Total obedience

Good morning, dear Blogger friends. Most of you will know that the most important man in my life, is Skabby, my big black Lab.  

Many readers will remember that for most of his first eight years, Skabby has been a chubby lad.  For the past two years, he has done the weekly Parkrun with me. And as I always tell my Weigh-Less members, you can exercise rigorously, belong to a gym; cycle or run. But...if you don't eat healthily, you will not shed the pounds. In fact, being over your healthy weight, and forcing your body to exercise, can be detrimental to your health. 

During the cooler months, Skabby coped very well on the 5km weekly walk. He LOVED and still LOVES going to Parkrun. And he has become well known and loved by the other Parkrunners.

 Then our summer 2022, arrived and still I took Skabby along.

 To his detriment. 

Just before Christmas, he developed a hot spot which spread to a huge raw sore on his left side and rump. I stopped taking him until he was healed. 

From August, 2023, my healthy dog and I started doing Parkrun together again.

Every Saturday. 

All good and well.

Then that ONE extra week early in December he developed a small hot spot, which, of course, became a larger sore. I stopped taking him to Parkrun.  At the same time, I changed his diet. Now Skabby only has vegetables cooked into a soup to which I add a small cup of upmarket, veterinary pellets.  My friend, Meri, aka Dr Platzhund, my doggie psychologist, suggested I change to these kibbles from the cheaper supermarket brands.

Steadily Skabby's hot spot healed. He also started show a slight shrinking of the girth.  Still, no Parkrun, as we in South Africa, experienced one of the hottest summers from December through March. 

Then disaster [almost] struck. At the end of February, I went on a social run in the evening. Even though the weather showed in the high 30's late that afternoon, I thought it would be cool enough to take my boy along. 

I almost killed him.

After the walk, when we arrived at the hotel (which was the end), he collapsed outside the bar.

Three days of unadulterated agony followed for me, while my dog was hospitalized, and the vets fought to get his kidneys to function and ease his painful joints and muscles. I wrote about it here. 

He survived, by the grace of God.

Since the middle of April this year, in cooler weather, we've been enjoying the weekly Parkrun together again. 

Literally cooling his heels after Parkrun! 

My beautiful [slim] boy 

By the end of April this year, Skabby had shed 8.2kg/ 18lbs. 

In May, I had to stock up on his special kibbles. Normally I buy an 8kg bag. The day I went into the vet to buy it, the young lady told me their 8kg/17.6lb bags had been recalled by the suppliers. She said I could take the 25kg /55lb bag. 

Eish. 

This was really LARGE. I hardly have space in my little farm cottage to store this.

Anyway, I paid for it and the young lady loaded it in my car boot. 

I had a Weigh-Less meeting in town that afternoon, and when I arrived back at the farm at 4.30, everyone had already clocked out and gone home. 

Double-eish! 

Never one to give up, I cut a square hole in the bag as it was lying on its side in my car boot (trunk). Using a 2litre plastic jug and two large buckets with lids, (which keep Skabby's pellets fresh and dry), I scooped out pellets by the jugful and tipped them into the buckets on the lawn behind my car. Skabby, who always comes out to the car to greet me and to sniff at my shopping bags, was bouncing around hysterically. He could smell the delicious protein-flavored pellets as I decanted them from the bag in my boot to the containers. 

He trotted excitedly next to me, as I carried the two full buckets from the car to my house. That afternoon, as I do every time that I carry goods from my car, I said: "It's about time YOU helped me carry, Skabby. Earn your meal for a change."  And always, he grinned at me and loped along to the cottage door. While I staggered in under the load. LOL!

Inside, as I placed the two full buckets on the floor, I noticed that both plastic lids were dusty. They needed a good scrub. I could only do this in the bath. While I was cleaning the lids with scouring powder, the thought suddenly struck me. I had left two huge buckets, filled to the brim with doggie kibbles in the kitchen. And, when I'd last seen him  Skabby, was also in the kitchen. 

In a panic, I flew out of the bathroom, through my bedroom and...

... there was my dog: 

sitting on the floor, next to the open bucket,  and staring into the middle distance! 

Is this discipline or WHAT? 

When I shared this image with my friends who have dogs, every single one replied that THEIR pooch would not have resisted the urge to dive into the yummy bucket of biscuits. 

I'm linking to Saturday Critters with Eileen here

HAVE A WOOFING GREAT SATURDAY!