Pupdate: 16 Days In...

 Hard to believe two weeks have already gone by with him.   
It's been different. Interesting. A challenge.    

Let's start with our biggest issues:  

He's aggressive towards Peryn.   Not all the time, but it's been  enough where Peryn does not trust him & avoids him. 

It will definitely happen if food is involved & they are in close proximity.  The bigger issue is when he's gone after him during play time.    

We've begun working on that as much as we can.   It'll take time, but we do have that. 

He's run off twice now. Once with Rich & the other with me.   We're working on that as well. I'll discuss more in detail later. 

He's a counter surfer.  Worse than Ziva.  Ziva would surf the items on the edge & steal if it took minimal effort.  He will get on his hind legs & steal off the counter.

TOO ENERGETIC.  

Good things:
He's a sweetheart to humans in the house. He's on guard against those outside. He loves Ziva. He's a cuddler. He's housebroken. He's got his basic commands.   He LOVES to be brushed.

So the big developments :

He had his vet visit yesterday.   He is indeed a "puppy" as in over 1 but not 2.   His energy is definitely puppy related. We remember Ziva a year ago & she was very energetic.  She has calmed down quite a bit. 

He still has some health issues we're working with.   He has a yeast infection in his ear, near the end of treating his dermatitis, & he may have allergies.   Plus we learned today that he has intestinal worms.   So we have loads of meds for him. 

His incision healed nicely  & he was pretty much given the go ahead.    So yesterday he went to daycare. 

During the week leading up to this, he began getting the zoomies in the house. He also bolted out of the house & hasn't really gotten to let out his energy.  There was a game of chase in the basement the other day, so we knew daycare was going to be needed. 

Our hope is once he begins having a regular outlet for his energy, he may ease up on Peryn as well as not run off. 

They all went yesterday and as of almost 3PM on Saturday, they're all passed out.   They've been like this all morning.   Hopefully this will keep up once he gets in a regular schedule. 

We're probably going to eventually only send the Berner's to playcare.   Peryn does not like it. Yesterday he was pretty traumatized between the vet, rain & being forced to go to daycare.

Peryn at the vet

At the vet

Lada can go maybe once a week.  She's got her buds, she tries to interfere in her siblings play, but ultimately her & Peryn would be best to stay home.   

Grooming!

 Volos was not a happy camper yesterday.    

Lately he's been a little "raggedy".   His hair just was getting too long to be "cute. His paws--he had "grinch feet" -where the hair was so long on his paw pads.   I contacted Marlo at the play care (they also do grooming) and got him in for a Friday appointment. 

NOT HAPPY

Both boys went yesterday, I was at an appointment so it was much easier for R to get them out.  When Volos came home he was handsome  & smelling pretty.  Well, I assume it was pretty.  I don't do well with strong perfumed products--so I'm going to say he smells nice from a far.    His hair is all trimmed up & he looks so handsome.   

Of course he told me about the torture he had to endure: being "man handled", getting sprayed with water, & the buzzing of clippers and whatever else.    I think it was worth it but he disagrees.   

Whenever he gets groomed, he always looks chubbier to me.   His hair is cropped closer to his body & he no longer has longer locks to give the illusion that he's smaller.   No matter-- he's handsome.

As usual, everyone but Volos playing

The sun is glowing off of him right now:).  

Truthfully, he gets over his grooming torture pretty quickly.   He loves people too much to hold it against them.  Plus he likes his daycare people.  

I've been trying to get photos of him with his new "do", but he won't sit still.

Volos & Peryn went to the vet on Tuesday.   Peryn was due for a booster & Volos gets bloodwork every 6 months.  I do this with Volos to be on alert for any changes that may indicate cancer.   With his MCTs (3 in which need to be removed at this time) I am hyper vigilant with him.  He's going on 8 and this is my "Soul Dog".  I am not losing him any sooner than necessary.  

The removal surgery is TBD ..by me.  If I could, I'd have it done now, but circumstances just aren't allowing that. 

Next weekend, I'm leaving him for 5 days.  UGH.  I am going to miss him.  I hope he does ok without me.  Going to visit my Mom & Brother.  Only Lada is allowed to make this trip with me.  

Currently the kiddoes are in the basement with R.  We have a party to attend today & we need to exercise them before we leave...

Photos from this morning.....

Came out of the shower to this

Twin "Terrors"

Morning after grooming, shiny & handsome

You can see his trim better in this picture

 

Pupdate July 8

Hey.   Time flies when you're having fun!  (NOT) 

Getting right to it....

At the vet

Early last week I noticed Athena was having a hard time. She wasn't doing well in her cart--barely held herself up or was moving very slowly.  Additionally she was wetting the bed.  Not like she had, she was SOAKING the beds. Regularly. She was peeing a lot as well.  We began to suspect a UTI.   UTI's are common in dogs with DM, especially in this stage.    Took her to the vet and sure enough, She was put on an anti-biotic and man oh man, do those things work quickly. We noticed the difference a day and a half after she started on them.

zoom zoom zoom

Yesterday after work we all went downstairs to play.  I was down there an hour and a half with the kiddoes.  Athena was having a blast.   Zooming (well as fast as she can these days) all around with Peryn & Lada.  She wasn't having any issues holding herself up or running.  She was doing fabulous.   No sign of slowing down at all yesterday.  

We try to keep her occupied when we can.  Now that the weather is better, we try to spend some time outdoors with her or allow her more time in her cart to play.    I can see the depression getting to her some days.    


When i took Peryn to his vet appointment in May/June (Hard to remember when at this point), the vet had pointed out Peryn's broken canines.   He had broken the tips off all 4 and the vet indicated we would need to do Xrays in order to determine if the pulp was showing in any.    I put that on hold a bit, because of everything going on.

A few weeks ago I noticed he had broken down one of his canines even more.   I knew it was time to take him in to get them looked at.     SO on Monday we did just that.   Peryn went to get some x-rays and depending what they found would determine our next course of actions. 

The vet indicated none of the pulp was showing and we could leave the teeth alone.  He had about a mm left of enamel before the pulp.
HOWEVER--- I see this dog play.   I see him with his balls, his tugs, his bones, and his siblings.   This was something that would eventually happen.  The question was when?   And once that happened, how long before he could get it taken care of before infection?    It was a preemptive strike to have all four removed.   

I loved his canines and his teefs, but I had to look at the greater scheme of things. He's healing nicely (was super hyper during yesterday's play). It was cute seeing his tongue sway side to side since his canines no longer framed it in place.  Additionally watching him trying to figure out how to properly hold a ball now...adorable.   Dude of course figured it out and was munching on one ball while chasing the others while we played.    Resilient!

Volos and Lada are doing well.    Volos is starting to really bloom with day care.   He's really coming out of his shell.    He's such a big goof.      He really is just a very very happy dog. 
He LOVES playing downstairs when Peryn is down there. Now they don't necessarily play together (although they may bark back and forth at one another), but they are down there at the same time.   Peryn playing with his herding ball and Volos with his smaller balls at the bottom of the stairs. 

Volos is getting in on fetch more and more.   He has so much energy and seriously is a very happy dog.  

Volos and Lada

 Lada is Lada.  Same as always.

Everyone but Athena went with us to one of my BFFs house this past weekend.   Peryn & Lada swam...Volos got loved on.   It was quite a fun family time.   Wish Athena could come with us, but in this heat (we spent most of our time outdoors) and how long we were there....it wouldn't have been good for her.     
She gets extra loving each day to make up for the times we have to leave her.

4th of July.  Peryn & Volos are not fans of the fireworks. They did pretty well as we had our speakers up loud to drown out the intensity of the booms.   They actually freak out more during storms, so I say we did good.

At my friends house

Peryn in the pool

Lada enjoying the duck raft

Volos and his balls

Lada felt left out....

Not feeling well

 Tuesday was not a fun day for Momma.

I came home to all four of my pups.  After letting them out (assisting Athena), when I came back in I noticed yellow spots all over my living room.  At first I thought someone took a piss all over. Nope.  Someone had puked up bile all over.  By the size /quantity of the spots, I assumed Volos.

A bit later, in the midst of cleaning the carpet, I saw first hand that it wasn't Volos, but Lada.   She had taken a drink of water and then proceeded to bring it up. She'd bring it up, walk a few steps and bring up more.   

This happened a number of times in the late afternoon until early evening.  She was a bit subdued and lying on the couch.  When I went to cuddle with her, she didn't feel as warm.    After awhile, we thought the worst was over and by 8PM she was doing it again.  

She hadn't eaten or drank a thing --so I knew it was a bit serious.   I called the Clinic and got her an appointment.

in the treatment room waiting for vet

The big sign she wasn't well was once we reached the clinic. First she didn't jump in my lap to get out of the car as she always does and second, instead of jumping in my lap she got on her hind legs and indicated she wanted to be held.

Her weight was normal, 26.6#.   Her temperature was a bit low and she was pale according to the Vet.   She was taken back for blood-work and x-rays. She was severely dehydrated (no surprise there). Her blood work came back mostly normal-she had 1 liver function number that was slightly elevated-that normally wouldn't concern them--but they were cautious because of her current state.
Vet said I was smart for bringing her in when I did and that Lada would need to be kept overnight. They put an IV in and gave her anti-vomiting medicine.

It was rough on me as minus about 10 days or so, she's been with my every night of her time with us.   I was also freaking out because I am so nervous due to what happened with Duchess.

They called the next morning to let me know she did well overnight. She didn't throw up anymore, ate a tiny bit, and went to the bathroom a bit-normal. I got a second call a bit later from the new vet in charge.   We discussed treatment and agreed to allow her to stay all day on the IV and for them to monitor and make sure she didn't get sick again. 

I didn't hear from them the rest of the day and took it to mean No news is Good News.   We went to pick her up at 7:30. They confirmed she didn't throw up again and was in better spirits.  We went home with 2 antibiotics and anti-nausea medicine.

HOME!!

She's to be on a bland diet the next few days and to let her rest.   She's still not 100%, but there is improvement.  She slept well last night and has eaten a few things here and there (in order to give her pills).   She's not a fan of the bland rice diet (Volos has no issues with it though!)

She's lying on the bed in my office surrounded by her pack and Momma. 
She must have felt left out because Athena & Volos have been getting so much attention due to THEIR health concerns.


I'll just be glad when we're past this.  We got back in 10 days to have her blood work ran again. They want to make sure that Liver # was related to her not feeling well and NOT something else.   Fingers and Paws crossed please!!!

Meanwhile, I get a calm and chill Lada while she recuperates.   Kind of scary.

Two weeks in...

HELLO!  Welcome, welcome.   So we've had a busy week.

The kids are all getting along.  They play with him regularly and he hardly leaves them alone.   It's working out great. Athena gets her puppy and he burns off some energy.

Peryn & Dr Rick. 

We took him to the vet last Monday.  He weighed 9.6 lbs.  We also heard back from the woman who has his parents and he was born Jan 3. That makes him officially 8 weeks old tomorrow. The vet staff went nuts over him.  The one tech squealed, came up to me and took him from my arms. It was almost 10 minutes before I saw my puppy again.

It is freaking amazing how quickly he's grown in those 2 weeks since adoption.

Yeah and we're learning we're in for a ride. This dog is notoriously known for being a force to be reckoned with.  Training is going to be oh so much fun!
Everyone we've talked to with regards to the blue heeler have all said the same thing.   So not only did we take on a puppy, we've taken on a difficult puppy.

He's still quite a handful, but he's an affectionate adorable ball of fur.

Today, I took the girls to the dog park. We're trying to make sure they know they're still important.   They had a great time. In fact, they're not in the office with me. They're in their beds passed out while he is laying at my feet.

Adoption Day

With his toy

Eating from the big bowl.

2 weeks later at the bowl.

Lil pup, 2 weeks in.

Oh yes, I'm adorable.

my little lightening bolt

"As with dogs from other working breeds, the Australian Cattle Dog is energetic and intelligent with an independent streak. It responds well to structured training, particularly if it is interesting and challenging. It was originally bred to herd by biting, and is known to nip running children. It forms a strong attachment to its owners, and can be protective of them and their possessions. It is easy to groom and maintain, requiring little more than brushing during the shedding period. The most common health problems are deafness and progressive blindness (both hereditary conditions) and accidental injury; otherwise, it is a robust breed with a lifespan of 12 to 14 years."As with dogs from other working breeds, the Australian Cattle Dog is energetic and intelligent with an independent streak. It responds well to structured training, particularly if it is interesting and challenging. It was originally bred to herd by biting, and is known to nip running children. It forms a strong attachment to its owners, and can be protective of them and their possessions. It is easy to groom and maintain, requiring little more than brushing during the shedding period. The most common health problems are deafness and progressive blindness (both hereditary conditions) and accidental injury; otherwise, it is a robust breed with a lifespan of 12 to 14 years.(2016, February 19). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 01:12, February 22, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=APA_style&oldid=705722138

Appointment Follow Up

Happy Saturday.

Let's get this started.  Yesterday Athena went for her follow up at the vet.  They were EXTREMELY happy with her progress.

She gained another 4 pounds! A dog that weighed 47.7 pounds at the shelter now weights 55 lbs.  The vet noticed it right away. She definitely filled out and appears to be bigger than she was.

She no longer requires her ears to be cleaned daily.  We only need to do it every 3 days.  I can tell you a certain doggy is quite HAPPY to hear that. She hates that part with a passion. 

For her hair & skin, she no longer requires any solution.  Her back is healing very well. She only has a few scabs left and the rest is receding.  She is healing quite nicely.

She still is on some antibiotics for both her ears and back, but it's just to make sure we get it all. Once completed with this round she should not require anymore.  She is now going on heartworm/flea & tick prevention.

Her last round of shots is in two weeks. Once she is finished with her antibiotics and prednisone, we can schedule her spaying.  

Last night, we bought her a bigger bed.  Since she loves her bed so much AND she was a bit big for the one we had, we bought her the canine version of a queen sized bed. She took to it right away and she now may spread out and still be on the bed.

Come back later this weekend and I'll post a bunch of new photos of the girl!

Thanks for checking in on Athena.