Saturday the 23rd of May
5:30 pm
I tried to get a walk going, but neither guy was interested. I expected that, after all the treats an hour before dinner. Bubba got up to trick me into thinking it was walk time, for the 5th time today, and then nibbled a little dinner before going back to bed. Whatever was causing Bubba to whimper and look uncomfortable earlier has passed. He looks like he’s never been sick a day in his life, now.
4:15 pm
It took two days, but we finally got Bubba medicated. This time, Buddy helped with the psychology in an unexpected way.
I tried different treats and mixtures to entice Bubba into taking his medication. He ate dinner, and day food, but wasn’t eating treats for some reason; including treats not mixed with medication. The liver treats, which he usually finds absolutely irresistible, he was turning his nose up at. Jealous is usually the go-to solution, and when Bubba sees Buddy getting treats, The Alpha decides he should be getting the treats first. But that wasn’t working as well, today. I decided to try waiting out his resistance, rather than just a one-shot attempt.
I got my phone so I could text while I waited, grabbed Bubba’s medication mixing cup, and the bag of liver treats, so I could keep feeding pieces to Buddy for Bubba to see. I sat down on the floor outside the kitchen, leaning against the wall to stay somewhat comfortable while I worked. It worked, but it wasn’t jealousy that solved the problem, it was the bag of liver treats. Bubba ignored what I was doing with Buddy and stayed glued to the bag of treats. It was too tall for him to poke his nose into the opening, but he could smell the high-concentrated aroma of the treat he loves wafting up from the mouth of the bag. The smell turned him into a madman. I peppered the medicine-wet food mix with some liver treats, then put little balls of the mix onto the floor next to me. Bubba attacked them as soon as they hit the floor. Then after the few seconds it took for the treats to be gone, he would look up at me, his eyes telling me it was time for the next scoup.
And very quickly, it was all gone. Then Bubba wandered over to the spot on the rug where Buddy always eats his treats. He sniffed around looking for scraps, then after finding nothing he turned himself into a little Bubba Ball in the fireplace bed and went back to sleep.
1:20 pm
We walked over to the dog park, where we ran into Shayna and Sadie just coming out for a walk. We stopped to chat and visit a few minutes. The guys both like Sadie. After the chat we went out and up to the gate out to PCH, and then down the path back to home.
Neither guy pooped, and we walked about 25 minutes. Both guys looked tired when we got back. Bubba ate some dry food, then jumped into the piano bed and passed right out. Buddy hopped up on the couch seat next to me, to sleep and keep me company while I worked.
1:15 pm
Bubba was in the fireplace bed. He started whimpering, repeatedly. He does that on occasion, usually a few times, then he shifts into a different position and the whimpering stops. But this kept going, and he sounded uncomfortable. I got up to go check on him. The whimpering continued, so I sat down next to him. I noticed that his breathing was uneasy, and not smooth. He would breathe in smoothly, then his ribcage would contract, like he was pushing out a heavy sigh. This was with every breath. I sat next to him for a while, trying to soothe him, hoping that whatever was bothering him was temporary and short-term.
He kept closing his eyes, but would open them, like he was checking if I was there or not, like he didn’t feel safe being asleep with me so close. He seemed to really want to sleep, but was struggling with me there, so I moved back to the couch to work – but just sat watching him.
Five minutes later, he got up, stretched, and wanted to walk.
12:15 pm
After several false alarms, where one or more of the guys pretended to want to walk, only to run away once I stopped working and got up, Buddy finally gave in. He had to be almost suffering. He hadn’t been out for a bathroom run all morning.
Bubba tricked Buddy. Buddy was dozing off and on in the recliner. Bubba got up from the piano bed to head over by the front door, where he let me finally put on his harness. Naturally that was Buddy’s signal, and Buddy launched himself off the recliner to make sure he wasn’t late for the walk. But once he got leashed, Bubba walked away, back to the piano bed.
Buddy and I went out past the mailboxes, over to the path up to PCH, where he stopped for a bathroom break. After that we turned around and went home. It was a walk with purpose, not for leisure or exercise.
9 am
Both guys were awake when I showed up. Both immediately got up, which looked like we were going out, but they were very resistant to walking. Bubba started playing, which got Buddy excited about games, and we were playing chase and games with the bunny while I tried getting the house in order. There were no accidents, but both pee pads already needed changing. I tried a couple of times to get harnesses on, but both guys would run when I tried.
I sat down on the floor right outside the kitchen, and Buddy and I played keep-away with the bunny. Bubba paced around. He didn’t want treats when I gave them out, or want to walk. He would stop and stare at me, and his eyes would droop. He was up, but he was too tired to be up yet. Bubba walked into the bedroom. I assumed he wanted to go back to sleep in a place with less chaos from crazy guys playing with bunnies. I didn’t notice him go outside and poop on the deck until after I stood up again. Either I was really focused on the game, or Bubba has developed new stealth skills.