emeraldlyaqua

[emeraldlyaqua]

I desperately need advice about my very old, dementia dog, please!

I have a 16 year old husky mix. She has always had anxiety. But a few months ago, her anxiety started getting worse and worse. She would start panting, pacing, swinging her head back and forth, scratching on every door or surface she could find. And when I say scratching, I mean jumping up on two legs and pounding the door with all her might, almost breaking some of them. She is half blind, and at first we thought it was anxiety from going blind. I work at a vet clinic as a treatment tech, so I brought her in, did a full physical exam, blood work, urinalysis, and everything came back perfect. My theory is that she may have dementia.

We put her on Gabapentin. It worked for a few days, and then stopped working and she was back to having complete panic attacks. We then put her on trazodone, which also worked for a few days then stopped. We upped her dose at least three times and it didn’t work. Before, she would have an attack, not be able to find any peace all night until morning or sometimes later, then have a few good days. But as the days went by, the attacks happened more and more frequently. Right now, its to the point where none of us are sleeping, and she is constantly in a state of panic unless she is completely drugged, and even then she fights it. She is now sometimes up, pacing, scratching, panting, shaking like a leaf, for over a day straight. Even when she finally manages to rest, she is trembling like crazy in her sleep.

She will pace around, almost get comfortable, and then suddenly she jerks around like a bomb went off in her ear even though there is no sounds and nothing going on, and she’ll run around and scratch and pant in mindless panic. This happens in a cycle; panic, start to relax, jerk up suddenly and panic again. She gets so desperate in her panic she tries to fit into corners and knock everything over in her attempts. We’ve tried noise machines, soft music, singing, sitting with her, petting her, meds, nothing works. Its like she’s not even herself anymore. And all the diagnostics we did came back normal. I’ve even had two vets look at her.

She used to have moments where she would be playful and normal like herself again, but as of three days ago, its been constant panic. I’m desperate for advice on what to do. In the back of my mind I don’t think this is much of a life for her. Constant panic. But it sucks trying to make a decision to euthanize when she is not physically sick. But even though she isn’t suffering physically, she is suffering so bad mentally. I guess my question is, what is the right thing to do here? I need help or maybe just affirmation. If anyone could give me their two cents, I would very, very much appreciate it.

[emeraldlyaqua]

PSA

If you do not have the time, money, motivation, etc. to get your dog groomed, DO NOT ADOPT A LONG HAIRED DOG. Dogs like poodles, golden doodles, bishons, any dog with long hair. These breeds require a lot of maintenance. They must be groomed often, brushed every week or every day depending on the fur and the cut they have. It is absolutely neglectful and abusive to get a long haired dog and not groom them or even brush them. The mats that form from such neglect are PAINFUL, UNSANITARY, and CRUEL. Espescially if you live in a warm climate. I work at a dog day care center, and more often than not, we recieve a dog like this:

This is a labradoodle. He arrived looking like this. He was covered in such severe mats from head to toe, that I thought I was looking at a dog that had been on the streets for months. Not someone’s pet. The mats were so bad and had been there for so long, that just walking by him you could smell the infection. That smell was horrific. The worst of it was his inner thighs.

The mats were yellow and green from the bacteria that collected. He had a huge mat right over his penis that was green. He couldn’t even urinate. It all just went into the mat. He was constantly panting and crying. Imagine having your hair all over your body, and imagine it being so matted that your skin couldn’t breahe an inch in a hot, humid climate. Imagine how hard that hair is constantly pulling on your skin, causing pain whenever you move. Imagine the bacteria and dirt and waste that collects in that hair. Imagine not being able to even urinate. It was so bad, the mats dragged behind him as he walked. I could not even handle the dog without gloves. I had to wash every leash and collar we used on him. He couldn’t see past the mats covering his eyes. This owner was completely oblivious to the issue. We told them we would get a groomer to come out and shave him. They said “I guess thats ok”.

We called a mobile groomer out to shave him. About an hour in, the machine broke from how bad the fur was. They had to call another groomer in to help. They had only made it to his chest when it broke on them.

This is him after. He was very happy and energetic. A literal 5 pound weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Here is another dog we recieved that was matted head to toe.

This is him after

Ignorance is not an excuse. Educate yourself before you get a pet. If you can’t keep up with your dog’s needs, don’t get a dog.

[emeraldlyaqua]

Kiryu was so BIG and BEAUTIFUL!!! He was my blue jewel!!

[emeraldlyaqua]

up close and personal with seether

[emeraldlyaqua]

Have you ever seen a bigger boy?

[emeraldlyaqua]

stop putting fish in bowls 2k18!!

[emeraldlyaqua]

stop putting fish in bowls 2k18!!

[emeraldlyaqua]

[emeraldlyaqua]

New article on Aquariadise: the ugly truth about Betta sororities.

Myths and misconceptions have always been rampant in the aquarium hobby and the greatest victim of misinformation is probably Betta splendens. Betta bowls, tiny tanks, ‘aquaponics’ set-ups and terrible tankmate choices: we see it all in the Betta hobby.

One topic I’ve never spoken clearly about is Betta sororities, but let’s be very clear here: I see no reason to support them. That’s why I teamed up with resident Betta expert @iantojonesthebetta to tell the ugly truth about Betta sororities and why female Betta fish should be kept alone just like males.

Read the full article on Aquariadise here.

[emeraldlyaqua]

All new bbys but I still have my reverse harem….. no girl though (does the cat count?)

[emeraldlyaqua]

Betta Q&A and misconceptions (Pt1)

* “Bettas are sold in small cups, so they must need a small tank!”

Unfortunately, from my experience working at a petstore, we keep bettas in cups because its easier to sell, and we don’t have the time to perfectly match each betta with the fish already in our tanks. And my corporate is too thick headed to make a cool betta rack where each one is filtered and heated ect. It sucks to watch. The recommended tank size for a betta is NO LESS than 2.5, but I recomend at least 5 gallons.

* “Bettas don’t need a heater”

Bettas absolutely need a heater. As referred to above, we don’t have the space, or a small enough heater for a 4oz cup. If you dont have a betta in a heated tank, it can slow their metabolism down, lower their immune system defense, and vastly shorten their life span. They are tropical fish.

* “Don’t wild bettas live in puddles?”

This is one I constantly get at work when I suggest a larger tank than the .25gal they want. Bettas in the wild TRAVEL in puddles when the dry season is current and they need to find more water. Most of the time, a lot of bettas die because they cook in the puddles, and they can’t make it to deeper waters.

* “Do I really need such a large tank for one fish?”

Yes, you do. Bettas looove to swim. That’s why its so hard to take pictures of them without putting them in a breeding box of sorts. You really don’t need your 987 sq foot house, you could technically live in a nyc studio wherer its just a long rectangle. But you wouldn’t be happy. Plus, they come from acres upon acres of rice fields. The best we can do is give them a larger tank.

* “Bettas live in dirty water so I don’t need a filter”

They also live in a lot more water than you can provide to them. The larger the space of water they have, the less likely they are to die of ammonia. Having a filter is a must, unless you want to do daily water changes, or have a really intense bioactive set up. It also helps with oxygenating the water. A dirty tank leads to infection and death real quick.

* “My betta built a bubble nest, does that mean he is happy?”

Unfortunately, no. It means they are sexually mature and they are ready to mate. Ive seen huge bubble nests in betta cups turned yellow from lack of care.

* “Can I keep my betta in a vase with a plant, since the betta can eat the plant and the plant will feed off of the pee and poop”

….this one really irks me. For one, a vase for a flower is too small for a a betta. Two, bettas are insectavores/carnivores. They eat bugs and meat. The only reason the betta will eat the plant is because it is its last attempt to fend off starvation, and at that point, you are torturing the poor animal.

* “Bettas only need to eat once a week”

Please don’t starve your fish. At the pet store we feed them twice a week because they live in cups, they don’t swim, and are cold. If we fed them everyday they would swim in their own waste, die from toxic ammonia, and get swim bladder issues constantly. At home, if you have a bigger tank, you need to feed your betta at least 5 times a week. Its good to have fast days, but do not give your betta fast weeks. They will burn those calories really quickly zipping around their large home.

* “Bettas are so aggressive they can’t live with any other type of fish!”

Whenever people say this I can’t help but roll my eyes a little, because they normally say it like a betta fish is a harpy or some mythical beast. Usually, you can house bettas with other tropical fish, as long as they aren’t flashy and fin nippers. Ive had luck with neon tetras, snails, shrimp, and even at one point a lil khuli loach. It depends vastly on the temperament of the betta. Mushroom for example, as small as he is, I know he is really aggressive. Finnigan would probably tolerate a tank mate, and Talos would be okay with a tank mate. You really need to know your bettas temperament to determine an appropriate tank mate.

* “Females are smaller and peaceful, so I can put them together!”

No, you cannot. Females are just as aggressive, and more dangerous because they don’t have long heavy fins slowing them down. Do NOT have a sorority of bettas. Its never a matter of if they fail, its always when.

* “How long do bettas live”

I used to say 3-5 years, but lately with the disgusting rate of over breeding for colour and aggression, its more like 1-2.5 years.

* “How do I get my betta to love me?”

Its an open debate whether bettas have the brain complexity to be able to love their owners. In my opinion, they really don’t. I think that they can have basic emotions such as anger/aggresion, and comfort when they are housed nicely. You can train your betta to come up to you and flair whenever you feed them, but it really is just a food response rather than a love response.

* “How do I know if my betta is sick?”

I usually take a picture of my fish when I buy them if I think they are healthy. I then compare the photo to the fish if I think there is something wrong. I also keep a look out for lethargy, loss of fins, loss of appetite, and if they have any odd growths like a tumor or fingus.

* “My betta fish is lazy and does nothing but hide, so all bettas are like that”

If your betta does nothing but hide and act lazy, I would make sure he is healthy and your water quality is good. There are some shy/lazy bettas out there, but usually they are still active sometimes. It also can be due to the fact that you have almost nothing in your tank, and they loathe large open spaces, as it makes them feel unsafe and vulnerable and stressed. Bettas love to be active.

* “Bettas are just dumb fish and there is nothing special about them”

Granted bettas are not everyones cup of tea, bettas do have great personalitys and are acutally really smart. I’ve trained Finnigan (even though he is a gourami) to “give me kiss” before he gets his food (he has to swim to where my finger is and peck the glass before he gets a treat) and I’ve taught Talos to flair on command. Some people train their bettas to jump through hoops. You get as much interaction as you put in.

[emeraldlyaqua]

Someone asked me why my productivity levels dropped when I was doing so well at being consistent. The answer is simple: I have a new man in my life.

His name’s Gemini. He’s a galaxy halfmoon betta, and you can bet you fins he was expensive AF.

[emeraldlyaqua]

It’s a jungle out there!

[emeraldlyaqua]

Chai’s lost almost all of his white now. All that’s left is his right eye.

[emeraldlyaqua]

Gattsu is a supermodel 💖

[emeraldlyaqua]

Even at rest he has to be dramatic 🤦‍♀️

[emeraldlyaqua]

Gattsu was elegantly resting against the leaf, so I took my camera out to take pics… as soon as he noticed me he YELLED and I didn’t even see him do it until I looked at the photos after. I think he’s screaming for food, boy’s always hungry!