Introducing Rosie

[Schnauzer Sam]

Thanks everyone for your kind words.

Rosie's well on the mend and we're having to keep her calm for a few days but she wants to be her bouncy self.

I still have a problem with getting her to eat. We've tried the usual dog food, I/d food, baked cod, lamb, boiled chicken, roast chicken, baked Pollock, sausage, tuna, salmon, boiled rice and scrambled egg - so far we've had very limited success. I don't know where she's drawing her energy from.

This morning I managed to get her to eat some bits of boiled chicken covered with chicken flavoured pro-biotic sauce. She showed no interest in it initially but did take it when I hand fed her so I'm hoping that this is a breakthrough.

[Robin black mini]

Please try hills. ad canned food Resource remedy for convalescent dogs..it was designed for situations such as this.

Calorie packed ,puree...if my dog was not eating I ball the food and pop it into the back of the throat..she's getting all the calories she needs and you don't need to worry...
I keep it on hand at all times.

[Dawnspell]

Is she drinking Ok ?
That's the most important thing keeping her hydrated.
You could make her some bone broth for her to have
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/re ... one-broth/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Schnauzer Sam]

Thanks for the advice and support. Thanks too for the link to the "dogsnaturally" site. It's a new one for me. She's been drinking water well so I've no concerns over her hydration.

In the words of blackadder "I have a cunning plan".

I decided to give Rosie a revision course on her basic obedience and use some cooked liver as rewards. She totally fell for it.

Following all the commands to sit, stand, down, wait, take it etc. All the liver has been taken and I'm much happier now that I know she has something in her belly

[Robin black mini]

Liver is too rich ..may well cause diarrhea...hard on kidneys for a dog in recovery..keep the diet bland but well hydrated.

[Schnauzer Sam]

Hi Jo,

I had the same concerns about the liver but I was at my wits end with worry about her refusal to eat. Thankfully she ate normally last night and today though we have limited her portions and on the advice of the vet are restricting her walks to 3x10 minutes for another week. No ill effects from the liver either though I think that's more down to luck.

I'm very grateful for everyone's advice and support.

Now to grooming. After clipping Rosie twice I have been carding her twice a week and tidying her up with a course Mars knife just recently started with a fine knife. It appeats that her wire is coming through and there's evidence of the salt and pepper wire colouring forming.

this is what I've got to work with.

[Robin black mini]

Diet..give her the hills ad..lol ,no messing..this is
Strip...start from the crown of her head and strip from there..you can take off a lot more coat..look at the top shot..behind her ears she has a forest of hair..if you strip this her head will start to define..
Plus the head ,per se,will need addressing..are you going to strip or clip here..?
What clippers do you have? We can do a separate head post if you need...

[Schnauzer Sam]

Jo - I tried the Hills food - she turned her nose up at it though.

"Forest of hairs behind her ears" - lol. It's true. I'll be sure to strip that area properly as I'd really only been playing with it. I'm going to strip the top of her head but clip her cheeks and butt with the Wahl clippers I have. I'll update my pics on Sunday after I've had the knife out.

[Robin black mini]

If she really isn't eating a meal yet,you have to ball the food into her mouth..open her mouth,pop food into back of throat and close mouth..she will swallow it as its a puree..the idea is she has a meal going down in less than a couple of minutes...once she stabilizes you can offer her usual food and not spoil her eating habits with rich offers like the liver etc..

Looking forward to seeing her pics..id consider also clipping the ears as this is also a delicate area for the dog to tolerate stripping..one advantage of the silvers is you could clip her head too as it really won't affect her colour there as she's a silver...on a black you do see a peppering of white hairs coming in after a while on a clipped head..no problem on a salt and pepper dog .

[Oscar 12345]

I clip Otto's head as it was far too difficult to strip and leave tidy and I would have been blending heavily to make it look tidier. Much easier and looks much better clipped. I run the stripping knife through it regularly to remove any stuff but like the ears I clip. I know the ears will stay solid black, I am hoping that the head stays that way too but it might lighten. I also strip Otto's tail on the top. I thought this would be really difficult but it has been really easy and it seems to have always been wiry. She is looking lovely Sam and the coat looks perfect for stripping.

[Bodee]

Sam, Milla went through a phase where she almost stopped eating, it was around the time I suspect she had her first season.

Like you I just gave here some healthy treats but kept putting down her Fish4pups which she nibbled away at. She finally came through it and I was amazed when she scaled in at 9.3 kilos when I took her to the vets to see if they could give me confirmation that she had her season.

Apparently she had and the vet said she must have "taken care of herself" and that is why I didn't notice any traces other than swelling.

Don't get me wrong she is not fat just solid. and very active. In human terms I think they would call her "heavy boned"

[Schnauzer Sam]

Boyd, I know the doctors have a different word for people of my build but I like to think of myself as heavy boned.

I've got my puppy back! Rosie is back to her old self and I couldn't be happier.

[Bodee]

Boyd, I know the doctors have a different word for people of my build but I like to think of myself as heavy boned.

I've got my puppy back! Rosie is back to her old self and I couldn't be happier.

Great news Sam. Pass Milla's and my best to Rosie.

[Robin black mini]

Sam..great news that she's back on track.
Bodee,my girl weighs the same as Milla,she's also a solid dog,but not fat..they are all so different .My breeder said his girls are about 8 kilos,but we are never going to be there.if you can still feel the ribs I say it's all good.

[Schnauzer Sam]

We'd beautiful weather over the bank holiday weekend and I waited until the heat of the day was fading before taking Rosie out for her long walk.

I think she enjoys the sun behind her as she sees her shadow as her true size