As the leaves turn and the air becomes crisp we went out to play in the leaves between errands last weekend. Boris of course loved this idea since he thinks leaves are fun to eat, or carry, whichever is more convenient. We managed to convince him to eat as few as possible.
We now have “sit” and “down” completely down. They are sometimes subject to stubborn fits and testing how far down we really want to be. Boris has about 5 levels of “down” from a slight crouch to a full down. Further proof he’s gonna be very muscular. I’ve never seen a dog hold themself a fraction of an inch above the floor for as long as he does. We also know “on” very well, as I swear he’s part acrobatic monkey. He has a plain up to get on rubbermaid totes or the step stool and a flying leap to reach laps and on the couch (where he doesn’t belong). The flying leap on is matched by an equally large flying leap off and can reach to almost a yard from the couch to the takeoff/landing point. “Off” is doing marginally well. It works well if just his feet are on the couch or your leg, but less well if he’s already on the couch. He would much rather stand there and stare at you until you get the squirt bottle. He also is doing well with targeting something using “touch” as a command. We’re working on duration as he slaps his nose on and off so quick I worry he will get whiplash. I’ve been using a random round object and have tried to think of a good stand in for a target stick. Yesterday we also learned “head down” which he took to pretty quickly. Not too bad of a start before puppy kindergarten which starts in November sometime (we hope).
So last night was the last night of taking wormer and Boris couldn’t be happier. He was not impressed by the while sludge mom and dad made him drink for a week. Not to mention being held down by mom while dad squeezed it down his throat. Although there was one fun night where mom got to do it all herself. Sad thing is I think it was easier by myself. He seem much better after taking it and his poop is no longer runny anymore which makes us feel better. Hopefully they are all gone.
Alrighty so its a liiiiitle late in the month, but better late than never. I stumbled across this somewhere in my daily travels. The idea is:
Web sites will Go Pink during the month of October to bring attention to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, get people talking about breast cancer, and raise money for research.
So I have picked a nice Pink theme and am posting a nice banner to show my support. Go check out the site and show your support as well, there can never be enough.
So today the vet’s office called with the results of our poop float. Boris has hookworm. My first thought was “ew”, followed by “my poor little baby”. Tim stopped on the way home to pick up a wormer prescription to give to him the next week or so. He also changed which vet we are seeing on the next appointment. If we don’t like the other vet I’ve already decided he can see Cherokee’s vet. I will not g to a vet I don’t feel is willing to do everything they can and provides the best care I can find. Its not like we are getting a good deal there anyway.
So yesterday was Boris’s first vet visit with us. He was a hit of course. He now weighs 12.7 pounds. He got his first rabies vaccine, his 5-in-1 booster, and a microchip. He didn’t mind the vaccines, although they weren’t on his list of things he would want to do, but he really didn’t like the microchip. Not that I blame him, the needle was pretty big. He’s a sport though and happily accepted the dog biscuits they offered him and gave the vet tech kisses. I was less than happy with the vet we were assigned, she didn’t even introduce herself before starting the examination. The vet tech was very personable, but tried to tell me large breed dog food is only for dogs 100lbs and over. Mind you the Pro Plan bag I feed says for over 50 pounds and the Science Diet they sell at the vet says for over 55 pounds. Cherokee is 80ish pounds and not overweight. And Boris is obviously going to be bigger than 50ish pounds. I remember when large breed food came out, I spent a good thirty minutes talking to the pro Plan rep about whether or not my dog needed it, with my dog and we decided he definitely would benefit. We scheduled our next appointment for a follow up and another couple vaccines for the middle of next month. And thus we have fed $154 into the black hole that is vet costs.
