bonnie |
Bonny is fully housetrained and has never had an accident in the house. She goes to my back door if she needs to go out. I let her out back three or four times a day, in addition to the walks. Bonny loves her crate. I leave her in there with the doors open and – although she has several beds around the house – she usually chooses to snooze there. Bonny doesn’t need a lot of exercise. I try to take her out for a 20-minute walk in the morning, then 15 minutes in the afternoon and evening, in an effort to help her lose weight. She likes spending the time with me outside and is never hesitant to go, but she is a fairly slow walker, especially uphill. A flat area is better, and she enjoys ambling along in the sun. But you probably can’t take her running on the beach or out for long games of fetch. She does like to chase a tossed squeaky toy for 10 minutes or so at a time. Bonny loves the backyard. She likes to bury her bones out there and find them the next day or so. She likes to sniff and eat grass and snooze in the sun. She is afraid to go out alone at night – maybe afraid she will be left out there. I walk her out to the backyard just before bed to pee. Bonny is very attracted to other dogs when we walk. She doesn’t bark or pull, but you can tell she would like to go over. To play? To snap? I don’t know. Bonny needs her pain meds twice a day and likely will for the rest of her life. It is easiest to give the big pill to her in a small ball of canned dog food. For a while peanut butter worked, but then she stopped taking it. The 200 mg pill I just toss into her morning and evening food bowl with kibble and she downs it. She hates and does not usually eat her joint meds. I feed Bonny one handful of dried Kibble (Call of the Wild) mixed with a few tablespoons of soft food and warm water. I do this three times a day, starting very early when I wake up (about 6) to get the firsts pain meds in her system before the first walk (around 8). You need to put down a towel under her food/drink area because water splashes. Bonny loves being brushed. Bonny is friendly with everyone, men, women and kids. If someone appears suddenly, she will bark in a scary way, so she works well as a guard dog to scare people off. But she’s not aggressive. A minute or two later, she is happy to get pats from the “intruder.” Bonny was taken into the shelter weighing 98.5 pounds. I’ve had her on a diet. When my vet weighed her, she was down to 84 pounds, probably a few pounds less by now. They say she is no longer obese but a bit overweight. Between 75 and 80 pounds should be the goal. Extra weight puts more stress on her spine and back legs. A modest diet and some exercise are what the vet recommended. Bonny has a hard time with stairs, but she makes it up and down the 20 stairs to get in and out of my house. We just go slow. Her back legs are shaky and anyone helping her always needs to go slow and be patient. Bonny loves chew bones. She likes real beef bones- raw of course – but I mostly gave her rawhide bones. Careful not to leave her alone with one though since she will eat the entire bone. I let her chew for 30 minutes or so then take it away for the next day. She doesn’t like to let it go, but she is never, ever aggressive. Bonnie is spayed, up to date on vaccinations and microchipped. To meet or adopt Bonnie, fill out an application and a volunteer will contact you shortly. |