teeth update

His teeth have come on really nicely. One of the lower canines is already in the right position. That was just after one and a half weeks. He'll go back in tomorrow and maybe have a side of the plate built out so it can work on the other side. I have to say, apart from the horrid trip for him to the vets that he doesn't like and has to be carried in like Scooby Do then it's not been too bad. He doesn't seem to be bothered by it. If it works it seems like a much better solution than having adult canine teeth out.

Poor poopy's teeth

Well, the next chapter of helping Grey with his teeth problem came upon us. He went in for his op at the specialist dentists on Weds. Poor pupster was really scared when he arrived at the vets and really didn't want to go in. Had to be carried in. He ended up having to have an upper adult canine out because it was obstructing where we want one of the lower canines to grow once they're pushed forward by the plate. The plate is glued to his upper teeth and will be in for at least a month. He had a course of anti-biotics and we have to apply a gel to his gums after each meal.

He was back to his old self the next day. We're supposed to stop him chewing hard stuff, which is er, kind of hard. He's a puppy after all. He sounds a bit like he has false teeth in when he's cleaning himself.

More on his teeth

We had a trip to the vets yesterday, which he gets all very excited about. They're lovely with him which is great. We had a look at his teeth and the lower adult canines are coming through and already are impacting on his upper palette. The vet is going to get in touch with the canine dental specialist to see what's to be done next. The removal of adult canines would be a major op and quite serious as they form part of the jaw. I'm unsure if the acrylic plate will manage the job on the other hand, because his jaw is misaligned rather than just the position of the teeth. So would it manage to push the canines forwards enough to clear the upper front teeth? We'll hopefully hear more this week. Something has to be done though, the adult teeth are much longer and they could pierce the upper palette in a much more serious way than previously.

Other than that we came away with ear drops for a mildly irritated ear. And he weighed in at 24KG. So now he's 25 weeks old he's had a lull in weight gain and dropped down a kilo in ratio to his age in weeks.

We went for a walk in the nearby countryside to the vets. Grey met cows for the first time. He was cool with them until they all drifted up to say hello. He was on the lead so after a quick bark at them he was keen to make a swift exit. I lost my balance and was pulled down a grassy bank through a cow pat. The joy of having a big dog that pulls.

Wee wee wee!

Grey stood on his hind legs, propped himself up on the chaise with his front paws and had a wee on the corner of it while looking at the cat. Huh? And I thought toilet training was going better the last week.

In other news, we took a trip to the vets again. He's had a bit of a cough and I wanted to have them look at his new teeth. The cough is nothing to worry about and is probably caused by his op to have his teeth out. We're supposed to give him Benylin. His teeth are still not through enough to comment on or plan what to do next. The vet suggested we cut his eye lashes down to see if that helps clear up his sometimes gunky eyes. He does have ridiculously long eye lashes.

Nothing else hugely eventful other than to report he now weighs 22.6KG!

This evening we walked in the opposite direction along the seafront to normal as L took the car. A jack russell had a little snap at him from a safe distance. How rude!

Growing up

Grey cocked his leg for the first time today. The event was all the less momentous for the fact that he'd first started to pee while in the basement of the house chatting to a friend. So quick rush to the outside after stopping him mid-flow and there it was, like the monolith in Kubrik's 2001. The leg was well and truly cocked. Thankfully, he's back to the girlie squat since then. While I'm happy for the boy to grow up, I was kind of hoping he might turn out to be one of those dogs that never gets the whole leg cocking business.

Noticed also yesterday that his adult lower canines are peeping through. Will have to keep an eye on them from now on to see how they come through in relation to his upper jaw. Fingers crossed.

Had a lovely walk with Nelly yesterday evening. Funny how different they are together when there are no other dogs around whipping it all up. Nelly swims a lot. So far, Grey hasn't caught on to the idea. He paddles out halfway and waits for her to come back with the ball.