Quick Vet Visit

The vet came today to check whether my Quarter Horse mare (Borregos Maria) was with foal (she isn't for those who are wondering). Since he was here, he also gave Shawnee her second vaccination. DH was holding her and says that she didn't react any more than if someone was tickling her neck. Good girl!

Since her ears perked up, I'd noiced they had a bunch of gunk in them and I thought they looked a little red, so he checked that too. She was very good and let him look, but we've been practicing handling a lot lately. The good news is that it is just a bit of wax in her ears. Nothing to worry about. I was afraid it could be the beginning of osmething (I've had a cat get ear mites before. UCK!) and figured it was best to have it checked since he was here anyway.

DH is home today with a sore back. If the girls are lucky, he'll take them for a walk later. The chiropractor told him to walk as much as possible to help with the back problem.

We picked up an inexpensive reflective harness for Shawnee the other day (with a ring on the back, not the front) and I'm eager to hear how it goes with that. She is just big enough to fit a size M adjusted all the way in, so it can grow with her. A size M all the way out would jsut fit Molly, so it may even work when she is all grown up. Molly has her front lead harness and we have a car safety harness that can also be used for walking.

Another Update

I'm sorry for falling behind in posts. Molly is not very happy about it either. But I've had a bug or something and been sick for a few days.

Molly hasn't had much in the way of training sessions, but she's been working with regular retrieves and taking care of me. She's also really been showing off how great she is at coming when called.

Friday we took my Quarter mare to the stallion and Molly came along, of course. It was a lot of slower driving in really hot weather, but she didn't seem to mind. We did have to make sure that she got plenty of water. She stayed calm in the car despite other dogs barking at her and horses round.

On the way home, we took a different route that included a ferry crossing. She was so calm that we're not sure she even noticed the change! The ferry was noisy and much different than driving.

Today Molly had a big first in public access. We took her into a very busy regular store. The store is called "Tiger" and is the Danish equivalent of the dollar stores in the US. I was in my wheelchair and DH pushed. With him pushing, I could focus on where Molly was and what she was doing.

She took everything in stride and was quiet and well-mannered the entire time. I had decided to take my chances on being asked to leave--DK law doesn't guarantee SD access to that sort of store--but even though store workers saw us, no one said anything. She was in her vest and perfectly behaved. The store was really crowded and there were people all over. Molly didn't solicit attention although she was very alert to all the people. The worst for her was a little kid in front of us that kept staring at her and was swinging around a toy golf club. But she could still sit on command and stay with me.

We also discovered how little attention people pay to people in wheelchairs. A very rude man butted in front of me in line like I wasn't even there. We'd been leaving a little space so Molly wasn't right up to the kid, but not that much space. When my DH commented to him that we were there first, the man got very rude and insulted my husband!

Even then Molly stayed calm and behaved perfectly. She was also great just walking in the street. I kept her leash pretty short so she couldn't get all over, but still--she wasn't fighting me and just ran along beside my wheelchair.

Needless to say, she's gotten lots of praise. We also spent a little time playing outside all three of us together in a shady area here at home. If we can, we'll make a quick run to the beach, too, so she can have a good play.