Dog Park Adventure

As I mentioned in the previous post, we took our first trip to the dog park... but our adventure did not end at finally fitting into the car.. oh no...

When we got to the park, Bailey was so excited she could barely contain herself... the last time we were there was July or August of last year... Then I went on modified bed rest, had a baby, and had to recover... by the time I was well enough to go, it was too cold for Kayden to go and my husband's schedule did not allow him to either take Bailey or watch Kayden while I went.

Once I got Kayden in the stroller and covered with a blanket, I got Bailey on the leash and we headed to the gate. Now, as a safety measure, you have to go through 2 gates... it keeps dogs from escaping if they try to slip out when someone else is entering or exiting. A great idea for the dogs... not so much for a jogging stroller... but after a bit of maneuvering, we made it in.

Unfortunately, the way the park is set up, it is almost always a wind tunnel. Even on the warmest days with no wind, there is a cool breeze... which is GREAT for the dogs, not so much for mom and a baby... I forgot about this little quirk and although it was a warm day, it was probably 5-10 degrees cooler at the park... a bit too cool for Kayden. Needless to say, we only stayed about 15 minutes.

Although it was a bit cool, Kayden had a blast! She loved watching the dogs play and thought it was the funniest thing in the world when they came to smell her... The owners seemed mortified that their dogs were smelling her, though... I mean, really... I wouldn't have brought Kayden in a stroller if I was worried about that...

When we left, we had an even harder time getting back into the car. I had to put Bailey in first so she wouldn't escape or pull on her leash while I was getting Kayden in the car. Once I got them both in, I had to get the stroller in... but Bailey had taken back over her spot in the backseat... It was a mess trying to get her in the front seat long enough for me to toss the stroller in the backseat...

So went our first trip to the dog park... I have decided that I will probably just wear Kayden in the Moby Wrap next time we go... it will be easier than wrestling with the stroller, which I don't think is technically allowed anyway...

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6 months old today!!! Although she is still not rolling over, she is almost sitting up and, although she HATES tummy time, I have a feeling crawling is not far behind...

And 19lbs... holy crap she's big!!!!

Auto Tetris

We took our first trip to the dog park since Kayden was born. It was a beautiful day and I wanted Bailey and I both to get some exercise.

As I mentioned in the previous post, my car is just a bit too small for us to go anywhere as a family. In order for us to hit the dog park, I had to figure out how to fit Kayden, Bailey, the stroller and myself into the car.

I was driving... Kayden was gonna be in her seat... but where to put Bailey and the stroller????

I tried putting the stroller in my trunk... it just wouldn't go... I tried many approaches from many angles but it just wouldn't fit. I then tried the front seat thinking maybe if I got it in just right it would fit... no-go... so the only place left was the backseat... so there it went...

Now, as sweet as Bailey is, I don't think she would have taken to kindly to being put in the trunk so the only other option was to put her in the front passenger seat... you know, the one that is pushed all the way forward to accommodate Kayden's car seat... the one no one fits in...

Poor Bailey had no idea what was happening. She couldn't lay down (without knocking the car into neutral) or turn around to put her head out the window... her head was up over the dash and almost into the windshield... if we had wrecked, she would have either flown out of the car or been crushed by the airbag...

But we made it... there and back... and in one piece....

Allergies and an Injury

Bailey has always had eye boogers. I clean them off her face whenever they appear which is usually every-other-morning or so. Its a joke... its playful... "momma hates eye boogers" said in a sing-song voice... and she just lets me do it...

Last summer, she had some issues with some reoccurring spots on her back. We figured it was just chigger bites since her flea/tic/mosquito treatment didn't list them as something it guarded against. Once the fall came around, the spots disappeared and we forgot all about them.

Last month, the spots showed up again. We were already going to the vet for some annual vaccines so I asked about them when we got there. The vet checked them for mites (negative) and gave me some special shampoo to try to clear it up.

Over the next few days, I noticed the eye boogers were coming more frequently and seemed to be worse from her left eye. I kept an eye on her to see if it got better or worse since her eyes didn't seem to be bothering her. Less than a week after we had seen the vet, I noticed her left eye was red and seemed irritated. So I called a smaller vet who is closer to our house and easier to get into on short notice.

He examined her and said that it looked like allergies. He also said she had an infection... kinda like how we get sinus infections when our allergies act up. He gave me some goo to put in her eyes 2x a day and said to start her on Benadryl to help with the allergies overall. (Of course the goo has steroids in it so I can't touch it... my husband has to do it and will only do it when I remind him so it only gets done once a day if we are lucky.)

Well, the shampoo has worked wonders after only 2 treatments and her eyes are no longer as gooey despite our lack of consistency. But now one of the spots from her back has shown up on her lower eye lid. It doesn't seem to bother her so I have just been giving the Benadryl and continuing the goo and watching to see if it gets worse.

Then we went to the dog park the other day for the first time in a few weeks. She was so excited and immediately spotted a man tossing a ball for his dog, Bo, using a "chuck-it". Since Bailey doesn't really get the concept of fetch (outdoors with a ball, anyway) she chases the dog chasing the ball and seems to have a blast doing so. So Bo chased the ball and Bailey chased Bo, hard, for a solid 15-20 minutes before the man and I agreed it was time for a drink break since they were both panting kinda hard.

As we were walking away from the fountain, I noticed Bailey was walking kinda funny. Stiff... her back end was waddling like she couldn't move her legs at the hips. I moved closer to get a better angle but she seemed to be walking fine. I kept watching and noticed her waddling again. Then Bo's dad mentioned he thought she was walking "kinda hippy".

I kept pretty close to her for a few minutes to see what she would do. Usually, she stays far away from me because she doesn't want to go home. But she stayed pretty close so I decided it was time to go. When I tried to make her sit so I could put her leash on, she flat out refused, and just stood there looking at me like "I can't". As we were walking toward the gate to leave, she tried to stop twice like she didn't want to go on. And when we got to the car, I almost had to lift her in.

We got home and she kept going from walking fine to waddling. She laid down for a while, then seemed fine. This morning, all seemed well. I am guessing she may have pushed herself too hard to fast for too long with out getting warmed up first and maybe pulled a muscle or something. Again, I plan to keep an eye on her just in case.

She was just 16 months last week... and she already seems to be falling apart...

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I am 12 weeks today...

Cold

It is so cold.

How cold is it?

It is so cold that Bailey has taught herself how to crawl under the covers on our bed.

It is so cold that Bailey has learned that warm air comes from the blower on the fireplace and stands there to keep warm.

It is so cold that when Bailey got slimed at the dog park, it was frozen before I could wipe it off.

It is so cold that the 3 of us sleep in a heap cuddled close, both my husband and I in hooded sweatshirts, under a sheet, 2 blankets, and a comforter.

It is so cold that my husband is starting to feel guilty about not having the furnace repaired before January...

Dog Parks

The weather was so nice this weekend that we spent a fair amount of time on both Saturday and Sunday at the dog park.

There are 2 within 15 minutes of my house so on Saturday, we went to one near the home of one of my co-worker's with the intent of letting our dogs meet and play together. Since I had never been to a dog park before, this seemed like a nice plan. Once we got there however, I realized I was clearly mistaken. Her dog, Daisy (a Bull Mastiff) and Bailey headed for opposite sides of the park to play with other dogs. So much for that idea :-)

Overall I was pleased with the place. The ground was mostly covered with wood chips so avoiding mud was manageable for the human visitors. The lake was blocked off for the winter for obvious safety concerns and the whole place was shaded by large trees and general wooded areas. There was a water fountain for the dogs and their people and Bailey had a great time. I was a bit confused about some of the etiquette, however. Although they provided trash cans and what appeared to be a dispenser for baggies, I saw no one picking up after their dogs. I noticed areas where there seemed to be more droppings than others but for the most part you really had to watch where you walked.

On Sunday we checked out the one a bit closer to our house with the intention of wearing Bailey out a bit before her class so she wouldn't be too wound up to pay attention (which has happened in the past). It was much more open with the only trees being the random stick figures scattered around the field and the nicely manicured evergreens in the corners of the fenced in area. There was a nice asphalt trail that circled the whole park so mud was not an issue for the humans who chose to remain on the path. They provided baggies and everyone seemed to pick up after their dogs.

Both parks had nice water fountains and benches for the humans to sit on and/or the dogs to lay under. Both had areas for the humans to walk without trudging through mud. And both had owners with varying definitions of "supervised". Neither park jumped out at me as better or worse for the dogs and they are both within 15 minutes of our home. I liked them both but they each had their own pros and cons.

So I pose this question to you: What do you look for in a dog park? Is it a big open field or a wooded area with plenty of shade? Do you prefer a trail or would a scattering of wood chips suffice? Do you care if owners pick up after their pooches or do you feel it's a dog's place where the owners can relax so we just need to watch our step?