Category Archives: CDSP

Companion Dog Sports Program

Belated Hoppy Halloween!

CDSP, Little sisters, Loungin', Metastasis, Rally-O, Soccer balls

Hey everyone, it is me again, Butchey Hudson.

Just a quick check in to let everyone know we had a Hoppy Halloween. Hope you all did, too.  No dogs got into any candy here at our household.  Chocolate is bad, bad for us dogs.  Just ask my Momma and Dada.  A long long long long long time ago, they FREAKED when I got into a chocolate cake on the counter.  Momma didn’t have a happy birthday that year.  The frosting was delicious though.  It got stuck all up in my gums and I thought I’d be snacking on that for a while, but then they made me throw up.  That was not fun.  Anyway…no issues like that this year.

If anyone was wondering…yes – they did make me and Lola dress up.  How humiliating.  I won’t post the pictures, I am so ashamed.  But here is a nice one of me and the pesky little sister.

So things have been going well.  I’ve been doing really great and feeling good.  I did some Rally-O and CDSP Obedience the past couple of weeks.  But I’ve been running out of the ring again because I am just sooooo goofy.  Momma still loves me though.  I still had fun.  I earned my first qualifying score in the Rally Veterans class (which I can now enter because I’m 8 years young now!)  Momma says “Old Dogs Rock!”

So, you know those Boppy things they make for babies?  They are pretty comfy.  They aren’t just for babies anymore, they are for Butcheys, too.

So in a couple of weeks I get another set of X-Rays on my lung mets and see what they are doing.  Hopefully nothin’.  But we will let you know.

Until then…keep on keepin’ on hoppin’!!

 

Hoppy New Year

CDSP, Little sisters, Nice people, Physical Therapy, Rally-O

Hoppy New Year everyone!  We are hoping 2012 is a great year for all of us Tripawds.  Like the Tripawds saying goes, it is better to hop on 3 legs, than limp on 4!

I had a fun filled December.  I did some more CDSP obedience and Momma even entered me for an APDT Rally trial.  I did my first ever triple Q since becoming a Tripawd.  There is that number 3 again, maybe it is my lucky number now.

For Christmas I got my stocking filled with lots of good stuff.  Here is me wondering why my stocking has not been stuffed yet.  You’ll notice the MonkeyButt Lola waiting on the sidelines to bite me in one of my remaining three legs to thieve my stocking stuffers.

We got magic mushrooms (no, not that kind) from Santa Paws.  Here is me trying to figure out how to get the cheese out.

Now I like to lay down with these puzzles and try to work it out.  Lola just took hers and rolled it around the entire house, crashing and smashing it into everything.  Walls, chairs, whatever.  She sure can make a raucous.

Momma & Dada also took us to get our picture taken with Santa Paws.  But this isn’t the REAL Santa Paws.  This is Dr. Tucker (who incidentally did my amputation surgery) dressed up as Santa Paws.  He didn’t give me back my leg for a Christmas present though.  Ha ha ha!  He took very good care of me, and it was nice to see him again without any surgical tools.

And here another picture, so you can see how Momma humiliates us.  Oh the shame…

 

What else?  I went and did some PT work and hydrotherapy swimming.  I played with a ball in the pool and had a really fun time.  Here is me trying to get Momma to come and play in the pool, too.  But she must have not have had a floaty, because she didn’t come in with me.

That is all for now.  Our new years pawsolution is to post a bit more.  =0)

You only need 3 legs to get an obedience title

CDSP, Eggs, Little sisters, Loungin', Videos

So on Saturday, Momma took me and the MonkeyButt Lola to another CDSP Obedience Trial.  I got to play in the ring and I earned my Companion Dog title!  Here is me and my nice looking ribbon:

Momma says you need 3 qualifying scores to get a title.  I guess people call them “legs”.  Which is great, because that is all the legs I have!  The first run in our morning trial, I did not qualify.  I had a nice run (which is the video below), but then you have to do an “honor”.  An honor is when you have to sit still and stay beside your person.  Well, I was so geeked up that I just couldn’t sit still and stay.  But I was a good boy for the second run in the afternoon and Q’d with a 193.5 with my crooked Tripawd sits and all.  Momma said she don’t care what happens – Q or No Q – high scores or low scores, as long as I’m having fun.  And I was having fun!!!  See….

So Lola…..she had an okay day, but she really wasn’t into stays.  She says stays aren’t her thing.  And then she bit me in the front leg.  She’s mean I tell you….mean.  At least I got eggs with my supper AND for breakfast this morning, too!

Well the day after I enjoyed some well earned R&R.  I think I just suckled my fluffy soccer ball all day.  I like these.  I have a few of them.  Slobber sponges.

Today was FUN and other catch-ups

Amputation, CDSP, Chemo, Eggs, Nice people

My Momma says that her Dada had a saying when he had cancer.  The saying was “When you get up every morning and both feet hit the floor it is going to be a good day”.  Well I guess I can say the same thing when all THREE of my feet hit the floor!  You also know it is going to be a good fun day when your training bag is packed and Momma is cutting up a steak and cheese into little pieces at the kitchen counter and putting them into the doggie cooler.  You say Potato….I say Cheese.

Today WAS a good day.  Me & Momma did our first obedience trial as a Tripawd.  There is this venue called Companion Dog Sports Program (CDSP for short).  They allow for exercise modifications for dogs like us so we can still strut our stuff in the ring.  I could get an exercise modification for my slow pace, because that is harder for me to slow down now.  For the recall over the jump exercise the bar could be on the ground.  You know I can’t do everything as perfect as I could before, and some exercises are harder for me now.  But we don’t get fussed over crooked sits and perfect performances, we just like to have fun working as a team!  Momma says we weren’t going to care if we Q’d or not, just as long as we had a good time.  And I had a good time!  The Judges and other teams were super friendly and everyone didn’t smell all stressed out like they have at other obedience stuff I’ve been to when I had four legs. 

Let’s see…what else?  I had my fourth chemo treatment this past Friday.  Momma and Dada are not sure yet whether I will continue on for a fifth or sixth treatment.  They are a little weary of the cumulative effects of the chemo drug.  I get Adriamycin every 3 weeks.  My scans that were done just before my third treatment didn’t find any masses.  So that was good news, but it doesn’t mean that the hemangiosarcoma isn’t anywhere else in my body.  We go back again in 3 weeks and I get an ultrasound of my heart to make sure that is okay and then we will talk to the nice doctor who has great knees about how to proceed with treatment.

I’ve been having some problems with skin irritations and allergies, but we don’t know if that is chemo related or not.  I was on Benadryl, but now we are trying Hydroxyzine.  Dada had to get the Hydroxyzine prescription at the drugstore pharmacy.  It came with a warning to not operate heavy machinery or drive a car.  How can I drive a car with only 3 legs???  I won’t get into the details of my diarrhea on Friday either.  It is not a proud moment in a dog’s life when our person has to clean our bum…in public.

All in all, life has been good.  I enjoy playing ball in the backyard just like I used to.  Stairs have gotten easier for me now.  I’m a little afraid of walking too far from my own house, but we are working on that.  I always get excited when we turn around to walk back home.  Momma says pretty much that the only things I can’t do now that I could do before are scratch the right side of my face and mount my sister.  Somethings you do need 2 back legs for…

Momma says this Wednesday, September 14th will be my 3 month Ampuversary.  I’ll take her word on it, because I can’t read a calendar.  That should be a good day, too.  I bet I’ll get eggs for breakfast!