Hike in Southaven County Park

Today we went for a semi-long hike in Southaven County Park, the park we normally take the dogs for a walk in.  We walked about 4.7 miles in 3 hours, and by the end of it we were all ready to nap.  The red line on this map indicates the path we took:

The dogs were loving it, lots of new smells and places to pee on.  It was a beautiful crisp day with the temps in the upper 30s, though between the walking and bright sun were kept pretty warm.  I still dressed in layers to keep from getting too cold, I can always take a layer off but it would be hard to add on a layer I didn't bring.  The dogs spotted some deer, but sadly they ran off before I could take a picture of them. 

Over all it was a very nice hike, a great way to test out our new hiking GPS, and a fun way to enjoy the outdoors.  Here are some more pictures I took during the hike, enjoy!

The Good and the Bad: Miyu's Spay and Hip X-ray

Poor Miyu, all doped up and wearing the cone of shame

So yesterday I dropped Miyu at the vet to get spayed.  I was a total mess, the whole time while driving her there I was thinking about all the bad possibilities that could happen while she was under.  In the end though, the surgery went very well with practically no tearing and a fairly small incision.

I spent a greater part of 6 months researching and finding a vet that I was comfortable with cutting my baby girl open.  I originally wanted to go with a Laparoscopic Spay, but after getting the price estimates for such a procedure from the two vets in the island that can do it ($1500 for one, $820 for the other), I found that financially I could not go that route.  So instead I went with an Open Style Ovariectomy, of which the second vet experienced with Laparoscopic Spays was capable of doing.

The incision with a quarter for size comparison.

With an Ovariectomy, only the ovaries are removed while with a regular spay(ovariohysterectomy) they also remove the uterus.  Miyu's uterus remains and is now inert and dormant, with the chances of her getting any major uterine illnesses becoming a fraction of a percent.  There is less internal damage and quicker healing when leaving the uterus in, as well as most surgical mishaps have been avoided altogether (which could have potentially needed a second clean up surgery to fix).  The vet did not leave any foreign substance (suture thread) in her body, and instead cauterized the areas that the ovaries were attached to.  All this for the same price as a regular spay.



While she was knocked out, I opted to get her hips x-rayed and OFA scored.  When I came in the pick Miyu up, the vet discussed with me what he saw in the x-ray and what concerns he had.  From what it looks, the vet says that she has mild Hip Displaysia and that only time will tell how severely it will affect her life.  Looking at the x-ray, the vet pointed out that her balls weren't in her sockets as much as they should be.  The overlap should look to be at least 50%, while hers were more like 1/3 (33%).  Her right sockets did not look very smooth and had a slight jaggedness to it.

We'll see what OFA scores her at and will be taking the image to my regular vet to see what they think.  Either way, I plan to having her x-rays done again in about a year to see how it progresses.  Fingers crossed that it doesn't get worse.


UPDATE:  Her OFA prelim score came back as Moderate, which is a step up from the worse score she could have gotten.   Will do another xray when she's older to monitor the change,  hopefully she doesn't get any worse.  Here is her OFA page showing the results.

Fun in the Water

Some pool fun for Tikaani and Miyu.  I threw in two lacrosse balls, a tennis ball and a weird rattle thing for them to play with.  Tikaani loved going for the lacrosse balls since they were underwater, while Miyu enjoyed the rattle thing and splashing for the heck of it.  Tetsu didn't want to partake so he basked in the sun instead.

Tikaani' Second Obedience Match

Today Tikaani had his second obedience match.  It was part of an event that not only contained obedience and rally matches, but also practice conformation runs and various demonstrations.  More info about the event can be seen here: 2011 AKC Canine Experience

This time around, I dragged Tom and the rest of the pups since they could use a good outing and after the match we had a shiba meet up to attend.  Tetsu perched on Tom's lap while Miyu remained crated, with unleashed dogs around and Tom suffering from a migraine, this seemed like the best option.

I worked with Tikaani for a bit before stepping into the ring, having a hard time getting his focus with all the excitement and new smells around.  Once we stepped in the ring though, his focus was right on me, or more specifically the bit of cheese in my hand (I opted FEO)that didn't interest him earlier.  He was a bit rough at the beginning of the heel, but sharpened up and did fantastic.  He did a wonderful figure eight, and performed the stand/stay perfectly.  I was a bit worried about his stand/stay since he had shown head shyness in class, but this judge touched him along the neck instead of the top of the head, to which he gave no reaction to.

Even though it was a Novice match with off leash elements, I opted to keep a hold of his leash with everything but the recall.  I wrapped the loosely around his neck in a fashion that if he had decided to go for a joy run it would unwrap and become something to grab onto.  But no worries there, he came when called and sat mostly centered to me, facing at a slight angle in prep for the finish.  I got him to center and motioned him to finish.  Usually he's pretty good with his finish, but this time around he was a bit sloppy.  It was probably due to all of the distractions, but he still kept with me.

During the group sit/stay and down/stay, he seemed to be pretty glad to not have to move, especially with all that sun cooking his coat.  To his right was a German Shepherd Dog that didn't want to listen, and focused on me every time I treated Tikaani.  To his left, was an energetic toy poodle that kept trying to sniff him and also didn't want to hold still.  But even with this, Tikaani stayed and only adjusted to a more comfortable down.

When the match was done, I traded Tikaani for Tetsu and walked around to get a peek at what else was going on.  There were several vendors and clubs there, I got to pet a toy Xolo and talked to a SARS person.  They were about to do a dirt dog demonstration, but it was time for us to clean up and head to the meet up.  Apparently, when I was wondering around there was a small scare of a loose Golden Retriever running up to Tom and Tikaani.  Miyu was barking her head off in the crate, while Tikaani and the Golden were initiating play bows to each other.  This sort of thing really didn't help Tom's headache, but it was a good thing we had switched dogs since Tetsu doesn't appreciate dogs running up to him. 

All and all it was a fun day, and after the meet up we brought home some tired pups.  They remained dead for the rest of the day, even moaning every time I offered to take them out for potty walks.  Well, since we didn't get any pictures of the match, here's one of Tetsu and Miyu at the meet up actually enjoying each others company:

This is What Happens...

When we fill up the water container after it being empty for a half hour

And this is what happens when you think it's a good idea to put a chair by the window

Any Questions?

Tetsu and Miyu Getting Along

The relationship between Tetsu and Miyu started off pretty bumpy.  For the first few weeks Miyu lived with us, Tetsu wanted her out.  But slowly he is starting to come around and accept her as part of the family.

Lately, Tetsu gets this desire to kind of try to swallow Miyu's muzzle, without really making contact.  It usually happens when he is excited or in a good mood, and doesn't end negatively.  Also in this video is Tetsu's first attempt at playing with Miyu in the house, his elbow biting around 00:12.  He has wrestled and played with her at the dog park and outside, and it makes me excited that he is starting to do so at home.