Smart Dog

He's Back!

Just for a short visit, but Talos is back nonetheless. Like a kid on Christmas Eve, I was giddy with anticipation. The first night he was here, I couldn't get to sleep because I couldn't stop smiling. 

He's here while his partner has surgery at Johns Hopkins. While he's here, we're also going to work on cleaning up a few behaviors that have just started to deteriorate: his "get it" behavior is slipping, and he reportedly is quite noisy sometimes when Kathy leaves him in a down-stay. 

We've been working on those behaviors both at home and out in public -- yesterday he attended a meeting with me and I'm proud to report that those who didn't see him weren't even aware a dog was in the same room! Yay T!

Today we were at a taping of Chamber TV in Frederick and he was quiet as a church mouse -- even through the applause! He kept his chin (and drool) off the buffet table and out of my plate of (very delicious) lunch. 

We're heading to the hospital tomorrow so Talos and Kathy can visit -- and maybe even get her up and walking, we'll see -- so another full day ahead for the Big Lug.

For us as puppyraisers, there's nothing more satisfying than having the chance to spend some time with the puppy we raised. Talos was but a wee pup when we brought him into our home Memorial Day weekend 2009. Now at 2 1/2 years old, he's filled out, he's working beautifully, and he and Kathy are genuinely happy together. Makes my heart happy.

We'll enjoy Talos all the way til Thanksgiving Eve, when he and Kathy will head back home together. It's only a short visit, but man-o-man, does it make me happy! 

Caysun will be back with us on Tuesday, meaning she'll have the chance to spend a day (and night) with Talos. I'm looking forward to seeing her reaction to the very large, very tall, very playful Talos!

Caysun: Under the Knife

As I write this, our little Caysun is undergoing JPS surgery and getting spayed at the same time. What is JPS? Here's how a vet explains it: 

Juvenile pubic symphysiodesis (JPS) surgery is a prophylactic procedure performed in puppies 10 to 20 weeks of age that have been diagnosed with hip dysplasia.

That's a fancy way of saying it's an operation that should help Caysun avoid hip dysplasia later in life. When she had her hips evaluated a few weeks ago, her "score" was not great. Not terrible, though, which makes her a great candidate for this JPS surgery. As I was researching JPS surgery, I found a great website that explains PennHIP and JPS clearly for us regular folks (meaning: those of us without a DVM behind our name). 

Because hip dysplasia can be passed onto future generations, spaying (or neutering) is strongly encouraged at the same time as the JPS surgery. So while Caysun's under anasthesia for the JPS surgery, they'll go ahead and spay her as well. No need for more dogs with dysplasia! Especially service dogs who need to be as healthy for as long as possible. 

Service Dogs of Virginia is having the surgery done in Roanoke, VA. I dropped Caysun off with SDV last Saturday -- I won't know any details about how she's doing until I get a call from SDV. Keep your fingers crossed for an easy and uncomplicated day for little Caysun. I'm hoping to pick her up and bring her back home from SDV on Sunday.