Picture Time: Early Evening Hike

We got out for a nice stroll with Laura this evening after work. The weather was beautiful...the ticks were less so. When we got home we pulled a small army of them off me and the Curly Tails.

What should one call a group of basenjis?

A naughtiness of basenjis...

An annoyance of basenjis on some days...

Mr Darwin just gets more handsome as he grows!

Menchi in the May Apples

Watson leaping and bounding through the May Apples.

No we have not forgotten you guys out there...

I thought I better give a sign of life here so you all know we are still kicking.

The weather has not been with us for outings much of late. Also we are planning our wedding...the event is taking place this fall so it is starting to eat up some time here and there to get things together.

Some Curly Tails news... We got some new dog beds, and Menchi is in love with her giant purple pillow bed. She looks like a little Shar Pei queen on it. Sabe calls it her throne. I will have to try and get some pictures to post when the lighting is with me.

I tortured both dogs with baths yesterday. They are now soft, clean, and sweet smelling...which of course to them is an affront.

We may get out for a hike with Laura and the basenjis tomorrow evening...if we do it will be picture time.

This weekend we are headed to a CAT so that Menchi can do some lure coursing and finish her CA title. We will also be lucky enough to meet up with some online dog friends while there that are also attending.

The week after that we are taking the dogs to Chicago for the 2nd annual Chazhound Midwest Meetup...so more pictures for you guys out there that are in the Curly Tails fan club.

In June Watson will get to go coursing and finish his JC title.

So there is lots of dog fun coming up! Stay tuned!

...and now for something completely different!

I am not sure I have mentioned it before, but the dog that really turned me into the nutty dog person I am today was my English Cocker Spaniel Darth. It is something like 20 years ago that he came into my life. He was one of the most amazing dogs I have ever known and when I lost him to liver disease it broke my heart. I was not ready for another English Cocker back then...but I think maybe someday in the future there is going to be another English Cocker for me.

When I learned that the English Cocker Nationals were right here in WI this year I decided that if I had the time I would stop in and see some Spaniels.

Today was the last day of Nationals...and I managed to catch the very tail end of the show.

I got to meet some very nice dogs and their owners and handlers. I talked to a lady that did these lovely digital portraits and paints murals for a living. You can see some of her work here.

I took a couple of pictures...apologies for the poor lighting, but I could not use flash so that I did not distract the dogs and their handlers. I hope you get the idea anyway.

Sitting in the ring waiting to be judged...

This guys name was Coyboy...he was very handsome!

Waiting to go in the ring...

In the ring...

Getting ready to go home after several days showing...

I came across this dude waiting the the parking lot :)

Good news everyone!

I have good news.


We did a retest on Menchi's urinalysis and got the results back yesterday.


While her pH was still a little elevated and there were some white blood cells in the sample (hopefully residual effects from her UTI) everything else came back normal.


There was no protein and no glucose! Her specific gravity was excellent!


This means that her kidneys are okay! We are so relieved and so is are Menchi's many friends and fans :)

Picture Time: The seven basenjis and a shar pei edition

It was a gorgeous day out today and I was lucky enough to have Friday off...so I called Laura and we headed out into the wilds and let the dogs loose. Between the two of us there were seven basenjis and of course one shar pei :)

My beautiful little Darwin <3

So handsome!

Good lookin!

Darwin and Thoreau

Squinting into the sun...

The Menchi Hippopotamus is grazing.

More squinty-face...

Happy Hippo

Running in the tall grass...

Silly face...

There was a lot of running and chasing...

Watson being handsome...

After all he doesn't want to be outdone by some upstart puppy!

Making sure I get his good side...

The end...

We had a scare...also some pictures from the park.

So we had a bit of a health scare with Menchi this last week.

She had accidents in the house on three occasions over a 24 hour period, so the immediate reaction and assumption was "Oh, she has a UTI" and I collected some urine, and dropped that off at the vet for analysis.

The vet also confirmed a possible infection and had us start her on antibiotics while sending out samples for culture, and more testing to confirm and get a sensitivity. The scare came when the outside lab's results came back with an alarming amount of protein in Menchi's sample. The vet had tested this also and gotten normal results for a dog with a UTI...the results from the lab however indicated a serious kidney issue. Since Shar Pei are not strangers to kidney disease I immediately became worried...

Dr Miller counseled to wait for the culture results to see if there was some bacterial nastiness going on...because bacterial load in the urine will raise pH and if the pH is high enough it overloads the buffer in the test kits and can cause false results!

The results of the culture showed a serious infection...so now we are finishing the antibiotic therapy and retesting when Menchi's system is back to normal to make sure the protein result was a fluke...

So send happy thoughts for Miss Menchi until further notice...


Today I had the day off and it was gorgeous so we headed out to the park for a while. Here is some photographic evidence for you...

We met this guy with awesomely ridiculous ears...

He can run...

...but he can't hide...

'

...and when she catches him...

...the beatings commence!

Surveying the lake...

Derp...

...diderp, derp!

The majestic Shar Pei!

Zoooooommmmmm!