Lame and a Leash?

As you know, G's been on "bed rest" now for a little over a week. Her lameness in her left front leg has definitely improved, but it's still not 100% better.

On a whim, I decided to switch off of her Gentle Leader harness because the central point of pressure on that is right at the shoulders:

I moved back to her martingale, which is great, but I definitely feel less incontrol. She can tug much, much harder and I'm worried that my perceived lack of control, along with her strength may not be the best combination.

I've thought about going back to her Gentle Leader head collar, but she hates it and people tend to think it's a muzzle. I want to go back to the harness, but I don't want to compromise her front leg.

Any thoughts on collars/harnesses to try next?

and now a word from the cat...

just hanging out in the sink ... nothing to see here ...

UPDATE: Positive Pittie Press

UPDATE: Now People.com is jumping aboard the Sophie Aniston wagon with this article here. Plus, check out the mind-boggling cuteness in this Ellen clip (about 25 seconds in) of little Sophie zipped up in a coat!
                                
I'm a celebrity gossip junkie and I love reading positive stories about pitties in the press. This next article, courtesy of Celebitchy (my most favorite celeb blog this side of dListed), combined my love of both as, lo and behold, Jennifer Aniston's newest addition to her fur-family is a pit-boxer mix (and if you look at the pictures, you can tell they're being pretty generous about the 'boxer' portion of this pup!).

Jen talked about little Sophie at her recent appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and even brought some pictures (about 1:30 into the below video). So cute and such a positive message! A rescued, adora-bull, pittie baby for everyone to fawn over, adopted by none other than America's Sweetheart. I die!

Proper Form for a Slip-n-Slide

As demonstrated by her pittieness, Ms. G:

Award Giveth and Award Passeth On!

This is "prettie" neat. Keri Lynn over at Trinity's Love gave us a Liebster Blog award and we're super excited!! We're so happy to get this type of recognition in such a short time in the blogosphere!

We're passing the torch a la the rules below to some of 5 favorite blogs (that weren't already mentioned in Keri Lynn's post - because we share all of them!):

1. Kitty+Coco - who doesn't love smooshy noses??
2. Vick Dog Blog- the absolute best stories!!
3. Bounce House - Bouncer is one hilarious writer!
4. It All Started with a Pit Bull - an awesome new addition to the blog scene!
5. Pauly James Former Foster Baby - an amazing family with an amazing blog!

Now here are the rules for those of you I have awarded this to

1. Copy/paste the award to your blog
2. Link back to the blogger who gave you the award 
3. Choose five blogs with fewer than 200 followers and let them know you've given them the Liebster Blog award
4. Hope the five you've chosen will continue to spread the love!

Thanks, Keri Lynn!!

Good News!

G and I trotted over to the vet's office last night and we received generally good news:

• We are up-to-date on all of our shots.
• The subcutaneous fat masses are actually common ingrown hairs follicles that balloon with fluids. They are fine to be left alone (forever), but one day may eventually "pop" and go away. Nothing major. 
• Her lymph nodes are no swollen at all, so the overall lumpiness is most likely G just filling in and/or muscle definition.
• The little skin growths under her eye will need to come off the next time she goes under for a procedure (unless they get larger) since we wouldn't want to knock her out for a procedure so minor.
• And finally, the limp is going to require her 24/7 bed rest for 2 weeks so that the Rimadyl has a fighting chance to kick back in. If it doesn't get better by then, she has to go in to see her third orthopedist in as many years. 

That last one is going to be the hardest to stick to. Since we're moving, G has to go to daycare in order to allow potential renters to look at the apartment during the day, but she needs to be resting when she's there (easier said than done for sure). Oh well, we'll take it day by day. Today's she's home napping away, so hopefully the downtime will make a difference!

Twinkle Toes

Busy Weekend

After a busy weekend where we were able to enjoy our third pack walk along the Hudson River Greenway, G has been sacked out like a professional. To be honest, her limp has been getting progressively worse over the past few weeks and G is scheduled to go to the doctor tomorrow to get an overall checkout of the limp and some other concerning items.

I'll keep you updated on what happens and fingers crossed it's just a little overexertion!

Day Care: 1, G: 0

Here's G doing her best impression of a Pooped Pittie after daycare today (worth every penny!!):

and now a word from the cat ...

Although it's brilliantly sunny today, it's bitterly cold, so we decided to stay indoors today and concentrate on getting our apartment all packed up for the upcoming move. M took the opportunity to slink into spaces he hadn't put his stamp (read: little black hair balls) on during the past 2 years, one of which included the cabinetry. The expression on his face is classic M ... "Who me? What?":

Georgia is Getting Adopted!

A few years ago, the National Geographic channel produced a show about Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, called "DogTown." I loved that show and especially loved the specials that they did on several of the Vick dogs who were in residence at BFAS.

One of these dogs, Georgia, had an especially haunting, horrific experience in her life (I won't regale you with it) and was one story I could never forgot about. One of my dreams is to get out to Utah at some point and volunteer for a week or so at Best Friends and one of the dogs I always wanted to meet was sweet Miss Georgia. She had suffered terrible abuse at the hands of humans, but still, somehow, had found the ability to love and trust her trainers again. A gut-wrenching story with a satisfying end - Georgia, now CGC certified (can you believe?!) would spend the rest of her days at the Sanctuary safely surrounded by people who loved and cared for her in a way she had never known.

Well, at least I thought that would be her story. It turns out, Georgia is getting a forever family and home (!!). She is traveling to Georgia to meet her new person and live out her live as the queen of her domicile and G and I could not be happier for her!

I made my bed, G lays in it

Here's a shot of G enjoying Clean Sheet Day like the entitled little goose that she is. She likes to bury her little snout right into the blankets to really take advantage of the fresh from the laundry smell. Ssssnorttttt.

Note the strategic diagonal pose as she stretches and maximizes her body size to take up as much of a queen bed as humanly (caninely?) possible. It always surprises me just how blob-like 45 pounds can be!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

One of the few things I don't love about my current apartment is that it faces North. This means that throughout the day - even on the sunniest of the sunny - there is no direct sunlight into the apartment. It hasn't been a huge issue and all of our plants have continued to thrive, however, the 2 cats have clearly been missing the luxury of lounging in the warmth.

In our new apartment, we have 2 south facing windows which get light all day in the living room and - based on the below picture - I think M and P are going to be thrilled!

Note: this rare beam of sunlight is actually a reflection of the sun on windows across the street from us! We take what we can get :)

Is My Excitement Contagious?

Here's G enjoying the Super Bowl last night. Even though it was a great night (again - oh hey 2008!) for New York football, G was Over It with a capital "O," or at the very least giving her best poker face. Maybe she was exhausted from 6 hours of the Super Bowl pre-show?

A Tribute to Knox from Pittieful Love

Many of us know the devastation of losing a pup first hand and even though time passes, the feelings can still be shockingly raw. Although a newcomer to their blog, my heart is aching for Jess and Brian over at Pittieful Love, who are dealing with the gut-wrenching loss of beloved bullie, Knox, this past week. Please leave your positive thoughts and prayers for this grieving family on their Facebook page.

A few shots of the Big Apple Pittie Pack walk!

Courtesy of Remi and her mom and my iPhone :) Disclaimer: most of these of these are of G and there are, obviously, many other dogs on these walks. My resolution for next time is to take shots so you get a fulsome picture of all the participants (including any 3 month old blue-nosed pittie puppies!).

Sunning herself on the promenade during our midway Rest Stop:

G smelling my face after I made out with aforementioned 3 month old pittie puppy (I die!):

Sunning herself (again) and telling us about it (a lot):

Yum ... Hay

The Winter That Never Was continues here in NYC and, as I've been noting, G and I are enjoying gorgeous, sunny days meandering through the city parks and streets. Yesterday afternoon, I was able to get out of work early enough to enjoy a nice long afternoon walk. Just cool enough to be considered crisp, G moseyed all over the Riverside Park promenade enjoying the sun and the relative heat in her K9 Voyager Tummy Warmer.

G was also practicing for her second Big Apple Pittie Pack walk (which happened this morning) and working on her leash manners. She was doing very well until she spotted a lone bale of hay and couldn't control her curiousity. We spent several minutes sniffing, re-sniffing, tasting, digging, pulling and licking said hay bale. Perhaps she was leaving a message for the next pup that will come along?

Vote for G!

On a whim, I entered G in the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animal's photo content to celebrate I Love NY Pets Month. I used my favorite picture of G smiling like a crazy pup in Riverside Park, because, if nothing else that's one prettie pittie smile, don't you think?

How is she a quintessential New Yorker, you ask? Well, born and raised in the City (she even came to me via the Mayor's Alliance!), G embodies the vibrancy and sassiness of this great town - using each day as an excuse to try something new or go somewhere she's never been. She's an especially big aficionado of the Park scene here in NYC, often trotting on little known park paths multiple times a day, leaving her "mark," if you will. :)

So, if you have a moment, log on and vote for G! For local pups - enter your own pictures (Havi, Lucy, Pinky - I'm looking at you!).

Wordless Wednesday: Put the Camera Down, Lady

I think her face says it all!