Sadly, I don't have my camera so I couldn't take any photos last night. (my phone takes great shots in daylight but not indoors)
After the vet yesterday, we went out to Mayport (about 50 minutes away) to pick up a big dog house that was donated to Skeletor. This is seriously the biggest dog house on the planet.
It takes 3 men and a dolly to get the thing in the back of the truck. We get it home and realize that there are a couple of issues.
1. The 2 of us can not lift this dog house.
2. This dog house will not fit through the gate.
I called a couple dudes to see if I could get some extra manpower. After a while, my friend Justin shows up. Ian, Justin and I go to work with just about 20-30 minutes of daylight left.
We quickly remove a section of the fence, as there was simply no way we could lift this monster 6 ft in the air to get it over the gate. The three of us grab the thing and muscle it off the tailgate of the truck. It instantly falls to the ground.
It's possible for us to lift and even carry this dog house, but not 100+ feet. We had to just roll the thing end over end. Down the side of the house, into the neighbor's yard, through the fence, through Skeletor's landmine field, across the back yard and into the corner by the back door. *whew!*
It was quite a feat, but we did it! I tore down Skelly's old makeshift house and put the cage in the living room. It was supposed to get down to 28 degrees that night. Pretty low temps for a walking skeleton!
I ran an extension cord and put a small light fixture in the dog house. The 60 watt bulb should provide enough heat for the little guy.
After putting the fence back together we were finally ready to relax and unwind after a long day.
Skeletor was chilling out in his new mansion. We decided to give him a final feeding before bed, since the day's events distracted him from his meals.
I took some chunks of chicken from our dinner, mixed them in with some purina one, some peanut butter and a splash of chicken broth. Melanie and I threw on our coats and went out back to feed Skeletor.
He was a huge fan of the dish! After he was done eating and using the bathroom, we invited him inside for a spell. Melanie worked with him for nearly an hour, teaching him how to sit. He did a really good job!
After learning time, we kicked back on the couch to watch some TV. Skeletor was more calm than he's ever been indoors. I decided this might be a good time to clip his nails. With the guard on so I don't cut too much off, I took a snip. It didn't seem to hurt him, but it started bleeding. Poor guy's nails may have never been cut. I don't know. I barely cut anything off and it was bleeding.
I read something about styptic powder (which we obviously don't have) being used to stop this type of bleeding. It could be substituted with corn starch or flour. Flour is all we had. We dipped his paw in flour a few times and the bleeding finally stopped.
I'm sure you can imagine what the kitchen floor was looking like by then. A veritable work of modern art - there were tiny blood spatters and piles of flour everywhere!
After a while, things settled down a bit. When it was time for bed, I wanted to see if Skelly would behave in the cage so he could sleep indoors tonight. This cage is a little small for a dog his size, but he fits nicely when he's laying down. He barked a bit at first, but after about 5 minutes, he was out like a light.
Is this dog trainable or what!?!? He slept all through the night without so much as a peep.
He was thrilled this morning. I let him out for a quick pee, and made him some breakfast. Some purina one with an egg mixed in. Our pit bulls went crazy when we put an egg in their food, but Skelly's appetite was lacking. He picked away at the food but really wasn't interested.
He's got some exquisite taste! Perhaps he just needs to make a contribution to his landmine field before he'll eat. Anyways, the weird thing is that when he was playing with a stuffed animal, his nail started bleeding again!
Poor little guy. I'll have to do some research about these nails. Maybe a professional can work on them. I don't know.
If you need me, I'll be mopping!
Is the reason he's supposed to sleep outside so he can be separated from the other dogs?
ReplyDeleteActually I'd prefer he sleep inside in his crate. Being crate trained will certainly make him more appealing to potential adopters once he's healthy.
ReplyDeleteWe were offered the dog house before I knew how he would act in a crate. He surprised us all with how well he did.
It's nice for him to have outside shelter just in case he's outside and it starts raining out of nowhere (Florida is notorious for that)
We were keeping him separate from the other animals pending his vet visit. Since he doesn't appear to have any contagious intestinal worms, he's now free to interact with his new friends.
ReplyDeletelandmine! :) Watch your feet! I don't have to trim Odie's nails, I guess it's because he walks on sidewalks all the time and they get filed down that way. I have had them cut at the vet before. Perhaps you can ask the vet at the next check up to trim the old nails. It shouldn't cost more than a few dollars to have them do it.
ReplyDeleteHe's a goofball! I'm glad he's able to come inside. Keeping him social with other dogs will be good for him and increase his chances for adoption.
ReplyDeleteTwo things - try Friends of Animals for a neuter certificate to help cut the costs of neutering. They have instructions regarding how to go about finding a vet in your area that will accept the certificate. You can then research the vet to make sure you like them. :) While the neuter cost will be much lower, you'll still have to be prepared for after-care costs (pain medicine, etc.) but it will help a lot. http://www.friendsofanimals.org/ There's a red box on the right on their homepage - put in your zip code to get info e-mailed to you.
Second - the nails... If they haven't been cut in a while (or at all) you're hitting the quick, which is the part within the nail that has the nerve and blood vessels. It's going to be a long haul, but you'll have to slowly shave his nails back over time to get to the length you want. Sometimes a Dremel (like a mini sander) is a better way to go for this, especially if he's patient and lets you do it.
He sounds like such a great guy! I wish I were close by (not in CT) and didn't already have four dogs!
What a sweet guy! He is so grateful for caring humans and regular meals.
ReplyDeleteYou guys are awesome and I can't wait to see him in a few weeks when he really starts to fill out.
You guys are going to be so happy!
And you're doing such a great thing; God bless you!
Wow ,quite and exciting evening. I'm glad to hear that he did so well in the crate. How is he with the cats and the dachsund?The heart worms are not contagious? (IDK) Can't wait to see todays pictures :)
ReplyDeleteLove Mom
Heart worms are a mosquito transmitted disease. They are not contagious like intestinal worms.
ReplyDeleteWhat a day - that doghouse sounds amazing. It sounds like things are going pretty well so far! That is so great!!
ReplyDeleteHe is so lucky he has you....thank you for all you do.
ReplyDeleteHow great that he is doing so well in the cage. And does seem to have fine taste there. Nail trimming is tough, because he has been so malnourished it will effect the quality of his nails (just like humans if we eat improperly), and how quickly injuries heal (like the bleeding the next day). This is especially true because of the lack of protein. As you maintain nails they will get better, but I agree with Pibble slowly working them down (I would suggest one of those big emery boards for 99 cents that humans use because its gentle).
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh about the story of getting the new doghouse into your yard because it sounds just like something my family has done, the things we do for our pets huh :)
I am so relieved to hear he will be sleeping inside. With zero meat on his bones the slightest chill will be like a blizzard wind. Poor little guy. I would suggest getting him a doggie sweater or coat for his outside trips. He needs all the help he can get to maintain his body temperature at the moment. Actually, if you would be so kind as to email me your address, I will buy him one this weekend :) You can grab my email from my donation yesterday or let me know if you need it again :)
ReplyDeleteThe poor guy. His pelvis/hip bones actually looks a bit like my dog, who lost weight from amputation and chemo. Skeletor already looks improved though! Pibble's suggestion on the nails is a good one. When I got Harley, his quicks were really long as well. With a combination of walking on sidewalks and getting them cut fairly often, they slowly improved. They're still a bit long, so I get them Dremeled/grinded down at Petsmart and they look much better now. I don't remember how much it cost cause I got other stuff done with it.
ReplyDeleteSo glad that he can come in out of the cold because, in his condition, there is no fat to keep him warm and he will shiver off the weight, too.
ReplyDelete