A Day at the Park

Today we took Layla out to the local park and let her run and play in the freezing cold ponds and connecting streams. What could be more fun than fetching a pink tennis ball, pulling sticks out of the creek and scaring off massive trout and northern pike.

This will be Layla's final outing before going to the vet to get fixed. Once Layla has her operation she will have to lay low and out of the water for several weeks. Not to mention she's a "licker" so a lamp shade to put on her neck has been ordered, we'll post the pictures.

As we ventured from pond to pond letting Layla play in the freezing water along the way, she made a cautious discovery.

Not sure what to think, Layla was still very curious and decided to go back for a closer look.

She was so nervous about this random teddy bear at the park, that the hair on her back stood straight up like a mohawk.

Notice she tries to bark after cowardly running away. What a big baby!

Cheers,

Jennifer and Nate

She's getting fixed!

Good news - Layla is getting fixed next week!

We put our name on the waiting list three or four months ago and our name finally came up. I took her in for her pre-surgery appointment today and everything looks good. At least from a medical perspective.

However, from a behavioral perspective, things are definitely looking south. Unfortunately, it seems Layla does not perceive me as the Alpha dog. No, she prefers to be submissive to male chihuahuas and terriers...Listen to me? Why on earth would she do that? I'm only twice her size (sort of) and control her meals. No,no, it makes much more sense to submit to a teacup dog.

So you can imagine our experience in the waiting room. As soon as we walk in she makes a beeline for a mom and son with their poodle-esqe looking dog. She was just shy of jumping on their lap when I managed to reel her back in. Then she proceeds to pull toward them while I "check in", which ultimately consisted of a partially sympathetic front desk clerk who said I could just sit down. Layla seems to make an impression with everyone.

Excellent.

So we sit down and another person comes in. It's a young mom with her even smaller daughter and a huge brown dog, who, as it turns out, is 8 years old. It's a shame because older dogs tend to not like Layla. She's too overwhelming. So we sat there for another 20 minutes while Layla struggled to get to the dog, got growled out, was yanked back to my side of the room, would sit for approximately 30 seconds and would then cry.

Repeat.

Oh and in the meantime, my commander's wife shows up with their terrier.

Awesome.

Layla proceeds to "make friends" and shortly thereafter is trying to tackle the small dog.

I'm not expecting play date invitations any time soon.

Finally we get back to the exam room for her screening (half an hour late, I might add). The vet was very nice and all of Layla's vitals checked out. Then they took her to another room to draw blood. I heard her cry out a few times, which makes me wonder why they had to take her to another room...

Eventually they brought out samples of her blood and told me to stick it in the German mailbox.

Wait, what?

Yep, we had to buy German postage so we could stick our dog's blood sample in a German mailbox. Apparently, they don't have a box on post so they put the responsibility to the owner. It wouldn't be so bad if neither of us worked, but these errands always turn into another 30 minutes to an hour.

Much to my relief, I was able to drop Layla off at work with Nate and he took over the mailing issue. Now all we have to do is gear up for her surgery next week.

And after she recovers? Training.

It's time to get serious.

Cheers,

Jen & Nate