All the News Since January 25!

I apologize to my regular readers for being so behind in my blogging.

January 27-29

First, following the neuter, dear Sweet Rhyn managed to lick his 'exterior' stitching apart (it was sealed with Vet-Bond, a type of veterinarian glue very similar to Super Glue) and by the end of the  weekend of January 28th, his surgical site was infected.  Saturday, it didn't look bad; by Sunday, it looked like ... well, hamburger. Or something like.

To be fair, the folks at Uptown Vet Clinic did offer to send a regular plastic cone-type 'Elizabethan collar' home with him, but I never ...  <regret> <hind-sight is 20-20>  Not all dogs lick their surgical sites!  Arrgghh!!!

So, I spent the weekend scouring the Internet, trying to find any information at all that would be helpful. I did manage to glean that this was not a life-threatening problem, but I still managed to make myself hysterical about it.  My puppy!  My little doggy boy!  Oh my gosh! <rampant hysteria> <mother mode full on!>

Sunday the 29th we bought a Kong Cloud e-collar (the first time I've ever used 'same day delivery with Amazon) and the e-collar was delivered at 9 p.m., right on the dot. I don't think the Amazon delivery guy expected such a warm welcome. Heck, if I hadn't retained some semblance of my sanity I think I would have invited him in, but I stopped myself just in time. I was just so relieved to get something to keep Rhyn from licking himself.

We ripped open the package, quickly read the instructions, and ran downstairs to get our boy. Rhyn had been 'put to bed' (he goes in his crate, which is in the basement, about 8 or 8:30 in the evening); so cute to see his bleary-eyed self wake up and look at us with deep affront.  Out he came, we removed his collar and threaded it through the Kong Cloud, and fitted it all around his neck, and then we all slept a little easier that night...

Rhyn in his Kong Cloud e-collar

Monday, January 30

Monday I spent most of the morning still fruitlessly searching the Internet, wanted somebody to tell me something to magically make this problem go away. I alternated between hysteria and acceptance, and finally, I realized the phone!  THE PHONE!  I could USE it to call our vet and see what they thought! Talk to real live people!  So I did.  Eagan Pet Clinic had an appointment available at 4, and I can tell you we were almost 30 minutes early!  End result:  Rhyn had an infection (and he weighs 47 pounds now).  He was given 10 days worth of Clavamox, and a bottle of Chlorhexidine 2% Otic solution and a Ziploc of gauze wipes to wipe his would twice a day, with instructions to come back on Wednesday for a recheck.

It was easy to give Rhyn his pills - just stick them in a bit of peanut butter and down they went. He didn't mind me wiping his 'owee' twice a day either.

Wednesday, February 1

Rhyn checks out great (i.e., he's healing), and EPC doesn't charge for this quick look-see. We're instructed to come back Saturday morning...

Rhyn's got Zoey's crate, while Zoey enjoys the bed

Saturday, February 4

Another quick no-charge look-see and Dr. Schowalter gives Rhyn a clean bill of health. We're to finish out the antibiotic and keep up with the wipes.

By Wednesday, February 8, Rhyn was completely healed, and the e-collar came off about noon that day.

So, morals of this story:

If your pet has surgery, keep a close eye on him or her and make sure there's no licking of the wound going on. If there is, get the e-collar.  I recommend the Kong Cloud e-collar, as it gives a much better range of motion for the dog, but keeps it from licking what it shouldn't.

The Internet (which has now become 'Google', really) doesn't have all the answers.  The only firm solid answer is one given in-person; this holds true for just about all things. What you'll find on the 'net are educated guesses and opinions, and lots of cyber shouting and noise-making.

Rhyn getting his neck scratched after the e-collar was taken off

Rhyn Post-Surgery

Rhyn, being 7 1/2 months old, was more than ready to have his neutering done.  So, yesterday morning, he was dropped off at the vet (about 8 a.m.) and !  I was able to pick him up and have him home by 1!

It was funny to watch Zoey when Rhyn wasn't here (if she could speak English, she would have asked where he was, for sure - wandering around the yard, looking all over the house) and when he came back - she could have said:  "Hey! (sniffing carefully) You're back! Cool!"

His pain medication makes him sleepy (good!) and he has an NSAID to take as well, because he's such an active puppy.

An option to reduce any swelling is to use ice packs, but this morning, in the fresh snow, Rhyn has quite decided sitting in the snow bank is a very nice thing.

Could he be any cuter?  The pain medication (an opiate, believe it or not) also probably lends itself to his more-than-happy demeanor today, when he's not sleeping).

Rhyn Post Surgery January 25 2017

Rhyn Most Likely Weaned Too Early

After I observed  Rhyn "making bread" and suckling on his large toys, I thought it was odd behavior for a dog. I mean, I'd seen my cats do it a number of times in their lives, but dogs?  After some layman's research, (Google, anyone?) I learned that this behavior is most likely caused because he was weaned too early. I think it's truthful: Rhyn was born in foster care (his mom was there) and was one of four puppies; so off he had to go, and quickly. Luckily straight to us, and never to have another worry again!

Enjoy this video, he's definitely a sweetie!

Rhyn Suckling His Toy

Dogs Keeping Warm, Human Improper Behavior, and Happy New Year!

First, let me say that as of this moment in time, it is -4C.  Which is damned cold.  I finally noticed this morning that when Rhyn goes out in this temperature, his tail never raises up, but it's kept tucked against his ... sensitive bits.  Zoey's tail never goes down unless she's completely relaxed or is afraid of something.  Another difference in dog breeds and personality.

Rhyn, January 4, 2017

I and my husband attended a New Year's Eve gathering this past Saturday, which is nothing amazing (well, it is, considering how we don't go out on NYE).  However, this was in the neighborhood, so it was easy to get to. We discovered on arrival that the guest's dogs had been invited as well, so the house was rapidly filling with dogs; their owners had brought their crates and bedding and - well, it was interesting. I thought to myself that it is possible to get a dog-sitter if one plans ahead, but - ? Apparently there is a group of people who treats dogs as their children... but I digress.

One 7-month old puppy was playing with the resident dog, being silly as puppies will, and he started "humping" his doggy host.  His owner, a young man in his 20s, back-handed this puppy, which caused me to loudly ask him "Hey!  Why did you just hit your dog?" The young man said he didn't want his dog to "do things like that". I said, well, that's a natural behavior for a dog, and especially at that age - they do it when they feel good and life is going well and is nothing alarming. I had to walk away after that else risk starting a confrontation.  (Although, trust me, I would have, if he'd continued to harm his puppy).  About that time, another guest showed up with his dog, off leash (!), and my husband and I decided to leave.

Canine humping is worlds away from human humping. Anthropomorphizing your dog is a big no-no, and can only lead to heartache. That big word means "putting human behavior standards on your animal". Obviously that doesn't work out well, and may be why so many newly-gifted puppies end up in the shelter or unwanted, because their owner didn't have a clue as to how they should be trained.  The sad part of this young man hitting his puppy while he was playing - what is the puppy supposed to think? He was playing at the time, in his mind, so what does he think he was doing wrong?

That party, with dogs, went on until 2 in the morning.  I can only hope that the puppy was put in his crate or a quiet room and allowed to rest, because puppies that age still have a sleep requirement...

Here is Zoey with her look of 'ghost of Christmas past'.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Zoey, 4 years, and Rhyn, almost 7 months, Christmas Eve 2016

My Little (!) Boy is Growing Up

With the recent snow and then terrifically cold weather, it's confirmed: Rhyn is a snow dog.  Zoey is delighted to have a fellow snow canine living in the house!

Rhyn also treats the snow shovel as he does the leaf rake - something to be attacked!  Great fun!

Of note:  "Housebreaking", or 'potty training', involves showing the puppy that the whole house is his to live in, not to go off in an out-of-sight corner and pee.  What made housebreaking more difficult in our case is our two-story house (walk-out basement, first floor).  Rhyn had to learn that a relatively unused bedroom wasn't the place to pee and then the other bedroom wasn't a place to pee, either.  His "tell" was racing down the hallway and taking a hard right, being very quiet, and then running back out to the living room, all pleased with himself; like he'd discovered the best thing in the world!  We've been accident-free for almost a month now, I've found his toys in various parts of the house (which means he's learned that this whole big space is for him!), and he's learned that there is no place to pee that doesn't involve his living space.  In the evening, when Mark's home, Rhyn now makes circles by the front door and gives Mark the beady eye when he's ready to go out.  During the day, he'll warble by the back door or come give me a nose-on-the-leg when he wants to go out.  Good boy!

Speaking of "warble", I hope Rhyn never grows out of this. It's such a unique dog noise; a sweet little wonder-whine with syllables!

Teeth:  All of Rhyn's adult teeth are in; they've been in about a month now.  I managed to "rescue" three of his puppy teeth to add to my little collection.

Bones: This past few weeks or so I've noticed that six-month-old Rhyn no longer lays flat out on the floor, with his legs stretched behind him. The last photo I have of him doing that is dated November 22.  So, another sign he's growing up - tendons and muscles are coming along nicely, causing Rhyn to lose that 'boneless' ability, but also making him more sure on his feet.

Rhyn in the snow pile

Rhyn going for the snow shovel!

Learning how to communicate, dog-style

Rhyn is learning ... and he has NO control of his facial expression right now. Zoey's teaching him little by little. He only started showing his teeth this week - and he shows ALL of them, no finesse. Ha!