Going to the Doctor with Dog

EuEu was getting recurring ear infections. His ear(s) would get red, waxy, stinky — and with the last case, seemingly painful; he'd scratch his ear and whimper. Le sad!!
   The allopathic veterinary treatment we were given is a liquid "for canine otic use only", squeezed into the external auditory meatus, made of antibiotics (my enemy) and steroids (not my friend).
   Dutifully I squirted it into his ear. He didn't like it, and the only nice thing for me about the procedure was that I was supposed to massage the base of the ear immediately after administration, to squelch the liquid around, and I liked the sound.
   When Euclid got his latest ear infection, even after my not bathing him for a month and a half because I had been told it was because water got in his ears in the bath (he has flop-down ears), I was fed up.
   I believe that the recurrence indicated some internal disorder; if his system was healthy he wouldn't have chronically inflamed ears.
   Bjorn wanted to take him back to the vet, but I ... was upset at the idea of paying money to be told to do the same old thing that WOULD NOT FIX THE SAME OLD PROBLEM.
   I said I'm not willing to pay a vet unless we see one who will help us address his health, not just his ear, and try to prevent this from happening in the future. Bjorn Googled up some alternative dog docs for me to call. I selected a favorite, called to chat about her practice and — satisfied — secured an appointment, then filled out and sent in a detailed 9 page intake form.

Our appointment was at 7:30 on a Tuesday morning. We arranged with Em and En to borrow a car; En made sure to bike to work that morning so we could have one available to us.
   This vet runs a right smart set-up.
   Guess what initial treatment she gave us? A liquid "for canine otic use only", squeezed into the external auditory meatus ...
   ... the same stuff.
   BUT FIRST she actually took a swab of his ear and sent it to the in-house lab to see if we were dealing with something fungal, or bacterial, or what. She tests before treatment. She thinks that the type of infection is significant. It could, for example, suggest an etiology, or put us on the alert to certain co-morbidities.
   Is this not medicine 101?!?
   She also gave us formulae for drying his ears after a bath (involving hydrogen peroxide, or vinegar, or rubbing alcohol; all non-toxic household agents). She gave us a dropper to apply them. These liquid agents will reach where water will reach but they're dehydrators. She addresses my concerns. She freely shares information.
   She also suggested measures we can take (mostly by way of supplements Euclid can take) to boost his immune health. And her practice is right next to the local high-end pet food/care store, and she doesn't carry or sell (and thus doesn't have monetary incentive to push) certain supps or drugs. She had recommendations, but they were based on health considerations. She's not a drug lord.

Basically, she's awesome.

And it's been a month and a half since Euclid had any trouble with his little ears. This is a record.

Germ Therapy with Dog

One-third at least of the reason I wanted a dog.
   As a bonus, this made me way less upset about the dog messing in the house as he got pottytrained.

CSA Box with Dog

There is now a vegetable the dog has scarfed down that is not in the brassica family: chartreuse mustard greens! (He won't eat the leaves. Just the crunchy "bottom".)

Going to the Bathroom with Dog

When Euclid knows I'm going to use the loo he rushes to join me. He's a social fellow. Doesn't want to miss out on a family pee.
   Now I have an extra incentive to change the TP roll when it's empty. I used to, um, have aggravating TP replacement habits. Roscivs would hide rolls around the house because when the TP from my bathroom was gone I would take TP from his bathroom....
   I never do that any more! My TP habits are great!
   Anyway. The dog. I toss the empty cardboard tube on the ground, and Euclid vanquishes it. In the master bathroom it's especially fun because there's so much room for it to roll around.

Our Sweet Doggy

We started a six-day, weekly training course on Monday. It went well! We all three of us did a great job. There were stressful moments, but nothing so stressful as living forever with a half-trained dog. The trainer gravitated toward Euclid and used him to model almost all of the commands. This despite that he was cowed by pronouncing Euclid's name. It's not just him. Most humans are made cows by Euclid's name. I am astonished at how everyone thinks it so odd a name!
   I am astonished too by how many people exclaim, repeatedly, how cute he is. I mean, I think he's sure cute. But he's mine.
   My students adore him. Two of my students ask their mom every week "when can we get a dog like him?" And she says "BOYS. We have two dogs already." Our dog is better. He's their favorite dog. "He's so soft", the younger one says. Euclid does have a coat lovely in softness.

His food is now all raw. He likes vegetables. Only some vegetables — cruciferous. And only certain — the crunchiest — parts of them. No leafy bits! He won't eat them. Brussels sprouts bottoms, broccoli stems cauliflower leaves, the thickest bits of the cabbage leaves. One (or two) person's(') compost is one dog's veggie. Often he will take one of the vegetable bits out of the bowl and play with it: he will nudge it with his snout or bat at it with his paw until it moves in a way that seems almost as if it had a life of its own, then he will pounce on it and repeat. Eventually he defeats it, takes it to a rug, and gnaws on it.
   He likes meat more than vegetables. He doesn't play with his meat.

S^itting

So, sitting is really bad for you. Even dedicated exercisers (people who work out an hour a day) aren't better off if they sit the rest of the day. See The First 20 Minutes and The Last Best Cure and ... anywhere, really; I've read this more and so often now that it seems to be becoming common knowledge not in need of a citation.
   In April I tracked a week of sitting. Any time I sat down I started a timer. My day of least sitting was 5 hr 11 min, my day of most was 8 hr 50 min. Hmm.
   At the time, I was feeling pretty great about that. I wanted to do another set round'bouts now, to see how things are now (being sure to include several working days, since I usually sit while I work). But before I got a chance, my foot started KILLING me. I wrote first "But then I injured my foot", only there wasn't an instance of trauma to the foot. It just flared up. The x-ray shows no fracture. For a few days I was a day-time Jennyanydots.
   Now I am back to baby steps. My doctor said no running but walking every day, starting with a short distance and working up. Today I went out for a mile walk.

I wanted my sweet new dog to keep me company while I convalesced. But he's sick now. So I'll just walk, getting stronger so that we can both recover together if he comes home.