July: Ildi has puppy warts

I wish I had taken a picture of her warts so that other could know - she had 3 warts. One on the outside of her mouth, basically on top of her whisker hair follicles. Then 2 inside above her teeth, along her gums. The one on the outside got to as big a corn kernal and was pretty gross to look at! The ones on the inside were white and like little cauliflower clumps.
We were away for 2 weeks in those two weeks, the warts reached full size. So when we got back to her we weren't sure what to do -do we take her to the vet? can they be removed? Chad did lots of research and it seems like there was no point in taking her to the vet, but there were some more natural remedies - like giving her 500mg of L-Lysine everyday. and that seemed to work quickly - within a week the wart on the outside was dying (turning black). Then within 2 weeks the outside wart was mostly black and while playing it must have gotten caught on something and the wart came off (there was a little blood). The inside warts were now turning grey with black flecks and now by 3 weeks, they have gone down completely.

They say puppy warts are pretty common as their immune system hasn't fully developed to its strongest, but like chicken pox and kids - she shouldn't get them again!

Here's a pic of Chad and Ildi's usual nap time - only Ildi's getting pretty big! :)

June in Coeur d'Alene: too hot for Ildi!

We took Ildi with us on a trip to Coeur d'Alene where Chad had an ironman race. It was actually a great experience with her because of the crowds - she actually settles down a bit and doesn't try to jump on everyone (which she would do if there was just one or two people around). It was also interesting as we discovered this crowd (of super athletic people) know her breed very well. And several couples came up to us to get their Vizsla fill as they had left their Vizsla at home. She was the star of the event!

Though it was also her first time in hot weather - with temps around 30C every day. While we tried to always keep her with us - not stuck in the car, we noticed that by the end of 2nd day she was drooling uncontrollably. One the 3rd day in CDA (2nd day of drooling), we were extremely concerned and started googling and emailing friends for advice. One site suggested it could be puppy warts and with a thorough check of her mouth we did discover some (they looked like canker sores as they were just beginning to form). But I actually think the problem was the heat (though it was good to discover the warts too). I kept her in the AC'ed hotel room on the 4th day in CDA (race day) and that stopped her drooling finally. It was scary to learn that just being outside (and usually in the shade) with only short car trips was having such an affect on her. We know for future we have to be super careful with her on our road trips! (the 2nd picture is of her hiding under the bed - heat exhausted)

Also of note, she was legendary on this trip for not coming when called! by the end (30min of trying to get a hold of her!) I was furious!! She would just turn and run in the opposite direction if I tried to get close to her and there was no way she was coming when I physically called her. I tried every tactic I could of - being super fun and cheerful as I called her, being very firm (but calm), running away from her, poking in the grass (so that it looked I discovered something interesting) and even trying to be very zen like and sitting on the ground sending positive thoughts for her to come. NOTHING worked!! Finally, I tried poking around in the dirt more (as that's what she kept returning to a certain sport for) - and had to lift this enormous log - so that it created a fresh spot of earth for her sniff.
I think this is beginning of her rebellious stage...