What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

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MPbandmom
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by MPbandmom »

Sky has a new record mileage for a bikejor outing. She ran 6.9 miles along the canal on Saturday and I got great video of her passing people and critters and stopping. :D :D :D I have almost everything I need to submit the dogs' application for the DSA scootering badges. I only lack a video of Sky being harnessed up and a video of Sirius actually running and pulling for a mile. For some reason, the camera videoed 2 seconds of my scarf, and then 3 seconds of something that wasn't Sky getting harnessed. I clearly need to have some other person hold the camera and video harnessing Sky as was done with Sirius. I hope to have those last 2 videos before the end of the year.

I could potentially have them next weekend, but the dogs will be going on a club hike instead of bikejoring. They both have over 40 miles towards the 50 total needed for the DSA traildog title. All that is left is two 5 mile check off hikes. Saturday will give us the first one. I don't yet know when we might get the second one. I am thinking about trying to get together an outing to the National Arboretum because it is low traffic and has benches all over the place so OH could take breaks and rest a bit.

The next level of the DSA traildog title will require another 50 miles total including another 5 mile hike as well as a 10 mile hike. I think I have only hiked 10 miles in a day once. That was when the boys were in scouts and we hiked along the AT and I received a bruised toenail from the steep up and down hill rocky trail. I am certain there is no way OH will be able to do 10 miles in a day, which means I will likely have to do both dogs together myself somewhere as I really don't see myself walking them each separately for 10 miles. I will need to recruit some samoyeds for this accomplishment also. The samoyeds tend to be very popular and I have noticed a great difference in how tired I get when walking with the samoyeds vs just walking by myself and the dogs. This is because everybody wants to visit the sammys and their owners have the sense to take frequent breaks on top of the numerous stops for photographs and puparatzi admirers. I tend to just keep walking until I have reached a set distance. Plus with walking my two together the concept of stopping for admirers to visit the dogs and take pictures just doesn't happen. I really kind of wish that Sirius didn't have the traffic issues that she has because I think a day walking around the mall and monuments in DC would be a superb way to crank off 10 miles in a leisurely fashion. I have some time to figure this out.
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

I realised a while ago that my local pet shop owner will supply & deliver pet food, so I placed an order with her for 22 packs of Albion raw mince, 10kg of chicken carcasses, and a bag of liver. Just a small order, as I haven't used Albion before. This morning I had a massage at the clinic next to the pet shop. As I was paying, the pet shop owner next door must have spotted me through the door so she popped her head in and told me that she had all my packages and bags of carcasses ready to deliver, which nearly gave the receptionist a funny turn :lol:

But when I saw the piles of boxes outside the pet shop I realised we might have had a slight communication failure... The packs of mince are about a pound weight, just right for Jasper's breakfast... but what the pet shop owner had understood by 'pack' was the big packs she gets the individual portions of mince in - which contain 12 portions :doh: So instead of 22 minces, I had 264 :shock: :shock: :shock:

It wasn't worth trying to apportion blame (she had asked me a couple of times if I had a really big freezer :lol: ) - if we couldn't find freezer space for all this mince it would have to be binned, and her freezer space was very limited. So I rushed home and rearranged the freezer. We now have Jasper's small half, and he has the big half. Along with the carcasses and a bag of liver we managed to fit in all but six 'big' packs, which she has room for. The freezer is full to the gunnels and I could barely fit a single frozen pea in there now. Finding our stuff will be fun, and all ideas of arranging the dog food so I rotate through the different flavours are out the window :lol:

She says we'll get better sorted out next time - in about 8 months :lol: And she did give me an excellent price :D
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Ari_RR
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Ari_RR »

JudyN wrote:So I rushed home and rearranged the freezer. We now have Jasper's small half, and he has the big half.
Yep.. That's how they conquer the universe. First sofas and couches, then freezers... :lol:
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minkee
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by minkee »

Here's hoping he likes it!!
Swanny1790
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Swanny1790 »

You mean you have space in a freezer for people food? WOW!!! That's an amazing concept. :lol:

Our freezer contains both only because we sometimes eat the same things we give to the dogs to supplement their normal diet. Canine or primate - moose or salmon does a body good.
"Once infected with the mushing virus, there is no cure. There is only trail." - Sven Engholm
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

For the past week or so Jasper has had an occasional gunky eye, and he's rubbed it a couple of times over the last two days. I've been wiping it with Optrex in the hope I can stave off an infection, as 'there's no way he will let me put eye drops in'... His attitude in the past was 'You must be trying to kill me so I'll have to kill you first' :shock: Yesterday, though, I dug out a small dropper, and held it in my hand as I wiped the eye. Today I pulled up a little Optrex into the dropper and as I wiped his eye, squeezed a little bit just next to the corner of his eye. He's been very good about having his eye wiped with wet stuff, and has been happy with the dropper, so I see no reason why I can't build up to getting a little bit of fluid actually into the eye. Wish me luck - it would be wonderful to go from 'Won't let me put eye drops in' to 'Has no problem at all with eye drops' :D
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
WufWuf
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by WufWuf »

Good luck Judy!

Honey has been doing very well with her camera shyness so she thought I should show you all her pretty little face
Image
Operant conditioning rocks but classical conditioning rules
DianeLDL
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by DianeLDL »

Judy,

Sandy has gotten used to having his eyes cleaned regularly with a saline solution (for contact lenses) and a pad. But of course, he gets a small treat which makes him more ready to let me clean it. I noticed lately his eyes have been watering more, whoch may be due to the winds, freezing temps, and dry conditions here in Southwest US. :shock:

So, maybe do the conditioning thing with the dropper and small treats. It may help him.

As a human who has to put eye drops in my own eyes frequently due to dry eye, it took me a very, very long time to do it and get the medication into my eye without flinching or blinking. So, I can imagine poor Jasper seeing this thing coming at his eye. It can be quite scary. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

And Honey looks like a model in the photo. She is adorable. She is a real "honey". :D :D

And, that reminds me, I have packaged cooked chicken breast for Sandy that needs to be divided and frozen to keep fresh. He gets such small amounts with his kibble thaf a package can go bad before he gets to finish it. :oops:

There is more food for Sandy for the freezer than for us humans as I don't do much cooking unless they are frozen dinners in the freezer. :wink:
I usually bake my own challah for Shabbat and make three to four at a time and freeze the extras. So, bread fills our freezer. :lol:
Diane
Sandy, Chihuahua mix b. 12/20/09
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

Honey, you're turning into a right poser :lol:

Don't you just hate it when your tongue says something without giving your bran a chance to edit it first? The piano tuner visited this morning, and though DS2 had made a fair attempt at tidying his room (where the piano lives), his idea of 'tidy' and, more particularly, 'clean', isn't quite the same as mine. And having two bodies (him and his GF) shut in there for much of the time, there's a pretty bad case of condensation which turns into black mould if ignored for long enough (like since he finished uni in June :oops: ). And then there was the state of the sink, and the bin... And after dealing with his room I had to make sure the bathroom was presentable in case the piano tuner needed it, and the hall/stairs/landing weren't strewn with bits of detritus dragged in on dirty dog feet.

Jasper had to stay downstairs so I could air the room, as there are all sorts of edibles in DS2's room, such as half-boxes of Weetbix, and the odd bowl in which whole new civilisations are well on the way to inventing the wheel. He was a bit stressed by this, and then when the piano tuner arrived I put him (Jasper, not the piano tuner :wink: ) behind the fireguard in the front room as he's not keen on visitors, particularly when a bit wound up. So as the piano tuner came in I threw him (Jasper, not the piano tuner :lol: ) a treat, and said....

.... 'He's a bit stressed because I've been doing housework'....

Oops! :shock: :x :lol:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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minkee
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by minkee »

I get a bit stressed every day that I do housework, Judy, so perhaps it's not such a strange thing to say after all :D :lol:
Ari_RR
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Ari_RR »

:lol: Next time offer the tuner a treat as he walks in, call him a good boy....after that what he encounters inside won't matter much.
mansbestfriend
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by mansbestfriend »

I've never fostered or handled Greyhounds before but hopefully I'll start tomorrow, fostering an ex-racer from a rescue group. The wheels have been turning so to speak for a short while so I'm (we're) not totally unprepared. Helping a racer (or racers) to become a pet, and find a happy forever home, should be interesting and fun and frustrating and rewarding.

I think my KelpieX is as prepared as she's ever going to be about having a new house mate. If it actually happens (which I expect it will), maybe expect some noob type sight hound questions on the forum soon. :) :)

Fingers crossed.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single Sit.
Sweetie's Human
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Sweetie's Human »

mansbestfriend wrote:I've never fostered or handled Greyhounds before but hopefully I'll start tomorrow, fostering an ex-racer from a rescue group. The wheels have been turning so to speak for a short while so I'm (we're) not totally unprepared. Helping a racer (or racers) to become a pet, and find a happy forever home, should be interesting and fun and frustrating and rewarding.

I think my KelpieX is as prepared as she's ever going to be about having a new house mate. If it actually happens (which I expect it will), maybe expect some noob type sight hound questions on the forum soon. :) :)

Fingers crossed.
Ooh that's so lovely. I have a cousin in NZ who is a vet nurse and has fostered a couple of greyhounds (and ended up keeping one :wink: ). They make lovely pets as long as you don't have cats (generalisation, I know). My cousin is in a rural area and from memory she had to deal with them chasing hares on walks. I'm not sure how she went with training in that regard, in the end.

And Sweetie has a friend on her morning walks who is a retired/rescued racing greyhound. He has the same name as my boyfriend, which gives me no end of giggles! He's a lovely boy, but according to his owner he does freak out if little dogs walk under him. Fair enough. So I click the extendable lead on a fixed length when we approach them and he's one of the few dogs Sweetie seems to really be interested in. His owner and I have a laugh because his long, lean and pointy greyhound couldn't possibly be more different than my short, stumpy, roly-poly pug :lol: .

I hope your kelpie takes well to the new addition. It sounds like you've given it a good amount of consideration and you know there are a lot of experienced sight hound owners here who I'm sure will gladly help you with advice if you need it. I'm sure you'll find it rewarding and worth the inevitable hard work.

Best wishes.
Sweetie's Human
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Sweetie's Human »

WufWuf wrote:Good luck Judy!

Honey has been doing very well with her camera shyness so she thought I should show you all her pretty little face
Image
So pretty! And I love how her right ear curls over just slightly. Very cute.
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

Ooh, good luck with the greyhound, MBF :D I'm sure you know, but they tend to be more sensitive than non-pointy dogs (they might get upset if you raise your voice, even if not in anger and not directed at them) and they respect personal space (leaning their head against your leg could be their equivalent of a lab or spaniel throwing themselves at you and practically trying to get inside your skin). They may not be safe with cats & small dogs... and they are adept thieves :wink:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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