Here at Lasso we are constantly learning and growing with our dogs. This company started with three brothers that had recently adopted their companions and the first Lasso ever made was because our pets where, for the most part, the center of our attention! Needless to say we can relate much to Stephanie's story of love & learning with Finn and as she mentions the most important thing is love. Here is Stephanie's story:
Before I got Finn I knew absolutely nothing about dogs. I knew the basics, such as feeding and going outside- but I didn't really know anything beyond that. I think the biggest thing I've learned since having Finn is that dogs need you to understand them. They need you to be their person, because all they can be for you is your dog. Last year I took Finn to two emergency vet visits. One for a very infected hot spot, where half of his face and neck had to be shaved, and a second time for getting grass seed stuck in his eye. These are two major times when I learned that I needed to be Finn's person. I needed to be the human he needed me to be and learn how to better take care of him.
From the hot spot incident I learned that after a dog with long hair goes swimming, you need to make sure you completely dry them off- and maybe even bath them at home too. Moisture is NOT a dog's best friend. Hot spots spread FAST too, so if you notice one you need to call your vet immediately. I thought I did everything right by shaving the area with dog clippers and applying hot spot medicated spray, but it got out of control faster than it could heal. I also changed Finn's food to a more holistic grain free food (Fromm four star nutritional grain free) to help him have the healthiest skin and coat possible.
From the grass seed (foxtail) incident I learned the sings of eyeball obstructions in dogs. The day after playing fetch and running around in a field I noticed him rubbing his face a lot and itching at his eye, but I just thought it was allergies. Day two and three I noticed clear liquid discharge from his eye. Day 4 I woke up and he couldn't open his eye- and instead of taking him to the vet like I should have done, I decided to continue my plans and drive 10 hours to Colorado. Day 5 his eye was so swollen he couldn't open it, and that's when I spent $300 at the emergency vet in Denver and realized the poor guy had a grass seed stuck in his eye. Yikes!! Eyeballs are nothing to mess around with, and if you have time you should really look up why fox tails are so dangerous for dogs!
In all, I wouldn't change a thing about anything Finn and I have experienced together. I am a much better dog mom after all of this, and he is still alive and living the best life a dog can live! So if you are thinking about getting a dog, and you are nervous about not knowing anything, just know that this is a learning experience and the most important thing above all is love.
-Stephanie and Finley