This was me bundled in an orange towel after coming home from the hospital.
I did not tell anyone as I did not want anyone to worry – Mom worries enough for everyone and then some. On Tuesday I had surgery. I have a condition called Chronic Lip Fold Dermatitis. This occurs in some dog breeds like Newfoundlands, Bloodhounds, breeds that have “loose lips”, and on occasion in a GBGV I guess. Because of my beard, no one saw my lips but the smell and pain was Mom’s clue. Most of the time this condition can be controlled by keeping the areas clean and dry, but in my case it just was not working. My lips were often inflamed and it was painful. My beard was a mess because I wouldn’t let Mom near it to brush it out as it hurt around my lips. We decided, along with my vet, Dr. Jim, at the Inver Grove Heights Animal Hospital, that the best option would be the lip fold removal surgery. I my procedure done on Tuesday, and Dr. Jim told Mom that it was the worst case he had ever seen. I have three layers of stitches, two below the skin and one set on top. I am doing pretty well so far, but healing the lip area is hard since it is always moving, gets wet and dirty, and I lay on it a lot. I will get my stitches out in about ten days, then we will start to monitor my lips and hopefully the problem will be resolved. The procedure is basically plastic surgery for dogs, but in my case it was not cosmetic, but done for health reasons. It was not good having constant infections in my lips all the time. If it all goes well, I will try to get an interview with Dr. Jim for more information. First we want to make sure that the procedure is a success.
While I was gone Tuesday, my sister Bailie did keep the neighborhood watch going for me, which was nice of her being just a puppy. I was a bit miffed that she sat in my bed to do it. Now my bed stinks like, but even worse, I found out that Sophie was using my bed as her own too – yuck, kitty cooties! I tell you, gone just eight hours and already pets claiming my stuff, my siblings sure have a lot of nerve! Thank you Mom for gathering the photographic evidence!
Following up on other events from the week…
You may remember a few weeks back I had a review post of the Iams’s Shakeables treats. We just loved them, and now they came out with an awesome video to advertise their product! Make sure to watch until the end where they talk about their #shakeitforward campaign donating money to animal shelters around the US.
Monday the 21st was ten years since Mom lost her precious dog, Trine. We spent the weekend thinking and talking about her. I wish I had met her!
Monday was the third installment of #scoopthatpoop, hosted by Sugar along with myself, Oz the Terrier, The World According to Garth Riley, Earth Rated and Dogster as contributors. This time we are offering prizes for poop poetry! It is not to late to enter! Stop by Sugar’s blog to find out the smelly details and remember to pick up after your pooch! If you are on twitter, you can follow the campaign at @scoop_that_poop
I wanted to post about our K9 Kamp Fitness today, but having been laid up from surgery, I am postponing that until next week. Even though I am in recovery, I started walking a bit the next day and am already walking half an hour at a time on day two. Mom doesn’t force me, it is just what I want to do – she lets me lead. I want to show you some fun things we have been doing, so hopefully I will be normal enough again on the weekend to work on that post!
Have a pawsome weekend everyone! Remember to get out and jump in those leaves if you have fall in your corner of the universe! Leaves are great fun for dogs and their humans too!
Today I’m joining the Follow Up Friday Blog Hop hosted by Heart Like A Dog. Stop by and see what everyone has been up to this week.
Hope you feel better soon, Emma! That doesn’t sound like fun. Take care, pal.
I’m doing better every day and I have my pain meds too.
you poor baby! Sending you healing thoughts! Barks and licks and love, Dakota
Mom says these few days are tough but if I am pain/infection free for the rest of my life it will be worth it.
Aww, poor Emma! I just hate to think of you not feeling good! Fingers and paws crossed that the surgery was successful and you won’t have to worry about this ever again!
I’m feeling pretty good but still on my pain pills. The main thing is that the stitches hold and I don’t have the problem anymore.
Oh Emma! *hugs* Take care of yourself, pretty girl.
Mom is taking good care of me.
Poor you Emma. We hope you are better soon. Have a fabulous Friday.
Best wishes Molly
Thanks, Molly. I feel better everyday.
Oh Emma – keeping all our paws crossed for a quick, uneventful recovery. Have a quiet weekend with the family, and tell Miss Bailie to lie low while you get back to normal!
I think Bailie got the message and since I still smell funny from the vet, she doesn’t want much to do with me. I am just resting a lot.
Hi Emma, super sorry to hear that you had to have surgery, I’m sure Mom was worried sick. I do hope the surgery helps and you no longer have to worry about infections or pain. You are such a trooper! And yes, I will be sending you my address so you can come help out with those chipmunks!
Thank you for joining the hop, I know it must be challenging for you and hope you got some good pain meds.
Paws crossed for a speedy recovery! And have a great weekend.
I miss getting wild and crazy but on the other hand, I feel like sleeping a lot right now. Mom says in a few days I will feel like normal and then she will have trouble slowing me down.
Oh dear Emma! We have never heard of such a thing and hope the surgery was a complete success. Get better soon.
Mom had heard of it a few years ago as a trendy thing to do for looks for some dogs but never knew it could be a health issue that I would have. Hopefully I am going to be rid of the problem.
Oh Emma I had no idea and after reading about the condition i can only imagine how painful it was for you…Just shows what a wonderful pup you really are that you never let it stgop you from having fun…So glad you’re already on the road to recovery and Gizmo and I are send you our best healing prayers and snoogles…Be well friend
I should be fit as a fiddle in a few more days, but I still have to watch my mouth area for another week or so. It is for the best if my problem disappears.
Oh Emma darling, we sure hope your lips heal up real quick. sending you lots of love and hugs xxooxxx
Mollie and Alfie
No kidding…no kissing now…have to get those lips healed first.
Awww Emma, I send lots of healing purrs your way! Hope you heal quickly and the operation will make the problem disappear. Please, keep us posted!
We are confident it will help me out or Mom would never have had the surgery done, but time will tell.
Oh Emma, ouch! I hope you get to feeling better soon. Torrey and I are sending pawsitive thoughts your way.
Yeah, not the most convenient place for surgery, but on the other hand, my constant lip inflammation and pain wasn’t good either. Hopefully that is all behind me.
Oh my sweet Emma – ouch! So sorry to hear about your surgery and the infections! That must be really painful. I hope the surgery takes care of it…and that you don’t end up with balloon lips 😉 there’s no collagen injections right? BOL.
That pic of Bailie doing the neighborhood watch is pretty cute, even if she is in your bed. What’s funny is I even noticed that before I read it! I thought to myself, uh-oh, Bailie is sitting in Emma’s bed. Funny how they do that isn’t it – figure out which bed is the ‘best’. Maggie does that with Jack’s beds – sneaks into them when he’s not around.
You CA folks would think of the collagen injections 😉 No, just took skin out to make them smaller and tighter. No lipstick for a while either!
Bailie wants to do whatever I do, so it wasn’t a big surprise.
Please feel better soon, dear Emma and I hope you can enjoy the weekend. I give you a big hug for a fast recovery.
I’m doing much better, just have to be careful of my lips and stitches.
Oh Emma , you bad girl for not telling us you had a problem , you should have told us so we could be there for you . I’m sorry you had surgery but I really hope the surgery solved your problems . Hugs sweetie and feel better soon. Sorry too that your bed was taken over while away ha .
Mom kept thinking she might change her mind at the last minute but then decided surgery was best. We are pretty sure it will solve the problem or we would not have given it a try. As for my bed, I will have to have Mom wash it once I feel better and don’t smell like a vet office 😉
You look so pawthetic in your picture with your bankey, Emma. I hates sharing some of my places with those Boston terriers that inhabit this house too. Grumble, grumble. I go positively savage with my upper lip when one of them gets near my food bowl. Love you Emma and get well soon!
I was pretty pawthetic that first night. Mom likes things to match, so since I was sleeping on the pumpkins she had to bundle me up in orange! I’m doing much better, just have to be careful I don’t rip anything open.
Oh no Emma I hope this surgery clears up the problem and that you heal well without any complications. Sending hugs and positive thoughts your way 🙂
Thank you, we think it will help me out…can’t imagine it being any worse.
Very sorry to hear you’ve not been well, Miss Emma. But I’m glad that your mom took care of that for you and hope you are on the mend.
Well, I was not really sick, just had such sore lips and that odor that goes with the problem. Hopefully I will be good as a new pup in no time.
Sending you Lots of Golden Healing Thoughts. Very curious to find out more about it. I bet bailie was just testing your bed (making a comparison). WOW on the last photo. I could not see your face. Happy Friday. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar
Thank you! I’m doing better, Mom says the hard part will be holding me back and keeping me from hurting my lips/stitches. Really hoping this works and I won’t have the problem anymore.
Emma, so sorry to hear this! How painful, no one likes mouth pain! I have heard of this problem in PBGV’s also, which is what my Johnny is, so when I groom him I like to look closely around his mouth to make sure no problems arise. Rest up so you can heal faster!
Thank you, it is not something I always had, it just started when I was about five. I will keep everyone posted on my progress.
Ok Emma- this is just plain weird. First Katie and I send you lots of get well hugs and kisses but you can send them right back to Katie. She had the same thing. Hers is not as bad as your. And we are trying to avoid surgery but Katie had been on antibiotics for a month and I had to wash her mouth out every night with an a ant fungal shampoo. She really loved that one.
The only way I knew she had it was the horrible smell and she would not let me near her beard to wash it. I a. Hoping she does not need the surgery.
In the meantime, hurry up and get well and don’t let your siblings take over. They should be treating you very well while you don’t feel good.
Oh dear, poor Katie! We would not recommend staying on antibiotics as it will just keep coming back. What we did use that helped is Oral Hygiene Rinse from Virbac every night before bed, and Mupirocin ointment when it really flared up. But since it is a chronic condition and I am only seven we decided to do the surgery. It wasn’t until after the surgery we knew how bad it was. We wanted to avoid surgery, but if it keeps happening, it is sending all that infection and bacteria into the body is not healthy. We will keep you posted on my progress, you can always email me if you want a private chat or dm me on fb. Hope you don’t have to do surgery, but I sure hope mine works as planned.
I will watch it. If it comes back again I think it will be the surgery. I don’t think the antibiotics will even work anymore. I keep you posted. Lots of hugs to Emma.
Mom never likes to use antibiotics unless it is a last resort as they slowly become less effective. The surgery is the best way to cure the issue, hope it works for me.
Oh my, Emma! That does not sound like fun at all! Is it going to hurt when you eat for a few days?? Poor sweetie. I hope you are resting comfortably and getting spoiled!! Maybe some ice cream would help…
Mom put warm water on my first two meals, but I have some good pain meds that help out a lot. I am eating normally now, but I can’t eat big treats, so Mom breaks everything into smaller pieces for me…I let her really take care of me. I know it will only last a few more days, so I will soak it up as much as I can!
Ouch Emma! I hope you feel better soon and that everything heals well!
A big ouch, but after having pain for a long time, it is worth it…at least that is the plan.
Oh, Emma, I’m sorry you have to go through this! I hope your recovery goes well and you are back to your own guard duty soon. Also that the surgery does what it was supposed to so you are done dealing with that condition.
It was so sweet of you not to worry us…..yes, we dog Moms are usually pretty good at worrying enough for everyone.
There are never any guarantees, but it should work. We will know in a few months, I guess.
Oh Emma, I’m SO sorry to hear that you had to have surgery, but I hope it does the trick and you no longer have any lip issues. We have heard about it before because Austin had a bout with it once – he has a little bit “saggier” lips than most Dachshunds. But we figured out that his was from constantly chewing a certain toy just on one side – he got the lip all inflamed, then infected on that side. We got it cleared up, got rid of that toy, and he hasn’t had a problem since. So it was just a temporary, not chronic thing for him, but now we know that we need to keep a good eye on his lips.
I’m so sorry that yours was chronic and giving you trouble for quite some time. We know it can be an ongoing problem for some breeds. It was brave of you to soldier through it for a while, but you should’ve told us – you know we’re all supportive! Hope you recover nicely from your surgery and you’re back to your usual Emma adventures in no time. No tasty chewies until you’re healed! Boo!
Mine was worse on one side than on the other, but I didn’t have any particular things I chewed on a lot, so it was just my lip folds. We think this will solve it, and that is why we decided to stop fooling around and just do it. Hope your pup doesn’t have it again ever!
Wow, Emma, what an adventurous week you had! That does not sound like any kind of fun at all. I hope it all heals up just like it should in lickity split time!
It is not fun but hopefully it will work and I will be good for life!
OMG I love you so much!! I am so sad to hear you had to have surgery. You are My favorite GBGV in the world. I am glad you are doing O.K. Love you!!
Thank you! I’m doing better all the time, and hopefully for the rest of my life 🙂 Luv U too 🙂
Oh sweet Emma, I am so sorry you are having that problem and we are all sending you our best healing purrs. We will be looking for good reports on your progress.
I could come over and snuggle and nap with Brian but I don’t want to be in a litter box and I’m not sure how well he likes dogs?
That sounds awfully ouchie, Emma. I’m sorry you had to have that surgery, but I hope it solves the problem.
I have kitties here who get in my bed also. They have no respect!
Nubbin wiggles,
Oskar
It is pretty sad, barely out of the house and your stuff is taken over! I’m doing better all the time but have to be careful for another week or so with my stitches.
Poor Emma:( We hope you are feeling better real soon! And we know what you mean about those puppies. Our Diesel thinks our beds are his now and he makes them stink like stinky puppy! We feel ya!
She did pee on the big beds twice, but luckily not on my favorite cuddle beds. She had a potty training testing phase where she would come in from a walk and then a few minutes later pee right in front of Mom on something like a bed or a rug. Paws crossed, but we thing that is over with.
Emma we had never heard of that and we are so sorry that you we sore and hurting all the time. It was a hard decision for Mom but we know she didn’t want you to feel bad. So we hope the surgery works and fixes the problem and you get well really soon. We would give you newf hugs but that would hurt so we send good thoughts and love.
Lexie, Mica and Mom
Mom first heard of it a few years ago with Newfs in CA having it done to eliminate drooling…true plastic surgery. We never thought it would apply to my situation…no, I never have drooled but that skin was pretty nasty. Hopefully it is over with forever.
Looking forward to when you’re back up and running Emma! Good idea to get taken care of so you don’t have infections and pain anymore – especially around your mouth where treats go in! I’m sure your bed will be smelling like you again in no time! ;0)
Luckily, the treats still go in, I just can’t have large pieces or bones right now. I’m getting more frisky but I have to be careful not to rip the stitches. Mom can wash my bed when the vet smell on my beard goes away, that will get rid of the puppy stink too!
I’m slow catching up on my bloggy reading the past few days so I didn’t see this right away. I really hope you’re doing better today and healing up nicely!
I’m still not my old self, but doing pretty well.
Surgery sucks but I am glad you are ok. Hope it takes care of your problem. It’s amazing how plastic surgery is helping animals nowadays.
Great picture of you in the fall leaves
Thank you! Surgery is the pits and stitches in your lips really are a drag but I think I will be fine after this 🙂
Great FUF, so sorry you had to do surgery. I hope it is a Hugh success and you don’t have to have lip fold infections and nasty smell and pain anymore. Good luck with your recovery. So sorry about the loss of moms pup, I bet even 10 years gone still feels like yesterday. Have a good and restful rest of the day.
Thank you! I’m feeling better, just kind of tired but Mom wants me to rest anyway.
Oh my goodness I hope you heal fast and the surgery is a success! The nerve of your fursiblings taking over when you aren’t well! We have seen it at our house before, jockeying for top spot while one isn’t well. Take care. Love Dolly
It really made me made when I came home and smelled that and then I saw the photos…no respect for others I guess! I’m feeling better, just have to be careful with my lips.
Oh Emma! I am so very sorry sweetie. I wish you a speedy recovery. Thank goodness you have a good vet at Inver Grove. I have heard nothing but good things about them from everyone I know. We have our vet in Maplewood and won’t change, but if we were we would be going there.
Hope you are feeling a little better today Miss Emma. Sending love and kisses!
We went through quite a few vets before we found the one in IGH. It is well worth the half hour drive. They really are awesome!
Boy Emma, I could see how your fur would hide that and make it get worse before anyone could see. But if something like that ever happens again, you have to let your family know somehow, even if it hurts. Otherwise look what happens when you’re gone, everyone stealing your stuff and all! Hope you heal up soon. Get some rest!
We figured out the problem a while back but not all cases need surgery, so we were trying to avoid that but it was just not working. Hopefully the issue is gone forever.
Sending you a big get well hug from me and typist! You relax and put your paws up and leave the family to pamper you while you jut focus on getting all well!
One thing I’m good at aside from wabbit hunting is getting Mom to spoil me…I’m milking this one big time!
Oh no! I left early on Friday and am just catching up now. We are sorry you had to have surgery and hope for a quick and complete recovery.
Thank you, I think I am doing pretty well.
Poor you, Emma! Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery. ♥
Thank you. I’m resting a lot and feeling better every day.
That’s good news! 🙂
Poor girl Emma Here is hoping for a extra speedy recovery. You will be back in charge in no time. Take care
Sammy and Lacey
I’m feeling much better, thank you, but I still have a week until I get my stitches out.
I hope your lips heal up quickly and that the procedure has sorted out the problems you’ve had.
No kidding. I get the outer stitches out next Tuesday, can’t wait.