My Story
June 2, 2006Okay, I lost track of time and got way behind. Sassy is now 24 weeks old, almost 6 months. She weighed 67 pounds today and is doing very well. I have worked as much as I can to get her over her fear of strangers to no avail. She is just as frightened now as when we started.
She is also afraid of things being spread out - like shaking the garbage bag to separate it for the can or shaking the bedding out to make the bed. Loud noises don't bother her, except the vaccuum. Brooms can be fun or scary depending on her mood. The flyswatter is the bad guy! I use it to herd them out of the kitchen.
I received a report on her siblings and they are all doing well, too. The big ugly girl that I wanted so badly weighed 75 pounds last month. I wish I could get a picture of her! The runt is still with the breeder but happy and healthy.
September 2006
Sassy and J are growing so fast it's hard to keep up with them. They're not little babies any more but still babies. Sassy has lost out in the size department J is bigger now. She weighs about 90 pounds and her coat is getting harsher. I was beginning to think there was a silky in her pedigree! When I come home from work, I have 8 dogs to feed and clean up after so my time for myself is limited. It sounds weird but I don't mind at all. I'm enjoying all the attention. Sassy doesn't go to the shop with me any more. The few times I have taken her, she has curled up under my workbench and stayed all day. She just doesn't like being there.
October 2006
This has been a bad luck month for Sassy. She swallowed something and had to have it surgically removed. Then her front leg swelled to twice its normal size and she had to go back to the hospital. It has been hard on her physically and mentally. She is still at 90 pounds and she is very depressed. When I picked her up the second time, she didn't even tell me hello. When we got home, I let her run around the yard for about 10 minutes and then she was happy to see me and the boys. She's such a good girl! Even the doc said that Sassy tried to do everything he asked. I am hoping that the edema in her leg doesn't cause permanent muscle damage but she is definitely not going to any shows until she is healed and her hair grows back.
November 2006
We lost Oak on the 15th to osteosarcoma. I shouldn't have to tell you how that hurts. I feel like I have lost a big part of me. Sassy, Willow and J have been a great comfort, it wasn't as devastating as losing Manny. (Maybe, too, because I had several months to prepare for it.) Sassy and J have lost their pack leader and Willow has moved up to #1 (at least in his mind). Sassy continues to be a bit rough with Will and I have caught J growling at him a few times. Will takes it all in stride. There is as much dog in that little body as there are in both wolfhounds put together.
Sassy's hair is growing back on her tummy but her leg is not cooperating. It is very noticeably sleek-looking. I am hoping to show them at Glen Rose in January but she may not get to go.
December 2006
We have had a lot of rain this month but have practiced faithfully on the days that it was not actually falling. Sassy ran away from me two days ago and would not come to me until I fed the boys. Then she stood outside the gate and whined pitifully. I left her there for 10 minutes while J and Will finished their dinners. I haven't let her run loose since then. Oak was like that when he was young and it was sooo frustrating, I don't want a repeat performance.
The hair on her left leg is still very short compared to her shoulders and other leg so I did not register her for Glen Rose. I did register her for Pine Bluff and will take her whether I show her or not. She needs to get into the ring. She's had little socialization since Oak got sick.
