Jake's Diet Updates for 2014 - Dealing with a Loss

I haven't posted in a while. The winter was yucky for exercising. It was very cold in the mornings, and the ice on the sidewalks made it slippery, which hurt my hips and knees too much to walk a lot.  But we didn't get much snow, so it was just cold.

Then it got warmer during the days, 60 degrees or higher! Great for walking in the morning... but something happened....

Dealing with a Loss in the Family Pack

My Mom and Dad went on a short trip in April. Zoya, Atom, and I stayed in a dog hotel. It wasn't a bad hotel, we had our own room to share, and it was big. With a chair and beds and blankets to snuggle on, fresh air, walks every day, plus time to play in a fenced yard -- we got to play with the small dogs, no big scary ones to make me nervous. It wasn't a long stay, only about a week, and everything seemed fine. But the last night we were there, we all went to sleep but Zoya never woke up.

Mom and Dad were very sad. Zoya was my big sister for about 10 years... she was only about 12-years-old, or so we thought... but Mom says that sometimes animal shelters estimate ages as young as possible, to give dogs the best chance for adoption. They told us Zoya was about 2-years-old... and that was in 2004. In reality, she could have been older. She never got white hair like me and Atom have... she always looked like a puppy... Mom joked that Zoya "moisturizes so she stays young"... I don't get that... must be a person thing.

Adjusting After a Loss

Anyway, so now it's just Mom and Dad, me and Atom. Our Pack feels a little small... Dad always said "no more" but after Zoya passed away Dad said "Okay, probably more... but probably not until we move back to the States." I don't know when that is... Mom said it depends on work and school situations for her and Dad, so I guess we'll see.

It's an adjustment when a Pack gets smaller... everything is quieter. Zoya was always the loudest at barking... and she was always afraid of stuff, but I miss that. For the first month, Atom kept sleeping on her bed in the bedroom every night. I wanted to sleep there too so sometimes we shared. He misses Zoya too, even though he's younger so he only knew Zoya as a big sister for 6 years. It's still all he ever knew, so he's been sad.

Getting Better After a Loss

I think things are getting better now... we're still sad. Mom is still sad sometimes, but she puts on a strong face for us so we know everything is okay.

Everything will be okay... As long as Mom and Dad are around, I know everything will always be okay.

Visiting the Vet and Weightloss Update

After my walk yesterday, Dad took me to the vet on the base. This was my first trip to the vet here. When we first got here, Dad just had to bring them paperwork; no visit required.

Anyway, Mom learned that she can order the Hill's Metabolic Diet Dog Food through the vet, since it's a prescription dog food and they checked to see that they could actually get it. Since it was on the list for their distributors, they just needed to see me in order to give me the new prescription for the food.

So yesterday, I went for a walk with Mom then Dad took me to the vet before he went to work. It was cool going in the car with just me and Dad... usually it's not just me.

At the appointment I had a check-up and they weighed me....

BAM!

I am down to 44.6 pounds!

Mom was so happy because she was sure I was over 52-55 pounds a month ago. Comparing my weight to a fully-loaded BowFlex SelectTech Weight which holds 55.2 lbs. I was definitely heavier a month ago. So this is GREAT NEWS!

Dad placed an order for my food, getting me the BIG bag. The one Mom ordered in late August still hasn't arrived yet, but I'd like to think it'll arrive any day now. That one's only the medium-sized bag though, so it won't last long. Probably just long enough to transition use from the food we're eating now to the Hill's Metabolic Diet completely.

I'm still waiting on my scale too.... but I'm glad to know my weight is going down and I'm pleased with my progress so far.

A Morning Walk in Germany

Mom and I got up this morning earlier than the sun! It was too dark to go out though so we waited. You see, not all the streets are well-lit and the main street near our house is real busy sometimes so we wanted to make sure we were safe.

Mom got my backpack ready and helped me put it on. It slips if the weight isn't balanced so I carried Mom's wallet on one side and half a bottle of water on the other side, along with Mom's keys, waste bags (haha for pooh!), and hand sanitizer.

I got my leash on and we went out for a quick bathroom trip first, then started our walk.

Mom checked for things nearby that were within walking distance and we decided to try a bakery. It said it was only about 10-15 minutes away. The funny thing is, the directions from the map on Mom's phone were not very good. Next time we will use a different App. So the walk took longer than expected but it was still nice. We had trouble finding the bakery because it was in between buildings but I could smell it so I helped Mom find the way :-)

I had to wait outside at the bakery but I was good. Then I carried half of the baked goods home so I could give one to Dad. It made me feel really important!!

The walk home was quicker because we didn't get lost or listen to the directions again lol

Mom let me have a piece of a croissant as a treat. I couldn't have the whole thing, but a piece was good enough for me.

This was my first time using my new backpack. I had one before but it wasn't as nice and it wasn't designed to fit nice so I struggled with it and Mom ended up carrying it the one time we tried to use it. This Outward Hound Backpack is much nicer, and it has mesh pockets inside the big side pockets so even if a zipper broke, nothing important falls out.

Mom used an App on her phone to find the way to the bakery but the map wasn't very good so I started sniffing around and I found the way!

I don't shy away from stairs! Sometimes they're too much for me but I still try my best! 

Found it! 

I had to wait outside but that's okay. I got to carry some breakfast :-) 

Sometimes walking on the grass is nicer when my paws get tired... 

Mom shared the "bounty" with Dad and they gave me a little of the croissant to try since I carried it... 

Almost home!

A few collages from the walk...

Beagle Diet Progress - October Updates

     So it's been a while....

     As far as my knee goes, I'm feeling a lot better. I only take the pain medicine every now and then. At first I would take 1/2 tablet every morning. You only take it once a day because it's really strong, and actually the Doctor said that the 1/2 tablet was slightly more than what I should have but it was okay. I was also taking another medicine everyday too for pain. And the Doctor gave me these chewable supplements to help my knees and other joints feel good despite my arthritis.

     I feel old.... there's really no getting past it. But I don't have to let it keep me down.

     I started going for slightly longer walks in the morning. It's much cooler now since the Summer is over. A little chilly some mornings but I can handle it.

     Anyway, during the past few months while I've been recovering from my partial-tear ACL injury I've watched what I ate and I've tried to stay motivated. Mom tries to remember to pick up the food dish at night before it gets too late. She said that for people, you have to stop eating a few hours before you go to bed otherwise you just pack on extra weight from the food you ate because you didn't have enough time to digest and use it. She thinks it might be similar for Beagles -- well, for dogs in general but in my case for Beagles specifically.

    The thing is, I'm not hungry during the day. I try to eat but I just don't want anything. Mom laughs because if she offered me something other than my regular food she's certain I'd be hungry for it!

    I'm trying to drink more water too... I don't know if Beagles store water-weight like people, but Mom talked about that too and so she makes sure the water dish is always clean and full. Zoya makes a mess... she drinks from the water dish but it's like she has no clue what she's doing! Slop! Splash! Slop! Splash! Slop! Splash! and then when you check, half the water is on the floor around the dish and the other half is all over her face!

    Mom knows this though, that's why she tries to clean the dish as soon as Zoya finishes.

    So we lost track of my Beagle Diet.... we were tracking the days and weeks but we lost track because so much time was spent just HEALING.  It's okay.  It doesn't matter where you start or continue something, what's important is that you start and/or continue it to the end.... right?

    What else is knew...?

    Mom and Dad had to go away for a week last month, and that wasn't too bad. I don't like when they go away though. The boarding place is nice, and they make sure Atom, Zoya, and I are all together... but I want my own bed and my own toys and everything. Also... there's no TV in the pet hotel. We have our own room that we share, and we get to play in an indoor play area.... but there's no TV. I like the TV. Mom leaves it on all day for us.

    Anyway, I went for a short walk this morning. It was about 15-18 minutes. Mom guessed but she lost track because she wasn't sure what time we left the house. It was me and Zoya though, and we took a few pictures. I feel like I'm still making progress. Even though I was stuck for so long after I hurt my leg, I don't feel like I gained weight. I don't know if I lost much, but I feel okay considering I'm still "big"....

First, a few with fun stamps and decorations...

Me and Zoya

Me and a rabbit...

Me and another rabbit... 

Me and Zoya just hanging out...

Watching cars drive by as everyone leaves for work...

Just me... I think this is a good angle for me.

Week 10 ~ Jake vs the Beagle ACL Injury

     Today is the last day of Week 10 since I started my diet. I'm losing a little weight actually, even though I've had to cut back on my walks. It stinks though.... I would rather be able to walk more.
     The doctor said that the partial tear in my left ACL is what hurts me. Mom said that it probably happened that day a couple weeks ago when I got hurt trying to race Zoya and Atom to the door. The mailman came, then UPS, then FedEx -- all right in a row with only minutes in between their knocks on the door. It was exciting and I couldn't help it! I just wanted to run and see if the packages were for me...
   At least it's not a full tear, right?

    Mom took some videos during our walks to help remember how I'm walking now so we have a comparison later.



Week 5 Day 3 - Accountability and Vaccines

    We went for a walk this morning for about 25 minutes. It's been really hot and humid here so it was nice that it was a little cooler this morning and we could enjoy a short walk. I thad to be short though, we had to go to the doctor again.

     Last week we had those comprehensive exams and dental cleanings, remember? Well, me and Zoya were due for 4 vaccines each, and Atom was due for 3 so we had to go back for the 1-week follow-up appointment to make sure everything was still normal and the doctor gave us our vaccines today. We did really good! Not one yelp or cry :-)

    My doctor said she looked at my blog and that makes me happy! I want to know that what I'm doing, with my Mom and Dad's help, is okay and working. And it's nice to have them comment when I go in for appointments. The doctor said that weightloss for dogs is slow, though. Not as slow as cats, but realistically, it's not like you can go walk a cat. You can't even make them play or run around. If you try to coax a cat to play and they don't want to, they don't get excited and change their mind, they basically tell you "no" haha

    Anyway, Mom took some pictures at the vet today, and also during the walk so I have lots to share!

Walking with Zoya...

Mom took us in the reverse direction we normally go so I could feel like the short 25 minute walk was longer, she said.

Took a few minutes to pose for pictures, though!

With some nice flowers behind me :-)

Walking... nose to the ground - Beagle Style!

I started to get side-tracked when I picked up the scent of some other dogs...

Just me...

Awwww....

Getting tired... it was only 25 minutes but the humidity wears me out fast!

OFFICIAL Accountability Picture for Week 5 Day 3

Posing with flowers...

Walking with Zoya again...

And heading home... ready for a trip in the car!

At the Vet....

We could hear the other dogs making tons of noise in the back.

They came and took Zoya outside to see if she'd tinkle.

She didn't tinkle enough at our comprehensive exam so they couldn't do a urinalysis then.

Mom said that after they took Zoya, I waited and watched the door. When the other dogs in the back started making tons more noise, I pushed with my front paws and slid my Beagle-butt back next to my Mom!

Then it was Zoya's turn...

The vet tech and doctor helped Zoya have her vaccinaztions...

We each needed 4! 

My turn... :-(

Zoya checked on me... I was okay though.

The vet tech and doctor said that we were super good and normally dogs cry, yelp, or nip at them during vaccinations. But not us :-)

A compilation of the pictures... for "effect"...

Atom went last... he asked me to save his pictures for his blog though.

So I'll just include a link.