Slow Down, Puppy!

Mishka.

We love her.

She has so much energy!

And she loves to climb and jump!

She's been an energetic, sweet, and fun puppy!

She likes to sit on my sewing counter to see what's going on in the rest of the room.
What projects are you working on?

She climbs up on the table to sneak into the garage window.
If she's sneaky enough, and I don't catch her...
 she eats the cat food sitting on the shelf.

She loves to jump, too!

She's one of our "Three Musketeers!" 

They all work together and play together!
Scout and JJ, the two adult dogs, get along very well with Mishka, the puppy.

She's a sweet puppy, but she is not always careful.

Monday night when the dogs and I went out to the barn to do the chores, Mishka started yelping!

We didn't know what she did, so Tim took her to the veterinarian at Utah Veterinary Hospital on Tuesday.  

Oooops!

All that running and jumping caused 2 fractures in her leg.

One fracture on top of the growth plate on her tibia.

One fracture below the growth plate on her tibia.

Mammals have growth plates. Growth plates are at the end of long bones, like legs and arms. That is the spot where your bones grow longer, which means you can grow taller. If you fracture (break) a growth plate you have to be very careful that it heals correctly or your bones might not be the same length when you are an adult.

Neither fracture is giant. We'll let the vet take another x-ray in a few weeks to see if it's healing properly. If it isn't, then she'll need surgery.

Mishka gets extra calcium every day to help her bone heal properly.

She's also wearing a cast.

She isn't allowed on the stairs inside while she's wearing a cast. She goes up stairs easily, but we don't want her to slip and fall down the stairs until she's healed.

Yesterday she learned to jump with her cast on. I settled her down pretty fast because that could make her injury worse.

It's exciting being a puppy or a child and being alive! Puppies, kid goats, calves, and offspring of most mammals love to play rough and have fun! Playing rough also helps them, and you, grow strong and healthy.

Mishka's cast hasn't slowed her down much.

Tommy has been adventurous this week, too! This is his first time climbing a ladder. He's an adult, so he's a little smarter and a little more careful than Mishka. 

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Our grass still has lots of leaves on it. The dogs love to roll around in them. It's so much fun!

Their fur coats are covered in grass and leaves! 

I haven't had time to groom Scout today. I often brush them when I'm done in the barn in the morning. If I groom them a little bit every day I have a lot less mess in the house.

I hope you run and play and have a lot of fun this week! If you get hurt, I hope you don't let it get you down.

Wonders 2nd Grade Unit 2, week 4