[Blacksheep]

So as some of you know, I adopted a chihuahua x min pin from the shelter almost a year ago. My county shelter had no info on him whatsoever which means he was likely a stray. They did note that he was ultra shy and severely fearful of men (he was a flirt with the ladies though.) My personal theory was that he was thrown out of a house by a boyfriend...he would not let my boyfriend or any of the male shelter staff touch him without quivering and yelping. On top of that, he was born with small eye and his vision was impaired (we now believe he is 90-100% blind in that eye.)

With the help of my old man Spyro, we got Loki to become the perfect dog...except

1) He HATES having his ears cleaned. You'd swear we were murdering him when we did it

2) He snaps at anything that moves too fast and/or that comes up on his left side...usually when focused on something else.

We were considering another dog and I had one set in my mind...(not telling anyone about him because thats bad luck for me) which IS an abuse case dog. He was taken from a home where he was kicked and thrown because he piddled in the house.

Loki LOVES to play but, in all honesty, Spyro is showing some grey. He gets tired after walks and would rather sleep all day after. Loki only gets to play with my mother in law's dogs...especially her 4 year old rat terrier. If she weren't such a jerk, I'd bring him over there for play sessions.

So just curious, anyone have TWO "special needs" dogs? I mean Loki has no problem showing the ropes. How did it go?

 

[Blacksheep]

Also I'd like to note that Loki is 100% ok with gentle children now AND men. He sleeps on my boyfriend's lap and has earned the nickname cherry picker...because he likes to pick noses.

 

[Sasami]

I'm not sure if I'm interpreting this right but you're not asking for advice on Loki, right? Just the idea of getting another dog?

I don't see a problem getting another abuse case animal (and right now I have several "special needs" animals so it's doable!) provided you have the time and resources to work with him. I've worked with a bunch of abuse case animals (including ones that were taken away, like the guy you're interested in)--some of them bounce back pretty fast but others take a TON of patience. Sometimes that means sitting next to a crate for hours doing nothing, trying to get them to come out on their own (yay for good books, ha). But it really comes down to the individual dog. Honestly, some of them just seem so happy to have a routine and be cared for that they're easier to handle and train.

I would consider asking the shelter if you can foster to adopt. That way you get a "trial" run and you can see how your dogs react.

 

[Blacksheep]

Most shelters here offer 90 day trial run. After that, there is no refund of adoption fee and a return is considered a strike for the animal from my understanding.

We will see.

 

[Sasami]

90 days seems like a reasonable amount of time to me, that's much longer than shelters around here offer.

 

[Blacksheep]

Oh yeah forgot my other question. Wondering if maybe visually impaired dogs may be ultra sensitive to having their ears cleaned. Seriously I'm surprised nobody has called animal control on me the way Loki screams. His ears are fine and dandy but they do get dirty.

 

[Sasami]

Oh yeah forgot my other question. Wondering if maybe visually impaired dogs may be ultra sensitive to having their ears cleaned. Seriously I'm surprised nobody has called animal control on me the way Loki screams. His ears are fine and dandy but they do get dirty.

Hmm, maybe.

Does he freak out when you just touch the ears? Or only when you clean them?

 

[andrea1]

90 days will do

 

[wishbone]

That's almost 3 months and that's long enough to learn and get fully in-loved with dogs and feel if he/she's fit perfectly for your family.

 

[Blacksheep]

Hmm, maybe.

Does he freak out when you just touch the ears? Or only when you clean them?

When anything goes in his ear. So ear wash (I use a liquid kind), those magnifying glass things at the vet....A couple of days ago he was being a nut and I guess a blanket corner just slightly went in there (with no pressure) and he jumped up and screamed.

 

[Sasami]

When anything goes in his ear. So ear wash (I use a liquid kind), those magnifying glass things at the vet....A couple of days ago he was being a nut and I guess a blanket corner just slightly went in there (with no pressure) and he jumped up and screamed.

Honestly, the blanket thing makes it sound like he's in legitimate pain. Weird.

 

[Blacksheep]

Honestly, the blanket thing makes it sound like he's in legitimate pain. Weird.

I don't think he was. He screams when someone scares him too.

I was at the in-laws house a couple of days ago and one of their cats pounced on him when he was sleeping. He just got his tail but you'd swear Loki was being murdered. I bet the cat got a laugh out of it.