A mellow weekend

Saturday Leo has gotten so excited in the morning when I left him out the crate. He surely is a happy dog. When I took him outside he tried to run, which I quickly stopped. He then went on to go #1 and #2 by himself and then enjoyed physical therapy outside which he really enjoyed. His little brother kept around us, and I have to say, since Leo was injured Flummi has really grown up. He stays with us and comes back when called, which hasn't always been too secure with little Flummi. But now he stays with his big brother, makes sure the neighbors get barked at from afar and the squirrels get chased away and the property is defended. Flummi must have paid great attention in Leo's school. Leo has nothing to worry about, Flummi has everything under control so far.

 Flummi won't leave Leo's side during physical therapy,

or any other time. He even sleeps in front of Leo's night-crate

(I am applying a heating pad to Leo's back)

Unfortunately, for the rest day I was forced to study the most boring of all math: Statistics. Therefore, I gave Leo a tranquillizer in his breakfast as I knew I could not do much today. He slept most of the morning and early afternoon,but for his afternoon physical therapy he was all there. His left leg seems to be slightly stiffer than his right, but generally they are flexible and he can move them and even feels when I tickle him on his back feet.
In the afternoon he got some pee on his belly fur (not the first time), so I decided to give him a Brazilian wax, except I didn't wax, but clipped his area. As soon as I turned on the clippers he rolled on his back and closed his eyes. I don't know why, but this dog loves to be clipped.
For his second physical therapy of the day, Leo was accompanied by Flummi who lied next to him the entire time. It is nice to see them taking care of each other so well.

Cuddle Time with Dad

When Shawn came home, Leo was very excited, like always, and he got some heavy cuddling time. Then more math, because when I study, my furry boys are usually with me. I could tell they hated it as much as I do. Today more math. Leo seems to be well.


Sunday has approached and Leo is doing better and better. During my studying I take a break to relax my mind and play guitar ever other hour or so, and usually the dogs rant bothered by it. For some odd reason, every time I play Meghan Trainor's Dear Future Husband Leo starts whining and barking. Not during any other song. Just this one. Maybe he likes it and tries to sing along? Maybe he hates it and tries to tell me to stop? Who knows? Now I only play it when he is downstairs.
He enjoys the outside and is a little grumpy if we don't pay regular attention to him, but that was expected. Unfortunately the weather is not as hot as we all expected it to be during May in California, but he gets his outside time when the sun does come out. Once he is outside and done with his business I try to keep him out for a little while, do his physical therapy on the grass and let him enjoy the smells of the great wild (of our front yard).

 Leo thinks this is the best and only way to use his sling.

He really really does not like his sling very much, he tries to escape from it and walk independently to his potty places, and we have finally agreed. The sling is now only used to and from the grass but not on it. On the grass Leo is (by Sage Campbell's word) allowed to walk about 10 feet per potty break, and I want him to have that freedom. This rule only applies to grass, and he is not allowed without the sling on concrete or other hard floors. I can live with that, and I think Leo has no desire to go on the concrete.

"Let me out of this", is what he said, because he spotted

the neighbor's cat in the window above.

The good news is, that I caught him scratching his ear with his back foot. Very well coordinated and pretty fast. He seems to be in no pain and enjoys that he can take care of his own itches. His scar is healing wonderfully, and if his hair grows back some, I am sure it will be invisible soon. Wednesday is when  we are scheduled to have his staples removed, a friend of mine told me to make sure I know how much are in there (nine!) and that I make extra sure that I know they all came out. I will make sure to remember that.

This Monday morning (Happy Memorial Day!) Leo ate outside of his crate because we had a little -blanket-in-the-water-accident, so while he ate, I renewed his blankets, that he had dipped in the water in excitement, that, indeed, I was preparing his breakfast. Exciting times! So I let him eat on the bathmat we bought at Costco for the dogs a while back, that we put in front of his downstairs crate, because he cannot get out himself on the hard wood floor.

Can anyone see what I am seeing?

 

Yes! He ate his entire meal standing up, relatively solid, no wobbling. That made me really happy and I know he will be okay and that we chose to do the right thing. This was amazing to see this morning, and I am sad that Shawn and Flummi weren't there to witness it (They went on a walk and to get a Jalapeno for our Holiday Jalapeno-Bacon and eggs breakfast). Luckily we live in a time where my phone and its camera are glued to my hand and I can share this overly lit picture. Now I have to go eat my Jalapeno Bacon and eggs with fried potatoes, that my husband is cooking while I am writing this (I have to admit he thinks I am doing math). To all of you, Happy Memorial Day!! I will be writing again after my final!

For anyone interested: Jalapeno Bacon: Fry 2 strips of bacon in a cast iron skillet. Then, use the fat to fry thin slices of jalapeno in that same skillet. now add more bacon and fry with the jalapenos. It goes great with potatoes and eggs, but I am sure creative chefs will tell you a lot of other meals that you can use it with. Then, eat the jalapeno bacon with a meal of your choice and give the very first un-jalapeno'd bacon to your dog, because hey! They deserve it!