Allergy season

For the most part, Teddy's a pretty predictable dog. Every once in a while he'll start barking madly for no reason whatsoever, but there's usually a reason for his behavior. If I can figure it out. Yesterday I was a bad dog mom. He was acting weird, and I just got annoyed.
Sundays are pretty predictable around the house. The morning is spent on "ablutions" for four dogs. Nails, teeth, ears, face-washing, etc. As part of the routine I rinse off paws, especially Teddy's, because he has a mild grass allergy and we want to keep it under control As a matter of routine, I rub in some stuff the vet recommended to keep the ph of his skin where it should be.

In the afternoon we collapse. It's our time to do absolutely nothing. The dogs all know the routine and are all happy participants. You'd think a dog bomb went off in the tv room on a Sunday afternoon - little limp, sleepy bodies littering the floor and furniture. 

Yesterday Teddy wouldn't settle. He was making me crazy. He didn't have to go out, he didn't want to play, he didn't want to chew; not even on Booker. 

On one of our numerous trips outside, I noticed how pink his ears were. And, stupid me, thought "isn't that adorable."

It finally dawned on me that ear irritation is an allergy symptom. Sure enough, all four paws were red and angry looking. Teddy's allergic to the new goop from the vet. 

I washed his paws again, with hypoallergenic dog shampoo, dried him off. 

Simple answer. We both collapsed on the couch for the rest of the afternoon. 

Wish I'd paid more attention, sooner. It would have saved Teddy some discomfort and me some aggravation.

Disconcerting

Yesterday was a scary first in Roc's and my life together. When I got home from running errands, he wasn't barking. He wasn't fussing. He didn't wake up. I called his name, gently at first. Touched him, again, gently. He's at the stage when I check for breathing before I think "Roc's so cute when he's sleeping."
He finally awoke and had his normal amount of difficulty walking and moving around, not so bad. It's another indicator that our time together is getting shorter. So we'll enjoy every day that we have, little Rocky-dude.

Greener Grass

 We had a bit of a problem with our backyard. The grass died along our back fence. The new lawn service (we get a guy to mow) thought it was a feature rather than a bug. So widened it and weeded it and maintained a lovely patch of dirt. We thought it was kind of interesting when the birds in the neighborhood enjoyed taking dirt baths. It was much less fascinating when Booker discovered dirt baths. Which were followed by water baths and wiping mud off the bathroom walls.

 In an effort to do something about it (three Booker baths in two days prompted some action), we went to the home improvement store and bought the required ingredients for lawn: topsoil, fertilizer, seed, and a seed blanket.
My thumb is notoriously black - if it's green and it grows it runs screaming in the opposite direction when I approach. Imagine our surprise when, after only a week, there are signs of an impending lawn! I keep expecting failure in all things outdoors. Booker may be sad about the changes, but he probably won't miss the bathtub.