Autumn Moon

Luna just loved her debut at the Oimatsuda dog run. I say debut, but basically we had it all to ourselves, and fortunately I had taken a rug to sit on and a rug to wrap up in as I watched the dogs run and play, because there was a cold wind. That didn't deter the dogs from splashing in the stream and quenching their thirst, Luna was having a ball.

Basically I was able to open all the gates, and so Luna was able to explore three dog runs in one, and she made the most of the heavenly opportunity, almost never stopped running the whole time we were there. I know she'll sleep well tonight...as I type she's chewing furiously on a gum stick, not too strong yet, her jaws, so she doesn't manage as well as Nobu and Claire, but there's no doubt she's in her element, little moonbeam, Chiaro di Luna.

Claire and Nobu took it all in their stride, they know the place well, and no longer get so excited, just enjoy the mountain air, the space, the herons and other birds flying up from the river, and mouthfuls of freshly baked sweet potato shared between us courtesy of the dog run.

 

Digging me a hole...

This picture of Claire at Bwood needs no words. I'm off to the dogrun again today, if all goes well. I carried Luna up to snuggle in bed this morning at 4am, and she was so happy when we all woke up she tripped over her own feet and belly flopped all the way down the stairs...bumpy ride :) Fortunately she's less anaemic, has a little more meat and muscle on her body now, so the bones were somewhat protected...She's getting to realize and believe breakfast will arrive without fail, learning to trust. 

Luna B-wood Dogrun Debut

 There was a labrador reunion in the big dogrun, and Claire and Luna were scared of their excited energy. Particularly Claire tries to hide or climb on my lap, Luna was okay with it, but I was a little nervous about her getting pregnant, not sure what the signs of her being in heat will be, but the labs were all jumping up humping each other and I wasn't happy for them to approach Luna....SO

 we went next door into the small dog dogrun, which was empty, and had it all to ourselves :) See Claire's happy smile :) Nothing like a bit of peace in the dogrun, she says.

 Luna enjoyed wandering round checking out the smells, she had a good run in the big dogrun too, and definitely likes other dogs, but was visibly more relaxed in the smaller private space.

 And so she and Nobu wandered around (even Nobu, who had a wee run around with some of the labs, was a little overpowered by their numbers), and Luna even tried to play a bit with Nobu, although she's not nearly fast or powerful enough.

 Here is Luna saying thank you from under the table...she's still a little scared of the camera, so I have to clasp it to my belly and shoot from my breastbone to capture that look of love.

Long local walk

 On a longer walk than usual because it may rain this evening, I decided to venture on new paths (for Luna), Nobu and Claire like this walk down to my local kimono store and round the park near the store. There's a woody area on the way down the hill, and of course Luna got all excited. Sometimes there are squirrels, I remember how excited Claire was the first time, Luna is nothing in comparison, she's so small and placid. 

 After dropping by the store to say hello and show off Luna's hidden secret, her beautiful cherry blossom belly (just the color of the natural dyed original cherry kimono in the store), we went round the park. Luna points on crows and sparrows, unlike Claire she doesn't seem to be able to tell the difference. Claire only goes wild over pigeons, ducks and seagulls. As she's on point, frozen up, I crept round in front to get a snapshot of her focused working dog face, here it is:

Sad news

I can get her to smile and enjoy life again, but I can't remake Luna's body from scratch...she has multiple growths in her belly cavity, and a large growth in her spleen...as the vet says, if they are benign, then no need to operate, and if not, then it's really too late, there are so many, it would spread anyway...Equally, spaying her would be such invasive surgery in her condition, it's best to just let things play themselves out...so Koyama sensei gave Luna her the rabies shots, so we can enjoy dog runs and celebrate her presence for as long as she will be with us. And I popped off to the ward office to register her as a canine resident of Yokohama :) Little cherry blossom princess, Falcor look-alike, Kaguyahime, we are loving you :)

Luna on the go

Luna getting used to the car...

Fortunately no longer vomits, but still finds car trips trying, she was trembling all over when we got out today...

Pausing for a treat inbetween dashing around on the boardwalk...

Setters are such child friendly dogs, make a point of stopping to let kids stroke and learn that big dogs are FUN

The hand that holds the leash

Inbetween preparing for courses I take the time to go walkies...

the park is the best place for happy dogs, fortunately Nobu and Claire are veteran and know exactly how to behave to make my life easy, so it's just a question of getting Luna to calm down a little...

Luna really has perfect setter form, tail up and one foot drawn back, classic hunting style...now she just needs to grow the opulent feathers to go with it. She needs to relax some and give us a setter smile like Nobu and Claire.

Sunshine, vitamin D, iron tablets, good food, healthy walkies...just a question of time...skip and run, little Luna  

In all its autumn glory, the park offers healing light for all...blessed be.

 

Luna's Kuraki Park Debut

 Imagine a child at the gates of Disneyland...this is Luna, just looking at the world of woods and scents and excitement, the show is about to begin!

And here they are, three setters in a row, veteran Claire found the pigeon first (after the ducks and the cat, which I managed to navigate successfully thanks to the help of a friend). Once the three have locked on to their target, I can drop the leash and take a picture, in the hope that it doesn't fly immediately :P.

Stopping for a moment to catch my breath...before we head for home...

 Washing three dogs takes its time, Claire goes first, and then Luna while Nobu waits outside. It's Luna's second shampoo, with Luminosa shampoo, and she comes up so soft and beautiful, she really loves being shampooed, I even did her face and ears and muzzle, and she was sooooo happy...just look at that kiss me face :) I knew she was a dog in a million :)

I do like to be beside the seaside

I do like to be beside the seaside

I know someone who's going to sleep well tonight

Sigh of Relief

I love my vet, Koyama sensei. He took multiple x-rays, echo shots and so on, called my up and said, this baby has been fed scraps, she doesn't need an IV drip, she just wants plain old bread! I'll give you some really nice stewy dog food, mix in bread or rice, and she'll be good to go. He also gave me medicine for my three to get rid of the coccidia protozoa, and in a trice Luna is looking much more healthy. Nobu's vomiting seems to have subsided, he ate some of Luna's  Hill's senior dog chicken stew last night, so that's not causing his allergies, and this morning I put him back on the worm meds with no itchy rash and vomiting yet, so maybe it was licking at Claire's Frontline flea and mite drops on her back, or maybe it was just the stress of the whole situation...
At any rate, after brekkies, walkies, meds and a coat brushing, snoozing happily as we wait to go out for a Thursday adventure :)

Snuggle Time

While enjoying the walks, Luna is still pooping watery diarrhoea and refusing food over and above a minimal amount, except for the most tempting Fish4dogs salmon mousse pouch this morning. Yesterday I stuck with W/D in the hope it would fix things, but no luck, it was watery W/D poops twice today, and now Nobu has started to get loose bowels too...Thinking about heading for the vet this afternoon if I have the energy.
Luna had a nice shower with Luminosa shampoo, loved being lathered up and no protests whatsoever about being shampooed, towel dried and then enjoying the hairdryer...

Once a setter...

always a setter :) The downside is a poopload of watery diarrhoea and no appetite after the walk, been up intermittently all night with Luna bladder control issues, have to wipe down the hallway and carpet with lavender and teatree today...Basically she's been so dehydrated, now she's drinking furiously, it all flushes through her system so fast she can't make it out the door...I worry most about the appetite thing, having welcomed and then nursed Sofie through what turned out to be her last two months, I know that irregular patterns of food and bowel can bode ill...not that boding ill was wrong for Sofie, we had a wonderful rollercoaster of a ride together. Just not sure which path Luna will take...Luna is asleep at my feet as I type, she drinks up the company like thirst being quenched after being lost in the desert...

Luna lets down her guard

 Luna is beginning to enjoy the walks and the fresh air, a real snuggle bug when she gets the chance, and finally stretching out the full length of her spine. When she walks, it's like a puppy, all fresh and bursting to go, wobbling here and there and straining on the leash like there's a carrot in front just out of reach...I decided the feeding twice a day wasn't going anywhere, her stomach is too small to eat more than a tiny portion, so I've been feeding her morning, lunch, afternoon and night, four times, to try and get the calories into her. For the first time this evening she had the appetite for some dry kibble, so I'm satisfied, I don't want to keep up the pampering for too long, work and other commitments mean she's got to sort of sink or swim at some point, fit in and blend in. She was so happy to go out for another walk, she peed in the hall today...fortunately easy to wipe the floorboards...This is one hell of a friendly dog, loves people and other dogs, loves cuddling, and just oozes snuggly mushy kiss me aura...

Snugglebug Luna

Getting used to Nobu, at first Luna was mighty scared and headed for safety...but after a long afternoon walk up to the woody park, she's got used to having the two bigger dogs around. Claire is somewhat miffed, but bearing with the whole thing. Nobu is trying to be friendly and let out his stress in a wild toy tussle after the walk, all bitey bite and physical, probably all these women around to look after...at one point he literally moved between Luna and a passing car so she didn't get frightened (no sidewalks here in Japan, we crush up cowering against the houses and fences until they pass by). Quite the gentleman.

Meanwhile Claire likes a snuggle too :) Just not with Luna yet :P

Lunar Day

When I got home after a great evening meal of pizza, Luna had vomited all her food...I guess I got overzealous with the snacks when she arrived. The amazing thing was this kid actually moved away the blanket when she spewed, so it didn't get dirty. This made the clean up really quick: what a clever and thoughtful dog :) I remember the last time I vomited, no way I had a mind for anything...

We took a wee threesome walk to the park to pee, and then all went to bed, me in the middle, Claire and Nobu on my left and right, and Luna at my feet. She woke up in the middle of the night scratching the carpet furiously, so i put her out to pee, and then we settled in again for more sleep. At six the scratching began again, so i massaged her and she snuggled up under the downie, cozy and warm, and we slept until breakfast.

Luna does seem to like Ziwipeak venison. She's been eating at 900am and 1800, so maybe our breakfast this morning was a little early, which is why she didn't eat...but she's just had a handful or so of Ziwipeak, which is very full of sustenance. A threesome walk to the local park had her pulling on her short leash on the way, and trotting gently on the way home, able to stop and chat and say hello to other dogs no problem. Claire even had a wee sniff at her along the way, and was being very restrained on the walk, quite aware of the situation and thinking about not making hassle for me. It's all going to be work out just fine!

And then there were three...

 You can see Luna is meant to be a big dog! So this is what stunted growth looks like...her jaw has masses of extra skinfolds because she hasn't been given the chance to chew and develop the lower jaw, and she needs to stretch in all directions, just like Nobu when he first came, all cramped up and trying to be one third of her true size. She's had her vaccination, the rabies shot will be in two weeks or so and at that time I can talk to the vet about her health, needs to be spayed, and possible signs of breast cancer, so at the same time may lose her mammary glands, to be determined. I'll see how that subsides with the loving and good food, with the stress letting up, maybe it'll disappear, breathing angel healing light into her every time I stroke her...let the healing begin!

Lunchtime walk

in Kuraki park to savor the autumn tints, and found a carpet of scattered camelia blossoms...

Motomachi Halloween

Pictures are courtesy of Boutique for Dogs
 
 

 Nobu and Claire in Motomachi for Halloween :)
http://ameblo.jp/boutique-for-dogs/entry-11663613328.html

 

It was incredibly crowded with hundreds of little kids, but Nobu and Claire were very patient, not panicking at all in the huge crowd, and sometimes stopping to be petted and cooed at. Very stressful, so popping into the boutique was like entering an oasis in a storm. They have the most gorgeous outfits, I'd love to get Claire a Chanel suit type dog coat...Meanwhile Claire's Halloween outfit, princess, with a pink rose and gold top don't show in the picture, but she was perfect! Nobu had 全国制覇　on the back of his shirt, the perfect high school delinquent. Ended up at Slow Cafe for a salad, and met up with the other small dogs in the boutique for dogs blog entry, Snow White and Jack Sparrow, and some other cuties, a wonderful group of Halloween dogs with their owners. Came home exhausted but tired...getting too old for the whole shebang....