Life has been pretty hectic recently so the blog has been a bit slow....

Bryn seems to be coping quite well and his stamina has improved very slightly. Most days he will run around with the other dogs while they play ball and he self regulates when he's puffed out by laying down and watching. A few times I have had to pull him from a game and sit him out when his legs go all weird and unco-ordinated but in general he seems to be doing better than I had expected. He loves the sunshine and takes great pleasure in sunbathing in the carpark at the shop with trudy. A few days this week he has preferred to relax in the Lintran box in the fresh air with laddie rather than come inside the office. I like to spend as much time as possible with the dogs especially Bryn as his future is so uncertain so he has his own posh bed upstairs now but often migrates to our bed by morning!

We are off on our jollies next week with all the dogs to Pembrokeshire. A great dog friendly place set amid fields so the dogs will enjoy a holiday too. We will try to keep the walks shorter this time so Bryn doesn't get too tired and if I remember to take my camera there will be some photo's posted when we get back.

Another good day today and bryn seems to me very strong, he nearly pulled me over trying to get at the kids and pushchairs going past the house this morning and I find him hard to hold on the lead if he wants to take off!

Bryn seems to be up on his feet more over the last few days, and not lying down a lot like he was and his legs seem to be talking to one another again, may be he's not so aneamic after all the brocolli, watercress and vitamins he's been having? His appetite is still good and there's been no fussy eating going on now for a few weeks, I am pretty sure the live yoghurt has been helping settle his tum against the antibiotics, just a tablespoon twice a day. I've also managed to get bryn to enjoy bananas, something I never thought would happen so I get to share my banana in the day with him much to the amusement of everyone else.

A friends big wooly GSD is staying for a few days so Bryn has been pre-occupied with bossing this great big lump around, infact he's been extra bossy today.

Bryn still won't get in the car or van by himself, he will put his front legs up and stand waiting to be hauled in, I think this is more a mental block since he kept falling down and bashing himself when he was too weak to get up. I know he can jump that high as he has no trouble getting on my bed, the sofa, my office chair and also standing on my desk looking out the window at the ponies!

I hope he continues to feel good for our holiday in just over a week so he can benefit from the lovely walks around the farm.

The last week has been a little up and down. Bryn was quite low over the weekend and his glands were up a little so I think he was most probably fighting some infection. However today he is bouncy again and managed to get himself in to the car without me lifting him in and he was loose with the pack for the entire game of ball this morning running around so he seems to have more energy again. I think the vitamin supplement must have helped as he has more puff and didn't seem to lie down so much in the last couple of days. I've been cooking brocolli in the steamer and feeding it to him - he loves it! this morning I forgot to add it to his breakfast so just handed him some steamed brocolli and he just wolfed it down! Yuk! even I couldn't do that!

We have a huge watercress bed in the garden so I am going to cook some up for him as that has an enormous amount of iron and vitamins in.

All in all I'm happy with bryn's progress so far. He is enjoying life and seems to be coping very well for such a sick dog. His fur is growing back fast and soon there will be no outward sign of anything strange.

The weather has been hot hot hot here most of the week so I thought Bryn might find it a bit much. However he seems to enjoy the sunshine and hasn't been too puffed out.

Over the last week I have been giving him a multi-vitamin and iron supplement, also some nice oily fish and brocolli and he has perked up no end. Most days he's been getting down on his front legs willing the dogs to play with him (brought a tear to my eye as he hasn't done that in months) and Monday he was actually having a full blown wrestling and racey chacey game with Laddie and Dizz Wizz. He's had a bit more puff over the last couple of days and managed to join in a game of ball with the others for a while.

The 'old' Bryn spirit has reared up! Yesterday I was chatting to Bleddyn in the yard and when he turned to get on the tractor Bryn made a move and looked like he was going to nip his ankle if i didn't stop him! This morning the little bugger cocked his leg up in the shop!!!! he never does that!!! so me and Carol reckon he's definitely feeling a bit better!!

Jan kindly sent me this photo of Bryn from our mini meet, sitting in the back of the van looking rather regal! You would never guess that just a few minutes before he couldn't walk.

This week has been a mixed one really. Bryn has been a happy chap alert and busy but he has had some problems with mobility when he gets a bit puffed. A few minutes and he has to lie down and his legs get un co-ordinated. I think the key is to know his limits and stop him from doing too much before he gets worn out.

I guess I've been soft and continued to allow him to sleep on our bed, I just feel that I want to be able to spend as much time as possible with him. mind you when I woke up the other morning and found him laying full length on top of me the thought crossed my mind that our bed is just not big enough! As soon as he hears anyone stir, he makes his way up the bed and plonks a great big hairy claw in my face and continues to 'claw' me til he gets a stroke sending him back to sleep.

During the daytime bryn continues to accompany me in the shop and spends a lot of his time curled up in the bed in the office on top of Trudy, she must be like a hot water bottle!

bryns hair is growing back well and his bum is nicely covered up again, he has such wooly trousers it tooks eons to brush him last night and he never really enjoys being groomed.