Where is everyone?

As dog-owners who don’t have a backyard, we’re grateful to live in a city with a lot of great off-leash parks. We’ve got beaches, forest trails, rivers, and mountains. Unfortunately, we don’t have any fenced parks and we don’t have a dog with reliable recall.

There is a park with a small dog enclosure in Burnaby and we’d planned to go there months ago. But then Ruby had luxating patella surgery and had activity restrictions for eight weeks and then the weather didn’t cooperate when we had days off work. Finally, last weekend, the rain stopped for a few hours so we grabbed the ball and headed to the park.

Problem 1 – it was muddy.

So much mud

So very muddy. The dog was caked with mud, my shoes were ruined, my pants were filthy, and I somehow ended up with mud in my hair.

Problem 2  - no dogs.

Helloooo?

After all the waiting, we finally get to the park and there are no other dogs there. No dogs, people, squirrels, or even birds. It was the loneliest park I’d ever seen.

Despite the mud and the lack of companions, we managed to have fun. Ruby fetched the ball for a while, then decided a stick was more fun.

Next time we’ll wait until the park has had some time to dry after the rain and we’ll bring towels and wipes, and maybe a change of pants, just in case.  If only we had some spare dogs to bring along, too.

Weekend fun

After being cooped up at home for eight weeks, we took Ruby to Langley to run around with the critters at Michael’s parents’ house and burn through some of her seemingly endless energy. Whenever we go there I end up feeling guilty about Ruby not having a backyard to play in every day. Don’t feel too sorry for her–we try to make up for that with lots of walks, trips to the park, and daycare, but I still think she’d be happier running in circles in her own yard all day.

Ruby and Ben

These two can chase each other for hours. Ben is bigger, but Ruby is quicker and much more nimble.

Horseplay

This horse tried to play with Ruby and Ben, but ended up scaring Ruby away. I was glad to see she’s not quite as fearless as I’d thought.

Dog-walker’s report card

The walk with the pug went well, and so did the walk with the pug and the yorkie, but our dog-walker doesn’t think Ruby will be manageable on the Monday and Tuesday walks with the larger group of dogs. It’s disappointing, but I understand and agree. Ruby’s leash manners aren’t good yet and I absolutely want our dog-walker to be in control of all of the dogs in the group. So, for now, she’ll have private walks on M, T and walk with one or two other dogs on W, Th, F.

We’ll continue the leash training and, when she’s ready, she’ll join the big group. I need to remember that, mentally, she’s still a puppy and it’s not fair to compare her to older dogs. Someday Ruby will be the well-behaved dog on the block and some other frustrated puppy owner will be looking at us and wishing her dog was so easy to walk.

An update and a complaint

It seems like nothing much has been happening in Rubyland, but when I think back over the past six weeks or so, there have been some notable events.

• Ruby turned one-year-old earlier this month. We resisted getting a bone-shaped cake but did use the occassion to buy a few things we’d been considering for a while–a custom collar from Paco Collars, a tag from Fetching Tags, and a drawing by Lili Chin. I’m finding so many great dog products at small businesses and on etsy. They’re typically a bit pricey, but the quality is usually great and I’d rather support them than Pet* stores. If only I could find more locally made, or at least Canadian, products.

• She had an appointment with the surgeon last week and, eight weeks after surgery on both hind legs, she’s recovering well. She no longer has any exercise restrictions beyond those that are recommended for any brachycephalic dog. Just one more cartrophen injection next month, and she’ll be done with surgical follow-up.

• Yesterday Ruby went on her very first group walk. We’re transitioning her from private to group walks because she’ll get more social time, group walks are longer, and she’ll get out of the neighbourhood more often. As a benefit for the humans, switching to group walks will save us about $40/week.

Since deciding to put her in group walks, we’ve been working hard to improve Ruby’s leash manners. Pulling and jumping are her worst habits and can turn a pleasant walk into a miserable outing. To stop pulling, we’re using the start/stop method, assisted by lots of treats, and I think we’re making slow but steady progress. She still pulls a lot during the first few minutes of the walk, but settles down after she’s satisfied that she’s sniffed everything in the immediate area. To stop the jumping up, we’re having her sit while people walk by.

And while I’m on the subject, I’ll gripe about people who not only allow, but encourage her to jump up to greet them. It should be clear when I’m holding back my dog, and telling her to sit, that I don’t want her jumping up. Saying “oh, that’s ok. I don’t mind,” and then reaching down and giving her positive attention for misbehaving, makes training harder than it needs to be. Please, people, take cues from dog owners who are trying to do the right thing. Not all dogs are well-trained yet, not all are friendly with strangers, not all are friendly with kids. If in doubt, just walk by and ignore the dog.

Birthday presents

jump around

We’re now two weeks past surgery and recovery seems to be going as expected. Stitches were removed last Saturday and she goes back to the vet tomorrow for her third cartrophen injection. She hasn’t taken any medication in five days and doesn’t seem to be in pain.

Yesterday Ruby went for her first post-op walk outside. She’s allowed to go for 10-15 minute walks 2-3 times a day this week, but I thought just the one walk would be best on the first day. The weather has been unusually warm and dry lately and I’ve been missing taking her for walks around the neighbourhood and the park, but I don’t want let make her overdo it just because I’m eager to get back to our old routine.

She’s using the right leg well and sometimes putting equal weight on the left. When I got home from work yesterday she was walking very well–almost without any limp at all–but later in the evening I noticed she was holding the left off the floor for long periods. Recovery isn’t as linear as I’d expected, but each day is better than the last.

Jumping on and off the couch and bed is not allowed, but she moves much more quickly than either of the humans and she’s managed to jump off a few times. At least with jumping off the couch, it’s her front legs that take the brunt of the force and then she puts her hind legs down gently. She hasn’t tried jumping up yet, but she has put her front paws up on the bed, so I think she’s getting close. Seeing her get back to her old self is great, but the better she feels, the harder it is to keep her calm.

Progress

It’s been five days since Ruby’s surgery and she’s made huge progress in the past 24 hours. I was starting to get worried because for the first few days she mostly slept on the couch, refused water (though her appetite was good), refused all chew toys, wasn’t putting her left foot on the floor at all, and didn’t poop. But since yesterday morning, she’s pooped, drank some water, started walking without the belly sling and using all four legs, and spent some time with her nylabone.

She’s made so much progress, so quickly, that I didn’t realize how much more closely I had to watch her until she jumped off the couch this morning. She’s not allowed to run or jump for eight weeks, so jumping off the couch less than a week after surgery doesn’t bode well for our ability to follow the rules.

In addition to her physical progress, she suddenly seems more alert and interested in what’s going on around her. Her energy is up, which is a mixed blessing. It’s great to see her getting back to normal, but she’s got no outlet for that energy, which means she was up at 3:30am, wanting to be entertained.

She doesn’t appear to be in much pain anymore, so we’re reducing her percocet from every eight hours to every 12 hours starting today. If that turns out to be too long between doses, we’ll try every 10 hours. We have enough for two weeks but I doubt she’ll need them for that long.

convalescence – day 1

Michael fetched Ruby from the hospital yesterday afternoon. She came home with a sling we have to use to support her hind end, and several pages of post-op instructions. Instructions about medication (percocet, cartrophen injections, and an antibiotic), cold packs, warm packs, range of motion exercises, massage, activity restrictions, and removing the stitches. It’s a lot of information and I’m worried about screwing it up and derailing her recovery, but we’ll do our best.

Last night was sort of awful. She was fine, but I think I underestimated how hard it was going to be for us. Ruby was having trouble getting comfortable and I was afraid to help her because I was certain that I’d cause her more pain. She can’t let us know when she has to use the bathroom, so we have to pick her up every hour or so and take her to her training pad, causing more discomfort. She’s refused water since she got home but is eating well. Peed 3 times (and, wow, that was interesting–she can’t squat so it just shoots straight out beind her). No poop yet. She’s putting some weight on her right leg but none on her left.

When we put her in the crate at bedtime, she just sat there, looking sad. She didn’t seem to know how to get from sitting to lying down. Michael ended up lying on the floor, half in the crate, trying to help her without hurting her. I don’t know if that’s what we should be doing or if we should leave her to figure it out on her own. If she get’s tired enough, she’ll lie down, right? I’m incapable of seeing her unhappy without helping her. Can’t do it.

So, day 1 at home post-op was ok but hard and I’m glad it’s over.