JackieMaya

The surgeon wanted to get another set of x-rays done on Pooh Bear's hips, so I took him back out to the vet that the rescue shelter uses, which is about 45 minutes away. My vet is two blocks away. I didn't know until after Pooh Bear ate his lunch today that they wanted to take x-rays. For hip x-rays, they have to be sedated, and they shouldn't eat for like 5-6 hours before they're sedated. So they're either going to do the x-rays as late as possible today or first thing in the morning. I could have had the x-rays done by my vet, but I don't know if the shelter would have paid for it then. This way, everything is paid for by the shelter. The vet said that the surgeon is guardedly optimistic that the TPO (triple pelvic osteotomy) will be a good surgery for Pooh Bear. That's the one that we were hoping they would be able to do. But he didn't feel comfortable making a decision based on the x-rays that were taken before. I just can't believe how wonderful Pooh Bear is in the car. I use my pick-up when I take the girls somewhere, but I used my SUV today for Pooh Bear (just covered the back seat). The SUV has a better viewing level for Pooh Bear than my pick-up does! And he was so happy to go to the vet! He is just an incredibly happy puppy! So it's just me and the girls at home tonight. I'm going to take Pooh Bear out to the barn with me tomorrow after I pick him up from the vet. I want to show him off to everyone there (and see what he thinks of horses), since after his surgery (which will probably be pretty soon), he'll be homebound for a long time. So I thought it would be a fun field trip for him.

Crystal, maybe you could give him a little peanut butter every time you put him in and take him out of the crate. That way he'll associate the crate with nice things. And when he comes up to you, make a big fuss over him and do something fun, like play with him and his favorite toy. And when he's in the crate, let him have a Kong with something yummy stuffed inside (I use peanut butter). I always give Pooh Bear a Kong with peanut butter when he has to go in his crate, and lots of times he'll go in there before I'm done putting the peanut butter in the Kong! And when Pooh Bear comes out of the crate, he gets to play with his sisters. So he associates good things with the crate.

Ugh! Gag me with an itsy bitsy teeny tiny teacup St. Bernard! :eviltongue:

Grrrr, that just makes me so mad! Yet another idiot who figured it would be cool to have a dog, and then found out that they didn't have time for a dog, or the dog wasn't trained, or cost too much, or is too young, etc. Poor Pooh Bear was adopted out twice and returned. The first guy returned him because he lost his job and couldn't afford to keep him. And the second one returned him because they decided they wanted a lap dog! HELLO! If you want a lap dog, adopt a frickin lap dog! I'm with the others, this poor dog needs a new family. Maybe you can either foster the dog or find a rescue that will take him and foster him until he finds a family who REALLY wants him! I just hate people sometimes!

[quote]Oh yeah, I have also tried running and jumping into the backseat while making a big deal out of it. all that happened was that i hit my head on the ceiling and he looked at me like i was an idiot(and I was). [/quote] ROFLMAO! That sounds like something I would do! But it sounds like you're doing the right thing. Maybe it'll just take him a little longer than it takes some other dogs to get to enjoy car rides.

A friend of mine had a yellow lab who had to have a leg amputated due to bone cancer, and he could run just as fast on three legs as he could on four! But he kind of freaked out some of the horses! LOL And Pooh Bear has hip dysplasia, and he limps when he walks and trots, but he can run and hop up on the futon and go up stairs with no problem. He's handling his disability better than I am!

This is hysterical! Pooh Bear is sleeping on the futon next to me right now, and he's whooping just like Jackie does when she talks in her sleep! They both go "whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop". I can't wait until they do it (or should I say duet) at the same time!

Tomorrow I'm going to call the Police Department and find out who it was who complained about me, and then I'll go talk with them, VERY diplomatically, and explain that I have a new puppy and that all the dogs are barking more than normal, and that I was trying to get them to stop. In the meantime, I've been bringing them in as soon as they start barking. And if they can't go outside together and not bark, I'll start doing the one at a time too, although that would really suck. I'm also going to get a citronella collar for Pooh Bear and see if that helps with him. Jackie will pretty much stop doing anything if I tell her to, so I don't think she'll need a bark collar. This really sucks!

I would wholeheartedly agree with this: [quote]I would say he's a mix of cute and cuter. [/quote]

Today when I let the dogs out (at about 7:45 a.m.), they were playing like crazy and barking a lot. I was really trying to keep them quiet, and it would work for a little while, then they would start up again. Well, a few minutes ago two cops showed up at my door and said that one of my neighbors had complained about my dogs barking, and said that it happens a lot. I told the cops that I had a new puppy, and that they were barking more than normal. The cops were VERY nice, and told me to try to be more cognizant of my neighbors and the barking. The problem is that when Jackie is playing with Pooh Bear out of Maya's reach, Maya barks because she wants to play. And when Maya is playing with Pooh Bear, Jackie barks because she wants to join in. And Pooh Bear barks at lots of stuff that Jackie and Maya don't, like birds and the neighbor dog. So... I think I'm going to get two more citronella bark collars and they'll ALL have to wear them when they go outside, ESPECIALLY in the morning and at night. I've always tried very hard to keep my dogs quiet at the times when people would be sleeping, but it's hard with three of them. I feel real bad, because I don't want my neighbors to think that I'm a negligent dog owner. I want my neighbors to like my dogs, not hate them. I'm really upset about this.

Today I took Pooh Bear to the vet that the rescue shelter uses. He looked at the x-rays and palpated Pooh Bear's hips. He said that he most definitely has hip dysplasia, and he's going to send the x-rays to the surgeon who would be doing the surgery. Once the surgeon sees the x-rays, then we'll decide which surgery will be the best for Pooh Bear. By the way, the vet was gorgeous! Of course, he had a wedding ring on too. The good ones are always taken! So I should know by the middle of next week whether the surgeon needs to take any more x-rays, or if he wants to see Pooh Bear, or if he wants to go ahead and schedule surgery. I'll let you know when I find out what's going on! Pooh Bear LOVES to go for rides!

My Golden Retriever/Husky mix named Maya is a fence jumper and neighborhood roamer. So whenever she's in the back yard, I attach a 40-foot cable to her harness. She can still use almost the whole yard (which is big), and can play with the other dogs. It works great! Sure, I would like her to be able to be free in the yard, but she can't be trusted. I would rather have her on a cable when she's outside instead of getting loose and being hit by a car.

Cool beans! Can I have your dogs' autographs? :D

This is an old thread, but now I can participate! As of 11 days ago, I have an Aussie mix named Pooh Bear! He's black and tan with some white. Do purebred Australian Shepherds come in that color? I'm just amazed at how smart he is and how eager to please he is, and how happy he is!

I love flatties! I've heard that they really have goofy personalitites, really clowns. What a handsome boy!

One time I was at a horse show, and a Jack Russel peed on a woman's leg who was in a wheelchair! (she was a rider who had broken a leg, so she wasn't permanently in a wheelchair). Talk about adding insult to injury! LOL!

ROFLMAO! I would have peed in my pants if I had seen that! What a Kodak moment! LOL!

Pooh Bear squats to pee. And since he only sees girl doggies pee, maybe he'll decide to stay a squatter!

I talked with Pooh Bear's former foster mom today, and she said that she's SOOO glad that I adopted him because if they had to do surgery when he was still in foster care, it would be another couple of months before he would be able to be adopted. And she said she could tell from the pictures that I sent her that the three kids are getting along as if they've grown up together. She said she assumed that I still wanted to keep Pooh Bear, and I told her that returning him was NEVER a consideration. He's my boy for the rest of his life! I'll probably end up using a ton of vacation time during his recuperation. I'll probably work half-days for a while after his surgery so that I can take care of him.

Maya was pouting next to me because someone barked at her and she got sprayed with citronella. So Jackie and Pooh Bear were having a blast playing together tonight. Then the two of them got a major case of the zoomies. Too bad it was dark out or I would have gotten some pictures. Jackie and Pooh Bear were zooming around the yard, and playing catch-me-if-you-can around the trees. Then when we came inside and I got Maya's citronella collar off her, she and Pooh Bear were doing their mad dog impersonations on the futon. Pooh Bear is so funny. He'll actually sit on Maya's head! Pooh Bear is definitely keeping the girls young! They're all just having a blast together!

Yeah, and I guess I should get rid of Pooh Bear because he has defective hips. NOT!! I'm sorry to hear that Laurel is losing her sight. It sounds like it's been happening gradually, so hopefully she's been getting used to it over time? Give Laurel a hug for me!

I'm taking Pooh Bear to the vet that the rescue shelter I adopted him from uses on Friday at 3:30 so that they can look at his x-rays and records and do their hip exam on him. Then I assume we'll be scheduling his TPO surgery for sometime within the next month. And the rescue shelter has a lot of people who have gone through the TPO surgery and aftercare who will give me lots of advice and recommendations for his recuperation. And the vet clinic there has done lots of TPO surgeries for the shelter. Pooh Bear's former foster mom said that one of the best exercises during his aftercare is swimming, and I live 4 houses from a lake. That'll be good exercise for me too during my diet! So that'll kill two birds with one stone! So things are looking up for my boy. The next few months will be hard on him I'm sure, both physically and mentally (not being able to romp with the girls), but it'll give him a happy, healthy pain-free life. I'll let all y'all know (said in my best fake Texas accent) what their vet says on Friday.

I got an email from Pooh Bear's foster mom, and she said that the rescue I adopted Pooh Bear from will pay for the triple pelvic osteotomy, which runs around $2,000. It will have to be done at their vet. So I'll talk with her tomorrow and get more info. This surgery would probably be the best for Pooh Bear, but I'm just worried about how he'll handle all the down time after the surgery. Has anyone had this done on a young active dog? But at least things are looking up for my little boy!

Thanks for the info, Cinco! Someone on one of my horse sites also gave me some links to info about hip dysplasia. I'm gravitating more towards managing Pooh Bear's hips with meds rather than surgery. He's such a happy, active boy that it would be so hard for him to be quiet and not be able to play for how ever many months the post-surgery recuperation would be. I just want him to be a happy dog who can play with his sisters and not be in pain. The groomer that I took him to as well as the vet both said that he's one of the happiest puppy dogs they've ever seen, and so well-behaved. I'm going to do a lot of research and talk to as many people with experience with this as I can before I decided what to do.

I'm at work so don't have time to type too much, but I would love to get any input that any of you have who's dogs have hip dysplasia. Did you have surgery done? Was it successful? If you elected to go with the drugs for the rest of the dog's life instead of surgery, did the dog have a happy life? Could he/she play with other dogs and not be in pain? I just think that it would be so hard to keep a 14 month-old happy, energetic, fun-loving puppy quiet and only on a leash outside for the 6 weeks or whatever the recuperation period would be for surgery. I want to do what's best for Pooh Bear, and the more information and first-hand experiences I can get from people, the better. Thanks, everyone!