Kenai, my gorilla in the mist, 23 wks
Oh dear, Kenai’s back to antibiotics. His pooty problems restarted this week, and aren’t responding to the probiotics, the fiber, plain canned pumpkin… sound familiar? So we give Metronidazole a try, since it can also kill protozoa and other nasties puppies pick up. But after the last antibiotic gave him a bit of colitis, I have to watch out for colitis again. I’m told that the amino acid L-glutamine helps protect and repair the mucosal lining of the bowels. Guess that means a trip to the health food store.
All the cooties Kenai has been treated for are frustrating, but not too surprising really. BB doesn’t have the same tummy troubles, so it can’t be the food or water. Kenai gets exposed to all kinds of environments with his training and socialization, that his brother doesn’t. And living in the country, his field and yard have traffic from innumerable wild beasties. I keep telling myself that it will build a really strong immune system in him.
If only he’d stop eating ickies in the field!! We’ve worked on “leave it” and ‘come”, and he’s much better about it, but still, he’s a puppy: no such thing as perfect obedience from a 23 week old puppy. Kenai’s darn close to it, though. Unfortunately sometimes he ignores the leave it and gets to the critter poop before I get to him. He once even tried to roll in it. Doggie ideas about grooming are not exactly the same as ours…
If he was a human kid, I would wonder if he’s doing this just so he can get his peanut butter more often. He’s a PB fiend, my little big puppy. A spoonful of sugar may do it for Mary Poppins, but peanut butter is the medicine delivery system of choice for Kenai. He knows where it is in the pantry too! Doesn’t matter how awful something tastes, if you put it in peanut butter, he’ll eat it.
Kenai’s also getting the TLC for his sore back legs. We do the Tellington touch, and gentle massage on them. I’ve limited his run time, which he doesn’t like. (I don’t either, since he gets bored and restless without enough exercise). The right hind leg seems the most sore, along the Achilles tendon and hock joint. The coming rain isn’t helping either of us today. Poor kiddo. Growing up is an uncomfortable proposition for Great Danes at times.
Despite the poopy problems and the sore legs, Kenai still enjoys his indoor play, and manages not to be too grumpy about his discomfort. His happy play is so much fun to watch, I can’t help but join in! He decided to play soccer with me yesterday, tapping the tennis ball in my direction so I can roll it back to him a few times. Then it’s pick up the ball in his mouth and leap about. When he’s ready, he’ll toss the ball up in the air, chase it down, and do it all again. Puppy soccer!
Our games of tug have evolved a little too. I still refuse to loose, so I’ve made tug part of a “let go” and fetch game. He’s able to get his feet up to try and knock my arm loose, so I’ve gotten really fast at switching hands! Didn’t work, toffee toodles! And from time to time I do a “puppy stuck” tuggie game, where my hand has the baby from behind and between his front legs: he can’t get either the baby or himself loose. Just a little reminder who’s bigger and stronger. Maybe he won’t notice I’m not!
He has tried returning to the keep away games with me, which means I need to bring out the clicker and treats. No keep away, love. Not when you’re a service dog and need to retrieve things I drop. A lot of it is the competitive stuff between him and his brother. But it’s carrying over, which is normal for puppies. They have to learn there’s different ways to play with different people and dogs, and need reminding of that from time to time.
Kenai’s ears are almost done with the taping! Yay! I took the tape off Monday, and only the tips are drooping now, so instead of a full post taping, I’m going to try using only a strip of tape inside the ear. The base and ever treacherous middle fold are still standing so cross your fingers. I really hope for his sake that’s all we have to do for the remainder of the time it takes for his ears to stand. The posts and wrapped around tape has to be itchy, and getting it all off isn’t much fun for him.
It is unbelievable that next Tuesday, Kenai and BB will be 6 months old. How’d that happen?! He was this tiny little tank of a puppy I could pick up and cart off, now suddenly he’s tall enough to be petted while I’m standing. It doesn’t seem possible that my rhino baby has been here for four months. I’M AGING!! AAAHH! Okay, old lady fit over…
It’s really gotten dark outside, and the trees are blowing around pretty hard. I think our trip to the vet might be postponed until later. I don’t like the way the sky looks, so I’m going to close up here and go downstairs to check the local news. One of the skills you acquire living in Missouri is the ability to recognize wall clouds and the strange green cast of a tornadic storm. Time to go.
