Today, we took Abby for her first hike since her surgery. Her stamina seems to be pretty good, probably from all the walking in our new neighborhood with its hills! Admittedly, today's hike was pretty easy - nice and flat - but the terrain was very uneven/rocky from all the rain we've had and we walked for almost an hour. We hiked in Rose Canyon, which is pretty much right in the heart of San Diego. This is one of the things I love about San Diego - you can be right in the middle of the city's burbs but feel like you're out in the country somewhere. (Of course, you can sometimes hear the freeway noise, but you just have to tune that out.)As you can see from some of the pictures, there was still quite a bit of water from all the rain!
In another first, we found out the other day that Abby can still "shake"! After her surgery, I figured she wouldn't be able to do that anymore. Abby knows very few 'commands': Sit, Leave it! (had to use this one about 3000 times when we'd go on walks when she was a little puppy), Down, and Shake. (She also hears "Off!" a lot, but either doesn't know it or chooses to ignore it. I'm thinking it's the latter...) So, with really only knowing four commands, I was bummed that she wouldn't be able to shake anymore--figured that was a 25% drop in her vocabulary! But the other day we had some folks over, and I made her sit to get a treat, and then said, "I guess it was a waste of time teaching her to shake!" and when she heard the word, she sat up and held out her paw. So cute! And it's the "wrong" paw, so she figured out to offer the only front paw she had left. So smart!
We continue to be so impressed with her!
Coming up on Tuesday is chemo #5 - the penultimate session. I'm hoping to learn more about that damn spot when I talk to Dr. Vancil that day. Will post post her appointment. (At least - I hope I will... We are having a destruction crew here that day. Could be a bit crazy, what with the concrete wall in our living room coming down! Anyway, I'll definitely post again soon!)
It is truly amazing that she can still shake.
ReplyDeleteAnd where is Rose Canyon exactly? It looks beautiful!
Rose Canyon is just south of our old house - it's the canyon that runs alongside the 52 freeway. Doesn't it look like you're out in the boonies somewhere? When you are down there, you can barely see any houses - although you can still hear the freeway noise, but on a Sunday afternoon the traffic is pretty quiet.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can teach Abby to "sit pretty." That's what I call it when I want Indy to sit back on her haunches with both front feet off the ground. Can't believe all the water in the canyon.
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