The Chronicles of Louis the IIV Rottweiler

 The Graduate

The night we brought Louie home we stopped at Pet Smart and signed him up for obedience class.  Even from the short time we knew him we knew he had the basics down and were able to get him in an intermediate class.  Well, yesterday was graduation day!

What started out as a class of four ended as a class of two.  Here is Louie's fellow student, Sweet Sissy paying strict attention in class.

She is just the cutest thing. Here she is practicing her down-stay.

Froggy style!  Louie shows he can do a down-stay, too!

The students waiting with anticipation.

"Louie, do you think we passed, huh, huh, Louie, you listenin' to me?"

Sweet Sissy passed, much to her relief.  She is adorable as ever in her little cap.  And what about Louie....

He passes with flying colors. " Ladies, I'm not only handsome, I got me some smarts too!"

"What do you think of this pose? I call it ' Brown Steel',  BOL,  move over Zoolander!"

Now that Louie has passed, he plans to pursue a higher education, going for his Advanced degree, CGC and hopefully, Therapy Dog certification.  Louie has a great future and is going places................

Well, he'll go those places later, right now he's going to take a nap!

 

One Month for Louie

It's hard to believe that it has already been a month since we brought Louie home.  We think he is settling in nicely and bonding with us.  We couldn't have asked for a better dog.  Thank you again to the Last Hope Rescue in Tallahassee for saving our Louie from certain death.

The Chronicles of Louis the VII Rottweiler

Louie has been doing really well and becoming more and more comfortable in his new home.  He started intermediate obedience class last Saturday at the local Pet Smart and is doing good. 

We do find things out about him everyday as he experiences new things.  For example, The Husband found out in the middle of class yesterday that Louie might have issues with tall men in white baseball caps when he put up a big ruckus when he saw a tall man in a white baseball cap (although he was wagging his tail through all this a mile a minute)!  He has shown some hesitation with men in the past but has never put up a fuss.

We still have not been able to cut his nails.  He put up a major fuss at both our regular vet and at the local Pet Smart vet.  The technician at Pet Smart has to 2 rescue dogs, a dobie and shepherd, so she knew what we were facing.  All they did was bring out the clippers and he went ballistic.  His nails are not a huge issue yet so we are taking him for daily walks on the concrete to help keep them trim.

Those of you with rescue pets, don't you wish you knew about your pet's past?  We have been carefully watching Louie and how he reacts to things and have pieced together this scenario:  He was kept in an outdoor kennel with his dad, while somewhat trained and treated good, he was only played with once a day with a tennis ball and or possibly driven someplace to place with the tennis ball (dog park or field).  We don't think he was socialized real well.

Louie is really a good dog, he is learning everyday and becoming more comfortable around people and strange situations.  If he would let someone cut his nails he would be close to perfect.  Maybe someday, after all we haven't even had him a month!

Gus

So far Louie hasn't any more encounters with Gus, but we keep a very close watch.  I cleaned Gus's pen today while he roamed the yard (Louie was inside).  Here is where Gus lives:

It's 8' x 6' and located in a nice shady part of the yard (has morning sun).  He spends most of the day under the bush but I put up the umbrella to provide a little extra shade at midday over his water.

When I put Gus back in his nice clean pen he made a beeline for his bush.  I came out a little while later to get a picture and couldn't find him.  I had to get down and look hard under the bush but here I found him.

Burrowed under the fresh hay, keepin' cool ....................

The Chronicles of Louis the VII Rottweiler

As you can see Louie is making himself right at home!  We have had a good and bad week.  First the good, he is not as possessive with his toys and is learning to give them to us.  We have not revisited the rawhide bone issue yet......baby steps.  He is really focused on his toys and would play until he dropped if we let him.  With the kind of heat we've had recently we limit playing outside to early morning and late evening.

We did get him a new toy to channel some of this energy.

A Boomer ball!  Tyson, the first male we had before Edgrrr, loved his Boomer ball and could actually pick it up in his mouth (he was a BIG boy).  I don't think Louie's gonna make that happen.

But not for lack of trying.  He loves it to say the least and lets us participate in a little yard soccer. 
Louie is walking nicely on leash and is getting use to the Gentle Leader.  This morning we took him down to the Harbor and walked the length of the docks.

He was the perfect gentlemen, meeting all kinds of people and a few of the dock dogs.  He also probably had his first encounter with stairs, but after a puzzled moment took to them readily.

He had to revisit the Vet this week, and while it was better than the first visit, he still needs improvement.  They had to shave a little section where his tail meets his back and didn't take to that too well.  Although he did cuddle with the tech afterwards and didn't hold it against her.  He has some nasty old flea bites that got infected so we have a spray and antibiotics.  With Lily and Ed I use to just open their mouths and shove them down........luckily Louie LOVES his dinner, so I just open the capsules and mix them in.  He lets The Husband spray his flea bites and kind of lets him put drops in his ears.  He gets better every time.

Now for the bad.

This is Angus T. McTurtle (aka Gus). He wandered into our yard in early May and liked it, so we built him a little pen in the yard.  He is very tame and not afraid of us so we think he either escaped another yard or some numnut let him loose.  When he hears the sound of my voice he will usually come out from under the bush in his pen.  He is an older male Gulf Coast box turtle, he likes eggs, sardines, strawberries and LOVES blueberries and blackberries.

Lily never really paid Gus no mind.  She investigated his enclosure right after we built it but that was about it.  When we brought Louie home he kinda did the same thing, showed a little interest but not a lot.

I get up really early, like 4 or 5.  I like to sit outside have my coffee and look for satellites and meteors (call me crazy).  Louie likes to get up early and, well....pee.  Tuesday we go out he does his stuff but doesn't want to come back in, so I leave him out while I make coffee.  When I go back out I can't find him (it is dark outside) finally I see him .....IN GUS'S PEN!!!! He's rooting under the bush, pulls Gus out and tosses him in the corner.  I run, yelling for him to stop (waking up the neighbors....it is about 5am) and haul him out of the pen.  Louie slinks to the house and I put him inside.

Gus is in the corner and has gone 'turtle' tighter than my favorite jeans.  He looks none the worse for wear and finally pokes his head out, gives me an indignant look and marches off back under the bush.  The next time Louie goes out he takes a wide route around Gus's pen.

Yesterday I get home from work and ask The Husband how everything went.......all was fine until he took his eyes of Louie (damn those iPhones).  He looks up to Louie rooting around under the bush and toss Gus like a frisbee OUT of his pen.  After a lot of' "Louie NO' and "Bad Dog", he gets Louie in the house.  Gus has once again gone 'turtle'.  He was unharmed but I think, is understandably pissed.

We don't think Louie means to hurt him but just play with him.  But a 2 or 3 pound turtle is no match for a Rottie.  So Gus is getting a renovation on his digs to keep the unscheduled play dates at bay.

And Louie's list of things to learn gets longer.

The Chronicles of Louis the VII Rottweiler

Louie is settling in nicely.  We could not have asked for a better dog, he is quiet, polite, listens very well and is eager to please.  He had his Vet check (which he wasn't too crazy about) and weighed in at a whopping 93lbs!  We thought maybe 85, boy were we wrong.  Aside from an ear infection he is in great health.  The vet put him at 1 1/2years which is what we thought.

We are doing our best to make him feel at home and show him the sights and sounds of his new community here in Destin.  The Husband took him to get his oil changed (his car's, not Louie's).

Louie meets Brad, our great mechanic.  Brad finds just the right spot to scratch, Louis approves!

Louie isn't as much a fan of the Beetle as he is of cooling off.

His new friends, Max, the big guy and Cooper along with our neighbor Dave, welcome Louie to the neighborhood with open paws.  Max was Lily's boyfriend, she was quite smitten with his handsome features.  I'm sure she is smiling down on the trio.

Even though he listens very well and has already learned new commands readily, Louie is signed up for an intermediate training  class beginning on July 7th.  Since he will be an only dog, we want him to have as much interaction with pets and people as possible.

Only 5 days into his new life, there is so much more ahead, stay tuned for more Chronicles of Louis the VII Rottweiler.

Life Goes On............

It has been a hard 2 weeks in our household.  We have not been without a dog in over 29 years.  And Lily required a lot of time and care these past 10 months, her passing left a big, big void.  Not only in hearts but in just our every day routine.  The Husband and I couldn't seem to find a groove, we always seemed restless, everyday without purpose.

Finally we started to talk about another dog, but it was hard and it was hard not having one.  We were so torn.

I think the turning point came last Saturday after we cut the grass. It was the first time since Lily's been gone that we cut it and a ritual in our house is that when we get done, we go in the house and call "Fresh cut grass!  Who wants to roll in fresh cut grass?" and out  both Lily and Edgrrr would go.  Well, it really hit me for some reason, such a mundane chore as cutting the grass seemed purposeless because I had no dogs to run, roll and relish in simple pleasure of fresh cut grass.

I cried, and cried, and cried some more.  The Husband cried, and cried, cried with me.  Finally he said let's at least go look at some dogs on net.  We looked at rescues and puppies.  Most of the rescues we were interested in were in central or south Florida, most of the puppies were there too, and more than we could afford at the moment.

Then a young man caught our eye.  We emailed the rescue, he was available and the more she told us about him the more we were interested and he was only 2 hours away.  We made arrangements to see him on Monday.

But Sunday night I got terrible cold feet.  Could I love him? Would he love me?  Would he truly be my dog, someone else raised him?  We had no experience with rescues, what if were getting someone else's problem? Maybe it was too soon? But the house was so empty..........what should we do?

We went........and we are so glad we did, meet  Louis the VII (Rottie)....

He is from Last Hope Rescue in Tallahassee. Him and his Dad were rescued  from the Pasco County shelter in April.  His Dad had already been adopted out and this guy was still waiting for the right home.

They said his surrender papers said he was 3 years old but we are thinking more like 1 1/2 - 2 yrs.  He is the sweetest dog, smart and lovey.  We have only had him a little over 48hrs but he is settling in nice.

I still miss Lily so much, tears welling up when I think of her.  I can still feel myself massaging her little stump while she laid in my lap every evening.  And I think of Ed often, missing his clownish behavior.

But life has a little more meaning now.  It has purpose.  It has Louie.......................

Over the Rainbow Bridge.........

Our Sweet Lily

01/26/2002 - 06/07/2012

With a little help and her head cradled in Momma's lap Lily crossed over the Rainbow Bridge this morning.  Free of pain and sporting four fully functional legs she met up with her buddy, Edgrrr, who introduced her to her new friends Wysti, Echo, Emily and Tyson.  Run free my sweet baby............

Last Thursday at the holistic vet was so promising we didn't expect the turn she took on Monday night,  heavy panting, diarrhea, lack of appetite and restlessness.  The Husband took her to her regular vet Tuesday.  She had picked up a gastrointestinal bug, apparently it was going around.  Though she fought off the infection in her stump and the infection in her bladder this one proved to be too much for her.  Or perhaps she was just tired of it all, perhaps it was just her time.

I can't tell you how much we miss her, but I'm sure all of you know, probably having been in our shoes once or twice if you own a pet.  It hurts, you second guess all the decisions you have made along the road that lead to this.  But it changes nothing she is gone, as we knew someday she would be and it hurts. Deeply.

This is the first time in almost 30 years that we have not had a dog.  And it hurts.  Deeply.

It's Electrifying.......

The orthopedic vet couldn't find anything on Lily's x-rays.  So we found a holistic vet in the next town.  She found calcified discs in her mid-spine.  It is pretty severe, both back legs are not functioning and they cross when we lift her which I guess is a real indication of nerve damage.  If Lily wasn't so healthy or vibrant as she is she would not recommend treatment, as it is she is giving her a 50/50 chance of possibly regaining ANY type of  function.

Here she is getting her first electo-acupuncture treatment that day.  She was great through it all.  We have physical therapy exercises and massage therapy to do several times a day.  She also is on a Chinese herb mixture twice a day.  She has also recommended a diet of turkey and or ocean whitefish along with Omega-3's for her diet.

She has told us not to get our hopes up too much, due to her arthritis and age, and it may be a few sessions before we see any improvement, if any.  Not what we want to hear but this is our only option, we are willing to give it a few sessions to see if it helps.

It has been about 3 days since her session.  We are trying not to be too optimistic or see improvement where there isn't any.......but we have noticed a small  improvement.  She is trying to use her back legs to get up when we lift her, trying to feebly push up a little, which she wasn't doing.  When we practice setting her feet and putting weight on them she is improving, a little bit more each day.  Mind you she still can not stand on her own or move her back legs in a walking motion but we take any little glimmer of improvement.

We are not expecting a miracle, that she will wake up one day and be able to walk again.  But we are hopeful that she regain some use of her hind legs to assist us in walking her.  Little steps.....we are keeping our fingers crossed!

I want to thank everyone who stopped by to offer their best wishes and ideas.  We are very grateful.

Lily Saga Continues

This poor dog, if it is not one thing it is another.

 Late last month she developed a bladder infection and appeared to be stumbling a bit as she galloped along on 3 legs. Vet thought she was stumbling from the pain of the bladder infection and antibiotics were prescribed.   Unfortunately they prescribed the one she can not have, Baytril, which is the most common treatment for this.  Fortunately, we caught it, and they switched her to Clavamox for a week.  She seemed fine after treatment but still a bit unsure on her feet, especially in the right leg.

Mid-May she continued to stumble along, so back to the vet she went.  Another test of the bladder showed the infection still raged on.  It took another 4-5 days to get the culture back and a course of antibiotics set.  May 18th they upped the Clavamox dosage and lengthened it to 2 weeks.

By the evening of May 23rd she could not use her back legs.  The Husband was out of town on business so I got a neighbor to help me get her in the Jeep.  Several x-rays later the Vet can find nothing but a moderate case of arthritis in her spine and limbs.  After an injection of Adequan and an extra shot for today, off we went, waiting for the course of antibiotics to finish (this coming Friday) and waiting to hear from the Orthopedic specialist.  She will also have 3 weeks of twice weekly injections of the Adequan.

She has almost no use of her back right leg and her left back is a fraction better, but no load bearing on either.  No walking without significant help from Mom and Dad ( and she is still a 90lb load, Mom's back may give out before Lily!).  I have started some massage and physical therapy, and we are trying to get her to move around more.

She is happy, eating and doing her "business" as best she can outside.

We just don't know what is wrong.

And on top of it all the A/C went out last night!  Today it is suppose to be 90 today, with a real feel of 103.  Luckily we were able to get someone out early this morning and after 2 hours it is finally up and running.  We need a new system, but can't afford it at the moment, so hopefully this one will limp along through the summer.

The coolest spot this morning was the backyard.  I tried to keep Lily in the shade and used wet towels to keep her cool.

I can't say that she really appreciated my efforts!

If anyone has had a similar experience as we are going through I would love to know your thoughts of what might be going on.  This being a holiday weekend here in the States we don't expect to hear from the specialist until Tuesday at the earliest.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and take time to remember those that gave everything in the line of duty.

Groovin' on a Sunday afternoon.......

Checking out the fresh cut grass.

Just chillin' in the sun after a rainy Saturday.

I'm ready for my close-up Mr. DeMille.

Pssst! Go away, I am sooo tired of the paparrazzi.

Lily was in to see the Doc earlier this month and she is doing great.  The infection and wound on her stump healed nicely and we keep it protected with the padded t-shirts I make for her.  Her blood work is good and best of all her chest x-ray was clean.....no sign of cancer....not even a smidgeon!

I haven't been doing much blog posting or reading for that matter lately because about a month ago my part time job turned into a full time job.  That with my online business and keeping up with Lily has been about all I can do.  I've done a little sewing......a 50's circle skirt, complete with Rottweilers on it, and a matching petticoat for a charity dinner are about all I've managed.  Hopefully I will have more posts, more frequently as I get into a better routine with work.

Breakfast of Champions and Lily Update

During the week my breakfast usually consists of Special K Protein Plus cereal with assorted fresh or dried fruits, oatmeal or a homemade smoothie.   But the weekends are a different story.  There is nothing like a hardy breakfast to start a busy weekend.

When The Husband asked what I wanted for breakfast I knew I wanted something made with spicy Wally sausages and tomatoes (we have a lot of them for some reason).  If you have never had the spicy breakfast patties from Walmart you are missing out on some spicy goodness.  They have just the right amount of heat to take your breakfast from ho hum to wow.  The Husband renders the fat off them and pats up any excess so as not to create an artery clogging morning eye opener.

So here is what he made me this morning:

A spinach, tomato, sausage and cheese frittata.  Yummy goodness!

Lily Update:

Lily went to the vet for a check up yesterday and she is doing great!  The swelling on her stump is pretty much gone and is just draining a little now.  She is still on an antibiotic flush along with oral and topical as well.  The tubes will stay in until at least the end of next week.  But she is almost back to her old self, moving around with ease, pain free.

What a tough dog she is......honestly last Thursday (17th) I did not think she was going to make it through the night.  The Husband was away and I spent that night cradling her on the floor as we both tried to sleep.  If it was time, it was time I thought.  I got her to the vet the next morning and had The Husband cut his trip short. She really has a will to go on and we will do our best to give her every chance.

Poor, Poor Lily (Warning, Warning Will Robinson, Gross Picture Ahead!

Don't say I didn't warn you!  Poor, Poor Lily has gotten a nasty infection in her stump area.  It has not affected the bone and seems to be localized to the area and not spread through her entire system.  But it is some nasty business just the same.  Those white things sticking out of her are drainage tubes.......yes, drainage tubes.  And that spot on her blanket is...well.....drainage.

Apparently it got infected when she opened up a wound on her stump for the 2nd time.  We thought we were keeping it clean but something nasty got in there.  It swelled up pretty bad and she was in a lot of pain for a few days.  We didn't notice at first because we keep padded tee shirts on her to protect the stump.  She is much better now but this will be draining for at least a week.

This is not something for the faint of heart, as the stump needs to be flushed twice a day with water and then an antibiotic.  Luckily I have a pretty strong stomach for these things.

While she is getting all kinds of lovin' and special meals I get lots of laundry and 2 plastic bottles for flushing the wound!

Ah, the things we will do for our loved ones.....two legged and four, uh, er I mean three......

Say Hello To My Little Friend......

The Husband got me this for Christmas.  It's great.

2 Weeks In

I can't believe we are already 2 weeks into 2012!  It seems all I have been doing is working, working and well, more work.

Lily has been doing just great!  She had a check up on the 3rd and everything is good.  Her puncture wound is still not healed all the way ( I guess the chemo slows healing) but it's getting there.  Now that all the chemo and antibiotics are pretty much out of her system she is much more playful and energetic.  She is even cutting through the tiled kitchen floor to get to the backdoor rather than going the long way through the living room.  And she has been chewing her rawhides!  Sometimes it's the little things that make you smile!

We are looking forward to her 10th birthday on the 26th.  I told her we would make a meatloaf for her special day..................she is waiting with anticipation.

In between all the working I've been doing, I have managed to work on some of my New Year's goals.  I have worked out more these past 2 weeks but didn't get any walking time in this week as The Husband was out of town and I was too tired to motivate myself in the evening(sometimes a partner helps). 

I have managed to reduce my stash by a few yards by sending some cute dog fabric over to Dachsies with Moxie who is making a quilt for Sandra at KissABulls who lost 5 of her precious dogs in a house fire.  I am also working on another sewing project that I do not have pictures of yet but have used up about 5 1/4yds on it.  It is an ongoing project so should use up a lot more. And believe me there is plenty more to use up!

I have not reduced my credit card debt by any more than my monthly payment so far.  But I also have not added to it, so that is a good thing.

I still have not made the perfect pair of pants.

It's time for me to go park my fanny in my recliner and enjoy what is left of the NFL season.  My picks for the super bowl match up this year......Green Bay and Denver.......a girl can dream!

Twas' the day before Christmas..........

Lily soaks up some rays waiting for Santa.

 She won't get many presents with a scowl like that!

There's that big Rottie grin....and she has a lot to grin about.  A week ago her Vet was worried because she was very anemic when she came in for her chemo treatment and we were having trouble getting her to eat. They postponed the session and suggested we take her back to her surgeon for an ultrasound and a possible bone marrow biopsy. Uh oh, had the cancer spread? Her lungs were clear but it could have spread elsewhere.

Well, The Husband and I did a little thinking and put together a timeline scenario to see when she started not eating.  The week before she had punctured her stump and opened a wound.  They put her on an antibiotic called 'Baytril' which is good for wounds like hers. Soon after that she started getting really fussy about eating. So The Husband did a little internet research and found out in very rare cases this drug can cause anemia. 

The Vet wasn't convinced but we all thought it best to remove her from it.  Just 24hours after stopping it she was a NEW dog! Eating, running, talking up a storm and just being Lily.

The Husband still took her for the ultrasound which was negative and had her blood retest.  The red count went from 23 to 33 in just 3 days! No bone marrow biopsy needed.

We all know our pets best and when they start acting different at home we can provide a timeline of events leading up to issues with them.  If you have a good vet they will listen (we do) and take this into consideration.  It also pays to do research on your own. Your vet can't know everything about food and drug interactions.

Our little princess  had her last chemo treatment yesterday.  Her wound is finally healing and she got the wreath off her head.  She goes back once a month for checkups now.

We know not everyone chooses this route with their pets and sometimes you can't, but we are very glad we did and hope Lily makes it well past her 10th birthday (Jan 26th).

 We wish Eddy's treatment had been more successful and  miss him very much this holiday season but are grateful for what we have.

To you and yours a very...........................

from Fabric, Food and Fido.

Fido Friday

Lily has been doing very well. She finished her 4th round of chemo just after Thanksgiving. She also got to spend time with other doggies at the Canine Discovery Center for a few days over Thanksgiving.  We hated leaving her but could not take her with us to our friends place in central Florida.  But because it is run by her Vet she got extra special attention from all her friends there.

I think she has 2 more treatments, then what I don't know.  We just keep our fingers crossed that she stays cancer free.  We will be celebrating her 10th birthday in January which we weren't sure would happen a few months ago....so all is good!

The Internet Made Me Do It.....

Seems everyone had their patterns on sale last weekend.  I couldn't resist, the force was too strong....so I splurged.

New Look. I don't know why but I love New Look patterns.  These are not new releases but I have wanted them for a long time and finally broke down:

These are great  blouses for our hot summers in Florida.

 I am on a skirt kick lately. While similar I think these can all be unique in their own way.

McCalls/Butterick: They had an incredible sale, $1.99 ($1.69 for Club members). Who could resist!

 I think this top pattern is new or I just over looked it before.

Again with the skirts, what can I say. It looks like the grandniece is getting some too.

LantzLiving: Love her vintage patterns, which these are not but again they are skirts.

I really need to get sewing and quit buying patterns. I've promised not to buy any more.....this year!  Good think it is already December.