Clover's is ONE

♧HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY♧

Party pictures to follow... YES, we celebrated in style! 

Clover spent the morning resting up for the festivities.

So cozy

Hide and Go Sleep

Twelve months

We've finally convinced Clover her pillow is far more comfortable much to the dismay of the kingsize bed loving cat.  I've added an extra layer to the memory foam to fill out the duvet.  The feline competition seems to have ceased for now...but I did catch them sharing the same sofa which may indicate they've moved on to bigger things.

Clover likes my moose.  I'm pretty keen on it too.

We made it through Clover's first heat, unscathed.  Around the 30 day mark her mammary glands were hard, swollen and slightly blue.  That lasted for a couple of weeks, then subsided. It was about the same time that we noticed her vulva had reduced significantly as well. Actually is somewhat surprising to see how much they swell. Her appetite is now ferocious and no food can be left within tracking access. Thankfully there were no pseudopregnancy symptoms (that in itself called for a champagne toast of relief).  I still have a second shadow but Clover's overall calmness remains a far cry from the demands of a young puppy.

She's enjoying the freedom of the outdoors again and miraculously regained her obedience skills.  We are currently working to curb the urge to bounce upon the arrival of new visitors (she has yet to accept that Vizslas are NOT Kangaroos).  Clove loves to pace (when I say that I mean at a running pace up and down the front hall) at the sound of a doorbell.  I am desperately trying to correct that anxiously excitable behaviour (because frankly my floor can't take the wear).

Up until this past month she's been crated whenever unsupervised.  I've been experimenting with small amounts of time alone in the house confined to the livingroom/kitchen.  I continue to use the crate daily for about 2 hours and most nights.  There is no intention of giving up the kennel, but I do want to feel reasonably comfortable with her wandering the house, in turn she continues to integrate into our family.  Usually I find her burrowed into a blanket on the chesterfield where every area on the main floor can be observed.

Ooooooh SNOW

Clover is enjoying the warmer winter; she can still gallop through the waterfront trails of our neighbourhood on early weekend mornings.  A hot bowl of chicken broth (and coffee for DH) is waiting upon the return home from a good "run".  

AND; She still loves to steal toilet paper and shred it all over the house.

Eleven Months

More evidence that she behave's like a cat

December is brewing with lot's of excitement as our once little pup is now 11 months old.  We're extremely preoccupied with Christmas preparations and lot's of visitors. I managed to get some great  pictures to document the very first holiday with our Vizsla girl.

Clover was trying to nap and nearly fell off after being startled by the camera

Climbing onto the dining room chair with the boy

Helping with homework

I picked up Molly & Mutt sleep sacks for our furry friends in my favourite Title Track print.  They actually advertise the product with a Vizsla and you can find the link here.  However instead of lounging on three feet of luxury, Clover prefers to squeeze onto the cat bed.

Barely fits

Dog thinks she's a cat

Cat thinks she's a dog

New tricks

Rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer delivered something special on Christmas morning after a secret letter was written by William.  Our son wasn't the only one thrilled with the arrival of a vintage bubblegum machine.  Clover discovered if you knock your nose hard enough against the base, the penny mechanism is by-passed.  I taught her to catch objects in mid-air, so she's a pro at projectile candy!

The stomach flu guardian

William got sutures the day before his holiday break.  Then mid-week he developed the stomach flu.  His "best friend ever" didn't leave his side.

10 Months

Clover going into her first heat was alarming and yet a huge relief at the same time. Never having witnessed this as a pet owner, it scared the living daylights out of me.  I spent the first four days feeling guilty, panicked and downright physically ill.  It sounds silly now (the thought of what we experienced could cause that kind of senseless apprehension).  I was braced for all kinds of aloof behaviour, coyotes in my yard (since we live beside a conservation area), relentless cleaning for hours, and constant threatening health watch.  What I got was about a 1/8th of what I expected.  See? Completely useless waste of time fretting.


Talking myself through this natural event wasn't working and I called the animal hospital to again reschedule Clover's surgical date.  They had no advice to offer about supporting a dog in heat.  I was met with a sense of distaste and irresponsibility then told to call back in six weeks.  Perhaps I read the receptionist's tone wrong, after all she was trying to mitigate between doctor and client, but I certainly didn't feel any better.  In fact I felt a whole lot worse.  I replayed the associate lecture from the last appointment when I tried to discuss my thoughts on paediatric spays. So I contacted our breeder Liz of Pointblank Dog's who not only corresponded with me to answer questions, but wrote a sweet, personal email a couple of days later.  It was the emotional comfort I needed to ground my anxiety.  I gave myself permission to just relax.  


She wore little girl pull-ups purchased at the grocery store in which I cut a hole for her tail.  In order to get the correct body length, the waist was too big.  So, I hot-glued the paper elastic to fit.  She walked like she had a broken pelvis for 2 days and then adjusted to having it on whenever she roamed the house.  It also helped to slow down her threshold speed through the patio door and sit on the mat to dry wet paws with a towel. 

She became extra snuggly (if that's remotely possible) and calm.  Yes, that's right calm.  At least in the house.  I put her on a lead every time she went out, which was often... like when she was learning to house train more than a dozen times a day.  We exercised her early in the morning when there was less chance encounters that may have initiated a canine quarrel.  Her crate blankets were washed daily (sometimes twice at first).  Clover's appetite plummeted and she lost a couple of pounds that returned by Christmas.  

My Debate

It's now August, which means figuring out the Fall schedule, which quickly becomes one of the busiest months of the year. It's also the time I planned to spay Clover.  In fact it's been a huge debate between us as new dog owners, our veterinary hospital and other members of the canine community.  I remain very aware and supportive of the positive health benefits when performing an ovariohysterectomy.  Though honestly, I've really struggled with the notion of rushing her into the O.R. Yep, feeling lot's of pressure. Not to mention on the receiving end of the odd lecture.

For all my other pets it was a no brainer; six months was predetermined, mostly by my veterinarian whom I'd fully entrusted to make that decision. I've even worked with many doctors recommending as early as 4 months.  I have never wanted to raise a litter of my own.  I just can't fathom the concern involved with potentially raising octuplets or more (Heaven bless our passionately patient breeder).

I've put much thought into this decision.  After years of assisting veterinarians I've seen many opinions and procedures conducted with various outcomes, enough to follow the average life expectancy. Of course that means I've seen first hand the worst case scenario's from unplanned or unwanted animals, pups born with life-threatening complications or challenging deliveries, false pregnancies that lead to pyometra's (uterine infections), behavioural issues, mammary (breast) cancers and so on.

There seems to be more medical studies available for criticism on the subject, that didn't previously exist. Risks like early spay urinary incontinence, increased fearful behaviours in sterile dogs, altered growth patterns and plate closures that interfere with joint stability, regulatory hormonal imbalances and stats on specific types of cancers (like increased osteosarcomas) weigh heavily on my mind.

I am much more open to various perspectives today.  Researching opposing opinions lend to voluminous confusion though I continue to be motivated by knowledge even if it causes anxiety in the process. Many a discussion had with owners, breeders, veterinarians alike and while most (if not all) agree that pets not intended for breeding should be spayed or neutered there is still the obstacle of planning the idyllic time. Without being armed with the knowledge of the exact moment of maturity it becomes a guessing game of circumstance and lottery of risk.  Breed genetics can greatly influence that specific timing.

My current feeling is that I will likely lean towards late October early November somewhere in the vicinity of her ninth month.  Hoping to give her the best benefit of hormonal influences within the nick of time for uncharted worry.

Weeks 39...9 months

Note; her nose is often blurred from incessant twitching. She's got OCTD Obsessive Compulsive Tracking Disorder!

 At nine months I'm bracing myself for another adolescent obstacle; defiance.  Her recall seems to be fading.  Fast.  I figured it was time to shift gears a little and try some different rewards, change up the routine, but nothing seems to be improving the situation.  I have been very persistent with training so I'm not about to give up, however it is extremely frustrating.  The recall issue doesn't seem to be isolated to any one situation or circumstance.  It's almost as if she's conveniently forgotten all her commands or rushes through the sequence because quite frankly this pup has other things to do such as...

play ball!

At 9 months, 2 weeks EXACTLY, we may have discovered the reasons for our behaviour struggle. Clover began her first heat cycle.  Her surgery was rescheduled after my son developed pneumonia. Priorities. One of the most debated, nerve-wracking decisions I made as a dog owner was deciding when to spay.  I wrote an entire post on this and didn't publish in fear the commentary would cause me more anxiety.  

Catch Up!

The last three months have been a whirlwind of activity around the house.  My posts have really suffered since William began school full time.  But that hasn't prevented me from logging all the milestones I want to share so it's time to get caught up! I'll continue to put everything in sequence so that the timeline isn't interrupted :)

October 25, 2011