Terrier Care

So I've been taking care of little Peaches. I have to admit that it was extremely lonely in this house without the small dog running around. She came home two days ago, and I've done my best to take good care of her. She does take quite a bit of attention, though. I have to keep her with me at all times so I can make sure she doesn't "drag" along the carpet, which would tear the sutures out. So she tags along wherever I go, which is fine. She's eager to follow me around right on my heels- I think she gets lonely while I'm at work. Anyway, when I picked her up at the vet, she had already destroyed the cone around her head- as you can see, it's quite the piece of artwork. Between the chewing and the constant scratching, I can tell she's thoroughly done with having it on. I wish I could take it off for her, but I'm under strict instructions that it must stay on at all times (I think the vet could see my weakness right off the bat, because she repeated this several times.) Since I can't take it off the poor dog, I help her out by scratching all around her head and neck. She loves it- she occasionally leans into my hand so drastically that she ends up falling over. She especially loves her ears to be rubbed, so I end up doing that for about twenty minutes. Otherwise, she scratches at it ceaselessly:


Also, the small dog wants constant attention. It's not like when the Murphy's are home and she runs around the house to entertain herself. Normally, you can't keep her in one place for more than three minutes. But now, when I'm here, Peaches jumps up and stares at me for a few minutes before she resorts to growling and, ultimately, barking, to get my attention. (She is doing this as I type, actually- it's literally a constant thing for her.) It took me about twenty minutes to realize this was her telling me she wanted to play. So I try to go between playing with her and getting on with my own life. lol.

The best part of caring for the dog is taking her for a walk (which I've succombed to doing daily, out of guilt for keeping her locked up while I work.) It's good only because she tries to sniff the ground while walking, and the cone catches on the ground, so Peaches has to constantly flick her head up. It's amazingly funny. (The neighbors probably think I'm the worst person ever, taking the dog out into public with a cone on it's head, and then laughing at it.) She also has an issue going up and down stairs, and I've carried her a couple times. (I feel bad when the cone runs into each step while going up- haha)

Another thing: the poor sick dog needs antibiotics and hot pads twice a day. Antibiotics aren't so bad now that I've learned to put the pill into a small piece of cheese, which Peaches basically inhales. She's not like my dogs, who are long used to the cheese trick and can longer be fooled by it. Peaches just eats it, which is a nice alternative to me having to shove pills down her throat.

Hot pads, though... ugh. These things involve four steps:
1. Find a cloth that you think the Murphy's will not mind losing
2. Wet cloth with near-burning water and wring excess
3. Grab small dog (hold firmly, as she is a terrier)
4. Apply wet cloth to buttocks area, hold for several minutes or until dried stool is loosened
(Yea, and that's two to three times a day.)

In all honesty, though, I adore the company of the small dog. When she's alone for several hours a day, she's so attentive and affectionate once I come in the evening. Watching her trying to do anything with the cone on is ridiculously funny. Hot pads and all, it's better having her barking companionship than nothing at all.