Mindy did "sit!" Woo-hoo! I've been taking all 5 dogs and doing a round of "sit" every once in awhile in the house (with treats of course) and this evening, Mindy did it with everyone else! Baby steps....
Tonight's meal was beef heart, chicken necks, and some beef kidney. Gone in no time, along with the evening pill for Mindy (I've been putting them in ground pork and making a "ball" out of if - she inhales it without even thinking about it!). Jim took our guys out this evening to play when he got home but Maya and Mindy were content to stay in the house with me while I processed the rest of the meat I got at the meat market today. I have plenty of chicken necks and leg quarters, and the beef heart should last a few days at least. I don't like to give kibble at night because it increases water consumption and in turn, the need to pee. Back on them not going outside with him though, I think it's enough for now that we work on staying with me (and recall when necessary) and getting meat on them. I figure they'll feel like doing other things more when they're full more often. And Mindy still gets winded if we run around too much outside (if it was pneumonia that she had/has, that'll take it right out of you). That said, what with her appetite and all, I would say she's definitely feeling better. And could there be just a smidge more padding around their rib cages and backbone???? I want to think there is....
Not too much tonight. The girls are definitely feeling more at home - they didn't budge when I was using the vacuum sealer for the meat in the kitchen, or when I was pounding with the cleaver on the chicken. I will add that neither of them were fond of me going after the flies in the house with the flyswatter yesterday. Not minding as much today though. More tomorrow....
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
M & M - 14:00 on 6.30.2015
Just got back from picking up a round from the local meat market - beef heart, liver, chicken leg quarters and necks. The girls had ground, green, beef tripe and Earthborn kibble this morning, and are currently having their midday meal that is tripe, an egg, and Earthborn kibble. Going down the hatch! Appetites have been nothing but fantastic since they've been here.
A note on last night - around 2:30am, Ringo started barking for whatever reason, woke up Lola and then also the girls in the living room. I got up and took everyone out and when we got back in, the girls were none too happy about going back in their crates (they acted like they were ready for the day!). I tried to go back to bed, but they started yipping and, so I could let Jim sleep, I went out in the living room and hushed them, and then when I showed that I was sitting in one of the recliners, they both settled down and went back to bed. When Jim got up to get ready for work, I let the girls out again and after using the bathroom outside, Maya curled up on one of the dog beds in the living room and Mindy hopped up in my recliner, curled up, and promptly went back to sleep. I don't mind except that her nose is still snotty from being sick.
Hard to tell if it's Mindy's sickness or personality, but Maya seems like she needs alot more exercise and running around to satisfy her, while Mindy is content with staying fairly close by me. I'm withholding a ruling until she's much better (she is showing great signs of improvement - it's just that snot and cough!). Also tried to get the girls to hop in my car (just moving it into the garage) but neither one seemed inclined to do so. Maybe I can try to take Maya for a walk down the road this evening after the sun has let up.
Both of us (Jim and I) agree so far that even though the girls act very well together (have not witnessed any guarding of anything/no acting out towards each other at all), we think in the right environment they could both also shine apart from each other. But speaking of them together, grabbed these pictures this morning:)
A note on last night - around 2:30am, Ringo started barking for whatever reason, woke up Lola and then also the girls in the living room. I got up and took everyone out and when we got back in, the girls were none too happy about going back in their crates (they acted like they were ready for the day!). I tried to go back to bed, but they started yipping and, so I could let Jim sleep, I went out in the living room and hushed them, and then when I showed that I was sitting in one of the recliners, they both settled down and went back to bed. When Jim got up to get ready for work, I let the girls out again and after using the bathroom outside, Maya curled up on one of the dog beds in the living room and Mindy hopped up in my recliner, curled up, and promptly went back to sleep. I don't mind except that her nose is still snotty from being sick.
Hard to tell if it's Mindy's sickness or personality, but Maya seems like she needs alot more exercise and running around to satisfy her, while Mindy is content with staying fairly close by me. I'm withholding a ruling until she's much better (she is showing great signs of improvement - it's just that snot and cough!). Also tried to get the girls to hop in my car (just moving it into the garage) but neither one seemed inclined to do so. Maybe I can try to take Maya for a walk down the road this evening after the sun has let up.
Both of us (Jim and I) agree so far that even though the girls act very well together (have not witnessed any guarding of anything/no acting out towards each other at all), we think in the right environment they could both also shine apart from each other. But speaking of them together, grabbed these pictures this morning:)
M & M - evening 6.29.2015
- Got the vacuum cleaner out this afternoon - noone particularly enjoyed me using it (besides Ringo but that's the heeler in him) but the only one that ran away was our own Lola.
- Hubby used the blender this morning and noone lifted a brow.
- Got a package in the mail today with 2 adoption packs (with collars and leashes for the girls-woohoo!). Waiting on package with microchips.
- Mindy took her evening pill in some more of the ground pork. Another day of pills down....
- Both girls snarfed up their evening meal of wings and ground turkey again. Adding some salmon oil to a few meals each day too.
- Stools still look good. Both girls make the groaning noises when they poop. Our male Weim did this - I could never tell if this meant anything or not.
- They're both definitely feeling more comfy in the house AND with the other dogs. Letting me walk around now without even lifting a head sometimes. Getting comfy with our guys (Lola and Mindy shown below) - Mindy was the one that came over to where Lola was already on the dog bed, and Mindy just curled up next to her.
- I took them out to the chicken coop today - Mindy seems more interested than Maya.
- A little more interest being taken in the cats. Our cats don't really dart from dogs, although they will egg them on and run in front of them on purpose. Both girls gave chase a few times (along with our pups). I called everyone off and everyone stopped what they were doing and came to me.
- Took some tennis balls and a chuck it frisbee outside tonight - when I raised my arm to throw either, Maya cowered. I reassured her each time I threw something.
- Been working on "sit" with everyone - Maya gets it, Mindy hasn't done it yet. Working on this more so than name recall (in case they don't get to keep these names).
Monday, June 29, 2015
Maya & Mindy days 2&3
Almost 48 hours into having these girls with us. Picking up where I left off yesterday, I tried feeding the girls in separate rooms for their noon meal (worked okay). I'm not sure how long it had been since our last time outside, but I went ahead and fed the girls and they readily ate (Mindy would still not take the pills she needed though-hadn't mentioned that from breakfast on Sunday morning). After she was done, Mindy ran to the front door, looked at me, and then peed right there. I think she really tried to get outside and I should have taken them out prior to feeding them. She was still drinking more water than Maya and I'm thinking maybe her medications are doing this? I was also considering urinary tract infection? Neither accidents had strong urine odors - continuing to observe....
I had to get the lawn cut yesterday - I put the girls in their crates, my pups in their crates (Gracie has never been or needed crated) and ran to town to get gas (gone about 30 minutes). Back home and let everyone out, we walked around the yard a bit, then I shuffled everyone back inside and crated them all again. I heard everyone stike up quite the unhappy chant on my way to the mower but I believe they stopped soon after (at least they had stopped when I was about 45 minutes into mowing - I had to stop and make a phone call and didn't hear anyone when I cut the mower off). Mowing took me about 2-2.5 hours - done, back inside, everyone fine, let them out and run around a bit. Tried meds again on Minday-nada. She was having none of it (it was the Baytril she was dismissing the most). I tried to hide those things (not tiny) in everything I could find. Pill pockets, egg, butter, coconut oil, cheese. We don't currently have a pill pusher to be able to give dogs meds that way. After their dinner last night, my husband and I talked about it and decided we would see if she would let us coerce her or manually open her mouth to get the pills in and get her to swallow. He took her in the front room (everyone else stayed in the house out of the way) and I listened to him talk so sweetly to her and managed to get her to take all of her meds. Srsly. I couldn't get her to do it and he did. I think she must have been sensing the vibe from me the whole time that I was trying to get her to do something she didn't want to do. And he came at it as something that just needed done. One day down, 5 more to go of those things.
Along with the hubs giving Mindy her meds last night, the girls also showed more interest in following him around the house a bit and with him in the house, was staying put more often when I moved around.When I came out of the bathroom after taking my shower last night, I opened the bathroom door and I briefly saw something jump out of my recliner in the living room (that was Maya!). Our pup Ringo does that too and I'm pretty sure he was the one that told her it was okay to get up there. At least she had the decency to hop down when she heard me coming (I'm waiting for the day when she doesn't hop down and just gives me the look like "what's up?"). Both girls have tried to get on my lap when I'm sitting in my chair - I gently push them away (sometimes have to do this multiple times before they quit trying). I really wouldn't mind but Mindy is still blowing some snot and I feel bad letting Maya do it and not Mindy:) They both curl up so small when they lay on the floor, but they've also started taking advantage of the multiple dog beds in our house. And it's starting to be a game where if someone gets up off a dog bed, another pup is ready to swoop in and take it. Everyone is being good about it (no growling).
Okay, I'm sucking about being more organized about this. Just remembered that I put the girls in their crates WHILE I was prepping their evening meal and then fed them in there too. Perfect. Worked like a charm (used it again this morning - no problem). Gives me space to feed my own guys in the front room like usual too. And the girls had more chicken wings and ground turkey last night, and had ground pork (bones, organs, meat) this morning (about 11oz each). They inhaled it. And don't let me forget to mention that I was able to slip all of Mindy's meds in a spoonful of that pork and she didn't bat an eye and sucked that down (small victories!).
Remembered another thing (maybe I should do more like 3 posts/day?) - I was on the phone with my mom yesterday evening, talking about ways to get Mindy to take her meds. Both girls were laying in front of me on the floor, with Ringo at my feet. All of a sudden, he jumped right in the middle of Mindy to snap at a fly (he is very offended by those things) - Mindy jumped up barking and coming after him to snap/yell at him for jumping in the middle of her. This action VERY much reminded me of our Gracie (same disposition) and Ringo was a good pup and looked abashed (after barking back at her initially). They both settled down again and all was well - nothing held against the other for long.
What else - I think the girls are getting more relaxed here - spreading out more around the house, letting me move around more without them needing to get up and see what I'm doing. They're getting pushier about wanting to be close (typical Weim) - I laid back down this morning after everyone was fed and Lola and Ringo were up on the bed with me already. I caved and let Maya up there too and she laid right down like everyone else and was a good little bedmate. I think Mindy would do the same (I know, it's the snot thing - I just don't want to let her up on the bed yet. Very possible I'll cave before too long though..). Not a very good picture but I got the 3 of them with me in bed this morning.......
And the girls are venturing a bit more outside with our pups to encourage them. (see video)
I had to get the lawn cut yesterday - I put the girls in their crates, my pups in their crates (Gracie has never been or needed crated) and ran to town to get gas (gone about 30 minutes). Back home and let everyone out, we walked around the yard a bit, then I shuffled everyone back inside and crated them all again. I heard everyone stike up quite the unhappy chant on my way to the mower but I believe they stopped soon after (at least they had stopped when I was about 45 minutes into mowing - I had to stop and make a phone call and didn't hear anyone when I cut the mower off). Mowing took me about 2-2.5 hours - done, back inside, everyone fine, let them out and run around a bit. Tried meds again on Minday-nada. She was having none of it (it was the Baytril she was dismissing the most). I tried to hide those things (not tiny) in everything I could find. Pill pockets, egg, butter, coconut oil, cheese. We don't currently have a pill pusher to be able to give dogs meds that way. After their dinner last night, my husband and I talked about it and decided we would see if she would let us coerce her or manually open her mouth to get the pills in and get her to swallow. He took her in the front room (everyone else stayed in the house out of the way) and I listened to him talk so sweetly to her and managed to get her to take all of her meds. Srsly. I couldn't get her to do it and he did. I think she must have been sensing the vibe from me the whole time that I was trying to get her to do something she didn't want to do. And he came at it as something that just needed done. One day down, 5 more to go of those things.
Along with the hubs giving Mindy her meds last night, the girls also showed more interest in following him around the house a bit and with him in the house, was staying put more often when I moved around.When I came out of the bathroom after taking my shower last night, I opened the bathroom door and I briefly saw something jump out of my recliner in the living room (that was Maya!). Our pup Ringo does that too and I'm pretty sure he was the one that told her it was okay to get up there. At least she had the decency to hop down when she heard me coming (I'm waiting for the day when she doesn't hop down and just gives me the look like "what's up?"). Both girls have tried to get on my lap when I'm sitting in my chair - I gently push them away (sometimes have to do this multiple times before they quit trying). I really wouldn't mind but Mindy is still blowing some snot and I feel bad letting Maya do it and not Mindy:) They both curl up so small when they lay on the floor, but they've also started taking advantage of the multiple dog beds in our house. And it's starting to be a game where if someone gets up off a dog bed, another pup is ready to swoop in and take it. Everyone is being good about it (no growling).
Okay, I'm sucking about being more organized about this. Just remembered that I put the girls in their crates WHILE I was prepping their evening meal and then fed them in there too. Perfect. Worked like a charm (used it again this morning - no problem). Gives me space to feed my own guys in the front room like usual too. And the girls had more chicken wings and ground turkey last night, and had ground pork (bones, organs, meat) this morning (about 11oz each). They inhaled it. And don't let me forget to mention that I was able to slip all of Mindy's meds in a spoonful of that pork and she didn't bat an eye and sucked that down (small victories!).
Remembered another thing (maybe I should do more like 3 posts/day?) - I was on the phone with my mom yesterday evening, talking about ways to get Mindy to take her meds. Both girls were laying in front of me on the floor, with Ringo at my feet. All of a sudden, he jumped right in the middle of Mindy to snap at a fly (he is very offended by those things) - Mindy jumped up barking and coming after him to snap/yell at him for jumping in the middle of her. This action VERY much reminded me of our Gracie (same disposition) and Ringo was a good pup and looked abashed (after barking back at her initially). They both settled down again and all was well - nothing held against the other for long.
What else - I think the girls are getting more relaxed here - spreading out more around the house, letting me move around more without them needing to get up and see what I'm doing. They're getting pushier about wanting to be close (typical Weim) - I laid back down this morning after everyone was fed and Lola and Ringo were up on the bed with me already. I caved and let Maya up there too and she laid right down like everyone else and was a good little bedmate. I think Mindy would do the same (I know, it's the snot thing - I just don't want to let her up on the bed yet. Very possible I'll cave before too long though..). Not a very good picture but I got the 3 of them with me in bed this morning.......
And the girls are venturing a bit more outside with our pups to encourage them. (see video)
Maya is running in front with Lola - Mindy hung back initially but then ran out to see what they were up to. Mindy came right back when I called for her and Lola and Maya took a bit longer (they were in the middle of a sniff) but came also. Our own pups recall continues to get better as they get a little older.
Crap, did I make note that Maya got her heartworm pill yesterday (6.28.2015)? She did. Took it in a pill pocket.
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Maya & Mindy Day 1&2
Maya & Mindy were brought to us on 6.27.2015 around 2pm. Both girls are still very underweight and Mindy is still dealing with some kind of infection (cough, snot, sneezing, wheezing). Found a few dead ticks on Mindy (removed them - had both been treated with Advantix on 6.5.2015 at Humane Society). Mindy smelled like urine so I gave her the best bath I could outside with the hose, shampoo, and some towels (much better now but could still use a good scrubbing-she was NOT fond of the bathing method and I didn't want to force her too much). Initial disposition shows they're both very loving to humans, growls a little at my pups when they push up on them (they're pups and very sociable and just want to play), noticed the cats and watched them but otherwise pays more attention to where the humans are. Other things to mention up front is that they've been tested heartworm negative, I already mentioned the flea/tick meds given (but will need to again soon and I'll need to get some), they were sent with heartworm pills but hadn't been given them yet b/c 1)previous foster hoped they could be on same schedule of pills and 2)hadn't given them yet due to Mindy still being so poorly. Also, no microchips in either girl - will need those and I do NOT have those on hand to give.
This picture was taken of the girls on our deck yesterday afternoon (Maya is the one smiling so big!). It was a gorgeous day outside (and seems to be similar today-must go outside!) and since they didn't seem to want to leave my side, I took their leashes off and they've stuck by me. If I stay in one place, Maya seems more inclined to start sniffing around a little (away from me), but I'm thinking the only reason Mindy isn't as much is due to her still feeling yucky. If I call them, they readily come to me. Both girls have an appetite (great sign for Mindy in particular) and readily ate for me last night. I put down 2 bowls and they each stuck their heads in their own, but then proceeded to share (both heads in one bowl at a time) and neither seemed to mind. Biggest problem with this right now is that Maya feels better and therefore gets more down before Mindy has a chance. They also both snarfed down treats (I had dehydrated chicken liver treats) I offered them (and took them with a very soft mouth).
If Mindy is up walking around with us, she's coughing and seems like she'd rather be resting (sometimes productive coughs, mostly just a "whoofing" like there's alot of congestion). If she lays down, she can actually get some rest without coughing (although her breathing sounds a little heavy, think it's due to the congestion but it doesn't sound too labored). She'll really only stay laying down if I stay put in the same room and so I've tried to do that for her as much as possible. Her and Maya laid on the deck last night with the rest of our pack while my husband and I sat in deck chairs listening to music and enjoying the nice weather. Very peaceful:) They laid in the living room with our crew when we took it inside and watched some tv too. We have 2 big crates for them and I provided them a few blankets in each one to snuggle in last night - both girls were willing to go in the crates and stay there for me without issue. They laid down in no time and slept. Our bedroom isn't 20 feet away from where they're at in the living room and our pups stay with us in there with a regular sized baby gate at the door to keep everyone in one place. (Speaking of baby gates, Maya accepted them for the first few hours and then decided they were easily scaled, so would need a much higher one than the regular ones you find at Wal-Mart. Mindy stays behind them but we'll see how she does when she's feeling better.) Back to last night, I thought I heard rustlings in a crate at some point, but they died down soon after so I didn't investigate. My pups needed out around 3am and since we walk right past the girls in the living room, we took them out too. Everyone at least peed and came back in and went right back to bed/sleep until about 7am this morning. I found where Mindy had an accident in her crate last night (prolly the rustlings I heard) that was easily cleaned up. I've noticed that 1) Maya practically hikes her leg to pee on some things....not too weird since my female pug did this on certain things also, 2) Mindy drinks more water than Maya (and definitely more than my pack, but they're all on raw), 3) both have pooped a few times since they've been here - both stools looked okay (but initially was wondering if they might have worms that are preventing them from putting on weight?). Will continue to observe.
I already mentioned before but these girls need MEAT on their bones. I gave them some cut up chicken wings this morning and they seemed to do well chewing each piece before swallowing (and took them from me very nicely and without wondering what it was). My thoughts are that I'm going to work more chicken (leg quarters, wings) into their diet (leaving the skin on), along with beef heart and beef kidney/liver. I'm picking up cases of each from a local market on Tuesday so I should have plenty. I don't know how fast a dog in this condition should put on weight? I don't want to give them so much at a time they get sick or bloat and so I'm going to try at least 3 smaller meals/day and work their amount up gradually.
I got the toy box down for them this morning - Mindy was the first one to pull something out, but then they don't really do anything with them. My heeler pup has tried to engage Maya in play but she's acting like she doesn't know what he's trying to do. Mindy reminds us of our own Weim, Gracie, in that when our pups start to romp and stomp, she'll run at them barking (seems like she's policing them and telling them to stop that tom-foolery:)
I'll try and get more organized in my reports for them (biggest things being health, eating, bathroom breaks for now). They're sleeping right now since I've been sitting at my computer this whole time....
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