Preparing, Pictures, & a Pooch

How's that for a creative blog title?!

I just got done submitting a review on petsmart.com for the Gentle Leader.  Have you guys heard of the Gentle Leader?  It's a really neat harness/collar that keeps your dog from pulling.

  I originally bought one when I first got Duke because he was all but impossible for me to walk.  He pulled, and pulled, and pulled, and he is such a stubborn dog anyway.  We got this for him and he became amazing when using it!  He walks right beside Rob or I, and other than throwing the occasional fit (where he rubs his nose on the ground!) he does so good.  I find this really humane as well.  At first I was skeptical because I would never want to hurt him, and they say to tighten it fairly tightly.  I'm always the one loosening dogs collars because I think they are too tight!  The main reason I started using it now is because I have a feeling it will really come in handy for his surgery.  I just want him to be used to it, so we don't have any many issues when he has to be on a lead during his recovery.

I'm also trying to mentally prepare a list of all the things I either need to do or get before Duke's surgery.  I thought I may as well share here!

1.  Joint supplements.

We probably should have already started giving him supplements, however that never crossed my mind!  I'm still unsure what brand, if anyone has any suggestions feel free to let me know!

2.  Chews.

We have to get some chewies.  I'm going to try to not get any rawhide's as those last, oh, about 5 minutes around here.  These actual bone ones last much longer, albeit they are nastier!  We also get soup/raw bones for our dogs at the grocery store.  They are pretty cheap, and our dogs LOVE them.  I think we're actually going to talk to a butcher about getting some really big soup/raw bones.  They love them and they last for quite awhile.

3.  Toys.

We've never actually gotten kongs for our dogs.  We got something similar from Walmart once and Duke looked at it like it had sprouted extra eyes, and arms.  Would not touch it.  Someone gave the suggestion of putting peanut butter in it, or putting wet dog food in it and freezing it.  We'll probably end up buying two for Duke and Dutchess, as well as keeping the receipts!  ((Did you know petsmart will let you return toys even if they've been destroyed??  Or at least that's what I've heard!))

I think this is the cutest thing ever!  It's an interactive toy.  You get the log and three little squirrels that have squeakers in them.  You hide the squirrels in the log and the dog has to learn to get them out.

Duke, my lovely, lovely, 73 pound dog loves these!!  We got him a huge one on Rob and I's honeymoon, and he loved it.  He cuddled it, and carried it everywhere.  We hope to buy him one, however we have to keep it from Dutchess.  Who would completely destroy it in minutes.  ((True story, we got them stockings full of stuffed toys and rubber squeakies from Walmart for Christmas.  Dutchess ripped the eyes, noses, stuffings, and chewed holes through ALL the toys before we had even unwrapped all our gifts!!))

4.  Clean house.

The house is almost completely clean.  I need to clean the kitchen, and I need to fold and do more laundry.  Other than that, things are clean.  Thank goodness.  This way I can stick to the room Dukes in.  I know if I'm walking around he'll be trying to follow me.

5.  Rearrange the bedroom.

Our dog is the luckiest dog ever.  We're moving a TV into our room, and putting the mattress on the floor in our bedroom.  That way Duke won't be jumping up and down off the bed.  Needless to say Duke, Dutchess, and I will be having a movie marathon this coming week.  Thankfully I have many, many sewing projects I can work on!

6.  Ramp.

I'm not sure yet if we'll need it, so it'll be a last minute project, thankfully an easy one though.  We may need to take a piece of plywood and add some non-slip backing as a ramp for getting Duke in and out of the car.

7.  Belly Sling.

Another thing I'm unsure if we will need or not.  It's basically a sling that goes under the dogs belly that you lift up on to lessen the pressure on the leg as well as keeps them from tripping and hurting themselves.

That's all I can think of.  I can't believe we will have an entire day and night without Duke with us.  Dutchess will be loving all the extra attention she'll be getting.  Also, I think I may have mentioned this, but with the nylon suture that Duke is getting his recovery may not be as long.  It will be the healing from surgery that will take awhile.  The vet said he drills one hole, but they do cut the leg open and look in the knee, as well as tightening the muscles so I would assume that would be fairly painful.  After he recovers from surgery though, from what we've heard, he should be ok.  We'll have to wait and hear from the vet for sure though.

Have a great weekend everyone!