Eurasier Don vom Isselbruch - Eurasier puppy to young dog - Two years old and onwards

Eurasier Don vom Isselbruch, Diary part 5 Diary 1: until the 4th month Diary 2: the 4th to 6th month Diary 3: 6 months to 1 year Diary 4: 1 to 2 years Diary 5: 2 years old and onwards:
	2008	For almost two full years, Don enjoyed regular training sessions first in puppy school, then in dog school. This did him a world of good. My time is now restricted, and so we stopped attending dog school. Eurasier males need (at least ...) three years until they are fully grown, so with his two years, Don is not yet considered an "adult". He is still a greenhorn, with "fluff" behind his ears. There are still a few small things we could improve on. I am confident, we will. Our daily life still has a lot of interesting things to offer Don, e.g there are a few humans he likes very much and who enjoy seeing him, and we also meet his "doggy friends" and other dogs during our walks. With Blikki, Don even has dog company at home.
	20 January	Blikki's fangtooth had been pulled on December 24th. Just to make sure everything is healing well, I drove to the veterinary clinic with her right at the beginning of the new year. The vet confirmed the wound from pulling her fang tooth is healing nicely. Meanwhile, Blikki is doing fine and our life is as always: Blikki romps and plays wildly with Don, dry food is no problem for Blikki, Blikki eats her beloved carrots, and enjoys her rawhide chews again. Don turned two years old on January 15. Blikki turned eight years old today, January 20.
	February	We had a little snow, and Blikki and Don just loved our longer walks. The higher up we came, the more snow we found. Blikki and Don had lots of fun in the snow. The sun was out, too, and it seemed that spring was just around the corner. Since February 29th, Blikki is on heat again ...
	March	Well, spring is not here yet ... Heavy storms are predicted during the first week of March. And we had some more snow here ... Of course Don noticed that Blikki is in heat. The first five days of her heat, I do not need to keep the two separate, but I do keep them under close supervision. During one of our walks, Blikki charmed a castrated dog she knows and likes very much. He only had eyes for Blikki. Don tried to get the attention of Blikki and this dog, with whom he usually likes to play, but without success. Don experienced that he is not always the center of attention. We carried on with our walk, and Don nudged Blikki with his nose a few times as if he wanted to make sure she still likes him. Meanwhile, only a few days later, Don's interest in Blikki grew immensely, and I now have to keep the two of them separate in the house and take each for their own walks. During these special times, Blikki lives in our kitchen, living- and dining room. Don lives in our study, bedroom and the big hallway. Over the day, I divide my presence and my attention between the two.
		Wishing you all a Happy Easter. Enjoy a few relaxing days and wonderful walks with your dogs. Just in time for Easter, Blikki's heat was over. On Easter Sunday, the weather around Euskirchen was icy, but the sun was out. We went for a wonderful, long walk, and Blikki and Don had lots of fun looking for their treats: Over night it had snowed a little, and so Easter Monday greeted us with dark clouds. But surprisingly, our walk through the fields and woods stayed fairly dry. It was fun, as the sun peeked through the clouds, and even warmed us. Back at home, there was heavy snow fall in the afternoon. April weather is early this year ;-)
	30. March	At last we got some spring weather !!! We go for a hike through the Eifel. Don and Blikki enjoy our hike very much, they sniffle here and there, and they find plenty of fresh water from the brooks and smaller lakes. Blikki and Don even decide to take a short and refreshing bath in the water. Spring is here ...
	5. April	In the afternoon, we had a very nice visitor. A warmhearted lady, who loves dogs. Already as a child, she grew up with Eurasiers. While enjoying coffee, tea and cake, we exchanged many memories and experiences. We fully enjoyed this visit and so did Blikki and Don. BOTH immediately allowed this lady to pat and cuddle them, which is especially worth noting as this is rather unusual for our reserved Blikki. We had also planned to go for a walk together, but the weather was just too miserable, much too rainy. So Blikki and Don only got their longer walk in the morning and a short one in the early evening ... and got wet each time. During the visit, I tried to lure Blikki and Don into the garden, but they preferred to stay inside, in the dry, with our nice visitor, instead of going out into the rain.
	11./12. April	In the morning, we had nice weather and I made a few pictures of Blikki and Don. In the afternoon, we drove to Mannheim, to a big birthday celebration of a close relative. Blikki and Don were explicitely invited and very welcome, too. We all had a wonderful time in a first class restaurant. We were spoiled with good food and good service, and ... with Blikki and Don winning hearts again.
		During March/April there were quite a few official events we had to attend, such as receptions, dinners, welcome and farewell parties, etc. Of course, Blikki and Don cannot come along to such events. They have to stay at home then. But that is not a problem. In most cases, we manage to stick to their daily routine, roughly maintaining their usual feeding times and times for walks. That makes it easier for them. They have access to all our rooms then, but I guess they mostly sleep while we are out.
	May	Sunny and very warm weather let Don's coat start to blow. His underwool is coming out in masses, in huge, loose fluffs. Daily brushing and combing are now a must. Blikki already blew her coat before her heat in March. This sunny spell must be used and so we treat ourselves to a short visit to the Zoo in Cologne - as a rare exception - without Blikki and Don. At the Zoo, we can see other animals in the process of changing their coat, too! Peter managed to make quite a few lovely, expressive pictures of some animals. He added one of his best pictures on his website reachback (and I hope I can convince him to publish a few more from his collection). The season is now in full swing in the Zuchtgemeinschaft fuer Eurasier e.V. (ZG) . There you can find the dates and details for ZG Eurasier events, meetings and walks. This year I do not have much time, and I was therefore very happy that I managed to visit the ZG Specialty Breed Show in Kirrlach. I could already get a lot of loose underwool out, but I have to continue brushing and combing Don daily, as the wool is still sitting in some places. Yesterday we went for our walk while it was raining, a light drizzle. After Blikki and Don were dry again, their fur smelled like a fresh meadow and it feels really soft now, specially rinsed by rain. It is now double and triple fun to cuddle them.
	End of May, beginning of June	Hot and humid weather, grass and other things ... and the ears need our undivided attention. Blikki has a slight ear infection in her left ear (Otitis), Don has a really heavy otitis in his right ear. I therefore went to see our vet on Saturday, May 31. Don seemed to be in pain due to the infected ear, which is why he got a painkiller in form of a shot and some antibiotics, in addition to the ear cleansing and ear drops. Blikki immediately felt much better after the vet had thoroughly and professionally cleaned her ear. The painkiller and antibiotics helped Don, and we could already see a huge improvement on Sunday. On Monday, the vet cleaned Don's ear again and she could now carefully examine his ear canal. Together with her helper, I assisted as good as I could by holding Don, but that was not easy. The ear canal makes a sharp bend and then goes deep down. Wherever I wanted to hold Don, I was actually pressing on his ear canal. Under those circumstances, the vet suggested I hold Don's snout. We tried that a while, but Don kept wiggling, pulling himself and his ear away. So that we could keep him better in place and concentrate on his ear, we finally decided to use a soft muzzle made of cloth for the short while it took to clean and examine his ear. There is also the aspect that a dog, when feeling pain, can react with a reflex to snap. Luckily, the examination did not find such a painful area. All in all, this special examination of the ear canal went much better with the soft muzzle. It did not take long until Don could be released from the examination table, and was without a muzzle. Immediately he was his happy self again. Well, grass, grass seeds or other grass parts were not the cause for the infection. The vet assumed maybe water - through e.g. swimming - could have been one cause for the infection. She suggested I should dry the ears after any contact with water. I believe the humid weather may have also played a role. Don now seems to feel much better and his infected ear looks healthier day by day. What a relief. Blikki and Don now both get the outer, visible part of the infected ear cleaned before they get their daily medicinal ear drops. In a week or so we will go to the vet and have the ears checked again.
	First week in June	A number of private affairs keep me busy and on my toes. Blikki and Don were wonderful and very understanding during a few really hard and difficult situations. These lasted a couple of days and were combined with long car trips, traffic jams and strange weather conditions. The main thing for Blikki and Don is that they may come along. Under normal circumstances, our focus is on Blikki and Don. But when that is not possible (as an exception), it seems that Blikki and Don have an antenna that tells them that others now need our care and attention. Especially Blikki can then be very patient and gentle. We were pleasantly surprised to see that Don also calmed down, put up with the situation, and made the best of it. After these difficult days, Blikki and Don were allowed to come along on a trip to Mannheim, into a first class restaurant there. There was a delicious meal with several courses on the menue for us people, followed by coffee and cake in the late afternoon. Blikki and Don behaved wonderfully. Even when a little thunder and lightning came up, Blikki and Don stayed calm and relaxed. Blikki and Don already knew that restaurant and most of the guests as they had been there at a similar occassion before. Back then, a number of guests (and the waitress!) had found a special place in their hearts, so that this time Blikki and Don let these people pat and cuddle them as much as they wanted ... Well, with Eurasiers that actually show a dignified, noble reserve towards strangers, sympathy and "know how to encounter Eurasiers" is very important and the key that can open doors. This very special group of people sure knows how to win the hearts of reserved Eurasiers - without using any treats!
	June	I am very busy: I have been looking for a suitable home for close relatives, had several visitors, and am now in the middle of organizing a move for close relatives. Blikki and Don are simply wonderful - even in such unusual situations. We have two great dogs.
Calgary - Frankfurt - Bonn Back at home in Germany What a welcome !	July 2008	For me, this was and is still a very busy time. From the start, it was uncertain whether I would find the time for the event in Calgary, Canada, but I actually did make it there! I managed to make myself free to stay there for a slightly prolonged weekend: I flew to Canada on Thursday, and back on Monday noon. during the lecture on Eurasier History A big THANK YOU to Josee for this picture! While I was gone, Peter cared for Blikki and Don. They were overwhelmed with joy when I came home again. I would have loved to stay a bit longer in Canada, for the whole week of the conference in Calgary, but the move I had organized for relatives was due.
	July til December 2008	Ever since that move, I spend a lot of time on behalf of these relatives. Often enough, I now rarely find time for much else ... That's just the way it is. That's life.
	January 2009	By the way, Don is now three years old, and could be considered as "grown up" - but he still runs around with the typical "young dog gait". He still keeps our nine-year old Blikki lively and fit. We have so much fun with our two Eurasiers. So you see, we are still alive and kicking :-)
	April/June 2009	This year, we did not take Blikki and Don along to both annual, family celebrations in Mannheim. Our neighbours developed a close friendship to Blikki and Don, and offered to care for the two while we were gone. All in all, this solution made six participants happy: Us, as we knew Blikki and Don in the best possible hands, and we could therefore fully enjoy the celebration in Mannheim, our neighbours, who have a big heart for dogs, and who were really looking forward to spending quality time with Blikki and Don, and - of course - Blikki and Don, who were cared for really well, ... and Blikki and Don just love these wonderful neighbours :-)
	July 5, 2009	It has been a really hot week, with temperatures of up to 32 degrees Celsius. We treat Blikki and Don to a leisurely, two hour walk around a lake. They think this is cool, so do we. And, when Blikki and Don come out of the water, they love to run towards us ... and then have a good shake. That way, we get a cool off, too ...
	10. July 2009	There is a sad reason for another trip, during which we cannot take Blikki and Don along. We are grateful that our neighbours can take care of Blikki and Don once again.
	15. November 2009	I am still very, very busy. I am so happy that we have Blikki and Don. They point my attention reliably towards their feeding time, time for a walk, playing time, time for cuddles, etc. Time I spend with them is sooo soothing and rewarding. This way, they see to it that I take necessary breaks - together with them - from the daily stress of life.
	13. December 2009	On Sunday morning, during breakfast, I noticed that the neighboor's roof displayed a light dusting of snow ... but that was all, there was no more snow in our neighboorhood. Hhhmmm, a walk through snow would be so much fun, and hurray: Only a few kilometers further into the Eifel it had really snowed. We could enjoy a long, winter walk. It was cold and dry, with lovely powdery snow. Blikki and Don were in their element.
	31 December 2009	Wishing you all a happy, healthy and good 2010 !
	January, February 2010	In January and February we had more lovely powdery snow, which Blikki and Don thoroughly enjoyed. Blikki made the impression that she was having so much fun in life...
	3. March 2010	... and then, all of a sudden, Blikki threw up twice daily, went off her food, and did not even want to nibble on some of her favourites. It did not get better, only worse, and so we turned to our vet and the animal clinic in Aachen, who both cooperated in trying to find the cause. During a full week, step by step, Blikki underwent all necessary diagnostic methods ... and in the end there was a result, for which there is no healing and no therapy. We did not want Blikki to have to carry on suffering with this. We opted to let her sleep forever. Blikki is now with Ayla and Merlin. And Don has the duty to keep us going.