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New Doggies!

By
05
Apr 2010

Friday evening was a bit crazy. Gregg and I drove to Vancouver to Yuana’s house to help with all the new arrivals. 19 dogs! It was smelly and wet. The wind and rain made everything worse. All the dogs were soaked and dirty. One at a time they all got washed and put into clean crates. Some had to get nails trimmed too. The 5 puppies were first. All washed and then moved upstairs into a bedroom. Then all the others got bathed.

New Rescue Arrivals 02

This little guy was added to the dogs at the last minute.We were all shocked at how tiny he is. Only weighing about 13oz. He will see the vet this week to find out if he is healthy or if there is a reason for his small size. It’s also possible that he might have some sight problems.

All the new arrivals will get micro-chipped, shots, dewormed and spayed or neutered. Then go into foster care till someone adopts them. During the time that they are in foster care they will get housebroken if they need. It also gives us a chance to judge the dog’s temperament.


New Rescue Arrivals 08


New Rescue Arrivals 08 by The Gordons

New Rescue Arrivals 14 New Rescue Arrivals 18 New Rescue Arrivals 25 New Rescue Arrivals 28 New Rescue Arrivals 30New Rescue Arrivals 36New Rescue Arrivals 35New Rescue Arrivals 32


Click on the pics and it will take you to our flickr page. If you are interested in any of these dogs go here DMS So that you can fill out an application for the dog you want.

Category: Adoptable Dogs  Leave a Comment

Skeeter – Adopted!

By
21
Mar 2010

Yup! We have added a new member to our family. We have decided to keep Skeeter. Originally we were only going to foster him till we found a good home for him. The last 2 weeks we have had to go thru a lot with him. The pills he has been on have made him loose control of his bladder. He pee’s without even realizing he is doing it. At least we havent had poop accidents. He let’s us know when he needs to go out for that business.

I honestly didnt think I would get attached to the little guy. I wanted a different breed. But he is so good. So quiet and well behaved. He loves to cuddle and doesnt care if he is in the middle of playing. He will stop and cuddle with you. He is great in the car. Sits in the back seat and goes to sleep. I think in time he will grow into a great dog. He is well on his way already. The best part about him is that he is happy. Just wants to please you and tries so hard to be good.

Gregg and I have talked it over and we will be fostering, but only after we have Skeeter completely trained. I think it would be a lot easier to train one dog at a time. Plus once he is trained he can help with the next foster. Dogs do tend to follow others. Also we need to give the cats a bit more time before another dog comes to live here.

Since Skeeter arrived he has come a long way. The first week he was so submissive. He would run away when we tried to approach him or put his leash on. Rolling on to his back and showing his belly. We had to really hold on to him when picking him up, otherwise he would try to jump. He didnt know how to walk on a leash, he was all over the place and was always pulling. He really didnt have any idea what he should do. He didnt know what cats were. He had a huge fear of bath time. And the area around his eyes were irritated and pink and someone has cut his hair short.

Now 2 months later he is looking healthy. His hair is growing back and we are starting to wonder how long it really will be. His eyes have cleared up do to the meds he is on. Bath time is still scary, but we are getting better with it. He has learned that “leave it” means walk away from the cats and anything else he shouldnt be near.  Walking on a leash has gotten so much better that he only needs his harness when we do long walks, otherwise he can just go with his collar. Picking him up, he now settles in my arms and knows that he is safe. He still backs up when you try to hook his leash on, but only a few steps then sits down. No more rolling and showing the belly.

He has learned to sit, lay down, shake a paw and do a high 5. We are still working on his stay and come. These seem to be the hardest for him. We think he might have been abused when he was told to come in the past. Might have to try a different word.

Yeah, he is really a great little dog. All we need to do is find the right name for him. Since he doesnt respond to Skeeter, we can change it to anything. The reason for this is because we figured the adoptive family would want to rename him So we didnt really enforce a name.We have been tossing names around for a few days and there are only a few so far that might work.

Since our last name is Gordon and Gregg has used the nickname “Flash” for many years, it is one of the choices. Flash Gordon is the first choice. Then we have “Sunny” which I like, but it’s a bit to close to “Bunny” which is the name of our cat. I kinda like “Boofer” said like woofer just change the first letter. He boofs alot when he plays. I think he knows he has to keep quiet so he boofs instead of barking. I kind of wanted a name that reflects his color. He is so golden like the sun.

I’m sure we will find a good name.


Category: Adopted, Skeeter  3 Comments

They call me Mr.PeePee

By
18
Mar 2010

LOL…no we tease. That’s only his name when we are taking about him. He has been peeing inside about once an hour for the last 2 weeks. We thought we had him housebroken, but with these new pills he has been on, he has no control. He has to finish them, which will be next Tuesday. Hopefully we can get him back on track again. We cant scold him, since he isn’t really doing it on purpose. I think we might need to replace our carpets sooner than we had planned…lol

We have been walking with him and he is finally to where he doesn’t pull so much on the leash. We would like to get him to where he only needs to wear a collar and not the harness for walking. This could take a very long time. We took him to a fenced in dog park and he had so much fun. We left the leash on and let him go. I don’t think he knows his name yet. He still wont come when called. Maybe he doesn’t like his name? He definitely can not be off leash. I wonder if he will ever be able to be off leash in public. I guess when he finally learns to come when called, is when we will try off leash.

We have found out that besides the fact that bath time is a very very scary time. He also hates the rain. He will do anything to not go out in it. We have to drag his butt outside..lol. Rainy days are not long walking days.

And it just so happens that its bath time!

Category: Adoptable Dogs, Skeeter  One Comment

Skeeter’s Vet Visit

By
08
Mar 2010

Where to start… They took blood and hair samples to find out what his problem is. The vet says he has allergies, possibly be life long. The blood test results will be back in 2-3 weeks. We will then find out exactly what he is allergic to. In the mean time he is starting new meds. This time its a steroids treatment that will last for 2 weeks. Hopefully this will give him some relief. These pills will not be something he can keep taking since they will do liver and kidney damage in the long run. Most likely he will be on meds for the rest of his life. This can become costly since he is only  a year old.

Now the side effects from these new meds are not too bad but the one that worries me a bit is the increase of urination. Which could cause him to have accidents in the home again. This might be a set back with the housebreaking. Lets hope that he can still tell us in time when he needs to go out. We will just have to watch him more.

Anyways, off to bed. I’ll get some new pics up tomorrow and fill in anything my sleepy head forgot.

Category: Skeeter  One Comment

Quick Update

By
08
Mar 2010

Skeeter is on his way to see the doggie dermatologist about his skin and eyes. Need to figure out exactly what is going on with him. We have tried eye cream and antibiotics and neither have worked. I sure hope there is help for him. I will update as soon as he is back home.

Good news! Looks like he is finally house broken! When he first came to us he was holding it for 4 to 6 hours and we thought he was just well trained. Then the third week he started to pee in our home. I guess he felt relaxed enough with us, that he wasnt going to get scolded by the humans. This is where it was tough. Try to train him without scolding is not easy. We didnt want him to crawl back into that submissive shell again. We also didnt want to treat him as a puppy and use puppy pee pads.

The first week I crocheted a long strip of wool, added some bells to it and hung it on the door knob. We wanted to train him to ring the bells when he needed to go out.  At first he didnt understand it, but we rung the bells every time we took him out. As the weeks went by, its finally paid off. This past week he has been going to the bells and touching them. Then he runs back to us and stands there like “come on! I need out dude!” lol

It’s nice to be able to relax and not have to watch him all the time. Never knowing if he will squat in the condo.

Two nights ago I was in bed early since my back was acting up. Skeeter decided that he would come in too. We have his crate set up in the corner of our bedroom and its always open for him to go in. Well, he decided that he would go in and sleep. I was so surprised that he did this. I mean, he goes in there at night to sleep but we have to put his cone on to keep him from scratching. I would think that he would associate the two and not want to be in there. He was happy to be in there. When Gregg came into the bedroom he bounced out and barked at him…lol I think Gregg startled him. As soon as he saw it was Gregg he was all wiggly and happy.

What else? He has decided that the pink cat bed is a great place to store food, and not too bad for snuggling in for a nap too. He has been doing really well with the cats. Doesnt bug them. He likes to go slowly up to Baby and sniff his face. At the same time his tail is going a mile a minute…lol. Baby doesnt seem to care, gives him the stink eye and walks away. Bunny is still a bit scared, but she was lying in front of the fireplace warming herself while he was about 2 feet away chewing on his rawhide.

I think he has come along way since that first week. He is really turning into a wonderful dog. So happy and always looking to please us.

Category: Adoptable Dogs, Skeeter  One Comment

Looking Good!

By
23
Feb 2010

On Saturday we took Skeeter to meet a family that was interested in him. They already have a standard poodle but were looking to add a little guy to the family. Skeeter enjoyed his visit. On Sunday we headed to Vancouver to meet up with Yuana at her home. We needed to get some meds for Skeeter to help get rid of his itchy eyes and also to get him his special duck kibble. Plus fill her in on the home visit. Skeeter played with all the dogs in the yard and we were attacked by a pack of tiny dogs when we went inside the house….lol. I didnt know that I could fit 4 dogs in my lap. Gregg had 3 dogs and then a cat named Bob got in there too…lol.

Skeeter has now been taking his new meds for 2 days and he is scratching less. His eyes are a bit pink around the edges, but they look so much better. He really hates taking the stuff. It`s nasty tasting liquid. I squirt it down his throat and then he gets soften duck jerk to chew on to get rid of that horrible taste. One side effect of the meds is that he now has very runny poop and he is peeing less. It`s a good thing he is here with us while we do this. He needs to be watched all the time to make sure he makes it to the outside when he needs to empty out a cowpie.

He has started stashing pieces of food all over the living room. Under pillows, behind chairs and in his blanket. Seems to be always the last few pieces in the bowl. Not really sure why he is doing this. I thought it might be that he is full and wants to save a few for later or maybe he is worried he wont get anymore. Whatever the reason is, we`ll figure it out.

A day at the park

Category: Adoptable Dogs  Tags:  One Comment

Squeak! Squeak!

By
17
Feb 2010

Skeeter has decided that squeaky toys are the best! He has figured out exactly where the squeaker is. He will just lay on the floor and squeak…lol

Squeak Squeak!

Category: Adoptable Dogs, Skeeter  Tags:  One Comment

What a Sweetie!

By
11
Feb 2010

Skeeter is doing so much better. We took him for a walk around Mill Lake the other day and he was really good. When he saw other dogs he only wanted to play with them. After a while he started to just keep walking and didnt feel the need to sniff them all. Once he noticed the ducks in the Lake he decided that he would sniff them too!  Every chance he had, he would try to get to the edge of the Lake. He so wanted to get to those ducks. We got to the beach clearing and let him play. He would step in the water and step out, then trying again. It was actually very funny to watch him. I think he wanted to take one home.

This past week we have seen a great improvement in him. He has really come out of his shell. He is a very happy dog. Loves the walks and the car rides. Always happy to meet new dogs and people too. He doesnt seem to bother with the cats as much anymore. He understands that they dont want to play with him. Bunny is still a bit scared and hides in her tree a lot. She does come out and run around once he is in his kennel for the night and when he is sleeping cuddled up to me. Both the cats have been drinking out of Skeeter’s bowl instead of the one for them. So I think they are willing to let him stay for now.

We have had a few pee accidents this week, but it was our fault for not taking him out sooner. He can last all night. During the day he can hold out for about 4 hours. We make sure he goes out every 3 hours, just to be safe. He is happy to just lie on the bed with me in the evening and watch TV.  We took him to meet my brother’s dog Teddy. He did pretty good. Teddy is a nutball and runs the house so I had Skeeter on his leash inside and made sure he didnt run wild. I dont think he needs to run around like it’s the indy 500 inside any house.(sorry bro, your dog is nuts!..lol)

His eyes have cleared up a lot, but he is still scratching and he sneezes a lot too. What else? oh, his hair is growing back and he is looking cuter everyday. Bath time is still very scary. Rawhides are the bomb! He loves to eat carrots and lettuce. Maybe he is part rabbit?

Skeeter

Skeeter by The Gordons

Skeeter

Skeeter by The Gordons

Category: Adoptable Dogs, Uncategorized  Tags:  3 Comments

Skeeter

By
29
Jan 2010

We were given this little shy guy last Sunday. When I first we met, he seemed a bit hyper since he came with his buddies the wiener brothers. Having 3 little furballs running around in our condo was crazy…lol. They all were happy to just bounce around and play. After Yuana left and took the brothers home, Skeeter became quiet and shy. He seemed very unsure what to do and who to listen to.

Since Sunday we have been mainly just watching and taking it easy. We want to see what he is all about. He has a great temperament. He loves to play with all dogs. He doesn’t care if they are big or tiny. They do the sniffy dance and then jump around and play. As for the cats, he wants to play with them too. We have been teaching him to “leave it” when ever he sees the cats. I think he is starting to understand. Bed time we put his cone collar on him so he doesn’t scratch at his eyes and then he is put in his kennel. He seems to have itchy eyes, but they are clearing up. I’m wondering if it might be the food he is eating. He sneezes a lot after eating and his eyes seem to get a bit puffy. We might have to change it and see if it makes a difference.

Chair Sitting Closeup

Chair Sitting Closeup by The Gordons

Walking has been a bit of a mess since he doesn’t know any basic commands. Heel, sit, stay are the commands we are working on. When we get ready to go, we have a set of bells hanging on the door knob and we jingle them to let him know its walking time. He hit the bells yesterday for the first time on his own. Right a way he was taken out for a walk.

He had his first car ride with us on Tuesday and he did great! He sat in the back seat with his leash strapped to the seatbelt. He wanted to look out the window the whole time. When we had to leave him in the car alone he was in his kennel. Then back on the seat again as we were driving. We stopped at Petsmart to get some new dog friendly stuffies for the house, since he kind of squished the one for the cats. He met a few dogs and some small kids and was very happy to say hello to all of them. We finally left with the bag of goodies. Some doggy treats, a ball and 2 stuffies.

A couple nights ago I took him out for a walk and on our way back we met some people walking their dogs that live in our building. We chatted as the dogs played. One lady was really taken by Skeeter. She wanted me to bring him over to meet her daughters. So we agreed to have a meeting this afternoon.

Now on our 5th day, we see that he is ready to start some training. He has settled in with us and has become very trusting. He shows us his belly and rolls around happy to be belly rubbed. We have been working on taking the stairs and he is finally walking down on his own. The first few days we had to pick him up and carry him down. He has no problem with the elevator. I think he likes the ride…lol.

So thats about it so far. If you are interested in adopting this sweet little guy just leave a comment or you can fill out an application at the Dhana Metta Rescue Society.

Category: Adoptable Dogs  Tags: ,  3 Comments