Challenges and Victories January 8, 2012

Juliet is coming up on her two-month anniversary with us, and while we’ve made marked progress with her, she’s still far from settled.

First, my new nickname is “The Pee Whisperer.” LOL! Yes, hubby is having a hard time getting her to go at times. But when I take her out–BOOM–within 30 seconds she’s in full squat. My hubby has given me unmentionable hand signals when this happens. He’s just jealous.

However, Juliet is still not housebroken, and we had another couple of bouts of diarrhea since we had her treated for Giardia. The first recurrence made us run back to the vet. He ran a full course of blood tests and a Giardia culture. ALL of it came back negative. $250 and the cure was another course of antibiotics and a bland diet. The diarrhea recurred again last week, and this time, we just went back to the bland diet and she seems to be on the mend. We’re guessing that she might have a food intolerance, so we’re going to slowly move her back to a regular diet and see its impact. After that, we’ll start adding back treats one at a time to determine if any one of the items we’ve been giving her have been causing the issues. We’re also not going to be giving her table food at all to ensure that we’re not causing the issues.

We also sense that part of her food issues might be emotional upset. The first recurrence was right after our big holiday party. She had people coming up to the bedroom to peer at her all night long, and it was hard on her. The second upset was right after the New Year–we went up to visit friends in Maine, and it was her first road trip. Perhaps events are causing her distress, or even the change in diet during these events (our friend gave her tons of treats…).

On the more positive side, Juliet seems to be learning that this is home and we are HER people. She was in the crate today as we were taking down the remaining holiday decorations. We crated her to ensure that she didn’t get underfoot while we were running around–or that she didn’t leave a “present” when we weren’t watching. She whined and pawed at the crate door…she could see us in the next room, but she couldn’t be with us! She also exhibited the same behavior last night when we crated her during our meal when we were visiting my father-in-law. She’s part of our pack and she wants to be with us…YAY!

Jasmine continues to blossom. She’s a happy, waggy-tailed darling these days. No more sad eyes and scaredy-dog looks. Next to Juliet, she’s the happy, NORMAL dog. It’s so good to see her make progress, and I’m hoping for the same with Juliet someday. I know it will take time…I’m just impatient to see her happy and waggy. Good dog!

Wanna Play? December 4, 2011

Jasmine and I have a morning routine. Each morning, I take a shower and get dressed. After I get dressed, it’s wrassle time. I call Jasmine over to “wrassle wrassle” and she comes bouncing over with a waggy tail. Sometimes we play (wrestling, of course), and sometimes we just snuggle and pet.

Since Juliet came on the scene, Jasmine has been much less playful and hasn’t opted to wraassle if Juliet was in the room. Today, Jasmine, Juliet and I were rolling around on the floor, and Jasmine began getting very frisky. She started to engage with Juliet instead of me, and she finally jumped up and did a play bow trying to get Juliet to play.

My Jasmine. The dog that isn’t socialized. The dog that doesn’t play very often. My sweet girl was trying to get another dog to play. Juliet wasn’t in the mood, but regardless, I saw a side of Jasmine that I’ve only seen once before–when we went and visited her foster home. Jasmine wanted to play and she wanted to play with another dog.

These little victories make me feel like tap dancing around the room. I see so many positive changes in Jasmine since Juliet came, and I can’t wait to see her grow and change as she gets more socialized with her new sibling.

Giardia, Abscess and Poop–Oh My! December 2, 2011

Well, it’s been an exciting three weeks with little miss Juliet. Not all of it smooth, but we’re coping.

First, Juliet came to us with Giardia–an intestinal parasite. That in itself isn’t that rough–the bug is treatable with some de-worming medication and antibiotics. But, she had a scathing bout of diarrhea as a result both of the Giardia and potentially from the stress of being kenneled (we had to go away for the weekend right after we got her). Of course, she had to go in the middle of the night, and like a smart dog, she “aimed” outside of her crate and nailed the bedroom carpet. Let me tell you, steam cleaning that stain…beyond nasty. And she gave the Giardia to Jasmine.

We put both dogs on the meds, and Jasmine got worse. She was getting very sluggish and was running a temp, so we took her to the vet. While on the table at the vet’s office, an abscess (which we missed) popped and she gushed all over the table. Ew. But it was the source of her temp and issues (she had a particularly nasty infection–far worse than we’d seen before), and we were able to get it treated. She was also placed on a bland diet to help calm her tummy. Rice is NOT her favorite food, but being the trooper that she is… she tolerates it as long as it’s accompanied by boiled chicken!

Now the third issue in the new dog tri-fecta is house-training Juliet. Up to yesterday, the only place she would poop was…in the house. We’d take her outside, spend hours going in and out, but as soon as she was off-leash in the house–BOOM. She started by stealth-pooping as she was running down the hall, but became brazen about it and began just squatting right in front of us! We’d try to take her out and get her to go outside when we caught her in the act, but we weren’t able to get her to go any more to mark the behavior. So yesterday, I spent five hours going outside with her, taking her back in and crating, back out, etc. I finally took her on a long walk, and she finally pooped. Of course, we still haven’t been able to get her to go in the yard. We’re following some advice and getting an outdoor wire pen to put her in to give her some off-leash experience “going” in the yard. We’ve been successfully getting her to pee outside in the yard, but not poop.

So I’ve stocked up on Nature’s Miracle and we’re trying positive reinforcement (praise and treats, marking actions with her go words) just like we did with Jasmine. But I have a feeling this stubborn little gal is going to be a challenge!

A Second Dachshund—We Finally Did It! November 27, 2011

 

Meet Juliet, a 6-year-old long-hair mini Dachshund, and the newest member of our family!

Yes, we finally did it. After YEARS of debating the subject, we finally brought another dachshund into our home! Juliet came from Wooffun, a local rescueorganization. She is a long-haired miniature dachshund, black & tan dapple piebald (say that five times fast!). She was brought up to New Hampshire from a backyard breeder in South Carolina–one of 18 dogs in the breeder’s stock. He became too old to continue managing his dogs, so he reached out to a local vet to find homes for his dogs.

While Juliet isn’t a puppy mill rescue, her demeanor, lack of training, etc. shows me that she wasn’t a pet. She isn’t housebroken. She is pretty skittish and shy. But she IS socialized to other dogs and familiar people, and she does love a warm lap. Points for her.

Juliet came up with two other dogs–Twix and Misty. When we met her at the foster home, she was socialized to these dogs and comfortable in a pack environment. We took Jasmine to meet Juliet, and it was clear that both dogs were submissive, gentle and relatively low-energy. It was a good match.

We brought Juliet home that night, and we found Jasmine suspicious, but tolerant. The picture on the right shows Jasmine giving us the “Save Me” look. Okay, it’s going to be an adjustment!

 

 

Juliet is very skittish. She is very afraid of loud noises. She runs incessantly until she finally runs out of steam and then settles down. However, if she finds a lap, she’s calm. And we found out that she’s a jumper. She jumps all over the furniture. We never let Jasmine jump, but Juliet is a pro. Okay.

She has a lot of parallels to Jasmine when she first came to us. She’s a nervous nellie when it comes to eating. She isn’t food oriented. She’s tremendously skittish. She’s definitely not housebroken.

But she has a lot of traits that make me feel that she’ll come along faster than Jasmine. She is okay with laps and petting (she jumps up on our laps!). She likes rawhide bones (only when we’re not around). She comes close to us without “corralling.”

But, how is Jasmine doing? Absolutely fabulous!! We found the RIGHT dog to bring into our home. Jasmine is blossoming. Competition is bringing her out of her shell. If Juliet is getting scratchies, Jasmine will come over to hubby and demand the same. She’s seeking him out for lap time. She even has learned manners in the short time Juliet has been in the house and doesn’t tear after Juliet’s food after she’s snarfed her own!

Such progress in just a few weeks! We’re so happy to have Juliet in our new home. And, of course, this blog will probably be more active now that we have so many more stories to tell. I already have a few in the queue waiting to be told.

Ooof September 27, 2011

That’s the sound I made this morning as Jasmine pounced on my stomach. Jasmine, the ultimate bed hog and snooze button killer, wanted to go outside. And she wasn’t going to take “no” for an answer.

6 a.m. comes way too early, and if I move at all after 5 a.m. or so, Jasmine immediately springs into action. She goes from coma to bouncy little bunny in 2 seconds flat. If I move or roll over, she springs out of a deep sleep and bounds to the foot of the bed. She then bounds back to me and back to the end of the bed in a frenzy of excitement to greet the morning. I pat the warm, empty space beside me to try to entice her to come back. She bounds back. She then decides if she wants to burrow back under her blankets.

If burrowing is an option, she certainly doesn’t do it quietly. The blankets go awry. There’s a lot of grunting, turning, smooshing, throwing, circling and more grunting. She might plop down and fall back into a deep snore, or she might stop, continue the blanket dance and then abandon it altogether.

So, there’s about a 50/50 chance that I’ll get back to sleep. And of course, the minute I do, the alarm goes off. And we go through this morning ritual again.

Is there a snooze button on a dog? Um, no.

Go Straight to Dessert July 28, 2011

We just passed the four-year mark with Jasmine. I still marvel at the journey we’ve had with her. As I read back on our first days, I think about the happiness I feel when I see that happy little dog dancing at my feet when I come home from work. Or the little bundle of warmth that snuggles up to me in the middle of the night and sighs a happy sigh.

And I think of the dog who didn’t know what treats were. The dog that was not motivated by food. At all. And I laugh.

Jasmine’s evening routine is very centered around food. That’s because she’s a total “food hound.” I come home (waggy waggy waggy) and after I put down my things, I fix Jasmine’s dinner. I put it down, and she gobbles it up as I’m fixing our evening meal. I then ask her the long-awaited question, “Have you been a good girl?” The crowd (okay, Jasmine) goes wild! Leaps of joy, excessive wagging of the tail and a prancing pony emerge. Of course, it’s time for a treat. These days, that treat entails a piece of doggie chicken jerky. I hand her a treat and she goes skittering to the family room to munch on her prize. Hubby and I munch on our meals.

Jasmine, of course, is done much faster than we are. She then waits for the next event of the evening–Peanut butter time!

Now, Jasmine has recently decided that she wants to skip dinner and go straight to the treats. She has been practically ignoring most of her dinner and going straight for the “aren’t you forgetting something” stare. And then a wooft. And a stare. And a spy hop. Oh the agony I put her through!

So last night, I broke part of her jerky treat into little bits and mixed it in her food. HA! FOOLED YOU!

That was yesterday. I wonder what tonight will hold?

Okay. I’m a sucker. I admit it. But with a face like this…who could resist?

A Clean Bill of Health July 23, 2011

Jasmine went in for her annual vet checkup yesterday. Hubby took her over to the clinic (which just so happens to be across the highway from our house) to get poked, prodded and jabbed.

Apparently, Jasmine has become a braver soul. She tolerated other dogs in the waiting room. The vet noted that she was significantly less freaked out during this visit than a prior checkup. Yay Jasmine!

She got all of her shots (who knew there were so many of them?), a blood test, a fecal test (ick), and was weighed in. Unfortunately, Jasmine is now up over 12 pounds. While the vet said that she was still within a normal weight range, I think a little less kibble (or treats) might be in order!

However, Jasmine is going to need to have her teeth cleaned. That means she has to be put under anesthesia. I’m not thrilled about this.

And her nails are super long. I can’t seem to clip her nails without her squirming (and I’d hate to cause her harm or pain). Even though the vet clipped them, they’re still long. I’m thinking about having the vet clip her nails very short when she’s under for the cleaning to help us get a head-start on keeping them short.

Does anyone have any words of advice on how I can get a dog who hates having her paws handled to submit and stay still for nail clippings?

Barky Barky July 8, 2011

Life has a way of finding time for personal blogging difficult. Which would I rather do–sleep or blog? Play with the dog or write about playing with the dog?

Jasmine is wonderful. She is healthy, bouncy and happy. In fact, she has been increasingly…um…insistent about her routines.

Her evening routine is centered around food. I come home. I feed her. She scarfs up dinner. I sit and eat with Hubby. She stares at me. And stares. Not for my food. Nope. She stares because it’s “Have you been a good girl?” time…complete with treat. If I ignore her, a small ‘wooft’ is in order. If I ignore her long enough, a ‘wooft + sit-hop’ ensues. And if that doesn’t work, an all-out bark is in order.

Aside: Have you ever seen a sit-hop? It’s so darn cute. Jasmine hops with her butt still solid on the ground. She uses her front legs to lift her front-side off the ground, complete with cute floppy ears. It seems to make the ‘wooft’ go further. It’s not sitting up. She pops up and down. Oh, it’s hard to ignore, but I try.

If we get down to bark mode, I continue to ignore her until she’s calm and quiet. Then I ask her to lie down. THEN she gets her “Have you been a good girl?” treat. I DO have SOME discipline. Ahem. (Yeah, and if you believe that one…)

Then there’s PB time. After dinner, it’s Jasmine’s time to sit on Hubby’s lap and get a small bit of peanut butter. She gets up on my lap and starts wagging madly at Hubby. She’s a total flirt until she gets what she wants! She stares longingly at him, wags her tail, looks her cutest and entices him to invite her onto his lap. She then waits patiently for her prize, licking her lips. If she’s not on my lap, she sits on the floor with the Vulcan Mind Meld look on her face…”He will understand what I want…” and sometimes goes into wooft-bark mode.

It’s great that she’s communicating, but I think I’ve created a bark monster.

Broccoli? Seriously? March 9, 2011

Once again, I’m sorry for the long lag between posts. Life has been totally crazy.

Jasmine is doing really well. Last week, I left on a business trip–the longest one I’ve had in a very long time. Jasmine was her usual obstinate self. She refused to eat at first, but hubby finally coaxed her into eating her meals. She also refused to “do her business” for over 24 hours. I just wonder if it’s her way of trying to exert some dominance, or if she just likes to torture my poor, misunderstood husband…

When I returned home, she was overjoyed. Hubby brought her to the airport when he picked me up, and there she was…that little face was staring out the window, ears perked. There was whining. Lots of whining. And there was a waggy tail, kisses, more waggy tail, more kisses. I really wish Jasmine would give hubby the same love and affection she does to me. He’s so kind to her.

Okay, so that’s what’s happening. What does that have to do with broccoli? Absolutely nothing. Except tonight, hubby was out of town at a conference. Jasmine and I had a night alone. She was her usual cute self. I was cooking dinner (a nice pot of soup on a cold cold night), and I was steaming some frozen veggies to put into the soup. A piece of FROZEN broccoli fell off the counter and dropped onto the floor. Jasmine, food hound, pounced on it like it was chicken. And ate it like it was…chicken!

Broccoli Jasmine? Seriously?

Hence, the title.

Pet-Friendly Office January 17, 2011

I know. It’s been a little while. I’m sorry.

Jasmine is fine. She’s wonderful, in fact. Every day, she seems to enjoy life a little bit more. And I revel in each step forward she takes.

Hubby was out of town all of last week. Jasmine is usually home all day with him. I take her out in the morning and he takes her out mid-afternoon for her bathroom breaks. Other than that, well, she’s a lump. She sleeps all day. I decided that his trip would be a wonderful way to introduce the concept of a pet-friendly office to my company. So I got permission to bring Jasmine into the office with me.

Jasmine is a remarkable dog. She’s quiet. I mean REAL quiet. I brought her into the office, and she hid behind my legs and peeked at my co-workers. She then trotted into her crate where she remained until her 2pm break. The CEO of the company, who is not a big dog lover, didn’t even realize that she was in the office until she sat up and did an ear flap around 1:30. I fed her little treats every few hours, and she was comfortably situated in her crate under my desk and right next to me.

While it was not the usual snooze fest for her, she was relaxed and easy the entire day. And when the day came to a close and it was “time for rides” to go home, she did her usual happy dance.

So I think that Jasmine will not be an unwelcome visitor when need be. And maybe, just maybe, I can convince my company that she could be a great office mascot.

Jasmine the JitterDog. Given her penchant for shivering, it’s wholly appropriate.