Spayed!

Delilah went back to the vet Tuesday to get spayed and get her adult shots. I had to take her in at about 7:30 in the morning and leave her there until 4:00. She didn't like it one bit, but it had to be done.

I spent the rest of the day worrying about my little puppy. I worried that she might think I had abandoned her. I worried that the vet might mess up the operation. And I worried that I would not have my dog anymore because of it.

But when I went back right at 4 o'clock to pick her up, Delilah was just fine. They told me everything was good, and she'd have to come back in two weeks to get her stitches removed.

I mentioned that I'd like to have her super sharp nails clipped, but I didn't want to do it yet because the bill for all this was huge. I needed a little money break. The woman told me that it would only be another $10 and they could do it right then, so I said sure.

So we took Delilah into the other room and got her nails clipped. This would be a huge relief to my arms, which Delilah had scratched bloody many many times. Like I said, super sharp. But not anymore!

The final bill came to about $250. Not too bad for what all was done, I guess. I also paid for some pain relief medication to take home. I was sure she needed it.

After I got her home, Delilah was out of it for several more hours. She was conscious but very tired. She also had a shaved belly and a row of white stitches there.

I want to keep this as only one little episode of the Delilah Chronicles so I'll wait till my next post to tell you what happened the next day when I gave her the pain pills. You'll appreciate that I separated these stories. I'll have this next episode of Days Of Delilah's Life up as soon as possible. I'll talk to you later.

Delilah And The Vet

I almost didn't get this post written this week. I get obsessed with my business so much sometimes that I forget everything else. This can last for several weeks at a time. Making money is really fun. Other than this little mention, I try to keep my business stuff separate from my blog. That's why I seem so secretive about it. Trust me, it's for your own good.

But what I came here to talk about today is my dog, again. What else can I talk about here on The Everyday Adventurer Dog Blog? I promised to tell you about her little trip to the vet, so here I go.

Delilah needed her last puppy shots so we had to go. She also had a little trouble with diarrhea and going a little too often, even for a puppy. She got her shots and some precautionary worm medicine. She took it very well. Not even a flinch.

I talked to the vet about her other problem, so he gave me some antibiotics to give to her. I'm glad to say that her diarrhea is cured and she isn't going so often anymore. She seems just fine now. But there is another awful related problem.

When the poor little dog is afraid, she poops like a horse, constantly. And she doesn't like to ride in the truck yet. I've tried to take her on three trips so far, and none have gone well at all. My truck smelled like the worst part of an outhouse for a few days until I had it very thoroughly cleaned.

So Delilah isn't going to any nature parks until I can get this situation figured out. The first thing I have done is to buy a giant roll of plastic to lay down in the back of the truck if she has to go with me. That will work for any future accidents. But I have to help her feel better about riding.

In just two days from now, Delilah is going back to the vet to get spayed. She's going to hate it. But mostly because she can't stand for me to be out of her sight for more than a few seconds. Another thing we'll have to fix.

Other than these little problems, she is doing very well. I have now taught her to fetch a ball properly, and she knows the trick of roll over. She also has begun to grow very fast. She's twice as big as she was when I got her. See if you can tell the size difference in my new pictures. Her ears are also both standing up now.

This last picture is from last week, so only one ear is up. I just didn't have any more new pictures and I like this one. You can also see her new blue collar. I had to get her this one because the collar she came with had become too small. It can be adjusted much bigger than it is now.

And now on an unrelated note. I was dealing with a new computer keyboard for a while. It was a terrible keyboard. I kept making typing errors while using it because the keys were too close together. I finally got another new one that is much better. It is a Logitech Wave keyboard. This one is a pleasure to use.

My next post will hopefully be in a few days after Delilah gets spayed. We'll see how she's doing. I can't promise anything because I really do get obsessed with business. I love that and blogging so much that sometimes I think of one or the other and little else. So I will be back as soon as I can, and I'll talk to you later.

Doggy Jail!

No, Delilah didn't really do anything wrong. I just thought it looked funny for her to be in there looking kind of sad. Actually, she just likes it in there. And the door is open. If you look to the left in the picture you can see the open door a little bit. She goes in and out of there all the time.

I will confess that I do sometimes lock her in there. This is where she stays when I have to go somewhere without her. She really hates that. I'm not sure if she cries the whole time I'm gone, but she starts when I put on my coat, and I hear her when I get back from my trip. Poor puppy!

Isabella had the run of the house whenever I went away. But she was an older dog and she had learned much more discipline than Delilah has had a chance to learn yet. This is for Delilah's own safety. And it's a big cage. It originally belonged to Isabella who was half Great Dane.
 

Delilah is very intelligent. I house trained her in 3 days. Also in that time, I taught her to sit on command, and also to sit patiently at the door to get her chain put on her so she can go outside. That is what she's doing in the picture above. It also took me about 5 minutes to teach her to give me her paw on command. She does all of these things almost every time.

I'm currently working on teaching her to lie down on command. This one is a little harder because she is so active. She never wants to stop. She'll eventually get it though. I teach her all of these things without giving her treats of any kind. I just use kindness and praise. Treats are the cheap way of teaching. And I think ordinary repetition works better in the end.

Okay, since this has temporarily become a dog blog, I'll share Delilah's first trip to the vet in my next post. No pictures from there though. There is a very good reason we haven't gone to a nature park yet. My next post will reveal that reason. I will talk to you later!

One Week With Delilah

I still haven't gotten out on any nature adventures, but I've been very busy with my new puppy Delilah. Maybe you want to know about it, or maybe you don't. Either way, I'm still going to tell you about it. So let's go.

It took me exactly three days to house train Delilah. She now asks to go outside whenever she needs to do her stuff. There is a small problem though. She still has had a few accidents because she is going a little too often and too much, even for a puppy. I got that checked out at the vet, and he gave her some medicine which should fix her up.

Her visit to the vet was to get the last shots a puppy needs. She took it very well. She didn't even flinch. Her next visit will be for her adult shots and to get spayed so there won't be any more puppies in her line.

Just like the picture says, she is highly intelligent. I have already taught her to sit on command and to give me her paw. She performs well almost every time. I've also taught her to sit patiently while I attach her chain to go outside. Remember, I've only had her one week.

This is all pretty good for such a spirited and energetic dog like her. I finalized my choice for her when I saw her curiosity and energy. I could have taken her sister, but she was more docile than Delilah.

Overall, Delilah has had a very successful first week. She loves it here, and she hasn't shown that she misses her old home at all.

I'm still working on getting back out to the nature parks. The snow is still too deep, and it's too cold out. That all should change before next weekend. We'll see. Delilah isn't quite up to riding in the truck yet to go. She can't hold her bowels long enough. The medicine should help.

She isn't as short and squat looking as she looks in this last picture. It's just a bad picture. She moves around too much for me to get a good one so far. I'll keep trying.

Since I took this picture, her ears now stand straight up most of the time. First, the left one popped up and then the right one followed.

Okay, I think I'll finish this right here. You've agonized through this enough. As you might be able to tell, I love my new dog. This post is what happens when somebody gets a rough case of cabin fever. I'll talk to you later.