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Pickle is Still Baffling Us

So, Pickle saw the vet yesterday, and basically all we got were a list of things that are NOT wrong with her, after an examination, ultrasound and full blood panel.

It’s not…

a heart defect
pyloric stenosis
pneumonia
a cleft palate
a liver shunt (as best we can tell, with the tools available and her age, and her lack of specific symptoms)

Her blood levels are all normal, although she is underweight, lacking muscle tone and her protein levels are a bit low.

So, looks like she’s just anorexic… or else it really is a mystery condition.

She got a shot of Convenia, on the basis that:

a) it can’t hurt
b) her lungs were a little bit raspy…

So, now we wait and see. She’s on a/d, along with some balls of ground hamburger, which she eats willingly in tiny portions (but even that is a start).

Thanks SO much to everyone who has phoned or emailed with suggestions. We appreciate them all – ok, maybe not the veterinarian. I’m not sure he was prepared for a client who pulled out a list of questions, suggestions, and print outs from the internet.

After a moment of baffled silence, I said to him “This must be every vet’s worst nightmare – a pushy dog breeder with access to google and a mailing list with 600 other breeders on it”. He coughed politely, but did NOT disagree. Then we spent ten minutes debating if Convenia was still off label for respiratory conditions, with him swearing it wasn’t, and me swearing it WAS. He coughed politely once again when a look at the packaging materials proved I was right, and then said “I think from now on I’ll be better prepared when you breeders come in for appointments”.

He was very nice about, considering I’d never met him before. Well, until I mentioned that we feed raw food, but that’s another story. Let’s just say we agreed to disagree.

Pickle gained almost 20 grams overnight, so yay for that, even though a/d is not my go to food of choice. Apparently, though, if I feed her raw the vet is convinced aliens will explode from her chest.

Tula’s Pups at Twelve Days

Cream French Bulldog Puppies

Tula’s pups are twelve days old today, and her daughter is finally starting to feel better. She’s less sniffly, gaining weight again, and just generally more perky.

It’s a nice relief to not have to worry about her every minute of the day.

Cream French Bulldog Puppy

Her brother is developing a ton of pigment – it sets off his big, blocky head quite nicely, although it’s also possible I’m a bit prejudiced. OK, more than a bit. Look, is it my fault that I just happen to have the world’s most absolutely adorable puppies?

I didn’t think so.

More adorable-osity after the cut.

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Little Miss Sniffles Tries Convenia

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Tula’s daughter has a sinus infection.

This is likely a result of her snuffling milk up her nose while nursing, which sometimes happens in French Bulldog puppies. I’ve never noticed a correlation between milk snorters and breathing issues in later life – it just seems that some pups nurse vigorously enough to snort milk up their noses in the process. Maybe her brother made her giggle – Lord knows I laughed enough milk up my nose as a kid.

The first day, it was barely noticeable – just a little milk around her one nostril. Within a day, I had to suction that nostril out – and MAN! You just would not believe how much goo can come out of the nose of a nine day old puppy.

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Pickle Steals My Heart Away…

There are certain rules that breeders are supposed to follow. Chief amongst them would be the adage to never, ever get overly attached to young puppies, because the grasp on life of a young puppy is tentative at best.

Pickle

In spite of this, there are sometimes puppies that just, by whatever obscure means, grab hold of your heart and lodge themselves there, reason be damned.

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Oodles of new French Bulldog puppy photos…

Not much time for writing, but I did take some new photos —

Delilah’s kids are here

and Bunny’s kids are here

Here’s my favorite photo – it’s Bunny with her kids. I swear, they’re all almost as large as she is. Mind you, Bunny is on the small size – and those are some mighty chunky puppies!

Bunny and her French Bulldog puppies

You can check out the slide shows below, or see the images full sized over on Flickr.