Trip to the Vet

Oscar got a clean bill of health. He had a bit of extra ear wax so they cleaned that out. I was concerned about his blood sugar levels. It was high when they did blood work when he was neutered and the vet today agreed that the number on his surgery day was high. I told her he drinks a ton of water so she wanted to go ahead and check his levels. She said “The test is quick and easy . . let’s check it.” She did and it was good. That made me feel better.

We went ahead and made an appointment with her for Rita’s annual. Their office is much easier to get to than the other vet we used. The waiting area was larger and didn’t seem like Grand Central Station. We’ll see what we think after Rita’s visit. We have til about March to make a decision on whether we’ll switch Oscar over.

I think Oscar is a “Tweenie”. Miniature dachshunds are supposed to weigh less than 11 pounds. Standard dachshunds weigh 16 – 32 pounds. While not an official AKC category, dogs that are 12 – 15 pounds kinda fall through the cracks and are called “Tweenies”. Oscar weighed 15 pounds and the vet said he probably will not get much larger – maybe no larger. She said often when they get off puppy food, they lose a pound or two and I know that once we get the back yard where he can run and play, he may lose a pound (and I may lose several pounds trying to play with him). I think my two previous dachshunds were 14 – 15 pounds at their largest. All were supposed to be minis but I guess we all eat too well around this house. This chart says a mini, on average, weighs 15 pounds at 9 months. I’m not the least bit concerned about his weight. He’s so muscular and strong and the vet said . . there’s not an ounce of fat on this puppy. She said “I’m guessing he’s very active!” I wanted to say “off the charts active” but I don’t want people to think the old folks bit off more than they can chew.

The good news, besides him not having ear mites and not being diabetic, is that he got so worked up over going to the vet that he slept about three hours after we got home. The better news is that he didn’t nip or growl or try to bite anyone. There was an intern, who will soon graduate from a vet school in OK so at least there’s one new vet about to enter the world . . both of them were feeling all his parts, looking in his ears, checking out his teeth and he was being quite calm. They picked him up and took him to the back to do the blood work and they said he did fine with that too.

The vet said “He’s such a unique color!” She said she had only seen pictures of dachshunds his color but he’s the first one she’s seen in real life. She said “He could pass for a small Bassett Hound or a Beagle!” I told her . . but he acts 100% like a Dachshund. She said “Almost every Dachshund I’ve ever met acts 100% like a Dachshund!”

The bad news is that . . even though his appointment was at 3 p.m. and he had not eaten since about 5:30 or 6 a.m., he threw up on me . . twice . . on the way home. And it looked like he had just had a feast! Pardon the gross details. The day we picked him up, he peed on me on the way home so now, in just 6 months, he’s peed and thrown up on me. Good thing I love him. I remember now why we always bring an old throw quilt with us in the car and I would put on my lap for the dogs.