My Monthly for March

This month didn't start off too well. My tummy problems continued and I started pooping in the house about every 4 days. I'd be fine for 4 or 5 days and then I'd feel sick and poop in the house. Then I'd feel find for 4 or 5 days again then poop. Mommy noticed that I was starting to lose weight too. You could see my hips and spine when you looked at me. So, she called the vet and told her what was happening and the vet said that she thought my good bacteria and yeast in my gut was all out of whack because of A. the ulcer and all the antibiotics I had had to take for it, B. The emotional stress of going to the vet for my checkup, and C. The physical stress of having had my shots at that checkup. She told Mommy to buy me some Forco powder (actually called Forco Dietary Supplement) and give it to me as the package instructed. Mommy bought it and when she opened it up she was kind of surprised by it. She says it looks and smells like what you'd end up with in the final sweeping of a barn.

The first time she gave it to me I sniffed it and refused to eat it or any of the food. She had to put yogurt in my food to get me to eat it. Then the next time she gave it to me I ate all the kibbles around the powder and then bumped the bowl to make more of the powder fall off the kibbles and then ate them. Mommy had to mix yogurt with the powder to get me to eat it. The third time she gave it to me I decided I LIKED the way that barns tasted and I gobbled everything up. The powder has worked too. I only pooped in the house once in the past three weeks (keep reading to find out why) and I'm even off Pepcid now. I do still have tummy aches sometimes and the vet said I now I get to eat oatmeal and yogurt instead of rice and yogurt when that happens so I'm happy about that. I like oatmeal unlike rice which is NEVER yummy no matter how many times Mommy calls it "yummy rice". Everyone keep your paws crossed that the good effects of the Forco powder continues.

I felt so good after a couple days on the powder that I decided to get into the kitchen garbage while Mommy was taking a shower. In the time it took her to shower I got to eat about a 1/2 bag of garbage. I got two spoiled potatoes, two egg shells, some fat off a steak, some paper towels used to wipe up a grease spill, and some plastic wrap. Mommy came in just as I was trying to unwrap the green roast she found at the back of the freezer. I was surprised a few days later when I pooped out paper towels and plastic wrap, but it was better than the runs I got the next day. Mommy says I am my own worst enemy.

Also this month I got to go on some hikes with Mommy, I love hiking even if it makes my back sore. I got to sniff and sniff stuff and roll in stuff and bark at stuff. I was so tired when I got home after one hike that I forgot that I was thunderphobic when the first thunderstorm of the season hit. I looked up to make sure that Mommy was still in the room, but then I went back to sleep. The second storm of the season I DID remember to be thunderphobic and pester Mommy though. Mommy says she needs to take me on 8 mile hikes before each thunderstorm from now own. We saw a coyote on one of our hikes too. Mommy yelled at him to git and he did though.

I met a new dog this month. His name was Frankie and we played runaround for awhile. My back hurt afterward, but it was worth it. The weird thing though was that when I met him again a couple days later HE BIT ME!! I don't understand that at all. My feelings were really hurt. We haven't seen him since so I don't know if he likes me or not. I also met a little tiny dog named Sugar who wanted to play runaround, but her people didn't want her to play with a dog who's head was bigger than her whole self. I did get to sniff her though.

I got to go to Tastee Freeze this month and get a PUP CUP too! It was WONDERFUL. Mommy said it was way too big and I did have a little bit of a tummy ache afterward, but I think it was worth it. Mommy says next month she will tell them that even though I am a big dog I need a Yorkie sized Pup Cup. Mean Mommy.

Mommy did a lot of work in the garden this month and I helped. When she weeded I sat on her lap and when she tried to dig I stood or lay down right where she was digging. I brought her balls so that she could take a break every once in a while and throw them for me. I also lay right in the spot where she was trying to rake. Finally, I dug a nice hole in the veggie garden and planted a tennis ball. I can't wait to see what comes up. I thought maybe it would be a tennis ball tree or a tennis ball bush, but my friend Emily tells me that it will be a tennis ball plant because tennis balls grow underground like potatoes.

Finally I got revenge on the little terrorist, um terrier, that comes out and tries to bite me sometimes on my walk. We were passing his house and he threw himself at the door and barked at me, trying to get the door to open. I looked at him and then I saw that he had left his tennis ball out in the yard. So, I walked up to the ball and picked it up with just my front teeth so he could see I had the ball. I stood in front of him for awhile with the ball in my mouth and when he started getting really mad I strolled very slowly away, carrying his ball. He really went nuts at that and his owner came to the door to yell at him. When he stopped barking I dropped the ball because I didn't really want it. (After all, I'm going to have a ton this fall when the tennis ball plant produces balls). The owner apologized to Mommy for all the barking and Mommy, between laughing, told the owner that I had egged the bad dog on then she called me a brat.

My Monthly Diary Entry for July

Well, if you look below you will see that this was a very eventful month. For those of you not used to blog formats, the older stuff is on the bottom, so if you want to read about all my trauma this month, read from the bottom up. Anyway, to sum up the month. Mommy had planned for us to go up to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Wisconsin for the Fourth of July because she got a three day weekend because of the 4th being on a Saturday and she also had some business to take care of up there. Then we were thinking we might go to Auntie Naomi and Uncle Fred's place last weekend and Mommy had taken some time off for that. She never even got to ask Auntie Naomi and Uncle Fred if a visit would be okay because of me falling and breaking the vertebra in my back and then having the bad meds reaction and throwing up blood. Luckily I made it through all that even though I had to spend two nights at the emergency vet's. Mommy says that my vet bills cost a fortune and I am not to do such a thing ever again. I don't plan on it, but you don't know about those evil bunnies.

So, I got no fireworks show and no visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the Fourth of July because the vet said we couldn't travel up there because the closest emergency vet was 100 miles away and I had to be much closer to an emergency vet just in case. So we stayed home and I took medications and felt sick and Mommy talked Grandma and Grandpa into taking care of some of the business. I had my check from my regular vet (see below) and while Mommy was pleased with how well I was doing, I was not pleased with the restrictions she had given me. No swimming until AUGUST??!! Only two 1 mile walks a day??!! No treats from the feed store guys??!! No visits to the feed store guys anyway because they are more than a mile from the house??!! This was not good. Mommy and I had arguments on many walks because I wanted to go into town and she said no. Finally we reached a compromise that once a week I can walk into town and Mommy can mail letters and I can see the feed store guys and NOT get a treat...grrrr...but then I don't get a second walk that day. This is working out okay and I like being pet by the feed store guys even if they won't give me treats. The vet says that stairs are no and that wouldn't be a problem at our house because we only have basement stairs and I don't go down there very often unless I want to paint. Well, since my food is limited to one small dog plain milkbone a day now I decided I wanted to paint so that I could get treats. Therefore, I ran downstairs into the basement when Mommy went down to take the laundry out of the washer and tried to get her to let me paint, but she said no. Then, when she was carrying the wet laundry upstairs to hang on the line, I tried to run up the stairs ahead of her and my back end gave out and I fell. Mommy dropped the basket of laundry and caught me so she has her priorities straight. I was a bit sore after that and Mommy limited my walks down to one 1 mile walk for a few days, which made me mad, but by this weekend my back was feeling better.

The vet did say that if my tummy was better and my back was healing I could go to Grandma and Grandpa's house, but I couldn't go to Auntie Naomi's house because they have stairs and I would also want to hike and walk up at Auntie Naomi's house, but might be better and Grandma and Grandpa's. So, my back was feeling good and I'm still on high doses of Pepcid, but I took my heartworm meds and didn't have a setback and I'm not eating yucky rice anymore so Mommy decided I was well enough to go up to Grandma and Grandpa's house last weekend. The drive seemed very long and I was rather sore when we got there, but I forgot about my sore back when I spotted the chipmunks. Mommy had thought with my sore back I might restrict myself, but I didn't and I kept charging the windows and running back and forth and pulling the leash out of her hand to chase the chipmunks in the wood pile and stuff. She also had no idea that I would get on the dock and suddenly jump off the shallow end trying to catch the fishies. I NEVER JUMP OFF THE DOCK!! I also tried to jump back on the dock, but that didn't work so well and she had to pull me up on it. She had only planned to be up there for two days, but then said since I acted so stupid on my first day we'd stay an extra day because I'd already done the damage. Mommy got her business done and we spent our second day just sleeping on the dock and Mommy took me for a 1 mile hike on my favorite trail up there. I wanted to go farther, but she said no. We camped out on the great room floor with our sleeping bags, which I didn't like the first night because I wanted to go upstairs and sleep on the bed, but stairs are still no.

When we drove home yesterday I slept the whole way. I had trouble getting out of the car when we got home and this morning I tried to poop without squatting (which doesn't work very well). My back is very sore, and Mommy hopes I didn't overdo it too much. I had a little tummy trouble this morning, but we are hoping that that is only because I had stolen a bit of Mommy's dinner last night and not something more serious. I think with a couple days' rest I will feel better. Keep those paws crossed that things keep healing.