It's the little things

Not too long ago, our boy was sick. My husband and I had just come back from the beach, and the week before we all had been to the mountains (the one vacation Gonzo can take with us.) The night we got back it has hot, hot, hot! so I didn't really get too concerned about our boy's super red ears and hot foot pads. The next morning though, his ears had a rash, and his body had bright red circles all over any area that touched the floor. A quick Google search, and I thought we were dealing with a contact dermatitis from the kennel. I got some holistic rash shampoo and creme, and bathed and treated our boy. His spirits were high and he had no lack of energy or appetite, so I thought, "Well, we'll see how's he's doing tomorrow, and call the vet if it gets any worse."

Well, our boy got a lot worse overnight. His poor ears were caked and the rash was now everywhere. I called the vet, and she said bring him in. I explained everything, and she pointed out that the rash wasn't really external, as there were no raised areas. She ran tests to make sure it wasn't mountain tick related, and she determined that it was vasculitis of an unknown origin. Our boy had to take a low dose of antibiotic for a month. Getting him to take the medicine inside a treat was easy, but getting him to eat his meals wasn't. The antibiotics killed our boy's appetite.

Since all Gonzo wanted to eat were the treats, I crumbled up bacon treats into the smallest crumbs and put that in the bottom of the dog dish before putting the dry on top. He would tear through the meal to get to the treats, and viola! no problem.

However, now that he is all better, he still wants his treat in the bottom of his dish. I am now in the habit of obliging, and am now training my husband to do the same.

Good Boy, Gonzo. He just doesn't do it right, does he? (We love him anyway, hmm?)

More to come, so come back if you're interested.

Nice doggie!

Well, truth be told, I find our boy a never ending source of entertainment. Even the simple act of giving him a treat could turn into a game of "nicer than that..." where Gonzo becomes increasingly gentle in his treat-taking, until I have to actually drop the treat into his open mouth. I like this game, because I can say,"Nicer than that," even before he is given a treat from someone else. Saves the minute possiblity that our boy might scare my nieces by snapping away an offered treat.


I think the most popular game around here is the, "Find it!" game. Gonzo is ushered out into the enclosed porch, and we close the door. Then either my husband or I will hide a good treat, usually something that takes awhile to chew down, somewhere in the house. Then we open the door, our boy charges in, and Super-Snoot is on the case! Almost always, our boy will check the place we hid the treat last time. But he'll run up and down the stairs, around the whole house, alternately nose in the air, and to the floor, with us calling, "Finditfinditfindit!" He'll free stand on his hind legs to smell the counters in the kitchen, jump on the sofa to smell the cushions, jump across the bed for the sheer fun of it...oh, it's a blast to watch.


Some times the game lasts longer than others, especially that time my husband hid a BusyBone on the windowsill in our bedroom...even with my husband's coaching, it took him almost 10 minutes to find it. I think the wind was blowing in the window and the treat's scent wafted throughout the room, and confused poor Super-Snoot. (I have often said while Gonzo has ran right past the treat that if I were to ever get lost in the mountains, that my husband should not send our boy to find me.)We usually play this game at night after dinner and it uses up all Gonzo's extra energy. Our boy gets all tuckered up, and we all sleep well.



Good Boy, Gonzo. Bloodhounds have nothing on you, huh, boy?



More to come, so come back if you're interested.