Service dog handler lobby

[Strangelongtrip]

Thank you @Justmehere. It’s all still new! And I think about where I was at and how so many people think it’s out of reach. When I discovered I could owner train I literally cried from happiness because suddenly I knew it was possible for me.

Yeah I wouldn’t have even known they were a thing and probably would have kept suffering thinking it was from anxiety like my doctors told me when I was a child if it weren’t for the service dog community. I kept wondering why I was almost passing out especially in cars. I’m so lucky that Korra already alerts heart rate changes so she went right from “panic attack helper” to “tachycardia helper” lol she’s persistent about it too like what I said on another post in here :). Autoimmune disorders run in my family and my markers from my blood work in April point towards something autoimmune. My rheumatologist was also perplexed as to why my joints popped everytime he moved them but I don’t have arthritis (yet at least lol). I think they’ll be able to do something at least refer me to PT but if not the EDS geneticist near me is a 3 year wait lol. I kinda ranted haha

 

[Strangelongtrip]

I went out with a friend today without Korra and my anxiety was horrific and nearly passed out. I should have just brought her but I’ve never brought her out with a friend before (only family) and I felt really uncomfortable. I regretted it lol. Now I know. I saw a neighbor on the way back who signed her dog up with a scam registry and feeds it from the table and she casually goes “my dad wants to sign (their gigantic malamute) up for the registry so he can take him everywhere” and I was like okay don’t because it’s illegal and she goes “well he has...PTSD” I said really? She said no and laughed and I said okay see you later. I know she didn’t mean anything by it but she knows how hard I struggle and she knows what it’s like too, I’m not so sure she doesn’t have PTSD either we’ve been through similar things and she has so many of the symptoms, it just...pissed me off. On top of that, her dad is in law enforcement (not local...idk I don’t want to out him). So I told her well that’s great lol he should know these laws. I doubt they’d do it but I have no faith in it. Their dogs are so badly behaved too from what I’ve seen and they live nearby. I dunno it just kinda stung.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

I got the car window shades to help keep the sun off Chopper in the back. Yeah, the back window can't be shaded without blocking total view because it's on such a heavy slant. Here's a picture of it, just the top shaded which helps some:

Then, the side window one is small but I put it on the back half.

But, there is this small decorative window where sun comes through that I need to shade without blocking the view as the passenger side mirror is gone. Knocked it off with my backpack. I have the other side window one that I'm thinking of cutting to fit but they say it doesn't stick without the rigid frame:

But, it has helped some. Not a lot, but some. Hopefully we'll be out of this heat soon. It's almost Sept. Aug is out hottest month.

 

[littleoc]

I dunno it just kinda stung.

Rightfully so, that's really messed up

People who fake having service dogs are the worst kind of people.

Okay, not the worst, but they sure do make it hard for everyone else.

and @lostforgottensoul I hope the shades worked well :)

 

[lostforgottensoul]

and @lostforgotte

Yeah. Well enough. I ended up cutting the side one, shoving it in the small window and taping it with gorrella tape. Yesterday I made a windsheild sun thing with cardboard cuz I cant seem to make it to walmart to get a new one and mine fell apart finally into pieces. So, meh. Hopefully it blocks the sun better and keeps the car cooler as its still in the 90s here.

 

[littleoc]

Cardboard doesn't reflect light away as much, but it's definitely insulating! And the shade ought to help. I used cardboard to hide an air conditioner for two/three months, works pretty well!

 

[lostforgottensoul]

Cardboard doesn't reflect light away as much, but it's definitely insulating!

Blah! Was all I had to replace it. Hopefully it doesn't trap too much heat between the glass and the cardboard. Which just goes into the car. I have to order a new sun visor thing online. Just havent had the chance. Been putting off buying really anything. Hopefully the heat lets up soon. Hurricane Florence stopped the daily rain we had for like 2 straight months (really, daily, could be timed, for 2 straight months) but that's just made us hotter.

 

[Justmehere]

This will be gross.... I need advice/reassurance about a dog with diarrhea. A service dog that eats everything. (it's her one weakness. she's unshakeable otherwise.)

We are around 16 days of this. Energy is good. Had to double food to keep the weight on. I added pumpkin for a few days (since stopped that since it's not great every day) and she has food rice and chicken too with half her normal food.

Saw the vet 6 days ago. She had blood in her urine, but that seems to be cleared up since starting antibiotics. She is also on pro-biotics too. Her stools are slightly formed. She was gassy, but that's improving. Vet said if she gets worse, come back. She hasn't gotten worse, hasn't gotten better. Going back means x-rays and blood work and etc. Antibiotics run out in two days.

I'm SUPER stressed out, and working on reducing my stress levels. I have a family member who is visiting and keeps telling me it's normal for a dog to be like this for a few weeks, and I'm overreacting. I need some outside perspectives...

 

[littleoc]

@lostforgottensoul Dont worry, the cardboard is shade so it’s got to help at least a little! Sorry — that’s what I meant when I said I used it in a window with an A/C. It kept the light out, and since it insulated a bit it kept the cool air in. Good enough! :P

 

[littleoc]

@Justmehere That has happened to my dog.

It started as we exited a grocery store... I felt so lucky.

Actually it happened to her twice. Once after a move, and once for unknown reasons. She didn’t have blood in her urine, but she was having diarrhea and loose stools for a month straight. As far as I could tell she didn’t lose weight, but I’m not sure about this. I at least couldn’t tell by looking (which doesn’t say much, I suck at things like that).

Has her stool been checked for parasites? It’s provably not that but it doesn’t hurt to check

What I did for my dog was what a weird vet recommended but it actually worked. She told me to go an entire 24 hours without feeding here (she got a little drop of honey to prevent low blood sugar but nothing else). After that, feed white rice with something mild like chicken. It worked for Nestle, so maybe it would work for you?

I also gave her a very careful vet-recommended dose of pepto bismol which helped a bit

 

[Justmehere]

That’s really helpful to read! I’m so glad your pup got better.

I’ve read online that skipping food for 12 to 24 hours can help the GI tract reset. I have a Labrador, and I’m not sure how she’d handle it. They are voracious eaters. Omg. Like no other breed. But I’m thinking of trying 12 hours with no food tomorrow.

Parasites could be possible. I was thinking of asking her cost-conscious vet about testing her stool...

I also just realized she recently started stealing small amounts of cat food from my very old cat. I wonder if that could be throwing her off. I have a new system to feed my cat now in a high up spot.

 

[littleoc]

Cat food messes my dog up! So, maybe! It’s pretty high in fat, might be hard to digest for a dog? Apparently tastes great though?

I hope it works! Definitely keep up the probiotic. :)