The Save Phineas Facebook Page or People are Stupid Part II

Briard Puppies from Mon Amie Briards

It is a wonder to me that people aren't bitten more often by dogs.   The Huffinton Post ran an article about how not to get bitten.  It centered upon a news anchor that loved dogs, but was a special kind of stupid around them.  The dog was clearly showing signs of anxiety which she did not read or understand.  She was more caught up in her own " I just love animals" and swooped in for a kiss and got nailed (bitten).  It is unfortunate that the dog  happened to be a pit bull type.  But it wasn't his breed, it was the behavior of the human that triggered this.  The three breeds most likely to bite are the Dachshund, the Chihuahua and the Jack Russell terrier.  Cocker Spaniels are also at the top of the list. 

Reality Check Folks:  Sticking your face into a dogs face is considered aggressive particularly if you are staring in their eyes.  How many ways can I say:  Don't Do It.

Having people stick their faces in your dog's face happens a lot.  I had Nana at a small town that is also a state park.  Nana is cute and attracts attention.  A young girl asked to pet her.  I said yes, and put Nana in a sit position.  My idea of "Can I pet your dog" was clearly different from hers.  She immediately swooped in, stuck her face in Nana's and started loving on her.  All I could think of is "Oh !@#$" .

 Being who I am I couldn't help but say:

"It's really not a good idea to put your face in a dogs face, it is a good way to get bitten".
"Oh, I never get bitten"  she said.
"You get bitten all the time" her Mother said.

Nana was a good girl and did nothing.  Maybe the girl learned something, maybe she didn't.  I did, no one gets to pet my dog; because Nana and I will be the one that will pay the price for someone's stupidity. 

Some dogs are vicious, broken or mentally unstable and that wasn't a breed statement.    I am not one of those who thinks there are no bad dogs only bad owners.  I do think there are lots of bad owners and stupid owners and owners that should never be allowed to have dogs and they have great dogs; and some bad dogs can have really good owners.   Some dogs should be put on the extermination list, but not without a fair trial and an opportunity to have the case reviewed by knowledgeable dog behaviorists not local county officials.  Blanket zero tolerance laws are bad laws.  Unless you plan to start putting children who bite on death row we need to stop putting dogs there unless they really have earned it.

Life Goes On

 

Nana and her favorite toy

 

Nana and I are learning to travel light, though she does a better job than I do. Her needs are simple, food, someone to throw her toy and then play tug a war with her, a hissy toy or two (the second favorite toy) and someone to watch over.  I could do without the hissy toys however.

 

Me on the other hand am having a tougher time of it.  I have definitely learned one does not need a lot of things.  It is amazing how few clothes one actually needs.  Caring for my father has taught me a few things - like what I really need to make me happy.

 

I learned I don't need cats.

They bring gophers in the house and then devour them on the floor only to puke it back up later.

They leave bits and pieces of intestine of mice, gophers, moles, etc out the back door which become covered in ants.

They can't manage to hit the cat box, or maybe they can and just want to make me nuts. They decide that 5am is a wonderful time to get up and smack you upside the head to make sure you get up.

Cat boxes reek, and yes I clean them regularly. 

 They vomit hair balls just because they can. 

 

I need my Staub cast iron pots.

 

I have discovered you can cook, bake, grill and boil in these things.  I have never cooked with better.  Pricey yes, but worth every penny.  Buy them if you can, they truly are a joy.  You can also buy whimsical knobs: pig, rooster, snail and I am currently on the hunt for the rabbit.  Yes, caregiving can make you crazy. 

 

I need to garden.

I need to work with fiber, whether that is to knit, spin, or weave

I need books to read

I need dreams and friends.

 

And most of all I need Nana; funny, silly, loyal and such a clumsy dufus.

 

The Loyal Dog

The Briard has been bred for centuries to herd and to protect their flocks. To domesticated briards, their family is the flock.  (Wikipedia).   These dogs were often left to their own devices to protect the flock and developed a certain independent streak and the ability to make decisions on their own.  They deeply bond with their owners, but remember they view the family as the flock they are to protect and direct.  This can lead to some interesting behaviors and negotiations.

It is one thing to read something it is another to see it in action.  Nana and I spend most of our time living in Sonora caring for my father.  Nana clearly sees my father as a more vulnerable member of the flock. One  she has to keep closer tabs on.   She has developed a morning routine guided by her internal clock.  She will decide that I have slept enough and pounce or stick her nose in my face.  If this is not enough to convince me to get up she has been known to grab the covers and pull them off the bed.  Once I am out of bed and moving she will then go to my father's room and lay down with her head on her paws outside his closed door until he gets up.  It doesn't matter how long or what cat walks by - she is there until he rises.  I always know my father is up because I can hear Nana clattering down the stairs, a vanguard to my father's arrival in the kitchen.

 She is happiest when we are all in the same room, but will settle for being able to lie where she can see us both.  Dad spends a lot of time in the library of the house dozing on his couch.  This is an acceptable place for Dad to be and Nana will wander in and out, beg me to play tug-of-war, escort me on my daily activities, try to play with or herd the cats.  But she always keeps track of Dad.  Dad has reached an age where he is often cold. We have had a few warm days and Dad has taken advantage of the warmth of the sun to sit and soak up some warmth.  Nana is wild if Dad goes out without her.  It doesn't matter if she can see him through the window her job is to be there next to him while he sleeps in the sun so he is kept safe from harm.  While wolves may be a thing of the past in Sonora, her DNA tells her otherwise and she is taking no chances with the most vulnerable member of her flock.

So Far, So Good

The good news is that Nana has been seizure free for weeks now.  Of course being very superstitious I am almost afraid to write those words.  The seizures had started when I had moved her to a Blue Buffalo dry dog food chicken product.  I then heard of a problem Blue Buffalo had about a year ago with the possibility of too much vitamin D in certain product lines.  To much Vitamin D can cause a drop in calcium levels which are implicated in the type of seizures Nana was having.  The line I was feeding Nana was not one of the affected dog food product lines, never the less I decided to change from Blue Buffalo.  Nana was now having between three and four seizures a day.  I switched her on a Tuesday evening.  She had three seizures the next day, then two days without and then a very minor event on the following day.  After that we have been seizure free.  It has been three and half weeks now.  Now any good scientist will tell you that correlation is not causation.  If I was a good scientist I would put her back on the Blue Buffalo product and see if the seizures come back.    I guess I will never be a good scientist.

Next on the Medical Menu.......

Just as I was feeling quite smug and pleased with myself for having figured out that Nana was lactose and wheat intolerant and had brought her inner intestinal track in line, she decided to give me something new to wig over.  Nana had her first small, epileptic seizure last Saturday.  She has had several more since then and we are now off to a neurological appointment on Wednesday of next week.  If that wasn't enough, in my panic/excitement of seeing a seizure and loading her into the car for a trip to the emergency vet clinic I left a pot of chicken in water on the stove.  I am now in discussions with the insurance company over a protein fire and the smoke damage that ensued  But, that story is on my Tired of Being Nice blog, or will be when I get to it.

Back to Nana.  Last Saturday while driving home I noticed she was doing this weird "bobble-headed" dog thing.  Whoa!!!  That is not normal.......while trying to see what Nana was experiencing and not driving into on coming traffic, or into the car in front of me I tried to assess just what I was seeing.  Do I drive straight to the emergency vet?  Do I wait?  The "EVENT" lasted about a minute and then was done.  No more events for 2.5 days.  Then last night, she is lying at me feet while I watch an episode of Dollhouse on Netflix when I notice she is starting to do the Bobble-head dog thing.  I go into over achiever mode, call her downstairs, load her in the car, call the emergency vet yelling:  "INCOMING" and totally spaced on the chicken I was boiling on the stove with the timer on.  Of course she is fine at the vet, neurological exam is normal, and there is nothing to see.  2.5 hours later I am home, discover that I have completely engulfed my home in grey smoke and spend the next two hours trying to clear smoke and apologize to my neighbors, apparently we share the same air duct systems, chat up the local fire department, and am grateful that I didn't kill my cat in the process.  By 11:00pm I am back in the house, Nana is really tired and lays down.  OOPS,  another seizure event;  I grabbed my little camera and filmed about 40 seconds, and called the vet.  The movie file was too big, required real player, quick time, God Knows What Time Player and so couldn't get it to her.  Blech.....   Nana had another event this afternoon, I leased her up and took her outside.  I had noticed that when her interest is completely engaged the episodes diminish and quit.  The seizure abated within about 30 seconds.  I am on the net doing my research and logging any episodes I witness for the vets.  I'm not sure what has caused this but am trying to figure it out.  They are increasing and I am trying to head off a Kindling effect if that is possible.  In other words there is a threshold where a seizure will occur, the Kindling effect essentially lowers the threshold or increases the likelihood of an event.  In the mean time our home is a smelly waste dump that I am told isn't toxic but they are recommending I move out for 2 weeks, not toxic?.......I'm thinking they aren't telling me everything.

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho.....It Is Off To The Vet We Go

Once again we are off to the vet for the same old problem of bad gut.  She was doing so well; for over a week and half her stool was exactly as it should be.  Night before last she woke me at midnight with a need to go outside.  What was that horrible smell - ah yes, a large pile of liquid doggie poop on the floor and yes she did need to go out, and out and out; about once every two hours and then every half hour.  I have no idea what made her go from just fine to liquid ugly.  In every other respect she looks and acts just fine.  She is eating, playing, alert, no extended belly. 

I watch what she eats like a hawk and don't let her free graze anything.  I am really suspecting that there is some kind of impaction; how that would happen I have no clue.  So now I am getting concerned since it isn't going away and the food she is taking in does not equal her output.  I have a noon appointment, pet insurance and a credit card so I will just wait until then. 

Can We Say Lactose Intolerant!

I continue to examine doggie poop with the interest of a duck on a June bug.  One thing for certain Nana is Lactose intolerant, which I can't say without thinking of that wonderful scene between Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline in French Kiss.  If you haven't seen the movie - I highly recommend it.

Once I eliminated the dairy products things were looking up, well actually things were firming up.  Then I added Canidae and things went back to Cow Pie Central.  Argh!.......So back to just chicken and rice and off to the pet store to buy a SMALL bag of the old Controlled Growth Puppy Food by Nutro which is what she has been since I got her.  I will give it a couple of days and then start to introduce sprinkles of Nutro and see how it all works out. 

Best poops she ever had was when she was eating road apples at will while hiking.  Nothing like some pre-digested grass hay to add bulk to the diet.  Probably gave her giardia as well - so not a recommended diet addition, but I did find these vegetarian doggie treats that might do the trick.  Put let's be realistic if the dog treats were created by dogs they would have names like:

Road Apple Delight
Goose Poop Perfection
Duck, Duck, Goose
Road Kill Cafe

They certainly would not be pumpkin and sweetpotatoe based.  When Nana barks at the bowl that has pumpkin in it and runs around to the other side of the ottoman and lays down - you know it is a two paws down commentary on the dinner menu.  No Nana, I am not trying to poison you - it's healthy honest!

The Pee and Poo Report Brought To You By...........

I have recently become a connoisseur of Poop.  I look at it, squish it, and bring samples of it to the Vet.  No this isn't some new strange sexual fetish I have developed.  No, no, no.....Nana has Colitis with a dose of Giardia just to add to the fun.  I noticed a couple of days ago that there was blood in Nana's stool.  Not a lot and only in the first stool of the day.  Why she had blood in her stool is really a toss up.  I could be part of the horse hoof she grabbed at the barn and happily chewed on, and no the hoof was not attached to a snorting, four footed equine. It was part of  the trimmings left behind by the farrier.  Then again, it could have been caused by part of the cloth wrapped, piece of scrunchy rubber band I found in the stool, or maybe it was what looked like a hair ball the cat hacked up and Nana ingested.  Really amazing what you can find while rummaging through scat.  At any rate, blood in stool requires a Vet check particularly when it seems to be getting worse.

Nana does not look sick.  She roared into the vet clinic, barked at a couple of dogs, bounced up and down a couple of times, offered the treating Vet a play bow and bark and expressed trained out of there with new drugs to take.  The stool samples I dropped off also showed Giardia.  This she could have gotten anywhere since we walk, hike and hang out in low places - the kind that have interesting things to sniff and streams next to trails that meander under trees.  So who knows where she got this stuff, I watch her closely, but she manages to get into trouble anyway.  Other dogs can eat anything without problems, but my delicate little flower is a regular at the Vet whether it is for pulled muscles, fox tails in the paw, or blood in the stool.  I've kind of decided to just send them really large checks on the first of the month, because I can just about guarantee we will be there for something before the month is over.

Ah yes, the joys of dog ownership.  There are some moments I have to remind myself why I love it, pawing through scat is one of them.

Nana meets Risky the Wonder Dog

Nana met Risky the Wonder Dog a couple of days ago.  Now Risky is a 4 year old intact male Briard with a 300 word vocabulary.  He can accurately fetch a named toy or fetch it by color.  He is good at the old 'go fetch my slippers faithful dog'.   Nana on the other hand is good at the grab, go and rib to shred the slippers.  Though there is some improvement.

Risky is a very busy boy and does not tolerate a locked door, he wants to know where his people are and he wants to keep an eye on them.  Which is why he can open doors, unlock things and get you a beer or a bottle of water out of the fridge.  Joe claims Risky learns much of this on his own by observing, e.g. the newpaper retrieve.  Nana on the other hand does not open doors and is worse than a two year old when mommy is trying to use the bathroom with the door shut.  "What are you doing in there?!?!"  Open this door now!!!  Or I will huff and puff and claw it down.

The above picture of them walking together is a tribute to Risky's owner, Joe and Ceasar Milan.  Risky wasn't sure he wanted to meet Nana.  He is a bit of the "I'll sniff your butt, but your not sniffing mine" side of the street.  Now polite doggies know it is a mutual sniff routine.  However, Joe was able to get them walking together after a bit.  We're thinking sheep herding trials would be a cool thing to do.  I can see Risky herding up the sheep, sorting them by color,  grading their wool and making sure they are all in the proper pens with the gates shut and secure.  Nana on the other hand will be doing a play bow and wondering why the fuzzy white thing doesn't act more like a dog.

You can find Risky the Wonder Dog on YouTube  Risky the Wonder Dog


It was great to meet Risky and I have my friend Barbara Sue to thank for the introduction.  

Take That Anne Klein!

Nana is bored.  Nana is very bored and is looking for all the trouble she can find; my shoe collection will probably not be the same. She is also sneaky.  I once watched her very stealthily reach out and slide a rope toy out from under the nose of her good friend Patsy the Labrador when Patsy looked away for a moment.  Nana didn't want the toy she wanted Patsy to play with her.  When Patsy glanced back, toy was gone, but Nana was there with her best play face on in an effort to entice Patsy to a game of wrestling.

My closet has become the newest attraction with stealth missions being conducted daily for it's treasures.  There is the added attraction of a small, black, hissy toy that resides in there.  This animated toy can sometimes be spotted on the bed, but prefers the closet and refuses to play with Nana no matter how many play barks and bows Nana offers.  The hissy toy only has flattened ears and a yellow glare to offer in the play department unless Nana gets to close in which case the hissy toy has the fastest claw in the West. 

Now the shoe in the picture is one of a pair of Anne Klein loafers that I have had for years and are my "fall back" choice for pants.  I love the ballerina look and these were as close as I could get at the time; ballerina styles shoes being out of fashion at that moment.  This pair of shoes should have been thrown out a year ago, but I have a tendency to "keep" things in the closet of infinite holding far to long.  As much as I am not happy about her eating a pair of my shoes it does force me to pair down - not a bad thing.  Now if I can just bring myself to throw away the hiking boots whose soles are literally separating from the side of the shoe.  Maybe I should let Nana make the decision for me.

  

The Doggy Orthopod

Nana is on house rest and anti-inflammatories after her puppy park trauma of a week ago.  I mentioned in my last post that Nana was lame on a front foot. Well....it just didn't seem to get better and my friend Pat, who conveniently is a vet, looked at her and said, "get her to the Orthopod"  or something like that.  Sigh.....fortunately for Loomis Basin Veterinary Hospital's financial sheet, they happen to have one.  So off to the doggie bone doctor on Thursday for a complete exam and treatment plan.  After some discussion, I decided to pass on the $700 worth of x-rays and try the rest, anti-inflammatories for a week then light exercise the following week.

It does seem to be helping, but try telling a 10 month old Briard with lots of energy that they need to rest and not exert themselves - particularly as they are trying to rabbit around the tiny living room I have in an uncontrollable burst of exuberance.  It was a nice stress test however and she wasn't limping after her zoomie moment which is a good thing.  So...I think she is getting better and probably just pulled a muscle playing with the other dogs.  A little rest, a little Ace at night to try and get her to calm down and we will both survive the next few days of house rest.

Someone commented that they couldn't tell what the picture was of in the last blog post.  It is Nana, upside down with her legs over her face.  I thought it looked like an "Oh no...." picture after all the things that she had been through.  :)

If it's Not One Thing It Is Another

This seems to have been our week for puppy trauma. 

First, there was the foxtail in the paw that necessitated a trip to the vet to be removed.  Back on antibiotics and an antiseptic wash that I needed to soak her foot for 5 minutes in.  This entails mixing the antiseptic wash with water until it is "sky blue", pouring it into a baggy, jamming the foot in the bag and holding it closed for 5 minutes while Nana tries to dislodge the bag from her leg while I do my best to keep her from doing that.  This looks something like a Cha-Cha as she periodically kicks her foot out in an effort to get rid of me and the baggy.

Second, there was a string of incredibly hot days.  One evening, I failed to adequately monitor her water intake while at the doggie park and I realized when we got home that she was beginning to experience heat exhaustion.  I didn't like her respiration and she didn't voluntarily go to the water bowl.  ACK!!!   Fortunately the house AC was already on.  I got her some very cool water to drink and had her drink as much as possible in two sessions to get hydrated and cool her insides.  Then out came the cool wet towels to try and cool her outside down.  Now I am much more vigilant about making sure she stays cool (she hates being hosed down) and gets enough water to drink when it is hot and she is outside.

Third,  I clipped her nails and for the first time, cut the quick on a hind foot which refused to stop bleeding.  Flour can be used to help clot the blood.  Unfortunately it didn't really help in this case, so I had a dog paw covered in flour which was now the color of scarlet and being tracked all over the rug.  Two phone calls to Loomis emergency vet hospital, flour and red splotches all over the rug and a drive to have a tech at Loomis put some quick stop on the nail which was actually beginning to slow the bleeding characterized my evening.   While she was in no danger of bleeding to death, it definitely rattled me and my rug is a whole lot worse for the experience.

Fourth,  Nana is currently lame on her front foot.  I think it is in the ankle joint but not completely sure.  I do know it happened day before yesterday at the dog park while she was playing with two other dogs.  I watched her come up a three legged dog from the usual scrum, but still don't know how it actually occurred.  I think she must have stepped wrong, twisted wrong, something that would make her tender on the front right leg.  She is most lame when she has been sleeping and first tries to walk.  It gets better  as she walks it out unless she runs, twists, or plays to hard.  I think it just needs time to rest and heal if she strained it.  But I can't trust her to monitor her own activity so we are not at the dog park until I see some significant improvement.  Of course tell that to Nana - who just wants to run and play and doesn't understand why she can't visit all the usual suspects at the doggie park. 

I used to spend a lot of time at the pediatrician now I spend my spare time and money at the vet.  Not much different really.

QUIET!! Bad Dog Nana



Nana! Quiet!

 Sigh....I don't know why she was barking like an idiot today at the barn.  Normally, she is quiet and waits patiently in her exercise pen in Draco's stall until I am done riding.  Normally, if she barks it is because there is a dog she isn't familiar with who has arrived.  Normally, she is a good dog.  But not today.   Granted she and I were the only ones there and there wasn't the normal activity to keep her attention.  She was noisy enough for Leslie to come down from the house and request I do something.  Unfortunately, the only sure cure was to leave.  So, I took off Draco's saddle, put my stuff away and put Draco back in pasture.  Not that I think he minded the turn of events - he got groomed and fluffed without having to earn his keep.  At least someone was happy with the turn of events...well actually two critters were happy with the turn of events.  Nana was more than excited to be let out of the ex-pen, I was less excited as she leaped in the air, grabbed the leash, my shirt and tried to start a game of tug of war.  We had been to the doggie park before coming to the barn in an effort to get some of her energy spent - but apparently not enough.  I am really hoping this is not a new trend with her, since I currently have no choice but to take her with me when I go places if we get permanently banned from the barn my days of riding will be over.  So, Nana you need to be QUIET!!

Nana Goes to School

Nana turned 8 months this last week and I felt it was time she started school.  Like some pretentious parents, I wanted my darling to go to the right school, no public school for her, no..no..no.  Actually I didn't care if it was public or private, but I knew what I was looking for and so far hadn't found it.  It was suggested that I try a private facility in Granite Bay. The trainer had a good reputation, and now trained with an eye toward agility/rally competitions.  I couldn't just sign up,  I had to make an appointment for an evaluation.  Would Nana be right for this exclusive facility?  Did we have what it takes?  What did I think of the curriculum and would she like it there? 

In reality, yes it is a private training facility and I did like what I saw.  The dogs were having fun.  This was classical and behavioral training at its best.  Catch the dog doing something right and praise.  The dogs learn by playing.  No yank and crank.  No punishment.  Actually, this place is not a dog training facility - it's really a handler training facility where the dog benefits from handler improvement. So far it has what I wanted, a place where the dogs are happy, having fun, seem to really like what they are doing.  I'm not sure who will benefit more, me or Nana.  The instructor has her work cut out teaching me to be a better dog handler.  I don't praise enough, my timing is off, the art of play is not something I do well. But I am going to assume I can learn.

Nana and I must have made the cut, because I have a second appointment.  Now like any neurotic parent that wants their princess in the right school I will worry about managing the tuition costs - but she is worth it.

Nana goes to the Beauty Parlor

Nana went to the doggy beauty parlor today.  What should have taken a couple of hours morphed into almost 4 hours.  One of the consequences of the "donut of healing" was a large collection of mats everywhere the donut rubbed against her hair.

After several days of trying to de-mat the mess, I decided it was time to call in the experts.  Not only do they have a great little tool (beginners should not try this at home), but also extra bodies on hand to hold and distract the princess when she starts getting nippy.  So....several hours later, Nana was ready to come home.



Yes,  I really do have eyes

She ate, drank, and promptly went to sleep, getting beautiful is exhausting work.

5 More Days and Counting

Would it be a stretch to say we are going stir crazy in this purgatory called recovery?  Nana, who's recovery was rather problematic during the first 5 days has turned a corner and all that innate energy is trying to find somewhere to go.  Let's not forget how awful the weather has been.  I've even resorted to that time tested coping mechanism of driving around in the car on pseudo errands just to give us both something different to do.  I know Nana keeps hoping the metal machine will find its way to Hidden Falls where she can finally get out, find a few choice road apples and stretch her legs in a full on gambol.  Nope, she sits in the car while I buy more treats to stuff into a Kong that she can roll around the floor, keeping her occupied for short periods of time.

Bored dogs bark.  Given how impoverished her activity level is at the moment, she has decided to view anything that goes by the window as a threat that needs warning off.  This is not a good thing, she even barked at a video a friend posted on facebook.   Yep, boredom is not a good thing. 

The good news is I was able to take off the donut of healing for a little while this morning.  She is leaving her incision alone for the moment.  I still don't trust her, but as long as she leaves it alone I will leave the donut off.  Like a sheep, Nana is felting up where the rubber donut has rubbed against the underside of her chin and on her shoulders. Did I mention that it is the second donut I had to buy.  She managed to bite a whole in the first one. 

Like I said, 5 days and counting.

In Recovery

The donut of healing

Nana was spayed last Wednesday.  Recovery has been slow and we have made two trips to the vet for rechecks.  She will be fine but she does not take to personal pain in a stoic fashion, she doesn't do pain at all.  She is on two pain medications, but she doesn't want to get up and move if she can possibly help it.  She should walk a little to help circulation and the healing process, on the other hand, she should not be running, jumping, climbing stairs or leaping into the car, not that she actually has ever done this last feat.  She is pretty clumsy and manages to place her two front paws on the back seat then waits until I hoist her hinney the rest of the way. 

She is also pretty good at training me.  Currently, she thinks she has me believing that she can't make it to her water or food bowl and that I have to bring it to her or she will perish.  She doesn't know I heard her in the middle of the night get up and drink water.  She also walked quite well at the vets without the spinning and laying down indicative of a pain response.   I know she is capable, but we are both pretending that she needs to be waited on during this "perilous" time of recovery.  For a dog that has been accustomed to long, long hikes everyday - this is purgatory. 

So we have 10 - 14 days of house arrest, short walks for potty breaks and other than that a calm and restful rehab.  So you will excuse me while I bring her some toys since she can't manage to get up and reach the toy basket at the moment.

Play Dates and Naps

My youngest asked me the other day if having Nana reminded me of when she and her sister were little. Boy does it ever.  My days are spent supervising the activities of the very young.  Mornings are spent making sure Nana gets the right nutrition, has plenty of fresh air and exercise, continues to learn her social manners.  She has a good lunch and then settles down for an hour or hour and a half nap.  While she naps I have an opportunity to get a few things done.  Instead of a play pen I have a crate that I use when I need to take a shower.  At least I know she isn't getting into trouble and eating the backs off my books.  My social activities have been ratcheted down.  There are some places you just can't take the very young.  I'm still looking for a reliable "baby sitter" and

I am making play dates with other nice "doggies" so she can learn to play nice with others. 

So yep.....having Nana is a blast to the past and very much reminds me of when the girls were very young.  Of course there are differences, next week Nana is going to get "tutored" so I won't have to worry about any unplanned pregnancies - now that is something you definitely can't do with your teenage girl type children - though I'm sure some parents wish it were an option.

Life as Usual

Briard with a touch of snow

There is nothing like snow to give a scruffy dog an impromptue cleaning. We have had some cold and snowy weather lately.  My daughter moved into a new place and promptly had the power go out for 4-5 days.  We even had snow at the 1000 ft level which is unusual.

My days are often spent trying to keep a very busy puppy occupied and getting enough exercise so that my books and furniture survive.  Nana and I spent 2.5 hours yesterday with a friend and his border collie in the snow.  That only took care of the morning requirement for exercise. I will confess that she does settle for the night around 5:30pm and I am able to get some things done.

Nana will be spayed week after next and after recovery I am going to start looking for a herding trainer.  Nana needs a job with leadership potential.  There is not a submissive bone in her body.  She isn't aggressive but I was reminded about the current genre in horse training.  Riders don't want to dominate their horses, they want to provide leadership.  She allows me the leadership role, until she decides enough is enough.  I am noticing behavior trends.  When she is tired and had enough of hiking she will move toward the trail leading to the parking lot and stare at me.  If I don't agree she will come back, but is likely to jump at me and then nip my calf if I move away from her preferred direction.  I see my job as retaining her intelligence and confidence without losing my executive right to make the final decision. At 6.5 months she is a teenager who thinks she knows better.

For all her cute stuffed toy appearance - this is one tough dog.   

Doggie Orthodontia and Carpet Cleaning

In the ongoing saga of Doggie Orthodontia, Nana had her gums sort of "shaved" back in an effort to create a passage for the stubborn lower canines that are coming in too straight and not flaring outward enough.  This involved her being put under anesthesia last Friday.  This made for a very calm and groggy Briard.  I, in my infinite wisdom, thought this mental state would be a perfect opportunity to take her to Meadowfarm Yarn Studio. It was a great idea right up to the point that her bowels decided to have a post op anesthesia fiesta all over the carpet at the Yarn Studio.  I have to wonder where my brain was that day.  I know that she reacts this way, I was just so lost in the - look what a calm puppy euphoria, I forgot about the rest.  Needless to say this did not endear either one of us to my favorite Yarn Shop.  So, I am on the floor trying to scrub the seven to eight "oopses" off the floor of the shop, before driving home and spending the rest of the day taking Nana outside every ten minutes. 

Of course I offered to pay to have the carpets cleaned which Ellen has taken me up on, or more accurately I am paying for half of the cost of the carpet cleaning since Ellen was getting about ready to do that anyway, I just hurried the process.  But more importantly I think I also precipitated the "no pet" policy that is going into place at Meadowfarm.  Sigh.....it was not my intention and Nana isn't the only dog that has "oopsied" there.  I know of another that has graced the carpet.  In addition someone's dog picked out a lovely cashmere ball of yarn for their owner to purchase.  Nana has been guilty of helping me pick a skein of yarn.

Personally, I wouldn't ban dogs - instead I would do a once a year "Dogs Run Amok" sale.  Something that would benefit the local "No Kill" animal shelter with a 10% of purchase donation.  It would work something like this.  Dogs get to pick your yarns off the shelf, which they would be more than happy to do.  Ellen would sell half her stock and there would be some mechanism in place for the owners not to murder their pets at the end of the free for all.  I think it would beat the heck out of the boring "year end sale", "going out of business sale", or "fire sale".

In the mean time I will keep Nana in the car when I visit.  However, in a couple of months I won't be able to visit the shop - summer is brutal here and I will have to fulfill my fiber addiction elsewhere until late in the year when temperatures abate.  Meadowfarm won't notice any big decline in sales, I'm not there biggest customer by a long shot - but hey at least I know their carpets will be clean for those customers who are.