Zara update 05/09/2023

May 09, 2023

A lot has happened since the last update, I'll try not to make this too long though.

I'll start with the less great news:

Zara still is having the intermittent bladder infections/bacteria that results in blood in her urine (think very very red). We had to deal with that for about 3 months where she'd be fine while on antibiotics but then a week after antibiotics it'd be back with a vengeance.

It finally cleared up after the vet switched from clavamox to a different antibiotic and then had her on it for 2 weeks.

I'm currently concerned that it's gonna start up again. I'm not liking the color of her urine today, but sometimes it just clears up on its own. She is on cranadin (cranberry supplements) and visbiome (probiotics) to try to prevent it. And she's still on the royal cainin food (which is very expensive).

Zara is the most stubborn dog ever. She is also getting more and more picky when it comes to food and absolutely refuses to eat her vet prescribed diet (Royal Cainin Urinary SO, to help prevent the bladder issues). I can sometimes get her to eat some of it if I hide it in other food, but it's like a rotating variety of food since she most of the time refuses to eat the same flavor/type 2x a day.

So she's eating the following things sometimes:

Royal cainin urinary SO

Stella and Chewy freeze dried raw

Wellness 90% meat toppers

Stella and Chewy dinner dust

Rawbble (just found this one and she likes it)

Honest kitchen stew (boxes)

Stellas stew (boxes)

Just Food for dogs (boxes or frozen)

Hotdogs

I'm at the point where I think I might ask her vet team how long she can go without eating and trying to just out stubborn her into eating a single food brand again. I tried this once, she went over 48h without eating and I caved and opened like 3 different foods trying to get her to eat. She was also prescribed entyce which is an appetite stimulator. It does work, it just doesn't make her more likely to eat the things she doesn't want to eat. Instead she will try to get into the treats. Most stubborn dog ever award goes to Zara.

She's also having a harder time with smooth floors, I admit I've been in a bit of a slump and neglected her nails for a bit so that isn't helping. I added it into my calendar though so I don't forget, and I've also been putting mushers secret on her feet even though she really doesn't like it.

I'm thinking about rubber socks for her, the boots we have for her don't stay on as well since she walks weirdly and her paws aren't as compact as they used to be. I'm also thinking about showfoot or those little stickers to put on her pads. I tried to trim the fur on her pads but she wasn't having it.

Onto the good things!

She's been eating ok now that I'm rotating through like 6 different food types. So she's gaining a bit of weight back weighed her a few weeks ago and she was at 24.8 (was down to 24.5 and I think she should be around 27-28). Oh she also eats better if we play first or if I pretend I'm working out, idk somehow workout time = play time = snack time.

I haven't had to give her trazadone to do her nails for a while, she mostly cooperates. The occasional escape attempt but only if I'm also trying to put mushers secret on her pads.

She's still very active, we go for short walks during the week and play fetch inside or with her soft toys. On the weekends we try to go for at least one 2-6 mile hike, and she still does amazing on these and isn't tired out at all.

Well, that's it for now. I'll update again if she does get the bladder bacteria symptoms soon, just to try to keep track for my own records.

Here are some Zara pictures!