No more Itch. Happy Bruce.

After a week, Bruce's coat became smoother and most importantly with NO ALLERGIES!! Yehey!

Goodbye to nasty bumps and he doesn't itch anymore. Aside from the shots, whatever the vet gave him really worked wonder!

Tough Play

Out of all the dogs that I have, hands down, Harvey is the playful one. He doesn't tire easily and he seems to find different ways, effortlessly, to have fun. He could concentrate in bringing down a garbage can, hunt for pests and animals, chase running water, play with an object tirelessly and pester people to chase him. He just pipes down if he's tired and needs water, but that would take forever.

Being the more adventurous and energetic one, he instilled himself to be a semi-leader of the pack. He's the one who likes to run around and likes to give chase. Buddy, being technically the senior one, just observes from afar and occasionally joins the group if something interesting comes up. Chivas scrutinizes Harvey from afar, he doesn't like outdoor and rough play. He sometimes joins but only when his mood allows and he feels left out. Bruce on the other hand, being a puppy and the youngest, is the one left who encourages and supplies energy to the dog wonder, he always tries to get Harvey's attention. And he likes to be in whatever Harvey's doing.

Bruce, identified as a low energy dog, still has large bursts of energy and he always looks for Harvey to play with. He never bothers Buddy and he seems to be too bored and irritated with Chivas. Harvey is  his partner in crime. But Harvey's play may be a bit different from Bruce's. Harvey likes to play with objects while Bruce likes to play with him.

Bruce doesn't like toys or balls. He's not play driven by any particular object. He doesn't like to chase. He tries to run but he's obviously not made for that. He's too big and he often falls down or slips when he runs. He couldn't find balance well and be super agile like Harvey. What he does best is he wrestles. He likes to wrestle and taunt and he likes to do it with Harvey.

Bruce always starts the show when it comes to wrestling. He would wait until Harvey settles down and as soon as he pipes down, he taunts him. It's so weird looking at how the play starts. Basing it on size alone, Harvey wouldn't stand a chance. But Harvey's breed is a natural fighter so he never backs down. They would start to wrestle until Bruce runs away.  I have a hard time looking at them when it happens. It looks so real, but thankfully they do not inflict wounds at each other. I don't know how they do it.

Bruce would start to put his paw at Harvey's head or bite him in the neck then Harvey gets irritated then he runs away. Harvey likes to hunt and chase, so he runs for Bruce. Bruce gets into a sitting down position and they start to wrestle. Harvey seems to always gain the upper hand despite Bruce's size. As soon as Bruce feels fatigue, he runs away and they share a meal together. Ate Ne and Nanay have seen this a hundred times and it's always Bruce who starts the show. Harvey is more of object driven in play, but he never backs down on a good match.

It's so weird. I might not totally get animal nature, but it takes me a while to accept this kind of play. I always find myself pulling them away from each other, some sort of a referee, but I'm not going to be there 24/7. If it's play, then so be it. I just don't want them to get hurt or be naturally violent towards each other. This happens every day now, but no injuries and hatred so far. They still share a meal and hunt together. I just hope that this is just tough play and nothing more.

Harvey prepares to counter attack

They fight. Buddy looks on.

The wrestler

10:30 AM Dog Routine

Dogs love routine. They easily pick them up and one of the routines they've mastered is to pester Ate Ne and Nanay when they start to cook. They would usually camp at the kitchen as early as 10:30 am looking like angels until the food aroma begins to give them away. After that, it's every dog for himself. They would just sit and throw cute faces. If they sense us cooing them, they would stand as their way of begging.

At first, Chivas would never join Harvey in this activity. He believes he is too dignified to beg. But it was food after all. Sooner or later, Chivas did the same thing.

Eating some portion of Bruce's meat treats

Since Bruce is off limits in this room because of his size and level of destruction, he would just normally cry and knock at the screen door. Karla just ends up preparing treats to give to him outdoors.

Karla fixing Bruce's practice mat

Saturday Cleaning

Saturday was my official start of my vacation. How did I spend it? I went shopping and I couldn't have picked a better timing. It was Saturday, another weekend closer to Christmas and people have money to spend. The malls were packed. In normal circumstances, I would've backed down and hid myself in bookstores where it only gets packed before school term starts. But I had an agenda and I was pretty upbeat because I was on vacation. I had time on my hands.

After a successful 2 hour shopping, I got some Italian take-out and went home. Spending time with the dogs are fun, but I needed to get productive and maximize my day. With new clothes on tow, I needed an organized closet to put it.  With the new, the old ones that I don't find use for must go out. So, I cleaned my closet and de-cluttered my room. I started at 8 pm and finished at 12 am.

I am not normally messy. I have very few things in my possession to make a mess of. And I don't keep stuff that I don't need. Sentimentality is weak in me. 

But sometimes, for some weird reason brought by time and impulsiveness, my closet will look like a pile of shit. I could manage for some time until I bring in new clothes that this urge to submerge myself in actual cleaning takes place. I didn't know what had gotten into me. I would not normally clean after I went shopping, that's just too much physical effort. I guess, this is just a one-time thing, when you're too happy and too energized. 

Nailed this mess

de-cluttering

After fixing this mess and discarding clothes that I don't need, I felt productive. I wouldn't have done this when I was still at work. I'd be too tired and miserable to subject myself to additional stress. But thanks to happy vibes, my closet is now squeaky clean and organized with more space. 

My next project is my bookshelf, but that's reserved for another day. Who says a vacation couldn't be productive?

My next Project - to update my catalog and annually arrange my books

Harvey the Nut

Last week I noticed Harvey's right eye was swollen, semi-shut with a large bump. It looked like he was punched in the face. He looked terrible and I was worried. Well, I was the only one worried. He apparently didn't care. He was in his usual zone, the all-fun-hyper-energy kind of zone. I'm not sure if he noticed he couldn't see very well with his right eye. And just like I believe in any Jack Russells, they're the masters of C'est La Vie, life goes on even after an injury.

I asked Ate Ne how it happened because I was still at work at that time. She just smiled and told me we wouldn't finish narrowing the possibilities. My sister was not at all surprised. Apart from the bloody scratches, bumps and wounds he already had, the swollen eye was kind of expected, another category achieved because of his rambunctious nature.

I cringed. I wanted to get him to his vet just after days of bringing Bruce and cashing out 2,200 pesos. My mom took one look at Harvey and told me not to bother. His eye will open up soon and my mom is hardly an expert in analyzing injuries. Ate Ne and Nanay told me that his eye was worse the night before and it would heal by itself. I got an ice pack and subjected Harvey to home remedy. He hated it. He wanted to squirm around and get away.  While he was doing that, I was scolding him to death. And just like a stubborn Jack Russell, he gave me hell.

But after 3-4 days, his right eye became better. It's now back to normal. As always, he couldn't care less. He's this usual playful self that never tires out. I don't even know if this dog feels any pain.

There were theories on how he got his swollen eye:

1. He ran so fast that he couldn't stop himself and banged himself to some concrete object. - Possible
2. He was bitten by a very nasty insect cause he likes to go around bushes and hunt for pests - Possible
3. He likes to jump high and miscalculated - Possible, but he has never ever miscalculated on a jump
4. Bruce punched him during their tough plays -  I guess, but they harbored no hard feelings.
5. Chivas punched him and sprayed urine on him - My brother's theory

Out of all the possible theories, I got more votes on #2. It's hard for us to believe that the injury is caused by him alone. He is a master of his own speed, agility and heights. Unlike Bruce, he's not a klutz. His movements are exhibitions are calculated and well-executed. I think the injury was done by another agent, after all he caught a huge toad the other day and added 5 cockroaches in his collection. Yuck, Harvey! But I'm glad you're okay. 

My Harvey Boy in his Happy Camera Friendly moment

Happy Vacation!

My 3-week vacation had finally kicked off last Friday night. As soon as my out-of-office alert was set up last, within minutes, I was out the door smiling and having no care in the world. At that moment, I was at a calm and happy place. I felt relieved. No work. All enjoyment and pure fun await.

It's been a promising weekend ever since and I intend to maximize every single hour. Quality time with dogs, preparing for a mini-beach vacation, meeting with friends, spending time with family in between my book shopping, shelf management project, catching up on movies, sleep-hogging and food trips. This is the life!!!

It took me four days to finally cement a post here! Days have been so fast and busy. I don't want this to end and I want to remember every moment of it. Happy Christmas time indeed!

It's not the Food

It's not the food. 

That's the first thing Karla told me when I asked about Bruce's vet visit this afternoon. According to his vet, the manifestations or the small colorless bumps are not yet fully developed. It's still in its premature stages that's why the skin scraping and test would have to be done next week in case the condition worsens. Thankfully it's not that serious and I hope it won't ever be.

After careful examination and observation the vet considered heat, bacterial/fungal infection and allergic reaction to Bruce's shampoo as possible causes of skin allergy. The vet was pretty calm about the whole situation and told us that Bruce is far from danger. His temperature is normal, reaction's ordinary, appetite's still strong and personality is still the same.

Thank God it's not serious. At least we sought professional help and prevented what could've been a worse situation.

So he had this anti-inflammatory and itch shot to prevent further spread of bumps and to dramatically reduce itching, a 500 php/bottle antiseptic shampoo for dogs and Cefalexin antibiotics that he has to take twice a day. He has to take 3-4 baths a week too. All in all, minus the effort, we paid for 2,200 PHP for the treatment and a bottle of shampoo. Bruce is getting to be more expensive that I thought, with this food intake, schooling and allergic attacks. But thank goodness, he's okay.

I'm so relieved at least we sought professional advice cause we really didn't know what to do. We've never experienced this with any of our older dogs so Bruce's case was a first. Harvey and Chivas never had allergic attacks or skin infections. Allergy attacks is something I can definitely relate to cause I'm an allergy-magnet myself. I've had urticaria, swelling and rashes due to the most normal and ordinary things in life like pain killers, heat and peanuts. I've gone through immense itch, discomfort and fever. It sucks and I'm sure Bruce hates it too.

For Bruce and my pack, I'd do anything. Anything for our puppy's recovery and well being. Get well soon, Bruce!

Lil Bruce says hello tonight