Patient Doing Well, Thank You for the Cards and Flowers

Chip is now neutered and has had his teeth cleaned at the same time ... no one wants a bad boy with horrible teeth and big balls! Seriously, he came through it just fine, so far. He is being kept quiet (HAHAHA ... as if!) at the vet for the next week and a half.

Then he goes right to the trainer, Jason, to be made into a polite little dog. Better you than me, Jason. Without testosterone to fuel his desires, he will be more easily trained to relate to other dogs as friends and less as S.O.'s*

* Sexual Objects

Woman Throws Up Small Dog

I put Chip back in the vet hospital yesterday, giving up the idea that I am capable of routing two active young dogs to keep them apart and keep one of them quiet for weeks. Chipster will be neutered on Wednesday, and kept there until the end of the month, at which time he should be fully healed from his various ills, and will be able to join our pack without restrictions like being tethered to me or shut in a crate/bathroom/bedroom.

I feel a little guilty about sentencing him to more time in the kennel of the animal hospital, but I could not take it any more. So there.

The Chipster

Chip is still under house arrest, and that is not to his liking. He decided to use his crate as a bathroom, so now he is really confined. A plastic travel crate with no liner!

A Rake's Progress

Turns out that old Chipster is Mr. Sex Machine. Our dog trainer says maybe he was used for breeding, and that is the only way he knows how to relate to another dog. It makes life complicated. Bear-ie wants to play, play play ("High Five! Both Hands!"), and Chipper wants to mount excitedly on any end of any dog of any gender, age or condition. So they have their own rooms, and come out to spend time with me (later today, US) in shifts.

Not only is Chip a Rake, he is thin as a rake too. He started coughing on Saturday, and the vet prescribed a steroid to keep his lungs from being congested. He seems to be feeling better today, kinda frisky (which I try to discourage); three more days of antibiotics, seven more days of dwindling prednisone, then another week and a half of forced quietude. Then ... tah-dah! He can go for walks and play, and mount every dog he meets (just kidding, I will try to keep him from doing that).

Hello Mr. Chip!

In a radical change of plans, I brought Chip home today. The vet staff said he was very active in the kennel there, and there were lots of other animals around keeping him worked up. He and Bear tussled and tried to dominate one another (neither won, by the way); now Mr. Chips is in my painting studio, in a small crate. He is supposed to be resting, but I think it is hard for him. He has been keening sorrowfully. (My heart goes out to ya, Chipster, but you have to be quiet for now.)