Oh how I wish I got a photo or video clip of when I completed a yoga video with Galaxy existing. It was all cute until both dogs decided they should be weaved in between me and then start playing while I was in the downward dog pose. It did not end well for any of us.
I haven not done yoga in at least two years. This is a new thing for her. The last few months I have not been able to complete a secession as she would push against me or try playing. This time she pretty much just relaxed; laid on her side with her paws under my body. Depending on the pose or switches she would push her head under my body as well. I am not bothered by this. I actually quite enjoy the dogs relaxing beside me. It just makes switching interesting at times. Although, her taking up half the mat is something I could live with out.
Bullet was more interested in hanging out during the relaxing entrance and exit of the secession. It is another topic but Bullet loved when I practiced belly dancing with a coin belt on. That is not safe for him though as I could accidently step on him while he laid there. I am afraid to introduce that one to Galaxy.
Right now I am focusing on routine that is good for people who sit for long periods of time. With tax season coming up very quickly I would like the routine to be slightly easier so I can reap the full benefits of relaxing and de-stressing after a long day of frustrations.
Between Galaxy and I, things have been interesting. Lets start with Galaxy though. A couple months ago I did a phone consult with the vet on what was going on with her scratching. We opted to change her food ($110.00CAD per bag) and that did not seem to do much. She was on it for four weeks before the annual appointment. All kinds of skin scraping’s and test showed nothing. We were told to change her food again to something much more hypo-allergenic ($150.00CAD per bag). Not so exciting when it comes to budgeting.
She has also been on medication since the appointment. She received a topical dose of de-wormer, two horse sized oral de-wormer pills, oral antibiotics, and a form of steroid. She has been on the antibiotics and steroids for two weeks now. I have to tell you it is like having the old Galaxy back. Feels like a miracle! She has another two week round of antibiotics. I am hoping she is not having an allergic reaction and the antibiotics have killed whatever may have been bothering her. The steroids are now half a pill every two nights. I am hoping to bring the dose down even more before we go on holidays.
This is after the vet appointment. You can see she rubbed the hair out from around her eyes. Plus, you can see how red her skin is. This was taken November 29 2016.
This was taken December 13 2016. It is obvious that her skin is much better. The hair will take some to grow back though.
She has not been scratching. Maybe a little here and there but no more than a healthy dog would. Her pads seem to be tender in the snow as well. Although it does not help that we have had -20C to -30C for a while yet.
She has such tiny feet for a dog that looks so big. They even match her winter jacket!
Saturday October 1, 2016 was our first snowfall of the year and it was record breaking. 23 cm of SNOW!!! To say the least I do not think anyone else was ready for what we got. However miss Galaxy is in heaven again and I did take a video. She is just so happy during this time of year that I cannot help myself.
For the first time in over a decade I went camping. While it was only for a couple of nights I was ecstatic. I could take the dogs (see if it could become a regular thing) and I got to see family. Getting things ready was a bit hectic only because it was very little notice and my car was going in for brakes the same Friday that I was suppose to leave. Driving out to the ground (2.5 hours) I was so very excited. I had not seen the kids or my sister since Dittany’s birthday which was the beginning of December and I had yet to meet my newest niece (no special name for her yet).
Friday went over well. Dittany was excited to see me and Acacia…well he is never too excited for much for very long. It did not take Galaxy long to sniff the kids out and leave them be. However she was protective the entire weekend. I cannot say that to much happened. Friday night/Saturday morning was a different story though. J got up and when he came back into the camper he did not close the door all the way (or it did not latch but the next part is not to surprising). I woke up to mosquitos eating me alive and it took a minute or two but I realized the door was open. It took a few more seconds to realize that Galaxy was no longer in the camper. I think she pushed the door open but she was gone. I left her training collar turned on more so for the barking. I am glad I did that as I had gone outside and did not want to wake the whole camp ground up screaming her name. Then have people freak out. All I had to do was vibrate her collar a couple of times (it is good for up 3/4 mile or 1.2 km approximately) and she came barreling down the road.
The rest of Saturday was pretty good as far as the dogs were concerned. I cuddled with baby plenty. Not a the entire time as there was lots of visiting to do in such a short amount of time. I did get to introduce her Galaxy (maybe that happened Friday night) and Galaxy was very gentle. She only ever toughed her lightly with her nose, did not lick her at all. I was impressed to say the least. I taught Dittany the night before what Galaxy’s hand commands were. Dittany was able to tell Galaxy to sit and lie down with out anyone else around (we were in the camper and I was spying ha-ha).
Freddy, Galaxy, and Baby July 16 2016
I did get one picture and I love this picture. As long as Galaxy was in the middle and could protect every one she was fairly happy. Plus she just likes being around the kids. I realize I have not really mentioned Bullet. He is pretty much set in his ways. He wants to be around everyone but having to be on a lead makes that difficult for him. Every two minutes you are untangling him. He was never left alone and Dittany walked him which means he did get some run time in. I did have to put him in the camper twice though. He would have a barking fit and controlling two dogs of two very different sizes was not easy.
We took a walk, we also went down to the river. Galaxy did get a very little bit of off leash time since we were away from everyone. She wanted to wade in the river and I was not about to join her ha-ha. That evening I drank more than I normally would (but that is what you do when you are camping). The dogs and I slept in the tent so there would be no one missing in the morning again. Maybe next time Dittany will actually join me in there.
Sunday was uneventful. Freddy did most of the packing and to be fair I did kind of avoid it. I held out in the tent for as long as I possibly could. I had been up much earlier that morning before any one else was up and grabbed my pills from the camper. My shoulder was in very bad shape between sleeping in the camper and then having slept in the tent. When I got back the door was open (Galaxy was on her lead so no worries about strangers entering it) but I also let mosquitos in. After all the trouble we gave J on Saturday. I think they need to invest in a bungee cord or something. Slamming the door and potentially waking up kids was not something I was about to do.
All in all it was a fantastic weekend and I would love to be able to do it again. Being able to see almost everyone was amazing and I rekindle my love for camping. If not this year I want to do it again next year and be much more prepared. Like having a cot to sleep on instead of a foamy on top of the dog bed from the car. I also wanted more pictures but I do not focus on those things when I do actually get time with the kids. I gave them disposables and should be able to pull a few pictures for the album from those.
The dog’s have been enjoying the nice weather we have been having. If only they could be this calm all the time.
We have three more nights left of Galaxy’s treatment for her ear. The infection looks like its all cleared up by now. I am just hoping it stays that way; those vet visits are not cheap!
Chocolate Milk Cows 