I meet the world!

Last Mondays visit to the vet went very well. A microchip was injected into my neck and I was given the 3rd puppy injection.

Yesterday afternoon we came down to Vinaròs to our house by the sea. This afternoon was a breakthrough  as I had my first walk outside. You cannot imagine what this was like for me - it's fantastic out there with all the smells and different people, some with their dogs - incredible. I certainly can't wait for the next excursion into the new world!

In the photo above you can see me wearing my harness. Dad has been trying this on me at various times during the last couple of weeks. I couldn't really see the point as I certainly didn't need a harness and lead to walk around the garden. But now it all makes sense as dad had adjusted the harness and it was a really comfortable fit. I certainly wouldn't run off but there are so many interesting things out there which have to be investigated.

An update

It is now over 2 weeks since my heart operation and I have never felt better. 

I have a good appetite; my dad still feeds me minced pork with special biscuits because he knows how much I like the mince, and I am filling out, becoming stronger and putting on weight. Right now I'm around 17 kg.

Monday is going to be a big day for me as we are going to the vets where I will be given my 3rd injection. After that, I will be able to go outside for walks. I'm really looking forward to that.

At the moment my dad makes sure that I get plenty of exercise by throwing my squeaky ball for me to run after and bring back to him. This morning he took this video of me doing just that. Every time he plays the video and I hear the squeaky ball I start looking for it!

Strange things do happen

It's one week since my operation and I am healing well. The dressing and bandage didn't last long as I got rid of them after the first day. I ate the actual dressing and my dad removed the blue bandage which had moved down my body and rather resembled a skirt.

Above is a photo my dad took to show my scar a couple days after my operation. My mum had a very serious operation on her spine in June and our scars are the same length. I am sure mine will heal as well as hers.

But then suddenly, for no reason that I can explain, the top half of my scar opened up yesterday afternoon and mum and dad had to take my to the vets so I could be stapled back together again. I kept the dressing and bandage on overnight but removed them this morning. I hope this doesn't slow the healing process too much. At least my fur is sprouting!

The start of my new life!

It's Thursday, 9th November and we set off in the car for a very long drive, 212 kms, to Ejea de los Caballeros, which takes just over 2½ hours.

The photo above was taken by my dad just after I came out of surgery - I didn't know anything about it.

The reason we have to go there is because that is where a specialist vet, Luis, operates and he and his partner José are going to perform a miracle on my heart.

Hey, that's my heart they are poking about with!

I stayed at the vets overnight and Luis sent the following 2 short videos to my mum and dad to let them know how I was recovering.

As you can see, I was up and walking around in no time.

On the Friday morning, mum and dad came to collect me and bring me home.

Since then I have made a steady recovery and it has certainly made a vast difference to my life. Now, I don't get out of breath and I have boundless energy. What a difference a day makes!

Expectations, expectations

When mum and dad brought me to my new home they thought I was going to take over where their previous Doberman, Hona, had left off. They quickly came to realise that not all of us Dobermans are the same.

For example, they put a kennel, casita in Spanish, inside the front porch at the front door and dad tried to tempt me to go into it because that was where Hona had stayed. I suppose being a Doberman she liked to keep an eye on everything that was happening at the front of the house and if anyone cycled or jogged past she would be able to see them off. She was however, as I am, very fond of people but one difference is that I don't need to be seeing everyone as they go past the house and I don't mind bikes or joggers.

I chose where I wanted to be, at the back of the house. It is sheltered, as is the front entrance, but it is sunnier and warmer. Once again, as soon as mum and dad realised this, they moved my casita down to the back door and I have recently started using it with it's top on, before I was very reluctant to go into it and would only use it when the top had been removed.

Something else that Hona didn't like and that was other animals of any description and she would chase other dogs probably with the intention of playing with them but they often didn't realise this or didn't like her form of playing. When I went to the vets the other day it was the first time my dad has ever sat inside the waiting area. Normally he would have to stay in the car with Hona or outside the waiting area and would have to restrain Hona as other animals entered or left until it was their turn to see the vet. The other day at the vets I found other dogs interesting and I wanted to find our about their smell and generally be friendly towards them.

At the moment, and I put this down to my lack of energy, my dad plays with me by throwing a ball for me to return to him to get a treat.  With Hona he would throw it as far as he could and she would run after it then bring it back to get her reward. With me he throws it up the sloping driveway and when it rolls back to us I pick it up and give it to dad to get my treat. It saves a lot of running around which at the moment I'm not up to.

I'm also a rather fussy eater. Dad has tried to get me to eat those special "scientific diet" crunchy biscuits but I'm not keen on them although they are supposed to be very good for my growth. He even bought some other very special "grain free" biscuits at the vets, full of goodness, but I don't like those either. My favourite food is minced beef or pork from the supermarket and I can eat almost 1 kg of that per day! At least I'm still growing and one day I will be a full size Doberman, at the moment I'm still a Doberboy!