Class Withdrawal

Our most recent obedience classes ended a few weeks ago, and Jade is SOOOO BORED and depressed. Poor guy. We've been taking him out a lot and over to Patrick's to play with Ruby, but it's just not the same as class. It's great timing that we're moving into our apartment this weekend so we'll be able to go for lots of walks every day. He'll be a happy pup. Our next session (rally obedience!) starts up in two weeks, so I'm super excited for that!

Here are some photos from the other day. My mom and Kat came out to move some more stuff to the new house (Jade and I have been staying here until we move into the new apartment), and when they left, Jade wanted to go with them really badly. He scooted out the door and hopped right up into the driver's seat next to my sister, haha.

(PS. I know the coloring of these photos is weird.)

Despite the worried look on his face in the photo to the right (I know, he always looks worried), Jade (and I!) had fun today! Early this morning, our house was being shown so we brought him over to Patrick's parents' house with us around 9:30am. We made the very short walk to the playground at the nearby elementary school where we ran around and rolled in the grass. There were a bunch of little kids on the playground (it's a very cute park-like neighborhood), and they all came over and loved Jade up. I call him "The Love Sponge" because that's seriously what he is. He just soaks it up! :)

After our time in the schoolyard, we walked back to Patrick's where we layed in the grass some more while Patrick mowed the lawn for his mom, and then we went for a ride and came home.

Jade is so funny when we're in town because all the sights and sounds are so new to him, even though he has been visiting Patrick's house for five years now. He's always completely alert and has a difficult time relaxing.

Our new apartment is a block from the lake in Oswego (HUGE with two bedrooms, hardwoods, dining room and front porch! super cute!), and we have a gorgeous lakeside park (Breitbeck Park) on the North side of us, and we have the beautiful West Park on the South side of us! I can't WAIT to take him for lots of walks every day. It should help him become a lot more comfortable in the city. :)

Jade is officially a Canine Good Citizen! :)

Jade passed his CGC test last night! For those who do not know, CGC stands for Canine Good Citizen, which is a program run by the American Kennel Club promoting good manners, etc in dogs. It's a really fun program, and it's so great for dogs and their people to accomplish it together, so you should definitely check it out!

http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/index.cfm

Not only did Jade pass, but our whole class passed!

Congratulations to Liz and Blue, Kit and Cinder and Lynda and Dottie! :) :)

Granted, there were only four of us, but still! It was really exciting! We are all so proud of each other and our dogs. It's very rewarding. After we had all tested and passed, we had a little party. The doggies played and bounced around and had fun. Linda (our amazingly awesome and sweet trainer) had brought some yummy cookies for us and some tasty treats for the doggies. She also surprised each pup with their own new big stuffed animal squeaky toy! I never buy stuffed animals for Jade because he tears them to shreds within a few minutes (he only has bones and hard rubber toys that last a long time), but last night when we got home, Patrick and I tried to help him understand that it's fun to just chew on the toy and squeak it rather then "killing it." He learned so quickly, and he has been carrying it around like his own little baby doll ever since. It's so cute. He brought it to bed last night and even brought it in the car with us this afternoon when we went for a ride, hehe. He's so cute.

Linda, thank you so much for the wonderful toy. Jade is so attached to it already! :)

Toby and Jade

Here are my wicked cute puppies enjoying the breeze and cool air after the rain this afternoon. :)

Classes and Digestive Discomfort

Last week was our last agility class of the session. Jade finally did the dog walks all on his own for the first time all session! He did it, like, four times, too! I was so proud of him.

Last week was also the start of our new session of obedience classes, and I love it even more than before because our class is so small! There are just three of us and Linda, and it's awesome. I never thought about how much I would enjoy a small class, but it is FABULOUS. :)

While on the topic of obedience class...

Monday (as in, two days ago), Jade would NOT sit during class. That is very unlike him, and I actually had to get very stern in my voice in order to get him to sit. Patrick and I had noticed on our way to class that he was being funny in the Jeep - he just would not sit still or get comfortable. As soon as we got home from class, though, he ran right into the back yard and pooped! Poor pup! Here I was making him sit in class when all he wanted to do was poop - I bet he was so uncomfortable! :(

Jade's Eyes and Ears

Sorry I forgot to update you all on Jade's little eye emergency we had last weekend!

Thursday, we had our emergency follow-up exam, and we received a clean diagnosis! There was no sign of scratching or ulcers or anything, and his eye had completely come back out to where it normally is. Yay! No more NSAIDs, either. He's all good, thank goodness!

His ears are also doing REALLY well. We're finally kicking the butts of those nasty yeast infections. His left ear is almost completely cleared up, and his right ear is 100 times better than it was - just a little bit gunky. We are just finishing up a bottle of the Mometamax, and then we'll be on to our last bottle. He gets 8 drops in his right ear every day, and 8 drops in his left ear every other day. That seems to be working really well for him as he is not tilting or shaking his head or scratching at his ears at all anymore! The only times he shakes is after I put the drops in his ears and massage the fluid into them.

So, yeah, he's a happy, healthy puppy!

I kind of have a feeling, though, that if we can't kick the ear infection by the time we're done with our next bottle of Mometamax (which will last about a month) that they may have become chronic. Hmm.

Stone Quarry Hill Art Park

Sunday morning, my mom, Patrick and I took Jade for a ride down to the amazingly beautiful Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in Cazenovia. We had such a nice time, and Jade was able to enjoy a large part of our visit off-leash! :)

To view more photos from our little outing, visit my blog!

My handsome boys

Jade kept retreating to this shady spot in the field.

A very large piece of art that actually moved very subtly with the wind! So neat. You have to see it in person.

Here, we are sitting on a piece of artwork called "Nature's Ear".

Appointment and Agility

Jade and Bruiser were doing a pretty good job of keeping cool yesterday - sprawled out right under the ceiling fan. ;)

I just scheduled Jade's eye check-up.

We can't get in Tuesday or Wednesday like Dr. Kulow at the emergency clinic suggested, but we are scheduled for Thursday at 5pm, so I imagine Jade will be fine until then, haha. His eye is a teeny bit watery, but that's it! If you didn't know he had been hit in the eye with a toy, you'd never know there was anything wrong with him at all!

He's such a trooper.

It works out well that we don't have agility this week. If we did, I think we would probably not be going because I just don't want him out and about, taking a greater chance of hitting his eye or getting foreign objects in it. By the time class rolls around next week, I'm sure he'll be as good as new! :)

Patrick and I are going to an agility trial in Cato on Sunday! I'm planning on taking pictures, and we're going to bring Jade, too! The experience will be good for him. My friend, Jovi, will be there with her Beagle, and Linda will be there, too, with her Shelties! The weather is supposed to be beautiful this weekend, too. Fun! :)

Quick update on Jade...

I've been at my dad's house since around 2pm, but my mom has been here all day with Jade to make sure he didn't have any adverse reactions (excessive thirst, upset stomach...) to the anti-inflammatory medication. He's been perfectly fine. :)

I got home around 8:30...

I can tell his right eye is still sore because he's sucking it back a wee little bit, but it's noticeably further out than it was last night and this morning. Nice and bright and open, too. No third eyelid visible at all.

I feel like I should be giving him something else, but I've done all I can until tomorrow around 11am when I give him his next dose of the anti-inflammatory.

Tomorrow morning, I also have to make the appointment for his follow-up with our vet.

Jade's Eye

Jade's eye is already doing so much better. I'm so thankful!

I purposely slept really late this morning (except I was awake the whole time just lying there) so he'd rest his eye for a long time...

I don't mean for this to sound the wrong way, but I wish I had taken a picture of it so you guys could have seen what it looked like last night. His right eye was noticeably sucked back into his head, which TERRIFIED me until the doctor at the emergency clinic said that dogs do it on purpose when their eye is in pain. I had honestly thought that, maybe, his eye had been hit so hard that it literally got pushed back! (Stupid, I know...) Also, his third eyelid was completely protruding over his right eye which was tightly squinted, and it was partially covering his left eye, too, though it wasn't as bad. It made me so sad to see, though, and just gave me a really weird feeling. My poor puppy. :( :(

This morning, both eyes are open and beautiful, even though his right eye is still sucked back a little bit.

I just gave him his NSAID, and he is full of it this morning, haha. He's been teasing the kitties, and right now he's mumbling at me for the last portion of his food.