Friday, September 21, 2007

Vacillating Between Independence and Neediness

Bailey is too smart for his own good. And mine at times! Last night, I took him out to the yard to walk around 9:00. He went into the yard, pottied, and was ready to go back inside. His mommy had other plans. I put his leash back on him and tugged him to the left to start our walk. The first lap he walked right beside me. He started the second lap very reluctantly and, after only 20 feet or so, stopped and refused to go any farther, regardless of my tugging. I took his leash off and started walking without him. He only let me get a few steps ahead of him before he ran to catch up with me and walked the next few laps right next to me, just as he would if he were still on the leash. Silly boy.

He has been doing that lately, refusing to walk on the leash after a couple of laps, preferring to walk on his own, but right beside me. Usually, as we finish a lap and turn the corner of the L-shaped fence and head toward the gate, he goes to the gate to see if I will let him go inside. When I keep walking, he runs to catch up with me and walk the next lap. Last night, though, rather than walking to the gate, he stopped at the corner (about 30 feet from the gate), watched me walk about half a lap, and then as soon as I got to the storage building, ran at full speed across the yard and fell into step beside me as we headed up the hill in the far corner. He did this for 6 or 7 laps, and it was so cute! Of course he had to listen to taunts of, "Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater!" but at least he caught up in time to go up the hill with me because it is quite steep and really works the muscles in his legs... and mine! And besides, he is a cheater, and he does love to eat some pumpkin!

He walked for about 35 minutes last night, so if you subtract the time he was watching from the fence corner as mommy walked, he probably got in 20 - 25 minutes.

The funny thing is, as much as he wants to be independent outside, he still continues to be needy and demanding while inside. His indignant bark whenever dinnertime is not coming quickly enough after meds, or when he wants attention, or when he wants cold water, or when he wants treats continues. He is the worst when I get home from work. I immediately give him his DM meds, wait 15-30 minutes and give him his bromelain and curcumin, and then wait 30 minutes before feeding him because the meds should be given on an empty stomach. Bailey does not agree. Or he at least thinks that the meds should be quickly chased by some treats. He is obsessed with his treats right now. He eats half his dinner and then yells for treats. Last night, after my telling him 15 times that he had to finish his dinner before he got any treats, he finally listened. And yes, he got 2 treats as soon as he finished eating.

I think the boy is trying to make me old before my time.

Here's a nice little link I found when trying to decide between lie vs. lay and farther vs. further!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Every Day Is Different

Bailey was doing much better last week, walking pretty well and holding his rear end up and standing tall. Over the weekend, his left leg was really weak and he had a lot of trouble walking. Thankfully, he was (and is) still in a good mood and played and spent some time outside exploring and enjoying the sunshine, even though it was incredibly hot. He seems to be doing a little better yesterday and today. He walked six laps around the yard last night and two laps this morning, sometimes going so fast that I had to jog to keep up with him.

I have ordered a second pair of booties for him, hoping that this kind will work better than the first ones I bought for him. They will be here today, just in time for him to wear them to the vet tomorrow. He goes in for a checkup and I hope the booties will keep him from sliding all over the slick floors at the clinic. He was not able to walk in the first pair because they were too heavy or too stiff (though they were absolutely adorable on him), but maybe the new ones will work for him.

He has definitely become more needy/demanding. Last night around 11:00, he decided I needed to be in the same room as him. If I left the room, he barked indignantly, just once, every few minutes until I came back. I spent a lot of time petting him and loving on him, but he was fine with me loading the dishwasher, as I long as I stayed in his sight. He also barks from wherever he is resting when he needs to go outside or thinks it's dinner time. I always tell him how regal he looks and call him my little prince. I guess it has finally gone to his head . . . :o)

(I have added some links on the right side - one to Tiger's story and another to the AKC videos on DM.)