# Miss Lilly



## Miss Lilly (Sep 12, 2014)

Hello all
Its been a while since I last posted... things have been a little tricky with Miss Lilly but we seem to have turned a corner now.

Miss Lilly's first season finished towards the end of February. Not enough that she found that whole experience really difficult, she then got a pretty severe systemic infection - she stopped eating, playing and just generally seemed sore and down in the dumps. Despite antibiotics, she just didn't seem to bounce back very well from it all and became very fearful of strangers and other dogs. She's always been timid but the lowest point was when she tried to attack someone who approached her in the dark on the road. This was the first and only time that I have seen her like this and it was definitely not pretty.

I was all set to consult a behaviourist but because of the infection, I felt that any physical reasons for her behaviour should be ruled out first which would have meant a blood test and, because it has so far proved impossible to get any blood out of her, my vet and I were considering sedating her in order to run a number of tests. 

Then Miss Lills started to show signs of a false pregnancy: she started trying to make a nest behind the sofa, crying and whining if I blocked access to the space (there are a lot of wires there so its really not ideal) and tried to take some of her toys there too. 

In the meantime, whilst she was recovering from her infection, I started to use an adaptil plugin I bought ages ago. 

Anyway, fast forward a few weeks and Miss Lilly has well and truly bounced back: if anything, she seems a little more confident and will even initiate play with other doggies as well as letting other people (strangers) pet her a little sometimes. She's eating, playing and just generally seems a lot happier (and healthier). She is extremely cuddly and would happily spend all her time upside down having her tummy stroked! 

To celebrate, we took her down to the seaside last week. Her first time and she absolutely loved it!


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## Lindor (Feb 3, 2014)

Fantastic pictures. Glad she is feeling well again thanks to a fantastic poo Mommy.


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## Mazzapoo (Jul 28, 2013)

Well done to both of you, that sounds like a string of traumas! The beach is the perfect tonic. Miss Lilly looks happy and beautiful


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

If my beach photos turn out one quarter as good as those I'll be ecstatic. Love them! 

Did the vet suggest you spay her now or wait?


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## Alinos (May 19, 2014)

Seems to have been a difficult time for both of you. Glad that all is well now. 


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## Alinos (May 19, 2014)

OMG. Seems to be have a very difficult time for both of you. Glad that all is well now. 


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

Miss Lilly is very lucky to have such a caring and patient human mum. The beach really is an amazing healing spot for sure. 


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

So glad that Miss Lilly is finally over her season and back to loving life 

The beach shots are fantastic and wonderful to see - they capture the spirit of Joyful 'Poo - and I can just imagine all the gritty sand she brought home as a memento of her wonderful day at the beach!


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Fantastic pictures  looks like she had a fantastic time 

so glad you stuck with your instincts and let her recover and sounds like she is bouncing back well 

I am getting beach envy


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## Miss Lilly (Sep 12, 2014)

Thanks everyone 

It truly felt like the dark days and I'm so, so glad that Miss Lilly has rallied. The beach was amazing fun for her: you could almost hear her say 'wow' when she realised where she was and she did not stop dashing around for a good 2 hours. 

Re her spay: I've actually booked her in in late May (90 days after her season). I don't think she - or I - particularly want to go through all of this again and I have heard said that phantom pregnancies tend to get worse with each season.

Its not an easy decision (for me) to make about another living soul and I have thought long and hard about the pros and cons. Seeing how she became tho and seeing the difference in her now has made it vastly easier for me. I just hope that she recovers well from the op, without complications or set backs.


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

We all hope Miss Lilly sails through her spay op.... but I do think that you have made the right decision as I have also heard that phantom pregnancies do usually reoccur after subsequent seasons and although the vet can give medication to counter them - it must be totally miserable for the dogs. PMT is bad enough


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## caz3 (Mar 27, 2014)

So pleased she is on the mend and turned a corner and good on you for understanding your dog and what better therapy than a day at the beach ???brill pics


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## Miss Lilly (Sep 12, 2014)

I wish we lived close to a beach and could go every day, but sadly its a rare treat. I am however currently obsessed with rightmove and other property sites and am desperately trying to work out what we could live off if we really were to up sticks. London is great but seeing Miss Lilly fly across the beach and enjoy the space and clean air was heavenly.


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

I am the same - love the beach but living in the Midlands it is a rare treat - getting to that time of year though for us to make a day trip I think


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

Brilliant photo's, what beach was it? I used to live about 35 mins from the nearest beach but now its 2 hrs 15mins minimum so don't go too often. Like you I look at properties, mainly down in Cornwall. She looks so happy in the pictures, glad she is much better. As others have said I'm sure its the right decision, you may wonder straight after the op but hopefully she will recover very fast and be the happy dog in the pics all the time after.


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## sugerlump (Oct 6, 2012)

she will be just fine ..ginger went through it with little or no problems , we just would keep her in a onezy and all went well good luck and you do have a beautiful puppy there


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## Miss Lilly (Sep 12, 2014)

Awww, thanks for the reassurance! She is beautiful isn't she? Someone recently said that she looks like a work of art... I'm thinking they meant modern art... possibly Jackson Pollock!

Out of curiosity, what size onesie? I bought a few early on but they're too small now... maybe 18-24 months for a 10-11kg poo?


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

I think bigger is definitely better when it comes to onesies - mine wore 18-24 months when they were done at 6 months and were about 6.5 kilos.
I would see if you can get any 24 months plus or if it is tricky to get the bigger size I think Christine got Poppy a couple of sleep suits and altered them slightly shortening the legs and arms to fit - because they go up to bigger sizes.
My vet was very impressed with the onesie approach and said it was great because it kept the site clean, but she also said you did want it to be loose so that air could still circulate. I put the onesie on while they were still really groggy with anesthetic and they never tried to remove it.
Good luck, check out charity shops and have a trial run with something you've got cheaply.


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## Miss Lilly (Sep 12, 2014)

Excellent advice! I shall scour ebay and the local charity shops. I'm sure I'll find something suitable and slightly ridiculous for her to wear! Its got to be better than a lampshade tho...


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

It depends how she is with things too - well worth being prepared but I just had to keep an eye on Chance when she was done and she left her stitches alone without cone or covering.


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## Miss Lilly (Sep 12, 2014)

Ah 2ndhand... if only. I have no doubt whatsoever that Miss Lilly will have an intense interest in whats going on down there. Onesies will hopefully do the trick, but I think I'm going to need an inflatable collar on standby too for my little diva.


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Miss Lilly said:


> Ah 2ndhand... if only. I have no doubt whatsoever that Miss Lilly will have an intense interest in whats going on down there. Onesies will hopefully do the trick, but I think I'm going to need an inflatable collar on standby too for my little diva.


I actually thought as I wrote it - Molly is a very different dog - she is an absolute nightmare with anything at all as her itchyness early in the year showed  she was spayed before I got her but I can not imagine she was an easy patient!!


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

Funny how much like humans they are with their levels of sensitivity isn't it? We tried to go the onesie route with Rufus but had to use the Elizabethan collar to stop him chewing. I'm wondering if the laid back dogs are laid back about everything and the angsty, obsessive dogs (I like to think of them as lambourghinis) are overly reactive to everything?


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

My two were a constant nightmare of me having to watch them. That's right. 10 days of wriggling out of onesies (figured out we could only use the kind with snaps at the neck), having a growth spurt (luckily I bought several sizes and ended up having to step up a size during the middle of the week), changing them each time they went out (pee and dirt on their undercarriage), figuring out how best to adjust it and keep it in place when they did need to toilet, and stopping them every time they tried to push the onesies aside to lick (I didn't know the spine could curve so much). About day 7 of 10 days is when it got to the point where I had to put an inflatable collar on them (the sadness in their faces each time I put it on). 

I think what also helped is that I had them cut very very short right before the surgery. Much easier to brush off the dirt (no curlies to dust mop the world) and fit much tighter than before their cut. It seems a long time in the moment but passes fairly quickly. 


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