Tuesday, 01/02 Happy New Year!

It's going to be a very good new year for Barnabas - I got the word on Sunday that his adoptive home has been approved and he'll be leaving me on Thursday to go live with two beagle "sisters". He's going to be one very pampered little guy, and he'll be well-loved and taken care of. I sure am gonna miss him - he's so sweet and funny, and he's been a real delight to have around. He's such an affectionate little fellow! When I pick him up he sits on my lap, folds his front paws under and leans on my chest, tucking his head into my neck with his chin on my shoulder. Brave little fellow has been playing with Blizzard recently, and she's too funny trying to get down to his level so she's not so threatening - she runs circles around him then slides at him with her chest on the ground so that her head is lower than his. Sweet, good-natured boy. I'm so glad we saved this one!

When I woke up this morning, the sight that met my eyes made me smile - Blizzard was curled up next to me with her butt up against my upper arm, and Purrnie was spooned up behind her with one front paw draped over her side and his head resting against her back. French was curled up with his back against Blizzard's nose, and Mysz was snuggled into the "V" made by my arm and Blizzard's butt. Everyone was sound asleep. Fritz, Bubba, 'Mingo, and Lambchop were on top of me - Bubba on my chest, Fritz on my tummy, 'Mingo curled up in the hollow where my legs meet my body, and Lambchop between my shins. Peek-a-Boo next to my head on the other side of my body. And Penny curled up next to my legs with her head tucked in between Miss Lucy and Twinkletoes. I could have laid there all morning enjoying it, but Fritz was lying on my bladder. When I moved, everyone else did too.

Well, I haven't been very good about getting going on my New Years tasks, but I've been getting a little done. I finally shoveled out a path to get my garbage can to the curb - I haven't put it out for collection for a couple of weeks, the can was full, and I was getting tired of breaking my garbage up into little tiny pieces so it wouldn't take up so much room in the trash bag. Took me nearly an hour to dig it out, shovel a pathway to the driveway, then shovel a path on the front lawn from the walk to the curb. At least it was emptied today and I can start filling it up again. I think I'll keep it in a different spot for the rest of the winter so it's not so hard to get it to the curb. Tomorrow night I have to remember to put the recycling out - I've been keeping the glass/can recyclables in the bin outside (and some little furries have been coming and licking out empty cans - I find them scattered all over the place), but I've got cardboard piling up in my rear foyer. Which the dogs knock over at least once a day when they race through there. Anyway, I have a couple of tied-up bags of clumping litter in my bathroom that I can now take out.

Once I get the extra stuff out of the bathroom I'll have much easier access to the tub, so Barnabas and Honey are getting baths tonight. Barnabas, 'cause he needs one and I want him to go to his new home looking (and smelling) the best that he can. (I really hate to bathe dogs when the weather's this cold, which is why I haven't bathed him before. But I want him to sparkle for his new mom and dad.) Honey needs to be done too - her coat is very dry and she has a "dirty" smell too. I'm hoping that a bath and conditioner will make it easier to groom her. (She laid on my lap last night and just melted into me while I was combing her, once I got the mats behind her ears out. No way she was going to sit still for the matbreaker, so I just cut them out.) I managed to get her on the list for a free spay at the local vet school on Thursday, so it's either bathe her now or wait two weeks. I'd rather get her clean now. (Fourth year students doing their surgical rotation do these sterilizations. They contact local rescue groups, the animal control shelters, and the humane society to let them know about the spay/neuter clinics. Works out well for everyone involved - the students get the experience, the animals get sterilized, and the rescue groups can use the money they save to rescue other animals that might not otherwise be in their budget.) Though Honey's my own rescue, the rescue group agreed to send her in with their group of dogs. She was already vaxed, and now she'll be spayed for free so my rescue cost on this dog will be minimal - I'll worm her myself.

Now, I just need to find the Gruffydog a good home. The more I think about this potential home in WI, the more I think this isn't the right placement for him. Initially, I was concerned about the daughter getting her hands on him if something happened to her father, but after observing Gruffydd this last week to evaluate how he'd do with an older person who doesn't have really great balance, I think he might be too much of a hazard. He's always got to be close, and I'm always tripping over him. He also tries to anticipate where I'm going and rush to get there ahead of me. Several times in narrow places, he's tried to pass me by running between my legs. This probably wouldn't be a concern for a younger owner, but I think it would be risky for an older person. Now I just have to write an e-mail to this woman telling her why I think she should continue to look for another dog. I sure wish the right home for him would come along. He's sweet and mostly obedient and I love him, but I know he needs to get out of here and into his own home. He feels he needs to compete for attention here and if he's not napping at my feet he's sitting next to me pressing his chest into my thigh or sitting between my knees trying to rest his head on my chest. If another dog approaches me, he increases his effort to get closer to me and pushes his way between that other dog and me. "Me, me, me!! Pay attention to me!!" It earned him a nip from Blizzard this afternoon. I think I've done about all that I can for him, and any further improvement in his self-confidence will only happen if he's the only dog or only has one other dog to "compete" with. (Certainly not as much competition as he has here - not only the dogs, but the cats as well.) He was clingy when we were at Mom and Dad's on Thanksgiving - there were other dogs there. He's clingy when we go to my sis's. But when I did that home visit with that fellow who was interested in him, he wasn't the least bit clingy and was quite comfortable exploring on his own.

I've gotten quite a thorough education on pack dynamics these last few months. It's provided a sort of "lab" for all the reading I've done - I can observe the behavior first-hand. It's helped me to better understand how I'm the alpha or pack leader, and how what I do influences the behavior of the rest of the "pack". I'm also learning what's serious fighting and what's normal pack quarrelling, and when I need to intervene and when I should just let them work it out. Today's little tussle between Blizzard and Gruffydd, for example. I could see it coming just a split second before it happened, knew that it needed to happen, and also knew that it wasn't going to escalate into a full-fledged fight. For one thing, though Blizzard's still quicker to snap when irritated than I'd like, she's not doing any damage beyond little surface stuff any more. Except for nicking Barnabas' ear last week (for which he forgave her immediately), she hasn't drawn blood in a long time. Her bite has a lot less energy behind it and it's getting less and less emphatic all the time. I see a parallel progression in this to her initial chomping at kitties who got too close to her dish when she was eating. That started off a little scary and I corrected her big time, using physical measures which go against my general training philosophy. But she very quickly learned that I would not tolerate any aggression toward the cats whatsoever and now she even allows kitties to steal from her dish while she's eating. Her first "corrections" to other dogs were sudden and uncontrolled. And once again I had to resort to physical correction. I don't hit her. I can correct Penny with just a look and "NO!" and "bad!", but sometimes I have to get physical with Blizzard to get through to her. When that happens, I grab her collar and pull her nose right up to mine so we're eye to eye then I scream at her. No, she can't hear me, but she gets to see my "off my rocker angry" face close up and feel my breath spitting on her face. I really scream at her, then let her go then stand over her and scream some more. She knows now that I won't tolerate fighting or excessive force, but that I won't punish her for asserting her position within the ranks as long as she doesn't hurt anyone. She's a strong, forceful dog, quite dominant at times, yet submissive. She can be a sassy, mouthy little brat, but she always submits to me and to Penny too when we let her know that she's gone too far.

I think she's done growing. I'll have to take her into the vet soon to get weighed - last time she was 76 pounds and she's grown a little in the last several months since I weighed her. I'll bet she's 78-80 pounds now. She looks really good - sculpted and athletic and very well proportioned. As of Saturday the 6th, she'll have been with me a year. She's due for her first-year checkup in a couple of weeks. (I'll be getting her titered instead of vaccinated, except for rabies.) She sure is beautiful. Not pretty, but beautiful. So different, my girls, both physically and temperamentally, but such a good match for each other. I'm so glad they both came into my life!

Thursday, 1/11 Barnabas went to his new home a week ago, and his new mom has been keeping me updated by e-mail to let me know how he's doing. He's getting along well with his new "sisters", and learning to be a pampered pup. I'm glad everything worked out so well for him. I love it when we match up the perfect home for a dog!

On Saturday I went to a dog obedience match, only instead of the standard obedience stuff it was a "rally" - a long course where the dog and handler have to do about 24 different maneuvers, off-leash. It was really interesting to see how well-trained some of those dogs were! Saw Chris there who talked me into entering Blizzard and Penny both in pre-novice obedience for the next day. They both did better than I expected, though they scored relatively low. We've never trained for formal obedience, just good manners, so we were really at a disadvantage. Now that I know what's expected, I can train for it. Penny's not the competetive type and that's OK, but I'd like to get an obedience title for her to add to her credentials. *smile* Blizzard, on the other hand, has the potential to achieve several levels of obedience titles. She's so focused when she wants to be, and has the natural ability to go far in obedience, agility, perhaps even flyball.

Knowing I had an empty crate (since Barnabas left) and knowing that there is always some last-minute dog-shuffling going on after adoptions, I stopped by adoptions on my way home from the match on Sunday to see if anydoggy needed a place to stay. There were 5 dogs needing fosters, so I brought home Charlie the treeing walker hound. Charlie was taken to animal control by some kids who found him after he'd been hit by a car - his pelvis and jaw were smashed. Hannah took him into rescue and got his medical taken care of, then put him in a foster home who decided Sunday afternoon that they just didn't want to foster him any more. I haven't a clue why they didn't want to foster him any more because he's a really nice dog, but maybe it's because he's on the timid side and needs a little extra TLC and they didn't want to spend the time? He's still recovering from the injuries he received; he's only just beginning to put his left hind foot down and is very tentative on smooth flooring like the lineoleum in my kitchen/back hallway. I put the cushy crate pad in the crate for him and he was really grateful for the solid footing and cushy napping spot. He didn't come out of the crate on his own steam for two days, but is now coming out and mingling with "the pack" even going so far as to tentatively play with Blizzard! (She's fascinated by him and has been relatively gentle with him, inviting him to play.) He is a big love-baby, and seems to be happy here.

The Sheltie is going to go to IL Sheltie Rescue as soon as we can get transportation arranged. I think they can do a better job of screening applicants and placing her, which they think they can do in pretty short order. So that leaves Gruffydd. I was contacted on Monday about him by someone who came highly recommended and was really gung-ho to get him. By Tuesday night, they informed me they'd decided to get a 7-week old ES puppy instead, but would still be interested in Gruffydd if I still have him in a couple of months. *sigh* I wonder if the right home will ever find him.

Monday night I started pre-agility with Blizzard and she did great! She's going to be so good at this, and I think we'll have a lot of fun. It's interesting to see how different training methods work - in this class they're using clicker training and target sticks. I can't click for Blizzard, so I made up a sign to act as a marker for the behavior I want and it seems to be working well. The instant the dog performs the behavior the handler "clicks" indicating "that's it! - that behavior right there is what I'm looking for!" and then they get a treat. I "clicker" trained Penny to nose the bell on the door to go out in about two days, using a squeeze flashlight. I can't use a light with Blizzard because she's a light-chaser, but the hand sign seems to be working well. The target stick is a really interesting concept - you start out by holding the end of the stick near the dog's nose and when the dog touches it, you "click" and treat. Gradually, you begin to move the stick away from the dog, the dog follows the stick to touch the end and get a treat. Eventually, you're able to use the stick to lead the dog through an obstacle. I've already got Blizzard doing figure 8's! I'll be able to use this method to teach several different obedience behaviors as well as agility obstacles. I've been working it with Penny, too. It'll be interesting to see what I can teach using "click" and target stick training.

Had Penny and Blizzard in to the vet school on Monday for annual exams and a blood draw for titer tests. They both checked out very healthy, and the titer results should be back by early next week. It'll be interesting to see if Penny's immunity is higher than Blizzard's because she had a booster last year. Blizz has had "puppy series" shots; Penny's had puppy-series and a 1-year booster. I'm betting there's not a significant difference in their immune levels. I won't vax either of them for distemper or parvo again until their titers drop below immunity-level. It'll be interesting to see how many years their immunity will remain.

I was in a baking mood yesterday. I'd gotten some frozen clam chowder at the supermarket the other day, so last night while that was heating I made my first ever from-scratch biscuits to go with it. Ooooh, yum. Biscuits came out good and the chowder was excellent. Made a great dinner. Then I got really ambitious and made some peanut butter dog cookies. One of the "presents" I bought myself while Christmas shopping is a set of 100 plastic cookie-cutters and I bought them because there are a number of those cutters that would make cute dog biscuits. So I found an easy p.b. dog biscuit recipe and used the cat-shaped cookie-cutter to make 4 dozen "cookies". They're a big hit. I'm thinking about trying cheese-flavored cookies next.

Tuesday, 1/16 Well, it was an interesting weekend. Late Saturday afternoon I was feeling a bit chilly and went to check the thermostat - it was at 60 degrees. Sometime Saturday (probably during the morning, but I didn't notice until later) the furnace had quit. Why does this always happen on a weekend? I couldn't get it going again, even with the help of some friendly fellows at an HVAC message board I found. I used the oven and boiling water to heat the place up a bit (not a good idea because it's unvented and carbon monoxide can build up to a dangerous level) but I was NOT going to freeze! I managed to get the front of the house fairly comfortable, so I slept on the sofabed.

Sunday I went out to see if I could find a part for the furnace but none of the home improvement places carry furnace parts and all the heating supply places are closed on Sunday. (It's just as well that I couldn't find it, because that particular part wasn't what the problem was.) I came home to find a gallon of canola oil spilled on the floor of the kitchen. It was on a shelf and somedoggy (Blizzard) knocked it off then chewed the cap off the bottle. Of course, dogs went nuts licking it up then later they were all vomiting thick white slimy stuff. (I guess a dog's stomach acid emulsifies the oil. Yeccchhh.) It took 4 hand-washings of the floor to get all the grease off. It was like a skating rink in there - very slippery.

I got a call last Friday that one of the puppymill dogs that had been adopted the previous Sunday wasn't working out at his new house - hiding under the bed, crying in the crate, marking in the house, and only seeming to be happy when outside. The rescue person who called me wanted him to come here instead of going back to the person who'd fostered him, so I went to pick him up on Friday afternoon. I don't know what the problem was at the new house, but he was social and outgoing and happyhappyhappy here, tail wagging non-stop. The only thing I've found that was consistent with what the new owners said is the marking, and I started him on Chestnut Bud (helpful in breaking bad habits) and he's a lot better already.

I'd met the fellow at the vet and while I was there I wanted to get a rabies vaccination certificate for Blizzard so I could re-license her. Turns out they'd mis-marked her chart and the vaccination she got last year was only good for 1 year not 3 so she needed a rabies booster. I brought Bandit home, got Blizz, and went back to the vet so she could get her jab. I hate to give that vaccination - it really does a number on them and Blizz was lethargic and obviously felt pretty bad that evening, looking at me with those big sad "I hurt" eyes - but I can't take a chance on not being able to license her. If she ends up at the pound and she's not licensed, she's likely to be PTS almost immediately because they'll think she's a pit bull. But she's good for 3 years now, so I don't have to worry about boostering until then.

I got a call yesterday morning that Penny and Blizzard's titers for distemper and parvo are good, so they don't need boosters. I'll be getting the paperwork in the mail sometime this week and will drop a copy off at the regular vet for their files. Glad I don't have to re-booster them.

Blizzard was great at agility class again last night - she just zips through those tunnels, even the long (15 feet) small-diameter ones. She's pretty impressive, and has managed to win over all the humans in the class and most of the dogs. The owner of the school says "Gee, this is the first Dogo I've ever met - where's the man-eating monster I see advertised in the back of the dog magazines?" *sigh* These dogs have an undeserved bad rep; that's why it's so important to me that Blizz be well-behaved and that we do agility and obedience and people get a chance to see how wonderful these dogs are. She's a good little ambassadress.

Honey's going in Thursday to be spayed, then will be leaving sometime next week to go to sheltie rescue. There's a good application in on Charlie, and he's going to meet his potential new owners some evening this week. The app's approved and the homecheck has been done, so I suspect that when he goes out the door that he won't be coming back. I'll miss him (he's a love) and Bandit will too - the two of them have struck up the sweetest friendship! They stick to each other like glue - where one is, the other is. It's too bad they won't be adopted together, but at least Charlie will have a loving new home and there's someone else who may be interested in Bandit. (I think that would be a good placement for Bandit, too, except I really think he'd do best in an environment with another dog. But it would be just him and his owner if this works out, and he might do well with all that dedicated attention.)

So, by sometime next week, I should be down at least 2 dogs and maybe 3. As much as I love having the "guests" here, it will be nice to have some extra time for Penny and Blizzard (and Gruffydd, of course). I wonder how long the extra crates will remain empty? The cats are so used to dogs now that they don't even blink when a new one comes in the door. I woke up this morning with Penny, Blizzard, Honey, and eight cats on the bed; I was awakened by a little sandpaper tongue licking the tips of my toes which were sticking out from under the covers. It was Purrnie. Gad, what a little stinker he is! But what a love, too.

Saturday, 1/27 Geez, where does the time go? Last week Tuesday night, I got an e-mail about a Collie at a local pet store that was "free". I went to have a look on Wednesday and he was beautiful and very nice; I brought him home, and got hold of Collie rescue who agreed to take him. I never realized how big Collies are until I got this guy home - he took up half my living room! Anyway, he stayed until Friday when I drove him an hour to meet collie rescue. Saturday morning, Charlie "went home" to his new people. I haven't heard how he's doing - I don't know if that particular rescuer is very good at follow up, and I'd sure like to hear how he's settling in. Bandit was kinda lost without his buddy, but that changed when we got a couple of new ones in on Monday. (You knew I wouldn't be able to say no, didn't you?)

I got a call Monday afternoon asking me if I could go up to one of the local county animal control shelters to get a couple of neutered males for the rescue group. Crash, a small English Setter was supposed to go foster with Cheryl, and Zeus, a Rhodesian Ridgeback/Sharpei mix was supposed to come foster with me. (They've got Zeus listed as a chocolate lab/Sharpei mix, but I'm convinced he's RR and not a lab.) While I was at AC, I had to go look in the cat pen and I saw the most beautiful little flame-point Siamese mix cowering in one of the cubicles hung on the wall. I asked about her, and the ACO told me "oh, that cat's wild and not very nice - her time's up in a couple of days and then we'll euthanize her." The hell you will! I told her I wanted the cat and she said "Are you sure you really want her? She's really not very nice!" Yes, I was sure, so I left with Zeus in the back of the car, Crash in the front seat, and the kitten in a cardboard carrier on the passenger side floor. I was going to the vet anyway to meet Cheryl to give her Crash, so I just took the kitty in with me.

Cheryl was already there with a rescue Yorkie, getting a skin scraping done. As it turns out, the Yorkie had not only demodetic mange (not contagious) but sarcoptic mange (scabies, very contagious) as well, so Crash couldn't go home with her and I ended up bringing both Crash and Zeus home with me. While I was waiting for the vet to come in to check out the kitty, I opened the carrier to have a peek at this "wild" cat - she didn't move, just tried to make herself as small as possible. I tentatively reached in and, when she didn't hiss, spit, claw or try to bite, I began stroking her back. Eventually I worked my way up to her neck and then her head and still didn't meet any resistance so I lifted her out of the carrier and cuddled her. By the time the vet came in, she was purring. So much for "wild" - she was just very, very scared. The vet checked out the kitty, drew blood for a FIV/FeLV test (negative), and made a spay appointment for Thursday. Since the kitty had lots of fleas, I also got a Cestex pill to treat for tapeworm. And home we came.

Blizzard took one look at Zeus and objected - I thought I was going to have a bloody mess in my livingroom before I'd be able to get Zeus into a crate, but I managed to do it before an all-out war broke out. He's just a big teddy bear but won't back down if challenged, so I need to keep him and Blizzard separated - one is crated while the other's out. The rescue put him on the "urgent" list to get him into another foster home but until someone steps up for that, I'll have to manage as best I can. Funny, but Bandit attached himself to Zeus! Pretty funny, to see a little 12-pounder following this big 60-pound boy all over the house. Crash is a sweetheart - laid patiently in my lap while I trimmed his shaggy, matted paws and cut out the huge mats behind his ears. And the kitty went into a large carrier on top of my washer where it's warm and quiet, to get accustomed to the Zoo. Still scared, but after an initial struggle doesn't object to being held and cuddled, and will eventually relax enough to start purring.

Thursday was spay day. I took the kitty into an exam room so the tech could check her out and explain the procedure (like I really need to have it explained, but that's their policy now) and after poking around a little, the tech said "well, we won't be spaying this kitty today!" Hunh? Why not? "Because she's a boy - we'll castrate him instead." I about died laughing - no wonder he was giving me dirty looks - I'd been calling him "my little Fairy Queen"! The shelter told me he was female, the vet never double-checked, and it never occurred to me to check, either! So, little Mr. no-name-yet got neutered on Thursday. He sure is a handsome little feller - he's 6+ months old, but only weighs 5 pounds. I don't think he's going to get very big. I'm still trying to decide on a name for him; he's still shy and I don't have a good idea of what his personality is going to be, so it's hard to decide on a name. And I haven't been able to come up with any good ones yet anyway, so I'm just calling him "punkinhead" or "sugarplum" for now. He sure is a sweetheart - he's still a little shy, but this morning when I reached into the carrier to pet him he rubbed his head on my hand and started purring almost immediately. I think a couple more days of isolation ought to do the trick. (I'm taking him out of the carrier a couple of times a day for an hour or so and cuddling him. He seems to enjoy that.) So, there's a new Zoobie.

I've been suffering with a sinus infection for a while now, and on Thursday I woke up with a sore throat and swollen glands. *sigh* I've had strep throat often enough to realize that's what it was. So I started a regimen of colostrum, astragalus and nettle, and this time I added Goldenseal as well for it's antibiotic properties. I'm feeling better now - no more swollen glands or sore throat - but I'm still feeling poopy. I think I need to go take a nap.

---

Original Material Copyright 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 - All rights reserved. noofies@catatonic.freeservers.com