Penny is now hovering around the 9 lb mark, and she looks good. It appears her ideal weight is going to run between 8 1/2 and 9 pounds. She fluctuates some, but I think as long as she stays in that range, she's going to be at her ideal weight.
Just a huge improvement over the way she came to us. Hard to believe that in 16 days, she's put on a pound and a half, but she has, and it's in the right places.
One thing I have found out it is she really dislikes canned pumpkin. Something of a surprise to me because I've never had a dog that didn't like it, but she really dislikes it...to the point she won't eat at all if there's any in her food (and we're talking 1/2 teaspoon, so it's not much). I found that out after she ate around it for two or three meals and this morning she just flat went on a hunger strike. So canned pumpkin is no longer on the menu.
It's something that I actually only add to the meals of dogs that have to have pureed food because of mouth problems or lack of teeth. I had to do this with Elvis for two years, and when we brought in Penny, she'd just recently had her teeth extracted, and wasn't interested in eating anything but very soft food. So the pumpkin went in.
Fortunately, there's been a positive discovery here. She can actual eat her food in kibble form. Provided I dish it up and let it soak in hot water for a few minutes before I put it in her crate, she appears to be able to handle it. Now, I've only done this once (tonight), but she managed to eat it with not much of a delay, so I'm encouraged enough to try again tomorrow.
The other really good news is that nagging cough she's had is almost gone. There was some fear it might be the heartworms, but it's looking like it was caused by that nasty infection. She's on her second course of Clindy, and the cough really began to disappear Friday. So I'm very hopeful that once she's done with this 10 day set, she'll be good to go there.
We're still working out the heartworm treatment. Things here are a bit delayed because Dr. Walthall is out of the clinic this week until Friday. Melody is going to talk with her when she gets back to find out the exact process and cost. Penny also needs to be spayed, and I'm hoping that she doesn't have to wait for the HW treatment.
One negative about Penny. She is WAY too fascinated with the garage and doors that lead outside. I want to speak with ATDR about chipping her. I have a funny feeling that her curiousity for the great outdoors may have led to her being on the streets. You really have to watch her. I told Randall we're going to have to work on this, but having her microchipped would be peace of mind.
She is also still itching. Benadryl takes care of it, and I'm hoping that the combination of fish oil and daily brushing will make a difference. Her coat feels dry still, and her skin flakes, but that's all improving, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will eventually stop.
I haven't had the chance yet to try her on the NSAID for her limping caused by her elbow injury. It's liquid, and I added some drops to her breakfast this morning...which she didn't eat because of the pumpkin. So I'll try again tomorrow.
She is also eating in her crate now. I leave the door cracked, but it's getting closer and closer to being shut, so I hope by the end of the week, I can put her in and shut the door. She's also kenneling on command when food is involved, so I'm seeing great progress there. She still whines at night some, but she will be quiet if you whack on the crate door. Penny really has a desire to please, and that's going to make a world of difference.
I hope to see just how leash broken she is soon. That really needs to be tested outside, and as long as this heat sticks around, we'll have to wait. She didn't fight it at the clinic, though, so I feel pretty good about this. Once we know about that, I'd like to get a few very basic commands worked out. With my limited mobility, there's not too much I can do, but she can learn sit, down, off and that sort of thing.
With any luck, too, I'll get some decent photos this week. I should have taken advantage of the break in the heat this weekend but I didn't. My bad. So hopefully next week I can improve on the shots we have here on the blog.
