Snicker has gone to his forever home!

Randall and I met Toni and her daughter up at the shelter early this afternoon, and let Snickers go to his new family.

This little guy is going to be well loved. :)

Toni has promised to send me pictures, and I look forward to posting them when I get them.

For now, here are two photos of when they first met.

And stay tuned...there's another foster dog on the premises, though he's a temporary until I go to Dallas in mid-April. I'll have pictures and a post up on him after he settles in a bit

Friday is D Day :)

Unless something goes sideways, it looks like Snickers will meet his new mom Friday afternoon.

Toni has filled out the adoption paperwork and sent it in, and now it's just time to wait. I should hear from either Kris or Tim tomorrow to set up the time on Friday.

Snickers' just got his nails clipped, and he'll get a bath tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to this, but sad, too. It reminds me of when I would place a litter of puppies. It's bittersweet knowing you've been a parent to someone and now it's time to give that job to someone else. That's always tough.

I'll post another update when Snickers leaves. He's been a doll to have around, but he's ready to his own forever home and people. :)

Forever Home for Snickers?

Might just really be. :)

I've been in contact with a lady in Killeen who saw Snickers picture and wants to adopt him.

I'll contact Tim this morning once the shelter opens and see what the procedure is. With good luck, Snickers will be in his forever home by this weekend!

Heartworm update

Not sure if Snickers is going to be at the adoption event at Petco on Saturday, March 12, but we did run him by the shelter this afternoon for a heartworm test, and he is negative.

He'll start his monthly preventive treatment tonight. :)

Adoption Event: Saturday, February 26, 2011

The Humane Society will have an adoption event this Saturday (February 26, 2011) from 11-4 at Tractor Supply, 300 North Valley Mills Drive (bordering Franklin) in Waco.

With any luck, Snickers will be there. He should be there from around 1:00-3:00.

We've got a small remodel project starting on Thursday, and we hope to have it wrapped up by Friday evening, but that's the only thing that might interfere. If it does, I'll post a heads up on Friday afternoon or evening.

Otherwise, come meet the Snickers baby. He would fit into a lot of homes and be an ideal companion!

Snicker's personality profile

This is what I'll be taking with us to Petsmart on Sunday. Please feel free to contact me if you'd like more information.


Snickers

10 year old, male (neutered) mini-smooth dachshund. 10.6 pounds
Blog: http://wacofosterdogblog.blogspot.com/
Rabies: 1/18/2011
Teeth cleaning and extraction, 1/18/2011
Food: 1/3 cup Purina ONE Sensitive Systems dry food moistened with water, once daily in the evening.

Snickers is a very friendly and active senior. He loves chew flips, warm blankets, car rides and naps in your lap. He's very people oriented, so he wants to be with you. He will also run and play when it's close to dinner time.

He's extremely good with other small dogs, and only shows any possessiveness if he's got a chew toy.  He's fed in his crate and doesn't show any particular food aggression issues.

He does like to chase cats, but he co-exists well with two here at my house. He chases my Oriental, but that cat loves to run and jump, so he invites it. The other cat is less fond of dogs, and Snickers will try to engage her unless stopped. Overall, though, I'd put him at an 8 with cats. Introduced properly, he's most likely going to be just fine with them.

No idea about kids, but I suspect he would be fine with older children who know how to behave around dogs.

He is mainly crate trained, though he will scratch at the door and whine a bit until told to be quiet. He sleeps in his crate at night, is fed his dinner in his crate and is crated during our lunch and dinner.

His house manners are good, unless the weather is bad. He hates cold and rain, and will do his best to avoid going outside. At those times, he will potty in the house if given a chance. Plan on picking him up and carrying him to the door, and be prepared that he will turn and run back to his blankets if given an opportunity. If the weather is good, he loves to lay out in the sun. and can be reluctant to come inside.

Snickers likes short walks. He's mainly leash broken, but he can be distracted and, if that happens, he'll stop to watch what it is that has his attention. He seems fine with cars going by.

Weekend Petsmart Plans

With any luck, Snickers will be at the Waco Petsmart on Sunday. The time is 12-4 pm, but I suspect I can only manage from around 12:30 or 1:00 to about 2:30 or 3:00.

Still, this will be his first adoption event, and I'm looking forward to having him there. I do hope he behaves well, though I've no reason to believe he wouldn't.

So if anyone is interested in meeting Snickers, remember, Petsmart on Sunday. He'll be there with nails trimmed and freshly bathed for his first meet and greet!

Photo 1/31/2011

Unfortunately, I didn't get the sorts of photos of Snickers that'd I'd hoped to. Usually, he's out in the yard with the other dogs, but a neighbor was having tree work done, and the chainsaw had him a bit spooked.

The weather is supposed to turn nasty, and as much as I'd like better outdoor photos, I'm not going to get them while it's cold and sleeting, So I'll try for others later, but for now, this is what I have from today.

Update, January 30, 2011

Snickers continues to do really well.

His coughing/snorting has cleared up, and he's lost a full pound. He's now at 10.4 pounds, and has a waistline and you can feel his ribs. He looks good.

I've really only seen three issues with him.

First is his tendency to chase the cats, though again, it's a playful, mischievous sort of thing. He has growled at one of them once or twice, but I've never caught him right as he was doing it. It's never amounted to anything, but I would say that a new owner would want to watch him for a bit around cats. We live in a "gated community", so the cats are always able to hop over a pet gate if anything is too much for them. He tends to really want to chase my black Oriental, but Ollie seems to invite it. He loves to run and jump, and what I see between him and Snickers seems more like play than anything else.

The second is I would definitely feed him in a crate. He's not particularly food possessive, but he does better if he can eat undisturbed. He's gotten a bit pushy if he's licking a plate with the other dogs, so a new owner would want to keep that in mind if he goes into a multi-dog household.

Third is his love of comfort. That's not a problem unless it's time to go out and potty and he's asleep on the pillow. He *really* isn't interested in going outside. That's more pronounced if it's cold or raining, but that's not too different from any other dachshund I've owned. :)

Other than those things, though, he's a real sweetie. He loves being with people and small dogs. I don't know how he would be around children, but older children who know how to behave around dogs should be fine. He's a happy little fellow, and he will bring a lot of joy to his new home.

I'm hoping to get some good pictures tomorrow, and I want to speak with Kris and get him listed out on the shelter's site. Not sure when their next adoption event is, but he's pretty well ready to go now. If the weather stays decent, I'd say next weekend will be a good start.

Update, January 28, 2011

Snickers has finished his antibiotics. Thank heavens! In 40+ years of owning dogs, I have NEVER had one so hard to pill.

It appears that whatever the cause of the snorting/coughing has pretty much cleared up. Or enough that I'm not willing to go with more antibiotics until I see if it's left or hanging around. I should know by Monday. He really only does the snorting bit maybe once a day now, so I want to see where this stands.

Also, his weight is down below 11 pounds. He was a little over 10.5 when he was weighed yesterday. I'd still like another half pound off him, but he looks pretty good now. The weight has shifted around so he no longer looks like the chunky monkey he was when he came here a couple of weeks ago. He's got a waistline now.

His mental outlook is really good, too. He's settled right in, and he's a very happy little guy. He's loving having the other dogs around, but I think he could live easily either with or without pack mates. He's accepting and playful. Definitely a very young 10 years old.

Snickers is a real comfort seeker, too. When it's cold or dark, he REALLY doesn't want to go outside. We literally have to carry him to the door and scoot him out it. Now, if the sun is out, it's no problem at all. If anything, we can't get him to come in. He really and truly is a sun seeker.

Randall took him for a short walk down the street so I could see just how leash broken he is. On a scale of 1-10, I'd put him at an 8. He's very solid when cars come by, but he's easily distracted by smells. Obviously not obedience trained, but also obviously comfortable on a leash.

Also, it appears he used to be taken along in the car. He gets very excited when Randall is getting ready to leave the house. So car rides shouldn't be an issue for him at all.

Since he's doing so well, I'm going to contact Kris about taking him to adoption events. I suspect that by next weekend, he'll be ready to go. With any luck, he'll find a forever home soon. He deserves his own place where he can be loved and doted on.

Update, January 22, 2011

Yesterday and today have been busy, so I've not had time to update Snicker's activities. Tomorrow may also see no update....we're getting a new mattress which means lots and lots and lots of laundry. :)

First off, he's doing really well now that his teeth are no longer hurting him. He's made the transition to a solid kibble diet, and his meal is now in the evening rather than in the morning. It's just easier all the way around, so I'm glad this has been easy.

What has NOT been easy are the oral antibiotics. This dog is VERY sensitive to bitter tastes, so the idea of putting just the powder into a foodball just didn't work. Even dipping the foodball in honey didn't help. So we're back to pill poking. It's a problem because the capsules are getting lodged in the back of his mouth where a couple of teeth were pulled. That means twice a day there is a major fight to get this antibiotic in him. It's needed, though.

That brings me to his gagging. It's definitely less often and lasts a shorter period of time. So the antibiotics are kicking it. I just hope I can get enough in him to completely run this thing off. If not, I'll call the shelter mid-week and have them call in a request for more. I really hope that isn't needed because the thought of having to get more pills down him just makes me shudder.

Dr. Walthall mentioned in an email that liquid was an option, but it, too, is really bitter and he'd have to have 2.5 CCs. I just don't see that happening, so we'll plug away the way we are.

As far as how he's settling in, everything there is working just fine. He still wants to chase Ollie, though his manner is mischievous, not mean. I can deal with that, and I'm pretty sure that if Ollie gets fed up with it, he'll let Snickers know. The other issue was with him and Skeeter. That's over. Both these boys have discovered they like to play with each other, so they've been taking turns chasing each other. It's still sort of tentative, but I imagine that will change in a few days too.

All in all, everything is going very well. I'll weigh him tomorrow and see where he is. Then I can figure out just how much I think he'll need to lose. Now that he's been here a couple of weeks and the routine is setting in, a diet should be much easier.

So that's where he is. I'll try to post at least what his weight is tomorrow, but that may be all I get to.

Update January 20, 2011

What a little pill Snickers is.

Or should I say Snickers really hates pills!

After his dental the other day, Dr. Walthall sent home 10 days of oral antibiotics. What a PITA. Snickers has thwarted just about every attempt I've made to get his pills in him...and I've been dosing dogs a good, long time.

Even using a piller this morning, Snickers managed to get the gelatin capsule out. I *think* he get the medicine, but this is still not what I want. He's obviously wise to capsules in foodballs, too, since he's eaten around the pill twice now.

So, the only thing I can figure to do now is open the capsule and dump the medicine into a foodball and give him that. His mouth is still too sore for him to take kindly to me wrenching his jaws open and forcing the pill down, plus it's not a good thing for his mental state (which is overall really good). So, I'm going to try this other way.

Snickers is also making the transition to kibble, which is good. He's also in the process of having his main meal shifted to the evening with everyone else (but Elvis). That will take a few days, but it does seem to be going without a hitch.

The only real problem I'm seeing is a hacking/gagging. I suspect this is a leftover from the rotting teeth and will clear up as the antibiotics take hold. If I don't see a lessening over the weekend, I'll call the clinic on Monday to get some advice. My dachshunds have always done a little bit of this, but Snickers takes it too extremes, and its much "wetter" sounding and goes on for longer periods of time than I'm used to.

His weight is also still about where it was....11.6 today. But it's shifting around. I may need to rethink how much he needs to lose, too. As the weight shifts, I'm seeing some different areas. Last week, he had no ribs. This week, he's got ribs, though they're still pretty well padded. So it may end up that once his infection is cleared up, he's on good food consistently and he gets some exercise, that the diet will only be for him to lose a pound to a pound and a half rather than the two to two and a half pounds I'd thought last week.

Since it was a bit warmer yesterday, all the dogs got a bath, including him. I know he got one last week, but that was mainly to get the newsprint ink off his coat so neither Randall nor I would itch after picking him up. Yesterdays bath was much better. I still need to clean his ears and clip his nails, but I'll do that today or tomorrow.

My only complaint with him is that he's such a comfort seeker he doesn't want to leave the pillow/blanket to go outside. Randall picks him up and carries him when I'm not around (with three other dogs, he needs everyone at the door at the same time, particularly if the weather is bad), but when I'm there, Randall works the door, and I herd Snickers...with varying amounts of success. LOL He will, however, learn to walk to the door...I suspect this will all go smoother once it's warmer and there's no drips of water off the eaves.

It's going to be busy around here for the next couple of days. so I may not get around to another update until sometime tomorrow afternoon or maybe even Saturday.

The dental was a success :)

I don't know how long it has been since Snickers was able to chew on anything, but from seeing his reaction to the chew flip tonight, I'd say it's been awhile. The dental was a definite success.

Also, he's not solid at it by any means, but with encouragement and a little work, he will retrieve. Granted it was Ollie's furry mouse, but he would bring it back and gave me a couple of little kisses in the process. I imagine he'd love a squeaky toy, but one wouldn't last five seconds once Haley grabbed it.

The clinic has posted a couple of pics (before/after) on their Facebook page.
Snicker's teeth

Missing items...

Snickers is. :)

From both ends.

He's home from the clinic, neutered and clean toothies.

His teeth were absolutely atrocious. One of the techs said they were the worst she thinks she's ever seen. Rotting food, rotting teeth, bleeding gums.

Five are now gone, and the remainders are nice and clean.

Needless to say, his breath is 100% better.

He had an antibiotic shot, and we have 10 days of Clindamycin for him. That should help clear up any infection that the shot might miss.

Since he only had five teeth pulled, I'm going to transition him over to kibble. He didn't have breakfast this morning, so I'll offer him a couple of tablespoons of soft food. I'll keep him on the soft stuff for a couple of days and then start moving him over to the crunchy stuff. That means I can also move his main meal to the evening. I'm also not going to feed the full amount since the transition to kibble will be easier if he's a bit hungry. And, well, he's now on a diet anyway.

The little guy has got to feel better. I know all the dogs greeted him by way of smelling his mouth. That's really the first time any of them could stand to be that close to his head. Everyone seemed relieved.

And now Randall and I can slobber all over him too. Much easier to love on a dog who doesn't kill you when he breathes on you. :)

I'll post again tomorrow after he's had a chance to sleep off the remaining anesthesia.

Snickers at the vet

Just talked to Melody at the clinic and Snickers is doing fine. I had warned her this morning again that she'd need a mask to work on his teeth, and she did say they were nasty. lol

He's been given an antibiotic shot, but he's going to be on orals, too, which isn't at all surprising. He did have several pulled, though I don't know just how many yet. With any luck, this will really help his chances of being adopted.

And before I forget, he weighed in at 11.4 pounds this morning. I'll weigh him again in the morning, and we'll start on weight reduction from there.

I'll post another update tonight.

Pictures 1/17/2011

I'm not getting a lot of help with lighting, but these are pictures as of 10 minutes ago. :)

Update January 17, 2011

Bit of confusion this morning taking Snickers out to the shelter for a look-see by a vet tech. Randall missed them, so when I called Kris and told her what was up, she told me to call Dr. Walthall's clinic and set up an appointment to get him seen to.

Talked to Melody a few minutes ago, and Snickers is set for a neuter and a MUCH needed dental tomorrow morning. We'll get him out there around 9:30, and then should be able to come get him around 4:00.

This is good because there is no way this little boy would be adopted with the mouth he has. **fingers crossed** that we're looking at a good cleaning and only a few teeth needing to be pulled. He's a sweet, sweet boy, but his breath would knock you off your feet.

When I talked with Kris, I had her change his kennel card to reflect that he's a mini-smooth, not a standard smooth. I also asked her to please cross post this blog when Snickers gets out on the shelter's site. With any luck, I'll also be able to get some new and good pictures of him later this week so she can use them.

That's about it, really. I'm just really happy he's going to get his mouth seen to. IMO, that is more important than the neuter. He'll make someone a wonderful little pet, but no one is going to want him without a better mouth.

I may not make another update until tomorrow after we pick him up from the clinic.

Evening Update 1/16/2011

Today has been a fairly uneventful day.

Snickers has tried to burrow under any blanket he can find, and, I'm pretty sure because of the rain, has had a couple of accidents in the house. Between the rain and a new routine, it's pretty understandable. He just really hates going out in the cold rain, and I can't say that I blame him.

Tomorrow I definitely am going to have to get the shelter involved in getting his teeth cleaned. He literally doesn't want to stay in a covered crate because the smell is so bad. And the other dogs don't want to be around him much either. It's really a case of "Please don't breathe on me."

Poor little guy.

One thing I've determined is that he's really only use to one meal a day and that's in the morning. That works fine. Elvis (permanent foster dog) has to be fed in the morning so he can take his medicine, so it's no trouble to dish up a second helping for Snickers. I skipped giving him anything tonight when I did the regular feeding, and he didn't say a word. That will make it even easier to diet him. I'll weigh him again on Tuesday and see where he is.

Skeeter seems to have pretty well accepted him (except for his breath). I'm only hearing growling and seeing posture change if Randall is petting Skeeter, and Snickers comes up for a scritch. We're working on that, and I suspect it will be resolved completely within a few days.

W/R/T the cats. He leaves Howdy (my Devon Rex hybrid) strictly alone. I think he's figured out that if he pushes too hard, she'll push back. She takes no guff off any dog. As long as he ignores her, she's happy to do the same. Ollie, the big black foster cat, is a bit different. Snickers is more assertive with him. Ollie isn't particularly amused, and I suspect Snickers will find himself on the receiving end of a swat across the nose.

If past experience with dachshunds is any indication, Snickers has homed in on the biggest, blackest thing around. My first show dog, Gusto, used to do that and it drove me to distraction at the shows. He would ALWAYS find the biggest, blackest dog and try to have a stare down contest. Snickers is trying that with Ollie, and Ollie doesn't really care for it. I imagine this won't go on much longer, either.

So I would say he's very good with small dogs, and pretty decent with dog friendly cats. He has to learn the pecking order, but he's not mean about this. Just overly curious and a tad pushy. Nothing that I can see getting out of hand.

So other than a couple of accidents in the house, and some cat testing, he seems to be settling in well. I hope to have an update tomorrow with some idea of when he can be neutered and get his mouth seen to.

Afternoon Update 1/15/2011

Things are moving right along here with Snicker's integration into the household.

When Randall got up this morning, he used the same routine he did yesterday morning which was to let Haley, Skeeter and Elvis out first. Once they came in, he let Snickers outside. Unfortunately, it was raining, so Snickers refused to leave the back step.

When I got up (about 7:30), it had stopped raining, so we were able to get Snickers (and Elvis) to go out to take care of business. He came right back in and climbed on a pillow and snuggled up until it was time to feed Elvis. Skeeter has complained very little today, so I suspect that by tomorrow or Monday, most of the contentious behavior will be past us.

It's pretty obvious that Snicker's is used to his main meal at breakfast. He was quite animated this morning when I went in to start fixing Elvis his, so he was quite happy when I put him in his crate and fed him, too. He ate just about all of it.

I'll offer him a tablespoon or so of food tonight when we do our regular feeding, but he may not want it. If not, that's fine.

He's still having the same issues with his mouth (not unexpected since nothing has changed since yesterday). He seems a bit brighter today, but it may just be the cold. He's a definite comfort seeker, so when he finds a place that's warm and soft, he needs a lot of motivation to move. This is good in a way, because with the rain and our van windshield wipers not working right, I'm not sure how we would have gotten out to the shelter today if he had been having real problems with his teeth.

I'm hoping that Monday we  can get things organized to get him in to Dr. Walthall for the neuter and dental work. I do know that when he goes in, I'm going to call Melody to warn her to wear her mask when she starts in on this teeth. I have never smelled breath on a dog that was this foul. I literally am looking at his other end because I SWEAR he's pooped. That's how bad this is. :(

Since he's been here two days, I'm getting a better reading on his weight. Thursday afternoon he was at 11.6 lb. Today he's at 12.0. Getting his feeding schedule set and getting him on good food means I'm going to see that weight go up a tad. I suspect that when I weigh him on Tuesday, he's going to be right at 12 pounds. That will be the starting point for his diet. I figure if that's where he is, then 3 pounds needs to come off for him to be at a healthy weight. He's getting 1/3 cup of soft food in the morning, and 1 tablespoon offered at night. Come Tuesday, I suspect I can see what I'll need to cut back to start seeing his weight reduce.

Once the rains clears up, I want to see just how leash broken he is. If he does well, I'm going to ask Randall to take him for a short walk every day (since I can't walk, it's got to fall to Randall to do the exercise bit). If I can get his metabolism up a bit, I should see a bit more consistent weight loss.

Not sure if I'll get another updated posted this evening or not. If not, it's not because anything has gone wrong, but because Randall and I are watching a movie and eating popcorn. :)

Sweater pictures :)