Little Dog in a Big World

For the past several months, the comments spam on this blog has been increasing.  The comments over the past couple of weeks have gotten more belligerent asking me why I have deleted the comments and then reposting them.  They also keep posting to my tribute to Sierra, who died last year.

This blog is set so that all comments are approved before posting.  While you (whoever you are) may think you are sly by posting a comment like “this post really gave me something to think about”, I am not approving it with a link to whatever you are selling.

It has been irritating to see the comments spam on the Sierra tribute posts.  It has also been annoying to come here and delete 50+ of these spammy things every day.  Therefore, I’ve decide all the posts relating to Sierra will no longer accept comments.  I am sure that this will only thwart these people briefly, but it will give me piece of mind.  For someone to comment on a dead pet’s tribute that the information “conflict with other things they’ve read” or “thanks, you setting an argument between me and my wife” is just plain mean spirited.

I will still allow newer posts to accept comments.  I don’t think I will find it nearly as disturbing to remove those spammy comments as it is to go to see them attached to Sierra’s tribute.

I apologize to any reader who this might inconvenience.  I know there are honest folks who have found themselves in a similar situation as I did with my dog and they might like to tell me about it.  Unfortunately, the spammer have ruined it for everyone.

Misha and I moved into our new home with my Mom over the weekend.  She seems to be adapting pretty well.  Misha or my Mom, take your pick.  LOL

She was really barky the first two days but that’s getting under control.  She has developed a penchant for eating the edges of the carpeting.  I’m surprised at this because she never chewed on any furniture or carpeting at home.  She’s had a couple accidents. She also love eating tan bark, so I have to watch her when outside.

There are some positives.  We have a nice neighborhood to take walks in.  I’m trying to get two 20 minutes walks in a day (my arthritis prevents me from walking longer).  She has two pack leaders now, which takes a little of the burden off of me.  She’s getting alot of exercise in the yard.

The extra activity is really paying off.  Misha takes a nap around 1pm.  Then at about 5:30pm she’s about ready to pass out.  I bought her a new smaller bed before moving and she curls herself up inside and rests.  In the evening, she goes up on my bed and lays by the pillow.  I can sit next to her and read a book while she rests.  She sleeps all night long.  I was concerned that the new house might make her nervous with it’s strange noises.  But there has been no whining at night, which is awesome.

As always, I’ll be working on these new problems.  I am hoping the carpet eating is a nervous issue.  I found her chewed on blanket and put that in plain site.  Hopefully, some Bitter Apple will stop her interest in the carpet and we can redirect her chewing with enough safe stuff to chew on.

It hasn’t even been a full week yet.  But, so far, so good!

My Dad died at the beginning of May.  Misha had an allergic reaction to a spider bite that sent her to the emergency Vet.  Then her best friend who came to visit her everyday at 3pm moved away.   Those three events plus the turmoil in my household sent Misha’s training back, waaayyyy back.

Misha was really coming around.  But, after all of these stressful situation, she was thrown for a loop.  A sort of separation anxiety set in.  She became unruly, fearful.  She hated to be touched and would growl anytime someone tried to pick her up.  We suddenly had a battle zone in the house.  If she were human, I’d say she was freaking out.

As I was dealing with my own emotion, it took until the beginning of June before I realized that everything I was feeling was bouncing off Misha too.   Even though I was not with the program, I realized that my distracted state of mind was producing anxiety in my pup.

Though I didn’t have the energy or time, I focused completely on Misha’s training.  I couldn’t have a dog that growled at people who wanted to pat her head.  That was unacceptable.

I began by going back to the basic.  I made her sit for everything.  She picked up on that quickly.  I made sure we took both walks every day.  I practiced with her more.

One of the most important things I did was observe her.  I realized that because she is only 8 lbs I treat her differently than I did my 75 lb Lab.  I don’t baby her.  She has rules and structure, but I was always picking her up to get her out of danger or out of the way.  I would have never done that with Sierra.

I learned that Misha does not like being picked up.  She loves to be held, but she doesn’t care for being picked up.  So, I stopped doing it.  I began treating her like a big dog–a regular dog.  I petted her on the ground.  I gave her treats on the ground.  I put her leash on her on the ground.  When we walk by strangers, we do it with her four feet planted on the ground (unless there is some sort of danger like a much larger dog attached to those humans).

I’ve got her a treat ball so that she can burn off a little energy in the house.  I also handle her toys more.  When she wants to chew on her bone, she is on my lap and I hold it for her.

I think my efforts are paying off.  The growling is now down to a minimum.   She is behaving much more civilly.  I have taught people not to startle her by trying to pick her up.  Instead, I am trying to train her to jump up to me or in my lap so that she initializes it.

We still have one more upsetting event to get through–moving.  I know all the boxes in the hallway and stacks of things here and there are unsettling to her.  I hope that once we move in a couple weeks and she is settled in to a regular daily routine again that she will go back to being the lovable, energetic pup she once was.

And then I can get her over her fear of wash cloths.

Misha, the shy, perky, lovable Jack Russell Terrier, turned 1 today.

Misha has been with my family since last July when she was just 9 weeks old.  Over that year, we’ve experience so much.  She has grown to a whopping 8 pounds and has developed quite a personality.

She is doing well with her dog training.  Though she has regressed some lately after a beloved family member passed away and a neighbor who played moved away all within the same week.  I work with her daily to help her get through this rough time.

She still has a lot of maturing to do.  Her shy, timid nature has created some challenges.  She isn’t nearly as fearful as she once was.  However, a sudden noise or a motorcycle passing us on our walk can bring her to shuddering.  Hopefully, with continued work, she’ll learn to be more trusting of the world.

Here’s my puppy.  Happy Birthday, Misha!

\So, Happy Birthday Misha!

Misha was well on her way to full recovery by the next morning.  The swelling was gone from her body except for a small a amount that remained in her face.

But what’s this?  Something has happened to her ears!

Goodness!  She’s definitely having a bad ear day!

Either she’s too tired from her ordeal to hold her ears up or one of the medications has caused them to relax.

It was funny to see her reaction.  She most certainly did not like her ears this way.  All day she tried to push them back up on top of her head.

This wasn’t the only problem after her ordeal.  The medication made her very drowsy and sick to her stomach.  I gave her the second dose of benadryl as ordered and a couple hours later she was throwing up.

She was not feeling well all night, which made her very sensitive to being handled.  She was growling and snipping most of the evening.  So, I let her be.  I read that some animals will be this way when under the affect of medication.

Since all the swelling was down, I decided not to give her the recommend second dose of benadryl that night.  Unless she showed more signs of a reaction, I didn’t want to upset her stomach again.

Besides, she had enough to worry about with those darn ears falling in her face all day.

I had a dog for 14 years.  I thought I’d seen it all.  I was wrong.

A week ago, Misha looked perfectly fine when I fed her breakfast.  About two hours later, her right jowl seemed swollen.  She’s always flying around the house, so I thought maybe she ran into something and I didn’t see it.

By late afternoon, she looked like this:

Her face was clearly swollen.  As we had another family medical emergency the same day, I kept an eye on Misha.  I kept hoping whatever it was would go away.  I called our regular Vet since I couldn’t get over there and they told me what to watch for.

By evening, it was very clear she had a problem.  The swelling was spreading.  It was affecting her eyes and was moving back towards her tail.  She was itching everywhere and plain miserable.

Sometime later, I found a bump on her back.  It looked like she had been bitten by a spider and was having an allergic reaction to it.  We were off to the Emergency Vets.

This was her first time at the emergency place and she was not happy!  She made it through the exam okay.  But, when they took her back to get her two shots and to get the bite area cleaned up, she screamed and howled.  The Vet told me after that she was “a feisty one”.

The steroid and benadryl made her very tired.  When we got home, she went out to do her business and then went straight to bed.  The itching seemed to be gone, though her face was still swollen.  At least she got a good night sleep.

I’ve never had a small dog before.  I had no idea what burrowers they are.  Misha loves to get in the playpen and wrap herself up in the three blankets even when it’s a warm day.

One of the funniest things she likes to do is play under the dog bed.  I’m not talking a Jack Russell Terrier sized bed.  I’m talking a Labrador Retriever size bed.

She lifts it over her head–all 8 pounds of her–and the goes underneath.  She then attacks it from there.  Sometimes she drags a toy or two under with her.  She runs around with all that weight on top of her.  She eventually surfaces grinning from ear to ear.

Here’s a couple photos of her playing undercover pup:

Going Under…

I’m taking you with me…

Coming up for air…

Sorry I haven’t been keeping folks up to date on Misha’s maturation.  Life has been hectic the last few weeks.

She is now 10 months old.  I’ve seen so many changes in her in the last couple of weeks.  The commands are coming easier.  She’s becoming more compliant.  When I say “Let’s put your leash on”, she leans her neck towards me and waits.  She now sits before eating out of her bowl.  She is also learning her toys by name.

She has been going through a destructive chewing phase.  Thank goodness I had alot of old dog toys because I doubt any of them are going to survive until her first birthday.  She seems to enjoy removing their noses and legs.

She is still a biter though it’s decreasing.  It’s almost always during play.  She tends to get a little rambunctious, then I stop whatever we are playing.  I keep reinforcing “no bite” and hope that eventually it will all sink in.

Her fears are lessening but are still a challenge.  I could not believe the hissy fit she put on the other day when I tried to rub her stomach with a wash cloth.  She was find with her feet and her back, but went into panic mode with the tummy.

She’s also fearful of dogs barking and sudden loud noises.  When we take our walks I have to be on guard for her to panic.  I’ve been working all along to desensitize her as this was an issue right from the start.  There are certain areas we walk in where they are dogs barking and traffic.  I take by their twice a day and even if she tries to run away, I hang around.  Eventually, she forgets whatever scared her and goes back to sniffing the bushes.  Every now and then, she won’t relax and then does the whole block on two legs.

So, at 10 months, she is still very much a puppy but picking up quite well on her dog training.  The wild biting is gone, but more work needs to be done on eliminating it completely.  We can now take walks by cars, but motorcycles are scary.  Bicycles are also make her a little leery.

In time, she will be the good adult dog I’m working towards.  She is a fast learning and seems eager to please. I’ve seen her change so much these last few months, so I know we’re getting there.

Misha turned 9 months old today.  It’s amazing to think she’s been in our household so long.

She is maturing.  Her understanding of commands is getting better.  She no longer runs around and attacks everything.  The chewing has settled down.  Though, her stuffed animal chewing has gotten more destruction.  I’m constantly sewing up legs and noses.

I continue to work on her training in small doses several times a day.  She still has some fears to get over.  She absolutely hates to be wiped off with a towel and snarls when the towel touches her.  She is still skittish with noises outside.  If we are walking and a neighborhood dog barks, she panics.  She also plays a little too much with her mouth still.  I still have my work cut out for me.

She is getting a little easier to live with.    And, hopefully, each month I’ll see improvements.

Just a week ago, Misha turned 8 months old.  You can see she has all the attitude of a teenager.  LOL

It’s hard to believe she has lived with us 6 months already.  We’ve gotten through the anxious nights, the housebreaking (though an accident every now and then still happens), losing her teeth, the incessant chewing, and all the stages in between.

I’ve been working with her regularly on her dog training.  Short sessions multiple times a day.  She loves to do tricks and is eager to please.

Her enthusiasm sometimes gets the better of her.  I will grab some small treats, give the “come” command, and walk into another room.  She is supposed to follow me and sit when we stop.  She does all this, but as we walk to the other room I see this 8 pound object bouncing two feet off the ground to the left of me.  As I turn around to stop, she immediately gets into sitting position as if she knows she must do so before the teacher looks at her.  It’s really funny to see!

She still has some things to work out.  She’s getting much better about noises.  She no longer panics when we take our walks, though she still gets startled.  I’ve started walking her to a busy corner where she sniffs the bushes.  Slowly but surely she has begun to ignore the sounds of the cars and the people.  Now we need to work on walking in the wind or rain, both of which she has decided must be accomplished at a sprint.

I know with previous puppies that patience is the key.  Sometime after the first year you see the signs of your hard work sinking in.

So, happy 8th month puppy!  It won’t be long before you have your first birthday