[Engel]

Hi all I thought I'd join in for a bit of fun and to share Bella's adventure with you!​

Week 1 - Basic Information​

February 25 - March 3​

Bella is a toy poodle cross (shih Tzu?). Blue colouring with brindle pattern. She's 4 years old; born 25 November. She weighed only 3.35kg. Nearly every bone visible. There is a break in her tail about 2/3 up. She has a few teeth missing and any remaining front teeth are damaged. Her back teeth seem to be ok.

Bella was one of 10 dogs originally. Unfortunately the previous owner had died unexpectedly. A family member took them on, but they too had many animals. It soon got to a point where they couldn't cope and they put them up to be rehomed.

We got her home and she seemed to settle in very well and got on with the other dogs.

A couple of days later I thought I'd shower her. I brushed her first and realised how very matted she was; so I shaved her down to make her more comfortable. She wasn't too happy about it and seemed very nervous, but by the end of the groom she seemed quite relaxed. It was upon grooming her that I found a few 'cyst' like thigs although I cant be sure. I also found dried blood around her hind end; she had been on heat.

I was originally told that she was last on heat in November which is obviously untrue as the timings were wrong. She'd had 2 litters previously and the dates from those and the timing of the most recent cycle proved other wise. February and August were common amongst the cycle dates. Anyways, we had an adventure...was she or wasn't she pregnant? More regarding that HERE.

On Friday she had her first jabs as she had missed her booster the year before. She squealed and protested but we got it done so she settled quite quickly again.

 

[Engel]

Week 2 and Week 3
4 - 17 March

Nothing major to note. There's been a lot of trust building. She will now let me groom her and shower her remaining calm at all times. Bella has also learnt how to play fetch AND play with a ball. We've had a few issues with her food but I put that down to her teeth. She is on wet food now and it seems to be helping and enticing her to eat.


Week 4
18 - 24 March

Trust building is the most major thing to note. She's coming on leaps and bounds. She doesn't like sleeping in the crate. I think that's more of a comfort thing as I don't think she was kept in a crate where she lived previously. She's perfectly happy to sleep on this bed and we are yet to have an accident and I hope it stays that way. She has also had her 2nd batch of vaccines as well as kennel cough. I doubt she'd go into kennels but as she was so small and skinny at the time, hopefully it will help if she does get it. I know it has the possibility to back fire as it is considered 'live'. But she seems ok.

(I will add photos soon I just need to find them)

 

[Asta's Mom]

How great that you started a 52 week thread for Bella. Enjoyed reading and looking forward to pictures.

 

[Mufar42]

Glad you have made Bella a 52 weeks thread. Its fun and helpful when we look back and can see how we have grown and what we have learned.

 

[Engel]

Glad you have made Bella a 52 weeks thread. Its fun and helpful when we look back and can see how we have grown and what we have learned.

Indeed. I hope you enjoy this thread!

 

[Engel]

Photos from weeks 1-4

 

[Engel]

Week 5 (25 -31 March)

She seems to have settled in very well and seems right at home. As she is feeling the cold she's now got a nice collection of jumpers, almost one for each day of the week. She now also has a little coat which she loves. She's starting to get the hang of a few basic commands too.

 

[Engel]

Week 6 (1 - 7 April)

All is well. Bella is slowly trusting the other dogs more and more. She is even able to happily share a bed with them!!!

 

[Engel]

Week 7 and Week 8 (8 - 21)

Pebbles my Lhasa apso is alpha in my pack. It's been a while but I think she's accepted Bella, and I think Bella is finally comfortable cuddling up to her.

 

[Engel]

Week 9 (22 -28 April)
Nothing major to report. Bella is gaining weight and is looking a lot healthier. I've also managed to groom her properly so now her ears don't swim in the water bowl lol .

 

[Engel]

Week 10 (29 April - 5 May)
Just the one photo for this week. Bella is socialising well, both with people and other dogs. She's very nervous at first but soon warms up to people. She seems ok with other dogs providing they don't try play fighting or chasing her. She's now comfortable enough to start going around the house by herself.

Here she is on the sofa. I went round the house calling her for a while as I couldn't find her. I think she's happy here.

 

[Engel]

Week 11 and Week 12 (6 - 19 May)
I let her off the lead for the first time this week and it went surprisingly well. Listened well to commands and had excellent recall. There were many different sounds and many people and dogs walking by, yet she remained focused with all of these distractions.

 

[Engel]

Week 13 (20 - 26 May)
This week I took Bella and the gang out and let them off the lead again. Every time she did amazing. Recall, listening and focus couldn't be better! Pebbles is alright at it too, but beau is still a curious pup at heart so he's not quite there yet. Hopefully he will learn from watching Bella.

 

[Engel]

Week 14 (27 May - 2 June)

Bella had a great week this week. She met a few new people and coped very well. Everybody had a cuddle. She also coped very well with the amount of people in the house. She was great with the kids too.

 

[Engel]

4 June

SPAY DAY

Today Bella has gone to the vets to be spayed. Hopefully, there will be no problems I'm that department for a while. While she's under the vet is going to poke a few potential cysts to check that they are just cysts. She doesn't have any doubts that they are but best to be safe than sorry.

The vet is also going to sort out her teeth. She's got quite significant gingivitis but has got slightly better since her last visit (thanks to bones, dental chews and tooth gel). She may have some removed but it depends.

I'll update you when we get her home.

Here's a few photos from yesterday when I groomed and showered her.

 

[Mufar42]

Aww Bella is so lucky to have you in her life.. What a wonderful life she has now.

 

[Engel]

SPAY DAY UPDATE

Bella has got through her surgery ok. The spay went according to plan and her organs seem ok. She had a general health check as well and she's fit and healthy. Even the vet said how good she was looking. Bella has still got a long way to go but that will come with time.

Bella has very flaky skin, vet seems to think it may be because she's not getting enough oils so we're going to have to supplement it. The vets have given somethinng that you add to food. She is already on food with white fish and I'm showering her with a shampoo with oatmeal and aloe with added vitamin C and E.

Bella also has quite a few lumps (small. Think BB ball size or ballbearing). We were thinking they were cysts and today it was confirmed that they were! Probably linked to her ongoing skin issue.

Finally she had her mouth sorted. She had a scale and polish. She also had 7 teeth removed! She's only got 5 incisors left. All her canines are showing signs of wear but still healthy. She hasn't got any molars in her top jaw now. I think she had a pre/molar on the lower jaw missing too but that happened before we had her.

I think that sums up today.

 

[Mufar42]

Glad to her all went well today. You have done a great job with her. Can't wait to see this thread in 52 weeks!

 

[Engel]

Week 15 (3-9 June)

(WARNING: bowel movements are mentioned if that grosses you out don't read).

It's been some what a painful week for Bella. She had her spay and her teeth removed and cleaned.

She was given painkillers but her system reacted badly to it. We were given strict instructions that if she had bloody diarrhea then we were to stop them...1 day on them was all it took. She's been on chicken and rice and now everything is going back to normal.

She had her 3 day check and the stitches were fine and the incision looked good. No sign of infection and her mouth looks healthy too. Going back to the vets tomorrow for another check as we mentioned her stools were changing so the vet just keeping a close eye to make sure all is well.

We found out that she had a cystic ovary (the vet was surprised how big it was compared to a normal ovary) so this would have made it difficult for Bella to get pregnant and almost certainly would have been the cause of the very realistic false pregnancy she had earlier in the year!

Vet said Bella was real good under anesthetic nothing worrisome at all.

When we got her home she slept for a hour or 2 and had a little bit to eat, you wouldn't think she just had a major op. She wanted to run and play with the ball...I felt bad putting the lead on her to toilet and putting her in the crate for the majority of the day...even now as she wants to jump and I don't want her damaging herself.

Other than that, Bella is well and happy.

 

[Engel]

Oh dear, I seem to have fallen behind! I've been so busy. Here's a catch up!

Week 16 (June 10-16)
Week after spay. Everything seems to be going ok. I've taken her off meloxaid as it was upsetting her tummy and given her colitis, poor thing. Despite this she has bounced back surprisingly quickly.

Bella had been wanting to run and jump about since the day after her spay, but I'm keeping her on cage rest until we have the all clear.

She had her 3 day check and 10 day. She is healing beautifully and doesn't seem to be in too much pain.

Here she is cuddling up to Pebbles in the car on the way back from the vets.