Yoshi and Trek Training Diary - 2017

By Ellen Clary (Copyright 2004-2017)
(reverse date order)
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Dec 29

Yoshi acupuncture and PT.

He is improving! DM doesn't improve. Tech Sherrie tells me not to rule out DM because his improvement is slower than normal, but still it's really good news. Though his walking is unsteady in the backyard on his rear legs.


Dec 27

Finally did Yoshi's nails.
Terri walked him a noon around the block.

Took him on a walk at Krusi Park at dusk all the way around most of two fields twice. It was dark enough that he really couldn't see the other three dogs that were there. And in the past he would have been able to see them.


Tue Dec 26
We're back from our family visit and Yoshi survived pretty much. We didn't let him meet the new resident Schnauzer named Cooper, but what was interesting is that Yoshi could be near him if Paul was carrying him. We could even let Cooper sniff Yoshi's but (I was carrying Yoshi at the time.) The second that Paul put Cooper on the ground Yoshi was barking at him even from 30' away. When Paul picked him up, Yoshi was fine. For a while Yoshi didn't seem to think that Cooper was a dog.

Tue Dec 12

Yoshi seems to be guzzling less water. Still keeping an eye on him.
He pooped a ton, so I don't think we should give him any pumpkin for a couple of meals.

Sun Dec 10

Spent the morning researching dog food. Good additions to supplement a dog's food are sweet potato, peas, carrots, and pumpkin.
I'm going to go get some Blue Buffalo Wilderness Senior Chicken (12% fat)
https://bluebuffalo.com/natural-dog-food/grain-free-blue-wilderness/dry-food/wilderness-senior-chicken-recipe/
If that doesn't work will switch to a turkey (10% fat) though it doesn't have L-carnitine and I want something to help with the muscle wasting in his back legs. He is showing DM symptoms, but has other issues too that we can more successfully address like disc narrowing.
There is also Dr Tim's Metabolite, but  it's not as readily available.
They didn't have the senior version of Blue Wilderness so I have the adult version (15% fat) and have ordered the senior one.
I also got a pumpkin supplement to aid in the transition.
https://www.chewy.com/fruitables-switch-pet-food-transition/dp/104873

Sat Dec 9

Yoshi's labs are stable! He doesn't have Cushings even though he completely deserves it. It's caused by an excess of the stress hormone cortisol. (half smile). We're now seeing if anything grows from his urine culture. We need to change his food tomorrow.

Fri Dec 8

Yoshi kept us up half the night with his pacing.
He went out at
8:30p, 10p, 2a, 5:30a
I called Park Centre and changed his tech appt to a vet appt and they got him in today.
They're doing some kidney tests on him checking for Cushing's disease.

Terri's getting the C medical terms confused and confusing me.
Cushings would mean that the dog has an excess of the stress hormone cortisol
(not cortizone the anti-inflammatory)

He had quite the day. Acupuncture, Cold Laser therapy, and a Vet appt with needle sticks for blood draws.

I'm making a list of quality low fat dog foods though we have to wait to hear about today's tests.

Dogs can smell electricity. It's the small amount of ozone released.

Thu Dec 7

Yoshi evening walk. We went a little earlier and he was very happy to go. He walked very well and we went all the way down the block and up the next short block and turned out (these are intended a short do-your-business walks as Terri walks him during the daytime), but when we turned around he nearly ran back to the house which is unusual. He wanted his evening treats (which is me giving him a pill in a pill pocket along with some bread cubes and a little kibble.) It was cool to have him nearly dragging me back as he rarely feels like walking this briskly.


He is peeing more often which is a concern, but he's been drinking a lot of water. Park Centre is suggesting blood work to check his kidneys. This makes sense but he was in the hospital where they were checking everything. I think it's the Royal Canin food that is doing this and I'm lobbying to switching him to something else.


Wed Dec 6
Yoshi saw Ziji today. She is seeing more issues with his lower back that could be DM or Disc related. So she showed us where to rub his back. That said, his front is really solid, so if he has to be in a cart, he'll be fine.

Wed Nov 29
Yoshi Walk at Crab Cove. It was so nice it was about an hour before sunset and lovely. Initially he was barking at dogs from quite a distance away then he seemed to chill out. We worked our way up to the dog park and while we still have to stay quite a ways from the fence he can at least watch the dogs from a ways away and look to me for treats.

Tue Nov 28
Yoshi walk. Peaceful walk about the block.

Fri Nov 24

We're still at Lake Wildwood. Yoshi continued to pace all over Paul and Mary's house, then we went back to Treva's and he thunked down on her rug and relaxed.


Wed Nov 22

Yoshi walk. Met Jim who just sold the house on the corner of Lincoln and Court. They're staying in Alameda but going to rent for a little while before buying another. He wanted to avoid owning two houses at the same time. He says he liked the people he sold the house to which is a good sign for all the rest of us.


Yoshi barked at some people on his walk, but met others nicely. Once he realizes it's a person and not a dog he usually settles down. His vision is just not perfect right now after being razor sharp all his life, so he barks at funny things.


Tue Nov 21
Yoshi walk. I took him to Krusi Park which says light longer because there are few trees. Harmlessly barked at some dogs playing fetch far away, but got some good sniffs in. He enjoyed it but I don't get home before sunset until the time change or at least late January. We can do it on weekends but that's when I like to go to Washington Park.

Sat Nov 18

Yoshi evening walk (Terri took him on one during the day) this is just a "do your business walk about" but he was very spry. Clearly Adequan is doing him a world of good. If I had time, I'd consider putting him back into obedience or nosework training.

Mon Nov 13

Terri walked Yoshi at noon today. She's doing that more often and then I get him out in the evening to see if he needs to do anything else.


Sun Nov 12

Yoshi fecal was free of parasites.


I took Yoshi on a walk at Crab Cove. it was really nice and I think we both needed it. We went across the field through some geese who didn't care, to the duck pond, then over to a soccer field to watch the humans run around and then over to the dog park to hang out outside it. Seems like old times as we use to hang out outside the dog park very often. He still reacts, but he's manageable these days.


Sat Nov 11

Yoshi has his Adequan shot today and a fecal. Now he switches to monthly. His next one is 12/9 at 9am.


Thu Nov 9
Yoshi is ravenously hungry and losing weight, so I wrote to Dr. Hagen asking if the gallstones still appeared because I need to change his diet.

Tue Nov 7
Yoshi got out yesterday because Terri didn't realize the gate was open from when Bob, the painter, was working. She let Yoshi out and then talked to our vet on the phone for 5 minutes. When I pulled into the driveway she came racing up. "Yoshi is out." we both went around the block in opposite directions, but true to form he was only two doors down with a neighbor whose daughter was negotiating to keep him. Yoshi has a small book of ID on his tag, so her Mom Michelle was saying "Oh honey, I don't think so, this is someone else's dog." They live in Frank's old house and their names are Michelle (Frank's daughter I think) and Andrew with kids Josh and Anna. Today Mr. Dietary Indiscretion pooped 4 small plum pits (which are from our own yard) which is good timing as he has a followup ultrasound tomorrow and I'm hoping there's nothing to throw the radiologist off. The pits are going with us to BAVS - in a sealed bag.

Sun Nov 5
Terri walked Yoshi tonight after our DVD night because we didn't have time to do it beforehand. He peed in the living room because we weren't paying proper attention to his pacing around. He is actually doing relatively well. Seems to have much less trouble with the steps so I think the Adequan injections are making a difference. So far we are bringing him into Park Centre for the injections. I keep thinking that we could just give him the shots or Muller (Canine Rehab) could do it, but I don't want to mess up all his good associations with us or Canine Rehab (which he loves), so we'll just keep taking him to Park Centre which he never liked anyway unless he's boarding and being fawned on by Teresa the kennel manager. He will switch to a monthly injection soon anyway.

Fri Nov 3

Yoshi walk. Peaceful except for the JRT across the street whose owner recalled her to put her in the car. Bark Bark Bark went Yoshi. Can't say I blame him. Rest of the walk was uneventful.


Wed Nov 1

Yoshi walk. Surprisingly there wasn't a lot of Halloween candy remnant lying around which was nice. Hide from one pair of walking dogs which is getting really easy now. He seems to be doing better after his hospital stay. He's walking slow, but moving along.


Mon Oct 30

Yoshi walk. He is doing ok. We walked around the block on Johnson. Barking at someone carrying a bucket and then nothing. Greeted a realtor named Amy - the house on the corner of Court and Lincoln is about to be put up for sale. Also nicely greeted Gary on Johnson. Yoshi has been rewarded so much for saying hello to people that he takes a quick sniff and then looks to me for a reward.


Fri Oct 27

Yoshi night walk. We're hoping that a walk in the evening would help his motility. No luck tonight. Went all the way to Court and Santa Clara and back. Poor guy maybe he needs more fiber (or not).


Thu Oct 26

Yoshi evening walk. We're walking him in the evening to see if he'll poop. He used to but now with his poor motility he'd not until the morning which is a concern. We'll do another ultrasound in about a week and a half.


Wed Oct 25

Yoshi is home! He's not 100%, but he doesn't need to be in the hospital.

5k all told. 2 x-rays. 3 ultrasounds, and he will need another one in two weeks. Hooray for insurance. I need to get the report tomorrow and then email it all off to the insurance company.


He is panting a fair bit which could be pain or medication.


Tue Oct 24

Yoshi is starting to feel better, but he's going to spend one more night in the hospital.


Mon Oct 23

Yoshi has about 10 cm. of inflamed gut which is slowing down his motility. The gallbladder is still a concern, but less so. It's not clear which one is causing him pain.


He's there another night on meds to hopefully address the motility issue and do another  ultrasound.


Sun Oct 22

Yoshi walk. He's clearly not feeling well. He threw up earlier and then ate it again.

Went on a walk at 5:30 and only got about 6 houses before we turned around.


He hung out through our dinner and just looked progressively more green so we took him into BAVS (Bay Area Vet Specialists, in San Leandro, our closest ER). They kept him after an X-Ray and a blood test, with an ultrasound planned in the morning.


Tue Oct 17

Park Centre had sent me the estimate for Yoshi's shots and I missed it in the email. It looks pretty doable. Depends on if we want to be the ones who give him the shots.

Terri made an appointment for him for Sat at 3pm.


Mon Oct 16

Yoshi walk. Wow he's walking slow. 0.5 mph, then 1 mph, then on the way one over 2 mph.

I need to email park centre about his arth shots. He was barking at a kid crawling on the ground I picked Yoshi up just to make sure. He recognizes children on their feet but he's not sure when they're crawling on the ground.


Sun Oct 15

Yoshi slowly walked just part of the way. We turned around on Court St and headed back. I am concerned about him.


Sat Oct 14

Yoshi walk. Uneventful until Gibbons and Lincoln where two dogs on the other side of the street started walking in the same direction we were just ahead of us. For fun I just picked him up, and we walked together with him barking for at least two houses till he finally got tired of it. Eventually I put him down on the ground.


Fri Oct 13

Yoshi had his acupuncture and cold laser therapy today.

He still doesn't get the acupuncture is supposed to be relaxing.


Thu Oct 12

Yoshi walk. We have a dog ahead of us so he was walking very well.

I don't think he overly misses Trek anymore though he does smell her from time to time which gets his attention.


Sun Oct 8

Yoshi walk. Some barking at a neighbor dog walking by, but nothing severe.


I still miss Trek but it's less overwhelming now.

Golden Gate PWC is having a herding trial Oct 14-15. i've asked Mark De Maria if he wants to go with me on the 14th.


Sat Oct 7

Yoshi walk. went find. I told my neighbor Evelyn that Trek had passed away and she said she was sorry to hear it. She always gets our dogs names mixed up.


Yoshi was was non dramatic. He is walking better after his Friday acupuncture and cold laser therapy. I finally groomed him and he's looking so much better. I broke the grooming table (screws pulled out) and my fix isn't perfect (it won't fold back up again), so we'll have to take it apart again and straighten it back out.


Fri Oct 6
It's been a week since Trek's death. I'm still terribly sad about it, but the pain is a little less overwhelming.

Yoshi walk. One of those perfect storm incidents where dogs are approaching on both sides of the street and there's nowhere to go. in the old days I would have just turned around, but this time I just picked him up and walked into the street and stood on the side where the other dog wasn't barking. I put a parked car in between us and then was able to walk on once that dog had passed.

Thu Oct 5

Yoshi walk. He started going really slow half way down Johnson so I just carried him almost all the way to Gibbon's. He didn't mind this and then he walked faster on the way home.


Wed Oct 4

Yoshi walk. Uneventful, save for barking at a neighbor that walked past him fast while he was peeing.


Tue Oct 3

Yoshi walk. He was walking very well. Did a sort-of lunge at a Papillon 2 houses away and across the street, but as soon as he hit the end of the leash he sat down and looked back to me for a treat. Some things haven't changed. He got a treat after a moment of disengaging from the other dog.

Mon Oct 2
Yoshi walk. Now he's sometimes barking at nothing across the street right as we exit the house, but then he recovered. Found an actual small dog to bark at, so I just carried him for a little while. Later there was something on the street wrapped in towels that neither of us were sure about, but he decided that it was ok.

He is definitely wobbly in his rear end, but I'm hoping he can stay on his feet for his lifetime.


Sun Oct 1
Now Yoshi is starting to look for Trek. He'll look in her crate, check the snuggler that she was often in and look around. He's not freaked out by it which was a big concern of ours, but he is looking now.

Yoshi walk. He doesn't see as well these days. so he will bark at people too which I apologize, and say he can't see that well. They all understand.

Sat Sep 30
Yoshi hasn't really realized that Trek is gone.

Fri Sep 29
The day I've been dreading has arrived. I'm not sure how much detail I want to go into but it is important information. We said goodbye to Trek today. Barb of Bridge Vet Services http://www.bridgevs.com/ came to our house, and Trek passed away peacefully in my arms on my lap while we were sitting on my living room futon. I highly recommend paying the extra money for having someone come to your house It's so, so much nicer than a vet's office. It's a much slower process than at the vets as she injects into the liver which is full of veins but still slower than straight into a vein This is after the dog is sedated and sleeping in your arms.

We had Yoshi present, but he wasn't that interested. He'd check in take a sniff and then want to go elsewhere, though we kept him in the room.

Then we took Trek's body to UC Davis for the DM necropsy for Joan Coates' DM study. I had arranged this well in advance. If you're a current UC Davis client the necropsy is free.

Thu Sep 28
Trek and I went back to Crab Cove for a final time. Again it was really nice, not too windy, and I got some good photos, and we have a nice relaxing time and I only cried part of the time. Played fetch, watched geese, ate full-size treats, watched the water, and I held her for a long time which she's fine with as long as I'm petting her belly.

I am concerned about Yoshi missing Trek. I keep hoping he isn't going to notice, but he's been paying close attention to her these days. I will let him sniff her body after she's left us tomorrow but I don't know if he's going to get it and I'm not sure I want him to. I have put the stuffed Corgi in Trek's crate to absorb her smell, but I don't know if that's going to help.


Wed Sep 27

Trek and I went to Crab Cove which was gorgeous. We had the place almost to ourselves. We first played some fetch until she got tired then I was going to put her in her backpack but got the impression she didn't want that so I carried her over to the water where we looked at birds and took photos. We're going to go back there tomorrow as well.


Tues Sep 26

Trek Krusi Park. Same thing but using a different park entrance with a different bare spot. It was nice. Lots of short fetch. Her left leg is getting less strong, but she'll be ok. Lots and lots of treats and a visit from another dog whom I threw a ball for back towards the owner.


We're going bird watching at Crab Cove tomorrow though I should being the cart too in case she wants to do that instead. It just now occurring to me that my East Bay Regional Park membership covers Crab Cove and Washington Park when they're charging for parking.


Mon Sep 25

Trek Krusi Park

We walked a little ways out to a nice spot and did around 8 short fetch throws and we walked back (with me helping by pulling up on the leash on her Webmaster harness. I spent a fair bit of time petting her and caressing her and not trying to cry the whole time which she doesn't have time for and wonders what my problem is.


Sun Sep 24

Trek, Terri and I are going to go to Tilden Regional Park and see the Little Farm there and hike some of the trails. Should be fun and Trek will get some nice smells. They do run out of parking so we should get there in the morning.


We got there midday and they indeed had run out of parking, but we went down to  the next picnic area down and found parking even in the shade. We walked over to the Little Farm and took lots of photos. Trek is exactly the same as she's always been. Loves the birds, doesn't like the goats or sheep and has no opinion on cows (she has little experience with cows.)


Then we walked the lower Packrat trail over to Jewel Lake which had some challenging tree limbs to negotiate with a pack with a dog in it. We took an easier way back. Got some nice photos of the whole thing.


Sat Sep 23

I wrote to Lisa Winn and Dr. Chai-Fei Li committing to bringing them Trek's body on Friday Sept. 29, 2017 and I cc'd Dr. Joan Coates.


Trek Krusi Park

Today I brought both the four wheeled cart and her usual counterbalanced two wheeled Eddie's Wheels. I wanted to give her the opportunity to run in the four wheeled cart. I would throw the toy and we would run together to the toy and I'd tell her to pick it up and we'd run a little further with her carrying it to me (I'm pulling on the tow rope to help her.) This was a fun game but I could tell that something felt missing about it, so after a while I took Trek out of that cart and left her in the field and I went to the car and swapped the carts.

When I got back I put her in the Eddie's Wheels. I had chosen one of the bare spots that we sometimes use. While the time in the four wheeled cart was ok, she was much happier to be in the two wheeled car. Took her maybe one toss for her to get going then she was all for it for 7 throws or so and this is after running in the other cart. I had a smiling dog. So I have her opinion. It's a two wheeled cart for her for the week.


Yoshi walk. A couple of dog encounters on Court and on Gibbons. They're now walking down Johnson and there is rarely a dog on Johnson though there is the guy that walks his cat from time to time. I love the idea of taking your cat on a walk. If I had a cat willing to do that I'd have a cat again.


Fri Sep 22

I took Trek to Lake Chabot and we went on a short hike along the water. It was really lovely. Then we spend time on the grassy area near the parking lot. Played some brief fetch in her cart but the grass was a little long for it.


Diane came over and we watched Rachel Maddow and then we took Yoshi on a walk. He was moving very well which I find surprising, but he was marching right along.


Thu Sep 21

Took Trek in for her last cold laser session. She got three techs all alternating feeding her. Such a lucky dog. Debra and Gauge were there so she got to say goodbye to Trek as well.


I have decided. I'm letting Trek go next Friday. it's what she wants. I'm going to see if she can go see some of Linda Rorem's livestock tomorrow.

Linda is going to be at Pacines tomorrow, so I've asked Diane to come to let Yoshi out mid-day.

I just found out that Pacines is just under 2 hours away which would mean 4 hours in a crate for Trek for around 2 hours of fun, so we're not going but instead will go to Lake Chabot and use the paid lot that we've already paid for.


Wed Sep 20

I took Trek to Jorge which caused him some confusion because it was actually Yoshi's appt but Trek is having continence issues, so she needed it more.


Diane came by at noon to let the dogs out. Yoshi didn't even want to go into the yard. Trek didn't do anything pee-wise.


Yoshi got the walk this time. He went all the way around the block via Santa Clara.

Only one barking fit and missed a couple of other opportunities.


I am getting better at expressing Trek's bladder - more correctly helping her to pee by putting a hand on each side of her bladder and squeezing my hands together.


Tue Sep 19

Trek - Fetch on the lawn with Diane. Each of us would get on one end and we'd throw the toy and she's fetch it and bring it to the other person which turned out to be quite fun.


Yoshi - Dusk walk

Not quite dark - can still can see mostly. We went to Santa Clara and back.


Mon Sep 18

Yoshi walk. We just went around the block via Johnson St. Hid to let a slow moving dog go by only to have the owners turn around which created a blizzard of barking on both sides of the street. Then they decided to stop on the corner right where we wanted to go so after a bit we crossed over to the other side of the cross street and then proceeded to walk directly past them without a peep from either side. No further drama. Save for continuous barking at a AT&T sales person which was handy.


Trek Fetch. We just went on the front lawn to play. My grass is nice and short in the middle which is perfect.


Sun Sep 17

Yoshi walk. He went all the way around the block slowly down Santa Clara. He stopped last time, but this time he wanted to go.


Trek Redwood Park. I paid for a membership and can now park in the lot without extra charge. (I wanted to support the parks since I use them so much.. We went down the stream trail.

Facebook post:

Trek being a DM Ambassador in a backpack is such a hugely positive experience for everyone that I'm now rethinking letting her go in two weeks. About a quarter of the people who see her stop and say hello and about every 25th person really, really needs to say hello to a Corgi (because they used to have a Corgi.) Having her at eye level makes a difference. Trek's opinion is neutral. I get good exercise out of it too.


Sat Sep 16

I had Trek with me the other time incase she wanted to pee. She didn't until she got back into the house and was trying to move in the new snuggler. Good thing the cover easily come off now. It's in the wash with cold water. Hope I can get it back together. I did with effort.


A three legged black cat cornered me in the driveway demanding food. I carried him/her over to Christina's, but Jim says they don't know whose cat it is. Tomorrow I'll take him/her over to park centre to check for a chip. [Zachary the fake homeless cat who is well cared for and live on Gibbons just around the corner]


Took Yoshi on a walk. He only wanted to go halfway down Court so we turned around then


Trek Creeper Street Surfing. For my own amusement I took Trek out on her creeper to Bay Farm. the bike path was too rough so we went up and down the street beside shoreline park a few times. At the end she asked to play fetch. I didn't have her cart with me so we made up a game of I hand it to her and she holds it for a little while.


Fri Sep 15
Yoshi got a walk today. Amazingly we didn't see any dogs though we did see Romeo the cat on Court. No read drama there.

Thu Sep 14

It was windy and a little cold but I decided I still wanted to go to Krusi Park with Trek.

I helped her walk around a little then we did this fetch game where I ran out with her and went a little beyond it so she could bring the toy to me. I mostly did this to stay warm, but she had an ok time of it as well.


Wed Sep 13

Trek Krusi Park

We were there late and stayed until it was just getting a little hard to see. It was 7:50pm, so if I get myself out there by 7:15pm we'll have plenty of time.

I keep thinking that I should be carrying Trek around more in a backpack or in a wagon (which I've been doing), but she's fine with some limited fetch and she really really likes the treats that we get at Park Centre: Lean Treats. I should start carrying more Red Barn too. I helped her to walk just a little and then stopped and we did a surprising amount of fetch of various lengths 10 feet down to just pick it up and hand it to me. I'll pause and she'll bug me for more. She's quite happy to do this and she improves over time up to a point then she gets tired.


Tue Sep 12

Trek Krusi Park

Trek finds the walk to the center of the part very tiring now, so I was thinking that she didn't want to do fetch anymore but I was wrong. It's the walking that she finds tiring. Fetch itself is fine so I put her in her cart at a spot near the entrance and we just had a fine time playing fetch there. Probably seven throws or so. The weather was iffy and windy which made it a little more exciting, but we got through it without being rained on. I think I'll alternate between cart fetch and being pulled in a wagon or a creeper.


Yoshi walk - Lots of dogs out walking, so they keep crossing the street and hiding behind cars.

Mon Sep 11
Trek ride. I put her in a Radio Flyer wagon - the kind with removable sides. She thought she was going to die at first then got used to it and then seemed to enjoy herself. Soon I'm going to try the creeper though I might have to make the pipe insulation inserts more permanent ir use pool noodles which are a little fatter. The creeper is wider and I think she's more comfortable on it.

Sun Sep 10

Trek and I went bird watching today on the shore at the base of High Street with me carrying her in her backpack. The noisy shorebirds held her attention.


Sat Sep 9

Terri, Trek, and I went on a hike in Redwood Regional Park. I found a way to get to the lower part of Golden Spike Trail from an unofficial access point just outside the gate which saves us a bit of walking on the road. With a pack it's easier going up it, but going back we'll just take the road. The trail goes along the bottom of the park, becomes the Bridle trail and takes you into the playground area and the central parking area and the place where the Stream Trail starts up the hill up to the Skyline Gate. We stopped at a table near the playground. The park has these terrific smells and is just heaven for a dog. i haven't seen Trek this happy in a month. We're going to have to do a lot of backpacks this month.

Fri Sep 8

Trek Krusi Park

I helped her get out to just past the infield to a spot where we could do a little fetch. She's getting less enthusiastic for it so I might switch to just carrying her around in the backpack for "walks." We can go anywhere that smells good. Tomorrow I'd like to take her to Redwood Park.


Wed Sep 6

We took the dogs to see Ziji.

We had a good talk as always.

She agrees that Trek no longer has the same enthusiasm for life that she's always had. I've been noticing that even though Trek will still play fetch it's not as fun as it used to be for her. I've decided that we'll say goodbye to her on Sept 29th after Terri is back from vacation.


Ziji gave us something to try on Yoshi. It's a cannabis derivative that has no THC. He only needs a tiny bit each meal. Suppose to have good pain relief properties


Tue Sep 5

Trek Krusi Park

Three different dogs came up to say hello to Trek's chagrin though she was polite while she was wishing them to go away. One named Romeo figured out I had treats and had to be cajoled by his owner to step away. He was my best friend for a little while. He was small short haired small but sturdy type.

I got Trek out past the infield and we did around 4-5 tosses before I guided her back.


Sat Sep 2

100 degrees today. We're all hunkered down in the hot house with the fans on.

Took both dogs to Walnut Creek in the morning. They're just getting laser now.

No walks today.


Thu Aug 31

Trek Krusi Park

It was hot today so while we went out to our usual spot, we only did 5 fetch throws. She was tired, but really wanted to do it.


Wed Aug 30

Trek Krusi Park

Much the same but she had even more energy. So sluggish getting out there but when she gets warmed up she's ready for some short-throw fetch. 12 tosses this time and cruised back to the car.


Tue Aug 29

Trek Krusi Park

Pretty much exactly like yesterday. Some struggle walking out then a good time playing fetch and asking for more when I give her the option of stopping at 6 throws. It was around 10 tosses.


Mon Aug 28

Trek Krusi Park

I helped her walk out to the center and we did about 8-9 fetch throws and then walked back. Fetch seems to warm her up nicely as while it's hard for her to walk out, she has no trouble walking back (me pulling up a little on her harness with a short leash.


Sat Aug 26

I took Trek to Bay Farm

We did about 10  fetch throws, then i walked her over to one of the small hills and had her run down it (usually grand fun), then I carried her out to near the water to take in the smells. I then helps her walk over to one of the nice trees and we hung out in the shade. she was tired from all the exercise and panted nearly the entire time under the tree. She should have been having a blast and she was happy to do everything, but the crazy happy smile wasn't there. I think life is just taking a whole lot more effort from her, though she was thrilled with all the treats.


Fri Aug 25

Yoshi PT. He is doing really well in the hydro-treadmill. Doesn't even need much encouragement and he can go at speed the entire time now. This is interesting as when wandering around the house he is not very stable. Terri says he also does well on walk where he is moving in essentially a straight line.


Trek had the night off.


Thu Aug 24

Trek Krusi Park

Curly coated Ruby was there again (she was yesterday too).

There was also a lab and white colored dog that we also saw yesterday.

All the dogs come up to check out Trek's cart and move on.

I walked her out past the first field. She stops every 10 feet to rest, but doesn't need to going back. It's like fetch warms her up. Did around 8 fetch throws and "ran" back to the car.


Wed Aug 23

Trek Krusi Park

Boy Scouts flying paper airplanes for a little while so we just went in an entrance to the right of out usual one. Found a different bare spot and we probably did 10 fetch throws and I helped her sort of run back. This cart helps her now. She didn't like it at first.


Tue Aug 22

Trek Krusi Park
She's doing surprisingly well. Does not like being towed for very far, but likes playing fetch quite a lot.

Mon Aug 21

Trek Krusi Park.

Adults have taken over one of the field which is a huge hassle, but I carried out out to a spot out of range and we did some fetch there. Not ideal, but ok.


Yoshi Walk. Quiet with no dogs. He recreationally barked at a neighbor.


Sat Aug 19
I'm actually forgetting the details of today.

Fri Aug 18

Trek Krusi Park

Found a spot and got some fetch in. Spent some time with a Corgi fan.


Wed Aug 16

Trek Krusi Park

I put the tow rope on the Eddie's Wheels and towed her out to just past one of the infields to a bare spot. Trek moves surprisingly well in this cart. The wheels are moved forward which takes more weight off her front. We did 7 short fetch tosses and then I towed her back with her nearly running along with me. I switched back to the lighter weight harness.


Yoshi walk. Peaceful, no dogs, no cats.


Tue Aug 15

Trek Krusi Park

Adults had taken most of the fields, so we walked on the outside over to the other part of the park on the other side of the backstop near where the kids' playground is. We were able to do some fetch once we finally found a spot. I used a leash and her webmaster harness which might be overkill in the Eddie's Wheels cart.


Mon Aug 14

Trek Krusi Park

This is her first time trying the Eddie's Wheels counterbalanced cart. I put her in the cart with her Webmaster harness and a four foot leash. We walked out a little bit into the outfield and turned around and stopped at a bare spot. I took the leash off and tossed her toy a few times and she started to have a nice time even asking for more. Probably 6-7 short tosses. the we "ran" back to the car I think this cart is going to work.


Yoshi walk. Lots of dog avoidance and a cat who was on a walk.


Sat Aug 12

Took Trek to Lila's, so Lila could switch the Eddie's Wheels over to be counterbalanced. At first Trek didn't want to move at all in it so we tried a Doggone Wheels with limited success. I took both carts home and put Trek in the EWs in the backyard and she started to walk with it. We later moved to the front lawn for some fetch. We may have bought some time with this cart.


Fri Aug 11

Diane and dog walks

Diane came over to help me with walking Trek and Yoshi. We started out together then at the corner, Yoshi and i continued on and Diane and Trek turned around and headed back for home.

Yoshi walk. We went down Santa Clara and it was completely peaceful until a dog crossed the street a ways in front of us. I turned around and walked a ways back and then turned to watch the dog cross. In my opinion the dog was far enough away, but Yoshi still wanted to charge. I told him to knock it off and he did after some complaining and then he remembered to ask for a treat (it's been awhile since I was the one walking him.) Rest of the walk was fine.


Trek walk. Diane says that Trek did get tired on the half-block walk back to the house. They rested a bit and did maybe four fetch tosses. I'm looking forward to having Trek try the counterbalanced Eddie's Wheels cart tomorrow.


Thu Aug 10

On Saturday I'm going to take Lila's Eddie's Wheels back to her to have her turn it into a counter balanced cart which has less weight on the front.


I have to do a work around until then.

I tow Trek down the block and back to give her a walk at some speed then we play fetch on our front lawn because it's the exact type of ground I look for to play fetch on. When we have a counter-balanced cart we can try Krusi Park again, or the front lawn or wherever.


Mon Aug 7

Trek Krusi Park

First time with four wheels. I towed her some to barish patch and we did a little fetch but it's not easy going. We went out to the sidewalk and walked up and down it with her back feet tied up out of the way. That worked surprising well though I think she's rather be playing fetch.


Sun Aug 6

Mess more with Trek's cart so see if the 4 wheels will work.

We put Trek in the 4 wheeled cart and she can use it to get around the house. Hooray.

I want Trek to be a writing dog for me, but she might start complaining that I wasn't petting her belly enough.


Sat Aug 5

Groomed Yoshi a little.

Ellen Finch is coming over at 11am to take photos of us and our dogs. We just hung out in the back yard since I mowed the lawn this morning. 400 photos later we have some nice ones.

Yoshi walk

Avoided at least 4 dogs and one cat. Lots of hiding behind parked cars and just waiting for them to pass. And a generous application of the lickety stick.


Trek had the day off from exercise while I messed with putting on the front wheels to her cart


Fri Aug 4

Diane came over to help me walk Trek. We helped her to get out to the center and do 5 fetch throws and then we workout our way out the park with some short tosses. We talked for a while about how Trek seems to be getting tired much more easily and that we should probably put the front wheels on her cart.


Thu Aug 3

Trek backpack Washington Park

I was feeling depressed about Trek so I took her on a hike at Washington Park. She seemed to enjoy looking at the birds and the beach and taking in the park smells. I need to iron on her handicapped dog patches to her pack.

Mon Jul 31

Trek Krusi Park

I'm trying to be careful not to push her. i towed her to the center and did 5 fetch throws. She still had energy so I did three more fetch tosses on our way out and then I just carried her the rest of the way back to the car. I can't decide if she prefers assisted walking or fetch, but I think it's fetch.


Sat Jul 29

Trek Krusi Park

I towed her to the middle of the park and found where the grass was just a little shorter. We did six fetch throws and then I just carried her out. I wasn't able to get her to pee before getting in the cart so I had to clean it off once we got back. I have to remove the velcro strap that holds the legholes together and wash it with soap and let it dry by the sink which doesn't take too long but requires some attention.


Wed Jul 26

Trek Krusi Park

Helped her walk fairly fast to near the center of the park and then did around 4 fetch tosses and then "ran" back. She seems to enjoy this, but I should video it. Trek is actually doing ok but losing interest in life which is a reality I need to see


Tue Jul 25

Diane and Bill came by to watch Rachel Maddow and then help me walk Trek.


Trek Krusi Park

I showed Diane how I get Trek out of the car (putting the cart out first) and then how I help her walk with the tow rope. We only went a short ways out but did have to avoid one batting practice. I showed her how to do short fetch throws and bestow yummy treats. Trek is a little puzzled but she'll redirect onto anyone armed with goodies. Then we helped Trek walk back out of the park.


Mon Jul 24

Trek Krusi Park

Towed her out to close to the center and did six short-toss fetch throws. Then we "ran" back with me holding the tow rope up and I walked faster than usual. She seemed to really enjoy that. I should film it.


Sat Jul 22

Trek and I went on on a "hike." with her in her dog backpackn

We actually wound up going to Bay Farm as Washington Park was hosting an event.

A nice dog person took our picture.


Fri Jul 21

Sent off a Trupanion claim for Yoshi's PT visit.


Trek Krusi Park

I towed her to a bare spot and did 7 fetch throws and carried her out which might be a new pattern. She is having a nice time but gets tired. I always though eventually that she'd have to go to four wheels and walk on concrete with booties but so far she has clearly indicated that's not what she wants. Part of it was she dragged her feet on the concrete sidewalk (my fault for not noticing), and it took months to heal, so she just might worry about sidewalks besides they're not nearly as much fun as grass.


Thu Jul 20

Trek Krusi Park

I towed her to close to the center and we did a leisurely 8 fetch throws trying to take breaks though she wasn't having much patience with that. I carried her out because the had winded herself pretty nicely.

I'm thinking she should wear her leg brace more even though she doesn't like it.


Wed Jul 19

Trek Krusi Park

I towed her over a nearby semi-bare spot that was available and she did quite well though definitely gets winded easily. If I try to slow the pace down she starts bugging me to throw it again which is encouraging. I carried her out this time.


Tue Jul 18

Trek Krusi Park

Again with me doing the towing she seems to have more energy for fetch (10 throws) and she gets to nearly run.

I put the foam on the indoor cart and while it works ok on the carpet, it didn't work as well on the yoga mats, and she got tired very easily. I think I'm just going to have to figure out a way to make the regular cart work though she just wants to be in her snuggler and she can't stand up well in the cart if she's trying to squeeze herself into the snuggler.


Mon Jul 17

Trek Krusi Park

I've resolved to just tow her out to where I want to go. She seems quite happy with it as she has a lot more energy for fetch. Six throws and then I towed her back out.

I bought more foam for her indoor cart and need to put it all together.


Sat Jul 15

Working on Trek's indoor cart

Bought foam from home depot and a kneeling pad which fits the cart perfectly. Now to cut and attach the foam.


Trek Krusi Park

I tow her now by being on her side and pulling up on the tow rope. She can move along nicely that was and if I get going faster she can get the feeling of running. We did six fetches. She is having more trouble turning, but she's ok. I have resolved to not worry about small details though she's in PT every week and I can alway ask them to check something.


Fri Jul 14

Trek Krusi Park

Grass is getting a little long so i mostly towed her out into the park and just did 5 very short throws and then I carried her out. I'm going to start backpacking with her soon.


I want to work on her indoor cart tomorrow. Need to add the padding.


Thu Jul 13

Trek Krusi Park

I have resolved not to push her physically at all except for the amount of fetch she wants to do. I towed her out into the park and then turned around and went back to near where we started as there was a good spot there. We did about five fetches and then started back out. She seems ok but not stellar. I did put her webmaster harness on as it has more support and it's easier to walk her around while she's wearing it and the Ginger Lead.


Wed Jul 12

Trek Krusi Park. Her heart wasn't much into things. She moved well with me helping her walk but only did about three fetcher before losing interest and getting annoyed at a poorly supervised small dog that kept whizzing by. I didn't like that the dog was running out to the street with its two kids in pursuit, so we made our exit.


Tue Jul 11

Trek Krusi Park

Well things didn't start off well. She didn't want to walk around the front lawn to pee before we left. Didn't want to get in the car crate which has never happened, but then she seemed ok with it. Once we got there, it all changed. She had a nice time doing fetch and then just as we had worked our way out to the entrance she was accosted by fans and she really seemed to enjoy all the attention. One from an older teenage boy and two preteen girls one who is obsessed with Corgis and was bugging [presumably] her Dad about getting one. We made her day apparently and they were completely ok that I was filming (fetch and the fan visit.)


Mon Jul 10

Yoshi walk. He barked at a cat on a leash. Must have offended his sense of what is right in the world.


Trek Krusi Park

Took her in the Mound street entrance. Surface is less consistent on that side right around now.

There was a boy with his family asking questions about Trek's cart, the girl stopped by too. We did have to keep their little dog from trying to take her toy which really miffed Trek and she didn't want to play until the dog went away though she would play fetch with the boy throwing, but always bringing it back to me. I help her by pulling up on the tow rope to help her get out to where we are going to play fetch which helps her energy.


Sat Jul 8

Trek Krusi Park

She's been getting tired easier these days so I pull up on the tow rope to help her get out to a bare spot and do some fetch. We wound up doing a fair bit of short throws with rests in between. There were three Goldens in the distance and it turned out to be Amy, Mark and their daughter Audrey with their Golden Maverick. They are considering adopting one of the other Goldens who is a two year old named Jake. I refrained from cautioning about adopting a one or two year old dog, but Amy knows what she's doing so it should be ok. Audrey came over to say hello and be with Trek. We had a very relaxing time and then we were able to walk out using the same method we did coming in.


Yoshi walk. There weren't any dogs around so he recreationally barked at a couple of people.


Took Trek to Pet Food Express and found out that she's ok with put in one of their small high-up shopping carts. They're new and they don't rattle. Tried to buy a big dog collar but she slips out of them, so I returned it the next day.


Fri Jul 7

Trek Krusi Park

Similar to the previous days.


Wed Jul 5 - Thu Jul 6
I was at Mt. Shasta

Tue Jul 4

One of my least favorite holidays short of Christmas.

Yoshi's hearing not being as good as it used to be is working in our favor as he's snoozing beside me while all the fireworks go off.
Trek born in Idaho, land of shotguns doesn't care at all about fireworks. Her neurosis is about metal clanging.


Mon Jul 3

Trek Krusi Park

Quiet on the weekend save for some catch right where we usually walk but it was easy enough to work around them. We went further over to the next field and the surface was actually nicer there. I towed her out and then we did seven throws. She looks quite good and I found out later that Emily had lowered the back of the cart about an inch with the assumption that I would tie up her rear legs. Later one I did put her legs in and I can see it will work but I have the wrong attachments. I can probably jury-rig something but I probably should ask K9 Carts about it. I sent a photo to them.


Sat Jul 1

Trek Krusi Park

Still kept it simple. Helped her get part of the way out and did 6 throws and worked our way out.


Fri Jun 30

Trek Krusi Park

Kept it simple just went part of the way out and did five tosses and then headed back.

At her physical therapy today Emily was telling Terri that we should lower the cart and tie up her back feet as then she would have less pressure on her front legs.


Thu Jun 29

Trek Krusi Park

She seemed more tired today so we only did 5 fetch throws and then just headed out.


Wed Jun 28

Trek Krusi Park

We went over to the Mound St entrance and wound up going through some slightly taller grass which tired her out quicker even with me towing. We just went along the sides of the park then stopped and did 7 fetch throws and headed out.


Tue Jun 27

Trek Krusi Park

Waited for a field to clear and the park quieted down quickly after that. I towed her close to the center and then turned around and went over to a nice spot part of the way back. Because she wasn't working that hard going out she happily did 7-8 fetch throws and then more going back out. Maybe we'll just do it that way for a while.


Mon Jun 26

Trek Krusi Park

Peaceful today and she had good energy. We got to near the center and then retreated to a nice spot. Did 7 or so fetch throws and took a nice rest and then she was able to walk out mostly on her own.


Sun Jun 25

Trek Krusi Park

Went into the side entrance and there were some adults on a couple of the fields, but they weren't hitting balls all over the place. Except for a surprise whiffle ball which was amusing. We did more than six tosses and then I part-towed, part-carried her out.


Sat Jun 24

Trek Krusi Park

It was cooler finally and later in the day (around 8pm) so Trek had energy to work out to close to the center of the park where we stopped to rest and say hello to Jennie and her young daughter Claire. Then I showed her Trek playing fetch. I hadn't moved to an area with bare grass so we just did 4-5 tosses. Then we parted company and I towed her back to the car.


Fri Jun 23

Diane and Bill are going to help me walk Trek today which is really nice.

Trek Krusi Park with Diane and Bill

I towed Trek out to vaguely the middle of the park and found a worn spot.

I and then Diane did 6 or 7 fetch throws and then used fetch to work our way back to the car.


Thu Jun 22

Trek Krusi Park

She is getting weaker walking out (stopping sooner to rest), but when we're playing fetch she's enthusiastic and wanting to go out chasing the toy. I took some video to get my Facebook friends opinions. Watching the video made me feel less morose. This hasn't been the best birthday but I'm ok.


Wed Jun 21

Trek is having some dragging incontinence issues. If I could just leave her in her wheels during the day then they would go away. I am working with Tom's cart and she's so strong she can just pull herself off, so I need to get better at tethering her to it which I'm not happy about. I could get some of those screw-in rings (eye-bolts, eye-rings) that you can clip things too and then use straps that have clips and rings on them. Eye-bolts do poke out some. It would be nice to have something that acted more like a key ring.


Trek Krusi Park

With my assistance, we wound up getting all the way to the middle of the park. Did 4 fetch throws and because I tired her out then used fetch to get another 4 throws in as we went back, and then I just carried her back. It was a nice walk.


Tue Jun 20

Trek Krusi Park

At first we just hung out on the sidelines as there was too much batting practice going on. They one field stopped so I carried her out to the center and we did 8 fetch throws and then walked all the way back. If I pull up on the two rope she can move right along without issue.


Tried strapping Trek onto Tom's cart. She slides off of it easy so it's going to take more thought. She's very strong in front which always surprises me.


Mon Jun 19

Trek Krusi Park

She's doing much better with the grass shorter. She was able to walk out to a spot outside of field 4 and we did 8 throws rested for a bit and she asked to do more so we played fetch walking out of the park like we used to.


Sat Jun 17

Trek Krusi Park

The grass was cut so with my assistance we were about to work out close to the center of the park. We spent quite a while playing mostly short throw fetch (over ten throws.) I was so nice just to relax out on the grass as there was nearly no one around save for one dog we saw yesterday. She's having an easier time if I pull up more on the two rope, so we were able to walk all the way back to the entrance without being carried.


Fri Jun 16

Trek Krusi Park

This time we just played fetch on the side of the park in a spot with shorter grass. We did around 8 fetch throws and she wanted to do more so we just did some easy walking back and forth.


Thu Jun 15

Trek Krusi Park

I discovered that there's enough grass available at the local elementary school to make playing fetch there work, but I really treasure our time at Krusi, so we'll keep doing that.

I have told myself to be less physically demanding. in light of that I partially carried her to the spot that's working well for playing fetch. As a result she did eight retrieves and wanted to do more but I stopped there. We walked a short ways back and they I just carried her back to the car. She'd had a good workout and carrying her is good exercise for me.


She is leaking some urine as she drags herself around, so I bought a set of size 3 diapers for her. Emily had suggested the size, but Trek fits the weight rating which is hilarious since she's a lot longer than a human baby. These are called Well Beginnings and they were on sale for $4.99 at Walgreens (usually diapers are around $16-22. Only bummer is they don't stay on that well, but she has slick fur. She also has a dog diaper that was made for her but it doesn't stay on that well either. It's asking a lot to stay one while being dragged around but infant ones should be able to withstand such abuse. Fortunately Trek doesn't have a tail which simplifies and complicated things.


Tue Jun 13

Trek Krusi Park

I am getting morose about Trek declining slowly and was out playing fetch with her at the park. We had just finished when two young women walked up and one said "That is the cutest thing I've seen in my entire life." (Awwww). I asked if she wanted to take a photo while Trek plays fetch. She was thrilled. I forget how seeing Trek cope with her disability can really make some people's day. It's it pretty inspiring I must admit.


Mon Jun 12

Trek Krusi Park

She honestly had a nice time walking out to the worn spot on the grass to play fetch. I would deliberately slow down and she would bark at me. I did wind up carrying her most of the way back more for my own exercise though she was happy for the ride.

 

The cart Tom made for her is here and I have to figure out how to help her to use it best. I think she's going to have to be strapped into it some. I was hoping she could hop on and off of it but she's not strong enough to do that.


Sun Jun 11

Trek Krusi Park

I'm working on being less demanding and trying to be sensitive to how much she wants to actually do on our walks. I helped her to walk over to a worn spot where we did six fetch throws and then walked back out using three more fetch throws. She's good about telling me if I've thrown the toy too far as she'll go a little way and then stop and took back at me. I tell her to wait and I go get the toy and toss it a more appropriate distance. She's good about not over exerting herself. She no longer has any real use of her back legs so it's much harder to move around. I am putting her front brace on which she is still getting used to.


Fri Jun 9

Trek Krusi Park

I helped her get what I thought was 1/2 way but it's actually 2/3. We went in a sort of U and wound up back over at one of the edges of an infield where we found a worn spot and did 6 fetch throws and worked out way back out.  I tried putting her brace on which should help her but she's not used to is and was tripping over her foot, but I think she'll improve over time.


Tue Jun 6

Trek Krusi Park

The grass is getting even longer, so I towed her over much of it until we worked our way to near one of the infields. There is a worn spot there and we did a surprising amount of fetch (over 8 tosses) then we headed out with 3 more throws.

 

We're taking Yoshi off of Gabapentin as he's still walking around like a drunk.


Mon Jun 5

Trek Krusi Park

Grass is getting long so I towed her out to a shorter patch and did 6 fetch throws and then I towed her back. She seems to like that part as she could go much faster that way and she likes going back to the car.


Sat Jun 3

Trek weights

Park Centre: 21.8 (6/3/17)

Muller Vet: 21.3 (6/1/17)

Our Eat Smart scale: 22.0 (6/3/17)


Fri Jun 2

Trek Krusi Park.

Grass is getting longer and she didn't want to do as much so I didn't make her do much initial walking. We just walked a little ways out and did around 8 fetch throws and went back to the car. She is geting weaker, but still seems happy enough to play and get treats.


Thu Jun 1
Trek Krusi Park
We got there around 6:30-7pm.
Park was still active, but quieting down. One field was mostly empty, so we hung around there until it started getting more used.
I towed her to the center, and worked around in a circle. Played fetch near the entrance. 6 fetch throws then 8-9 tosses to work our way out of the park. She is getting tired more easily and there is not much point in pushing her past her ability.
She saw Dr. Troy today who was very pleased to see how relatively well she was doing. Usually at this point, their feet are torn up and they smell like urine. Terri told her we got through a lot of it by cleaning her up and Trek exercises mostly on grass. Dr. Troy said that some dogs get friction burns from carpet. Trek is on yoga mates and isn't dragging herself around as much now, but never got wear marks from the mats. She did get some burns from two sidewalk walks which took months to heal and made me swear the sidewalk off.

Tue May 30

Trek Krusi Park

I found a spot and right as we were setting up a father and son started hitting balls into the fence which Trek completely hates. I got them to pause long enough for use to get out of there but some of the kids were managing to hit the balls into the field so I wound up dragging her out to the center and then to the other side of the field where we played fetch (6 throws) on the sidelines. Then I carried her part of the way back and finally parked her on the grass and I went to get the car.


Mon Mar 29

Trek Krusi Park

Well not really. A bolt came off the cart and it collapsed and we couldn't use it. I used the towel to do three little fetches with her before giving up up as absurd. Cart is now repaired.


Sun May 28

Trek Krusi Park

About the same. Got kind of near the center with effort and worked in six fetch throws though two were on the way back (did a few more that way too.


Sat May 27

Trek and Yoshi are going to PT at Canine Rehab in Walnut Creek. This will be the only time that both of us are going. Then for next month it will be just Terri going on Friday, but there are two techs on Friday so they can help her.

 

They did well. They let us in the back entrance so Yoshi doesn't have to see any other dogs. Trek did fine sharing her space with Yoshi. PT has been just about her for all this time, so I wasn't sure how'd she'd take it but no problem. He did ok in the tank except for the small bit about going in the other direction.

 

They can bill each dog separately so it makes submitting his insurance much easier.


Trek Krusi Park

She did really well - was happy to start walking on her own without much towing as we worked our way out to close to the center. Pretty soon she stopped more often wanting treats. We did six fetch tosses and then worked our way back out with fetch.


Fri May 26

Trek is going to see Jorge today.

He added more needles to help her front.


File claim for Yoshi for his meds. I have to decide whether to keep getting it from Park Centre and let the insurance cover it after a few iterations but we would have to go through $600 so I think using Walgreen's is a better choice and we can still file Walgreen's.

 

Trek Krusi Park

The park was pretty empty and we were just able to waltz in the Court St entrance. Grass has been recently cut. I put her leg brace on. She's not entirely used to it and I'm not sure that was a factor in slowing her down but she did struggle at the beginning.

We did get close to the center and played a little fetch, but then we immediately started to work our way back using fetch in sort of an arc.

 

I love One Mind Dogs' methods. I'm hoping Sharon teaches it now.


Thu May 25

Trek Krusi Park

Again at the side entrance off Mound St.

She wasn't as gung-ho this time. I tried pulling more up on the tow rope but it didn't seem to make much difference. She did warm up again and got to the center and seemed to have a nice time doing 8 short fetch throws and then working our way back to the car.

 

Yoshi had a nice walk. He really liked that there weren't any dogs around.


Wed May 24

Trek Krusi Park

She was really energetic and we made it to the center of the park with nearly no effort. Then we did 8 short fetch throws and worked our way back.

I did some rally work with her. I've just learned the Wendy Hilton is stopping holding the world class rally trials which is a bummer as I think Trek could do them still.


Tue May 23

Trek Krusi Park

Had to go in the side entrance as our usual one was thronged. She's tired today, so we just went part of the way and only did a little fetch though she warmed up while out there and had no issue walking back out.


Mon May 22

Trek's brace and creeper came in. The brace is helpful but comes off easily.

The creeper is much too long, but very stable and she can easily move it. I had asked for Tom's help in thinking about this.


Sat May 20

As a result, Trek didn't get a was so we did a little Rally work in the back yard. She was completely ok with it. With a boot on she could do WCR Rally in a shorter veteran's course.

 

Fri May 19

Trek PT cold laser went fine.

Terri is going to be bringing both dogs on Fridays for the next month.

I start work on the 30th.


Trek Krusi Park.

More of the same though she's having a harder time at first and stops cold on the initial walk. Though it's very interesting that once she warms up with some fetch she had no problem walking back to the car.


Thu May 18

I broke and un-broke the Assisi loop. The lower solder loop came off, but it let me reattach it. It's living on borrowed time, but this is the 3rd or 4th time I've replaced the batts in a $250 unit, so we're ahead.


Trek Krusi Park

I took her to near the center.

She was having a hard time walking in the cart, but she then seemed to warm up ok.

6 fetch throws then we used fetch to work out way back to the car.


Wed May 17

Trek Krusi Park

We met Max who was there with his dad. Max spent quite a bit of time petting Trek.

We walked to the center and played some fetch and then we zig-zagged back to the car.

 

Tue May 16

Yoshi Canine Rehab

The hardest part about bringing Yoshi in for a physical therapy evaluation was remembering to take him. I posted "Bring the Blonde!" on the door by the knob.

 

The great news from Dr. Erin Troy is that Yoshi isn't showing any neurological issues, only muscular ones and those are solvable. Hooray. He's very tight muscularly but everything is working. He's going to get meds, hydro, and laser (and the assisi loop) for a while and see how he does. Not doing massage or chiropractic yet as his body doesn't need the direct stimulation yet.


I posted photos on Facebook: Yoshi at Canine Rehab in Walnut Creek. Lots of treats, human pampering, warm water hydrotherapy, no pokes from needles, and a dog-free private entrance. What's not to like?


Trek Krusi Park

I was cold today and Trek seemed to like it.

There was one unused field so we walked out around the edge of that.

I towed her in short stretches, and then we did a lot of short throw fetch, and more of the same type to work our way back out.



Sun May 14

Trek Krusi Park.

5pm They were setting up for some serious practice but is was still just setting up so we just did our usual thing and were done just in time.

I towed her out to the center and found a nice short grass area and did sex fetch throws and then used fetch to work our way back out. At the end, I wasn't insisting she bring it to me further that where I had throw it as she had done well.


Sat May 13
No walk for dogs as I had to go to ER to get my vision checked out as it suddenly changed. It will be a while, but it will be ok.

Fri May 12

Trek Krusi Park

I'm doing the same deal. I help tow her out to kind of close to the center, and we play some fetch (6 throws this time), and then we use fetch to work our way back to the car which  turns out to be around another 6 throws.


I have leg splint on order for Trek for her left leg

http://www.therapaw.com/carpalwraps-1.aspx

Carpo-Flex Sports Wrap

Size: X-Small Left Forelimb

She seems to struggle with using that foot - years now. I'm hoping this will help her confidence


Thu May 11

Trek Krusi Park

Very nice today (they mowed). I'm scaling back to just towing her to a place near the center and just doing some short throw fetch (around 6 throws), and then using fetch to work our way out. It's working fine right now.


Met a woman named Silvie and a light colored curly coated retriever named Ruby. Silvie is from Toronto and is debating whether to go back. She says she has a lot of envy surrounding her and her daughter.


Wed May 10

Trek Krusi Park

So I did try using fetch for the walk. I'm not sure it made a big difference, but she gets tired faster if I'm not towing her though she gets enough rest to start bugging me for more throws. The grass is getting a little longer so that was a factor too but she happily did a fair bit of fetch.


Saw one of the guys in a wheelchair that stopped to say hello to Trek. His name is Mike and he had a small white dog with him too who was riding along. It may have been the same guy, but his daughter wasn't there and I would have been able to tell them. I didn't recognize him because he had dyed his hair blonde.


Tue May 9

Trek Krusi Park.

Walked to the center slowly, and did 6 fetch throws before using fetch to work our way back out. It's getting to be more work for her so I have to figure out a way to make it easier. In the center is where the grass is best but maybe I'll just turn our walk into a long fetch game and skip the bit in the center. She's ok for now.


Mon May 8

Trek Krusi Park

Went to the center and this time I only did short fetch throws (like around 10'). She was able to do a lot more that was and way interested in continuing to do it. We did 8 or so and then we were able to slowly work our way out of the park with fetch. More using throwing the toy to set a direction to go and then when we reach the toy I was about three feet ahead and have her pick it up and bring it to me.

She is having a harder time holding her front up during a sit, but she still seems to do ok in a cart. I'm playing with wrapping her front foot and I'm working on a smaller PVC cart for inside the house.


Sun May 7

Trek Krusi Park

We in from the other side to avoid some crowding at our usual gate. Same routine. Go to the center play some fetch (6 throws) then use fetch to work our way back to the car which is around 5-6 throws but I'm walking with her and then I walk a little past where the toy landed.


Sat May 6

Trek Krusi Park

Going later makes for a cooler, calmer park. There was a game going on but it was in one of the distant fields. We walked part of the way out and did about 7 short fetch throws them sat and watch the softball game for a while then used fetch to work our way back out to the car.


Fri May 5

Trek Krusi Park

Park was quiet - it was around 6:45.

Went to close to the center and did 6 fetch throws and then slowly fetched our way back out of the park.


I'm sad to learn that Mimi let her skiing DM Corgi Diggory go to the rainbow bridge. Last video I saw he was moving right along. I am optimistically sawing up skis to make some for Trek though I don't know if she's ever going to use them. He had a bladder tumor apparently.


Thu May 4

Trek Krusi Park

We were there at around 6:30 and had the place mostly to ourselves.

We walked slowly to the center and then did six fetch throws and then used fetch to work our way back to the car. She's slowing down, but still enjoying getting out and doing stuff.


Yoshi does NOT have Tracheal Collapse according the the radiologist that Park Center consults with. What is showing on the x-ray is the "top" part of the trachea which is hanging down but moves out of the way when he breathes. i think that makes it a false positive. He does have some inflammation of the lung tissue which means he likely have bronchitis. That is normally treated with steroids, but he's on Rimadyl, so we can't do that. He already seems better now with the cough medicine.


Wed May 3

Yoshi was gacking last night and this morning. Fortunately, I got it on video because he was fine once he got to the vet at 12:30pm to see Dr. Scullin.


No plum pits in his gut. Nothing that simple. Dr. Scullin took an X-ray and it showed a collapsed Trachea. It's very obvious. It's a quarter of the width than was 2 years ago. He now has a medicine that helps control coughing. The radiologist Dr. Mattucci will take a look at it.


Trek Krusi Park

It was hot today so we went much later (around 7pm). Trick with doing that is you have to be careful of adults hitting balls too far. There was only one case of that and the weren't that serious. We got out to the center after some steering and did a whole bunch of very short fetches. Then I just carried her back out.


Mon May 1

Trek Krusi Park

Went around the backstop. She really didn't want to walk much until we got to our fetch spot by a tree. Then she was all for it. We did around 8 tosses. It's good to see that if I throw the toy too far she'll just go part of the way and stop and then I go get the toy and we start over. We slowly walked back to the car. It was hot today but she did ok.


Sun Apr 30

Trek Krusi Park

Some Sunday practice, but one of the fields wasn't being used so it was easy to work our way to the center and play some fetch. We did around 8 shorter fetch throws and then started to work out way out. She is having a harder time navigating through the grass but it's what she wants to do.


Yoshi walk. No drama save for some far-away, little dogs.


Sat Apr 29

Trek Krusi Park

Nearly no one there beside the amused woman who spoke an Asian language I couldn't follow, but she was clearly telling me about her excitable, yappy dog who was not there.


With me helping we walked to the center and did 8 shortish fetch throws plus a few very short ones she kept bugging me to do. Then we very slowly worked our way back to the car.


Yoshi walk. No one around. Uneventful.


Fri Apr 28

Trek Krusi Park

Did the same thing as we did yesterday, but she didn't want to walk at first i think because the wind was making the tether ball chains clang. Once we got out to the center of the park she was happy to do a bunch of short throw fetch - around 7-8 throws.


Yoshi walk. They followed several dogs which Yoshi has always been ok about.


Thu Apr 27

Trek Krusi Park

The boy's baseball has taken over all the fields so we did what we did yesterday by walking around the edge of the backstop and going over to the main part of the park and playing fetch. She had good endurance tonight. i'm trying not to make big physical demands on her as her injuring one of her front legs could have serious consequences, but she did seven throws without issue and asked me to do the last two, and then we walked back most of the way (I carried her for part of it.) She's stronger than I think she is. I keep wondering if I should wrap her front leg for support, but it's hard for me to tell which one was the injured one. I looked it up to confirm it was the left front that she injured in Jan 2014. And it's clear once I know that that is the weak one. Last time I wrapped it, it didn't seem to help but it's worth trying again.


I also had her walk beside a dirt path and, given a choice. she always chose to walk on the grass.


Wed Apr 26

Trek Krusi Park

It was a little busy in our usual spots so I carried her over to the park area instead of the sports field and we played fetch there. Actually it was quite a lot of fetch as I wasn't throwing the toy as far so we did more retrieves maybe 8 or so.


Mon Apr 24

Trek Krusi Park

I keep thinking she's not doing that well but really she's fine. She just can't go as far as she used to be able to. We walked to the center of the park and I would throw her toy and walk behind her to watch her legs move. She can still move her rear thighs. I would throw the toy and follow behind her until she got near the toy, then I ran in front for her to bring it to me. Then I repeated the process. Worked pretty well and she didn't have to turn around like she used to have to with regular fetch and that seems to take extra effort. So we criss-crossed our way back to the car. It was surprisingly fun.


Yoshi walk. Uneventful.


Sun Apr 23

Yoshi walk

There is a poodle-like dog who lives on the corner of Court and Lincoln. i managed to make it so that Yoshi didn't see the dog standing in his/her doorway. I was in the middle of making dinner so it was just a short walk today but he got some exercise.


No walk for Trek today.


Sat Apr 22

Yoshi walk

We were going to be doing our usual walk but I saw that a resident Jack Russell Terrier was off-leash in front of his house so not wanting to mess anything up with just went the other way.  No other drama.


Trek Krusi Park

I'm slowly coming to admit that lots of aerobic exercise may not be that beneficial to her anymore.  We just need to get out and do something but nothing that serious.

We walked to the center of the park and just sat down and enjoyed the grass and the softball practice. Then we used fetch to walk back. We met a parent of the edge of the field who was waiting for her daughter's practice to finish. We had a nice chat and she had a lot of astute questions. Trek got to meet her daughter and a friend.


Trek's rear legs don't really work anymore, but she does swing them for balance (I think), so I'm not sure how tying up her feet out of the way would help. It would only make a difference if she were on concrete. I was convinced that we were going to have to switch to concrete but the long days of summer are here and even if I was working 30 minutes away I can still get back in time to take her to the park.


I am working on a small board with wheels that I can put her belly on. I just need a way to strap it on now. i came up with one but it's not ideal. I think the board would do better if it was flexible but that would make the wheels not work well. I wonder if having her sit on it would work but she's not strong enough to hold herself up all the time. I did a video and for a first time it's not terrible, but it just keep sliding around on her belly.



Fri Apr 21

Trek PT. It went fine but we're all coming to really conclude that she can no longer push with her rear leg much at all. She is mostly dragging herself around with her front legs. This is hard on me but she seem happy. I need to stop nagging her to walk as far as she can. That's counterproductive.



Trek Krusi Park

Made it to the center. Did six fetch throws in alternating directions, so she wasn't having to awkwardly turn around at each throw. I'm not sure that made a huge difference or not.

Then we worked our way back out using fetch. She did suspiciously well despite having more trouble with her front foot.


Yoshi walk

I have the lickety-stick treat dispenser with me, but i'm finding that removing the cap smoothly when you're in a hurry takes practice. Once I had it out, it works great. He ignored a Golden walking down the other side of our street (which is of only average width and not super wide). He knew the dog was there but he didn't care with the treat stick. Hmmmmm.


Wed Apr 19

Trek Krusi Park

I waited till after book club so it was at 8pm and just getting dark. I am encouraged that I will be able to continue walking her after work for months without darkness being an issue (we're still in April and the days will get longer through June). We walked part of the way across the park and back, and then found a streetlight and played some fetch under it. I'm sure she can see just fine, but it's me that will have the limitation if I wait till full dark.


Thu Apr 18

Trek Bay Farm.

Grass was long, so we walked out to the little hill, and then ran down it about three times (I carry her up it each time). Then we worked our way back and did a little bit of fetch before heading back.


Yoshi walk.

They nearly walked into another dog at Santa Clara and Versailles and had to just cower on the edge of the sidewalk with Yoshi focusing on eating treats. What's amazing is the small chihuahua-like dog just walk around then and Yoshi didn't react which was amazing. Terri didn't waste any time getting Yoshi to move along just as soon as they were past.


Mon Apr 17
Trek walk. It was raining so I didn't even try the park. I put Pawz booties on her rear feet and we walked down the sidewalk. We got maybe two houses down before I got frustrated and turned around. It was raining, she wasn't that interested in going far, and she wanted her dinner. Not a stellar time. Hope the weather improves.

Sat Apr 15

Trek Krusi Park

We were short of time so we just went to the center did six fetch throws and worked out way back. It tired her out nicely.


Yoshi's walk was uneventful.


Fri Apr 14

Trek Acupuncture and cold laser PT.

Jorge put a mild electrical current to the needles to see if there is any difference (this is the second time.) No miracles, but it can't hurt.


Trek Krusi Park.

All the fields were in use but no one was hitting into the center of the park. We started on the outside of one of the fields and went over to the main part of the park (that isn't part of the softball diamonds.) The we did a little fetch on the side, but worked into the center of the softball part since we were in no danger of a young girl hitting anything that far. We used fetch to slowly work our way back to the car which was a surprisingly long distance. She's zonked out at my feet now.


Thu Apr 13

Trek Krusi Park

They just mowed and we had the place to ourselves.

It was so nice. We walked to the center and back around in a curve. Played a little fetch and then used fetch to work our way back to the fence. Then I sat down just to enjoy the place and Trek kept pestering me for treats, so I would toss her dumbbell maybe 5-6' away and she'd bring it back. She kept this up for around 10 times. She has more life in her that I realize sometimes.

Yoshi walk. Windy and cold and no one around. Yoshi was thrilled as he loves cold weather.

Wed Apr 12
I put Yoshi's Prozac on auto-renewal so we get these mysterious robo-calls from Walgreen's about "your prescription is ready" and neither of us has called anything in.

Trek Krusi Park

Grass was a little long and it had rained earlier today so the ground was a little soft which appears to be the biggest factor.

We worked our way just out past one of the infields then played a little fetch and then used fetch to work our way back towards the car. I did carry her over a long grass section.


Yoshi walk

Had to work around a bee maintenance person working in a tree.

They just crossed the street.

They followed a couple of people, but no dogs today.

Tue Apr 11

We went to Washington Park which was a little overgrown but still manageable. We walked to the center of the first section and played a little fetch (6 throws) and then worked our way over to the picnic tables where I put her in her cart on top of the table and we just watched the waves for a little while which was very nice.


[I was out of town during this time period. Terri got to take care of both dogs.]

Wed Apr 5
I took Trek to UC Davis for a follow up appt with Neurology. It was interesting to watch Dr. Li show Amanda the vet student the basics of neuro reflex testing.Dr. Li showed me how DM starts in the middle of the Lumbar area and works outward but up and down.

Tue Apr 4

Trek Krusi Park

We worked our way to the center and came back for a little fetch. She's lying down more often so I think when I get back from Seattle I'll put the four wheels on.

Someone asked me where I got the cart, but it was for a Pit Bull, so I suggested the Eddie's Wheels since they're so stable.

Dallas the Basset Hound with the sharp nose stopped by trying to insist that I should give him one of the 21.4 treats I had with me. He wouldn't leave until his owner dragged him away.


Mon Apr 3

Trek Littlejohn Park

I needed to pick Terri up at 5pm so we went to Littlejohn park to check out the little hills that it has. They're not very impressive though Trek did enjoy running down them. Their grass is really worn down in spots which is not great for park users, but nice for us as long as it's dry which it was.


Sun Apr 1

Trek Littlejohn Park

I needed to pick Terri up at 5pm so we went to Littlejohn park to check out the little hills that it has. They're not very impressive though Trek did enjoy running down them. Their grass is really worn down in spots which is not great for park users, but nice for us as long as it's dry which it was.


Fri Mar 31

Trek acupuncture with Jorge (Terri took her)

Trek Cold Laser PT with Cherie (I took her)

She and Jorge can tell that Trek can still feel her back feet. The left more than the right.


Trek Krusi Park

The girls are getting a little more able to hit the softball further, but it's not that much of a concern. There's one field where they are a little older that I have to watch for but not that carefully. We skirt around the field with the youngest girls. We basically just walked to the center and then turned 90 degrees and went to the fence. Then we worked our way back and did maybe 5 fetch tosses. She is getting more tired but she had acupuncture and cold laser today so she may have had more energy.


Yoshi walk. Went fine. Silly boy barked at a baby stroller. Then they followed two chihuahuas down Lincoln and then down Court until Johnson. They have crossed Court to keep following them at a comfortable distance.


Thu Mar 30

Trek Walk.

I was going to put the front set of wheels on, but haven't had a chance to. It's not a straightforward addition as some extra pieces have to be added.

Krusi Park. To avoid a wide ranging baseball practice we walked around the backstop through the other part of the park but wound up in the side of the playing field nearest the school. The grass on the outside of 3rd base and left field is a little worn so we did four fetch throws and then started working our way back to the car though the outfields of that field


Tue Mar 27

Trek Krusi Park

Two people walking dogs stopped to say hello to her.

One I had to refrain from lecturing him about the dangers of smoking.

We walked around the outside edge of one of the infields (that was unused since it's under repair. We played fetch on the way back out.


Mon Mar 26

Trek Krusi Park

Walked around the edge of one of the softball diamonds and then worked our way back and did maybe four fetch tosses and then worked our way back to the exit. She was already tired because I put her in her cart to see if she can get around the house in it. She can! With effort. Though when she's tired she just wants to lie down.


Yoshi walk. Dog approaching on the same side of Central. They stopped to watch what the other dog would do. Fortunately then crossed the street but no before getting within about a street width and a house width. Yoshi noticed the dog, but was fine. He really likes the lickety stick that Terry carries with her (plus some treats too.).


Thu Mar 23

Yoshi Walk. Two dogs approaching on Court so they crossed the street and Yoshi ate treats sort of behind a car while they passed. He could see the dogs, but was more focused on the treats. Didn't bark at them at all


Trei Krusi Park. They mowed the grass. Hooray!

I tried the web master harness with the Ginger Lead which worked nicely. They I tried the Webmaster Harness with the K9 Kart. It seemed to fit well but she didn't seem to like how things fit more closely she wasn't moving that well in the cart. I finally switched back to the old Pet co harness and she was much happier. Walked to the middle of the park. Did a couple of fetch tosses, then we mostly used fetch to work our way back to the park entrance.

Wed Mar 22

Yoshi walk - no dogs at all.


Trek Ziji.

Treks Trapezius muscles were like rocks. Ziji showed me how to massage them and to pull up gently on her head to extend her neck. She also encouraged me to give her treats low so she has to extend her neck.


She's going to be at WAG in May for the CPE nationals, so I want to take Trek to go see her there though it means getting closer to teeter sounds.


Tue Mar 21

Trek Lincoln Park. We didn't lounge around this time as you could see an approaching storm that was about 15 minutes away. Got in a walk and some fetch.


Mon Mar 20

Trek Krusi Park

It was raining very lightly but you really couldn't tell. It did affect the footing a little but since most of the people weren't there we were able to stick to the more popular areas behind shortstop and third base to do a little fetch in after we had walked part of the way across the park.


Sat Mar 18

Yoshi walk

Couple of dogs at the corner of court and central. bark bark bark. They went along after his telling them off. I have a lickity stick treat dispenser from Clean Run on order for Terri to work with him.


Trek Lincoln Park

It was lovely today. Nice, warm sun. Walked to the infield, then turned around and used fetch to work our way back to closer the gate. Then we just sat in the sun and I groomed and petted her. We met a very playful Bernese Mountain Dog named Heidi.


Fri Mar 17

Trek PT

then we went and played stooge dog for a dog that Sherry Al-Mufti was training. I figured out that I could carry her to the top of a short grassy rise and let her run down it. Great fun.


Thu Mar 16

Trek Lincoln Park

We got to Krusi Park at 6pm and there were adults batting softballs all over the park, so we went over to Lincoln. Baseball practice had ended there and except for the ATV dragging the infield, we have the newly mowed field to ourselves.


We walked in a lopsided circle and did some fetch. I ran to the car to get a camera and had a heartstopping moment when the ATM drove across the grass near Trek, but it was ok fortunately.


I filmed a couple of fetches because I wanted to see how she uses her back feet. One person on the disabled Corgis list is wondering if it would throw off her dog if she tied the dragging foot out of the way while the other one still is working. Trek doesn't really have use of her back legs but she can move her thighs and clearly uses them as a balance thing, so I don't think Trek will like having her feet tied up out of the way - either one or both feet.


Yoshi walk. Just dogs in the distance. No drama.


Wed Mar 15

Trek Bay Farm.

It was beautiful. I'm concerned that she's not walking as well on her front ankles, but I didn't wrap them this time and she did fine. Wrapping them makes them easier to stand on but it may make it harder to walk.

We walked park of the way down the area that we usually use. Then I picked her up and carried her to the water's edge to let her get some good smells. We sat by the water for a while and then came back to an area with shorter grass and we played some fetch. Maybe six throws.


Yoshi walk

Uneventful. Didn't come across anyone.

Tue Mar 14

Trek Walk Krusi Park.

She's having a hard time holding herself up with her front legs. I wrapped both ankles which do help some. We got to the center of the park and turned around and played some fetch closer to the side. The grass is a little longish so we might have to look elsewhere until they mow.

She may need to have four wheels but that changes everything as four wheels don't work well on grass though she's certain game to try. I'll have to wrap her feet if we have to move to a harder surface.

Mon Mar 13

Trek Krusi Park

I wrapped her front left ankle with vet wrap and it seemed to help her confidence and stability more. I should wrap both ankles.


We walked to the center of the park and then to one of the fields just past second base but the footing wasn't great so we worked our way back to the edge and played some more there. She gets tired easier now.


Yoshi walk. Nearly walked into a difficult situation where there were two dogs on the corner and they were already following one dog. Fortunately one dog went the other direction and the other two dogs stopped to say hello to each other. After waiting a bit Terri decided to just walk past them on the other side of the street while both feeding and talking excitedly to Yoshi. He didn't even seem to notice the dogs. Nice work.


Sun Mar 12

Trek walk

Didn't have time, so we played fetch on my front lawn. It has a slight uphill to it so good exercise. 9 fetch throws or so.


Sat Mar 11

Trek PT went fine.

I think Trek's PEMF unit will last maybe another two weeks and then I need to replace at least one of the batteries. I keep waiting for the day i completely break the unit, but it's been fine so far. I've definitely got my money out of it.


Yoshi walk

When a dog passed by, Terri had some success with keeping the treat hidden in her fingers so Yoshi could smell the treat which kept his interest and then giving it to him once the dog had passed. She said just smelling the treat was enough to keep his attention so my idea of using a much larger treat may not be necessary. I really want the squeeze peanut butter that I used to be able to get. There is also the lickity-stick which is a rather rude sounding, but effective term.


Trek "walk" at Lincoln Park.

I put Pawz on her back feet and we walked down the wide concrete. She is having some issue with holding herself up with her front feet on the concrete which may be a cart balancing issue, but she has little issue on grass that way.


Fri Mar 10

Trek acupuncture with Jorge.


Then went to Walnut Creek to help with some dog training, only to realize I was a week off.


Trek Washington Park.

I was very lovely by the water and we had a nice walk. Went out to the bluffs and walked a short ways along them and then back to the center, working our way around a muddy section and then to a flat spot further one. Played some fetch there then worked our way back to closer to the car. The I carried her to a picnic bench and we sat by the water for a little while which was really nice.


Thu Mar 9

Trek Lincoln Park. We went at 2:45pm so there was no baseball practice at all. The grass is fairly short yet Trek was getting pretty tired. I'm thinking I'm going to have to start regularly going over to Godfrey Park on Bay Farm because they mow the grass really short there. It was very nice having the place to ourselves though. 7 fetch throws, but it was more toss it, walk with her over to it, walk a little past and have her bring it to me then repeat - though she did walk to the park exit on her own.


Yoshi walk. Hid behind a car for one dog, then it went fine until they were nearly home. Then some comedy ensued as Christina's dog was in the front with her and he barked at them, but Yoshi had spied another dog approaching on the same side of the street and started barking at them. So they crossed the street and remarkably Yoshi was mostly fine with adding that little bit of distance. (Doing that helps, but doesn't always help to calm him down, so it's nice to hear that it worked.)

Wed Mar 8

Trek Krusi Park.

Again we had to go all the way around but I carried her part of the way. Walked some played some fetch walked part the way back. She pretty tired this evening, so I'm going to have to be careful about how hard she has to work on her walks.


Yoshi walk. Romeo the cat on Court came down check him out while he was pooping and Yoshi was a little freaked by the cat's boldness. Romeo didn't come that close fortunately.


Yoshi thyroid is running normally on the 0.2 dosage. Phew.


Tue Mar 7

Trek is able to get around the house today. I think she was tired last night.

But I shouldn't kid myself the day she won't be able to scoot around is coming.


Yoshi has a Tech appt at 11:30. Poor guy gets two sticks. Lepto Vac, and two blood tests Thyroid retest, and Heartworm test. He got through it with no drama as there wasn't a lot of client traffic there.


Trek is moving around the house fairly well. I was so sure that she couldn't move around the house on her own any more after the heartbreaking dragging herself over to get her eye medication and treat last night. I videoed her so I can get a better idea of how she moves. It's a lot of upper body. Her back feet don't do much, but they help with her moving her hips which gives her scooting momentum.


I'm concerned that I overworked her yesterday with walking in the mud and fetch. It's easy to get too enthusiastic.


Krusi Park. Lots of small kids practicing softball. They don't really know how to hit yet (they don't know really how to play)  so the only danger we're in is that we're a huge distraction to small girls but we didn't stop any practices this time. We went around the edge of the field over the the park side which was muddy and longish grass. Then we curled back around and went on the field, found a place and did a little fetch and then completed the circle by walking back to the car. This still may have been too much exercise. I'll see how she is tonight.


Mon Mar 6

Trek Lincoln Park

It was raining earlier today so thing were damp, but not impossible. We walked around sticking to just the drier part and did surprisingly ok.  Six fetch throws.


That night she was really struggling to move around the house. I was pretty shocked as she couldn't scoot around in her usual was. I didn't get much sleep thinking that she'd lost that ability forever, which I found out the next day wasn't true.


Yoshi walk. Some barking at passing dogs, but he barked at one approaching pair of small dogs on Gibbons and then they crossed the street and he quieted down as they passed which was a nice thing.


Sun Mar 5

Trek Lincoln Park. It rained this morning so it's a little damp but it was ok since the grass is shorter. She still had to work some as I helped her walk across the park and then do 6-7 fetch throws.


Yoshi walk. Encountered a black and white Shih Tzu approaching. The owner just picked him well in advance of any reaction and walked by Yoshi who didn't realize a dog had just walked by him.


Sat Mar 4

Trek walk at Lincoln Park.

We were the only ones there. It was really lovely and we went all over the field playing fetch wherever the impulse struck.


Yoshi walk. The did have to escape up a driveway to avoid one dog with mixed success.


Fri Mar 3

Trek Cold Laser PT

Went fine.

I'm going through the practice tests again and I think I should stop. I'm not going to learn anything new.


Did Yoshi's nails and groomed him. He looks nice now.


Trek Krusi Park.

Another dog walker wanted to see Trek in her cart, so we did things differently and played fetch a few times for him to see. Then afterward we did our usual walk across the park in a corner pattern (one of the fields wasn't being used as it was after 5pm), but we worked fetch into the walk which was fun. I'd throw the toy and we'd catch up to it and she would pick it up and hand it to me. Then we went back. It's still not entirely dried out, so it was kind of tough going.


Yoshi walk. No dogs at all. No stalking. no nothing.


Thu Mar 2

Trek Bay Farm

Our nice weather is continuing and they just recently mowed which made progress much easier. We were able to walk the entire distance of the section of park that we usually walk on. We went back and did 6+ fetch throws. She was happy to get out though more wanted to sniff all the great smells of this by-the-bay park.


Yoshi had a nice walk and was again tailing another dog. Terri had to slow him down to make sure he didn't catch up to the dog.


Wed Mar 1

Trek Lincoln Park

We got there around 3:15/3:30 and the baseball players were out but not doing much but warming up. We just stayed along the back fence and they didn't start using the whole field until right when we were about to leave. After we walked across the back fence we played fetch (6 tosses) in the worn spot where the grass is shorter. When it's wet it's too muddy, but it was fine today.

Yoshi walk.

He was having fun trying to catch up to another dog (he can follow dogs just fine, but doesn't like it when they approach), but his quarry turned down Mound before he got very close. I used to do a lot of dog following, but haven't as much lately as I didn't want to be a stalker but no one seems to care that much.

Tue Feb 28

Trek Krusi Park

We went in on the Otis side and went around the tennis courts. Not mowed as much there so I had to carry her. It is mowed on the side and the small kids weren't hitting balls into the field so we went into the center and then back to the side mowed part. Did a usual six tosses and then she wanted to do some short ones and then took off again for a longer one. Then I carried her all the way back to the car. Lincoln Park boys baseball team practice starts at 4pm, so if I get there before then it might be ok.


Mon Feb 27

Trek Lincoln Park.

We were there at 5pm and the bigger boys were practicing baseball. One ball nearly reached us and we were along the back fence, so we probably should start coming earlier. The nice thing was they mowed and the muddiness was much better. We walked along the back fence to the other side played some fetch and then hustled (relatively) back across with no balls getting any closer to us.


Yoshi walk. Lots of dogs out walking, not as much evasive action as yesterday though he did start barking at this poor woman who was just getting grocery bags out of her car. He has such an odd thing about grocery bags until he gets a good look at them.


Sun  Feb 26

Trek Krusi Park. First tried Lincoln but there was a lot of soccer practice, so we went to Krusi and every field was full of small girl softball players. So we hung around the one that wasn't doing any batting practice (they don't hit very far anyway.) Bummer is that it's still very muddy in the center, but we managed to get to the center and then turned and went to the fence and came back and did around 7 fetch throws. It was a struggle but she was actually very happy during fetch.


Yoshi walk. Terri had to take a lot of evasive action including going across the street only to have to evade another dog. It's nice and cool (cold to us) and he is just thrilled.



Sat Feb 25

Trek Lincoln Park

Some folks playing soccer near the fence, so the ball would occasionally hit the fence and Trek found this stressful, so I carried her to a different part of the part. Footing wasn't as good there but I helped her through it and finally found a spot we could do six fetch throws.


Fri Feb 24

Trek to Jorge. She's usually mostly ok with him putting needles in her, but when he tried to put a needle in her head, the mild mannered Trek barred her teeth at him. "Ok, never mind then."

Trek walk Bay Farm. Krusi Park was just too active. Bay Farm was nice and peaceful and we sat on a bench and watched the birds at very low tide. She seemed to enjoy the smells. 4 fetch throws. Grass was a little long.


Yoshi walk. Nearly walked into two small dogs crossing in front of him. He of course pulled a fire alarm, but the dogs hustled out of the way.



Thu Feb 23

Trek and I went to Pet Food Express to pick up some more Stella and Chewies Beef Patties.

Their floor is way too slick for her. I had to hold her up some with the tow rope and we sort of were able to walk around to the freezer where we needed to go. Not fun for her though she liked the treats they were giving her.

Terri suggests trying the Pawz rubberized balloon booties on her front feet next time. I'll try that.


Trek Lincoln Park

Sunny and nice today. Still muddy, but no standing water like it at Krusi Park.

Walked around some of the park and did 4 fetch throws and slowly worked our way out of it.


There has been a lepto breakout.

Yoshi needs his.


Wed Feb 22

Trek Krusi Park. It's very soggy, so we just walked out a little ways until it got muddy, then turned around and found a dry enough spot to do 6 fetch throws. No serious rain till Saturday, so maybe we'll dry out a little.

Tue Feb 21

Walked Yoshi during a brief break in the rain. So did 3 other dogs. He was pretty much a jerk and I didn't have a lot of time to deal with it properly save for the first one which was a cattle dog across the street that we partially hid behind  a hedge and I would let him look out every so often.


Mon Feb 20

It rained all day so I and the dogs went nowhere.

I did hear back from the UC Davis Resident Chai-Fei Li and she said they could do Dr. Coates DM procedure (they've done it before).


Sun Feb 19

Trek Bay Farm again. The park doesn't get a lot of use so the grass stays in good shape even after it has rained some. We walked the section where the grass was short enough and came back and then did it again. Then we did six fetch throws. She seemed quite happy with it.


It is still chilly and Yoshi was so thrilled to be on his walk with Terri that he walked right past the house and they did it all over again (she had tried to do the shorter version of the walk which just wasn't enough for him this time.)


Sat Feb 18

Trek PT. She's just getting laser treatments now. This session was with Dana and they have a new tech named Sherry who also has a corgi who is an 11 month-old boy. She's interested in herding, so I gave her Linda Rorem's contact information.


Trek's session seemed to go fine, but how do you tell with cold laser? It's just the tech holding a low power laser up against parts of her body.


I dragged Trek and I over to Krusi Park which turned out to be a complete shlosh in standing water in the middle of the park. Miraculously we got all the way across and took a very round about why back with me apologizing to her the entire time. Didn't bother with fetch since the whole thing tired her out.


It was chilly and Yoshi was very happy on his walk and the cold cut down on any dogs (it was later too.)


Fri Feb 17
Grim topic but I want to donate my dogs tissues to a DM study when they pass away.

I called Davis asking about their free Necropsy arrangement. It's for currently clients meaning within the last 12 months. Trek was last there Aug 2014, so I've made another appt which isn't until April 5th at 9am

The resident we worked with Dr. Chai-Fei Li is still there and I sent her email with the procedure.

The person I spoke to confirmed that the Doctors that Joan Coates has worked with Dr. Karen Vernau and Dr. Bev Sturges are still there, so I mentioned their names in my email.

Thu Feb 16

Trek Krusi Park. It was lovely. It had rained last night so the center of the park was a little muddy but we still got all the way across the park and back and played fetch for about 7 throws. She (and I) has been in a poor mood because of all the rain and I was worried about her, but the nicer weather has made a difference.

We met a nice dog who was originally from Belize named Fern (a boy) who was very curious about Trek, but Trek wasn't that curious about him. It was funny, she actually told him to back off. I think because she didn't want him to have any of her treats.


I made a video of the fetch session. She's moving her back legs nicely. https://youtu.be/LjNckTddD30

Another thing that has perhaps helped is that I've moved the Assisi PEMI Loop to being around her neck instead of her hips or side, so her sore tricep is getting more attention.

Wed Feb 15

Trek Lincoln Park. The park is beautiful and mowed nicely but had a team practicing so we had to stay along the back fence. I'll have to remember to come a little earlier in the day once this approaching rain storm has passed.


Trek's cart wasn't fitting her today and she was having a hard time walking. I finally figured out that it was riding in such a way to hit her elbow. I loosened the belly strap and it seemed to help. The cart just isn't riding levely. She did better after the adjustment and we did some fetch.


Trek is having more moments of frustration which is hard on everyone but then she's completely content in other ways.


Yoshi walk. One dog in the distance who crossed the street themselves and went a different direction.

Tue Feb 14

Trek walk. We went to Krusi Park to see if it was still all messed up. It wasn't! They have recently mowed. Lots of activity in the park but all the kids are little and don't hit or go very far.

We walked halfway across and then turned 90 degrees and went to the fence (just like walking all the way across.) The we worked our way back and did 6 fetch throws. The grass is shorter but the ground is still a little soft so it was kind of tough going. Lincoln Park or Washington Park will still be a little easier.

Mon Feb 13

Picked up Yoshi's Prozac and renewed his Walgreen's membership.

My own Rebif Rx is showing a copay, so I let Kaiser keep it while I called the Rebif folks.

They think the reason I had a zero copay last time is that I might have met an out of pocket maximum. They have me down as paying for it and they reimburse me.

The explanation is that Kaiser doesn't have an easy way for their clerks to enter a VCN #. I said that if a card doesn't read they have to enter it manually. She told me she would have Grechen look into it and call me back tomorrow. She told me that Kaiser said that some of their Pharmacies could do it. I asked for a list of Bay Area Kaiser Pharmacies that could process it. Might be worth the trip (trade one hassle for another.) It wouldn't kill me to put it on my Wells Fargo Visa and pay it when they reimburse me.


Trek Bay Farm. It was lovely. Things have dried out enough to make a reasonable walk possible. Walked most of the length of one part of Seaview park until the grass got too tall. Turned around and went back closer to the restrooms and did 7 fetch throws.


Sun Feb 12

Trek Lincoln Park. Grass is kind of long and it's still muddy, but we scrounged out a place we could walk and play a little fetch. 6 tosses. Sadly it's going to rain again so we might just be at Washington Park again for the next couple of days which is not a terrible thing.


Sat Feb 11

Trek PT, just laser today.


Trek Walk. Marina Village with Bill, Diane and Cardi Wish.

It was nice and sunny today. But Marina Village was really muddy and a challenge.


Fri Feb 10

Trek saw Jorge this morning at 8:30a.

She's getting less worried and squirmy about it. He thinks it's because she knows it's relaxing.

He put in more needles in her rear area to try and help it out more. I told  him that she is no longer doing the water treadmill, but is still doing cold laser therapy.

Jorge is in a continuing education program about herbalism. Pre-Chinese revolution herbalism as Chinese Medicine got really regimented once the communists took over so a lot less about why something was done a particular way.


Trek Lincoln Park. I nearly drove away in frustration since it's still muddy, but tried to walk her using the ginger lead. We didn't get that far, but we got far enough for use to find a small drier spot so I left her there and went and got her cart and we did eight fetch throws.


Thu Feb 9
It rained all day, so no walks for the doggies.


Wed Feb 8

Trek Washington Park. The only thing not underwater. about the same as last time, but I held her up to smell the low tide. I should walk her along the beach in a backpack sometime.

Did fetch back to the car.


Yoshi walk. One dog that we hid from otherwise fine.



Tue Feb 7

I need to make an appt with Jorge for Trek for acupuncture.

Jorge Nunez Alder's number is 510-682-8030.

Left a message and sent him email.

Here is his bio on the Octagon site

http://www.octagoncommunityacupuncture.com/practitioners/dr-jorge-nunez/



Calling Sage Concord to find out if Dr. Walls is in town. 925-627-7243.

Talking to Kaylee. She looked up the email that I sent on Jan 24 and will check with him about it (he's in the office today.)


Trek Washington Park.

Washington Park is on the water and has a lot of sand in the soil and had a chance of not being underwater despite it raining all night long. It was fine and Diane, Bill, and their Cardi Wish were able to join us. We walked from the parking lot over to the main building and then played fetch over there because the ground there was very nice and firm. Then we worked our way back to the car. Probably 7 fetch throws.


Yoshi walk. Most fine except for him and another dog approaching an intersection. We turned right (I told the other person we were going to do that.) and the other dog continued along the street. Yoshi objected loudly, so to amuse myself I put him under my arm football style and carried him yelling down the cross street for a couple of houses.

Mon Feb 6

Facebook post

Good news, Bad news dept. (No one is dead. No one is injured. We're all as physically as fine as we were before the news.)

Good News: I video all of Trek's Water Treadmill sessions. I was able to upload a portion of the most recent and one from about 3 weeks ago to You Tube (unlisted) so her PT Vet could review it. This saved me paying her to be there to watch the session in person.

Bad News: The treadmill is no longer benefitting her as she's using her upper body to compensate for her lack of lower leg mobility and it's torquing her spine without doing any good muscle-wise. This was unfortunately inevitable.

So Trek will stop the treadmill and just get Cold Laser treatments.

Other Good News. Her cart will still help her to get exercise because she can move her lower legs some while in the cart.


I am bummed about this, but I knew it was coming. I could see it in the videos.


Sat Feb 4

Trek to PT. She's getting less benefit out of it. She totally takes advantage of the tech if the tech puts too much tension on the harness - she then the floats along and doesn't work. Slacker. I took comparison video and shared it with them.


Trek has a tech appt on the 6th for a urine recheck to make sure the UTI is gone.



Thu Feb 2
Yoshi walk. It was in between rainfall, so a lot of dogs were out walking.
Half and half on ok and not ok dog encounters.
We were following another dog just fine when two greyhounds approached on the other side of the street. I stopped with a handful of treats and we were doing fine eating a treat at a time. Then the dogs decided to cross and walk past us on Johnson still on the other side but it's a narrow street. Yoshi held it together but started inhaling the treats and I let him as he held it together which surprised me.
So that was great, but a dog on Central just appeared in front of us and Mr Y. lost it in an alarm barking state. I immediately picked him up and turned him away from the dog but it took him quite a while to get a hold of himself. Then another dog appeared in the same spot and we just turned around and went the other way only to follow another dog. This one we managed to succeed at as he would ramp up and I'd interrupt him and he would reconnect for a treat or three.

Wed Feb 1
Trek Lincoln Park. Last dry day for a while, but it was beautiful in the park.
We walked on the part where the grass is a bit shorter, then we played fetch and worked out way out of the park. She may be having a harder time getting around but she's doing ok for now.

Yoshi walk. Lots of people. One dog that he took a surprising objection to. He would try to charge, then try to engage with me to get a treat and then would break off to try to charge again. Such a strange doggy. I could have been faster with intervening, but I was so interested watching.

Tue Jan 31
Trek Lincoln Park
The park has pretty much dried out (just in time for a few days of rain - ah well.)
We went all the way across to the fence on the other side of the ballfield, and then we worked our way back with fetch throws. I would throw the toy and we would both go towards it but I would go beyond a bit and she would bring it to me and I'm throw it again. About 6 throws to get back across the park.

Trek finished her Baytril and her UTI seems better now. No accidents and Yoshi isn't sniffing at her rear anymore.

Yoshi walk. Again no dogs which is sort of amazing. He's moving along very nicely. He threw up yesterday, but it was just bile, so i have to give him even more bread at night - now 5 cubes of white bread. Maybe I should give him whole wheat.

Mon Jan 30
Yoshi walk. No dogs at all. It was very peaceful and enjoyable.
Trek Lincoln Park. It's going to be dry for the next two days and then will be raining lightly on Wed and raining more seriously on Thu.
We walked all the way down to the infield which had been scraped free of a lot of top dirt for maintenance. I talked to a couple of people there about Trek's DM, and then tossed her dumbell toy a couple of times, but it was too hard on her toes so we moved to the grass, did a couple of fetch throws and then started working out way back to the car which was a ways. Probably six fetch throws total.
Her cart is pulling down on her back some, so I tightened the bottom strap which helped and I'm thinking I could counterweight the back some - don't know.


Sun Jan 29

Trek Lincoln Park
Soccer season has begun. We threaded our way through various impromptu soccer practices. She was ok about it unless a ball came towards her but I was able to kick the ball back. We walked in a lopsided rectangle and did 7 fetch throws near the entrance.

Sat Jan 28
Trek PT.
She is 4 days into a 7 day antibiotics course for a UTI so no water treadmill for her because the water isn't sterile and  they doing want any sneaking up her urethra. So she just had the cold laser treatment today ($29).

Trek Lincoln Park.
Lots of people out today but the people right where we usually go left so we had that section of the park to ourselves for a little while with a little bit of batting practice going on on the infield and some harmless volleyball on the other side of where we were. We went part of the way to the infield, then cut into the center and worked out way out to a fairly dry close cut area near the entrance. It was a beautiful day and she was in great spirits possibly from her acupuncture last night. We did 8 fetch throws and she's happily crashed out beside me right now.

Yoshi walk with Terri. Everyone was out with their dog walking which meant that Yoshi's walk had just as much evasive action as actual walking. He did surprisingly well though he ate most of his way through it.


Fri Jan 27

Took Trek to see Jorge tonight for acupuncture. I was able to show him a video that uploaded while I was traveling over there. He gave me his email address, so I could send him the links.


Thu Jan 26
Trek made it through the night again with no accidents. She had her last Baytril this morning and we're awaiting further instructions from Park Centre. She did poop on the floor after she ate. Terri is going to try to get her to poop before charging back in to eat in the morning.

Trek Lincoln Park.
The just mowed and it was beautiful. Ground still a bit soft, but it will improve. We walked all the way down to the infield and back and did six fetch throws. Bit tough going (it was best to follow the tracks of the mower wheels), but tomorrow and the next day will be better.

Yoshi walk. Pretty easy. One medium sized dog coming at us that we cut down a side street and ate treats while the dog passed by. Given that he can eat and watch a dog pass by means he can handle it at that distance.


Wed Jan 25

Trek made it through the night with no accidents.
This is the second day of her Baytril. She has one more day of it and then we switch to whatever one the lab thinks is most effective.

Trek walk. Checked on Lincoln Park. Still too mucky. Fortunately it's not going to rain for a few days, so things can dry out.
Went to Godfrey Park on Bay Farm which was only slightly more workable. Walked around a little bit and then found a place close to the car to so six fetch throws (sort of).

Yoshi walk. Pretty uneventful. Took some time for him to say hello to Rich who takes care of the bunnies next door when they're out of town.


Tue Jan 24

Trek walk. Went to Bay Farm in search of a park that wasn't underwater. Seaview Park was ok. Not perfect but no standing water. Walked around a bit and then did six fetch throws.


Yoshi walk. It was bark at weird things day, like shopping bags and baby carts and then real dogs though he was easy enough to manage. I should probably get something he can just lick on.

Mon Jan 23
Yoshi walk. No dogs until I was tying my shoe and then a wee dog showed up across the street. I don't have any treats out so I instead asked him if he wanted a goodie (something he usually responds to). No change. Bark bark bark. "Hey dude knock it off." (and I blow on him.) That gets him to relent while growling and we walk on. Before that he did get to play I'm so cute to a woman taking  her trash bins out.

Trek non-walk. The park was completely underwater so we bailed and went back to the house and played fetch until the impending downpour became downpour actual and we retreated. So we didn't get soaked this time.

Yoshi correctly diagnosed Trek's UTI. Our vet is impressed. "What symptoms did you observe?" "Yoshi's interest in her read end." Perhaps I should hire him out, but he wouldn't be able to concentrate around other dogs. Tomorrow I pick up some Baytril for her which is a broad-spectrum anti-biotic while they do a urine culture so see if a more effective anti-biotic would be appropriate.

Sat Jan 21
Yoshi walk. We twice stood clear of two Aussie-sized dogs by just sitting around and eating treats as they walked slowly by across the street. Didn't do as well with him barking at a dog that we ourselves got too close to and the dog running with a bicycle which I don't even try to fix. No rain. No hail. Phew.

I have to walk Trek, who uses a cart and drags her back feet, in a park on grass. Today (and tomorrow and maybe the next day) I need to find one that isn't underwater. Wish me luck.
Mostly out of stubbornness and because I've been missing it, we went to Krusi Park which was full of thrilled birds playing in the mud but we managed  to struggle half way across before turning back in search of drier land to eek out something around six fetch throws.

I pleaded with Park Centre to give Trek a same-day tech appt for a blood draw and urine screen

Fri Jan 20

I am in the process of ordering a Corgi Cover-up for Trek as she's getting a little wet butt in the morning. We take her out right away in the morning.
http://www.corennacorgis.com/coverups.html
http://www.corennacorgis.com/forms/Orderform2016.pdf

Trek Acupuncture with Jorge. I told him about her slight incontinence and he added more needles. He said that if that didn't work, he can add some herbs.

Trek PT
I told them about her mild incontinence though I only later decided to have her tested for a UTI which could easily be the problem.
She's not using her rear legs that much which is concerning me. I need to go over the video to see if she's using them at all. If she's not then she's not benefitting from the Hydro Treadmill. though she would continue to benefit from the Cold Laser treatments.

While on a dog walk with Yoshi it started to suddenly rain harder and harder. We hid under a tree thinking it would lighten up. Instead it started to hail. fortunately a Corgi house (Mary Ellen's)  was 3 doors down, so we hung out on their porch while I showed her the hail in Yoshi's fur. Once it finally lightened up, we walked back (I carried him part of the way to speed things along) and I saw someone else who had been walking their dog. "Perhaps this wasn't the best time for a dog walk." She didn't have a Corgi safe house so she got soaked running home. There was one very happy dog out walking. A Labrador.

Called Park Centre to ask for a tech appt to check Trek's urine and they told me she's due for a senior screen. We scheduled it for Tues but Rachel told me to call tomorrow morning to see if we could get a "day of" appt. If that doesn't work try the same thing on Sunday.

Thu Jan 19
Trek Crab Cove
It was raining much of yesterday, we went to Crab Cove in hopes that it would be less of a lake than all of the other parks but it was still a lake too. We walked across and along the edge but it was tough going. I carried her out to the sandy bluff but the footing was too difficult. No fetch, she was too tired from the walk.

Yoshi walk. It was near his dinner time so I kept it short. Right on Court three dogs appeared (BC, Australian Shepherd, and a Shepherd mix) Bark bark bark--  hey want some food? Bark--Oh, ok munch munch munch. Also say a regular dog on Gibbons but I was able to interrupt much quicker. I don't know what it means that he will ignore threats for food. A lot of dogs are like that.

Yoshi's blood test shows no more elevated white blood cell count and a normal thyroid, but they tell us that if he's still sleeping a lot, we should bump his dose up to his weight which would be 0.2 twice a day (instead of 0.1 twice a day). Too much thyroid med would make him hyperactive and lose weight and he's sleeping a lot and gaining weight without a change in his food (which we might have to reduce).

In Dec his Thyroid level was 0.7 (low).
Now it is 1.9.

His WBC is normal as well as his albumium level (a liver value).
We'll recheck his blood in 4-6 weeks.

Wed Jan 18
Yoshi walk. It was raining lightly and he usually is a drama queen about the rain, but it was windy and he was having a grand time and didn't notice the rain at all. I, of course, noticed all the trees and worried about falling branches, so we took a very careful route. We saw no other fools out walking in this (human or dogs), and we got back home fine.

Tue Jan 17
Trek Lincoln Park
It's dried out some and they cut the grass so things are pretty ideal though still soft, so we still didn't make it all the way across the park but got a lot further than in the past two days. It's unfortunately going to pour tomorrow and rain lighter for the following days so we'll be scrounging around for a place to walk though I have some ideas. Six fetch throws this time. She is getting tired faster, but still slogs through it.
She has gained back weight to a normal weight.

Yoshi walk. Things were completely quiet until I hear a very light padding behind us and looked back to see the resident dog was outside. that dog is no threat so it was more a matter of getting the owner's attention. Fortunately, someone was outside on the side of the house and able to hear "Your dog is loose. Your dog is outside." and called their dog in. Yoshi helped by barking more at my raised voice and excitement.

Mon Jan 16
Martin Luther King day
Trek Lincoln Park
The sun was out today and the park was a little drier, but still boggy in most places. We found a dry area to get some actual walking in. Six fetch throws.

Yoshi walk. He barked at nothing which was odd. Then a Sheltie and GSD appeared on Gibbons, so we went down Johnson and while he barked more I told him he was being silly and then I instantly started feeding him continuously. He got through it fine even though the dogs were close at one point.

Sun Jan 15
Trek Lincoln Park
Very boggy. Almost no dry spots at all.

Sat Jan 14

Trek Water Treadmill

She's has a sore right trapezius muscle, but other than that did ok.

I don't know what made it sore. Maybe all the walking around in the soft grass.


Later on Yoshi walk. We took evasive action to avoid two small dogs but they came down the same side street we were on. We crossed the street but it turned out we were in front on their house so they just stood still while we walked past on the other side of the street. All the dogs were fine which was remarkable. Let's hear it for world peace. Yoshi got to eat a lot of treats in the process.

I want to get both dogs involved in the DM study but I need to get one of my vets comfortable with the procedure which may take a lot of back and forth with the researchers.

Fri Jan 14
Trek Lincoln Park.

The ground is starting to dry, but still boggy. We still were able to find enough spots to walk around one and do six fetch throws.


Over the past couple of weeks she is getting less strong in front. When she shakes her head, she'll sometimes loses her front balance. However, her rear legs are still moving and she has use of her rear thighs.

Thu Jan 12
Trek Lincoln Park.
Park is pretty much the same. Hasn't dried out much even though it hasn't been raining.
We walked around looking for dry-ish spots, and then eventually did six fetch throws.

Yoshi walk. It was 4:30pm and the temps were approaching 50 degrees which is cold for here. He loved it! Walking fast. Didn't want to sit all the way down. He had a grand time, but he was clearly hungry for his dinner as he dragged me down Gibbons and Lincoln too.

Wed Jan 11
It's sunny right now so I think I'll take Yoshi on a walk on Bay Farm.
I did that (after I woke him up and did his nails) and it was lovely. He wanted to run back so I should take him biking more when the weather clears up.

Snuck Trek over to Lincoln Park because it's not raining. Ground is mushy, but we found a 30' strip to play fetch in.

Tues Jan 10
Raining this morning. Yoshi thought I was crazy to drag him out of bed at 11:30am to pee in the rain outside. I had to do it to him again later this evening. He wanted to go back in so much that he forgot that he needed to poop and Terri had to take him back out in an hour.

Mon Jan 9
Walk for Yoshi. This time I decided that just the site of a dog is rewardable and i kept rewarding him until the dog passed. Worked great.

Trek Lincoln Park. Grass was pretty boggy, but we found a stable enough section and walked out and back and then did 6 short fetch throws. She's much happier to walk on grass than concrete. She doesn't get any exercise on concrete and she's not confident on it.

Sun Jan 8
This morning it was more about carry each dog out and be with them which worked fine. I even took Yoshi out to be under a tree which was dripping, so much it wasn't much different.

The rain let up for a little while so I took Yoshi on a walk. He was slow to start but moved along find after a bit. No dogs. no drama.
No walk for Trek.

Sat Jan 7
Raining this morning but then a break came at 12pm and was supposed to be ok till 3pm (turned out to be much longer), so Yoshi and I got out. Poor guy, I had to wake him up and convince him it would be worth waking up for (treat bribery). I carried him outside and once him got going he was fine. Said hi to some folks on Central who were bravely trying to get something done in between rain storms. it was uneventful and he didn't seem to be suffering though I am concerned about all his sleeping. He doesn't have a recheck blood draw for a week and a half.

Trek walk. Now came the challenge. Usually Trek and I are on grass, but the ground is likely too soft (I'm realizing now that may not be the case). So to walk her on concrete, I put a set of baby socks on her with a set of Paws rubber booties holding them in place. We didn't go far. She wasn't that interested in going that far and I found her paw dragging unnerving even with her feet protected. We could better evaluate her rear this way. She can somewhat pick up her left rear foot to minimize the dragging. We also walked around on my lawn just fine, so I think we'll stick to the parks and try not to sink too much.

Fri Jan 6
Trek PT with Emily. Went fine. She's still trying to use her rear legs. emily says we're really lucky that Trek isn't having bladder issues. i think it's a little early for that. Bobbie tells me that some of the girls never have issues. The boys often do.
Yoshi walk.
It's cold and he was rarin' to go Barked at a dog I didn't even see and relented once I fed him. After the this storm is done I do want to work with him outside the dog park. He was very responsive to my cues today but did not watch to site all the way down. He was hungry and wanted his dinner.

Thu Jan 5

Trek Lincoln Park. It was nice and sunny, but it had been raining solidly yesterday so the ground was soft. We found a small dry enough spot on the side, and we walked back and forth a couple of times and them did six fetch throws.Yoshi walk. Barking at everybody. I want to get some time to work with him but it's going to be raining for a while so I may not get the time anytime soon. I need to get more soft easily chewable treats for the purpose.

Wed Jan 4
I did get time to get out and get to Toyota and Pet Food Express where Crystal was nice enough to help me figure out how much I should be feeding Trek, We looked at more caloric foods but if we just raise her beef up to a full serving that would be a very good start.
Serving size for a 25 lb dog for Prairie Salmon kibble is 1 cup/day
Serving size for a similar size dog for Stella and Chewy's Beef small patties is 6 patties / day.
So to split it up would be 1/2c of kibble combined with 3 small patties.
Meaning 1/4c kibble with 1 1/2 patties each meal.

Dog Weights
Trek: 20.2 (needs to gain one pound)
Yoshi 21.2 (ok)


Mon Jan 2

Trek Lincoln Park Walk. She's moving very well though I want to try lowering her cart just a little, but her legs are moving well in the cart which is nice to see. Walked in a long circle and did eight fetch throws. I adjusted the cart some. I'm going to take her to Rally class tomorrow which she might just hate, but I want her to have a shot at it.

Sun Jan 1

Trek Lincoln Park. Some folks were playing a highly structured form of touch football. Looked fun. We steered around them and a drone. Actually walked right up to near the drone since it was the best place to play fetch. I figured they'd move on, but they didn't. Though they were harmless. I was thinking of asking them to move down, but a dog was there too. We walked in a big circle around the football game and then did 8 fetch throws. She's moving her back legs well. I should check that she's not crowded in it though she has a lot of room to move in the leg circles.

Yoshi walk. Terri dodged a couple of dogs that he didn't see. He was excited to get out that he would up dragging Terri down Lincoln.




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