Feeling a bit better

I've been much more lively this past few days and almost back to my old self. This hasn't stopped me from getting on the sofa for cuddles though. I was never allowed on before but now I snuggle up most nights. I'm still pretty skinny but at least I'm not losing weight. And now I'm feeling a bit better I can start to eat more food - yay!

This is me tucking into a yummy kong. I'm having one of these most nights now that I can't have chews or bones or things. Mum puts biscuits in and something called 'stock' and freezes it. It's my kong-sicle.

Still poorly

I'm still not feeling too great - this week I've been doing my bowing/praying posture again after eating and i've been to the vet another three times. I've got some painkillers and some more antibiotics and tomorrow I'm going to get some Tagamet (which is apparently a human thing too) to line my tum a bit. Mum is worried, but that didn't stop her withdrawing bedroom rights last weekend! Still, not all bad - I sleep down on my own but in the morning i get to go up for cuddles and a lie in. Hopefully I'm just taking a bit longer to get over my op than they'd thought and will feel better next week. Otherwise I'm going to need more x-rays :-(

Bloody German Shepherds

You see now I'm one I'm allowed to swear. Honestly though, what is it with that breed?! I've been feeling a bit poorly again this last couple of days. I don't have a temperature or anything but my tum is sore again. I get to eat chicken and rice which is good. Anyway we went out for a quick run in the park to take my mind off things and i've been set upon by this huge long haired evil untrained thing and got a punctured back for my troubles. And its owner has the GALL to say that it takes two dogs to start a fight!

This is the fifth time I've been bitten and had broken skin (not to mention the times I've been set upon without actual bodily harm) and I don't do ANYTHING. I stand there quietly with my eyes averted, my ears down and my tail down and they just decide they don't like the look of me and that's it. Honestly what is the problem with other dogs. I guess it is because I've still got my equipment and am, quite frankly, streets better looking than any of them that they feel threatened. Mum asked this bloke if he could look her in the eye and say that this dog had never done anything like it before and it was quite telling that he couldn't. She told him quietly that he was letting his dog down and ought to train it when really she'd have liked to scream and hit his smug little face. Ho hum.

New Forest Viz Whiz

Date for your diaries - Saturday 3rd November, 2pm at the Royal Oak, Fritham (http://tinyurl.com/37jfx4)

Walkies followed by a drink - hope to see as many of you there as poss!

Stitched up

Well all my stitches have been removed and my wound is looking good. I can go racing about like old times again! Mum had to pay £743 for my treatment but luckily has something called 'insurance' that means she really only has to pay £50. Does that mean I get to use the rest of it on treats and toys? I could get a lot of stuff for that I reckon. I've got my eye on a new coat from Chillydogs...

How Charlie got his bark back

I've felt so much better this weekend. I went to my grandma's house and it was so nice to get out and about it made me feel like a different dog. I was so excited about everything that I decided to bark pretty much non stop. Even at a pretty young Vizsla pup called Evie that I met, sorry Evie, I'm not feeling quite myself.

Something that needed LOTS of barking at was this boat we went on. I wasn't too happy about getting on at all so I had to stand next to it and shout at it. Didn't seem to make it go away though. Boating is ok if you've got someone close by to make sure you don't fall off but I don't like the uppy-downy floating land things that they moor up against AT ALL.

You didn't tell me you had a boat Ditto?!

Everything got a bit much for me by the end of the afternoon - so I had to have a nap.

Bedroom rights are still in place. Mum has said I can stay there til I've had my stitches out this Wednesday. I'm kindof hoping to stay up there permanently but dad isn't having it. I will have to work on him a bit more carefully I think. Maybe jumping on the bed at 5am isn't the right tactic?

Keeping them on their toes

Well as Redgirls said you have to keep the humans on their toes otherwise they might revoke bedroom rights. So, yesterday I got a bit too cold on a little morning plod and shivered quite violently (despite t-shirt and coat). Mum freaked out and rushed me home and wrapped me up with hot Gromit until I perked up. Five points to me.

Then last night I got sick - I had eaten some mince and veg (under protest) earlier in the day and I puked up all the fibrous veg. Of course this freaked them out big time. I've eaten well ever since and I'm playing happily. Several million points to me. And no more veg, just yummy pouches - yay.

One thing I'm having at the mo, along with my probiotics, is something called 'boost' for convalescing dogs. It smells funny but is supposed to be really good for me. Anything that helps. I'm looking forward to having my stitches out on Wednesday cos they do pull when i try to run.

A little light play

I've been chasing my tennis ball in the garden. Mum says this size tennis ball is the only one i'm EVER playing with EVER again and that she's going to ceremonially burn the other ones. I don't know what she's on about. It's not like it was MY ball I ate? Maybe she's going to ceremonially burn every tennis ball in the whole world? I think Roger Federer might have something to say about that mum.

Oh and this is my t-shirt. It says bone idle which isn't very kind. I've not been able to do much - it's not my choice honest! It was the only one at the shop that fit me. I think clothes are usually for smaller dogs but the posh Equafleece t-shirts were sold out so this had to do.

Road to recovery

I've been back to the vet's this morning and am officially on the mend. My temperature is still normal and i've already gained 1.5kg of the 3kg I lost! I've got to stay on fairly 'safe' foods for a bit so I'm going to stick with my nature's menu pouches, some lamb mince and veg and also some chicken breast chunks which I know I'm going to love.

I met my pals in the park this morning and I was so excited to see them. I had to stay on the lead so that I didn't run around too much. I have to stay on the lead til the weekend so that my stitches will heal up which is just too dull for words. Then next Wednesday I'm going to have the stitches out and hopefully I will be able to leap about again!

Size 0

Ok well i'm a bit embarrassed to put this pic up but people wanted to know how skinny I really was. This pic doesn't even show me at my worst really as my hips are the really pointy bony bit. If you look closely you can see my shaved arms too.

Even dad has been convinced to go shopping to buy me a t-shirt to hide my skinniness whilst I get better :-( On the plus side I'm in high demand on the catwalk at the mo.

Tired

Well I told you I would eat, it was just a matter of finding the right stuff. That vet rubbish has got so dull. A nice pouch of Nature's Menu later and I've even felt bright enough to woof at dad in the garden. My bark is much quieter and more high pitched for some reason though - think maybe they put some tubes down my throat when I was having my op. Mum says she hopes it will stay quiet but I know she doesn't really mean it. Time for more sleep I think after all that excitement.

Listless

Well i'm very listless again today and am not really keen on eating anything. Mum is going bananas. I'm not sure how quickly I'm supposed to get better but my heavy painkillers probably still haven't totally worn off from yesterday morning. My wound is ok but i've got this black tarry poo that, according to the duty vet, can be normal this soon after surgery but mum is freaking out cos it means blood is in it and she's worrying i'm bleeding inside. Not much to be done until Monday now really. I am sleeping fairly happily so i think they should just let me get on and rest up. I'll eat when I want to.

Home

Well I'm home but feeling very groggy and sorry for myself. So would you if you'd had your insides opened up and someone poke about in there! Stupid ball wasn't even that tasty. I'm on all sorts of 'drugs' which make me feel quite spaced out and sleepy. I didn't recognise mum at first when she came to pick me up but after a little while I did manage to thump my tail a few times. My tail still works even if the rest of me is a bit under the weather.

I haven't even got the strength to have a wee - I end up resting on my thighs cos my legs won't hold me. It's a very undignified thing for a young man, but does guarantee much sympathy. I've slept upstairs twice in a row now. I've lost count of how many times i've been to see the vet but hopefully I might not need to go again assuming I get a bit brighter over the next few days. Thanks for all the well-wishes - it's nice to know I've got friends out there thinking of me.

Update

Well poor Charlie has had a tennis ball-ectomy this morning. He doesn't chew up balls so it must have been a bit he found in the park and managed to swallow. Poor chap - he's on IV fluids, painkillers and antibiotics and hopefully will come home later tonight, if not tomorrow. Hopefully this is the last of it!

Poorly

Well I thought I was feeling better but this morning I was very sorry for myself again. I was doing the bow thing and shivering. So I ended up back with the vet and he says I have a high temperature again and I probably have pancreatitis. I'm on antibiotics and painkillers and am wearing my special jumper to keep warm. We don't know how I got it but I did disappear off into the woods last Thursday with my pal Coco, and then on Friday we were both in the vets. She had a swollen face and I had a swollen gut. I'm not telling what I got up to but it might be that we both ate something that disagreed with us. Coco is fine now though.

Sick boy :-(

Well being 1 isn't all that great so far. On Thursday I came down with a very painful tummy which lasted all weekend. I wasn't eating anything at all and was throwing up and feeling VERY sorry for myself. I went to visit the vet and had a bunch of injections that made me feel a bit better but still not great.

I went back to the vet on Monday and he found a hard painful spot in my guts that they thought might be a blockage. I was going to go back in for another check on Tuesday to see if the blockage had moved, and if not be x-rayed and operated on. Gulp. All the prodding seemed to move things along a bit though and I managed to 'do my business' on Monday night. After that I started to feel a lot better and the vet confirmed my suspected blockage had moved on.

I lost over 3kg over the weekend although i've started to eat again now. Redgirls would be very impressed with my size zero-ness. I'm still a bit sore after eating and keep doing this play bow kind of stand which makes me feel a bit better but freaks mum out.

I will have to take things a bit easy for a few days I think. It's a shame cos I missed my silver award on Friday night (I'm good at missing those awards) and I'm going to miss a gundog training session on Sunday cos they don't think i'm up to it. Still, at least I have been on a couple of proper walks now so hopefully I will bounce back soon.