New Pictures 6-28-09 Annie Oakley - Page 5

Oh, she is really cute! I think quite alot of my vet and she has mentioned Dr. Yakely (sp) with high regard. Sounds like Annie is happy though, to her she is just normal, can't miss what ya never have had.... she is lucky to have found you Crys!

She is a cutie. So glad she found the right  home. How wonderful to have a family love you for who you are.

Yes, indeed, it doesn't bother me that she is blind.  And it is her only impairment, and not much of one at that.  I agree with Steph, I wouldn't want to make the condition worse by messing around with it.  If blindness is her only issue, and two vets seemed to agree that it is, then I can't see taking her in and risking making something worse, when she's perfectly healthy.

This morning, when we went out the first time, she didn't hesitate at the stairs, just ran down, jumped the last step to the ground, and found the nearest spot to pee.  No accidents yet, and the only time she's crated is when I have to leave, like this morning, or at night.  She will run to the door when I let her out in the morning, get outside as fast as she can, and do her business.  That's a great thing, because Misty would always squat right outside her crate and go...Very annoying.  Buy Oakley seems to know already.

I thought, when I read Steph's updates on her, that she'd be harder to handle than she is, but I find she's easier than Misty.  She's not as high strung, and though she's got tons of energy, she doesn't drive me up the wall with her constant doing things that she's been corrected for.  She's my shadow, inside and out, but I'm working with her to build her confidence so that she doesn't feel the need to move every time I do.  My house is only 27 by 52 feet, so it's not like I'm ever far away from her.  Also, if she learns that I'm not going to leave her, then she'll stay quietly when I'm not home, and not tear the house apart in anxiety.  She's doing really well.  She'll eat in the utility room and I can go in the master bath, at the other end of the house, and she'll eat all her food before she comes looking for me, using that spectacular nose of hers.

Here's a pic I took this morning...

More pics...These are from last night...She was playing with the kids...

This morning with a steak bone...Raw, with the cartilage still on it..



The bandanna is in the washer...It got pulled off playing last night.  Oakley doesn't miss it!!

Wow!  I'm impressed!  When our girl was this size we had the crate partitioned off so she wouldn't potty in one end.  I don't know that she would have but still...  Considering Oakely's impairment I find this impressive that she wan'ts outside to do her business. 

I'm very proud of her...She's been easier to deal with than any other dog that I've had.  She's just a great little puppy.

She did make one mess in the crate, the day after we brought her home, but I had put her in there while I went out to mow the lawn, and she hadn't done her business when I took her out before that.  So when she needed to go, and started screaming about it, she couldn't get outside, since I couldn't hear her and the kids are under express orders not to let her out unless I tell them they can.

She was so upset about it when I came in and found the mess, standing by the door, head down, whining and really sad.  Of course, I couldn't correct her, it wasn't HER fault.  So I just took her outside, where she proceeded to do some more, and then I cleaned her crate, washed the bedding, and that was that.  But she was down for about two hours about the mess, and I put it out of my mind immediately.  She doesn't like to be messy, although she can be as wild as any puppy. 

If she gets dirt or grass on her, she's shaking it off immediately.  Kind of funny how she's so intuned that she can feel the dirt on her and want rid of it, but most dogs don't really care! 

Little Annie Oakley is everything I though she would be, and more.  Now, for a few tips on how to start training for tracking...I think that would be fun.

Crys

That is so nice of you to take in this blind puppy.

Our eldest female, Tasha, 8 yrs.  is blind...she developed gestational diabetes with her last litter and quickly went blind...she also is on insulin and a special food.  She has dealt with the blindness remarkarbly well.  We have lots of visitors and when we tell them she is blind they are in disbelief. She is very social and runs right up to everyone for attention and play. We have lots of property and water and she runs, swims and gets around just fine.

The only trouble we have is if someone has moved something outdoors, for example a leaf pile or leaves a kennel door open, she has run right into some things.  The hardest part of us is not being able to play frisbee with her any longer, she was awesome at frisbee catching . But we do give her balls and throw them short distances and she can sniff them out for retrieving and do tug of war.  She also enjoys big branches that she can tear apart.

Tasha is the alpha female here in our pack of 8 and blindness has not altered her position.  She has not allowed the other dogs to sense anything wrong at all and they respect her calm leadership.  Enjoy your little puppy they can get on very well even without their sight.

 

If the Pup was born blind then she does not know any different, and it would not be kind to subject her to any form of treatment, She looks to be very happy as she is with a caring family, and will be fine and live a good life,
Leave her as she is she will want for no more than she already knows, My old Charlie went blind the last two years of his 14 year life, He adapted okay and was happy until the day he paased on
Steve

Update 6-27-09:

Well, last night was fun:-)  I moved Oakley's crate from my bedroom into the living room.  She couldn't hear me or see me while I was sleeping, and so she made sure to wake me up frequently to make sure I was still there.  I took her outside each time, until I realized she wasn't telling me she wanted outside.  She just wanted to know where I was.  So I started just telling her to Hush, and hearing my voice seemed to help her relax. Maybe tonight will be quieter...I hope so! Lord, I'm worn out today! Tonight I think we'll take a good long walk, so she'll be too tired to whine every few minutes.

Aside from that, she's getting more settled in all the time.  She's got the steps all figured out, and bounds down them like she's been doing it all her life.  All the solid objects in the house and yard she knows the locations of, especially the water bucket by the corner of the house.  I can leave her alone to eat.  Although, I think I might be feeding her too much at a time, because she doesn't always eat all of it.  Better too much than not enough, since she still needs to gain some condition.  She's still a bit thin...I was thinking of adding a scrambled egg to each meal...We have chickens, and get our own eggs. 
What do you guys think?  Would that help her put on a some weight, or would it just give her diarhea?  Maybe half an egg?

Her coat is shining up nicely, so I know she's healthy, but I was thinking that maybe a little more protein?  The food Steph was feeding is 21% protein, and the Kirkland I'm switching her on to is 28%...Both give her nice firm, reasonable small stools, so I'm not sure if I should add anything at all.  Since she is growing so fast right now, the skinny thing is just likely part of the fact that she's growing so fast and is active.

I baked a pan of teriyaki chicken last night, and Oakley tracked it right to the top of the stove, and she sat there, smelling the air, and debating with jumping up to see if she could get some.  I called her out of the kitchen, and that was the end of that, but it was funny, anyway...When she gets a little bigger, it won't be a problem, so I'd better learn to keep the food put away, in addition to training her.-)




I have one more that I took this morning....



I'd say she knows her way pretty well. Here, she'd just picked up her favorite bone from the dining room floor, and was dashing over to the living room.  Pretty good for a blind girl.  Her coat's sure getting shiny, too.  Looks really nice, nice and smooth, like it should be.

Crys

Yep, looks like you'll have to start using the back burners!  She is shiny!  Looking good, happy little pup.  I don't think you need to worry about adding anything to her diet.  As long as she is frisky and shiny it's ok to be on the thin side.  Better thin than too much weight while she is growing.  I didn't think my little girl would ever "round out" but she has.  It's just a phase Oakley is going thru.  Keep up the good work.