Home alone

Late Saturday evening, I am sitting by my computer and doing some stuff, and Maja is happily sleeping on the floor beside me after having spent almost the whole day outside.

Jurgita is gone for two weeks on a work trip, so I am a single parent for a while, which will both be nice and a little bit scary. It has been a while since last I posted anything, so I'll try to connect the threads in some longer postings the next days, but not all news are good news.

Maja's eyes have become almost normal again - it took quite some time, though. She was in perfect mood the day after eye operation, but her eyes were really red and swollen for more than a week. We were a bit nervous about it and wondering why it took so long, but with medication every day, she finally looks her old, beautiful self again.

It's quite worse news about her legs, and that is what worries me; she has dysplasia on at least one shoulder, which has led to arthritis. Not good, not good at all; lots of medication and patience awaits us.

But - more about that tomorrow. Maja is grunting in her sleep beside me and is the kindest and most beautiful dog in the world. So right now, all is well with the world :)

Recipe for instant happiness (serves 1 dog and 1-several persons):

1 dog /  water / a little fod / a good toy / a hug

JUST HAVE TO POST THIS ONE

How to ignore your little brother:

Before operation

Yes, it is operation day again.. Maja's eyes have been operated before - sometimes they are a little to full with yello yucky stuff, and they wanted to take away the reason for that. That first operation was not 100% successful (she was a bit better because of medicine, so they quite simply didn't see the full problem), so she is in again today. We have been delaying it a little bit, but now she has been free of other medicines and free of other problems for such a long time - it is time to fix it. It won't take long - an hour or so, but it is full narcosis, and afterwards her eyes will look red and horrible for a day or two. Now she is sleeping on the floor in front of my feet - we have had a really nice morning walk and she is happy (as she almost always is). She doesn't know what is coming up, poor. But, Maja, all will be fine soon, and your eyes will be much better :)

Two persons in a boat - and a dog

Yesterday we were in Trakai, a small historical town not far from Vilnius. The town is surrounded by one big and some smaller lakes, and you can rent boats to row around the several small islands and to see the castle from the seaside. It is fantastic, especially when the weather is as good as it was yesterday. A long walk first, then rent a boat. Maja behaved like an experienced sailor.. Well, almost.. She was a little bit shy at first, and found it best to hide her head between our feet, but she got used to it quite fast, enjoyed the view, and finally fell asleep in the bottom of the boat :)

How to walk slowly

How to slow down a walk when you are really, really tired :)

• First of all - walk slowly!
• Stop to say hi to every dog you see!
• Pretend that you need to pee, and spend a LOT of time searching for exactly the right place!
• Don't find the right place! That means you have to check the next lawn!
• When it all becomes too obvious - pee! You can still repeat the procedure for bigger things!
• Stop to drink anywhere where the ground is even remotely moist.
• Walk on the other side of lamp posts and trees - the confusion will give you some valuable seconds every time.
• Sniff at EVERYTHING! Especially flowers should be paid attention - your owner will think it is cute!
• Walk where it is difficult to walk - that naturally slows everything down.
• When everything else fails - just lie down :)

How does a dog drink?

How does a dog drink? With its mouth and tongue, of course, but really how? How does the water come in to the mouth? Sounds like a silly question, but I came across this video the other day, and it is really fascinating: It shows in slow motion exactly how a dog drinks :)

THIEF, THIEF

We had a small picnic party yesterday outside on the lawn - good friends, good wine, grill and some good meat. We had almost finished everything, just three small pieces of grilled pork was left on a plate, and we were all standing and talking about something else, our attention turned elsewhere, when we suddenly we discovered that Maja had taken a piece of meat from the (low) table and was happily chewing. Well.. too late to yell :) Our mistake - that is probably what you get when you place nice meat easily reachable - it's there to take, right?

It's not exactly behavior that we appreciate, but we really couldn't help laughing. It is the first time that she has ever stolen food, and she looked so incredibly happy with it :)

While talking about meat - we have been feeding her raw meat now and then lately (maybe that is why she considers meat "hers" now). She is really eager to get it, she literally snapped a piece out of Jurgita's hands the other day and ran away with a happy growl. Just to test, Jurgita went after her and took it away: no reaction, no growling, no protest. It is hers, but only because we choose to give it to her. Wonderful girl :)