Rhyn's Gonna Be A Big Boy...

We received Rhyn's DNA test results from Mars Veterinary Wisdom Panel 3.0 last night: He is 25% Cattle Dog, 25% Norwegian Elkhound, 12.5% Collie, 12.5% German Shepherd Dog, and 25% Mixed Breed Groups.

12 Weeks Old Rhyn (That's 3 Months)

Rhyn's Space

A friend came with her big Golden Retriever to meet Rhyn and pick up some packages, and the Golden was just too big for Rhyn.  Rhyn was acting afraid and even hiding behind Zoey, who became protective of him. Note that Rhyn didn't come to me, but to Zoey. It was interesting to watch.  Also, the big dog was chewing on a stick, she got distracted and dropped it - and then Rhyn came up and took it away and started chewing on it.  He definitely knows this is his yard and his sticks and that Zoey is his dog pal.

The psychology of dog interaction is just fascinating.  I could arm-chair psych this interaction all to pieces and back, but why.

Rhyn knows his space, he knows his dog companion,and that's OK by me. Two and a half weeks in.  I've tried to make it as welcoming as possible, and it's worked.

Rhyn and Zoey

Not Always Agreeable

So yesterday Rhyn discovered that Zoey is NOT always up for a play, and that he needs to heed her counsel or get a nip on the ear. Still, life here is going as well as can be expected when one has the Crazy Puppy thing going on.

I have adapted a small metal box as a scare tactic when Rhyn insists on chewing things he shouldn't - like my office chair seat, a box of business cards, my jeans. With a few coins inside it's a great noisy thing for diverting his attention.

I cannot wait until the puppy teeth stage is over.

Let me be clear, though:  all the disagreeable things are nothing compared to the love this little prince brings to the house.

Rhyn and Zoey, surveying their domain

Rhyn, not sure about something or the other...

Dirt is Magic

Rhyn discovered dirt yesterday afternoon, and again this afternoon (in a different location, but still).  I was astounded all over again at how much dirt a baby puppy can move when he sets his mind to it.  Man.  They start digging and all sense is lost.  Dirt is magic!  Must dig! It smells sooo good....

Our tried and true solution:  Put hay on the affected spot.  Works like a charm.

Helping dad plant the new Hosta.

Sleeping in Her Private Space

Rhyn is not going to be allowed on the people bed for a long long time, and Zoey is glad of it, I'm sure. So far I'm keeping her space unsullied by the puppy, so she's got someplace to go that is hers alone.

Day Nine:  The antibiotic for Rhyn seems to have started working already! Solid bowels, twice today. He'll get his second (of eight) doses at noon today with his lunch.

Zoey sleeping with her dad

The Way of the Stick

Zoey is teaching Rhyn the Way of the Stick, which I reckon is like the Tao of Pooh.

Rhyn and Tao of Stick

Rhyn and Tao of Stick

 

Not much else to say - no good news as far as digestive health for Rhyn - just when I thought I'd cleared it up, poor Rhyn lets out a stream of dark brown goo.  Poor little baby puppy; a call to Keller Lake Animal Hospital netted Rhyn a script for Metronidazole, to be filled at Walgreens. To be taken once a day for eight days.  It's a 250mg tablet, cut in half.  Four pills in the bottle - that's pretty expensive, but OK in this amount.

I want a Big Mac and a chocolate fudge sundae with whipped cream, and a side order of macaroni and cheese, that's how I feel.  I am so tired of my new baby puppy being sickly, although he doesn't present badly in any other way. Eating, drinking, playing - all normal.

Sunday Dandelions

And on the 8th day, Rhyn took a walk to the end of his block and back, and discovered dandelions, and barking 'window' dogs.  Luckily, the barking 'window' dogs belong to Phyllis, who came with us to meet Rhyn at the beginning, so she came out to greet Rhyn and assuage his fears.

Today, so far, has been an easy day. Yes, it's only 9:38 a.m., but  Rhyn's had a couple of naps, and Zoey's feeling better as evidenced by her more solid bowel movement this morning.  She's hanging out with the puppy.  Life is good.  Today.


And it's not raining!  Blessed be!

Zoey wondering...

Chunky Monkey Rhyn

Zoey's like ... nah, you can have it...

Rhyn, 2 months and 1 week

Seven Days, Can You Believe it -

9:15 a.m. : Last Saturday at this time we were puppy-free.  And then I changed our whole lives and picked up Rhyn at 12:30 and we've been topsy-turvy since.

Zoey now has stress-related diarrhea (yes, it's a thing that can happen in dogs, especially sensitive ones like Zoey).  So while I'm out this morning I'll pick up some Kaopectate for her, as the Fresh Pet stuff isn't working well enough for this.  I am so so sorry to have caused this for her in any way.  One of the causes of this is a new pet in the household - bingo!  She is normal in every other regard: Eating, drinking, behavior.  Just the craps.

As I write, Rhyn is happily chewing his ChuckIt ball (which is finally also started to show stress, ha ha ha.).

Zoey is upstairs at her post in the bedroom where she normally is this time of day.  I brought her special Ikea pig upstairs to her (it's usually in her den) and a special little Orijen Angus Beef Treat.

Zoey at 12 weeks

Rhyn at 10 weeks

Full Day Six with the Chunky Monkey Vampire Puppy

Rhyn to bed last evening about 8:30-40, somewhere in there.  Slept the night through until 3, and I think only woke up then because Mark wanted to get him out to pee before the storm hit.

I was up about 6:40 a.m.?  I think. This week has really involved me waking up, looking at the clock, and thinking OMGGOTTAGETUPPUPPYSSTARVINGTODEATH and then I'm downstairs, so I'm not sure on the time.

Zoey came downstairs with me to let Rhyn out and for him to have his breakfast. She's doing great today, hanging around, watching everything instead of being upstairs so much.  She still has looser bowels than I would like - our short walk this morning was productive, yes, just not in a way I'd like. At least the Fresh Pet stuff is working.

Little Rhyn's output looks better today, too - still loose, but not as loose.  And even better, he wasn't as crazy for his breakfast this morning as he has been - he was nuts for it before. So, I think, all around, all things are getting better.  Zoey's staying closer, Rhyn's shaping up, life is good.

My little chunky monkey vampire puppy is coming along nicely -

AH!  MY SHOELACES!!!  LET GO!!!  Somebody needs to invent puppy-proof shoelaces...

OK, first full week review:

1. Rhyn has become very very comfortable with his crate in only four nights.  Now he doesn't fight when I put him in, and goes to sleep within a few minutes.  Doesn't 'rush' the door when I open it to let him out, and is always, always happy to see me. Love those little folded back ears, that wagging tail.  It's contagious - Zoey was doing it this morning when I let Rhyn out, too.
2. Rhyn is comfortable for two hours during the day in his crate.  This is a great, great thing.  I just make sure he's had all bathroom duties done beforehand.
3. He doesn't whine as much when I'm out of his sight. I was worried about this because I thought it might be the beginning of separation anxiety, but of course not. He's a baby who's had a big change in life (was it only last Saturday?) and of course he wants to keep known humans close by.
4. He likes to play with ice cubes, and the water coming out of the hose.  Since I have a low opinion of retractable* leashes, it's a toy for Rhyn, and he LOVES to capture the end of it and run off with it, and I slowly reel him back in, like a fish.  And off he goes with it again.  It's his 'fishing rod toy'.
5. He doesn't care for tomatoes, squash, peanut butter, or peanuts.  I know, right?  Peanut butter is supposed to be the holy grail of treats for dogs.  Not for Rhyn, not at 10 weeks, or a little over two months old.
6. He knows the name of two toys:  "Monster", and "Rabbit".  He knows how to "Sit", and we're working on "Down".

*I have never found retractable leashes a viable option for leading a dog around.  They are the lazy human's invention for walking the dog. Combining two of my pet peeves, I abhor watching a human walking down the street with its smart phone, while the poor dog is wandering all over on his loose leash.  Dogs are to be walked on a 4-foot or a 6-foot leash, taught to heel, and that's that.

More cuteness coming right up!

Chunky Monkey Vampire Rhyn

Looks just like Zoey at this age

Sleeping Rhyn, Thank Dog

Day 5: Of Worms and Now It's Zoey's Turn

Shame on Zoey's humans for not realizing quite the stress she's under, too.  Of course her whole world has changed, everything topsy-turvy for almost a week now, just like Rhyn's did!  And how is she reacting to it?  She's got diarrhea  today, too.  Gah.  I don't know how to make her feel better except to give her as much attention as I can, and try to keep to a regular schedule. We have been doing that - taking walks at our normal times, and eating breakfast at the same time every day.  On this morning's walk, we even stopped in to see a favorite neighbor for a few minutes.

I know when we got back from a road trip to Sugar Island last year, Zoey didn't react well to that, either.  While we were there our human friend died, Zoey was in a really strange environment for a week, and being in a car for six hours there and back - her first time - well, anyway, she had diarrhea when we got home, too.

The solution:  Fresh Digest Daily Digestive Supplement for Dogs by In Clover.  It worked last year (within the day!) and I hope it works this time, too.

Update on Rhyn's situation:  Yes, he has Roundworms, so very common in puppies that many vets routinely deworm puppies before getting a stool sample. Roundworms are most commonly passed to puppies from the placenta before they are born; transmission through the mother's milk does occur but is less important for puppies than for kittens.  Dr. Mead said it wasn't a large infestation (so maybe the ONE DOSE of Pyrantel provided by Underdog Rescue helped a very tiny bit).  So, we received six packets of Panacur powder:  One packet a day for three days, mixed in with moist food, and then again in three weeks.  We take a new stool sample in on September 14.

More interesting info about Roundworms, also sometimes called ascarids.  They live in a dog's intestines, consuming partially digested food. (Boy, these worms are eating the very best puppy food, for sure, Merrick Puppy Grain-Free).  The Roundworm does not attach to the intestinal wall; rather, this worm literally swims in its food.  OK, that was gross, and we're moving on.

Here is a photo of the lovely Zoey, taken yesterday.

Zoey

And we're on our way ... 10 weeks old today!

Rhyn slept in his wire crate just fine!  He was put to bed about 8:30, fussed a little bit, and then was quiet until 3 a.m., when he let us know he need to go out.

In his crate:  A large towel, and lots of toys.

Then he went back to sleep for a couple of hours, and the new day is here.

After talking with my vet tech and the manager at our pet store, I have learned it is not normal to poop 7 times a day, even for a puppy.

After way too much emailing back and forth with Underdog Rescue (as I noted to Megan, it's like wow, I've paid my money, now communication stops? She still hasn't responded and it's been three days; I don't expect a response at this point), I've found out that Rhyn did have Roundworms three weeks ago, and was treated with (one dose) of Pyrantel. (Big shout out to Lori A., a great foster with Underdog Rescue, who took the time to get me Rhyn's vet records and put me in touch with Lacey, the Events Coordination person who provided me with the name of the dewormer.)  I let my vet know, and we're going today with a stool sample because one dose doesn't usually do the job; info about Pyrantel indicates two doses.  DAMMIT! If I hadn't talked to people about the massive amount of loose poop coming out of this little guy, I'd have not known something might be wrong.  I can't remember Zoey having this issue.

I consider myself a fairly intelligent person most of the time, unless I've got Puppy Brain (new term for late nights and long days watching new puppy, making sure he or she doesn't get into trouble).  I cringe to think of the many people who have adopted puppies and dogs through this rescue and any others who didn't get the information they needed and never knew anything different. I understand the concept of an organization being run by volunteers, I get it, it's great, but there has to be one or two people, at least, to make sure everything is being done and is being communicated to the new owners of the animal.  A simple checklist for everybody, they each check off their relevant duties.  The last stop for this checklist is the person who hands the animal over to the new owner.  Any items not checked get done by the final person.  Great system of checks and balances, in my opinion.

So now, instead of having just one new visit with Keller Lake Animal Hospital, we get two - I'm OK with it, though, because Vickie and Angie and the rest of the staff get to see Rhyn's cuteness in full force.  There is nothing like a puppy.  Except maybe a kitten. :)

The second visit Sept 2 will now be just for the DAPP 3-weeks booster.  What is DAPP, you ask? Distemper, Adenovirus, Parainfluenza, and Parvovirus, all possibly deadly infections and preventable through a series of booster vaccines and then every three years...  And after that, the only vaccine Rhyn need worry about will be his Rabies shot, but not until he is a bit older, maybe 1 year - I'll find out this afternoon!

Great info here on pet vaccines, from WebMD.

And now, what you've all been waiting for!

#cutepuppy #puppybutt

Those Ears!  Will he grow into them?  Stay tuned!

Third Day Delights

Realizing yesterday that a plastic-sided crate was just not going to work for Rhyn*, I checked out my friend (and yours!) Craig, who conveniently operates Craig's List, and I found a metal crate with a door on the end and a door on the side, which included the slide-out pan and a divider.  Like-new condition, $50.  They run about 109.99 plus tax for this size (large, double-door). However, they are on sale at Petco right now for less than I paid yesterday, so - you win some, you lose some.  If a few bucks is all it costs to get a good night's sleep it's worth it.

So yes, last night I slept on the floor in the basement again, next to the open wire crate (and yes, I added extra blankets for me for padding!), and I noticed throughout the night at odd times that Rhyn would go in to it and retrieve a toy I'd put there.  He's comfortable with it, far more comfortable than the plastic-sided crate.  That is really proven today; he's been 'crated' twice, first for breakfast and then for lunch.  He went right in, I shut the door, and took Zoey for her walk.

Of course, it remains to be seen how it will work tonight.  This is only the fourth night in his new furever home, after all... when his life changed so dramatically that we humans can only imagine.

*OK, the way I see it:  Saturday, Rhyn was shoved in a plastic-sided kennel with one of his brothers (who was also being adopted that day), put in a vehicle, taken to Fun City Dogs, said crate put on a wagon with a lifting mechanism, trundled into the doggie day care where hundreds of barking dogs created such a racket the humans could hardly talk. Also, Underdog Rescue was having an adoption event, so there were three (?) pens of dogs to be looked at and petted.  The wagon's lift was activated so the two puppies slid down and were scrunched in the bottom.  Strange human faces peering in and out, and suddenly, Rhyn is lifted out and in a stranger's arms and in another vehicle and the next thing he knows, his brothers are nowhere to be found.  The human female who fostered him is gone. Nothing is familiar. I would have bad associations with a plastic-sided crate, too.

Today I've moved my office outside on the back patio, Rhyn is enjoying the yard, and Zoey finally came out and is hanging out.  Carefully.  She alternates between appearing as though there is no puppy to being possibly offended, but I need to be careful and not anthropomorphize her.

Going to the pet store, and meeting the mail lady today!

Update on sleeping last night: No, not in the crate. No way, no how. I opted to sleep with him behind the x pen, and he was out before Mark got up the stairs. It took me a bit longer...  But it was worth it for at least two other beings in this house to get some good sleep.

What a day for traveling around - Rhyn went to Pet Supplies Plus in Minneapolis to get his little claws clipped for the very first time - right now they are just tiny bits, but they are sharp.  Rhyn was near napping so it was easy for Katie to clip a little bit off each toe.  Then Rhyn got to check out some of the store (especially the treat aisle) and meet several dogs and quite a few kids.  He got all brave with a couple of the younger dogs; he's quite a confident little chunk.  Not "alpha", just confident. After all, he's never had a bad thing happen in his life yet, so why not be brave and optimistic?

Then - on the way home - we saw our mail lady, so we stopped and introduced our newest family member and she took his photo.  And I have a photo from Lana at Pet Supplies Plus, too!

Rhyn will be 10 weeks old Wednesday, August 17.

And yes, I slept fairly well last night - there's nothing like sleeping with a puppy on the hard floor. Especially when they are wide awake at 4:30 in the morning. It didn't take long for him to go back to sleep, though.

Rhyn by Mary the Mail Lady

Rhyn by Lana at Pet Supplies Plus

Sunday Morning Update

8:50 a.m.

Well, last night was hell, as it is with puppies.  I'd forgotten. Rhyn, however, was a special case; he came from a foster home with 12 other dogs, 3 of which were his siblings.  Here? No brothers, so quiet, and only one other dog (who doesn't want to hang out with him just yet).

Every hour or so, Rhyn would start up whining.  To be fair, he did go pee every time we took him out into the yard.

This morning I realized, as he crashed on the towel I'd laid on the patio (hoping to give Mark some extra sleep, and Zoey some peace, we took the party outside), that his foster couldn't afford extras, other than what Underdog Rescue provided her.  So, of course Rhyn hadn't laid on a cushy dog bed! How could he be expected to sleep on it!  So, the bed is out of the crate, and the towel (which smells nicely of me and Rhyn now) is in his crate and hopefully he'll sleep better tonight. Or sleep, period.

Plans for today:  Rhyn will have a 'Petco Puppy Playtime" at 3:30, and we'll buy a collar for him while were there.  I'm having a hard time getting a wriggling puppy into a little tiny harness, so collar it will be until he quits being so darned wriggly!

Have I said how cute this little prince is?

 "Yes, I am big enough to get in the water bucket"

Chasing his tail this morning...

And his big 'sis' yesterday, hanging out just as pretty as you please...

Rhyn Comes Home!

It is 9:56 pm and we've all had a very long day, except perhaps for my husband.  We picked up Rhyn about 12:45 pm, and the plan was that Joann and I and Rhyn would meet Mark and Zoey at a small park near our house, but that plan went to heck when poor 9 week old Rhyn, overexcited by all the barking dogs and many people at the doggy day care where we picked him up, puked on Joann.  Twice. In the car. We hadn't been on the road 2 minutes.

Joann noticed Rhyn drooling, and I thought - great, I've got a mixed breed puppy who drools, so which breed is that - and the next thing, puke. We were just thinking - 'meeting Mark and Zoey at the park is off the table', and I'm ineffectively handing Joann tissues and trying to drive and worrying about Rhyn and feeling awful for Joann and ... Well, it wasn't a pleasant time.  I've got dog puke in my car down the sides of both seats in the front, and chunks in the tracks that the seats slide on.  There's dog puke on my shorts, my shirt, Joann's covered in it, seems like.

It's nice to know Rhyn's 'tell' for puking, though - if I see heavy drool again I'll know something's coming...

We pulled in the driveway just as Mark was leaving, so we were able to flag him down and he pulled back in the garage and took Zoey for a 45 minute walk, allowing Joann and I (and Rhyn, who was feeling just fine by now!) to recover and clean up a bit; of course, Joann couldn't really clean up until she got home and took a shower and changed clothes.

After she left for home, and Rhyn was settled in his crate, I left for a car place that cleaned interiors, or I thought it did.  I should have called Mr. Mister in Roseville, but I didn't.  I arrived, told my story, and wasn't helped, except to be given the phone number of the Mr. Mister in Shoreview, which didn't answer the phone. I called the Edina Mr. Mister and they didn't do interiors either, so I came back home, got the shop vac out, rug cleaner, a bucket of soapy water, and the Nature's Miracle Enzyme Cleaner I keep on hand for any pet accidents (it works very well to get rid of any animal odors; so well they can't even smell what was there before!).

What seemed like an hour later, my car was clean and I'm ready to hang out with my new puppy in the back yard, along with Zoey.  We called our friends Anne and Bill to come meet the new guy, and had a nice time just sitting in the grass watching Rhyn be a charming puppy and Zoey hang out with the adults.  Later on, wonder of wonders, Zoey started giving Rhyn play bows and running around the yard and little Rhyn took her up on it!  He rolled down the hill more often than not (so cute!), but he kept up well enough for Zoey to have a great time.  I was so pleased to see this quick adoption by Zoey of the new little prince.  That really took a load of stress off me; I'd been worried for weeks that somehow I was completely wrong and Zoey did NOT want a companion dog...

So now, many hours later - Rhyn was put in his crate about 8 after having a little bit of food and some water (he was whining so thought he's probably hungry and thirsty and he was).  He whined for 15 minutes and finally quieted down.  He was quiet for about and hour, and then whined pretty strongly, so out he came for a pee and then back to bed. He whined again for about 15 minutes, and he's been quiet now for about 40 minutes.  I hope he sleeps for a few hours now. I know he's a young puppy but he's not had much water and not a lot of food this evening, so he ought to make it for at least 4 hours; he's got a very comfy bed in a nice crate with a quilt over it for snuggli-ness, and he's safe.  I'll let you know in the next entry how well he does tonight.  And yes, we've ordered the Mars Veterinary Wisdom Panel DNA 3.0 kit, should be here Monday.

Here's a few photos taken this evening. Look at the size of those paws!

We Meet "Asher" for the First Time

First Meeting:  Sunday, August 7, 2016.

Picked Phyllis up at 11:30 and we (Mark, too, of course) met Lori (the foster) and "Asher" the puppy at Petco in Richfield (494/Lyndale). He tried to crawl under Zoey and she vociferously told him off, scared him to death, he peed, poor baby.

Asher was born June 8, 2016 to a mom already in foster care. She is described as a Miniature Australian Shepherd (OK, I know, there's no such thing), and his dad a German Shepherd Dog.  We'll see, in the end, because of course we'll do DNA testing on the puppy much like we did Zoey. Wisdom Panel DNA tests are fantastic and not too expensive.

Possible names for puppy:  Duke ("Duck!" I love the Duck Subaru commercials), Malik, Ferro.  Then, Mark came up with "Rin". But not as in "Rin Tin Tin".  Mark was thinking about his favorite song, "Rhiannon", by Fleetwood Mac, and was trying to work it into a boy's name.  With his fondness for odd spellings, it started out at Rhin and then quickly became "Rhyn" (his car license plate is "Phred", from a childhood dog's name given by his mom). The name is cute, it's fitting, and I've found myself using it as I talk to people about getting this puppy.
___

Oh my god, a puppy!  Didn't I just go through this three and a half years ago?  I have already figured out that "googling" or checking anywhere on the Internet for puppy advice is certain madness.  1,000,000,000 ways to do one thing and half of those are differing opinions, and most are incorrect.  I will stick with common sense and what I know worked with Zoey (and continues to work) and quit freaking myself out.

Here is Rhyn's mom, Freya. She came from a puppy mill in  Iowa.  She's been adopted by someone in the Underdog Rescue family.  That puppy you see is one of the four (large) guys she gave birth to on June 8, 2016.

Freya 2016

Here's a couple of iPhone photos of little 8 week old Rhyn. I will be taking better photos once he's here, of course.  Look at those paws!  Lori the foster (I think) says maybe he'll get to 50 pounds. I hope not.  I mean, sure, but a little smaller would be nice.  I'm spoiled with Zoey being only 35 pounds.

Rhyn and Mark,  August 7, 2016

Rhyn and Mark, August 7, 2016

Rhyn and foster Lori, August 7, 2016

Rhyn, early August, 2016