Jack is groomed and vaccinated

Jack - post grooming

Jack - post grooming

After I got the mats off of Jack our foster pup his mood improved greatly. While he was still hesitant, he was more friendly. What a sweet boy he is! Took him for his first vet appointment on Monday afternoon and he got micro chipped and his rabies vaccination. He was friendly and happy at the vet, even after all the pokes!

Then today, he was groomed. The groomer said he was very good, stood nicely and let him work on him. He looks like a completely new dog! A well cared for and loved dog. And he is. And I also suspect that he was loved in his previous home. It is always such a curiosity to me, how these dogs end up in that high kill shelter. He sits nicely when he wants something, is quiet as a mouse in his crate, is good with kids and other dogs, he is nearly perfect! He just had a bad habit of marking (with pee) on things in the house. He keeps his crate dry but I have to keep him close by to prevent him from practicing that. But all in all, he is a dream pup! So happy for him that he gets a second chance.

Jack

Update on Lily

Here is an update note I received on Lily (from Chloe’s litter) from her forever family…

Today we went to the vet and Lily is a whopping 23.5 lbs. That is a 6.5 lb gain in 3 weeks. She got her last distemper and her first rabies and her nails trimmed. They did listen to her lungs and stuck their fingers down her throat trying to figure out the hacking issue in the morning till they eat. I had mentioned that a few other littermates were having the same issue. She said the lungs sound clear and there was nothing blocking in her throat, that she might have a little reflux. Her recommendation to me was to give lily a half of a 10 mg pepcid ac at night before she goes to bed and see if that helps. So we will try that tonight.

Last night William wanted to be brave and let Lily sleep on her pillow all night in our room instead of the crate. We blocked it off so she was only contained to our room and she slept all night no accidents. When he got up at 6 he took her out and let her have roam of the kitchen, family room and our bedroom till I get up at 8:30. We have been letting her roam the 3 rooms in the morning from when William wakes up till I get up for over a week and no accidents. So she is moving up in the world!!!

She is zonked right now, it is nap time, plus the shots and anxiety of the vet knock her out all day.
We have also been taking puppy classes with Kristin and Lily knows sit, leave it and is working on stay. She is also walking very well on the training collar Kristin recommended, walking her is now a breeze and enjoyable instead of being pulled everywhere.

So that is my Lily update

Heather

Update on puppy Poppy

Here is an update on Poppy, a pup from Chloe’s litter. We love getting these updates to pass along!

Poppy also just had her exam and vaccinations last week and she did well.  She has grown a bit but is still seems to be the smallest one at 8.2 lbs although I think she has grown since. Like Jackson (formerly Jacob) — Poppy is getting a little more golden in her face and ears — at this point we have not noticed her stripe getting smaller and hope she keeps this as well.

PoppyOur biggest challenge has been the biting — but have since yesterday taken a different approach and it seems to be making all the difference. I watched a dog training video that talked about how this biting is the normal way puppies play with each other so we just need to redirect them. I kind of knew this but hearing this again helped me take a different approach. We were almost in a power struggle and I was getting her more riled up than redirecting her, but now instead of continually saying no and clapping my hands — If she bites my hand I say one ‘no bite’ and gently redirect her to her toy and continue to do this in a gentle manner. When she is biting on her toy I continually praise her and if she comes up and licks me instead of bites. I continually say good ‘kisses’ and she still gets a bit riled up at times or starts biting too hard but then I step out of her area for a bit or take her for a walk — and these times that she gets kind of crazy riled up seems to happen less and don’t last as long.

She seems to be fine with her crate and finally slept for 7 hours for the first time last night (11 – 6). She was getting up at 5. She has been to quite a few of my kids softball baseball games and is soooo good at these games (as long as we find her shade) — all the kids love having her there and she really seems to enjoy the kids as well — she is also making a lot of friends in our neighborhood!

A Trip to the Vet

Today was a stressful day for everyone. All eight puppies and Annie went to the vet for their checkup and vaccinations. Getting everyone into their crates (two in one crate, three in the other two) and those HEAVY crates into the car was a task for little ol’ me! Then the drive was stressful. There are two or three puppies that are really barkers – sharp, piercing, gotta-make-them-stop-NOW kind of barks. I understand how sound can be used to torture…plus my mommy instincts made me even more susceptible – puppy barks are a lot like little baby cries, just tugging at you to see what’s wrong and help them feel better. (more…)

December 30, 2008 • Tags: , , • Posted in: Annie, pups • No Comments