| Whee, it had been a while - Photos!! |
[Apr. 12th, 2007|08:09 pm] |
I took a few pictures of d'Artagnan yesterday, and was startled to compare them with pictures taken a while ago. He has so much more fur now.
Enjoy.
-Sei |
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| Ups and downs |
[Feb. 28th, 2007|05:20 am] |
Well, it's been an interesting few days recently. We've had some major ups and downs all in quick succession.
First came a down. Not a serious one, particularly, but slightly icky. So at a point in early January, D'Artagnan had what's called a hot spot. A hot spot in dogs is a (usually, including this case) minor skin infection which becomes itchy and red. So we took him to the vet, they took a hair sample and ran tests, and gave us some meds. The meds worked, and the hot spot went away. Unfortunately, to aid in the workings of the medicine, they also had to shave the spot. So the actual infection went away, leaving healthy pink skin behind... but the hair didn't grow back. And now he's got a ringworm in that spot. So we'll be headed back to the vet. I'm not sure where the hell he might have picked up a ringworm, but that's definitely what it is. Ringworms are not horribly serious, and are also easy to diagnose due to the distinctive appearance of the affected skin. So now it's just something to deal with. The good news here is, he doesn't seem to be in much, if any, discomfort, even itching.
Then a major up. One of the major problems we've been having with D'Artagnan is the amount of barking he does. He's a Papillon; to some extent this is to be expected. Papillons, alongside Shelties and several others, are often referred to by fans as "talkative." In reality, this means "yappy as hell." Now, having grown up with a Sheltie (Shetland Sheepdog), which is the all-time yappiest breed, I don't particularly have a problem with this. He's a dog; of course he barks. But others do, so we have to make whatever efforts we can to minimize the barking, especially since we live in a townhouse - though the townhouses on either side of us also house very barky dogs, including a very loud Sheltie, a Boxer with something to prove, and a German Shepherd mix, and so D'Artagnan is usually just one part of a chorus. So we were at PetCo the other day, and I found something I'd been looking for: a dog whistle. A dog whistle is tunable to an extremely high pitch which is pretty much silent for humans, but which dogs can hear. It's tunable to make sure it doesn't actually hurt the dog, but is still unpleasant to hear. When the dog barks, you blow the whistle. Eventually the dog comes to associate its own barking with the sound of the whistle... and therefore stops barking so much. We got the whistle on Saturday. Already, as of Tuesday morning, his barking has been vastly reduced. Others have commented on it.
And then another down, which we're in the process of tackling. D'Artagnan spends a lot of his daytime hours asleep, we think. He's often asleep when we get home. Now this isn't particularly a problem most of the time, because dogs spend a ridiculous portion of their time asleep. Not as much as cats, which apparently spend something like 20 hours out of every 24 completely passed out, but a lot of time is naturally spent asleep. But there are also times when he becomes nocturnal for a day or a few at a time... and he's very effective at keeping us awake. Which, incidentally, is why I'm posting at 5:30 in the morning on a school day.
So yeah. A little of this, a little of that. Sugar, spice, everything nice, and a few things which aren't so nice. Though D'Artagnan is not a Powerpuff dog. |
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| One year old as of 2/8! |
[Feb. 11th, 2007|05:58 pm] |
It's hard to believe, and he still acts like a puppy, but D'Artagnan is now a full year old. Of course he still looks like a puppy and pretty much always will, but he is looking more mature than he used to. I'll post pictures soon.
He's been making "discoveries" recently, some good and some not-so-good. He's discovered the joys of shredding whole rolls of toilet paper, and the fun of toys he can get to make strange noises, and, most recently, the phenomenon of glass - we have a small table which he gets confused and even slightly scared by, because he can see right through it but can't move through it, and things clinking against it make a different noise than the same things clattering on a wooden table - and all the rest of our tables are wood.
So, well and happy, he moves into his second year. This year will hold new training classes and new tricks and commands to learn, plus his introduction to agility, and hopefully a fair bit of mellowing.
Technically, a dog is considered an adult at 1 year old, but toy breeds, while they are physically mature, don't usually finish their emotional growth process until they are about two years old. But now is when the calming process starts.
It's a process we look forward to, as much as we've enjoyed his puppyhood. |
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| Our dog is ridiculously intelligent. |
[Dec. 29th, 2006|12:36 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | cute | ] |
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So we've been trying to avoid the problem that can happen when you have a really smart dog, which is the fact that the dog learns words you use frequently. The one we've been trying to avoid is the word "walk," in specific. Since d'Artagnan isn't particularly food-motivated, we haven't had to worry as much about things like "hungry" or "food," which were always a problem with the Golden Retriever I grew up with (Me: "Mom, I'm hungry." Dog: *jumps all over us thinking he's about to be fed*).
So we went with the old conventional bit of puppy-raising wisdom: dogs can't usually learn words longer than two syllables.
Tell that to our dog, who has now learned the word "perambulation." Ah well, at least it isn't a word we use for anything else, really.
-Sei
P.S. This dog's reaction to the word "perambulation" goes on the list of ridiculously cute moments we've had, alongside his encounter with a small cat statue, his first encounter with fallen leaves, his first encounter with fireflies, and a few others. We're waiting eagerly for his first encounter with snow. |
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| Ye Olde Update |
[Nov. 1st, 2006|06:54 pm] |
Right, so it's been a while since we updated, because things have been... hectic, to say the least. So there are a number of bits of news, of various types.
Firstly, the puppy daycare was wonderful for d'Artagnan. He loved it, and got some great socialization. He became less afraid, though more excited about various things. The people at Club Pet really fell in love with him, and he came to love them as well. We now have a place to take him to when, as happened last week, the maintenance people for the complex come by. Or when construction happens. Or when we have to go somewhere, as we will in November for the state Convention. So that is yay.
The one problem we've really had is that d'Artagnan is what dog-lovers sometimes call "talkative," which more sane dog-lovers call "won't stop barking." He barks at noises. He barks at flashing lights. He barks when we do something exciting. He barks when we play. He barks when he's hungry. He barks when he's not hungry. This has been improving gradually over the last few weeks, though, and now he only barks most of the time, instead of all the time. We're making progress. And one thing we're discovering is how frequently other people's dogs bark too, because often that's what sets him off. And honestly, how can you expect a small dog to keep quiet when there are very big dogs in the houses on either side who bark a lot? So we're working on that.
Unfortunately, it's had a side-effect. Sometimes, when there's a loud noise and he manages to make himself not bark, he pees all over the place instead. I think I preferred barking. Ah well, a new hurdle. We've weathered worse than this.
The other news is interesting. I've been having migraines recently, in greater frequency than usual, because of various other medical things that have been happening. And about a week ago, there was a period when d'Artagnan became very suddenly much more affectionate than usual, started curling up in my lap and licking my face; he whined if I tried to remove him from my lap. Then, about two minutes later, BOOM, really bad migraine. A day or so later, same pattern. Yesterday, same pattern. Today, same pattern. He doesn't do this except right before I get a bad headache. In other words, he's alerting. I knew Papillons sometimes did that, but he's awfully young to start it. At the same time, that can be very convenient. |
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| Construction. And more construction. |
[Sep. 19th, 2006|04:57 pm] |
We live in a town house. We moved here about a year ago - almost exactly, in fact, since we moved in the first week of October of last year. It's been great, almost without exception.
Almost.
Such as this exception. Our next door neighbors have vacated, and now there is construction going on. Of the jackhammer-and-chainsaw variety. I discovered this when I got home yesterday and the dog was frantic and the house was full of noise. I called the rental office, where I was informed that the construction will begin at 8am, end somewhere between 4:30pm and 5pm, and will be going on all weekdays for a month.
A month of this.
We're starting puppy daycare tomorrow. We can't leave him alone in these conditions. It'll be expensive, but we don't have an alternative. |
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| How very odd. How very very odd. And slightly disturbing. |
[Sep. 14th, 2006|07:02 pm] |
So my mother and I have taken to this silly habit of buying small and inexpensive gifts for each other's dogs. I've bought a peanut-butter-filled marrow bone for Bridget, and my mother has bought a couple of toys for D'Artagnan. Today she gave him a new one: a stuffed Papillon. It's a striking likeness to one, too, with long fringes on its ears and a tail that looks like his big plumy tail. It's about half the size he is.
He hasn't put it down since she gave it to him. And unlike the way he usually treats his toys, he's not chewing on it and pulling it and trying to kill it or shred it. He's wrestling with it, and then he'll curl around it and lick it clean, like it's a puppy and he's a parent. It's absolutely adorable. And kind of disturbing.
How very very odd. Our dog has a paternal streak.
-Sei |
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| Well, we knew it had to come eventually. Blargh. |
[Sep. 5th, 2006|08:19 pm] |
So we've solved the eating problem - d'Artagnan now eats his dog food just fine, and with relish. And we seem to have solved the separation anxiety problem, mostly. We're still dealing with the aftereffects of those damn vets who didn't take proper care of him, and who did something, I don't know what, that has had the result of him being terrified of being groomed, but even that is getting better.
But now we've hit a time my mother refers to as the "teenage woofies." Suddenly, he's become incredibly hyper, selectively forgetful, and constantly testing what dominance he can get away with. It'll last a couple of months, and then go away as he reaches near-maturity.
This is one of those times I'm really glad I have a tiny dog. I remember this period with a Golden Retriever. It was hell, because he was big enough to knock me down and jump on me at that point - I was only eight years old, and he weighed more than I did. And I remember it with a Standard Poodle, who had the smarts to be able to catch me and mom by surprise at the worst possible time. She knocked me down a flight of stairs - three separate times. D'Artagnan obviously can't do any of that. But he can sure jump on us when we're already lying down, and he's figured out that barking constantly for a while drives us nuts. We've had to impose the moderation-in-barking rule upon him by picking him up and gently holding his mouth closed until he calms down. Again, something I could never do with a Golden. Also, when he decides to do his business in random places in the house, instead of in the spots he's supposed to, it's not very big - I think I've mentioned the time he walked curiously up to a turd from a Bernese Mountain Dog, and the turd was almost as big as he was. It's nice to be measuring in ounces rather than in pounds and pints.
Naturally, it's at this time that he has learned to climb over the baby gates. *facepalm*
Well, I knew it had to come sometime. It's the disadvantage to getting a puppy over an adult dog, having to deal with this time period. Some would consider having to train the puppy to be a disadvantage, but I actually prefer it, since it meant in this case that we got to really determine the directions his training went. |
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| End of Week 1 back at work |
[Sep. 2nd, 2006|12:48 am] |
Blargh.
I think this week would have been just fine if not for the sheer work-related stress that has been a constant for the last five days. Day 1 was fine; day 2 he had to stay by himself much longer than planned, and then had to deal with me being a ball of stress; and every day since has been kind of like day 2.
Except today. We had a squirrel in the house today, which terrified him. We had to shut him upstairs for a long time, which he was not happy with at all. Eventually he and the squirrel kind of worked out this peaceful coexistence, which was kind of disturbing.
And now he's going to be left by himself some this weekend too, because I'm so far behind in prep for the beginning of classes that I have to work all three days this weekend, and I'm dragging ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) thespooniest with me to do the heavy lifting.
Add all of this to a tropical storm, and you have one hell of a week. I just hope we don't lose power for more than the few minute period we had earlier today. An evacuation would be just what we need to cap this week off.
-Sei |
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| First day back at work |
[Aug. 28th, 2006|06:19 pm] |
My mother is being a saint, and has agreed to come over in the middle of the day each day for the first two weeks. thespooniest leaves after I do, leaving at 8am, and I return before he does, coming home at 3 most days. D'Artagnan is used to being alone for just over three hours at this point. So today, my mother came by at 11am, and staying until noon. 3 hours on each end. Apparently he was just fine when Mom came by, and he was likewise just fine when I got home. He was happy to see me, of course, but he was fine, not frantic or anything.
Tomorrow, my mother will come by at 11:30am, instead of 11. Then noon. Then 12:30. And so on, until he's used to being alone all day. He has plenty of toys to entertain him, and is in fact quite proficient at entertaining himself. The main thing he'll really need when he's been alone all day is to exercise, which we fortunately have the facilities to provide.
But I was expecting this to be difficult. It's not. At all. He's absolutely fine. Not a problem in sight.
-Sei |
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| Well this is going to be annoying. |
[Aug. 25th, 2006|10:19 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | food | ] |
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| |  annoyed | ] |
D'Artagnan is now fine. He's basically over the surgery, has stopped showing any interest in the incision site, and is in no discomfort whatsoever. His stomach has settled, and he's now absolutely back to his normal self.
With one small and harmless-but-annoying exception. We're now in the process of transitioning him from his bland food diet to a normal dog food again. He's now shown that he is just fine with the normal dog food in the amounts we're giving it... or rather, in the amounts that he's eating it, which are miniscule. He surgically separates the home-cooked food from the normal dog food, and sets the normal dog food aside.
All of this diet and treat experimentation to see what his stomach is okay with at any given time has turned our dog into a finicky eater. Blargh.
-Sei |
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| I must be tired. I forgot to brag. |
[Aug. 23rd, 2006|03:03 pm] |
We introduced d'Artagnan to Bridget, my mother's big Standard Poodle, again today. They've met a couple of times now, on either side of a baby gate, or on either side of a screen door. They've been getting a little less freaked out by each other every time.
This time, they stayed lying down, sniffing each other nose-to-nose (though d'Artagnan had to sit up to reach - Bridget is enormous by comparison, weighing in at about 50 pounds, to d'Artagnan's 6.5), quietly and without freaking out, for a good five minutes. They were both fantastic, tails wagging happily.
Next time, we're going to have them on either side of a chain-link fence in neutral territory, and then possibly meeting.
-Sei |
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| It amazes me how much breeders know. |
[Aug. 23rd, 2006|02:51 pm] |
There are times when something comes up and it just takes trial and error to fix. There are other times when something comes up, and our breeder has some miraculous idea I never would have thought of. There have been two examples of this very recently.
First, d'Artagnan was being stressed over his surgery and such. Understandable. I asked the breeder if we could do anything about it, and she responded that there's a natural stress relief solution made by Bach Original Flower Essences, called Rescue Remedy. It's meant for people, but I've now seen it recommended in several dog-related sources. I gave a little to him, and the effect was astounding. He didn't get sleepy or sedated, he just seemed much happier and like his normal self. Incidentally, I tried the stuff myself yesterday, and it's amazing. I may take it when I go to sleep sometimes.
Second, he's had an upset stomach, with the stools to prove it. She recommended that I mix a teaspoon of canned pumpkin into his food, and that can fix that problem. Canned pumpkin? I never would have thought of that. I'll be trying it today. Maybe that's why pumpkin pie always helps my stomach.
-Sei |
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| And the next day, still doing well. |
[Aug. 22nd, 2006|10:37 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | medical | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  awake | ] |
To look at him, you'd hardly know he had surgery. He's a little less energetic than usual, but only a very little. Unfortunately, he's requiring a lot of work right now, because unless he's kept distracted, he keeps trying to lick and bite at the surgery site. If I go anywhere today, I'll have to put him back in the E-Collar, which he hates. He wanders around whimpering and looking miserable and trying to get it off. He also can't really do anything when he's wearing it: he can't jump up on the couch, he can't play with his toys, nothing. He can eat and drink, but he won't when he's wearing the collar. He has a very strong sense of his size and where he can and cannot fit, between pieces of furniture, under things, etc. The collar throws all that off, and he gets stuck in things. It's heartbreaking.
Ah well, time to devote a day to playing with a puppy constantly. Oh, the hardship. Not.
-Sei |
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| Recovery going well so far. |
[Aug. 21st, 2006|09:24 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | medical | ] |
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| |  tired | ] |
He's looking a little peaked, and is obviously somewhat uncomfortable, and has an upset stomach, but all of that is to be expected. He's not having most of the other problems which can crop up after neutering. He's interested in food (though it remains to be seen if he'll keep it down) and is drinking like a fish, and is playful and affectionate.
Unfortunately, he's going to need an Elizabethan collar (also called an E-Collar) for the night. You know, the plastic cone collars you see sometimes, the ones that are incredibly sad and also somewhat ignominious. Dogs hate them, but they ensure post-surgical safety. I will not be posting photos of this; E-Collars are very sad-looking, and I don't want to record it.
Also, the vet had to shave one of his legs, just like the last time he had an I.V. drip. Only, they shaved the other leg this time. Now he has a matched pair, at least. It'll take almost a month for the fur to grow back.
-Sei |
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| Surgery went well, apparently. |
[Aug. 21st, 2006|03:48 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | medical | ] |
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D'Artagnan was "fixed" this morning, by one of the vets we really like over at Banfield. I got a call from them a bit ago to let us know that the surgery is over and went really well, and that he's waking up now. We're going to pick him up early this evening.
All's well that ends well. Assuming all recovery goes well, this should be the last of the puppy medical issues, and now it's just a matter of training and getting used to being alone during the day.
*deep breath* Phew.
-Sei |
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| D'Artagnan's monthly medication problems: Solved! |
[Aug. 18th, 2006|09:14 pm] |
A month ago, we gave d'Artagnan two medications. K-9 Advantix is an oily and gross topical flea medication which, though very effective, is somewhat hazardous to handle, administer, and also somewhat hazardous to the dog if you're not very careful. The other was HeartGuard, a heartworm medication administered in large chewables.
That day was a disaster. It was the first day of all these medical problems, and they're finally gone to rest. As of today, we've done the next month of flea meds and heartworm meds, and had no problems. The K-9 Advantix required some strategizing this time (take him out for a long run so he's tired and doesn't feel like trying to scratch off the flea meds, then put on the goopy medication and then put on a doggy sweatshirt so it's covered up - this also has the added benefit of distracting the dog by putting something *else* on him), but it worked out just fine. Meanwhile, we've changed his heartworm meds from HeartGuard to Interceptor, which comes in small, beef-flavored pills.
I think one of the reasons Interceptor is so much easier on d'Artagnan is because his dosage is for 1-10 pound dogs. His HeartGuard dosage was for 1-25 pound dogs. We've definitely found our heartworm med for this dog - which is good, because he'll need it monthly for the next 15 years. :) Incidentally, Interceptor is also less expensive than HeartGuard.
Now we just have two major things to do: 1)Get him through his neutering and such next week; 2) Get him fully ready to stay by himself during the day. He can already stay for about 3 hours just fine, so time to up the ante to 5 hours by the end of next week. |
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| As summer comes to a close, we reach the 6-month mark. |
[Aug. 16th, 2006|10:24 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | photos | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | annoyed | ] |
And to celebrate it: PHOTOS!
Hopefully this won't be the last set for the summer, but it might be. By the way, a note about the last few: you'll note d'Artagnan is wearing a little blue sweatshirt. This is to prevent him from scratching at the topical flea medicine we gave him today. It worked wonders, we had no problems this time. Incidentally, the sweatshirt also covers up the gross yellow oily gunk so you don't have to see it in his fur. :)
So enjoy the photos!
-Sei
EDIT: Unfortunately, AOL has decided they will no longer share photos via links. Blast. Onward, to find another photo service... Flickr and AOL are down for the count. Any good recommendations for Shutterfly or other services? |
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| All's well. Now for the next scary thing. |
[Aug. 15th, 2006|11:59 am] |
D'Artagnan is now fine. This is awesome. It means we're under much less stress, our hair isn't turning white anymore, and we're sleeping through the night.
This is where it's really fun to have a puppy. He's doing well, we're doing well, and we love him and he loves us.
But on Tuesday morning, he gets neutered. This is where I get scared. So many little dogs don't make it through this process because of anasthesia sensitivity. We'll just have to trust the doctors, which is incredibly difficult for me, even though it's being done by one of the doctors I like.
In the meantime, I'll just make sure to enjoy his being healthy. We go in for another period of stress as he's recovering from the operation, is my guess, so I'll have to rest up during this week.
In two weeks, school starts, which means he'll be by himself during the day. I think he's just about ready. He can be left alone for a few hours now, and the first week is half days. So I foressee no problems there.
-Sei |
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| Things are improving very quickly. |
[Aug. 12th, 2006|11:58 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | medical | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | relieved | ] |
D'Artagnan has his energy and his appetite back. He's less uncomfortable, and he's not vomiting at all anymore. His bathroom patterns are normalizing.
I think he'll be just fine in a couple of days. At that point, we're going to take him back to the vet for a quick check-up and follow-up appointment, and then that will be that.
At that point, we schedule an appointment to get him neutered ASAP. We have to make sure he has plenty of time to recover before I have to start work again in the fall. At which point, whee! for all the scary puppy medical necessities being over. |
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