December 19, 2009

Several Things


Dazzle "grovelling" trying to get Sunstar to play
.
It's been awhile since I posted, so there are a few things to share.  On the 16-17th we had a retired guide dog as our house guest.  She fit right in and was a pleasure to watch while her owner was out of town.  Dazzle tried hard to get her to play, and she did a little bit, but mostly she schnubbed him (to use a word coined by Mooch of the Mutts comics).


.
When I took her back to her own house (when her owner got home), Dazzle had a blast playing with his new girlfriend, Portia, a 3 yr old black lab who has almost as much energy as Dazzle. :-)  I got photos and video this time of their play so Portia's owner can share them with the people who raised and trained her new guide dog.  As you can see, her retired dog also wants in on the fun for some of the time. :-)







VIDEO: Dazzle playing with Portia (with sound effects)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO5q41Yt7dw
.
As a result of the slow motion video I took last month of Dazzle trotting across the dam, I noticed that he trots out of alignment.  I took him for a chiropractic adjustment (which he's been getting every few months since he was a pup) but it didn't seem to correct the problem.  So I looked into getting some stretching and strengthing videos.  But after his routine yearly check-up and titers on Tuesday the vet gave us a referral to a local canine rehab physical therapist.
.
We went to see her on Friday and she said she doesn't understand why he's a bit out of alignment in his trot (she saw the videos I took and watched him move and agrees he's a bit out of alingment and that the chiro adjustments have likely been keeping it from being worse). She said his muscle mass is identical on both sides, and his strength and flexibility/range of motion are excellent.  She did give us several exercises and stretching things to do that will hopefully help prevent injury in my little athelete and I will be very concious of doing everything on both sides with him. 
.
Dazzle also got to try out an inflatable exericise ball for the first time and LOVED it! I wish I had gotten photos! He did great, doing things that most dogs take some time to master (like doing a "sit up" while balancing on the ball.) I found a really good deal on a 60cm egg shaped ball on-line and got it for him. Between that and his wheel and the exercises, he should be as strong and flexible as possible!
.
SNOW!
Today we had the first snow of the season that has accumulated.  It's still snowing and Dazzle is still choosing to play outside, but I took some photos and video of his fun this morning.  I LOVE the way the music I added seems to match his movements so closely in several places.  It's like he can hear it!  Which, of course is impossible since it only played in my computer after I shot the video.
.
VIDEO: Dazzle playing in the snow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2tU5V6CPpA
.
"Are you SURE you don't want to come out mom? I'll let you play with my basktball..."

Insert cartoon "screetching tires" sound. He didn't really slide, he was on his side rolling around when I took the photo but it looks like he might be doing a wipeout slide!


Tunneling is a favorite activity.  How he keeps from packing snow in his nose I don't know!

He does occasionally rest, but is reluctant to stop playing!  He slept with this ball in his mouth for about 30 minutes!

.