My 11th Birthday

Well I'm still here!  I celebrated my 11th birthday yesterday.  Those tablets that I mentioned in my last post have worked and I lost about 10KG in a year and feel much better than I did.

My human sisters have lived with me for almost 6 years now and I love them.

Opening my presents

Having a birthday swim

I got lots of treats for my birthday and loads of cheese!

My latest trips to the vets

Tear stains

I haven't been myself over the past few months, well most of this year to be honest. As you know I was swimming quite a bit earlier this year and I got an ear infection. The hoomans stopped me from going swimming and started squirting something in my ears every day! Then my eyes started getting tear stains underneath. With my white coat the stains showed up and made me look ugly. Only thing was the hoomans were now squirting in my ears and my eyes, I was getting no peace, morning and night!

I had to go back to the vets every couple of weeks for a check up and the hoomans had the smart idea of booking me into a doggy fat club as they thought I was too big. I must admit I have been very tired lately and can't really be bothered with much. I don't play as much as I used to, sometimes can't be bothered to go for a walk, even can't be bothered with my pals in the Dene.

So they took me to see the fat nurse (she wasn't really fat, she just looked after fat dogs) every couple of weeks. She would put me on the scales and measure my belly then she would talk to the hoomans, I couldn't hear everything but it generally involved me having less and less food, no treats and no fun! On my third visit to the fat nurse, I stepped on the scales and to everyone's horror had lost no weight, in fact had put a little on! I had been starving for 4 or 5 weeks, had no treats and had even been jogging and had lost no weight! What was wrong with me?

I went in to see the vet and she stuck a needle in me and took some red juice from me and she was telling the hoomans that she would send it away for testing. A few days later my Hooman Mum got a phone call and the vet said that my test had shown that I had something called an under active thyroid. So this was the reason I was not losing weight, it was also linked to my ear and eye infection! The vet gave me some tablets, that I have to take forever, that will start to help me.

Playful again

Two weeks later and I'm playing with my toys again, happy to go for walks and starting to lose weight, the vet said I might lose 10% of my weight in the next few weeks! I feel much better and my eyes and ears are clearing up too.

So if you're a doggy reading this and you feel the same as I felt, ask your hooman to take you for a blood test and get you checked over. You will feel much better for it and I think they may do as well.

Merry Christmas to all my pals.

Swimming to Keep Fit

Ready to go in for the first time

Well if you follow me on Twitter you will have noticed that I have been swimming most weekends lately.  Just after the big turkey meal of the year the hoomans decided I was looking too fat and the lady hooman said I have to go swimming!  I must admit I wasn't too keen at first, well I like to laze about and have a snooze.  I don't mind the walks, in fact they are quite fun down in the dene or on a nice countryside walk with some of my hooman pals, but swimming!!  I have never been too happy around water ever since the big waves splashed me at the beach.

I don't think I like this much!

So I go into this big room and the lady squirts me with the shower, when I say squirts me, she actually drenched me.  I had a good shake and then she straps this red thing on me, it was quite heavy and thick and I couldn't move much.  Next we go into another room and there is this huge bath.  The 2 ladies get in the bath and make me climb up a ramp so I am at the top of the bath looking in.  I don't like the look of it to be honest so I try to make a break for it but the hoomans have me blocked off so there is no way out.  The hoomans are pushing me in and the 2 ladies in the bath are pulling me in so eventually I have to give in and there is a huge splash as I go in, my legs are going like crazy to keep up and I am drinking loads of smelly water, no, I definitely don't like this.  The ladies drag me round the bath for a few minutes and then let me stand on the ramp for a bit, then they push me back in.  Call the RSPCA somebody, this can't be right!  After about 10 minutes they let me out and back into the shower.  Jelly legs or what?

Playing with Lynn

The hoomans then take me every weekend for the next 2 months and it's torture, absolute torture until my old friend Lynn starts getting in the bath with me.  Lynn used to train me when I was a pup and I liked her.  When she gets in the bath she makes it fun and lets me chase after a ball, its now good to swim, I actually like it!

Lovin it!

The next few times I go I start to build up my confidence and pretty soon I am jumping in by myself and swimming around after my ball.  I still soak the hoomans but that's what it's all about isn't it?  It wouldn't be any fun if the hoomans didn't get drenched!

I have just been this afternoon and I didn't want to leave, great fun, jumping in and swimming around. I am also getting quite fit now and lost a bit of weight, around 4 kg since I started.  I really look forward to my weekend swim now and enjoy my big snooze afterwards as well.

I may be getting some new sisters!!

I am sooooooo excited, my hooman Mum and Dad told me that I may be getting 3 new sisters very soon to come and live with me. They will know for sure in about 10 days so I will keep you posted. I am very excited!

A new doggy pal - Nacho

A new pal came and spent the day with me, here are some of the pictures with the little fella. 

Meet my new pal Nacho

Having a snooze

I think he wants to play

We are Kings of the Castle

Doing Lunch together

North East Byte Night 2009

On 2nd October I am going to sleep outside with my Dad for a night. We are doing it in aid of Byte Night and we are raising money for Action for Children. Lots of my pals are children and my Mum and Dad say that not all children have a nice home and some have to leave home and sleep on the streets. I am only going to do it for one night but lots of these children have to do it every night and sometimes they don't even have their tea!

If you would like to help me to help my human pals then please donate by clicking the donate button on the top right corner of my blog. Thanks

A Trip to Northumberland Coast

We took a trip to Alnmouth on the Northumberland coast recently with my Dad's pals from work. My pal Murphy went also but he is younger than me and ran and ran and ran, I was very tired at the end of the weekend.

This is me and Murphy in the Kitchen of the Cottage

There was a great beach just outside the cottage and there was nobody on it so we could run around as much as we wanted.

Murphy on the left with his Dad and me below being chased by Sarah.

It was a great weekend and I hope I can go back to the beach again soon with Murphy so long as he doesn't run so much this time.