Sunday, May 22, 2011

Toby's Turn!

Toby, Coco and Milo lolling in the kitchen this afternoon...

I'd mentioned to Toby that the jury were still out in regard to their verdict on my last post, although it seemed most readers felt it had passed the grade. As you will recall, Toby had found it a great big bore and had no qualms about showing me just how very bored he was with the gigantic yawn he emitted. He scoffed at my comment and said he's not changing his vote! So, to attempt to appease him, I said I'd prepare a new post featuring 'just' him with the pups.  Since he's so much larger than they are, he looks quite grown-up even though he's only 14 months old and he rather liked that idea...so, here we go, strictly under Toby's direction! 

Please click the Read more button below to continue reading this post... 

 
"No! Take that one again...you gave me green-eye in the previous attempt!"

"OK...now we'll demonstrate how sweetly we can lie together...Coco, where are you off to...to piddle? Right then, it's just you and me, Milo...now lie down and pretend to be napping!"

"Good! She got that one right...now cosy up to me and show you aren't at all scared of me even though my teeth are so much bigger than yours!"

"Now let's turn on to our sides and tip our heads back so our noses almost touch!"

Same afternoon, but we'd moved to the frontroom to enjoy the fire and Toby and Milo thought it would be fun to demonstrate a game of wrestling...

Toby begged me to take this picture so you could see for yourselves just who has the largest teeth and mouth.

Now, I'm not sure whether this will get him to agree to retract his scathing comment on my last post, but hopefully he's feeling more kindly disposed to this one!

I asked whether I could mention that Milo and Coco had attended their first Puppy Socialisation class yesterday...he said provided I didn't make a big thing about it and take the spotlight off him!  Oh well, now you know what we did yesterday and, yes, it went quite well except that Coco decided it was a good time to discover her voice.  She barked at everyone!

Toby has developed a skin allergy, which we are trying to diagnose in conjunction with our vet. He has undergone two lots of treatment and today had to have a cortisone injection to stop the severe irritation. In order to do a skin biopsy, the condition needs to  flare up badly, but we really do not want to have him suffer anymore...hence the cortisone today. Thankfully, it has already helped and he has not been scratching this afternoon. 
He permitted me to take this picture so you could see the nasty rash he has under his armpits. It also affects the skin on his face, especially surrounding the eye area and the bridge of his nose. He has red spots on his back legs, too!

Milo is feeling sorry for him and suggested that it might be soothing for Toby if he gently rested his chin on the inflamed spot...Toby agreed to give it a try!
German Shepherds are unfortunately predisposed to skin allergies...trying to discover the source of the problem is the hard part! We have him on a special diet and he takes omega 3 oils every day, so we are doing our best to contain this outbreak and to get him to recover fully. In case it's stress related (the pups have been with us for a month now) we have upped his 'alone' time with us and we are allowing him to spend more time with Milo and Coco. They are getting on well, as you can see from their posed pictures. 

Toby has asked me to add that he's pretty sure you will have enjoyed this post considerably more than the one featuring "the annoying Ibis and dying leaves." (his words, not mine!)

To conclude this post, Toby has requested that I share this poem...to remind all of you to love and care for your animals for all time, not just while they're cute puppies!


My family brought me home cradled in their arms. They cuddled me and smiled at me, and said I was full of charm.

They played with me and laughed with me, they showered me with toys. I sure do love my family especially the girls and boys.

The children loved to feed me, they gave me special treats. They even let me sleep with them all snuggled in the sheets.

I used to go for walks, often several times a day. They even fought to hold my leash, I'm very proud to say.

These are things I'll never forget a cherished memory. I now live in a shelter without my family.

They used to laugh and praise me when I played with that old shoe. But I didn't know the difference between the old ones and the new.

The kids and I would grab a rag for hours we would tug. So I thought I did the right thing when I chewed the bathroom rug.

They said that I was out of control, and would have to live outside. This I did not understand although I tried and tried.

The walks stopped, one by one; they said they hadn't time. I wish that I could change things, I wish I knew my crime.

My life became so lonely, in the back yard on a chain. I barked and barked all day long to keep from going insane.

So they brought me to the shelter but were embarrassed to say why. They said I caused an allergy, and then, kissed me goodbye.

If I'd only had some classes, as a little pup I wouldn't have been so hard to handle when I was all grown up.

"You only have one day left," I heard the worker say. Does this mean a second chance? Do I go home today?

~ Sandi Thompson ~
 

40 comments:

  1. I hope Toby feels better soon and I can't wait for Milo's own post. I have a crush on the little weiner-mix or whatever he is. Adorable.

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  2. Hi Des, make sure Toby knows that I think he's the "man". I enjoyed seeing how in control he is & how kind he is to allow hios friends to be in his space with him. He is soooo handsome & I hope the shots help him to have less irritation. This was a great post as only you know how to do Des. The poem is touching.

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  3. This reminds me of Naila this afternoon trying to catch our friend's cat :)

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  4. There you are - I'll just have to follow, because otherwise I miss out.
    The poem is right on - so sad to see the pups that are welcomed with open arms only to be ignored, or worse, as they grow.
    Re your previous post - yes, life goes on whether or not we blog. It's nice to know that readers are still there after a break - and there's always lots of catch-up to do for a rainy afternoon.

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  5. Poor Toby with his rash! My son has Westie with a bad skin condition, and it's pretty miserable, but he's still a sweet doggie.

    They look so cute cuddled together like that.

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  6. The photos are great, how did you get Toby to pose like that. The pose was so sad, yet so true. So many animals become 'disposable' when they don't do exactly what we haven't taught them to do.
    That MIlo is a cutie pie alright. Have you done the allergy elimination trials yet? Skin allergies can be so hard to diagnose at times, I hope Toby gets his diagnosed asap. You have adorable pups.

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  7. What a lovely poem, Desiree. Quite sad really. Gorgeous photos of all your puppies. Gosh, they must be quite a handful and take a lot of looking after. I think it's lovely how they are all posing like that!

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  8. I love the way you give your animals voice here! You are ingenius! I need to take some new pictures of my babies. They are all grown up now and it has been a couple of months. Sorry about Toby's allergies. I had a golden retriever that did that and come to find out she was allergic to her dog food. More specifically rice! I hope you have a wonderful Sunday my friend!

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  9. Great photos. Toby certainly is a handsome guy! I hope you discover the cause of his skin rash soon. It must be very irritating when he walks. It's good that the cortisone has helped today.

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  10. Oh this is so sweet...love your dogs.....i am very tired now...what a amazing good weekend......i am going to sleep now for a long time......love Ria.......xxx...

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  11. I used to have a German Shepard many, many years ago. He was the best second baseman (American Baseball) you could ever find. Was regularly involved in a wiffle ball tournaments :-)

    Thanks for sharing your pictures

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  12. Oh what beautiful photos they are he is such a good looking dog and I loved the poem made me think of my dogs when I read it. Sorry to hear about his allergies hope it all gets sorted out soon and he is feeling better.

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  13. Toby is definitely the gentle giant! Great photo essay.

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  14. Awesome photos, as if they were humans posing. Really cool!

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  15. I love reading your posts!
    Its amazing how you get a little taste of each of your doggies personalities.
    I've shared this post with my fb "community" ;)

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  16. Love the photos, Mom! Milo is too cute the way he loves to cuddle up to Toby!

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  17. What cute pics!!
    This is my first visit here, loved it... Looking forward to more posts in the future, have a great week ahead:)

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  18. Well you just made me want to go and bring all the dogs at our shelter home. And walk them and play with them and everything.

    I really enjoyed the pictures of the pups! I wanted to get right down there and nap with them. Give all three of those wonderful sweethearts a hug from me and puppy kisses from Tucker!

    Now I have to go take pictures of Tucker. LOL

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  19. Toby here....thank you for your nice comments and concern for my wellbeing! I really am a great big softie underneath my fiercesome exterior and it pleases me to know many of you recognized this! My rash is feeling much better today. I haven't scratched at all! I will have my biopsy 10 days after I have finished my current meds. I get them served up in liver paste or a butterball. Who do they think they're kidding, but I humour them anyway! Told you I'm a softie ;)

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  20. What a sweetie Toby is. Our Toby, a golden retriever, thinks he looks like a great playmate. I hope his skin thing heals soon.

    Very sad poem at the end.

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  21. Happy to hear Toby's rash is calming down and will hopefully disappear for good very soon.
    Your pictures are great and they show the sweetness of your furbabies.
    Have a great day!

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  22. Great photos. So glad to hear that Toby is doing much better.

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  23. The photos are lovely and Toby and Milo look like good brothers. I'm sure the pups will learn a few things from Toby and growing together will help them a lot.

    Aschiuta had skin allergies too. Apparently, they were just caused by bad dog food. I hope you can find out what Toby's problem is, so you can help him get better.

    I'm always sad to hear about the horrible fate of shelter dogs... I'm thinking our street dogs are a lot happier, so many people take care of them...

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  24. Hello Desiree! Siv started a game and unfortunatly I am tagging you. I know you don't do the awards thing (this isn't one just a game) but I wanted everyone to know how wonderful I think you are with this little game she started that little Loki! haha

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  25. Dear Desiree...thank you so much for your comments. I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate them.
    I loved the photo's of the dogs and it's so cute when their thoughts are actions are interpreted into words...and yours fit so..oops...darn..almost forgot.
    Anyway..you know what I mean! :)

    The poem tore my heart...so sad but so true. I wish I could bring everyone of them home...

    Mona

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  26. I love the pictures! It makes me want to get on the floor and play with your pups. The poem is great, too. It really makes you think about all those poor dogs on chains in the backyard.

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  27. They all look so happy. I think they are wondering what all this blog stuff is about. Thank you for sharing your life with us through your blog
    Im awarding you a blog award over at my blog please go pick it up at www.lifesbeautynuggets.blogspot.com
    Many Blessings

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  28. TOBY, YOU ARE THE BEST. Hope your skin irritation gets better soon. You are the most handsome of them all.

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  29. I'm giggling right now! After reading your message. I figured you wouldn't play tag, but I wanted people to see your blog. No worries at all!

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  30. I know I've already commented but, since then, I've tagged you! So hop over to my blog and see what this is all about!

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  31. Wonderful pictures and such a touching poem!

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  32. Hi Desiree, I enjoyed reading your post and looking at all the adorable dog pictures while I was having my breakfast. The photos of them cuddling are particularly sweet. I hope you are able to figure out what is causing Toby's rash. One of my previous Shelties had a terrible time with recurring rashes all of his life. Sometimes rashes are a really hard thing to identify and eliminate.

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  33. Hello woman! I'm guessing you have been outside with the dogs and getting ready for winter, however just in case I wanted to stop by and make sure your still alive and kicking. If so I hope you have a great day, if you aren't doing well I hope you feel better soon! :)

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  34. Wonderful, wonderful photos and story, Desiree! I love all the poses and gnashing of teeth. We call that playing "Roawwrr"!

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  35. Gnashing of teeth here too but not from playful dogs...it's me trying to get Blogger to accept my comment to you.
    You know how much I love reading about your garden and South Africa but this was even nicer. I adore your dogs. The photographs are wonderful and the poem was excellent too. I seem to have run out of effusive adjectives. I should try bringing a dictionary here so I don't sound repetitive evey time I leave a comment. Desiree you are 'ace' 'spiffing' 'bril' and 'top'. There how's that for eloquent praise?
    Carol

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  36. Just wanted to drop by and tell you that an award is waiting for you on my blog :) Have a nice weekend!

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  37. Well, now your group is sure bonded with each other.
    I love seeing close knit groups of animals like that/
    Seeing Toby makes me miss my Shepherd. But, I LOVE ALL KINDS OF DOGS (well, except maybe those hairless ones with the funny top-knot). I can think of nothing more enjoyable than watching animal friends enjoy a friendly tussle.

    I need to take some more pics of my Toby. He is doing well in obedience school (but, still has a stubborn streak when he comes home). kt

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  38. wonderful pictures... and Coco looks sooo much like my pet lab(Kiki) :)

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  39. Just popping in to say Hi. Figure you are out taking more beautiful pictures to share with us at some point. Hope you had a great weekend.

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