He's a little 'buncious

Chino is supposed to be "resting" his leg and healing up for about 4 weeks (two down, two to go) so we've been doing our best to keep him calm.  Chino is a laid-back dog  by nature, often when he's entertaining his lady friends - Sammy, Olive, Emma, Lilly and Nala - he will sit back and watch the action, humping, I mean jumping, in at the most opportune time and before retiring to a cozy spot in the grass.  Keeping him calm has proven to be more difficult than we had originally anticipated.  Since he's hyped up on anti-inflammatory pills, joint supplements and antibiotics (for the purple tooth), he's feeling fabulous and is bouncing off the walls.

(photo credit:  Marci Terrett)

The madness started last night.  I got home from the gym and was making dinner.  Chino had been walked, which normally means he's mellowed out and lounging on the cool floor, taking everything in.  For some reason I was making noises - you know that 'pop' when you flick your finger in your cheek?  Like that song..."Lollipop, Lollipop, oooh lolly lolly pop...POP"  yeah that one.  I was making that noise and watching Chino watch me.  Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, he ran over to me, jumped on his hind legs and shoved me hard with his two front legs.  I'm cracking up at this point and he takes off running into the other room, lap around the couch and then under the coffee table.  Ok, so I'm thinking this is a fluke, so of course I have to do it again.  Same result.  I can't wait until he's better, this is much more effective than walking him.  The only thing is that I'll have to wear long sleeves and pants, because when he was shoving me, his nails got a hold of my arm.  I suppose I deserved it because I was driving him crazy on purpose.

A recap of this morning - Nick wakes up early and starts getting ready for work.  Chino follows him around the bedroom, crying pathetically because he has to go outside.  Normally he would have just gone downstairs and waited, but we keep him gated in our room at night to avoid adventures on the stairs in the middle of the night.  I'm still laying in bed, convincing myself that I can hit the snooze button ONE MORE TIME and still make it to the gym on time.  I see Chino's tail going around the perimeter of the bed like a fuzzy dorsal fin.  Nick finishes his morning routine and heads downstairs with the mutt on his heels.

When I finally get downstairs, Chino is back inside after a potty break in the backyard.  He sees me in work-out gear and automatically assumes that he's going for a w-a-l-k.  Since I have a couple of minutes to spare - and because I continually trick myself by setting my clock FAST - I play with him.  He tries to run laps around the couch, which is a no-no because of the leg situation, so he has to settle for some pets.  I go over to the freezer to fill my water bottle and toss him an ice cube.  He bats at it and runs with it, finally landing in the middle of the floor.  At this point, I'm now late so I grab my stuff and go.

I swear, this dog has been more active and lively since he was told that he wasn't supposed to be active and lively.  Typical Chino, he does things on his own terms.  Thankfully, even though he's driving us crazy, the random bursts of energy seem to say that he's healing and moving in the right direction.  Despite crazy running fits, jumping on the bed, up and down the stairs and body slamming his momma, we haven't seen a limp and haven't heard a whimper.  You'd better believe that after all this is said and done, we'll be hosting a monstrous puppy play date and celebration!!!!