Katie's zig-zag back

Every so often over the years, I've noticed a zig-zag pattern in Katie's back fur.  Lately, since she's gained a few extra pounds, it's much more pronounced:

I finally did a search on the zig-zags this morning, and the only thing I could find is that this is "raising her hackles," which is a sign of fear or stress.

"Various types of dog fur exist, from super short to so long the fur touches the ground. One thing all dogs have in common, however, is a patch of fur along their backs that has a different texture and appearance than the rest of the coat. That section of fur might seem insignificant, but it serves a greater purpose."

"All dogs have hackles along the base of their spines, which usually presents as fur that is coarser and denser than the rest of their coats. Depending on the breed of dog, hackles generally have a wrinkled or zigzag appearance and run from a dog’s neck or shoulder blades down to the base of his tail. Dogs can use their hackles to communicate their feelings or to appear taller in a threatening situation."


"You may occasionally see your dog raise his hackles. The section of your dog’s coat that normally has a wrinkled appearance will stand on end, or puff up. This is called piloerection, which is an involuntary physical response your dog will have to particularly frightening, exciting or stressful situations. Similar to how humans get goose bumps when they’re quite frightened or nervous, piloerection is a physical response to a surge of adrenaline caused by a variety of situations or stimulants."

Interesting, huh?  The strange thing is that with Katie, there doesn't seem to be anything different going on when the zig-zags are prominent.  She even has them inside The Palms when it's just Katie and me, doing normal day-to-day stuff.

The link in the third paragraph is the best explanation that I could find with a quick search on-line and they have more information if you're interested.  The site is The Daily Puppy.

BTW, Katie went to Sierra Veterinary Services again on Tuesday to have her teeth cleaned.  She had some gingivitis on the gum over her left canine and she needed her teeth cleaned to make sure it didn't become infected.  I was really worried about her; I've never had a dog with gingivitis before and was afraid she might lose some teeth, but when I picked her up, they said her teeth are great, very solid.  And now they are bright, shiny white again.  That was a relief!   So that is done and already her gum looks better.  I don't know if gingivitis goes away or not without meds, but she seems improved without any Rx.


We're at South Monticello Campground right now.  The campground road is so level and smooth, I can easily push Katie in her stroller.  The last two days we've walked 3+ miles each day.  That's also a sign that temps are coming down - when we were here in the middle of the summer it was WAY too hot to walk much.  This time the weather has been perfect, but last night and today are VERY windy.

BTW,  at Katie's first vet appointment on September 23rd she weighed in at 16.0 pounds (Ouch! Overweight pup!).  When she went in for her teeth cleaning 20 days later, she had lost 4 ounces.  That might not sound like much, but she's now 15.6 pounds and losing more every day.  Since she's feeling better and can walk more, she's getting a bit more exercise.  Also going back to the Royal Canin Chihuahua food is helping.  She should probably weigh 12 or 13 pounds, and hopefully we can get there.  The weight loss will also help her back legs.

From me and Katie, have a great Friday, everyone!  :)

This has to be a first!

Roadrunners for sale at Wal-mart!   LOL

I'll bet none of you has seen a Roadrunner at Wal-Mart.  I was walking around in the garden department of the Truth or Consequences Wal-Mart the other day and all of a sudden - there's a Roadrunner.  An employee was watering plants and when she saw him, she squirted him with a spray of water.  I'm sure they don't want large birds in their store, but that didn't make him leave.  He walked along, jumped up on the pile of bricks and bags of lawn soil, jumped back down, ran under the plant displays, he was having a gay ole time.  He let me get pretty close, too. 

Then finally he went under the pallets holding the large fertilizer bags and went out through the bars on the outer fence. 

You know me - that made my day!  Here he is:

Pretty cool, huh?

We had some real stormy weather last night - the electricity and free wi-fi in the park went out.  That's when it's nice to be set up for boondocking.  I went outside and unplugged from the electric post, just in case there was a surge when it came back on, and in just that minute outside I was drenched.  I had to change my clothes and get dry again.  It was POURING!  We had a brief bout of hail, and it sounded pretty big.  I opened the door to look outside on the ground to see the size of the hail, but it was coming down so hard, I closed the door.  Luckily the hail didn't last long.

It's cloudy and a little rainy this morning.  Katie and I went out for her potty break early (early for us - 7:30).  She usually stays in bed until 9 or 10, but today I made her get up early in case the skies opened up again.  Also, since it was pouring last night, she did't go outside for her last potty break, so she was ready.

The forecast is partly sunny today, the high is supposed to be 70 degrees.  Nice!   I think the really hot weather is finally gone for this season.

From me and Katie, have a great Wednesday, everyone!  :)

Lunar Eclipse in New Mexico

We were at Caballo Lake State Park in New Mexico for the lunar eclipse and we had a perfect view.  The air was clear, no clouds, no utility wires in the view and no other RVs in front of us to block our view.  It was a beautiful night.  I took photos intermittently until the eclipse was full, then stopped.  The rest of the eclipse would have been the opposite of the first half, so I didn't keep going out with my camera.  I remember seeing my first lunar eclipse at Quartzsite and it was amazing.  I think this one was even better. 

The moon itself started turning a rusty color as the eclipse evolved, but my camera - in order to get a good clear close-up - didn't pick up the red color except in one of the last photos that's not as clear as the others.

Here's the full moon coming up over the hill across from the campground.  You can barely see Caballo Lake on the bottom right.

Almost cleared the mountain, and it looks like the eclipse is beginning.

Isn't the moon beautiful in this closeup:

The lunar eclipse is starting.  We sure had a front row seat - it was right in front of The Palms:

Closeup of the lunar eclipse.

 Almost complete:

 Here's the almost complete eclipse with a different camera setting:

This one shows some of the reddish color - when I had clear photos, I lost the color:

Pretty much total:

And here's the total eclipse, you can hardly see it (move really close to your screen and you can see it right in the middle):

It's going to be a while before we see another one.  I wonder where I'll be for that one?   If it's in a city, I'll never get shots like this!

Katie is doing so well, she even wants to walk more.  I'm not wanting her to walk too much because it always enlarges her seroma when she overdoes it, but she's gained weight, and of course walking is good for her.  So, she's walking a little more now and riding in the stroller most of the time, still.  I took her to get a bath the other day and the groomer noticed she has some gingivitis on her left fang.  Luckily the vet is in the same building, so I went out and asked if they could look at her.  I thought the gum was infected, but not yet.  We scheduled a teeth cleaning for the end of October to get Katie's teeth back to pearly white.

Here she is sleeping with the tip of her tongue sticking out - I love that.  My little fatty:

From me and Katie, have a great weekend, everyone!  :)

Update on Katie

Thought I'd better post an update after Katie's vet appointment this morning. I was SO glad we went. Here's the vet info:

Sierra Veterinary Services
1607 N. Date
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, 87901
(575) 894-6773

We saw Dr. Cristina Danks, DVM

She might have been the best vet I've ever taken a pet to.  She did a thorough exam of Katie's hips and legs, and the seroma on her right rear leg; she answered all my question about giving her Glucosamine, which food is best, can I give her baby aspirin (No, bad for dogs).  She was so patient and thorough, and explained everything.  Here's the deal:

Katie's issue is her LEFT rear leg, not the right one with the seroma (which is back to normal size today).  She agreed that the seroma was caused by the red ant nest, that sounded reasonable, and also that nothing should be done now.  She said Katie is having considerable pain in her left hip due to arthritis, and that's why she won't or can't jump.  I had no idea it was on that side.  Good to know.

She said to keep giving her the Glusomaine we've been using and put her back on the Royal Canine for Chihuahuas.  I have switched her food twice in the last month or so, trying to find something she likes more and Katie has gained weight.  Dr. Danks said she's done research on the different dog foods, what they contain, and if it's a "complete" food.  She's read the studies on how the dog's bodies "use" the food.  Apparently some of the good manufacturers do very complete studies and Royal Canin is one that has all the studies. She said its the one she recommends, although they don't sell it in their waiting room "store."

And here's the "poop scoop."  On Royal Canin, Katie eats much less and poops once a day.  On Kibbles and Bits, she eats more and poops 3 times a day.  Next I tried Sojos Turkey Complete Dog Food (freeze dried, raw) and she's been eating MUCH more and pooping 4 or 5 times a day.  (I feed the recommended amount for a dog her size.) The vet said she's not getting enough from those foods if she's pooping that much, yet she's still gaining weight that she doesn't need. 

Then she prescribed an an anti-inflammatory, Carprofen caplets.  She said Katie would be feeling much better in 2 to 4 days, and would again be jumping, and I'd be able to liift her up into the overhead bed again without hurting her.

She took some blood and ran a Chem 10 Panel to make sure Katie's organs would be able to handle the anti-inflammatory, and it came out really well.  We have a 60 day supply, and she put 5 refills on the Rx, which I'll be able to order on-line.  She said Katie will take them for the rest of her life.

When they took Katie back to draw the blood, I was SO RELIEVED and so happy we went in this morning.  And very grateful to have found such a good, caring vet here in Elephant Butte.  (Thanks Annie!  Annie recommended Sierra Vet Services.)

When they brought her out, Katie was full of beans, so happy to be done.  AND they trimmed her nails, too, free of charge!

This post is again longer than I planned, but I like to document things on the blog, it's so easy to use the search feature when I want to go back and find something.  Hopefully no more Canine Issues!

We've moved to another campground for six days and plan to return to Elephant Butte for another 14-day stay.

I was so sure Katie would need lots of medical care for her leg, and maybe lots of $$$, but we were lucky. It'll be nice to have Katie back to normal again.  She's such a good girl!   :)

Poor little Katie :(

We're still at Elephant Butte, just hanging out.  There's not much going on, but I thought I'd better check in because it's been a while.

The weather is cooling off a bit, but it's still A/C weather for part of the day.  In Quartzsite this would be perfect weather, but the air is dryer there and that makes a big difference.

Here's our current site, until Wednesday - we have a nice view of the lake out the front window:

There's a metal railing in front of the campsites and sometimes Gambel's Quail will hop up and walk along it.  A few times they have stopped to check out the surrounding area.  This one kept looking forward, left, forward, right.  There are tons of Quail here:

There are also a lot of tiny lizards here.  I don't know if they are babies or just small lizards, but they are pretty:

The beetle below is an iridescent greenish color.  I've seen these guys from time to time, just walking along.  Very pretty.  When I was driving here, one flew into my windshield and got caught in the windshield wiper.  It tried to get off, spread it's wings, etc.  I really got to see all of the beautiful parts.  There wasn't room to pull over, otherwise I would have done that and carefully removed him.  Thankfully, he finally got loose and flew off the windshield.  I couldn't find him on the web to see what kind of beatle he is.

Here's Katie on the rug, if there's a tiny bit of sunshine, she'll find it.  

As you know, Katie has an injured rear leg.  She stepped into a fire ant nest a couple of years ago and that caused trauma to her right leg joint.  A seroma formed and we've been having issues ever since.  If she walks or runs too much, it fills even more with serum from her blood, according to her vet in Las Vegas, NM, and there is nothing we can really do about it as long as she is not in pain. Lancing it or removing it is a possibility, but no guarantees.  It might come back.

She was having issues in the spring and I brought her to another vet in Yuma, AZ and he felt that at that point, it could be her joint.  He said she probably has arthritis in the joint now and he thought the joint might be releasing fluid, which was filling the sac on her leg.

After that, I got Katie some OTC Glucosamine at Wal-Mart.  It looks and smells like a little treat and she loves them.  She gets 1/2 a treat every other day.  After a bit, she went back to normal.  (Her normal, with the seroma not very large or hard and not bothering her unless she overdid it.)

I found another type of Glucosomaine, and the manufacturer also had a vitamin, so I bought both.  She doesn't always eat a lot, and getting that vitamin helped to make sure she was getting enough of everything she needed.  They are shaped like a dog treat, and she really liked those, too, and did fine on them for a brief time.  Then suddenly, her leg started really swelling and now she can't jump up on the couch and I can't lift her without hurting her.  I checked the amount of Glucosamine in each, and the first one had more, so I'm hoping that by switching her back, she will soon be okay.  Or as okay as she can be.

I tried to put her in the stroller yesterday and she squealed, I put her down with her right rear leg out, and it got caught when she sat down in the stroller and it was so sad.  She was looking at me, smiling and whining, her tail wagging.  I knew it hurt her.   Today it's even more swollen.

Katie has been living on the floor for the past week.  She had a bed on the couch, and a blanket, too, that she liked to nap on that was on the dinette bench opposite the one I use.  But she can't jump up now.  I put her back on the first meds about a week ago, hoping that by now they would calm down her joint and she would feel better, but it isn't working.   She used to sleep up in the bunk with me, but I can't lift her up onto the bed without hurting her, so we don't try.  She sleeps on her blanket under the dinette table and I've put her other blanket on the rug so she can lie on it, too. 

If I pat the dinette bench seat next to me and say, "Can you jump up?," she immediately runs to the blanket under the dinette.  Poor thing.  I feel so bad, and decided I don't want to wait any longer to see if the Glucosamine will just take a little longer.  I have a feeling we need more help, so I called a vet here in Truth or Consequences to see if they have a solution.  Maybe a little bit of pain medication for now, and maybe a stronger Rx for the joint.   Hopefully that is all we'll need.

Katie is only 9 1/2 and I hate to see her like this.  We still take walks, though.  I put the stroller in front of the door, sideways, and tilt it so she can jump into it from the first step inside the motor home.  She does that really well without hurting herself, and we reverse it to get her back in.  She LOVES to get out, so we take a stroller ride at least once a day.  With the weather getting cooler, we'll do more.  She can still hop up and down the RV steps to go outside for potty breaks, so we're okay there, too. 

(Note:  If you see someone out walking their dog in a stroller, please don't scoff and say "Well, that's a spoiled dog!"  I can't tell you how many times I've heard that.  Would you say that to a human in a wheel chair?  I really don't want to stop and explain why Katie is in a stroller.  Can you tell I'm getting a little sensitive about this?  If you have to say something, say something nice!)

This is Katie two weeks ago:

This is Katie 3 days ago:

And here she is today:

It's Monday and the vet is busy until Wednesday, so we have an appointment at 11:30 Wednesday morning.  They said they'd call me if they have any cancellations today or tomorrow.   I just hope they can do something that won't be too expensive to get her back to normal.  

Right after I talked to the vet's office we went outside for a potty break, and there was a man walking his two dogs.  One had a kind of harness on - it was on his back end and one the front of the dog, too. They were attached to each other, making one device.  I asked him about it, and he said his dog has cancer, a tumor on his spine.  He's had surgery, but has a problem getting up and this device has been a lifesaver for his dog and also for him, since his dog is 75 pounds.  It's call a Help Em Up Dog Harness.  We had a long conversation about the device and I checked on-line as soon as I got back in The Palms.  If Katie can't be helped, like if this is just arthritis, this would be a good alternative.  I could easily lift her up without hurting her leg using something like this.  There are other harnesses available on Amazon (here), too, that are less expensive, and I'm going to ask the Vet about a harness if they think one would help.  Isn't it serendipitous that I'd see him and his dog right when I might need something to help Katie?

We've stayed in two different campgrounds here in Elephant Butte.  Completely different scenery out the window, and completely different sunsets.  This is a sunset from the campground we're at now:

This is a sunset from the other campground:

We have new Follower - welcome to coffeekittie!   Thanks for following along with Katie and me, coffeekittie.  Unfortunately my Followers gadget isn't working for me anymore.  I can see you, but I can't click on the icon to find out more.  I'll have to let my readers do that - maybe it will work for them and they can get more info, like if you have a blog.  Or, if you do have one, leave me a comment, and I'll add the info.  Katie and I are happy to have you along with us.  :)


Wish us luck at the Vet on Wednesday!  From me and Katie, have a great week, everyone!  :)