Tinsel's Journey

Tinsel is not overly fond of his own breed. I wonder if he was dominated by the other 2 studs at the mill, or was hurt during the breeding process. At the SOS picnic on Saturday he had little to no interest in the other dogs. He hated their barking and other than perking up when we were eating, he tried hard to ignore the goings on. He got less and less willing to interact with anyone there too. He didn't clamp his tail or do a lot of stress signals, just didn't engage and a couple of times he flinched when someone tried to touch him. Contrast that to the westie picnic of the week prior where he sniffed dogs, wagged his tail, spun for treats and allowed Starlee to give him lovies or the Belgian picnic were he initiated contact with dogs and guardians alike. I was really hoping that when he saw Lexi, a little female from the same mill, a light bulb might go off but although he did sniff her lightly, nothing. I had this with a westie bitch of mine that was terrorized as a puppy by another westie pup that she lived with and that was only a few weeks older than her. She was a typical westie with other breeds, willing to take on all comers but with her own breed she was submissive. It was interesting showing her but once she got into the group ring, her terrier self came out and she did great winning. I'm thinking I need to find Tinsel some baby shelties to play with.
His bloodwork is back and I am concerned. His T4 is above normal now but his FT4 is right were you want it as is his TSH. The vet is saying to keep him on the same dosage of Thyroxine but I'm not feeling really confident about that. I had emailed Dr. Dodds a few weeks ago but have had no response. I think I might have to call Hemopet and see about having a consult. I see that she has consult listed on her online test requisition form but whether that is for only for vets or if it is for owners, I have no idea. If anyone has done this in the past, please let me know the protocol for getting a moment of her time.
 
Can you call Dr. Dodds and if you have to, leave a message? You might get through to the doctor quicker this way.

ps Our Mally's doctor makes his call backs at the end of the day after his last appointment.
 
Maybe he associates the Shelties with his former life and the Westies and Belgians w/ the happiness and security of his new home.
 
I read Tinsels journey and it was so heartwarming. I think you could turn this into a book. It brought tears to my eyes and the small milestones are just so touching to hear about Tinsels baby steps. God Bless you both, your character at a second chance in this fur babies life speaks volumes. Your patience is to be admired.
 
Thanks Internette. I just heard from Dr. Dodds - she's in Italy just now. She is recommending I try reducing the thyroxine to 1.5mg BID. It was lovely of her to take the time to respond.
Tinsel got a little teething toy in the door prize Dave won at the picnic on Saturday. He's never wanted to chew on anything other than stuffed toys prior to this. Actually he does like to lick the peanut butter out of a kong but then ignores the kong as soon as he is done. Well, for some strange reason, he likes this dental toy. It's soft with ridges. I'm thrilled that he is venturing into different things.
We've also solved the question of why he doesn't want to go outside, especially in the morning. He doesn't like the wet grass! When I insist he go out because I know he needs to poop he tries to do it on the wooden bridge that crosses our dry river bed or on the patio. Later in the day, when the dew is dried, he goes right out and does his business on the grass. Fussy little brat!!!
His new thing is to stand at my knee and bat me with his paws until I hug and kiss him before he settles down for TV watching. I have to be really careful as sometimes he starts as I sit down and I have almost sat on his legs. His tail goes a mile a minute as he pomels me. What a difference 9 months of a home life has made in him and what fun to see him grow. He has become our 15 inches of stress relief.
At the picnic there was a little girl sheltie with neurological problems that Dave and I wanted to take home. She has only recently come into rescue and it was only practicality that stopped us from offering to take her home with us. I hope whoever gets her realizes what a charming dog she is. She certainly is one of the sweetest tempered dogs I have ever met and with her background she shouldn't be. Ah well, she's safe with her foster mom.
 
Isn't it amazing? 19 inches of stress relief, bet you never thought you would hear yourself say that about your bundle of joy when he used to be a bundle of nerves at first...
Glad to hear he is a Sheltie... what with the dislike of wet paws... and the training you to cuddle :lol:
Love this guy

Do you still train with your trainer??
 
We haven't been going to training this summer. It has been sooooooo hot that we have stayed around the house most of the time. The horses were in sweats just standing still and more than once we had to hose them down. I knew it would be warm in the training area so we decided to wait until the weather changes.
I think that it is time to increase some pressure on Tinsel and go to a larger facility. I have no problem telling them what I want to do as opposed to what they think I should do which will make it easier to find a good fit. Mostly I want the social aspect for him as opposed to real training. If he learns new things it will be a bonus. He is a lot stronger physically so maybe some rally type of training would be in order. We definately need to work on off lead things like his recall.
I was hoping that the hay field would have been cut by now so we could do some more nose work now that it is cooler. Unfortunately, my farmer neighbour has not been able to get in and do it - I need the hay too! Doubt we will get that done now that the temperature has dropped.
I loved working with Mirkka but her training room is geared to really small classes of 3 - 5 dogs. That was great in the beginning but now Tinsel needs to be able to deal with larger groups of people and dogs so that is what I will be looking for.
In the meantime, my son - yup, same one - broke himself again doing motocross on Saturday. This time a broken pelvis and dislocated hip :-( . They plated and pinned him back together yesterday. This is what can happen when you raise your kids to be physically active. They stay in shape but get broken occasionally. So, it's back to being mommy to the human kid, he's 40 by the way!
 
Tinsel had a poop accident in the house yesterday. This is the first one since he came 10 months ago. He hates the wet grass in the morning and usually I have to stand there telling him to go back and "find a spot" several times. Well, this time I had to clean up the remains of the "gift" our barn kitty Bart had left, and didn't see if he had done his thing. Someone came to the door and while I dealt with them Tin started to pace. Next thing I know he disappeared into the living room where he deposited his burdensome load. Really Tinsel, you couldn't wait 1 more minute!!!!
Understand that I have the worst cold that I have had in years right now. Going down to the barn was something I had to work up to as I had been coughing all night and knew that the bedding in the stalls was going to make it worse. I went down and it looked like no sweeping had been done the day before. WHAT!!!
Hubby, who is also sick but is a man so can't ask him for help, comes down and admits that he forgot to close Ariel's stall door after night check the previous night and she had wandered the aisle making a mess until she decided to go back into her stall to sleep. There was bedding, hay and horse poop and pee everywhere! Yeah me. So I had started my day with the poop of a 22 lb sheltie and ended it with the mess of a 1300 lb horse.
There's a reason I have these animals - just not seeing it right now. :gaah
 
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