Finally Cooler Weather

It is almost the middle of October, and it has been hot, but today it is finally feeling like fall.  Mocha was super-energized on her walk this morning.  She saw a fox, which may have helped with her energy level. 

Sometimes she sees friends at the school bus stop, and today she got to say hi to one of the teenagers.  She is very friendly to all her neighbors!  (except the canine ones).

On a sad note, her cousin BIngley died yesterday.  He was a yellow lab, a calm and gentle soul.  He will be missed by all who knew him.

Happy Fall!

Mocha's Summer

Mocha has had a busy summer with lots of traveling!  Luckily, she likes car rides, and usually rests or looks at the scenery as we drive.

She has chased geese, been unfriendly to other dogs, and spent time on the (covered) couch to rest up from said activities.


If she had seen this bird, she would have chased it:

A brave seagull

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Experienced Swimmer

Mocha had her ninth swim session today.  She did seven minutes twice, with a short rest in between.   She hesitates to go into the water initially, but once she's in there, she doesn't seem to mind it. 

Here's the big pool that the dogs get to swim in.

Here's  Mocha with her swim vest on in the middle of her swim.

And here she is after the swim - rest time on the deck.

 Next time, she will do 10 minutes of swimming with no rest.  She's a strong girl!  But the hard part is lifting her into the car when we're done.  After all that swimming, she doesn't feel like jumping in.

Swimmer Girl

Mocha has been having trouble walking long distances.  She has some arthritis, and it seems like her back legs are weak.  We are fortunate to have a canine swim center nearby, and we took Mocha there the past 2 Sundays. 

The first time was a little rough - they call it the "ugly" session, since I guess most dogs resist the pool swim at first.  They put a flotation vest on the dogs, and lead them around the edge of the pool.  The first time, Mocha did 4 laps, alternating direction.  She kept trying to get out, but by the 4th lap she was pretty good - only tried to get out once.

Here's Mocha on her first visit in her swim vest

First swim around

Yesterday was her 2nd session, and she did much better!  She seemed like she was trying to take a short-cut a couple times, but she hardly tried to get out at all.  Her 3rd lap was a "double", where she did 2 laps at once before a rest.

There she is, trying a short-cut

Almost to the ramp

Walking up the ramp

All done and ready to get dry

We're happy with the progress she's made in just 2 sessions!  Back again next week for more fun in the pool.

Mocha's Weekend

Mocha had a busy weekend.  First, Friday she was home alone for a long day.  Her friend Anne came and visited her 4 times!  She was happy to have a visitor, but spent her alone time pushing the living room curtains aside to look out (and bark, I'm sure) at dogs going by.  She also caught up on her sleep. 

When we got home, she was so happy to see us, even though she had her wonderful visitor during the day and evening.

Saturday she spent some time on the deck while we worked on the shed in the yard.  She was smart enough to get in the shade:

Shady girl with her new collar

Yesterday (Sunday) she got to spend some time on the front lawn.  She was hanging out with her dad.

Hats are good

Finally, it was the end of the weekend, and she could go to bed.  That's Mocha's favorite thing!

June Already!

Mocha has been taking it easy lately.  She has a hard time climbing stairs now, and has stumbled a few times.  We took her to the vet a couple weeks ago, and they think it's just her arthritis.  She was on 2 meds, one for pain and one for inflammation.  She is off the meds now, but still takes Dasuquin (glucosamine) and fish oil.

Her walks haven't been very far lately - and sometimes she doesn't want to go anywhere at all.  I'm glad she can snooze a lot and take it easy.

But she had fun at our yard sale last weekend:

Keeping a close eye on things

Sometimes I let her eat lunch in bed:

Yum, lunch in bed!

Well, that's all for now - happy June!

Weekend Sleepover

Mocha spent her first weekend away from home since we've had her!   We took her to Lulu's Doggie Daycare right nearby, and she did fine.  Lu is such a caring competent dog person.  She took some pictures of Mocha, and doesn't our girl look just as comfy as she does at home?

Mocha on her bed at Lu's house