I am Walter and this is my World.

I am Walter and this is my World.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Alls well

We are having a quiet weekend. I have a big proposal due monday so Walter is chillin in Scamperland while I speed-write. This is a picture of the first time I took walter to the vets. first time ever. see all the stuff I thought I needed to bring with? It's only gotten more complicated since then!

He has started to get wise to the marshmallows, (but we got a whole WEEK out of them! Problem is he's too smart.) So we're looking for other pill camouflaging ideas if anyone has them.

I took Walter out in the Popemobile last night. (Stoller) It's all zipped up and enclosed, and I think he liked it...but he was scratching at the zippers (no idea why, there's tons of room in there, I think he just wanted out!) and barking his fool head off the whole time at potential threats, wherever they were, like the fire hydrant, a tree...a squirrel...anyway it looked like we had a Tasmanian Devil locked up in a rolling cart. Every time we passed someone I just had to say, "He got hit by a car, we really want to let him out but we can't...He got hit by a car, we really want to let him out but we can't..."

Oh wally. Disturbing the peace, just like a good pug should.

How I LOVE you!

Then we did physical therapy, where Walter has to lay over a ball and we rock him gently to stimulate nerve growth in his feet. Will get pictures but I dont' think Wally likes it at all. Then wrestled with pain pills and he finally went to sleep. He is really getting strong, relatively speaking, and it is getting harder to entertain him. He's like LET ME OUT OF THIS DAMN PEN!

Hope you're all doing great...

28 comments:

Winston Wilbur said...

i think a quiet weekend will do you good, both Walter and you. Sometimes it is what we need. We are also having a quiet weekend, no plans just hanging at home. We will of course continue reading Pretty Little Mistakes. Loving the book and having fun with it! We have done 3 different endings so far. Gets lots of rest Walter and you too mum, remember to stop and take a little break from working, enjoy a cup of tea with Walter and pug rubs behind the ears.

luv winston

Sandy said...

I'm waiting for the books to come so that I can read them. When you have time (ha ha) give a try to www.pug-dog.blogspot.com. Louise the pug (from Vancouver BC) often goes to work with her owner in a carriage and he might have some ideas on how he got her to like the experience--believe me from her pictures she does!

agent99 said...

My personal favorite is spray cheese(Cheeze-Whiz, but sometimes I get tired of that. Cream cheese is good too, but sometimes I am just in the mood for a good lump of peanut butter. Greenies has "Pill Pockets" but Mom says they're too "pricey", whatever that means. I just like em. I'm with Walter on the marshmallows, tht one didn't fool me for a minute.

Salinger The Pug said...

Our favorite trick is CRUNCHY peanut butter (the peanuts camouflage the pill). Salinger got wise to the creamy stuff, but the crunchy fools him almost all the time.

I also just throw them into the bottom of his kibble in his bowl....as he's wolfing down his dinner he usually doesn't pay much attention to what's in there!

Good luck and I'm glad to hear that he's full of "piss and vinegar" and yapping!!!

Have a great weekend!

BRUTUS said...

Getting feisty, eh? I think that's a good sign for sure!!
Brutus has to take a pill twice a day, and either spary cheese or regular cheese (the soft slice kind you have to unwrap to put on your sandwich) works. Sometimes I also use a little soft/canned food. As long as I keep switching it up fromtime to time, Brutus is none the wiser ;0

Michelle (Brutus snorting in background)

Stubby said...

Hi Heather! Walter sure was a cute little baby. He looks so happy to be at the vets, without a care in the world.

That Popemobile sounds like something I need. I have a buggy that attaches to Mom's bike, but I sometimes get freaked out in it. I'm going to have Mom look into getting me a Popemobile so that I can go on walks/rolls with her.

Walter is getting fiesty and that's a good thing. He wants to get out of his pen and start his world tour. You go Walter!

Stubby xoxo

Pee-s: I have problems taking pills too. Dad has been using tortillas this week and so far so good. He used to use bread, lunchmeat, and peanut butter, but my sniffer is far too sophisticated for those.

Tweedles -- that's me said...

I take a pill everyday and my mom trades off in putting it in a piece of hot dog- something I want so bad- she does it real fast like she will give me another bite and i am so excited it goes down the hatch real quick! Or sometimes smelly canned food works- but the pill goes in just a bite of it. Course she makes sure I am kinda hungry.
Barking is a good sign my mama says!
love
tweedles

Anonymous said...

Ooh sounds like someone has attitude! I am glad he is getting fiesty even though it will be hard to keep denying him.

Peanut butter is a great idea, i was going to suggest that as well. Indy would just eat her pils when i told her it was a treat, I have very non picky dogs. What about stuffing it in a piece of watermelon or strawberry?

C.l.o.v.e.r. said...

What a cute baby Walter was! (Of course he is still very cute!)
Sounds like you had a fun walk with the Popemobile (LOL!) and I am sure Walter enjoyed it despite his barking and scratching.
We are going to mention Walter in a post today, and hope it is ok if I took two pictures from your blog. Please let me know if it is not ok.
Mom's books are supposed to arrive on Tuesday - she is excited!!
Hope you have a good weekend.
xo

Sequoia & Petunia & Emma said...

Pill smuggling can be tricky...I have heard that Circus Peanuts work...they are like Marshmellows and cut hot dogs (I think you may have tried this one already). Maybe blackberrys inside them? I know sometimes you got to make sure they don't see you hide the pill too! Good luck!

Brutus, Ellie, Pippa and Otto said...

Sounds like you had a good time taking Walter out in his popemobile. He is getting feisty, which is a good sign.

Rosie said...

A quiet weekend is a good idea to catch up on rest. It sounds like Walter wants to get better NOW - How long will it take for his inuries to heal? I sure hope he gets mobile soon!
Rosie

Dutch the Pug said...

Dear Walter,
My mommie and I are praying for you. If is the first time we have heard about your accident. My mommie has viewed your blog for a long time and loves it. She found it doing research on pugs before I even came into her life. She couldn't believe how many people blogged about pugs. Yours is one of our favorites and has encouraged us to start one as well. We both want you to have a quick recovery and know that your blog has been so inspiring.
Love,
Duch and Ashley

Emily and Ike said...

Keep getting better!
Ike

Boo Bear said...

Oh Walter and Momma Heather! WE ADORE you, and LOVE reading your updates!

I have a doggy stroller (i refuse to attach myself to any religious terms, tee hee!), and i couldn't stand when mom put me in it.. I couldn't believe the first time she tried to roll me around the Mall Of AMERICA in it! I was like, "OH HELL NO", ha! And she even tried to keep it zipped for a while.. Didn't go over real well for me.. When i realized she actually was going to stroll me around like some hidden little "secret", i rebelled and spoke my pug mind! Imagine that! I clawed at the netting and started making those oh so crazy puggy sounds! She took me to IKEA in it, thinking it was great way to "smuggle" me through the front doors.. When we were on the elevator, i started making the lovely squeeking puggy noises and you should have seen the people's expressions in the elevator! Mom couldn't help busting out laughing and had to confess to the other shoppers just WHAT was in the zipped stroller! At any rate, i told mom no use trying it anymore, she can save it until im older and can't use my legs so much.. For now, im OUT IN THE OPEN or forget it.. It does look good sitting in our entry way, i like to jump up in it and once in a while when i am really tired.. Makes a good bed for now i guess.

So i feel your pain hangin in the stroller Walter.. But DUDE, you need to slow your roll for a little bit.. Hey, a stroll is better than nothing right now.. Oh and tell mom NOT to zip it up.. My mom had a leash attached to me that she also held on to tightly so i couldn't jump out.. The zipped is a little degrading, ha!

Thanks for the update, SOOO happy you are showing the spunk more and more.. Oh, we LOVE the picture of you as a Bay Bee!! Love that you mums took all that stuff.. Just like my mums! Aren't they silly and the best??

Mom is still wondering WHEN she gets the go ahead to come see you!!

Loves, Rubs, and Positive Prayers coming your way!

Boo Bear (your homie!)

Sabrina said...

Not sure if you want to go back to crushing the pills, but in pharmacy school we were always told to crush pills for dogs into beef broth so it masked the taste (don't use chicken broth--not strong tasting enought). I haven't tried it, but if you run out of other options, it might buy you some time!

Sabrina and Beulah

Pug(s) and Bugg said...

We ate our pillz in beef flavored pill pockets from the vet. If it was a small pill mom would rip them in half and then mold it around the pill, since she said they were expensive! But, we LOVED them!

Liz in Kansas said...

Peanut butter usually works for Jake and Barney. Jake prefers his spread on a cracker! There are lots of good suggestions here, though. Good luck. Wally showing his attitude is a great sign - just a little rough on us humans, huh?

dw said...

So nice to hear Walter is finally having a relaxing weekend (he's been on quite the whirlwind the past few). I picked up one of your books this weekend (before hiking in 100 degree humidity), and hope to start reading it this week!

Still praying for you, Walter, buddy!

Punchbugpug said...

Chloe is VERY good at finding the pills. In the past I have used, cubed cheese, Bil-Jac treats, ham, turkey, peanut butter. She manages to smuggle that little pill out and spit it on the floor. When I read about the mini-marshmellows, I thought...terrific, it didn't seem to work, then I got smarter...I first give her one without a pill...ahhh, she forgets, then I put the second one on her and she is so excited...GULP down it goes! We only have 8 more pills to go here....phew....

Good luck!

Mia said...

Punchbugpug is right. Whatever you use to give him the pills, make sure you give it to without as well. If he only gets it at pill time, he's going to get wise quick. But you vary it and give him a plain marshmellow as a treat instead of just with a pill he might take them easier. The are good at sniffing out those pills. We use cheese, lunch meat, soft treats and whatever else we can stuff a pill into. But make sure that he gets whatever the pill is in as a pill free treat off and on so he doesn't automatically associate that treat with the a pill. Glad you've had a quiet weekend. Keep trying the Popemobile. You said he used to enjoy it at one time, maybe if you keep trying he'll enjoy it again. Either way, it gets you both out of the house!

Have a good week!!

Pug Love & Kisses
Jess & Lilo

Puggle Preston said...

Hi Walter, We heard about it from our old friend, C.l.o.v.e.r. Mom and I have been deeply touched by your mom's writing on your blog. You are such a tough little guy. We truely admire your braveness. We can't wait to read your mom's book (and we will ask my grandparetns in taiwan to check it out too!)
wags and licks,
Preston
www.prestonthepuggle.com

Sashurama said...

Hi Heather and Walter... I just wanted to let you know that my pug Max and I are praying for Walter´s full recovery every day. If you look at your´s blog map, you´ll see a heart from Argentina, that´s us...
You can feed him the pills with something sweet like DULCE DE LECHE, it is spanish for cooked condensate milk or mush potato... Hope this helps you. Alexandra and Max

Nevis said...

Wonderful to hear how well Walter is doing!

Archie and Melissa said...

hi walter and heather!
oh what a great weekend!
he is just getting stronger and stronger!
your posts are wonderful!
big hugs to both of you.

happy monday!

Unknown said...

I've pretty much ghosted on the site, and left one comment as Freya. I'm glad Walter is doing so well--I've been crying with you even though Walter isn't mine. I still can empathize with everything you both have been going through.

As for the pills--I've pretty much mixed it in with wet dog foods. If you can crush it or take it apart, none of the dogs cared or noticed there were drugs involved in their special "treat". I've heard hot dogs, lunch meat of some sort as a disguise.

Bubba T Pug said...

My mommy just opens my mouth and sticks it as far in as possible and then closes my mouth and holds it closed while I swallow - Marshmellow's sound yummy! I may just have to learn how to beg better :-)
Glad to hear you are getting stronger by the day!

Emily said...

Maybe marshmellows WITH peanut butter?

I didn't win anything in Vegas. *sigh*