More of Nothing

Not too much has happened since the last blog, but I had some pictures I wanted to share. First we shall play a game. The game is called Can You Spot the Differences? Some of the differences may be more obvious than others, so use your keenest difference spotting abilities. There are no penalties for wrong guesses and no prize for correct guesses. Good Luck!

After studying those pictures for hours, as I am sure you did, you should have noticed that Hank got a new collar! We got a bright orange one, for obvious reasons, with reflective paw prints on it. I had originally found an orange polka dot collar online, but it was like $20 not including shipping and well I'm frugal so I passed. When I was at Target the next day I saw this one and thought it was a good second option(and under $10). Hank seems to like it and wears it proudly and now he can't hide in the dark backyard from us when it's bedtime because his reflective paw prints will give him away. Here are a few close ups of the new collar:

We also had an indoor soccer game on Monday. The game was fun and we blew out the other team, but I did take a beating. I play defense, and am not too bad at it might I add. Late in the first half someone on the other team took a shot on goal and well, I stopped it with the right side of my face. Fortunately for me it missed my nose and didn't really hurt much, so no big deal. Well, in the second half a man was winding up for a shot and I managed to cross my left leg in front of him right as he shot and he shot the ball (as hard as he could) into my leg. Specifically, the ball hit me just below the left butt cheek on the upper thigh, which stung like hell. I have had red soccer ball lines imprinted on my leg ever since, it happened Monday and it is now Wednesday.

Unfortunately, the worst was still to come. With about 10 minutes left in the game I had the ball and went to pass it to a teammate. When my right leg was fully extended a guy came in full speed to try and kick the ball away. Well, he missed and got my leg. We wear shin guards, so that was no big deal, but with my leg fully extended and the force he hit me with my knee too the brunt of it. I thought immediately I had blown out my knee because the pain was excruciating and I couldn't move my leg, BUT once I was helped off the field and iced it for a little bit I could move it again and with just minor pain. So, I AM FINE. My knee is sore, but intact. It definitely could have been worse, but I'm pretty sure it just got a little hyperextended. I have been able to walk on it fine, and like I said it's just a little sore when I put weight on it in certain positions. The man who hit me was very apologetic and felt bad. I am just glad that I don't have start the new school year teaching on crutches!

Oh, Hank also completed his doggy classes. We had to miss the last class because I had a softball tournament and Ryan had squash, but we had learned everything by then and were just practicing. He has come a long way, but as the trainers said, the class won't "fix" your dog. Your dog is who he is, but you can learn ways to keep him from reacting. And we did. We learned a few ways to get Hank to focus on us and work for treats when he sees other dogs, so that he A) learns to associate focusing on us when he sees other dogs and B) he gets yummy things when he does it. Part B will hopefully be phased out eventually and he will just be conditioned to focus on us when he sees other dogs, but that is probably a long ways off. Other dogs definitely cause Hank some anxiety and stress, so it will take a while to help him realize that other dogs aren't evil. He will probably never be able to play off leash with other dogs due to his unpredictable reactions, he can be nice one minute and aggressive the next, but we are just happy to help him enjoy his walks and keep them stress free when on his leash. More than anything we are glad he LOVES people, especially us (he gets a little jealous if we pet other dogs).

Toodles for now. Enjoy the warm weather!