Magnum had his 5th shot last night. He saw the syringe and didn't want to come to me. I had my husband at his head while I gave the shot. It's getting a little easier to give them but I would like to get faster at it so I don't prolong the misery for him. I gave him a big biscuit after his shot to help him not mind it so much. We took him with us to Wal-Mart today. Most of his rides have been to the vet so he always whines in the car. I'd like for him to think the car is good so we took him along with us shopping.
It is getting cool here in the midwest so Magnum won't be able to swim much longer. The lake freezes over pretty early in the season with only some spots near shore open. I certainly don't want him out on the ice. That was hard for him last winter when we got him. The kids would go out on the ice and Magnum wanted to go too. I finally had the kids stay with Magnum on the first trip along the lake and then we would take him home so they could go out on the ice on the second round.
I'm going to try to get Magnum to walk along the beach today as it's pretty cool outside and I know the water is cold already. Although cold is relative I suppose. To Magnum it doesn't seem to be very cold. To me it is quite cold.
Well, it went pretty much the way I expected. He pulled and barked and whined most of the way. I kept stopping until he quit pulling and then we'd start again. We also turned around and went the opposite direction when he pulled. We just couldn't get near the lake without him pulling so we turned around and went back the way we came. We walked for about 30 minutes today and he seems to be doing fine. I haven't noticed any limping.
I'll just keep on trying to reteach him the manners he already knows so, eventually, he can walk along the beach with us this winter. (I hope). He was very well mannered when we took him in but he's been spoiled since his surgery. So, it looks like we have some work to do. |
