# Cosmo the Bi-Blue Sheltie!



## littlesoprano (Sep 21, 2013)

This is Cosmo, a bi-blue Sheltie. He's nearing 4 months old, and I hope to continue updating this thread as he grows and goes on new adventures!



















Chilling with the cat


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## littlesoprano (Sep 21, 2013)

At the beach:


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

OMG!!! so cute my heart dog is a rough collie and shelties look so much like them


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## Jmc1985 (Nov 27, 2012)

He is gorgeous! I have a blue bi MAS myself, but ever since I've met sheltie's I swear they're the cutest puppies I've ever seen! He looks full of spunk.


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## littlesoprano (Sep 21, 2013)

Jmc1985 said:


> He is gorgeous! I have a blue bi MAS myself, but ever since I've met sheltie's I swear they're the cutest puppies I've ever seen! He looks full of spunk.


That he is I can't get him to quit bothering our Aussie!


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## 5 s corral (Dec 31, 2007)

What a handsome pup I have owned about 9 shelties they are great dogs i have only 1 now and he is a 13 yr old tri


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## beardiedawg (Apr 16, 2012)

What is the difference between a bi-blue and a merle?


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## Jmc1985 (Nov 27, 2012)

beardiedawg said:


> What is the difference between a bi-blue and a merle?


No copper.


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## littlesoprano (Sep 21, 2013)

Jmc1985 said:


> No copper.


They had a Blue Merle puppy out of the same litter (the bitch was sable, male was bi-blue), but they said they were keeping her because she was retiring two of her girls, and she said the dog had great show potential.


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## GrinningDog (Mar 26, 2010)

Absolutely darling.


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## beardiedawg (Apr 16, 2012)

Jmc1985 said:


> No copper.


Oh, yes. Duh!


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Where's he from? Just curious. My friend has a new little bi blue sheltie puppy and he's darling. She had him at an agility trial recently and he's a mess. Can't wait to see what he does, she's an incredible trainer.

I always wanted either a bi-blue or bi-black (especially a bi-black) but my shelties were all sables.


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## packetsmom (Mar 21, 2013)

This is almost too much cuteness for me to handle! I just want to snuggle that pup so bad! 

My heart dog was a tri-color Sheltie. She was the easiest dog to train and had the sweetest temperment. I don't know how I would have made it through my teenage years without her.


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## littlesoprano (Sep 21, 2013)

Laurelin said:


> Where's he from? Just curious. My friend has a new little bi blue sheltie puppy and he's darling. She had him at an agility trial recently and he's a mess. Can't wait to see what he does, she's an incredible trainer.
> 
> I always wanted either a bi-blue or bi-black (especially a bi-black) but my shelties were all sables.


Diamondsruff Kennels in Big Rapids, Michigan

http://www.diamondsruff.net/

We were heading up state, and called her and asked if we could stop by, and she said come on over, and we met the pups, and fell in love with him. He was out with his litter in the kennels, and when they were let loose he was the one going over stealing food from all the other dogs. We weren't planning on purchasing right there and then, but he was such a sweetheart we couldn't resist! That and he was very playful as well. He was playful, but he wasn't running in circles (neither were the others for that matter), and the fact he would just come and sit in your lap and put his head on your shoulder-man I fell in love!


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## littlesoprano (Sep 21, 2013)

packetsmom said:


> This is almost too much cuteness for me to handle! I just want to snuggle that pup so bad!
> 
> My heart dog was a tri-color Sheltie. She was the easiest dog to train and had the sweetest temperment. I don't know how I would have made it through my teenage years without her.



He's quite an outgoing guy, he wants to be pet and loved by just about anyone!


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## littlesoprano (Sep 21, 2013)

Figured I'd also add his training progress video, so I can come back in the future and see how far he's come since then! He will also officially be 4 months tomorrow .


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## SnapV (May 14, 2013)

Cosmo is just adorable


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## littlesoprano (Sep 21, 2013)

We had a brushing session today, and then afterwards he decided to be my little picturesque boy. That and yesterday he turned 4 months old, he weighs 14 pounds-getting bigger! So here he is:

We are getting bigger!









Investigating his agility tunnel (its half folded up in the corner, but he likes to go sleep in it and hide toys in it lol.









While he was in there a cat emerged!


















Can I _please_ go chase it, pretty please









Its raining, don't make me go potty out there pleaseee. (he really dislikes the rain lol.)









And for some reason I really liked this one lol. (too many pictures today, how else does one occupy themselves on a rainy day!)









And Koko gets her own picture too. With an Aussie grin to complete it!


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## zack (May 27, 2013)

Lovely photos and such a cute little boy. lol


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## littlesoprano (Sep 21, 2013)

SNOWWWWWWWWWWW:

We found a bone to chew on:


















This stuff is so weird!









Yum yum but I can eat it!


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## Rowdy (Sep 2, 2007)

He is darling!


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## Finkie_Mom (Mar 2, 2010)

He's so cute! Looks like his coat is really starting to come in!


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## littlesoprano (Sep 21, 2013)

He really is a Ham. He's been having so much fun in the snow lol. He just shoves his head under neath (we have around 7-8 inches), and runs full speed with his head buried. Everytime I let him out to go potty, he comes back with his head covered with snow, he adores it.


His coat definitely is coming in pretty strong at this point. Much faster then I was expecting. His paw fringe is coming in pretty fast, and his mane is one big pooof. I think the fact we are having such a freezing cold winter might be helping to speed it up a bit. We have him on a diet of half dry kibble and half Stella & Chewy's which is freeze dried raw, and ever since we added in the Stella & Chewy's, his coat has really started to puff up .


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## littlesoprano (Sep 21, 2013)

http://s1196.photobucket.com/user/bandgeekus_shorticus/media/IMG_2278_zpsb72c1f31.mp4.html

6 months training progress.


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## littlesoprano (Sep 21, 2013)

Well we are 7 months old now, and we are turning into one HANDSOME Sheltie!

From this TINY tiny puppy:









To This:









To one well behaved furry little guy!


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

He is gorgeous!


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

Oh man he is cute as all get out. I've always loved Merle coloring.


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## littlesoprano (Sep 21, 2013)

I figured its about time I updated this thread! We've been through quite a bit over the last few months, and pictures have been scarce. Around March he started to lose some of his strength. He didn't want to play much, stopped jumping up on the bed, and overall he just stopped being "puppy-like". He was having trouble getting up from a sit, and at first the vet said it was just growing pain, so he was put on Previcox. It definitely made him feel more comfortable, but he was having trouble with normal movements. He couldn't get up the stairs anymore, and there were times where he literally COULD NOT get up from a sit, he'd just cry until one of us came over and helped him up. Back to the vet we went. The first vet visit they did X-Rays, and didn't find anything. But the second time we went they had someone who was more "knowledgeable" about this kind of stuff. She was moving his legs back and forth and you could hear this crunching noise, and you could feel it clicking as you moved them back and forth. Her bet was luxating patellas, so they took X-Rays again. You could hear Cosmo HOWL as they straightened his legs to get better X-Rays. 

They were pretty certain that was what it was, so we were sent to an orthopedic surgeon. He said nope to that idea, and said he'd try to get better X-Rays. Cosmo was given anesthesia for these ones, and lo behold, Legg Calve Perthes disease. On their X-Ray, you could see the bone darkening where it was dying, and he said that crunching noise? That was the shattered bone shattering more. Eeep. 

Quick Definition of LCP: (Cosmos is in both hind legs)
Legg-Calvé-Perthes Disease involves spontaneous degeneration of the head on the femur bone, located in the dog's hind leg. This results in disintegration of the hip joint (coxofemoral) and bone and joint inflammation (osteoarthritis).

The exact cause of the condition is unknown, though blood supply issues to the femoral head are usually seen in dogs suffering from Legg-Calvé-Perthes Disease. It is commonly seen in miniature, toy, and small-breed dogs, and has a genetic basis in Manchester terriers. Moreover, most dogs affected with Legg-Calvé-Perthes Disease are five to eight months in age.

So the two options were a total hip replacement or FHOs. The total hip replacement, cost wise was insane, and the surgeon said not only are FHOs less costly, but he said the majority of dogs are back to normal fairly soon after the surgery. We decided to go the FHO route. His left leg was in worse shape then his right, so we went with that side first:










The first few nights he cried quite a bit, even with Rimadyl and Tramadol, but it didn't take long before we started to notice some improvements! About 5 days after the surgery, he came and brought a toy over to my boyfriend to play! 

It's now been almost 5 weeks, and Cosmo is starting to act like a Sheltie should act. His right leg is starting to get pretty bad, but his left leg is doing super duper well! I can't get him to stop moving LOL. All he wants to do his play. He finally offers sits again (before he wouldn't sit for anything), and he even went to Chow Hound today for the first time in a few months! 

We are supposed to be limiting his exercise for the most part, because his other leg is quite bad, but swimming is A-OK. We taught a dog that HATED water, to learn to swim. Now he actually gets excited and starts to spin and bark at us when we mention swimming. YAY. 

He can even poop properly now (before he was just standing there, and making his furry troll butt a mess)! 

Anyway, among the chaos that has been the last few months, Cosmo turned 1 year old on June 14th, and I have to say, he's turned out to be quite a ham! 










Well, Happy Belated Birthday Cosmo!


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## littlesoprano (Sep 21, 2013)

Also found a few other photos, two from the winter, and one from the camping trip we went on right before his surgery. 










My ham:


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

Happy late Birthday Cosmo! He is as handsome as ever. I am sorry to hear about his legs.  Hopefully with the second FHO he will be good to go.


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## beardiedawg (Apr 16, 2012)

Poor Cosmo. Did you notify the breeder?


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

Poor boy! Hip pain is the worst, you can't escape from it by not walking or sitting or lying down, it's always there. (I have hip troubles myself.) I'm so glad you're able to do something to improve his life.

Oh, and he is gorgeous. There's lots of shelties in my area, but I haven't seen any bi blues.


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## littlesoprano (Sep 21, 2013)

I did notify the breeder, but I don't think it was the best breeder in the world... So we don't think its worth pursuing anything, we just hope none of the other puppies from his litter are going through this. She did pull the sire and dam out of the breeding program, which is better then nothing. I don't want to see any other puppy go through what Cosmo is going through. Not this young. 

He's actually starting to turn into a Merle . He has brown spots on his legs and face, teehee. Mostly blue though. Looks so silly with his leg shaved, but he's so much happier even with just one leg done. Bummer doctor said to wait 10 weeks. And btw if anyone in the Grand Rapids area is ever looking for an EXCELLENT surgeon, this guy is one of the best doctors dog or human wise, I've ever worked with. Literally completely straight forward, gave us the options, and for once said the cheaper of the two, is the best for young dogs, and the staff was excellent too. Cosmo actually gets excited when we say do you want to go to the leg doctor! 

From what I've learned, some dogs even go on to do agility after FHO recovery, which I think would be a lot of fun for him. He's definitely gained back some spirit, he's rowdy like he should be, wants to play all the time. He's too well behaved of a dog to have to be house bound, it's such a bummer too. He would've been so good at obedience too. He's a smart cookie, taught him heel in the course of an hour, and he'll even heel off leash if you tell him too. The surgeon said probably a month after the second surgery, we won't even be able to tell that he has no femur balls on his legs teehee. 

Amaryllis, I totally agree with you! You should've seen how he walked before the first FHO, but he did climb the dunes right before his surgery, I guess the enticement of the beach was worth it  What we did, as silly as it sounds, was go buy a memory foam pillow, which was perfect size for his crate, and shaved it down so it was flat (no ridges), and it has been a lot of help. He wasn't happy with the original memory foam crate pad+blanket, but he loves the pillow idea haha. And it was cheaper then similar ones meant for dogs.


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