Decisions...decisions...decisions

PET INSURANCE, PRONG COLLAR, MICROCHIP ~ OH MY!

A new dog bed for Coco. She lives a life of Luxury & Prestige!

MICROCHIP ~ NO FREAKIN' WAY!

Coco is scheduled to have her spay on May 11th. The spay will include taking care of a hernia issue that Coco has, but it was also scheduled to include a Microchip. After some research via Google, I found that some cases of Micro-chipping have led to cancerous tumors. Adding a Microchip to Coco was not something that we were all that interested in, but our Vet suggested it because so many pet owners are doing it and it has been successful in reuniting lost pets with their family members. We were strongly considering it, and those ads with emotional testimonies from enthusiastic pet owners were persuasive. But Coco is not going to be running the woods unattended, nor will she EVER be unsupervised. So we're gonna pass.

Update: We decided on the Microchip

PET INSURANCE ~ A RELUCTANT YES

This was the most difficult of all of my most recent decisions, in regard to Coco. I honestly still feel a little indecisive about this. I signed Coco up for a Premium pet insurance plan through VPI. They were referred to me by my Vet and after I shopped around, they ended up being my best bet. They cover quite a bit, including 2 office visits per year, a dental cleaning per year and I'll be reimbursed for a decent sized portion of Coco's spay - so it will pay for itself over the next 12 months. A lot of my friends say that they just never used the insurance and advised against it. However, I work with quite a few people who SWEAR BY IT and have been reimbursed thousands of dollars after unexpected injuries/illnesses. Well, I'm gonna give it a try. There's no contract and I can cancel at anytime. Coco officially has better Health Care than millions of Americans. Any suggestions out there??

PRONG COLLAR - OH HELL YES!

Both Chris and I were skeptical of Prong Collars. We see Cesar Milan use them on The Dog Whisperer and have heard nothing but positive things from our friends about them. But to be honest - Prong Collars look like something out of a Torture Chamber. I mean come on -- they are down right intimidating looking and it's going to take some time before I walk Coco and not feel like a BAD DOG MOM. Well - this reluctance to even consider a Prong Collar completely disappeared after being dragged half way across the road this morning. I took Coco out around 7 AM, as usual. Things were going well, she was following commands but there were a lot of distractions between the HUGE Watership Down type bunnies, birds, the morbidly obese squirrels...the Canadian geese...it was a lot for Coco, but she was doing great.

Until we saw the jogger.

She wasn't being aggressive, but she wanted to run with that guy. I had her by the leash and could feel her pulling a bit, but once he flew by us things changed instantly. I was suddenly on the ground and being pulled by my baby 5 month old shepherd! It was unbelievable. Then the pain set in. I had twisted my left ankle and my lower back was throbbing. I hobbled home and I have to say - I've never been soooo PISSED OFF with another creature in my entire life.

I went to work and Googled Prong Collars and sought the advice from some pals, then we hit Huron Pet Supply on Jackson Rd right after work. The sales guy gave us the whole Dog and Pony Show and there was even a nice lady that said "Your dog will straighten right up!" Well, you all were right! She's turned right around and doesn't even seem that uncomfortable wearing it.

TEN WEEKS OLD - WELCOME HOME COCO!

PARTY TIME!

So here we are. After MANY years of wanting a German Shepherd, my husband and I adopted our first one last Saturday. She is a dream come true. She's very sweet and is such a little smarty pants! She is potty trained -- no seriously, she is! We keep her on a tight schedule so that she can anticipate meals and expect potty time. She whimpers at the door when she needs to go and has even chosen a spot on left side of the yard to go potty.

We were honestly expecting the worst. WEEKS of accidents in the house, non stop barking and chewing...but so far so good!

Yesterday was the first time she was in a crate for a long period of time and it was devastating for her. While she's been great in the house, she did have a major accident in her crate. Um, yeah. I came home at 5:30ish to find her COVERED in diarrhea. Poor thing, she was so embarrassed. But I ran her outside so she could take care of business and then I cleaned the heck out of that crate. Lesson here: NEVER buy expensive chew toys. I think I lost about $30 worth of rope toys and other odds and ends. I'm not quite comfortable with "cleaning them" and then having her put the toys (once covered in feces, now saturated with cleaning chemicals) in her mouth. Call me a new mom.

What I'm doing right

1) She's on a strict schedule. I get up at 6 AM and she eats/drinks and plays. I pull her food at 7 AM and she has play time until 9 AM. Then I come home at 12 NOON and she eats/drinks, playtime and poopy time. My hubby drops by at 1 PM and she goes back into her crate at 2 PM. I come home at 5:30ish PM and she eats/drinks again and I pull her food entirely at 6 PM and her water at 8 PM. She goes outside as much as possible until her final outing at around 10:30 PM.

2) She gets a lot of exercise. She's still a pup, so we're not taking her to any parks until she has all of her shots and vaccinations. But she runs around the yard and has plenty of playtime before and after her crate experience.

3) The crate is a positive experience. She's been eating in and around the crate and we are sure to have some (expendable) toys in there for her to chew on while we're gone. The kong is going to keep her busy, once she chills out about the crate experience.

What I'm doing wrong

1) She sleeps with us. I know, right?! This is a BIG NO NO! Her separation anxiety is worse from sleeping with us and at some point she's going to be huge and she won't fit on our bed. I'm working on it! That's all I can say. The dog trainer at Petco looked at me like I was out of my mind for allowing a German Shepherd to sleep with me. I'm a new doggy mom, I'm gonna make mistakes - lighten up!

2) I don't crate her at night. Yes, I'm aware of this problem. She's not having any accidents in the house and she's only chewing on her chew toys. She's still adjusting to the crate during the day and I'm just not ready for her to wig out all night in her crate. I should crate her at night to keep her safe from the elements. I'm working on it.

3) I didn't mix her old puppy food with her new puppy food. Uuuugh. BIG MISTAKE! Huge. This has caused her to be constipated and have blood in her stool. I ran a sample into our vet and they let me know that she does not have Parvo or a parasite. The vet let me know that while I didn't cause her irreparable damage, my ignorance created a lot of discomfort and anxiety. :(

4) The Pig ear. Yeah, the lady at the pet store gave us one for CoCo when we bought a bunch of chew toys. The people who work at pet stores know everything, right? WRONG! My vet let me know that the pig ear may have also been to blame for her diarrhea and for the blood in her stools.

So we're starting obedience training in about 2 weeks. I'm reading "The Art of Raising a Puppy" and doing my very best to create a fabulous environment for my Baby Cakes CoCo.

Coming soon: videos, updates, kitty cat testimonials and her FIRST visit to the vet!