Hmmm.

Not sure what to think about the Surgi Snuggly that arrived this morning. We were tres excité about getting something that would help Remy’s paralyzing fear of the cone collar, and after watching the videos and reading the testimonials about the Snuggly, we were sure it was going to work. Well…not so much. At least at the outset.

The garment went on perfectly, and everything is in place. The incision area is covered by two straps that come up and around, and are secured in place by a flap/pocket thingy lined in Velcro. Perfect, snug fit. An initial “positive” is that he does seem less anxious and nervous and fretful. It is supposed to act (and does act) like a “Thundershirt,” or similar garment designed to decrease fear and anxiety in pets. That’s a good thing.

But — Remy can easily move the two undergirth straps out of the way with his nose, and bite at the sutures on his neuter incision. What?! Um. And even when he’s not moving the straps to bite at the stitches, he’s biting at the stitches through the top of the fabric.

I’m sure the sutures itch. I’ve had enough surgeries in my life to know that. And I’ve checked to make sure the soft fabric of the Snuggly is not rubbing against the stitches. At any other time, he doesn’t seem bothered by it at all. In fact, I think he likes wearing it, because it makes him feel…well…snuggly.

At any rate, we’ll keep trying. It’s better than having nothing at all, and certainly a darn sight better than the dreaded cone. The ProCollar we bought as a stop-gap measure didn’t do the trick, either. I think Remy was a borderline size problem, whereby the large was too large, and the medium was too small. Fail.

Next on the list is to get an old pair of the Thriller’s undies and put those on underneath the Snuggly. Maybe it’ll provide some more padding, and another “layer” he’ll have to fight to get through to the sutures. Cripes…

I know that this too shall pass. Hopefully by tomorrow, he’ll be a bit less itchy and twitchy, and he’ll start to forget about the stitches. He goes in next Thursday for the post-op checkup, so we should be good by then.

Happy MLK weekend, fiends. Off to work we go…

It’ll be two weeks tomorrow since Remington came to live with us, and as rough a start as he’s had with his intense fear issues, he’s come a long way already.

The biggest victory is his gradual-but-certain relaxation around — and increasing devotion to — the Thriller. Since I got out of the house to go back to school last Thursday, there’s been improvement every single day.

• Before, say, this past Tuesday, Remy would not allow me to exit a room by myself. Where I was, there he was also, yea and verily. When I was at my desk, he was under it. I’d forgotten what it was like to constantly be mindful of pushing back my office chair or stepping wherever I want to step. Gotta look down first. Now, however, he comes and goes from wherever I am without fear. He has absolutely commandeered the floor right in front of the couch — where he can snag my electric blanket.
• He will now go downstairs and seek out the Thriller by himself. Turns out they’ve spent some time at the park while I’m at rehearsal, and there’s been lots of  bonding that way. Training treats have helped Remy overcome his fear of going downstairs to the office for a visit, also.
• He is less apt to cower when the Thriller reaches out to pet him. Strangers, however…they don’t get that pass. There’s a lot of work to be done there.
• A less desirable development is that Remy is becoming more comfortable — and therefore, more selfish — of his house and yard, resulting in his being a lot more barky when he’s outside and sees a jogger or neighbor approaching. Not liking that. More training…

We’re enjoying the fun differences between Remy’s personality as compared to Rousseau’s. Remy is definitely more “puppyish,” whereas Rousseau just wanted to go for a walk, then take naps. He play-bites (never chomps down, though) and runs like a crazy man around the “track” (the dining room to the kitchen to the parlor to the living room, over and over and over). I’ve taught him to army crawl…it’s hilarious. I have to have the Thriller catch it on video.

Today is a sad day, though, as poor Remy goes into the vet for the ol’ snip snip. We’ll have a Conehead on our hands for a couple of days; I hope that doesn’t stifle his progress in other areas.

It’s a process for sure, eh dog lovers? We’re enjoying it all the same.

And now, behold and alas: it’s 5:30 a.m. Time to schlep it to the shower, the Finkmobile and the school house. One rehearsal tonight, and I’m done till Monday. Huzzah!

Happy day, fiends!

You figured today’s post would be about Remy, didn’t you?

Day One of our lives together went very well, all things considered. The poor thing was exhausted (as was his family), and we could tell he was starting to really frazzle by the time he was back home from the groomer, around 5 p.m. Some initial observations:

1. This dog is terrified of many things. And by “terrified,” I mean he drops to the floor and buries his nose if there’s nowhere to run, and if there is someplace “safe” to escape, he makes a beeline for it. (In our house, it’s underneath our living room coffee table, and he knocked Daddy clean over from a crouching position trying to get there.) Right now, his biggest fear is the Thriller. Remy turns into a flipped-out scaredy-cat when he’s in the room. We can only wonder why he’s this way; it could be bad history with men, or it could be something totally unrelated to his past, and the Thriller could just be one scary dude. (Not bloody likely.) However, I do know that puppies are born curious, open and playful — not frightened and suspicious.

2. The ride home was completely uneventful. It seemed to us that riding in the car was not a brand new experience for him, as he looked around for a bit, paced back and forth, then conked out. When he woke up, he was calm and quiet, and allowed me to chat him up a bit.

3. Not knowing anything about what his pre-shelter life was like, we wanted to take it easy on his sensory threshold, so we stayed basically within a three-room radius last night (living, dining, kitchen). He seemed to be OK with this, and found my electric blanket particularly inviting. Outside of that, it was under the coffee table.

4. The Thriller did have some success in feeding him. Remy was afraid to approach his feeding stand for eating — drinking was fine, but the identical food bowl right next to it freaked him out, go figure — so the Thriller fed him by hand in the living room. That worked, but if he walked out and came back into the room five minutes later, Pup had forgotten all about the fun food experience and went back to slinking under the table. This will take some patience.

5. One. Smart. Dog. Since we were up early this morning, I decided to try a clicker session right out of the gate. It took him only seven clicks to learn “sit.” 

6. He’s either crate-trained or housebroken, at least from what we’ve observed over the last 20 hours we’ve had him.

7. He is worth every minute and every penny we spend with and on him. The Thriller is not taking Remy’s fear personally (which, I told him, was a good thing, because if the tables were turned and it was me he feared, I’d be a bawling, feelings-hurt mess), and we know to not reward the frightened behavior by trying to “talk” Remy out of it. Instead, he will use the clicker and training treats.

We’re getting there! Not there yet, but still enjoying this new adventure.

Fink, dog whisperer in training