Meet Milo the JRT

[RatterpriseCommand]

Dear Milo,

I'm glad to hear you are learning to stop when told! Remind your humans that it takes lots of patience to break old habits, particularly ones that have been around a looooong time. Don't forget to give them lots of love as a reward for their patience and try not to stress them out too much over the holidays. Here's a hint: less barking and less cat chasing are good ways to do that! The cat might even want to stick around if you chase her less. I know you have LOTS of JRT energy, but try to play instead of just be crazy.

Be careful with your nail. I hope it doesn't get dirt in it and when your human puts on the polysporin, try not to lick too much off!

Keep your nose up and good luck!

[Digi]

The Health Department just left, so Milo is no longer under house arrest.

His dead nail fell off on its own yesterday. All there is left is a tiny bump of quick. I'm not sure if his nail will be able to recover. There is still no infection setting in. The area appears to be normal tissue (considering) and the toe is still not painful for him to walk/run on it and I can touch the toe.

The boo boo on his muzzle is nearly fully healed. 3/4 of the scab has fallen off, and I can see healthy furry skin!

[cassiesmom]

Yay, Milo! Digi, I'm glad the boo-boo on Milo's face is healing, and that his nail is looking good. Does "no longer under house arrest" mean he can walk around without the muzzle? Or, that you can keep using the softer one? Is he still asking for petting? Milo, I know your person will keep helping you learn all your doggie skills.

[Digi]

Does "no longer under house arrest" mean he can walk around without the muzzle? Or, that you can keep using the softer one? Is he still asking for petting? Milo, I know your person will keep helping you learn all your doggie skills.

I meant he is legally allowed off my property now. The government put him under quarantine at my house, and he was only allowed outside in the yard to potty.

Milo loves being petted now. He comes up to us all the time wanting a good long scratch all over. He no longer growls at us or the other dogs either. He is learning that his personal space BS is limited and doesn't fly in our house. He is allowed to growl if another dog jumps on him, but its not ok to growl if another dog sniffs or walks past him.

He has taken a fancy to Charlie. Digi has little interest in playing with other dogs, and she has already told him not to touch her. He respects her, which is how we want things in the house to function.

Milo chases & follows Charlie when he is off his leash in the house. Charlie does protest, but still wants to play. Milo only tries to do 1 thing to poor Charlie. We don't scold him for tormenting the hell out of Charlie that way, as we know after he is fixed, it'll turn into play. We don't want to ruin the friendship, as Charlie doesn't hate what Milo does, as Charlie likes to butt bump him to get the chase going. Its the jumping on & grabbing that Charlie doesn't fancy lol

[lizbud]

I meant he is legally allowed off my property now. The government put him under quarantine at my house, and he was only allowed outside in the yard to potty.

Milo loves being petted now. He comes up to us all the time wanting a good long scratch all over. He no longer growls at us or the other dogs either. He is learning that his personal space BS is limited and doesn't fly in our house. He is allowed to growl if another dog jumps on him, but its not ok to growl if another dog sniffs or walks past him.

He has taken a fancy to Charlie. Digi has little interest in playing with other dogs, and she has already told him not to touch her. He respects her, which is how we want things in the house to function.

Milo chases & follows Charlie when he is off his leash in the house. Charlie does protest, but still wants to play. Milo only tries to do 1 thing to poor Charlie. We don't scold him for tormenting the hell out of Charlie that way, as we know after he is fixed, it'll turn into play. We don't want to ruin the friendship, as Charlie doesn't hate what Milo does, as Charlie likes to butt bump him to get the chase going. Its the jumping on & grabbing that Charlie doesn't fancy lol

Forgive me if you've already covered this, but why are you waiting to have Milo neutered? Seems like that would be a big help in changing his behavior.

[Digi]

Forgive me if you've already covered this, but why are you waiting to have Milo neutered? Seems like that would be a big help in changing his behavior.

Its a long waiting list to get him in. 3 months is actually really fast compared to what the waiting list use to be when the program started up a few years ago.

For a male dog its $75 to get fixed
Chip is $20 (he is getting this done)
3 shots are $15 each (he doesn't need this)
Minor health repairs are about $10-20 each if I recall (he doesn't need this)

I want to support this program, & my vet refuses to take my money for her to fix him herself.

Not to mention we were not looking nor wanting a 3rd dog. Esp a dog that has bitten a child, its not an easy thing to deal/cope with. But he has so much good potential, and we are suckers

Since Milo has arrived, I have spent nearly $200 on things he needs (most of it going towards his aggression issues). He still needs a seatbelt, proper winter footwear, and a warmer winter coat. I also need to get a new water dish that attaches to the big metal kennel (lost the attachment when we moved into the house, blah), and he'll need a life vest for water activity this summer. I'm sure I'm missing things that he'll need to be able to adjust to our life style.

Then there is also the extra mouth to feed. They all eat raw, which is not cheap.

My plans to get a microwave are now gone lol