Titus' Lymph Node [UPDATED]

It's been a while since I have posted to Titus' blog. He has been such a wonderful member of the family, loving, kind, and wonderfully agile and engergetic!

Recently we noticed a small knot under the skin on his neck, just below his jaw. After a week or so, we took him to the vet. The vet immediately said it is a swollen lymph node and recommended that I take him to the cancer specialists that cared for Beauregard in his last days for a needle aspiration of the lymph.

While I know that there can be many causes for swollen lymph nodes in canines, I can't help but to worry about the worse. This wonderful, precious boy just can't have cancer. He just hasn't lived life to its fullest yet, and quite frankly I can't imagine going through cancer of doberman again.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get Titus into the cancer vets until Monday. Needless to say, this is going to be a long, emotionally challenging weekend. My stomach is in knots and I can't quit remembering the last days of Beau.

Let's all hope for a simple infection. I sure am.

[update 09.23.2009] The biopsy and bloodwork came back yesterday and Titus seems to be cancer-free! Other than a significant infection in his lymph gland, all other bloodwork readings were "excellent" the vet says. Whew. Quite relieved.

Titus' First Birthday

It is hard to imagine that on July 14 of last year this behemoth was born.

Thankfully, he was a great puppy to raise so far. No major accidents, no major chewing, no major behavior issues. Just the regular shenanigans that occur during the life of most first year pups.

Titus has been quite a "lover" with a sweet, gentle heart. He has quite an ability to make sure all around him are happy - at least he has me.

So what did he do on his first birthday? Well, he entertained himself in the yard most of the day as you can see in this post's photo - and today he is mercilessly working on the largest fresh, meaty beef soup shank bone I have ever seen.

Removal of the Dongle-Gongles

They have been called many things - fella's, little dudes, dongle-gongles, twiddle-diddles, whirlygigs, associates, cojones, and many other nicknames. But one thing is for sure when it comes to Titus, they must go!

As he gets older, and they get larger, the more belligerent he is becoming. Between his hard-headedness and his pee-marking of anything vertical, we have decided that it is indeed time to have him neutered.

So, off he goes today to the vet in preparation for the surgery tomorrow.

We look forward to picking him up on Friday. A less restless, less pushy, less demanding, less "gotta mark it", less testosterone driven dobie he will be. Right?

Have Spade, Will Garden

Today was perfect for gardening. We picked up quite a few new herbs to add to the herb garden this year from a local nursery.

While planting, I would often place the spade on the ground while I mapped out the next herb location. Seconds after the spade hit the ground, it would be swiped by Titus and proudly trotted around the yard.

I am still amazed that how the simplest things can entertain that boy for hours.

Titus in Mosaic Tile

A flicker-friend and fellow dobie-lover, known as "siriusmosaics" asked me permission last week to do a tile mosaic of Titus. I, of course, was flattered and honored that she fancied both my son and photo enough to want to use her fantastic tile skills!

The photo shows the latest progress. Interestingly, she started with his eyes - and they look wonderful. Another artist and very dear friend of mine, Shari, is in the process of painting the late and still incredibly missed Beauregard. Shari, unlike siriusmosaics, leaves the eyes till last. I find the process of art fascinating - and the differences in approach even more fascinating.

You can click on the photo in this post to be taken to siriusmosaics' flicker site. Take a look at her other mosaic projects, and, of course, her dobies!

My Loveseat

We have been searching for over a year for a loveseat to put in the living room. We finally found one that met our specs (primarily size) last evening. Within five minutes of getting the plastic wrap off of the loveseat, Titus made himself at home - basically claiming the new piece as his.

It's been a while since I have updated everyone on the boy - my apologies, it's been very busy since our holiday vacation.

Last week Jim took Bentley and Titus out to his Dad's vet clinic so he could see his "grand kids". While there, they weighed both. Bentley, 4 years old, came in at 64 lbs. Titus 6 months old, came in at 61 lbs!

Further, Bentley and Titus are pretty much the same height, and Titus still has months - over a year - to do more growing. We are struggling to keep up with his round-the-clock hunger and despite feeding him some really good holistic, grain-free bison-based food, he is still showing all of his ribs.

I have a feeling when all is said and done, this boy will be a lean, 100 pound doberman.

Oh Bloody Hell

As I am getting out of the shower this morning, I am met, as always, by Titus. He loves to rush in when he hears the shower curtain opening to beat the towel at drying me off. This time was a bit different.

I look down to see what appears to be blood on his nose, cheek, and paw — and even more dripping out of his mouth! Of course, I think the worse and begin the visual inspection to see where he has been injured and already trying to determine the nearest emergency vet location.

As I pry his mouth open my hand becomes covered in the blood-like substance, but no wound is visibile. I smell the drippy red liquid and quickly determine that it is not blood. He and I start walking around when he quickly runs to the living room coffee table and grabs a bottle from beneath. While in the shower, Titus decided my bottle of red refill ink for my stamp pad looked fun, tasty, or both.

So what is the “hell” part of this post? Upon walking around some more, I see that he has stained a couple of pillows, his blanket, and my office's hardwood floor. Thankfully our Iranian living room rug is already full of blood red color — it blended right in.

Gateway to Soul

As Titus continues to grow and mature, we have noticed that his thought process is evolving and maturing as well. In fact, we both commented on how we can see the “cogs” in his mind turning when we look into his eyes.

He continues to watch everything — taking in all he can. He has even learned to be interested in television — especially when nature programs are on. Lately he has also taken to staring into my eyes waiting for my next command or praise. He is picking up on training quickly.

I captured this photo of Titus yesterday afternoon as he was relaxing on the patio. His eyes are just adorable and are quickly becoming the gateway to his soul.

My Brave Hunter

It is a beautiful day outside and the kids are enjoying running amuck under the sun. They had been out for a while and I thought I should go check on them — as Titus is still a puppy. And good thing I did, I think.

There is Titus laying down in the yard chewing on something bright orange. I think he has a plastic ribbon or such that may have blown into the yard. As I reach him, I see that it is the remnants of a large goldfish in his mouth — head gone, a few of the beautiful fins left, and some meat hanging out from under the once-beautifully healthy scales. I pulled the goldfish out of his mouth and tossed it into the garbage.

I wasn't pleased with him at all, but I did laugh when I noticed that his head was sopping wet all the way down to his shoulders. It appears as though my brave little hunter thrust his entire head into our larger pond to catch the largest, most beautiful goldfish we have (well, had). Sushi is one of our favorite meals in our house, but this is going just a little too far.

Rather than displaying a photograph of the wet-headed hunter and his kill, I thought I would merely post one of him drinking from the pond (or is he really eyeing up his next snack?) — hard to tell.

Chesty at 16 Weeks

Titus turned 16 weeks today.

When I look at Beauregard's puppy pictures and then at Titus' pictures, the more and more I see a resemblance. Titus is going to have quite a broad chest, but I really think he is going to surpass Beauregard in overall size.

Happy Birthday, Bentley!

Today, Titus' older brother, Bentley, turns four years of age.

Very quickly after the death of Beauregard, Bentley stepped up and took responsibility as the patriarch dobie in the family. He quickly shed many aspects of his personality that marked him undeniably as a puppy and became much more concerned about us and his surroundings. Though, as you can see in the photo, he hasn't yet given up his concern over the squirrels in his yard.

For his birthday, he was given a juicy steak while camping. Titus shared in this special dinner and both were quite full and happy.

Run Diego, Run!

A few weeks ago we bought some new toys for Titus to play with (mainly to distract him from using us as his chew toys).

We found a cheap stuffed Diego toy at Big Lots and thought it was the perfect size to keep him busy for a while - not to mention just rather funny to see him dragging such a large cartoon character around in the back yard.

We took Diego on our camping trip over the weekend and it kept Titus occupied for quite some time. By the end of the trip, there was little left of the Diego toy and the campsite was full of little mounds of fiber fill.

As for camping, Titus did well on this his first camping trip. This was also the most time he had spent on a leash for walks. He responded very well with the leash with very little pulling or tugging.

My Food?

We have taken great pride in the fact that Beauregard and Bentley were so trustworthy around food that we could leave a plate of food on the coffee table, walk out of the room and know that when we returned, the food would still be there — untouched.

We are starting that training process with Titus. His Food vs. Our Food. Yesterday on the lanai, Titus took a quick interest in the oysters and quickly moved his attention elsewhere when told it wasn't his. I have a feeling this one will be trustworthy as well.

Cropped & Home

Titus had his ears cropped yesterday and I picked him up a few hours ago and brought him back home. I took this picture of him a few minutes ago. As expected, he is running around like a crazy person romping and playing with Bentley. It's like nothing happened. He shows no pain, no tenderness at all ... just like Beauregard and Bentley when they had their ears cropped too.

His right ear is standing quite well already — the left, however, is a different story. Doc taped his ears and it's helping. In a few days when the wound heals up some more, we will post them, if necessary. Otherwise, stitches will trail behind him as he runs around in the warm, dry air letting those ears heal up.

Those Floppy Ears

Those floppy ears on Titus are cute, but they won't be on him much longer. I made the decision to have his ears cropped as we have done with Beauregard and Bentley.

Cropping is a decision I always go back and forth on. Natural floppy ears are all cute as puppies, but the cropped ears when they are adults are just so stately looking.

There are huge debates on the issue, and some countries don't even allow cropping of ears. Some even consider it inhumane. After having two done, I feel quite certain that it is not inhumane at all. Neither of my previous pups have shown any pain or discomfort post-cropping. And their ears stay so much drier — and cleaner — than so many other dogs that have permanently moist and often infected ears.

Titus is schedule to go to have his cropping this Thursday and will be back home with us with his fresh stitches on Friday.