Under (the weather and the water)

Poor old Blue has had a few days of severely upset tummy, but this morning he has finally completed his recovery. Without being too graphic he suffered after a few tasty morsels from the next door neighbours BBQ, sausages and chicken pieces etc.

The effect on him was very dramatic, making a mess of the kitchen hallway and upstairs landing, the loss of so much fluid caused an element of dehydration, and generally became very clingy.

There is no apparent long lasting effects, but with a carefully managed diet of the right food, he soon got over the sickness and diarrhoea.

This morning we had "conkers" as I described his business to my wife.........who ever walks Blue reports back on condition of his deposits.

Blue will be swimming tonight, Wednesday, as per usual being he is over the worse for his experience. Last week we used our new GoPro to film his underwater swimming action

Really good fun to film and watch back afterwards, you can tell how much he enjoys his sessions in the pool.

He has also continued to find discarded and lost balls in the hedgerows of the local park, some are behind chain-link fencing on the railway side of the fence, he knows they are there, he points them out, but is not too bothered when we move await without getting the ball.

Blue has also been housebound more than usual as we are putting up a new boundary fence, but he always checks out the progress.....

Thanks for reading, and please share Blue's experiences where you can

Holiday coming soon.

Soon Blue will be sat in the back of the car and enduring a 13 hour car journey to the Highlands of Scotland.

Blue is no stranger to both the journey or the location, this being the seventh time he has done such a journey. Along with the Lake district he really feels at home once we are there.

He has been keeping well, continuing with his weekly swim at Aquadoggies, where the ball he plays with helps keep him active and entertained, though he still has a bit of a clumsy care free side while running around the pool, on Wednesday as he tried to cut short one corner, his back end went in the pool, but he recovered and just carried on. Although we have lots of pictures, this week I got some close ups.

A short clip below from a previous visit

Good news that the skin infections that caused severe fur loss last year did not return this year and he remains healthy and active.

Last week he stayed at home and looked after the house, while we went to London to see Les Miserables, with a visit by our good neighbour Anne, one of only three others that Blue could be trusted to let into the house while we are not around, when we returned we were told he was as good as gold, just as his Pedigree name "Folkvang Good As Gold"

This weekend he will be on his own once again while we visit Wembley to watch Reading FC take on Arsenal FC in the FA Cup, you can see below where Blue's loyalties lie

Come on you Blues!!

We will be leaving as late as possible, just in case the game goes to extra time, but with Anne keeping him company at different times, he probably won't miss us until we walk back in the door.

Walking with Blue was a bit of challenge this morning, while in the park he took  a dislike to a jogger, pulling, barking, starring just pure obsession. Best of all the jogger never came within 20 yards of him, the majority of the time the jogger was the other side of the park. Causing me to have to drag Blue, walking backwards for most of his dawn walk.

Blue has now mastered ESP or something, perhaps it is a GSD form of ESP. When we sit to watch to TV in the evening, he will stand and stare either in my face or my wife Sue's face to get us to let him out the back door for a wee or a bark or as normal both. He will then come back in and stare at his water bowl or the back of Sue's head, until water is added to the bowl, even if it wasn't empty. Each and every time he expects a reward for this behaviour, however he does not always receive such reward.

It is good to see a new series of "Supervet" back on Channel 4; The work done by Noel Fitzpatrick is absolutely amazing. For Blue the outcome of his work is appreciated each and every day, this week an episode we watched was heartbreaking where a six month hold German Shepherd had both elbow and hip dysplasia, the outcome was Euthanasia, which was hard to watch but the right decision made by the brave owner.

So until the next blog

Keep your friends close by.

A trip to the seaside

With our holiday not being for a couple of months yet we decided that with the recent decent weather, a trip to the seaside was what we all needed, actually the main reason being, that Blue would not have his swim session this week, due to Aquadoggies having their own break.

So with both of us taking a day off work, our destiny was Milford on Sea, taking along all that is necessary, others take less for a weeks holiday, but man and dog must have their gadgets, so I keep telling Sue.

In less than two hours we were parked up, looking out across the Solent to the famous landmark that is the Isle of Wight, The Needles.

Our walk would take us due West along the cliff top walk, which has shown a lot of signs of erosion, parts where the path is now on the beach below, there are no guard rails or fences, but Blue is on a lead, so we are all pretty safe. 

After about a mile there is an opportunity to climb / scramble down to the beach below, now for the fun to begin, time to get Blue in the sea, and swimming.

Well that was my plan, Blue had a different one, maybe test the water first.

Coaxing was needed, so into the water I went, so that Blue would follow

This was not working, so would the thought of treats help

Blue would overcome most things for a treat, not swimming but at least he is in the sea.

As soon as the treat was gone he returned to shore, time to try again.

As the waves were filling the pockets of my shorts, Blue decided it was not worth the risk so as the wave crashed against the pebbled shoreline, he was off, back to sit safely with Sue further up the beach.

This what being with Blue is all about, fun in the sun, a bit of a splash in the sea, but he knows what he likes and how to have fun his own way. He even found a ships buoy washed up on the beach, a bit too big to pick up, but he sure gave it a go.

Our play on the beach was followed by a walk back up on the cliffs, returning to the car 3 hours and 30 minutes later, we had enjoyed a good trip out. The part cloudy sky meant we were not in full sun, but long enough for Blue to need his "Cool coat" on.

Blue just loves to be with you and have fun, while I was in the sea he was torn, whether to come and see if I was OK, or would it be too much to get back in the water. As i didn't want to stress him i made the decision for him and got out, below are just a couple of more pics of Blue on the day out at Milford on Sea

and finally

Blue at the seaside

Happy Days!

Blue back in the swim and enjoying the garden

It is good to share that Blue is slowly returning to the life style of which has become accustomed.

Playing in the garden, going out for walks and now back swimming on a more regular basis. 

This week Blue enjoyed another good swim session.

The ironic thing is all the above pictures of him are outside the pool or in the shower, this was because of the time spent interacting with him, encouraging him to dive in and play.

Blue still needs to wear his buster type collar, if left alone, he used to need to wear it pretty well all the time, to reduce his scratching and licking. For a long period this would the case even in our presence, but now it is only the odd occasion, even though he still bears the bold and blotchy parts to his lower hind legs.

Action shots of Blue in action in the garden

Back in the swim

Blue resting after his swim

Last night for the first time since November last year, Blue got to go for a swim.

It was a joy to watch him excitingly circling in the back of the car as we approached our destination.

He literally jumped out of the car and into the waiting loop of his harness, making straight for the side entrance gate, where not a moment was to be wasted. As the gate latch was lifted, Blue's nose ensured the gate was to be brushed aside. Pulling like a train we went up the path, to the rear of the property, where we entered the swimming pool dome of "Aquadoggies".

Excited would be an understatement, it was the whole body shouting out his excitement.

His favoured ball was thrown into the pool, by the trainer, Carol, and as is customary,  a quick run around the perimeter, and with all sorts of excited sounds, Blue leaped into the pool.

Blue was "Back in the swim"

For a solid fifteen minutes, he was in and out of the pool, having a great time, like he had never missed a day.

But we recognised that he was tiring a little, and when he made his own way to the shower area, he had one more leap/dive/splash/swim, then it was time for part two.

Part two was to have a medicated shower and rinse, all the time hanging onto his favoured ball.

Then it was "Fergie time" the hair dryer/blower and a final rub down with the towel, easing into his drying jacket, completed his session.

Blue was one happy dog, and we are glad we took the time to try him out, and get him back in the swim. We are not over the allergies, and there are still the signs of licking nibbling and scratching, mostly now on his  lower hind leg.

As long as there is no adverse reaction, and he continually shows signs of improvement, we will book him in for more sessions.

Sadly the lighting levels did not allow the pictures to come out, so below is link to some older pictures, uploaded on "Flickr"

Library pictures of previous swim sessions

Itchy, touchy, scratchy and limpy

No not anything from the Simpson's, but a summary of Blue this week.

Itchy

Blue had been a bit itchy in recent weeks, so for a while after his shower we decided to omit the body lotion spray, which helps to reduce the wet dogie odour after his weekly swim.

As it turns out this has made little difference, though it is amusing when you touch his side, without effort you get his "itchy spot" and the back leg comes up in response. Even when he is being blow dried, as soon as the air touches the itchy spot, he lowers his back and raises his rear leg as a reaction.

Touchy

This week is my turn for taking Blue out on his inaugural morning walk, I used to call it a dawn walk, but the sun is still not up when we return home, not at least for another hour this time of year. As we exited the front garden, spinning like a top, back arched and doing a rat-a-tat machine gun bark, the scent of foxes, got Blue's juices going, he was then re-acquainted, with an old foe, the "Milk float" which Blue had calmed down a bit, but out of nowhere he decided that it was a mortal enemy that must be warned off, and as we walked along the bottom alley on the way home, a black cat appeared from nowhere, and tore off down the alley, with Blue eager to follow in hot pursuit, though the lump holding the lead was not as sprightly as him or the cat, and soon the alley was feline free.

Scratchy

Though not related to the "itchy" saga above, Blue has been scratching his ears a lot recently, what is also noticeable is that he has made his ears sore and lumpy. We will keep a close eye on this, it may be that the central heating is making him a bit warm, and the ears are getting scratched both out of a reaction but also habit. Blue normally likes to have his ears massaged.

Not sure how we ever discovered this, or what his last slave died of, but it does come in handy keeping a watchful eye on his ears. If they get worse or show no signs of healing over, it will be a trip to the vets, that will be interesting with Blues bedside manner at the veterinary clinic. Blue has no longer got the temperament for up-close, manhandling.

Limpy

To complete this set, on arriving home from work yesterday, as is customary, unless he is being taken out for a walk, Blue likes to play his favourite game in the garden, football.

Running catching, chasing, jumping are all part and parcel with the ball in his mouth or fetching it to parade around, so very proud of himself.

As is quite often the case, two or more balls are required, and in this particular incident it was in pursuit of a ball that went under a shrub, that Blue came out without a sound, but a limp.

Mortally wounded he made his way to me with the limp getting worse each and every step. Arriving at my side he collapsed at my feet, summoning enough strength to lift the injured paw for me to inspect, no bones broke, no penetrations could be felt, he would survive. But it meant the game had finished, and he was ushered back into the house where he was given bed rest.

In the past when Blue has had a similar incident rest for  24hrs or 48 normally gives enough time for a full recovery, and this was once again the outcome.

So Blue has had a varied week, and continues to be a great companion, and a pleasure to share our lives with;

Below are a couple of pictures involving Blue this week

Blue 1-0 Football

You can shower me but I will not let go of the ball!

I'm still not letting go!

Blue leaves some of his fur in the pool

Blue find "Ironing" boring!

For more pictures of Blue check out my Flickr photo-stream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rod1871/

Thursday Swim

Blue has a change of night for swimming, the session last night was cancelled due to technical problems, so tonight he made up for lost time.

 

I think we are gonna need a bigger boat!!