Out and About with Daisy...

On Sat. Daisy was put to the test AGAIN and passed with flying colors! Daisy was out with us ALL DAY on Saturday. We started out taking her with her buddie here at home (Cosmo) to Red Robin at the outdoor mall in Simi. Being that they allow dogs on the patio at Red Robin, Daisy had her first taste of a turkey burger and LOVED IT! She sat on the floor under the table waiting for her bits and in between bites made sure to sniff around for any other scraps she could find. Very curious and smiling from ear to ear, she and Cosmo enjoyed their turkey burgers and washed their lunch down with some nice cold water. (SPOILED!). After our lunch we walked the mall for about and hour(great for taking your dogs, most stores are dog friendly and it makes for a very nice afternoon). We stopped at the Apple Store as Daisy seemed to want to wander in there, and she got sooo much attention from the working staff! All the pets and rubs she and Cosmo could imagine! They struck gold! Her and Cosmo took in all the pets, oohs, and ahhs for about 15 minutes and then we were on our way!

After the mall in Simi we went to Home Depot (another store that is happy to have you there with your dog). We put a blanket in the back of the shopping cart and in she and Cosmo went. I thought she would be nervous about the movement of the cart, but AGAIN to my surprise, she got up on her hind legs and was wagging her little tail as we picked out flowers for the yard. Her and Cosmo's noses helped us tremendously! By the end of our visit at Home Depot, both of these babies were exhausted and ready for air conditioning and bed! Our outing lasted about 4 hours or so and Daisy's progress was very apparent all day. Curious and happy, her rehabilitation has changed her life. In about a month or so, Daisy will be ready to transition into a furever home where she will make a special family VERY HAPPY!

Now Daisy is off of the medication she was on for her leg pain and her leg doesn't seem to be bothering her, still skips when she walks/runs, but she is jumping in and out of the car and on and off of the couch like never before! After talking to the vet about the possibility of surgery on her knee, it was per the vet's suggestion that she not go through that as there is no guarentee that after surgery she will no longer skip and being that she doesn't seem to be in any pain, it was her suggestion that we hold off on that option. Now that her nerve pain has subsided (which was unrelated to the luxating patella in her knee) her daily walks are increasing and her skipping is lessoning. It may be that she has had this nerve pain for so long that she has learned that in order to minimize the pain, she skipped. Time will tell if the skipping subsides or decreases as she realizes that the pain is gone.

Follow up on her leg...

Yesterday was Daisy's follow up appointment with the specialist in at VMSG in Ventura for the nerve pain she was having in her rear left leg. To our pleasant surprise that nerve pain is gone! No wonder she has been jumping on and off the couch so freely in the past couple of weeks! In testing her pain level, Daisy had absolutely no response to the pressure on her nerve unlike the first time when she jumped out of her skin. As it turns out, her nerve pain was secondary to a condition in her knee called a luxating patella. This is a "minor" problem that is fixable through surgery. A luxating patelly is farely common in dogs where the knee pops in and out upon movement (more aggravating than painful). According to the vet, she is not in pain, but probably discomfort when she walks or runs. So all in all, great news for Daisy!

Her first meet and greet...

This past saturday, Daisy had her first meet and greet and she did very well! Her potential new parents were wonderful, gentle people and she definately sensed it! As you know, Daisy is very playful and happy at the dog park, which is where we all met. It gave her a chance to run around and feel free... Unsure of strangers, Daisy was hesitant, but did let others pet her and hold her a bit. With that awfully cute face and short little legs, it is hard to imagine where she came from and that she is still very hesitant at home.

After spending some time, I decided that Daisy wasn't quite ready emotionally for the transition into her furever home. She has come a LONG way from when she arrived, but I would like to be sure that her transition is a successful one and not traumatizing on her mentally. She has just begun to act "normal" here around the house and I want to solidify that normalcy before placing her so that she does not go back into her shell and unwind her progress. I would say that Daisy should be ready emotionally in about 45 days or so... Sometimes when working with these fearful cases, it is hard to tell when they are ready to take on the transition until you get a feel for how they are with strangers. Although much improved, Daisy gave me all the signs that she is close but not quite there - hopefully her potential adopters can wait! They would be a perfect match for this sensitive little flower :)

Daisy sports a mohawk!

As she was sitting on the couch tonight, we played with her hair and some different styles, it has grown since her last grooming... She particulary liked the the mohawk look, so here it is for all to see! Being that her pack members are male toy poodles and a male beagle, she is the only girl in the house and gets that special girly treatment!

A Watch Dog At That!

So now that she is comfortable and settled in, Daisy is learning that this is HER house too! Like most dogs (although not her up until now), she now barks when strangers arrive. Nothing out of the ordinary for a dog, as most alert you when a "stranger" comes to the door, but now she is on alert and in step with the rest of the pack. This began early this week, so we have worked throughout the week on stopping her when told to stop. Barking can be a great asset and deterant and is one of the perks of having a dog in the house, but the dog must know when to stop the alert as well. As most of us know, barking can be one of the hardest habits to break, but she is listening and learning when it is time to stop quite quickly. She is better than my own dogs when it comes to listening, but unfortunately they aren't learning as much from her and she is from them!!!

Daisy also got a home made bath this week in the kitchen sink. She is only 12 pounds, so bathing her in the kitchen sink is one of the perks of being small! The last time Daisy was bathed here at home was the first day she arrived, so obviously that was a unmemorable experience for her as she was already scared enough that first day - but what a difference time makes! She wasn't thrilled about the idea for the first couple of minutes, but never-the-less she put up with the ordeal. After the first minute or two, she stood in the warm water, stared into my eyes and I think she surprised even herself and enjoyed it! She didn't try to jump out and had a nice shampoo rub and massage. After her bath I wrapped her up in a towel like a baby, her nose and eyes were the only part of her exposed! She sat in my arms for about 15 minutes and tried sooo hard not to fall asleep. Because of her hair type, she was dry very quickly so she just shook herself off when I unwrapped her and that was that. Ending the event with some of her favorite treats - off to bed for the night she went!