Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Well Virginia you made me tear up a little. Thanks for the encouragement. I downloaded Imgur but now don't remember how to use it to upload photos here. I will have to research.
Totem is doing amazingly well. He has tons of toys, loves tug and fetch. What tickles me is he understands "drop it," but is hesitant to let go of a toy so that I can toss it for him again. Now, he will drop it but when I reach for it he always grabs it back before I can get hold of it. We need to work on "leave it."
I took him to the park walking trail today, and he walked further than he has so excited to be somewhere other than our country road. He forces me to pick up my pace to keep up with his forward momentum.
The other issue is that he wakes up very early. We have tried to keep him awake longer at night, but no luck. He passes out around 7 and is ready to get up around 5. My husband forces him to wait until closer to 6.
Thanks for everyone's kind words. Today I just really felt the fatigue of keeping Totem on my radar. We adore him.
Here is what matters: Totem has a warm bed, a full belly and a life full of love!
I hope I didn't come across as judgy to you- if I did I apologize. Tripawds has always been a strict 'no judgement' zone and that is very important to me.
You see, Elly is the first dog I've had where I've had the time and energy (I'm retired) to spend on lots of training, games and puzzles. She also brought me to the world of dog sports. And I admit I get really excited and geeky about sharing what I have learned when people ask questions about training or Tripawds. My intention is to share what I've learned and what works for us, I don't mean to imply that it is the best or only way to work with your dog.
I appreciate that you shared your feelings, it's important. I'm still going to be excited and geeky when I talk about training but please know I'm just offering suggestions, what I do with Elly isn't right for every dog and family.
Now I'm going to hop over to your other thread on training and get my geek on 
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Since I am a big dog person and my mother is a giant dog person, I can forget that little dogs have different needs. Does your vet think he's full grown at 18 lbs? There are pros and cons to everything which is why I a said it is something you would have to figure out the pros and cons about. For many people, the amount of socialization that an intact male needs is just more than they can invest. Same thing in the horse world with keeping a stallion. But if you have ever met a well socialized and well trained stallion, you wonder why doesn't everyone have one? Because it is a full time job, that's why.
There are no mistakes here. We all make the best decisions we can with the information we have on hand. And we have to be practical people too. I don't think there is anyone here who is independently wealthy. we all have to live within our means and that's not just finances. Time and energy are included in that. Our mental health is important.
Back to Totem. There are no mistakes. You and your husband have been amazing through this. The only rule here is learn to Be More Dog and live in the moment. You know your dog best. We are here to offer you support and not overwhelm you so I'm sorry that happened.
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