Re: Kasper's thread!

[Admin]

Hehe thank you Janet

It is mostly used as a bed / dog bed haha, me and Kasp often snuggle up there together to watch a film, read or watch Lyle play a game. Kasper loves it, off course! We bought a wicker basket to put two of his dog beds in (one on top of the other for extra comfort LOL! ) but have had to remove it and use it for something else as he chews it (sigh!) and I can't be bothered working on training him not to right now - my bad!

The harness we ordered arrived and I went to put it on Kasper and...HE'S TOO FAT!!! Obviously he's not too fat as he's a right scrawny thing, but either way the Medium size doesn't fit, even though I measured him for it So we have had to order a Large!!! Kasper is not a Large breed!

[Admin]

Kasper's size L harness arrived, and you'll be glad to know he fits into it

We've been puttig a lot of effort into moving Kasper's crate this past week. For the entire time we've lived here its been upstairs in the spare roon, but we recently decided to move it downstairs for the following reasons:

1) Kasper shares the room upstairs with the rats. Firstly this means they often wake him up at night, and

2) secondly it means we can't build kasper's positive associations with the crate throughout the day (which is important especially with sensitive dogs / dogs with separation anxiety), as Kasper finds the rats incredibly exciting when he is upstairs alone with them. So we have to keep the bedroom door shut, which means Kasper can't access his crate, check it for goodies etc throughout the day. (The rats, particularly Okto, do love to tease him though so I can't blame Kasper!)

3) Kasper had begun grumbling when going to his crate and things 'went wrong'...this could be the bedroom door was shut, the light was off (although he is not scared of the dark). It was usually that he slipped on the wooden floor as he raced as fast as he could to the stairs, the idiot...

4) The walk-in cupboard under the stairs is much more secluded, safe and den-like. As it is just off the living room (its IN the living room really, but does have its own door) Kasper will feel more included when he is in his crate and we are still up and about

So yes, that's what we did

The first three nights were appalling; he whined the entire first night, keeping me awake as we slept downstairs to be near to him, the 2nd and 3rd were bearable, and by the 5th night he didn't whinge at all! Thus proving that even the most sensitive dogs can adapt reasonably quickly to change, even if they are annoying with it!!

For the first week we lead Kasper into his crate every time, so that he knew the same rules applied with no room for error. Throughout the day we left all sorts of treats in there for him to find and he was fed in there. Now he is completely happy to wander in and out throughout the day, just because, which he has NEVER being comfortable doing before...and yes, he is very happy down there!

In his little room he also has a picture of a pug on the wall (hahaha) and his wet and dry food bowls...I would post pics, but its all a bit boring really haha

[Admin]

Oh man, I cut all Kasper's ear hair off!!!

And SQUEEE he looks so cute! He looks absolutely gorgeous, and his ears are all velvety and gorgeous! He was perfect whilst I was snipping away too, he sat really still. I chopped off four handfuls of hair!


We put the tree up... by Redanimallover, on Flickr

And yeah, we have our tree up...we were both really excited about it, and have had a rough few days, so figured why not?! All the shops are Christmassied up! We're also watching a Christmassy film tonight - I only wish we could exchange presents!!

I was really (really really) expecting Kasper to sabotage the tree, but he was amazing. He jumped up onto the foot stool, put his nose to the tree, then turned to look at me for a treat! FLIPPING INCREDIBLE! Of course we obliged and lavished treats and hides upon him


Poser dog by Redanimallover, on Flickr

Kasper also got another puzzle toy recently...it's really messy to get the food in, so I won't be using it too often, but it's a fun design. It took him loads longer to get it out than a lot of others (about 30 mins) and I still had to help him with the last bit


Yum... by Redanimallover, on Flickr

Working away at it (look at the long ear hair!!)


Back when he had long ear hair... by Redanimallover, on Flickr

He had to pull and unravel the spiral to get at all the food


Kasper's new puzzle feeder by Redanimallover, on Flickr

[kevrox]

I think Kaspers my favourite dog he seems well clever He looks all smart with short ears though he looked scruffy homeless before lol

[Admin]

Haha, well thanks I think! I'll pass that on to him

Oh wow, I guess now the laptop is back up and running I have to update with about a million pics huh?! Kasper's first photo album is almost full now, the one I started about 4 months after we got him. I bought another even bigger one that I'm gonna print photos off from the laptop from the very first day we got him - Kadpers' journey with us!

We got our first bit of snow recently, although It only lasted a few minutes and Kasper missed it as he was indors scoffing from a puzzle feeder!!! Today we shuffled the bedroom furniture around as we're getting some furniture delivered tomorrow...Kasper just loved 'helping'!

I'll try remember to put the pics up today

[Admin]

Okay I warned you there were gonna be a lot of pics!

Not exactly a photo of Kasper, but his bedroom door picture that I drew


Kasper's bedroom door sign!! by Redanimallover, on Flickr

This is Kasper exploring his new toy bin. It was originally bought as a hay bucket for the guinea pigs in their new cage, but the stars' edges are a bit sharp, so we tidied all the hundreds of toys up and have decided they'll be kept in there!


Kasper checking out the new toy bin! by Redanimallover, on Flickr

It looks cute and helps our room look a lot tidier!


Kasper's new toy bin... by Redanimallover, on Flickr

I've wanted one of those traditional dog beds for Kasper for ages, the plastic basket type, but have always been unwilling to pay £30+ for them...well what do you know, I found this one for £3 at a charity shop! It's in perfect condition too!


Checking out his brand new bed! by Redanimallover, on Flickr

This is exactly where he is at the moment, sat next to his mummy, although now he's asleep!


Kasper's new bed by Redanimallover, on Flickr

Me and my baby!


Me and Kasper by Redanimallover, on Flickr

And, finally, here is the gorgeous dog himself with his short ear hair!


Hey mummy! by Redanimallover, on Flickr

Whoo, never again! Hope you enjoyed the overload though!

[Admin]

Oh no, I missed two!

Here is Kasper doing the 'two feet' trick I talked about a while ago


Two feet trick! by Redanimallover, on Flickr

And this! This is the very same piece of paper I took with me when we first went to meet Kasper, with the idea of adopting him! These are all the questions I wrote out and took along!


Aw! by Redanimallover, on Flickr

[Janet2012]

Red I think it is lovely that you still have that list....what a lot of memories thatt must stir up...you certainly did your research too very thorough. Did you look at many dogs before choosing kasper, regardless it seems like you are a match made in heaven! I love all the photographs and would love to see a photo of kaspers new bedroom I dont think it boring at all. Lovely that you have a photo album for kasper I think he needs his own baby book I loved filling out my sons when he was young there are all softs of memories in there.

[Admin]

I have to get one thing out of the way first:

KASPER HAS A CUT ON HIS PAW! Waaaah! He's not had a paw injury for months and months and months, in fact I'm not even sure he's had one at this house! Its a nasty cut but I don't think he needs the vets...might have to be coned though, and no nice big Christmas walk...

Thanks Janet, I *love* looking back at that list. You're right it brings back the memories of finding Kasper, meeting him, waiting to find out if we were successful! There were three dogs we were interested in (I really wanted to adopt a staffy, but our then letting agency said no bull breeds!) Smudge, a young age-unknown cross-breed puppy in rescue. No idea what his breed mix was, a real Heinz 57! He was lovely, I'll have to upload the one and only pic I have of me and Smudge...its from the rescue in Stoke we volunteered at, when we walked him. Looking back I'm glad we didn't adopt Smue; he was a very appealing, easy to rehome dog...I wanted a dog that needed work put into it!

The other dog was a female Collie x Labrador. We didn't even meet her! We were goin tg to contact those responsible after we met Kasper and, well, the rest is history!!

Its funny you should say that as he does in fact have his own baby book!! Probably slightly weird, but I don't care, I'd been waiting for a dog for about 18 years when I got Kasper! And I loved making it, and I think that's the main thing! I'll have to put a few pics of it up, its not very long but its sweet!

I shall update pics at a later date (I'm not on the laptop atm!)

[Janet2012]

Red. I shall replie properly later my son has just arrived!!

[Admin]

Haha no problem Janet!

Flip, I still haven't posted those pics I promised you have I? I'll swap go do it now!

[Admin]

Okay, pics done!

Here is Coney Kasper on Christmas day, 'helping' us set up our new guinea pig cage!


Cone dog! by Redanimallover, on Flickr

Thankfully his paw has healed now and he's back on normal walks...however the injury started off a delightful new habit of him digging in his crate At first we put this down to lack of exercise, but even when he was having an off-lead he would keep up with it. only at night too, and not all night...We tried exercise and giving him a frozen Kong-like toy, but if he heard us(coughing, going to the loo etc) he'd begin scratching in bursts of 10 seconds, rest, scratch...and it could go on for an hour at a time! I wanted to throttle him! Especially because there was no reason for him to do it!!

Anywhoo, the quick fix to the problem was to let him sleep In our room, which he has done for the past few nights. Very cute! He has our bed, his St Bernard size bed, a cushion or a thin bed next to our bed to choose from, hahaha!! No, not spoilt at all!


Kasper's huge bed! by Redanimallover, on Flickr

And showing off his smaller bed...


Kasper on one of his beds...`` by Redanimallover, on Flickr

And then he goes in his crate when we go out or throughout the day as and when. And here is his 'den', his crate is just to the left!


Kasper's den by Redanimallover, on Flickr

[Admin]

Oh man we accidentally left the heating on all last night and woke up in the morning to have the whole house horribly stuffy!! It was so warm that Kasper refused to sleep in bed with us and slept on the thin bed by our side!

Funny Kasper pic!


Ready for a day at the office! by Redanimallover, on Flickr

We bought him two more stuffed bones today as he liked the last so much. He's happily chomping one next to me on the couch right now in fact! They last about an hour unfrozen, then Kasper likes to chew on the hollow bone too...and of course you can restuff them!


Gnawing away by Redanimallover, on Flickr

And yes, his big bed is back downstairs as we bougt him another today haha! He now has six beds


On his big bed by Redanimallover, on Flickr

Close up pics of gnawy dog...he steamed up the camera


He snorted up the lens... by Redanimallover, on Flickr

How satisfied does he look?!


Om nom bone by Redanimallover, on Flickr

Woah, I have SO many dog books to read at the moment! I got three for Christmas (one from kasper ), then I bought five with my Christmas money and bougt another today! Oh and I have several dog magazines

Here's two of Kasper's puzzle feeders with a mix of wet food and kibble in, ready for the freezer...


Puzzle feeders by Redanimallover, on Flickr

...and here's what Kasper was doing whilst I prepared them!


Kasper wants some food! by Redanimallover, on Flickr

[kevrox]

Dude that is hilarioes he needs to wear a shirt as well! Man Kasper sleeps In bed with you how big is he...he looks pretty big. How do you all fit?!?! He's well cute.

[Janet2012]

Oh ha ha he looks so grown up in his tie red but quite unimpressed!!!! Lovely to hear be is doing well would love more photos of them both.

[Admin]

I shall keep the pics coming Janet - as soon as I'm able

The SD slot on my laptop is bust, with my camera's card stuck inside! Talk about frustrating!! So I can't take any videos or pics of puppyhood, booo! I'm not missing out though, I just have to make do with my tablet and phone, which are terrible quality but ah well...

Kasper has been *amazing* with his little sister, and many professionals have been impressed with his patience and gentleness. As have we!! He's come a long way from that first few days when he was terrified and growling at her!

Kasper is loving all the snow we have - a whopping 8 inches, its incredible! Luckily we all love snow here - and even pup is getting used to it!

[Admin]

Kasper is still excelling in every way! We did some training 1-to-1 in the kitchen today, so he didn't feel left out, and of course he gets his walks too!

He's doing great at waiting on the couch whilst I do all sorts on the floor with Zoey - I just need to get Zoey to wait on the floor now and not run up to him!! We (me and Kasper) did some impressive impulse control in the kitchen too. I left a pile of treats on the floor, inches from Kasper, and he was only allowed to eat the ones I rolled towards him...very cute and funny!

Playing with little sis

[Admin]

I think I'm doing a dog walk with Kasper on my own tonight - eek! It's the first one I've done alone, in the snow and ice, since I dislocated my knee, so here's hoping I manage it...!!!

We had a bit of a health scare the other day, when we found a lump on the base of Kasper's tail, the underside, so we took him to the vet the next day, yesterday. My poor baby is SO scared of the vet, no matter how many high value treats we take (a whole jar of peanut butter!!), or how much counter conditioning we do...he is just terrified! Especially if the vet is a man, due to Kasper's past...

So yes, that was fun!!! The lump is either an infection where Zoey's puppy teeth have attacked a little too viciously (!), or it's an innocent cyst...if it is this (please please no!) Kasper will need an operation, and POSSIBLY HIS TAIL REMOVED!!!! So we really hope it isn't...we have some anti-biotics and anti-inflammatory pills, so a week will tell...

I got some beautiful pics of Kasper the last few days - isn't he the most gorgeous dog you've ever seen?!



And this is him posing in the snow - check out the huge drift on the chair!!!



And a few seconds later, even more coated in snow!!



My baby boy



And playing outside together

[Admin]

Forgot to add some pics of big boy being battered by his little sister in play!

Hahaha, goofy grin and oh so gentle!



A quick chomp on her ear as revenge...



"I SURRENDER!!!"



"Hey where'd she go??"

[Janet2012]

Oh no red I am so sorry to hear about poor Kaspers tail!! Poor boy but at least it isn't anything more serious still I really hope he doesn't have to go back to the vets least of all for an opperation!!! Poor boy give him my love. It certainly seems that Zoe is in charge already bless he isso gentle with her!

[Admin]

Ugh I know me too

He so hates the vet, it truly terrifies him and I hate puttin him through it. Edge said the lump felt like it was a little smaller (touch wod!!!) but I haven't checked as I don't want to be disapointed or jinx it!

[kevrox]

Kasper is under her allright he's man of the house no more!! What has he had his tail cut off?

[Admin]

Aha Kevin he was never man of the house!!! No, he hasn't had his tail cut off, there's just a slight chance he might have to. He has a lump on his tail that needs an operation to remove it, and if they can't get enough skin to close the wound they might have to cut his tail off. But hopefully not!!

So, the lump hasn't gone down at all

But I made the decision to switch vets, which has made me feel a lot better about it. This explains why if anybody is interested:

http://scarlybobs.wordpress.com/

We went for the meet and greet today, only to find out that our new vet was off sick!! The surgery couldn't get in touch and let us know as Edge has a new phone number, and we said we'd bring it in today! Ah well, we used it as an experience to get Kasper used to the place. He's already much happier with this vets, in fact he wasn't at all perturbed until the receptionist started talking very loudly, saying his name and telling him to go to her - I HATE that! - but we can't blame her as we didn't tell her otherwise. He got on the weighing scales perfectly, and said hi to two large collies...although he was terrified, he did well. And the new vet is a woman which should help him!

Striking a pose



This is me with both dogs LOL!



Oh, I almost forgot something hilarious! When playing Kasper has started grabbing hold of Zoey's extra skin on her neck (of which there is plenty ) and leading her to the large dog bed with it!!!!!!!!! Edge really hates this and frets, but I say that if Zoey was in pain she would yelp, and any time she yelps Kasper backs off immediately. I just think it's cute and oh so funny!

[Admin]

Kasper has his vet's appt tomorrow, aagh worried!

Also, I managed to get some neck grab pics of Kasper and Zoey Can you see her neck in his gob?!



Happy play face!



Lookit those big pearly fangs so close to her face!!!



Her face is in my gob!!



When Zoey runs off somewhere Kasper gets really sad hahahaha!



I still have a voucher from Lyle at Christmas. It's to print out a big photo of my choice to put in a frame. I'm thinking one of these maybe? They're not the greatest, but they're of my babies together







I joined Edge and Kasper for his morning walk this morning. It was big fluffy snowflakes when we set out, but within literally two minutes it had turned to rain...and I didn't have a waterproof, grrr! Kasper did great on the walk though, there were two joggers, and as soon as he saw them he ran to me and stayed close until they had passed (for the record, he used to chase, jump up and bite joggers LOL!), and then there were 5 old people cycling terribly in the forest, and he was fab with them too

[Admin]

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!

So, the vet appt at the beginning of this week was simply amazing - it still makes me happy to think about it

You can read all about it in detail here: http://scarlybobs.wordpress.com/
It's the second post down, but you might enjoy reading about our terrible training class anyway!

The be and end of it all is that our wonderful new vet doesn't think Kasper needs surgery, at least not yet. She said if there's any chance we won't need to put him through all that then we shouldn't until we absolutely have to - and I totally agree! So far it's either a fatty lump or a lump of scar tissue from his horrible puppy sisters' teeth!!!

We had a lovely snowy walk all around the moor, and Kasper seemed to enjoy the snow even more than usual - that boy loves snow as much as I do!



This is Kasper's first roll in the snow



Posing amongst the heather



His second roll!!



"I'm coming mummy!"



Happy dopey smile



Literally the same idiotic expression against a different background!!



Athletic dog on the go



And attacking me and my snow angel



Even though he'll be 3 in May, he can do those puppy dog eyes down to a T!



There's so much love between them now - I added Zoey's name to Kasper's baby book as his sister!

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