A Lot of News

Cody has injured his paw yet again...this time at the dog park!  I can only figure that the ground here is so dry that it's similar to running on concrete.  This one doesn't seem quite as painful, but it is problematic.  I'm keeping him fairly quiet, but I'm having a lot of trouble keeping him from licking the sore spot.  Poor Cody is now in the cone of shame.  :(

Of course, this leaves me concerned.  Yes, I'm worried about Cody's paw, but that's will heal easily.  I'm concerned about the lack of rain here.  It hasn't rained since some time in early August (at least not a good rain).  My yard is starting to look like a scene from the dust bowl, and when the dogs run around we're all lost in a cloud of dirt.  I want to bust up the concrete in the back yard and plant grass seed, but water restrictions are preventing us from watering anything enough to actually sustain growth.  I was hoping to plant new flowers in the front last week, but again the lack of water stopped us.  They're calling for rain this weekend, and I can only pray they're right.

In Other News...

Bark in the Park is TOMORROW!  I'm way more nervous than I should be.  I'm scared I don't have enough supplies for all the people.  Last year's crowd was a bit smaller due to some rainy weather, but tomorrow is forecast to be 90 degrees and sunny with low humidity.  I'm also worried that I'll forget something super important.  I suppose the most important thing to have is myself and a few cards, but you never know.  I'm also worried that I won't be able to get everything done.  I have a list about a mile long and only a few short hours left to do it in.  Of course, I'm procrastinating and blogging, but it is a bit of a stress relief.

Coming back to Cody's paw, I'm also worried about him going tomorrow.  I'm debating if I should bandage his paw as a safety precaution, or if I should just take bandages along.  I'm not really worried about infection because I'm keeping everything clean and treating with a topical anti-biotic, but I am worried about re-injury.

I'm also worried about getting Cody enough exercise before the big event so he's a bit more mellow tomorrow.  Last year I took him to the dog park, sent him to doggy day care, went jogging every morning, and let him play with Mom's dogs.  Not only that, but he had a fairly late night and an early morning (something none of us enjoyed).  By the time the event came around Cody was TIRED.  By the end of the event he was trying to pull me back to the table so he could lie behind it and fall asleep.  I'm trying to keep him as active as possible, but I don't want to push it.  I'll take him for a walk today, but it's not quite the same.  Tommy has done a good job of wearing him out so far, but even so I'd rather he not play that much.  I guess I'll just have to play it by ear.

Woof, Wag, Walk

And in more news, Hanover Parks and Recreation is having a dog / pet event on October 23rd, and they've chosen me to be their obedience demonstrator!  I'll be doing two demonstrations.  For the first, I've asked a few past clients to join me, and we'll all demonstrate what our dogs have learned.  I'm still waiting to hear back from a few clients, but things are lining up nicely so far.  In the second demonstration, I plan on demonstration how to teach your dog a good stay.  So many people start off thinking their dog should hold a 30 minute stay from the get-go.  It's frustrating!  I'm going to follow that up with a stay competition and award a prize to the dog / owner duo with the best stay.  I'm so excited!!

Well, wish me luck for all my events tomorrow (and for the next month), pray that Cody heals quickly, and really pray for rain.  Thanks!