Bad start...

but hopefully a great ending.

Maja wakes up earlier today, even though we had quite a fitness day yesterday. Emma, Magnus, Maja and I went all around the local forests to find mushrooms and we found seven! In our neighbours forest, 150 meters from where we plant stuff. What a fun day that was. But today, when she woke up she got all weird and started checking me out. I had my eyes swallen, sometimes I get them like that but it lasts 3 minutes and then goes back to normal, but today my left eye was very droopy. She got worried and tried to make me better and distract me, but everytime I sat down or layed down the eyes swell up again. Something was wrong. I was in pain. My owners were out of the bed like a speeding bullet and started getting dressed. I saw the seatbelt harness. Time for a drive. Boo no fun ride today though, it was driving towards the vetenerians office, but the cab ride was fun hihi. When we arrived, I was so scared already, but lucky for me, most of the vets weren't there so we had to come back three hours later at 1 pm. We walked to the first mall to catch a cab home, but my eyes were swelling so much I could barely walk. When we arrived home, I wasn't allowed to get breakfast, I didn't like that! Very scary seing me all swallen and droopy like the pictures below.

Eye swelling with semi closed eyes

Eye swelling with open eyes

Time was 12:50 and my owners put on the seatbelt again, took a blanket and we walked down, where a cab was awaiting us. We drove back to the vets and I was at this point beyond scared, I was acting really frightened and didn't want to see anyone in green clothes. But stubborned and persistance wins, 1:0 owners hihi. At first the debates were serious, they suspected many diseases, nevrological disorders and even jaw bone problems. I can't yawn properly and I refuse to chew with my last teeth, so our biggest scare was nevrological problems which require heavy procedures and have a minimal chance of healing. Owners stood still listening. Me, I just wanted to run away and get the hell out of there. Hehe. But eventually I did calm down enough for my pretty leg to be a little shaved and the vet dr.Rok to draw blood, so we waited for the hematological analysis (fancy word for auch it pokes blood work hihi) and took a 20 minute walk around. Still no food for me, boo. Not even a cookie!

When we came back, the blood tests showed an infection/inflammation. Liver, heart, kidney all good though hihi. So we said "okay lets get this tests started" and I got poked into my butt again with a needle. This time with something that was making me quite happy and sleepy. Magnus asked how long it took a dog to get completely asleep and the vet said it takes from 5 - 15 minutes, depending on how scared the dog is, it took me 25 minutes to doze of haha. Oh yes! I don't give in that easily hehe. After that, the boys took x-ray pictures of my head and when done, Maja came back in. Me, I still reacted to her comming in and wiggled my tail, even though I was alseep and out haha. Maja got happy and when noone was around she sang to me like she does at home when she tries to calm me down, always works haha.

While waiting for the x-ray pics we checked out the ears again and this time properly since I usually don't allow them being checked. And the left ear (remember my left eye had the biggest swelling) was really dirty all the way inside, as if there was a huge wax cap over my eardrum, so they decided to try and clean it out while we wait for the pics. After a while, the ear still being stubbernly dirty and clogged the x-rays came back and shoved a jaw joint abnormality, but after the ear being as it was, we suspected it was where the infection/inflammation was located, so the vetenerians kept trying to clean it out. Ofcource me being me, I fought of the big dose of narcosis and woke up haha, so here we go again, another shot of drugs please haha.

Finally after half an hour again, I was out. In they come with tools and more equipment. Flushing out my ear with liquids and sucking out the liquid again and new dose in and so on...Many hours later, in fact 2 hours later, we managed to get the "cap" which was hidding the drum. But..

Dog ear anatomy

There was almost no more ear drum left, it had been perforated and destroyed by the infection. I was pronunced semi deaf on left ear. If not completely. Problem was the infection and the choice of antibiotics, since my tympanic membrane was almost gone and many antibiotics melt the cochlea, we had to get a handmade mix of a proper antibiotic to flush the ear with for the next few weeks. On top of that antibiotics which I have to eat. A good sign was I had apetite when we came home, even with yucky sedation I wanted dinner. I ate what they gave me, ofcourse it was yummy with a tablespoon of tuna and my food. I ate it all like a champ haha. Good signs are welcome!

My ear drum is nearly gone, not just ruptured

So what happens now, you might wonder. Here it goes...If the antibiotics dont work and the infection spreads, it will spread to the brain and we know where that leads, but before you worry, that is the absolute worst scenario, which my owners refuse to hear of. So lets go again: if on the 1st of october, when we have the check up, the ear is same we will try again, with something diffirent, we will try everything and anything, there is a huge chance my hearing comes back, the eardrum heals and regrows and I will be just great. Which will be the case! But for the next few weeks my life will be borring, no swimming, no diving, nothing I love...but also no bubblebaths yay! I have to keep the ear dry and happy.

...A few minutes ago I woke up and was crying on the bed, and my owners came to me, afraid I was in pain (even though Maja insisted on getting painkillers for the next three days, just in case!) but it was not pain, it was shame! I peed myself, I didn't mean too and didn't do it on purpose, but since I was pumped with drugs today all my muscles and functions aren't quite there yet. I was really sad that is happened. My owners asked me if I wanted to go out to pee and poop, even though it was raining, I barked, so we stuffed cotton pads into my ear to prevent the water getting in and went out in the rain (probably not the best but what can you do, if you gotta go you gotta go). And what do you know, I peed like a hero outside, came home and started runing around, playing with toys and no balance problems or pain. Happy! Now I am asleep on the fresh bed, with Mags next to me snorring, perfect ending of a bad day. Hopefully my ear is already healing and tomorrow will be better.

PS: Apperently I have a really long ear canal, hihi, ofcourse I do, I'm a big boy and everything about me is oversized haha.

So much has been happening...

..but to start from the begining. A week and a half ago Magnus arrived in Austria, where we drove to pick him up. I was so happy to see him that the video we made of me licking, kissing, barking and playing with him is too big for the blog haha. I was so happy he was back, I missed him so bad. First few days we took is easy, since Mags was a little ill, but then Maja and I started getting him back into our routine. We took him for long walks, where he was so tired after poor guy haha. And we also went up to the vineyards to work. After the heavy rain one of the security pillars broke and a piece of the project got broken off, but nothing we wont be able to repair. So we have quite a few busy days ahead. The owners went shopping and left me alone, but when they came home, I got a sheep toy and an Ice age sloth toy, which I absolutely love!

My borrowed throne

   Today was a fun day, early in the morning we got a call that the new seat and sofa are arriving. So we put the cats in the kitchen and opened all the front doors. After we assembled the sofa and the chair, owners put on the new blankets and pillows. Liza instantly fell in love with them, me...I kinda took hostage Maja's chair hihi. There is no king without a throne, and this one is mine...when Maja isn't there hihi.
The soft seating makes us all so lazy, and it is very hot outside again, about 30 degrees, so we are considering it a reason to slack and lay about hehe.
Magnus is snorring on the sofa and Maja, Liza and I were watching national geographic, which played Cesar Millan Dog Whisperer.

Not a bad start of the day

We were proud when we saw our only tiny honeymelon was ripe. We didn't think anything would come of it, but when we cut it and tasted it, it was very yummy. Even for me, who doesn like honeymelons. But one needs to see what I am writting about.

Tiny, but sweet

Suprisingly perfect

Now the only thing we are still waiting for to taste it, is our cute watermelons, which Mags had to weight with his hands to see it for himself.

Maja's pride this summer

There is so much happening lately, that we barely have time to update, so don't be sad if it takes a few days before we update:). Going to go to the living room and have a snorring duet with Mags hihi.

Crab business...

...is serious business. Hihi. But to begin with my day. We overslept our alarms and woke up at 10, so it was a bit hotter then we wanted it to be. But we packed the iPad and our waters and left the house, the temperature outside was high already, but we still went. Maja keeps checking my head if I am running in the sun, so I don't get too hot. But before we knew it, jumping from shade to shade where there walked, we were in the forest. Hadn't met any animals, but we could hear them all over. We made one big stop, to drink and relax, we figured it was smart with the air being this hot. When we arrived, I just layed down under the kitchen table and listened to the people talking. After a while, Maja and I headed down to the forest to water our veggies and plants. I got to play with the hose again, spraying it all over me, making me unimaginably dirty hihi. Love it! But it was lunch time so we had to go back up and eat, no complaints there hihi.

Lunch over so it's time for some serious work, we took a metal pot with us so we could make a little pool for birds or animals to drink from, with fresh water from our brook. It's a tiny brook, with cold fresh water, which get's very dry during summer, but there is always water in it. As we started digging out a path in the water, we got greeted by a freshwater crab! Never saw a crab before. Maja held it up for me so I could sniff it, but eh...it smelled like water and mud. But not as bad as me hihi. I was told to be gentle and slow around it, so we don't hurt it...and I was.

Mr. Crab

Me walking so slow to it that he is not even in the pic hihi

Respecting eachothers space

After we gathered enough water in the semi called pool we made, we put it in so it got cooled and refreshed, but we took him out in case he wanted to go to his "home", since the brook's water wasn't flowing thru the pool and onwards to the forest yet.  Maybe he will be in the pool next time we go check. After the meeting with crab, we started clearing out the forest, we set free the baby spruce trees by cutting older invasive branches of other trees around, we worked hard, for about 6 hours. We were exhausted, but we had to water the plants again, since today was 36 degrees they needed a little more then usual. After everything was watered enough to last two days, we headed back up to put things we used away, the tools and gloves needed to be in their place for next time we go work hihi. We made a few pictures and I look pretty as usual hihi.

Checking out watermelons, wanting to play with them hihi

Water hose + watermelon mulch = proof on ears and beard;)

Playing with the next best thing, unripe apples

Just posing coz I am cute hihi

I am the best digger in the wolrd!

Tilting head for uber cutness hihi.

Once we sorted everything, we started walking down, I was chasing around the pinecone I found and once we got to the road, we met a squirrel up on a nut tree, she was a loud eater! Hihih. She ran away with her huge nut, tiny body and very fluffy tail, kept making chewing sounds though haha. By the river with met Flor, who wasn't as happy to see me as I was to see her, but I know better then to annoy the lady. Dinner was gone superfast and then I just...fell asleep.

Acana & cakes

I was spoiled by our mutual friend by some new tasty food, which led my owners to read about it and they dicovered, that the Arden Grange which I have been eating, is tested on animals and well, you know how that goes...so not a chance any of us wants to be a apart of something which is remotely cruel to animals, we have switched to this amazing food, called Acana. This will be the first time I had my food changed since I came to my home, but like my owners say, best dog in the world, deserves the best food in the world. No debate hihi. This switching has to be done gradually, so we are adding the new food to the old untill my tummy is adjusted. The new food is amazing, I am so happy with it, it's made of atleast 55% meat, without gluten or salts. The meat if from wild and free range animals and whole eggs, which I love! The smell is amazing, so I eat the new food out of the bowl first and then the old hehe. Looking forward to the new portions of food being solely made with new food, yum yum. And this way we don't need to feel bad about the animals around the world and my new food is one of the best one can find anywhere. I will be even healthier and happier. On top of that I have tasted two new fish, which Maja ate, one is gilthead and one is bass and I have to admit, I really love fish. Ofcourse Maja checks for bones before I get it which makes it slower, but I think fish are worth the wait hehe.

 

Every second, or third day in the week we go for very long walks over the hills surrounding the city park. The temperatures have spiked up to 34 degrees again, so city living is unbareable. The humidity is up to 40% making it impossible to breathe normally. So the evening walks in the cooler shady forest are very relaxing and amazing. After those long walks, we made it into a habit to stop at the cake shop by the river, on the way back. We order cake and icecream to reward ourselfs, from which I get the cookies, a little bit of cream and icecream bits hihi. Just enough to be happy for it, and too little to get my tummy upset. I behave so nicely, I lay down, watch dogs on the walk and wait for my sweet rewards while people chat around me. I love these walks, long, exhausting and yummy at the end. When we get home I get my dinner, when it's cooler outside and I actually enjoy it that way nowdays in this heat. We are awaiting Mags retun which is less then two weeks now, I miss him so badly, it's just not the same. Man oh man I am going to kiss him untill he is completely wet hihi, so soon now and we will have our boy time again, playing and doing manly stuff like getting dirty and I miss sleeping on his chest and over his legs. But we have been keeping busy with lots of fun stuff and I got to be dirty almost everyday, hihi. I am completely addicted to waterhoses, with which you water the garden, they are the best thing invented since swimming pools. Hehe.

Hardworking week

This week, we had an idea of a project, for some reason Maja and I share the need to always do something and we barely sit still while we are not home hehe. So this week we took on a challange of fixing the cellar, which was decayed and half the walls were rotten and moisty.

Cellar walls before restoration

 So we made a list of things we needed and started the patch work on the walls. The material was like whipped cream, easy to apply and ofcourse I had it all over me, since I am the assistent hihi. After a few days, when we cleaned it out and patched the walls, we begun painting the walls in a light green color, as is our bedroom at home, we love that color. It's very happy and relaxing. And then we painted the floors in a grey color, to cover the ugly old floor. And this is how it looks like today, after me being washed and not allowed to enter the last hour of the finishing touches hehe.

Pretty restored cellar

And now all we need to do is get new shelves and pretty boxes to put things in, cannot wait hihi.