gracegirl

I'm so sorry for your loss.

Thinking of you and Spud. I'm so sorry for the diagnosis.

Just a caution... I gave Fen a chicken back when he was a wee pup at 9 months old. I stepped closer to see what kind of progress he was making....an he swallowed the thing whole! The output was not pleasant for him, it was quite pokey with the ribs. That was his first and last chicken back. Turkey backs are fine since they are too big to swallow whole.

And the converse of this....give my Grace cooked poultry and she gets the runs instantly. Give her a raw turkey neck and her poops are firm as can be. I hit the turkey neck jackpot tonight bout local market had probably close to 25 necks wrapped in the refrigerated section. I brought 9 home for the 3 pups. G+F are old pros at the turkey necks but this will be Jackson's first.

I was going to suggest a muzzle too...though I would still keep the hounds separated from your little one most of the time.

Thinking of you and your family tonight. I'm so sorry.

"I tried to be good, but then I got bored."

A muzzle with a poop cup will stop any bandage removal or licking.

Have you tried leaving her muzzled?

If he is bored, I would recommend spending the time you normally would walking him on training instead. It will tire his brain out a bit, not in the same way exercise does of course, but it might help to take the edge off. Fenway knows sit, down, stay, play dead, jump (with my hand held high over my head...kid's got springs!), spin, shake, other paw, hug, tell me (bark), whisper, sing, crawl...when I put him through all of those its a bit of physical activity but also works his teeny brain so he usually has a nap afterwards. Is Boo food motivated? The other thing you might try is taking him in the car through the McD drive through. Get him a plain burger and them go to the park. See if you can coax him out of the car with the burger, show him that the park is good (it's not scary and he gets burgers) and eventually you can hopefully at least drive him to a park a few times a week for a walk.

How did the move go? Looks like you get to experience some of our typical Colorado weather this weekend...40 degrees and snow on Sunday followed by a 70 degree day on Monday. Enjoy!

I'm so sorry to read about Bill. He was such a handsome Red Sox fan.

A perfect tribute for a perfect dog. We should all be so lucky to know a soul like hers at some point in our time on earth. Run free, sweet girl.

When I've made my moves in the past, I specifically don't wash the dog bedding. I keep it in the new place unwashed (aka dirty) for about a week. Once the pups get the idea that we have a new home, I wash it. Don't know if it's made a difference but I've moved 7 times with my greyhounds and I've never had a problem. They are just happy to be where mom is. Our Airedale is the one who has a harder time moving. But we take lots of short walks so he can get to know the new neighborhood quickly and we give him extra attention and good things like kongs or cheweys and he adjusts pretty quickly.

What part of Denver are you moving to? I'm near Glendale (which might not mean much to you yet). I don't have any experience with SA, but might be able to recommend a doggie day care and a vet. Our Airedale goes to "camp" once a week.

Keep your dog with you inside at ALL TIMES. He should be leashed with you at the other end at all times. Wrap the leash around your waist if you need your hands free. Do this at night too, maybe with a bell on his collar at night so that you can hear him move around as well. Get up early and walk him. Walk him for at least 30-45 minutes right away when you get up. For now, let him pee whenever and whereever he wants outside. Praise, praise,praise like crazy. You can teach him not to mark later. You also need better barriers. Get one or two baby gates, preferably tall gates, to keep him in or out of certain places. Grace could jump the shorter gates with ease, so two stacked did the trick. I found my short gates at Target for $10 but needed two of them. If you are not committed to longer walks, stricter house training, and in general more time invested now, then you should start to think about a new home for him. Some new dogs can take a lot of work. You have to be willing to invest the time.

I did this about 6 months ago when DBF and his airedale along with be and my two greys rented a new house together. The boys get snarky over food, so the Airedale eats in the bedroom with the door closed while the greys eat in the kitchen area. In my opinion, it's not worth it to work on their food aggression when it's just as easy to keep them separated. Lots of long walks as a pack also help tremendously. Not only will it tire the dogs, it will help all three bond. Congrats on your upcoming nuptials. How exciting!

Grace now has three of these gross pimple-like bumps on her. They have pus and I can usually get a bit out, but not all. The vet told me I can just leave them alone as he was not concerned about them at all. If she ever has to go under for something else, I'll have him remove all three. He chalked it up to an old lady thing, Graceface is nine and a half years old.

A beautiful post for a beautiful friend.

Contact UES Brindle on grey talk. UES = Upper East Side. They also happen to be my brother and sister-in-law. They now like in Darien, CT but had William in the city for a while. He was a great city dog! The first year I had Grace I live in the heart of downtown Seattle. She was a great city dog. Fenway, not so much! It really depends on the personality of the dog.

IMO a therapy does does have to focus in an environment where they might be overstimulated. We took our test at a dog training facility where there were a ton of smells and a lot of activity. Grace has never gone to a formal obedience class and I forgot about the test until just a few days before. She passed with no problem at all. Fenway, on the other hand, is not the right dog to pass a test like this and would likely fail miserably. He would not be able to concentrate at all.

I'm lucky with both of mine. They are mostly bombproof. Fenway couldn't care less about fireworks and thunder. They both get along with dogs of all shapes and sizes. The most impressed/proud I've ever been is when Grace passed her CGC/TDI with no training. She never took a formal obedience class and I had kind of forgotten about the test until a few days before. The evening before the test I took her to the soccer field near our house with a long lead and took her through the parts of the test I could, but only once. The next day we arrived for the test and immediately upon entering the facility one of the other dogs lunged at her. She didn't react at all. She passed the test with flying colors. I was so proud of my smart, smart girl.

Grace and Febway both do it....but Fenway does it much more frequently. And with much more gusto too. It's how he earned the nickname Shakey Face.

Oh Prince. My eyes are all leaky now. GSDs are so very special, it sounds like Prince was no exception. Godspeed.

Me too. They are animals, not children.