Yesterday with Lennie

"jmcquown" wrote in message
...
On 10/14/2015 5:24 PM, Bastette wrote:
jmcquown wrote:

On 10/13/2015 4:29 PM, Lesley Madigan wrote:
On Saturday, October 10, 2015 at 8:45:44 PM UTC, Christina Websell
wrote:
. His toes were raw. We are working
towards a solution.
but no matter that I've changed his diet (which should have worked)
he has
still very loose bowels.

But what is he being fed when he's not with you?

Methinks she may as well adopt Lennie.

Jill

I'm not sure Boyfie would approve of that.

True enough, but Tweed has basically assumed care for Lennie right down to
communicating with his vet. The owner seems a bit clueless.

Jill

She isn't clueless, she is nearly 90 and very disabled mobility wise. She
has all her marbles, I can assure you. She loves him far too much in the
way she stuffs him with treats. To be able to keep him, she relies on
voluntary dog walkers, and one of them is me. She is unable to to anything
for herself, let alone Lennie, so I thought I would I take him on board, to
get his health better.
I do not want to adopt him. Let's get that clear. I want Rita to be able
to keep him for as long as possible. She isn't going to have another dog,
let's face it. She is nearly 90, he is 11. His health was not being taken
care of when I started to walk him last December. They adore each other.
So I'm doing my best to ensure they remain together as long as they can.

Tweed

"Bastette" wrote in message
...
jmcquown wrote:

On 10/14/2015 5:24 PM, Bastette wrote:
jmcquown wrote:

On 10/13/2015 4:29 PM, Lesley Madigan wrote:
On Saturday, October 10, 2015 at 8:45:44 PM UTC, Christina Websell
wrote:
. His toes were raw. We are working
towards a solution.
but no matter that I've changed his diet (which should have
worked) he has
still very loose bowels.

But what is he being fed when he's not with you?

Methinks she may as well adopt Lennie.

Jill

I'm not sure Boyfie would approve of that.

True enough, but Tweed has basically assumed care for Lennie right down
to communicating with his vet. The owner seems a bit clueless.

I know. I was just thinking of it from Boyfie's POV. He'd probably put
his foot down hard.

--
Joyce

There will be no adoption. I'm trying to keep Lennie with his mum.
Boyfie would say no. He is very afraid of dogs, even very small ones.

"Bastette" wrote in message
...
Christina Websell wrote:

Lennie's mummy stuffs him with treats that upset his tummy. She denies
it,
but I see those treats just waiting for him when I am gone. It's really
difficult because I am trying so hard to get him right. Most of his
allergies have been identified. cost 300 quid to find out. Dust mites
big
time. Oats, potatoes, rice. almost everything.
it's a challenge.

It's my life's work to get Lennie a solid poo. I need three bags when I
take him out. so I might change his diet again.

It's pretty pointless though. His mummy just says she will follow the
diet
and doesn't. It's really frustrating.

Does she claim that she's giving him the treats to make him happy? From
how it sounds, she's only doing it for her own pleasure. She might not
think
of it that way, but she's making him miserable with treats that give him
poor digestion and other problems. I don't know if there's a way to
convince
her that the enjoyment of giving her dog some treats would be greatly
outweighed by the joy of having a healthy, happy pet - without insulting
or
guilt-tripping her, that is! (OK, maybe a bit of guilt-tripping. )

--
His other dog walker said "good luck with that" and I haven't been able to
stop the treat-stuffing. She said that Lennie's mummy is very stubborn, and
that's very true.
However, he gets his anti-itch tablets every day now. I fill one of those
weekly pill boxes every Saturday when we get home from the Big Walk. His
toes are improving.
How I can get his bowels in order if he gets stuffed with rubbish every day
I am still struggling with. I keep saying "if you would only listen to me
about his diet he wouldn't have such loose poos", but it's pointless. She
claims that she keeps to his recommended diet, but I know from her carers
that this is not true.
Nevertheless, I will try to keep him home with her. He is well loved, he has
a perfect home, it's just the diet now. Once that is sorted (if ever) he
will be great.

On 10/15/2015 6:25 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
"jmcquown" wrote in message
...
On 10/14/2015 5:24 PM, Bastette wrote:
jmcquown wrote:

On 10/13/2015 4:29 PM, Lesley Madigan wrote:
On Saturday, October 10, 2015 at 8:45:44 PM UTC, Christina Websell
wrote:
. His toes were raw. We are working
towards a solution.
but no matter that I've changed his diet (which should have worked)
he has
still very loose bowels.

But what is he being fed when he's not with you?

Methinks she may as well adopt Lennie.

Jill

I'm not sure Boyfie would approve of that.

True enough, but Tweed has basically assumed care for Lennie right down to
communicating with his vet. The owner seems a bit clueless.

Jill

She isn't clueless, she is nearly 90 and very disabled mobility wise.

I guess I missed that information in the many discussions of your taking
care of Lennie by walking him, dealing with his digestive and vet and
allergy info. Sorry!

Jill

She
has all her marbles, I can assure you. She loves him far too much in the
way she stuffs him with treats. To be able to keep him, she relies on
voluntary dog walkers, and one of them is me. She is unable to to anything
for herself, let alone Lennie, so I thought I would I take him on board, to
get his health better.
I do not want to adopt him. Let's get that clear. I want Rita to be able
to keep him for as long as possible. She isn't going to have another dog,
let's face it. She is nearly 90, he is 11. His health was not being taken
care of when I started to walk him last December. They adore each other.
So I'm doing my best to ensure they remain together as long as they can.

Tweed

"Bastette" wrote in message
...
Christina Websell wrote:

Lennie's mummy stuffs him with treats that upset his tummy. She denies
it,
but I see those treats just waiting for him when I am gone. It's really
difficult because I am trying so hard to get him right. Most of his
allergies have been identified. cost 300 quid to find out. Dust mites
big
time. Oats, potatoes, rice. almost everything.
it's a challenge.

It's my life's work to get Lennie a solid poo. I need three bags when I
take him out. so I might change his diet again.

It's pretty pointless though. His mummy just says she will follow the
diet
and doesn't. It's really frustrating.

Does she claim that she's giving him the treats to make him happy? From
how it sounds, she's only doing it for her own pleasure. She might not
think
of it that way, but she's making him miserable with treats that give him
poor digestion and other problems. I don't know if there's a way to
convince
her that the enjoyment of giving her dog some treats would be greatly
outweighed by the joy of having a healthy, happy pet - without insulting
or
guilt-tripping her, that is! (OK, maybe a bit of guilt-tripping. )

--
Joyce

Sometimes you realise it's useless and just do the best you can.
It's so frustrating. I could sort out Lennies digestive problems if only he
wasn't stuffed with treats but it doesn't matter to his mummy as she doesn't
have to pick up his dreadful poos in a plastic bag every time I take him
out.
I'm looking after his health. Only because his mummy can't, but she's
making it difficult. The vet and myself already changed his diet, but it
doesn't help if he gets rubbish treats all the time.
Well, he isn't my dog. But I truly love him and do my best to keep him with
his mum. We do a big walk on Saturdays, three miles at least. Lennie
loves the walk but when he gets home he retires to his bed saying I'm glad
that's over..
I feel the same. I tell him it does us good.

|I didnot real
"jmcquown" wrote in message
...
On 10/15/2015 3:59 PM, Bastette wrote:
Christina Websell wrote:

Lennie's mummy stuffs him with treats that upset his tummy. She
denies it,
but I see those treats just waiting for him when I am gone. It's
really
difficult because I am trying so hard to get him right. Most of his
allergies have been identified. cost 300 quid to find out. Dust
mites big
time. Oats, potatoes, rice. almost everything.
it's a challenge.

It's my life's work to get Lennie a solid poo. I need three bags
when I
take him out. so I might change his diet again.

It's pretty pointless though. His mummy just says she will follow
the diet
and doesn't. It's really frustrating.

Does she claim that she's giving him the treats to make him happy? From
how it sounds, she's only doing it for her own pleasure. She might not
think
of it that way, but she's making him miserable with treats that give him
poor digestion and other problems. I don't know if there's a way to
convince
her that the enjoyment of giving her dog some treats would be greatly
outweighed by the joy of having a healthy, happy pet - without insulting
or
guilt-tripping her, that is! (OK, maybe a bit of guilt-tripping. )

I've never encountered a situation like Tweed's with Lennie. We all would
love to give our pets treats and pamper them constantly. We also seem to
know it's not really an intelligent thing to do.

As I said previously, I don't think Lennie's owner is very bright. I also
think she's quite willing to allow Tweed to take over so she doesn't
really have to. Sorry, but that's exactly what it comes across as when I
read the Lennie posts.

I saw a dog that had health issues that weren't been being taken care of.
So I decided to do it myself. Lennie has huge health issues. He had
allergy tests (300 quid) and he's allergic to potatoes, rice, oats plus a
million other things. Dust mites too.
so sorting his diet out to improve his bowels will be a real challenge.
There's not much carbs that he isn't allergic to.
Wheat was not mentioned.
Might try that. I would like him to be on a meat food tin, pure meat plus
some dry wheat biscuits. I'm not sure you can get this now.

"Judith Latham" wrote in message
...


I think that what you're doing for both Lennie and Rita is lovely and I'm
sure it's appreciated by both of them.

Judith


Yes, it's really appreciated by them both. Lennie gets a longer walk than
he usually has (we try to do 3 miles or more on Saturdays) which keeps his
weight in check a a bit, Rita thanks me every time and buys me a bottle of
wine every six weeks or so although I've told her it's not necessary.
Plus I get the benefit of having a surrogate dog that I can walk and groom a
little and oversee his health (I have never stopped missing having my own
dogs) without having to pay for the food and huge vets bills myself ;-)
Sort of like being a grandmother - do all the nice bits and then give them
back!
It's a win-win situation for us all.

Claire comes on the big Saturday walk with us - she's become very fond of
Rita and she said to me last Saturday "Isn't Rita adorable? Just like the
grandma I always wanted.." And it's true, she *is* adorable and it makes
you want to help her. Poor lady, she has the worst swollen red legs I have
ever seen in my life and it hurts her to move (heart problems caused this)
and she is now beginning to lose some sight. She's had a poodle all her
life and I intend to make sure she keeps this one as long as possible.

Mary, his Mon-Thursday dog walker said that Rita is very stubborn about the
treats. That proved very true, so I'm not holding out hope with "just give
him 50 percent of usual" will have any effect whatsoever. I suspect her
of telling fibs if I say "did you give him a few less treats today?" and she
says yes. Because I find lots of treats that he's hidden in his bed when he
retires there to avoid his tablets or ear-brushing (he gets his ears in his
food) so I say "so what are these in his bed, then?" and Rita says "oh,
they must have been from weeks ago" despite they are hidden in his blanket
that is washed every week..
Well, she is stubborn and I nag her a lot, but we get on very well. I *have*
managed to stop her spending huge amounts on diced beef and lamb to add to
his "weight control diet" which is complete food and was making him
explosive.
His weight control diet!! that's the next thing that needs to go out the
window, it's full of oats. The vet told me he's allergic to oats so that's
another struggle as Rita has either forgotten that his allergy tests turned
that up - or remembers that the vet said a long time before his tests that
he should eat that diet. So he still gets it along with the diet that I
sorted out to improve his bowels. :-( which are not a lot better because
he gets oats every day. Dammit she just bought a whole new bag.
I'll get there eventually.
Mary is getting a replacement hip soon, which means I will be taking Lennie
out 6 days a week for ages. Ideal opportunity for sorting Lennie out once
and for all. It's starting to be my life's work. In some ways, it annoys
me, Rita has children who should be doing this.

Tweed

Christina Websell wrote:


|I didnot real
"jmcquown" wrote in message
...
On 10/15/2015 3:59 PM, Bastette wrote:
Christina Websell wrote:

Lennie's mummy stuffs him with treats that upset his tummy. She
denies it,
but I see those treats just waiting for him when I am gone. It's
really
difficult because I am trying so hard to get him right. Most of his
allergies have been identified. cost 300 quid to find out. Dust
mites big
time. Oats, potatoes, rice. almost everything.
it's a challenge.

It's my life's work to get Lennie a solid poo. I need three bags
when I
take him out. so I might change his diet again.

It's pretty pointless though. His mummy just says she will follow
the diet
and doesn't. It's really frustrating.

Does she claim that she's giving him the treats to make him happy? From
how it sounds, she's only doing it for her own pleasure. She might not
think
of it that way, but she's making him miserable with treats that give him
poor digestion and other problems. I don't know if there's a way to
convince
her that the enjoyment of giving her dog some treats would be greatly
outweighed by the joy of having a healthy, happy pet - without insulting
or
guilt-tripping her, that is! (OK, maybe a bit of guilt-tripping. )

I've never encountered a situation like Tweed's with Lennie. We all would
love to give our pets treats and pamper them constantly. We also seem to
know it's not really an intelligent thing to do.

As I said previously, I don't think Lennie's owner is very bright. I also
think she's quite willing to allow Tweed to take over so she doesn't
really have to. Sorry, but that's exactly what it comes across as when I
read the Lennie posts.

I saw a dog that had health issues that weren't been being taken care of.
So I decided to do it myself. Lennie has huge health issues. He had
allergy tests (300 quid) and he's allergic to potatoes, rice, oats plus a
million other things. Dust mites too.
so sorting his diet out to improve his bowels will be a real challenge.
There's not much carbs that he isn't allergic to.
Wheat was not mentioned.
Might try that. I would like him to be on a meat food tin, pure meat plus
some dry wheat biscuits. I'm not sure you can get this now.


Feed him cat food?

--
Joyce

There is no alternative to being yourself.

"Bastette" wrote in message
...
Christina Websell wrote:


Feed him cat food?

If you only knew how difficult it was to get him on to canned dog special
food..his mummy said "he doesn't like canned food" Of course he does.
I will sort out his diet if that's the last thing I ever do. I am as
stubborn as his mummy. I intend to get firm poos from Lennie. Because it's
me who has to pick it up when I am walking him.
My own dogs always had solid poo. so it's his diet. it's the treats. I
have addressed his diet but if she won't stop the treats, it's useless.
It's so frustrating.