Friday night at the shelter

Well, things didn't go as quickly tonight. I was covering the 5-9 again and I got here a bit before 5 and the food was out for the dogs but I needed to walk them all in and then I needed to clean the outdoor runs. No CSRs tonight and it seemed to take me forever between getting the first one in and the last. I quickly cleaned outside and started back through getting the dogs out. The intake dogs had to wait until I got all the little dog room dogs out and then I carried out the intake dogs (well, most of them). I was getting flustered at how long the after dinner walks were taking but you need to get them to do all their business or you clean it up at the end of the night. I didn't quite make it to getting all the dogs their after dinner walk when I decided I needed to scoop up Maggie/JD because it was too cold out for them to stay out. I got the last dogs out and walked Cassie and put her back in. I checked the crates and cleaned up a bit and then brought Jessie back in and then the little dogs and then the intake room and then the big dogs. By then, it was around 8 and I still needed to do some more cleaning. I just finished and am taking a break before checking the doors/windows and turning off the lights/radios and letting the dogs go to bed. I have a little more time before 9, so I will go do a bit more cleaning and then call it a night. I am going to an Eagle court of honor for 9 boys from the old troop tomorrow, so Baxter has to spend the night here again so that I don't have to bring him up in the morning.

Thurs. night at the shelter

Here I am at the shelter hanging out while the dogs finish supper and rest a bit. Sarah is on vacation and lots of people are covering shifts for her. I was out last week so signed up for this week Thurs/Fri. I forgot that it was Chinese New Year or I could have signed up for more nights since I don't have any night time calls this week. Baxter came to the shelter with me. He has been coughing a bit over the last 2 days but Mallory told me had his bordatella in Dec. so it shouldn't be that. I gave him some Benadryl and it seemed to help until he was pulling hard on his leash and then he was hacking again. I will keep to the Benadryl and see how that goes. I brought him with me to the shelter tonight so he could see Karma and also so that I don't need to crate him at home. Ben is doing his senior project presentation this afternoon and I left the house a little after he did so that I could get here in time to ask any questions to Mallory and make sure I could get in. The spare keys are supposed to be dropped off to me tonight so I can lock up.

There is a new boxer mix here named Casey. She is totally off of her right rear leg. She has a knee surgery scar. There is a note on the board about doing a followup at ATA, but she is pretty lame on that leg right now and the knee looks oddly shaped to me. She is mostly boxer and has a natural boxer tail. She seems very nice, but underweight and injured. Sad.

Winter Time

Well, I was gone last week and Baxter stayed at the shelter so no blog posts. I picked him back up last Friday and I worked at the shelter on Sat. and while I was there Genieve was sorting doggie clothes. I picked out 2 jackets for Baxter as the weather has been turning cold. I walked him in his Fido Fleece yesterday and today. He doesn't like his paws messed with and you have to put his legs through the jacket, so that is a challenge with him squirming, but he looks warmer in it and he doesn't seem to mind it when it is on. He loves to go for a walk and it facilitates it, so he is ok with that.

From Baxter

Baxter has done a few more treadmill sessions. Tonight I had him up to 2.4 mph while I was feeding him jerky treats. He was fine at that speed but as I looked down, I saw his paws were very dirty/muddy and he was tossing dirt off the back of the treadmill. I only kept him on there like 5 minutes and then I had to take him out to clean his feet outside and then come inside to sweep.

This and that

We did more treadmill on Thurs. evening. Baxter did about 7.5 minutes or so. He kept going as long as there were treats to nibble from my fingers. He was doing 2.0 mph, so pretty good stuff. Ben did a little bit with him on Friday also. Today we had an adoption day at Petco and Baxter was very energetic. He was whining wanting to play with the other dogs. We only did like a 30 minute walk this morning and that was about it and he needed more.

I am gone next week so Baxter is parked at the shelter until I pick him up Fri or Sat. next week.

More on treadmill

Baxter is really interested in the treadmill. He was back there yesterday and I turned it on and put it up to 1.2 and he hopped on and walked at the front of it looking for me to give him treats. I didn't have any and so he hopped off after about 10 seconds. I took him on there this morning after our walk because he was seeming very frisky. I had purchased some new training treats from Nutro that are like little squares of jerky and I broke them into smaller pieces. I turned it on and set it to 1.4 and he hopped right on and started walking. I went around the front of the treadmill and put a piece in my fingers and let him nibble it as I held it in my fingers. We went on that way for more than 4.5 minutes. I need to work on spreading out the amount of time for each treat. My fingers got nibbled quite a bit but that is okay. He really seems to go for the treadmill with no leash required, but the trick is to get the speed up more, to reduce the number of treats and to extend the length of time. Overall, it is very encouraging.

The dog next door

My neighbor has this little dach/min-pin mix puppy. She is at least 6 months or more younger than Baxter and she has been hanging around at the common fenceline. The dogs have been running back and forth up and down the fence and Baxter has been chewing at the lattice work that goes along the bottom of the fence in a drainage easement at the back of the property to try to get his head over to visit her. I put a block of cement in front of that spot, but he started digging a little bit in front of that. I brought him inside and then took him for a walk for 2 miles or so and that seemed to take the issue away (and I think the puppy went inside). He is laying down napping now (no treadmill tonight, we did a long walk instead).

A short walk on the treadmill

Put Baxter back on the treadmill last night. We are still experimenting and this was only the second time. I put him on a leash and brought out the hot dog pieces and he was following me closely. I got him partially on the treadmill by holding some hotdog from in front of it through the opening above the motor and then passed his leash over the handlebar. Lori turned on the treadmill and Baxter was still just walking with his front feet though some repositioning of the treats finally got him on. I got Lori to move the speed up to 1.0 mph and that seemed okay. I didn't want to give Baxter too much hot dog so had him eating it from my fingers while I tried not to let him have all of the piece but that wasn't great because some little bit would fall on the belt and he would put his head down to eat it. The whole thing was just 3 minutes on the treadmill and I need to find smaller treats to give and something I don't mind him having a bunch of. Baxter returned to the treadmill a number of times during the evening to see if I was going to bring out more hotdog and he even went over and sat on the belt waiting, so I see that as a good sign. I need to figure out the correct treat and smaller bits and give him more sessions and longer sessions, but with a few weeks practice, he could get used to the treadmill.

Muddy feet

I am cleaning a lot of muddy paws these days. There are major patches in my backyard and Baxter likes to go out and chase squirrels and wander around. He is an active young dog. I have been walking him at least 1.5 miles twice a day and other short walks. We took a run the other morning and he did fine. His biggest issue is that he walks in front of me and can end up blocking, though when running he falls more beside. I have been using a Gentle Leader Easy Walker harness with him and it works great.

I weighed him this morning before giving him his monthly HW preventative and he is just under 60 lbs. I left him home in the crate yesterday while I went to work and he of course was fine. We played with the Chuckit flying squirrel in the yard yesterday and he really liked it. He ran and ran and ran. He has been taking advantage of the various comforters around and hanging whereever I am. I want to try to get him on the treadmill tonight. He was walking his front feet on treadmill the other day when I was holding a hot dog for him. Hope to get in front of treadmill today and hold the leash and hot dog so he is all 4's on. Haven't had any destructiveness, but he has been chewing various chew toys, stuffed toys, etc. Just have to keep up with his energy level and make sure he is worn out daily.

Curled up in his crate

Being a shelter dog, Baxter is quite comfy in his crate. I showed him the crate yesterday with the door open and he wandered in and laid down. After we went for our last walk last night and he wandered the house a little bit, he went into his crate and laid down while I watched the bowl game. I shut the door when I went to bed. I had to chase him off the living room sofa twice today but he hopefully he will catch on to that quickly. He is curled up in his crate with the door open right now.

Baxter

I couldn't find a solution to the allergy problem, so I am unable to bring Moolatte back into foster. I hate to give up on the challenge of socializing him especially as I see how well he takes to the dog caretakers at the shelter, but I don't have another way other then spending extra time with him at the shelter. In the interim, it has been too quiet here without a dog (other then Ben nagging me that we need a dog), so we went to the shelter last night to look at our short hair dog options. Alisand had suggested this weekend that I take home Stringer to give him a break from the shelter. I considered taking Alamo and Stringer home for the week for a break or taking Baxter as a foster (all 3 dogs were adopted and eventually returned). Ben was leaning toward Baxter so we went and met with Baxter and decided to bring him home.

Baxter's wrap from his adopters who returned him is that he was very destructive. Based on all I have read and watched, that is the hallmark of a dog who needs more exercise. Baxter is listed as a Pit/Boxer mix and both are high energy breeds. I have heard as much as 2 hours of exercise a day for a Boxer. My plan is to do multiple 30-45 minute walks a day with him and see how that works out. I also want to try to get him working on the treadmill.

Happy New Year

Well, I have gone dogless since before Christmas. I am at the shelter today and Moolatte was his old shy/running away self. I played with Baxter and Tracy for a while and then caught Moolatte ( he will run around but then will sit as you approach) and petted him and scratched his neck and took him for a couple of walks. He is doing about the same as he was before coming home. He barks at the men who walk by his pen as he hovers toward the back so as not to get too close to them. I am not taking any dog home tonight, but want to figure out what to do for tomorrow. The options are not a lot different than when I dropped him off before Christmas. There isn't a good alternate dog unless I want to take home a little tiny one. Perhaps I should just wait.