Sam has a cold.

Sam has a cold. He has a cough and his eyes are weeping. Mama said it's because he went swimming in the water tank under the hill and he got wet and cold. It could be he ingested some of the scummy water. More likely just a run of the mill cold. The cough sounds bad but he doesn't act sick. I've looked it up on the computer and he should be fine in a day or two. If he's not, we will go to the vet.

We were at the vet's yesterday to have him weighed. I was pleasantly surprised how willing he was to get into the car and how well he rode. He didn't drool at all and seemed interested in looking out the window. He behaved well in the lobby. He went in without needing to be coaxed or pulled. He wanted to see everything at once and there was a lot to see. There were children, a lamb, another dog, and cats (wandering around like they owned the place, which they probably do). We had to wait until the person in front of us payed his bill. By the time we were called, he had decided he'd seen it all and had decided to sit down and wait. He finally put his head down on his paws and looked like the most patient dog in the world.

He wasn't very happy about getting up on the scales. They 'jiggle' when stepped on and it seems to scare him. The vet picked him up and set him down. He stood there like he was afraid to even breathe. It was almost funny. He was very happy to get back on stable ground.

He's gained about two pounds. It probably would have been more if he hadn't refused to eat much while I was in Lexington last month. He looked much thinner when I got home. We thought maybe it was the food so I bought him some Iams. He's eating much better.

The reason for having him weighed was to see if he needed one "bone" or two for worming. The little bone medication looks cute but apparently isn't very tasty. It took some doing to get him to swallow it. Next time, I'll coat it with peanut better or hide it in some cheese.

He's outside right now, surveying his property and making his rounds of responsibility. It keeps him busy and before too much longer he will be ready to come in for a nap.

New bad action that I want to break before it becomes a habit:
He's started climbing up on us. It seems to be his way of telling us he wants to go outside...very badly...right now please....hurry! It works since we've put him out when he does it. I need to come up with another way for him to let us know when he wants to go out..... He never asks to be let in. He will lie down on the rug and patiently wait for someone to come and ask if he would like to come in. Sometimes the answer is yes and sometimes he just lies there and looks at you so you know the answer is no. Maybe I'll try to offer to let him out more often. (It does seem to happen more when he's being ignored because we are busy, trying to nap, or sleeping in the morning and hoping he will go back to sleep!)