Day 11 - We are finally seeing a reduction in Blake's pacing and circling, which was seriously starting to give me vertigo! As I mentioned we are treating Bake in some respects like a puppy, so house -training, crate training and very gentle socialisation and introduction to different sounds/noises etc... Inside: It appears that he is not used to houses, so although you would imagine that going from a hot noisy pound to a nice quiet home with good food, a soft bed would be heaven, actually that in itself is a massive and stressful change...hence the pacing, and circling. Blake finds it incredibly hard to settle. We are making great inroads though. Finally he managed to settle at our feet, in the lounge last night, not for long...but he did. He has only been the lounge a few times, due to house training which we are now seeing real improvements. He is happy to go in his crate at night, and is quiet until about 5am -6am. He rushes out to have a wee, then finds it a bit hard to settle again, that I am finding very tiring! We have a few games to help Blake adjust and get him thinking, one we call Blakegate. This is where we leave him in the kitchen, (behind a baby gate) pop him in a sit, (he knows we are starting the game) then move from room to room, rustling curtains, jangling keys etc...initially only for 10 seconds or so...then come back to the baby gate and reward him with treats. We have even managed to leave the house and come back to a very curious Blake! We have extended this to around a minute. Another game is Blakecrate. This is make a game of going in the crate. I place a high value toy inside the crate. Place Blake into a sit with a stay cue. Slowly open the crate with a cheerful "OK" at the same time I move away from the crate. Blake dives in and grabs his toy! We also play a similar game with one treat in the crate one treat outside, rinse and repeat. then three treats in and ask for a sit, then throw one treat out. Making sure Blake at all times doesn't feel under pressure. Outside: He is a dream, happier outside than in at the moment. He is picking up off lead and on lead very quickly. We started by off lead, dropping treats, until walking approximately to heel and have just started to add the lead for a few minutes. He doesn't pull, just needs help in understanding where we want him to be. Recall is fab, and he naturally needs to stay close, gets quite upset if he can't see me. Loves LOVES to retrieve but we are really limiting this as he gets very excited. Had a lovely playdate when Harley came to visit with Naya and Dan, and he was fab, very polite and all 4 dogs had an amazing time. Soon we can introduce Blake to local walking areas, but obviously being careful re: other unfamiliar dogs and strangers. Health: He has quite a nasty abcess we are treating, this at last is starting to heal, off to the vets tonight to get checked and weighed again...last time he weighed only 21kg..he should be around 30kg for his size and age We still have a long way to go, but happy so far with his progress.
Ahhh feel quite emotional reading all that. Such a fabulous boy and you're doing such a great job with him x
Little bit disheartened. Blake really should have gained a lot more weight. There could be an underlying problem. Anyhow first things first and he is on an exclusion diet now..Royal Canin C21. Nothing else. Change of antibiotics and back in a week to review. While at the vets Blake was a star. Sat patiently in the waiting room..that was until 2 yappy dogs on extending leads came right up to him snarling, barking and snapping. I was furious! Poor Blake became very, very distressed. Luckily just as we went to take him outside the vet called him in. Blake was really good at the vets, just flinched slightly when his wound was prodded. Once again he didn't charge a fee...so all we paid for was a small bag of food. He is now happily playing bitey face with Benson, after inspecting my laptop and a quick read of the forum!
Sorry you feel a bit down about him not putting on more weight - maybe it'll just take a little time? I missed your progress report above, first time. But that all sounds great! Good going, Blake!
If Blake is restless re his circling and not relaxing in the house, may explain why he hasn't put any weight on yet. I am sure he will soon do so.
Spero (who came from the same pound) has also had problems putting on weight, although I believe no underlying health issues were diagnosed. Naya will know more about that. Blake sounds a really lovely dog x
I guess if Blake is fighting an infection he is going to be needing more calories as he is using up energy with healing. I guess it isn't as simple as just feeding him more small meals more often?
Thank you both..I was feeling a little tired and upset yesterday, long day at work to boot. It has been tough with a dog that doesn't sit still, circling and pacing, constantly at times obviously distressed. Up most of the night on a couple of occasions. Then dressing his wound x 3 times a day. Not to mention house training! We did change him over to raw,,and that probably upset his tummy, there were other clues too. So we are rather hoping that with his change of diet to Royal Canin C21, increased amounts, and 3 -4 meals a day we can increase his weight. Then last night, eventually, he did this.... After spending some time just standing, then sitting with his eyes closed. He is asleep now, on his back totally relaxed! in his bed by Kate Hart, on Flickr
It would be great to see him put some more weight on. If he's steady though that's good isn't it. Between repairing his body and the stress I'm not surprised he's burning the calories! I have to feed Obi more than Riley because he's such a busy bee even though he's a smaller dog. You'll get there, I know you will xxx
Yes his weight is steady, just a slight increase. Could kick myself re: food though..his is now on HUGE rations compared to our two! Plus the vet has prescribed different antibiotics for him. Apparently he might also be a bit sore from his castration, just 10 days before he flew. Such a lot for him to contend with poor lad...
I swear by tripe if I have to get weight back on my two after illness although their weight loss isn't in the same realm as you're dealing with it really stinks though! Hang in there xxx
It is so much for you all to deal with. I agree that his constant movement, along with general stress and healing, will be burning a significant number of calories, so it's not surprising weight gain is slow. You've done the right thing by not suddenly giving him huge rations, though - his tummy probably wouldn't be able to cope with a drastic change in volume, especially not alongside everything else. Slow increases and monitoring is the best way. None of his rehabilitation, be that physical or emotional, is a race. It will all take time and the slower it can be done, the more solid and lasting the end results will be. You're doing fabulously well. Great news he's slowly learning to settle
He has been through such a lot, poor lad. I bet it was a wonderful sight to see him relaxed in his bed.
I wonder if it would help if you had that 'calming thing" cannot remember the name! You plug it into the wall and it gives out pheromones which are calming to the dog, it may help him to relax. He has been through such a lot, being in the kennels in Cyprus, then castrated, then in an aeroplane, then into a different country with a different language and maybe missing his original owner. He is so lucky to have found you and I am sure will settle eventually.
Just catching up with this. Sounds like you are doing an amazing job and great that Blake is starting to show signs of being more settled. Hope his weight starts to improve. He is such a lucky boy to have you as foster parents (and brothers )
Good idea! I will investigate one of those. A friend also suggested trying a relaxing CD just for dogs, apparently they really do work. He is really starting to relax, and loves nothing better than to curl up at our feet. He is now showing a lot of affection, jumped up in my lap earlier and curled up in a ball He is also more interested in sniffing around the house. House training is OK...just the occasional accident. He does wee a lot so watching this in case it's indicative of something else. He is a very quick learner, and already in a few minutes today OH taught him down. He also now has learnt "mat" and "touch"
You are doing such a fantastic job with Blake. It's wonderful to see him gradually settling and getting used to being in a house, it must be so strange for him. He looks absolutely adorable curled up asleep. He will gain weight, better for him to gain weight and muscle slowly rather than quick gain, but the main thing is that he is gradually adapting to his new life and shedding all the stress. He's obviously a very bright boy as well.
Update..3 weeks in... Blake is doing well, easy to forget that all the distractions we take for granted as not bothering our dogs are completely new and sometimes disturbing for Blake. Circling and pacing has stopped. He now relaxes quite quickly, and settles on a piece of vetbed or a dog bed. He seems a bit reluctant with the crate, although after a minute of barking he settles. He is very aware though of any sound, so desensitising against these is on-going. He is more or less house-trained, so allowed to wander through the downstairs. He doesn't feel the need to be in the same room which is good, he does however need reassure himself that we are still there and everything is OK. Health - Weight wise, we are finally seeing some progress, he is looking fitter, and all in all more healthy. His wound is more or less healed, just a small scab covering the original wound. Developed limber tail a couple of days ago, has had 2 days of painmeds with a bit more rest ,poor lad! He looked so miserable. The good news is that it looks much better today. The outside world - He has been amazing on a couple of walks, lovely on lead now..and naturally stays close so we are working on capturing that nice behaviour with a 5 pip whistle. He just adores to retrieve and does get very excited! So we are still limited this, but are making a game of retrieving combining with a bit of self control..ie a quiet sit for 15 seconds gets a tennis ball thrown a short distance. He is great with other dogs, despite a few rudely interrupting our training (at the moment he is on lead or long line to keep him safe) he has been very well mannered. We did have a problem with loud teenagers, he was absolutely terrified and that presented as shaking and refusing to move...it took me about an hour to get him the short distance back to the car, one lovely chap seeing Blakes distress offered to carry him for me. That has been the only blip really...oh and someone twirling a stick in front of us.. In the car he is fab...just curls up and sleeps, even squashed between our two. Training summary... Working on inside noises...to help desensitise Blake to unfamiliar sounds. Capturing recall with a 5 pip whistle (and C&T) Continue to work on lead walking Using his drive to retrieve to help with training.. Gentle and safe introduction to the outside world. Some photos... scurry blake lift off by Marcus Hart, on Flickr scurry blake 4 by Marcus Hart, on Flickr boys 3 by Marcus Hart, on Flickr blake scurry 2 by Marcus Hart, on Flickr blake and his toy by Marcus Hart, on Flickr
