.

Hugs and snaggle-tooth kisses,
Sierra Rose

Amber and Nala said...

Oh Jana...you got it bad girl! I had a food allergy and got hives too but your face may have had more hives than mine. :( It is painful huh and also hard for our pawrents to see us like that. Glad you are better now! What ba sweet new addition you have in your family too. He is a cutie!

Nala

Tina. said...

Wow that sure was an extreme reaction for Jenna, I hope she is all better now! As for the rest of the post all I can say is Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! Too Cute and Precious! Congrats to Pansy from Honeydew and Sampson!

Life With Dogs said...

Happy holidays!

Amber and Nala said...

Hope sweet Jana is better! I think Nala had a reaction to a smoked flavor bone too but it didn't come in the form of hives...let's just say we were cleaning the carpets...YUCK! Anyway, hope you had a Happy New Year!

Amber

Dot O said...

Great post, and I am so sorry it has taken me this long to read it! I don't know what's up. But, I am glad Jana's bumpy day was short-lived, and I am thrilled to see a new little puppy - so sweet and so handsome.

I hope you are well and 2010 has brought wonderful things to start the year - including a glitch-free computer!

Callie Brady said...

What a cute pup and Mom! My husband had a reaction like that to canned sardines. Jana got better a lot faster than he did. LOL