My own corner of the internet for a self-gratifying photo dump for all things Caper, as well as updates!

I welcome any advice or comments that anyone may have at all on how Caper and I are living.

Caper's ownership was transferred to me at the end of May when he'd just turned 6 months old, with the owner citing "not enough time" as the reason for giving him up. He had lived a backyard life 24/7 and has learned a lot over the past month with me, as I have from him.

Now.. enough with the introduction and on with the photos!


^ The bottle of Dos Equis seems to be missing from this shot.


^ The amazing ability to nap where ever whenever!


^ Walking the perimeter of Lake Chabot after learning a little bit about not pulling!


^ Beginning crate training - that triumphant moment when he voluntarily sleeps in the crate!

On one extremely unlucky day, one that was much too early in our relationship...
He was attacked by a dog at a dog park and had two of his legs on his right side torn up, sustaining deep lacerations, fractures and losing a toe... I had never been so traumatized in my life and will never forgive myself for bringing him there that day. Thankfully he forgave me and seems to worry much less about his injuries than I do, playing and trying to set his own definition of the vet's order of "restricted activity" constantly.


^ At home 3 days after surgery

He quickly learned that he could have the cone left off if he didn't try to lick his sutures or chew his bandages and earned freedom after a few weeks.

A recent recheck xray showed that his nonunion toe fracture is not healing very well, and the ends are misaligned... but thankfully the vet doesn't think that it will have to be amputated as the original prognosis suggested.





Despite being in recovery, we are using the time to teach him lots of new things! Especially basic obedience, manners, and curing his phobias of stairs, skateboards, car rides, being alone, etc.


^ Looking forward to car rides instead of trying to flee!


^ Relaxing and enjoying his toys when alone instead of crying

Although our time together had a very rough start, it is improving amazingly quickly every day. We are coming to understand each other more and more, and with that increased understanding comes improved communication. I mentioned elsewhere on this forum that I (tentatively) feel very lucky to have come across such a trainable, personable dog. He quickly learned to be quiet and gentle, what is his and what is not, what is appropriate to do to get him what he wants. He grows more affectionate and happier in our home as the days pass and I look forward so much to what the future holds for us.



Thank you for reading!

Wow! That foot injury looks awful! Poor guy! Glad its healing up quickly though! He looks really sweet and I'm glad you get to resume semi normal activity soon.

Thanks so much! It was what is called a "weight-bearing toe" so amputation would have been a very invasive surgery. So we're glad it's not going to happen!! I have a backlog of places to take him and things to do with him and I'm sure he can't wait to go on adventures either

Caper is getting neutered tomorrow :O

As nervous and sad as I am about it, I had to laugh at these two Haikus from Zefrank.com about canine orchidectomy:

My two sweet playthings,
taken, without my consent,
nothing to lick now.

- Snikt

My balls once dangled
Proudly below my butthole
But now they are gone

- robert

Lol!

What a dashing pup Sorry to hear about his foot, I'm glad it's healing up!

NewComer wrote:

Caper is getting neutered tomorrow :O

As nervous and sad as I am about it, I had to laugh at these two Haikus from Zefrank.com about canine orchidectomy:

My two sweet playthings,
taken, without my consent,
nothing to lick now.

- Snikt

My balls once dangled
Proudly below my butthole
But now they are gone

- robert

Lol!

 

You certainly sound like a great parent! What a lucky husky!

I just went through the same trauma after one of my boys got attacked on a walk. He literally screamed for five minutes and I was so traumatized I cried for an hour. Just know it happens, they are dogs and you will do anything to protect your baby.

What a gorgeous boy!

SibeMomx2 wrote:

You certainly sound like a great parent! What a lucky husky!

I just went through the same trauma after one of my boys got attacked on a walk. He literally screamed for five minutes and I was so traumatized I cried for an hour. Just know it happens, they are dogs and you will do anything to protect your baby.

What a gorgeous boy!

Thanks Lyndsey!

We have one week left to go before we can move on from the event, but we'll never forget it... I seriously believed I was the unluckiest person alive to have that happen to me, and was having an emotional breakdown by the time I reached the emergency clinic. The dog was a large male pit bull and would not let go. I know there are lots of people out there defending pit bulls but I can't say I will ever trust one again, especially after hearing the same happen to so many other people. Now I carry a taser & folding knife when we go anywhere together - not letting that happen again!! Sorry to hear about your boy was it recent and did he have any serious injuries?

Hope he is doing ok!

NewComer wrote:

SibeMomx2 wrote:

You certainly sound like a great parent! What a lucky husky!

I just went through the same trauma after one of my boys got attacked on a walk. He literally screamed for five minutes and I was so traumatized I cried for an hour. Just know it happens, they are dogs and you will do anything to protect your baby.

What a gorgeous boy!

Thanks Lyndsey!

We have one week left to go before we can move on from the event, but we'll never forget it... I seriously believed I was the unluckiest person alive to have that happen to me, and was having an emotional breakdown by the time I reached the emergency clinic. The dog was a large male pit bull and would not let go. I know there are lots of people out there defending pit bulls but I can't say I will ever trust one again, especially after hearing the same happen to so many other people. Now I carry a taser & folding knife when we go anywhere together - not letting that happen again!! Sorry to hear about your boy :(was it recent and did he have any serious injuries?

Hope he is doing ok!

pitbulls are good dogs but honestly they're not dog park dogs regardless of what anyone says they were bred to fight other animals and eachother people forget that. Pitbulls often will not get along with other dogs especially other pitbulls. People are ignorant bringing them to dog parks any responsible pitbull breeder will tell you.

So glad your pup was ok and it wasn't worse

What a handsome dog! That incident must've been pretty scary though, I'm glad you're both alright!

AMB wrote:

What a handsome dog! That incident must've been pretty scary though, I'm glad you're both alright!

amora wrote:

pitbulls are good dogs but honestly they're not dog park dogs regardless of what anyone says they were bred to fight other animals and eachother people forget that. Pitbulls often will not get along with other dogs especially other pitbulls. People are ignorant bringing them to dog parks any responsible pitbull breeder will tell you.

So glad your pup was ok and it wasn't worse

Thanks guys, he is alright but I am worried about arthritis down the road since he's missing a toe in the front and got that fracture in the back now. I wish the owner had known that about the breed's tendencies. He was extremely sorry and shocked, and his wife even cried for Caper. So much blood and dangling body parts... They paid for the entire $2,000+ emergency vet visit and I decided not to report the dog to be quarantined (it's law around here to report dog bites) although I'm not sure whether that was the right thing to do.

We try to stay positive these days though, but since parks are out of the question now I'd better step up my game and collect some phone numbers for private play dates!

Anybody out there have a dog with a missing toe who can share their experience? The surgery was 1.5 months ago and the paw has healed but sometimes he holds it up like it's aching. He tries to run and play like ever though. Wish I had half the fortitude of a dog

I also have that same struggle internally whether or not I should have reported it... They only paid for half the vet bill, and I know sometimes dogs are dogs and there are things that us humans should have done to prevent it... things we may never understand.

Bear still shows some tenderness in the muscles of the thigh he was bitten in... I cant help you out with the toe issue...

That's true, all we can do is be prepared and avoid situations in which that could happen, but the rest is up to chance. As they say, "hope for the best and plan for the worst"

Caper got his bandages off on Saturday and he is so happy to be resuming normal activity. We went on a short hike up a hill near our home this morning and the view was fantastic.

He is a great looking dog!! Im sorry about the dog attack that had to be terrible for both of you! Im glad he is doing good though!

I wonder, can we use our scrapbook thread as a spot for random updates on our doggies? I don't want to constantly take up space on the "latest topics" sidebar, but at the same time I really like to share what's going on with Caper. Someone let me know if this isn't what scrapbooks are meant for

So Caper and I have been staying at my dad's house recently, which is inconveniently located a 30-60 minute drive away from school. We had been at my apartment right on the edge of campus previously, just me and him in a dead-silent, 350 sq ft space. I played with him and took him out 3 times a day religiously, let him run and explore for 2 hours a day, set him up with a mountain of interactive toys and chews when I was gone. Despite this, he began to display some disturbing behaviors that I felt was symptomatic of psychological distress from being alone too much. He began to chase his tail and when he caught it, he would bite it hard and rip the fur out like it was a chew toy. He'd also angrily bite his own legs (the biting was very distinct from simply scratching an itch) and circle the perimeter of the room purposelessly. I got worried and moved us to my dad's house, where these behaviors immediately stopped and he seems like a different dog completely. Less well-behaved since my parents encourage some bad habits like howling and begging and jumping up on the bed, but much better adjusted psychologically.

I think that this may turn out to be a permanent arrangement for us - me gone for most of the day on weekdays, but him being much happier. Someone is home at least 21 hours a day every day, and he still gets his 2 hours of playing/running in the morning and evening. I guess I can deal with the annoying commute and parking and paying for an apartment I don't even sleep in if it means he will be happier.

Yesterday was round 2 of hiking. We hiked the coastal trail leading from Muir beach to Rodeo beach, and man, it made Mt. Tamalpais the day before seem like a cake walk! Ups and downs, ins and outs for ~11 miles round trip, hardly a flat section of trail, and Caper thought we could jog the whole thing like we did the day before. My poor weak legs had to slow down and start walking on a couple of the longest inclines, and when he felt the tension in the leash he would look back, seeming to say "hey now, what's the hold up??" Once he hits 12 months he's getting a backpack too so we can both suffer Also, I guess I tried too hard to teach him not to pull on a leash and now he won't pull me at all on the hikes, so no help there.

We came across some very wonderful people on our way to the trail. The toll booth lady at the Richmond-San Rafael bridge surprised me by giving Caper a dog treat after we paid our toll! Then we got to Muir beach and it was under restoration construction, making me think that our hike was over before it started. The man guarding the entrance suggested that I might ask the inn next door for a favor. The valet guy said no at first, then he said if I bought something from their diner it might legitimize parking for 2 hours. I explained that the hike might take longer, and I'm willing to buy 3 cups of coffee for a longer stay, he said not to worry and let me stay as long as i wished! then I went around the inn with Caper to buy coffee, but they hadn't opened. the receptionist asked me to wait while she asked the chef, and he personally came out with some coffee in one hand and creamer in the other, made me a cup of coffee and told me it was free when I tried to pay him!!! I felt at once extremely grateful and guilty. Not only did we get free all-day parking but a free cup of coffee that I didn't really need but sure appreciated! the world is wonderful. (sorry for the long-winded story )

Anyway, once we got going the views were gorgeous!









and our reward was the beach! He was fascinated with everything except that he didn't like water. He'd follow me along the beach and would run away as soon as he saw a wave crawling up the sand, silly dog!





Both horse & dog were curious about one another :)although I think caper was primarily interested in seeing how wide he'd have to open his jaws to eat the horse