And the winner is...

So It seems like most of you think Mouse is probably female. To the naked eye, I would've been the first to agree. In fact, I keep referring to Mouse as her, even though I now know that Mouse is genetically male!!! Quoting Mouse's owner:

He is a male psuedo hermaphrodite which means he looks female on the outside but is male. The organs removed from him were very small, very inconclusive and not totally identifiable. The biopsy confirmed his true gender.

Over the last several months we've tried not to be too gender specific. We always said "good Mouse" instead of "good boy or girl" - but we did say she when we spoke of him. Even though we could continue with that (because quite frankly it won't make a difference to Mouse!), we're trying to switch to "he". It will be better in the long run because every time we said "she" we'd know in the back of our minds it wasn't really true. Don't ask me if any of this makes sense....

The last two weeks have been a real challenge though - trying to keep Mouse quiet and inactive after surgery. Because of his uniqueness, he had to have more invasive surgery then a normal male (more like a female I suppose) so running around couldn't happen. I guess nobody told him that he was supposed to feel bad for two weeks because after three days he was ready to go. I've had to use the e collar (aka cone of shame) just to limit him a little. Anyway, we're almost done.

...

Mouse is fine around kids, he's just very exuberant. We do have smaller kids come into the house - [child]'s friends are 9 and under, so until I can get him to stop jumping up when he greets someone, I keep it very controlled. He doesn't know his own strength and doesn't understand that not everyone wants their faces licked (the little ones are just the right height!) and that when he falls on his back and whines, he needs his tummy rubbed. Now the teenagers that come in handle it better but we do intercede to cut hellos down to a minimum. If he gets too excited, he still "piddles" his greeting which can get old after the first or second guest. Last night [child] (16) had about 10 kids over and Mouse got to greet the first three at the door. The next couple had to say hello in the kitchen when Mouse had calmed down a little. He's allowed to be at the gathering for a couple of minutes but unfortunately, if he were allowed to stay, he would be too much the life of the party - lamp shade on his head and all. He's a riot, but he's a lot of work. I have very good helpers though. The kids are committed to training and exercising. Mouse is "mouthy" at times, especially when he's tired or hasn't been exercised enough. I know he'd never bite us but we don't accept it from him. It's probably one of the hardest things we're dealing with right now.

Sounds like Mouse is right in there with the rest of the teenagers! I might be contacting them for some advice once Belle is in the house!

Charlie update 8.31.09

I got a quick note from Charlie's owner this morning that he is doing well, despite his fair share of teenage moments. Like the other pups, he recovered quickly from his altering. There may be some pictures to follow soon! Oh, he's about the size of Cheetah now.

Sadie, Cheetah, Belle and Swiffer update 8.30.09

I saw Sadie today and she is like a different dog. She is so much more confident, she has some meat on her bones and she wants to play with the other dogs. She has that doggy sparkle back in her eye. What a difference from the tail tucked entirely under her, wouldn't stand up, emaciated little thing I first met.

I have to tell you, Cheetah was pretty cute with her. There were a good 15 dogs or so in the enclosure today and if someone got too rough with Sadie, Cheetah took it upon herself to herd them right away from her. Cheetah was the enforcer generally. If someone was barking too much - she would get right in their face and bark once sharply and back away. It was as if someone whistled through their fingers (I always wished I could do that) bc that dog would be shocked right into silence. It was fun to watch.

Cheetah was unamused that I was with Belle today. She did not like that one bit. I am HER person and that is that. She has been staying the last few days with Kristina, head of the rescue, to give this household a break. She has always like Kristina and literally (I kid you not) rolled down the car window and jumped out when she saw Kristina when I was dropping her off. Luckily I was going about 1 mph and she was leashed by her harness as opposed to her collar. I was able to release her from the seatbelt quickly and Kristina grabbed the leash with Cheetah none the worse for wear. I usually keep the child locks on the windows bc while she has never jumped out, she has done the roll down the window trick before (damn smart dog), but I had rolled down the front window to talk to Kristina so the child lock was off.

Anyway, she was herding dogs away from Kristina too when she was in the pen. She is crapped out on the floor right now - busy day of protecting everyone for her!

Kristina said she did awesome at her house and wasn't even territorial! Woo hoo! I declare her cured. I think she really would do best in a household with another dog. So Cheetah will be with me for this week, and then Sat night she is going to another senior foster's house so I can take Belle, who needs me more right now.

Back to Sadie, she has had all of her bloodwork and this week has the actual heartworm treatment. This treatment is painful so please keep her in your thoughts. She will also be on pain meds for her hip - I spoke to Kristina about it today. And we are investigating specialists to work on her leg. Our goal is not to amputate, but follow Ashley's suggestion of the procedure with the big long name that will stop bone from rubbing on bone. She is already functioning with the leg. The musculature has healed around it and she has figured out how to work with it. So we just want to deal with the pain it must be causing her. My guess is that it would be cheaper to amputate, but no one really wants to do that.

So Belle. She is a tiny little thing! She's only 35 pounds and looks so little to me next to Cheetah. She is smaller than the other puppies I have seen as well. She is cute as a button and I know there will be a ton of interest in her. As a matter of fact, we already had one application! (3 kids though). I spent about 20-30 minutes with her just getting her used to me, and before we were done, she turned her back to me (I was flattered by this!) and she jumped into my lap and licked my face. So we are buds. I brought chopped up hot dog with me to offer as a high value treat, but she was slow to accept it. She did finally eat out of my hand and we started some basic targeting training. She is not super food motivated, which will make training a little more difficult. But certainly not impossible.

She is very fearful, but not as bad as Cheetah was, nor as reactive. Add to that that she is younger, and I am very confident that I can get her where she needs to be. Here is my plan:

1. Get her spayed ASAP. Her owner was advised by her vet to hold off bc she was so skittish. I don't agree with that evualtion, but regardless, I am of the opinion that now, hormones are exacerbating the situation. Plus, it needs to be done.
   
2. Once she is spayed I can take her to an off leash park - I found this helped Cheetah immensely. Fearful dogs are often more fearful on leash, bc they can't run away if they are scared. This can mean they feel they have to defend themselves, which is never good.
3. Change her food! She is currently on Puppy Chow, a corn based dog food. We have discussed before how corn can block seratonin uptake in a dog, increasing anxiety, fear and aggression. The Rescue has changed over to Blue Buffalo - to which I say BRA.VO. Cheetah has been getting Solid Gold, but I will probably switch Belle to Blue Buffalo for consistency. We'll see how I feel when I go shopping :-)
4. I will start a basic obedience regimen with her. This will cause bonding with me and increase confidence. It will also help me to control situations better and distract her more effectively when we are facing her fears.

Swiffer is still limping :-( We are still on pain meds and I have scheduled an appointment with a different vet in the practice for Saturday. My biggest fear is that she has an injury which is healing improperly. We will likely need to do some x-rays next. She and Lexy had a very nice break while Cheetah was visiting. Lexy followed me from room to room like a dog and Swiffer did too, come to think of it :-)

The Adolescent Dog

I recently reached out to the remaining puppy owners to offer some resources. I thought perhaps they might be helpful to some of my readers as well.

As you are probably well aware by now, your puppies have entered adolescence. Just like a human teenager - this can be a trying time. As someone who works with a rescue, I see tons of dogs come through because they were given up by families who thought their sweet puppy had gone Cujo on them. One of our own litter has even been surrendered already. So I wanted to reach out.

Most of you have already reported some Dr Jekyl & Mr. Puppy behavior :-) I just want to reassure you that if your pup is suddenly shy, nippy, barking more, possessive, territorial, showing separation anxiety, etc etc... that this is a normal part of puppy development and you have not adopted a monster. Nonetheless, I know that it is not an easy period to deal with so I thought I would offer my support as well as some resources. If there is anything I can do to assist you during this period, please let me know. Your reaction to your pup during this period is critical in helping him/her develop into the dog you hope he/she will be. Consistent training is critical. And fear not, it usually only lasts about 6-8 months, unlike the fun of a human teenager, which can last upwards of a decade!

• An article from Dog Star Daily, a trainer blog that I really like. This is written by Ian Dunbar, a father of the positive reinforcement method of training. http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/adolescent-dog-training-18-weeks-2-years

• A Q&A that you should relate to :-) http://www.canismajor.com/dog/adol01.html

• An article by a vet** that gives a quick overview of what your dog is physically experiencing http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1701&S=1&SourceID=47

** please note: While the vet is THE FIRST PLACE I go for health issues, I am NOT A FAN of taking much behavioral advice from your vet unless he/she is a veterinary behaviorist. If you are concerned about behavioral issues, please have your dog checked for any physical issues by your vet to be sure it is not a response to a health problem, and then consult a certified dog behaviorist - it is their area of expertise.

There don't seem to be a ton of books focused specifically on dog adolescence, but a few authors I recommend:

• Nicole Wilde: Help for Your Fearful Dog: A Step-by-Step Guide to Helping Your Dog Conquer His Fears
• Ian Dunbar - A number of his puppy books have sections on adolescence
• Patricia B. McConnell Ph.D. - You can't go wrong with any book by her.

If you have any specific problems, let me know and I may be able to recommend more resources to you.

Sadie Update 8.28.09

I just checked in with her foster and she is currently in treatment for heart worm. She has not had surgery on her leg yet - we are addressing the heart worm first. But she has more energy and is initiating play with other dogs!