Damon has another cyst

Damon has another cyst, this time on his snout. After a round of steroids and antibiotics it has shrunk a bit, but still bleeding and is scheduled for another surgery to remove.
It has only been 11 months since the last cyst was removed from his pad.

Update: Surgery went ok for biopsy and culturing to see what it might be causing him pain, swelling and bleeding on his nose. He is still groggy but doing ok. Will update in 4 days when the results are back.

New addition by default

Since my mother has moved away, i have had the pleasure of adopting and caring for her terrier. He is a good dog, but can be hyper at times. He still guards her old house and it has taken us a couple of weeks for him to realize he gets fed here, so here is where i now belong. Good with the kids, but will howl like a coyote at night if he hears a siren or train whistle.
Loves the kids and snow,  but got a little more than he bargained for while investigating what our grandson was digging. 

Too many dogs, far too much fighting for pack order, and indoor chaos

Due to the economy, underemployment, or just plain lack of money, my daughter and her family had to move into our home. Two small children and a female bully pit. Introduction into the family where i already have a 16 year old boxer, an adoptive mutt (when my mother moved out of state) and Damon, who is a pit bull and labrador mix. My daughters dog has been here numerous times before, and usually gets along with my other animals, so this was not the problem. It was when my daughter decided to add to the mix, an adonis of animals a beautiful bully pit, with more muscles than brains. As she is used to her rather lazy bully pit, this boy needs constant attention, exercise, and training.... None of which she can do with two very small boys and here is where the conflicts start. Too many people get an animal and not fully think of the ramifications when they do not give a specific breed, especially a muscular working class dog the training they need. His lack of proper exercise, meaning walking him 2-3 miles total per day, causes him to lash out by tearing up doors, pillows, toys, etc... This is the first mistake people make with an animal. 1. Walk and exercise the dog... 2-3 times a day. Dogs will naturally try to set up a pack order and young pups what to fight to prove they are the alpha male. This is the most frustrating, scary, and chaotic fact of dogs. This boy will be a very powerful adversary and needs to be separated and trained. 2. Take the dog to a properly lisensed dog trainer to keep this powerful animal under control, 'man handling' pushing, shoving, anger, screaming, gabing, hitting,etc... are never, never acceptable and will only result in injury... YOURS 3. Timely feedings, about the same times every day, so as not to frustrate the animal. and do not over feed. Give separate bowls to each dog to avoid fighting for dominance over the food bowl. 4. Do not add a new animal to your home when it is already chaotic from added people and other animals trying to adjust. This has been the biggest mistake and we are all now frustrated and causing more tension between the animals as they sense the temper tantrums building in the humans. There are many wonderful web sites with advice for training your animal and i have learned a lot from each one. But i'm writing this post out of sheer frustration, and hoping it may help someone else in a similar situation.

Drop the ball Damon

Teaching Damon to drop the ball has been one if our biggest challenges. Instinct tell him he has conquered and captured said ball, and you are too weak to pry away from my sharp teeth.  All true, i confess.
But pit bulls like to learn new things,  so we praise,  and pet him and praise when he gets it right.
And sometimes, Damon just wants to be the conqueror.

Someone to watch over me.

Baby sitting my grandson and daughter's pregnant bully pit. Every where the baby goes Jasmine has to follow.  She is very protective of him.

Cyst on hind leg

Damon had a nickel size red lump on his paw that would cause him to favor his hind leg. Our local veterinarian removed and biopsied it and it was just a cyst. But very scary just the same.

I told you there was something in the woods

I told you there was something in the woods!

We have lived her for 15 years and very rarely do we hear coyotes, but last night sent chills up my spine as what sounded like 5 or 6 crying and howling in unison to the train whistle last night. They were mere feet from the back of my house. The coyotes are usually well enough away that we have not had to deal with them, but with our outside dogs passed away now and only Damon (who stays in the house) they are now very close to the house in the woods. Damon knew a few weeks ago that there was something in the woods and was digging earlier, probably at a den, and was upset.

Today he and my husband walked the trail in the woods and Damon was on constant alert with his hair on his neck and back up. Usually we have plenty of deer in our woods but we have not seen them in the last few days. I have been in the garden and the deer only feet away in the spring and the fall, but even the rabbits are not around lately.

 I won’t allow the kids to play in the yard without constant supervision and they will definitely not be walking the wooded trails anymore. I'm also going to now carry a pack more often then i do for some possible needed items. Coyotes are unpredictable and love to play at tag type sports before they attack…I’ll keep you posted.