Will it be a good week?

 Monday the 16th

My home-made tug, straps, shoestrings, and drapery ties.  She likes it, and this one she seems to understand which end is the puppy end and which end is the human end.  Short games of tug.

Sleep was short changed Sunday night into Monday, as I was determined to avoid another crate accident.  I had a 9 a.m. eye appointment and don't want anything to interfere.

This photo was taken about 20 minutes to sunrise.

We made it through the night with outside trips at 7:30, midnight, 2 and 4 a.m.  Mom slept on the couch from midnight on, fully dressed, and went upstairs to do the daily meds before the 4 a.m. outing, then laid her head on the table for about an hour after that outing, while the puppy was on door watch.

We did a little training on the subject of "hot zones", introducing the dog beds, with mixed results.  This session was conducted in the family room, which has been gated off for a couple of weeks, ever since the leather couch problems (bitter spray does not work for this dog).

Mostly, she wanted to chew on something. 

Mom's military style "cover" got donated to the cause to avoid her chewing on the crate mat I wanted to become a hot zone.

The raised dog bed got better results, but she's still got that hat.

In the end, she decided she really did want to chew on that mat and did so, while remaining on the raised bed.

We ended the training session when Ember started to get bored and headed for the couch to continue her destructive ways with it.

Monday morning's eye appointment went well.  Prescription has not changed much, but the cataract in the left eye has continued to grow.  I can feel the deterioration. Dr. J. said the question about the cataract is how much it bothers me.  I said I think this one is going to bother me more than the first one, because I know what the deterioration process was like with that first eye (the right eye).  

He made the referral appointment to Dr. S. for cataract evaluation, on the 26th. 

Tuesday the 17th

Trainer day for me, last one for a couple of weeks.  There's only been one a week for a few weeks, as the high school track meets (he coaches at a local parochial school) were scheduled for Thursday mornings due to heat in the afternoons.  They switch to Tuesday mornings in a couple of weeks, but in the meantime, I have that Thursday appointment with Dr. S.

I finally remembered to go pick up Ember's flea-tick-heartworm dose at the vet's office, on the way home from the trainer.  

Wednesday will be a dental appointment day for me.  Thursday, I have the appliance repair guy coming to see if my leaking dishwasher is salvageable, or if I need to just give it up and replace the 25-year-old machine.

Meanwhile, Ember is getting better with the poo situation.  Monday into Tuesday I gave her "last call" at about 8 p.m., then went down about 11:30 p.m., too, but I went back upstairs and slept in my own bed until 4, skipping the "in between" 2 a.m. check.  Poo on Tuesday morning was still soft but not soupy. This continued in that vein during the day.  I just gave her last call at about 8 again and will check on her in the midnight hour again tonight, just because.

Life is good!  Spark on.