How Do I Love Thee?

I suppose I can count a few ways already

Feb 05, 2020

Snow Day Distemper Update

I’m disappointed to report that the thirty-day ‘no symptoms’ count has begun anew this week. After nine days, Japhy had another case of diarrhea, which I’m pretty sure was from eating shit (literally), but if I’m to do this count right, according to the good folks at APA!, any case of diarrhea should be considered a symptom of the distemper virus, so here we are. On Day Three. Again.

It has been six weeks since I adopted Japhy, and as I sit here on a ‘snow day’ from work, still unable to take Japhy on any sort of real adventure, I thought I’d share a few things I’ve learned about him so far that are particularly endearing, and maybe a couple of things that are challenging.

1. He is unimpressed with West Texas Snow Days

So am I, Japhy dude. So am I.

2. He likes bananas, dipped in peanut butter

I’ve never had a dog that liked bananas. But one morning as I was peeling one for myself, Japhy insisted that it was his FAVORITE-THING-IN-THE-WHOLE-WIDE-WORLD-OMG-NEED-ONE-RIGHT-NOW so I gave him a very small slice, expecting him to leave it slimed on the kitchen floor for me to clean up and throw away. Turns out, it really is his favorite thing in the whole wide world. And even more so when dipped in peanut butter.

As Japhy’s time with me here in Lubbock began with doxycycline and Vitamin C tablets being dipped in giant globs of peanut butter and fed to him at the kitchen counter every morning, afternoon and evening, every time I reach for the peanut butter jar, he comes running. Incidentally, he also comes running every time I pick up a bottle of my own medication and he hears all of the little pills rattle around inside. No doubt it makes him think of giant globs of peanut butter. So, we have begun a new tradition of sorts, and he has earned his very own peanut butter jar for it. I dip various things, including banana slices, in his peanut butter jar a couple times a day for an extra special treat, and it certainly seems to please him.

Note: his PB jar is clearly marked so that I and my friends and pet-sitters don’t mistakenly use it ourselves after it’s had all variety of not-human-friendly things dipped directly into it.

3. He’s an obsessive and persistent eater/chewer

Cue a major source of frustration for me at the moment (aside from the distemper issue, of course). All puppies chew, but his obsession is borderline unhealthy (perhaps anxiety-related). At first I wasn’t concerned because he wasn’t actually swallowing any significant pieces of inedible objects, but now he is swallowing everything, with a vengeance. I have officially taken away all of his inedible toys. The only things he is allowed to have right now are his two “spiky balls” (soft plastic toy balls that are covered in soft plastic spikes—for some reason he has yet to destroy these, other than to pull off a few of the tiny spikes here and there, which pass quite easily) and large edible chews. Even if I am closely monitoring him, he will—after chewing vigorously for some time—successfully pull off a huge chunk of a toy and before I can grab it, it’s gone. “Drop it” to him equals “swallow it before mom takes it away.” So, no more inedible toys.

He also eats everything he can get in his mouth, including his own shit. Yeah, I know. Gross. I’ve had dogs eat cat poop out of the litter box (Mani did this, even into adulthood, which is why the litter box was always in another room secured with a pet gate with a cat door), but never any that ate their own poop. So, can a dog with distemper keep re-infecting itself by eating its own shit? I don’t know, but picture me running around behind Japhy with the pooper scooper, scooping shit up as fast as he can let it drop. Because that’s what I’ve gotta do to keep him from turning around and eating it. Or stepping in it (he’s so clumsy; see #7).

I sure hope he grows out of this, and soon.

As an aside, since we have friends who like to randomly leave toys at our door for Japhy (thank you!), I thought I’d just put a couple of links here to some chews he is allowed to have, just as a ‘fyi’, since he’s no longer allowed to have inedible toys.

Himalayan Yak chews: https://www.chewy.com/himalayan-dog-chew-natural-cheese-dog/dp/47280
7” Pork Chomp (rawhide-free): https://www.chewy.com/premium-pork-chomps-roasted-pressed/dp/105414

4. He’s a really good boy (of course!)

Shit-eating aside, he’s a good boy. He maybe has some anxiety that’s causing the obsessive eating/chewing, but I’m hoping in time that will improve. The fact that we’ve been in quarantine has made the six weeks we’ve been together seem like it’s been much longer. I have to remind myself that we haven’t had ideal circumstances to properly train and socialize. The house and the yard can feel quite small when we can never leave. We should be out going for walks and early morning runs around the neighborhood, going camping on the weekends and hiking the trails, and having play dates with other dogs to socialize. No doubt he’d be too exhausted and happy to eat shit then. Soon, my boy. Soon. Until then, we’re doing the best we can.

5. Like any toddler, he requires nap time in the afternoons

I’ve noticed that at some point in the afternoons on the days I don’t have to go to work, Japhy gets super charged up and starts bouncing off the walls and being more ornery than usual. I finally figured out that this means he’s tired and needs a nap. Sometimes he’ll put himself into “nap-time,” but every single time, within seconds of putting him in his kennel, he’s out hard and snoring loudly. The awesome thing is he loves his kennel. Never once since I’ve adopted him has he ever cried or barked after I kenneled him. I tell him to “go to kennel,” and with hardly any other encouragement from me, he walks in and lays down. That is an incredible first for me in my time with canines. The kennel is his ‘room’ and he actually likes it. This will certainly make traveling and staying with people and in hotel rooms—when we’re allowed to do it—much easier.

6. He watches ‘T.V.’ on the iPad and loves FaceTiming with his grandpa

I never ‘FaceTimed’ with my parents before I got Japhy. In fact, we rarely talk on the phone (I hate the phone). But Japhy and my dad bonded that week we were there after I adopted him at Christmas-time, and I thought it would be fun to see how Japhy would react to a FaceTime call with ‘grandpa.’ Oh my goodness, Japhy comes running as soon as he hears my dad’s voice. And he will stare intently at my dad’s face on the iPad screen and listen to him talk while turning his head nearly off his neck. It’s ridiculously cute.

Japhy also watches movies with me on the iPad in the evenings sometimes before bed. Once, when a man in the movie left the room (to screen right), Japhy turned his head to follow him out of the room and looked for him off to the right side of the iPad screen, in my room. It was hilarious, but also such an awesome sign of visual and cognitive connection. Mani saw the tiny lights of planes way up in the night sky and eventually connected the sound of a plane with actually looking for them in the sky. Japhy sees/hears people on the screen and registers them as if they are real and in the same room with us. I love experiencing dogs’ unique cognitive processes.

On a related note, someone asked me if I had brought out the ‘Mani [word] buttons’ for Japhy yet. I haven’t. It’s still a bit too soon for me. And, honestly, I don’t think Japhy is at the point yet where he wouldn’t just try to eat the buttons. But I will bring them out when the time is right for both of us.

7. He is a clumsy boy

He doesn’t have full awareness of himself yet. He is a thick boy with enormous paws and no grace whatsoever. Twice now he has stepped in his poop moments after pooping (and before trying to eat it). Fortunately he doesn’t seem to be too afraid of the outside water hose. He let me spray off his paws before taking him into the house for a more thorough washing in the shower (which he’s also not afraid of, which is great b/c I have no tub). He slaps me across the face with his huge paws when we’re sitting on the bed together sometimes, and while my face stings from the sandpaper effect of his rough puppy paw pads, the look on his face suggests that he truly intended to caress my face. It’s hard not to laugh even though it hurts.

8. The Boy loves me, and I him

I’d forgotten how utterly human-centered pitties are. They’re stubborn, and they like to have ‘jobs’ to feel useful, but they’re not so independent. They want to love and be loved. Constantly. They are very concerned about and attuned to the emotional and physical well-being of their humans, and they’re always checking on them to make sure they’re okay. This is one reason why Pit Bulls are sometimes referred to as ‘nanny dogs.’ They have a certain sensitivity to humans—especially young kids—that is uncanny and wonderful and sometimes frustrating when you really need to sit at the laptop and edit photos or write and the moment you sit down this thick-bodied, brick-headed canine plops down on top of you, rests his head on your hand (or caresses your face) and stares up at you longingly. Dear god, how I get anything done at home right now is beyond comprehension. Please reference photo #3 in the set below.

Incidentally, photo #1 in the set below was a major breakthrough for us: Japhy got under the blanket with me last night and didn’t try to eat it.