It's Official!

[xteacher]

It's official! We formally adopted Sunny (formerly Puffy) to our family yesterday!! We figured that he was going to be a permanent foster, so we might as well. This way, the rescue can use the money they were spending on his upkeep on another needy dog.

As promised, Linda, the rescue dirctor, didn't charge us an adoption fee, and she will also pay for a needed dental, which Sunny will get within the next two weeks. :B She is just thrilled that he's getting a home, which she never thought was possible, due to his fear issues. Most people want a cuddly, playful dog, especially when it's a small dog, and Sunny isn't there yet (and wont' be for quite awhile).

Sunny's little personality is starting to emerge, and he's actually pretty hysterical! He will bark once he's had enough to eat (he's fed in his crate, b/c he won't eat otherwise), and he'll also bark when he wants to come back inside from pottying. It's just a small bark, like he's saying, "hey, I'm done; come get me!"

I put a dog bed behind the couch in the dining room (the rooms are open to each other) a few days ago, so he can see us, but we can't see him directly. He gets nervous if we're watching him, and he's not comfortable being in plain sight. I tried moving the bed a little closer to the couch yesterday, but still behind it, but he went over to the area where it used to be and started furiously scratching the floor in that spot! I laughed so hard, because he was SO mad! It was as if he was saying, "put the d*** bed back HERE where it belongs!!" Of course, I moved the bed back, and there was peace in the household once again. :R

He's not wearing a belly band any longer, and he's doing well with not pottying in the house. :C We're still leaving his leash on him inside and outside, because he's still so skittish that he sometimes won't let us touch him. The leash gives us a little more control when we have to catch him.

Sunny's getting a little better about going through doorways. Before, we'd have to completely leave the area before he'd go through a door way. Now, we just have to step a few feet away and not look at him, and he'll come through within a few seconds. He still likes to follow us around, as long as we don't turn around and look at him directly. I talk to him as I walk, getting him used to a friendly voice. He's also fascinated watching us play with our other dog, Maddie, but of course, won't join in yet.

Sunny definitely has his preferences, and appears to be a smart little booger. I can't wait until he starts trusting us a little more.

Baby steps...


Sunny's Gotcha Day! (4-12-14)

[AZPops]

Deb and Ed M wrote:

AZPops wrote:


The problem with his nails that gives me the eby-geebies when I think about cutting them is his nails are black, and I'm not sure how far I can cut them.

Pops

That's part of the beauty about doing it this way - it only snips a teeny bit (Jack's nails were black, also). BUT - if YOU are hesitant, Calvin will pick up on that in a nanosecond; and be convinced you're going to amputate a toe (or worse)....yeah, he's going to struggle....LOL!

Well since he's been with me. He now only has three toes, wonder if that's the reason he don't like having his nails cut? ... LOL

Pops

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

AZPops wrote:


The problem with his nails that gives me the eby-geebies when I think about cutting them is his nails are black, and I'm not sure how far I can cut them.

Pops

That's part of the beauty about doing it this way - it only snips a teeny bit (Jack's nails were black, also). BUT - if YOU are hesitant, Calvin will pick up on that in a nanosecond; and be convinced you're going to amputate a toe (or worse)....yeah, he's going to struggle....LOL!

[AZPops]

xteacher wrote:
Pops, do you have any mobile groomers that could come to you? The vet's office probably freaks Calvin out to begin with.

Yes, and I'd let the girls at Petco cut his nails, but they won't let me hold him while they cut his nails.

Calvin's DOC really (I don't know why? But) loves the Kid. She has no problem cutting his nails. In fact she and whoever is helping me take him starts laughing, cause HE DON'T WANNA GO IN THE BACK! ... LOL

They keep trying, and they always bring him back to the room! One day, she'll figure it out to just go ahead and let the tech cut his nails in the room.

Deb and Ed M wrote:
Pops - Jack is weird about having his nails clipped, too. I found the easiest thing to do was have him stand with his weight on the foot to be trimmed, then would lay the clippers parallel to the floor, and would snip just a bit. It's pretty easy to pull their weight with one hand and trim with the other ( on a short-coated dog).

Sounds like a good idea, but with Calvin ..... LOL ..... I can tell you it'll be a no goer!

Pops

[xteacher]

Pops, do you have any mobile groomers that could come to you? The vet's office probably freaks Calvin out to begin with.

[AZPops]

Deb and Ed M wrote:
Pops - Jack is weird about having his nails clipped, too. I found the easiest thing to do was have him stand with his weight on the foot to be trimmed, then would lay the clippers parallel to the floor, and would snip just a bit. It's pretty easy to pull their weight with one hand and trim with the other ( on a short-coated dog).

The problem with his nails that gives me the eby-geebies when I think about cutting them is his nails are black, and I'm not sure how far I can cut them.

Pops

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Pops - Jack is weird about having his nails clipped, too. I found the easiest thing to do was have him stand with his weight on the foot to be trimmed, then would lay the clippers parallel to the floor, and would snip just a bit. It's pretty easy to pull their weight with one hand and trim with the other ( on a short-coated dog).

[AZPops]

xteacher wrote:

AZPops wrote:
Sunny's looking great! ...


Wish I could cut Calvin's nails. The last two times Doc cut'um, they brought him back in the room so I could give him the Death Grip Body Hold while the tech cut his nails! They couldn't hold him! ... LOL


Pops

Labs are funny like that. Our last lab (RIP Chipper!) would have NONE of the bordatella vaccine, which was simply squirted up his nose! 3 of us tried holding him down, with ZERO success. The vet finally just put on his record: In the future, give bordatella by injection - lol. The dog could care less how many shots he got; just couldn't squirt anything up his nose...

Luckily, Sunny only weighs around 9.5 lb., so holding him down to shave his front feet isn't so hard. A 65 lb. lab's a different story!

Have you tried giving Calvin some Melatonin about 30 minutes before taking him to get his nails done? I gave some to Sunny before I clipped him the other day, and it helped to relax him some.

Oh no you don't! Calvin's got so many meds as it is (both in his med rack, and ice box), I ain't adding another! ... :B

Pops

[xteacher]

AZPops wrote:
Sunny's looking great! ...


Wish I could cut Calvin's nails. The last two times Doc cut'um, they brought him back in the room so I could give him the Death Grip Body Hold while the tech cut his nails! They couldn't hold him! ... LOL


Pops

Labs are funny like that. Our last lab (RIP Chipper!) would have NONE of the bordatella vaccine, which was simply squirted up his nose! 3 of us tried holding him down, with ZERO success. The vet finally just put on his record: In the future, give bordatella by injection - lol. The dog could care less how many shots he got; just couldn't squirt anything up his nose...

Luckily, Sunny only weighs around 9.5 lb., so holding him down to shave his front feet isn't so hard. A 65 lb. lab's a different story!

Have you tried giving Calvin some Melatonin about 30 minutes before taking him to get his nails done? I gave some to Sunny before I clipped him the other day, and it helped to relax him some.

[xteacher]

CA Poppy, Sunny is a light cream, with dense, curly hair, except for his top knot, which is fairly straight. Right now, his coat's pretty short (how he came when we adopted him), and I try to brush him at least 3x a week. So far, so good as far as keeping the tangles at bay.

Deb, I'd give him treats, if he'd eat them, but he won't take any food from our hands yet. I used a lot of soft, positive reinforcement, which he likes. He's really pretty good, except the front feet. The clipper doesn't bother him; it's touching his front feet that he doesn't like.

[AZPops]

Sunny's looking great! ...


Wish I could cut Calvin's nails. The last two times Doc cut'um, they brought him back in the room so I could give him the Death Grip Body Hold while the tech cut his nails! They couldn't hold him! ... LOL


Pops

[CA_POPPY]

Are you lucky with Sunny and he has the kind of white poodle coat that doesn't mat? I used to help a friend groom poodles and the ones with the cottony white coat needed to be dusted with baby powder before brushing out. Otherwise, there was some serious fur tangling. I like their feet done, too. like to see the delicate little toes. Otherwise, they look Bichon to me. Memories...

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

xteacher wrote:
No, I don't have to shave his feet, but I'm a traditionalist, when it comes to poodles. Sunny will get used to it eventually. He was a little better this time compared to 3 weeks ago, so he's making progress. He just needs to get used to being handled more often.

I'm sure he's getting treats for being good, too?! That's how I got Jimmy to accept clipping willingly...LOL!! Still working on Ben, who is spooky about machinery in general; but he'll let me scissor-cut him just fine.

[chrisnpat]

He looks very happy and Regal with his buddy. lol

[xteacher]

No, I don't have to shave his feet, but I'm a traditionalist, when it comes to poodles. Sunny will get used to it eventually. He was a little better this time compared to 3 weeks ago, so he's making progress. He just needs to get used to being handled more often. He is really good and doesn't need a muzzle while I'm shaving his privates, face, tail, and back feet. It's just his front feet that he's unhappy about having shaved. He was also very good when I was doing the scissoring of his tail pom-pom, head, and ears. His body hair is still so short, that I just had to scissor a little around his neck today.