Teenage Years

According to the dog age chart we got our first vet visit, Sammy, now 15 months is 16 years old in human years. Boy is that easy to tell! I mean, Sammy isn't driving or needing a tux for prom, but he is getting yucky pimples and wooing girl dogs!

Sammy has been plagued with dog acne. I didn't know they had it either! Apparently it is most common in big dogs, but Sammy is just lucky enough to be an exception. They are disgusting! From what I understand, it can be a phase for younger dogs while their hormones settle between puppy and adult dogs. I'm hoping it will be a short phase. There isn't much we can do. We need to keep it clean and if it proves to start to be irritating (itchy or sore) we can get him an aloe vera skin lotion/gel to soothe it. I have pictures on here, they look awful, so BEWARE!! He doesn't seem bothered by it too much. When we first noticed it, there were quite a few little ones, and now there are just 3 big ones. The one popped, which concerned us quite a bit, so now we are using medicated wipes to clean it.

Has anyone else's dog had acne? I've never had a dog with acne, at least that we knew of.

On a much cuter, happier note, today Sammy seemed to like a girl dog at the dogpark today! Omaha has been lucky enough to have some mild temperatures lately. Starting today we are starting a warm, above 90 degree, high humidity streak for the forseeable weather. I had today off, so since we were unable to go swimming (rainy) yesterday, I made it up to him by going to the dogpark this morning before if got too warm. When we got there, there were only two dogs in the all dog side. So we gave it a shot. Sammy had fun running with them, but once they wanted to play, they were a little too much for him. We were going to go for a nice long walk instead, when on our way out, we saw two dogs in the small dog side. Both Italian Greyhounds. Sammy loves all greyhounds. They love to run, and Sammy loves to chase and herd. They are gentle and can calm down easily. Perfect combo. Immediately he ran right for them. He chased them a bit, then all three ran back to the picnic table where we were sitting with the greyhounds' owner. Two other dogs entered and we thought it was strange as can be that Sammy didn't feel the urge to go and introduce himself and greet them. He usually MUST greet every dog and person to come through the gate. As well as when he first comes in, he must make the rounds to each dog and person and introduce himself then, too. He's so silly.
After a couple minutes, we noticed Sammy wasn't so much infatuated by the greyhounds as much as by the one, girl greyhound! He licked her face and stood right next to her. If she went to see her owner, Sammy sat right next to her while she got attention. If she came to get lots of petting from me, he was not jealous, totally fine sharing attention with her. If she took off to get water, or run with her "brother," or see a different dog, he ran with her. When they would stand, he stood right next to her. We have never seen him act this attached to another dog in this way. He has followed older dogs in his puppy days, as well and stand guard to puppies and dogs way smaller than him, but this was more of an equal partnership between them. AND, she didn't seem to mind at all! When talking to the owner, we were very sad to learn that they don't live here in Omaha. Apparently she is preparing to move to Omaha, and was up seeking job opportunities. Hopefully they will be able to meet again someday, because it was just so darn cute! When it came time to leave, he was absolutely exhausted, but he was unhappy at the prospect of leaving! As we walked out, he looked back every few steps. I think my baby is lovesick! :(
We shared ice cream this afternoon! He is just getting so grown up!!