The vet was right! After 48 hours of pred, Harriet's hives are
nearly gone. She still has a few discrete bumps on one side and on
her belly, but they aren't itching her. In fact, for the first time
since early summer, she's not itchy at *all*.

On the down side, I slept in, and she had an accident early this
morning. Stupid me. She hasn't had to pee super frequently. It's
been about four hours since she was last outside, and so far she's
fine. She's probably not going to be able to hold it overnight,
though, or for a full work day. Luckily, I can temporarily adjust my
schedule to accommodate her.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

In article ,
Shelly wrote:


On the down side, I slept in, and she had an accident early this
morning. Stupid me. She hasn't had to pee super frequently. It's
been about four hours since she was last outside, and so far she's
fine. She's probably not going to be able to hold it overnight,
though, or for a full work day. Luckily, I can temporarily adjust my
schedule to accommodate her.

Pred does that unfortunately! Glad the hives have subsided.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

"Janet Boss" wrote in message
...

Pred does that unfortunately!

Boy, does it ever. She's started peeing like it's her J-O-B. I was up
twice last night to take her out. Considering I went to bed at about
11PM and was up at 4AM, that's a little insane. And yesterday evening,
I took her out right before the Amazing Race, then was getting my shoes
on to take her out after it was over, but wasn't quick enough. Aaack!

Glad the hives have subsided.

Thanks! Me, too! And even better, she's stopped licking completely. I
don't think she even chewed her feet once over the weekend.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

Shelly wrote:

snip
Thanks! Me, too! And even better, she's stopped licking completely. I
don't think she even chewed her feet once over the weekend.
Great. Just get some sleep while she gets better.

"William Clodius" wrote in message
...

Great. Just get some sleep while she gets better.

That may be easier said than done! I'm usually a really light sleeper,
so I'm up whenever Harriet gets restless. Last night, though, she must
not have had time to wake me, because she had an accident. That's the
first overnight accident she's had. On the bright side, she was
accident free yesterday, and was even able to hold it for a 2-3 hours at
a time.

I am getting *very* tired of prednisone. Literally. I'm also getting
tired of washing towels.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

"Terri" wrote in message
...

Luke was on that once. Not only did he turn into an eating and
drinking
machine and have house accidents for the first time,

Same here. Harriet has been absolutely reliable until now. My concern
isn't with the accidents themselves--she can't help it, and they're my
fault anyway--but with her getting the message that it's okay to pee in
the house. She's being good about asking to go out, so I'm hoping that
won't happen.

Relatedly, I'm glad I didn't have to put a dog like Elliott on
prednisone. He had a cast iron bladder, and wouldn't have an accident
if someone bribed him with thw best cookie in the world. It would have
been unthinkable, and worse, he would have been ashamed. (I don't think
I'm anthropomorphizing here.) Harriet's reliable, but she's not gonna
take one for the team, either, which is a bit of a relief.

he was one of the
rare few that got a snarky personality to go with it as well.
I hate prednisone and got tired of it fairly quickly as well.

She's turned into an even bigger greedy guts than she was before, but
that's okay. One of the benefits of keeping her lean is that I can
afford to let her eat more right now. Thankfully, she hasn't gotten
grumpy. Pred screws majorly with your hormones, so I was concerned.
That would suck more than the peeing.

Good luck!

Thanks! I'm counting the days. Or, rather, the pills. Three more
days, counting today, of 1x/day, then six days of 1 dose every other
day. So, six more doses.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

On 2008-10-15 09:40:07 -0400, "Shelly" said:

My concern isn't with the accidents themselves--she can't help it, and
they're my fault anyway--but with her getting the message that it's
okay to pee in the house. She's being good about asking to go out, so
I'm hoping that won't happen.

We haven't had a problem with dogs getting the wrong message if they
have had an accident - or accidents.

"montana wildhack" wrote in message
news:2008101509594816807-montana@wildhackcominvalid...

We haven't had a problem with dogs getting the wrong message if they
have had an accident - or accidents.

That's reassuring!

This whole experience has also reminded me--in flashing neon and ALL
CAPS--of why I do *not* want a puppy, so I guess it's been helpful.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

In article ,
Shelly wrote:
This whole experience has also reminded me--in flashing neon and ALL
CAPS--of why I do *not* want a puppy, so I guess it's been helpful.

I don't mind housetraining and I've found it tends to go
really well (although I'm fortunate to have dogs of a tidy
breed). If you do it often enough it just becomes second
nature and pretty effortless. I've had far more problems
with messing inside from elderly dogs who either become
incontinent or forgetful.

That said, I tend to favor adult dogs, myself, not the least
because puppies can be some kind of destructive.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

"Melinda Shore" wrote in message
...

I don't mind housetraining and I've found it tends to go
really well (although I'm fortunate to have dogs of a tidy
breed).

I've had really good luck with housetraining. Better than I deserve, so
I know my time for a bad experience is overdue. And then there's the
schedule issue. If I were a student or worked from home, a puppy would
be an option, but I don't see doing it if I'm working full-time.

I've had far more problems
with messing inside from elderly dogs who either become
incontinent or forgetful.

The one good-bad thing about Boxers is that they are unlikely to be
around long enough to have age-related cognitive problems. I had a
little talk with Harriet, though, and she's going to live forever.
She's been taking lessons from Pandora.

That said, I tend to favor adult dogs, myself, not the least
because puppies can be some kind of destructive.

This I do recall, and as Harriet periodically reminded me, it can go on
and on for quite awhile.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)