Month: May 2008

I took Lil Linus to work with me last night to do his pre-surgical bw and he weighed(once again, hard to get a true weight with his leaning on the wall! LOL) 43.8 KGS(96.36 pounds). I know that he weighs more than that. I will have to get a height on him soon. He was a HUGE hit once again at the hospital and what a luvbug! He still will not go to the bathroom at the Hospital and had his first pee accident in months in one of the large runs….poor thing……we will continue to work on this. When things quietened down; he came up to reception to hang out and was so wonderful about lying on his blanket and staying put. THAT is almost unheard of with him! LOL Busy boy that he normally is. He is so happy about going in the car(loving those timbti treats on the way home!)and his leash manners just get better and better! His recall is coming along so nicely too! He is still a bit ‘shy’ here and there with sudden movements and sometimes he still will act nervous around Sean yet we are having less and less moments of those types. Lil Linus has the best ears! They are so large and soft and you just want to squish and smooch them over and over again. 😀 His neuter is scheduled for Monday June 9th and about 2 weeks after that(barring any complications with the neuter or depending on X-ray results on his feet); he should be available for adoption. I have a new picture of him(with a friend) to post. Linus is so patient with the little ‘fiestmiester’ as I call this now 8 week old GD puppy!

When I brought LT to the Vet on the 16th; he was given the ‘ok’ to go from myself and the 2 vets to be adopted. This SC may come back and it could be one year, 3 years, 5 years or it might not come back at all and he will have a bit of a scar/bump in that area yet both feel that there is no need to remove it as there is virtually nothing there anymore. This validates my own feelings on the matter. I have asked many times over as this was suppose to be the original plan to remove it and both have insisted that SC’s rupture as that is what they do and he could be prone to them and even if what is remaining is removed(now back to being an elective surgery) it could grow back or he could develop new one’s etc. I will show his adoptive home how to just clean the area with Betatidine or Germi-stat 4% and should it ooze any SC material to wipe. One has to be careful about ‘playing’ with the area too much as it could irritate it and then cause a flare-up. They recommended another 10 days of antibiotics yet I shall be sending an additional 2 weeks home with his new family from the day that he is picked up just to be just that much more proactive with him. This is to show even more good faith and our high quality/standard of care at BHRR in respect to this SC. and this is IN addition to the 10 days that I have for him and that had been recommended by the Vet. BHRR makes every effort to be proactive, preventative and does not adopt out animals with ‘known’ medical conditions unaware to their homes. I also recommend as I always do; to take him to their own vet for their own comfort level(while I know he is healthy and do full disclosure on all the dogs here; I want all homes to feel comfortable too and also it is a great opportunity to begin that relationship between them, their vet and Tyke) plus have them look at his head. LT was back down to 57 KGS(the less he has weighed since March 26th) and the vets are happy yet I would like to see another kg off him…..I have upped his exercise regime(IF that were even possible with the 2/47 that he goes on all day now) and with the tightened hatches on his food; he has lost 7.2 pounds. He is looking awesome. Should all go well, LT will go to his new home on Sunday June 1st. This is going to be very hard, for him and definitely for us to let him go. Like all our adoptions, we can only hope that we will be given some updates and pictures here and there. WHAT A PLEASURE IT WAS HAVING YOU IN OUR LIVES TYKE!!! 🙂

Mazda is doing as well as ever! The muscle that this gal has is incredible! She is full of life and love and though we have received some emails in respect to her; we are still no closer in her finding that right matched forever loving and spoiling home! We shall take some new pictures this week to post of her. June 30th is fast approaching and Sean plus myself are losing hope that she might become queen of a great adoptive home outside of ours.

Since I had Lil Linus in, I have only had to drain about 8 cc’s out of his seroma and now a clot has formed and the swelling has greatly decreased. We will re-assess when he is neutered. I have to get a new weight on this boy! HOLY! He is growing everytime he sleeps! LOL He has a new best friend here; one of the new GD rescue pups(all have approved adoptive homes from our waiting list to go to in a few months when they are fully vetted, altered plus microchipped) we brought in from a recent seizure and he has been just incredible with him!!!! Very patient, gentle and has not shown one bit of resourcing over a toy or food with the little goob. I am very proud of Linus and his progress! I have new pictures to also add of Lil Linus and hopefully shall get those posted within the next week. Adding pictures on this new site is much harder than my old one and it is a very time consuming process. I know that many enjoy all the pictures as part of our BHRR flavour and I promise to get them up ASAP. The only time Linus is in his crate is for night time sleeping and if we shall be away from home longer than a hour or so. When he wants to nap, he can often be found lying on one of the Kuranda beds or in his open crate yet like most of the dogs; loves Abbi’s crate the best(I still think it is because it is right by the computer). He still has this desire to dig and UGH! 😛 I am hoping to neuter Lil Linus within the next month and yes, I still call him Lil Linus! I knew from the night we picked him up that he would be a very large boy and I just love the name for him!!!! He shall soon be outgrowing this latest collar that he is wearing and I am eyeing up one of Amanda’s(The Panache Pooch) collars for him! http://www.thepanachepooch.com/ The white one that says ‘SO TO SPEAK’. I JUST LOVE it! Have to save up those pennies first. 😀 http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-86935534919295_2000_730110

I still have new pictures of Mudslide to upload and I am hoping that this week, I can catch up on a few things rescue related! Mudslide’s new height(DADDY LONGLEGS THIS GAL IS!) is 33″ at the whithers! WOW! The one thing that I was to state is that Mudslide is a ‘closet’ eater. What I mean is that when the house is quiet, that is when she feels most comfortable eating. She does not and will not eat with a crowd watching or if there is a lot of activity going around. Though she has not been crated in months and months; I will put her breakfast and supper in Abbi’s crate(though Abbi is rarely using a crate either these days) and just close the door and leave the room. She will then eat in peace. It has taken me a couple of days to figure out this new behavour of hers for it was not a ‘thing’ of the past for her. She used to like to eat her food(grazing) after most of the other dogs had eaten yet now she will not eat if there is too much going on around her. I give her ‘quiet’ time and she eats just fine and the feeding of her in a crate ensures that no other dog is going to bother her and it has given her a level of security. Whatever works for her, works for me! I had noticed that she was not eating and began to lose some weight and I saw that she would go into Abbi’s crate and have this ‘look’, so I trialed feeding her in there. Just as a piece of informative information for people, there is no truth to the words that if a dog is hungry enough it shall eat. I have seen a couple of dogs that would not eat if the environment of security and comfort was not there for the dog. Dealing with a rescue(be it poor genetics or environment) is a competely different story than dealing with a well adjusted well genetically bred dog. Many a person has approached me to say that their dog will not do this or not do that or acts this way or that and then they say; ‘I don’t understand as I have had the dog since he was a wee puppy’ and I have to explain to them that environment is one thing; genetics(nature) is another. This can be applied to behavour be it aggressive, SA etc. and ‘time’ is not always the factor as to why these things happen. To get a bit off topic with Mudslide a bit more; I am currently following a SN’s dog whose owner says that he has on-leash aggression yet she does not believe it has anything to do with with him being SN’s NOR does she believe it has to do with environment or genetics for she has had him since he was a wee puppy. I wish animal dymanics was a simple as some people try to make it and that some things can be very easily explained yet that is not the case. This person believes it is a ‘teenage’ thing or that she is not ‘alpha’ enough and I can see much failure happening to her and her dog over this misconception of things. I am tying this into Mudslide’s situation for she was born into rescue to a loving fostermom and then came to us and her and her three sisters share much of the same ‘possessive’ grumpiness over their food bowls plus share some of the same ‘quirks’ as their mother(whom they have not been around much since the day they were born) and so environment here is one thing, genetics is another and trying to ‘force’ a dog outside of their comfort zone or to mis-diagnose it’s behavour is often a ‘call’ for failure, for home and especially for the dog. We will be very careful to ensure that her new home, whomever that may be; understands this ‘current’ need to eat in private and to respect that. The best way to move forward is to take baby steps and if Mudslide wants to eat privately, then Mudslide shall eat privately. This is not a ‘power’ or ‘manipulative’ thing that she is doing. We want the best for her and when/if she is ready; she can begin to eat out of the crate; if not; she can continue to eat in Abbi’s old crate for as long as she has a need of it. 🙂

Tyke will be going with me to work on Friday for a recheck on his head. It is still oozing a bit yet is MUCH smaller and I am staying as positive as I can about the visit! I cannot wait to get a new weight on him too! I will have to take some new pics of him as it has been awhile. 😉 My biggest piece of news is that the other day I went into the bedroom and LT was lying on the bed(like he often does) and he opened his eyes(I swear he has radar in knowing when we adults come into that room – he is great with the kids and has no worries about staying on the bed when the go into our bedroom) and DID not get off and more exciting, I was able to go up to him, love and smooch on him and he asked for more love AND never made one move to run off the bed! WOOHOO! He even stayed on the bed for a few minutes after I stopped the loving(kept it short so as not to overwhelm him)and then he did is big rushing spring of the bed into his open crate and then ran out of the crate as per his normal past pattern! MAN! That was the best feeling in the world to have been able to do all of that with him! 😀

When I brought Lil Linus to the vet tonight; he weighed 40.8 KGS(89.76 pounds) BUT he was leaning on the wall a bit. LOL I am relieved to know that he has a seroma; so it is a play injury and we could even see some tiny scratches when it was drained. We drained almost 17cc’s out tonight and I shall continue to drain it throughout the next week(when it looks like it has 10cc or more in it) and then apply pressure for about 30 minutes(AND that should be fun as Mr. Wiggle Butt is ‘always on the move’ LOL) to hopefully, get the pocket to stop filling up. He was SUCH a good boy when we were draining it! TALK about progress! HE more than earned his Timmie’s timbit and heck! I even bought him his own donut!!!! HE was just awesome!!!!! We are hoping that it will heal and he won’t need antibiotics or anything more invasive which would be done if necessary when he is neutered . He was a huge hit at the hospital again and has many admirers! He was great about getting in and out of the car and those leash manners; WOW! He wore PPSS Panache Pooch collar tonight and I think I am going to have to order one for him sooner rather than later as he looked SMOKIN’ in it!!!! He is also on his last hole on his current collar and will need a new one soon anyway. At the rate he is growing; he is going to be a sizeable boy(yet I already knew that) and I sometimes wonder who is Breeder was and where they were located for while we picked him up in Montreal from his latest home; he is not typical of a ‘Quebec’ looking byber Dane and I would almost bet that he came from outside of that province and somehow ended up there. He will not have a ton of height compared to some Danes(it is all relative, I know) yet from the moment I saw him; I knew he would be sizeable. I am also looking much closer at his feet and how collapsed they still are and we shall do x-rays on them when he is neutered. I am suspecting, fractures that have healed in such a way to have given him this ‘collapsed’ look as we have seen it in the past with not the proper levels of protein, calories and carbs(nutrition) being given to Dane puppies and they have stress fractures etc. and sometimes, even without proper treatment(yet how painful); they can heal and look a bit abnormal. From my discussions with a couple of Vets; they concur with this possible scenario and as he shall be neutered within the next month and has had no pain in his feet; *if* what has caused his feet to look like they do are old fractures; they have long since healed before coming to us and we can wait until then to get a better determination on things. I just do not desire to see him having foot and joint problems later on as he matures for he is going to be a large and heavy boy.

I shall be bringing LT in to the Vet later this week; probably when I work myself on Friday. His next 10 days of antibiotics will be up later this week and time for a recheck. WE seem to finally be getting the upper hand on this SC yet it still oozes here and there and I know that it is finally starting to bother LT a bit for he will shake his head now and again; something he was not doing in the past. We most likely will do another 14 days worth of antibiotics, minimum and re-assess. He is not liking the ‘food cutback’ my sweet SeaBiscuit and has become quite proficient about the ‘sneak and grab’ technique with the other dogs’ bowls and does the exact same thing that our one Golden use to do as a puppy in that he rushes in, grabs a quick mouthful and then runs back to his own bowl; drops the food into it and then leisurely eats it up as if to say; ‘See? I am eating out of my own bowl’. HE is not fooling anyone with his antics, the little goober and we have to watch him closely. I have now taken to putting his Clavamox right into his food bowl; sometimes with a very small bit of pb or hidden in small pieces of hotdog. GOTTA love this boy! He is also much more confident about the asking for love and his favourite time to ask for it is when you are in the bathroom…….. 🙄 😀 With all the trips we have taken to go to the Vet; he now is very happy to go for the car rides and though he no longer gets McDonald’s; I will still stop by the Timmie’s and he can get a timbit here and there. It has really reinforced that the car is not a scary place and that car trips can be fun and enjoyable YET most important to LT is that we DO come home. That has always been his major insecurity. I am very proud of Tyke. MORE than words can ever express with how much he has trusted us and been willing to not have any resentment towards humans for the terrible past treatment he received when he was in WV. He could really teach a lot of humans the meaning of forgiveness. I have said it before; yet LT really humbles and grounds me. He is a true blessing and has definitely enriched our lives.

The ‘bad’ luck continues for the BHRR animals here. When I got home from the shows yesterday, I had my usual ‘mob’ greeting from the animals WHICH I love and then I did my ‘once’ over on the dogs and I found a sizeable lump on the side of Lil Linus’s head near his left ear. It was not there on Thursday when I left and Sean says that he did not notice anything unusual either. I made an appointment for Lil Linus to go into the Vet today and I am a wee bit worried as the lump/swelling is larger than it was last night and I am not sure as to what it could be. If he was ‘stung’ by something; he is showing no other signs of a reaction and he does not have any cut or scrape to indicate any kind of injury or infection that way. We shall do some FNA’s etc. and while it is not comfortable for him to have me touch it; it does not pain him much. He is eating very well as usual, drinking, playing and has no fever or diarrhea either. I think Linus loved the kisses I gave him best! Lil Linus has also discovered the comfort of the king sized bed and does not hesitate to put up his front feet and then look at you over his shoulder to say ‘hey, a little help here lady!’ LOL I am just delighted with his comfort and self-esteem levels. He has had no major resourcing in the longest time and the consistency of being fed on time, getting enough food, positive NILIF training(doggie boot camp), made to feel secure and the building up of his trust with the proper communication and pace for him; has really helped Lil Linus. He is a barrel of fun this one. As Sean said last night; he is always happy and like Abbi; I swear he actually smiles at you! His leash manners are just awesome and he has picked up several more signs and he keeps me challenged in finding ways to keep his brain stimulated for he is BRILLIANT!!!! You can put a treat in three separate pillow cases and he not only knows which pillow case has the treat(you might be surprised by how many dogs just cannot smell the treat and know where it is AND even if you put the treat in the pillow case right in front of them!); he knows HOW to open the pillow case and get the treat(many dogs will just try to go ‘right to the source’ and tear the pillow case up). In a study that was done quite some time ago by some reasearchers; the poodle had been deemed the only breed that would actually utilize ‘thinking’ processes to open the pillow case to go inside for the treat. Myabe Lil Linus is actually a ‘poodle’ in disguise???? 😆

I bought Hamilton The Newf to work with me on Saturday and he did GREAT!!!! Much more relaxed, social and loved the brushing(I brought a brush in with me so that people could brush him) the BEST! He finds brushing very therapeutic. One of the Vets remarked on how much better he was at the hospital(less catatonic! LOL) and that you can see his progress. Hamilton still is not comfortable peeing at the hospital just like Lil Linus yet we shall continue to bring him and over time, he should settle in well. He weighed 51.60 KGs(113.52 pounds). Hamilton was also asked to play with a small Boston puppy named ‘Taz’ and they have some fun; also making many people wishing that they had cameras on hand to take a picture of the two of them! 😀