Messes and Successes

Once, while wandering down the aisle of my grocery store, I found some canned pumpkin on sale. Never having much experience with the stuff, I wondered if I was missing out on my new favorite foods. I looked up a pumpkin soup recipe online and it was a complete success... except, as it turned out, I do not actually like pumpkin soup. At all really. And of course I payed no attention that I pulled a recipe that fed 10 people.

Scrambling, I looked over the ingredient list. All dog safe (and in fact pumpkin is great for digestion). I added some chicken stock, brown rice flour, parsley, and vitamin supplement to end up with some on the fly pumpkin cookies for Relay.

He LOVED IT!  Not the first time my home cooking shortfall ended up becoming a supplement to Relay's diet, but easily the most successful. Later on, I found this really cute fire hydrant cookie cutter, and thought to try my hand at the pumpkin cookies a second time, this time with a purpose.

And you know what? It was a complete disaster. Oh my goodness what a mess. The cookie cutter was quickly abandoned and Jeff just started to make balls out of what I can only refer to as slop. Of course, Relay didn't find these as appealing, but I'm sure ate them to be polite.

We are participating in Kol's Notes' Tasty Tuseday Blog Hop. Be sure to stop on by to check out more dog friendly bites and visit some terrific blogs. 

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Relay has a torn ACL

As we were driving over to pick up Relay, Mary informed me that she had already taken him to the vet after a night of rest showed no signs of improvement. The vet believes he has a torn ACL. Not the kind of news you want to hear over bluetooth.

Thankfully, the diagnosis leaned towards the chance of Relay healing on his own with rest for 4 weeks as opposed to it being completely torn which would mandate surgery. That rest required us to make some adjustments at home.

I made some very sad phone calls to our rescues to say we had to take a break from fostering. Internally struggling with the idea of not getting back Trixie already, I was unprepared for the one two punch to loose Max and Little One at the same time. I really love those pups and it's like their stories will be left unfinished in my mind. I had not realized how cathartic the adoption process was to letting go. And a part of me feels like I'm letting everyone down.

No one more so than my poor baby. Relay, sorry puppy but your mom's at a loss.

I have been looking into ACL injuries and healing on your own without surgery is normally not advised for dogs over 30 pounds. At 38 pounds, the vet must have thought the injury slight enough to try. But this path could also mean he'll break it anyway or tear his other leg from over use. It's going to be very hard keeping a an active dog as subdued as possible and each time he runs I cringe. Trying to be proactive, I'm  looking into some supplements to the medication prescribed by his vet.

In the mean time, I have this nagging question in my mind: why? Certain breeds are predisposed to ACL injuries, but to my knowledge my mutt doesn't have those in his makeup. Dogs that are overweight or under exercised are also prone, but he is very trim and very active. His diet is varied to allow for the best health. What then? One reference mentioned a link to dogs neutered under 5 months. Relay's paperwork at the pound mistakenly estimated his age at 6 months when he was snipped, his real age being closer to 3. But how much stock should I put into that?

Sigh... I'm going to have a nice long pity party / stressing session, and then I need to pull it together. My dog needs me.

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Shirtless at the dog park I had a moment of understanding

Like any good poochie parent, when one of the pups in my care did their business I scooped it up and threw it out. At my local dog park, the garbage is actually outside the gate, so I reached over and knocked it in and sat back down on a bench.

After about a minute, I smacked my arm. Looking, there was an ant biting the heck out of me. And then I saw five more, and then I saw that I was covered. Politely, addressing the other dog owners I said, "Excuse me while I go undress," because my mama raised a lady. Hahaha. I ran into the trees, ripped off my shirt and tried to get them off me and my clothes. Those things latch on with a purpose, let me tell you.

(Side note: Who would have guessed that my moment of public indecency would have happened after my years in the Navy?)

Retracing my steps, I found the point of embarkation. Those little ____ had made a nest on the fence line right in front of the trash can.

And then I thought of my poor puppy. No wonder he had gone after his tale the way he did. And that made the hot spot, and that led to the vet visit, and my Relay with a messed up tail. By the way, his tail is looking better. The scabs are almost off and the hair is growing back (just not that patch by his butt.) Part of me is glad to know for certain that his trip to the vet was in fact caused by ant bites and not some unidentifiable malady. And I'm certainly glad it was at the park and not at my home. But maybe my next empathetic epiphany won't include public embarrassment.

This post is participating in the Saturday Pet Bloggers hop! Be sure to stop on by and visit all the other great pet bloggers, and enjoy your weekend!

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Hot spot leads to vet visit and less than happy pup

Last week our family was introduced to hot spots. Relay had licked one into a good inch circle on his backside, but with some triple ointment and careful monitoring it started to heal.

Problem was, he also made one on his tail. It was much more problematic, but we tried to handle it ourselves. That was until Jeff was getting ready for work Tuesday. In the time it took him to brush his teeth, Relay had bit his tail raw until he was bleeding. I grabbed my first aid book and irrigated and then disinfected, but we headed to the vet right when it opened at 8. Thankfully, they could fit us in as a walk in.

Let me take a minute to talk about hot spots. They can be caused by any number of things (an allergy, an attempt of the body to detox, an injury such as a puncture or scratch, a flea bite...) but it is more defined by the consequence. A dog is aggravated so he licks or scratches at his skin and can create an open sore in a matter of minutes. At this point we did not know what had caused Relay's hot spots.

Here is the hot spot on his back, partially healed.

The vet was great. She looked him over, reassured us, and took him to the back to get some of the hair shaved on his tail better before treatment. When she came back with Relay I was just about in shock. My baby! My beautiful boy! The vet had shaved most of his tail back to reveal the underlying problem.

Her best guess: At some point Relay had sat in an ant hill. His tail was covered in little bites marks. No wonder my puppy was picking! But between the orignial wound, the shaved tail, the bites, and this medicated powder, it looked a mess. My poor baby!

And the worst news of all (that is if you ask Relay) is that he needed to spend his next week in a cone. But I will say that I'm grateful that was all. The last time I went to the vet was Louie's emergency, so I'll take a hot spot any day. And that I know the culprits were some ants, we can handle that much easier then some unknown boogeyman.

But I'm still going to baby my baby until he is all better.





ADVISORY: From this point forward, I have included pictures of the injury and treatment. They are not pretty to look at, so feel free to skip.

On the way to the vet

 

After the shave

Home

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Oh, oh my... Facebook leaves me speechless sometimes

There is no better way to waste time than surfing Facebook. Managing my own profile and Relay's page, I get to see some funny posts. When I read my friend's status update, I was left without words.

So, here for your entertainment is another dog owner's misadventure.

This blog post is participating in the Monday Mischief blog hop! Feel free to join the fun and read about all the other mischief makers out there. 

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My first pet emergecy

It had just rained. Relay was in the yard with his big buddy, Louie a beautiful and effervescent nine month old Great Dane that was well on his way to becoming the biggest dog I have ever seen. Louie's mom had to run out of town for three days and asked us to watch him. We had let the boys in the yard to use the bathroom in between the showers and called them in from the back porch. Louie was coming bounding up the stairs to the landing when he saw Relay run past in the other direction and turning around, he decided to give chase.

What came next was a cry that made my heart stop. The deck was wet, and Louie was going too fast. Jeff ran to him and held him up off his injured leg while I ran inside. I called Louie's mom and left a message, grabbed some shoes, a large quilt, my phone, wallet, and keys and ran back. Jeff calmly gave orders to prep the car and we carried Louie across the yard and onto the quilt in the back of the car. We road to the emergency vet, me in the back holding that poor boy, soothing as best I could.

In the hours that passed I learned about the bones in a dog's leg, about different types of fractures, x-rays and pain medicines. Getting a hold of Louie's dad I parroted back information. The ER didn't even have a splint big enough for Louie, so he came out to us in a large bandage. While Jeff checked out and was clarifying medications I just laid down in the middle of the floor holding Louie in my arms. Throughout everything, Louie was just so brave.

From the ER we drove to Louie's dad's house. We carried him in, lay him down on a futon and tried to come up with words. I had none.

We drove home. Our neighbor had watched Relay for us, and she invited me into her home. Sat me down on her couch, gave me some tea. I'm not sure what we talked about, but she gave me a sleeping pill. I woke up this morning to Relay at my feet. I don't know if it is for his benefit or mine, but he is not leaving my side. And for the first time through all this, as I sit here writing these words, I'm finally allowing myself to cry.

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A good rescue will let you take vacation

One of my favorite advantages of fostering is that generally you can have all the perks of owning a dog with half the responsibility. The rescue covers the vet bills while we "rent" Relay a playmate. But what happens when you need a break? Well there's a whole foster family network that can cover. We got a call from K9 Justice League to say that Murphy's foster parents were headed on their honeymoon, so... Introducing Murphy!

Just before Murph was dropped off, I had read a post by Blueberry's mom on Spotty, Spotty, Polkadotty musing if she should start fostering again. I commented that acting as a temporary foster or foster sitter as it turns out here can be a great way to test the waters to see if you and your household are ready to foster a dog. The time commitment is limited, and if you find it doesn't work a good rescue will find a better suited foster home. 

Murphy is an absolute sweetheart!

But oh my goodness we sent him back.

Yeah, not my proudest moment, here, but let me explain. Most rescue dogs are not perfect family pets right away (not even Relay), but thankfully most dogs have just a few rough edges that need to be worked out and become great companions in no time. I've dealt with poor potty training, poor leash manners, no crate training, dogs that get territorial, dogs that steal food from other dogs, dogs that steal food from you, some separation anxiety, and even a little barking. Murphy has all those issues and then some (big baby is afraid of doorways and storms), but thankfully he was cute and so sweet we thought we should be okay. 

Thing is his seperation anixiety is much worse than I have ever encountered. The pups sleep in the front room at night, and if you aren't fully potty trained you are crated at our home. This did not sit well with Murphy and he barked non stop. Unfortunately, we do not live in a single family home; so while I signed up as a foster to work through those sort of problems, the very kind lady who lives below us did not.

Reading back on my comments to Blueberry's mom about trails and errors with fostering I smile a little and wonder if I was just tempting fate... maybe I needed to live through something first before I was entitled to give advice on the subject. 

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This is all it takes

I was trying to clean the front room where the dogs spend most of their time, so out they went, with a big bowl of water for about 20 minutes or so. I whistled for everyone to come in and Elmer, our foster did not.

I went into the yard. No Elmer. Just like that, I lost the dog.

During a construction job on our back porch yesterday, a board on the 6ft privacy fence came loose. That little gap was all that it took.

I immediately got into the street and started to call out and whistle, rang a neighbor's bell  to ask for help, called the  rescue to let them know little man had up to a 20 minute lead. I happen to have the best neighbors as one was headed to  his car to drive left, the other to the right. But, it was the third neighbor, trending to his garden who called out before the rescue fleet hit the streets to say he'd seen him sniffing around just three houses over.

I walked down and sure enough, little Elmer came out to greet me. I called the rescue, thanked the neighbors, and went home.

That board has since been nailed back in place.

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Counter surfing... it's an art form

When writing about Dude last, I used the phrase "counter surf" and have found that a few people were unfamiliar with that term.

count·er surf·ing

The art or sport of putting ones paws up onto a kitchen counter to have a swipe at any unmanned food; an attempt to sneak a snack.

Now with Dude, he has this down to a science. I had been warned before he came to stay with us, but I was unprepared for the creativity of this sly dog. That spatula that needed cleaning, Dude made sure to help get me started. Jeff and I had a snack in the living room, as he was getting up with the intention of bringing the plate to the kitchen, a streak of white fur pasted first licking the plate before it went. 

Anyone have a super counter surfer at home?

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People behaving badly at the dog park

After a nice long trip cross country, one not so nice accident, and shot up to Jersey to pick up Relay, we finally made it back home. After the 7 hours in a car yesterday, my pup deserved a trip to the park. Who could have guessed it would have ended up in drama?

A lady had just moved back to the neighborhood with her new dog, a male terrier mix puppy. We got into the park, and she is holding the puppy, explaining that he is very under-socialized, and we nodded understanding. Relay had a very similar story, but instead of not understanding boundaries, his problem had been he was too intimidated to play. Thankfully, my boy out grew that, as I'm sure this pup will outgrow his over eager personality and learn to give space.

So, all continued as you would think at a park, dogs sniff, they chase, they play. At one point, however, the puppy was a bit too rumbustious, and somewhere in all the mouthing, Relay got hurt and yelped. Close by, I stepped in, and separated the boys. After that point, I had my dog keep his distance, not wanting him to get bit again. This it seems did not sit well with the puppy's owner. Jeff and I let a few baiting comments slide, and she even tried to engage Jeff directly, and he didn't respond.

It wasn't until she turned around and asked, "If you aren't going to let your dog play, then why are you even here?" in a less than friendly manner, that Jeff even responded. From there it escalated between the two of them very quickly. I tagged Jeff out of the proverbial ring and spoke to her calmly, and ended the long debate as best as I could with a "we will have to agree to disagree."

Throughout the whole exchange, the two dogs in question peacefully coexisted. Dogs don't seem to hold large grudges; nips happen, some days they want to play, others they don't, maybe they argue over a toy, or a place to sit. And I'm sure when we meet again, they will play or they won't and that will be the extent of it.

Unfortunately, with humans it is never so simple. Maybe I was too naive to think that the dynamics of people would ever be a factor at the dog park, and up to this point we were fine with all the "regulars." But now it seems like we have ourselves a nemesis whether we want one or not.

*Dramatic sigh* I have no training tools for how to improve interactions at the dog park when people are concerned. Any suggestions?

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Dealing with the unexpected

When we planned a last minute trip across country, I thought I was very clever in setting up some posts with automatic publication times. I checked up on the blog, twitter, and facebook occationally to show that there was someone still out there and had planned an apology for the neglect, and had intended to post a few pictures of our trip.

Unfortunately, we got into an accident the weekend after we came home. Everyone is FINE! Relay wasn't in the car thankfully, but the car was totaled. Now I'm spending my time working with my insurance, shopping around for a new car, and trying to stay lucid despite some pretty strong muscle relaxers.

So, please just bare with me as I deal with all this craziness. Thank you.

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Ever wonder what's under the stairs?

It never occurred to me to try and look under my stairs. That I got that opportunity is thanks to our lovely kitten foster, Pink, who managed to get stuck.

The entire ordeal was absolute chaos from start to finish. She managed to get into a crevice but could not fit back out again. I tried to pull her out and only succeeded in scaring her. So then I had to break open the stairs and wait for her to come out.

Sweet as she is, Pink was not happy with the next part of the story. Not knowing what she covered herself with under there, I had to give the little girl a bath. I know that it is an old joke that cats hate water. I thought it was an exaggeration, like when people say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Having little exposure to cats, I was unprepared for anarchy.

Along with some bruising and cuts from the excavation, Pink sent me off with a few expressions of her displeasure, as well.

See that cute face up there? Take a look back at some more shots of how Pink is just the sweetest little kitten. Let me say that she's not so cute when she's wet and angry.

 

Thankfully there is a happy ending to this story. Just when I thought that I had scarred this poor girl for the rest of her life and that she'd never forgive me, a thought came to my head. I made a quick stop to the pantry and came back to visit Miss Pink who was now dry, but very clear that we were not on speaking terms. I prepped her food dish (side note, it was completely empty as one opportunistic hound decided to clean it out when no one was looking). I put a good helping of dry food, a generous dollop of wet food, and a big piece of tuna fish in her food dish and covered the dry food with the tuna water. I have since been forgiven.

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Guess I need training in potty training

Imagine this: Yesterday, Jeff was on the couch and stopped mid-sentence give an elaborate movie style "Nooooo!" He sprung up and rushed Holly who had about to squat on the floor. She was startled and bolted, with Jeff right behind. Jeff managed to get his hands on her and she flattened out, with her belly on the floor, peeing, while trying to scramble away. He later told me it looked like Holly was trying to swim through it. He flipped her around (still spraying) and carried her outside.

When we first got Holly we were told that her background was unknown for the most part. I don't know if she spent her first few months in a box, tied up in a yard, or left to wander around and fend for herself. What was clear, was she had never been a traditional indoor pet. She spent a month or so at The Family Dog Club before we got her. Good thing was it began to expose her to being around people and a house, but the in the context of being around a very large pack of dogs, and no direct supervision. So, when she did use the bathroom indoors, it went uncorrected. 

When I brought her home it was apparent she was not a fan of being in her kennel. I limited her kennel time to when she slept at night, and if I wanted to give each of the dogs a special treat they could try and steal from each other. For me, crate training was out as a viable option to help house break her.

There is a second method where you tether the dog to you so that you can interrupt a dog at the signs of trouble and bring them outside. We tried this, but the concept scared her. If you moved too quickly, she would shut down and be dragged. The first time I heard her thunk into a door frame, I gave up on this idea.

What have we been doing? Praise. Every time we go to the back yard she is supervised, and each time she uses the bathroom she gets cheers, loving, and attention. Often times she will come bounding over, tail wagging like she knows she accomplished something great. So, Holly understands that using the bathroom outside is good. What we are missing is the part that using the bathroom inside is bad. 

Holly has no pattern. She doesn't yet respond to the command "potty", she doesn't try and use the bathroom every time we go to the yard. She doesn't even mess in the same spot indoors. What makes this harder is that almost never "catch" her in the act. You can't correct a bad behavior after the fact, they won't know what it is you're punishing them for, so we have been waiting for a chance to interrupt her... Cut to yesterdays blooper reel.

For all those interested in possibly adopting Holly, don't despair. She is making progress. Holly doesn't have accidents regularly. There are days that string by without incident. In the month she has been with us, I think there has been about ten accidents. She can also hold her bladder for hours comfortably. She never messes in her kennel at night and doesn't hide to use the bathroom outdoors. These are all good signs. Positive reinforcement is working, but slowly. In the mean time I need to start looking up some new training techniques. 

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