Groomer Day. Jan 8th.
10 pm
Bubba got up once to pee. Apart from that, the guys stayed crashed out the rest of the night. No games, no nagging me for treats, no neediness for attention – these guys were wiped out. They’re always tired on groomer day, but this was extreme, but not a huge surprise or anything to worry about. They really didn’t nap the entire day, and they were playing at the groomer for hours, longer than usual. We left at just after 10 am, and were gone almost 5 hours in total. Then they were up until they finally crashed out at 7.
Dinner was chicken, topped with cheese, on a bed of hot dogs. No roast beef. They ate almost all of that. The second round of dry food, after they ravenously devoured the first bowl, was left untouched the rest of the day.
7 pm
Both guys are snoring. Bubba vanished at around 6:45. I found him in one of the non-throne beds in the bedroom. I crouched down to pet him a bit. I would have put the blanket over him, but he was laying on it so I couldn’t get a part of it to pull over him.
I went back out to the living room to work. A few minutes later, he came out, got into the bed by the front door and fell asleep quickly, and then the snoring began, almost immediately, from both of them. They really didn’t sleep all day, so both guys were short a lot of normal napping time.
2:50 pm
The guys are home. We walked back briskly from the groomer. The guys show no sign of feeling unwell, except for what’s coming out the back ends.
Buddy was in a big hurry to move along after we got out of the groomer, after he stopped to pee. I figured that meant he needed a poop, so I took the guys out the back way, where there’s huge planter space along the sidewalk. We’d have to walk all the way up and past The Point if we went the front way. Bubba is still afraid to go up that way. He was afraid to go up the stairs, and still crouching defensively after getting to the sidewalk. Buddy pooped, and it was quite foul-smelling, so I wanted to go down the hill, instead of towards home, so we could stop at the trash can at the corner. I didn’t want to carry that all the way back to NBT. It looked much closer to normal poop, though. Still liquidy, but improving, and like poop, not like snot.
I had put fresh food out to marinade before leaving to pick the guys up, so it would be soft when we got back, and fresh. In five minutes time the guys emptied the bowl, and licked it clean. They were hungry. So the digestive issues did not curb the appetites at all.
1:25 pm
In retrospect, I should have cancelled the grooming and cleaning. Whatever Buddy has, Bubba now also has; the dogs probably should not be in with the other dogs.
It may be something in the food, but if it’s a contagious bug, we just introduced Patient Zero into the general population. I should have known better. I was too-focused on making sure I kept all the appointments to think about
Before the groomer trip, we had most bathroom break walk. It was just Buddy, and his poop is back to looking like the sticky snot. Both guys had the runs out on the deck overnight – it’s obvious because one guys leaves cohesive piles, the other shotgun blasts and area. Bubba didn’t want to put his harness on to come out for the first walk. I wondered if this would finally be the groomer day where it was difficult to get them out. Buddy had already pooped, and Bubba was resistant, so they might be difficult to get out an hour later.
But it’s the guys, and they do the opposite of what’s expected. We went right out on our way to the spa.
You’d never know either guy was sick. Buddy jogged ahead of me and Bubba, and the pace to the groomer was quick. There were a lot of spots that needed re-marking, since the rain washed away a lot of scents previously left, but apart from that it was a quick journey and without resistance.
Bobbie was driving up just was we were leaving, about 20 minutes ahead of schedule. We stopped to say hi on our way out of the parking lot.
At the groomer, both guys went inside easily. When the interior gate was open, The Alpha went right in to lord over all of his [new] minions. Buddy was resistant again, and tried getting out the front gate, which was locked. It took the girl a bit of effort to get him to go inside the grooming area. I asked the girl to make sure to take care of Bubba’s nails. Yesterday he was sliding around on the floors inside the house, and he had a bit of a slip going down the stairs outside this morning. I want to make quite sure it’s taken care of before we’re back to him being afraid to walk on any smooth surface again.
As of 2pm, have not heard from the groomers. The shop wasn’t very busy, so not sure why it’s gotten so late. I’ll reach out in half an hour, and make sure they aren’t calling/texting the wrong person about the guys being ready.