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A day in the life of Blue

The day after...

It was a long night for me - worrying about Blue. Would he sleep? Would he be scared? Would he stay nicely in the kennel they set up for him? These were all questions I thought about on my way over the vet's on Saturday morning. As the assistant let me into the examination room, I sat down and tried to compose myself. I had to be strong and act as if it was natural for him to stay overnight. That's what a good pack leader does... Blue came into the room and was very happy to see me, but not overly excited. Maybe it was my calm demeanor (I hope!). It turns out that it's all okay, the nail is clipped off - there is no bandage and no silly collar. The vet said that it would be sensative for the next couple of day, and that it would grow back as normal. Blue was EXHAUSTED on Satuday and slept for most of the day which is very unlike him. On his walk, he didn't stray too far which he usually does.

I'm glad this little episode is over, it was too much for my heart.

Over-night Stay at the Vet

Three weeks ago, after an energetic trip to the dog park, Blue came home with a split nail. It was split all the way up and the nerve was exposed. I went to the vet and she put a plastic slip cover over the nail; it was to protect the nail from catching on anything and to protect the nerve. Today, the protector came off on a walk and the nerve is exposed again. I called the vet expecting to have her put another protective slip cover on but she said the nail would not grow back normally. Blue had to be sedated, the nail cut off completely and has to stay over at the vet's tonight. An hour after I dropped him off, the vet called to say that everything went well and that he was waking up nicely from the sedative. The only thing is that it's his (and my) first night where he isn't with me, my husband or my parents. I know that it's only a nail, but I was really upset that he had to be sedated and has to stay overnight. He was abandoned once in his life that I know of and the thought of him waking up, not knowing where he is scares me. I'm going to pick him up at the vet's tomorrow morning. It's going to be a long night...

Love you Buddy!

Our Family Vacation

On the first week of vacation, we went to Old Orchard Beach. It was Blue's first visit to the ocean. He was apprehensive to go into the water at first; I think it was because of the sound of the waves. As the week went on and he came down to the beach at 5 p.m., he would play with the kids in the water. Then he started swimming. He got smacked by a couple of waves, but he was okay. Overall, Old Orchard is a good place to bring a dog on vacation because it is a relatively dog-friendly town. Dogs are allowed on the beach until 10 a.m. and then again after 5 p.m. They are not allowed on the strip from 10 a.m. until 3 a.m. which is a little excessive (I think).

The second week of vacation was spent camping in northeastern Ontario. We packed Blue and his cousin Maggie into canoes and went into the woods. The first night we has terrible weather; there was thunder and lightening all night. Thankfully, Blue is not at all afraid of thunder, but Maggie is. She spent the night shaking under her blanket (poor girl). We keep Blue tied to a long rope when we go into the woods so that we can stop him if he chases something. There were no incidents this year (thankfully!). Canoeing with dogs can be tricky at times. You have to be confident in your paddling abilities and you also have to trust that your dog will listen to you when you need him/her to do so.