Thursday, July 5
Milo completed his month long treatment of antibiotics last evening. He still has a day or two left of the Omegarin fish oil caplets for his skin. And a week or so on the decongestant.
So... we will be monitoring him closely to see if any infection was lurking around waiting to rear its ugly head.
This is a milestone in his recovery for sure.
Hoping that we don't have the 2:30 am "bonus" fireworks extravaganza that we experienced this morning - after all of the melatonin wore off. I was really not amused nor entertained.
After all, Milo needs his rest! :)
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Independence Day
Wednesday, July 4
Milo is very attached to me around the house. When he's been with other people he is fine with that too. He wants to be with SOMEONE all the time. And being with someone from his perspective is being physically connected with them. He would love to be petted and hugged at all times which, while very sweet and understandable since he's making up for lost time, is not practical nor something that I want to encourage for it will create separation anxiety.
The best thing I can do to help Milo is to help him become more confident and independent on a day to day basis, so we've been working on independence training.
Independence training is pretty simple. Milo is constantly seeking attention with nudging my hand and my arm with his nose. I've started with having him sit for treats. We graduated to sitting for petting when I ask him to. I try to only give him pats and hugs when I want to, rather than when he initiates it. This is difficult because he is so incredibly sweet and adorable. But it is in his best interest to keep up with this training.
At first he escalated his attention-seeking behavior, but he's quickly learning to back off. It is a slow process and one that will need to be continued. The good thing is that we have made progress and that he is making small steps in being more confident. I can walk across the room without him glued to my side. I can move around the house - a little - without having him get up to follow. And... he will go across the yard with Leo to investigate and although he immediately looks for me he can hang out at a distance as long as he sees me. This is a vast improvement over a few weeks ago when he wouldn't leave my side outside. It is a relief to be able to do things around the house without being constantly nudged and bumped by a big collie nose.
So...Milo's independence day will continue.
Milo is very attached to me around the house. When he's been with other people he is fine with that too. He wants to be with SOMEONE all the time. And being with someone from his perspective is being physically connected with them. He would love to be petted and hugged at all times which, while very sweet and understandable since he's making up for lost time, is not practical nor something that I want to encourage for it will create separation anxiety.
The best thing I can do to help Milo is to help him become more confident and independent on a day to day basis, so we've been working on independence training.
Independence training is pretty simple. Milo is constantly seeking attention with nudging my hand and my arm with his nose. I've started with having him sit for treats. We graduated to sitting for petting when I ask him to. I try to only give him pats and hugs when I want to, rather than when he initiates it. This is difficult because he is so incredibly sweet and adorable. But it is in his best interest to keep up with this training.
At first he escalated his attention-seeking behavior, but he's quickly learning to back off. It is a slow process and one that will need to be continued. The good thing is that we have made progress and that he is making small steps in being more confident. I can walk across the room without him glued to my side. I can move around the house - a little - without having him get up to follow. And... he will go across the yard with Leo to investigate and although he immediately looks for me he can hang out at a distance as long as he sees me. This is a vast improvement over a few weeks ago when he wouldn't leave my side outside. It is a relief to be able to do things around the house without being constantly nudged and bumped by a big collie nose.
So...Milo's independence day will continue.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Separated at birth
Tuesday, June 22
I've been considering this for awhile, but didn't have a good photo. Milo has a twin!
I've been considering this for awhile, but didn't have a good photo. Milo has a twin!
\
In case you aren't familiar, meet Beaker from The Muppet Show. He is the unfortunate lab assistant to the hapless Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. Milo and Beaker have the same hair-do!
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| Note the peach fuzz coming in. Yay! |
Bumpy night
Tuesday, June 2
Last night was a rough one. Not sure if it was the stress from being in a crate with poo or the after effects of having a bath after said poo, but Milo coughed most of the night. And then there was the thunderstorm at 3 am so not much sleep for anyone. It is interesting how much stress affects him. He is still on the decongestant tabs so it would be worse if he weren't on them. I do wonder if the heat/humidity have affected him. He's not out for very long as he starts breathing heavily from very little exertion plus I worry about how the lack of fur affects his ability to regulate his body temp. Those double coated dogs have built in protection (normally) from cold AND heat.
After he did NOT a poo this AM which is highly unusual for him I finally gave up strolling around the yard with him and, with trepidation, left for work. I left him in the crate in which he sleeps at night in the bedroom.
I did leave work early and when arriving home to all quiet approached the bedroom with caution. Whew! All clear.
The fireworks tonight have him quite concerned, but the melatonin seems to be doing the trick and he's napping at my feet now.
Hoping for a good rest tonight!
Last night was a rough one. Not sure if it was the stress from being in a crate with poo or the after effects of having a bath after said poo, but Milo coughed most of the night. And then there was the thunderstorm at 3 am so not much sleep for anyone. It is interesting how much stress affects him. He is still on the decongestant tabs so it would be worse if he weren't on them. I do wonder if the heat/humidity have affected him. He's not out for very long as he starts breathing heavily from very little exertion plus I worry about how the lack of fur affects his ability to regulate his body temp. Those double coated dogs have built in protection (normally) from cold AND heat.
After he did NOT a poo this AM which is highly unusual for him I finally gave up strolling around the yard with him and, with trepidation, left for work. I left him in the crate in which he sleeps at night in the bedroom.
I did leave work early and when arriving home to all quiet approached the bedroom with caution. Whew! All clear.
The fireworks tonight have him quite concerned, but the melatonin seems to be doing the trick and he's napping at my feet now.
Hoping for a good rest tonight!
Monday, July 2, 2012
Back at ya!
Monday, July 2
I was trolling through some of the stats for this blog and noticed that there was one day where the page hits spiked. I was able to locate the source - an overview of Milo's progress thus far from Red Lake Rosie's Blog page. I thought it was very nicely done - and much more succinct!
Check it out here:
http://redlakerosie.blogspot.com/2012/06/update-on-milo-milan-rlrr-collie.html
I was trolling through some of the stats for this blog and noticed that there was one day where the page hits spiked. I was able to locate the source - an overview of Milo's progress thus far from Red Lake Rosie's Blog page. I thought it was very nicely done - and much more succinct!
Check it out here:
http://redlakerosie.blogspot.com/2012/06/update-on-milo-milan-rlrr-collie.html
Oh...sh*t
Monday, July 2
Well... it hit the fan. Or it would have but it was in a crate.
Any non dog people should just stop reading now.
Milo HAD to go (#2 if you missed the title of the post) and so went in his crate while I was at work today. He went this morning outside, so it wasn't that he hadn't gone yet. It was firm this AM and it was firm in the crate. I'm thinking that as we've been transitioning him over from the ID to normal food perhaps we should cut down on the quantity since the ID has much less protein. We've gotten him to half and half and when we started to go beyond that he was stressed out with the visit to the vet and the herding trial so I left him at the halfway point lest we give him stress colitis. He should continue to gain weight with a lesser quantity since there is more protein than the ID. He has been on 2 cups twice a day + handfuls of kibble to go into the crate. I think I'm going to do 1 1/2 cups twice a day with the extra kibble tomorrow and see how he does while I'm gone. He does not appreciate that I have to work and Leo does not help as he also protests greatly when I leave.
So... Milo had a bath, the bedding had a bath (2 actually on SANITIZE) and the crate got a bath. I have to say that the shave job comes in handy for this type of situation. A rough collie with any sort of gastrointestinal issue is undesirable to say the least. A fuzzy butt with the trots is just not even sort of fair and typically involves a haircut and a hosing.
It was a perfect day to have to get wet and he dried in 10 minutes outside.
So... SH*T!
PS and the flies? Tea tree oil is the ticket. Some of the mosquito sprays don't work at all. Makes sense as I read that some police canine officers use menthol on their dog's ears.
Well... it hit the fan. Or it would have but it was in a crate.
Any non dog people should just stop reading now.
Milo HAD to go (#2 if you missed the title of the post) and so went in his crate while I was at work today. He went this morning outside, so it wasn't that he hadn't gone yet. It was firm this AM and it was firm in the crate. I'm thinking that as we've been transitioning him over from the ID to normal food perhaps we should cut down on the quantity since the ID has much less protein. We've gotten him to half and half and when we started to go beyond that he was stressed out with the visit to the vet and the herding trial so I left him at the halfway point lest we give him stress colitis. He should continue to gain weight with a lesser quantity since there is more protein than the ID. He has been on 2 cups twice a day + handfuls of kibble to go into the crate. I think I'm going to do 1 1/2 cups twice a day with the extra kibble tomorrow and see how he does while I'm gone. He does not appreciate that I have to work and Leo does not help as he also protests greatly when I leave.
So... Milo had a bath, the bedding had a bath (2 actually on SANITIZE) and the crate got a bath. I have to say that the shave job comes in handy for this type of situation. A rough collie with any sort of gastrointestinal issue is undesirable to say the least. A fuzzy butt with the trots is just not even sort of fair and typically involves a haircut and a hosing.
It was a perfect day to have to get wet and he dried in 10 minutes outside.
So... SH*T!
PS and the flies? Tea tree oil is the ticket. Some of the mosquito sprays don't work at all. Makes sense as I read that some police canine officers use menthol on their dog's ears.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
()#)#$&()@#$Q^@&( flies!
Sunday, July 1
So today Milo and Leo decided that it would be a good day to start wrestling... in the house whilst I'm attempting to unsuccessfully pill a cat. WRONG!
It has just been too hot and too buggy for Milo to be outside for very long. He gets winded just doing a trot around the yard and the deer flies are horrific. I'm constantly squashing them on his skinny little hips. He definitely does not have enough blood to share! They buzz me incessantly and poor Sabrina being a tri, her ears are targets for them. I put tea tree oil/lotion on her ears for the bites today and learned that it acts as a deterrent as well. Bonus!
I know that the flies have a very short life cycle, but it seems too long! I don't recall having this problem in the yard last year. On the road, yes, but not in the yard. I wonder if it has anything to do with the smaller number of frogs and toads this year? Not sure why that is either as we don't put out any chemicals.
Hoping for a predator to eat fly larvae. Will see about getting some traps to hang in the trees.
So today Milo and Leo decided that it would be a good day to start wrestling... in the house whilst I'm attempting to unsuccessfully pill a cat. WRONG!
It has just been too hot and too buggy for Milo to be outside for very long. He gets winded just doing a trot around the yard and the deer flies are horrific. I'm constantly squashing them on his skinny little hips. He definitely does not have enough blood to share! They buzz me incessantly and poor Sabrina being a tri, her ears are targets for them. I put tea tree oil/lotion on her ears for the bites today and learned that it acts as a deterrent as well. Bonus!
I know that the flies have a very short life cycle, but it seems too long! I don't recall having this problem in the yard last year. On the road, yes, but not in the yard. I wonder if it has anything to do with the smaller number of frogs and toads this year? Not sure why that is either as we don't put out any chemicals.
Hoping for a predator to eat fly larvae. Will see about getting some traps to hang in the trees.
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| Ramon considers how best to approach Milo. Note the new "peach fuzz". |
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