Kickball Photos

Photos from a recent kickball game with Gracie. Watching my 11-year-old dog run and play so vigorously makes me happy and proud to be her Doggie Chef:

Gracie Playing --- Photos

Recent photos of Gracie leaping for a tennis ball while we played fetch:

With muscles tensed and eyes, ears and nose alert; Gracie focuses on the ball as I throw it:



Then she springs forward, mouth open, to catch the ball as it bounces off the ground:

Gracie often leaps gracefully leap into the air to catch her tennis ball:

Chicken Breakfast 5-11-10

Roast chicken

Homemade wheat bread

Cooked barley

Zucchini (a few thin slices, cooked in canola oil)

Yogurt

Bone meal powder

Gracie Playing in the Yard

Gracie taking a break after playing fetch in the yard today:

Watch the brief, soundless video footage below to see how well Gracie's doing:

Frozen Peanut Butter In A Kong Toy

I occasionally give Gracie a special treat: peanut butter treat in a rubber Kong Toy. Using a butter knife, I smear about one tablespoon of peanut butter around the inside of the Kong Toy. It takes Gracie a while to lick out all the peanut butter and it keeps her happy and busy while we're watching television.

Recently someone told me to freeze the peanut butter in the Kong Toy, to make the treat last longer. Last week I smeared peanut butter in Gracie's Kong Toy and put it in the freezer for a few hours. It looked like this:

She loved it!

I'm not sure if freezing the peanut butter in the Kong Toy actually makes the treat last longer, but Gracie did enjoy it for quite a while. It's sure to be a welcome treat on hot summer days!

Heartworm Prevention -- Yes Or No?

A postcard from Gracie's vet arrived today:

It's time for Gracie to get an annual heartworm test and a supply of heartworm preventive medicine.

The annual heartworm regimen always makes me uncomfortable. It seems risky to give my healthy dog this medication every year. Yet the risk of her contracting a potentially deadly heartworm infection seems worse.

I give Gracie regular Heartgard for dogs. Regular Heartgard contains only ivermectin --- the antiparasitic medication that prevents heartworm disease. Heartgard Plus contains ivermectin and pyrantel --- to treat and control roundworms and hookworms. I've considered using Heartgard Plus because Gracie eats wild rabbit poop in our yard (click here to see a post about that) and I was afraid she would contract worms from the rabbits. Yet I had her tested for worms two separate years, and the results were always negative. So I decided Gracie doesn't need extra medicine to prevent worms.

According to the Heartgard Product Information Sheet (found here on the Heartgard website), "The initial dose must be given a month (30 days) after the dog's first exposure to mosquitoes. The final dose must be given within a month (30 days) after the dog's last exposure to mosquitoes."

I figure the mosquitoes in our neighborhood don't get active until May or June so I wait until late May or early June to have Gracie tested for heartworm and started on Heartgard. I give her Heartgard only four times a year instead of the recommended six doses per year, with the last dose at the end of August or the beginning of September. That protects her until around the beginning of October when the mosquitoes are just about gone.

The older Gracie gets, the more hesitant I feel about giving her heartworm meds. In spite of the way she runs and leaps around the yard, Gracie's an older dog. I'm not so sure what's riskier to her health: giving her potentially dangerous heartworm medication, or taking a chance that she'll get heartworm disease.

I'll take Gracie for a heartworm test soon and talk it over with her vet. I'll update this post after I decide what to do about heartworm meds this year.

***POST UPDATE: Click here to see what I decided.

Spring 2010, age 11

This tree in our backyard blooms beautifully in the spring and turns gorgeous colors in autumn. I like photographing Gracie in front of this tree to show the passage of time. To see her in this same spot last autumn, click here.  

Life passes too quickly, especially for our beloved dogs. Their brief life span is a reminder to appreciate everything we love as much as we can --- while we can.