| Breed not specified | Born: March 2006 |
| Female | Weight not specified |
Status: Adopted
Happy New Year! I've done a lot of thinking over the holidays and feel that Ellie has already found a home with me and my extended family. I just love her, so Ellie and I are officially adopting each other! Attached is a picture from Christmas of Ellie with her extended dog family :)
Ellie is doing great. She had a very active Thanksgiving, as my family was dog sitting an additional dog, so she had 3 fuzzbutts to run around and play with. She also had a holiday bath in the shower this time, which was a new experience. Her tail was between her legs the whole time, but she never tried to jump out or shake before I had the chance to rinse her, which is always nice. She was very well behaved and enjoyed her silky new look when it was all over! I promised some pictures of Ellie in her new collar. I took almost an entire roll as it was nearly impossible to get her to stay, get the right angle and keep the hands out of the picture (she's still a work in progress with 'stay'), so you can somewhat see her new collar - you'll just have to trust me, it's cute on her.
Ellie went to the vet a couple of weeks ago and had two ear infections (ouch!) and a slight heart murmur that the vet would like to investigate further because she's had heartworm twice. She has an appointment on December 7th for an echocardiogram which will give us more information on the strength of her heart. We already know it's full of love, but would like to find out if there is any damage from her previous heartworm. Look for a new update after her December 7th appointment!
Ellie has had quite an exciting few weeks at her foster home. She's finally learning how to really play and is having so much fun on visits with my family's two dogs. She loves to run and chase and play tug-of-war. Her latest 'toy' was a sock - the elastic helped with the give and tug :)
Ellie has gotten a good long run about 3 times a week and loves it. When we aren't working on 'heel' she leaps and bounds with pure joy, which is so fun to see. She started out as a bit of a puller on the leash, but she has gotten so much better and is starting to respond very obediently to 'heel', especially when treats are involved! We have had two baths so far, which went well. Though her tail was between her legs the whole time, she stayed right in the bath tub and took was what inevitably coming to her. She seemed to really be impressed by herself after the bath. Either she was so excited it was over or she knew she looked and smelled good, because she was prancing around like a princess.
We've been to the dog park. Ellie was not so sure of this place at first, but after playing with other pups she realized it could be fun and started to prance around with her head high looking for new friends. It is great to see her increased confidence as she has more social experiences!
We also did some shopping this weekend and Ellie joined me in a few dog stores. Again, she was a little timid at first - it seems almost everything we've been doing is a new experience for her, but after she discovered there were treats low enough for her to sniff, she relaxed and enjoyed the other pooches and people attention. She got a new pink collar that accentuates her femininity and delicate nature :) As if she knows the difference, but she sure looks cute. New pictures to come of Ellie in her pink collar, so stay tuned!
Ellie is doing much better, and again you would never know she is recovering from the second Heartworm treatment. Most of the work is just keeping her calm and resting but she wants none of it! Let's all hope this time the treatment will do the trick for her. I don't know how I will get her into the vet office again, as she wants nothing to do with that place and I can't blame her. In the next couple of weeks we will have to make a couple of quick visits to the vet office just for some treats, pets and fun attention - maybe then she won't be so afraid to go there. Unfortunately, her next appointment at the vet office is for a spay so she won't be pleased about that either - my poor little girl!
Ellie has made great progress on the "jumping on people" bad habit. She rarely jumps up on me anymore; when really excited she will jump all around me, almost like walking on her rear legs. She knows if she sits she will get more attention than if she jumps. Ellie is definitely the type of dog who wants to be in the same room as you, even when that means going upstairs to sleep in a really warm bedroom! After the alarm goes off in the morning she wants to jump up on the bed and get her belly rubbed before it is time to get up. Did I also mention that Ellie loves the water? She took right to swimming after following the resident dog, JoJo, into the lake. Ellie also likes to go into the kiddie pool when it's hot and scratch at the water to make it splash.
Ellie loves to be petted and loves to be brushed. It is very easy to keep her in tip top shape as far as the shedding goes; she has a very light coat which makes brushing her a breeze and keeps the dog hair floating around the house to a minimum.
Ellie taking it easy after her second go around with heartworm treatment
WOW, I can't believe a month has gone by since my last update. Ellie is doing great, you would have never known that she had heartworm. It was hard to keep her quiet for those few weeks as the worms died in her bloodstream. Ellie's next move is to go back to the vet and have her checked for heartworms, and if they are all gone, we'll talk about getting her spayed.
Ellie is learning that jumping up is not appropriate, and for the most part she is very good at keeping "four on the floor." For such a little girl she is very strong. I would strongly suggest a Gentle Leader for walks. Also, obedience classes would benefit both her and her new family. For the first two weeks that she was here she stayed in the fenced in yard. Then she discovered two spots in my fence where she is small enough to crawl under. Unfortunately, because little Ellie has become an escape artist we now have to tie her out when she is outside.
Ellie is also not afraid to jump over a baby gate and is even willing to try and knock it down to get into a room where you are. She no longer has any interest in the living room when I'm not home (that is the room I have baby gated when not home). She has a chair in the TV room to lie in while she waits for me to come home from work. Ellie is only a year old so she still likes to chew, but given appropriate toys and bones to chew she is quite happy.
Ellie came up to Minnesota with her puppy, 06-245 Morgan, so even at her young age she has already had puppies. She must have been a very good mother because she has become Jessie's second Mom here. I'm also fostering 06-289 Lacy and her pup, 06-311 Jessie. Ellie checks up on puppy Jessie, gives her kisses and licks her to clean her. I hope she will become Jessie's playmate when Jessie is a little older.
Ellie is a sweet petite little female that loves attention and well love you unconditionally. All she wants is to be with you--she loves to get brushed, loves to have her belly rubbed, loves to sit in your lap for pets, loves the water and gets along with other dogs. After Ellie gets spayed she will be taking interviews for her new family.
