Morning Sickness

Abigail is not having any fun lately. She is usually a fun loving dog full of life having fun with all. Now it's a chore to get her to eat.

About three weeks into the pregnancy, some may experience a little nausea and appetite loss similar to morning sickness. It usually resolves itself in a week. Abigail is on day 6 of this marvelous - oh my gad you want me to smell that food.

Wasabi is getting a round tummy but no morning sickness. She was one of the lucky ones that didn't get it her last pregnancy. This pregnancy stuff is always a guessing game till the ultrasound or you wait till later when it is obvious.

On the 8th we go in for a ultrasound for Abigail and Wasabi. Just because you assume you have a pregnancy - well you need to get a confirmation and we do with an ultrasound. Not everyone has the lack of patience we do. Some do not do ultrasounds but we do so we know if we should increase food intake or not. Then we get an x-ray the very last week to see for sure how many. Thankfully this whole waiting from beginning to end is 63 days. Can you imagine if it was 9 months?

So the wait is driving us crazy...and you?

The Silliness of Dogs

Terra is our resident big dawg that loves - no adores the Havanese. She teaches them all sorts of funny games with the snow. Here she is trying to catch snowflakes and Treasure is wondering what planet she is on. hehehehe

Thanks to Terra the gang has learned how to flick snow back and forth with their snouts as if they are having a snowball fight doggie style.

The Havanese have taught Terra how to outrun her by quick, short turns and they all seem to relish a snow angel game or two by rolling in snow and spreading their limbs out.

See, there are so many snow games that dogs play if you simply pay attention. If you do, you will laugh and laugh.

They are such a creative lot and they do believe in fun. We all need to embrace fun!

Tonight we have a golden coming to visit till Sunday morning. It will be the first time Terra has a visitor her size that has come to stay for a day or two. It will also be a first for the Havanese - a big dawg convention of sorts. How fun!

Oh my Gad is it Cold!

Well, there is no rest for the weary. We were going to crawl into bed to take a nap and Nathan kept talking to me about a project that I should be working on and there goes the nap for me. It's not likely that I could close my eyes after that!

So, he got to snuggle with the dawgs and I got up to try to figure out this project.

I think he wanted the dawgs to himself. tsk tsk

Nathan read this over my shoulders and confirmed this was EXACTLY true - yep he wanted the dawgs to himself!

You think I can convince him to start a fire? It's soooooooooooooo cold here in Toronto. I mean downright chilly that I am sitting with socks and a sweater on and still feeling chilly.

Check the temperature before going out. In winter, as in summer, the temperature can feel worse than what the thermometer reads. Check the temperature and the wind chill factor to keep your dog from getting a chill.

We took the dawgs for a walk today and I swore my face was going to freeze off. Can you imagine how the dawgs felt but we had them in sweaters and coats and we paid attention to their feet and body language. I think the wind chill alert set in after we got back. It surely felt cold on the walks but not as much as when we went out back an hour later.

Can we have a fire around here?

Then we have friends sitting in Florida telling us it might rain this weekend - oh poor things...we feel so very bad.

Use double layers of clothes on your dawgs during cold alerts. It is warmer than single layering and pay attention to them. Short walks is better than no walks but we believe that walks are therapy for the minds so we do them despite freezing our ahems off but we use intelligence when doing so in extreme weather and may even miss a day or two if the weather warrants it but that's due to the dawgs not us being...busy or lazy or cold... or... well you get the point!

Dirty Paws

All the dawgs went for a walk and our lovely cement walkways have that wonderful dirt and salt all over them.

Every so often I had to clean out between their pads so they could go a little further.

It used to be only the main streets were dirt strewn but now even ours is. We thought after the dusting that we would have a blanket of snow for a small window but we didn't. I think with less snow this year, they are keeping extra busy salting and sanding. I hate it. The dawgs hate it too.

So we came back and the crew ran around like banshees enjoying the salt free/dirt free environment. You can't win. Then we will complain about the rain. :-)

I rinsed feet and then just let them air dry then did afternoon grooming vs. morning.

Well, Abigail is feeling queasy these days so we are trying to feed her small meals throughout. If she is pregnant (she's showing signs she is) then this would be morning sickness. She has no fever - no other ailments. Our usual play monkey is playing much less. I miss the fun Abigail. Wasabi didn't have to deal with morning sickness last time so we await the ultrasound in February. Wasabi tends to always be more laid back unless she has puppies and then she plays up a storm with them. Life is a bunch of wait and sees, isn't it!

How are you dealing with salt and dirt or are you?

Big Dogs Count Too

We made the trek into Colborne to take Terra in for her 2nd cruciate operation. She had been limping and we were concerned. Did she blow out her other knee totally? Was it this or that?

Terra is a very important equation (excellent socialization) in boarding, puppies and part of the pack. She is a gentle soul who plays with abandonment. She has bad hips. Her other cruciate gave out and we were told by the time her first leg was healed, the next one had to get done.

But all we are seeing is arthritis. That can be managed with pain relieving meds. So, she can't run on ice or we have to manage the off the deck romp when it is slippery and we need to continue to walk her 3 times a day to continue to build up the muscles but we are on a wait and see and must swim all spring/summer/fall.

We have a very honest vet. We were also told her hair is in excellent condition thanks to wild salmon oil and Missing Link. We are seeing a difference with all with the addition of wild salmon oil.

Do Havanese also have cruciate issues? Not many but they can and do. If you do a search in google, you will find stories.

What is the Cause?

Not all cruciate ligament injuries in dogs are due to degeneration of the ligaments, that is just the most common cause in dogs. Traumatic injuries can occur in dogs just like in humans and are probably more common in very active, athletic dogs.

Does this mean you should never allow your dawg to do agility or a sports related activity? No. I truly believe that a dawg needs to enjoy his passion but your dawg is yours so the decision is yours, not mine. Enjoyment of life has to be a factor.

Does it mean that you should keep your dawg lean vs. fat? YES! Extra weight can be an issue with the entire knee area from the patella to the cruciate ligaments.

We have never had an issue with our Havanese despite their activity. They have a huge passion for running, playing etc. I wouldn't have it any other way.

But today..I am glad our Terra - our resident big dawg socializer to boarders and puppies is going to be able to play with puppies.

Crazy Dawg Play

Rocky's fave gal is Abigail.

Each dawg that comes to visit tends to like Abigail.

I think it's that balanced thing she has going on making sure everyone counts.

She played a bit with him as he was following her around till she did.

But Abigail we believe is preggie so she is sleeping more than playing.

She's not herself but she likes Rocky and when she was up to it, she danced and played then slept. heh

So, when Abigail was snoozing, Treasure and Fiona enjoyed the play.

As you can see, they all got tuckered out running and jumping - tongues hanging out in a real fun play.

I wish I had more photos but they play a mad rush from one room to the next and back on the couch and off the couch and off and running they went. It was fun to watch.

Rocky really had fun and our crew did as well.

The trick today was keeping Rocky dry and clean before his mom came to get him. Now that was interesting but I think we succeeded.

The snow is melting. It's raining and the grass area is wet and muddy. All I can say is arrgh how many feet have you washed today? hahahaha

We are going to miss Rocky. He is a wonderful kisser. He's in love with Abigail but thinks Fiona and Treasure is fun.

Visitors...nothing like them.

Terra goes in for her operation tomorrow.

We have a lull of no visitors and we will be dealing with Nathan's aching back from picking up a 70lb golden all so she can sleep where she does each night - upstairs in our bedroom. Ah..the things we do for love. :-)

The Grooming Dance

The dance between when to clean and pickup can always be interesting.

We don't use crates unless owners ask us to. We respect what they want but unless requested, they have free reign, inside and outside though we are always there. I want to know things about bowels. I want to pick up. I want to take photos and I just believe in always supervising the crew just like we did our kids.

The Coco Beans and the Zack will be going home today. They will be sorely missed but we will see them soon.

It's supposed to rain today so it may get interesting keeping them clean.

They are freshly bathed and I intend on keeping them that way till their humans come to get them. It's why I ask what time they are being picked up. I usually do it just before to keep them fresh but in this instance, it was impossible. Nathan is out for a class and I will not bathe without the kid being up or Nathan being here.

One has to stay focused on the bathing dog(s) and that means the rest could get into trouble and we actively avoid trouble. :-)

I do manage to brush and comb out daily but I do it in the main room so I can watch.

So, we do a dance of keeping them clean. It's much work with the state of things outside and rain coming. But maybe the rain will stay away till later, I much prefer white wet snow. hehehe

Soon Rocky will be here. Val's TT is here till this afternoon and Monday evening we will be back to our own just in time for Terra's operation.