Whiskey models her new fashion

This post is a long time coming as I’ve been working on a sweater for Whiskey for a couple months now in between other projects.  I’ve started knitting a year ago and mostly use Youtube to learn as well as Raverly for patterns. When I first started, I noticed someone had posted a pattern for a dog sweater with a Vizsla modelling it so of course I needed to make it! We live in Canada, it can pretty chilly in the winter, and Whiskey is a bit skinny (no matter how much she eats) so it’s great to have a nice warm merino to throw on.

Good for male or female

This was my first experiment into joining parts together and picking up stitches for a sleeve. The only other things I’ve made before are lots of hats, scarves, snoods, and blankets. This was so much fun and much quicker than a human sweater.

She’s so warm in it!

The pattern isn’t highly detailed but for $2.00 it was very helpful for a starting place. I choose two skeins of superwash merino wool from TOSH VINTAGE (Laurel and Jade) but needed to buy a third skein for the arm sleeves (not needed but I just wanted a nicer finish). For a more interesting knit, I started some cabling down the spine of the sweater as well as a gradient from dark to light green. Also, I knitted the neck in the round rather than flat since I thought it would make the joining easier and cleaner. I finished the bottom with ribbing and added more ribbing on the “sleeves”. I had to adjust the arm holes a couple times to find the right fit for Whiskey.

Starting out I worked the neck in the round

splitting off into flat after the neck

So much fun changing into the second color

showing the split

In all, it was an easy knit, and now that I know her size, I can make the next one much quicker. Whiskey tolerates “clothing” quite well for a dog but I would make sure your pup is ok with sweaters before starting out. I would also suggest to knit in the round so you can constantly try the project on the dog as you go so there are no surprises. I think for the next one, I’ll extend the length of the inner belly section, make that section a bit more narrow, and maybe make the whole thing a bit longer.

Two pieces

cabling detail

A rainy camp trip was still beautiful

Last weekend we went back to the same place as last year for a camp trip: Fountain Lake

Last year she was still a puppy

This year fully grown

We had a different group, and different luck (or lack of) with the weather. This time, as we drove past Pemberton to the site, we enjoyed a thunder and lighting show as we safely avoided the remnants of small rockslides on the windy roads. By the time we arrived, it was pitch dark and rainy but thanks to an awesome tent, we got set up in minutes and could help everyone else. It’s quite a different experience from last year when we were wearing t-shirts to this year with several layers and a rain jacket.

a very rainy drive

halfway through setting up a group shelter

A cloudy and chilly lake

Someone is not happy in the rain!

Still beautiful

Fountain Lake

It rained consistently until late afternoon the next day. Rain can be miserable but it’s all about the right gear to enjoy even the worst weather. It’s also about distracting your rain-shy Vizsla with games to keep her from complaining with lots of stick throwing and sniff games. This is where I’ll go on to advertise merino wool as the best camping clothing. I was the only one toasty that morning clothed toe to head (socks, undies, shirt, hoodie and beanie) in merino. Whiskey had her new chillydog jacket and I was testing my new rain jacket (both worked great). A couple thermoses of hot tea and a well-rigged tarp ensured that we could happily play board games and nap until the sky cleared in the mid-afternoon.

Sleeping in the same bag

A couple strolls around the lake

Some low and high clouds

Working on balance

Lots to do even in bad weather

As we chowed down in the evening under a sky full of stars, we felt pretty lucky! Whiskey probably had the best sleep out of all of us. She absolutely loves sharing my sleeping bag and feels no guilt in waking me up in the middle of the night with a “punch” when she gets too hot. Somehow she is able to wiggle up and down my mummy sleeping bag and curl into a ball on my side (I don’t let her crawl down to my toes). We’ve tried bringing blankets, even a dog bed before, but she’s always ended up inside my sleeping bag. I’ve given into her now…

Really unsure about horses

Daddy…Is this safe?

Hold me!

Baby frog season

Getting sunnier!

Ariel view of Fountain Lake

The next day was beautiful, warm, and sunny. What a change! We took a walk around the lake where we met some little frogs. Whiskey “checked” them out with her mouth (all survived) but wasn’t interested in making friends.  When we came across a couple friendly horses, I found Whiskey was more concerned for our own safety than curious about the gigantic creatures. She was clearly not comfortable with us petting them but I do want her to get used to horses in the future. Soon after, we had to pack up soon after lunch for a long drive home. The road back is fantastic and we made a couple stops for photos and drone pictures.

Outside Lillooet

Town of Lillooet

Roadtrip!

Fantastic views

Duffey Lake

Green Lake

City on leash walks for now

We’re finished! I was so worried about having a female dog in heat, downtown, in the summer, in an apartment. I’ve heard that the first heat isn’t very representative of the future ones, that it can be lighter, shorter, and apparently sometimes people don’t even notice it. I’d be super surprised to not notice my dog in heat, but it honestly wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. Neither Whiskey nor any male dogs we met in these weeks went “crazy” and it really was only about 5-7 days in total where her drive to mate was strong enough to overtake her normally great recall.

off to quiet trails

a waterfall is welcome during a dry summer

The first week she bled, I noticed a decrease in energy and lots of small pees, but male dogs were not showing interested in her. I started feeding more buffalo/beef which has lots of iron as I notice that I become anemic and tired when I’m also bleeding. After that her energy popped right back up.

working on our modelling skills

By the second week, her appetite was back to normal (for 2-3 weeks before it was up and down) but the bleeding had shifted from bloody to a more pinkish color. The smell also go much stronger, which my partner hated, but for some reason it didn’t bother me. Whiskey became MUCH more interested in flirting with particular males (not every male) and males because quite interested in her. As, we live downtown, most males are neutered and haven’t encountered a female in heat before. I kept her on leash around other dogs and did many quieter hikes. I’m so lucky that there’s so much real estate for dogs to run that I never had a day I couldn’t let Whiskey run off leash for at least 45mins. Our normal dog park is normally empty at 7am for fetch, and there is such a selection of trail networks that you don’t have to go far for some beautiful walks on weekends.

the smoke from wildfires drifts into Vancouver

 The dog diapers worked great for the most part but there were a couple leaks. I ended up going with gigantic “night time” pads and hand washing the diapers every night as something would always leak. Our sheets also got stained as Whiskey loves to roll over for belly rubs (rolling around in diapers is bad).

pointing the way

At the 2.5 week mark point, the bleeding had stopped and males had stopped showing interest. Whiskey is still swollen and peeing lots but I’m really happy not having to worry about diapers. It gets annoying walking to the car with a diaper in your hands and don’t forget it to it off IMMEDIATELY when they get out of the car (2x she peed in her diaper).

my mountain goat in the North Shore

Overall it wasn’t the disaster I had expected in a busy downtown area with lots of dogs. I imagine this would have been much easier with a house and yard but it’s nice to know it’s manageable in an apartment. I’m still tossing up how much longer to wait to get Whiskey spayed, and what kind of spay, but at the moment, I’m just happy to have gone through this with her. She’s grown up now but she’ll always be my little Whiskey girl.

Stanley Park has many small side trails for fetch