Depressed?

[RedJasper]

I am super upset. We rescued Vader from being put down the next day. My other half and I decided that we were going to foster him until we found him a good home. We were going to do a home visit and everything to make sure that we were doing all we could for him to be happy. After being him being here for about a week and the 3 getting along well my oh decided that he wanted to keep him. This has flip flopped several times since then. It has only been a little over a month. He is also ill and I do worry that he wont get the medication he needs due to the expense.

Personally I am a mess with my emotions over this. I love him as much as the other 2. I have been thinking of him as ours. He does not understand how this is affecting me. I know it is not all about me here. He is the major care taker of the furkids as I work insane hours at work. He lately has not been jelling with Rori as she has been more aggressive toward both males. That has made things more difficult in the hopes that we will live in harmony. In return has resulted to Vade spending more time in his crate. That also makes me cry. I don't believe in keeping dogs in crates with only little time out of them. So I went out and bought Rori a muzzle so they could play with out her drawing blood on Vader again. Rori naturally was scared from not being able to defend herself. I am not giving up. I know that this could take a while but how long? My fear is that my oh will give up.

I am sorry to vent but I need it and everyone else think I am nuts for having 3 huskies as it is and they do not understand where I am coming from. I see the oh's side and just want a consistent decision. Is that too much to ask for? If he leaves my home I want a good home for him and will not settle for less. He can be a handful with this mouthiness, fears, and quirks in general. He has improved a lot since he came home though.

I am just torn and feeling kina depressed over this.

[Elyse]

I can't offer any advice but...I can give hugs.

What do you mean by ill? What's wrong with Vader?

As a side note, perhaps Rori is coming into season (if she isn't spayed yet?)? From my (limited) experience in female dogs, usually they're snappy towards the males until they're...uh....fertile.

[Removed #5]

If you've been following my adventures with Sasha, [MENTION=5898]RedJasper[/MENTION], you know I can relate. One day she's great, then she's "eh?!?" and then she wants to take someone arm or leg off!

Today she's just been in one of her "Leave me alone!" moods. She's a good dog, but sometimes the moodiness gets old!

Hope things straighten out for you or that you can find him a good home.

[RedJasper]

@ SolitaryHowl Vader is ill with heartworms. He is lucky in the sense that his bloodwork came back that they are all same sex. So the harsh treatment is not necessary. However he is on the heartguard preventative and has to be for the rest of his life. The damage to his heart is irreservasable but should get no worse due to the inability for them to reproduce. Also Rori is spayed. She has been fixed since she was 4 months old.

@Al Jones I have not been following your adventures with Sasha. I have not been on for a long time due to failure of being able to log in. I have a bad memory when it comes to passwords. I will look them up and do my research. Rori is a great dog. She had no aggression our only issue with her was her stubbornness to potty train. She was house broke at 12 weeks and no accidents for months then a few. Now that Vader is here she is constantly pooing in my hallway. Back to basics with that but now she has been aggressive. She bit Vader near the eye and drew blood the other night. We are hesitant for them playing together with out her being muzzled. Then she feels unsafe. I am just lost right now. I feel that it is not serious aggression because they can be outside in the fence off lead and no issues. It is only in the house when they spend all their time.

Thanks for the support it truly means a lot to me.

[Elyse]

@ SolitaryHowl Vader is ill with heartworms. He is lucky in the sense that his bloodwork came back that they are all same sex. So the harsh treatment is not necessary. However he is on the heartguard preventative and has to be for the rest of his life. The damage to his heart is irreservasable but should get no worse due to the inability for them to reproduce. Also Rori is spayed. She has been fixed since she was 4 months old.

@Al Jones I have not been following your adventures with Sasha. I have not been on for a long time due to failure of being able to log in. I have a bad memory when it comes to passwords. I will look them up and do my research. Rori is a great dog. She had no aggression our only issue with her was her stubbornness to potty train. She was house broke at 12 weeks and no accidents for months then a few. Now that Vader is here she is constantly pooing in my hallway. Back to basics with that but now she has been aggressive. She bit Vader near the eye and drew blood the other night. We are hesitant for them playing together with out her being muzzled. Then she feels unsafe. I am just lost right now. I feel that it is not serious aggression because they can be outside in the fence off lead and no issues. It is only in the house when they spend all their time.

Thanks for the support it truly means a lot to me.

I'm sorry to hear that.

My boy is on heartworm preventative too (heartgard), but he's never had heart worms before.

To me, it sounds as though Rori sees herself as the 'boss' of your pack, and is reinforcing this on Vader because he's the 'new one'. Since you said this happens mainly in the house, I would think she sees the house as her territory, and is letting Vader know she doesn't tolerate him in it?

If you read up on this thread here, you can maybe prevent future fights by knowing what they are 'saying' to each other:

http://www.husky-owners.com/forum/showthread.php/30806-A-Guide-on-Dog-Body-Language

Have you seen a professional trainer to see if they can work with you and your pack?

[RedJasper]

@ SolitaryHowl I would agree that Rori sees herself as the boss. I have spoken to a trainer who is chomping at the bit to work with my pack. We are saving some cash for this because it will not be cheep. Thanks for the link. I checked it out and found it very informative. These 2 appear to be playful when all hell breaks loose. When she gets crabby he gets crabby and he does not have the rep with us that she does so if and when intervention happens he does not know when to stop and that gets Rusty upset. He was recently attacked by another dog on a walk and had to have surgery to repair his penis and abdomen. He is very passive and a perfect dog but sense this he gets upset and crabby when the other 2 are going after each other.

We need a doggie therapist

Also all of my babies are on the preventative but it is crucial that Vader get his every 30 days.

[LittleLuka]

@ SolitaryHowl I would agree that Rori sees herself as the boss. I have spoken to a trainer who is chomping at the bit to work with my pack. We are saving some cash for this because it will not be cheep. Thanks for the link. I checked it out and found it very informative. These 2 appear to be playful when all hell breaks loose. When she gets crabby he gets crabby and he does not have the rep with us that she does so if and when intervention happens he does not know when to stop and that gets Rusty upset. He was recently attacked by another dog on a walk and had to have surgery to repair his penis and abdomen. He is very passive and a perfect dog but sense this he gets upset and crabby when the other 2 are going after each other.

We need a doggie therapist

Also all of my babies are on the preventative but it is crucial that Vader get his every 30 days.

Not to change the subject but I was under the impression that it was crucial to have all dogs on preventative every 30 days. Luka is heartwarm negative and yet he still gets iverhart once a month. Never heard of all worms being the same sex but maybe I'm just not that knowledgable. All I know is all dogs Should be receiving heartworm preventative every 30 days regardless. I'm confused now ha.

Regardless back on topic maybe just give it more time. Hopefully it will work out the way you want it!

[RedJasper]

All dogs should take a preventative once a month. Most people do the same day every month like the first. That is OK however Vader has to have his every 30 days not 31 or 28. In negative pups that is not an issue. With him apparently it is. I don't quite get it either. It was just stressed with him every 30 no less no more and never skip a dose...

The same sex is usually a new infestation or a very lucky dog. Just luck in the sense of the worms can not reproduce.

[Storm Angel n Auroras Mum]

I have similar issues, I have had difficulty trying to introduce a 3rd in my pack.

ANgel is the female with issues lol.

[LittleLuka]

All dogs should take a preventative once a month. Most people do the same day every month like the first. That is OK however Vader has to have his every 30 days not 31 or 28. In negative pups that is not an issue. With him apparently it is. I don't quite get it either. It was just stressed with him every 30 no less no more and never skip a dose...

The same sex is usually a new infestation or a very lucky dog. Just luck in the sense of the worms can not reproduce.

i did some research regarding this: i understand now. "Single-sex heartworm infections are more common in cats; microfilaria are seen in less than 20%, and they are only present for about a month. The microfilaria are then swallowed by biting mosquitoes, and develop into infective larvae in the mosquito in ten to forty-eight days, depending on the climate. The larvae move into the mouth parts of the mosquito, where they can infect a new host--a cat or dog--when the mosquito bites the animal." From what i understand, you're correct it's usually a new infestation. However, it does state that regular heartworm preventative can be used to kill the majority of them so now i see why it's not optional to give him heartworm preventative.

thanks for bringing this up. i learned something new!

also, many dogs live long happy lives after being infested with heartworms so i wouldn't really put it off as him being ill. just be glad that someone so nice like yourself took him and now has taken the measures to prevent him from worsening his condition!

[RedJasper]

Thanks LittleLuka for putting all that into such an understandable dialect. It certainly is a new experience for me as well. I would like to get him tested more frequently but he is terrified of the vet and needles. We have started just taking him and hanging out there and letting him get positive attention. He still has a long way to go befor he will let the vet get close to him.

@ Storm & Angles Mum things were going great and then all of a sudden the puppy of all things decided that her new squeaky toy (AKA Vader) needed to bleed. It is frustrating for sure.