Muscle bound dog leaps tall structures

Hershey is turning out to be an all-round athlete! In the last few days, I have noticed that her legs are getting much more muscular! Whenever I bring her back into the house after she's been to the bathroom (or if the grass is wet or it's raining), I wipe her down with a towel to make sure her feet and legs are dry. Recently her legs have gone from scrawny little bones and fur to pumped-up muscle-bound legs! It must be all the running around we've been doing; I'm shocked to see the difference in only a month and a half - her old owner must not have run her outside at all. Poor dog!

Hershey's also been working hard at learning new tricks. We've put up a saw horse in the backyard and she's been learning how to jump over it and scoot under it too. Another trick we've almost perfected is to speak on command. Hershey is so funny though, when we first say "Speak!" she tends to try to bark but no sound will come out - she's so quiet normally her lungs aren't full and ready to let a good bark out!

In other news, Chris got back from Japan safe and sound. Hershey was SO excited to see him. He brought back a string of "sausages" (4 reddish plastic links - each with a different smiley face, strung together with knotted cotton rope). Hershey's already gone right through the rope but we'll be able to replace it easily.

Also, the shedding is almost done - it's just her back end that has some undercoat left. She has been much more patient with us trying to comb her out. She feels so much smoother where it's just the long hair-like fur left; she looks much smaller too.

With Chris and I both home now, we have more time to work with the dog as we can split the chores and other things to do. We'll be working at other tricks (roll over, crawl, beg and perfect that "over" and "under" trick too) and maybe taking Hershey camping if the weather permits.

A great find

A while back I had been given a tip from one of the girls who works in the coffee shop by my office - she said there's a great little dog bakery on Whyte avenue around 90th street... I figured she got the address wrong because that's exactly where I live. A bit later, I found out there was apparently an animal pharmacy that was apparently in the same area. Again, I hadn't seen it - it didn't make sense.

Well last week while I was at the McDonalds drive through (guilty as charged!) I saw the bakery and pharmacy across the street! I didn't think it would be a good idea to walk Hershey the whole way there - not that it's far, but she's just not good on the roads yet. Anyhow, I biked over this morning and wow! The bakery is very cute, but a better find is the fact that they have a groomer on site (with excellent rates) and training classes too! The animal pharmacy next door to it was actually a full-sized pet store with tons of supplies, food, gear and a huge pharmacy section. I got Hershey some stiptic powder (this is used in case we clip her nails too short), some ear cleaning fluid, and some fur conditioner/refresher (her butt is stinky!)

I also got a special nose harness thing so that we can train Hershey not to pull while on a walk. We tried it out this afternoon - she's is NOT a fan, but it worked; right away, amazing. We'll try again tomorrow.

In the meanwhile, Chris will be coming home in about 2-3 hours - Hershey is in bed now so that she can get some rest; I'm sure she will be very excited and want to stay up when Chris arrives!

Bamboo Shoots and Celery

It's great to have a dog when there are certain things in the stir-fry mix that you just don't like (bamboo shoots) or are allergic too (celery). She enjoys them both - along with anything else I will give her.

To date she has tried:
watermelon
banana
lettuce
carrots (which are a mainstay in her diet)
apple sauce
peanut butter
cheese (for her medication)
popcorn
beef jerky
pepperoni
hot dog
beef broth (in ice cube form)
...and who knows what else

There have been a few things that she's tried and not liked:
parsley
and raspberries (go figure!)

While I know it isn't good to feed her people food, most of these things have been in raw or unprocessed form - I have made a point not to feed her processed grains (such as bread) and things which are all mixed up (such as a mixed salad). I also read that tomatoes are bad for dogs, and everyone knows about how chocolate can be deadly, so those have been kept for human-consumption only.

Finally, to dissuade any other culinary adventures that might be deadlier than Fugu, I've put away the poinsettia from X-mas and we've fenced off the rhubarb.

Hershey-Smershey, the Smersherella, Smersharooney

So it's been "girls night" for the last few days - I've enjoyed time off of work (well deserved, I might add) and have been spending some quality time with the dog.

For instance, we went on a long walk, two plays in the back yard and then a good run with Thilo and Kit in the park. She hasn't had this much exercise in a long time! I've also been letting her sleep on the bed - it's a treat for her while Chris is away - but I enjoy it too. She's a blanket hog just like Chris!


She's also taken to jumping up on window ledges and over her crate to check out what is going on outside.


She jumped right on to her crate when I was mowing the lawn outside today - she did NOT enjoy the vacuum or the paper shredder either - but she was dangerously interested in the whipper snipper; scary!

And for the Pret-a-Porter Summer 2005 line...

Hershey is shedding her undercoat. It was alarming at first because of the significant difference in furballs on the ground between Sunday, when the house was clean, and Monday.

Hershey came back from the kennels and was very excited to see me; she seemed lighter than normal, but perhaps that was just because I forgot how little she is. She did well in the wagon and was very excited to get home. We played outside for a bit, and I made sure she got to see around the house to remember everything. We both enjoyed a nap in the late morning.

After lunch, we went back to the first vet to get the stitches removed from her foot. I was also hoping to deal with the complaint I had made and looking forward to the rebate I was promised. Hershey was again very good in the car and the waiting room, but then made a bit of a pee on the ground when it was time to bring her into one of the observation rooms. I didn't like the vet's behaviour towards me (ignoring me) again, and he was very strange with the dog - using an absurd amount of baby talk and cuddling her very closely. I don't do that very often myself and she's ours! He was also wearing magnifying goggles - which I can understand is needed for removing sutures, but it freaked the dog right out - it looked too strange to her. Anyhow, after that was done, we were ready to get out of there, but the stupid vet kept us for a bit longer while he gave Hershey a treat... lots of little treats. And this was DURING me telling him we have trouble with her getting car sick. I am NOT impressed.

We get back into the car and are going to head home, I do take the opportunity to have a drive-through coffee on the way back. We are doing well in the car until I see her duck down out of sigh from the rear-view mirror for a second, but she pops right back up to look around.

Lo and behold, Hershey puked in the car. She miraculously only puked on her blanket and not on the floor or walls of the very expensive rental I had; but what I was more concerned about was the consistency and volume. It essentially looked like she puked up a double batch of cookie dough. This didn't look right. Later on, with Chris' help while on the phone, we decided they must have started feeding her kennel dog food and not enough water; that plus the stupid vet's treats, the freak-out of coming home finally and another vet trip must have been too much.

After this, I decided it was a good time to give Hershey a bath. I have never attempted this on my own, but thought it was important in case any kennel cooties were on her. The bath went quite well, but drying her was more difficult - it took a very long time to get her dry-ish, and even then her fur was super matted. I was worried I had done something wrong and had screwed up the dog!

After brushing a full garbage pail of fur off of her, I decided to let the hair dry thoroughly and then comb it out. I started this morning and have taken out essentially her full undercoat - she's got a top layer of longer hair-like fur, and the undercoat is shorter, downy fur. Because it's the summer, she's finally shed it, and holy moly, is there ever a lot of fur! I've been sweeping and Swiffer-ing the house almost non-stop and still there is fur all over the place (thank god we have hard wood and tile floors!) I figure the worst of it is passed now, I just need to keep up her grooming. Also, this means that they didn't brush her at the kennel as it shouldn't have all started at once.

So Hershey's been incredibly tolerant of my combing her, she looks much thinner and feels smoother now too. She's all ready for summer!

I miss my dog!

Less than twelve hours before I can get Hershey! I am very excited about seeing her, it's been a long 5 days without her, and it'll be good to see a friendly face after my long conference away from home.

The picture above is from a the day before I left for Grande Prairie - I decided to be all crazy with Hershey - I took all her toys and threw them around the kitchen. She had a great time playing with one toy for a few seconds and then switching to another one. If I had any toy, that was the one she wanted, I played a "choose one" game with her, where I picked two toys and held one in each hand. She had to jump to pick the one she wanted to stay; for example. she was given the option between the steak stuffie and the lambchop stuffie, then between the kong ball and the kong on a rope. It was interesting that she actually picked selectively - not always going for the same hand, etc.

I have also realized from this fun game that Hershey has A LOT of toys! She's almost destroyed a few things, I may "retire" them sooner rather than later!

While I was away, I did have the chance to call the kennel the morning after I dropped her off to see how she was doing. The kennel manager mentioned that she was rather timid but was playing very nicely with the other dogs, she would roll over (showing submission) at first, but then get her confidence up shortly after. It was good to hear. I also confirmed that she had taken her last dose of medication, and so, after tomorrow (when she gets her seutres out) we shouldn't have any other medical things to deal with for the rest of the year - what a relief!

T-8 hours before lift-off

Hershey goes to the kennel in 8 hours - I have been referring to it as the "doggy resort" as between Chris, Hershey and myself, she has the nicest stay away from home out of all of us!

I have prepared her food and snacks, except for carrots and maybe cheese (for her medication), bandage stuff (in case it is needed) her tooth cleaning chewie and her paperwork. I will need to take her blanket and her cow stuffie when she gets up tomorrow, along with her leash and I think we'll be good to go.

We're going to use the Animal Medical Centre on the south side of town. I'm hoping it'll be good - our friends have used it and were very happy with the service they received. The only crummy thing is that they aren't open on Sunday, so while I will be back in town around dinner time, I won't get to pick Hershey up until Monday morning. While I might go see a movie and enjoy a quiet evening after the big conference I'm attending, I would prefer to spend the night in with my dog.

In other news, Hershey's city license came in - it is a relief that she is now "official". The City website was awful - it did not provide confirmation that your submission was received, nor did it make any sense when the payment step came up (for some reason, the first year is free - I'm not going to complain!) She now has 2 tags, one for her rabies shot, and now the license number. She also has her tattoo, and will soon be getting a "If lost, please call ..." tag too. She is getting all blinged-out!

We spent most of the day together; she came to the office with me as I was expecting a package - that did not fare well. The mail man did not read the note about knocking I had put on the door and was quite surprised and frightened about finding a dog in the office! We were better prepared when the delivery guys came later on, however she still growled and barked. I think we will need obedience classes in the fall for sure. We did have the opportunity to go on a walk and play in the park between thunderstorms in the evening. She was full of energy and ran with me for a good 10 minutes. She was much better on the leash after that run; I think a more stable routine will do her well - we'll be able to provide that to her starting in August. She's also been good about her paw - I took the bandage off when we got home from the office so it has aired out all day. She has not been chewing on it or licking it, so things should heal nicely.

And something else happened today that was hilarious. While I was working at the kitchen table, Hershey started sniffing the floor like she was after something. After a bit of chasing around, she finally stood still, eyes fixed to the ground with intensity, and then schmucked something as she squashed it with her front paw. I didn't know what she had got, until she kind of sniffed at the spot, and then backed up. She had killed a spider (yay! I don't like spiders) but didn't want to eat it! Just like mom!

Anyhow, since I will be away from the dog for the next few days, there won't be any postings until next week. Sorry!

Day 4 - Making huge progress

I have complained to the vet office and the manager has apologized. She agreed that the service we received was bad and she agreed to a 10% discount on the services (this should cover the extra rental day on the car plus some extra supplies I needed to get). She will be speaking to the staff about our case and will ensure that our next visit is perfect.

This has been very frustrating - I have been very glad to talk to Chris and my parents about my troubles, but to be honest I was a total wreck yesterday worrying and being upset. Anyhow, things for me as a dog parent are going much better.

Hershey is doing just great - she isn't troubled by the surgery at all anymore - she's just a bit slow and I'm trying to keep her from running still. We went on two walks yesterday, one to the Safeway where we sat outside with some people (and a snooty Border Collie), and in the evening we went to the 7-11 but that didn't go well - there were too many people, cars and her leash was not long enough to properly tie her to the posts. Anyhow, with a kind stranger's help, I was able to get her some jerky (we're all out of pepperoni) and I got a much deserved ice cream cone.

Her paw is healing nicely - I have been replacing the bandage daily. It should be good without a bandage tomorrow - apparently air is good for it too. We will spend the evening with it off while I can supervise. Her stomach scar is also doing well. All the fur that had to be shaved off of her is growing back already, although I'm sure she appreciates how the bald spots have helped her keep cool.

I have also contacted the kennel and they are fully aware of her situation. I feel she will be in good hands there. I have already prepared all her meals in baggies (the hard task of measuring out 1 cup of food!) and will be sending her off with her blanket, her cow stuffie, her new tooth-cleaning chewie, and some cookies and carrots. The staff there have been warned that she is shy and unsure of some other animals - we shall see how she fares.

I'll be putting a few pictures up before I leave for the week so you can all see how well she is doing!

Frustration

I am very frustrated and stressed right now. It's the end of my last full day alone with the dog, and with all that is going on, it couldn't be worse timing.

While the day itself has gone quite well, I am very pissed off at the vet office. Honestly, I feel they could have given me more information about how to care for the stitches on her foot and her stomach. I see that she is a bit red on her stomach, which I understand is a warning sign of infection or seepage, but she is dry to the touch and isn't really puffy. I don't know if I can put antibiotic cream on her stomach scar (she can't lick it) because all I have is human stuff and I don't know if it's really a big deal.

I did call the emergency hospital for help regarding her foot though - the baggie thing they made was alright, but because it is vinyl and has big holes for the tie at the top of the baggie, moisture does get in, and her bandage has gotten a little wet; and it's not easy to tell if the gauze pad underneath is dry or not. So, the emergency hospital people have told me that I need to remove the bandage and replace it; human grade gauze is fine, I'm told. The vet who did the spaying told me all I'd have to do is cut a line through the non-stitches side of her foot and take the bandage off. Little do I know when I try to take the thing off using their methods, but the bandage has been taped to her fur. I had to peel the fur off the tape and snip around it - not easy for me to do on my own while she's squirming to get away. I try not to hurt her and do it quickly but having her move and not come back to me on demand makes me much more frustrated. When I finally was able to get the bandage off (pulling quite a bit of fur off - there was no other way!) the stitches themselves look clean and dry. I put on the new gauze and use the tape ON THE GAUZE to keep it on, then to dissuade her from chewing on her bandage and to keep it dry, I put a layer of electrical tape around everything (but of course, not the fur - that would just be stupid).

I try to put some gauze on her stomach too - I mean she wasn't given anything to cover her bare tummy and given that she's a dog, she lies down in the house, outside and everywhere! Perhaps that is what irritated her. I did try to tape the gauze square to her bare belly where she was shaved for the operation, and it does hang on but it's not secure. I will see about making a little shirt/belt thing to hold the gauze pad lightly to her.

Finally, I have been worrying about what is going to happen on Wednesday when she goes to the kennel. She had a rough time today not seeing Chris and went bonkers when another man came to the door (a friend who came to pick up something he lent to Chris). She jumped up on her crate and looked all over for Chris. Poor thing. Now, I'll be leaving her alone for a week and she's obviously going to need someone to care for her paw and stomach and make sure she's not too pathetic - while also being careful that she's not overrun by other dogs... This is going to be tough for her and me.

I am going to call the vet tomorrow and give them a piece of my mind. I will be asking them about why they didn't schedule the follow up appointment and why they didn't provide me with the needed information - they also will be getting it with regards to the tape on her fur.

Another frustration today came from the crappy City of Edmonton website which didn't work on the Mac platform and barely made any sense on the Windows platform - I tried to get the pet license today as we now have Hershey spayed but the process was totally broken - asking me to pay $0 and not sending me a confirmation page. I will be making another complaint call on Monday.

Not fun - not the dog's fault in any way - it's the people I'm mad at.

Day 2 - almost back to normal

Hershey got more and more back to her good old self in the evening but was very sleepy and rested for most of the night. She was able to regain her appetite and apparently she was dehydrated because she kept drinking long drinks of water. I had read about bloat when the dog takes in too much air when drinking, so I raised the water bowl by putting it on an inverted bin - it has helped reduced the air intake and also her sloppiness. She had to go outside fairly often too - her system must have been turned all upside down - if I ate only two meals a day and had missed one, I would be too.

I let her out a few times at night and she slept through the night okay I think. I woke her at 6 am (as I got up myself) and gave her half of her breakfast. She then went back to bed until 8 am when we got up for good, had more breakfast and a short walk around the block.

She's still slower than normal but she's now interested in her toys again, and will gobble up any food I give her.

Giving her the medication has been very easy, I used the pill-in-cheese trick and she doesn't even realize she's taking it. I also had to give her a squirt of pain-killer yesterday in her mouth; I did this immediately after a small portion of dinner and the cheese. Apparently it tastes sweet but the delivery method is strange; anyhow, it wasn't a problem at all.

One other thing that the vet has had me do is put a little bootie (a heavy plastic bag with string) on her foot if she's going out to pee or walk in moist grass. I haven't had a problem putting it on, and she walks with it on alright, however she does look awful funny and it makes a strange noise as she scrapes it on the ground while on our concrete steps. And once, when I didn't take it off when we went inside right away, she sat down to have a good scratch of her ear - she certainly looked shocked to find a puffy bag instead of her itch-relieving claws! I can't help but laugh, but of course I do fell bad for her too!

I did consider letting her sleep in our room or having both of us sleep on the living room couches last nigh, but figured it would be better to simply have her sleep in her crate as though everything were normal. I think that was the right decision and it'll take her mind off the fact that something strange occurred. She did try to nibble at her foot bandage; so I put some electrical tape where the pad was not covered by the wristband thing - it looks more secure now, she's less likely to chew on the tape and it'll keep her bandage dry too. Her tummy scar is healing nicely too - where it was reddish yesterday, it is now normal coloured and the skin is obviously healing. It feels funny to find normal skin under all the fur - a fairly large area was shaved for the operation, hopefully it won't be itchy as it grows back.

We're going to take it easy today too; I will leave her alone for a while as I have an appointment this morning, but be back for the lunch hour. She'll likely come with me to a meeting I have this afternoon for an hour or two and then we'll be back home for the rest of the day. But at the rate things are going she'll likely be 100% normal by Monday!

Good Dog!

We just arrived home from the vet and poor Hershey is totally pooped. I have never seen her so slow and tired! The vet called at around 11 am to let me know that the operation had gone well and no complications occurred. I enjoyed my day knowing that Hershey was in good hands.

At 4 pm, I went back to the vet and picked her up - she waggled her tail a little but nothing like the jumping up or frantic squirming she normally does when she sees us. The staff told me that she was quite shy and frightened, but did extremely well. Everything got done, and she looks pretty good given everything that has happened.

Her paw has a bandage on it, and they put a nice wrist-band like thing to keep the bandage on tight.




She's was given an anesthetic plus drugs and a vaccine so it's no wonder she looks stoned! She gets more alert looking every now and then, but right now she looks like a hippie dog!




When we finally got home (after braving rush hour traffic), she went for a pee and poop, then came in and had a long drink of water. I gave her a cookie (which she ate VERY slowly) and now she's taking a nice long rest on her pillow.




This pillow is, by the way, the one I got with the money from my parents! We often find Hershey sleeping on it in her room if we are out late at night. She likes being able to take a rest in a comfortable spot while being able to keep an eye on the door - her crate can't compare with the pillow when it comes to this!

Operation Day

Today is operation day - Hershey is going to get spade! A lot of planning has had to happen; I had to rent a car as Chris took his to the airport, we weren't able to give her breakfast so we fed her a bit more yesterday to make up for it, and trying to coordinate the vet appointments and recuperation time around the busiest part of the summer for my work has been hard.

She went into the animal hospital at 7:45 this morning, after checking the paperwork and all the operation options, she happily followed the reception person to the back room. I'm not nervous, but rather looking forward to having her fixed. We haven't been able to take her on walks in the last two weeks because she's been in heat, and only in the last few days has her swelling gone down (and her hyperness is also calming back down too). She'll have to take it easy for the first few days, but should be in prime shape by Wednesday when I drop her off at the kennel for the week.

While she's getting fixed we are also getting her dewclaw removed (the "thumb" toe up on her hind leg - Border collies tend to have them while Australian shepherds don't - because she's a cross, she's only got one!), having her tattooed for identification, getting her a Kennel Cough vaccine, getting her nails clipped and doing blood work and a regular exam. She will have stiches on her leg which'll be covered with a bandage and she may need a collar to stop her from liking herself. It'll be hard to prevent her from jumping around and running, but we'll try.