Grooming

As I hadn't groomed Cookie or Cinnamon for a while, I combed their coat using a FURminator on Sunday. So much fur came off that I almost felt like stocking it for spinning and weaving! In fact, I have a friend who actually spins and weaves dogs and cats' fur!!



After the grooming, we took photos of Cookie and Cinnamon with our new camera.





Since I returned from Japan with the new camera, Cookie and Cinnamon's dad has been having a great time exploring different settings and lenses, which my cousin had given him. :-)

Rockabilly Wedding

Thanks for all your messages to our previous post! I had a great time in Japan. I didn't only attend my brother's wedding but also saw my grandmother in hospital and visited an apartment specially built for dog owners.

My brother and his wife had a ceremony at a little chapel in a guest house and then held a formal wedding reception and a casual concert-style party at the same venue on the same day.



Wedding ceremony at a chapel




Cake cutting at the wedding reception




Beautiful illumination




Sign of the wedding concert




Rockabilly concert




The Pepper Hot Boys




Hillbilly Delights




Wedding snapshots

We finally got to see the sheep!!

Reading Honey's post about her walk in Cornwall Park, I felt like going to the park with Cookie and Cinnamon as we couldn't see the sheep in a short distance when we last went there.

Today we had a day off, so we went to Cornwall Park in the afternoon. This time we could finally see the sheep close by!!

Cinnamon meets the sheep

Tomorrow morning I will be off to Japan to attend my brother's wedding. So, I will not be able to post until I return next week. I am glad that both Cookie and Cinnamon are getting better when I leave. I am still worried about them, but they should be fine as my husband is taking care of them while I am away.

Six little things that make Cookie happy

Mr Darcy, our blog friend in Australia, has tagged Cookie to play a game called 6 Little things that make me happy game. Thanks, Mr Darcy!


Now let's play!


Although Cookie loves food more than anything, that is not a little thing for him. So, we have excluded food from the list.

1. Marking over Cinnamon's pee

2. Having a nap with Cinnamon

3. Marking treasure he has found (In this photo, that's a stingray!)

4. Walking off-leash

5. Friends!! Especially calm mellow ones like Honey the Great Dane

6. Massage~~~

* Photos 3 and 5 are courtesy of Honey the Great Dane


Cookie has been more willing to walk for the last couple of days than before. Since he got what seemed like a damage to his intervertebral disk/disks two months ago, he had never wanted to walk more than going up and down a short (approximately 350m) street that our house is on. But, since two days ago, he has been walking a longer distance to a little reserve about 700m away from our house voluntarily, although his walking is still wobbly. I hope Cookie's current good condition will last or hopefully improve further.

On the other hand, Cinnamon has still been skipping occasionally, which is a symptom of her arthritis. Although she hasn't stretched her hind leg backward like she did over a week ago, the frequency of her skipping hasn't changed since she started taking medication a week ago. I hope the medication will be starting to work soon.

The whole family having the same dietary supplements

Since Cinnamon's arthritis was found, Cookie & Cinnamon and their humans have all been having the same dietary supplements, Good Health Joint zone and Nutra-Life Omega 3 Fish Oil. At first I thought about giving Cookie and Cinnamon tablets specially made for the dog, but I decided to give them what we humans have after the vet told us that she gave her dogs Glucosamine suppliments that she bought from supermarkets for herself.

When I went to a health shop and told a shop assistant that I was after Glucosamine and Chondroitin supplements, she recommended a product that also contained other nutrients such as copper, manganese, and zinc. But, as I didn't know if those extra nutrients were good for the dog too, I chose Good Health Joint Zone, which doesn't contain those extra nutrients.

I myself have a potential problem in my knees as a result of an accident that I had riding a motorcycle more than twenty years ago. In the accident I got my cruciate ligaments and meniscus damaged. They haven't caused much trouble apart from occasional slight pain until now, but now I feel the necessity to look after my damaged knees as I am not so young any more. So, I started taking Glucosamine, Chondroitin, and Fish Oil together with my dogs.

I hope they work for all of us, if not dramatically.



Cookie and Cinnamon have got new collars made by MaCherry's! Aren't they nice?

Mr Darcy, I am sorry Cookie hasn't played a game you tagged him. We haven't forgot it!

Bad news ... but I am optimistic

Yesterday Cinnamon had X-rays on her hips and legs, and it turned out that Cinnamon has arthritis that comes from Hip Dysplasia.

She is going to be on medication (Rimadyl) for over a week and also having weekly injections (Pentosan) for the next four weeks starting yesterday. We still don't know what level of exercise will be allowed after the series of treatments. She cannot do agility at least for a while, but I am optimistic as there are many other things we can enjoy together even if we can't do agility.

At a little reserve where we often practise tricks

Cookie has been doing well after the episode on Sunday. His walking is still wobbly but he doesn't seem to have any significant pain. As some of you have said, it might've been a seizure. At least I don't think he ate something he shouldn't have, as he was always on the lead when he was outside, so I must have noticed if he had eaten something.

Many thanks to those who sent us warm messages!! I am lucky to have great friends and supporters like you all! I am sorry we haven't been able to visit your blogs for the last several days. I promise we will catch up!

Spring is here!

Latest episode (Cookie)

Thanks for all your concern and encouragement about Cinnamon's recent injury! This morning we took Cinnamon to a vet, but we couldn't find out the cause of lameness in her right hind leg. The vet checked if the patella would luxate when the joint was pulled or pushed, but it didn't. So, at this stage luxating patella is likely to be ruled out. Now the vet suspects that there is something wrong in her left hip. Tomorrow Cinnamon is going to have X-rays on her legs and hips.

But, yesterday something more upsetting happened!!

When I was working on my computer, I noticed nasty smells, something like urine. So, I left my desk to see what it was. What do you think it was? What I saw was Cookie lying on the kitchen floor with poo sitting by his anus, and the next moment I realised that he was actually lying in a paddle of urine, and he was bubbling at the mouth. I called his name, but he didn't move.

I was so upset that I rang the Animal Emergency Centre immediately (As it was Sunday, we couldn't go to our usual vet) and took him there. But, by the time we arrived at the clinic, Cookie had become much more alert. The vet who saw Cookie couldn't find any significant problem with him apart from his wobbly walking.

Cookie in a consultation room of the Animal Emergency Centre

Another concern...

The future of our agility life is becoming hazy...

Since yesterday morning, Cinnamon has been limping badly to the extent that she sometimes extends her right hind leg straight backward. Although there have been incidents that she walks a few steps with her hind leg raised, the condition had never got as bad as it is now.

Yesterday we went to Mangawhai for an agility ribbon trial. When I walked Cinnamon at Mangawhai Domain before the competition in the morning, she was already limping, or skipping, apparently a symptom of a knee dislocation. But, I let her run without thinking twice, hoping optimistically that it would get better soon.

We entered three classes yesterday. In the first one, I made a critical mistake!! I was so busy trying to motivate Cinnamon that I forgot to think about the course before the start. I ran straight forward leading Cinnamon through the first three jump obstacles, and then, when I was supposed to turn left to do the next jump, I kept going straight heading for a tunnel, which was placed in a line with the first three obstacles!! As soon as I noticed the mistake, I called Cinnamon back and headed for the correct jump, although we were already disqualified by doing a wrong obstacle. But then Cinnamon refused the next tunnel after doing the next two jumps and took off to the outside of the ring!!!

In the next run, Cinnamon didn't do as badly as she did in the first one. But, she again refused the tunnels. It seems my mistake in the first run had sent Cinnamon a wrong message: 'Don't go through tunnels.' She yet completed the course with two faults.

In the third run, she did well until the first tunnel, and then she took off again, this time to food (meat and vegetables, apparently vomit of a dog) Cinnamon had found over one hour ago.

After all these three runs, I thought Cinnamon had just been behaving badly, having lost concentration because of a mistake I made in the first run. But, it seems that was not the only reason. Considering the condition of her knee dislocation, Cinnamon must have been in pain. I regret that I entered her in the competition in the first place.

I am going to take her to a vet tomorrow. All I hope is that the condition is not too serious.

Photos of Cookie's TV appearance

Our local friend Honey the Great Dane gave us a very nice present yesterday! That's a video file of a TV programme that Cookie appeared in. As it may not be appropriate to upload the video file itself here due to copyright issues, I will show you some photos extracted from the video file instead, which I hope can be pardoned.

Thanks Honey!!!