Technical difficulties, but a really nice weekend...
Yes, I know I've been text-heavy lately. The digital camera is broken. Hopefully we'll get it fixed soon, and hopefully there is not much wrong. It started acting up after I was taking pictures of Nettie playing in the snow, so Bob is suspicious that the problem is at our feet, although I don't remember it getting banged or anything. But I digress. I did get a cheap disposable and have been taking some pictures, so once that film is developed (remember that?), I'll scan them in.
Anyway, this weekend was great and I wish I had pictures. We went to our area coordinator's house on Saturday for a puppy playdate -- she has a fenced-in paddle court. It was Nettie; Europe, who is about 13 months; Kessler, who is 8 months; and Edward, a German Shepherd who is about 6 months. They all had a great time and played really nicely together. We let them romp for at least an hour. Nettie was exhausted at the end! I also had Andrew with me, as Bob was out of town, and he was pretty well-behaved too!
Nettie came along in the car and stayed in the crate while we did errands and grabbed lunch. The only glitch of the day was when she threw up in the crate -- probably just from all the running around, I think -- and of course I had only a few paper towels left. In a pinch, a poop bag will work.
Fortunately, the pet store was not far away, so we dashed over there. Andrew decided Nettie should get a small toy to make her feel better, and now that we had bought something, I had no qualms with smilingly requesting a large wad of paper towels to go, which they gladly gave.
Then, on Sunday, Nettie got a sleepover, so that we could go to NH for the night to see Bob. She went to a raiser who lives on Peaks Island, so we got a great socialization experience, of riding the ferry! I put Nettie's bandanna on, so people would not try to pet her. She jumped and pulled a lot when we first arrived at the terminal, but we were 20 minutes early, which gave us time for her to settle in.
It was relatively balmy here -- 40s -- so we rode on the upper deck outside. Nettie jumped a bit when they blew the horn, but otherwise settled in and by the end, looked like she'd been riding all her life. I was very proud of her. I think I got one excellent shot of her with the city in the distance. (Andrew was very cute -- he was very worried about her falling overboard, and constantly kept telling me to "keep her on a short leash, Mom!")
When we got to Diane's, we let her explore and check out the toys Diane had for her, then we walked down to the beach, where dogs are allowed to run off-leash. No one else was there, so it was perfect. I don't think Nettie has much water experience, and when she saw a seagull just offshore, she went flying into the water, covering about 20 feet in about six leaps. Then she came to an abrupt halt, with an amazed look on her face, in water up to her back. You could tell she was thinking, "WHAT!?! How did I get here?"
Diane said she was very good when she was there and on the ferry ride back, too.
She did give us a bit of a scare. Last weekend, when playing in the snow, she had slipped while chasing her ball and came up favoring a leg. I halted her play immediately and she seemed to walk it off in a couple minutes, and even wanted to go back and chase the ball more. I didn't think too much of it, but then on Saturday, during the play date, we thought she limped a bit toward the end. So we pulled her out of the yard and walked her around, and then it didn't seem like she was doing it any more. But Diane also thought she favored the leg a bit on Sunday night, after her beach outing.
Just to be safe, I talked to the GEB vets on Monday and got her in to our vet on Monday afternoon. (Again, a big plug for the Edgewood Animal Hospital in Gorham, ME for donating Nettie's care and Murphy's too.)
The good news is that the vet thinks that she hasn't torn anything. He does think she may have strained her leg last weekend when she fell, not badly enough that it showed up right away -- or that she doesn't want to play -- but enough that it's manifesting itself when she gets tired. She is taking an anti-inflammatory for 10 days, and we're not going to let her run off-leash or on a long line for several days. She already seems better, in that I haven't seen her favor it at all today. And actually, she already wants to run around, I can tell. This will be interesting by day 9!
Meanwhile, the stuffed squeaky pelican -- the "feel better" toy -- is getting a workout. She is at my feet honking it repeatedly. I do think it sounds more like a goose, though.
Anyway, this weekend was great and I wish I had pictures. We went to our area coordinator's house on Saturday for a puppy playdate -- she has a fenced-in paddle court. It was Nettie; Europe, who is about 13 months; Kessler, who is 8 months; and Edward, a German Shepherd who is about 6 months. They all had a great time and played really nicely together. We let them romp for at least an hour. Nettie was exhausted at the end! I also had Andrew with me, as Bob was out of town, and he was pretty well-behaved too!
Nettie came along in the car and stayed in the crate while we did errands and grabbed lunch. The only glitch of the day was when she threw up in the crate -- probably just from all the running around, I think -- and of course I had only a few paper towels left. In a pinch, a poop bag will work.
Fortunately, the pet store was not far away, so we dashed over there. Andrew decided Nettie should get a small toy to make her feel better, and now that we had bought something, I had no qualms with smilingly requesting a large wad of paper towels to go, which they gladly gave.
Then, on Sunday, Nettie got a sleepover, so that we could go to NH for the night to see Bob. She went to a raiser who lives on Peaks Island, so we got a great socialization experience, of riding the ferry! I put Nettie's bandanna on, so people would not try to pet her. She jumped and pulled a lot when we first arrived at the terminal, but we were 20 minutes early, which gave us time for her to settle in.
It was relatively balmy here -- 40s -- so we rode on the upper deck outside. Nettie jumped a bit when they blew the horn, but otherwise settled in and by the end, looked like she'd been riding all her life. I was very proud of her. I think I got one excellent shot of her with the city in the distance. (Andrew was very cute -- he was very worried about her falling overboard, and constantly kept telling me to "keep her on a short leash, Mom!")
When we got to Diane's, we let her explore and check out the toys Diane had for her, then we walked down to the beach, where dogs are allowed to run off-leash. No one else was there, so it was perfect. I don't think Nettie has much water experience, and when she saw a seagull just offshore, she went flying into the water, covering about 20 feet in about six leaps. Then she came to an abrupt halt, with an amazed look on her face, in water up to her back. You could tell she was thinking, "WHAT!?! How did I get here?"
Diane said she was very good when she was there and on the ferry ride back, too.
She did give us a bit of a scare. Last weekend, when playing in the snow, she had slipped while chasing her ball and came up favoring a leg. I halted her play immediately and she seemed to walk it off in a couple minutes, and even wanted to go back and chase the ball more. I didn't think too much of it, but then on Saturday, during the play date, we thought she limped a bit toward the end. So we pulled her out of the yard and walked her around, and then it didn't seem like she was doing it any more. But Diane also thought she favored the leg a bit on Sunday night, after her beach outing.
Just to be safe, I talked to the GEB vets on Monday and got her in to our vet on Monday afternoon. (Again, a big plug for the Edgewood Animal Hospital in Gorham, ME for donating Nettie's care and Murphy's too.)
The good news is that the vet thinks that she hasn't torn anything. He does think she may have strained her leg last weekend when she fell, not badly enough that it showed up right away -- or that she doesn't want to play -- but enough that it's manifesting itself when she gets tired. She is taking an anti-inflammatory for 10 days, and we're not going to let her run off-leash or on a long line for several days. She already seems better, in that I haven't seen her favor it at all today. And actually, she already wants to run around, I can tell. This will be interesting by day 9!
Meanwhile, the stuffed squeaky pelican -- the "feel better" toy -- is getting a workout. She is at my feet honking it repeatedly. I do think it sounds more like a goose, though.
posted by Angie at
9:30 PM
2 Comments:
Awww, feel better Nettie :) What a week for her. She's busier than I am! Sounds like a lot of fun though!
Is Kessler the pup with the black spot on him? If it is, I know his mom very well (she's Hattie of ambassador fame) and his sister, Kasha, is in our region. I saw him as a baby and he was just too cute :)
By
Sarah, At
10:20 PM
Yes, Kessler is the puppy w/ the smudge .. we joke that one of his black siblings rubbed off on him. He is a sweetie; we babysat him for a week in January before we got Nettie for good. He and Nettie have become fast friends, as they're about the same size.
By
Angie, At
7:39 AM
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