For the love of Pod

[HangingOver]

All aboard Podsquad, it's Pod thread number 4.

In case you were wondering:

• What is this (surprisingly) long-running thread about? A unique lunatic rescue Podenco, known as Pod. Featuring his pals, Stanley, GentleHowl, BabyPod, GentleBounce, Fastest and Princess and many more.
• What makes you so special that you get your own thread? See above

Seriously, if anyone is considering getting a teenage/rescued/sight-hound/Podenco/all of the above and has NO idea what they're doing, please enjoy the previous instalments from the day we brought him home, to now, six months later. Posts will oscillate wildly from euphoric to mental breakdown and back again.

Here is thread No. 3 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/thedoghouse/5248472-they-love-a-bit-of-him-podlife?page=1

Here is thread No. 2 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/thedoghouse/5197068-the-pod-cast?page=39&reply=141216881

And thread No. 1 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/thedoghouse/5177112-oh-my-giddy-god?page=1

Pic of the handsome prick in question.

Oh crikey, don't feel too awful, anyone who's had kids or dogs or cats will have done similar.

That cone really is something, watch your legs when he walks past you!

Oh blimey. You guys really are going through the mill, bless you 😥

Poor you, poor Pod. Illness and accidents, no one’s fault. You are so kind to Pod, remember to be kind to you too 💐

@HangingOver oh crumbs, what an unfortunate accident but so easily done.
My bunch of elbows moved in on his first day with a massive cone (we had to redecorate all the chipped paintwork after) after he damaged the tip of his tail in the kennel.
He lost about an inch so is now slightly stumpy at the end but still plenty of wagability remains.
Healing can take an absolute age, he was in danger of losing the whole thing until a vet suggested regular dressing changes with manuka honey. That did the job saving his tail tip from a rotten smelling/sore to the fully healed fur covered appendage he sports today.
Ask your vet and see what they say xxxx

Oh you poor things. Surely your run of bad luck has to stop now. This was an accident. We all have them. He will not realise it was you and dogs forgive and forget so quickly. Please be kind to yourself. Think about what you'd say to a friend who had done this and say the same to yourself.

Please be kind to yourself, Hanging, accidents happen 💐

Plus, the "kind and thoughtful" pile of stuff you do for your boy is massive!
The "accidently caused a minor booboo" pile is teeny tiny.

Goodness, Hanging, I did the same thing just a few weeks ago (but got away with it).

Of course you're feeling awful but honestly, there are much worse things and as other posters have said, we all have accidents, with children as well as with dogs.

Pod will be fine.

My mum once chopped off the end of my 2 year old brother's thumb in a door...

Don't blame yourself - stuff happens. My dad managed to somehow accidentally cut the end of his golden retrievers tail off while grooming him and only noticed when he saw blood spurting around the kitchen. It must only have been the tip but poor lad needed a couple of inches removed in the end.

Hopefully, Pod will be on the mend soon from both tummy and tail.

Okay this might be doing things slightly on hard mode but the trouble with the giant collar is it's not only giant but weighs an absolute tonne. Also, due to Pods beautiful neck it needs to be tight to the point of throttling him in order to keep it over even one of his ears. He's also refusing to move while wearing it, merely standing still with his head drooping.

So I've sprayed the outside of the bandage with the bitter apple spray (which he absolutely hates) and am watching him like several hawks. I might be able to get away with only putting it on him to sleep and when I need to shower etc. he's normally so absorbed with sniffing on his walkies that I don't think he'll pay it any kind when we're out, and if I keep him on his flex lead I'll be able to stop him before he does any damage.

He's delighted, and has had a bowl of food and is chasing a grasshopper.

Really really bloody Wish DP wasn't going away for work til Wednesday though. Wish me luck, Podsquad. 🫡

Wishes for luck being sent. One day you'll look back on this time and wonder how you got through it. Pod, meanwhile, will have forgotten (and forgiven you) by tomorrow.

I rarely use the Cone of Shame unless, as you say, I am not in the room to supervise.

I find for many dogs they cause way more distress than is acceptable, plus the inevitable leg injuries and furniture damage and horribly uncomfortable for the dog, particularly if they're jabbing into into things and then bruising their necks with the edge thats in contact with them.

Keeping him supervised and/or distracted most of the time is a better plan for him I reckon!

@Bupster is right, we've all done it. Here's my story if it makes you feel any better.

We had an elderly estate car with a heavy tailgate. We didn't recognise that the cylinders that hold the boot open were wearing out. Long story short, on a windy day the tailgate fell onto doggo's foot as she was getting in to the boot and she screamed and broke a bone in her toe. She's a very elegant 8kg greyhound type dog and specialist vets deemed it too fragile to repair surgically. It meant weeks in a cast while it healed naturally, which created a whole lot of other problems. I was recovering from hip surgery at the time and couldn't bend down to her.

Doggo coped better than we did and loved all the attention. Everything healed perfectly but we felt dreadful for ages.

If Pod can't go running around with his cone you might have a look at Free Work for dogs. It was developed by Sarah Fisher so has a good pedigree. I used it in lockdown and it had an amazingly calming effect which lasted a couple of days. Ideally Pod would do it without his cone but you might be able to work out a way he could still wear it. This is just a suggestion - Widdlin may say it's totally inappropriate in which case just ignore me !

When ours needed a collar we didn't make him wear it on walks. You're right he will be so distracted by sniffing. And mainly when sleeping or when I couldn't be there. They must be so uncomfortable for them.

So I've successfully kept the bandage safe all afternoon. He's having a sleep now and DP and me are going to walk him before I bring him to the station. Will be a good test to see if he'll leave it alone on a walk. I'm 90% sure he will, he's always got his nosey down. I'll have to cone him in the car on the drive back. Minor silver lining is it'll be one car journey he won't eat a harness! Thwarted Pod!

Every cloud!!
Sorry it’s so shit for you all right now 😞
Yes, dogs make our lives smaller (and yes, very bloody stressful 😩 ) but life would be soo boring without them 😂

He's being a Good Pod!

Yaaaaaaas.

We had such a lovely walk at the dog park. No one there so Pod had a terrific run and a giant normal poop!

Driving home with him with the cone on was frankly hectic. He was throwing his head around and bellowing like a tiny bull. He's tucked up like a tiny prawn. I'm going to sleep with my head right next to him on the sofa so if he monches in the night I'll hear and stop him. Unfortunately this will mean an incredibly uncomfortable night and almost certainly getting my hair chewed.

Thanks Pod squad. I luffs you.

Fingers crossed for a peaceful night.

I am inordinately pleased about the normal poo!! Hope you both manage to get some sleep. We had months and months of cones and surgical suits last year so my heart sank for you when I saw the giant cone. Hopefully he won't need it much.

Hope you get some sleep and don't wake up too achey <hot cocoa

Yay for giant normal poop! So he’s back on giardia medication? That shows that he must still have giardia or something else that responds to the medication.

Hope it’s a quiet uneventful night for you both.

Hurrah for the MegaTurd! :D

I can't help feeling like us "dog people" are maybe a tiny bit weird....

How can we all be feeling so happy to hear about a giant dog turd 😂I honestly said, out loud, "he's pooping normal, thank God!"

DH frequently has a wtf? look on his face...

We gave up on the hard cone with our previous dog and just watched him constantly- they hate it so much!

With current dog ( just castrated) we bought a soft cone you blow up. This is tolerated much better but I don’t know if they do them in Pods size. The vet supplied him with a body suit this time but that didn’t work for various reasons one of them being it was so hot immediately after his operation.