I've Moved

I decided to move my blog. You can now find me at www.crazyandlittle.com.

Hope to see you there!

I Don't Look

I swear I don't obsessively look for lumps on Lacey.  I do check out her feet and legs more than most I'm sure, but I don't give her full body rubdowns looking for more lumps.  Regardless I think I've found another one tucked in at the base of her ear.  It's just little and I'm hoping it will turn out to be a little bug bite or something and go away on it's own but I don't really believe that.  She's been licking the floor a lot lately and we've noticed her bugging at her anal glands a bit lately too.  The latter is definitely not a good sign and while I'm not sure if the floor licking is related, we swear it increases when she has a tumour although she always does it a little bit.

Anyway, I've got an appointment for Monday. Keep your fingers and paws crossed it turns out to be nothing more than a paranoid dog mom.

Photo A Day

So a pet photography chat group I'm a member of is doing a photo a day project.  It started late so it's "just' a 350 project.  But I don't want to say I'm doing it.  Because then I might fail and not finish it.  Let's just say I'm using the prompts as inspiration for now.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.  :)

The problem with photo a day projects is you often end up with photos that you aren't all that proud of and that you wouldn't normally share publicly.  The great thing with a photo a day project is that you are forced to try things outside your comfort zone and some times magic happens and you are thrilled with the results.

Relationship

Cold

Dappled

I'm not sure this last one is technically dappled but close enough.  ;)

Unofficial Photography Project

So I've tried a few 52 week projects. I've even tried a 365.  And I've failed to complete them all.  But what I have enjoyed is the photos I get out of them when I put the effort into it.  So I'm going to be doing an unofficial 52 week project this year.  I'll be roughly using prompts from the "Creative 52" book by Lindsay Adler as well as some "shot ideas" from Charlotte Reeves' book "Dog Shots".  I hope to essentially plan a shot then go out and do it.  I find if I don't, I just do the same old, same old. Over and over and over and frankly it gets dull.  It was OK when Summit was growing so quickly as I was basically just documenting the changes.  But now that his growth has slowed down to a dull roar, I want to start capturing something a little different.

My last attempt at a 52 week project was two years ago.  The prompt was Colour and I loved the shot of Coulee that I got and I wanted to try and get the same photo of Summit.  It worked out perfectly.

Then seeing as we were out and about, we took some other colourful photos as well.

 I've got a few more I still need to edit too.  I'm already glad I've made the effort for the project.  It's nice to do something different every now and then.

Happy 2016

Apparently I am incapable of blogging more than once a month.  No matter how good my intentions are.

We got Summit's eyes fixed about 3 weeks ago.  Everything went smoothly although they aren't looking normal yet.  We have reached the stitches-are-dissolving-and-his-eyes-are-goopy-and-disgusting stage.  :)

He is very much an "out of sight, out of mind" kind of dog.  For example, we went snowshoeing the other day, and Marlin went into the outhouse for about 60 seconds. When he stepped out, Summit was shocked to see him and didn't know who he was.  LOL.

The nice thing about that aspect of his personality is that he's really easy to distract if he is doing something naughty like harassing the cats.  I lazy throw of a toy is enough to draw him away.

Coulee has been playing with him like crazy.  It's super nice to see.  She doesn't bully him nearly as much as she does Lacey and they can actually sustain play for 15-30 minutes at a time.  (Usually when Coulee plays with Lacey it deteriorates after a few minutes and we have to put a stop to it).  Lacey has been like Jeckyl and Hyde with Summit.  She can go from wrestling with him to snarling fiercely in the blink of an eye.  She's usually more inclined to play with him outside in the backyard or when we are out on a walk but not always.  For a while I was thinking she wasn't feeling very good but she isn't showing any other signs so I think it's just her being crabby.

Lacey's fur has grown back and you can't even tell she had surgery on her back not that long ago.  That's pretty much it in "dog news". :)

Still Growing

The little man has been doing great.  The girls haven't corrupted him into being a barker yet, and hopefully it will stay that way.  He's still just so easy - he's happy and easy and content.  Coulee is playing with him regularly now and the house has been quite chaotic because of it.  But it's nice to see them all having fun together.



We've started doing off leash walks these past few days.  He's been fantastic.  He stays nearby and comes running at full speeds when you call.  He loves to watch the geese when they fly overhead.

Poor dude managed to get Cherry Eye last week.  We'll be getting it fixed on Dec 16 - we felt waiting until his neuter was just too long.  His brother Oliver (aka Kermit) also got it and he's unfortunately got it in his second eye too.  We are hoping that Summit's second eye goes before the 16th if it is going to! I've been editing it out of most of his pictures because frankly I'd rather not remember him like that.  It's isn't too gross, but it isn't flattering either.  He is great at taking his eye drops which is great because we are doing them 4 times a day.

I still need to get a decent family photo but we've been practicing...

The girls are doing well. Lacey's recovered from her surgery and all the stitches have finally fallen out.  Her hair almost covers the scar and I'm sure once it is full length you'll never know.

Another Tumour

Lacey had her third Mast Cell Tumour removed the other week.  It was on her back this time so we could do the surgery locally and the recovery was so much easier - no bandage changes every few days, no trips to Calgary for check ups, no bootie every time she went outside.  We were able to go for walks again right away too and her anal glands (which get infected every time she has a tumour) seemed to bother her more than the incision itself.  With a little more hair growth, the scar should be invisible. We got clean margins so that was a relief!