Update on our Senior Min Pin – Dr Quito
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Cottage tales | 15 comments
Photo: Dr Quito snoozing after a long busy day
When Dr Q returned from the vet last month after his dental drama he was furious with me. It was the first time that I had seen any of our dogs looking really hurt and angry. I had, after all, taken him to the vet on that fateful day. Danny had collected him and paid the bill. So I was clearly the baddy.
The black jet eyes were blazing. Despite the after care pills he was clearly in pain
He lay in an igloo basket on a chair beside the warm wood burning stove for four days, with brief trips to the garden to relieve himself. Twice a day he ate soft food and refused to meet my eye.
On the fifth day he looked up when I was tucking in his blanket and we were finally friends again. Since then he as gradually transformed back to our old Dr Q. Eating well, pottering in the garden, railing at the chickens and generally keeping his wife and girlfriend in order.
There has been a bristling in the ranks over this last point but he is the Senior Dog after all. Clearly his bad teeth had forced a sabbatical. We had just thought that he was growing prematurely old.
Dr Q’s return to full health has also meant that Inca and The Contessa have become closer. They spend many hours playing and planning escapes from the garden. Inca, occasionally tests out a possible route, and always on a morning when I’m running late for work. A pertinent reminder that we have to replace another stretch of fencing this spring.
Quito played with Danny for years. For the past year his favourite game was forgotten. But now his special toy – Lynne (a rather bedraggled stuffed lion) has had a prodigal return from the pile of toys that loll under the kitchen table. Since Quito’s recovery the ‘Lynne Game’ has become a key point in his busy day. The idea is to try and grab Lynne from Dr Q’s jaws. She is proffered and then swept away with Olympian speed. Quito is very good at this game and, even if Danny is really trying, Dr Q’s technique usually wins. Danny now works out with Dr Quito and Lynne three or four times a day. Even Lynne is looking slimmer.
If Dr Q wants to go upstairs he drags Lynne to the stair door hoping that D will be attracted by the moth eaten beast. It always works. Irishmen are genrerally sensitive and kind.
Quito is learning to live with much fewer teeth. Sometimes his lips look a bit pleaty but he has worked out that if he rubs his muzzle on the outside of a dog igloo then his lips are pressed back to the normal Hollywood position.
We are delighted that we discovered what was wrong with our Senior Min Pin. The cottage is bursting with dental remedies. We are using Plague-Off (thank you so much Charlie) and Petkin Liquid Oral Care – something that you add to the dogs’ water bowl, which helps clean their teeth. Teeth cleaning chews are the treat in the evening and meaty bones are back in the kitchen. We are now alert to the dangers of rotten teeth in dogs and hope that Dr Q’s few remaining gnashers will last for the remainder of his life. The other Min Pins are loving the teeth care and they will benefit too over the years.
It’s a joy to see Dr Q loving life again, running with the other Min Pins and truly holding his own. Welcome back Dr Quito – we missed you.
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Hi Wendy
Thanks for dropping by.
The Plaque Off appeals to Dr Quito too. Well when I attempted to open his jaws to try the dog toothpaste they set so tight that only archaeologists would have had a chance 100 years from now.
So Plaque Off and the stuff in the water bowl will have to suffice for Dr Q. Next month he will be seventy (in dog years) so I’m not pressing the point.
Incidentally he’s already in our bed with The Contessa. Inca, the young leader of the pack waits patiently downstairs with me as I tip tap away. She’s not keen on the toothpaste either, or The Contessa.
Pats to Dougal.
Hello Carla
So sad to hear about your cat.
They get under your skin and curl inside your heart. My best cat Faeroe, died 18 years ago and I still miss him.
Hello Belinda
So pleased that you missed the fires!
Of course you miss your cat. There is something about those special pets. I’m so lucky that I’m old enough to have had three special ones in my life time to date. Most pets are good, a few are great.
Hello Linda
Of course he needs his vitamin D and all the strokes and massage that he wants and a warm spot on the bed (to make up for no vitamin D after nightfall), and his *‘favourite food’ every day. He’s an old and wise cat after all ?
* that might be changed with 30 seconds notice
Hello Amanda
I hated his rage and pain on the first night and following day.
Now he is back to his old self it’s a joy to see him embracing cottage life rather than lying in his basket and just doing the minimum. He’s a kind being with a very big heart.
Hello Kate(uk)
Yes Hurrah for Dr Q and a small Min Pin sized gun salute.
Hello Michelle in NZ
Thanks so much for your comment. Zebbycat sound like a superb feline. Can he spell that? I’m sure that he can he sounds like an intelligent cat ?
I love hearing about adopted pets that work out well. Most people want a kitten or a puppy as they think making the bond will be easier. And everyone loves a baby creature.
But to give an older animal a good and loving home can reap much greater rewards as you know that there is a bond before you take them home. And I’m sure that they appreciate it.
Let’s hope that Zebbycat has a long and happy life.
His Hareem? As his breeder said “The females are always quietly dominant.”
Hello S.O.L.
I love hearing about other peoples pets.
We had just the same syndrome with Dr Q and The Contessa. Dr Q loves vets. The Contessa, railed before I even opened the door on her first visit. S I always have to take Dr Q with TC when she is ill. She will only allow us to put her on the examination table if Dr Q is up there too. When she was very ill I had to pretend to examine Dr Q at the other end of the table whilst the vet did the business with her. When she was admitted to the small animal hospital Dr Q went too.
Poor you. I do hope that your cat pulls through. I had a cat that died of kidney failure. It wasn’t picked up by the vet either.
Pets are a good thing for most people. We’re lucky that we have a large garden. It must seem like a park to the Min Pins and Danny works from home.
Hello Casalba
Danny was so pleased that you like Irishman!
Yes Dr Quito is doing very well and right back to his old somewhat eccentric form.
Hi City Mouse/Country House
Yes he is a cute dog in every sense of the word.
He is now upstairs, under the duvet, dreaming about open fields and beautiful Min Pins.
Hello Pamela
I think that Max really likes staying with you. Dogs can be grumpy though when their routine is upset – just like us – even if it’s a better alternative.
Hello Veronica
I was impressed by Dr Q’s technique for resolving pleaty lips too. He is our Best Boy, after all.
Hello Jan
Yes you are so right. He has regained his lost spirit.
I wish that I could understand more of their language.
Hello Philippa
Yes meaty bones were a very good tip. Thank you so much – to both you and the dachsies
I am so glad that meaty bones are back in the kitchen. It takes a moment to adjust and a little bit of work to find good sources, but the benefit to teeth and health is pretty awesome. I wish (along with the dachsies) Dr. Q. a speedy return to good health and a long life stretching forward.
Philippa and the New York dachsies.
Goodto hear he’s regained his lost spirit. If only they could tell us how they feel it’d make life much easier all round!
aww, so glad to see Dr Quito is back on form! I love his technique for correcting pleaty lips using the igloo — so ingenious 🙂 Sweet picture!
Max is always cross when my mum has been away and left him, even if he has been with me rather than the kennels (which he hasn’t been to for ages now). He growls at her and tries to leave with me everytime I head for the front door. It can take him as long as 4 or 5 days to come round and then he is all sweetness and light. Previous dog, JoshDog (we had him at the same time as TobyCat), was even known to growl at the vet if he saw him at the petrol station!!!