A slow day

These photos were take a couple of weeks ago at Wells. Max was having a slow day and wasn't interested in much of a paddle. We stayed just long enough to sniff a few sand castles and get some fuss from a couple of holiday makers.

A new beach

Sand is great for Max's bad legs and last weekend we tried out a new beach at Brancaster. The weather was glorious!

DNA heritage test

Max is having a canine DNA heritage test done and it is very exciting! Due to scientific advances, DNA can now be taken from a mongrel dog and it can tell you what breeds make up your mutt.
I have always wondered about his ancestry and it looks like I need wonder no longer. The test involves simply swabbing the inside of Max's mouth and when the results come back it will give each breed found in him as a percentage.
I have my own predictions and it would be great to see how close I am. There is definitely GSD and collie I reckon but there could be others. From certain angles he has the look of a Saluki or a Corgi about him too.
I can't wait to find out the results....

Camping fun

Max had a fun weekend camping in a camper van called Dougal when we went to Devon. He had a great time on Woolacombe beach in the sun and did a bit of walking around Lynton and Lynmouth (and even went in the Victorian cliff railway).

Office life

Feeling perky

Max had a check up at the vet today. Doesn't look like the CDRM has got any worse so we are going to carry on with the Vivitonin and L-Carnitine. Vet said that we could notice an improvement but it is more likely that the best we can hope for is to keep him as he is for as long as possible. He certainly has perked up since he has been on the Vivitonin. When we have been out at lunchtime recently Max has dropped his ball for it to be thrown. He can't run after it so I just knock it towards him with my foot but it's enough excitement to get his tail wagging.
Next check up in 4 weeks and he'll also have his Cartrophen injection for his arthritis then. On the plus side, the vet said that his arthritis does not seem very bad and is probably not hurting him. Also he has a very strong heart and pulse. His heart rate is half what it should be for a dog of his age but, as he is showing no symptoms of this, it is likely he is just super fit!

These boots were made for draggin'

As Max struggles to pick his feet up when he walks his claws have been worn down from being dragged along the pavement. To prevent them getting sore he now wears a fetching pair of boots on his back feet when we go out. It took a little while for him to get used to them but he doesn't mind wearing them at all.