Dog Food Under My Nails

I've never had a problem with feeding Rico and Chico...they're ALWAYS willing to eat anything and everything that I give them. Dolce on the other hand takes persistence, patience and endurance on my part to finish a meal.

Every morning when my alarm goes off at 6:30 Dolce immediately stands up and has one thing on his mind...potty...outside...potty...outside...poop...outside! This is also the time that I have to drag Brownie out of bed because Dolce refuses to go potty first thing in the morning and late at night before he goes to bed, UNLESS there is another dog out with him...afraid of the dark?? I think he just takes pleasure in seeing where another dog has just peed so he can go and pee over it...even with dogs I have a hard time understanding males. :-/

After the morning potty adventure Dolce is almost always in a great mood, pawing at me wagging his tail and prancing around...which you would think was because it's breakfast time...nope. I cut up his food to Dolce sized bites (if it's too big, he will spit it out and look at me like I should have known better), then sprinkle it with shredded cheese and place it on the floor for him. Usually at this point he decides that what I have done is scary and he hides under the kitchen table or below and kind of inside one of the kitchen stools. After calling him, sitting on the floor and trying to wave a piece of shredded cheese he will crawl out from his kitchen table cave and take the cheese I've offered him. At this point he either returns to his cave and we repeat the process again, or on a good day he will eat all of the cheese on his food then return to his cave. If you haven't figured it out yet...breakfast is NEVER easy. I have no idea why, but acting like I am eating his food or like Brownie is going to eat it usually gets him to straighten up and start eating his food, but ONLY if I had feed him each bite. Every morning I have dried up dog food under my nails...but my little diva's belly is full...and that's all that really matters.

Improvements

As usual Dolce amazes me. Dr. Adams said that the medication he prescribed Dolce would improve his cough quickly...we had no idea it would work so quickly though. His cough really diminished within 12 hours. He's still coughing a few times a day, but not nearly as badly as he was. Dolce's back legs are FINALLY starting to bulk up and he's able to do thinks like jump on the couch...even when we don't want him to. We now have 4 dogs that all can sit on the couch whenever they feel like it....great! haha.

I could tell Dolce was in a good mood this morning since he barked and growled at our neighbors gardener. The funniest thing about Dolce when he barks is that he's like a little cartoon character dog. He barks and I swear his entire body lifts off of the ground. He barks 3 times and his body comes off of the ground 3 times...its really funny to see him do that.

Sorry for the short post, but it's the end of the day and I need to get ready to leave work and head home to all of the pups. Don't forget to stop and purchase your Mega Millions lottery ticket tonight! I'm praying that I win tonight and can start my rescue foundation/sanctuary and my dog hospice home and devote my life entirely to rescue.

Heart Disease

Took Dolce to see Dr. Adams on Saturday. All morning I was whispering to him that today was going to be a scary day for him, but that he didn't need to worry because he was coming home at the end of the day with us. Brownie had what we thought might be a BB in her leg, so we took her to get checked out along with Dolce.

We met Mindi at the vet and she was finally able to see how he's doing, which made me so happy become I'm so proud of the progress that he's made to date. When we got in with Dr. Adams I mentioned that Dolce has developed a cough over the past week and I was concerned about it. Dr Adams mentioned that he was going to ask about that because when he listened to Dolce's chest, his heart murmur has gotten louder. We were told that a heart murmur has a rating of 1-6, 1 being the best and 6 being the worst. Dolce is a 4. We knew going to the appointment that Dolce's jaw would be x-rayed to see how he's healing, so they took advantage the timing and also took some chest x-rays. We had to leave Dolce at the vet's office for about 5-6 hours, which I'm NEVER happy about doing...but I know he's in safe hands.

Since we had several hours to kill and Brownie with us we went to Santa Monica and walked near the pier...Brownie's first experience walking on sand. Then we went to 17th Street Cafe in Santa Monica and had some lunch. Brownie sat on my lap the entire time and was amazing. She is such a polite little one, doesn't beg or anything. We kept going back to the vet's office to check on Dolce and they kept sending us away. Eventually by about 6-7pm we were able to pick up our little Dolce, but not after getting some not so great news.

The chest x-rays show that Dolce's heart has enlarged, which means he's experiencing heart disease. How advanced, I'm not sure. It breaks my heart to think he has to go through this. Dr. Adams said that heart disease is manageable and that Dolce could live for several more years, but even so I hate that Dolce has one more thing to deal with. Dr. Adams has placed Dolce on a heart medication that will hopefully lower his blood pressure and make it so his little heart doesn't have to work so dang hard. At this point it's safe to assume that Dolce will be on heart medication for the remainder of his life. I wish I could fly around the Earth like Superman and make time go back so I could save Dolce a long time ago. I just hate that he's had to go through so much and here is just one more thing...it's all very frustrating. But then there are days like today where he is so full of life and happy. We packed up the car this afternoon to take everyone to the dog park, but before we left I realized that I forgot the water bowl in the house so I ran back inside to grab it. Dolce must have liked the smell of the smoothie that I just made to take with me because when I got back to the car Brett told me that Dolce stuck his head in my cup and started drinking my smoothie. Later on I found some of his hair in my cup...I didn't mind.

In one month we will take Dolce back to see Dr. Adams to see is the heart medication is working...I really hope it does the trick and makes it easier on our little guy. I get so sad to see him start coughing when he tries to run around or when he gets excited to see me. I just want to scoop him up and wave my magic wand....wish I could find where that damn wand is.

Oh and about Dolce's jaw, the side that was severely broken is taking its time to fill in and heal, but its to be expected considering how infected the break was. The other side looks good. At this point Brett and I will be giving Dolce a nightly mouth rinse to try and keep his mouth as clean as possible. We're hoping that if we keep it nice and clean it will help his bone heal faster, because that pin in his jaw will need to come out eventually.

Keep thinking positive thoughts for our Dolce...he's come a long, long way, but still has hurdles ahead of him.

Little Furboy

A few days ago I posted an update saying that Dolce had a slight setback and had urinated on himself overnight...well he did it again, but I'm beginnig to think that I may know why. He's still very scared of the hardwood floors, thinks that he can't walk on them. So rather than get up and potty on the floor, he's just going on himself. :-( I think the best option is for Brett and I to hit up PetSmart and get some potty pads to place next to his bed at night. That way he can get out of bed and walk onto the pad, which should make him feel better since they will cover those "scary" hardwood floors. I know it's all in Dolce's head, because today he would walk to me slowly on the floors and even walked into the hallway on his own...we just need to help him overcome this fear.

Besides Dolce's fear of the hardwood floors, this week has been really amazing for him. I didn't want to mention it to anyone (not even Brett), but for about a week or so last month, Dolce went through a really rough patch with me. I really thought, that he just didn't like me and that maybe him being adopted sooner than later would be best. He went through this phase where he was constantly growling at me and being a total brat only towards me. I would tell Brett that Dolce growled at me or lunged at me and he would laugh it off because it never happened when he was around. I'm not sure if Dolce was testing me out or what, but now he is the biggest (little) love. He has evolved into this little boy that just craves being with Brett and I and with the rest of the dogs. He gives us kisses, is over the moon when we come home, his eating has improved, he wants to cuddle all the time and he even lets us know when he wants to be held. The things he has accomplished and the little pup that he has become is so far beyond anything I could have imagined for him. And the growling at me has stopped!! I'm so proud of our little furboy...he's doing so well! Now we just need to get over that fear of the hardwood floors!

Oh and Dolce is seeing Dr. Adams this coming weekend to see how his jaw is doing and if a 2nd surgery will be necessary. Please send positive thoughts to our Dolce boy in hopes that the other side of his jaw has begun to heal. I would hate to see him have to go through another surgery.

Playful Pups

Slight setback last night. Usually Dolce can hold it all night, but when I went to get him up this morning to go outside his underbelly was soaked with urine. :-( Poor guy, now he's gonna have to go through the trauma of getting a bath again. Then at breakfast Brownie was shaking uncontrollably and refused to eat. What is going on with these two this morning?

Other than that, Brett was hired for a new job, which means he will be out of the house for a good portion of the day everyday M-F...I hope our little poochers can handle this. I set Dolce up in the kitchen with his bed, food and water. So if he wants to pee all over the place, he can have at it...that floor is easy to clean.

Did everyone see the video Brett took of Dolce running around? Wasn't that amazing? When I got home from work Brett was outside with Chico and Dolce and they both came running up to me happy that I was home. What wasn't in the video was how Dolce got so excited he ran all over the little front yard excited that I was home. Then Brownie pushed the screen door open when she saw I was outside and came running to see me as well. What's so great about Brownie and Dolce playing together is the fact that neither one has played with another dog since they came to be with me. We take Brownie to the dog park multiple times a week and she likes to run along with the group of dogs playing, but never actually plays with them. It was so great to see her get down and playful with Dolce...those two are so great together!

Dolce has been in a great mood lately! He seems like he has suddenly become very attached, more loving and slightly needy. He wants to be sitting with us at ALL times. This morning anytime I would walk past him he would run alongside me, or paw at me with his tail wagging like crazy. He even played with me this morning on the rug in the living room and got so into it he was growling and bouncing around! He's 100% a different dog from the dog we brought home about a month ago.

Progress

Dolce's wound is healing nicely and looks great...thanks to those meds! The last few days he has really shown an attachment to us. When we got home on Sunday from going to the dog park he was upset for being left at home and not included and just wanted to be all over Brett and I. Then when it was bedtime and we put Dolce in his bed he came over to our bed and pawed at it standing on his back legs...just begging to be in bed with us and the rest of the pack. We let him get in with us until he fell asleep, then he went right back to his bed. I love the dog that he is becoming now that his feeding tube is out and he's gained weight...he's much healthier and happier.

Today when I got home from work he ran right up to me and stood on his back legs trying to get me to pick him up. Then we went to the dog park right before dark and he ran around enjoying the open space. He even tried to play with another small dog but my being overprotective, I kind of ruined that. Dolce's been playful with Brett and I, but not with our dogs or other dogs; in fact he has always just wanted to mount them. It's AMAZING to see Dolce want to interact with other dogs for reasons other than mating. Brett said that Dolce even tried playing with our Chihuahua Rico today! Progress people!

At this point we have one last hurdle...the March 12th appointment to see how his jaw is healing. Once that's done Dolce is ready for his forever home. He's going to be a hard one to part with...we've all become attached to our little Dolce-Boo.