Dudley & I are similar #44: Bed wetting

Doodles urinates in his sleep. We’d seen a small puddle on the floor or cushion when he woke up, but were not sure if it was water (he splashes a lot of it around the house), drool (he’s a dog) or urine.

Urine trickling down Dudley's leg while he's deep asleep
Urine trickling down Dudley’s leg while he’s deep asleep

Then I noticed this. I was working, and he was sleeping on the carpet behind me. During a break, I turned around to stretch and noticed the drops on his leg. That was my confirmation. A few days later Amit also confirmed that Sm had noticed it happening.

Duds went for a check-up on Monday. They ran a few tests – checking for infection, inflammation, and stones. All came negative. The current hypothesis from the vet is that this could be behavioural.

Duds’ uber loving day care lady, Sue, suddenly passed away a few months ago. He spent a few days at home with me and his mom. And then they had to start sending him to a new day care woman.

Sue was a lovely woman – friendly, chatty, crazy about most dogs (but specially labradors), and always spoiling dogs with swims and treats. She was one of my favourite people around.

Dudley loved her like crazy. But he didn’t just lose her. He lost all the dogs he used to spend his days with – Tilly Mae, Daisy, Ralph, Archie and others. He lost all his friends.

We have a hypothesis that he may be missing her and his friends, and that may be subconsciously triggering his bed wetting. Continue reading Dudley & I are similar #44: Bed wetting

Tweaks for 2019 – Eat Slower

I eat very fast. I start preparing my food after R has started eating. 5 mins later I’ll start eating. I will have finished my food, rinsed my dishes, and often finished the dessert before she finishes eating. Yes she’s a slow eater. But it only highlights how fast I eat.

If we are watching a serial on the TV, I finish food before the starting credits are over. If we are watching a football match, Ole Gunnar’s Man United are still shaking the opponents hands before the whistle by the time I finish eating. They’ve scored 2 goals by the time R finishes eating.

Eating fast had its advantages growing up in a big joint family. It meant being able to go for a second serving quicker – before the favourite dishes got over. It also meant being able to finish food quickly to get away from prickly adults and back to fun/play/book/isolation. An ability to eat fast also meant that when forced to eat dishes I didn’t like, I could quickly swallow them after chewing just twice.

I want to eat slow.
To enjoy the food more – keep the food longer in my mouth so I can feel the taste longer, taste more of the juices.
To eat and digest better – chew the food longer, into smaller bits so it digests better.
And so that I eat less – ensure more of the food has reached the belly, and registered with the brain before I finish the first serving. Fewer, smaller second servings will be the result, hopefully. Continue reading Tweaks for 2019 – Eat Slower