Samba Takes Her Pills

Here's a little demonstration of Samba taking her pills this afternoon.

We Won't Give Up

For those of you who have been following Samba's medical problems, you now that we've been fighting a kidney infection. She's taken three courses of antibiotics and had x-rays to look for stones or tumors. The x-rays looked really good with no sign of irregularities.

Last Wednesday she finished her third antibiotics, so Monday morning I took another urine sample to Dr B for analysis. I waited patiently hoping there would be no blood left in her urine. When Dr B came to talk to me I was disappointed again. He says we're moving in the right direction, but there is still a trace of blood.

This time we're trying a different course of action. On Friday I'll be dropping her Prednisone which may help. She's also taking both blueberry capsules and cranberry capsules daily and she's taking little white pills to try to increase the acidity of her urine. We're hoping that this combination will help her body to fight off the remaining infection.

These are the pills that Samba takes daily. She takes five of the little white ones three times a day. The others are for her MMM and her thyroid. Fortunately Samba is a good pill taker. I start all my dogs as puppies learning to take medicine so that in later life they don't fight taking a pill. I simply hand Samba each of her pills and she swallows them, no meat or cheese or peanut butter. She also doesn't get a treat afterwards, just a hug.

Water!

We're Water Dogs and this afternoon Dad turned on the hose. You know what that means to a Water Dog? Fun!

First he propped the hose up on the tower so that it was spraying into the air. He and Mom stood back to see if we'd notice. Silly humans.

Tess was the first to notice and she tried to bite the water.

Norma Jean wanted to play, too.

Noah was standing downhill where the water was falling and he was jumping around trying to snatch the drops out of the air before they hit the ground.

That wasn't good enough and he came to grab the water out of the hose.

Samba wanted to get in on the action.

Pretty soon Dad decided to move the hose. Samba and Norma Jean helped him by leading him to the wading pool.

Look at this action. We're all proven swimmers now and we all wanted to get in the pool at the same time.

The pool isn't as big as the lake and only a couple of us could get in together.

We tried to all squeeze in together, but then nobody had room to splash.

Sky and Tsar stayed away from the water and Morgan was busy chewing a stick, but Fudge came to play with us.

This was so much fun.

Can we do it again tomorrow, Dad?

September 11, 2001

September 10, 2001

The End Of Summer

Labor Day traditionally marks the end of summer. This year it also marked the end of our heat wave. Since May we've endured temperatures in the 90s and 100s, but Monday it was 80s and breezy. Then on Tuesday the temps remained in the 70s and the sky was a cloudless blue. What a perfect day to make our last trip of the season to the lake.

It's always difficult to decide which dogs to take along. Samba and Morgan both love to swim, but we try to give everyone a chance, so this time we took Sky, Lola and Norma Jean. I was hoping that Norma Jean's love of swimming would rub off on the other two who aren't enthusiastic about water.

We met J, Splash and Gracie and went directly to the boat. Norma Jean couldn't wait to board the boat and almost jumped off the dock. She was so excited that I had to hold her tightly on the boat. She wanted to go over the side and start swimming before we even got to the cove. Once we docked, she was the first one into the water.

Lola swam out to Rob a couple times, but mostly enjoyed just walking around in the shallow water.

Sky was astounded that the other dogs actually jumped into the water and swam way out. He just stood on the boat and watched in awe. He got his feet wet a couple times, but preferred to watch the others.

Splash, Grace and Norma Jean all swam after their toys and kept all three humans busy throwing them farther out.

We took a break to have a snack and to let the dogs rest.

It was a gorgeous day and I could have spent the day on the boat reading and sipping wine. The dogs had other ideas.

Norma Jean created a little splash, but in the manner of a typical teenage boy, Splash had to show off for the rest of us.

He likes to jump off the back of the boat. Sky couldn't believe what he was seeing.

All too soon it was time to leave for home.

Lola had done well for a dog who isn't crazy about water.

Sky just didn't know what to think about any of these water activities.

Grace was sorry to have to leave the lake.

Splash would like to keep swimming, but maybe there were some treats waiting at home. Splash is a chow hound.

Norma Jean thought it was a perfect day. She's a true water dog and looks forward to next summer.

Back at J's house they were all excited and happy. There's nothing better for a water dog than a day on the water.

They all slept on the way home. Now they can start dreaming about playing in the snow.

Julia Child Of The Kennel

That's me! I'm not a bad cook, though I've had my shares of disasters, but as far as the dogs are concerned I can do no wrong in the kitchen. This week I made them a big pot of turkey vegetable soup. When I say big, I mean enough for four meals for each of them. That's a lot of soup.

The soup is a topper for their kibble and it's a good way to get veggies into Tsar who doesn't care for raw veggies.

When the clock says 4, even though Fudge has been nudging me for ten minutes, we head for the garage where they eat. While the soup heats in the microwave, we measure out their kibble. Samba gets a special prescription food and several of the others get blends of a couple different foods. It keeps life interesting. Then I spoon the soup over the dogfood and stir it in.

I feed five at a time. The fast eaters, Noah, Tess, Lola, Bailey and Norma Jean go first.

Tess.

Noah.

Lola.

Bailey and Norma Jean. All were too busy eating to look up at the camera. When they're finished and everyone has had a good drink to make that kibble swell, they head outside while I bring the second group downstairs.

The slower eaters are just as interested in dinner as the first group.

Fudge.

Morgan.

Sky.

Samba likes to get  down to the same level as the food so she doesn't spill any.

Even Tsar doesn't pass up warm turkey soup. Sometimes he picks the carrots out and sets them beside the bowl. Then when he's finished he goes back and eats the carrots. Dinner is a quiet affair when there's soup on the menu.