Quote :

If you let the dog on the couch normally (when not wet) you can't expect them to differentiate it from when they are wet.

Our Dogs are only allowed on the cough when we invite them up. If they jump up on their own they are instantly asked to get off or down.

On a normal day they will just stare at us until we invite them up (Inviting up with Ripley means we need to drag her up as she wags her tail).

Tika jumped up on her own last night as Kelly was sitting down. It is something that rarely happens but does. She knows she isn't allowed to just do that. Then when she was asked to "off" and remove herself so we could sit in peace she sat down and stared.

Thus resulting in a time out.

Wet has nothing to do with why she was placed into Timeout to begin with. She wasn't invited and refused to get down. Those are the no nos in our house and something she knows all too well

~Chris~

Understandable then with the clarification. Glad to hear they are getting along well, good luck!

Just got back from Rip's first Vet check in our care. Took a bit longer then we would have liked but we were in the process of finding a new vet, We really didn't like our current one due to a number of issues I wouldn't begin to bore you with.

We took Tika along with us so I could see what she knew about the breed, and to get Tika's reaction to this new Vet.... I mean Tika loves everyone but I still value her judgement on meeting people.

You know that feeling when you find a good Vet??? Like a really really good one who knows their profession, likes animals, and knows how to read them.... Yeah we just found that person... She was GREAT! we have to drive an hour and a half to go see her, but it is well worth it as she just blew us out of the water. Even the techs were great, mind you most of techs i've met have been really good, but it was nice to get the full package so to speak.

She didn't even push any food on us and said that Orijen was a great choice for our Huskies She even made a Puke noise when I mentioned Beneful and Gravy Train .... She was really impressive and we will be going back.

Anyways back on point.
We were interviewed by this Vet about the dogs history and how long we've had Ripley...
"Feather????? Who names THAT DOG Feather???? Ripley suits her so much more!!!" she said.

Ripley got put through a nice check up.
54 LBS. Vet said she was a good weight / girth. She could tighten up a bit... But all in all she is at a very healthy Weight.

We got her back nails trimmed and she just rounded off the front ones... She explained it's better to just let the quick retract over a bit of time as we work her out and then clip them then...
"If I cut them now it will hurt her WAY too much and she won't let anyone trim her nails again. Rounding them off will allow them to be worked down slowly and isn't going to do any damage" We agreed that was the best course of action.

Got her checked for worms and had blood work done. CLEAN bill of health.

She also went over Ripley's past meds with us quick to let us know what she has been on before and why they might have been prescribed (My French side is coming out is that the right word ?). Going over the old vet records apparently she had some kind of skin disease last year or some rash apparently.

And last but not least..... We mentioned the HEARING problem.... Guess who has had a MASSIVE ear infection for a VERY VERY VERY long time? her right ear is FULL of yeast, and her left was close to being the same. She has gotten so used to it she doesn't tilt her head at all and just gets by.

We don't yet know if this will permanently damaged her hearing... but at least now we know. We got a wash for both ears and meds for the right ear to battle the infection. It should be gone in about two weeks or so and we can see if her hearing comes back or if she is doing better.

All in all it was a very good day. She was very gentle and only yelped twice.... Once a bad cut on her dew claw and the other when cleaning out the ear.

I'm just glad she is healthy and we can help her get even better.... and beyond grateful to have found a vet we are both comfortable with finally.

~Chris~

Awesome Chris! Glad you found a vet you like- that's always a comfort

FWIW I use a solution of distilled water and ACV to keep my dogs ears cleaned. After you finish the wash (or if that doesn't seem like it's working well enough) I use a bit of coconut oil in the ear, rub it around to loosen up the junk and then a small syringe of 1/2 ACV to 1/2 distilled water, swish around, and turn their ear/ head down to drain. Odin had some pretty gross ears for the longest time- the washes weren't keeping it away. The ACV concoction worked amazingly! Tried it on my dads Pit (who has had chronic yeast/ear issues) and it also worked much better than the washes.

Awesome thanks Kristina !

Kelly and I will definitely give that a shot !

~Chris~

I will have to share your concoction with my mom, Kristina. Her dog has been getting ear infections lately.

That's wonderful news about Ripley's check up and the new vet. Boy do I know the feeling about finding the perfect vet, we drive our dogs 7 hours (one way) to see their vet, I've yet to find one closer that is anywhere near as good.

I hijacked another post with this question... but I want an update I know we're not quite at the 2 month mark yet... but I'm gonna ask anyway Any decisions yet?

We have been dancing around the subject for a couple of days now. Everyone who meets Ripley informs us she is too good to give up.

That being said we still haven't really decided, or a better description would be that we still haven't really talked about it. Kelly and I are both waiting for the 2 month mark before we weigh the pros and cons on it all I guess... I can't say today what will happen because honestly Kelly and I just haven't talked about it yet.

We've also already had people say they would take her from us. An active young man who lives beside my in-laws would take her in a heart beat if his parents were ok with it.

And a friend of a friend who recently lost their Alaskan wanted her really bad.

We've told everyone she isn't moving from our house until we were 100% sure she was going to a better place then ours, and we haven't even talked to the rescue at all by us yet.

All I can say at this point is :
She is a really really good pup.
Her energy level is up and she is playing with Tika a lot now.
She has almost stopped counter surfing and doesn't eat the cat food anymore.
She is more respectful of us and listens much better (may be the fact her hearing was blocked)
She has definitely imprinted herself on us.
Her fur is SOOOO much better and she just seems healthier.

We work Tika hard, and Ripley is keeping up.

And thats all I'll stay for now. I'm sure it is a conversation we are going to have soon, and one that will be hard. But we need to take a step back, really look at who Ripley has turned into and talk it out together.

Sorry I can offer more right this instant

~Chris~

I at least want some more updated pictures then!!

Oh I'm sure Kelly can Manage that ^^.

I don't see any here on the laptop so she must still have them on her camera.... but we did get some nice ones while a friend was staying over last week with his Black Lab.

I'll try and get her to upload some tonight LoL

~Chris~

I will put them all on the laptop and post a lot tonight, Chris's mom got some really nice shots while she was visiting and we got our first ever "family" photo


We do still have to discuss the situation about Ripley, but rest assured that if we dont keep her, we will be making sure she goes to the BEST possible home for her.

~Kelly

I know that no matter what, she will have a great home. I am not worried about that at all I'd be lying though if I didn't want her to stay with you two!