Kayaking

Oh yes!

For my birthday, b/f bought us both Kayaks...he loves it!  I am quite keen and its nice to have something we do together.  We have been out a few times by ourselves, but this weekend we thought Tommy should come with us - after all, we did buy him a buoyancy aid for that reason!

We set off quite late - the normal Saturday stuff had got in the way of an earlier start unfortunately.  We went off to Paglesham as we needed somewhere close.  Tommy was very excited as we loaded the Kayaks on the car.  He had seen us do this a few times now, and had been desperate to see where we take the 'heavy plastic that smells of stuff'.  He jumped in the car before we had finished loading - he wasn't missing out this time!

We arrived at the place where we were launching and started to unload.  Tommy was tail wagging and looking at us in an expectant manner.  We put his buoyancy aid on.  His tail went to a half wag.  And then we took everything towards the quay.  He was trotting along, looking all round and seemed happy enough.  Then we got to the slip way.  This had big gaps in between the wood which Tommy wasn't keen on walking on, but with some persuasion, we carried on.  Then the kayaks in the water.  Then b/f passed down Tommy to sit with me.  I paddled away from the quay and he seemed quite happy.

B/f followed soon after and Tommy decided to see what b/f kayak was like - he dove in and swam across.  The best bit about a dog buoyancy aid is they have a handy handle on the back to pull him out of the water with!  B/f kept Tommy with him for about 3 minutes, then Tommy swam back to me!  Then back to b/f and then back to me again!  I'm not sure if he was enjoying it or if it was to see if we were both insane for being in heavy smelly plastic!

Once he'd settled with me, we paddled along for a while.  No where far as it was Tommys' first outing. Tommy seemed quite desperate at times to go back to shore, but all in all, once he'd settled he seemed quite happy.  In fact, after we'd been out for about 3/4 of an hour, he curled up by my feet and went to sleep.

I think he would benefit from having somewhere dry to sit, without the spray decks, water does come into the kayak.  But the swimming between the kayaks must be great exercise for him!  I hope next time he is more settled.  He will be a 'all action' dog if it's the last thing we do.

Vet trip

On Monday, we noticed Tommy was rubbing his eye more than normal with his paw and that there was 'sleep' on it.  I cleaned his eye with water, but within an hour the 'sleep' had returned...a vet visit I feel...

Booked him in for earlier today.  I was dreading it after the Silver Award which we don't talk about but tried to put that to the back of my mind - calm assertive behaviour otherwise it will go down the lead.

It wasn't Mr Gilmore who saw him which was a bit of a shame.  Tommy skulked round the examination room but I put him on the table once I'd explained what was wrong.

The vet put some drops in his eye and looked through an ultra violet light.  I was holding Tommy's head.  There were no scratches or anything so the vet thought he'd probably just caught his eye when running through the long grass.

The vet put a treat on the table which Tommy ate.  And then I realised the examination was over!  Tommy hadn't freaked at the vet!  I was so pleased...

The vet also mentioned that next time I could bathe the eye in tea (no milk or sugar) for 24-48 hours and that might clear it up without having to use drops or pay for the examination fee!  I never knew that tea could do that!  One to remember I think.

Vet time!

Tommy had his annual vet trip tonight. He has only been to ‘my’ vets once before, and as no harm had been caused, I thought this trip would be easy. But he was so worried, bless him! He was quite happy in the waiting room watching the world go by but that certainly changed after I had to drag him into the consulting room! He wasn’t having any of it…

When we eventually 'coaxed' him in, the vet and I thought a sniff round and weigh might settle him. Tommy now weights 9.35kg! That's a 1.5kg or 20% increase, but the vet said he doesn’t look fat, his ribs are nicely defined and his spine is covered, so that’s ok. It’s probably down to more body mass. We then got him on the table where the vet listened to his chest and checked to make sure Tommy’s chip was still readable, which it was. Tommy had his standard boosters and kennel cough up the nose. All without problem but he took some persuading to eat his treat!

Mr Gilmore, in my opinion, is an excellent vet. He stands away from the table and never looks the dogs in the eye unless he has to. When he examines the dog he seems to choose his moments, and is quick, but gentle. What needs to be done is done very quickly and without undue stress. We talked about pet insurance, as I’m still unsure as to what breed of dog I should class Tommy as – JRT, JRTx or general mixed breed. Mr Gilmore said that he would be happy to sign off documentation stating JRTx. He then went onto say that JRT are very healthy, sturdy breeds and don’t seem to have any inherent problems that a lot of pure breeds do. I didn’t have the heart to say I wanted it more for the public liability! He also cracked a joke saying he’s a fine dog, looks very healthy but could do with some plastic surgery on his ear! I am happy to pay more for his services.

Coat condition

When we first got Tommy, his coat felt harsh and wasn’t nice to stroke (although I did, often). The fur on his neck, head and ears was silky smooth though, and I can remember thinking that I hoped the rest of his coat would feel the same. I realised today it does. I’m so happy