So I've mentioned a few things here and there about his health, and I know there was some confusion and some questions.
1. He's losing his sight.
2. He's losing his hearing.
3. We think he might be in some joint pain.
4. He's had severe anxiety issues (not leaving my side for a week, hiding behind me when anyone came near - even people he likes).
5. All of this together has culminated in a few bites. None drew blood, and I think only one "hurt." This doesn't excuse it, however.
We rent from a guy who has an open door/open garage policy to the neighborhood, so people stream in and out constantly in the warm months. It's colder now, so there's less of that, but there's a lack of regard for my concerns over MULTIPLE BITES. Which, IMO, should be very concerning to everyone in the neighborhood with children. Despite this, we have found a 4-ish year old child in our bedroom and no one could explain how she got there. But she came up there to find the doggy! The attitude is very much that dogs will be dogs, and counter surfing, jumping up, letting dogs off leash, etc is ok.
I've been pretty stressed because I made the decision that if there's another close call, he is being PTS. I can't afford to allow a dog with a bite history to bite someone's kid in the face when they let themselves into my house. We're managing it as well as we can, which means a LOT of crating, and since he's afraid of the dark 75% of the time, no more night walks. He's supervised around neighbors as much as possible, and I've made sure they're treat and petting machines in his eyes.
I'm dealing with the anxiety with rescue remedy, and giving him 1/2 an aspirin (per vet instructions) when he looks ouchy. Part of the anxiety is (I think) due to his lack of hearing and sight; and I can't fix that. He didn't recognize me when I walked away from him at the loud, smelly dog wash until I got close. We started him on glucosamine, and that helped. We went for a consult this weekend, and he's getting adequan injections now as well. So far he's responding REALLY well, and we have another scheduled for tomorrow. We're trying our best to move out, but the Denver housing and rental market is complete ****.
So this is the update on my Little Black Dog. It's really not that great, but it's not awful, either.
Obligatory picture of him enjoying his favorite activity: being snuggled by a child.
IMG_4866 by noludoru, on Flickr
DERP
IMG_4354 by noludoru, on Flickr
1. He's losing his sight.
2. He's losing his hearing.
3. We think he might be in some joint pain.
4. He's had severe anxiety issues (not leaving my side for a week, hiding behind me when anyone came near - even people he likes).
5. All of this together has culminated in a few bites. None drew blood, and I think only one "hurt." This doesn't excuse it, however.
We rent from a guy who has an open door/open garage policy to the neighborhood, so people stream in and out constantly in the warm months. It's colder now, so there's less of that, but there's a lack of regard for my concerns over MULTIPLE BITES. Which, IMO, should be very concerning to everyone in the neighborhood with children. Despite this, we have found a 4-ish year old child in our bedroom and no one could explain how she got there. But she came up there to find the doggy! The attitude is very much that dogs will be dogs, and counter surfing, jumping up, letting dogs off leash, etc is ok.
I've been pretty stressed because I made the decision that if there's another close call, he is being PTS. I can't afford to allow a dog with a bite history to bite someone's kid in the face when they let themselves into my house. We're managing it as well as we can, which means a LOT of crating, and since he's afraid of the dark 75% of the time, no more night walks. He's supervised around neighbors as much as possible, and I've made sure they're treat and petting machines in his eyes.
I'm dealing with the anxiety with rescue remedy, and giving him 1/2 an aspirin (per vet instructions) when he looks ouchy. Part of the anxiety is (I think) due to his lack of hearing and sight; and I can't fix that. He didn't recognize me when I walked away from him at the loud, smelly dog wash until I got close. We started him on glucosamine, and that helped. We went for a consult this weekend, and he's getting adequan injections now as well. So far he's responding REALLY well, and we have another scheduled for tomorrow. We're trying our best to move out, but the Denver housing and rental market is complete ****.
So this is the update on my Little Black Dog. It's really not that great, but it's not awful, either.
Obligatory picture of him enjoying his favorite activity: being snuggled by a child.
DERP