Meet Toby

[SandyL]

Re: Meet Toby

He is so stinking cute!!!! I'm sure he will keep all of you on your toes and keep Kinser young at heart. Congrats!!

Sandy

[jebsmom]

Re: Meet Toby

Oh, Holli, he's precious. This sounds wonderful for Rebecca.

[jjefferjo]

Re: Meet Toby

Holli
Toby is beautiful and I too miss "That Decker"

[momofdecker]

Re: Meet Toby

Thanks Sandy, Glennys & Jj.

Last night was one of those mixed emotions nights. Remembering back to last year when the door bell started ringing much earlier than anticipated and Decker, completely off balance and unable to navigate stairs on his own, went running for the door (which meant going down stairs) with his full bark on. I flew from my seat (we were eating dinner) and was able to get ahead of him before he got to the stairs. Gate went up after that. For a variety of reasons, Decker just was not the type of dog you could allow to greet kids at the door on Halloween. He did great with friends that came in the house - the trouble area was the entrance way itself.

This year we got to watch Toby get soooo excited for some of Rebecca's friends to come in to visit. He tried to eat each and every one of their costumes ! One of the friends has a younger sister who is more at Toby's level and he was able to get his head (and nearly his entire body) in her candy basket and had to be picked up and carried away to save her candy. We think he was pretty proud of his efforts. Kinser got a bit jealous but the girls loved on him some too.

It was strange to hear the door bell ring and only hear kid noises. Though it wasn't physically there, every time the door bell rang, I could still hear Decker's bark in my mind. I found myself watching the stairs as Kinser & Toby were able to go to the door to greet the kids.

This coming Tuesday would have been Decker's two year anniversary with diabetes. I know he is up there watching over us now but still find myself struggling a bit with some of these milestones.

[farrwf]

Re: Meet Toby

I know he is up there watching over us now but still find myself struggling a bit with some of these milestones.

He is, ... and your continuing reaction to the loss of Decker is real testimony as to how much you meant to each other. ... Priceless.

[Rubytuesday]

Re: Meet Toby

Aww Holli, I know just how you feel. The first time I went into Walmart after I had lost Ruby was hard. I had been a regular at the pharmacy, but don't go there for much else, so it was a while later when I went in after losing Ruby. Long enough that it really took me by surprise when I looked up and saw the pharmacy sign and was hit again with the pain of loss.

But in the cycle of life....a puppy is born & and a new caregiver. How wonderful after all of Rebecca's tears and all the recent losses to your family, that there can be some new light.

Love all the pictures. I really regret not getting a video of Charlie navigating up our stairway when we first got him. His body wasn't yet long enough to clear the steps but was too long to be on one step. Very awkward little hops up. No video, but it will be forever in my mind.

Good for John for letting the family have the pup. I imagine he might almost like that little warm body curled up next to him.

You might want to look up Linda Tellington Jones and her TTouch massage. I have used it on some really aggressive chewers and had it make a great difference.

Tara

[momofdecker]

Re: Meet Toby

Thanks Bill, I know you understand! I think of you often and hope all is going as well as it can be these days.

Thanks Tara, I'll have to look up the info on chewing as Toby is giving us a run for our money in that dept. The person who watched Rebecca the first four years of her life had a black lab named Lucy. Lucy was a 65 pound fit, well trained hunting dog. She passed away in 2010. Shortly afterwards they got a chocolate lab and named him Willie. Willie grew to 105 pounds and outgrew Lucy's crate. We still had Kinser and then Decker's crate and loaned it to them to use for Willie. Willie is now three years old and still has to be crated during the day and at night due to his chewing. He's eaten toys, electronics, house hold goods, pretty much anything. I didn't have the heart to ask for Decker's crate back knowing that Willie (or William, when bad) still needed it. So we bought a new crate for Toby. But my hope is that some day he'll be able to earn run of the house. Hugs to you Tara, I think of you and Ruby often as well. Would love to see updated pics of Charlie and hear more about how his is growing!

Thursday I got the call that the results of his stool sample were in and he has giardia. Not a complete surprise because his stools have been solid but soft since we've had him. The first week we thought maybe due to a change in food but were starting to wonder when we didn't see firmness the second week. Plus he eats like a horse and is still pretty ribby.

Second day on meds and we are starting to see good results with firmness. Hoping maybe the meds help with bladder control too. He's great about peeing outside but is still quite happy to just squat inside too. When he is awake he still seems to need to go out every 15 - 20 minutes or he will pee inside. He's gone to the door a couple of times this week to signal the need to go out, so I think we are starting to make some progress. Just hoping he can start to go longer periods of time without having to go out or have an accident.

Got to take him on his first official walk today. Cars passing by and other dogs frighten him right now (with the exception of Kinser) so looking forward to more walks to help him gain confidence in this big new world. All in all, he seemed to enjoy his walk and is happily napping as I type.

[Blackjack'smom]

Re: Meet Toby

Oh my goodness,Holli! I just caught up on some threads and was surprised to read that you had a new puppy! Congratulation to you all! He reminds me of Otis in looks as a puppy and sounds like the same kind of chewing "thing" too! Yep, I would say that around 12 weeks was the magical number for pretty much getting the "potty training" thing down. It seems like all of a sudden you notice that they are getting the hang of it! Love the pictures.Kinser is looking well!

[momofdecker]

Re: Meet Toby

Thanks, Donna! Love your new avatar picture. Toby has been a lot of fun. He's at that stage where he is just a rolly poly ball of energy. Some days we wonder if he is part cat the way he swats and pounces at things .

We've been working on the chewing/biting and think for the first time last night we have started to make some progress. He's been great about going potty outdoors when we take him out, though he is not a fan of the rain/snow and needs some additional encouragement those days. Inside I think it's just a matter of getting over what my brain thinks 'should be' and reacting to what 'is'. Like the other night when I took him out right before dinner. He pottied. Less than 10 minutes later, as we were eating, I saw him sniffing around. But my brain told me that he just went out and could not possibly need to go again. So I didn't act. And he squatted and peed. Totally my fault. He is showing signs, I just need to get over the idea that he should be able to hold his urine for longer times and take him out when I can see he needs to go. He's not hit the 12 week mark yet (next week) but even if it takes longer I know we'll get there in time.

[momofdecker]

Re: Meet Toby

Quick question.... When we got Toby, we did not notice at first that he had dew claws on both rear feet/legs. It wasn't until we had him home and noticed that he was getting them snagged on things that we noticed them.

At his first vet visit his vet said they were no big deal but if we wanted to have them removed we could consider having it done when he is fixed.

He had his second round of vaccinations yesterday and we saw a different vet. He recommended we do have them removed.

They are quite large (see picture). And I can see the potential for them to get caught on things and create some wounds for him. Does anyone have any thoughts one way or the other? Thanks!

[farrwf]

Re: Meet Toby

I never heard of them until now. The first vet's idea makes sense ... get it all done at one time.

WOW, he's a nice looking little guy! Growing like a weed, too.

[Abby's Mom]

Re: Meet Toby

Holli,

I would get them removed. In fact, I have never seen a dog that still had the claw in. I can see potentially a problem, let along another nail to trim. UGH!

He is a beautiful dog.... Is he calming down for you?

Barb

[Judi]

Re: Meet Toby

I'd say get rid of them while you can too. He looks like such a rascal! I hope he is continuing to get better behavior wise and that Kinser is still ok with him

[Patty]

Re: Meet Toby

My sister's lab kept hers and does fine. But we've always had our golden's removed as pups. Ali's were done before we got her.

[momofdecker]

Re: Meet Toby

Appreciate the advice! We were leaning in the direction of having the dew claws removed, mostly because we've already seen times where he has gotten them caught on things. Seems to make sense to do it when we have him fixed too. Will try to time that when I have a few days vacation so I can be home to keep an eye on his recovery.

Toby is doing great - He's a real love bug but has quite the playful side too! He is growing seemingly every day. Potty training is going well (accidents are now limited to one every few days) and for now he comes running when he is called. We've been trained to let him sleep with us at night and he does great with the exception of him waking around 3:30 - 4a to potty and then thinking it is breakfast time. We hold out till 5:30a - 6a but he can be pretty persistent when he's hungry. He knows sit and is working on down.

Weighed in at 15.2 pounds at his vet visit - up from 8.8. Some of it is compliments of him learning that he can fit through the cat door and that the cat gets some good food. Toby has recently learned if he runs fast enough and jumps he can get himself up onto the couches, where he is pretty sure he belongs. He has these long lanky rear legs and those clydesdale front paws. Just starting to get a bit of butt hair growing on the back of his rear legs (the shepherd in him?) . Loves to fetch but not much of a barker (shocking, I know) and no signs of howling. Knows how to ham it up in front of people -fully body wiggles and lots of kisses. Took Toby, Kinser & Rebecca to a local SPCA fundraiser and we all had our picture taken with Santa.



He's still working on Kinser, who is not fully converted, but does show a brief moment of acceptance every now and then. We've decided to let them work it out at their own pace as long as they are nice about it.

My living room is littered in squeaky toys and tennis balls - and I wouldn't have it any other way - it's been a lot of fun to have that young energy in the house again!

Thanks again for the feedback!