Babies and Merlin

I've become like a mother of a newborn- if he's sleeping I don't disturb him, because if he is sleeping he isn't barking! We had a nice drive over to watch a friend do agility yesterday (friend from Indiana with her Rottie) and he was as good as gold, had a nice nap in the car, behaved nicely at the trial, rode home nicely. Then he barked non-stop from 3 PM until his walk at 7 PM, then again until he went to sleep around 10. He's asleep now- I'm not going to wake him!

New Merlin breakthroughs

This morning Merlin went outside in his cart to poop, then later barked to go out to pee, went down the ramp with a little guidance at the corners, peed, and came back up. Then on his own he made his way into the bedroom to find me. Yay, Merlin! Maybe the cart is becoming more second nature to him.

Or maybe its because he had a seizure early this morning (6 am) and it rewired his brain.

Corgi puppies for sale? Looking for a Corgi Breeder?

Do NOT buy a puppy unless you see the OFA results for DM testing for that pup- either the parents should be tested resulting in it being impossible for the puppy to be at risk for DM, or the puppy should be tested.

Safe breedings are: At Risk, Carrier, or clear in one parent to clear in the other

No other breedings are guaranteed to have puppies that will not get DM, so don't believe the breeder who claims she has never had DM in her lines. If you cannot go to the OFA website and see for yourself her test results, do NOT buy a puppy from her. You are better off with a backyard bred pup as DM is much more prevalent in show lines.

There are some responsible and caring Pembroke Welsh corgi breeders, and I can help you to find one. These breeders are testing their breeding stock for DM and attempting to lower its incidence. The majority are NOT TESTING. To quote one breeder, "There are enough pets out there." (As in, it doesn't matter of a few get DM.) To quote another, "DM is a disease of geriatric dogs." (Geriatric at 8 years old?) These are direct quotes from corgi breeders, who will try to tell you they are doing health testing. My friends, since July 2008, health testing in dogs includes testing for DM, and if they aren't doing it, you could end up with a dog that slowly and irreversibly goes down, becomes paralyzed, and dies of this disease.

Back to agility..

Basement para-agility is a great way to work out in the cart, especially when it is 90 degrees in April. Sorry the quality of the video isn't very good, but here it is anyway.

Diaper difficulties

Merlin won't or can't go out to pee any more and/or is leaking. He pees a lot of very dilute urine as he gets very thirsty due to his anti-seizure meds. So I've started keeping him in a "male wrap" with some kind of pad.

And there's the difficulty- finding a pad or diaper to work! I tried a sample pack of male incontinence products and found Prevail Guards for Men which are very good and a good size for the diaper wrap, but I had to order them as no one locally carriers them. So in the meantime I'm experimenting with diapers. I buy a size 5 or 6 and cut the tabs and elastic off and put them in the diaper cover. I tried Pampers size 6; they are only good for one pee. Working on Huggies Overnights next. Poise ultra plus don't do it- they're too long and narrow so just absorb in the middle of the pad.

I also ordered another type male diaper- it is supposed to absorb all by itself but I figure with a liner it might work. Oh, and ordered some pad "boosters" which are a flow-through pad like a diaper doubler (which I've sinced learned may be found at BabysRUs... I haven't been up there to check yet.

At least at such a dilution Merlin's pee has almost no odor and I'm sure it won't burn him. So the problem- too much pee- is also a plus in a way.

Update: Merlin's incontinence usually clears up with Proin, and it did again. But I also found that the combo of a Huggies Overnite, size 5, and a Depends Booster Pad lasts him all day, and a Prevail pad plus a Booster Pad lasts for shorter times. The Pooch Pad male diaper does work for smaller amounts of pee- I'll probably use it for Teddy when he is visiting and might mark- but it isn't any good for Merlin.

Breakthrough!

We were at an agility trial this weekend and Merlin, out of necessity, peed and pooped in his cart. Hooray! Then this morning he asked to go out, rolled down the ramp, and did his thing at home. Then we had a nice walk around the block.

However, this afternoon he was being a poop- he wouldn't step on the grass or into the sun (it is warm) and is whining at me to feed him. Candy joined in the general obstenancy and rolled to the stairs to ask to be helped up instead of using the ramp (I did that the other day when I was helping Merlin up the ramp and I knew Candy was going to try it again and he did- this time I refused and after sitting outside for ten minutes he decided it was in his best interest to use the ramp.)

Back to normal..

We took a walk tonight and Merlin did his "usual" detour down the alley! Back on to leashes for walks, I guess. He does that at Whidbey when he's off-leash, too. So now I guess he is comfy enough with the cart to act like Merlin.

Hooray!