Daisy turns 2!

This was a big weekend for Daisy. She had no idea of course, but she turned 2 years old today. And this weekend marks 3 months since we began fostering Daisy. It is only fitting that she got lots of love, treats, challenges, stimulation, and gifts!

Down stays took some work this week

A romp at Fort Funston

I'm about to eat this birthday hat

Birthday accessories gone wild

More puppy class moments

It was sprinkling and wet on Saturday morning, but we stuck it out to get more "stand/stay" and "heel" practice.

Our trainer, Mike Wombacher, was quick to say "the Vizslas will definitely not do down/stays in the rain". So true!

Daisy is the spectator

Alba "rooing" to the class

Doing the best stand/stay they can muster up

Rediscovering Fort "Fun"ston

SAND. Lots of it. Permeating everything. That's what happens at Fort Funston. But you just have to go with it and have a great time. This video and photo tell the story.

View of Twin Peaks and Mt. Davidson in the background

Puppy II Class

They say you should socialize your dog early and often.

Since Daisy missed out on most of that early socialization and training we are determined to give it to her so she can develop confidence and conquer fear. We loved Mike Wombacher's training with Alba, and got in touch regarding Daisy. He immediately slotted her in his puppy II class which started a week ago. He knows the Vizsla drill and is careful about what techniques to use on Daisy.

Today's lesson was all about stay and heal. With Alba as her lead, Daisy did very well for her first sit/stay, down/stay and stand/stay exercises! Heal will take more time and we'll try the sensation collar Mike suggested to work on that a lot more since it is critical for our neighborhood walks.

Just getting their attention before class (Alba on left, Daisy on right)

Daisy and Alba working on their stand/stay

The grass is not always greener

Wow, it's been a while since our last post. The silence has certainly not been due to a lack of activity on this end. Daisy is making many strides (more on those later), but she did hit a bump in the road two weeks ago and it has taken a little while to get back on track.

We took the girls to Crissy Field on one of those gorgeous Sunday mornings at the end of February, where they ran like crazy. The grass was green and they munched in between fits of chasing each other. We ran into another group of Vizslas and stopped to chat while the dogs munched on more grass. Sensing a theme? Early spring grass always seems to attract dogs, and theories abound on why dogs eat grass. Some say they eat it to settle an upset stomach, but even vets can't seem to agree on exactly why grass is appealing to dogs.

It all seemed innocent enough at the time, but fast forward to the next afternoon, when Daisy throws up after a bully stick, and much of the contents of her stomach included undigested breakfast and a whole lot of grass. Ok, the episode is over, don't give her any food until dinner (and then bland chicken/rice watered down), but around midnight, the vomiting began in earnest. And diarrhea. In waves and even a couple hours apart. She was completely restless. Of course this was the morning that Erik had an early flight to the East Coast. At 2:30am I called SFVS and gave them symptoms and general update. They said to monitor Daisy and if it kept happening to bring her in. At 4am, things weren't improving and I took her to the emergency room. She was actually excited to get in the car (she always is). But poor thing was dehydrated and needed help right away. She looked as green as the grass she had eaten.

Daisy looking a little greener than usual

Lots of heavy duty meds, sub-q fluids, and no food/water for the next 12 hours. Then another late morning vet appointment to check status and healing of stitches from spay (another pesky and lengthy healing time), lots of sleep, and staying low key for several days. No grass! She got better, than it came back, tested for giardia which was negative, but more bland diet, meds, and recovery. Let's hope we don't do this again soon!

Time flies with a friend!

Wow! Today marks 1 month since we began fostering Daisy. Time has flown given all that has changed in her life since January 20th. Daisy is making tons of progress.  Some real and fun milestones:

• Building muscle climbing stairs to do everything and anything around here
• Learned to finish her food before Alba swoops in on her bowl
• Got spayed and figured out how to avoid the dreaded e-collar for 10 days
• Willingly gets out of the car rather than gluing herself to the floor
• Added about 3lbs since we picked her up
• Peacefully enjoys her curly bully stick while I work out on the treadmill
• Entered Pet Food Express with Alba's encouragement
• Walking the streets of San Francisco with A LOT more confidence

They were mid-play and stopped to pose for this photo

You just can't resist that smile! 

Taking a break from their antics

Conquering her fears will still take more time (our vet said she has only 1 confident Vizsla in her practice!), but she has so much love to give and is a quick learner. Training and more socialization is really the next major focus for Daisy, but she's ready to learn!

Tails of the City

Just as we fell in love with San Francisco watching Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City" series on PBS during wintry evenings in Boston, slowly but surely Miss Daisy is having more fun adventures as she feels her way around San Francisco.

Daisy takes in the views from Liberty Hill

Daisy (left) and Alba (right) soaking up the views at Corona Heights

Crissy Field and stunning Golden Gate views

By the way, Crissy Field was exactly what the doctor ordered. Pure unadulterated running in the grass chasing Alba was quite the cure-all! (at least temporarily :-)

Q-tips Ceremony

The Q-tips® obsession continues. Alba LOVES being Q-tips'ed. She lays on her back and groans, and is happy to be flipped over to have her other ear cleaned. I've used 20 Q-tips on her before, she couldn't care less if there was anything to be cleaned - it's like an ear massage for her.

Alba prepares for her Q-tips therapy

Daisy the Q-tips thief surprisingly likes having her ears Q-tips'ed as well, despite her obsession with taking them out of the trash and chewing on them. She's not quite as malleable as Alba in terms of getting her in the best position to clean them, but close enough!

Daisy is ready for her Q-tips cleaning

It's just Saturday morning entertainment folks!

Going Coneless

We are Day 4 post-surgery and things are going well (knock on wood desk). As the post title suggests, Daisy is "going coneless". The first cone didn't fit and why would any dog willingly wear a cone? We certainly follow dr's orders on everything else, but since Daisy is under 24-hour supervision right now, there have been no signs of trying to itch the incision area, so why make a super shy and fearful dog even more uncomfortable and fearful?

Daisy stays safe under the table (note her shaved belly)

Since gambling is not really our thing, yesterday I ordered a Novagard. It is made by an Australian company, Provizor International. They make protective gear for equines and canines. Our holistic vet at SFVS, Dr. David Fong, DVM, LAc, Dipl OM, mentioned one of his clients had ordered an Optivizor after his dog's eye surgery, and when Alba had to have a low-grade melanoma growth removed from her eye a couple years ago, we used the Optivizor instead of a cone. It gave her more range of motion, but more importantly protected the stitches around her eye for over two weeks. It was not fun, but she could see and move better, and of course eat better too. And you can trim them to fit your dog. They are pretty genius products.

The Novagard is an alternative to the Elizabethan collar, and I ordered both the Novagard and Optivizor from Big Dee's Tack & Vet Supplies. I don't know why more vets carry these products - it is such a better and more customized alternative to the e-collar or cone.

So now we have cone insurance for Daisy (well it won't really arrive in time - but that's what insurance is like, right?) so we're hoping to sail through the next 6 days carefree and bully-stick happy.

Coneless is not a dirty word

Daisy's resolve

Yesterday Daisy was spayed. Having been to the vet the previous week, she was no more excited to be carried through the door again, regardless of what awaited her.

The vet called midday to let me know that the surgery was successful, and confirmed Daisy was not in heat again. I would pick her up at the end of the day when she had had more fluids and was more alert.

The vet fitted the Comfy Cone on her but it was clearly disrupting her vision and balance. We made it into the car, pulled away and in less than 3 minutes she had the cone off!

The one thing we've noticed about Daisy is that she doesn't cry or complain. We have accidentally stepped on her paws or bumped into her, never mind the pain of surgery. Not a peep. It's actually been very difficult to tell whether she is in pain post-surgery, so we are managing the meds on regular intervals. She just wants to be as close to us as possible, never letting us out of her sight.

Today I kept her quiet, which was actually easier than it seemed at first. Let's see how the next 9 days go!

The Q-tips Thief

Yep, someone likes chewing on Q-tips!

Another breakthrough for Daisy

Daisy had a great start to her Saturday. After romping with Alba in the backyard first thing when they woke up, they continued to tussle before and after breakfast. Time for some exercise.

While Daisy loves the sound of her collar, harness and leash coming out and being put on her, she is reluctant to walk out the front door. She immediately starts to back up and retreat, after all the excitement about getting ready to go out. Rather than pulling her after 5 minutes of trying to get her to come willingly, I carried her out the front door and once on the sidewalk she was fine. We are working on her reluctance and resistance issues.

Normally we walk Alba in the neighborhood, hit the farmer's market, and back home - about 2.5 miles or so. We were less ambitious for Daisy's outing, sticking to part of our normal walking route - away from big crowds and traffic on 24th Street. With a brisk pace she is good on the leash, with lots of verbal encouragement.

Alba (left), Daisy (right)

After our walk, we wanted to take the girls to a nearby dog park which is small and only gravel, but it is double-gated and well-fenced, so there are no escape routes. We've taken Daisy there before, but when I've tried to take her without Alba, she won't get out of the car. It did take some coaxing and scooting her out of the car, but again, once she was out of her "safe place" inside the car, she was good to go. So much so that once we got inside the double-gates, we let her off-leash.

Daisy (right) lets loose in a public dog park

The girls chased each other around a bit, and Daisy explored with some new confidence - her tail up for the most part. It is a pretty boring park IMHO (no grass, smallish space) but a safe place to get her familiar and let her off-leash. She took a nice nap after all the intense outside exposure!

Daisy goes to the vet

I took Daisy to the vet on Tuesday. She weighed 37.8 lbs including collar, harness, and leash (you know those add weight like your clothes do at the doctor's office). That was shocking to me. It also  means she weighs more than she did when we got her since she's been eating 3x a day plus tons of treats for a week! Her owners were feeding her Costco Chicken & Rice (but never gave any in the surrender process), but she couldn't have been getting enough of it regardless. She is taller than Alba and very lanky - lots of ribcage. Alba weighs just about 50 lbs.

After shaking and shuddering uncontrollably in the waiting room, she did settle down by the time our vet came into the exam room. She was a very good girl considering the poking and prodding (plus never having had a proper trip to the veterinarian either) she had to endure plus the blood test and slow blood draw. She was a very good girl. Lots of doting on her by the entire staff. She is a copper beauty! (just like my girl Alba!)

Goofy smile is me not her

Vizsla magic

We had a breakthrough on Saturday morning. The two girls were in the backyard and finally finally bonded. They carried on when they got upstairs, entertaining us throughout the weekend.







Needless to say the games go on!

Fear is a four letter word

Vizsla is an amazing breed. Versatile, "velcro", and vocal are just a few of the many descriptors for this affectionate, energetic, and regal hunting dog. They need a lot of exercise and attention. And while they may be intuitive and confident in the hunt, some are extremely fearful and shy. Alba was extremely shy and fearful (not enough early socialization due to fear put in us from our breeder about diseases) but with age has overcome a lot of her fears. Lots of puppy training and beyond to make her more comfortable in strange situations.

Daisy is also very shy and fearful, especially around strangers, noise, you name it it can trigger her to end up under the table, desk, or under a shallow shelf if she can find one. But we're also seeing her confident side.

Confident Daisy

Less Confident (but safe) Daisy

Daisy holds her own

Daisy sure is getting the hang of things around here. The kitchen is the center of the universe. And when Parmigiano Reggiano is being grated, best be standing as close to the grater as possible.

Alba (left), Daisy (right)

And when you enter a house full of undamaged toys, surround yourself with them. Go ahead, get comfortable!

Daisy and her adorable underbite

How an only Vizsla learned to share (sort of)

We have had Alba since she was 8 weeks old. 

Alba surrounded by toys at around 10 weeks

She really hasn't had to "share" anything in her 7 years of only-Vizsla bliss. And even when Dolce came to visit Dolce was the older Vizsla and helped herself to all of Alba's toys and treats. They had really bonded and we really miss her. 

Alba & Dolce snoozing in the sun

So Daisy's introduction was a challenge to Alba's status quo, but despite the general jealousy, we think she actually likes to have a "shadow". Not sure about Alba's mentoring capabilities, but she has sharpened Daisy's confidence, around treats, food, toys, etc. Daisy's first day was intense, but they are getting along pretty well - sharing a bed downstairs and upstairs, and generally keeping tabs on each other.

Daisy does San Francisco (well sort of)

Daisy survived the upheaval of moving to a new place remarkably well on her 1st day.

The next day we took Alba to daycare and spent some time getting to know Daisy alone. As with any visitor to San Francisco, we had to introduce her to my sister and take her to get a Gibraltar at Ritual Coffee in Hayes Valley. After shaking off the scary sounds of car doors and general traffic, we finally managed to sit down and relax while holding her tight.

Day 1: Daisy meets Alba & moves to San Francisco

All of a sudden we were going to be fostering a puppy! We made plans to meet Sharron & her 2 year old male V Steele, who were going to transport Daisy from her owners in Auburn to meet us at Toad Hollow Dog Park in Davis. Wow - the dogs in Davis have it good - huge enclosed dog parks for small and large breeds, plus poop bags and even a bathing station! We met a few other Vizslas in the park - it's always fun to see a pack of V's running around working off their seemingly endless energy.

Daisy was scared. She stayed glued to the fence, nervously eating a couple of the Peanut Butter, Honey and Oat Cookies I made from The Ultimate Dog Treat Cookbook: Homemade Cookies for Man's Best Friend by Liz Palika. They turned out really well - good enough to get the attention of Daisy the rescue.

Peanut Butter, Honey and Oat Cookies from The Ultimate Dog Treat Cookbook

We successfully transported Daisy to our house from Davis - she and Alba sat quietly for the ride in the back seat of the car looking out the window.

Kay had instructed us to immediately get a pet ID tag for Daisy since she is not microchipped. After we got home, we turned back around to take both dogs to Pet Food Express to get the ID tag. No sooner than we step outside our door, neighbors stop to say hello and ask about the new Vizsla. In that moment, Daisy manages to slip out of the harness and leash and runs across the street! Erik quietly went across and I brought a cookie once he had hold of her - we tightened the harness ASAP and Alba went with me to get the ID tag - the escape artist waited at home. 

We did manage to take the girls for a walk once Daisy was hooked up with ID tag and tighter gear. Alba showed Daisy "Squirrel Hill" and some highlights of our neighborhood.

"Squirrel Hill" (Daisy in foreground, Alba in background)

We agreed to foster a Vizsla puppy

We heard about a female Vizsla puppy who needed a foster home and we (I) volunteered, perhaps thinking we would not be selected. But then the email arrived from Kay Ingle, chair of Rescue Operations for the Vizsla Club of Northern California and Founder of Vizsla Rescue Haven.

we have a very shy young female vizsla that needs to be fostered. She
has not been socialized but
warms up especially if you have another dog to give her encouragement.
She loves to run and will
play with other dogs after an initial warm up period. She needs to be
spayed. She is house broken.
Please contact me if you can help out.

After getting the details on Daisy the 19-month old rescue we couldn't say no to this girl in need. These photos show her beauty but also how skinny and undernourished she was before entering rescue.