Clark #2 Chocolate Labrador Retriever 3 Months Old ID #3039

January 22, 2022

I wanted to update everyone with Clark’s latest. This week we figured out that Clark is probably deaf.  He has never been a good “listener”, but we chalked it up to being a puppy.  A few days ago, Clark was across the room from me (I was behind him) and he was getting ready to pounce on Pepper who was resting in front of him.  I decided to distract Clark from his pending pounce to give Pepper a break.  I tossed the empty water bottle that he had been playing with earlier.  The water bottle landed loudly a few inches behind him, but it did not touch him.  He did not flinch or move.  This was my a-ha moment, that he couldn’t hear.

I had foster dad distract Clark while I snapped and clapped right behind his head.  Nothing.  I tried playing an audio of a puppy crying and whining.  Again, Clark did not even turn his head.  I boiled water in a tea kettle on the stove when all 3 dogs were sleeping nearby in the family room.  When the kettle whistled both Pepper and Colin picked their heads up and turned them towards the kitchen, where the sound was coming from.  Clark didn’t move.  These are just a few examples of why we believe he does not hear.

I spoke to Clark’s vet and shared all these experiences.  She agrees that he is probably deaf and said I had already done all the “tests” she would have done.  She said since he was born with one congenital issue, being born with one functioning eye, it’s likely that he was born with two congenital issues, being deaf as well.

There is nothing that can be done and Clark is none the wiser, as this is how he was born.  I had already been working on teaching Clark a few commands, like sit, down and wait.  He has done really well with them, but I always teach verbal commands with an accompanying hand signal.  In this case, he is watching and learning the hand signal.  My vet said that was great and will be important for him lifelong.

Clark’s hearing loss also explains why he’s so clueless to other dog’s warnings/growls.  He can’t hear them.  So, he continues obliviously jumping on their head and chewing on their ears.  This is something to consider when he’s interacting with other dogs.  He does very well here with Pepper and Colin, but they are both friendly, patient, easy going dogs who are used to puppy antics.  He does LOVE other dogs and it really helps him to be able to model and follow what they’re doing.  I’m sure it’s part of the reason it took me a while to figure this out.  He definitely takes his cues from the resident dogs.

I will be working on getting Clark made available for adoption soon.  He will need a family willing to understand him being deaf and only having one functioning eye.  They will also need to be prepared to have the non-functioning eye surgically removed and the eye lid stitched closed when he is neutered per his ophthalmologist’s recommendation.

Clark’s hearing and vision issues do make it a little more challenging with him, but he is doing fantastic here with just some minor adjustments.  I have to physically touch him now to get him to understand my “no” or “eh-eh” when he’s chewing something he shouldn’t.  I’m starting to accompany that with a point from my index finger so he sees the “no” command. I think we’re making progress!

January 17, 2022

Clark had a setback last week when his abscess from his previous bite wound got much bigger.  We got the culture results back, which we had been waiting for and unfortunately, they were not helpful.  They came back with no growth.  The vet explained there are a few reasons this could have happened, but we know there is something going on with his lump, so we started him on another antibiotic.  In order to help his gastrointestinal tract, as he’s been on quite a few antibiotics, we also added a probiotic along with his daily yogurt.  He had one day of diarrhea, but we’re back on the solid track again.  Yay!

It broke my heart to see his swollen lumps on Clark’s face just below his good eye.  There were two abscesses. The vet explained that the first abscess probably drained down and created a second abscess.  Same issue, just a new location. We spoke to the ophthalmologist, the primary vet, and even a dermatologist.  They all agreed that continuing the warm compresses three times a day and letting the antibiotic work was the best thing to do. My vet said if we keep doing the warm compresses, it will help the abscess to come to a head and drain.  Eventually that’s what happened.  We all felt relief when that happened.  The lump was much smaller after that.

We are halfway through his antibiotic course now and we are seeing a huge improvement, thankfully.  We won’t know for sure if we’ve gotten to the bottom of the issue until we’re a few days out from his last dose.  Fingers and paws crossed for the little guy that he’ll soon be done with all this and his wound will be completely healed!

We are still waiting on his elbow culture results.  Those should be back next week.  While his elbow has not necessarily gotten better, it also has not gotten worse.  Before starting the stronger antifungal, it was getting bigger, now it’s just the same size.  We will continue with the treatment twice a day until we get the results back.  Hopefully we’ll know more soon.

Through all of Clark’s medical issues, he continues to be a happy pup.  Getting into things he shouldn’t.  Chewing everyone and everything in sight.  Typical puppy!  He is doing very well with his crate training and goes in for a small piece of string cheese.  He LOVES cheese.  He gets up a few times throughout the night and needs to go potty.  He needs to go out often during the day too.  He still has a puppy bladder!

He loves to play with the other dogs, but he’s fairly clueless about how to interact with dogs appropriately.

He definitely needs patient, easygoing, friendly dogs to interact with.  Pepper and Colin have been great with him, but less patient dogs could easily be irritated by Clark’s puppy behaviors of chewing ears, biting faces and jumping on heads.  It’s a good thing he’s cute!

January 12, 2022

Clark was at the vet yesterday.  He weighs 15lbs now. Unfortunately, the skin issue on his elbow is getting worse.  We are running a culture on that to determine what exactly is causing it.  The vet also sent us home with stronger medication to try while we wait for the culture results.  His eye wound is still trying to heal, but there is significant swelling there too.  This poor guy can’t catch a break!  Thankfully for him though, none of it seems to bother him.  Well except the multiple daily warm compresses to his eye.  He’s still certain that’s puppy torture.

He continues to enjoy his time with the two resident labs while in foster care here.

He’s learning to be a civilized dog, or as civilized as a puppy can be.  He knows sit.  He is learning down and wait now.  Down is going very well with a treat lure.  Wait is a lot harder for him, understandably.  His training is a great mental exercise though and he’s often ready for a nap after a session.  That’s good for the whole house!

Clark does not enjoy the very cold weather we’ve had lately.  The good news there is that he runs out (with some coaxing, he’s definitely cold adverse) and goes potty very quickly outside.  Then he runs back to the door and paws at it to encourage the humans to open it up and let him back into the warmth.  I don’t blame him, I’m cold adverse too!

He loves chewing on things and we have a plethora of chew toys due to resident lab Colin’s predilection to chew too.  Of course, just like most dogs Clark wants whatever the other dog is chewing.  Even if we have multiples of the same thing.  He is learning self-control so as not to steal them from the other dogs’ mouths. He barks and runs around the other dog in circles and pounces trying to get it.  It’s a process, but he’s learning “he/she had it first”.

Clark LOVES shoes.  We have been well trained here over the years to keep shoes up and away from dogs.  But if you forget, you can guarantee Clark will come trotting out with your shoe in his mouth, getting ready to put those baby shark teeth to work on them!

I am hopeful we can get Clark’s medical issues cleared up soon and get him ready for his furever family.  He really is a great dog, but definitely all puppy! 😜

January 7, 2022

Clark is back in foster care with resident labs Pepper and Colin.

We are still waiting for the culture results for his eye wound, but the warm compresses seem to be helping, even if Clark thinks they count as puppy torture. 😜 I think the wound is starting to look better. I’m optimistic we’re going in the right direction there.

We noticed a small bald spot on Clark’s elbow recently.  It got bigger, so we were concerned and took him to our local vet. The good news is that it isn’t ringworm, that’s what we worried about.  It is a skin infection, but not the highly contagious variety.  So, we are treating it with a topical ointment twice a day for 7 days.  Then we’ll reassess.

Clark continues to grow, he was almost 14lbs, 13.8 to be exact, at the vet yesterday.  He was also a hit with the staff and the vet there.  Not surprising!  His kennel cough is almost gone.  The coughs are practically non-existent and his lungs are perfectly clear.  All good news there.

Clark saw his first significant snowfall early this morning.  Foster dad took him out at 4am and he was leaping and prancing in the snow.  He almost forgot he had to go potty! I asked FD if he got a video.  His response was he was too bleary eyed to work anything as complicated as a cell phone.  He could barely open the sliding glass door.  Fair enough!  Clark was out with me later at a more civilized time this morning.  He was unimpressed with the snow by then.  Check out the video.

January 5, 2022

Clark had an appointment with an ophthalmologist yesterday. It is hard to tell, but there is actually an eyeball in his left socket; it’s just very small (a condition called “Microphthalmia”). However, the eye is not functioning (no visual ability). There is nothing that needs to be done for it now, but the doctor did advise that at some point, it may be wise to have the eye surgically removed and the lid stitched shut (good time would be when he’s getting neutered). Basically, the way it is now, it is just a reservoir for potential infection, and because the eye will never be visual, the best thing is to take it out. He is in no pain or discomfort, but the eyelid is facing inward (entropion), so it scrapes against the eye and could make it dry. He has full vision in his right eye.

This was all good new, the bad news is the bite wound under his right eye is infected and swollen. So, they took a culture and will assess what kind of antibiotics they need to treat it. He is currently on Doxycycline for his cough and is doing well on that. His cough is all but gone as well!

Enjoy the attached video of Clark’s first Starbucks Puppaccino! He is the cutest. He still is a hit everywhere he goes! He is a gorgeous pup, even with just one eye and his nasty boo boo.

January 2, 2022

I am very happy to report Clark is doing great. He is recovering from his bite incident quite well and back to being full on puppy mode. He will see the regular vet tomorrow for a recheck of his wounds and also to check out a slight cough he has. On Tuesday he will see the Ophthalmologist to have his unformed eye checked out. Hopefully he checks out ok at both visits and will be available to be placed soon! It will surely be one lucky family that gets to adopt this special boy. He is having a blast with his foster pack (Colin & Pepper).

He is already learning sit and he does his potties outside! Good boy Clark ❤ He eats like a champ and likes to wade in his water bowl. Maybe he’ll be a swimmer like most good labs 😉

December 20, 2021

Well, it’s really hard to type with a sleepy baby on my lap so this will probably be brief.

What can we say – I mean look at this gorgeous chocolate chunk baby with one eye!! ❤🎅

He’s the sweetest boy. Full disclosure, I haven’t had a baby puppy in 25 years! I guess it’s like riding a bike?! FM & FD are quite tired. Last night baby Clark cried and barked for hours in his crate. But that’s to be expected as this was probably his first night away from his littermates. He is doing great otherwise. We bring him outside often and he’s doing his potties out there like a good boy! Of course, he’s had a couple pee accidents inside but again this is day one off the farm and in a house and he’s only 10 weeks old. We heard he was born on October 8. And as you heard beautiful Vince is his Daddy. https://brooklinelabrescue.org/blog/vince-chocolate-labrador-retriever-male-7-years-old-id3038/ These dogs seem to have a great disposition too.

Clark has his vet visit tomorrow. He will get his first round of shots, check his stool and get an exam. Clark has an undeveloped left eye; we will inquire about seeing an ophthalmologist. In the meantime, his big foster brother Nummy can tell him a thing or two about bad eyes!

So far, the rest of the animals here are not super thrilled with baby’s arrival LOL including Ham the cat. I’m sure they will get used to him! Clark had a quick visit to Braxton’s (local pet supply store) yesterday on our way home and got a new red harness . And he got to meet Mr. Braxton and some other nice folks who of course were over the moon in seeing this little guy.

Having a puppy in the house at Christmas is a real joy! So happy these guys could be rescued.