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

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

Post by Nettle »

Gorgeous little pooch she is!
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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

Post by JudyN »

WufWuf, you realise all our dogs are going to expect a hot water bottle now, don't you? :wink:

Oh, the joys of clearing up after a guardy dog who has just thrown up two chicken carcasses and some sardines on the hall carpet :roll: I managed it without incident, but it took a good deal of distraction and diversion, giving the sick extra time to soak in. Though I've discovered that a dough scraper makes an excellent tool for scraping up the sick (and that you shouldn't put pre-chewed bones down the waste disposal :roll: ).

His tummy's been a bit unpredictable ever since his anaesthetic, despite probiotics and Tree Barks powder, but I'm wondering if one of his mince varieties doesn't agree with him. I've started writing down which he has each day and recording 'interesting' poos, but this morning's mince was one of the 'unmarked' varieties (and this afternoon's poo one of the 'indescribable' varieties) :?

In other news, he's definitely getting better with young unneutered males. 'Better' can mean a bit of a GRRRRumble and a paw on the back with a dirty look telling them they'd better watch their step, but it's better than the lunging ball of fury he used to be, he has an unfailing ability not to try this with dogs who would have a go back at him, and he comes away when called from dogs who look intimidated (most we meet go 'Yeah, whatever, mate').

Not that he often gets to do this - I put him on lead whenever we meet a dog I'm not sure of, but occasionally we'll walk round a corner and bump into them.
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 »

Nettle wrote:Gorgeous little pooch she is!
She says thank you :D and sends some crazy spins and leaps your way :mrgreen: :lol:
JudyN wrote:WufWuf, you realise all our dogs are going to expect a hot water bottle now, don't you? :wink:
Haha she just wanted to lord it over the big dogs that she could fit her WHOLE body on that hot water bottle if she wanted to mmmmm toasty :lol:

Thats great that Jas is getting better with the other boys, maybe he's finally growing up :wink:
Operant conditioning rocks but classical conditioning rules
jacksdad
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by jacksdad »

Nettle wrote:Oh that is so stinkin' cute!


People psychology - as a sweeping generalization, women are pro-active and men are re-active. Men think if it hasn't happened it won't and women think if it can happen it will.

So your OH is doing really well!

I would agree. and like most things psychology these traits run on a spectrum and in the extreme, both are bad.

In terms of human children, the over protective parent in an extreme does as much harm as good. same could be said for the flip side of that trait. Sometimes we can know what our child is going to do, we know left to their own devices they will choose the wrong choice, and sometimes that is the right thing to do. And sometimes it's not.
bendog
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by bendog »

Well I am very glad I was proactive yesterday as there were about 30-40 whooper swans grazing on the field next to the footpath! I had to get 5 dogs on lead as soon as I saw them. Would the dogs have chased? Maybe, maybe not, would the swans have flown away in time? Probably, but they are big and heavy and slow to take off, and could also do a fair amount of damage to a dog (I know a person who got a broken nose from trying to catch one for a bird ringing project)

Far better to have the dogs on lead and safe than to be trying to call them back as they ran off after the swans!
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minkee
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by minkee »

Wow, Amy! Good on those dogs for coming back to you, good on you for having trained it so well, and I hope you had a moment to appreciate the swans too :D
MPbandmom
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by MPbandmom »

Crazy cold here this weekend. Windy and cold with overnight temperatures in the single digits F and daytime highs in the teens F. I have been following the Yukon Quest on Facebook and just can't imagine running dogs in -40 F temps. I know some samoyeds who would be pretty happy with those temperatures, but not so much the owners. The puppies are 5 weeks old now and having gotten a taste of outdoors playing on the breeder's deck, they now want to spend all of their time out there. Of course they aren't allowed to, but they are being allowed out for short play periods. This further emphasized my observation/opinion that perhaps these dogs shouldn't be in this area, and that perhaps I am really not the right type of person to own one of these dogs. At the same time, I have been finding myself more and more drawn to the breed. (nothing like internal conflict :lol: ) One club member is off to a sprint sled race several states to our north. Temps are already in the single digits there. She spent a good deal of time searching for some very special warm layers that she rarely gets to use, but thought would come in handy this weekend. I hope she found all of the pieces.

I have been trying to figure out what to do with the dogs this weekend. This kind of weather is when I kind of regret getting the dogs off of kibble because a raw meal doesn't take nearly as long as a buster cube meal. Unfortunately, last time I tried to occupy the dogs with the buster cubes only one played and it wasn't the one who really needed occupying. :lol: We do have puzzle toys that I can put dehydrated meat into, but they don't seem to take as long as a buster cube to complete. There is always the option to toss/some bits of dehydrated meat around the house for them to seek out. They don't seem to do well with the cardboard puzzles. Maybe I just haven't done them enough, on in the right sequence, but my dogs seem to just eat a hole in the paper, or get frustrated.

I have been giving some consideration to a sidewalk outing. I'm thinking perhaps all of the barkey yard dogs will be in their houses keeping warm. The odds of a motorcycle going by seems fairly slim although trucks are still a possibility. My big van is still out of commission. I have set up OH's van to transport the dogs, but been told I am not welcome to drive it. :shock: That leaves my car, which isn't the most worthy of vehicles to put such a strain on. Part of me wants to hibernate for the weekend and part of me is already restless at the thought of being trapped in the house the whole weekend. At any rate a sidewalk outing would keep me closer to the warmth of the house (at least I will be moving all the time and not sat in a cold car driving.) It will be exciting for the dogs, because they don't usually get to walk along the sidewalk. Hopefully the change of scenery, smells, and cold will tire them out quickly, before I am frozen solid.
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.
MPbandmom
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by MPbandmom »

It turned out to be surprisingly warm this afternoon. The sun was shining and while the breeze was picking up in speed, it was not bitterly cold. In fact, I had to peel a few partial layers while I was out walking the dogs. Each dog got a "sidewalk walk" to the park behind the house and all around there before heading back home. Sky didn't think her walk was long enough, so she had a game of fetch in the yard afterwards.

Dinnertime and the wind was roaring around the house, so the dogs ate inside. After dinner, Sky had to go out. Much to my surprise, the roaring wind was accompanied by blizzard like snow. Sky went out anyway. I stood at the door waiting for her return and to watch and make sure the side gate didn't blow open. She finally came back around the house and ran inside at full speed.

We also have a squirrel in our attic, so that has provided some unexpected entertainment at times today. Except for the no water thing, that is kind of one lucky squirrel. All of the outdoors squirrels are having their nests flung wildly about in these winds. We have a trap baited with carrots and peanut butter. (It was what we had available.) So far, no squirrel caught though. Every time the squirrel moves around Sirius alerts on our utility area and starts whining.

Kongs are stuffed and in the freezer in anticipation of miserable weather here tomorrow. I am reasonably certain I could never live in Alaska.
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.
Erica
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Erica »

Wind is being ridiculous here too, MP. Be safe! I'm glad to hear your afternoon was nicer than expected. :) That's always nice!

We have an umbrella-covered table out on our back porch. One gust grabbed the umbrella and dragged it over our roof! It got stuck on the other side of the house, so between gusts I had to climb a ladder and drag it down - my arms were the only ones long enough to reach it. After that we collapsed it so it wouldn't Mary Poppins away again.

I may have to bump Delta's why-do-you-pee-on-your-legs baths up to twice weekly. :/ I may also just shave his legs down a bit, so there's not as much fur to get clumpy and gross and so it's easier to spot-clean more thoroughly. He is getting slowly better about not peeing on his legs...but in the meantime, he gets a bit smelly.

Delta's gotten picky about his food. :evil: He won't eat his liver or organ (ground pancreas or kidney at the moment), whether frozen or thawed. I'm going to try mixing it with ground meat or something.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
delladooo
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by delladooo »

I feel like an awful doggie-parent at the minute. I've been rather ill for the past few days but still had to drag myself to uni so I've not given Laufey any "good walks" he obviously still gets out to pee but it's definitely not the same. I haven't had the will to stick him on his long line and there's no way I'd trust him off lead when I can't run after him. I'm feeling slightly better today and I have a very short day at uni tomorrow so I'm hoping we can go somewhere nice and we can make up for it.
Meanwhile, he peed in the garden again this morning :D and I don't think MiMi likes mackerel because she wouldn't eat her food yesterday.

Erica, have you tried blending the offal? In our house offal comes in "offalciles" where I take equal amount of liver and something (usually kidney at the minute), blend it together and freeze it in ice cube / small cake trays. It's the only sure fire way it gets eaten in our house :D
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

I hope you're feeling better today, Della.

If I could have a pound for everyone who says 'Is that a wolfhound?', I'd have enough money to go buy myself a wolfhound and make people realise that Jasper is nowhere near the size of a wolfhound!

Jasper's got an upset tummy again :( Didn't want morning walk, which I had put down to the rain, but did a liquid poo on his afternoon walk and threw up when we got home. I'm wondering if turkey is the culprit, though last time this happened, he'd had a pack of mince helpfully labelled '?' :roll: Anyway, I'm going to put him on chicken & tripe only for a bit till things settle, then maybe reintroduce other meats gradually to try to find if it's a particular variety setting it off. I'm also going to ditch the dehydrated cod chews I made to be on the safe side... they stink! :lol:

BTW, is there anything significant about vomit/poo that looks as if it's got curdled bits in, like when you add the eggs all in one go when making a cake? Sorry if you're in the middle of your tea right now....
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Erica
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Erica »

Delta's been handling everything like a real champ the past couple days as we're stuck with Sofi and Gali due to icy roads. Both girls are quick to set limits, and Delta is quick to listen and respect those limits :lol: But he doesn't let them bully him (I wouldn't let them bully him either, but I barely have to do anything because he's just so perfect in temperament and everything is resolved before I can even react). Even when Sofi was less than friendly and started trying to redirect onto him after three flexi-leash dogs ran up to us (after I asked their owner to keep them away...), Delta just got far enough away that he wasn't in danger from her and kept walking. I was keeping Sofi away from him too, but it would have been difficult to keep two dogs who WANT to rumble away from each other.

Honestly this exact situation is why I went to a breeder for a puppy I could socialize and raise, with a known parentage of friendly dogs...he is the perfect combination of soft forgiveness and solid confidence, not letting the girls get under his skin, and not pushing their buttons for fun. I'm very glad I went with poodle instead of malinois :lol: and Delta is just brilliant.

Judy, no idea if there's any meaning. Would be interesting (and probably disgusting) to know the reason behind it, though!
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
delladooo
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by delladooo »

Thanks Judy, I think my awfulness peaked on Saturday / Sunday but my cough remains. I've given it to mum though so we're not doing so great on that front :?

From pictures of Jasper I don't see how anyone could call him a wolfhound, but then I also don't see how people can ask if MiMi is a shuh shih tzu either so what do I know :roll: either way, good luck finding what's up with his tummy.

Delta sounds like he's growing into an excellent young man Erica, makes me regret not sticking to my original plan on a poodle when I ended up with Laufey. He is excellent though and we could have done much worse.

Speaking of, we took the kids back to the vets today (seems the trip was mostly expensive and pointless but oh well) she seems to have settled on it being a sensitively to fleas and MiMi's fur is doing "something" nicely; it seems to be sort of coming back, slowly, and it's thicker. We're wondering if maybe she's more "old style" which is less fuzzy pompom and more Tibetan spaniel-esque. After the vets we went to the little woods area near the zoo again which was going very well and even let Laufey off lead until one encounter that was slightly too close to the road for my comfort so he went back on (we're fine and he wasn't in danger) and now they're knackered. Laufey somehow lost weight on his steroids (8.7kg) and MiMi is getting a bit fat (3.8kg) so he's staying on what he's on and she's going to be having slightly less! :mrgreen:
Swanny1790
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Swanny1790 »

I feel I should apologize for my recent absence on the forum. It's just past the middle of our mushing season and between working for money, raising the working with the puppies and running my sled dogs (along with volunteering for the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race) and some other things I do I'm afraid this forum hasn't been as high on my priority list as it should be.

Yesterday Mama Chetan had her first serious trial running in lead. I was able to record the entire run (about 30 minutes, quite short by our typical standards). Chetan is still easily distracted, but overall she gave a good performance and earned a grade of "B" and promotion to LIT (leader in training) status. Most of her runs in the future will be in the lead position beside one of my strong "finished" leaders, learning how to better perform her job and take charge of her teams.

You can see the video on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KsO-ZD ... vtLUpcxrew
"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 »

Swanny, it's not as if anyone's taking a register :wink:

Sooo, the night before last I was kept awake by listening to Jasper salivating and wondering if he'd have to be let out pronto (he didn't, but he was restless from 6am), and last night I was cleaning sick off the hall floor just before 1am. He seemed better today, but his stomach has been grumbling, rumbling and churning all evening so I'm not sure tonight's going to be that peaceful either :?

I'm just despairing about someone on another forum - they have two dogs, one dog bed, but the squabbles the dogs have over the bed are all because of dominance, of course. And the terrier has just had a strop because she removed him from the other dog's food that the other dog had left. Doubtless if the terrier accepted that the other dog was the alpha, he wouldn't have tried to eat the food she'd left :roll:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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