Happy Holidays from Michaelangelo & His Mamma!!!!

I've been trying for days to get a family photo of me, the kids and the Horses for the holidays! Well, here are a couple of holiday pix for ya!
Happy Holidays!!!

For Christmas, Michael got a new raincoat for the winter to keep him at least a little dry during our walks this rainy season!!! Handsomest doggy around!!!

Latest Adventures in Dog town.......

I have a great contest for any of your dog owners!!!!
Go to Beauty of the Breeds
and send in a picture or video of your dog to win
ONE YEAR of FREE EUKANUBA for your dog!!!
GOOD LUCK!!!


Michael loves company and he loves Angela cuz she lets him have some lap time when she's visiting....

Michael got a new collar when David went up to Seattle to shop for his store recently. It's not just "any" old collar, it's an LED lighted collar, and it's very, very cool! You can see more information about Pet Lights here....He actally loves it and one night was sitting beside me begging for me to put it on him!!!

Here I am showcasing my prowess with handling two small horses at one time!!!!

Michael Starts Training Classes with Mom.........

Michaelangelo and I are attending classes to teach me how to teach him!!! First night went pretty well! A lot of excitement, of course, there were some puppies in there, and Michael, of course, wanted to talk and play with eveyone! We have homework to do, as well, and we'll work on the basic tricks we learned till next week! I'm excited because our trainer has worked with Fraser's dog (which sadly, died a couple of months ago....), on the Dogs and Cats movie, among others!!! The trainer ALSO has not one, but TWO Jack Russells and a Rat Terrier (they are cousins, basically) of her own - soo she can reaaaaalllyy identify with my Hunter baby!!!

Wild Child at the Park.....

Michaelangelo is the quintessential Jack Russell. I have done a bit of reading about his breed, and he really is an incredible dog, definitely capable of doing what his breed was made to do!! HUNT! Michael is quite the hunter, having caught and killed a squirrel in the park we go to (almost) daily! It was quite the experience for me (the first and only one so far!!) and the event cost me $130 in vet billing to get him seen to, since the squirrel bit him a few times under this chin!

Michael and I are starting some Doggie Classes on Monday!! Hopefully, since the girl "training" us has two Jack Russells herself, she will be able to have some extra "Jack" related tips for me and my wild child!!! Today he pulled his leash right out of my hand when I made the mistake to stop and chit chat with a lady who has a beautiful Golden Retriever - to go do his hunting thing - chasing squirrels right up a tree! It was a split second and he was already over at the tree!!! I was on my butt on the sidewalk (I was bending down petting the lady's dog and Michael was looking at the trees, saw a squirrel and flash! he was off before I knew it....pulled me down on my butt on the sidewalk!!!) and then off to chase him down! Anyway! Wish us luck!!!

Day 4 Obs & Notes

Did not use spray. Little scratching, if any. Good all around day for Michael!

Day 3 Observation and Notes

Spray applied in morning and night, both before walks.

Michael seems to be scratching MUCH less!

I did notice, however, that by 9:30pm, he was scratching a bit more again. I had not applied the spray or walked him for the night. Applied spray, went for our walk, and no scratching for the rest of the night.

Day 2 Observations and Notes

7am Michael woke and was starting to scratch. Found two fleas on him, got 'em, flushed 'em....
Looks a little less pink. ?

Day 1 on Spray and Journaling Observations.....

Sept. 6th - Saw Dr. Johnson about the itching problem. Michael seems to have seasonal allergies as apparently lots of other dogs do, to pollens, etc. The flea meds have not seemed to do much for the control of fleas, but we have tried the Frontline Plus and it didn't seem to do much. Will bump up the application to every 3 weeks now.

RX:

• Frontline Plus every 3 weeks. Next application due September 27th
• Topical Steroid Spray. Twice daily for 2 - 3 days. Then taper to 1 x daily, then every couple of days, then every 3 days and so on.
  
• Continue with Flaxseed Oil on food 1x per day

Notes: Applied spray and Frontline Plus 4pm
By 10 pm Still scratching and trying to lick and bite spots most of night. Kept him close by me at all times and gave puppy kong to keep him occupied.

Michael's Observation Journal

I needed to start a little observation journal for Michael and his current itching/scratching problem and with the appliation of this new antidote, want to track and monitor his progress daily. I want to see if his symptoms are only seasonal (which I believe they are!) or what, and how long into fall/winter does he have them.....Gives me a fun organized way to keep up with it, not on a notebook I can lay down and misplace!!! This is great because I can post photos of the handsome guy too!!