-Cosette had a good annual checkup at the vet a few weeks ago. She received her Bordetella, Rabies, and DA2P-P-C vaccinations, along with a yearly Lyme Disease vaccine. Lyme is somewhat prevalent in our area, and given how much we hike, I can't take the risk. I also brought in a stool sample for their internal parasite test. Her heartworm test is done in May. Everything went well.
-Joel's doctor visit went not so well, because he wasn't there for a physical, he was there for a diagnosis. He has been having pain in his right foot for about three months now, mostly at the onset of increased exercise. His doctor suspects he has torn his Achilles tendon, and has cleared him only for light cycling/spin and walking. About three months ago, we were playing a wicked game of racquetball, and during a particularly tight and aggressive move, he most likely tore the tendon (or aggravated a pre-existing unknown condition). He's been trying to restart his exercise regimen since then, but every time he does, his foot flares up within a week. He has several standing appointments for ultrasounds and physical therapy. If no progress has been made, they will re-evaluate and possibly run an MRI to see the extent of the injury. -I've been doing some thinking. Much like Pooh Bear. "When you are a bear of very little brain, and you think of things, you find sometimes that a thing which seemed very thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it." Except, the thing seems as thingish inside as it does outside. I've been contemplating how to keep my two dogs entertained independently. Cosette, see, loves to retrieve. She loves to retrieve on land, in the water, while traveling, when at home. She loves to take walks, and go for hikes. Cosette is very easy to work into exercising. Trooper, on the other hand, likes to run. He likes to run to go get things, and then likes to keep running. Sometimes he will retrieve consistently until he grows bored (usually after about 15 throws). This, as you may know, is not enough to wear out a Lab. Then he just likes to go lay down, or if he's out with Cosette, to play chase with her in the yard. The problem is keeping him going. So I sat down and mulled this over, think, Pooh Bear, think, and I came up with a plan. With Cosette I will continue to use retrieving as her main mode of activity. Trooper I will take around the neighborhood so that he is able to continuously run. I don't have enough of a consistent running habit to support this endeavor, so I chose the next best thing: rollerblading. Trooper is a work of art when he runs. I plan on writing a little more about this in the future, possibly integrating it with some video, because Trooper really is beautiful when he runs. When we are on flats or downhills, I'll encourage him to "stretch it out!" (stretch implying lengthening his stride) and he'll just simply fly. I mean, he really will. It's beautiful. The dog exercise plan has worked out fairly well so far. I'm just trying to make it consistent now. It's hard to get up the motivation to go sweat in the heat some evenings, when I could just be throwing a ball around like I do with Cosette. But, with the knowledge that he's a happier and calmer puppy when Trooper has been exercised - and allowed to fully run - I'll strap on my Rollerblades and hit the streets. I bet Pooh Bear wouldn't Rollerblade.
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Here's Trooper playing in the garden last night. Such a goofball.  It's become almost a nightly routine to take the dogs out back and run 'em with retrieving exercises. It takes the edge off the day's hyper state, relaxes them for the evening, and gives them some exercise. Here are the two beauties demonstrating 'sit' for me yesterday evening. Trust me, it is a miracle to keep Trooper still after I've lost eye contact with him (by taking a photo). As soon as eye contact is lost, he goes bonkers. I'm still training him; he's got a long way to go.  I don't have a fenced backyard, so I can't enjoy the luxury of letting the dogs run loose in the backyard without supervision. I do have a backyard, and it's a nice sized one, but none of the neighbors have fenced yards so it's one big playground in my Labs' eyes. For the most part, though, they stay in the square that the county has determined belongs to me. I have a string of several posts I'm preparing from what I did this weekend, but in the interim I thought I'd share a little love from the Labradors:  This is Trooper's usual method of attack. He'll nab on to Cosette's neck and tug her around. He's never biting hard enough to hurt her, and she'll correct him if he gets too rough, but this routine of theirs is neverending. They'll stop for breaks to chew on toys or chase each other around the house, but sometimes I look at Cosette and can't help but think she looks like a wornout mother with a newborn and a set of two-year-old twins running around. She looks beat, but happy. Sometimes Trooper gets to be a little too much too often for her, and she'll go to the big wire crate we have in the office, paw open the door, climb inside, and then pull the crate door shut with her teeth. Now that's when I can tell she's done: when she puts herself in a timeout.
On our recent trip to Oklahoma for my grandfather's funeral, we decided to visit the Oklahoma City Memorial. I had visited the outside, but not the inside. I don't believe they allow pictures inside; even if they did, I think it would be disrespectful.  9:02 a.m.: The bomb inside the truck exploded, taking out more than a third of the Federal building. 9:03 a.m.: The "moment we were changed forever, and the hope that came from the horror in the moments and days following the bombing."   Above: The reflecting pool. Below: The Field of Empty Chairs. The chairs reflect the 168 lives that were lost. Each bears the name of a person. The smaller chairs represent the children that died.  Below: The Survivor Tree, an American Elm that withstood the astounding brutality of the explosion. The tree is revered and continues to thrive to this day as a representation that life does indeed go on.  To the innocent people who lost their lives, to their family, their friends, their coworkers; to the brave volunteers and rescue workers who risked life and limb in order to locate every missing person; to the courageous rescue dogs, including many Labrador retrievers who suffered burns, cut paws, and smoke inhalation, but served as tireless workers in the scope of the tragedy: I'm so, so sorry.
If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend a visit to the Memorial. For more information: Oklahoma City National Memorial "We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity." This is another friend's dog, Mars. He's a rescue and they think he has some Shepherd, some Lab, and definitely some Chow in him (check out the tongue).  This is my friend's new Great Dane. Isn't she a beauty? She's about 10 weeks old here. We came dangerously close to buying her merle sister, but talked ourselves out of it after reminding ourselves that Trooper's vet bills have cost a bundle just in his first four months. We are dying for a Dane though, and being exposed to this beautiful, calm baby, we are very certain that a Dane will be in our near future in the next few years.      Winery dogs are always essential components of a winery. If I ever open a winery, I will most definitely have a few hanging around. Here's a gigantic one with a gigantic head at a local winery:  I was thoroughly impressed with his ability to wait patiently on us while we tasted. Afterward, he was rewarded with plenty of head pets and lots of love.  This is the daily wrestle that happens once every 47 seconds. Typical Fight Session from Labradoris on Vimeo. I thought I'd start your day with some really cute puppies! These are FRICKIN' adorable! So cute I want to put them all in my mouth and gobble them up, and then carry them around in my arms all day long. | AuthorFinished the big PhD this year - I'm Dr. Labradoris! :) ArchivesNovember 2010 CategoriesAll |
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