BOXER ADVENTURES

 The boys got a herding ball today.  And, they are not a herding breed.  They had no idea what to do!! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jennifer Hudson Mosher (@jenhudsonmosher)

 It was 75 degrees today!  I couldn't wait to get home from work and go for a run.  Even though it was mostly cloudy and windy, it was humid and it was pretty clear it was too warm for Sisko to run, so Marc took him for a walk while I headed out with Booker. As always as soon as we get some warm weather, everyone was outside.  Since we live in a very rural area, the houses are spaced out on our road and I pretty much know which houses have dogs and whether they are loose or have electric fences and whether they are aggressive or friendly. But today we ran by a house where I never see anyone - human or animal - out and about, but tonight there was a man out and his 2 large labs went after us. The guy was screaming at them to come back (their names were Maverick and Goose 😄) and they completely ignored him.  Since we were on the opposite side of the road, they would have been smushed if anyone was driving by but they got lucky. We stopped running and the one lab ...

 A little aside here.  If you have been reading this blog at all, you obviously know about my um....obsession?....with running.  What some of you might not know is that for most of my life I never ran.  I was morbidly obese.  I made a life change and started eating right and exercising and it was especially running that helped me melt the pounds away.   That also means I have some weird and unhealthy thoughts at times.  Like I MUST run or I instantly become obese again.   So today I woke up and I have been doing longer runs with the dogs on Saturdays.  It was warm and extremely windy and my head told me I had to run.  Because that's what happens on Saturday, right? I looked at the dogs.  I truly believe they love running with me.  They get hugely excited when I put on running clothes and actually run to the door and look up at their collars. But I asked myself what they would love more.  A long off leash hike on ...

 Today was not terribly cold on its own but the winds were VICIOUS. Judging by the forecast that might have been the last run of freezing my butt off for hopefully many months. While I am thrilled about that, it also means that we are heading into weather where Sisko won't be running.  He has very little heat tolerance at all. It remains to be seen how Booker will do with the heat.  He is thinner and his fawn coat doesn't absorb the heat nearly as much as Sisko's dark coat. But today I was just happy to get it done!

 I am disappointed to report that after Sisko's surgery just over a year ago to remove the excess gum tissue the gums are growing back rapidly.  This is a genetic condition and there's not a lot that can be done about it. I love my dogs, but paying $2000 - $2500 to have the gums removed when the surgery is only lasting a year is not realistic.  Not only that, but since he has to be put under general anesthesia as he get solder this would be increasingly risky. There is some evidence that brushing daily may  help by decreasing the amount of bacteria in the mouth.  Some experts believe the overgrowth is triggered by an over-reaction to bacteria in the mouth. But brushing a dogs teeth is somewhat like wrestling an alligator!  Yes, Sis is a good boy and would probably let me but I was looking for a different solution. So I ended up buying these dental wipes . They came in a 2 pack and are reasonably priced. You slide the bad on your finger  The pad is mois...

 While I am appreciating running with my boys, we have a routine going on.  It's working well, but geez, I'm looking forward to a new routine - one that involves WARM sun and the beach!   But for now, as we enter March, I'm doing what I can.  Today it was 28 degrees, but with a bone chilling 25 mph wind.  I wasn't sure we'd get in many miles, but I wanted to get them out for at least some air. We got about 1.5 miles in when from our right a white tailed deer came running out in front of us.  She began running down the road in front of us. Oh boy, Booker wanted to give chase so badly!  He did pull a bit but managed to not yank me off my feet!  I was really proud of him.   I could only take the wind blowing straight at me for so long and finally turned around.  The wind from behind was a relief.  We got back to the house and both dogs were still ready to run, so we doubled back and then turned on to the main road for a littl...

 And if it doesn't fit, I sit anyway!