Larry Caldwell
2006-06-07 15:35:15 UTC
Last August I posted here about a stray chocolate lab that arrived on my
doorstep. He was a pretty sad looking guy, about 9 months old, starved
nearly to death, and missing big hunks of hair, with scars all over his
body. However, he was well behaved, attentive, and had a gentle
disposition. When advertising in the paper didn't locate an owner, I
decided to keep him. I named him Dufus, much to my wife's dismay.
(It's a guy thing.)
Getting him into good health was a project. He was so starved that a
dozen kibbles was the limit of his digestive system. I used up half a
gallon of antibacterial and anti fungal shampoo on his coat, wormed him,
vaccinated him and neutered him. He weighed 57 lbs. on his first trip
to the vet, so I kept him on available food with supplements for a
month. It didn't take him long to put on 20 lbs. and a beautiful, shiny
coat.
I think he had been confined outside with very little opportunity to
play. If you can imagine a 9 month old lab who didn't know how to pack
things around in his mouth! He plodded around flat footed, and his feet
were so tender he couldn't walk through dry grass without developing a
limp. He had no clue about obedience commands.
I think someone bought a cute little furball, not thinking about where
they would keep him. He proceeded to chew up their house, so he ended
up in the back yard, until someone got mad enough at him to dump him in
the country. He was certainly a chewer, but I just bought $100 worth of
rawhide chews and let him go at it. As long as he has something to
chew, the furniture is safe.
It took about 5 days to obedience train him, helped along by my
spaniels, who showed him how it is done. His manners with other dogs
were almost perfect. There were a couple altercations with the
miniature dachshund, who was determined to maintain his alpha male
position, but they worked it out and now are best buddies. Dufus has a
home.
I'll continue the story when I get a little extra time.
doorstep. He was a pretty sad looking guy, about 9 months old, starved
nearly to death, and missing big hunks of hair, with scars all over his
body. However, he was well behaved, attentive, and had a gentle
disposition. When advertising in the paper didn't locate an owner, I
decided to keep him. I named him Dufus, much to my wife's dismay.
(It's a guy thing.)
Getting him into good health was a project. He was so starved that a
dozen kibbles was the limit of his digestive system. I used up half a
gallon of antibacterial and anti fungal shampoo on his coat, wormed him,
vaccinated him and neutered him. He weighed 57 lbs. on his first trip
to the vet, so I kept him on available food with supplements for a
month. It didn't take him long to put on 20 lbs. and a beautiful, shiny
coat.
I think he had been confined outside with very little opportunity to
play. If you can imagine a 9 month old lab who didn't know how to pack
things around in his mouth! He plodded around flat footed, and his feet
were so tender he couldn't walk through dry grass without developing a
limp. He had no clue about obedience commands.
I think someone bought a cute little furball, not thinking about where
they would keep him. He proceeded to chew up their house, so he ended
up in the back yard, until someone got mad enough at him to dump him in
the country. He was certainly a chewer, but I just bought $100 worth of
rawhide chews and let him go at it. As long as he has something to
chew, the furniture is safe.
It took about 5 days to obedience train him, helped along by my
spaniels, who showed him how it is done. His manners with other dogs
were almost perfect. There were a couple altercations with the
miniature dachshund, who was determined to maintain his alpha male
position, but they worked it out and now are best buddies. Dufus has a
home.
I'll continue the story when I get a little extra time.