Monday, May 24, 2010

Dog Days

Pounce is his happy self again! He's hyper... Running around. Poor guy had such a hard time after getting neutered. He was so restless. He'd sit or lie for a few minutes, then suddenly run and lie somewhere else. I'm not sure if he was restless because of pain or itchiness or what! Maybe he's mad because he knows he's now unable to spawn little Pouncies. It was hard to see him like that. He cried a lot. He threw up and had diarrhea twice each a couple of night ago. He sleeps in his crate in my Mom's room and kept her up a few nights in a row. She called the vet and got him tranquilizers, made a little ice pack and wrapped it in a towel for him to lie on and rubbed his back a lot for him.

I'm going to stay at my house for a couple for hours more to watch him while my mom does chores around the house. On Friday, he will get his stitches out and then I can walk him again! I'm excited! Toronto weather has been sunny and hot, so we lie together in the front yard together on my lounger. I will go for my walk at 6:00 when it's cooler and the sun isn't so intense. It's uncomfortable!

Then I will go back to be with the Great Danes I'm babysitting for the week! I've been their babysitter for over four years now. I'd love to walk them, but their combined weight is three times mine! My dad walks them for me. I'd also love to sleep with them, but their owner doesn't want them on the bed anymore... I don't blame her... They shed and drool a lot. Besides, the Dane who likes to cuddle sprawls out, taking up the whole bed! It's so sweet, though. He used to lie with his head on my chest.

I love dogs so much. I've been thinking it would be a great job to walk little dogs and feed dogs and let them out during the day while their owners are at work, at least until I feel up to a real job. I'm already kind of the neighborhood pet sitter. I've worked for several cat owners in my area. There's a lot of walking involved,  plus disciplining and subduing the animals.  What would I do on sick days? I would do my job no matter what. I can always function  -- that's not a problem. But that kind of activity every day, especially on bad days, would make for worse days more often. I guess I could commit only to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays  to allow for days of rest between working days, unless someone asks me to look after their dog for a week or something, like I am now. I'd also like to write freelance, preferrably jobs that would allow me to research and interview people from home, if necessary. Maybe I should look into a job at the nearby library too!

I've been typing this while eating, which isn't wise because now my scrambled eggs have gone cold! I get so distracted, but I'm proud of myself for having a hearty breakfast: two eggs, two hashbrowns, a bunch of bacon and orange juice. Then I will have two pancakes, strawberries and cheese! Before Hawaii, during and after, I've been snacking a lot -- many of those haven't been healthy! For weeks now I've been really into cookies. I have them almost every day! I eat chips and other unhealthy things too. I don't know why I crave all of this so much! Sometimes I just get phases like this. Soon, I'm sure the cravings will end and I'll be really into fruits and veggies again and that's about it. It's funny how our appetites have patterns like this. What have you been eating lately?

6 comments:

  1. We could do with you here- I have nearby neighbours who seem to leave their dog outside for two hour stretches, while he barks practically non-stop!
    May your snacks never end up in your keyboard, if you're typing while eating! LOL :)

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  2. Lots of options! Dog walkers are big here too! Thanks so much for becoming a follower! Yeah!

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  3. Thanks for stopping by. In regards to my post I don't think it's my friends. I think it's all in my head because I'm stressed and feeling especially needy right now LOL! They're great, they just have other parts of their lives that I'm not a part of. I don't think I have enough things to do away from the house during the day lol.

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  4. Ashley,
    I know exactly how Pounce feels - having had the human version of the same operation after my second child - now "unable to spawn" as well! (ha ha)

    To bad you don't live down here in NJ, you could dog sit for our new puppy.

    Robin

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  5. Poor Pounce. Glad he's feeling better. That's why I like to get my puppies neutered/spayed really young. It's easier on them.

    I've thought about pet sitting or dog walking, but I don't think the people in my area would be likely to pay someone for those things. Poor dogs sit in backyards and rot around here. No one has any compassion for animals in my town. Sad really. I hope you feel up to trying it.

    I've been eating a TON of candy lately and it's so bad for me. The problem is once I cave and eat candy then I crave it the more I eat it. I was doing some research on cravings and one website said that the stress hormone Cortisol (which the adrenal gland produces when you are stressed and I'm stressed all the time!) is what causes the cravings. Sucks because I don't know how to just not stress about things. Guess I'm going to have to work on it lol.

    I don't really crave healthy foods. It's more like I go through times when I crave sugar and then I go through times where I just don't really want to eat at all. I finally made an appointment to check for food allergies in July because I also read that food allergies cause low grade inflammation in your body which also stimulates production of adrenaline and cortisol. If we rule out food allergies I'm going to check into the gall bladder issue because I have a family history of it and I have seven of the ten symptoms related to gall stones or gall bladder disease. I'm just terrified of that diagnoses because it means surgery! Yikes!

    I hope you can figure out what is causing your problems. I know yours are more complicated than mine, but just take it one step at a time and try to rule things out. My husband tells me constantly that the simple solution is probably the best. Because of my hypochondria I have a tendency to think the worse. :) So I'm going to take his advice and rule out the easy stuff first.

    Take care!

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  6. Jinksy -- I bet the dog barks excessively because it hasn't been trained properly and is being neglected! On a lighter note, I eat at the keyboard all of the time... And there are definitely crumbs...

    Bossy Betty and achieve -- It was my pleasure to stop by your blogs!

    Robin -- Aw a new puppy! What kind? I'd love to puppy sit. As exhausting as it is, it's totally rewarding and fun. A real bonding experience.

    Achieve -- Yes, it seems the simplest explanation is often the most likely, especially symptoms don't usually signal a medical problem. Thanks for your best wishes! I hope you figure out the food allergies/cortisol!

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