The Joys of June

I think June has been one of our busiest months so far and I can already see that its only getting busier! At the start of June I had the pleasure of looking after 4 Labradors for a weekend and a gorgeous elderly cat in a village nearby. Towards the end of the month I had a further 2 Labradors requiring pet sitting and then I finished the month looking after my biggest number yet - 2 golden retrievers, 2 cockerpoos and a cocker spaniel all in the same household (almost as crazy as owning 9 dogs myself!). June was also a busy month personally, celebrating 3 doggy birthdays and having two go through surgery. They're recovering very well now but feel free to read on to find out more!

Tilly, Eric, Diesel and Charlie...

These beautiful dogs were mentioned in my May post - their stay overlapped months so I have cheated and used them again here (I just wanted to share their beautiful faces again!). The Fantastic Four were so well behaved and I will be seeing them again during the summer break for a short stay as well!

Smudge...

Smudge is a very elderly cat and by far the most elderly pet I have every had the fortune of looking after. Despite being 22 years young (I know!!), Smudge is super lively for her age and so healthy as well! Her owner was going away for a sort break with some friends and wanted Smudge to be able to have her regular meals and her access to the garden - her favourite place to relax during the day. She loved being able to explore the garden and sleep in her little cat hut on the patio during the day but have the security of her home at night (although she was reluctant to come in one day due to the weather being so glorious!).

Puppies first trip to the beach...

June marked a first for Hallie and Ollie, our newest additions as they travelled with us 170 miles North to visit some friends in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Whilst there, they visited the iconic Angel of the North and had their first run on the beach! Hallie was feeling very confident so we used a long line to practice her recall skills and she passed with flying colours! Ollie was a little unsure of his new surroundings so preferred to walk nearer to us and we kept him on the lead whilst he explored all of the weird smells of seaweed, rocks and dead crabs!

A Hoopers Champion in the making...

Custard has been attending Hoopers classes recreationally for a month or two now and passed her Foundation Award at the start of the month. She made it look so easy with her perfect flatwork and enjoyed having a little play round the barrels and through the hoops afterwards. Hoopers is a fantastic dog sport suitable for dogs of all ages and involves very little impact so is super safe for those delicate hip and elbow joints (more on those later!). Custard has enjoyed having some one-on-one time with myself building a good Canine Hoopers partnership and is starting to really understand the basics of building confidence and value with her Hoopers equipment. Hoopers is a dog sport I have been recreationally involved in for a few years now with Nala having passed her Bronze Award 10 months ago and Hallie beginning to pick up tunnel and hoop equipment in the garden at home already. For more information about Hoopers please feel free to visit the CHUK website at https://www.caninehoopersuk.co.uk/ or talk to our fantastic trainer Laura at Pawsitive Intentions!

Three extra special birthdays...

This month, Nala celebrated her 8th birthday on the 13th June and Maya and Nova celebrated their 4th birthdays on the 14th June. They all wore their birthday hats with pride and posed with their cuddly toy cake and then received lots of duck fillets afterwards for being such superstars!

Layla the westie...

Some of you will have seen how I spent some time this month helping a little pooch named Layla to manage her diabetes. Her owner has an extremely busy and challenging job with a long commute meaning it wasn't always possible for her to be home in time to give Layla her tea with her insulin injections which must be done every 12 hours. I helped for the first two weeks of her diagnosis by injecting her each evening and giving her tea and some fuss for being such a superstar! Diabetes is often difficult to spot in dogs and often presents firstly with increased thirst, urination, loss of energy and weight loss. For an older dog like Layla, these are also common signs of old age and urinary issues. Fortunately her owner noticed something wasn't right and managed to get her in for a blood test to diagnose her diabetes. Layla is the first dog I've seen to have a Dexcom continuous glucose monitor as well - how amazing is Science and medicine at evolving! Hopefully they will soon design insulin pumps for dogs too to reduce the anxiety and pain of twice daily injections!

Betty and Nelly...

This really was the month of the Labradors with Betty and Nelly needing my services as their owners went to Italy! We experienced a heatwave around the same time so could relate to the weather conditions! This did mean that Betty and Nelly had to delay their usual walk in the mid afternoon and we were often seen out for strolls at 10pm or 11pm instead. It was a very tiring week due to the late nights but luckily for Betty and Nelly they took plenty of naps during the day to build up their energy for our evening meanders. They were absolutely excellent and I am looking forward to seeing them again soon for their Autumn holiday.

Bonnie, Lulu, Margaux, Florence and Maple...

I finished the month of June with a trial weekend with these lovely 5 pooches! 2 Golden Retrievers, 2 Cockerpoos and an 8 month old Cocker Spaniel certainly kept me busy but in the best way! I knew 4 of these previously from them spending some time in the kennels that my mum owns and I help to run, but the kennels was full and they enjoy their space and often get too restricted in kennels with exercise timings etc. They loved being cared for in their own home and still being able to run around the garden as they wished! Maple even found a hedgehog on our final night together which led to a 9pm rescue mission getting the hedgehog to the vets. I have been assured it is now in fantastic condition and will be released at some point during the first week in July. Maple also is absolutely fine - she was fortunately a bit of a scaredy cat and just barked at the little hedgehog so had no injuries herself!

Maya the Mischief...

Maya went in for her spay procedure during this month and also a small lump removal on her back. We had previously been told it was nothing sinister so decided to remove it at the same time as her spay to avoid multiple anaesthetics and surgeries. Whilst she was in surgery they also noticed a chipped tooth and so removed the root to avoid infection. Maya came out of the vets looking a little dazed and sporting some lovely pyjamas! She struggled that night at home and the next morning had lost her appetite, refused to take her medication and wasn't drinking either. She ended up going back to the vets and they found she had a high fever so kept her in for a day to try and bring it down. When she arrived home she was much perkier but was still a pain with trying to take her medication so we resorted to a different food and some very smoky sausages to tempt her. This worked really well and Maya started to get better... much better... Maya decided to tear out her stitches and ended up back in the vets for staples which she subsequently managed to rip out after bursting her inflatable collar and ripping through her body suit. Maya went into the vets for a forth time for new stitches and a new buster collar which she managed to get off her head within an hour of being home. We have since threaded her identity collar through the inflatable one and so far so good - just over 2 weeks and 5 appointments later and she's almost recovered now! Fingers crossed these stitches last just one more week!

Robo-Dog...

The final thing that happened in June was my own personal dog (and bestest girl in the whole wide world) had her first Total Hip Replacement surgery. This wasn't meant to be happening until the end of July but was brought forward due to absences in the surgical team due to pre-planned holidays in August. Nova had her right hip replaced due to her diagnosis of bilateral hip dysplasia in October last year. The vets believe this isn't hereditary as her litter mate isn't showing signs and the hip scores of her parents are exemplary, they instead believe it was brought on by a lack of key nutrients as a young pup - weened off mum too early and raw fed from 4-8 weeks. Despite our efforts at managing and preventing it from developing further after she showed her initial symptoms, Nova couldn't live a full, happy life free from pain without the replacement of both hips. Her second should be done next year if she makes a full recovery with this one. So far she is being absolutely fantastic. The vets are really happy with her progress and use of the leg so far and her stitches are due to come out soon. She should be able to start back with her physiotherapist in a few weeks and then her hydrotherapy in a few months all being well. I'll keep you all updated on her progress as she recovers over the next few months.

As you can see, June was a little bit crazy filled with more Labs than I can count on one hand, my eldest patient yet and lots of 'first' experiences with new hips, beach visits and glucose controlling! July is set to bring much more fun and some revisits from some of my favourite pets so far! Keep watching this space!

Alix

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