Beautifully said, Leslie, and I couldn't agree more! ;) :) :) :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirt's Mom
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Beautifully said, Leslie, and I couldn't agree more! ;) :) :) :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirt's Mom
You make a great team and I am honored to be able to be a part of it even if just via posts and videos! I bet Quincy is happy that your weather has warmed up enough for pool time. :D
I missed the happy homecoming party???!!!!! DRAT
Okay well you know my motto a birthday, an anniversary, the sun is shining, itls all worth celebrating for the entire month at least! :)
Happy 1 Quincy!!!! You have made our dear friend Saskia beyond happy.
To share your lives together for however long it may be (many many many years to come) is a true treasure.
Okay, here's a little secret, I use Tena pants :D :p And the pharmacy will bring me my new supplies on a regular basis. Normally the packages are in a plastic bag but for some reason, this time they were put in a cardboard box. Usually Quincy will hand me the packages so I can put them away. But this time, I was rather curious what she was going to do...since they were in a cardboard box and I could tell it was too high for her to grab the packages and lift them up and over the edge of the box.
Well, needless to say, she is amazing at problemsolving :D She checks it, understands she cannot grab them the usual way and wham, without a second thought she comes up with a great solution :D And all this with a straight face :eek: :p My little smart cookie ;)
https://youtu.be/dTeGG-q5rzE
Saskia and Quincy :)
Boy! She didn't even think hard about that one! Just boom and problem solved! What a smart, smart girl!
So often I have told you, how incredably funny (and smart-assed) Quincy is :D Here's the perfect example of what I mean...
In the video you'll hear me say "on the shelf, Quincy"...meaning she has to put her harness on the shelf. One can already tell, Quincy is being feisty, the way she tosses the harness around, the way she grabs it in her mouth...and watch what happens next! :eek:
https://youtu.be/Wn93IjLVyVA
I meant the harness Quincy...the harness, hehehehehe :p
She is the worlds most hilarious service dog :D
Saskia and Quincy ;)
Oh that is hilarious! What a smart ? girl! LOLOLOL :D:p:D:p:D:p
Smart and funny! What a hoot!!!
Too cute not to share :) First Quincy hands me the plug of the vacuumcleaner. And of course, she has earned herself a treat :D But, Quincy has her own, private treatbox, hehehe... :p She carefully opens it, lifts the lid and takes just one treat, how great is that? :D She could easily quickly grab a mouthfull of treats, but no...just one. Sooooo well behaved that Quincy ;)
https://youtu.be/Q_EqjhzhuKU
And yes, Quins has a naturally happy tail herself. But one cannot have too many happy tails, right? :p So, I got Quincy another "happy tail" :D
https://youtu.be/dmlKzD3_8n4
Sas and Quincy :)
What a good girl she is! Mine would have tackled me if they saw a whole box of treats! :p And she is so cute with that toy!
I have some exiting news, I discovered Quincy has a brother living in The Netherlands as well and I found him (and the family that adopted him) :D
There is no doubt at all they are related...same faces, same eyes, same intens look in their eyes... and beside, there's a picture taken from both Quincy and her brother, curled up together as little, approximately 3 months old, puppies, still in the shelter in Poland. I will post the pics in Quincy's photoalbum :)
We have been on a 4 day visit to a friend of mine who lives in the south of the country, where they have heather :eek: Gorgeous :) She has 2 dogs so Quincy had a blast, running around all day in the woods and the heather with her doggy friends :D
https://youtu.be/RChp1HeTkt8
But Quincy doesn't neccesarily needs heather or doggy friends to be happy...
https://youtu.be/KmpjvfGPsoM
And even indoors, she is a happy camper...her motto is "I squeek, therefore I am" :D
https://youtu.be/KykrenjXLIg
A week from tomorrow, we will be starting our "advanced course" in doggyschool...that will be so much fun, can't wait for it to start :)
And finally, just because I like the song in this video...it matches Quincy's personality perfectly...
https://youtu.be/XwIankMtgOg
So all is well here :)
I do have a sad note though...Don, the Beagle who stayed here one day a week, has passed 2 days ago. He was 14, suffering from several conditions but it was the heartfailure that got him in the end. R.I.P. sweet Don, you were Quincy's first friend...both she and I will miss you dearly. Of course, his owners are devestated over his loss...
Saskia and Quincy :)
Hi, Saskia! It was great seeing Quincy having so much fun and learning about his brother but I am sad to read about Don. Please pass on condolences to his family from Abbie and I.
Thank you Judy, I will. I went to see Don on Monday and he was having such difficulties breathing inspite of all his meds that were raised to the maximum... He was such a gentle spirit, a former lab dog, poor thing. Glad he was rescued and had many good years with my friends, together with his Beagle sister, who passed away 3 years ago. And I am glad Quincy and myself got to say our goodbyes to him...but we will miss our days together, they were so special...
Saskia and Quincy
Oh I am so sorry to hear about Don. :( I know the three of you really enjoyed your days together and will miss them. It is so nice to know, tho, that Don was rescued from the horrors of the lab and was able to spend his last years in a loving environment, that he got to know true love from many sources.
Fly free, sweet Don, fly free. You are in excellent company. Please kiss that little dog with the wild yellow hair for me.
ooooo the heather is gorgeous! I bet it's really pretty in real life. Quincy is sure having a good time! I love the pic where all you can see of her buddy is the white plume of the tail in the heather! That laying by the door squeaking that toy is hilarious! Sas, she looks so very healthy and in great shape both physically and mentally! And so very, very happy - as do you. I will always love her face and those ears! :D I am so very glad you two got to take a vacation and it looks like you had a grand time. The country there is just gorgeous!
Her brother does have that same intense look in the eye but he missed out on those amazing ears! :p
And yet another month has passed...how time flies :)
Quincy and I are doing well and have started our "advanced" course several weeks ago and we're doing well :D We can do the entire hour of training off-lead (without Quincy taking off :p ) as the only couple, so I am very proud of her :)
The past couple of weeks I have been volunteering to help the, mainly Syrian, refugees. The town I live in has taken in 750 refugees so there's a lot to do. I take Quincy with me whenever I go there and they all love her.... :) Furthermore I try to take my mom for as many walks as I can, and as the weather permits, since her Alzheimers keeps progressing and she still enjoys the time outside but doesn't go outside anymore without me (and Quincy) to accompany her :) So for her they are the only trips outside and for my dad it means some time off... :) So we are pretty busy, Quins and myself, but happy together and doing well :)
Okay, enough talking, time for a few videos ;)
Quincy doing her thing...getting the tape from the taperecorder and closing the "door" followed by her getting the phone when it starts ringong, no command needed, she knows when it rings, it's her job to go and get it :D
https://youtu.be/rn_jZio3Q0w
Quincy getting her immunotherapy shot...no big deal :)
https://youtu.be/rcz-_jXS_7w
Quincy getting something from the fridge, from a differant angle... :)
https://youtu.be/E12uldjd1zo
And the visit of a friend and her service dog, a beautiful yello Lab. Quins and the Lab got along very well :)
https://youtu.be/6pEhMpH8wjs
Hope you are all doing well,
Hugs,
Saskia and Quincy :)
Saskia -- as always, I love seeing your Quincy videos. It looks like she and the lab had a great time together. When Quincy got her shot, it looked like she was thanking you for it as though she knows it makes her better!
Bless you for helping with the refugees -- such a heartbreaking situation for so many. I'm glad that you and Quincy can spend time with your Mom.
The true spirit of World Animal Day... :)
http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/albu...pictureid=7922
Thank you so much for sharing.:p:p
She is something else! When the phone rang you could see her face light up and she knew exactly what was expected. :) It's nice to see her and her buddy playing, too!
The doc has very recently changed my painmedication to Oxycodon and since I have to get used to it, I spent some more time on the bed than usual (I'm a bit drowsy, weak, sleepy, etc ;) ) Anyway, even when on the bed, it's always fun having Quincy around. She was playing with a squeaky toy and I was wondering, would she be able to differentiate between the number op "beeps" and would she be able to copy it? :eek: That's when the following happened... :D
https://youtu.be/IGOEVX1qLKE
She is soooo funny :p
Sas and Quincy :)
She is funny and so smart.
That is funny and cute! She is so smart and obviously LOVES pleasing you in any way she can. I hate you have to take the oxy but pray you adjust soon and are able to continue doing the things you enjoy soon.
Hugs and love from our house to yours!
She is so adorable Sas!!!! I am so very sorry you are and continue to have these troubles yourself!!!!! Healing (((((hugs))))) Terry
Oh what a precious, clever girl! :) :) :)
There can be no better medicine than sharing your bed and your cuddles with Quincy. :o ;)
Sending you both my warmest wishes!
Another month (almost) has passed, time for some new video's :)
As you may know, we're doing a fun course every Saturday morning. The 9th time, we did some agility. Absolutely new to Quins and myself so we first practised this "yellow tube" to see if Quincy was willing to go through it. Then we did a short "run"..eventhough that's too much honor for our 3 jumps, yellow tube thing and another 3 jumps :p But again, it was our very first time ;)
https://youtu.be/DcGIreM-khw
And this was today's lesson :) All kinds of things. The first two clips are both me having to send Quincy "forward" where she has to lay down on the "target", a blue piece of cloth. The dogs are supposed to lay on top of the target...not Quincy, hehehe. She seems to be thinking "hey, there's something laying on my spot, away with that cloth so I can go lay on my spot" :p And eventhough that's not the way it is supposed to be done, I think Quincy is performing perfectly in het own Quincy style :D We are not going for the olympic gold medal in absolute obedience and...more importantly, I do not want to train the joyfulness out of Quincy, so this is how Quincy performs this excercise :D Next there are 2 clips of Quincy having to sit and wait while I throw something....and she can go get it when I tell her so :)
And the final clip is hilarious. This is something we have never done before.The mat has been rolled up with treats inside it...and the dog has to unroll the mat (following the treats with its nose :D ) Well, once Quincy has unrolled the mat, she does something that makes everyone laugh :)
https://youtu.be/bi2bs06RP8A
And here's Quincy getting something from the storageroom for me...filmed all the way, inside out :)
https://youtu.be/bi2bs06RP8A
This shows my happy, joyful, energetic and always in a good mood Quincy during our walks :D Alert... tracking...and flying passed me ;)
https://youtu.be/xye4bmBtjB4
And a walk in the forrest... :)
https://youtu.be/cBUywadD-TE
And finally, it's fall...meaning, there's branches on the ground wich can pose a problem with a wheelchair, but not for me ;)
https://youtu.be/-96WCWLMfww
So this will last you for a while... ;)
Wishing each and everyone of you a great weekend,
Hugs,
Sas and Quincy :)
Isn't she just so smart and lovely. Like watching a smile in action. :)
Loved that Quincy wanted to roll up the cloth target! She is definitely tuned into you (and her treats)! :D
A few more Quincy-clips :)
Here's my "Black Beauty", running beside my wheelchair... :) When I watch her running beside me, I still get that "knot-in-the-stomach" feeling, you know, that feeling you have when you are in love :D
https://youtu.be/ZFdyPE8GyQc
And here's me, teaching Quincy something new. Someone wanted to see how I train her....well, I hardly have to do anything :D It's something we have never done before, so it's totally new to Quincy...I want her to place her chin in my hand. She is incredably fast...really, I think she beats all my other smart ones ;)
Once I think she understands what it is I want from her, I add a word/command...and as you can see, adding this word has her a bit confused. She touches my hand with her paw, tugs at the duvet...and then, wham, she gets it :) And this was yesterday...
https://youtu.be/Av163xXTM_I
Today I repeated the chin-in-hand excercise again, see if she still knew it :) Well, of course she still knew it :p Afterwards we played some and cuddled...
https://youtu.be/imRG_xQ6erE
Saskia :)
Omg! Isn't she the sweetest!! You two are sooo in tune with each other. The last clip brought tears to my eyes.
I'm so very happy you've found each other. A perfect match.
Love watching her so much. Probably more so because we know her story. Thank you for sharing. Hugs, Song.
OMG!!! Love the Quincy videos!! Such joy, such love!!! :p
I love that Quincy is such a cuddle bug! :D Keep the videos coming -- I love watching them.
Quincy's story is new to me, as I just joined in the spring when our adopted Gizmo died. I found it fascinating to read all the back posts and to learn what a struggle finding a perfect service dog match can be. The many videos of her made me smile. She's so smart and such a love. Thank you for sharing all these months.
Time for a Quincy update :) Winter is posing new challenges to Quins her itching. It took me a while to realise and understand what was going on (what a confusing and frustrating condition, this atopy) Anyway, Quincy started to itch noticably more and I noticed she drank more water too and she was constantly cold...even indoors. Couldn't be the pollen since it's too early for them, couldn't be the dustmites since nothing has changed there, no mold in the house, no bacteria, yeast or other infections on her skin.... what was going on? Till I realised the air is much, much dryer in winter :eek: And that explained the increased drinking as well and her being cold all the time. Since the skinbarrier is "broken" in atopic dogs, they loose more fluids through their skin. With this dry air, she lost (evaporated) even more fluids and thus the drinking more. Also, to cool down, we sweat, loose fluids through our skin...right? So, Quincy loosing even more fluids through her skin then normally, made her cool down more also. This showed me again, that atopy is not "just" an allergy problem but even more so a skinproblem/disease :)
She now wears sweaters indoors as well to help keep her warm and they also help preventing loosing so much fluids through her skin :) (and indeed, she is not so cold and not drinking as much anymore) Even more laundry to do with the sweaters now as well but hey, we do it all with love, right? ;)
Now that we're on the right track again, itch wise, it's time for a few new video's :D
Here's Quincy fetching me my migraine medication and putting them away afterwards :) (I do get migraines with an aura which in my case means I temporarily loose my vision and it's hard to get around in a wheelchait with no vision :p Therefore I taught Quincy to go get them for me in that situation)
https://youtu.be/5zXkt_I6-48
This is after we went for a walk and stopped by the farmacy on the way. She gets my medication basket and then gets the pills from my shopping bag :)
https://youtu.be/jTp1MN7JvvQ
Here she gets me a banana and helps me peel it :) (and helps me eat it :p )
https://youtu.be/_4mrGV9lpI0
Here we just came back from a walk, Quincy took of my coat, I take of her harness, she then go gets her sweater, goes to her very own "ball drawer", gets a ball out and just doing her thing :) Not hard to understand why she is the love of my life.. :)
https://youtu.be/REXuiZQOsEY
And of course, when the weather isn't too bad, we still go for our long walks in the countryside :)
https://youtu.be/wY4oXeKMz_Y
And here she helps me with changing the bed in the livingroom... :)
https://youtu.be/sDGlRfxJcN8
Atopic or not, as you can see, she is very happy, very lively and enthousiastic, always in a good mood, always eager to help, always happy to go for walks an be active... It's "hard work" to keep her this comfortable with everything that needs to be done for her to help her and her skin, but soooo worth it, (eventhough it's costing me a small fortune) both for her and for me :) I love her to pieces...
Saskia and Quincy :)
Saskia--as always, I was enthralled watching Quincy work. He is remarkably agile. I have to say that peeling the banana was my favorite! :D
Quincy is just a joy to watch. She is so happy and so pleased to do anything at all for you. A perfect match for sure!
Sas, I am always amazed by your videos. Quincy just keeps getting smarter and you just keep getting prettier? You really are beautiful inside and out.
Thank you, Judy, Sharlenen and Glynda...Quincy is indeed a joy to have around :) And smart, and happy, and agile, and....just everything I could ask for :D And not just to me... :) Every other day I go to see my parents (they are both 84, turning 85 this year) because my mother is suffering from Alzheimers. My dad is the primary caregiver and when I am there, I spend time with my mom and my dad will play and cuddle with Quincy :) She gives him distraction, a sense of normalcy in otherwise complicated days with the care for my mom, she gives him companionship and friendship, she brings him joy... So also in that regard she is priceless :) Against all "service dogs rules" I make sure he always has a can with treats and he is the only one allowed to give Quincy treats, as much as he likes :D No wonder Quincy adores him, he's like a candy machine to her ;) Quincy is a ray of sunshine, wherever she goes, wherever she is...
Sas and Quincy :)
Oh my, Quincy is such a precious girl!!! As always, your videos made my day, and I love hearing about the joy she brings your parents. My mom is here with us again this weekend, and it's the same way with her and our girls -- there is a special bond there that is absolutely heartwarming.
And although I am sorry it is so, it is interesting to me to read about Quincy's winter itchiness because Peg's itching has always been far worse during the winter, too. Over the years I have come to the same conclusion -- that what I blamed on allergies may have much to do with dry skin alone. The combo of the cold, dry air and the furnace make my own skin dry, so of course it can be affecting Peg, too, if she has a natural tendency toward skin issues. We have thought about trying to add a humidifier to the furnace or buying some individual room units, but there can be home environmental issues with those, too, so we've been dragging our feet. Plus, overall, Peg's itching has been less since switching her to the Douxo sebhorrea shampoo and being consistent with the oral omegas. And it's so interesting to me that, even with her staph issues, Luna is never itchy at all at any time of year. The skin is certainly a complicated "organ," all on it's own!
Anyway, once again, thanks so much for brightening my day with your videos of sweet Quincy! She is an fur-angel, indeed! :) :)
Marianne
Let's start with some update about Quincy's itching. It stayed problematic and we were running out of options...that is, options other then putting her on oral steroids or some other immune suppressor. Thankfully, my dermatologist sugested a new product, Cortavance (by Virbac), a corticosteroid spray. The spray gets absorped in the skin and stays in the skin, only 0.2 percent of it actually reaches the bloodstream. That is a lot better then oral corticosteroid use :) And Quincy responds to it very well. I spray her most itchy areas (underneath her tail and her ribcage) and she is itchfree for 24 hours :) We are now using it every other day and still it goes well :) So maybe this would be helpfull for some others on here... If you really have no choice but to use steroids, remember the cortavance spray, it's still steroids but a better option then the oral form.
Now for Quincy... :) She is still her happy, lovable and enthousiastic self :D Unfortunately, we didn't have much of a winter, or rather, we didn't have any winter. We just had 1 day of snow, very little snow but the only snow we had ;)
https://youtu.be/4MilnRm7HCI
And as always, she loves to help. Here she collects the bathroomrugs for me so they can be washed :D
https://youtu.be/AnZ7CZTPse4
And right now, she is sleeping, curled up against me, underneath the duvet :D And that is where she will stay the entire night...making sure we make physical contact and both underneath the duvet. Awwwwww, I just love her so... :)
Sas and Quincy :)