Thursday, 31 May 2012
One Year Old
Stella celebrated her first birthday today! Happy Birthday my little happy jumping Bean. You make me laugh daily and I look forward to many happy years ahead training and playing together.
Friday, 25 May 2012
Camping fun
This past weekend was a long weekend and the first camping of the season. The weather was fabulous friday, saturday and a mixed rain/cloud mixture for sunday and monday. The campground is attached to a wonderful dog-friendly beach so the dogs got to romp and play on the beach every day. Stella had a few short camping trips last year as a puppy but then the season was over so I was curious to see how she would settle in. She loved it! We all had a great time but unfortunately Riley overdid things and had a significant setback on his recovery. He had been back to almost full activity levels and was doing well but on the last day he did a wierd jump, tackle & turn move that didn't go very well and he has been sore all week now. I think I am going to have his back and hips xrayed next week to see if we have something serious going on. He is registered for a trial this weekend so I will see how he is and decide what to do then but might scratch him.
We also snuck in a lovely visit to friends who own a dog therapy swimming pool. Their vizslas are closely related to Stella. The dogs got to go swimming and we all had a wonderful time. Riley had never been there before so he was a little unsure of the ramp but soon figured it out and was splashing in and out like a pro. Stella had been there once before so she also enjoyed it but prefered if I was in the water with her. I think she is going to be a dog that is happy to swim and doesn't mind water but I don't think she will have a real "love" for water. That could still change this summer when she is exposed to a lot more swimming opportunities.
Here are some pics from the weekend:
We also snuck in a lovely visit to friends who own a dog therapy swimming pool. Their vizslas are closely related to Stella. The dogs got to go swimming and we all had a wonderful time. Riley had never been there before so he was a little unsure of the ramp but soon figured it out and was splashing in and out like a pro. Stella had been there once before so she also enjoyed it but prefered if I was in the water with her. I think she is going to be a dog that is happy to swim and doesn't mind water but I don't think she will have a real "love" for water. That could still change this summer when she is exposed to a lot more swimming opportunities.
Here are some pics from the weekend:
 |
| Swimming fun |
 |
| Shandy (aunt), Murphy (cousin 3 weeks older), Stella |
 |
| Cheeky Girl |
 |
| Riley's version of doggy heaven |
 |
| Missy Stella Bean almost grown up |
 |
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
CGN Congrats and a Birthday
This past weekend my little Missy Bean aka Stella aka Varazs Kedvesem Final Dance earned her very first CKC title. She passed her Canine Good Neighbour test with style and earned lots of compliments from both the organizers and the tester. We originally had planned to test last month but had to defer when she came into heat.
CKC defines the CGN test as follows: The test is non-competitive and allows dog and handler to demonstrate confidence and control in 12 steps. It assesses the handler and dog's relationship, together with the handler's ability to control the dog. Dogs are evaluated on their ability to perform basic exercises as well as their ability to demonstrate good manners in everyday situations. The 12 tests are listed here CKC Canine Good Neighbour tests.
I am very proud of my girl and I look forward to many more training adventures in our future.
In other news Riley turned six years old on Saturday, May 12th. Poor guy still is on restricted activity so it was a fairly quiet day but he got lots of love. This dog has brought so much joy to my life. He has challenged me, made me crazy and always makes me laugh. He sparked my interest in dog training and introduced me to a whole new world of friends. Thanks for being in my life monkey boy, may we have many more fun years ahead.
CKC defines the CGN test as follows: The test is non-competitive and allows dog and handler to demonstrate confidence and control in 12 steps. It assesses the handler and dog's relationship, together with the handler's ability to control the dog. Dogs are evaluated on their ability to perform basic exercises as well as their ability to demonstrate good manners in everyday situations. The 12 tests are listed here CKC Canine Good Neighbour tests.
I am very proud of my girl and I look forward to many more training adventures in our future.
In other news Riley turned six years old on Saturday, May 12th. Poor guy still is on restricted activity so it was a fairly quiet day but he got lots of love. This dog has brought so much joy to my life. He has challenged me, made me crazy and always makes me laugh. He sparked my interest in dog training and introduced me to a whole new world of friends. Thanks for being in my life monkey boy, may we have many more fun years ahead.
 |
| Puppy Riley |
 |
| With his littermate brother Sam |
 |
| All grown up. |
Saturday, 12 May 2012
Sidelined
We finally got finished handling Stella's heat cycle and now Riley is injured. Arghhh! The training gods are not being very accomodating to training for a trial I have scheduled for the end of month.
My poor giant dog was not blessed with good structure (long back and straight hind end) and has been "off" for a little while although I didn't think it was anything serious until last week when he got up and was barely putting any weight on his left hind leg. I'm not sure what triggered this but I'm sure all that air-humping motion didn't help! We have had a few problems like this over the yearx but this is one of his more severe episodes. Past issues has seemed to flow more from back issues but this was diffferent. I was pretty confident it wasn't a knee problem and luckily managed to squeeze into a chiropractic visit the next day. The chiropractor identified it as a hip issue and said he was seriously "wacked" and of course that had put his whole body all out. The normal recommendations would be short on-leash walks for a few days and moving up to gradual regular freedoms but this time the doctor wanted no walks and limited activity for at least three days and then only short on leash before seeing him again this week.
Riley is not a dog that appreciates that kind of restriction!
Stella had only just finished her heat and the two dogs wanted to play and romp together. No such luck :o(. We did manage to keep him mostly quiet for 3-4 days and then he had a short walk tuesday, 30 min wednesday and thursday. Thursday I think we did to much because he seemed quite weak later that morning. He also had a canine massage on tuesday which I think helped a lot. When we saw the chiro on thursday afternoon he was pleasantly surprised at his condition when compared to last week. He still wasn't normal but there was much less heat in the area and the adjustment was much easier. He is still on restricted leash walks for now but hopefully by next week should be back to regular walks.
I am a big fan of holistic type treatments for our animals. I did give Riley a NSAID (previcox) for the first two days but also gave arnica or traumeel. I discontinued the NSAID after that but have continued to use the traumeel orally a few times per day. Traumeel is a homeopathic product that I have had very good results with for my dogs. It is also available as a cream or gel. The chiropractor is wonderful with Riley and those sessions really make a difference. I need to start scheduling a regular monthly maintenance visit instead of only seeing him when he has soreness. I only wish that he was much closer as currently it is at least a two hour turn around to have a treatment and in traffic can be much longer. In the past I have also done IMS (InterMuscular Stimulation) which is similar to accupuncture. We did a lot of that with Lucy but Riley is a little less cooperative and a lot harder to handle so I haven't been doing that as much with him. We also did therapy swimming with Lucy and that is something I am considering for this winter for Riley. The massage this week was a first for us but is something I might consider in future. Unfortunately all this stuff costs money!
Hindsight would have me taking him for treatment a few weeks earlier which probably would have fixed things before they got worse. Lesson learned yet again :o) but it feels like he is now on the road to recovery. Riley is only six years old and he is in wonderful condition other than the occasional situation like this. I keep him lean and fit and that will be the most important thing for maintaining his quality of life in future years. I also avoid activities for him that are harder on a dog's body like throwing a ball or doing agility. He doesn't have a whole lot of self preservation smarts and dives for the ball and goes skidding across the ground head over heels. I do let him chase the ball when I throw it into water for swimming and on land I tend to chuck it into bushes to have him do an area search. I definately can't just stand there with a chuck-it but one of the reasons I have dogs is to get my own exercise anyway!
My poor giant dog was not blessed with good structure (long back and straight hind end) and has been "off" for a little while although I didn't think it was anything serious until last week when he got up and was barely putting any weight on his left hind leg. I'm not sure what triggered this but I'm sure all that air-humping motion didn't help! We have had a few problems like this over the yearx but this is one of his more severe episodes. Past issues has seemed to flow more from back issues but this was diffferent. I was pretty confident it wasn't a knee problem and luckily managed to squeeze into a chiropractic visit the next day. The chiropractor identified it as a hip issue and said he was seriously "wacked" and of course that had put his whole body all out. The normal recommendations would be short on-leash walks for a few days and moving up to gradual regular freedoms but this time the doctor wanted no walks and limited activity for at least three days and then only short on leash before seeing him again this week.
Riley is not a dog that appreciates that kind of restriction!
Stella had only just finished her heat and the two dogs wanted to play and romp together. No such luck :o(. We did manage to keep him mostly quiet for 3-4 days and then he had a short walk tuesday, 30 min wednesday and thursday. Thursday I think we did to much because he seemed quite weak later that morning. He also had a canine massage on tuesday which I think helped a lot. When we saw the chiro on thursday afternoon he was pleasantly surprised at his condition when compared to last week. He still wasn't normal but there was much less heat in the area and the adjustment was much easier. He is still on restricted leash walks for now but hopefully by next week should be back to regular walks.
I am a big fan of holistic type treatments for our animals. I did give Riley a NSAID (previcox) for the first two days but also gave arnica or traumeel. I discontinued the NSAID after that but have continued to use the traumeel orally a few times per day. Traumeel is a homeopathic product that I have had very good results with for my dogs. It is also available as a cream or gel. The chiropractor is wonderful with Riley and those sessions really make a difference. I need to start scheduling a regular monthly maintenance visit instead of only seeing him when he has soreness. I only wish that he was much closer as currently it is at least a two hour turn around to have a treatment and in traffic can be much longer. In the past I have also done IMS (InterMuscular Stimulation) which is similar to accupuncture. We did a lot of that with Lucy but Riley is a little less cooperative and a lot harder to handle so I haven't been doing that as much with him. We also did therapy swimming with Lucy and that is something I am considering for this winter for Riley. The massage this week was a first for us but is something I might consider in future. Unfortunately all this stuff costs money!
Hindsight would have me taking him for treatment a few weeks earlier which probably would have fixed things before they got worse. Lesson learned yet again :o) but it feels like he is now on the road to recovery. Riley is only six years old and he is in wonderful condition other than the occasional situation like this. I keep him lean and fit and that will be the most important thing for maintaining his quality of life in future years. I also avoid activities for him that are harder on a dog's body like throwing a ball or doing agility. He doesn't have a whole lot of self preservation smarts and dives for the ball and goes skidding across the ground head over heels. I do let him chase the ball when I throw it into water for swimming and on land I tend to chuck it into bushes to have him do an area search. I definately can't just stand there with a chuck-it but one of the reasons I have dogs is to get my own exercise anyway!
This is more his regular speed!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)