Luke and Joey

[BestBuddy]

I have a story to share about two little boys named Luke and Joey. Both dogs were rescued and placed in foster care. They became so attached to each other that it was decided that they muse be re homed together.

Along comes Jenny who had just recently lost her precious boy Buddy ........well the rest is history. I will put their pics in my album if anyone wants to have a look.

Luke is the tall poodle x about 12months and Joey a little maltese x about 2 or 3yo is the little boy being held.

They are about 12 hours drive away so it was decided it could be better to have them fly (about 1 1/2 hours) and they will be arriving this Friday night.

I am so excited but also a bit worried because it has been a long time since I have had young dogs in my care. It will be a learning curve again for all of us. Wish us luck!

Jenny

[acushdogsmom]

Oh Jenny!!! What wonderful news!!! :D :D :D

Hey, if I can manage to raise a young one, so can you!!!

They don't know it yet, but boy, did these two doggies ever get lucky!!! :D :D :D

I saw the pictures ... I want to see many many more pictures, please, as soon as you can!!!

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[eyelostit]

Yep they are so cute, I saw the pic's over at the CDMB, now the waiting.....its another happy story.:)

[eyelostit]

I just thought of something else you had the Best Buddy and now Pal Joey, it was meant to be. :)

[Cara's Mom]

Hi Jenny!! They are adorable!!!!!! I am so happy for you! Indeed, they do not know how lucky they are to have you as their mom! I hope you'll have lots of fun with these little guys! It must be hard to have to wait till Friday:)

Hugs from me and kisses from Cara and Polly for "the Boys"!

[acushdogsmom]

I think it's already Friday in Oz ... so Luke and Joey are arriving home tonight!

Woo Hoo!!!!!! And Welcome Home Luke and Joey! :)

:D :D :D :D :D :D

[BestBuddy]

Yep its already Friday here. It's about 1pm and I can collect the boys from the airport at 7pm. I'm getting that butterfly in the tummy feeling, scared or excited I am not sure yet.:D
Jenny

[acushdogsmom]

I'm so excited for you! And for them too! :D

You have to promise to try to log on for just a minute or two after they are home with you, just to let us know that you have got them both there in your arms. :D :D :D :D :D :D

[BestBuddy]

OK they are here.

We collected them last night at 7pm and they traveled home really well in the car. The car trip was about an hour and they slept (with one eye opened all the way), I was quite surprised how calm they were after their big day with strangers and cages and flying.

Both Luke and Joey were larger than I expected but they have settled in really well. The biggest surprise was that both have tails.;) Phoebe thinks they are a bit boisterous but as long as I give her attention too she is ok with that. I am so used to older dogs that these boys are wearing me out with their speed.

Phoebe was upset with them getting on our bed so they slept (together) on the doggie beanbag by the side of the bed. They ate a little last night and a bit more this morning so they are not stressing too much.

Luke has investigated (and peed) in every spot in the yard several times and Joey seems to be attached by a string although he is letting Luke get further away this morning. Joey even jumped into my lap so when he feels more comfortanle he may let Luke out of his sight.

Luke and Joey both need a good bath and brush so I've got a busy day.

Well that's enough for now, be back soon.

[acushdogsmom]

I swear, I'm tuned right into you at the moment. I was just getting on here to give you heck for not having posted yet, and here you are!!! :p:p:p

So they are home now! Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:D:D:D:D:D:D

You do realise that now you have to post frequent updates, including photos that will show their hair growing in time lapse photography, right? :p:p:p

I am so used to older dogs that these boys are wearing me out with their speed.I knew that was going to happen! LOL!!! :D :D :D

[k9diabetes]

Aw, Jenny, I'm SO SO SO happy for you!!! They are adorable and I'm thrilled to hear that they arrived safely and are settling in nicely.

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Natalie

[acushdogsmom]

Trying not to be pushy, but can we have an update please? :p:D:rolleyes:

[BestBuddy]

Oh boy these young dogs have so much energy. We have had a few accidents in the house but hopefully they will remember that outside is where all that stuff is done. We put in a doggie door and both learnt how to use it within 10 minutes.

Luke and Joey seem quite happy to be here and Phoebe seems to accept them as long as they don't get up on our bed because that is hers! They sleep together on a large doggie beanbag beside the bed although I'm sure they would like to be up on the big bed.

Even Joey who is pretty timid and was following along everywhere with Luke is now following my husband and letting Luke out of his site.

It is really strange to have dogs that can hear and see inside and boy can they run fast.

We are happy and they are happy so its a win win situation.

Jenny

[k9diabetes]

LOL! I know exactly what you mean!!

[acushdogsmom]

Oh boy these young dogs have so much energy ...

... It is really strange to have dogs that can hear and see inside and boy can they run fast. Jenny

LOL! I know exactly what you mean!!
Yeah, me too! I also know exactly what you mean! Sometimes makes me feel younger just to watch them play, but our inability to keep up with the young ones sometimes reminds us how old we are getting to be, too. :rolleyes::p:rolleyes:

Enjoy them, Jenny. Like you said, it's a win/win situation. :D :D :D

[BestBuddy]

Well it's time for another update. Everything is going well but we have do some repairs on the fences as the new boys are really putting it to the test. None of our others even looked at trying to escape so this is new territory for us.

Luke and Joey have really settled in but we still have a few issues with the house training and Joey. It was on the first day that Luke was the biggest problem because he was "speed peeing" on anything and everything inside and out so fast but I think that was a matter more of marking his areas and that has now stopped. Joey on the other hand will go outside and pee and then come straight back in and do it inside too so we have taken to putting a belly band and pad on him to protect the carpet.

Luke had some itching problems and has scratched and bitten at himself and has lost hair down his back legs and even drawn blood. He had a bad case of fleas in his foster home and was treated about two weeks ago. The fleas have gone but I've had to give him a few medicated baths and even a couple of days of pred :eek: and he hasn't scratched for 24 hours so I think we are on the right track. I'm only giving him a small amount of pred (3.5mg once daily) and will stop after 3 or 4 days or should I wean him off.?

The hardest part is catching him in the act and I'm not sure if it's the right thing or not but if I do catch him he gets a squirt from a water bottle which he doesn't like. I'm not sure if that is the right thing to do so I am open to suggestions.

Other than that they really are great fun but in a way it is bittersweet because it is really showing up the age of the other two. Phoebe is only about half their size and a bit unsteady on her feet at times and I have to make sure the boys don't play too rough with her. She also is having some dental problems and she will be seeing the vet this week for her yearly review so we will check her out. Nelson seems to be struggling with his arthritis and is moving a bit slow, his yearly trip to the vet is next month so we may have to get him some help for his mobility. I am self medicating him with metacam without the vets knowledge which I know is naughty but it does seem to help him and I am only giving him a low dose. He's big enough that if he tells the youngsters no they listen to him.

Of course I still miss my special boy Buddy but I know he is in a better place. Sometimes I look at Luke and my heart does a jump because he reminds me so much of Bud, in looks only because he definitely is a different personality.

That's all for now

[k9diabetes]

We used the water bottle with Chris - could do it from a distance and it was a lot less stressful than hollering at him to stop!

I'll bet poor Luke is one of those dogs who is deathly allergic to flea bites. I had a cat like that. One little bite would set off a terrible bout of itching.

How about trying something like benedryl instead of pred?

My list says you can give one 25mg capsule to dogs weighing 5-10 kg, one or two to dogs weight 15-25 kg and two capsules to dogs weighing more than 25 kg. We always gave Chris, who was usually around 28 kg, two tablets.

Also could try a little topical itch relief if you can keep him from licking it off.

Or a Bite Not collar like Rick has put on Lucy a couple of times.

I imagine the baths will help him too so you should be able to get him off the pred.

[ladysmom06]

Hi Jenny,

Congratulations on the new additions. They are so adorable. Enjoy them. Hugs to you and the gang.

Luv,
Lynne and Lady

[eyelostit]

One thing I used when i caught them in the act is to take a pop/soda can and put some coins in it to make it a bit loud, when I saw this happening I shook the can, they hated the loud noise :eek:

[BestBuddy]

Double post sorry

[BestBuddy]

I hated using the pred because of the cushings/diabetes implications but he really was miserable. I gave 3.5mg for two days and today he has had none and no itching so I won't give him any more for now. I tried to find Benadryl tablets but could only find a cough syrup. I found Unisom sleep with were 50mg diphenhydramine HCI, even if this is the same thing it would be too big a dose. Sometimes living in Australia really sucks, medication availability and bushfires really suck!
Jenny

[eyelostit]

Do you think I could send you the benadryl? Would customs frown on it, I know i get my heartworm meds from canada vet but it gets shipped out of new zealand.

[k9diabetes]

Are anti-histamines in general a problem?

I have a whole sheet of various allergy meds they can take and the dosing...

Antihistamine Thereapy in the Dog
Reprinted with permission from Canadian Academy of Veterinary Dermatology

Hydroxyzine - Atarax
Clemastine - Tavist
Chlorpheniramine - Chlortripolon
Terfenadine - Seldane
Diphenhydramine - Benadryl
Trimeprazine tartrate - Panectyl
Brompheniramine - Dimetane
Astemizole - Hismanal.

It's an old list so I'm sure there are others that can be used as well - perhaps the vet can supply something.

This list looks very similar:
http://tinapham.com/romeo/antihistamines.pdf

[BestBuddy]

Our customs/quarantine are the toughest. I purchased some metacam and some optimune eye ointment from the US and it was stopped but they eventually let the metacam through (this time only they said) but destroyed the optimune. Even though both these products are available here in Australia at about 3 times the price.:confused:

I've stopped the pred. and the itching has stopped too. I have used a medicated shampoo and I will bathe again this weekend with an oatmeal soothing one.

It could have been an allergy to fleas or even stress from the flight. The hair fuzz has even started to come back on Luke's tummy and back legs. I will just have to be vigilant about fleas and make sure I stay on top of the treatments.

Thanks anyway for the though Dolly.
Nat, I will ask the vet if there is something he can prescribe in case there is a next time.

Jenny

[BestBuddy]

Hey Natalie,
I did some searching for Australian info on antihistamines and came up with this. Most of these are over the counter and available here.:D

http://www.ingleburnvet.com.au/antihistamines.htm

Jenny

[k9diabetes]

Oh cool! I will have to remember to add both these lists to the
Answers pages.

[BestBuddy]

Well hasn't the time gone fast, it's been 65 days. I haven't updated on the boys lately so here goes.

Luke has some skin/coat issues and we have been feeding with a sensitive skin food and I have been bathing him weekly in an oatmeal shampoo and also giving a small dose of antihistamine. His coat and skin have improved but still not perfect so I think we will have to make a vet visit to check on other health problems that could be causing it such as thyroid. All the info I have been reading on thyroid such as the itchiness, ear problems, hyper pigmentation and even poo eating (only Phoebe's I think) make him the poster boy. He also has some other behavior issues we need to deal with such as always jumping on us and not coming when he is called and he is a nightmare to take for a walk. I'm planning to start both Luke and Joey at obedience school next month unless we get expelled.

Joey who was very timid has really latched on to my husband and is not so dependent on Luke anymore. His bad habit is growling when you push him away or remove him off your lap. I'm not sure if it is fear of rejection of just dominance but that has to be worked on too.

It sounds like they are not very nice dogs but they really are sweet and I love them to bits it's just a few behavior problems we need to sort out.

Jenny

[AlisonandMia]

Just skimming back over this thread: Did you ever sort out the antihistamine thing particularly getting diphenhydramine? (You are right BTW, Unisom is the only standard source available here - been through all this re an itchy bird).

I ended up getting some compounded (vet script). It wasn't cheap.

A

[k9diabetes]

I thought obedience school was pretty fun. Jack and I both learned a lot and it gave us a basis to continue working with him. The structured time of a class was a big plus for keeping us working on it, which is why we signed up for Sophia's dog class after doing a couple of consults with her.

Sophia has many good videos on training that you might be able to use at home.

www.askdryin.com (http://www.askdryin.com)

and she has a YouTube channel as well

http://www.youtube.com/user/SuperBark1

There's some great stuff there. When you have time, watch the one about blowing the Jack Russell's face - wait til the end when she tests her training and about blows his ears back! It's funny!

Natalie

[eyelostit]

Hi Jen,

All I can add is that when my dogs would jump on someone or do something crazy, I'd put a few coins in an empty soda/pop can, when they would jump up on someone I'd grab the can and shake it at least 10 ft away (you know what I mean ;)) this always got their attention cause they hated the noise as well as I.

[Roxee'sDad]

Hi Jenny,
Very nice and heartwarming story. I am so happy for you all. I just have this funny vision of Luke and Joey taking over the obedience school, sneaking around and telling the other doggy students how to get away with being naughty, and the trainer quiting just to keep his or her sanity.:D

Keep us posted.
John (Roxee's Dad)

[Patty]

Jenny,
I'm so used to seeing Buddy as your avatar I did a double take on your post the other day. I love the picture of the boys :)
Patty

[BestBuddy]

Thanks Patty,

The boys are great. I just felt like a change but I will probably put Buddy back in time, he was my little soul mate.

Jenny

[k9diabetes]

There is a video on America's Funniest Home Videos - I've seen it before but saw it again tonight when they reran the $100,000 show. In it are three poodles and one looks so much like Buddy.

Unfortunately for the Buddy look-alike, he was a visitor staying with the other two chocolate or apricot colored poodles and apparently he was a little insecure because he marked up pretty much the whole house! And when mom asked the three of them, on camera, who was responsible, the little guy got up and slunk out the door....

But they won the $100,000! Beating out a field of really cute baby videos. Usually the babies win.

I think of you and your little guy every time I see him.

Natalie