So, I'm going on week 5 of this never-ending illness that seems to be going around. Just last Thursday night I responded to a friend's text stating that yes, I was feeling on the mend and ready to partake in activities that weekend after a long bout of bronchitis...and then woke up Friday morning with a head cold! My classroom is like a petrie dish right now - germs are just being passed around. Since it is harder to call in sick and prepare for a sub than it is just to go to work sick, the last few weeks I've been absolutely worthless when I get home from school. Week 1, Rigby dealt with it. She's usually pretty understanding when I'm under the weather. By week two, she was having none of it! I wasn't getting up early to walk her because I felt so rotten when I woke in the morning, and by the time I got home from work the only thing I had energy for was crawling into bed. Rigby wasn't a fan. Feeling neglectful, I took her to pet store and we found some toys - toys that were so expensive I went home and bought them on Amazon. Just two days later, they were delivered, and I had one happy puppy!
One of the toys is a tennis ball wrapped in rubber stripes. It is very bouncy and gets her jumping around while chasing after it. I also finally got a "Chuck It". I've seen this toy around a lot, but I worried that my yard was just not big enough for its long throwing arm. At the pet store, I noticed there are actually different sized arms which was great news. The medium one is far better for the size of the yard, and it let's me be a bit lazy by not having to bend down and pick up the ball every time. The last toy is by far the best one though. It's also made by the "Chuck It" people, but it's called a Kick Fetch Ball. The ball is about the size of a soccer ball, but it has deep, wide ridges that allow her to grab it with her teeth and bring it back to me. She LOVES it.
We've had an old soccer ball in the backyard for the last several years. She popped it so was able to get a hold of it, but it's not all that easy to kick a flat soccer ball. I was usually more tired after playing than she was. This ball makes her work. Not only does it go farther when I kick it, she also has to figure out how to carry it back. She spins it with her feet, bumps it with her nose, all the while turning it over and over looking for a good place to grasp. It looks like she's actually playing soccer.
She wears out quicker than I do now.
For the last few mornings, we've gone on some short walks - stopping just before coughing up a lung. Even so, she greets me at the door when I get home from work with this ball in her mouth. She runs around me with it for about 5 minutes, growling, before she drops it at my feet and is ready to play. She's such a moose, bounding around the backyard - looks a little like this...
Ahhh, you poor pet, gentile hugs. What's up, people don't get sick like that unless something is up. This sounds like a very bad sequence of illness from very different places. Usually the first is the worst, then either you don't get it again or it lessens with each iteration. But what you say is either a bug that is resistant and isn't actually being killed, but getting stronger. I assume you've been to a doc. I'd check your nearby area for flowering plants for that might go some way to explain your susceptibility for if what you say here you are generally as healthy as a horse and with plenty of bounce. You know if your health insurance will stand it you should get that battery of tests for allergies. The Rigby looks well cute. And it seems she doesn't mind being photographed. And yeah, the COST of toys. Hell !, and then they dispatch then.
I've found that because of my asthma and allergies, anything bronchial tends to linger for awhile. And this head cold, I'm thinking it's unrelated, but maybe with the immune system already fighting a battle, it snuck it's way in. I keep threatening to go get checked for the allergies, when I'm dealing with it. Afterwards, I don't think of it until I'm suffering again. :) I'll tell you though, outlook on life is quite different when you're sleep deprived after staying up coughing night after night. Now that the cough has subsided and I'm sleeping through the night, things looks a heck of a lot better. :) Yes, Rigby takes good pics when she's standing still. I tried so hard to capture her activity with this ball. Every single one came out blurry since she's moving so fast.
Yes, toys - especially those for "aggressive chewers/players" - are terribly expensive! Sounds like you got some good ones, though, that will hopefully last awhile. Rigby looks totally worn out and satisfied in the bottom shot. :) I remember getting one of our Rotties an "almost indestructible dog ball" before we even brought her home and it lasted her entire life. It was extremely hard plastic and she knocked it around the yard barking and crying at it as if she were playing soccer. Many hours of enjoyment! Oh..and love the horse clip !!(and I'm not even a horse person)
I hate that you can't seem to shake what you've got. As long as your doc is aware of the situation, I guess you just have to ride it out. I remember mine telling me once that a cough can hang on for weeks after an illness. I know being in the midst of all those germs at school doesn't help either. Try to rest when you can and go back to the doctor if you think you need to! (sorry..the bossy "mother" in me comes out at times like this!)
Once you see how the toys hold up to their play, they are worth it compared to those that fall apart with one shake of the head. Even so, it's shocking to see a $30+ price tag on a dog toy. Yes, mom, rest rest rest. :) Just sitting around is not something I do well at all, but it's all I want to do right now, so I am. The cough definitely took it out of me. There were days that I felt just fine other than just being exhausted from the coughing. The congestion of the cold brought it back some, but not the hard barking cough that it was. Thank goodness. And as I said above, not sleeping due to it was rough. That's over now, so definitely on the mend.
Ahhh, you poor pet, gentile hugs.
ReplyDeleteWhat's up, people don't get sick like that unless something is up. This sounds like a very bad sequence of illness from very different places.
Usually the first is the worst, then either you don't get it again or it lessens with each iteration. But what you say is either a bug that is resistant and isn't actually being killed, but getting stronger.
I assume you've been to a doc.
I'd check your nearby area for flowering plants for that might go some way to explain your susceptibility for if what you say here you are generally as healthy as a horse and with plenty of bounce.
You know if your health insurance will stand it you should get that battery of tests for allergies.
The Rigby looks well cute. And it seems she doesn't mind being photographed. And yeah, the COST of toys. Hell !, and then they dispatch then.
I've found that because of my asthma and allergies, anything bronchial tends to linger for awhile. And this head cold, I'm thinking it's unrelated, but maybe with the immune system already fighting a battle, it snuck it's way in.
DeleteI keep threatening to go get checked for the allergies, when I'm dealing with it. Afterwards, I don't think of it until I'm suffering again. :) I'll tell you though, outlook on life is quite different when you're sleep deprived after staying up coughing night after night. Now that the cough has subsided and I'm sleeping through the night, things looks a heck of a lot better. :)
Yes, Rigby takes good pics when she's standing still. I tried so hard to capture her activity with this ball. Every single one came out blurry since she's moving so fast.
Yes, toys - especially those for "aggressive chewers/players" - are terribly expensive! Sounds like you got some good ones, though, that will hopefully last awhile. Rigby looks totally worn out and satisfied in the bottom shot. :) I remember getting one of our Rotties an "almost indestructible dog ball" before we even brought her home and it lasted her entire life. It was extremely hard plastic and she knocked it around the yard barking and crying at it as if she were playing soccer. Many hours of enjoyment! Oh..and love the horse clip !!(and I'm not even a horse person)
ReplyDeleteI hate that you can't seem to shake what you've got. As long as your doc is aware of the situation, I guess you just have to ride it out. I remember mine telling me once that a cough can hang on for weeks after an illness. I know being in the midst of all those germs at school doesn't help either. Try to rest when you can and go back to the doctor if you think you need to! (sorry..the bossy "mother" in me comes out at times like this!)
Once you see how the toys hold up to their play, they are worth it compared to those that fall apart with one shake of the head. Even so, it's shocking to see a $30+ price tag on a dog toy.
DeleteYes, mom, rest rest rest. :) Just sitting around is not something I do well at all, but it's all I want to do right now, so I am. The cough definitely took it out of me. There were days that I felt just fine other than just being exhausted from the coughing. The congestion of the cold brought it back some, but not the hard barking cough that it was. Thank goodness. And as I said above, not sleeping due to it was rough. That's over now, so definitely on the mend.
oh hope you feel better soon.. being sick sucks.
ReplyDelete