Saturday, May 27, is Clover’s third birthday. Already! So how is a Dog Mom supposed to celebrate our amazing birthday dog? With dog birthday party cupcakes, an exciting new present (woot!), and with another dog birthday video tribute!
Really. We got about 2 feet of snow late this week. These big storms are more common in March and April, but we have had at least some snow as late as Memorial Day. Here are a few of my fav photos from the storm.
Remember I said back in March that we did NOT think a new dog supplement was causing Clover’s weird dog blood work problems? Perhaps premature. We tested Clover’s blood again last week, nearly a month after one blood test showed improvement. The news? Her dog blood work update results look WAY off again. That puts us back to looking at a supplement as the issue since I went ahead and put her back on it when her values started to improve. Drat!
When Clover was around 7 months old, I put her on a waiting list to get into a dog agility foundations class with a trainer my experienced agility friends recommended. A full SEVEN MONTHS LATER we started taking agility classes (in mid-July 2015). That’s how hard it is to get into a good agility class anywhere close to where we live. As we approach our second anniversary of agility training and look at taking the next steps (perhaps the start of Clover’s dog agility career), I figured it was time — finally! — to write something about it. (P.S. I’m also looking for some advice on a few things, if you’re so inclined.)
April 13, 2017, marks the 10th anniversary of Champion of My Heart. No kidding. Our first blog post went live a decade ago. I’d been mulling the idea for a while, and on a bit of a whim, I tossed up the blog in a single day. So much has changed over the years. Thanks to those who’ve been along for the ride the entire time. Welcome to those who’ve joined us recently. Look how far we’ve come!! Let us know if there are new ideas or resources you’d like us to create.
We received an early morning call from Clover’s veterinarian with her latest blood work results. It’s good news.
Question: Why would you routinely do dog blood work on young and seemingly healthy dogs? Answer: Because sometimes you find things and can catch them before the medical issue gets worse. This appears to be the case with Clover. We did routine blood work at the end of February, and we’ve been on a medical mystery tour ever since. She does not seem sick at all, so that keeps our worry on simmer (not boil), but it’s still quite weird.
When a puppy gets car sick, many tell you that the puppy will outgrow it. And, you hope. Then, reality sets in. With Tori’s second birthday coming up in July, we’ve renewed our pursuit of a solution to her relentless car sickness once and for all. Below is a list of all the meds and home remedies that have failed and preview of our behavior modification strategy to try and fix canine car sickness.
Jana Rade is a dog blogger and moderator of a Dog Health Issues Group on Facebook with more than 10,000 members. She has written quick-reference guide that I highly recommend. Here is my book review Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog: How to Tell if Your Dog Is Sick and What to Do Next .
My friends tease me about keeping a financial spreadsheet for how much I spend on my dogs each year. They argue it’s better NOT to know. Funny, right? Nothing will ever compare to the nearly $31,000 we spent in 23 months trying to save Lilly’s life, but I was still surprised at the 2016 total for Clover and Tori.
