Getting Better

I've finally got the bandage off my foot! It looks kinds gross, you can see all the scars still because my fur is still growing back and I don't have a toenail and it looks all squooshily when I walk. But now I CAN walk!! Yay! It took little while to feel ok again, and I still pick my foot up now and again, but it's ok enough to go on walks with.

And it was so lucky it has healed up because the other day it SNOWED on the mountain! Real snow! I've never seen that before, so mum took me up there. We had to walk for a bit to where there was a good patch that I could investigate because it had been raining and some of it melted. But we found some and I sniffed it and snuffled it and then we walked back to the car down a really nice bush track where there were so many smells and sights I didn't know what to look at first!

AND we went to see Kylie (the lady who bred me) at a local dog show. She had a pup there in the show who was in the other litter to the one I was in (Roan). She was a couple of weeks younger than me and she was really pretty, a little bit lighter coloured than me and she has a bit more solid looking head. Except I think she didn't like me because she kept snapping at me when I went to get a pat from Kylie - we think she was jealous. She was also a bit naughty and wouldn't do as she was told in the ring! But she's only young and has so much to learn, I'm sure she will do really well one day.

There were lots of other dogs there too, there were vislas and a big wolfhound and tiny little daschunds, and greyhounds and all sorts! Someone even thought I was there to be in the show - shucks. I just wanted to play with all the doggies, but I wasn't allowed.

I hope everyone else is well!

Apmutee

Hello pup friends, I am now an amputee.
I have been having a bit of a bad run. You would all know I broke my toe a few months back, and then I broke another on the other foot about 2 months ago. Unfortunately it was broken in such a way that the blood supply couldn't get to the end of the toe bone, so the vet had to take my toe off completely! I'm now trying to heal up, and mum has to be with me 24/7 to stop me licking the bandages so they don't get wet and make the infection I got any worse -I'm now also on antibiotics. :(

So why did I break the toes? Well, the vet thought at first I must have been calcium deficient and they made mum change my diet to have more calcium, but then after looking at the X-rays they said that actually there was no sign of weak/brittle/calcium deficient bones at all. They were nice and solid and healthy looking. Mum can't figure out how I did it and I'm not telling!! But at least now I'm back on my good normal food so my fur isn't falling out like it was on that other stuff.

Anyway, after 2 months of being cooped up and not allowed to run outside or go for walks I'm feeling a bit bored and going a bit stir-crazy. So is mum. She also said she's going broke from all the vet bills cause I kept chewing off my casts and bandages , even with a bucket on my head te he. But now she's finished her uni classes for the semester and now I can't get away with anything. Not even licking it!

Until next time pup pals, I'm going to go sleep in a nice patch of sun.

I am in the wars!!

Well, my foot is healed, mostly. The cast is now off after lots and lots of to and fro-ing to the vets and I chewed most of it off anyway so it rubbed on me and made all sorts of nasty sores. I was really sad for a while, but now I'm happy again!!

I'm back to going for walks which I LOVE! No more digging giant craters! BUT the other day dad took me to a place in the country to a friend's house and I got to run around and there were all these yellow and black stripy winged things all over the place. They're called wasps apparently. Well I snapped at one and it stung me in my mouth!! Ouch ouch ouch that was soooooo sore!

My lip all swelled up and looked like I was chewing on a golf ball. Dad was really worried about for for a few hours until it was clear that it had stopped swelling up and I could still breathe.... phew! I won't be snapping at THOSE things any more!

AND I found a new dog park! It's near mum's uni and there's lots of nice doggies there and I can go off lead and run and play! There's a even a great dane pup who goes there sometimes - I haven't met him yet but mum sees him when she rides past on the way home and everyone says he's great fun! Hopefully i will meet him this weekend!!!

We've been doing lots of driving lately and I'm not so scared of it any more and I don't get sick which is HEAPS better. And I've discovered these things called wallabies! they're great! we see them on our walks in the morning and evening. They bounce away really fast I just want to chase them, but mum says no, so I just watch. Sometimes when dad takes me though, we chase them together te he.

Anyway friends, bye bye until next time!

The Vet

Long time no entry!!

Well, I went to the vet yesterday. I went to the vet LAST Tuesday too. Last Tuesday mum took me because I had a sore toe that was all swollen. I'd hit it on a rock being clumsy on the Saturday and it wasn't getting any better (though I had stopped limping), so Mum took me to the vet. They had a look and didn't think it was broken so they gave me some painkillers/anti-inflammatories and sent me home, but while she was there, mum made an appointment for me to have "the snip". Don't know what that is, but I hoped it would taste nice!

So off we went yesterday in the small car that dad just fixed. I like that car better cause I can get in easier and I don't get as sick. I was very hungry because mum hadn't given me my chicken for breakkie! She said I had to have an empty stomach. Easy for her to say. Well, then mum left me at the vet! Imagine that! But I went with the nice lady there and they made me go to sleep. Next thing I know I wake up with stitches in my bits and a cast on my leg!!

The vet called mum while I was asleep and said that he had felt my toe again because it was still swollen and asked mum how it had been. She said it was still swollen but that I was jumping around on it same as always and didn't like it being touched but would let them do so reluctantly. The vet said that it felt unstable and that it might be broken, so they did an x-ray and guess what? It was broken all the way through. Not just a little fracture, a proper break!! They couldn't understand why I wasn't complaining and limping! Mum and dad figured that since I broke it the day before their big wedding day I must have been being very very brave so as not to worry them during their wedding. I'm just one tough puppy!

So now I have to wear this big clunky cast to keep my toe still for 4 whole weeks and I can't get it wet either. So mum is staying home with me whenever she hasn't got class at Uni and I have to wear a plastic bag covered with a sock when I go outside and it's taken off when I'm inside with mum.

So now I'm just sitting in front of the heat pump (even though it's summer, we just had a cold snap and went from 25 degrees and humid, to 8 degrees and possible snow on the mountain overnight) and typing on the computer for something to do. I still run around with my cast and I'm trying to be very good and not lick my stitches... but it's hard!!!

Mmmmmmm........!

I just had to let you all know I have found the BEST thing ever.... Horse Poo! Well, it smelled so nice I just had to check it out. Mum had it sitting in the back corner of the garden to use on her vegie garden. So I went and ripped the bag open and started chewing on it.

Then I got to thinking. If it's good for vegies, it's probably good for lawn too. Now this lawn isn't looking real good - every time I find a nice lush green bit of grass to pee on, it goes all brown and dead looking. Perhaps it needs some fertilising!!

I made sure to look at the vegie garden first just to check how it all worked but it was hard to see because of all the vegies, so I sat on them and squished them out of the way, just to get a good look! Then I grabbed the bag and started distributing it evenly (well, sort of) all over the lawn!

Mum was so impressed she's decided to make a competition of who can be the best gardener and fenced off the back vegie garden section which will be her bit, and I get to garden the rest of the yard! Yipee... now, where'd I put my spade... oh wait, I've got paws, don't worry! Mum, can I borrow this leather glove? She's not paying attention, oh well, she's not using it, I'm sure she won't even notice.

Garden, here I come!

Camping

It was a long weekend this weekend for something called Australia Day, and so me and my mum and dad and 2 of mum and dad's friends went camping for a couple of days! We went to a place called Gordon where there was a dog friendly campsite. Mum and dad slept in a funny wobbly house called a tent and I slept just in the little porch type bit out the front and I liked that because I could see mum and dad just through the flyscreen all night.

I was a very good dog and even though I puked 3 times on the way, and got over excited meeting some other doggies, I really enjoyed myself. I sat next to dad near the fire and I played mostly nicely with some children camped near us. They were fun until they got bitten by some jack jumpers and ran away and didn't come back. Those nasty jack jumpers bit me a couple of times too, but dad squished them for me and killed the nest of them. Good thing I'm tough and the bites didn't bother me all that much.

And we went for a walk on the beach and there was all kinds of things to play with that were all sandy and salty and squishy and rubbery! I liked them lots. We all liked camping so much that we're going to do it again sometime soon, but first mum and dad are going to get a book of dog friendly camp sited because the one we went to wasn't all that good.

Then it was time to go home and on the way we stopped at puppy school! I went through a tunnel and did more walking on the lead and we started to learn a bit of heel - but I think that was harder for mum and dad than me, all I had to do was follow a bit of food and that's easy peasy!

Till next time!

Puppy training... again

Well this week has been very interesting. Mum and dad have been out a lot during the week. Something to do with work. I'm fine with that, but I do like my human time, so by Friday I decided to do something to make them sit up and take notice! So I started yelping and barking and scratching at the door making lots of noise. Now, I have never done this, so, as planned, dad got up and checked to see what was wrong (which was nothing) and so, hooray for me, I got to come inside. Unfortunately my victory was short lived and dad cottoned on to my game. I did try it again the next day, but mum was clever and made sure not to open the door until I was nice and quiet. I think my plan has been foiled.

I also got in real big trouble the other day because I tried to climb on the couch when mum and dad weren't looking. dad yelled at me "no, Nelson, Get DOWN" real loud so I figured he meant business. I got down and on my bed and dad said I was a good boy, but he was grumpy for a while and so I was a really really good boy, to get back in his good books. And then I was playing with daddy and accidentally bit his nose while he was play wrestling/cuddling with me. I didn't mean to, I just forgot myself and had a play snap at his nose like I do to my doggie friends, but my sharp puppy tooth got caught on his big snoz, and it hurt dad (nothing too bad, but enough for me to get in big trouble again). I know I'm not supposed to bite because mum and dad have been teaching me to be gentle, and now they're REALLY being strict on no biting.

Then today I had puppy school again and it was windy and rainy and we all got soaked through and I didn't like that at all! And to top it all off, I wasn't feeling very good and puked twice in the car on the way, eewwww! At puppy school, mum and dad did their best to shelter me with their bodies and mum got really cold and wet too, so we all looked a bit bedraggled. But the trainer lady said she could see a big improvement and mum and dad said that all that training on the lead during the week had done wonders! I knew I was a good boy! Mum and dad even asked the trainer about my biting habit and she told them to do exactly what they have been doing, so I guess mum and dad are doing the right things and it's just up to me to learn. I hope I learn really quickly because I don't want to hurt anyone by mistake and have people think I am a bad dog :( !

Anyway pup friends, I think I have to go now and have a sleep. It has been a loooonnggg day!

Puppy School: Day 2

Well today was really windy and a bit rainy, but even so, we still had to go to puppy school. I was really good to start with and did my shake trick that I learned for homework, but then I got a bit cranky and tired and just wanted to play with the other dogs and was pulling really hard on the lead and not listening to mum.

Mum said she was very embarrassed and the trainer lady had to keep telling her what to do. I always did it right when the trainer lady asked me to... hey, she's the teacher!... but maybe not so much when mum asked (he he he). We learned how to drop from standing up and learned to touch mum's hand with my nose! Mum's also teaching me to roll over. We tried to learn how to get me to walk nice on a lead, which I usually do really well, but not that day. It took me ages to work out that when mum stopped if I was pulling, that I had to go back to stop the lead choking me and so she would tell me I was a good boy.

Then when I got home I fell asleep and slept for hours and hours so mum figures I must have been over tired which is why I was playing up. But really it's just cause mum was sooooooo embarrassing in front of all my doggie friends!

Christmas

Well, what an interesting few weeks!!!

First, my mum's family came to visit for a thing called 'Christmas'. I liked that because my mum's sister played with me lots and her mum and dad played with me lots too. They ate a big meal out in the shed but I didn't have any. Then we opened presents and I got three! I loved it lots and lots and I think I'm very spoiled.

Then after Christmas we went on a long car drive. I didn't like it much to start with and I had a WEE accident because my mum and dad didn't notice I was BUSTING to go because it was sooner than they expected. But then I settled down and had mum's sister in the back seat to keep me company and I slept most of the time. On the way we met a few dogies including Ralph, my dad's sister's border collie, and Austin, my dad's friend's doberman puppy. Then I got to stay at a place that had another doggie and she's now my friend! her name is Holly and she's a german shepherd x border collie and BOY does she like to play! I was pooped just watching her! I was a bit scared at first but dad sat with me until I was feeling more comfortable and then I chased Holly and played with her.

Then mum and dad went away to Cradle Mountain and I stayed with Holly because Cradle Mountain is a National Park and no doggies are allowed. I cried so hard dad thought he heard me from all that way away! But I think that was just because he and mum missed me so much they made it up in their heads. Actually I got on quite well once Holly's mum and dad put me in with Holly at nights.

Then came the drive home and BOY was it hot. Going through Perth near Launceston it was 40 degrees C outside and mum and dad and me were so hot we stopped at the river and had a dip. I'm not so keen on water, but it was nice feeling cooler!

Then a few days later, Holly came down to visit ME for a few days! We ran around and played and I got ever so tired. I went to the vet for a nasty needle and was very good and the vet loved me because he has RR's just like me!! And it got hot again. Really hot. Another 40 degree day again and so mum and dad bought a little kiddie pool and filled it up and spent the afternoon sitting in it watching 'cricket' and drinking beer our of an ice cold fridge. Dad even got me in the pool and I wasn't really happy, but I had to admit, the water was nice and cool - as long as I could sit on dad's lap in it.

And I went to puppy school and mum said I was the best dog there. I walked on the lead really well, and came and sat really well and didn't hardly jump on anyone... well except for my real proper litter sister who we met there!! It was so good to see her and we jumped all over each other just like old times!

Then today Holly went home, and mum went back to work. So I can finally take a bit of a break from my hectic hollidays!!

Poor mum

well, the last couple of days have been strange. On Thursday, the day started ok. Dad put up some chicken wire around the front gardens. I don't know why - I was enjoying chewing on those plants!!! Then mum and dad went away and mum came back later and was all sore and stiff and tired.

The next morning I tried to jump up to say hello to mum cause I could see she was not feeling good, but she yelped and cried and dad yelled at me really loud. I was very sorry and it turned out that mum had 'surgery' on her belly to take out her gall bladder and I put my paw on one of the cuts. She's been walking around all stiff and sore and can't play with me for the last few days, but now she's feeling a bit better and can pat me a little. I've been a very good boy and try not to get in her way at all.

Now I know all about my new home and I do my rounds of the yard every day. I have to be sure there's no bad guys around while mum's ill!