I've been chasing a new career, that's been taking me out of the house, calling on bars, taphouses and restaurants selling beer for Hermitage Brewing Company.  The brewer there is an old friend of mine from the homebrewing days.
Unfortunately, it's meant we've needed to work around giving Jack the time he needs, and getting him out of the house.
We went out with the Poodles at Play group yesterday, and Jack was lovin' life again!
He jumped around, and ran around with the other dogs more than he's done in a long time.
He takes a while to get to know new dogs, but these guys are like his buddies now, and feels pretty comfortable around them.  I think this group has done him a lot of good.
Morgan Territory is probably the most remote of the parks in the East Bay.  It's 10 miles up a one lane paved road, that gets pretty scary at points.
But in the spring it's amazing.  It's so green it hurts the eyes, and wildflowers grow in carpets.
Seems the manzanita trees like it there too!

Just a note that we found a great new source of Percortin, and you should too, if you're living with an Addison's dog.
http://www.petrescuerx.com/index.cfm/product/312_133/percorten-v.cfm

PetRescueRx is a not-for-profit company that donates it's profit to rescue organizations, of which Addisons Dogs is one.  The price on Percortin is about the same as PetMeds after you go through all the price matching, coupons, etc.  The service is prompt.  It's still expensive, but you feel a little better about where the profitability is going.
Jack in his "Go Giants" bandana...

Yeah, he's fine....

Sorry, I guess I didn't finish the saga of Jack's brush with an Addison Crisis.
Really, I just got a 1/4 of a 5mg prednisone down him and he was fine.  So, if your Addison dog starts acting like he's having a crisis, look to the glucocortoid: prednisone.  I probably forgot it the previous day.

So he's back to normal now, and actually had a PLAY session this morning.  There has always been a group or two of dogs/owners who meet up at the local grade school field early in the morning for a social romp.  It really does everyone good.
Jack has always had issues around other dogs, he views them as competition, rather than as playmates.  This morning, however, he kinda got with the program, chasing a massive Doberman around along with his boxer buddy.  Often, he was the referee, as poodles often are, when the Doby and the Boxer were having a go, he had to step in and comment.  He even stole the Toy, much to everyone's delight.  (SO wish I had a picture to show you!)

Meanwhile, I've made arrangements for Cleo's final vet visit next week.  She still eats, sleeps (a LOT), does her bidnez where/when she should, and can get up the stairs (not down) by herself.  I'm conflicted.
However, she isn't having any fun.
I have a feeling the next post will be all about the Cleo.

Jack didn't touch his breakfast this morning, and is acting kinda subdued.  Not. Good.
I gave him his last Percortin injection 11 days ago on Sept 22.  More to come.....

Electrolytes tested, 8/25/2014

It's been over a year since we tested Jack's electrolytes, so I brought him in for the blood sample the morning he was due for his DOCP injection.  He's still getting 2cc's of Percortin V every 28 days.
Results: Na= 146, .5 under the midpoint of the range.  K= 4.6, .5 over the midpoint of the range.

The wisdom on Percortin is: Give DOCP shot when K values are SLIGHTLY HIGHER than midpoint, Sodium slightly LOWER than midpoint.  Don't give DOCP with K below midpoint.
In other words, this is ideal management of electrolytes.
Jack is very, very stable...at least in that regard!
Even after that, today he barfed his breakfast on the way back from our climb up the ridge.  No shaking, but he spent much of the morning in his crate.  At noon, we went outside, had a chewie, a brush and I shaved his face.  Seems perfectly normal...
Dogs barf.  But with Addisons dogs, everything puts you on high alert, even when the science says everything is perfect.

I haven't updated this blog for several months.  There hasn't been anything of medical interest for the Addison's interested, Jack's health has been excellent.
Jack's starting to act a little like a dog, to my great delight.  We were out at Lake Chabot with the Oodles of Poodles crowd, which included a number of dogs Jack didn't know.  Jack is slow to trust new dogs, generally.
There were a couple of youngsters, 7 and 11 month old standard poodles on this trip.  They habitually ran ahead of the group, running back and forth between their owners and point.  Sometimes they'd engage Jack with a sniff and a play bow.  Jack would bark, lunge and run them off.
Of course, the puppies thought this was a new game.
Pretty soon, they'd run away, and run back to bounce in front of Jack again.  Pretty soon, it had us all laughing and Jack running back and forth on the trail with the pups.  Jack got comfortable with the whole thing, and might have got the idea that this is what "Play" is all about.

Lake view...

A couple of other adventures we've been on were trips to the beach in Albany, and the "Albany Bulb", once a dump for demolished construction waste and recently a homeless encampment known for it's um.. artistic side.

And of course, Mike and Martha's Dunsmuir Ridge Temple to the Universe...

We went 'swimming' in Lake DelValle, but Maya did most of the swimming...

and talked about it a lot....

We had a great little hike this weekend with Poodles At Play up above Tilden Park, in Berkeley.  I need to explore around the Grizzly Peak Road area a little more for some hiking.
This area above Tilden boasts views from Antioch across Marin, Mt. Tam, the Golden Gate, and San Francisco (seen here).  It also looks out over Contra Costa on the other side of the ridge, with Mt Diablo, Las Trampas and unknown waves of ridges receding to the East.
This is a WWII gun battery set up for a straight shot at anything coming through the Golden Gate.