On the Road Again

I drove to work today! Yay! I never thought I'd be so glad to go to work. This whole experience has made me much more appreciative of what I am (usually) able to do and my life in general. I think I'll be much more sympathetic the next time a colleague is sick. More than three weeks of being stuck and home, unable to even read anything, has really made an impression. Birgit, Chip, and Max have been such troopers through all this BPPV business. When I was really sick and in bed, Chip kept bringing his toys to my bed and asking me to play. He would finally give up and either go to Birgit or lay down next to my bed.

I still get a little wobbly now and then and am still taking motion sickness medication (Gravol) at night, but things are so much better than they were three weeks ago! And Chip is signed up for an obedience class that starts in mid-September, so hopefully we'll be able to get everything back on track by then.

Here's a picture of BPPV from www.earsoftexas.com. The loose particles are the culprits! They send the wrong signals to the brain about your position, and you become sooo dizzy and nauseated as a result. Yuck!

BPPV

Well, our training has certainly hit a speed bump. I've developed BPPV -- Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. It is an inner ear disorder that results in dizziness and nausea. After experiencing these symptoms for about 10 days, I landed in the ER. Poor Birgit had to take me and stay with me for the 16-hour ordeal. Now, all I can do is sit at home and wait for the symptoms to dissipate. I do have an appointment with a specialist on Monday and am hoping he can help.

Needless to say, this has put quite a kink in our training plans. Birgit has been great about taking Chip for walks and playing ball with him. I'm hoping that we're back to training in a few weeks. In the meantime, here's a new photo of Chip and Max in the backyard.

Summer Bed

We've been trying to keep the windows upstairs open and the air conditioner off this summer -- not difficult, since Toronto has been so cool and rainy this summer so far. But Chip seems to get pretty hot during the night, so I starting thinking about ways to help keep him cool. There are some "cooling" beds on the market, but I was afraid he would rip them open and eat anything that was in them to keep them cool.

Our shower upstairs is made of natural stone, and Chip started slipping into the bathroom when we weren't looking. We found him a few times sprawled out on the cool stone, which gave me an idea. I went to the home renovation store, Rona, and bought eight 12" x 12" polished granite tiles and laid them out on plywood next to my bed. Chip loves sleeping on them! They are nice and cool and smooth, and don't seem to move around on the plywood. He's happy -- and I'm happy!

Haiku!

A sudden thumping.

Chip wags his tail in his sleep.

In the dark, I smile.

Practical Living

This weekend, Chip and I started yet another class: Practical Living. There are only three other dogs in the class and the instructor is our favorite, so I'm hoping for great things. Puppy Kindergarten and Puppy Gymboree (agility) classes went well, but now Chip is big enough (36 pounds as of last Friday) that his pulling on the leash is about to dislocate my shoulder! I'm hoping that the Practical Living class -- which focuses on things like loose leash walking and how to stop dogs from jumping up on people -- will be a big help.

I was hoping to take Chip to the beach almost every day this summer, but with Toronto's garbage strike entering its third week, I'm afraid of what we might find down there -- especially in the form of chicken bones. So we'll stick close to home for the time being. And although we started the Family Dog class a few weeks ago, it just didn't work out. Twelve dogs and one instructor in a noisy, sound-reverberating hall is not a recipe for effective learning.

After the six-week Practical Living, assuming we complete it successfully, we'll be able to sign up for a real agility class! Woo hoo!

H2O!

Finally -- some photos of Chip enjoying Lake Ontario!

Oh my. The last few weeks have flown by. Birgit's mom and nephew from Germany were here for a two-week visit, and Chip has now finished Puppy Kindergarten and Puppy Gymboree (agility) at Who's Walking Who (www.whoswalkingwho.net). Chip did ok in agility, but he really cleaned up in kindergarten -- he took home the prize on the last day of class!

Now Chip is in the six-week Family Dog class, and we have our work cut out for us. He knows the basics (sit, down, etc.) but getting him to do this stuff without being distracted is a trick. And the jumping up on people -- wow, he is sooooo excited when a person comes within paw's reach!

He's had his last puppy shots, so we're free to go to the beach now. More photos soon from Lake Ontario!