Fur growing champion of Claremont

I haven't updated this blog for a couple of weeks.  So much to report. Here are the highlights: Max is...

• Growing fur like a champion fur grower
• Getting his balls cut off on Friday
• A master at controlling 'Jabulani - the World Cup Football' 
• A master at destroying 'Jabulani - the World Cup Football'
• Not fond of bullies
• A bit of a madam when it comes to food
• A howler
• A licker 

I will elaborate:
I think it is safe to say that he is a 'Mange Survivor' - his fur is growing really nicely, bit patchy in places but getting better daily.  He doesn't smell like a mangy dog anymore (hasn't for a while now) and apart from a few bits of scruffy fur closely resembles a normal dog.

Yes - his balls are coming off on Friday morning.  Poor fella... say no more.

Jabulani - the World Cup Football, which so many players said was impossible to control is no problem for Max.  His football skills are better than mine, he is a solid defender, persistent and strong tackler and has recently added headers to his repertoire.  Unfortunately he has a habit of blatant handball. 

Jabulani has gone from being the pinnacle of modern football technology and an iconic symbol of the FIFA2010 World Cup, to a slobbery dogs toy.  From Soccer City to a kennel in 9 months, how the mighty fall...

  
He got bullied / beaten up in Keurboom Park by a big German Shepherd and proved that you can take the dog from the street but you cant take the street from the dog.  Lets just say it resembled that Casey Heynes Australian bully youtube video (kid has enough of his bully - currently going around on social media sites).

Madam doesn't like Vets Choice and wants his Royal Canin back.  Its a war of attrition and neither he or I am backing down.  He barely eats the vets choice during the day, but will wolf it down when I put a spoonful of 'Boss' dogfood in at dinner time.  He was fine with Royal Canin. 

He howled during the night a few nights ago.  Might have been something to do with the enormous moon (closest to earth for 20 years apparently).  Thankfully it doesn't seem to be a habit. 

He licks the sweat off my legs after I have been running (gross) and is obsessed with licking my girlfriends feet (funny).


He is a great dog and I adore him... gentle, friendly, obedient, etc, all the qualities of a good dog.  He might be attending the African Tails adoption day this weekend if I can get him there and if he has recovered from his Friday ordeal.  Only 5 Star permanent homes need apply...

Walkies

Max went on his first walk on Sunday evening, a whole 700m round the corner to Western Province Cricket Club.  Lots of new sights and smells.  Cars, other people, people on bikes, children, barking dogs, hadedas, etc.  I kept him on the lead as he was quite skittish and unsure of everything.  He managed to slip his collar at one point when something startled him but stopped dead in his tracks when I told him to and sat down... good boy.  We need to work on his recall quite a lot because I think if he gets distracted by other dogs he won't listen at all.

The fur is growing nicely and improves each day.  He is also getting more and more energetic (hence the walk), he has a football now which he absolutely loves chasing and kicking around.


The vet wants to wait a bit until he has completely recovered from the mange treatment before he gets vaccinated and neutered.  It will be great when I can introduce him to other dogs.  He will also be able to make star appearances at the African Tails adoption days and hopefully find a great permanent home.

 

FUR!!!

Really happy to report fur growing on Max aka Smelly... it is a bit patchy on his back and flanks but growing really nicely on his legs and hind.  I am really happy with his progress.


Here he is catching some zee's in the lounge.  You can see the fur on his front legs, compare it to the first picture on day 1, his legs were completely bald.  Well done Smelly!

He is really doing well obedience and personality wise... he knows 'sit', 'stay' and 'no' which is really useful.  He is getting more and more energetic and loves playing fetch (he will bring the ball to me now and drop it when he wants to play).  He met a toddler the other day and got quite excited but at the same time very gentle which is good.  

He is settling into an eating routine instead of just hoovering it into his face, and will leave pellets when he has had enough.  (if I put a bit of tinned dog food in with the pellets he will hoover the lot).

He needs to go back to the vet again in a couple of weeks for a check-up.  He still needs to have his vaccinations, his nuts cut off, and his leg operated on.  The vet will let me know when this can be done.  


So far so good.  He is turning into a very cool dog and will make a great pet.  Good news :)

Pee Protest in the Vets

Max's had his last vet appointment this morning and enjoys a 4 week break from vet visits.  Either he knew this and chose a rebellious farewell or he had complete loss of bladder control, because he managed to pee on the floor 3 times!  A little one when the pretty female vet came over to say hello (understandable), a massive one all over the waiting room floor just before his appointment, and he saved the biggest one for his departure.  This from a dog who has never peed in my house.

Here he is goofing around on the floor.. mong...

His appointment was fine, he had his last Ivermectin injection and a general check-up.  The vet is happy with his progress but keeps reminding me what a long process this is going to be.  I am to continue with the Ectomex baths for another 2 weeks (3 baths - 1 every 5 days) then give Max a break for a while and see how he gets on.  There is an improvement in his skin and even a tiny bit of new fur! (but it is very sparse and patchy). 

Behaviourally he is doing really well, he is obedient and eager to please, he understands 'sit' and sometimes 'stay'.  He is a very laid-back, quiet and relaxed dog, but also very playful when he feels like it.

It is hard to fully appreciate the improvement when I see him every day, but his African Tails fairy-god-mom is coming to visit on Saturday and she hasn't seen him since day 1 (25 Jan) so it will be interesting to hear what she thinks of him.  

F Minus 4

We are on countdown now... like the end of a Bond movie...  "F minus 4, and counting".  (F being Fur and 4 being 4 weeks).  Thats what the vet reckons after Max's appointment yesterday.  Stay tuned.

The appointment was fine, he had another Ivermectin injection and the vet is happy with the improvement in the condition of his skin, there is still a bit of smell but that has also improved and hopefully will go completely within the next 2 weeks.  Here he is permeating his smelliness throughout the house, thank goodness we don't have carpet...

The injections have side-effects, so he has spent most of the day sleeping (and not eating).  After last weeks injection he got his appetite back in the evening so I will put some chickeny treats in his dinner tonight.   He has one more injection next week and another Ectomex bath this weekend to look forward to.

He met another dog in the vet, so aside from being a welcome distraction from his impending appointment, he got a bit of much needed socialising practice with a happy little female pug.  He hasn't seen another dog for at least 2 weeks.  It will be interesting to see how he gets on in Keurboom Park when he is up to walkies.

A Bath!

I suspected Max wouldn't enjoy bath time, he doesn't like walking on the wet lawn and makes sure he is well out of the way when the hosepipe comes out.   Unfortunately for him yesterday was bath day, and he wasn't impressed.

The mange treatment seems to be knocking him for six.  He didn't eat and was very drowsy after the Ivermectin injection on Thursday, spending most of the day in his kennel.  Because the vet told me that the Ectomex dip would have similar side-effects I waited until Sunday to bath him.  Thought I would give him a day to get his strength back before knocking it out of him again. 

The treatment involves 6ml of Ectomex in 1L of water, which needs to be applied all over his body, left to soak for 10 minutes then rinsed.  The Ectomex stinks, like peroxide, and requires me to wear surgical gloves.

Like his trip to the vet last week, Max was very calm and well behaved in the bath, he didn't growl, bear teeth or even look like biting me, even though he clearly hated every moment of it. He made a half-hearted attempt to escape at one point but mostly sat there looking sheepish.   For a street dog he has a remarkable temperament.  

The little fur he has was all fluffy when he dried off and looked really funny.

He is lethargic again today, but eating.   He has another vets appointment to look forward to on Thursday (another Ivermex injection) and another bath this weekend.  Lucky boy.

A name and a trip to the vet...

I didn't think a name was that important because he has no concept of a name anyway.  Although we get along fine with 'Smelly' the sooner he gets a name the sooner he gets used to it.  So, his name is 'Max' and 'Max' went to the vet today.

After some serious biscuit bribery I got him into the car and drove to Hillside Vet in Wynberg.  He was a bit of a celeb in the car park, he got a lot of attention and I got a lot of questions; Where is he from?  What happened to him? Whats that smell?  etc etc.  Unfortunately neither bribery or the confidence from his newly found popularity could get him through the vets door so I had to carry him in.


Max had a skin scrape, was groped and poked for a few minutes, then had an injection. He wasn't thrilled about the situation but handled it like a superstar and was extremely calm and well behaved.

The skin scrape revealed that the Demodex mites are still alive and kicking, so the injection was a treatment of Ivomectin which needs to be repeated in a week.  I also got an Ectomex treatment which I need to bathe him with every 5 days.  The vet said not to expect any massive results in the next week but hopefully in about 2 weeks his skin should start getting better and once his skin has recovered he can start growing fur.  He said that although Max's mange is 'severe' he could have a full, normal, healthy coat of fur in about 4 months.  

His knee keeps popping out of its socket, which sounds unbelievably painful, but apparently not.  They are going to assess his knee in a month or so, and also cut his nuts off.


Otherwise Max is fine, he is much more confident and playful.  Anything left in the garden is 'his' and promptly destroyed (which is how it should be with a puppy).  He also tries take my ankles out with his paws whenever I am walking around the garden, I think the novelty of this will wear off when I face-plant on the patio.

Here is a picture of us playing 'fetch' - sometimes he will fetch it and sometimes it doesn't even register and I have to go fetch it.  The debris in the background is the remnants of the cardboard boxes he trashed.  He also built himself a nest out of an old newspaper...  Whatever keeps him amused...