Beach Day Part 2

Above: Jedi loves to dig
Right: Hubby and Roxy take a stroll
Below: Group shot followed by more dogs

Three weeks ago the German Shepherd Dog Club got together for a beach day. At the time I promised to shake down my friend for pictures. It's taken longer than I had wanted but . . . voila! By the way, hundreds of gorgeous pictures were taken but I'm intentionally avoiding those where you can recognize faces. I don't like to post pictures of people without their express permission -- you never know who's in the Witness Protection Program these days. -- K

Jedi's First Easter

 

The day before Easter we took a trip to the north side. Jedi visited his mother, brothers, sister and all their human families. The humans laughed, drank wine and dyed eggs while the dogs played until they passed out. 24 hours later Jedi is still tired.

 

Today I put bunny ears on Jedi. I thought it would make a cute picture. Jedi disagreed.

 

He pouted . . .

 

 

then he flopped on the ground . . .

 

 

and when all else failed, he tried to eat the bunny ears.

 

 

These are the best pictures I could get. They are not nearly as cute as I had wanted. I think Jedi was right on this one! All in all, Jedi is not impressed with Easter. I hope you're enjoying the holiday more than he is. -- K

I'm One of "Those" People

True story: I finally joined the 21st century and bought a smart phone. I got a Samsung Galaxy S3 (and yes, it's awesome). Since both my phone and Blogspot are Google based, the phone automatically imported all the pictures from my blog. I was showing my friend (an iPhone owner -- blech) my pictures when she asked "Do you have any pictures of your kids?" AND I DIDN'T! I'm afraid I have become one of "those" people. So, I'll try to take a few pictures of the boys, but until then -- look what I can do with my phone! -- K

Top left: Jedi and Roxy chilling in the grass.

Bottom left: Jedi at the dog park.

Bottom right: Roxy on patrol -- cats and squirrels hide in fear.

Out Damned Spot

The only spot Jedi wants is the black one on his tongue.
The picture was taken at the Atlantic Beach Dog Park.

Good news! We went to the vet today to check Jedi's demodex spot. A skin scraping revealed no live mites, only skeletons. The ivermectin treatment is working! We're going to continue with the medication for another 10 days and then return for a second scraping in 30 days. When we get two negative scrapings we can consider the demodex gone. Whoopie! The vet also increased Jedi's medicine. The dosage is based on weight and Jedi is now 61 pounds -- nine pounds heavier than he was a month ago. Believe it or not, he still looks skinny!

I'm glad that Jedi is doing well. However, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed about not showing him next month. I've waited 35 years for this and I don't want to wait any longer. (I've mentioned previously that patience is not one of my strong points.) Even though we won't be running around the ring, Jedi is still going to the show next month. My Dog Club's President suggested I bring him anyway so that he can experience the atmosphere of the show. She said that the sounds, smells and excitement of a dog show can be overwhelming and this will be good practice for him. Madam President is one of the most knowledgeable dog show people I know, so if she says "You should do this . . ." I'm gonna do it! Last week we bought Jedi a bigger crate (he just keeps growing!) and plan on taking him to Elkton with us. The show is a week from tomorrow. I'm so excited! I will post details and lots of pictures.

The weather has finally cleared up! It's been cold and wet for the last week and the dogs have been cooped up too long. Jedi is bored and driving everybody crazy. Jedi and I are going to take a walk. He needs more leash training and I need less junk in the trunk, so this should be good for us both. Catch you later. -- K

Bark Box

This is just an example. Truth is, we have no idea
 what's in the box. OMG the suspense is killing me!

OK, I did it. I broke down and ordered a Bark Box. I've been wanting a Bark Box since before Jedi was born and today I finally ordered one. I will tell you all about it when it gets here.

I don't remember where I first saw Bark Boxes advertised, probably in some magazine. It looked neat, but I'm a skeptic when it comes to ordering stuff online. I've been disappointed by false advertising before! However, I signed up for the free newsletter and have been pleasantly surprised. It's full of interesting info, not just "buy our cool boxes" blurbs like I had imagined. The latest newsletter had 33 DIY Dog Toys from Things Around the House. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not crafty. (This is particularly depressing because the rest of my family is!) So when I see simple, creative ideas I can become giddy. I am sooooo going to try some of those. I think we'll start with the muffin tin puzzle.

Anyway, several months ago I saw that Penny over at Dog Paddling just loved her Bark Boxes. She had been getting Bark Boxes for six months and loved every one of them. Then I got a coupon. I'm a sucker for coupons. THEN I saw that 10% of the profits go to shelters and rescues. I'm a sucker for shelter animals. I was convinced. So now Jedi and I are (im)patiently waiting for our first Bark Box to get here. I have no idea what's inside -- it's a surprise. I'm not good with surprises. I'm not a patient person either. (So why did I order one?! Because I want one!) Thanks for sharing my lunacy enthusiasm. You can now return to your normal lives. -- K




UPDATE: Bark Box sent me the following in an email: 

Thanks so much for signing up for Bark Box, we’re so excited to have you on board! Here are a few things you might be wondering:

1. We ship out awesome Bark Boxes once per month on the 15th of each month.

2. If you signed up after the 10th of the month, your first Bark Box will arrive next month. 

I guess we're waiting another few weeks. sigh.

Long Time No See

Hi! Bet you thought I'd forgotten about you, hunh? Truth is, my computer caught a virus, and I have been without one for over a week! It's been tough. To keep busy I've cleaned the house, watched several movies (nothing worth mentioning, sorry), ordered a bunch of stuff from the Jeffers Pet catalog and spent lots of time playing with Jedi. He fetches really well now, and manages to catch the ball two out of every three times. Don't laugh, eye-mouth coordination takes practice! Speaking of practice . . . No, we haven't been practicing our loose-lead walking like we should -- and it's coming back to haunt me. At 5 months and 55 pounds, Jedi can pull pretty hard now! Guess I'd better get on that. He's only going to get bigger and stronger.

Good news: while the computer was down the brain was still working, so I'll try to get some interesting posts up soon. There are a few things brewing on the personal front too, but I don't want to share just yet. I'm afraid I'll jinx it. (Who knew I was so superstitious?) Stay tuned, there's more to come! -- K

No Show

See his bald spot? That's NOT sand.

Jedi's first dog show will not be the German Shepherd Dog Club of North Florida specialty show next month. I'm disappointed. There are several reasons: I haven't been practicing like I should, the Greater Orange Park Dog Club cancelled the fun match that was scheduled for today, and worst of all, Jedi has demodex. It's not bad, but the egg-sized bald spot is on his left side -- the side that will face the judge in the ring!

I've been doing a lot of reading on the subject. I can give you a dozen different links to medical blogs -- but I won't! What I gather is that demodex, sometimes called demodectic mange or "puppy mange," is not uncommon and is not contagious. We're treating it with ivermectin (the heart worm medicine) though many sources recommend doing nothing because most times demodex clears up on it's own. The demodectic mite is ever present in the environment and all dogs have the microscopic buggers crawling on them -- eeewww. Normally the dog's immune system keeps the mites in check and nobody's the wiser. When bald patches appear it means there's an autoimmune or antibody deficiency. Young dogs, old dogs and sick dogs are most susceptible to demodex. What's frustrating me the most is the question: does/should demodex keep me from breeding Jedi? I can't find a clear answer. Some say that the autoimmune/antibody deficiency is hereditary and I should not breed, period. Others say that demodex is common in puppies and I shouldn't worry about it unless it continues into adulthood. I don't plan on breeding Jedi soon -- if ever -- but I would like to get a definitive answer. Any thoughts? -- K