Just *WOW*!

Lately I've been trying hard to work with Thane's excessive energy in regards to our work. Once I realized this was not a phase, but the process of Lyme receding, I began taking a more training approach to all of it.

Yesterday this paid off. The entire day was not perfect, but overall I saw that by using equipment like the GL, playing before outings, and walking long routes all could play a part in bringing our function as a team back to the way I remember it being.

Thane definitely needs more in this season than I am able to reasonably give him. Between the weather and my abilities, its a hard place to be as energy comes bounding back! We've been lucky this month though. We are experiencing an unseasonably dry December. Its often very cold, but as long as I can bundle up enough, we make good use of the days when I am able.

Yesterday I took a trip to New Seasons with him. Though he wanted to ice walk the floors excessively which took a lot of work to get him to slow down and walk on his feet, I still felt overall like things were going better than some previous outings lately where I was frankly half ready to retire him. The trip home went really smoothly- perhaps he was finally using up some of that extra energy grin.

We got home to discover that one of my neighbors had been running their exhaust fan and the exhaust fan cover I use to prevent neighbors from filling my apartment with their toxins had fallen off. It was horrible in here. This complex (despite what they try and make tenants believe) uses shared exhaust outlet. Rather than each apartment being a single outlet to the roof, they all come together and have a single outlet. This also means when one person runs their exhaust fan, it floods someone elses apartment. If that person happens to have MCS, it's not a pretty picture.

I was exhausted from the big trip to New Seasons, but we needed more foil tape for Dad to fix the vent cover. I planned to leave Thane home because I really did not expect he would want to turn back around and work again. He's the kind of dog who once you are home, it has taken a lot of work and training to get him willing to do something else again.

I was surprised when Thane was ready to go again. I harnessed him up and off we went to the hardware store- clear down where we catch the bus after taking the long walk in the morning. Thane worked flawlessly which was so great for me. We spent a lot of the evening playing toys in the bedroom. It was a lot of fun watching Thane begin to play by himself at times again. It was like I was seeing a side of Thane that I have not seen in a very long time.

I know Thane needs more than I am able to give him on a daily basis. That is a hard thing for me because I want to give him what he needs. That all said, I plan to do my very best as we continue to press through the remainder of Lyme and re-learn how to work together as a team with all this energy!