D ecember 13, 2012
Toby arrived in Chanhassen yesterday. He is a big, sweet, gentle boy - so easy to have around - still have yet to hear him bark, hasn't chewed anything or counter surfed or anything the least bit naughty. I've given him free reign of the house for up to 4 hours while I'm at work, and he's just laying there on his bed when I come home. He's too big for the XL dog bed we had, so we took an old foam mattress topper, queen size, folded it in half and put a sheet over it, and it's the perfect size for him.
He has pretty much ignored our cat, even in close proximity - he barely gives him a sniff. My kids, 6 and 9, are gentle with him but do get in his face a lot, and he has no problem with it at all. I haven't heard anything close to a growl from him - he even lets me put my hand in his food dish while he's eating.
He walks nicely on a leash, listens well and seems eager to please. He seems to know a number of commands - sit, stay, shake, and he even gives kisses. He could not be a sweeter, nicer dog! So that's all the good news - the bad news is that he is limping, clearly has arthritis pain (really struggles with stairs), seems to have cataracts and an eye infection.... so we will be taking him to the vet asap.
Toby enjoys going for walks in the woods, eating snow, and sleeping on his big bed. He is a very mellow, dear old boy.
| Mixed Breed | Born: June 2004 |
| Male | 102 lbs |
Status: Deceased
D ecember 13, 2012
Toby arrived in Chanhassen yesterday. He is a big, sweet, gentle boy - so easy to have around - still have yet to hear him bark, hasn't chewed anything or counter surfed or anything the least bit naughty. I've given him free reign of the house for up to 4 hours while I'm at work, and he's just laying there on his bed when I come home. He's too big for the XL dog bed we had, so we took an old foam mattress topper, queen size, folded it in half and put a sheet over it, and it's the perfect size for him.
He has pretty much ignored our cat, even in close proximity - he barely gives him a sniff. My kids, 6 and 9, are gentle with him but do get in his face a lot, and he has no problem with it at all. I haven't heard anything close to a growl from him - he even lets me put my hand in his food dish while he's eating.
He walks nicely on a leash, listens well and seems eager to please. He seems to know a number of commands - sit, stay, shake, and he even gives kisses. He could not be a sweeter, nicer dog! So that's all the good news - the bad news is that he is limping, clearly has arthritis pain (really struggles with stairs), seems to have cataracts and an eye infection.... so we will be taking him to the vet asap.
Toby enjoys going for walks in the woods, eating snow, and sleeping on his big bed. He is a very mellow, dear old boy.
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My sweet old pumpkin- Toby- crossed the Rainbow Bridge on June 19, 2014. He will be remembered as one of the all-time best dogs ever! I only wish I could have had him for longer. I know I gave him the most love and the best care possible, and I do take comfort in knowing that he is no longer in pain, but I sure do miss his big knobby head, his velvety cheeks, his slobbery kisses, and his silly howl. RIP dear boy.
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This is my final update for Toby, because I have failed as a foster (this time) and just cannot give him up! I've said all along that they really don't get any better than this guy - he truly is the sweetest, most well-behaved, eager to please pup of all time. I worried about his health issues, particularly his lump, because the pain of losing my 14-year-old Lab to cancerous lumps last fall was still so fresh in my heart when I began fostering, and I was resolved to not let myself get too attached to any dog ever again. But Toby is worth his weight in gold, and I've decided that even if his lump turns cancerous and I only have a short time left with him, as long as he is with me, I know he will be happy and comfortable and well-loved, and I think just being able to guarantee the highest possible level of care for this dear boy is worth a lot to me at this point, so I am going to keep him in my good hands for the rest of his life, however long that may be. :)
Here are some recent pics of my sweet puppers - sitting on the porch with his bone, rolling around in the grass like a big silly boy, watching the birds and wildlife in the yard, and a regal headshot.
Toby is about as good a dog as they come! Such a sweet, loyal, obedient boy - great with kids, cats, other dogs, men and women of all ages, squirrels, even deer.... no aggression (except growling when having his nails done), never an accident in the house or chewed up anything, doesn't bark much, doesn't need a lot of exercise - he's such an easy guy to have around. I recently dog-sat for another foster for a week - another older male - and they were totally fine with eachother the whole time. Here is a picture of the two of them together - fluffy Mr. Ember on the left and sleek Mr. Toby on the right.
We took Toby down to the lake the other day, and I was very curious to see how he liked the water. He seemed to enjoy it a lot - he ran right in with no hesitation. Here are some pictures of him swimming, sitting on the dock, and sitting around looking handsome after his swim.
Toby is doing quite well these days. The new pain med works great - he barely limps at all now. He has been shedding like there's no tomorrow. He has a fluffy white undercoat that is coming out in clumps all over the place, even though I give him a good brushing every other day or so.
I just had him at the vet to check his blood, to make sure his liver is tolerating this new pain med (it is fine), and I asked her about his coat because I was a little worried about the big clumps of fur coming out, and she said it was totally normal. The other thing I asked about was the lump on his leg - it just keeps growing - and she said we could try to remove it, but it would be prohibitively expensive, and it could grow back. Thankfully, it doesn't seem to bother him at all for now. But if it continues growing, it could be an issue - we'll definitely keep an eye on it.
We had guests recently who know a lot about dogs, and it was very interesting to hear their observations about Mr. Toby Wan Kenobi. His floppy jowls and drooling, his funny howl that he does - they thought he probably had some hound dog in him. His howl makes me laugh on a daily basis! It is almost like he is talking to you, and he's really trying to tell you something very emphatically. Hilarious. He knows so many words, and he responds when you say them. Commands - I think I've mentioned before - but he will sit, shake, lie down, give kisses, hush, and sometimes stay. But he knows many other words too- he has a noticeable response if you say: Toby, food, hungry, treat, walk, outside..... he is a smart boy!
Dear Toby is doing well. We went out of town recently, and we had some wonderful fosters watch him while we were gone, and they agreed that he couldn't be any sweeter or easier! He looooves the snow - he sticks his whole face right down into it, eats it, and rolls around and makes doggy snow angels.
He likes to lay in the upstairs hallway, because he's figured out that is the best spot to see out the big front window, in case anyone is coming up the driveway. He has started being more of a watch dog - maybe he is settling in and feeling like this is his home to protect now - but it is really nice because he will do his howly bark if a car pulls up or someone comes to the door, and it sounds deep and intimidating, but if the person actually comes inside, he just runs up to them, wagging his tail, and sniffs and greets them. Male, female, young, old - he likes everyone - but he can sure sound like a scary guard dog at times.
I took him to the vet again last week because his lump was getting bigger, I found a new lump, and he was still limping. They aspirated his 2 lumps and they both tested as fatty, so no worries there. I had them clip his nails because he has growled when we've tried to do it ourselves, and having them shorter now seems to help him with getting around on the hard floors in our house. The vet prescribed a new daily pain med, and he is still eating well, so we know his tummy is not upset this time, and he is barely limping at all now. The vet thought the limp was just arthritis so no X-rays were necessary. He had gained back all the weight he lost (from when he was sick from the first pain med we tried).
I love to give him kisses on his velvety cheeks, and he just sits there in a trance with his eyes half open, until I stop - then he says ok my turn! and gives me kisses back. He lets me wipe his eye boogies and clean his ears - he is just the most gentle, sweet dog ever.
Toby-thanks for a wonderful week dogsitting you! You are a really sweet guy. Hope we see you again! Bob and Peggy
Sweet Mr. Toby has been struggling with a couple of health issues lately, but he is back on track now. Apparently the pain medication we were giving him for his arthritis was upsetting his stomach, so he didn't have much of an appetite for a while there, and he lost a few pounds, but we've adjusted his meds and he is eating well again now. He has a yeast infection under his front left leg (that may be the cause of his mysterious limp, because that is the leg that he favors), so he is on antibiotics now. They also shaved the area and are having me put some topical cream on twice daily to help clear that up. It was just a couple of days ago that he was at the vet, and he seems to have more pep in his step already!
He is a good listener, and eager to please, so he generally does what he's told. Once when he woke me up with his funny howl before I was ready to get up, I just said hush and he went and laid back down. He got outside recently when we had guests coming and going, and he came right back in when I called his name- he's definitely not a bolter. He doesn't chase squirrels, or even deer when he's seen them. When he sees other dogs, he wants to go check them out, but just sniffs them and jumps around like he wants to play. (Toby jumping means his front paws come about an inch off the ground- more like a half hop- so never any worries about him actually jumping up on people or anything).
The only things I'm working with him on are:
He drools a lot, like more than any dog I've ever known! It means he needs his water changed every day - with other dogs, I've been able to just add fresh water to the bowl each day, but his backwash is this funny, thick slobber that globs up the water. Sometimes he'll just have a big string of drool hanging from his lip- it cracks me up! He's such a big, funny boy.
I'm including a picture of the lump on his back leg - the vet says it's nothing to worry about, it just looks weird.
Merry Christmas to the Golden Seniors! From Anonymous
Merry Christmas to a sweet senior guy! From Kathy G
Toby is adjusting well to life here in Chanhassen, MN. He is a sweet, gentle dog - perfectly fine with the cat and with kids hugging him and playing with him. I have heard him growl twice since he's been here - once when I took him to the vet and we encountered other dogs, he was fine with the dogs UNTIL I started petting them, and once when our cat came near his bone, but that's it. No other signs of aggression - I can easily take his bone away. He doesn't really chew on his bone, he just likes to carry it around with him, and he hasn't chewed on anything else since we've had him. I've never kenneled him or used baby gates, and he has never eaten anything he's not supposed to, (although if food is too close to the edge of the table, of course he will help himself to it, but he could never get up on his hind legs to reach the counter or the middle of the table).
I took him to the vet, got a microchip implanted, got drops for his ear and eye infections and pain medication for his arthritis. He is also getting a joint supplement now, which seems to be helping his limp. He had a big scrape on his nose when he arrived that has healed up nicely.
The vet thought he was probably more like 9 or 10 years old. He is a big boy - around 100 pounds - and needs to be lifted into the car to go anywhere, but he does like it - he gets excited when he thinks he's going for a car ride. He has a big fatty tumor on his leg, but the vet doesn't think it's anything to worry about. He is neutered, up to date on shots, and negative for heartworm and parasites. He doesn't really bark, but he does this funny howl/growl/bark thing when he wants something, and if I'm still sleeping at 8AM (at least it's not too early), he will come lick me and do his little howly thing until I get up and feed him and take him for his walk. He does better with the stairs since he's been taking his pain meds and joint supplements, but would probably be more comfortable without the stairs - he only comes up to follow us, because he does like to stay near his people- he sleeps on the floor at the foot of our bed at night. We invited him to sleep on a chaise lounge that we had for our old dogs, but he just does not get up on furniture, which is fine.
We had lots of people over for Christmas, and he was welcoming and friendly to everyone.
