Tag Archives: dog

animals, life

Gina Is Well

Gina is well.

We have returned from the vet and Gina was given an “all clear” on her ultrasound – liver, kidneys, bladder, gallbladder, spleen, and everything in between are all good and in fact in “excellent” condition, according to the vet who did the ultrasound. Gina is well!

She did mention that because Gina is a “big girl” (although, “quite petite for a Bernese”) the scope only reaches 10cm or 5in in depth, so could there be issues, yes.. but she said that looking at the other organs and the surrounding tissues, she says it seems that it is unlikely (at the moment) that anything is lurking beyond the range of the ultrasound scope.

She handled the procedure well – she’s a pro, having had many ultrasounds in our quest to figure out her tummy issues etc – and the vet and techs were all enamored with her, of course. Even one of the resident vet office cats came to check her out.

So, after discussion and a quick research on my phone, we have found the generic (US-based) form of the Forekor 28 that we were giving Gina in Germany, and we have started her on that. It’s also LOADS cheaper, so when (not if!) her levels drop on this, we can easily keep it up without breaking the bank – not that it would ever stop us from getting her medication, of course, we love our Ginabear to the moon and back.

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Weather out there was gloomy and dark and stormy – a good day to be inside, snuggled and warm with a nice cup of tea.

Gina concurs.

animals, life, relationships

what a difference a change makes

Amazing how something as simple as a change of route can solve so many problems.
This time, for our early afternoon walk, instead of going up toward the skate park, we headed down what would normally be our “lunch time walk” and for our lunch time walk earlier, we headed the opposite way.
It all worked out.
Had another LOVELY play around on the grass behind the buildings (this time, lower path area – lots of open space, and Odin STILL came running to me when I called)
with the squeaky ball.
All dogs off lead – had a LOVELY run around 🙂
No poopage. Pretty sure G needed to go, but she distracted herself.. plus.. i threw a spanner in the works because OH NO, we WENT THE WRONG WAY. So she was all thrown off balance and couldn’t bring herself to find a spot to poop. Also – I think she was pretty happy playing with Odin and Azzie 🙂 Which is quite sweet, really.

animals, life

What took me so long?

2 Comments

Since I started walking Azzie, I have had issues with her pulling on the lead and dragging me off in various directions randomly, leaping around. On occasion she has nearly dislocated my shoulder, bowled me over and twisted my fingers until I thought they would snap… all the while dragging Gina around by the neck as well.

I tried various things: the whole stop-and-wait method, when that didn’t work (doesn’t work when you have two dogs to deal with and one is tentative already :/) I tried the gentle pull – I didn’t want to hurt her neck. That didn’t work at all as she is so big she barely notices my weight. I tried to remain calm and to not yank on her – it’s bad for them when they are young – but I could not get through to her. So I switched to her harness, but unfortunately this just made it worse, as she is built like a tank and all her strength (like most big dogs) is in her shoulders and front legs…

I was getting to the point where I didn’t want to walk her anymore – it was just too exhausting, frustrating and annoying. I was aggravated and fuming every time we walked. This upset Gina as well, as she picks up on my mood/body language very quickly. I also didn’t want to “ruin” Azzie as a young, exuberant pup! She’s a darling, just… large and doesn’t know her own strength. She doesn’t do things to make me mad, she does it because she is still learning and testing boundaries and her breed are very slow to mature (we have years of this to look forward to :))

I had a thought, two days ago. Apparently these “easy walk” harnesses work wonders. Not too clear on the exact mechanics of them, but I know that it removes all the force/pull from their neck and shoulders, as they are basically pulling on themselves to a certain extent. Since I didn’t have one of these harnesses handy, I thought let me try make my own…

I put her normal harness on, but attached the leash to the loop on the front, on her chest.

You want instant results, then try it yourself.

I cannot even begin to explain how my dog transformed. I do not know HOW it works – I didn’t pull on her and she didn’t pull on me, at all – but it works.

Every walk we’ve had since then has been an absolute pleasure!

I can’t believe it took me so long!!

Azzie is a happy puppy – still full of bounce and puppy silliness, but no longer being hissed at, or yanked on by me – and Gina is a happy dog – her tail remains up the whole walk now, instead of slowly drooping down at her back legs as she gets more and more upset by my bad mood – and I am a SUPER HAPPY OWNER!!

easy walk harness