Thursday, Day 7

I woke up at 5am to find Chance struggling to breath. The problem was the congestion in his nose, not his lungs. I wiped his nose a bit and he got better, so I went back to sleep. I stopped by the store this morning to get a baby nasal aspirator. You can guess how much the dogs love that.

When I got back from the store, Hope had climbed up to the 3rd step. I don't know why she likes that step so much, but I have found her there at least 3 times.

I made eggs for breakfast and offered them some. They were not too thrilled. I am cooking a chicken for them since that is all Hope has eaten on her own. It probably cheaper than dog food since the whole chicken is just over $3.

Chance seems to be doing a bit better. He got up to get a drink of water. While he was up, I called him and he came to me. I pet him a lot, them he proceeded to pee on my floor. At least he was on tile. After showing him the potty pad and cleaning up the mess, I called him again. He came again. He must be feeling better.

I have almost gotten my kids to call the dogs Hope and Chance instead of Hoop and Chan. A few more days and they should have the names down.....

I really feel that Chance is coming back to us. He has started being playful towards Hope. I don't think she is too happy about that. The puppy playfulness peeks through at times. I am still shocked as to how fast distemper changed their lives. They used to be crazy puppies who were always going crazy and getting into trouble, but now they mainly just sit or sleep on a mat.

Hope ate about 1/4 of a drumstick worth of chicken. Hopefully she will eat more later......

I called the vet and he seemed somewhat happy about Chance's recovery. He was still not too happy about Hope's condition. He said for me to continue the antibiotics until they are 75% better.

Wednesday, Day 6

I woke up this morning and made my husband go check on Hope and Chance because I did not have a good feeling. They were both fine. Her breathing is still really labored (even more than before), but not as scary as last night when she was breathing out her mouth and nose.......

The dogs really don't like their new antibiotic. It probably tastes really nasty and gritty to them. Chance threw it up this morning. I gave him one of his other medicines about 30 minutes prior, so that is probably gone too. I still need to feed them their original antibiotic. I try and space out the medicines a bit so they don't get everything at once, but if they all need to be taken twice a day, it is hard to space them out too much.

Chance is eating and drinking, but Hope doesn't eat. She will occasionally drink a tiny bit, but not enough to do much. She did drink about 1/4 cup of chicken broth by herself today, so that is a good sign. I warmed it up a bit, so it may be more appetizing.......

I bought some new dog food at the store yesterday when I was filling their prescription. It came in a can and said "premium". I opened it up and was taken aback by its smell and consistency. It smelled like I opened a can of tuna fish and it looked like I opened a can of tuna fish that was blended up into mush. Not very appealing. The good news is that I was able to use an infant spoon and my fingers to feed 1/4 of the can to Hope. Chance is eating fine, but he didn't seem too interested in this food.

I have been looking online for ways to supplement their diet - especially Hope's since she is not really eating. I decided to give them a little bit of yogurt. Too much dairy can cause digestive problems, so I only gave them a very small amount. I know yogurt is suggested for kids who are on antibiotics because antibiotics kill all the bacteria, even the good bacteria. Without the good bacteria, people can get yeast infections and other fun problems. Yogurt was suggested by a few people when I looked online, so I thought I would give it a try.........

Hope ate a tiny bit of chicken today - YEA! It was probably the equivalent of 1/2 the amount of meat on a chicken drumstick. Her breathing is still bad. I called the vet and am waiting to hear back.

I also decided to get doggie vitamins. There are many products online that claim to "cure" almost any ailment for a price - usually around $50 prior to shipping fees. I decided to go to the local pet store and get reasonably priced vitamins. Long story short, I ended up paying a whopping $1.50 for vitamins - the deal of the year!

We have never seen Hope having any head tremors. We have not seen Chance have a head tremor since a 2 minute one on Sunday. I'm guessing that is good......

I took the dogs out to do their business. It was rather warm and I didn't want them to get dehydrated, so I decided to take them in after about 5-10 minutes. I took Hope in first, then she ended up sneaking out again when I went to get Chance. Apparently they like it outside. I let them stay out for another 10 minutes, then I went to get them in. This time I picked up Hope and called for Chance to follow me. We took a very slow walk around the yard for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, he laid down, so I figure he had enough.

Tuesday, Day 5

My husband and I were awakened this morning around 4am by a clatter in the bathroom. Girl dog managed to jump out of my garden tub. No, this is not a standard tub. This is an extra deep and wide tub, the size of a Jacuzzi. She is talented. I fixed her bedding and put her back in. She tried to jump out again about 30 minutes later. I decided to make her a mat on the bathroom floor to sleep. While I was making her mat, she was very happy. She wagged her tail and probably felt very accomplished.

We are 99% sure of the girl dog's name. Aunt Jackie suggested Hope and we both think that is the perfect name. Now we need a boy name.......

We had a follow up appointment with the vet today. He was not very hopeful because of their labored breathing. He gave them more of the same antibiotic that they were taking, some new antibiotic to take, and a human medicine for their breathing. She lost a pound since Friday but he was about the same weight. She was dehydrated, so I really need to give her tons of fluids. Once I left, I called the vet to ask if they were in any pain, and he said no. That is a relief.........

Melissa suggested a boy dog name of Chance, and we like that name........

I took them outside to do their business tonight and Chance, the boy dog, actually walked twice as far as he usually does. Once I picked up Hope, the girl dog, to take her inside, Chance followed me inside instead of me having to pick him up. I tried to take a long route so he could get some exercise, but he knew the way I was going was not the way inside, so he sat down until I got back on the right path.......

Hope is having a really hard time breathing tonight. We hope she makes it through the night.

Monday, Day 4

The girl dog seems to be doing better. She wags her tail and doesn't seem too upset. The boy dog is not getting better yet and doesn't wag his tail. The good news is that they both wagged their tails when my husband petted them this morning. Unlike me, he does not bother them all day trying to feed them and give them medicine, so they probably like him better than me.......

When I was sitting on the floor giving them their medicine this morning, the girl dog crawled in my lap. She must be feeling better. The girl dog also got up and walked around a bit to check out the room. She stopped and stayed a while under my table, then went back to the mat.

I bought new wet dog food at the store today as well as some new dog treats. The dogs were not impressed with the treats, but the boy dog ate a good bit of the food and drank some water. The only problem is that I had to hand feed him one piece of slimy food at a time. He had maybe 20 pieces, so I think he is set with food for the day (he had a little chicken earlier), so I won't have to feed him with a syringe (unless he pukes). I am happy with his eating. Girl dog is still not eating. I gave her some of the dog food gravy via syringe and some of the original dry food dissolved in water.