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

[Shalista]

happy birthday delta! you always talk about how well behaved he is so i kept thinking he was like.....5. he's younger then Bax

[Erica]

The sweet potato? I have a theory that dogs eat the easy to swallow, sloppy bit of their meal first as it's easier to bolt down and prevent other dogs from nicking it.

Happy birthday Delta!

Usually Delta picks out the bits with bone in them first, but he went for sweet potato, drumsticks, then steak. That's a good theory, though; it makes a lot of sense...Delta just really loves potatoes too so I'm sure that factored into his decision.

Delta thanks everyone for their birthday wishes

Shalista, I guess that's because I'm not fussed about his jumping up on family members (they encourage it so they get what they ask for!), ineffectual countersurfing (makes everyone clean up after themselves which is nice), and gentle ear nibbles. Also how he turns into a bitey bouncy ball whenever the chuckit comes out...

[JudyN]

We're now home, after a 6 hour 45 minute drive, plus a stop for lunch & walk and another to stretch our legs... Being a Friday, the traffic was awful all afternoon. I'm worn out, but not half as worn out as poor PH who drove all the way Jasper is flat out on his bed. If anyone can suggest any nearer holiday destinations that have endless empty beaches far from roads, no cliffs or sheep, and not too many deer, do please let me know!

A snippet that may surprise/interest our US members - yesterday we visited the church at Sandringham where the Queen & family always go on Xmas Day... and they allow dogs inside Apparently the Queen and Prince Philip often turn up unexpectedly for a regular Sunday service - can you imagine sitting in a pew, noticing an old lady shuffling into the pew to sit next to you, and realising it's the Queen?

Jasper did blot his copybook a little after our lunch break, when he had a go at me when I tried to put his car harness back on. A 'good job he had his muzzle on' sort of snark. But he's always been funny about having the second clip done up, and he knew it meant he was going to have to get back into the car. I may investigate different types of harness that might be easier to get on.

As you like my funny stories, this is from a couple of weeks, but it did make me giggle (I don't think I've mentioned it before, apologies if I have). A dog walker I met told me she used to have a whippet who would catch rabbits in her garden and bury them... only she didn't know how to kill them Every so often they'd go out into the garden, see a pair of ears sticking up from the soil and twitching, and have to dig up and release the poor rabbit

[Sanna]

Happy birthday Delta I CANNOT believe he's 2 already, how did that happen..!?

Judy I can't decide whether I'm horrified or bemused

[MPbandmom]

Happy Birthday Delta. Wow seems like only a year ago not two.

Sirius got all excited about going on our walk this evening and then when the door opened, she refused to go outside. Poor puppy must have heard something go pop although we did have some thunder rumbles earlier today too. So Sky got a solo walk.

My mother had surgery today and my brother and I are taking turns assisting my dad with meals and company while Mom is in the hospital. I pulled Sunday and Monday duty. I'm thinking about taking Sirius with me and spending Monday night at my parent's as my mother claims things are pretty calm fireworks wise around where she is. It will mean a longer trip to work on Tuesday with a stop by the house to drop off a dog first, but I think it is worth a try as the alternative is two municipal fireworks displays followed by numerous close by neighbors trying to copy the municipal fireworks displays.

I am debating taking Sky also. The fireworks don't bother her nearly as much as they do Sirius, but some of them she finds disturbing. That would leave OH home alone with the cat though. Which seems like kind of a raw deal for him.

[delladooo]

Awww happy birthday Delta!

Judy, I have to agree with Sanna, I can't decide if that's horrifying or not!

[Nettle]

Some of you may remember I was body-slammed by a bull mastiff a couple of months ago, and only missed serious injury by a miracle.

Today I met another bull mastiff of similar age, whose owner had put the work in. He was a delight. Just shows.

[Shalista]

Feeling a bit like a furmom failure today. Everyone knows that I am very much the wrong furmom for Bax. He's very sociable, outgoing, high energy, I'm really low key, mellow, and introverted. I try really hard to put in the work to make him happy and I've become a lot more outgoing because of him but still.....

I'm boarding Bax for a week while i go on vacation and the place has private kennels for the dogs at night but an open run for a lot of them during the day.

I'm opting out of letting him run with the other dogs. I feel horribly guilty because he loves hanging out with other dogs and I just don't give him that opportunity much, but sometimes he can be iffy with them and i just don't trust the staff to step in if he starts feeling pressured, over excited, or if it's all just a bit too much.

So yeah, feeling crappy that i don't give him many opportunities to hang out with other dogs.... but i think it's for the best.

[Erica]

I totally agree with your decision. Dogs at boarding places will be of various sizes and temperaments, and even with a knowledgeable watcher, there are a lot of dogs to keep an eye on! I wouldn't have Delta in the common area either if I had to board him.

[Ari_RR]

As you like my funny stories, this is from a couple of weeks, but it did make me giggle (I don't think I've mentioned it before, apologies if I have). A dog walker I met told me she used to have a whippet who would catch rabbits in her garden and bury them... only she didn't know how to kill them Every so often they'd go out into the garden, see a pair of ears sticking up from the soil and twitching, and have to dig up and release the poor rabbit

funny! With a hint of creepy...

[Sanna]

I often walk Precious at Knebworth House estate (basically a grand old English country house with woodland, fields and gardens) because for some strange reason not a lot of people walk dogs there, and also all dogs must be on lead so I don't have to worry about off lead dogs running up to us. They often have events at weekends though, today we arrived to a fun fair- Ferris wheel, bouncy castle, music playing, kids running around..
It wasn't very busy as just before closing so I figured it'd be a good training opportunity!

So me and my hooligan had a nice little mooch around, went to the ice cream van where P charmed the pants off the ice cream man doing 'paws up' and 'wave bye' (and got himself a generous serving of vanilla ice cream); and like some social butterfly (wonders never cease) he even went on to nicely greet several people who 'had to say hello cause he is so gorgeous, what breed is he, he is massive, what an interesting mix'' (well yes, he does have a good face on him.. and yes, plenty interesting ).
I haven't even attempted to take him somewhere like that in such a long time- he'd get stressed, I'd get stressed, things would go wrong.. Today was nice

Training works

[MPbandmom]

My mother had surgery last week and came home on Sunday. I was to be her primary caregiver once she returned home. The plan was to also have Sirius along as her neighborhood has much less fireworks activity than ours. Unfortunately she collapsed/fell when transferring from the van seat to her scooter and just generally was much more in need of care than I had anticipated. So when OH showed up with the dogs, I didn't even have time to speak with him other than to tell him he would have to take Sirius back home with him. Unfortunately I forgot to send along the calming capsules and thundershirt which I had in my possession for the anticipated presence of some fireworks.

OH later called rather frantic that Sirius was freaking out and he had nothing to give her. Fortunately SIL had stopped by and was able to run the needed items by to OH when she went back to her home. OH later called to say that now Sky was freaking out also. Sky is fairly bombproof, but the really loud ones do get to her and it probably didn't help that I wasn't at home as she is rather bonded to me. OH reported that the firewoks went from about 8 pm to Midnight all around.

The following day, they started up again at 11. OH took the dogs for a walk at the battlefield to get them away from the neighborhood and then I had him bring them to my parent's house as my mother seemed to be doing much better and I felt rather bad about sending them off to 4 hours worth of fireworks going off all around them.

The dogs seemed exhausted. They went to sleep almost immediately. They would wake up a little while when fireworks went off and then would go back to sleep again. Sirius was upset by the fireworks, but as there were fewer of them and perhaps as a lingerine effect of sheer exhaustion and various "calming" aids OH had given her the previous night. She did a bit of panting and a little pacing, but no noticeable trembling, and quickly settled back to sleep after each little round of fireworks.

It wasn't a perfect arrangement, but it was way better than what the dogs would have experienced being at home.

[Shalista]

I'm coming home on Saturday to pick up Bax and it cant come soon enough. I haven't been able to really enjoy this vacation without him. Plenty of people bring their dogs up to this area so i've been running around like a crazy woman asking people if i can pet their dogs gotta get my fur fix somehow!

[Erica]

Awww Shalista I bet Bax will be super happy to see you as well!

Tonight was the last class of the original run I was asked to assist with. Trainer asked me back for the next classes and very sincerely complimented my communication skills with the owners and understanding of stuff. I'm starting to think that I might be able to do this after all - communication is a challenge for me, but there's a challenge everywhere in life so I may as well enjoy the career I take on.

Since most of my auditory processing troubles come when someone's speaking to me from another room, or when I have no context for the comment, it shouldn't come up too often.

Feeling excited

Also, made some PVC jumps and 2x2 weaves for Delta. Had a bit of fun in the backyard today, but it's too hot to do more than about five minutes of intense exercise at a time Still very proud of what I managed.

We're taking care of Daisy for a couple weeks, so that's nice too! I'm ready for a change of scenery on our walks, since all the variation in our neighborhood comes about a mile in, and it's too hot to walk more than a mile most days...

[JudyN]

Erica, you've found your vocation! Do you think communicating on a subject that you really love and feel tuned into makes it easier for you?

Jasper's been a bit out of sorts since our holiday. OH has this week off and I have some work, so he's been doing more of the walks than usual, and we've also been taking him out for pub lunches - a time he'd normally be dozing at home. He's fed up of getting in and out of cars for starters, and he just seems tired.

And whingy - the boys and I went to the dentist yesterday, and were out for 2.5 hours (bad traffic, dentist running late), leaving OH and Jasper at home. Apparently the only time OH couldn't hear Jasper whinging was while he was doing the vacuuming We haven't even considered leaving him home on his own - next week we'll be back into our normal routine, and hopefully he'll get his mojo back. If not, I'm going to try giving him a dose of Metacam to see if it makes a difference - if so, it could indicate there's some discomfort.