“I have ARRIVED…” Kenai, 2 yrs old
Kenai is a habitually stoic sort of fellow. Recognizing what he wants or feels is more often than not a subtle affair. Slight changes in ear position, the pitch of a whine, the length of a sigh is about all the explanation you get. You have to be paying attention and you have to know him. Well. However, there are times… In this pic here he had been trotting around playing in the other room, then suddenly the unmistakable thunder of Kenai on a mission was heard (from afar) and he vaulted into that position. “I am HERE and I want OUT to play!” It would seem indoors was not satisfactory. He’s had his playtimes early in the morning while the ground is still frozen, in an attempt to avoid the melt-mud. By dark yesterday the snow was about half gone, and now we have a butt buster skating rink that once was a driveway! Slippery! “Brown” doesn’t have to pay much mind to such things as terrain, endowed with immense snowshoes for paws, complete with claws to dig in if needed. His more narrow footed, clawless, and balance challenged human is another story… I skirted the garage to the “potty patch” this morning–snow pack is easier walking than sheet ice. Hence, we did not have our play time right away in the morning. I was hoping for a little softening of the slush. Only problem: the living room toy box simply would not do anymore. My subtle, quiet natured brown bear was in an overt mood. Being amazingly slow to become insistant, when Kenai does get in a mood about something, I usually give him what he’s after. So long as he’s not ill-tempered about it, anyway. Wonky Kenai is the fault of me and the fibro/fatigue: I’ve neglected the exercise and interaction too long. Usually 2-3 days is all the laying about he can take. He has a remarkably patient disposition, so when he’s gotten in a mood, it’s been a long time building. out we went.
He wanted some seriously intense exercise. Nothing was supposed to interfere with our games I discovered, including the camera. When I pulled it out of the pocket he gave me a look.
“Are you at it with that camera again! Give it a rest and play with me!”
I was hoping to get maybe one really fabulous pic of him, but he refused to co-operate. Anytime the camera went into position, he flashed me the look, complete with donkey ears.
Still hoping for a snappy shot, I had the bright idea of picking up something he could chase. That usually brings out the boy wrinkles and expectant bright eyes.
Donkey ears is what I got.
“QUIT with the camera already!”
He was plenty happy to chase the magnolia seed pod, but he was not interested in posing, not in the least.
If you’ve ever wondered what manly annoyance looks like in a self-possessed Great Dane, well here you go:
Guess that’s the closest I’ll get to Kenai’s Picture of the Week today; the sight of an indignant snort. I put the camera away and started to play. But his snorty attitude got a little snotty, and he started swatting at me instead of running around. Hum.
We had a flashback to adolescence for a moment, when he thunked me with his chest and walloped my sorest leg with a good hard swat. He knew it was too hard, too, and gave me a look of “what ya gonna do about that”. You can tell when they do it on purpose.
Just for that, I left him in the kennel. I walked away, all the way into the house, yippee yip apologies unresponded too. Oh I was coming in to get BB for a romp, but Kenai didn’t know that. I always tell him I’m going to bring BB out, and he waits patiently without yipping.
All he knew was he got rangey and I left him all alone for it. He hates to be alone, btw, so that “punishment” counted big time. I asked Mom to let her boy out when she got the chance, and went back to find an ever so happy to see you boy.
Beebs was out the door shortly, and the Brothers Grin had themselves great gobs of run-with-me, 
circling the kennel. I’ll go in and out of the kennel, moving back and forth according to who’s not playing hard enough to wear themselves out.
We three had a good time, and their happy meters were all pegged when it was time to go inside.
***
You can see Beebs is looking better than a couple months ago, but he’s lost a bit of weight the past couple weeks. Both boys have me pinned between a rock and a hard place about their diet.
The rock: they need enormous amounts of food to gain and hold weight, roughly 8-10 cups of calorically dense Eagle Pack a day. The large amount has a tendency to put enough undigested carbs in their guts to be a breeding ground for “bad” bacteria and yeast. Intractable diarrhea follows.
The hard place: they may not be digesting some nutrients well enough, but they over absorb minerals like giants are prone to do. If I give them enough food to gain muscle, it makes their bones and joints hurt, putting them at risk for skeletal problems.
If you are a veterinary nutritionist or work for a dog food company, would you explain our plight at work, and tell the boss I’m not above begging for help? This is not an uncommon situation with giant breeds who have malabsorption issues. These two just seem to be extra difficult. We’ve been struggling with the malabsorption for almost 2 years, and confounded every vet we’ve seen.
I would love to have a dog food company develop a high calorie, low carb, low macro mineral kibble! That would solve the problem, wouldn’t it? Something with an absurdly low calcium/phosphorus content, with nearly no grains/startches, so they could have 10 cups without bacterial overgrowths or risks to their bones and joints.
We need someone both brilliant and pugnacious to come up with a food for the Brothers. Know anyone?
***
Before I forget again (who me?), I wanted to paste in a comment by Jenny from the Wobbler’s page:
I just wanted to let you know that I am starting a facebook group as an offshootfrom the yahoo NeuroDogs group. Please join us to discuss wobblers treatments
and recoveries and to share your stories. So much for so many to learn from! Now
we can be found under the Neurodogs name on both yahoo and facebook. Those sites would be a great thing to check out if you’ve got a dog with Wobblers or other neurological issues. Wobbler’s is a disabling, and potentially life threatening disease, caused by deformities in the cervical spine. Big time hard to treat for many dogs. I thank God my experience with it was limited to a mild case in my late brother’s dog. It can be a devastating diagnosis, as response to treatment varies from dramatic improvement to even worsening symptoms. My heart goes out to anyone whose beloved pup is afflicted with Wobblers. So as not to end on a sad note, here is 24/7 BB in all his glory: (who else can be relied on at all times for a good chuckle?)
If you can’t laugh at that, there’s something profoundly wrong with you!!
He and I have a new game: thunk a chunk. I was walking along with him the other day, and my boot inadvertantly hit a patch of snow from underneath. Some of it sprayed, having been a very dry sort of snow. But one chunk held together and went rolling. Ka-Swat!!
BB squished it, then started watching my feet for another chunk to thunk. If I’m standing still kicking at snow, thunk a chunk is a variation of whack-a-mole. But if I’m moving around, it’s an even better chance for chase.
Ever the opportunist, he’s become a downright pest anytime my foot gets near the white stuff! If I’m not kicking it, he’s licking it and eating the stationary chunks. I have created a monster! Oh but it’s so much fun…
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