Heartworm treatments round two

Max was able to get his second and third heartworm shots this past week. He did very well at first, however that all took a turn last night when he started coughing and vomiting. In fact he vomited blood, and lots of it. He stopped eating and became lethargic. We were able to get some fluids in him and will be following up with the doctor on Monday (yes we consulted with the ER vet and saw someone over the weekend)

Today has been very stressful for us, watching him close, making sure he is getting plenty of fluids and planning on another vet visit in the morning. I can not imagine losing Max, we knew it was a risk when we started treatments, but we thought he was so healthy other wise that we would not be facing this situation right now.

We do not let him runaround, he is not exercising, we take him out on his leash to go to the bathroom etc. We have keep him confined over the past week (really longer due to previous shot) We are doing everything the vet says to do.
If you have advice, suggestions etc. please feel free to give me some..

Second round of Heart Worm treatments start tomorrow

Well tomorrow is Max's big day. He will go in for his second round of heart worm treatments. The first go around he did very well. He did become more aggressive for two weeks the first time around. As the second treatment should be stronger I expect that from him again. We were lucky enough for him to not have any stomach issues the first go around. Lets hope that continues this time.

Other than that Max has been doing very well. Loves spending time with us and has really come a long way since January.

Max's aggression with men

One of the battles we have been overcoming has been the fact that Max does not react well to men The vet and behaviorist both say that chances are he was not treated well in the past by his male owner, it does not take rocket science to figure that out. Max would become very possessive with his food, me and the kids when my husband was around. I could feed him, the kids can feed him etc from their hands. My husband however could not go near him when he was eating without him becoming aggressive. Well for the past three weeks every meal he has gotten and every treat he has gotten has come from my husband. He is now eating from my husbands hand and is not possessive over food or us when it comes to my husband. He is also very excited to see him, loves on him and is reacting to him just like he does the rest of us.

Do not give up. Do what you have to do. All dog's and yes humans are trainable..

Heartworm treatment has started:

Today has been a big day for Max. I had to take him to the vet first thing this morning to start the process of heart worm treatment. We got there around 7:15, they did an xray right away and it was determined that while his heart is damaged he is healthy enough to receive the treatment. So around three they started the injection and sedated him for the night. I will get to pick him up tomorrow afternoon. Keep him and us in your prayers. He is a great dog and the next few weeks will be hard on him and us as we have to keep him calm..

Max is all better and doing well

Max is doing very well and is on his way to being a healthy pup. He now has a larger kennel that he is enjoying a great deal. Our next big adventure with Max will be treatment for Heart Worms, we will begin this the second week of April, our vet wants to wait till Max has had a chance to recover from this last sickness.

After heart worm treatment we will embark on having Max neutered. I have been lucky enough to have been introduced to spayGeogia.com. there really is no reason for Georgia pet owners not to have their dog or cat spayed or neutered. Considering that with the coupon given to you by the state you can have it done for a low price of $28.00.


Thank goodness there has been no drama or excitement with Max this weekend. I hope that soon things will settle down and we will be just moving along, a happy family of five and one precious dog.

What a Rollercoaster these last few days have been.

Max started getting sick over the weekend. At first it was just the big diarrhea, but that lead to vomiting which lead to blood in his stools. We spent yesterday at the er vet and went through a wide range of possibilities. From Gastro Cancer to Pravo Virus. With the final diagnosis being HCG virus. Right now the doctors are giving me a positive outlook and think he will be coming home tomorrow. It was scary to go through but I am relived that he is improving and responding well to treatment.

On a positive note he is being exposed to other dogs while at the vet and seems to handle it well. I have avoided getting him around any other dogs as I was unsure of how he would respond.

Lets continue to pray for a fast recovery and that he is home with us soon.

Training, training and more training

Things are moving right a long with Max, yes we have had a few issues. He has been peeing inside and often right after we have let him out. So we are working on this and looking for any suggestions on things to do to discourage this behavior.

We really have three areas that I am working with him on right now, recall, who is in control when we walk and the leave it command. He does well with training and responds to myself and the kids very well. He seems to catch on very fast to what we are doing and loves getting praise.

When we first brought Max home, our walks were more him walking us, he pulled us everywhere and would not wait on us to go in a direction. When putting on his leash he would be turning in circles, jumping up and down and just not calm at all. We have gotten to the point now that he has to sit before he can have his leash put on, he has to let us go out the door first and has to either walk beside us or behind us. Our biggest issue on walks right now is his tendency to want to chase cars. So when a car goes by we all sit down, children included,  I tell Max "Sit, Calm" he is getting better, he does still jump up but will sit back down for me.

I am working with the leave it command because he likes to attack the childrens picnic table and outside toy box, as well as eat food off the floor the kids have dropped. So I am putting one of his average snacks on the floor and telling him to leave it. He has to leave it alone for one minute and he is rewarded with his favorite snack. His favorite snack is saved for leave it and recall only.

So as you can see we are getting there with Max. I am very happy to say that he is doing great with the kids and with my husband. I am so glad that Max has his forever home.