For Dog Lovers Only

We're gettin' there...
The terrible diarrhea he had?
Gone.

The terrible gas he had?
Well, it's better. His farts are SBD's... Silent but deadly. With him resting quietly next to you, you detect a slight odor that quickly worsens to the point you begin to worry about paint peeling from the walls. As you're gagging, he'll raise his head and look at you with that "Who cut the cheese?" look on his face.
At five months of age he's already a PRO at deception. (And it gives "Poppy" a likely culprit to blame when strange smells fill the air.)

The previous owners were pulling their hair out trying to control this problem. The Veterinarian had prescribed pills to harden his stool, and had sold them special Rice and Lamb dog food... to no avail.
We hoped the big problem was stress. Our prescription was hugs, kisses, praise, and Purina "Hearty Morsels" Puppy Chow. Our medicine seems to be working.

We take him outside and like most puppies, he squats a little and pees. After a bit of walking/exploring he assumes the normal hunchback "I'm gonna poop now!" position and his stool comes out semi-solid, in a rope. What's different about this pup is that when he's seemingly finished pooping, he'll walk 20 feet or so, then do it again, with lesser results. He's the first dog I've ever owned that poops twice in the same outing.

We're still having problems in one area-
Yogi goes to the front door and turns to look at us. If we don't happen to be watching him at the time, he squats and leaves his sample there for us to step/splash in later. We're torn...
He's making an effort, going to the door. We're just not watching for his clues. At five months, I'm hopeful he'll soon figure out we'll be taking him OUTSIDE intermittently, and he realizes if he'll just hold his water a little longer we'll care for his needs. How much of this behavior can be attributed to the fact that he's probably a puppy mill product?

Lucy has accepted him completely. The two of them tussle, seemingly forever. Sometimes we even get to watch "hot laps" around the living room and through the dining room. Then they collapse together and nap in a canine heap. It's GREAT entertainment.

He eats A LOT. He drinks A LOT. We're trying to sort out if this is because he's a puppy with a lot of energy and needs that much fuel, or if he's competing with Lucy for food. Lucy is a grazer, and we always left the dish down for her to grab a snack whenever she wanted. Yogi has complicated matters some, but the dish is seldom empty so he's not eating everything just to keep Lucy from getting it, and neither dog is getting fat. They're both so active now, I think they're getting exactly what they need.

Yogi is a lover. He wants to be held, hugged, praised.
His tongue seems to be six inches long and, like a snake, flicks out and will find your mouth in an instant if you allow it.
Lucy is social, but reserved. She likes a lap and some attention, but wants to be alert to what is going on around her...
Give her a lap on which to perch and she's fine.
Two long trips have shown both to be good travelers...
Five minutes in the car and they're both asleep for the duration.

So we're still working with Yogi.
If he improves as much over the next month as he has in the last, he'll be nearly perfect.