Safe haven

29 October, 2012

At about 8 pm Milo disappeared last night.  It was unusual for him not to be in a spot where he could keep an eye on me.  I knew he was in the house somewhere.  I looked in the basement.  No Milo.  I went into the bedroom and there was Sabrina crashed out on a dog bed.

After turning on the light I checked the crate and this what I found:  

Courage

Milo lost his confidence about doing the stairs. .

Milo forgot how to go up them last night.  This is a problem because the dogs eat in the basement, so after dinner there was much pacing and some whining mixed with some frustrated barking and other dogs showing him over and over how easy it was.      Up and down, up and down.  (Mostly Leo - go figure).  We are old hats at this since most of the foster dogs that have been with us don't know how to do the stairs.

He's  been doing them for months, just like the cowardly lion he lost his courage.

What finally did the trick for Milo was having Leo and Sabrina at the top of the stairs with me and Milo at the bottom watching them get loved up and have a fuss made over them.  He couldn't take it and came right up to be a part of it!

Then... and now

October 26, 2012

Milo in June

Milo in June at 50 lbs

Milo near the end of October at 65 lbs! 

In the beginning....

the beginning of Milo's rescue that is...

I found these photos taken at Red Lake Rosie's upon Milo's intake back in early June.  I don't think I've posted them here before.  I met Milo after he was shaved, so I didn't get to see the full effect of his huge matted and crawling with ticks coat.

The enormous cyst on Milo's neck

Milo's neck, ear and eye are badly infected which is why they are cocked at a funny angle. 

You can see why it was necessary to shave this all off.  Milo was  matted down to the skin.  If the skin doesn't breathe it can become infected..  Plus he was crawling with ticks.  Ick. 

You've come a long way, baby!

October 26, 2012

Big news!  Milo now weighs in at 65 lbs which is 2 lbs more than Leo.

Milo's check up from his August surgery is looking good. Still has the dis-solvable stitches - which is not normal - but surgery site looks good. Concerned about his cough and heavy breathing although lungs sound clear.  They took blood to do a titer so they could check for tick borne diseases that may have eluded the SNAP test. 

Leo's SNAP 4dx test came up positive for anaplasmosis so he is on a 28 day regimen of doxycycline.   Worrying because Milo recently had 3 embedded ticks on him.  

This is a GREAT reason to ask your vet about the adding the tick test to your annual heartworm test.  It is a little more expensive, but in the long run very worth it to know so you can treat your dog early before they show symptoms.  The SNAP 4dx test will test for heartworm, Lyme disease, erlichiosis and anaplasmosis.  All best treated early in the disease.  Leo is the 3rd dog I've had to have a tick disease show up with an annual test.   Off my soapbox now... 

Milo's fur is coming in lush and thick and he looks and acts like a completely different dog than when he first arrived.  He now can concentrate on playing and learning new skills - like a recall in a situation with distractions(!)    
He is a good boy, but can suddenly disappear only to be found with new "friends" - both canine and human.  

Here are some photos taken today with our collie pals at the park.  

Stock dog?

Sunday, October 21

Milo had a very big day today.  He met sheep up close and personal which was very exciting for him.  He has seen livestock on many occasions, but has never been given the opportunity to work them due to his compromised health.

I kept his session very brief as Milo is still not 100% healthy.  He needed no encouragement to gather up the sheep.  He changed direction and brought them to me several times, which shows natural gathering instinct.  He wasn't confident about going between the stock and the fence, but I think with time he will become more confident about that.  He did some force barking - barking to try to get the livestock to move - but that is common with green dogs when they are trying to sort out what makes them "go".  Milo was very excited about this new opportunity.  He came to me on several occasions to make sure he was being a good boy, but went back to work when I told him he was being a good boy.

I took him out before he got too tired and also for the first few times it is best to quit the dog while they want more - before they get too tired mentally and physically.  

 It was a VERY exciting day for Milo!

His fur is beginning to come in nicely.  In the last week I've found 3 ticks on him.  Two were deer ticks and one wood tick so I used Frontline on him yesterday.  I've not found any ticks on the other dogs.  

Transformation

Wednesday, October 17

As I knew would happen once Milo was really healing, he is transforming into a different collie.  No longer is he the collie who trots docilely  along at the dog park,   Tonight not only did I need to intervene during some escalating play, but Milo "forgot" his name and his recall and then needed to be led out of the park by his collar because he wanted to go back in and mix it up!

Now he is becoming a REAL collie!

Still has stitches trying to dissolve from the last surgery, so he is not quite there yet, but making good progress!

Wowsa

10 October 2012

This is a FIRST!   Milo has never initiated play with Leo in the yard.  Cool.  I guess someone is feeling more confident and better...

Oh yeah... and Sabrina the Fun Police.

friends

8 October 2012

After a week of human cold/flu illness and subsequent house arrest for the dogs, we went to the dog park where Milo met a little friend with whom he has something in common.  Keeyah, a four month old girlie, is also from the Red Lake Indian Reservation.

Leo and fuzzy Milo