Fall time

Sorry it's been awhile.  
The girls are doing well--for the most part.

They both caught kennel cough from some dog at the dog park.  They're mostly better.   Duchess got over it much quicker.  Athena still has some eye discharge, but that is the only sign. She's doing great otherwise.

The last few times I took them to the park, Athena's been running with the dogs.  Watching her it struck me just how strong her back legs have gotten. Her awkward run/gait is gone. She is beautiful to watch when she runs now.    She keeps up with the pack and has a stronger stamina.  

She has come such a long way.  A number of people who have watched her get stronger have mentioned it.   

She's still a very happy dog.   Very sweet and loving. She has 2 playmates now: MC, the boyfriend and the little pup two doors down.   He's under a year and just the most adorable guy.  She LOVES playing with both of them.  

Duchess is doing well too. She's becoming a little more social at the park and even has a crush on a wolf hybrid.   She adores the big guy.   She still tends to keep to herself, but has been more engaged at the park than she has in the past.

She too adores the neighbor's pup.   It is really cute to see.    

I also see the 2 girls 'bonding' more and more each day.  When we had the Old Guard, they all were a pack. They would nap near one another all the time.  These two, hardly would ever.  These days, they tend to be near one another.   It's nice to see.   

They're good girls.

So there's the most recent update. Athena has come a long way and is doing wonderfully.    Duchess is ...duchess....

Sorry. IT's been awhile. A note from Mommy.

Hey Duchess & Athena fans.


It's been awhile and I apologize for not posting any updates.

I'll get right to it.

Athena had some issues the past 6 months or so with her right ear.  We started noticing that we couldn't rub behind her ear. She kept shaking her head and eventually it started to stink.  
We took her to the vet and they didn't find an infection. Just an overabundance of wax.

We had to start cleaning her ears every other day and putting medicine in the ear.   While it stopped the smell, it didn't stop her from constantly shaking her head.  Her right ear no longer was standing straight up.  

At hear annual visit, we mentioned her ear again.  They didn't see anything and told us to keep  using the ear cream and clean it.   Additionally the vet thought it might be a food allergy.

Thus began a change up with the food that was more of a pain then anything else.  Her ear still bothered her.   

Finally I took her in again and forced the issue. They found her ear infected and we got new cream and antibiotics.  Four days later, poof all gone.  She is no longer shaking her head. We can pet behind her ear and it stands up straight.

We just switched back to their old food because the new food caused digestion issues.Duchess and Athena protested the food change, but ultimately had no choice in the matter.  Now the digestion issues are all done.

The girls are in love with the new neighbor.  About a month and a half ago, the neighbors adopted a new puppy. He's the CUTEST thing ever. The dogs are obsessed with this puppy. It is so cute. I'll try to snap pics the next time they visit him.  

Duchess is becoming a bit more sociable at the dog park. I don't know if it's due her seeing the same dogs all the time or something else.   It's nice to see.


My parents came for a visit and stayed a week. The girls loved them, especially Duchess (surprise!).   I think they were both quite bummed out when they returned home. They also took to my brother when he visited a month prior to that.  


We did a DNA test on the girls. We'd done one on Duchess before, but were curious if it would garner the same results. We were curious to what Athena was.  I'll blog about that next time. It won't be as long in between posts I swear.

Athena is doing fantastic. Aside from weaker back legs than a dog her age would normally have, she's adapted wonderfully. She's very happy and loves her home, neighbors and friends.  She lives for the dog parks, eating and Rocky (her raccoon).