Rewley Boogaloo, we'll miss you

Well, the surgery revealed problems way worse than anyone expected and Rewley's not coming home. It turns out Rewley's small intestine had telescoped into the large intestine and scarred up, basically meaning both small and large intestine were not working. The vet had never seen anything like it apart from reading about it years ago in vet school as a very rare case. He seemed to think that this was probably something he was born with, or that happened soon after he was born given the extent of the damage. What's remarkable is that he could still digest any food at that point, and this just made the surgical discovery even more surprising. The vet said he could try removing the damaged tissue, but it was so extensive he probably wouldn't even wake up, and if he did, his chance of survival (and it would be a miserable existence) was slim.

He was a tough little puppy who must have been feeling just awful but still ran up to every stranger to lick them. It's going to feel a lot more empty in our new house without him.

Surgery

Tomorrow morning we're taking Rewley in for surgery. Our vet consulted with a specialist in internal medicine and after giving Rewley an ultrasound, they think he might have a partial obstruction that wasn't detected in the ultrasound nor in x-rays following a barium series. All his blood tests and parasite tests came up normal, too. It's really scary to take the little guy in for surgery, but we know that if we don't, he won't have much of a chance of getting better. The poor little guy has been mopey on and off since we brought him back from the emergency hospital. Every day we thought he was getting better, he'd feel worse the next day. He's lost weight and just mopes around barely interested in his toys. We've tried every medication that might help, as well as a limited diet in case it was allergies, and we've run out of options besides surgery.

We can't be certain what's going on in his little tummy until his surgery is done, but we do know that this will give us some answers and hopefully fix things up so he can be a crazy puppy again. It just breaks our hearts to see him so uncomfortable. The recovery should be similar to a spay, we're told, so that's good.

So please think happy thoughts of good health for our little puppy!

Puppy ills

Well, it's not just me & Paul who have been ill recently. Rewley just had two stays at the Indianapolis Veterinary Emergency Clinic. It started a week ago when he got violently ill overnight. We took him to our local vet, who had him on an IV all day for dehydration. At the end of the day, she recommended we take him to an emergency clinic since he was still in bad shape. He wound up spending 3 days there, then getting sent home, then getting called back up due to some new x-ray findings, then discharged again the next day.

So now Rewley gets to take antibiotics for a month and eat a special diet of venison & potato canned dog food for the next 2 months. He LOVES the stuff, which is so awesome because he was refusing his food before we took him in. We're hoping to make friends with some avid hunters in the area so we can get our hands on some good deer meat.

It's been a real emotional rollercoaster, and we're hoping that this will finally keep our puppy well.

Teething Begins

Given that Rewley is a puppy, he's wanted to chew on EVERYTHING from the beginning, and we've been working very hard to make sure he knows what he can and cannot chew on. We thought there would be a clear signal when the teething process began, like incessant chewing on furniture, but today while playing with him, I noticed he had 3 missing teeth already!

In some ways, I'm hoping he has a time with very few teeth, because I'm always having to pull things out of his mouth like bark, leaves, cigarette butts, and whatever other garbage people have left on the ground. I've even pulled out used chewing tobacco pouches from his mouth! (I had no idea what they were, and when Paul told me, I was none to happy to have something in my hand that had been in both a person's and a dog's mouth. Gross!) The worst had to be the toad he tried to eat, but he spit that out on his own.

It's so cute to look back at our first pictures of him, but I am definitely looking forward to having a grown dog who chills out a little more and doesn't feel the need to chew on everything he sees!

Rewley's Graduation

Tonight was Rewley's graduation from puppy kindergarten. Here we all are, diploma in hand.

From Rewley

Here's what he had to do. Walking on a loose leash (in the store - so distracting!).

From Rewley

Sit & Stay (here with the trainer's dog)

From Rewley

Down stay:

From Rewley

And a few other commands, like "watch me" and "leave it".

For his special trick, we had him learn "take a bow". We say "take a bow" every time he stretches after sleeping, so he'll eventually associate it with the command. So far it's working most of the time.

We're so glad we did the training, and I'm impressed with the quality of the training we got at Petco. There was another puppy in the class for a couple weeks, an Italian Greyhound named Lady, but she dropped out. What that means is that we pretty much got private lessons for most of it. Not bad!

All done with puppy shots!

On Monday, Rewley got his final puppy shots, including his rabies shot. He was, and has always been, so good about getting his shots. This time, he barely seemed to notice them. Yay no more shots! (at least until next year's rabies shot) Here he is doing a nice attentive "sit-stay" while showing off his new rabies tag.

From Rewley

We had another great session with Rewley's puppy kindergarten on Tuesday. He is getting better and better at "heel", and we upped the ante with "stay" by having him stand and stay. So far he seems to get it about 80% of the time at home. Next week is our last week of puppy kindergarten, and Rewley's graduation! We're so glad we've been doing the training because he's only getting more and more obedient, which will make him a happier pet.

For homework, we have to teach Rewley a new trick. Not sure what we're going to do yet, but hopefully we'll think of something good! Any puppy owners got suggestions?

Cheap Entertainment

With an empty milk jug and a puppy, we've got lots and lots of entertainment around here. It just cracks me up to watch him chase it, roll around with it and pounce it. I guess we're recycling this way!

Graduating to a Bigger Collar

Well, we thought we could still keep Rewley in a small size collar that fits him nicely. However, today he graduated to the medium. And by graduated I mean that he's gotten so big and strong that the puny plastic clasp on the collar is no match for his pulling when on the leash. Thank goodness he's gotten more used to trucks because he broke it while we were walking on the sidewalk just 20 feet or so from the road, but we were still able to grab him right away. What a scare! So even though he technically shouldn't be in a medium yet based on his neck size, it's much safer for him this way.

Here he is with the new collar, investigating something.

From Rewley

Walking the dog (or not)

One of the things we've been really looking forward to is going on walks with our dog. Especially now, while Paul and I have a lot of time on our hands, walking is one of those free things we can do together that's also fun. But, with Rewley in the picture, we've had so much trouble with his fear of trucks/SUVs/buses that walks have been pathetically short. Coaxing him with treats (as our vet and our trainer recommended) hasn't worked at all.

But, today we had a bit of a breakthrough. We coaxed/carried/played chase to get Rewley across the apartment complex to the sidewalk (which is still about 20 feet away from the street), and once up there he ran into one of his dog friends, a 7 month old lab/golden mix. Seeing the example of another calm dog seemed to have an effect on him, and this evening it was much easier to get him to walk. We got all the way to a big grassy area where he could relax while still hearing the traffic. On the way back, he didn't whimper or freak out at all! Fingers crossed that we'll all be able to go on longer walks more often!

The puppy is growing!

Rewley's now about 24 pounds, which means he's gained 9 pounds since we got him. To give you an idea of how that means his size has changed, take a look at these pictures from 8 weeks and 12 weeks of age.



Yes, that's what 9 pounds on a golden retriever puppy looks like! I'm so glad I'm taking lots of pictures because he's growing up so quickly!

We went to another park in Bloomington, Olcott Park. Here's a video of him trying to catch some falling water after his walk.

Liver Brownies & Obedience Training

We're trying really hard to get Rewley to go on walks with us. He was great at first, but now since he's developed a fear of trucks and other large vehicles, we have to lure him along with a treat, and the crunchy puppy treats aren't exciting enough to distract him from his fears. So, we found a recipe for "Liver Brownies", which contain liver, corn meal, wheat germ, eggs and a little garlic. They do look like brownies, but thankfully once cooked they smell like popcorn (from the corn meal) and not stinky meat. We tested them out tonight with some obedience commands.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

This morning we rented a boat on Lake Griffy. It's just $6/hour, so we figured that with the dog, an hour would be plenty long enough! We took Rewley for a short walk in the woods first, then we all got on the boat.

Here's Paul using the rowing skills he learned at Oxford (ok, so it's not at all the same kind of rowing, but it involves a boat and water)

From Boat Trip June 9th

Here I am bringing up the rear, or acting as coxswain:


And here's that handsome puppy smile. I'm amazed that we managed to keep him from jumping overboard, considering there were also ducks and geese on the water!


We're going to the vet today for the next round of shots. Training lesson #2 is tonight. Rewley's been doing great except for the "heel" command. I hope she had us learn that in the first lesson because it's really hard and will take all 6 lessons! We've had some setbacks with the neighborhood. With being just off a main road, there's trucks and busses going by, and lately Rewley's been really scared of them and trying to dash away home any time he hears an engine. So, we're using things like cheese to lure him along. Still, we're nowhere near where we want to be, but then again, he's just 11 weeks old.

Rethinking Treat Training

Well, we've been working on our training exercises with Rewley this week. So far he knows "Sit", "come", "watch me", "let's go" and somewhat, "heel". Oh, and of course he knows "dinner time" very well. Now, I had been a big fan of the Monks of New Skete approach of praise-only training. I still think it's a better way to go, but I also realize you probably need to be an experienced dog trainer or have someone instruct you in the techniques. For us, we're not as in-tune to how to get a puppy's attention, and we're working on it. But the treats help.

I can actually relate the treat training to what I learned getting my Psychology degree. Based on the theory of operant conditioning (think Pavlov's dogs), motivation can be thought of as of as being of two kinds: intrinsic and extrinsic. With intrinsic motivation, you want to do something because you enjoy it. Like eating, for a puppy. With extrinsic motivation, you want to do something for another reason, like a prize or reward (positive reinforcement). For a puppy, this could be sitting so as to get a treat. The treat then reinforces the desired behavior (eg, sit), so the puppy will want to do the behavior in the anticipation that he may get a treat. A puppy doesn't find much intrinsic motivation in doing tricks or being obedient, so you need to use some kind of reward. But then shouldn't praise be sufficient? Sure, but for Rewley, we've noticed that he's VERY obedient when he's about to get dinner, and very excited about food, even if he's just eaten.

So the treats win for now, but they won't be used forever.

Griffy Lake & Puppy Kindergarten

Today we checked out the Griffy Lake Nature Preserve, which is about a 5 minute drive away from us. They've got a series of hiking trails around the lake, and you can rent boats or kayaks for $6 per hour. We took Rewley on a woodsy walk there, and he loved it! He didn't pull on his leash too much either, which made the walk a lot more pleasant! We'll definitely be doing more trail walking with the pup in the future.

Tonight we went to puppy kindergarten at Petco. The trainer has 30 years of experience with dog training and has shown dogs competitively. And strangely enough, Rewley was the only student! So we basically will be having private lessons for all 6 weeks. What's even better is that she brought her 12-year old former agility dog along to help with the training. The part we're reluctantly accepting is that it's treat training, but Rewley responded really well to all of it, and so quickly that we're encouraged by it. He's still not quite sure how to take a treat from our hands, sometimes missing it altogether, but he'll pick that part up quickly.

Our trainer confirmed what we'd seen in Rewley - he's very sound sensitive. Trucks and busses seem to startle him the most. We'll have to give him some more "noisy" toys to get him used to loud sounds. Paul recently gave him a guitar concert, and he wasn't sure what to make of it.

From Rewley

We're getting more and more excited about our life with the pup!

We survived Rewley's first bath

It's got to be strange for anyone the first time they take a bath, whether human or animal. Certainly Rewley was not sure what to think when we put him in the tub with some water. He tried to jump out a couple times, but eventually settled down when he realized he was really just getting a massage. So while we won't be bathing him all that often since it messes with the oils in his fur, at least now he knows what's going on when we put him in the tub. I brushed him for what must have been about half an hour (he fell asleep), and somehow I'm still getting fur on my clothes. That's what you get with a golden! Anyway, here's the finished product

From Rewley

His front leg looks small there, but this picture from earlier today gives a better idea of how fast he's growing!

From Rewley

Walking on a leash

Today Rewley did an awesome job walking on his leash! He has not been liking his leash for the most part, so when he walked for about 15 minutes straight with little distraction, we were very happy!

Lately we've been watching the Dog Whisperer on television, and we've integrated some of his techniques into our training routine. One thing we do is make sure he sits before going through a door, making sure we go through the door first, and having him sit before he gets his meals. We also realized he's not too receptive to discipline, and he thinks it's a game. So, we are trying to copy what Cesar does on the show, which is pretend like your hand is a mouth and give him a nip when he misbehaves. This seems to work a lot better than a scruff shake or a "no" (these sometimes put him into play mode), and it doesn't hurt him. It actually calms him down and gets him to focus, which is great!

We also got an adjustable nylon collar. It's supposed to be a more gentle version of a choke collar, since it's made of two attached loops where one pulls the other one tighter if he pulls. It doesn't go all the way tight like a choke collar, so he can't hurt himself too much. It really works great on our walks, and he's seeming to notice that when he walks nicely with us he gets a loose collar, praises and happy tail wagging. We're looking forward to when he's big enough to go on longer walks!

And just for fun, here's Rewley doing what we call his "dinner dance". Note the "sit" before dinner is served.

Little Rascal

Sometimes Rewley is a little rascal.

Exhibit A: On the way back in from going outside, Rewley discovered my slipper and tried to make off with it behind the coffee table

From Rewley

Exhibit B: Rewley telling us he's had enough of the collar and leash (too bad, pup, you're stuck with it)

From Rewley

Exhibit C: Rewley assaulting the paparazzi following him around

From Rewley

But most of the time he's a sweetheart and doesn't mind his leash. Plus, how can you resist this face?

From Rewley

Mad Skillz

So far, it seems like Rewley has learned a few simple commands/actions. The best is that he sits by the doggy gate in the kitchen when he needs to be let out. Whew! And he is becoming a real champ at "go potty", so that's fantastic. He's also got the "sit" command down fairly reliably, as long as he's not distracted by a bug, bird, piece of grass, mulch, cigarette butt, etc. It's the same with walking with us on the leash when we say "let's go", "heel", and "stop". When we've got his attention, he's great. He likes to prance when he's doing something we're happy about, or when he grabs something like a branch and trots off with it. Cute stuff.

The hardest part so far is getting him to calm down at night. Last night before bed he wanted to be let out what seemed like 10 times. We think it's because it's been so hot and humid during the day that he's not thrilled about being outside until it cools off at night. And then the party starts. It gets frustrating because he's so easily distracted and it seems like our neighbors all like to go for night drives between 9PM and 2AM, meaning doors opening and closing, engines starting, brakelights flashing, etc... all things that Rewley loves to watch and wait for.

But, once he comes in and gets in his crate, he goes right to sleep without a peep. We have to keep reminding ourselves that although he's making a lot of progress with basic training, he's still a puppy with a super short attention span.

Today's Anne's last day with us. She seems to have really enjoyed playing with Rewley, which is awesome because we can't go out too much with all the puppy care!

Here's Anne discovering that Rewley really thinks he's a lap dog. We think he's grown already; we had to loosen his collar yesterday!

From Rewley

Anne did a great photo shoot for us with the pup. We dressed him up for the occasion.

This one's our "Hello from the Simaceks in Bloomington" one.

From Rewley

Rewley says "I'm tired and hot, can I go inside and sleep now?"

From Rewley

Exploring with his bandanna on

From Rewley

Trying to cool off with his tongue out

From Rewley

Rewley's new toy

We decided that it was time to step up Rewley's toys, since he's not all that interested in playing with his Nylabone for all that long, and we want him to have the opportunity to work on his motor skills. We went with a food puzzle toy, which is basically two attached rubber balls with holes on the sides. You stuff a few pieces of kibble in it, and as he plays with it, food sometimes falls out. I caught him on video the first time he realized that food came out of it.

From Rewley

From Rewley

He also likes to give kisses

From Rewley

Le Moustache

Paul, Anne and I could not stop laughing at this picture of Rewley taken this morning. It looks like he has a mustache!


See any resemblance with Steve Martin in the Pink Panther?


Yesterday Anne and I had an awesome sushi lunch downtown, then drove around looking at houses. We found one street in Ellettsville that was just perfect - gorgeous houses with nice yards and and established trees... only to find out later the houses for sale were listed around $600,000. Yikes!

This afternoon Paul's taking Anne to Lake Monroe, and to see the Star Wars movie.

And in trying not to only blog about the dog that's taking over our lives right now, here's a few things I've noticed about Indiana. First, the big box stores like Wal-Mart and grocery stores are open 24 hours. What a change from England! Second, food tastes in general are not so adventurous as I'm used to. I like to ask local people wherever I am about what restaurants they would recommend to someone new in town. Here, the kinds of recommendation are places like the Golden Corral buffet, Olive Garden, or Applebees. Strange considering Bloomington is home to dozens of fantastic ethnic restaurants. And third, people are really a lot friendlier. Even checking out at the grocery store, the cashiers are friendly and multiple people at various shops have offered to carry my bags to the car for me

Ok, and for my fav puppy pics of the day:
Nap Time


And just looking handsome