I thought I would post up some pictures and a video of our backyard dog we brought home from the shelter last friday. He's supposedly a Malamute/Lab mix but is far smaller and doesn't look like he will get much bigger. He's a sweetie, a little shy but coming along, and unfortunately he found his voice last night. All night last night. He's not house broke, doesn't know how to play with toys, just learned how to climb stairs, and had never been on a leash until he came to the shelter. He's getting better with the leash, can now climb stairs, but toys still baffle him. It's a little like owning a 40lb 8 week old puppy.

There is a lump on his right side wither and that side is the leg that has such stiff movement. I'm going to have him x-rayed hopefully saturday to find out if it's a tumor or possibly something out of place from being hit at some point in his life. We haven't slept properly since bringing him home but I think he will be worth it once we get he and Kenzi acclimated and him house broke.

He is such a slow runner, probably due to the hip issues, but he tries.



Try to ignore the weeds in the flower bed. They have really gotten away from me.







This is a video of Kenzi meeting him. We keep him in the kennel for safety since she has known dog issues but so far she hasn't growled at him once. We've been letting them smell and meet each other every night and plan to keep doing so until after he is fixed and fully heeled. I guess our thinking is to try and make him common place around the house before trying to do an actual meet up with them. If anyone has any ideas on this plan I would love to hear them. I would also really appreciate any input on Kenzi's stances and actions. Since she is my first husky it is still hard for me to tell what certain cues her body gives off at times.

Congrats on the new addition, he looks like a sweetheart!

I'm not an expert, but from looking at the video it honestly looks like Kenzi was being friendly towards him. She play bowed a few times which I always took to mean they want to play. Granted, he's in his kennel and things could be different when they finally come face to face with no barriers. I hope all goes well with them, good luck!

Aw! He's so cute! I don't see any mal in there at all honestly. I see some shepherd, and heinz 57, but he sure is adorable. I think that interaction is really promising. Kenzi just looks like she wants to play. When she shakes, its a sign it was a little intense for her, but the shake is a good thing, a release of energy and then she takes a break and walks away. I think it would be good to take them for a walk together before you just let them loose to play, and I'd avoid having them meet face to face while on the leash, meaning, don't put them on the leash and then allow a head on approach. Get him leashed up and her leashed up, and head out for a walk together, it allows them to get used to each other in a different context without forcing a head to head interaction. They can relax and there is no pressure or trapped feeling, they are moving, together in the same direction, with the family. I think they will be good buddies though.

They really look like they want to play! Maybe let them out on the backyard when they are both tired and see how things go? We introduced Tika and Rip on neutral territory and it went really well.

I agree with all the other posters - Kenzi is acting just like Ami does when he meets dogs (or people  ). It also looks like Kenzi is going to Dad and saying "let him out, please, I want to play". I would do as Jen suggests and walk the two of them on leash - maybe start one of you on one side of the road and the other on the other side of the road. Follow that with Kelly's suggestion of letting then in the backyard really tired with no toys or food or anything Kenzi "owns."

Kenzi has such a beautiful tail! Not like Ami's "waterfall" at all.

Lots of play bowing which is a good sign. And I agree with what everyone has already said about how to introduce them.

wpskier222 wrote:

Aw! He's so cute! I don't see any mal in there at all honestly. I see some shepherd, and heinz 57, but he sure is adorable.

We were thinking Lab/Shepherd/Hound (beagle or fox hound)

Quote :

I think it would be good to take them for a walk together before you just let them loose to play, and I'd avoid having them meet face to face while on the leash, meaning, don't put them on the leash and then allow a head on approach. Get him leashed up and her leashed up, and head out for a walk together, it allows them to get used to each other in a different context without forcing a head to head interaction. They can relax and there is no pressure or trapped feeling, they are moving, together in the same direction, with the family. I think they will be good buddies though.

My main hesitation with walking has been the leash. After much observation I'm starting to wonder if Kenzi isn't severely leash reactive. If I leash her and walk her up to a kennel with a dog inside or on the opposite side of a fence then she will growl, but if an unleashed dog walks up to the fence and she is unleashed on the other side she will bark and bounce and bow. We go to training on thursday and I'm going to take the video to my trainer as well and see what he thinks. She will bow on leash but only at a great distance (20+ ft), if they come closer then she switches to bite and growl mode.

Kellyb wrote:

They really look like they want to play! Maybe let them out on the backyard when they are both tired and see how things go? We introduced Tika and Rip on neutral territory and it went really well.

We have been doing all of their meets in the sun room and was thinking perhaps let them loose in it to start. Our yard is massive and being the worry warts that we are we fear with that much space she might get him herded too far away too quickly for us to grab them if things get out of control. Maybe they need the added space though?

Handsome boy! he does look part shepard!!

amymeme wrote:

Kenzi has such a beautiful tail!  Not like Ami's "waterfall" at all.

Aw...I love Ami's "waterfall".

Nala seems to have the same temperament as Kenzi, is kenzi fixed? Nala is not, so I'm wondering if it has something to do with that?

Kenzi's spay situation is an odd one. My paperwork from the shelter says she's fixed, but she had a heat in december. My vet said she could have possibly not been fixed properly and that could have caused the heat, but if she has a second heat then she isn't fixed. She's slowed down her eating and has been denning more lately so we think she is unfixed. Another reason why we aren't letting them out together until Keno is fixed and heeled.

Honestly, You'll never know until you try!
Based on their video I'd give it a go. Just try and follow along and watch them.

That sounds like Nala, she is very snippy at other dogs, she almost only gets along with other huskies /:

TwisterII wrote:

amymeme wrote:

Kenzi has such a beautiful tail!  Not like Ami's "waterfall" at all.

Aw...I love Ami's "waterfall".

Yeah, yeah - Ami is a really beautiful dog and for those moments just after brushing I love his silky, flowing locks.  But...just not exactly correct siberian.  And then there are the moments after brushing when he gets in the mud, his waterfall is full of pine needles, burdocks    I try not to let it matter and it really doesn't most of the time because his personality and temperament are just perfect - just when I see all the beautiful huskies here and elsewhere...(you know - potato chip syndrome)

What about keeping Keno on a very long lead in the backyard (which is beautiful, by the way) and Kenzi free?

If she isn't fixed we should know for sure sometime this month. She's due. Frankly, I hope she isn't so that we can go ahead and get it done for certain and see if she mellows out just a little with other dogs. And I hate the idea that someone might have not done a surgery correctly on her.

A lead might work. We have a 50ft tie out. That would at least keep him confined to about half of the yard.

yeah that's a scary thought I hope all goes well!

Just thought I would give an update on our not so backyard dog. He's spending a lot more time inside now and they are still getting along great. He got fixed yesterday and had X-Rays done today. Just turns out he hasn't been hit by a car but instead has severe hip dysplasia. He virtually doesn't have hip sockets and he's showing bone on bone wear already. While it doesn't surprise me. Vet said we probably have a couple years before we will have to decide whether to do surgery or potentially put him down. So we are going to get him on glucosamine to help him out. Poor guy had a rough couple days.

Poor pup

I'm so sorry to hear about the HD   

Aw! Poor guy! I hope the glucosamine helps!

We are going to do what we can for him. I have a lot of research to do. One of my best friends is a vet tech that sees dogs pre and post surgery all the time and she has no faith in the procedure at all, so lots to think about.

Fed the dogs on lunch break like normal. They usually eat standing side by side but Kenzi wasn't hungry so I had to take her food up so that Keno would eat his and not hers. His is doctored for his HD so I definitely want him eating his own. He decided to eat laying down today. (Kenzi has eaten laying down too before but that was after being at a car show all day and not just laying around all morning as he was) They have started to play laying down too. I have video, just have to figure out how to get it from kindle to youtube still. Just doesn't seem like he feels good so I'm going to start looking into pain killers and anything else that might help his HD. I was hoping the glucosamine supplement would do more for him but I don't think it's going to be enough.

On the bright side he has learned sit and lay down, is fully house broke and crate trained, gets in the car on his own for car rides and can walk on leash. Totally different dog than when we got him. Oh, and he tested negative for giardia and hookworms on thursday. Now to keep him that way.

Ripley has HD and some days are worse than others. What we have her on: 2 tablets of glucosamine per day, and 1 injection per month of Cartophyn. Its a lubricant for joints that is injected subcutaneously, and always a few days after she's up and really playful. Winding down the month she limps more and relaxes more. She does better in the summer obviously, the cold and damp we have here are a bit harsh on her. I learned to do the injections myself, so long as someone is petting her, she's fine with it.
Chris and I both every now and then give her a massage while cuddling, while we know it is her joints, her muscles need a rest from all the strain, so we rub it down gently. She tends to sit in the sun a lot too, my guess is that it must feel good.
My airdale had it when I was young and my parents had him on glucosamine and cortisone. He lasted until the age of 10 though we think his death may have been due to cancer.

Our vet is amazing, and does her own type of repair surgically, we have a while to go before we decide if we want to take that route with Rip, its a very big surgery and not a small cost. Until then, we let her do what she wants, in terms of running and playing, but when we notice her favouring the leg we ease up and purposely will skip a walk for her. Keep an eye on it, keep the glucosamine up, it wont cure it, but it will help once his body gets enough of it. It will take a while before enough is in his system to show results. Look into the cartophyn, not sure if its in the US though. If you can get him swimming with you that would be great therapy for him.
My vet told us there was no reason to think we would lose her at a young age just from this, she is confident that if we manage it properly we can have her for at least another 5 years and hopefully more (she is almost 7)
Hope this helped. PM me if you need more info, I've been through this twice already. My heart broke when Rip was diagnosed, but my vet helped me see what we could do and its been a great relief.

From what I can google, Cartophyn isn't sold in the US, but cordisone and Adequan is its "equivalent" perse that seems capable of being gotten a hold of here. I will see if my vet has had any experience with it. From what I read online if it isn't started just so so the stuff might not work and then you have a whole bunch of money down the drain, though obviously not as much money as could be if the surgery doesn't take. It sounds similar to cordisone shots but does it seem to hurt Ripley when getting them as I have heard getting the cordisone shots do? How long do you suspect it will take to get the glucosamine in his system? He's been on it for a little over 3 weeks I think. I have also read that colloidal silver can do wonders for dogs with hip problems. I'm going to do some more research and maybe give it a try. Thanks for the injection suggestion. I think that could be a real avenue for us going forward as we really just can't afford the surgery, and frankly with all the other health issues he's had since we got him, I'm not convinced he would even make it through that, so this could be a god-send.

I am not sure if cortisone is intramuscular or subcutaneous, the cartrophyn is SubQ so its really only a pinch. I learned how to do one years ago with my diabetic cat and the vet watched me do one then handed over the rest of the syringes for the year with confidence. I know from a friend who gets intramuscular injections that it hurts, but not excessively. She says it leaves a sore muscle. (think flu shot) you would have to ask your vet if the cortisone is similar.
I think you have to give it several weeks to really build up, Ripley is on the cusp between doses, it says 28-57 pounds 1 cap a day and 60+ 2. She is 59 -60 pounds and we give her 2 per day. Maybe take a look at the dosages and also take a look at the brand. I know you can buy it in store, but I get mine at the vet as it as a few other ingredients that help. Here is a link to the one we give her.
http://ubavet.com/ubaeng.html
we really like it and she eats it no problem, they dont seem to mind the taste at all, Tika has stolen them on occasion.

We work on Ripley as much as possible because we want to manage the symptoms without resorting to pain relief unless necessary. Antinflammatories did nothing for her when we thought it might be a torn muscle before her xrays.

We also supplement her with vitamin c and Omega 3. She wasnt in great health when we got her either, but its stunning how much a good diet and exercise and the proper vitamins (okayed by the vet of course) can help prior to invasive options.