Scouts Blog: Just another rest day!

April 19, 2015-

After yesterdays long run, we deserve a nice rest day today!....I think I'll end up taking a nice easy walk with Benji and Pam today......you can check out his blog here: http://benjistrainingblog.blogspot.com/

Yep, that's him to the right! Whenever he hears us coming he runs down to the other end of the house and waits for us by the backdoor, then he awaits for his leash to be put on and of course we're off.....he mainly walks with us, but there are times when he runs with shorter runs with us. He has run 5 miles with us, maybe we'll try an 8 mile run with him this week.....we'll see if he's up for it!

We've been working him up to the distance slowly of course, starting with a half mile and increasing the distance slowly and easily. He does get a lot of extra table scraps or treats that is making him chunky- heck plain fat! But he is determined to work it off! In fact, the last time he was with us at the bagel place (I must mention he does love his bagels too) he refused a bagel and just wanted to keep walking.......maybe it was the vet office being around the bend, maybe it was wanting to lose those extra pounds, maybe it was something else but anyway, I am proud of him. He used to run with Skyler and walk with the group- Skyler, Sandy, Candycane, and I , and Monty and Mully when they would stay here.....Here's to hoping Monty comes to stay with us soon again!

Today I wanted to mention more about the breed- the American Foxhound (even though I am a MUTT, I definitely have the characteristics of the breed and am primarily this breed).
I wanted to mention about the health of them, as we know different breeds may be more prone to certain health concerns than others and all. For example the German Shepherd in Skyler was more prone to degenerative myopathy. However, the breed I am most connected to is not a breed that a

breed that generally carries any genetic disorders. Of course it must be mentioned that they can easily be overfed and become overweight. This can led to a minor health risk called thrombocytopathy which is a platelet disease. Basically this is poorly functioning blood platelets and it can result in excessive bleeding from minor bumps or cuts. A blood test can determine if the dog is prone to this and therefore can be handled early on. Also dysplasia was largely unknown to the breed but it does come on occasionally, along with some eye issues.

Basically what I am trying to get across to people here is to find out about your dog and have them tested (usually a blood test will show a lot) for any abnormalities in their makeup so that you can keep up with things from the start and continue on from there.

Oh, I do want to mention our fundraiser....you can help us help out (did I just go all Jerry Maguire on you all there?!?!?).....anyway click on these links and you can buy our book- in fact, we will start instead of just the month of May- we will extend it from April 15 to May 24th and with every book sold we will donate a portion of the proceeds to Kent Animal Shelter......