I've been told multiple times I should start a blog with this stuff. Well, I already have a blog so here it is.
Her tail is fully healed, right? Will there be any long term issues regarding this? Is it completely gone? Is her prognosis good?
It's completely healed. I don't know if there is any long term issued. However, the length of it looks like it was docked on purpose and it's attractive. The vet did a good job.
When will they start her heartworm treatment?
She's just started the pre-treatment of antibodies.
She's still partially housebroken?
Sadly yes. I'm finding a pee puddle many days. I need to tether her to me and whistle train but I haven't had the time to really address it.
When do you crate her? How long at a time? How does she do in a crate? I assume she would not be a good candidate for being crated all day while someone is at work.
Redpop has been crated for up to six hours. She doesn't like being bored and shreds her bedding in frustration. However, there is no way I could leave her loose in the house. I don't think she naps as much as other dogs. So it is.
I worry crating her since she has a history of self-mutilation. While she hasn't had any issues in my home, I could see her starting to pick on herself if she didn't have anything else. So I crate her with chew toys and a blanket even though I know that the blanket will be in even 2" pieces once I get home. She's very methodical about the picking at things. However, the self-mutilation could have been because the tail hurt and nothing going forward. I don't know...
If she was my dog I think I would fence off part of my garage and add a dog door. That way she would have a heated inside with her own couch but a cement floor and access to outside for work hours. If I couldn't do that then I would crate all day when I was at work.
Where does she sleep at night?
She sleeps in bed with me. I was worried about crateing her in a different room because she wanted to pick at the stitches. In bed, with me, she was fine and left the bandage and the stitches alone.
Do you ever leave her free to roam in the house when no one is home? How does she do? I know you mentioned she gets destructive if left alone for too long. Is that when she's in the crate or out? What does she do? Overall, when you are there, is she
well behaved in your home? Do you have to closely supervise her?
HA!
hahahahaaaaa,
oh boy....
Well behaved but always destructive if I'm supervising or not.
Let me tell you about an average day.
First, we wake up. She's content to lounge in bed as long as I want. When I get out of bed I have to crowbar her out because she is unwilling to leave the comfy spot. I grab her collar and march her to the backyard. If I don't have my hand on her collar she will stop and pee on the way. Once outside she does her business without dawdling.
I start to make coffee. She starts to remove a can of dog food from the plastic wrap holding it into the box.
She and my dog eat in the same room with no issues. She sits to be fed. If I'm too slow she "sits pretty" for emphasis and extra cuteness.
I give her meds. She takes the hotdogs daintily. When she finds a pill hidden in one she is crushed that I've betrayed her. She thought we were friends. Friends don't feed friends tainted hot dogs.
Then 20 minutes outside with my dog for play (cleared with the vet at this time) with no issues as I drink my coffee and stuff. I see her out the window eating a stick. I call them in.
I let them back in and I start my shower. As I shower and get dressed for the day she has pulled an IKIA cube box off the shelf, takes the lid off the box without damaging the flimsy cardboard, and takes everything out of the box neatly and gently. She's so smart! She's so careful! Then she ruins her cuteness by completely shredding two or three things from the box. No! No! No! Ok, so she now gets crated as I shower and get ready.
Walk around the block. She would rather a 40-minute jog but the heartworms. She's a good walker until she sees a squirrel. Then she bounds up and down in place like her legs are springs. I can mostly keep her from dashing and pulling by talking calmly. Mostly.
When we get back she gets a dog puzzle. She's really good at dog puzzles. The harder the better.
I have things to do. She's bored. She chews hard dog toys. She chews soft dog toys. She caries a glove in her mouth from room to room. She takes the toothpaste tube from the bathroom sink and hides it in the couch. She takes my favorite purple sparkly gel pen from the coffee cups of pens without spilling the others. She takes it to the couch and destroys it then makes purple sparkle footprints all over my house. I'm at the computer and have no idea. It's not my first foster dog rodeo. There is a reason my couch has a washable waterproof cover but the poor floors.
Finally, she takes a nap on my bed. My cat sleeps with her. Not because they are friends but because the bed is the best place to be.
Red Pop wakes up and sees a cat next to her and bounces on him until he runs. It takes a few bounces. My cat is wily and slowly and carefully zig zags through the furniture to the "baby gate of safety". Rep Pop can't corner on wood floors when she's excited so wipes out taking out the coffee table and overturning a chair. My cat has enough and hisses from the safe side of the baby gate. Red Pop cries and runs away from the hissing cat and hides at my feet. I'm a terrible person because I find this very very funny.
Back outside for play with my dog.
TV time and cuddles and more chewing. If she gets up it's to check the kitchen for dirty dishes in the sink and the cupboards and counters to see if anything was left out. She brings me my coffee mug from the sink after giving it a good clean.... um, thanks? Also, the last thing Red Pop needs is caffeine.
She acts like she wants out. I get up and go to the door. "On your feet, lose your seat". She jumps into my seat instead and grows roots. She pretends she's deaf. I pull her collar and she doesn't budge. I try to pick her up and can't. I try to shove her away and can't. I try sitting on her to see if she moves. Nope. I don't want to hurt her so I find a new sport.
I give her and my dog a new soft toy with a squeaky. Hers is white his is brown. They go to opposite sides of the room and both have a grand old time shredding. Yippee! Red Pop is finished first.
Red Pop: "That toy is different I want to try it"
My Dog: "No"
Red Pop: "It IS different. I got to see." She plucks is nonchalantly from between his feet ignoring that he's showing ALL his teeth.
My Dog: "NO MEANS NO!" he air snaps a few times and gets her once. There is a minuscule drop of blood on her check,
Red Pop: rolls onto her back and starts screaming "MURDER POLICE SOMEONE HELP ME CALL THE POLICE HELP HELP POLICE MURDERER"
My dog: rolls his eyes. Grabs both toys and goes to his crate in the other room.
Red Pop: "MURDER POLICE SOMEONE HELP ME CALL THE POLICE HELP HELP POLICE MURDERER"
Me: "Wow. What a drama queen."
Red Pop: "MURDER POLICE SOMEONE HELP ME CALL THE POLICE HELP HELP POLICE MURDERER"
Me: start to wonder if the neighbors will call the police for dog abuse.
Dinner time and pills is a repeat of breakfast
It's been a few hours and her energy has built up. She runs around the house jumping on and off furniture. I really should walk her around the block this time of night because I think she would be calmer walking outside. But it's dark and icy and cold and neither of us wants to go outside. I try to calm her down with another dog puzzle. The puzzle is well received but she doesn't really calm down. Instead, she solves the puzzle vigorously with lots of throwing it around and pouncing.
Then time for bed. Because of her size, I make her sleep at the foot of the bed. No cuddling! No bed hogging! No exception! If she breaks the house rules its to the crate. She gets it and is good. I tuck her in with her own blanket and she sleeps all night long. She has a lot of nightmares. Probably of the vet. Poor baby.
How does she do in your yard? Does she ever try to escape? Does she like to go out to explore or play?
Great in the yard. Doesn't try to escape. Runs and romps with my dog.
Update: She does escape the yard. She now hops over my 3.5ft fence like it's not there to play with the neighbor kids. So sweet. So bad!
Does she bark much?
No? Yes? She's mostly silent. She doesn't bark at my visitors. She does growl out the window at delivery people on the porch that run up drop a package and dash away to meet their quota (I agree, it's creepy behavior without context). She goes crazy barking at the window when she sees small furry animals. That happens a few times a week.
How is she when you have visitors over? Does she approach new people for attention appropriately?
She is great with people. She neither rushes them nor shies away. She's regal and allows them to give her the attention she deserves. Once she starts getting the attention she does go up onto her back legs for a face lick. However, she's not the jumping knocking people over type.
She does well with your dog, right? Do you think she'd be ok as an only dog or does she need another because of her energy level?
She loves playing and running with my dog. She could care less about him when they aren't playing. Because of the next step of heartworm treatment, and the needing to be kept calm, it would be easiest for her to be the only dog as she will romp and run with another playful dog for hours. However, she's extremely athletic and running is her joy. Red Pop would like to be adopted by a jogger for when she recovers from the heartworm.
I know your cat is dog savvy and knows how to put them in their place. Do you think she'd do ok with cats in general though?
Because she is heartworm positive and needs to keep calm, no cats. Once she moves to the next step of treatment I can't keep her because of my cat. I can see her blood pressure go up when she starts thinking of a good chase.
What are a few words you'd use to describe her?
What do you like best about her?
She's pretty, soft, graceful and smells good. She's also wild, energetic, and a clown.
She's so careful and polite. She has an oral fixation. She's clever and smart and likes to open things. She is less willing to learn tricks on command but will with extra work. She has selective hearing. The thought of coming when she's called hasn't entered her brain as even a possibility. It's a completely foreign concept. She loves walks and runs with her whole heart.
She supplies the external motivation for me to improve my habits. If I don't keep the house company ready clean she shreds anything left out. I have to put the dishes right into the dishwasher and can't let them build up in the sink. If I don't get out and walk her more things are destroyed. It's like living with a personal trainer and life coach.
While she thinks my cooking and my ability to open the front door to the world are magical, in all the rest she belives we are equals. I'm in charge because I'm larger, more stubborn, and have the food, but she sees us as friends and equals rather than as a parent and dog-child. I find the self-contained self-assurance and independence refreshing in a foster even if I still have to follow her around like a toddler because of the chewing.
What sort of home will she be happiest in?
A 40-minute jog before work. A 15-minute walk after work. A rather consistent schedule. Someone willing to own a locking trashcan and might have to baby lock the cupboards. Other than that, she seems unflappable and flexible.
Keeping her calm for heartworm treatment will be a challenge, so also dedication. But she's worth it.
