Jerilyn

Lila gets too hot if she's all snuggled up in her bed, even when it is cool in the house. If I feel her belly it's HOT.

Lila will occasionally sleep in my bedroom at night, but she prefers the living room - always has. It's just what she prefers. Sounds like Fusion is settling in.

I have one of these and it has held up very well. http://www.squishyfacestudio.com/flirt-pole-v2/

Oh, that company is here in Green Bay.

I’m not very good at judging Lila’s weight by looking – more muscle definition when she’s more active, more fur in the winter, etc. I occasionally have phases when I think she looks too fat or too skinny. I just run her over to the vet and get her on the scale. And she’s always within a pound of her standard weight.

I’m so glad to see that Taylor is doing so well!

Maybe she’s hungrier from the additional activity at the kennel, revved up her metabolism or something.

The push/pull/drag approach was too much for me and Lila so I let her gain confidence on some really easy stairs and worked up to more intimidating ones. I took her to a local college and practiced going up and down the couple steps into buildings, then some longer staircases of big, wide, solid steps. All of those were easy for her and once she figured out that her legs really could do that, she was OK on steeper, narrower stairs. It doesn’t have to be a stressful process. Good luck!

We're big fans of Buddy Biscuits, Zuke's chewy treats, and Fruitables (they smell wonderful!).

Pretty girl! Congratulations to all of you!

I hope his recovery continues to be easy and that you have lots of good times together yet to come.

I just caught up on reading everything you've been through. I'm so glad things are looking up! I hope Charlie's recovery is easy and permanent.

Assuming you’re using a collar, not a harness – make sure the collar is up high on his neck, right behind his ears. That should give you some more “steering” ability.

Do you have a humidifier?

Now is not the time to start training, but I’ve found that putting going potty on cue helps in these scenarios. Lila knows “go pee” and “go poop”. Obviously I can’t make her go when she doesn’t have to, but if she hasn’t peed hours and she’s hesitant to go out in the cold or rain telling her “go pee” seems to help her understand what’s expected of her. Hang in there!

Keeping you both in my thoughts.

Be willing to be flexible to accommodate what your dog is comfortable with. There is no way Lila would let me do her nails if she was standing up, but she relaxes when she’s laying down. She sees me coming with the dremel and bag of mini marshmallow and she gets out of bed and lays flat out on the floor. When we started she got a marshmallow after each toe, now it’s after each foot. Watch out for your own nails, hair, blankets, rugs, etc getting caught up in the dremel.

In the summer when there are random fireworks all the time my Lila often refuses to go out for last call before bed. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will get her off her bed. What I've found is the harder I try to get her up, the more stubborn she becomes. Fortunately I'm home and the worst consequence is being woken up in the middle of the night to take her out. It's a tricky balance between letting a new dog settle in and getting them to listen to you. It's early days for you, so I think if you can get him out for potties but no walk, for now that's OK. It's very likely that one day he will decide he would like a longer walk in the morning. Hang in there, you're doing a good job.

My feed store still does the buy 12 bags of Fromm get one free. Sign up on Fromm's website too, they occassionally send coupons.

There are Fromm formulas with more calories. Looks like Pork & Peas has the most. http://frommfamily.com/products/four-star/dog/dry/#pork-and-peas-recipe

Sounds like normal new houndie stuff and you’re handling it well. Their signs that they need to go out can be very subtle. In the early days with my Lila, if she was standing up she needed to go out.

Oh, poor Joe! I hope he's on the mend and is home with you soon.

No advice, but that's a very nice looking pack you've got there!

I have noticed that Lila does not used her paws as much as other dogs. She uses them to hold a chew and she’s got the paw-whap or wave for more petting down to a fine art, but that’s about all. She does not seem to know that she can use her paws to pull something closer to her or to move an object. She does however, like to “hold hands” and will reach out and put a paw on me if I’m nearby.