Dog days are hot happy lazy days at the end of summer, but this was kind of a winter version, what with the brilliant sunshine, lazy with the dogs in the park. Although there was frost on the ground this morning, I felt warm and snugly in my winter coat. Just googled dog days and got this song, new to me, Dog days are over by Florence + the Machine, and I'm listening as I blog this...
Anyway, Claire is on a five day course of antibiotics, bronchodilators and expectorants, so she's not supposed to walk as much as usual. That's why we took the groundsheet and spread it out in the park after a short run, and she was happy to sit down and rest after the exercise. She was really happy to find pigeons as we entered the park, and after stalking them for a while she got fed up and sped off in search of more. All the while shogun Nobunaga was on the long lead too, either scattering the pigeons with a hell for leather charge,upsetting Claire's ninja approach, or pottering around after Claire in the autumn leaves, loping along with an easy stride thanks to his newly gained strenth.
When we spread out the groundsheet, he promptly cuddled up, quite the opposite of cool beauty Claire. The two dogs had a great time eating their first strawberries ever (maybe), and Nobunaga is learning to sit on command before he gets the sweet juicy mouthful. Sharing a punnet of strawberries between the four of us, they soon disappeared. Yummy! 
We kept the walk short, and got home in the early afternoon, so I had some time to knit a wee scarf for Nobunaga while the two dogs lazed on the sofa and the Costco doggie bed respectively. I am so pleased it is finally getting used: getting ready to welcome Mallow/ Nobunaga, I was so happy to find a pattern to match our sitting room atmosphere and got quite a shock when neither he nor Claire showed any interest... The scarf is made from leftover yarn for a sweater I knitted for Tosh some years back. I kept the back of the neck slightly broader, starting with a central crochet motif, knitting to the left and then the right, decreasing under the chin where you tie the scarf, so that it doesn't get too bulky. Now both he and Claire have hand made scarves, for a real family look.
The good news is Nobu managed to stay home with Claire in the cage successfully for two hours while we went to our favorite French restaurant, Le Message, for lunch. We've booked a Xmas eve dinner there as well. I went for a wee walk with the dogs before leaving for the restaurant, gave them a pig's ear each, and off I went. When we got back, Nobu was lazing in his cage which I had covered with a blanket, and both dogs were quiet and relaxed.
The bad news is Claire seems to have kennel cough, or else is allergic to something, so we're off to the vet this morning. She woke me the previous evening around two with a dry hacking cough, so I hoovered thoroughly with our dust eating Sanyo Airsys Hoover which we got when my son got asthmatic, and it eats up all the tiny particles in the air. I also washed out all the blankets and aired beds, thinking it might be a dust allergy from the dry winter air. Things seemed to have settled down, until she had another coughing fit after breakfast, again, clearing up quite quickly, but she was so active on her walks I didn't think too much of it...again, thinking it might be a reaction to this Japanese hand-made chicken and rice food I had mixed with her usual kibble.
However last night she kept me up all night sleeping with her on the sofa, constantly rubbing her back as she ached with deep empty coughs, retching up strings of whitish foamy mucus from time to time. I remembered I had some eucalyptus mist spray, and kept spraying it on her to moisten her lungs and the air, meanwhile rubbing her back and massaging her spine, but needless to say we are off to the vet. She was already a little off color on Monday, and the vet monitored her heart, but everything was ok, so I guess we'll get the diagnosis. I also remembered squeezing juice from grated lotus root (renkon) was good for the lungs (a herbal remedy from my son's childhood), so I mixed that with yoghurt and she had a good feed yesterday evening and this morning. The internet said honey, so she had a teaspoon, and right now she is happily poddling around the garden with Nobunaga, and the coughing has abated. Meanwhile Tosh got out a mist humidifier and has that on full blast in the sitting room...I'm sure all will be well soon, and feel safe in Dr. Koyama's competent hands: off we go!
After a run in the park with Nobu and Claire, we're back home...it takes extra time to wash two dogs' paws down in the shower, with Claire going first and after I've dried her off, in comes Nobu. Just like Claire of old, he tries to escape up onto the bath covers, making sploggy pawmarks so I have to start with washing them down, and then get back to him. He was quite relieved it was just paws today, and seems to be getting used to the process. I massaged in some aloe gel into their pads and cut toenails afterwards (I'm getting quite expert, I figure if I do it every week and just slice off a thin section I'm not going to hurt them and they'll get to relax and get used to it). Nobu is so keen to cuddle up to Claire, and while she's sunning on the blanket he laid down beside her. She looked up at me sceptically to see how I would react, good girl, I said, you let him cuddle up to you, you might even enjoy it, so there they were for a couple of minutes until i decided to take a picture: Claire moved away to the sofa just after I snapped this.
Dodo sensei came by this morning and we had our first two dog training session. Mallow's name is in the balance, Nobunaga the samurai lord being easy to call, and somehow it suits his strong presence and slightly Japanese face. At any rate we didn't practice "Here" yet, since Nobu can't actually sit on command yet. First of all Claire and I ran through our paces, and Claire showed just how well she has learned everything, moving smoothly from heel and sit to heel, sit, down and up, then from heel, sit and wait facing both directions in the park, heel, sit, down and wait, and finally sit, wait, here, coming to me when I call with her usual loping gait, no servile obeisance or hurry there, just general easy-going willing to please. After that I walked Mallow-Nobu round the course, coaxing him to sit at each cone, and Dodo sensei showed me how to lift up the treat so that his nose tilts up while I gently pressure his bum down, to get him to sit before getting the treat. 
Mallow is slowly regaining strenth, and next to him Claire seems like a sweet little babe, he's so big. He has really long toes and fingers, and when he puts on weight he'll be a really impressive dog. With his black face and curly ears, long fringes and deliberate presence, he's not so much herb mallow as Oda Nobunaga, with Claire his little white geisha girl. This morning the two romped a little in the garden, Claire tentative, with Mallow boisterous but not pushing it, expertly gentle. He seems interested in children when we go out walkies (only ten minutes round the block), so I'm thinking maybe he was in a family with small kids, and that's where he trained his gentle approach.
There's no doubt about it, Mallow is mellow: he is such a friendly chap, and would love to play with Claire, but she will have none of it, and he is gentleman enough not to press the matter. I was out yesterday evening at a Christmas party, and got home just past nine, so the two dogs were home with Tosh, and he sent me some mail updates to let me know things were all ok, but that the doggies were waiting for me to come home :)
When i finally arrived I had bought horse tendons, and the two dogs set to with a vengeance. It took Mallow a very long time to chew it down, and he did a great job, chewing well and softening it to a whitish paste consistency before nibbling off bits, even taking it to bed with him. Claire has polishing things off down to a fine art and beat him to it, although with food it's the opposite, Mallow is faster. I cleaned his ears and fed him his antibiotics in a piece of cheese, and then it was time for bed after a quick look at the moon eclipse and a night cap garden pee for the doggies.
When we spread out the groundsheet, he promptly cuddled up, quite the opposite of cool beauty Claire. The two dogs had a great time eating their first strawberries ever (maybe), and Nobunaga is learning to sit on command before he gets the sweet juicy mouthful. Sharing a punnet of strawberries between the four of us, they soon disappeared. Yummy! 
We kept the walk short, and got home in the early afternoon, so I had some time to knit a wee scarf for Nobunaga while the two dogs lazed on the sofa and the Costco doggie bed respectively. I am so pleased it is finally getting used: getting ready to welcome Mallow/ Nobunaga, I was so happy to find a pattern to match our sitting room atmosphere and got quite a shock when neither he nor Claire showed any interest... The scarf is made from leftover yarn for a sweater I knitted for Tosh some years back. I kept the back of the neck slightly broader, starting with a central crochet motif, knitting to the left and then the right, decreasing under the chin where you tie the scarf, so that it doesn't get too bulky. Now both he and Claire have hand made scarves, for a real family look.
