Puppy Express Trip One Year Later....

[Luanne Dillard]

Hi everybody!

I can't believe it's been a whole year since we were on the road with the puppies. Time does fly doesn't it?

Hope everybody and their furkids are well and happy. We're fine here, and I'm sorry I haven't added photos sooner than this.

Jack went to the vet about 3 weeks ago for a small round sore by his mouth that we didn't know what it might be. We thought it might be ringworm, but Doc JoAnn said it was a micro hotspot. He got a shot and some antibiotics for home. She said it could have been something he chewed on that scratched him, or a cat's claw. Faye and I realized later that evening that this place is exactly where Rupert tugs on him. Jack is very patient with him. :)

On that visit he weighed 103 pounds. I saw that Koda is up to 104, so we've got some big dogs here. We went back a week later for a re-check, all was fine, and the vet suggested using Comfortis for flea control. I had been using the FrontLine stuff that you squeeze out and try to get it right on their skin. I can do that on Rupert easily, but I never felt like I was getting down to Jack's skin. That undercoat. I was telling her about this and she suggested we try the Comfortis, which was developed for flea control and is a monthly pill, but the vet said that she used it on her dogs and she hasn't seen any ticks on them either. So, it would be great if this works for fleas AND ticks. I'll let y'all know how it does. Or if any of you have any other suggestions I'd love to hear them. The ticks are very bad right now, and I just hate ticks!

She also recommended a snake bite vaccine since we live out in the country. She said she had been giving it for a couple of years now, and had never seen a bad reaction. Also said that they don't make dog anti-venom anymore, so the $25 vaccine is worth it, even though we haven't seen any poisonous snakes here ever. Maybe a copperhead years ago, and though I've never seen or heard of a rattlesnake on this place, there are rattlesnakes in our county. So he got a snake bite vaccine, and had no ill effects.

So now, when I see him nosing around an old brushpile or snakey-looking corner, I won't be so nervous. The vet said it doesn't keep them from getting sick from a poisonous bite, but greatly improves their chances of responding to treatment.

Lady is fine, and is just the sweetest dog I think I've ever seen. My parents' old 16 year-old Boston terrier, Penny, who is totally blind, stumbled onto Lady's food dish right after Mama had set it down for Lady one evening. My mom went out to check on Penny, and found her standing in Lady's dish, gobbling up food, with Lady lying down right next to her, just watching her eat. Hopefully, all her puppies have that gentle sweet personality. Jack seems to, although as a male, he is a little more rambunctious, but that might be his age too. He's curious about Penny, who spends a lot of her time walking in circles in the yard, but he doesn't try to paw her or anything.

So that's all the news from here. Rupert is fine, we didn't get him a snakebite vaccine because he doesn't spend as much time outside as Jack does, and when he is outside, he mostly finds a soft spot to dig. :)

We'd love to hear how things are going with everybody else. We're still working on "training" for Jack; that leash-walking is my nemesis, but we will get it. We don't work on it as much as we should, so that's my fault. But he's really smart and actually pretty good for such a big boy. He's learning "leave it" and actually has "left it" several times now when I've told him to.

Think of you all often, and hope everybody's having grand adventures!

Luanne, Faye, Jack, and Rupert

[Kathleen Gresham]

Wow, Callie is absolutely the runt. She weighs in somewhere between 65-70 pounds. Or did at her last visit, which was a few months ago. She's due up for her annual visit this month anyway, so we shall see. Luanne, sorry to hear about your dad. Hope he's doing better. She's a total sweetheart (though Allen is jealous that her sibs are so much bigger!).

[Jess]

Luanne,
I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. I hope he's doing better now. I also apologize for getting back to you so late--we just moved (the 40-minute twice daily commute was really getting wearing) and I've been off internet for the last two weeks. The harness we're using is the buckle up one (wish I could give you the name but the first thing Miss Anya did was nibble off the label) that's like a regular pulling harness except the lead snaps onto a ring in the front so that when the dog pulls, it pulls down the chest under the legs. Hard to describe and seems counter-intuitive, but works well anyhow! Ah hah--Google says it's the Gentle Leader Easy Walk Harness from Premier. It shouldn't run more than $20. Hope that helps! Took Anya into the Vet's yesterday for her 3 year rabies and a whole pile of Heartguard/Advantix. Just when I thought maybe she'd finished growing, the vet reports she's now 90 lbs and another inch taller. We start round three of Advanced obedience on Monday, though young miss is much more interested in agility at this point. Ah well, as soon as we get a reliable sit/stay for more than 30 seconds we can go on to the "fun" stuff. Hope all your furry wonders are great (and you all too, of course) !

Jess

[Luanne Dillard]

Hi guys! Glad to hear that both girls are sweeties, though I would be surprised if any of them weren't. Jess, what kind of harness is it that you got? Is it the "step-in" one, that they "step" into and the leash attaches on top? Jack actually walks pretty good, but like you said, if there's a squirrel or another dog, or something he wants to go see, then it becomes a match of strength. Glad to know that you're doing obedience, we are too, though we are taking a break right now. My dad had a stroke about 6 weeks ago, and though he is home, he is more feeble and wobbly, and we haven't wanted to go off very far, for very long. But we will be getting back to the classes soon, I hope.

In the meantime, we work on it here at home. (He ate through a gentle leader too!)

Kerri, that is exactly what we do too, when he sees another dog. Sometimes I feel like that woman in the commercial (can't remember what the ad is for) where you see the dog running and she's just running along behind. :)

[Jess]

Anya's a lovey, too. And a digger:) The best thing we ever did was buy one of those no-pull harnesses (not the gentle leader--she ate through two of them!) for walking. It really helps and that combined with the constant obedience classes (every monday since last October) has made her into a pleasant walking companion (as long as there are no squirrels!) Hope you all are healthy and happy and ready for the next year!

[Kerri]

Koda definitely got the sweetheart gene from her mama. She just loves on everyone and has to give everybody kisses and hugs everytime she sees them. Koda loves going on walks, so she's got the leash walking down pretty well now. Only time I get a little nervous is when she sees another dog across the street or park, cause it takes all of my strength to hold her back from dragging me over there. She tries to be friends with every animal she sees, its quite cute.

I'm glad to see that she's not the only 1 who makes it her mission to see how many holes she can dig. At times our backyard looks like a war zone from her handy work. At least she's finally learned that if she gets covered in mud it's bath time before she can run around inside the house again.