6 months old and still a terror

Echo turned 6 months old on the 1st of the month. She seemed to be doing a lot better for a while but has turned into a real terror lately. Some days I'm at a loss as to what to do with her. She's a challenge for sure. Some days I long for that quiet and easy life that existed prior to her joining our family. It will get better, right? The little ones won't come out of their room if she's loose in the house. If anyone wants to sit at the table, eat, work on homework, play, well.....just about anything, she can't be loose in the house. She is a TERROR and mouthy, hyper, vocal, jumpy.....and exhausting to be around. This is Echo about a month ago. She's 86 pounds now. Please tell me it will get better......send some calming vibes her way ;)

What's been happening with the zoo?

Well, with the dogs, not much! Life for me, however, has been stressful and chaotic. Hence, not much blogtime lately. I miss updating the blog and visiting all of our blog buddies, so I hope to make the rounds soon and catch up with everyone!

Kai still loves his Kuranda bed! Just look at those lips....dontcha just wanna smoosh them? ;)

The LWT is growing like a weed!!! Can you believe that she's already 82 pounds? Yep....not such a baby anymore, even though she's only 5.5 months old! She just finished her first puppy class and is waiting on a novice class so she can continue to work on her manners!

And does it get much sweeter than these two?? They make me smile every single day. And I've been really needing that lately.........

4.5 months old and doing better!

The LWT is 4.5 months old now and I'm finally starting to feel like there's hope afterall for the little terror! She had a vet appt. this morning and she weighed 66 pounds. No surprise.....she feels so solid now! She is absolutely loving her raw diet except that she growls when any of the other dogs get close to her crate while she's eating. I don't like that. So I'm going to start holding the food while she eats it and then we'll work on it from there. While at the vet, she did not jump nor did she try to nip/chew on the vet during her exam. I was so pleased and even the vet made mention of this! While I was chatting with the vet, she actually decided to take a nap on the floor. I couldn't believe she was actually able to act in a calm manner. So when we got home, we went on a walk through the park and she loved being out.

Her newest perfected skill is not taking food out of my hands until she gets a "release" sign. I will hold a treat in front of her nose and give her the "wait" sign. After about 10 seconds of holding it there and her waiting calmly, I give her the "thumbs up" sign. She's then allowed to take the treat gently. The minute she lunges or grabs it aggressively from my hand, I take the treat away. She has learned exactly what is expected of her and does great with this. Even with the little ones doing it!

We're still alive!

Yet again, things have gotten away from me and I've been remiss at blogging, both posting and reading others' blogs. I'm going to try to make the rounds today to see what everyone has been up to!

To catch up...... Echo is now 4.5 months old and weighs somewhere in the 68 pound range. She is not as 'nippy' as she used to be although she has replaced that with jumping. I swear she has springs in her feet. My two 5 year old daughters hide when Echo is running around the house because they know they'll be knocked over and trampled on. We're working hard on this but as with everything else so far, it is going to take time! Echo started her puppy kindergarten class a few days ago and not only is her sister, Sky, in the class, so is a labradoodle, greater swiss mountain dog, golden retriever, lab mix, as well as a few smaller pups. It's a great mix of dogs/sizes and they focus heavily on socialization so I'm excited for this class. She loved it...

Willow has slowed down in her growth. Last weigh-in, she was around 125 pounds and she's 10.5 months old. I think she's much bigger than Kai was at this age, so I have a feeling she's going to be a bigger dog than he is. Not as tall, but "wider." Although you can't tell in the pic above, her lines are really nice and I'm so pleased with her overall build. After dealing with a lifetime of problems with Kai, this type of stuff jumps out at me right away! Also, in the picture above, you can see Kai's back legs. If you notice, there is no "bend/curve" to his back legs. They are straight; this is what has caused his orthopedic problems. He has to stand on his tippy toes and it has caused damage to his knees and now arthritis. I'm amazed that he's still getting around as well as he is. The above picture cracks me up because not only can you see the difference in their sizes, but you it looks like they are all grazing! ha ha

My old man...yes, he's hanging in there. I just can't believe he's doing as good as he is. He'll be 8 years old the end of this month. That's getting up there in age for a giant breed dog. But not only that, given his health problems, it's truly a miracle that he's still here! He is loving the warmer days we've been having and wants nothing more than to find the sunny spots outside and sunbathe!

And the LWT is finally getting some jowls...I love it! I was practicing taking pics with my new camera and thankfully I've got great subjects with the dogs and kids!

I think I need to hang this picture on the fridge so when she's really misbehaving, I can remind myself that she *can* be sweet! ;)

And the biggest news is that I have finally switched the dogs to a raw diet. Well, I should say I'm in the process......I still have about $100 worth of kibble left and I don't have the finances to just throw it away so they are getting kibble in the AM and raw at night. Once the kibble is all gone, they'll be on raw only. So far they all LOVE it! A friend from work has a freezer full of deer meat that she doesn't want, so it'll be nice to save some $$$!

And I love this picture showing the oldest and the youngest of the crew! It's not often the LWT sits still long enough for a picture like this so this is a keeper! :)

Echo at 15 weeks and some progress!

Echo is now 15 weeks old and 48 pounds. She experienced her first snow yesterday and was very curious. She thought the best part of it was eating it! But she definitely HATES the cold!! I literally have to push her out the door and then she takes two steps and pees instead of going to the back of the yard where she usually goes. I will post snow pictures with the next post.


The above picture shows Echo doing what she does best......latching onto anything that comes close to her mouth; in this case, my hand. This is why doing something as simple as petting her is very difficult. She won't even let your hand get close to her without clamping down on it....and it hurts! This morning I decided that things HAVE to change. She's missing out on such crucial socialization because no one can get near her for fear of her chewing them up.....quite literally! So, this morning, I spent a good while standing in front of her and attempting to pet her. Latching on to my hand was the first attempt (as well as many subsequent attempts). After this first time, everytime she started to go for my hand, I pulled it away and signed "no." I then waited and when she was "calm," I signed "good girl" (thumbs up) and attempted to pet her. Eventually, she let me touch her without trying to take my hand off. I was signing "good girl" to her with the other hand the entire time I was petting her.

She finally decided that having a good ole head rub wasn't such a bad thing. As soon as she would move and show her teeth, I stopped petting her and just kept repeating the whole process over and over.

She finally relaxed SO much that she was like butter in the chair, enjoying a good head scratch. This may not seem like a big deal to others, but this is HUGE.......!!!! She will still go after things with her mouth but I feel like we made a breakthough and with work, she will actually begin to learn that someone touching her is a very positive experience and one to desire!!

This LWT has a really horrible smell. Can't quite explain it. So this morning, she had her third shower! She does really well and actually just stood there, waiting for me to finish washing her. If I got close to her face, she would try to latch onto my hands or the shower head, but otherwise, she did well!

I have renewed hope that things WILL get better!!

All relaxed after lots of good scratches!!

I got out Zen's old kuranda bed for Echo and of course....she LOVES it! Here, she was watching me wash dishes :)

Echo at 14 weeks

I'm a bit behind in posting, but wanted to make sure I posted about Echo's progress at 14 weeks before any more time passes! She turned 14 weeks this past Monday. She had a visit with the vet and she has actually gained weight, which I've been so worried about because of her GI issues! She's now 43 pounds and is definitely getting taller. She no longer has the runs but still has a few days left of her meds. I can only hope that her follow-up stool sample is free and clear of any 'bugs!'

Echo has really tested my patience lately. Of course it doesn't help that it has been a rough week in general. My dad had a heart attack on Saturday (he's back home and healing well now) and then my middle daughter had a follow-up appt. to see if her ear surgery in August was a success or not. Unfortunately, it was not and we're back to square one. Anyway, Echo has been wilder than ever. She has knocked down the Christmas tree twice this week, has ruined multiple pieces of my clothing from jumping up and latching onto them, then ripping them. One day I actually looked at her and thought there must be a feral dog in my presence! I truly don't think anymore that this has a thing to do with her being deaf. I think it is simply her disposition and I can only hope it improves with time (and LOTS of work!).

There have been no new signals this week, as she's just not ready for them. We've focused on just being able to have her out of her crate and around the other dogs and us!! She's almost fully transitioned onto the NB Fish and Sweet Potato food. She inhales it just like the other food! I introduced carrots this week as a "treat" and of course she loves them. We went on a van ride and she busted through the van barrier (anyone know of a really heavy duty barrier that will work for a van....let me know!) and chewed a hole in the leather seat. I'd crate her in the van but with three danes, there's not enough room for a crate in the van!

I can't wait to get her started in a puppy class but that won't be until mid-January when she's finished with all of her shots (she received the second round this week).

Here she is, standing between my legs.....one of her favorite places to stand. And no...she didn't pee on my pant leg, that's where the water spilled from her dish!

Practicing her "sit and wait" commands. If only she were this calm all the time ;)

This is the FIRST and only time so far that I have ever seen her laying down outside of her crate playing with a toy!

Potpourri of stuff!

The weather has been so nice lately, so we've been trying to spend as much time as possible outside! Willow has discovered this HUGE ball that has been in the yard for years.....why it's suddenly the best toy around, who knows! But she has the most fun trying to play keep-a-way with Echo and runs up to Echo, drops the ball and just when Echo goes for the ball, she grabs it and runs away. They can play like that for quite some time, neither tiring of the silly game! Willow is now 9 months old and her latest weigh-in put her at 115 pounds. She is 34" at the 'withers' and I certainly hope she slows down with her growing! She is still eating the Natural Balance Fish and Sweet Potato food and doing quite well on it. I've just upped her to 6 cups a day and so far she's tolerating the increase without any problems. She also gets raw meaty bones during the week, a raw egg mixed in with her food a few times a week, plain yogurt in her food occasionally, as well as supplements sometimes. I also put apple cider vinegar in the dogs' drinking water.
Kai is still hanging in there! Truly, I'm amazed at his will. He and Lucy are the very best of friends and where you see one, you'll usually find the other. Every morning, Lucy runs full speed to see Kai and it's like Christmas morning all over again. She jumps for joy, trying to reach is muzzle to give him kisses. And he just soaks it all up!

She keeps my feet warm when she's snuggled under the covers at night, but do you suppose she's keeping him warm? ha! But the company is appreciated, I'm sure!

And the LWT....well, we've been dealing with another issue now; giardia! UGH!! When is it all going to end? Thankfully, she's on meds that seem to finally be helping and she no longer has the runs. I've also upped her food and started the slow switch over to the same food that Willow is eating plus she's up to about 4.5 cups a day. I'm sure she'd eat more but I don't want to move too fast given her GI issues for the past month! We're still working on the same hand signs and I've *just* introduced down but we've got a ways to go with that one! She's a smart one, though....the minute she sees me walking toward the food bins and I sign "eat," she runs to her crate and waits to eat!

Echo also got her first taste of peanut butter by the way of a 'stuffed' kong! Willow was going crazy for it, but I made her stay away so Echo could enjoy it. And enjoy it, she did! At 13 weeks, she weighed in at 37 pounds, but is still underweight due to all the GI issues. She has definitely gotten taller and just in the past few days, it seems like she's finally putting on a bit of weight! She goes back to the vet on Tuesday, and I'm anxious to see if she's gained anything.

And as I mentioned at the beginning of the post, we've been enjoying the nice weather. So we decided to head up to the foothills for a hike last weekend and unfortunately, the wind was blowing horribly. We did manage a 45 minute walk or so and the dogs did really well. Better than the kids, I might add!

(Willow is wondering why it's taking so long for our friend, Teresa, to snap the picture. Just try getting two little girls and two pups to ALL look the same direction......not so easy!)

*I don't have a current picture of Halo to post, but thought I better mention the latest with her as well! Several weeks ago, we had to return to the vet with her because she'd shriek out in pain at the oddest of times. Even when she was asleep. It seemed isolated to her neck and was getting worse, so in for an exam she went. It turns out that her cervical vertebrae were injured in the attack and so is on prednisone (a weaning dose now) and seems to be doing much better, thank goodness!

A different type of pupil!

*UPDATED* I did manage to get a picture of Echo's eye, albeit not a really clear one. Click on it to enlarge the picture and you can see the starburst shape of her pupil!

Not long after Echo came home, I realized that her eyes looked different.....and not just because they are "ice blue." Her pupils seemed different; odd-shaped even. So I set out to try and figure out if I was "seeing things" or if there really is a name for the shape of her pupils. Well, I was not seeing things and there really is a name for her pupils. They're referred to as "starburst pupils." I tried, without success, to get a close-up picture of Echo's eyes, but it was not to be. I don't know who I was fooling to think I could actually get her to sit still long enough to get that type of picture! But I did find a picture of a starburst pupil on the internet. Although there can be some vision impairment related to this type of pupil, it most often just lends itself to the dog being very light sensitive. This makes sense because Echo really squints when she's outside.

The reason for the light sensitivity is due to the inability of the pupil to constrict the way it should when in bright light. I suppose I will need to buy Echo a pair of doggles also and start getting her used to wearing them. I'm sure she'll think I've lost my mind when I put them on her!!

Echo at 12 weeks

I've fallen a bit behind on posting about Echo's progress....so here's my catch-up post!

I haven't weighed Echo lately because she is still obviously underweight as a result of the horrible diarrhea she had with her run-in with the coccidia. My guess is that she is probably 5-8 pounds underweight or so. Her last day of meds for the coccidia was today, so late next week, I'll take another stool sample in to see if she's free and clear. Fingers and paws crossed!!

The mouthiness has improved some. To date, she has torn a pajama top, one leg of pajama bottoms (not in the same set, of course!), and the sleeve of a shirt. All due to her latching on with her little shark teeth and then yanking as hard as she can. Lovely, eh? I guess it could be worse! She has more periods of being quiet and sitting for some pets and loving. Granted, it doesn't last long, but I still view it as progress!

She's still doing super good with the housetraining. No accidents in the house nor in the crate either. I think this is really great especially considering her bout with the runs!

Unfortunately, no outings for socialization this past week...not until she is coccidia-free!

And as far as the training goes, we're still perfecting "sit, "wait," and "off." And of course, she sees the "no" and "good girl" signs as appropriate. I've also just introduced the "drop it" sign. She has no clue what it means yet but we'll continue to work on it!

Here's a couple of short clips on a few of the signs we've been working on. You'll have to pardon Willow's annoying howling/barking in the background. She was so upset that she had to leave the kitchen while we recorded these clips!

We have a diagnosis!

This sweet little ball, I mean, skeleton of energy has a reason for the explosive diarrhea. Her stool sample was positive for coccidia. YUCK! But at least we now have a reason for the diarrhea and lack of weight gain. So the entire doggie household is on meds as a precaution. She had her first meal today of chicken and rice and will continue on that for the next week in order to help her tummy rest.....she's not complaining at all! Once she's back on her food, I will then start a slow switch from the NB Ultra to Taste Of The Wild (TOTW) Pacific Stream.

In the past couple of days, we've started taking a daily walk around the block in order to get Echo used to the leash. She is not a puller and watches me constantly to see where I'm going. Once her energy is calmed, I foresee a dog super easy to train!!

Echo at 11 weeks

Although Echo feels heavier, her weigh-in at 11 weeks proved otherwise. She is still 30 pounds and she is looking super-skinny....and I am worried. Her appetite is excellent, she seems to be starving constantly, but with the really loose stools and sometimes liquid stools, I was afraid to up the amount of food she's eating, which is currently 3 cups a day of the NB Ultra. Plus she gets lots of treats throughout the day to aid in her training. If her stool doesn't get better, it's to the vet with a stool sample to check for parasites and/or infection.
The mouthing has not improved and she is rarely still. I have yet to see her "laying around the house." Our saving grace is that she does EXCELLENT in the crate and sleeps peacefully in there and the only time she whines out is if she needs to go outside to do her business. The above picture is her right after I signed "sit" to her. She is spot-on with the "sit" sign and responds to it 100% of the time. I've now added the sign for "wait" and she seems to understand the concept. I have been using it after she sits and when I'm setting her food bowl down in front of her. I don't want her rushing the dish, so she has to wait.

She LOVES to play with Willow and Willow enjoys Echo just as much. They are in a constant state of motion if Echo is out of her crate! I'm working with Willow to "be gentle." So here she is pawing Echo instead of pouncing on her!

Although it's important for dane pups to stay on the lean side because of their rapid growth, she is most definitely on the skinny side. Her back leg/foot is turning out in the pic, but it's just this particular pic......it's not always like that!

Echo at 10 weeks

Here is Echo at just a few days shy of 10 weeks. Although I didn't measure her height, her weight was 30.2 pounds. She has a fantastic appetite and was eating Pro Plan at the breeder's house. We immediately started the transition to Natural Balance Ultra Premium and she is all about eating! We are using the NILIF principles and having her sit before she gets anything; that is, her meals, treats, and attention. She is picking up the sign for "sit" very quickly, it's just a matter of her sitting still long enough to watch my hands!

She is super in tune to where I am at all times and watching me. I think this should make training easier. Biggest problem at this time is her uber-hyperactivity and mouthing/clamping down on any and everything. Right now we're removing her mouth, putting our hands around her muzzle and signing "no." She's not getting it.....yet! Patience, I tell myself.......patience! The other current issue initially is loose stools. Other milestone at 10 weeks......first set of shots.