Humane Society Walkathon

This morning was the annual walkathon for the Humane Society of Durham Region. The sun was out (yah!) and it was nice and cool(no bugs). The walk is held at a conservation area, so it's really quite a nice 5 km trek. There was a fabulous turn out. I've never seen so many people there. This is the first time Oak has ever gone, so he was really excited! There were people and dogs everywhere, for him to meet. Even Mary was there! Mary is his favourite person in the whole world. Mary is my secretary and Oak just loves her.

Then Lite showed up and he got to play with him.


Then we started the walk. There were stations along the route where they passed out treats and water. He got to run around in the mud and the swamp. Then to top it all off he got to play in the river at the end.

Better still there were barbequed hot dogs afterwards. Unfortunately for Oak, they were for the people :) But that didn't stop him from trying!

There's one tired puppy sleeping upstairs in the hallway. I bet he's already looking forward to next year. :)

Graduation Night!

We finished our basic novice class(again) and we had graduation night. On gradutation night we actually go through all the exercises like we would during a trial. Oak did pretty good on all the heel exercises(although some of his sits were crooked and he did lag on the figure 8)but his recall and sits and downs were horrible. !



(On a side note, when he walks around the outside of the pile on, you can tell he isn't extending his hind left leg as he should. Hopefully massage will help enable him to fulling extend his leg.)
On the recall he sat, stayed and came running when I called. Unfortunately, just before he got to me he turned to the left and started sniffing around. She had me call him again, and he came running and sat (rather crookedly) in front.



He didn't stay at all for the sits or the down, but neither did half the other dogs. Only one dog out of 10 actually got a qualifying score!
Our advanced notice class starts in 2 weeks. That's when we begin heeling offlead, scary!

Learnt Something New :)

I've been doing more research on hip dysplasia and have discovered something new. I been reading Cooper's diary. He was 6 months old when he had hip xrays done and was diagnosed with hip dysplasia. The owner went 3 different vets for a diagnosis. Two of them recommended Triple Pelvic Osteotomy, the third said to wait and see how much worse the hips get. The owner put Cooper on Foster and Smith Joint Care and Solid Gold Yucca. She also took him too a physical therapist and did hydrotherapy(swimming - just what Oak refuses to do!). The therapist explained to her that the inside muscles of the thigh were tight. This was causing the hip joint to pop out even more and the muscles on the outer leg to not develop enough. The symptoms for Cooper were very tight inner thigh muscles, and a very tight back(Oak's spine was very tight the first time we went to the chiroprator). The therapist said that dogs have a lot of extra skin on the top, and that you should be able to roll and stretch the skin easily all the way down the back from the neck to the tail(I'm not sure I understand this). In Cooper's case it was very tight.The therapist recommended massaging the inner thigh to loosen these muscles and make Cooper use his out thigh muscles more. So, to make a long story short, after using supplements, hydrotherapy and massage for the next year and a half. They xrayed his hips again at 2 years of age, they looked fabulous! The xrays were sent in to be rated and he got a good rating!

After reading this story, I got to thinking that Oak is showing signs of tight muscles. He doesn't like to lay in a "froggy" and he's not too keen about laying on his back with his legs stretched out. Both things he wouldn't like to do if his muscles were tight. Now to check into massage.

Weekend at the Cottage

Oak(Lite, Zanara and Jewels) all had a fabulous long weekend at the cottage! Lots of swimming, running, playing and adventures!
Oak would only go in the water up to the point where he could still touch bottom but Zanara wouldn't stay out of the pond. She was cleaning it out. She swam to any sticks she saw and carried them to the shore, then she went back for more. Not only did she clean up the sticks, but she also cleaned up the rocks on the bottom. The ramp into the water was littered with rocks and sticks that she had taken out. What a helpful girl!

Lite even got in on the action. After a few attempts(really funny attempts!) he was in there swimming like a pro.

Jewels preferred to keep to the shore running around and chasing bugs. Although she did try to collect some of the smaller sticks by the edge. And those frogs, she tried really hard to catch them, but they were too quick.

We went for long walks, had a bonfire and one night even had fireworks! The fireworks didn't even bother Oak, thank goodness, over the years I've come to hate long weekends and fireworks.



It was quite chilly at night, but other then a really rainy saturday the weather wasn't bad for the rest of the weekend. I was a bit worried about Oak overdoing it with his hips, but he was fine. A bit stiff at night(not just his hips, but his whole body) but that was the only sign of pain he showed. We went to the chiropractor on tuesday after we got home and she said his left hip was a bit low again, but he was much better then the appointment the week before.

The Hip Story Continues..

I just thought I keep everyone up to date on Oak's progress(or lack thereof, since he's never shown any signs of discomfort). I started the Sasha's Blend on May 1. It has a very fishy scent to it. He gets 1 1/2 tsp. per day with his food. He didn't really like it at first, but he doesn't seem to notice it anymore. I also started him on salmon oil the same day.
On May 8 I picked up some Ester C. I gave him 1000 mg. that night, then 1000mg with both am and pm meals until yesterday, when I increased the am dose to 2000mg.
He had his first acupunture appointment on friday May 8. Everything went well, it didn't bother him at all.
This morning we went to see the chiropractor. She did find his hips were misaligned. The right side was high and the leftside was low. There was also a hot area in the middle just above his tail. His spine was a wee bit off too. She said it could be caused by regular puppy craziness or from the fact his hips are displasic. She adjusted him today and we have an appointment for next tuesday to see how everything is then. He may be really off, we are spending the long weekend at the cottage. This will be his first time!

Pajama Party (minus the pajamas)

Oak is so excited he got to have Lite over for a slumber party on friday night. He made me take pictures, and he wanted to tell everyone about it.

On friday Mom and I were just sitting there watching TV and all the sudden the door openned and Lite came bouncing in. Mommy said Lite was here to spend the night! Yipee! I started chasing him around the livingroom, then he grabbed the sqeaky squirrel from one end and I grabbed the other. He pulled hard, but I'm much bigger and stronger, so I won. We asked Mommy if we could go outside and play (even though it was raining) Boy, what fun! We ran around and around the back yard. Mommy didn't seem too impressed when we wanted back in with muddy paws though. She made us stand still and get all wiped off with a towel. It was getting late, but we weren't tired, we were having too much fun! Mommy insisted it was time for bed though. Lite even got to come upstairs and sleep in Mommy's room with us.

Lite is a very early riser. Mommy and I were still sleeping when he decided it was time to get up at 5:30 in the morning! Who gets up that early!?! One good thing, we got to play some more. We started wrestling in the kitchen, then Lite ran to the livingroom, then back to the kitchen. What fun!



After breakfast Mommy said we had to go visit some cats, so we all jumped in the van. I called shotgun, but Lite didn't care. He still tried to sit in the front with me. My van, my seat!



We had such a great time. I hope Lite can come back and spend the night again another time.

Great Job in Class

Well, class on tuesday was fabulous. I was very proud of Oak. He's worked hard and it shows. Even the trainers commented on his improvements! Yeah! His heeling was wonderful, his sits were a bit off though(someimtes beside me, sometimes in front). During his stand for examination, he didn't even move when the trainer went up to pet him! The only problem all night was staying!! He moved on both the sit stay and the down stay. He really hates staying still. Why should he just sit there when he's so cute and he's sure everyone wants him to come visit! Or better still, they probabely have a treat for him. Who could turn down this sweet smile.



Another thing I'd like to mention about class was how great all the other dogs are doing as well. A bunch of rambunctious puppies started this class and now its a class of well behaved dogs who listen to their owners. Great job, to all the handlers and the trainers.

No More Cone, Yeah!

Oak's incision is healing wonderfully, so we are getting rid of the cone! Yeah!


Unfortunately that means he can get back in the mud again. :(

He really wasn't very good at wearing it. We had a 14 yr. old Border collie cross named Ebony who had to wear a cone for 10 days when she had her eye removed(glaucoma) and you could hardly tell she was wearing it. Sometimes if thnk she liked to use it to bring all the great smells in. Oak could not figure out how to maneuver it around. He'd bump into the door on his way outside, then just stand there cause he didn't think he could go any further. :) Poor little guy. I'd have to help him get around the door. He kept running into people too and Jewels(my daughter's boston terrier) was terrified of him when he was wearing it.


Now they can share the same blanket again :)

We are also back to our regular traing schedule, starting this morning. I think he forgot everything he had learned! (not really, but he was really hyper and happy to be out walking again). Alot of pulling and bouncing, but not much staying.

And we started the supplements in his diet. I've been adding the salmon oil and Sasha's Blend to breakfast and dinner. I'm not sure he likes the flavour though, as he's not really finishing his meals. It my be the antibiotics are upsetting his tummy a bit(razor burn from the surgery, so they gave me antibiotics just in case it got infected). We'll see, he really likes his food, so I'm sure he'll eat sooner or later.

Class again tonight. I've got my fingers crossed.