Lizzy

Please meet Lizzy, the new Taxdog. She is a 4 year old lab/chow mix. The the chow is very predominate in her tongue and coat. She is very friendly with people and other animals. But, I have not yet seen her around little children so until then I can't totally relax.
She had her first visit to my vet today. Not too bad. I knew that the shelter had treated her for worms and she needed the second half of that. A slight ear infection and of course flea treatments. The big problem is a mild case of Heartworms. I will start her on preventative. Dr. Grimes thinks that should work because of the how mild the problem is. The full treatment is expensive and hard on the dog (it contains arsenic). The preventative takes longer but should work for Lizzy.
Better pictures soon.

New Tax Dog?

I am excited, there may be a new Tax Dog tomorrow. Her name is Lizzie and she is a Lab/Chow mix. She is a little bigger than I wanted but she seems to meet the rest of my requirements. She is mellow and friendly. There does not seem to a problem getting Lizzie to eat since she looks like she should be on "Lite" food. Her girth is a little deceptive since her coat is that of a chow-very full. I am hoping she will play more too. I am glad that we will have a long weekend to get to know each other. I will have to get a larger crate/kennel and may-be some more/larger toys. But I am not buying anything more until I get her home.
Gizmo is still at the shelter and has been put on the adoption list. It was sad seeing him when I was looking for a new Tax Dog. He recognized me and behaved as if I had just been gone on an errand not abandoned him. But as I moved away from his cage, the whining began. That brought back the guilt. I hope the best for him. If I did not need to bring him the office, he would have been a good pet.

Quiet

This week has been very quiet without a dog at the office. While it was nice not having to take Mo out for a walk or a potty break, it was very lonesome without him.
He is back up for adoption and I hope he finds a good home.
I am planning on going back out to the shelter this week and start visiting dogs. I was not up to it right after I took Mo back. I didn't even look at petfinder.com for a week. Since I have had the graduation tour going on, I put off looking until my nephews graduations are done. But I have started looking again. One dog I was interested in has come off the list but there are several others. If none of those are a match, then I will keep looking.
What has been frustrating, is the lack of guidance of what questions to ask. Most adoption sites cover what to think about as you decide what you want in a pet. Things like activity level, size, age, do you have a yard, or are there other pets or small children. How do you screen the dog/cat that attracts your eye? You start with the breed characteristics but what is the mix? Which breed is dominant?. The shelter staff can tell you what they have seen but some animals don't show their true colors in that stressful environment. Are they problem eaters and on what schedule do they eat? Do they bark a lot? How are they in a car? Are they really housebroke? What toys do they like (or will they even play with toys)? These were the questions I wish I had had the answers to before I took Mo home.

I've Cried All Afternoon

Right now there is no Taxdog. Mo had to be returned to the shelter. In the last post, I mentioned how he was aggressive. It seemed to be a mix of protective and fearful. But in the last few days the aggression has gotten worse. He has directed a little to me (I tried to move him off the bed) and he has strained to get at anything I talked to. This happened at home or the office. He would get very worked up if someone tried to lean over the office desk to see him.
Today Mo was supposed to get all his shots and a heartworm test. Two weeks ago, he was fine at the vet's office. A little barky at first but calmed down and was greeting the other dogs and people on the way out. He was fine with Cindy and Carol. Today, he wasn't bad until a man came into the waiting room and he started barking, growling and straining on his leash. In the exam room, he was barky at the vet tech but was fine with one of the office cats. That is until I tried to pet the cat and Mo lunged at it and me. Jealousy or protection-I don't know. The behavior continued to get worse when Cindy came in to examine him. He growled and cowered. We discussed his behaviour and what could happen, especially at the office. And we talked about returning him to the shelter.
I still was not convinced when I left the office (no shots or tests - he was too worked up). The more I thought about it the more I realized that I didn't have any option but to take him back. Right now I don't have a lot of people come in but it would take him 3-4 minutes to calm down and stop barking when someone came in or the door blew open. So when I get busy, he would have to stay home for over 12 hours a day. That is not good for a people dog. Exercise is made hard by him wanting to attack everyone he sees on a walk and my yard is not big enough for a lot of running or walking. Gizmo has also not shown a lot of interest in toys or treats. The treat problem (he doesn't like or hides most and he's not good at taking them from my hand) was another big factor. How can I train a dog when I can't use treats as the first reward? I am sure there are trainers out there that might be able to train him, but I can't afford that. I also can't afford a lawsuit if he were to bite someone.
If he had been getting better as he and I bonded, I would have held out hope. But as we became closer, his aggression to others increased and I don't see how that will change with the resources I have available.
Gizmo was in my life less than 3 weeks yet I can't stop crying today. I am sure part of that is guilt. But when he was good, he was a great dog. But when he was not good, he was a dangerous dog. Hopefully, he will find a home soon.

Busy Week

At least for me, Mo spent most of it asleep; either under my desk, on the couch, or on the bed. When he was not sleeping, he would play a little and eat grass.
A serious concern this week, was getting him to eat. He has eaten very little in the last two weeks. He would eat a little of the dry dog food or treats. Mostly, they have to be dropped near him and he will take them where he is comfortable eating them. Even food dropped into his dish is picked up and taken somewhere else. I finally discovered that he like carrots and will eat them easily. I tried water on his dry food. He ate that a little better but plain yogurt on the dry food was ignored. Last night I broke down and gave him some good canned food. That was it. He ate that all up even cleaning his bowl.
He is getting more comfortable at home. He will explore a little in rooms I am not in at the time. But only when I am in the bathroom or asleep. Otherwise, he is sitting next to me or at my feet. He isn't exploring the office much. He pretty much comes in and goes under the desk to his bed.

The real issue is the barking and aggression. He will strain the lease and almost choke himself if someone gets too close. He was better on his last walk. He just barked and was easily calmed down. I think the food hiding and aggression are related to the way he was treated previously. If I can get him to understand that he won't be treated like that any more, then I think he will be a good office dog. If not, I will have to work out a way to leave him at home during tax season.