Suka's Place

Watchdog...

2011-03-28T07:32:00.001-07:00

Suka's not perimeter-defensive, but she sure lets folks know when someone's coming! And she has opinions about people, too. Dakota, rather less so - Unless someone actually knocks, rings a doorbell, or enters the back yard.

Yesterday, new washer and dryer were being delivered, and poor Suka about lost her mind.

Being the only one home at the time, I crated The Girls, and set about opening up the house for the delivery guys to work. Suka announced the arrival of the truck. She announced the first delivery guy - vigorously. Then the second - not so vigorously - I guess he was more acceptable to her. Then she announced the door I'd popped off the hinges to make space - with extra alertness in her eyes and carriage - Clearly, disassembling bits of the house did not meet her approval.

The delivery guys were commented upon again as they went out to the truck. They got a special emphasis when they brought the dryer in. She's not barking the whole time, no - only as things and people passed through the front door.

Then, the guys removed the old dryer... I thought Suka would turn herself inside out from sheer frustration - Strangers were REMOVING stuff! Our stuff! HER STUFF!! (dunno when she got so possesive of the laundry, but apparently it's very important to her)

Dakota, meanwhile, sat quietly and watched the goings-on.

In with the new washer - announced. Out with the old washer - denounced. Back in with the workers, as the made connections and tested the appliances - announced! Workers departing - announced again.

Dakota still had nothing to say. She just sat there and patiently watched the action.

Even though everyone keeps a wary eye on Dakota, Suka is the one to which they should be paying attention. Dakota doesn't take strange folks all that seriously. As big as she is, she doesn't need to, I s'pose. Suka, though..? She's got opinions about strange folks, strange goings-on, and especially about what comes and goes(!!) in her domain.

She spent the rest of the evening suspiciously eyeballing the new washer and drier. Not sure what nefarious activity she expected from them, but it's clear she thought they were up to something!

Been a while - not been peaceful

2011-03-21T11:28:00.000-07:00

So, I've been absent more than a bit - Preoccupied with things in my world, much of which I frankly don't care to share in detail. In this day and these times, there's no need to go on about more people losing jobs, nor about the pressures that puts on those of us who whom are fortunate to manage to retain theirs - There's already enough of that out there already. So, yeah, times, they be tough, but I still have a paycheck.
Enough of that already.

I did manage to find a very little time to help at the farm, but nothing at all compared to what those awesome kids from the Alternative Spring Break program did. I hucked a few felled trees, and convinced a recalcitrant chain saw to function. Oh, and transported down some of my wife's excellent lasagna for the kids to eat. But compared to the labors of the kids, the other volunteers, and Sarah, I'm a serious piker this year.
No excuses.

Sarah tells the tale better than I ever could:
http://dogdaysatmabcr.blogspot.com/2011/03/asb-ucf-2011-wrapup.html

Not everything has been peaceful on the homefront, nor has it been as happy as the ASB crew.

Suka took a run at Dakota, and paid for her rude behavior in blood. It's to Dakota's everlasting credit that it ended as well as it did, because she had Suka utterly at her mercy before I could take even one step out of the shower.

The tale runs something like this - Early AM, and I'm in the shower. The dogs have been walked and fed, and would normally be engaged in their favorite activities - Dakota watching birds out of the back door, and Suka stealing a few minutes on the couch whilst no one is watching. But, for some reason, Suka chose to do a lap of the house with a high-value toy that had been somehow overlooked and left in-reach. At some point, Dakota either got too close, or maybe expressed some interest in the toy - Not sure, but my first warning of trouble was the sound of Suka's distinctive snarl-snap, followed by a general uproar as Dakota responded in-kind.

I was all of ten feet and one door (plus shower curtain) away, and it took me only seconds to get to the scene, flinging water everywhere as I came. By then, the fiight was already over; Dakota had Suka's head gripped firmly in her jaws, and had bodily crushed her to the ground onto her belly. Suka was still making chainsaw noises, but it was clear that she had no recourse and was entirely at Dakota's mercy. And when I say 'mercy,' I mean it. I commonly watch Dakota crush cattle bones in her jaws; Suka's head would've been no challenge. Or she could've whipped her head to the side, breaking Suka's neck and shredding her throat. But instead, all she did was grip Suka firmly and pin her decisively, ending the fight almost instantly. Better and more gentle manners, frankly, than Suka sometimes deserves. Despite her great size and intimidating power, Dakota is, at heart, a gentle soul.

Suka came away with a superficial abrasion and a minor puncture/laceration to the crown of her skull, and a rather more bloody puncture to her lower jaw - none more than 1/2 the depth of Dakota's incisors. They healed cleanly and well, and if you don't know what you're looking for, you can't find any of them.

So... That's what happened. Who is at fault..? Me, of course. I don't know how it is that the squeaky pig was down and in-reach, but I do know that Suka is highly defensive of it, and that it should be up out of reach whenever there's not responsible supervision immediately present. I don't *think* I left it down, but in the liklihood that one of the kids had taken it down for Suka, I've clearly failed to drive home the importance of having it put away properly. Well, they've get that NOW, but I didn't do my job well enough previously. Fortunately, it all ended with painful but ultimately minor consequences.

Minor abrasion

Fairly minor laceration

1 cm deep pocket - no stitches (to allow for drainage), no penetration into muscle.

More serious (and bloody)

1 cm deep puncture, some pocketing, bled freely for quite a while - No stitches (to allow for drainage), some penetration into muscle.

Scalp scar

If you don't know it's there, you won't find it.

Jaw scar

Even if you DO know it's there, good luck finding it!

Cold, but no snow...

2010-12-08T17:26:00.000-08:00

Chill days. Bright sun, brisk winds, short daylight. But no snow. A couple days ago we had an entire day that looked and smelled like snow, but it all fell south of us. The ground is still green-n-brown.

Suka and Dakota have come to extra-energetic life - Cold weather is simply a God-send to these heavy-coated girls. Dakota, especially, has taken to bouncing and looking at me wth her head turned sideways every time I get to my feet. She *knows* the routine, but still she's looking for an exception. Every. Single. Time. Suka mostly reacts by being much more noisy than usual, and more persistent.

Dakota has made things a bit more interesting... She and Suka had a resource spat a week or so ago, and Suka bellied-out immediately - and Dakota stopped. This is a good thing; Exactly the way a dog fight - if you *must* have a dog fight - should go. But it was Suka submitting. That's a first. And yet, at any other time, including after the fight, Dakota still defers to Suka, whom hasn't changed her pushy, bitchy ways one iota. It's as if, having made her point, Dakota has decided to humor Suka. And smart as Dakota is, I'd not be surprised if that wasn't exactly the case.

Corrupting youth

2010-11-09T07:39:00.000-08:00

I firmly believe that as parents, we have a duty to warp... ah... help our children expand their horizons. With that in mind, I took my daughter Lin with me to The Farm this past weekend, and put her to work. Since we were going down with nothing but work in mind, I didn't bring a camera. So tough, folks! no pictures this time, either!

:-p

Lin had a choice between going to a museum to see a really spectacular touring exhibit of art, or stay home and help clean with her mother, or come to The Farm with me and get really dirty and a bit cold whilst working. I'm quite pleased that she chose The Farm, and she did me proud.
:-)

We got there a bit later than I'd have preferred, but some random idiot took off with my gas cap, and I had to replace that, first. But we made it, and Lin immediately discovered Puppies. As in a pair of female rescuees, maybe 16 weeks old, wandering about the place busily being cute. Then she discovered barn cats, also busily engaged in the demanding task of being prime distractions for a young teenager. I left her to play with kritters while I filled food bins at various places, but soon enough, I was ready for the main event, which was putting an end to the last chaos and mess in the feed trailer. Lin immediately dropped the play, and turned-to with a will. She toted, and carried, and ran back and forth on various errands without complaint or slacking the entire time I was up to my elbows in disordered and spilled flats of canned food. She lifted and hauled while I was moving out bags of kibble and cat litter (yeah, it was another donation from Fibber McGee's closet o'stuff). Once the food was sorted, she happily shifted surplus cat food over to another trailer to be hauled over to the local shelter, then helped me transport and off-load it at the shelter.

Back at The Farm, she helped clear out a truck, and load yet more food for distribution. And she picked shredded fiberfill from destroyed dog toys out of the grass and fences. And helped shift a pen for the puppies and learned how to corral puppies whom don't wish to be caught. Oh, and still somehow found time to play with puppies and dogs and kitties, and stare at sheepies and other livestock, and generally have a good time. And get generally filthy - It *IS* a farm, after all!
:-D

All in all, and without over-working her, Lin's help made it possible to get done more than twice as much as would have otherwise have been done without her. AND she had time to play! She made a strongly favorable impression on the HBIC, and I daresay my job of corrupting... Um, expanding her horizons... was a major success. Certainly, I was pleased to spend the day with her, and there was none of the teenaged angst or whining that can often come with a bored child. Just a good day of doing good.
:-)

Now it's time to sing one of my favorite songs again:
Times are hard, and volunteer-based organizations are hurting for resources and man-hours. It doesn't matter if you have no major skills and are tight on resources yourself - there are things to be done by all. A little lifting, a little organizing. Maybe a load of laundry or two. Perhaps something needs be driven from 'here' to 'there'. Maybe it's just stuffing envelopes for an afternoon, or making some phone calls. Who knows? Find a cause that speaks to you, and find out! It doesn't matter if you haven't a lot to give - Small help is still help.

OK, OK - *ONE* picture:

Puppy lust...

2010-10-18T16:44:00.000-07:00

Before anyone freaks out... I am SO NOT getting this puppy.

But I want him so bad my teeth hurt.

Financially-speaking, I have no right to even make a bid for him, but he needs a home... And he's SO my match in temperment and attitude. And he'd add some much-needed male energy to my small pack... If the economy were even a bit better, I'd snap him up so fast, his breeders would think he'd vaporized. :)

So who is this? He's Zeus - A nearly* breed-quality male ISSR Shiloh Shepherd (same breed as Dakota) puppy, 16 weeks and 48 pounds. A bit defiant, but laid-back and confident, and with a medium temperment. Pretty much describes me, yanno? Also my wife... And my daughter... And my son. :p

Can't afford the cost of healthchecks and potential puppy-type disasters, although I could possibly pull together the actual up-front costs. Since I can't afford the care, I can't afford the puppy. :( Would that more people thought this way... Though that would mean a lot more frustrated dog lovers. But fewer hurtin' pups.

Mind you, if someone reading this decided Zeus (or his sister Hera) were their perfect puppy, I'd hardly be offended. ;) Their breeders are trying to do things the right way, but responsible breeding is a good way to lose money, and with only two puppies in this litter, they're hurtin' too - the economy hits responsible breeders FAR harder than it hits puppy mills.

But DAMN, I want this puppy. ;)

*Technically, a "Pet-Upgradeable" puppy - One with faults, but might be upgraded to breeding status, if he shows offsetting strengths as he matures.

Stacking it up

2010-10-11T08:32:00.001-07:00

Another 'day at The Farm' post...

No pictures - not this time.

The HBIC got another donation shipment, and with volunteer time at a premium, it helps to have the food sorted so that she and the other volunteers can get to the food quickly and easily. So I again went south and sorted and stacked food. I quickly ran out of space to maneuver and stack food, so will have to go back after the current stack is whittled down a bit. But that's still a useful thing... Whilst I was climbing in and out of the trailer, categorizing, moving, sorting, seperating, and stacking, the HBIC was free to do a behavioral consult, and another senior volunteer was able to focus on conducting a class on behavior and manners for a goodly number of students, and they neither one had to worry about the lifting and toting whilst they attended to tasks requiring more nuanced skills.

I've sung this song so many times, but I feel the need to sing it again:
It doesn't matter if you're lacking in fancy or highly developed skills, or if you have no money to spare - there is something for everyone to do, when you volunteer. Find a spot where you can put your hand out to help. You don't have to carry the whole load. If you can't lift a whole load of work, you can lift a little bit - Every little bit sets the stack that much higher. Find a cause that speaks to you, and help stack it up.

In only peripherally-related news, Suka is free of the 'Cone of Shame.' Poor thing was having a terrible time navigating with it, and actually shattered it on the final day she was to wear it by jacking herself up slamming into the furniture. So - Even if she were *supposed* to still be wearing it, she couldn't.
:-p

Oh, and I have some spectacular linear bruises on the backs of my calves - I never really thought about how closely she follows me, or how little free space there is to navigate when The Girls are zipping around me.
Ouchy.

Ouchy

2010-10-02T10:24:00.000-07:00

An unplanned visit to the vet this morning. Suka popped up with a bloody wound and ragged fur on her right rear leg, on the muscle pad of her thigh just above the stifle joint. A quick call, and a trot over to vet, to determine that she's got a classic 'hot spot' injury, which she has worried at until it was bleeding freely.

Ouchy.

So, spent some time, and she got clipped, and and cleaned up, and some steroids (Prednisone) and a goofy collar which is giving her no end of grief in navigation. Poor girl is getting hung up on everything... Even the ground. She lives to sniff stuff, and likes to do it at a trot... But when she lowers the cone, it snags on anything, including polished floors, and suddenly stacks Suka up on end.

Ouchy.

All told, US$223.01 I wasn't planning on spending.

Ouchy.

Suka looks like a dork today.

Poor girl - All the other dogs are laughing.

Classic hot-spot, with minor self inflicted lacerations:

Shouldn't oughta do that to yourself, girl!

Suka does not like drunks

2010-09-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

Downtown again, on a Saturday night (cue Sniff 'n' the Tears) with the girls. Kids over at my mother's, and my wife and I are out for a pleasant evening stroll. Now, for some reason, the college students were out in unusual numbers... And is was very drunk out that evening. I've rarely seen so many free-range drunks. Oh, I've seen plenty enough inside bars, even those bars which remove their streetside windows to let the heat and noise flow out. And some of the bars have fenced areas adjacent to the sidewalks where patrons can eat and get drunk and get rained on all at once, if they so choose, but those still qualify as caged. And some bars have both. No... I'm not talking about those drunks. I'm talking about drunks free and unfettered, wandering loose without brand, tag, or collar. Fortunately, they were happy drunks... (Large number of angry drunk students would not be my idea of a good time)

So we park in the usual off-street lot, and walk through the alleyway, and are confronted with large herds of happy, boisterous, loud students. Calling back and forth across and up and down the street, hooting, squealing, and generally sounding off, the 'herd' description is more appropriate than you may think. I've seen cattle drives less noisy. Oddly, the police, normally so evident, were nowhere to be seen. But it's OK - As noted, the crowds were in a good mood.

Now, Suka and Dakota are a highly noticable pair - And noticed they were. Almost immediately, a male voice bellows from across the street "that's a HUGE @#^#$& dog!" My head swivels, and I find the source - A group of kids hanging out on a second level balcony of an apartment - But why's he bellowing? Clearly, he's not talking to me - He's talking to his companions, though he's pointing more or less accurately at Dakota. Why is he bellowing at the folks right next to him? Ah - right. It's a 'loss of volume control' accident - One of the more common 'drunk casualties.'

OK, this is fine enough, I suppose... But then some well-basted (as in 'cooked to a fine turn') girl comes blundering across the street (God protects fools and drunks) and makes a beeline for Suka.
Suka detonates.
Drunk Girl barely seems to notice.
I'm desperately reeling Suka in and getting her behind me.
Drunk Girl pulls up to a swaying halt in front of me and blinks owlishly at me... "SHE'S SO PRETTY!"
Bacardi. I'm sure of it. BAC probably .06+ and she's maybe 19.

Meanwhile, Suka is in full-on "Kill the zombie" mode - I've only once or twice seen her lips roll like that, and her entire coat is standing on end, making her look about three times normal size. Dakota looks mildly perplexed, as does my wife. This is why when on Main Street, I handle Suka - Dakota is FAR less likely to confront than Suka is, and Suka needs a confident hand when she's out of her depth. Like now.

After a few minutes of running through the 'calm down and demonstrate control' routine, Suka stands down, and consents to retun to her job of sniffing everything in sight - Including Drunk Girl (Able to ignore threats near and far - It's like she's got a super power!), whom is still standing there gushing over how cute Suka is - With the volume cranked to 11. Yeah, another 'loss of volume control' casualty. My poor ears. Suka's poor ears! Well, and Dakota's, too. Then Suka high-marks this girl's leg, and loses interest in her. The girl utterly fails to notice, and wanders off, shouting at a passing herd of Hooting Boys.

That pretty much set the tenor of the evening. Suka regarding drunks with towering suspicion, Drunks randomly blundering across our paths, Dakota content to walk with my wife and look perplexed at the Silly Human Tricks, and me with my head on a swivel, watching that no one snuck up on us (not likely, considering, but still...). I know - Someone's going to ask why I didn't turn around and get the heck out of there. Well, I considered it a teachable experience. Suka, once she 'got' that I know how to handle the alcohol zombies, was gaining confidence and I was making sure she learned to cope with sodden humans. IOW, socialization.

They're Baaa-aack!

2010-09-07T08:58:00.000-07:00

College students, that is.

Weather broke this past weekend* - MUCH nicer. Took the Girls downtown for their walks, instead of having to sneak them in the early AM and late evening before or after the heat of the day. The college students are seriously BACK. They're everywhere, like so many (thousands of) clueless happy puppies - Making messes, bouncing all over, eager to play and be welcomed (and love the daylights out of the Girls!), but not quite sure how to go about things.

Ah, well. Just like with puppies, can't quite work up enough 'crotchety old man' to whack 'em with a rolled up paper (which is what many need, I 'spect), but just kinda shake my head in rueful amusement, and mosey along... As long as they're not clinging all over the Girls. Again.

Unfortunately, the predators have clued-in early already this year. A couple kids - Freshmen, too wet behind the ears to know what's what - got assaulted the other day. The girls were maced and robbed on a residential street that leans heavily to student rentals. They were fortunate to escape without any worse than that, and they clearly hadn't learned their safety measures yet.
*sigh*
They'll learn - Hopefully the word gets 'round fast on this one, and the freshmen get wise. The sooner they do, the sooner everyone will be more safe - once the easy pickings are gone, the predators go eleswhere.

* IRT the weather: I caused it, I'm quite sure. :-p Bear with me a minute...

Earlier, I took the dogs to get their bordadella booster - No problems, and the tech simply took each back into the procedure area one at a time instead of dirtying up a treatment room. Suka was her usual stress-puppy self, and Dakota was quite adorable trying to get back into the back areas to go find her. You could see her thinking her way through the situation, looking at each possible route she could take, trying to determine where her best path lay. She'd look at a door, cock her head and consider it, then shift, and check the next door, and repeat. No slamming into doors or tugging at the lead - just tense and ready to go, and consideration.

When one of the doors opened to let Suka back to us, Dakota was already moving towards the door before it even opened. I daresay if Suka hadn't come through, then Dakota might well have tried to drag me through going the other way. Dakota, OTOH, was much more calm about the whole business - In and out in about two minutes.

Anyway - the dogs are now legal and safe if I wish to board them to get them a respite from the heat - Say, if our A/C should fail - at the local doggie daycare center. And that, like washing a car brings rain, brought the cooler weather.
I'm quite sure of it. :-p

I need to get my camera back...

2010-08-10T10:33:00.000-07:00

'Cause this morning I saw the damndest thing...

I may've mentioned that Dakota isn't fond of stairs. Short flights she can manage, but often has a hard time figuring out where to place her hind feet. If she doesn't hit the stairs at a run, she'll do this kind of 'shuffle step' with her hind feet until she figures out what to do with them - Kinda like watching a clumsy novice dancer trying to figure out the first movement in a dance. Eventually, though, she figures it out, and comes up the steps. If, however, she's at a run, she flows right up the steps like they weren't even there - I think it's that she's already in-motion, and isn't thinking about what she's doing. Again, like our novice dancer; once he gets moving, he's OK.

But the long flight of stairs up to the second floor? I *know* she can negotiate them, as I've been woken by a paw the size of my palm smacking me in the face. Or I'll be sitting on one side of the bed, and out of the corner of my eye I'll see a stealthy shape glide past the other side, and I do a double-take to see Dakota sneaking into my son's room (She likes his bed to lay upon). But usually, she stays downstairs. And she never goes upstairs when I or Jenn are watching. Ian reported that she goes upstairs backwards, and whilst I believed him, I couldn't, for the life of me, picture how that worked.

This morning, though, I finally saw what she does. And it is indeed backwards. Sitting in my easy chair, I looked over to see Dakota standing on the stairs, looking upwards longingly. She left her front paws about four steps up, and walked her hind paws up to the same tread, and stood there, sideways. Then she sat down. On the fifth tread. The she stepped her front paws up to the fifth tread, and stood up. Completely on the fifth tread. Then sat down. On the sixth tread...

Back and forth, sitting down, moving her front paws, standing up, sitting down... Up and up she worked until out of sight. Astonishing!

Then I heard the squeak of surprise from my wife and the sound of the headboard slamming into the wall.... Dakota had clearly just bounded up on the bed and woken her. Seconds later, Dakota came launching down the stairs, in the more traditional headlong manner, big ol' doggie grin on her face, and my wife flying after with vengance in her eye - Until she saw me laughing my butt off. Then *I* was the target of her ire!
o.0
:-D

What posssesed her to learn this method? I dunno. How did she learn this method..? I dunno. But she's a smarty, and I don't doubt she put those brains in gear until she found a way that didn't involve the hindfoot shuffle - Like our clumsy dancer inventing a step that only he knew... One that didn't make him feel clumsy any more.
:)

Another day at the vets...

2010-07-25T06:55:00.000-07:00

There's a wave of Bordetella (One of the agents responsible for Kennel Cough) working through the kennels in the area... Normally, I wouldn't much worry, as my dogs don't get that much chance to mingle, and I've never had to kennel them. But the A/C is straining in the heat and humidity (Well over 30 days in excess of 90deg(f), with high humidity, and it's not yet August!). If it were to ever fall over, the house would quickly become a life-threatening environment for dogs (and cats). Tuxedo is easy - He's a friendly booger, and there are lots family and friends whom would put up with him for a few days. The girls, OTOH... They're a bit more of a challenge. I started checking for kennels with space and flexibility to take short-notice drops-in. Oh, and made sure they had A/C!

Of course, with bordetella on the loose, can't take any chances, so a quick call to check - Sure enough, they're due for their updates.

*sigh*
Off to the vet.
Again.

Just me with the girls... Everyone else were at my mother's place. So, a bit of management, but able to get them in, and no drama until I'd actually settled them in the waiting room. Dakota made friends with an elderly man awaiting his wife and their dog, calmly resting her head in his lap and accepting his attention. Suka was her usual stress-puppy snoopy self, trying to get her nose into every corner and nook. Everything more-or-less under control.

A random samaratin wanders in with a dog to get it chip-checked. Seems he's plucked it out of the middle of a very high-traffic road, and wants to find if it's ID'd. It's a nice, mannerly older pibble-mutt, with a very good collar. And no damn tags. What The Hell, people?! Clearly, this isn't just a random stray - It's a well-cared-for (though slighty portly), neutered older dog wearing an expensive, high-quality collar, not a fighting dog, nor an unwanted pup. Someone took care of this dog. Why doesn't he have some kind of tag? MAYBE the finder will hold onto the dog. Clearly he loves dogs, but he already has two. MAYBE he'll post flyers. MAYBE someone will see them, and collect their dog. Or, more likely, this dog will end up in the county shelter, and there MAYBE its owner(s) will find him in time. Or maybe not.

This dog is in peril - Needlessly. A simple tag with basic info costs maybe ten bucks. Or less. Boomerang Tags (http://www.boomerangtags.com/) charges US$9.20 for a basic stainless steel tag that has enough space for all the key info. It's cheap insurance. Someone out there is missing their dog, and may never see him again. All for the lack of a simple metal disc.

Oh, and the mandatory (and not costly) county dog liscense (and tag) was also not present. That also would've solved the 'lost' issue. Why does somone risk having their dog lost to them forever for the lack of an inexpensive hunk of steel?

Grrr.

Anyway, got the needles in the dogs - They were both sweetness personified during the whole business, though Suka would've happily have been anywhere else. Dakota was just calm and dignified, as she usually is at the vet. Neither one even thought about snarking at the other or at the tech, nor did they tangle leads or otherwise act up.

As I was checking out, a casualty rolled in - A woman came in, in tears, and the techs ran out with a stretcher, though it was already too late. An elderly yellow lab in convulsions, died en-route. I fled the scene with my dogs, glad they were alive, healthy, and protected in every way I can manage, including a backup plan if the heatwave(s) continues and my A/C falls over.

One day, I will be that devestated person with the elderly dog - It's inevitable. But I won't be in mourning for the lack of vaccinations or for the lack of an inexpensive hunk of steel.

So it's still not the desert... Nor the jungle.

2010-07-09T12:04:00.000-07:00

But weeks straight of 90 deg(f) weather, including two back-to-back days of 103 deg(f) temps, have pretty much shocked the dogs.

I've been to real desert, here in the US (Death Valley, Johsua Tree, Painted Desert, and the like) and abroad (Bahrain, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Fujairah, etc.). I've been to real tropics, too (Guam, Penang, Singapore, P.I., among others). So I know the heat and humidity can be far more beastly elsewhere. But still, when you hit temperatures a full twenty degrees (f) above normal, you have to sit up and take notice. Certainly, the dogs have!

Both of them, Dakota especially, have taken to looking cross-ways at me when I go to let them out. They'll stand in teh door of the garage, and look at me out by the door to outside, and cock their heads at me like I've lost my mind. After all, only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun, right? And clearly, whatever else they may be, my dogs are far from mad! Except this isn't the noon day sun - We're talking evening hours, after a long day without play or head calls. Still, they look at me, checking to see if I'm seriously going outside, and do I really want them to accompany me? Even at 7pm, temps have been hovering around 90 deg(f), and that's just too warm for comfort, what with the fur and all.

For Dakota, especially, this is unusual behavior. Normally, she can't wait to scramble out the doors and race off to bark at all four points of the compass - once at each fenceline to let the neighborhood know the backyard security peremiter is armed and active. Then she'll go pace the back fence and look over her shoulder at me to see if she can get away with barking at the dogs on the other side - A favorite activity of hers if she's not being watched. After exchanging unpleasantries with the dogs on the other side (or at least checking to see if she can get away with it), she'll usually pace the peremiter a few times looking for potential intruders, and make use of the trees, as needed. Suka, meanwhile, will have taken a ring-master position in the center of the yard, and will be watching the goings-on with keen interest. Or she'll be rolling in the grass - whichever strikes her fancy.

But not these days.
These days, the pair of them will stand in the doorway and cock their heads at me like I've taken leave of my senses. And when I lead them out, they follow reluctantly, attend to their needs as quickly as possible, and bee-line for the door back inside.

I've a small kiddie pool available for them, but that's not as cool as inside, and besides, they'd rather drink it dry than actually splash in it. Suka has even given up on the den she's dug under the back steps - just too hot for comfort there!

Normally, I'd try to say something witty at this point, or at least deliver some kind of summation. But not today... my brain's melted.

Be kind to your vet. And their staff.

2010-07-04T22:18:00.000-07:00

OK, so I'm a bit biased - My sister is a vet. But that's not what caused this thought - "Be kind to your Vet" - to pass through my mind.

I've been updating all my pets' physicals - One at a time, 'cause it's a bit spendy. It can be VERY spendy. I can understand why people might feel a bit put on, especially when you come away with vaccines, blood work, urinalysis, fecal float, hazmat disposal fee, and exam fee taking you maybe over US$300 or more. Sometimes MUCH more. But the Vet has a school loan to pay off. An office to rent or pay for, staff who'd like to eat and maybe get a bit of health care coverage, phones and other utilities to pay, some random insurance fees to pay (actually MANY fees there!), and the HazMat (blood, urine, expired meds, used 'sharps,' stool, and even worse) that has to be disposed LEGALLY and safely... Plus your vet would probably like to eat themselves, and maybe even have a place to sleep...

Trust me - they *know* their services are spendy. And a good vet will do whatever they can to ease the burden, consistent with meeting their responsibilities. But they *do* have to make ends meet. Fail that, and there *is no* vet practice about which people may complain.

But it's not just dealing with clients unsettled by high costs. In the last six weeks or so, I've been in to see the vet four times, and I've seen her, her partners, and their collective staff dealing with people they'd just as soon smack into the middle of next week for all manner of bad or stupid behaviors. Hell, *I* wanted to smack these people!

Beyond that, it's dealling with the treatment room full of a sobbing family as their beloved pet is put to sleep. Dealing with a waiting room full of appointments that are stacking up because there's a sudden string of emergencies to be triaged and dealt with, whilst every treatment room is full up and more crisis are calling in to warn of impending arrival... Puncture wounds, bite wounds, gustatory indiscretions, and cases of "something's wrong but I don't know what." All that and more beyond.

OK, so I'm sitting in the waiting area with an unhappy cat in a carrier, and time is marching on... Or maybe it's a large and worried dog. Or an elderly and begining-to-fail cat. Or maybe an anxious border collie trying to climb into my lap. None of those are emergencies. If I have to leave because my schedule won't accommodate the delay, I *don't* lay into the front desk staff and techs - I make a new appointment. But I've seen people verbally flay the staff for doing their jobs right. The staff takes it with a smile (and mentally gritted teeth, I don't doubt). If I can wait, I don't hector the staff - They *know* I'm there - They can *see* me; They don't need to be reminded of my existance every few seconds. But I've seen that bad behavior, too. All that and more beyond. Stupid people tricks. Performing idiots on parade. Bizarre reactions of many stripes. No doubt, the staff have seen far more, and far worse.

When you finally *do* get in to see the vet, she (or he) doesn't need a laundry list of complaints - They need your attention on the purpose of your visit - Treating your pet. If you really want to vent, save it until you're outside the building. Blazing away at your vet will NOT speed things up - Nor will it make the visit any more pleasant for anyone else. The VAST majority of clients would just as soon be somewhere else, I'm sure. Blowing up will not endear you to anyone. And frankly, that sobbing family in the next treatment room? THEY don't want to hear your foul-mouthed diatribe, either.

So be kind to your vet. And their staff.

They deserve it.

Uncomfortably warm...

2010-06-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

94 deg (f) and 71% humidity. OK, it's been hotter - MUCH hotter - but still... Quite uncomfortable. Even the weeds were wilting.

Dakota didn't much feel like doing anything but drink and hang in the shade. She didn't actually lay down in her play-pool, but she did stick her entire face into it. Suka couldn't be bothered to actually get wet, but did her best to match Dakota slurp for slurp.

Hot dog!

Yes, she *did* come out of the shade to see what lunatic game I was playing with the weed whacker. Mad dogs, Englishmen, myself, and apparently, Dakota. Suka was too smart to come out.

So, now that the day's heat is past, and the house is quiet, I was poking through my library of images. What should my wondering eyes behold, but a winter video of Dakota lurking in an obscure directory on my computer. So, with out further ado, and to remind us that summer (which isn't even officially here yet!) is only temporary, I present:

Stay frosty, friends!

Still dang busy...

2010-06-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

I work hard - Not much choice otherwise, in this day and age, I suppose, but still - The hours are long, and sometimes intensely frustrating. Work can be intensely fiddly. Sometimes with damn good reason, but just as often simply because someone is too lazy or too ego-bound to do things differently. I get tired of it.

It's such a relief to come home to uncomplicated demands. The dogs don't require conflicting walk specifications, nor do they much care about order of operations in assembling their meal (though order of service *is* enforced. :-p ), nor do they care about smoothing inconsequential details. That's not to say that they don't have their quirks, nor that you can get away with ignoring anything below the surface - It's just that they don't lie, they don't fiddle, and they don't give a damn about the stupid shit. Get the big details right, pay attention to the emotional climate, and all is well.

Suka doesn't care if we walk the neighborhood to the right or to the left. Dakota doesn't care if I use the black lead or the red one, the nylon, or the cotton, or the leather. If the wet stuff in their meal is on top of the dry stuff, well that's every bit as good as the dry stuff atop the wet.

Do I sound fried, burned out, weary? Well, that's because I am. But the Girls bring me out of it - When I've had enough and too much of family, other people, or work, I can count on them to be simple, happy, loving companions.

It means a lot.

Creeping out from under

2010-05-25T12:06:00.000-07:00

...those things which bear me down.

Too much activity, too little of it of my own choice. Too many commitments, too much work, too much of other peoples' priorities .

I saw that Suka was starting to blow coat this AM, and it pulled me up short... I spend so much time looking at what *must* be done, that I forget those things I love to do. It's been weeks since I gave her a really thorough brushing. Not the lick-and-a-promise brushings necessary to get mud out of her coat, but a really deep-down get-ALL-the-dead-coat-out kind of going-over that leaves you with a bag of fur and a contented pup sitting at your feet.

No, I haven't been neglecting the girls. But I haven't been enjoying them as much as I should. I take them on walks downtown, by myself or with my wife. I mow the yard in their company, and ruffle their fur and feed them and watch them, but I haven't really played with them recently. Not in any meaningful sense. I haven't taken the time to just *be* with them - not recently. So maybe, yes, I *have* been neglecting them - at least by the standards I like to believe I hold.

I have family to care for, and work to be done, and events to drive people to, and.. and...

I have excuses.

Time to climb out from under my excuses. Time to seize a little of my life back. Time to do the things I love for a change. Even if only in small doses. Small doses are better than none, and "none" is what I have right now. Time to call Sarah down at MABCR and see what she needs done. Time to take the dogs for a walk in the woods. Time to break out the brush and create me a bag of dog fur. Time to spend a little less time 'running' and a little more time 'being.'

Appologies.

2010-05-02T17:24:00.000-07:00

My comments section has become a magnet for spammers, so I've had to shift to 100% moderated comments.

We been inconvenienced by assholes..

What a life...

2010-04-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

Suka and Dakota are doing well. Very well. :) Recent checkup shows them both to be in perfect health, and they charmed the socks off the vet & staff. As usual. ;)

On walks downtown, they do the same to passers-by, every time. Between Suka's lively charm, and Dakota's calm dignity, they've something for every dog lover. :)

I'm not doing entirely so well, though... Family issues (no, no one is getting divorced!), and work... I'm responsible for items that could literally cost my company a billion US Dollars, if I were to fail. Plus cost my job. ;) Family comes first, but clearly, the job is running a close second. :p

When I have time, I'll add more. Until then, just know that I have my nose to the grindstone and, to a degree, my back to the wall.

First snow of the season.

2009-12-05T19:45:00.000-08:00

Wet, sloppy snow today... Essentially no accumulation, as anything that built up was so wet that it washed away in short order. But for a short while, there was some slushy snow on the grass. It was coming down so fast that for a while the rain mixed in with the snow couldn't quite wash it away as fast as it was falling. Only for a while, mind you. :-p

That was enough for The Girls - Much running about, mixing the scant snow liberally with mud, rolling in the slush, and stuffing their faces into the deeper spots. Dakota, especially, made a point of plowing snow with her face... She's undoubtely been missing the white stuff!

Sorry, no pics - Between the rather heavy rain admixed with the snow, and muddy slush being flung about, I didn't dare chance the camera outside. *shrug* It was a dark grey overcast day anyway. I doubt any pics would've turned out well.

Still, The Girls got a good workout just prancing about in the cold and wet. :-)

Let sleeping dogs lie...

2009-11-24T02:36:00.000-08:00

One on my left foot, and one on my right.

Not quite snuggling up with each other, but darn close.
:-)

Not Poetry

2009-11-18T08:23:00.000-08:00

Note: These events are a bit old - I've been waiting to see how things fall out before posting.

So The Girls settled in togther in a satisfactory manner - Not quite closest of friends, but tollerant of each other, and somewhat social, with occasional bursts of play. Life was good!

Then the wheels come off...
Dakota went counter-surfing, and got caught (I knew she was doing this, it was just a question of catching her in the act), and so was corrected. This seems to have set of a social reaction of disturbing proportions. At least, I believe this is the proximate cause. About an hour after being corrected, Dakota jumped Suka from behind, right at my feet. OK, Rule #1 for breaking up a dog fight: DO NOT GET BETWEEN THE COMBATANTS! Fortunately, I was immediately behind the combatants, and in place to use my favorite (and maybe only safe) tool for breaking up fights: Grab one of the dogs by the hind legs, and back up - fast. Turn as you do, to force the dog to side-step to keep on her feet - this keeps her too off-balance to turn and try to bite you, if she's so inclined.

Ideally, you should have two or more people - one for each combatant - to prevent one dog from following and continuing the fight. If you don't have enough people, isolate the dogs in seperate rooms, behind fences, or if not that, then take a lead, hook it to a collar, loop it once around the dogs waist, and tie it off to something solid. Then you go after the other dog... Ideally, you want to get the dogs out of sight and sound of each other.

Within a second, Dakota had Suka pressed to the floor, still upright. Suka had twisted her magnificently flexible neck around to engage, but was still at a terrible disadvantage. When I grabbed Dakota's legs and jerked her backwards, Suka was off like a shot - headed for her crate. One combatant I needn't worry about following up! Dakota whipped her head up to look at me - I daresay she'd forgotten I was present at all, and I literally hiked her like a football back between my legs, grabbing her scruff on either side of her head, just behind her jaws. That's 100 pounds of dog, all four paws on the ground, going backwards like a pigskin at the snap... Adrenalin is potent stuff! With her head immobilized, and her attention suddenly and totally focused on me, it was clear the fight had completely gone out her. I must've roared, too, at some point, as people came running from all corners of the house. (My wife says I'm scary when I roar. Go figure.)

Dakota's head still immobilized, I frog-marched her to her crate and shut her in. Suka, I had to literally haul from her crate, so I could inspect her for injuries... And there were some. A pressure cut to her lower right eyelid, and a minor puncture about an inch below that. Messy, but minor. She allowed me to give her a complete and thorough checking, though it was clear she wanted back to the safety of her crate. Put her back to her crate, then hauled Dakota out to inspect her, too. Again, I had to haul her out - She was clearly reluctant to face me, but put up with her inspection with proper manners. No blood, but a LOT of saliva on her throat - Suka hadn't been screwing around in defense - Any better angle, and Dakota'd have taken a serious injury.

A couple stitches, and everything is well, health-wise. I became the Fun Nazi - Only one dog out of their crate at a time except when I'm immediately present, and extremely close supervision even then.

Two days later, came a near-exact repeat, dispite the close supervision, only this time with Suka getting a solid piece of Dakota in return - A seriously bloody lip - with Dakota actually doing no damage to speak of. I was now the Fun Gestapo. No more than one dog out of their crate at a time, period, no matter who is present. Both dogs sleeping in their latched crates at night. Both dogs on-lead in the house.

Since that time, some time back, Dakota has been much more obedient. She apparently had some reservations about who was in charge. Not any more - Getting man-handled like she was a puppy seems to have made an impression. Since that time, she and Suka are both at once more snarky with each other, and more tollerant of each other, if that makes any sense - They express their opinions, but also seem to get along better. Certainly the 'play' aspect of their lives has improved. I suspect that the clashes, and my immediate and very dominant response, have sorted out the relative relationships.

In retrospect, I should've gone all 'Fun Gestapo' right out the gate. Lesson learned - they're both good dogs, but dog society and people society do not correspond exactly. I need to think like a dog, and I still watch them closely. People wonder why I don't let the dogs oiut into the back yard unsupervised. I don't, because I'm thinking like a dog - I'm The Boss, and I want to make damn sure that The Girls know The Boss is watching. Dakota is huge, powerful, and fast. Suka is if anything, even faster, and has very sharp teeth. They don't get the chance to get at each other without someone responsible and capable to stop them if they forget their places again. They can play, and run and pace, and bark, and all the rest, but they also know that if they step out of line, The Boss is right there to put them back in their place. It means less screwing-off time for me, but if I wanted my time all to myself, I would've never married, much less brought dogs into the house... :-p

And now for something just a little different...

2009-11-04T09:01:00.000-08:00

Pale clouds float
betwixt silv'ry moon
and silvered earth,
the breath of life
whisp-etched icy wakes
hang in the still air.

Orbit and counter,
the shadows pace
their appointed rounds.

Dark and light,
Yin and Yang,
greater and lesser
spirit and soul
boldness and caution
each within their heart
mirrors the other.

I don't often write blatent poetry - It usualy sucks rather nastily. Not, perhaps, today.

Awakened in the very early hours by invading chill, the girls decided that, seeing as I was up, it was a good time to see about their business. Under an immaculate clear sky, the full moon flooded the neighborhood with a clear silver light, bringing to ghostly life the frost-gilt landscape. The girls left pale breath-cloud wakes in the still air. The magical illumination gave substance to their forms, whilst redacting inconsequential detail. All I witnessed were two kindred spirits, the same yet different, dark and light, large and small, bold and shy, dominant and submissive, as they orbited; checking their perimeters, each other, me.

In perhaps-related news, Suka came to me this morning, and dropped a ball at my feet, backed off, and barked - tail wagging and eyes bright. In the nearly fifteen months I've known her, this is a first.

Putting my hand to the cart...

2009-10-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

Down at The Farm this past weekend - a 'command performance,' if you'll allow me the license. HBIC needed the feed shed cleaned out, rather seriously, and I'm one of the go-to guys, it seems, for that sort of work. I don't flinch at rats, need little supervision, and am strong enough to make light of the lifting and toting.

The economy reaches into all manner of corners, and hard times mean fewer volunteer hours. The Farm is running on necessary minimums right now, those being the health, safety, and care of the dogs and other animals resident. That means that other things must give, like the cleaning and maintenace of unoccupied structures, like the feed shed. Oh, wait... Did I say "unoccupied?" I meant unoccupied by any animals that people care for. Rats had obviously been there, and had themselves a party. Spiders and grubs were in plentiful evidence, too - Grubs feeding on food spilled by the rats, and the spiders feeding on the grubs. Yes, the rats spilled food - a lot of it. Well, rats thrive on clutter, and that was what I was there to fix!

OMG! Clutter!

Clearly, there was some work to be done.

The HBIC was busy elsewhere (so busy I didn't realize until much later she was even at the farm), and it was a pleasnt day - a break in the recent rains, so I turned to and cleared the shed, tossing away what needed to be tossed, salvaging what I could, and reorganizing as I went. Sadly, a lot of food had been spoilt - hidden behind the clutter, the rats had been at it until the bags were sieves, and food once contained therein was thoroughly spoiled by rat feces and urine. Also hidden were cans of wet food that had become compromised - some had literally exploded, spraying high-velocity food into the damnest places.

Food - and money - literally down a rat-hole...

Unsalvageable - rats urinate and defecate all over what they eat, leaving it dangerous to eat by most any other animal.

One of the resident rescuees - Mickey, perhaps? - was there to supervise in the HBIC's abscence. Such a well-mannered guy! He was constantly nearby, but mostly not directly underfoot. He obeyed so well, and stayed out of the shed, even when clearly perplexed by what I was doing with that mound of spoilt food. He's going to make someone a wonderful companion - I hope he finds a home soon! If I'd so much as an inch of spare space at home, I'd take him in, in a heartbeat! Even knowing my wife would smack me a hard one (and correctly so). He's that good a dog.

Whatcha doing ..?
Da man supervises as I get down to some serious organizing.

Anyway, to make short of the tale, things much improved now, with room to move around and places to put everything. What could be slavaged was, and the rest disposed of. I'm not done - more work needed, but there's only so much time in a day. I'll be back to The Farm again soon, to finish up in the feed shed, and do more catching up on those things that have gone by the wayside in these tight times. At least now, all the food can be seen, and reached. There's space, too, for more feed to be brought in, and the rat holes can be blocked - Something more perminant will be needed, but for now the food is safe.

Improvement...

Space to work now - And to actually store food.

Think about your charities and causes. Times are hard, and money is in short supply, but if you can spare a few hours, that may be worth far more than money. Not every task needs a speciallst - sometimes, all that's needed is a willing pair of hands. Look about, and see if there's a place you can put your hands on the cart, and give it a push.

Simple pleasures...

2009-10-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

Dawn is yet to color the sky, nor even a hint of twilight yet shows. The grass crackles crisply under my feet... Frost is hard upon the ground, and early hints of winter's chill sting tease at my nostrils.

Moans and grunts and sighs... eight paws flail frantically in the still morning air. Suka and Dakota roll in orgiastic delight, back-scratching on the frosted lawn. The distant city glow, dimly cloud-reflected, reveals flashes of teeth and gleams of eye, but their ecstatic wriggling is defined more by hint and occlusion than by sight.

My morning is complete.

Why I love my dogs (and cats)

2009-10-10T14:20:00.000-07:00

Not the only reason, mind you. Not even remotely. But still a big one; they keep me sane.

It's Saturday evening. I'm at work. Probably until midnight. I'll be at work tomorrow, too. I should be working this very instant, as a matter of fact, but my eyes have gone cross-ways, and I can't see clearly to do what I need to do. So I'll post here, and get a soda, and visit the head, and then stick my shoulder back to the wheel.

I've Quality-Control checked nearly ten thousand pages of clinical data today - I've another nearly seven thousand to go before I'm done today. Tomorrow will be the same, I'm sure. Nor am I alone - The boss is in, and so are many of my cow-orkers. By the time I'm done, my brain will be fried.

But when I get home, the dogs will not care. Suka will be flying about shoulder high, as she always does when I come home - no matter how long I've been gone. Dakota will wheel and prance and moan with delight, as she always does. They will make demands - Attention, a trip to the back yard, more attention. But these demands never ease, never increase - These are demands of love and they are constant. The document awaiting my attention does not love me, nor do I love it. When I get home, the dogs will make their demands, and will force me to push this never-to-be-sufficiently damned document out of my head. I will be home, and work will be sent back to where it belongs, out of mind until I actually need to face it again. Just me, and the dogs. No time, no plans, no meetings; just us doing what needs to be done in the time it takes to do it. Like no one else, Suka and Dakota can take me out of my head and pull me into the now.

Max and Tuxedo, too, will make their presence felt. Not quite as in-your-face as the girls, but every bit as insistent and relentless in their own rights. Max will creak his way to where I sit, and painfully climb to his throne of power (that being wherever he choses to plant his massive, muscular butt), and casually demand his due - a back scratch. He'll reward loyal rendition of his due with purrs and the random head-butt, and maybe a lick or two. Attending to his imperial demands is a kind of command performance zen - you must sit, and you must scritch, and you must do it until His Imperial Majesty is satisfied you've done it properly, else... The PAW! IOW, there's no end in sight until you've reached the end. Tux is less blunt, but every bit as pushy in his way. He will climb on my shoulder and purr and poke his claws into my beard, try to steal anything I have that is even remotely edible, and will sit or strop his back on anything I'm holding. At least, until I literally knock him on his side and give him a quick and vigorous whole-body rub.

But as demanding as the cats are, they too take me out of my day, and bring me mentally home, to rejoin my body already there present.

Dogs alone might not be enough. Cats alone, certainly not enough. But together, they consipire to return me to my refuge of relaxation and recuperation. Whilst they are there, work may not trouble me - I'm too busy taking care of the immediate, and being loved. I bet this document wishes it had pets. :-p

Barrier aggression, barking, and a few other things

2009-10-05T20:51:00.000-07:00

OK, so I was asked about fence running...

Fence running, or 'barrier aggression,' is an aggressive, territorial behavior, often born out of frustration. Basically, a dog tries to get to something they want - A kid they wish to greet, another dog they want to meet or play with or chase off, a stranger they want to confront, etc. - and they find a barrier in the way. So they run along the barrier, frustrated. The longer the temptation is present, the more frustrated they get. Emotional energy starts getting stored up as the dog races back and forth, and the adrenalin starts to flow. Barking, anxiety, hostility, redireted aggression (attacking something - like a fellow pack member - that they can reach, on their side of the fence) can all follow. It very quickly becomes a habit, and can be very hard to break. Barrier aggression can lead to some seriously nasty dog fights - I've seen dogs trying to kill one another through a chainlink fence - and nearly succeed! It can lead to people getting bitten, if the dog ever manages to get past the barrier. If nothing else, it's also annoying as all hell.

The ONLY way I know to reliably stop fence running is to step on it, hard, every time it happens. With Suka, that's easy enough - With me, she's got a rock-solid recall. So, when she starts up, I recall her, immediately. Lin cannot get that level of obedience from her, so Suka will fence run when Lin is around, and I am not - Until I stick my head out a window.

Now, Dakota is a dog less focused on me, and her recall isn't (yet) as solid as it should be - She's got a bit of teenage-style rebellion in her. Basically a very good dog, but inclined to try and get away with things, if she can. This means that even as I'm improving her recall, she'll try and blow me off at times when she thinks I can't see her, or can't intervene - So I go where she can't blow me off. Right in her path. Then she gets the message. But if I move out of the line, and she thinks maybe I've stopped watching, she'll be right back at it. So I'm still stepping on that behavior - And yeah, as the weather becomes cooler, that means I'm getting my barn coat and house boots on and standing out at the fenceline at 0500. She's getting it. Slowly, but she's getting it. I've had Suka some 14 months, and had plenty of time to settle her score. Dakota is a less responsive dog, and is still very new here - She'll come around.

Other forms of barking are also things you want to watch. You see, when a dog barks at something, there are a limited number of reasons - Play, excitement, warning, threat, call for help. Play barking is fine. Excitement barking isn't a real problem, if it isn't driving you out of your head from the noise - Suka's new-found excitement barking is like getting beaten in the head with a club covered in icepicks. Standard desensitization and behavior swapping generally works with this - Create the situation that leads to the barking, then don't provide the payoff! Swap in behaviors that are not objectionable that do provide the payoff!

Suka goes insane when I grab a lead. Until recently, that meant 'going for a walk or ride.' Now, I'll sometimes walk around the house all day with a lead in my hand, and even hang out near a door. But I never put the lead on her and take her out. Yes, I've had to put up with a lot of barking, but she's learning that 'lead' =! 'walk.' Now, with any obnxoius habit, there's a last minute frenzy of a particular behavior, called an 'extinction burst,' just before the habit is discarded. Suka's at that point right now, with regards to the lead. She's putting on one last furious display of barking when I grab the lead, hoping against hope that this time, she'll get to go for a walk. But all the yammering in the world will not get that door open. Silence, and a patient sit-stay, will. I've changed the 'go for a walk' behavior to require a quiet sit-stay at the door, and when she does that on command, she gets what she so desperately wants. If she starts yammering, I turn around and walk away. Very rapidly, her behavior is changing. Soon, the freakout derby at the door will be gone - I just need to stay the course.

By the way: If I were to yield, just once, I'd have to try ten times harder to stamp out the behavior again. NOTHING re-enforces a behavior like inconsistent rewards! This is one of the reasons fence running is hard to stamp out - The dog is faster than you are. You need to try as hard as you can to stop the behavior consistently. If this means you need to physically go out to the fence in the chill early hours, well, so be it.

Warning barking is fine - Until I respond. Then, I expect the dog to shut up and let me deal with it. When Suka or Dakota bark to warn me, my immediate response is to call them to me, and thank them. Once that's done, I expect them to hush. And I enforce it. I also check out the scene of the warning - Failure to do so can lead to more barking, and / or a shift to threat barking, if the dogs think I'm not doing my job as guardian. If I'm not doing my job as guardian, they will step forward and try to take the role; Letting that happen is a BIG no-no!

'Call for help' barking is when the dog is in trouble, or is facing something that scares them badly. You MUST respond to this! Failure will at the very least jeopardize your leadership status, or worse. Maybe disasterously worse. You'll recognize the change in tone - Like a child's cry, you'll know when it's serious, and when it's less so.

When a dog barks at an approaching stranger, they're warning at a minimum, and they may be threatening and / or calling for help, too. When the stranger passes on, the dog thinks "Ah-ha! I barked at the threat, and the threat went away! Mission accomplished!" Instant re-enforcement! When it happens again, well, that (in the dog's mind) is proof that the barking works. Now the mailman comes by, and walks Right. Up. To. The. House. The barking isn't working! So the dog barks louder, maybe spins around in frustration, bounces up and down a bit. The mailman moves on with his appointed rounds. The dog has now learned that truly obnoxious, over-the-top barking repells serious threats!

So, what do I do? I step up. I respond to the call for help. I relieve them at sentry, and require my dogs to take a subordinate role. I am the boss, the guard, the Alpha. When my dogs try to step in front of me to defend the territory, I stop them, and make damn sure they understand that I'm on the job. When my dog barks to warn me, I acknowledge the warning, and then tell her to stand down - I've got it now. "Thank you Dakota. That'll do. Good girl." If she doesn't stop, now she's disrespecting my authority. "Dakota. Come. Down. Stay."

Of course, I'm not a professional - I only play one at home. This is what I've learned from reading and talking to people I respect and from trial and error over time. There are most certainly people whom are much more sophisticated and scientific about this. Likewise, I live in an urban neighborhood - Things that I cannot tollerate because they disrupt the peace, might be much more acceptable or even desirable in more rural environments.

In general, I believe that "a tired dog is a good dog" but that can backfire on you - Teach a dog that every day they're going to get a lot of exercise, and then fail to provide it for a couple days, and you've got a potential problem on your hands! I keep my dogs exercised enough to keep them lean and fit, but I do it in differing ways. Sometimes, a nice walk on Main Street. Sometimes, a walk through a park, or the neighborhood. Sometimes, it's only in the back yard. Sometimes, it's in the house (usually when my wife isn't home!). Sometime, it's mental instead of physical - "hide and seek," "shell game," and obedience training all work a dog's mind well. Exercise alone will not produce all the behaviors you want, though, nor will it eliminate bad behaviors. For that, you need to train.

For a little relevent reading (I won't call it 'light!'), I suggest books by the Monks of New Skete, and Leslie McDevitt. Do a quick 'Google;' those names are easy to find on the 'web. There are many more books out there, but those are the ones I started with.

Strange ways...

2009-09-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

Recent observations have me increasingly bemused. Adding Dakota to the family has pried open aspects of Suka's personality* that I'd never expected, and some that frankly, I'd just as soon not experience.

Some very knowledgeable people have called Suka a 'weenie.' It's not that they dislike her; it's that they've noticed she's an innate stress puppy. She doesn't like strange situations, and even familiar situations that she cannot control cause her a very strong stress and avoidance reaction. So when she suddenly showed up as dominant over Dakota, there were a few "Huh?" reactions. Including, frankly, from me. OK, Dakota is not a 'hard' dog. In fact, she's quite 'soft,' but Suka is also a soft dog, and a mere one-third Dakota's size. Dakota can literally fit Suka's entire head in her mouth. This didn't even cause Suka to hestitate a second. My 'stress pup' literally charged straight into the teeth of the lumbering giant, and made her submit.

We've all seen Chihuahuas make a big dog back down, but most Chi's I know aren't exactly 'soft.' What makes a 'soft' dog suddenly act like queen bitch of the world? There are dominance signals and cues that dogs share that are NOT part of their commonly-observed personalities. It's subtle - maybe too subtle for me to discern. Certainly the overt signals are clear enough - Tail upright, rigid 'at attention' stance, boldly upright ears and direct stare. 'Teeing Off,' snatching precidence of action, snapping, growling, gatekeeping, resource guarding... Those area all obvious to any observer. But what signal tells one when to challenge for position? What signal tells a dog when the pecking order has been established, and it's OK to ease off? It's clear when dominace is being established, and when it has been established, but the transitions between states, most especially the 'backing off' stage, are a bit of a mystery to me.

Anyway, Suka is clearly in 'maintenance mode' with Dakota - She's not nearly as bitchy as she was, and maybe some of that is due to me putting her back 'in school' herself, and (re)establishing my place as boss. When did I know it was time to ease off? Frankly, I'm not sure I know that, either! I missed that transition, too - Just one day, I looked back and noticed that I wasn't bearing down as hard as I had previously, and didn't need to, either.

One thing Suka doesn't do much of any more is 'fence run.' Fence running is an aggressive activity. Most trainers will not permit it - I certainly don't. But in my daughter's presence, Suka would try it - Until I stuck my head out a window and called her off. Now, Dakota fence runs, and Suka stands back and supervises. And Dakota is an enthusiastic fence runner! I have to physically go to the fence and block her. She gets the message quickly enough, but until I get there, she's baying away in that deep thunderous voice of hers. Suka, meanwhile, goes quickly about her business, and returns to guard the garage door.

Dakota has, as mentioned previously, taught Suka to play. She's not good at it yet, but she's learning. Play has brought with it excitement barking. Suka used to be a remarkably quiet dog. Not so any longer... She now sounds like pretty much every other Border Collie or BC-cross you've ever met: Out of her furry little mind when there's something exciting about to happen. This is a development I could've done without... She's not bark-screaming yet, but I will no longer rule that possibility out.
<.<

'Something Exciting,' unfortunately, now includes being fed. I've put Dakota and Suka on similar diets, mostly out of convenience. It meets both their nutritional needs, with a slight tweak for Dakota (Joint supplements - She's a BIG girl!), and Suka has found the new taste to be very much to her liking. Before, she ate pretty much when she felt like it. Now, she's in her crate, squeaking, barking, and yammering in anticipation... Ready to stuff her face into her bowl. One bonus to her new eagerness to eat; she and Dakota finish at about the same instant. This means no fights over food.

I had made the mistake of believing her personality largely exposed to me. Now, I see there are whole new depths. I think I'm going to try her on 'fetch' again. I may be taking another stab at Monster Creation, but what the heck... If nothing else, the new behaviors are diverting and interesting.
;-)

* Yes, dogs have personalities. I know, I know - Most readers here aren't going to dispute that. Yet I do occasionally get accused of anthropomorphism when discussing animals' personalities. It's empirically obvious that different animals for the same specied and even sam breed behave differently from their fellows, in ways subtle and not-so-subtle-at-all. Further, science has observed and confirmed these differences. So there, doubters! Nyah!
:-P

Wakeup

2009-09-26T03:29:00.000-07:00

In the predawn twilight, four glowing eyes rush.

Back, forwards, hints of glinting teeth and growling and fierce postures, the furry bodies race each other.

Suka has learned to play.

Meanwhile, back at The Farm...

2009-09-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

Spent a bit of time down at The Farm, this AM. Didn't take Suka, as she's been exposed to Dakota, and whilst Dakota has a clean bill of health, you never know what mild, sub-clinical illness she might be harboring. It'd be some kind of serious rude to expose the rescuees at The Farm to some bug they'd never seen before. So - Suka stays away for a few more weeks longer.

Not as many dogs at The Farm as there sometimes are, and maybe that's a good thing - The economy has been having obvious impact on volunteer hours, and whilst the core work is getting done, it's a bit of strain. Some projects that need doing have been hanging-fire. Some key projects have been done, but more could be done, if there were hours available. Recently, there was a massive work day, and the bathing room was given a major face-lift. Some used, but still very serviceable medical holding kennels were added, and it's made a major imrovement on the quality of care for the dogs staging through the bathing room. Not to mention making things much easier to keep clean!

Well, today, I was put to the task of clearing out some blown appliances from the kennel house. A fairly straight-forward task, save that rats have been tearing at the infrastructure, so there was a bit of cleaning up to be done. Also, the dogs have been digging at the foundation again, and had created a completely undermined tunnel-like structure right at the cargo door - One that wouldn't hold my weight for a second, much less my weight plus a dolly holding a washing machine.

So... Find a hunk of heavy-duty plywood, bridge the gap, and work the appliances out to where I can get the dolly under them, then haul them out and into the play yard. Next, haul the equipment across the play yard, avoiding all the ankle breakers the dogs have thoughtfully dug for us there... Oh, and dodge the dogs, too... Including the pinheaded booger who has been so severely under-socialized and left so free of discipline that his idea of a friendly greeting is to bite you. >:-(

Finally, out through the dog-lock and then across the yard, over to the dumpster area. One washer, one dryer, both elderly and quite heavy. Then clean the mess left behind, and replace the washer - A reverse pilgrimage from above - whilst breaking up scuffles between Pinhead and the other dogs, and fending him off, too.

Also, moved some spare stainless kennels, to make space for a freezer, then moved the freezer.

That's all - About two and half hours, all told. Not my usual stay, but time was a bit pressurized; My hours are subject to squeezing by the economy too, and I've not spent near as much time down at The Farm this summer as I'd have liked to have done.

A word on the Pinhead; He's a young dog - Well under a year, and possibly a pure-bred. He's a classic black-n-white rough coat, and has fabulous teeth. Which I experienced quite closely. I daresay he's never experienced real discipline in his life. Certainly, once I lowered the boom on him, he shaped-up quite a ways... For me. I do NOT appreciate being greeted by a dog that tries to get my attention by pinching my legs right through my heavy jeans. Nor do I appreciate being punched by a dog that uses his front paws to practice kick-turns off my groin. So I had to drop a hammer on Pinhead, and he eased off - Though he kept almost forgetting, and spent a lot of time directly under my feet when I needed to be walking. He's in rescue, and there's NO DAMN REASON for it. Had the parents of the kids handling him paid some attention, and applied some basic discipline, there'd be no reason for him to be a pain in the ass like he was this AM. He could be a damned good dog for someone. Instead, he's an annoyance and nuisance to everyone whom meets him, and he's going to need a fair bit of detailed work to get back on the straight and narrow. No doubt, the HBIC will manage to fix his little red wagon, or will find a willing foster to sort him out, but he should have never needed to come to us in the first place.

Sonuvagun!

2009-09-03T22:34:00.001-07:00

Well, paint me green and call me a frog... I think I just saw Suka responding to play invite from Dakota!

You'd have to know Suka, and how supremely dog-indifferent she is, to understand how remarkable is that observation.

'Tis the season...

2009-08-31T16:54:00.000-07:00

'Tis the season...

...To blow coat.

:-p

Did *I* do that..?!

Yup.

Well, some of it, anyway. To be honest, you had a lot of help...

That's right. You're busted, oh hairy one!

This short post brought to you by my de-shedding rake and bit of elbow grease.

:-p

Talking the walking carpet for a stroll...

2009-08-30T02:02:00.000-07:00

Well, y'all know we've been taking Suka for Saturday evening walks down Main street all summer. It's "Move In" week for the U of D, and all the new students (and their parents) are swarming Newark. Seemed a good night for a little socialization

Last night, we decided to take both girls for a stroll down Main street. We've never gotten a reaction less favorable than indifferent to Suka; this time reactions were all over the map, but not a single indifferent reaction. Everyone's head, at the least, turned to look at Dakota. Jenn was handling Dakota, with Suka and I walking mostly a few steps behind, so I could watch both Dakota, and Jenn's techique (she's still learning some handling on-lead tips and tricks). Jenn did fine. Dakota did fine. Positioned where I was, though, I could clearly hear the comments that Jenn was missing. Mostly, it was some variation on "Wow! Look at that big dog!" Unfortunately, some of those "Wow!" comments were fear-tinged. Dakota is clearly a well-behaved dog, but she's not demonstrably friendly until you approach her. She doesn't insist on making friends, but will happily make nice with anyone whom approaches her. Which is fine - perfect even - in my book. I don't need a dog lunging about trying to make friends with every Tom, Dick, and Harry she sees - It's rude, from my perspective, for a dog to insist on thrusting herself into the face of people whom have shown no interest.

The problem, as I see it, is that I suspect some people whom are interested in greeting Dakota were staying back because she's so large. She's no more a threat or risk than Suka - Maybe less, to some degree, in that Suka is far more agile and much faster - but some people reacted to Dakota's sheer size as a threat. In fact, Dakota's behavior on-lead is quite a bit better than Suka's, I'm embarassed to admit. Suka must smell every smell, and so is all over the place within the scope of her lead, smelling everything she can. I had to tell her "Leave it" perhaps a score of times. Dakota, meanwhile, was quite pleased to simply walk along; Not one verbal correction required. Jenn did need to pop the lead a couple times to remind her to not pull, but even then, her idea of pulling is rather mild.

So... When presented with a clearly well-behaved dog, it's distressing to hear 'fear.' Almost as distressing were the people whom did wish to greet Dakota, but were a'feared to approach. Some of those, I was able to entice to let their desire to overcome their apprehension, with uniformly excellent results. I don't want people to fear my dogs. I want them to approach them politely, yes, but I also want them to approach - I need my dogs to behave appropriately with strangers, and there's only one way for that to happen - they must meet strangers! I do wish people were more willing to ask. With Suka, they do. With Dakota, they mostly erred on the side of not asking, even when clearly many of them wanted to. Dogs need love from people, and people benefit from loving dogs. I'm a bit sad that some people weren't taking a chance to get and give a little love. It's only their own internal filters, telling them "Big Dog - Be afraid!," that was standing between them and a little joy. After all, no one has ever been savaged by a small dog before!

Hmmm.
I'm a bit sad that some people weren't taking a chance to get and give a little love.

Damn me, if I didn't just stumble on a deep thought.

Fear, and denying oneself a chance at findling a moment of joy for the fear of a bad reaction... Fear, based upon a person's unquestioned filters and reactions. Gee... I wonder if that's more broadly applicable than just when watching Dakota? I wonder how many times I myself have denied some moment of joy by listening too well to my inner fears and filters?

Dogs teach us many things... Most of the lessons are unplanned.

Peace... And miscellaneous

2009-08-27T23:29:00.000-07:00

Suka and Dakota have made peace. Suka is boss, but doesn't get to abuse her status - And both of the girls seem quite happy to relax and let go of the tension.

Dakota is off-lead in the house full time now, and out of the crate most of the time. She's responding very well to command and instruction - She's actually a bit more crisp than Suka is, on some commands. Suka, meanwhile, has benefitted from a trip back to school - She's also doing very well, though is a bit more vocal than she'd previously been. She's also sporting a small scar above her right eye, courtesy of one her sets-to with Dakota. Well, when you push a big dog back into a corner, you can expect to pay a bit. This is, I suspect, one of the reasons Suka doesn't abuse her status as top bitch - Dakota could clean her clock in a heartbeat, if pressed. So Suka doesn't press. No more gatekeeping, chokepoint sniping, cheap-shotting, or resource guarding. Not by either of them.

There's a bit of thunder and lightning to accompany the storm overhead - Nothing loud or close, but Dakota is anxious - And crowding up under my chair. Right in Suka's face. And Suka is just sitting there, watching the big sissy, bemused. Suka could care less about lightning, thunder, or fireworks - She's remarkably calm, for a BC/X, in the face of noises.

Food issues have been resolved - Both are on the same diet now - and Dakota's putting back on the mass she lost whilst getting settled. Dakota's stools are a bit soft, but nothing serious. They're otherwise normal. Suka's had some small digestive upset with the shift in diet, but she's adjusting well. I've got to tweak Suka's intake, though, as she's put on a couple pounds she doesn't really need. Still within normal weight, but showing a slightly less svelt figure then previously. I will NOT have a fat BC like you so often see in conformation shows! So - A bit of tweaking, some longer walks, and we'll see her back to the nicely slender tucked-up waist. Not that she's far from that now, but I make a point of watching the dogs closely as they walk, and I can see a touch of thickening in the waist. Running my hands over her ribs tells the rest of the story - I can still feel her ribs, but they're a little deeper under the flesh than before. Not, mind you, that she'll object to the extra walks!

Not, mind you, that the extra walks will hurt me, either. :-p

Settling the order of things

2009-08-24T18:17:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been an interesting couple days. Dakota is getting it, when I tell her I want her to do something. She listens to me - No so much the rest of the house, though that's slowly improving, too. Dakota and Suka were outside together this evening, and Suka had her hackles up for a while, but calmed down, and consented to play nice. Unfortunately, Dakota discovered something yummy (a dug up maple root - We've been doing some landscaping), and drilled Suka a good one when she came to investigate. It's clear I screwed up, in not policing the yard for all things that might be yummy to a dog. I'm still learning Dakota's tastes in this regard. Suka wouldn't have cared at all, except that Dakota was carrying it about and chewing on it. Dakota started pacing, and looking for places to hide the root, until I removed it. Then Dakota calmed down right away. So - Lesson learned - Watch Dakota closely to determine which things she finds high value, and get them out of her reach, else she may become anxious, and display a hair trigger with other dogs. Mind you, she surrendered the root to me quite graciously.

Not a disaster, though, it seems. Suka's pouting, but has backed waaaay off, and is giving way. Looks like the heirarchy is settled. Dakota is still showing no signs of jealousy, and doesn't care that I give Suka attention.
Of course, she's got Jenn, so she's not exactly starved for affection.
:-p

Oh, and I brushed Dakota out - I got enough fur out of her with the rake to knit me a yorkie. And not a minature one, either! Next up - Trimming Suka's nails. She never likes that.
:-p

Edit:

I don't normally edit posts, except for information that I want people to see without having to go to the comments.

I was correct about the dominance issue being settled. I had the wrong order of things - I failed to observe closely enough. Suka was pouting alright, but that was, I now suspect, from the ouchies of getting drilled a good one by a big dog. On the other hand, her backing way off is due, it is now clear, to her having come out on top of the dominance discussion. She doesn't need to push any longer. How do I know this? Dakota submitted to Suka when Suka "teed off" on her in a clasic dominace display.

There is some negotiation still on-going, as Dakota will defend high value objects or food, so Suka clearly hasn't completely overawed her. Never the less, Suka follows Dakota closely about the yard, ruff up, overmarking all Dakota's 'spots' and Dakota submits to this. Dakota is also yielding right of way in the choke-points in the house, and in general has become a lot less vocal.

Conversely, Dakota is interacting with people more, and more confidently.

Also, starting with Jenn, and with some tinkering with the mix of food, the feeding issue is resolved. Dakota is now eating enough to make me happy with her intake.

Guess who has the doggie magic?

2009-08-22T07:08:00.000-07:00

My wife. :p

I confess to a bit of jealousy - I'M supposed to be the handler around here! Never the less, Jenn has gotten Dakota to eat properly - By holding her bowl for her. It wasn't the height - We ran that experiment. I can't get it to work - We ran that expeiment, too. It's not the kibble - We've got multiple samples to work from - With me, it doen't matter which kibble. With Jenn, it didn't matter which kibble, either. :p :p :p Well, Dakota is opening up fast, and is showing herself to be a love bug. So it's not like I'm denied a little affection from her, too.

Anyway, we can conclude that it was Jenn that made the difference. Dakota felt safe to eat, when Jenn held the food. This doesn't apply to training treats - Dakota will take those from anyone. Just to real 'food.' Guess who just got promoted to Dakota's #1 trainer? Heh heh heh!

Jenn is truly smitten, I believe. She pouted and made faces at me when I pointed this out, but confessed it true. If Dokota is, as I suspect, her heart dog, well, that'll make things a good deal more simple, in sorting out the differences bewteen Suka and Dakota.

All to the good!

Stranger in the house

2009-08-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

Suka has a new housemate, at least for the near term.

Dakota, an ISSR Shiloh Shepherd, has moved in with us.

The "ISSR" part is critical - There have been multiple schisms in the breed club. Even the factions have split still further. ISSR is the parent group, still led by the breed founder, and still adhering to the original breed development plan. This is important to note, because there've been some bad words floating about about the general breed - The ISSR dogs are to a standard, and are very well documented. And no, despite scandalous slurs, there is no wolf in the breed. None, unless you're going to go about 120 thousand years ago, when wolves and dogs split.

Dakota is a five year-old plush-coat spayed female, qualified by St. John Ambulance as a therapy dog. St. John Ambulance doesn't do much, if any, work in the US, but readers from elsewhere will recognize the name - Descended from the Knights Hospitaller, they do good medical and charitable works world-wide.

Some weeks ago, Dakota's owner, a licensed breeder, woke up with a bad case of death. Cause unknown. Sometimes, quite fit and healthy people, even fairly young people, simply die, and medicine has no asnwer. Dakota and her kennel mate, Cain, have been drains on the estate ever since; Her late owner's daughter is not able to continue to run a kennel, and the dogs needed new homes, ASAP. Cain is breed-quality, so he went to a home within easy reach of a licensed breeder, for occasional stud services - The breed's genetic baseline is too narrow to casually neuter a good stud. Because of my rescue work, I was picked to take Dakota in, and get her settled down. I have first right of refusal, if I can get her settled. If not, we'll find another home for her, once she's got her head back on straight.

Make no bones about it; this is a rescue situation. Dakota's entire world has been turfed - Her 'mother' gone, her kennel mate moved off, the kennel closed, and now she's been moved to an alien environment.

The introduction plan has been pretty straight forward:
Introduce the dogs at a neutral ground ( a nearby poark - Y'all've seen images of it), walk them together about the neighborhood, then walk them around the yard, then introduce them into the house. Dakota is spending most of her time crated, to give her a chance to settle into the household by observing, with no pressure on her to make any decisions. She doesn't much care for this, and is very vocal about it. *shrug* Not a big thing - The crated dog is invisible, and she's learning.

She's been off her feed, but that's not surprising. It's very common for grieving dogs, and rescued dogs, to have some dietary issues. She *is* eating, though not as much as would make me happy. Her stools remain regular, firm, and normal, save that they're just a touch mucousy. I'm watching that, and have both the vet and her original breeder on speed dial.

Walking with Suka, or in the yard, there is no issue, but in the house, Dakota has pushed boundaries a few times, and gotten a sharp rebuke from Suka for it - Suka is a bit intimidated by Dakota's great size and noise, but has drawn some obvious boundaries, and is holding to them. Meanwhile, I've instituted NILIF with Dakota - She's an orphan, but that doesn't mean she gets to play the chuklehead! Meanwhile, crating for Dakota remains the normal course of events until such time as I feel confident letting her slowly into the full life of the family.

When Dakota is out and about, she's on the other end of a ten foot lead, tied off to my waist - She's got to follow the routine, and can't go off and just do things on her own - Not just yet. On the other hand, she's quite content to be led about. She's also an absolute slut for brushing and belly rubs. ;-)

Suka has generally taken the intrusion as well as can be expected - There's a big, loud stranger in the house! Another bitch, to boot! :-o God bless her lovely little head, Suka is behaving herself well, and is declining to start any crap. She's got a limit, and holds to it, but she doesn't go looking for trouble. I have observed some mutual resource guarding behaviors from each - I've already got Suka's number, so that's not worrisome to me - I put a stop to it. Dakota, well, she's still rattled, and will be more work. Not that I'm going to let her get away with it, mind you!

The primary action between the two remains the fenced yard, and walking on leads. In both situations, they're social and well-behaved, even rubbing shoulders companionably as they trot along. There's been some marking/counter-marking games, but those, whilst also dominance games, are without teeth, and are a more gentle means of settling dominance questions.

I really didn't want to be settling these kinds of issues so soon after Shadow's death, but it does provide a good distraction. And not just for me, but for my daughter, whom was devestated by Shadow's death.

Suka remains the dog of my heart, and if Dakota doesn't settle in, well, there are others, highly qualified, nearby whom would love to have her, once I get her head back on as straight as is possible. But I do love also Shilohs, and would love it if Dakota and Suka can come to an agreement. In her basic nature, Dakota is as good a dog as Suka, if different in expression. I owe her an honest chance - The same chance I gave Suka - to see what we'll see. I'm not rushing this, and good things take time and effort.

Heartbreak - Shadow

2009-08-12T06:33:00.000-07:00

Shadow*, aka KittyFace, aka PricklyPaws, is failing fast.

She's gone downhill at a shocking rate, and this AM, I looked at her, and it was clear that her time has come. She can barely move, and is no longer bothering to groom herself - she can't even meow any longer - the best she can do is a horrible wheeze.

Yesterday, she could meow, and complain about wanting fresh water after Suka drank from her bowl (she's always been a bit of a prima donna about her fresh water), and whilst terribly wasted, was still vital. Today, this morning - She's a mess. Wasted, bedraggled, unable to care for herself, unable to move more than a couple inches, and pitiable.

I've called the vet. Today is her last day. I'm in tears.

Edit:
Shadow has been with us through two births, two states, three homes, and, collectively, seven jobs. My children have never know a world without her.

The vet found a huge mass around one of her kidneys, and the other kidney was undetectably small. Her quality of life had become essentially nil.
It's done. She's over the bridge now.

*Sorry there are no images. Shadow lived to her name - so velvety-black and fuzzy that you could not get a good image of her - not even autofocus helped - she was a nebulous black cloud, moving silently through the house, until she suddenly fetched up on your chest, purring and drooling on you.

Skunk Catastrophe - NOT averted!

2009-07-31T20:57:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder to people:

If your dog gets nailed by a skunk (as Suka did - TWICE! - today), there's a simple household-product fix:

1 Quart 3% (USP) hydrogen peroxide
1/4 Cup baking soda (NOT baking powder!)
2 Tablespoons liquid dish detergent
Up to 1 Quart tepid water.

Mix ingredients in a plastic container - Not metal
Scrub deep into the dog's coat, taking care to avoid the eyes.
Let stand for five minutes
Rinse out.

DON'T store any left-over solution!

May cause mild coat bleaching. May need to repeat once if the oils have had a chance to really soak in, or your dog was particularly persistent in bothering the skunk (Suka!).

More details, do a quick Google on "Paul Krebaum Skunk" and you'll find the inventor's home page. Yeah, there are commercial products, but this one always works, and it's inexpensive.

Suka may find herself a strawberry blonde in the AM. :-p Oh, and Lin is going to be getting some extra training on 1) How To Tell When The Dog Is About To Screw Up, and 2) How To Recall A Demented Skunk Botherer Before You Have A Problem - Again.

A Year and a Day

2009-07-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

That's how long Suka's been here with us. She sits under my desk as I write this, lying on my foot. She dropped into our family like she'd always been here. Indeed, it doesn't seem even remotely possible that she's only been here a year.

She's opened up from a mildly cautious dog, who refused to even see the cats, to a confident, funny, happy companion. She's utterly charmed Jenn, whom swore that she wasn't a 'dog person.' I'll find Jenn scrubbing Suka's ears and making baby talk to her, when she thinks I'm not around. Suka hears when Jenn is coming home, and whines at the door for her. She'll leap in ecstasy as Jen comes through. She's the same for me, only more so. She'll follow me about the house, or run ahead, attempting to anticipate where I'm headed. She's usually right, too. She'll stick her head in my lap, or climb up in my chair, or sit on my foot, eyes glowing, and eager for attention. She's taught us, too. My daughter has gone from at the very least a bit worried about dogs, to happily assisting me in training and care of Suka. Suka has taught my son, whom is far less impulsive and much more proper with dogs now. And of course, I've learned a loads from her too - An embarasingly large amount, perhaps. I didn't know how much I didn't know until she entered my life.

She listens well, and has excellent manners... Most of the time. The prospect of an excursion, though, is enough to fry her furry little mind, and she becomes an acrobatic dervish, barely able to contain herself inside her own skin for her excitement. Outside, her dog manners are very good, but that hardly matters, because largely, she couldn't care less about other dogs. She'll greet them, then they become irrelevent - It's the scents that hold her attention. She has to smell them! In the air, or on the ground, she simply must stick her nose into them. I'd try her on tracking, but she's really not got any good handles for training - She's praise driven, and if I make the right mix, stinkykibble(tm) will do for a training treat, but not in the presence of any distraction. Once the distractions start, I've got no real training handles on her. Fortunately, she retains what she's learned. Mostly anyway.

One behavior that has defied modification is her reaction to overload. Once she's had enough fun, she has to retreat. Her crate is her shelter, or, if I'm sitting someplace where she can get there, under my legs. So - The kneehole at my desk is a favored den, as is the underside of my recliner, when I kick back. Which means, of course, that I can never move my chair carelessly! I carry a travel crate in my car when I take her places, and that's her refuge when out in public. When she's had enough fun out away from the house, that's where she'll head, given a chance. It's actually a pretty comforting default behavior - She always knows where the car is, and if she gets loose, that's exactly where I'll find her.

I mentioned that she used to pretend the cats didn't exist? Well, she's since relaxed a lot around them. In fact, she'd like to herd them, if only they'd respond. In fact, the cats are the only thing she wants to herd. The cats, of course, are less than impressed. And my cats hold their ground. So daily, I'm treated to the spectacle of Suka nose-to-nose with one of the cats, silently making horrible "I'm going to bite you soooo bad" faces whilst the cat looks back with calm equinamity. When the cat moves on, Suka will chase for a few feet, then suddenly pull up, as she remembers that when chased, these cats turn and attack. The cat will move on, leaving Suka standing there, tail wagging, neck arched, and ears pricked forward with an eager, frustrated gleam in her eyes. Suka knows all three cats by name, and when we shout at one, she'll charge up to the offender, ready to help chastize!

In short, and to sum-up, Suka fits into the family as if she were born here. So, here's to many more years with Suka in our lives - May they all be as happy as this last one has been.

Lums Pond

2009-07-20T07:10:00.000-07:00

Lums pond is one of my favorite places in the whole state... Beautiful woods, lovely (HUGE!) pond, lots of convenient places to BBQ and sit, or walk and relax, or do whatever comes to mind. Plentiful facilities, well-located and convenient, but unobtrusive and discrete. Basically, it's a civilized and convenient place, cleverly disguised as wilderness.

So, a bunch of us from the SSDCA-MAC (Shiloh Shepherd Dog Club - Mid-Atlantic Chapter) got together at the park, with yours truly serving as local host. 15 massive ISSR Shilohs, a couple of large GSDs, a Chinese Crested, and Suka... That makes roughly a ton of dogs.
Literally. ;-)

Good food, good people, great weather, and all the dogs were on their best behavior... At least until Suka rolled in something stinky. Then a couple of the bitches wanted to take a bite out of her, and a couple of the males were waaaaay more friendly than they'd been previously... What the hell did she roll in? I dunno - I couldn't smell it, but the other dogs sure could! Anyway, even that was easily managed - ISSR Shilohs are big as houses, but they're also obedient and generally mannerly. Leah and Nana took correction well, whilst Loki and Elwood made do with longing looks. Suka, on the other hand, was loftily dismissive of the effect her new perfume was having.
Who knew she was a minx..? ^,^

Lind and Ian were there, and generally well behaved, and Jenn made time out of her busy schedule to meet some of the club, their dogs, and eat the lunch I grilled for her... Then she took off with the kids, leaving me to the dogs. ;-) Not a problem... I hung out, walked Suka through the woods, played with some the Shilohs (Loki, fer instance, loves to jump up on you. He's a 7-month old pup, so it's understandable, but at 91 pounds, and looking me square in the eye on his hind legs, it's a bit of a wrestling match to get him back down again!), and shot the breeze with people I normally only meet on-line.

It was a good day.
:-)

http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n124/Tranquilis/Lums%20Pond%2007182009/?action=view&current=da45075c.pbw

The hot, not-so-lazy days of summer...

2009-06-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

Long time, no posts... Not terribly sorry about that, to be honest. Job responsibilities change, Jenn's Chorale group is putting on their annual summer musical - Camelot, this time - and the kids are settling into summer camp(s).

So, among other things, I'm attending canine gets-together. First one was in Manasas, Virginia, at Bull Run State Park. Yes, that Manasas, and that Bull Run... But not at the actual battlefield! This one was for my friends in the SSDCA-MAC. That's Shiloh Shepherd Dog Club of America, Mid-Atlantic Chapter. This is the home club of the ISSR Shiloh Shepherd dog... Giant-breed dogs descended from GSDs, but not actually GSDs! No police work; gentler, more family- and child-friendly. These are working companion animals, and are not for Schutzhund or other aggressive work - Think SAR, therapy, tracking, and the like. Didn't get many shots of Suka, though there are other slide shows out there with Suka at this event... Didn't get many shots of Ian, either, though he was there... Like he was shot from a gun! Little guy clamped on to one owner's fox-terrier, and the two went runing all over the picnic site like ions out of a linear acclerator. ;-)

Anyway, slide show:
http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n124/Tranquilis/Bull%20Run%2006062009/?albumview=slideshow

Most of those dogs are puppies! Otis, the pup Lin is mooning over, was a mere 13 weeks. Penny is 4 months - and 48 pounds! That makes her 15% heavier than Suka, a full-grown Border-mutt. And she's taller, too! Dude and Elwood are six months, and Ginger wasn't quite a year. Orion and Kuma, however are full-grown.

Anyway, the dogs were chilled-out, and Olga - the President of MAC - was able to use a somewhat skeptical Ginger as model for a number of grooming tips. It was hot enough that Ian and Jack the fox-terrier were the only real activity. Everyone else clung to the shade, and hung out. All said, a successful day. :-)

The weekend walks down Main Street are continuing and Suka does ever-better; Her willingness to relax and just 'be' are improving each time! Much of this socialization has been hampered by the disrupted schedule, and by the near-demise of Jenn's car. We're back to two functional cars again, so things are moving better than before.

Today, we were back down to Victory Farm for an Open House at the Rescue. Jenn has never been to The Farm, so I've been teased more than a little about my 'non-existent' wife. Well, today they met her! Also, Ian got his first visit to The Farm, and was very well-behaved. How a-typical! :-p Got a LOT of shots of MABCR alumni, so many, in fact, that I pruned it back pretty sharply.

HOT day, but there was a lot of shade, a good breeze, shade pavilions set up, and lots and lots of water available - stock tanks filled and set out everywhere you turned. Some of the dogs even tried out for the scuba team, submerging themselves in the stock tanks until only the tops of their heads were showing, like so many furry bullfrogs! :-D

Lots of MABCR alumni, lots of adopters; everyone looking good and happy. Add lots of good food (even if Sarah did charcoal some hotdogs!), and it was a pretty darn good day! Jenn and I went for our usual walk down Main Street, but poor Suka was wiped out - We let her sleep it off in her crate.

Slide show:
http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n124/Tranquilis/MABCR%20Open%20House%20June%202009/?albumview=slideshow

Summer's here...

2009-05-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

The grass is thick, and growing too fast. Rain, rain, more rain, then sun... Muddy paws on my trousers, wet dog to greet me, chores, gardening, and maintenance to distract me... My days are full.

Soon, the children will be out of school - Lin isn't old enough, quite, to leave home all day. I actually trust her, and she's certainly mature enough, but Qestions Would Be Asked, and I really don't want to deal with that drama. So, I'm pawning her off on my music-teaching psuedo-sister. Whom also happens to be Lin's voice and piano coach. Pricy, but more than worth it! The girl needs a bit of social polish anyway, and my sister is just the one to gently help her down that path. :-) That leaves Ian, and he'll be easy - The Child Development Center here at work runs a full-day summer camp.

OK, kids handled. What about Suka? I'm changing my hours to stagger my wife's schedule a bit with mine, that'll keep Suka from being alone too long. I've found that she's no fear whatsoever of the lawn equipment, though she's not terribly fond of the noise. So, I let her supervise my yard work, which she's content to do at a distance. The front yard not being fenced, she watches from the porch on a 30' lead, and is happy, though she does on occasion rearrange the slate border of the center island with the lead. In the back yard, she normally hangs out in the garage, and observes from the shade of the doorway. I'll need a child's wading pool for later, when things get hot - Some place in which for her to lay down, get wet, and cool off.

We're continuing our trips downtown, and she's really shaping up - her winter or more-or-less isolation is sloughing off, and her 'public' face is coming out to shine.

I've plugged the gaps in the fences where Suka has managed to slip through, and no longer need to watch her quite so closely. Likewise, I've sealed off the undersides of the shed, so the skunks are less likely to camp in our yard, though there's always the off chance of one wandering through. Now, if I could only stop the squirrels from chewing up the roof of the shed...

Gonna be a busy summer. I'll try and get some more photos, when I've got the initial rush of tasks handled.

Highland Games

2009-05-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

Took Suka & Lin to the Fair Hill Highland Games this weekend past - It was fine spring weather, and I've missed the games the last few years.

Didn't have a whole lot of time to spend - Lin was due for a chorale performance later in the afternoon - but I wanted to give Suka some more social time, and she did us proud! She doesn't mind bagpipes, but LOUD is not her friend, and Highland Gatherings are pretty much, by definition, loud! That not withstanding, she was quite the little lady, and I'm very pleased with her.

She actually barked a couple times as we were getting close - unusual for her; highly excited! Once parked, she was charmingly well-behaved, excepting that she was prone to forgetting the tension on the lead, and had to be corrected a couple of times to remind her not to pull. Other than that, she was perfect - Good dog manners with the other dogs, good people manners, and most especially, good 'strange child' manners!

It helps that the vast majority of people at the gathering had good manners themselves, and behaved well. Only once did I have to instruct a kid on the proper approach in an unfamiliar dog, and she got the lesson right away, and happily complied. I think, because this is a dog-friendly event, that we had a crowd more clued-in to the proper and expected behaviors.

Whilst there, she again stuck her nose into every interesting scent she could find, and showed the most signs of stress when the wind shifted, and a new wave of scent would waft over us. When that happened, she was all over impatient to get moving along and investigate the news scents. As soon as we started moving again, the pressure came off, and she was happy again.

Going back and forth through the venue, Suka made many new friends, canine and human both. I gathered up a large quantity of buinsess contacts in regards to merchandise for my wife whom couldn't be there, and generally enjoyed the walk. After about an hour and a half, Suka began to burn out, and made "looking for shelter" motions, so we went ahead and departed. As usual, she was just as happy to bounce into the car on leaving as she was to bounce out on arrival... I think she simply likes getting in and out of cars. :p

Lin was also spot-on for behavior. This was the first time I've turned her loose at a gathering to investigate on her own, and she was perfect - Didn't give me a single new grey hair! She was also very popular with the kids that wanted to pet Suka, and one particularly charming little girl latched on to Lin and was ready to take her home! Yeah, I'm exceedingly proud of my child, but ya know? She makes it easy. :-)

No, no pictures - I was too busy and torn too many different ways to take snaps.

Mud Puppy!

2009-05-04T23:21:00.000-07:00

It's been raining.

Much, much rain. Seattle weather, to be honest. :-p

Jenn was out at one of her Chorale's performances this evening, in the pounding rain. I left Lin in charge of herself and Suka whilst I took Ian with me to deliver Jenn to her car pool to the performance. I come back to find that Lin and Suka have taken the opportunity to play in the rain (They're a matched set of lunatics, IMO). Anyway: dog; outside; pouring rain... I'm sure y'all know where this is headed...

This is what happens when it rains...

OK, so this was all just an excuse to post a cute picture of a repentantly muddy beast... ;-)

Anyway, mad scramble to clean up the dog before Ian and I headed off to collect Jenn again. She wears formal black when performing, and I was quite sure she'd have been less-than-charmed to have been greeted by the ambulatory mud-clod on her return.

Needless to say, when we returned, guess who was outside and playing in the rain and mud again..? Teenagers... Not only not quite bright enough to come in out of the rain, but also crazy enough to go right back out into it as soon as your back is turned. :-p Fortunately, I saw what was up before we opened the front door, and was able to intercept Suka before she splashed Jenn, whom made an inspired sneak-n-dash upstairs before the dog could enthusiastically greet her in a very muddy fashion.

And just so you know; This is what Suka looks like after being cleaned. The second time.

All better now - Time to nap.

That's all. :-p

A pleasant evening's stroll

2009-04-19T05:20:00.000-07:00

No pictures. :-p

Jenn and I took an evening to just be. The kids were at my mother's place for the evening, and we took Suka down to main street, and went walking. Glorious weather, perfect night... Cool but comfortable for t-shirts; the day's light breeze tempering down to the merest hint of a breath - just enough to waft scents from the numerous restaurants along. Being the first really excellent weather of spring, the college students were out in mass force, spilling out of bars, chatting in the sidewalk-seating of the various restaurants, walking, joking, moving from party to party. One street over, there's a frat house that always has live music on Saturday nights... Local college bands, many of whom are quite good. Walking along, the music filled in the missing peices of atmosphere.

Suka was generally well-behaved, though there were a few examples of uncertain barking at people she found to be exceptionally strange - smokers all, and mostly men. I need to work on that - We've been neglecting her socialization; Shame on me! However, as I've no doubt said too many times, she's a good dog, and took correction well, and was willing to make friends with those strange burning people... Or at least was willing to accept that they weren't a threat, and accept a bit of scritching from them after suitable introduction. I have to say the college students were really game, working with me to help defuse Suka's anxiety with their good nature and cooperation.

Despite a thousand opportunities to snarf spilled food, raid public trash cans, and otherwise ingest things she ought not eat, she didn't take one single scrap of food from anywhere but my own hands; she really isn't food driven. :-D Instead, Suka put her nose into every nook and cranny where an interesting scent might be found - Scent driven, she most certainly is!

Jenn and I sat down at a favored spot, California Tortilla ( http://www.californiatortilla.com/ ), and I watched the world go by with Suka whilst Jenn went in and placed our orders. Suka was a bit anxious to get moving along again and sniff more scents - I spent maybe fifteen minutes working on getting her to settle. Settling in public is another thing that I've been neglecting; well, last night was a good chance to work on it. As we were eating, my sister and brother-in-law walked past, and also ordered. We didn't pester them, though - It was too perfect an evening, and we didn't want to intrude on their evening.

Of course, college kids being college kids, and this being a Saturday night, someone had to get stupid; every patrol car in town pulled up in front of the shop and a small swarm of blue uniforms went purposefully down the alley and into the parking lot behind the building. There are a couple bars fronting onto that parking lot, and some drama was going on. Dunno what exactly it was, but shortly, a large swarm of college kids came back out of the alley, and one kid was frog-marched out. I love small-town police - They basically walked this kid along, all in a big gaggle, two officers supporting and moving him along, the rest kinda chatting; with the kid, with each other. If it weren't for the uniforms and the handcuffs, it'd have looked like any other group of strollers out for the evening air. Suka, having settled by this point, was supremely indifferent to it all.

Strolled a bit more afterwards, stopped by Cold Stone Creamery ( http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/ ) for some really evil concoction of Jenn's, and finished up our walk juggling soda, icecream, dog, and conversation with random people who wanted to meet Suka.

Really a pleasant evening, even with the drama.

Oh, the glamor!

2009-03-31T16:27:00.000-07:00

Country air! Scenery! Another day of shameless lounging about The Farm!
Heh!

This past weekend, a transport consisting of a bitch and her (many!) pups was due in, and frankly, the inn was full! Well, something needed to be done... And the HBIC has the plan (as always): Convert the lambing stall into a canine nursery. Well, that means mucking the stall, and it hasn't been done properly since... Well, a while. See, the HBIC got herself a bit broken a while back (something about tangling with an uppity ewe and a small flock of her hangers-on), and she isn't really the lift-n-tote kinda person any more. Add to that, that volunteer hours are down (where have we heard THAT refrain before..?), and well - The stall was a bit nasty.

I've seen worse. Still, it needs work.

So, I was down at The Farm, and my biggest utility, when you get down to it, is as a "strong back, weak mind" kinda person. There were dogs to groom, and adoptions to manage, and lunch to cook... Guess which I did? Yup! Actually, I don't mind at all... It's been a long time since I mucked a stall, but the skills don't exactly vanish, and it's a straightforward, fairly mindless, but satisfying job.

Mount That's-Not-So-Bad

In I go with a hay fork, and pile up a couple loads-worth of crud. Not too nasty, really. Yeah, it's a bit damp, and the bottom layer has 'felted' into a solid sheet, but it comes up clean and easy. Then, pile it in to a wagon and haul it off to the compost pile. Small-ish wagon, so three trips. No problem!

First load away!

The sheep, however, were less than impressed. A pair of ewes were clearly suspicious, and spent the morning giving me the stink-eye.

Just who do ewe think you're looking at, anyway..?

Unfortunately, the first stack of muck wasn't the worst of it... Getting into the corners, things got a bit nastier. The second large pile was, well... fragrant.

Mount That's-Not-So-Nice

Some of the barn cats camped nearby to snicker at me. Or maybe to just observe the natural order of things, as humans work whilst they lounge in lordly repose.

House cats camp on your keyboard. Farm cats camp on your tractor.

Anyway, one stall, cleaned down to the deck matting. It still needed a good sweeping, but frankly, I was getting tired of taking pictures, so you'll have to do with this shot, sans sweeping. :-p

Much improved!

At this point, I really needed to get on the road, so I didn't get to participate in the spreading of shavings and straw, nor to the settling-in of mom & pups. Still, a fine, languid, glamorous day!

Please note - In this economy, many volunteer-run organizations are really hurting for volunteer hours. And yeah, some volunteer work is seriously non-glamorous. I've cleaned kennels, scooped poop, picked up dead rats, rewired electrical runs, mucked a stall, driven nails, and lifted-n-toted untold bags of food. Oh, and played with puppies and dogs, too! But I'm only one person, and there's work to be done 365 days a year. And it's not just MABCR, but *every* volunteer organization is hurting. If you're not into rescue, maybe there's some other way you can help someone... I'm sure they'll be grateful for whatever you can do!

And besides... If we had more volunteer hours, I might not have had to be the one mucking the stall!
;-p

Skunk Catastrophe; Averted

2009-03-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

Suka has a routine - Don't all dogs? - that requires that I let her out into the pre-dawn air for her first 'business' call of the day. Letting her out is the second thing I do after waking, only following behind pulling my wellies & coat on. It's a nice time of the day, even if I am a bit muzzy-headed with sleep, and even if it's bitterly cold - The neighborhood is quiet, the Rude Dogs are still sleeping, no one is hammering at me for crisis deliverables, and I can stand there, watch Suka as she sniffs her way about the yard, and just be. It's a zen moment - a chance to open myself to the posibilities of the day.

When let into the yard, Suka patrols the boundaries, nose to the grass, checking out all the new scents that have accumulated from the night previous. She first jets straight to the back fence, to see if the Rude Dogs on the other side are available - I don't let her fence run, but she still wants to check attendance. Then she'll hook to the right, pass behind the shed, turn and follow the chainlink of the neighbor's fenceline, then cross the yard to my left, hook right again, and follow the fence back under the large pine in the corner. Only after she's done the patrol will she do her business, and run back for the house.

This morning, we awoke to a hard frost; Winter may be over, but it's leaving behind calling cards. Suka started her patrol, and as she passed behind the shed, I saw something waddle out from under the shed, headed the opposite direction... Something low, long, fluffy, and white. No - Not a cat. A skunk. A BIG skunk. Yeah, I know - Traditionally, skunks are BLACK and white. Not always, though - We've got some cocker spaniel-sized skunks around here that are predominantly white or cream, and this was one of them. My zen moment vanished in a puff of horror; Suka was within feet of one of the largest skunks I've ever seen, and she's a fiend for interesting scents...

'Left' went the skunk... 'Right' went Suka... 'OMG' went I...

Left, left, left... Right, right, right... OMGOMGOMGOMG...

Suka hooked right at the corner... The skunk vanished under the pine... Suka started to cross back to the left... I was frozen, afraid that any action might precipitate the event I feared...

Then I saw the pale bundle of fur waddling through the neighbors yard; Safe! A heartbeat later, Suka saw it too, and charged the fence, but it was already too late for her to ruin my day; The skunk was out of reach.

Sometimes, you get exactly what you pray for.

For those of you whome don't know about it, there IS an effective remedy for 'skunked' dogs; invented by research chemist Paul Krebaum, it uses common household products, and it works. There may be some slight bleaching, but, in my opinion at least, a pale dog is MUCH better than a skunked dog. I keep the ingredients in the house, just to be on the safe side. Thankfully, I didn't need it today. However, for your reference:

http://home.earthlink.net/~skunkremedy/home/

http://home.earthlink.net/~skunkremedy/home/sk00001.htm

Saturday in the Park

2009-03-21T16:20:00.001-07:00

These photos were taken just six days after the photos in the previous post... What a difference a few days makes!

Lin walking Suka into the neighborhood park

No, there's no love here...

Neener-neener, Dad! I'm sucking up to Lin today! :-p

OK, OK - Don't cry - I still love you, you big sissy!

For a "pocket park," there's a surprisingly large number of acres here... Just behind the treeline runs White Clay Creek, which give our neighborhood a micro-climate substantially more cool that the rest of the county. White Clay Creek is nearly a small river, and frequently floods into the flat grassy area you see here:

Lots of room to explore!

The periodic flooding means that the land is useless for almost any purpose, other than public parkland. And most of teh time, it's useless for that, too... Flooded, or soaked and muddy. Nothing much, other than flood-resistant trees grows here. There are swingsets and slides and ball parks sattered through the park, but most are damaged beyond safe use by the frequent washouts.

Nothing much to look at, but, oh! The scents!

At the entrance ot the park, there's this huge old pine tree, which I love to look at... It's got character. The hole here is big enough for Suka to curl up inside.

Probably a death wound

Anyway, winter is gone... Spring is here. Soon, the park will be flooding every other weekend... Time to enjoy it whilst we can!

Winter's Last Stand

2009-03-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

This snow storm is a few weeks past, but I only now have had time to pull the photos out of the camera. This is no doubt the last snow until November.

Somewhere in this shot, there's a dog. Can you find her?

There she is!

Snow or no snow, she's still finding all the interesting smells...

This snow lasted a little longer than many previous storms have, this past winter, and it was a pretty darn cold - roads were treacherous. If not for four-wheel drive, I'd have not gotten out of the neighborhood at all - We were losing traction the whole way.

Then, five days later, it was gone. Easy come, easy go. :-p

Work/Life Balance. What's that..?

2009-03-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

Work is eating my life again... *sigh*

There's an Iditarod to follow and comentate... Which isn't happening for me.
There are a bunch of collecge kids down at The Farm, doing good works and eating donated meals (including some from my family)... and I'm not able to take the time off to help out.
There are photos in my camera to post and discuss... And they'll be there a bit longer.

See, I do Clinical Submissions work for a large Pharma, and though they make a LOT of noise about Work/Life Balance, ultimately we are slaves to the submission work. Timelines are inflexible, and if some internal Medical Writers can't get their heads out of their butts and meet *their* deadlines, well, *I* have to somehow manage to collapse my timelines so the final date is met. If the work isn't done, the agency won't care if I was able to get a little time off - Our user fee will still be forfieted. If the work isn't done, the agency won't cut slack on statuitory timelines so I can lower my blood pressure. If my Study Delivery Team is clueless and befuddled, well, the agency doesn't care. Nor should they. But I will still have to find the time anyway, even if it comes out of my hide.

Bitter..? A little. I'm missing things I love. I love my job too, but not right now.

Ah, well. Suka will still be over-the-moon to see me come home. That helps a lot. :-)

Miscellaneous and Random...

2009-03-01T23:42:00.000-08:00

So, what do I want to say here..? Hmmm. I know - I can clear up a couple back stories, with images.

It snowed last night (Saturday night, I mean). We woke to another Delaware Decorative Snow, this AM. By the time we left church, it was gone... Completely. It's snowing again, now, but this time, with a bit more enthusiasm. So... What does a Delaware Decorative Snow look like? Here ya go:

Deciding if she really wants to go out...

...Patented snow trot in mid-pace.

The camera puts more contrast on these shots than is actually available to the human eye. Without the camera and the benefit of the zoom lens, Suka's coloring really does her good service as camoflage in these conditions. I knew white-factored red sable existed for more reasons than just to look good!

Suspicious of the neighbor's dog - one of the Rude Dogs.

If you look really close, you'll see some roughness in her coat along her hips... She's blowing coat, and is seemingly less happy about the cold now. Sorry... No rolling and wriggling in the snow today.

Did I say "blowing coat?" I meant to say "Trying to reupholster the house." For instance - This is what 30 seconds of shedding dog can do to a nice fresh pillowcase:

Say now... Where did that fur come from..?

Who, me..?! Nope. Didn't do it. And I'm not on the bed right now, either.

I believe I mentioned that Suka likes to snuggle on the couch when I nap there? Well I finally got an image of that, too... Though I think she was a bit non-plussed to have her nap interrupted...

Whyfore you wake me with the flashy-thing..?

And lastly... To remind us all that spring *is* coming, and green things will be here again, a shot from last July, when Suka first came to join us - It's a shot pried out of the old camera, and more than bit fuzzy (I should known then, that the camera was dying):

Getting used to the new digs.

Anyway, that's all for now. I think I'll go out and sand the walks once more, and call it a night.

Another fine day at The Farm

2009-02-28T17:51:00.000-08:00

Finally broke a Saturday loose, and toddled myself off to The Farm today...

MABCR lies partway down the DelMarVa peninsula, not far from the Chesapeake Bay. To get there, I drive into Lower Delaware (basically anything south of the Canal counts as Lower DE), and then into Maryland.

Rural Kent County, MD

Today, I was greeted by a deputation at the gate - I don't normally rate such, but I guess the dogs were bored. These were some of the resident pack, and one of our alumni - Nick, a rescue from a hording situation. Couldn't guess that's how he came our way, now! He's a well-behaved, neat, clean, and reasonably mannerly guy. I'm quite taken with him.

The Welcome Wagon

The Farm itself is charming, in a typical farm kind of way... It's practical, but with surprising touches, like the fancywork on and in the house. No one needs, say, cute chimneys, but it has them anyway!

Victory Farm

Mind you, this is not a large farm, and its major crop is rescued Border Collies, trained Border Collies, and trained Handlers. But it does have some livestock - Sheep for the dogs practice on, and to provide some limited fibre. Some goats, a couple cattle, a llama, a horse, and recently added, a pair of refugee miniature horses. Plus cats. And chickens. And... Oh, yeah, dogs. Musn't forget about those!

Sheep! And More Sheep. And goats. And Mini-horses in the distance!

Anyway, a large part of what I was down at The Farm to do today was to unload and stow a food donation. Once again, there was a strange assortment of donated items - Rabbit food, strange dog toys, training goop for race horses, and so on. The trailer had been largely unloaded over the last few weeks, but with me there, it could be finished up and the trailer made ready for, well, transporting livestock. Go figure - Using the trailer for it's intended purpose? Heresy!

Mostly empty...

Even before the trailer was fully empty, I had a fairly intimidating Wall o'Food built in the feed shed:

The Wall o'Food. Which will not last long...

Anyway, as I've said before, we get some fairly silly things. Lest anyone think it's not possible to go too far in pampering one's pets, I present...

The TurDuckEn Feast! In New! Smaller Size!

Be afraid. Be very afraid!

Oh, and in case anyone was wondering... I got a replacement camera for my birthday. Yay!

Now... If only could figure out why Blogger is such a moron about images and formatting. I hate WYSIAWYG editors.

Mea Culpa

2009-02-28T16:15:00.000-08:00

Sorry, folks - I've been pressed pretty hard by life, and have been more than a bit burned out. I owe people responses and updates; I'll get to them as I can.

Among the people sort-changed this time, as Life Ate My Life (LAML), are (some of) my family, the good folks at MABCR, and the people whom have come to expect my comments in message boards and on their blogs. Also, I'm waaaay behind on my research for this year's Iditarod - I have a following for my race comments, and I need to really dig in to get caught up.

MABCR has a bunch of students coming in next week, and I need to get my act together to support that, and track the Iditarod. Gonna be challenging...

Anyway, I'm getting my act back together, and will tackle these as time and energy permit.

Hang on folks, it's gonna be a weird ride.

Department of the Obvious; Dogs have personalities

2009-01-15T15:23:00.000-08:00

OK, so, most of us already knew this; Dogs have personalities. But try to tell that to a scientist, and you're like as not to get a disdainful sniff and an upturned nose, along with a charge of 'anthropomorphism.' That is to say, applying human characteristics to that which is not human.

Well, sure enough, dogs ain't human. Never-the-less, at least one researcher from Texas has proof that dogs do indeed posses personalities, and that those personalities map pretty close to those of humans. Four out of five key traits map (extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism and openness to new experience), and frankly, I'm not at all sure there isn't at least a partial map for the fifth, conscientiousness, too. Further, the dogs were proven to have predictable and repeatable behaviors based upon their observed personalities.
Can we have a resounding "Duh!" please..? Thank you.

Says Dr. Gosling (and how amusing is that name, for an animal researcher, eh?) :

"There’s a strong view that animal personality is preposterous anthropomorphism: when I suggested applying measures of human personality to animals, I had people yelling that I was bringing the field into disrepute.”

Well, I've been accused of anthro-whatever-the-hell-it-is more than a time or two. Now I can thumb my nose right back at the nay-sayers with the full confidence of science at my back. At least until the next study comes along to ruin things again. :-p

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article517435.ece

Ministry of Silly Walks, Canine Division.

2009-01-13T06:25:00.000-08:00

The last couple of nights have been pretty frosty, at least for Delaware... Temps in the low 20s or high teens. Suka really comes alive in the cold, especially if there's no frost or ice on the ground. Snow, she loves. Frost and ice weird her out.

Last night, the grass grew hoarfrost again... Still air, clear skies, temperatures plummeting from the already low daytime temps towards something rather cooler than shirtsleeve weather; you could actually see the frost growing. Sweater weather, for me, really - As long as there's no humidity or winds to speak of, a sweater is plenty sufficient for me in mid-teen temps. WAML again, and all that rot, so, it seemed like a good night to go and perch on the old playset and just kind of chill out, in several meanings of the phrase. Suka happily joined me, energetic and playful in the chill air, but the hoarfrost was messing with her mind again. This time, rather than mincing (which really was out of the question - She had too much energy), Suka tried out a Silly Walk: Run two strides; pop her front legs off the ground and run two strides on her back legs only; repeat. I've never seen anything like it - I don't even know to what I should compare it. She wasn't bounding, she wasn't bear-walking, but some crazy hybrid of the two on the two-beat.

It's supposed to be pretty cold the rest of the week... I wonder what else I'll see Suka do before it's done?

TV Time - Or - How many living things will fit on one couch?

2009-01-10T21:28:00.000-08:00

OK, so the title gives it away. Watching Star Wars ( the most recent 'Lucas Edit' - Han Solo shot first, dammit! Not second, no mater how close. :-p ), and my daughter dropped onto the couch next to me. Then my son dropped down next to her, so daughter moves closer, to get awy from brother-cooties. Or because he's been pestering her all day, and she's fed-up. Soon enough, tired & worn out daughter snuggles in a bit closer and starts to nod-off. Then Shadow, one of the cats, climbs my leg (yes, it hurts - I'm used to it, though), and sets up camp on the shoulder/chest side where I *don't* have a child dozing. Then Suka climbs up onto the back of the couch, more-or-less wedging herself between my son and daughter. Then, to completely overload the couch with life, my wife sits down on the end of the couch, budging my son over into the dog's space, leaving Suka draped across both kids.

Final score - Couch is now holding a total of four people, one dog, and one cat. There was room for the other two cats, but they aparently aren't George Lucas fans.
:-p

Oh, and it wouldn't matter even if my camera were working - No one to take the photo, as we were all comfortably wedged onto the couch.
:-p, again.

Exiled

2009-01-07T08:29:00.000-08:00

It's a once-every-few-years thing for me - A nice, lingering cold deep in my chest, with random attempts at turning into a sinus infection. Like now. Well, I'm aware, and atop things, and know how to treat it, but it takes a while to shake, and in the meanwhile I tend to hack and cough... Well, vigorously. Especially at night. So my wife has exiled me downstairs, that she may get some sleep. Since this puts me either in my recliner or on the couch, it's probably better for me anyway; I can sleep at a slightly upright angle, which lessens the middle-of-the-night choking on phlegm I might otherwise be facing at odd intervals.

I know; "Ewwww, yuck. You poor thing, but what the hell does this have to do with Suka?" Well, I may've mentioned that Suka is a very good dog, yes? She doesn't camp on our bed, not even when invited - She'll climb up for a couple minutes, but gets worried, and jumps down again presently - She's keenly aware that the bed is Not Hers. BUT - The couch, when I'm sleeping on it? That's a NEST!

Suka has taken to climbing up to the back of the sofa, and laying down in the gap where I've re-located a cushion to make myself comfortable. It's a perfect Suka-sized gap, and no sooner than I lay down, than she'll fly over the top of me in a graceful bound, and drop into what has become her favored sleeping spot. At least whilst I'm sick, that is. leaping into place like that often precedes my pulling a blanket up, and Suka often winds up wrapped up with me. So, most mornings, these last two weeks, my wife has come downstairs to find me sacked out, and a furry face peeking out from under the far side of the covers, looking over my ribs.

I really must replace my camera.

Christmas wrapping... up.

2008-12-27T06:14:00.000-08:00

Well, wrapping up Christmas - Still some hoiday season events pending, but the big ones will finish today - Gift day at my father's place. It's been lean, due to the economy, and due to the fact that Work Ate My Life (WAML). Not enuogh money, not enough time, to do everthing we might have otherwise have done. Still, people did have Christmas, if more frugally than extravagently. Suka, too, has had her Christmas, though she seems to not understand the significance. Imagine that! ;-)

The HBIC at The Farm sent a 'thank you' package with some home-baked dog treats, and I learned what she found to do with the raw food samples ( http://sukasplace.blogspot.com/2008/11/cold-indeed.html ) - bundle them up in small groups, and send them as gift training treats. Well, that makes sense - opening a double handful of packets is much easier, individually, than opening literally thousands. Much less scary! So, yeah, some of those found their way into Suka's Xmas package. In addition, she's been given pressed-rawhide (not solid!) chewies, and pink piggie toy, which she's decided is worth carrying about the house (the first toy in which she's shown any real interest).

Along with all the nifty treats, she's talking more, and showing a lot more affection to other members of the family. This is, I'm sure, in part due to others picking up the care slack when WAML, but it also seems to stem from the competition to be the one to giver her treats. Also, my daughter has taken to cheating... Well, not cheating, per se, but she's at that pubescent stage wherein other people are all idiots, and are to be tollerated on sufferance, at best (she ruins the effect by giving my random hugs and pesting me to watch Monty Python with her). As part of this "Oh, that Angst!" attitude, she's taken to going out to the old playset in the back yard to read her "Twilight" books. She takes Suka out with her, so Suka has identified my daughter as the "outside girl." Needless to say, my daughter's status has risen considerably! The younger child has been drafted to treat Suka while I'm trimming her nails, and with placing her food on the floor, so he's risen, too.

All told, not the most thrilling of Christmasses, but far from a disaster. Considering how easily the wheels might have come off, I'm counting this as my Christmas Miracle.

So to everyone (all three of you) who read this; Happy Holidays (what's left of them!) and a happy and productive new year!

Crazy talk. Well, talking, anyway.

2008-12-23T15:59:00.000-08:00

A little departure from my usual subject matters, by way of explanation:

I'm a Clinical Publisher for a very large Pharma - I assemble the scientific reports that the scientists and physicians at my company write, along with raw and processed data, publications by various researchers, and all the other related documentation on new and existing drugs from our product line, assemble them into a coherent package, and prepare them for submission to the FDA (Regulators), state regulatory agencies, and for posting to public informatin portals. It's demanding work, but I'm usualy up to the challenge - I've got some expereience, and I've got good mentors for when I have questins about process. But recently I tackled my very fist Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for a major product - basically, asking for approval for a new use for an existing product. It's a BIG product - A major name that everyone would recognize instantly if I named it, and the indication we're requesting is an interesting, ground-breaking, and possibly a major thereputic advance, assuming we get approval. Needless to say, there's a lot to be done. In a very short time. Timelines were cut to the bone, and major contributions to the package were delivered late - VERY late. Hours extended... Additional Publishers were called in... Hours were extended again... Frankly put, Work Ate My Life.

Something had to give... Well, everything gave. Suka's only received the attention I have left. Frankly, she's gotten more than my son, over the last couple weeks, but he's got his sister and mother looking out for him. Even still, she's gotten rather short shrift lately. My daughter and wife love Suka, and care for her, but it's me she looks to most, and she's been missing the attention. Something has surfaced in her personality that wasn't present earlier: Talkativeness. Lots of it. When I stagger through the door, she's waiting, and she's talking - High pitched whining, low moaning, chattering, and 'wowing.' Suka's not normally very vocal - she doesn't bark hardly at all; maybe no more than once or twice a day. But since my stress, pressure, and work load have taken off, so has her vocabulary.

I wonder, now that the pressure is off... Will the talkativeness remain?

Brrrr...

2008-12-22T13:53:00.000-08:00

Bitter cold this AM - not the coldest we've ever seen 'round here, but cold enough. 15(f) this morning, topping to 27(f) and rapidly sliding back downhill. Add a couple degress of windchill, and it's cold enough to get even my attention, and I don't generally mind the cold. Oh, I subjectively know when it's cold, and when it's not, but you've really got to get into the low 20s, or add some serious wind chill, before I complain. But when my hair froze between the front door and the car this AM, all of maybe 75 feet, I noticed. I've got a curly mop, and it's a wonderful insulator, but it's a bugger to get dry. This morning, I'd wished I'd tried a bit harder - My hair was still frozen when I got to work.

Suka has even been reluctant to go out, and I *know* she's used to the cold. Maybe it was the freezing rain of a couple days ago, which coated all the blades of grass in their individual icy sheathes - that must've felt a bit weird on her feet. Pretty, but weird. Today, the grass is more-or-less dry, if something covered in hoarfrost can be considered to be technically dry. Maybe it's that the frosty grass looks, well, feathery. Maybe icy feathers feel weird on one's bare feet?

Well, it isn't going to last... no clouds today, no clouds tonight; dang cold overnight and tomorrow, then a maybe a twenty degree jump, and rain. No white Christmas this year - The liar's accademy (weather services) are reasonably certain that we're going to have wet Xmas this year, and that's the kind of prediction they're sadly good at. Well, we need the rain anyway... If any actually soaks into the newly-frozen ground. Cold wet rain? Ah... Suka's not going to be terribly fond of that, either.

Bad habits...

2008-12-17T21:07:00.000-08:00

Suka is a poor little begger. Emphasis on "Poor." She can't beg to save her life. That doesn't stop her from trying, though. A 'good' beg involves a touch of subtlty, a bit of acting, and a complete lack of shame. The "Oh, poor me, I'm sooooo hungry, but I would NEVER dream of taking food from you while you're at the table" act, combined with the ever-so-brief but artfully longing glances at your plate, and maybe a heavy sigh or two... THAT is the stuff of a good beg.

Suka, on the other hand, spoils it. She can't get past the "Hey, you've got food! Gonna give me some, huh? Are ya? ARE YA..?! No..?! Rats. Huf. I guess I'll go hide in a corner where you can't see me." No follow through. No pathos. No subtlty. No art. However... She does have me, and my own stupidity, on her side. See, when I cook (and I cook a lot), I tend to camp right by the stove. And Suka will come in, look hopefully about for spills, and then set up camp nearby. Not begging, just hanging out - I don't have a plate yet, so am a poor target for a well-executed beg, much less her version of same. So there I am, killing time, with a dog nearby... Ah-ha! Training opportunity! I'm sure most of y'all know where this is going, already...

So, I'm there, the food is on the stove, and the reefer is right by my side... And that's where I keep the spare StinkyKibble(tm). So, thoughtlessly, I once snagged a bag of the odiferous treat, and proceed to work on Suka's sits, downs, stays, "gimme paws," and the like. Anyone care to guess what lesson the dog was really learning..? Yeah. So now, I've got a salivating dog at my side whenever I cook... And she's not even begging.

Oops!

It's not all going her way, though! Tonight, I was nibbling whilst cooking - Much of the family is sick, and that means I'm catering to three different requests for comfort food. Well, they all have the same base, but it takes a while to cook, and then turn out the variations-on-a-theme my basket cases all desperately want. So I'm snacking a little, as I cook - A few home-made taquitos I whipped up on the side. Just exactly the kind of thing a dog-on-the-make might try to wheedle out of me - If she knew how to wheedle. But I've also got a little bowl of home-made hotsauce with me, into which I'm dipping the taquitos... It's nothing fancy, just an experiment in flavors (not quite right yet. Still missing some of the "low" notes...), but it's pretty sharp - It makes me break out in a nice sweat. I dip a taquito in the bowl, and look over at Suka, sooo blatantly begging. "Heh" thinks I, and I hold it down where she can get a good sniff... Now, Suka isn't a little puppy, and she's no oldster - She's right smack in the middle of 'prime time,' and she's fast! Out snake the jaws of doom, preparing to neatly sever half my rolled tortilla treat when suddenly she freezes. I can almost hear the screeching halt she's just slammed on her jaws, and the deeply wounded look on her face is priceless. "What the hell is THAT crap..?" I can almost hear her thinking.

Suka looks at me... Looks at the offending snack, and then back at me again. And she sits back down again. The fun just went out of drooling near the stove for tonight! I didn't compound my crime by offering her a non-spicy treat to sniff, next. Once was enough... I'm not going to mess with her head by mixing things up. Though she did come close enough to sniff the bowl I was holding, and give me an incredibly non-plussed look. "You EAT that stuff..?! Dude, that is wrong." Of course, considering that she likes StinkyKibble(tm), I can't say as I have much respect for her culinary palatte.

:-p

Decorative snow...

2008-12-07T04:50:00.000-08:00

An intense but brief little snow storm visited us yesterday evening. Tiny, jewel-like flakes, sifting down like flour, blanketing everyting in a soft, shallow blanket of white. The ground was too warm for the roads and sidewalks to take any coating, but the grass, tress, and rooftops recieved their customary gilding - lovely, and yet at the same time, utterly harmless. Delaware Decorative Snow.

I look out the window this morning, and everything is accented in white - Not thick enough to conceal shapes, it never-the-less conceals what ought to be concealed - All the little details that might detract from the image before me are made innocent in their icy white lace clothing - There are no scars on the neighbors' lawns, no discouloration where the county came through and tore up yards to replace water mains. The raw stump of the massive maple that was cut down no longer looks like a broken tooth -It's now a snowy cairn marking the place where that looming giant once stood.

Into this innocent view, Suka trots; her normal fast, prancing gait reduced to three-quarters time, as she savors the sensation of snow on her feet. She dips her head and skims some snow into her mouth, like a gull drinking on the wing, and continues her detailed examination of the world, trotting daintilly along, checking each corner, and following scents that ought to have vanished under the snow. Her forelegs fold up under her, like collapsing landing gear; her hind legs never miss a beat, driving her chin and chest along in the snow. Over onto her side, she rolls her shoulders, head rolling even further. Still, her hind legs drive forward. Head rotating further still, finally her hips are torqued out of line, and she flops over onto her side, laying there, as if simply luxurating in the feel of snow against her fur. Then, with a snap, Suka whips over onto her back, and begins to wriggle, writhe, and luxuriate in a good old fashioned back-scratching, hind legs kicking alternately, spastically, in delight. I grin at her groans of pleasure; she looks so silly, and so obviously loves a good roll in the snow, I cannot resist.

With a sudden flurl, she springs back to her feet, and gives heself a vigorous shake... Time to move on, and find a new spot to flatten.

One of these days, I really must replace my camera.

Coda:
As I was writing this, the snow returned. Suka's smooshed spots are rapidly vanishing. I guess I'll have to let her out to try again. Oh damn.
;-)

Thanksgiving!

2008-11-28T06:08:00.001-08:00

Lovely day at my father's rather sprawling place yesterday. Spent the day with my father, his wife, and a pair of my many siblings (and their children). Kept myself in check, and only ate a lot - Didn't actually over-eat.

Took Suka along, but she didn't have as much fun as the rest of us. She's still a bit twitchy about strange places, no matter how much she loves going for a ride. Complicating this are my father's dogs - Lacey & LD (Little Dog). LD is about 50lbs. This is little? Well, in comparisson, she is little. Lacey is a newfie/lab cross, and is a 95# monster. They're both good dogs, but more than a little rambunctious, in the way typical of labs (LD is a pure lab). Suka, frankly, has no clue how to play with dogs. Complicating things still further, dad uses an electronic fence, with which Suka's got no training or experience (nor equipment), so she had to stay on-lead outside the house.

LD wanted to get to know Suka, which would've been fine, but Lacey kept trying to coax Suka into a play fight, or a bit of bounding about the place, and not only could Suka not join her, but she was more than a bit intimidated, and not liking it at all. So, Suka spent most of the afternoon denned up in her crate, watching the action, instead. She did come out after Lacey and LD were properly worn out - which took four kids and the better part of the afternoon - Those two are fit!

In general, all the dogs were all well-behaved, aside from a bit of lip-curling on Suka's side, and a bit of counter-surfing and trashcan mining by the two black dogs. Not a bad day, though I would've been quite pleased if Suka would've engaged the other two a bit more. Well, I suppose that's a bit much to ask - Either one of them outweighed her by a substantial margin, and combined, they outweigh her by nearly four to one.

So, maybe not a runaway success, but some more socialization, new experiences, and so on - one more step forward, even if only a small one.

Oh, and the meal? Wonderful. :-)

Cold, indeed.

2008-11-23T04:17:00.001-08:00

So, another trip to The Farm, to do a donation sort. I'm not sure who the donor is, but they always seem to 'see us coming,' and use that as an opportunity to dump everything in their warehouse...
So, the load was about one and a half tons - Three pallets worth, packed in large tri-wall boxes. Of course, the bags weren't loaded in anything like order - Everything was just dumped in, higglty-pigglty, and with no care to whether or not they'd play nice with the other contents. End result, not only did it take two of us about three hours to unload, sort, and stow, but we had a lot of bags re-burst, and had to make like mad with the tape.

This time, we had not only the usual variety of burst bags of dog and cat food, but also cans of "kong wiz" aerosol-propelled goop for baiting kongs, dog treats of random sorts (which I suspect didn't sell worth a damn), about a half-dozen different kinds of kitty litter, rabbit food(?!), bird food (!!), some toys, and a couple items I've got zero idea what the hell they are - They look like plush fuzzy beehives, and have an obvious purpose, but what that purpose is, no one knows. Also about 3150 little sample packs of some kind of dried raw dog food from, of all places, New Zealand. Little sample packs - each individually-packed folder contans about a heaping tablespoon-worth of the food. WTF..?! I have a hard time imaging something more useless for feeding dogs. Now, for a vet's office, where they could be handed out to patients to help keep their dogs distracted, yeah, that'd work. And, I suppose, if you wanted to go to the trouble of opening up all the little folders, they'd make pretty decent training treats, but man, the work involved for the value recieved! I know, I know... I should be grateful for the donations... And I am. But donations of this sort are actually counter-productive. Feh.

At the bottom of one the tri-walls was a very phalic-looking dog chew toy that makes cow noises when you move it. It looks, to be blunt, like a noisy, red, semi-anatomically-correct dildo. Only the most confident of men would let their dog chew on that! I think I know why that item wound up in the shipment - No doubt it's been on the shelf for years, no one willing to buy it.

Oh, did I mention somewhere that it was cold? It was. Now, in Alaska, this probably isn't anything to note, but here, it's bitter - I woke to 23f temps, and it never went above 27f. And windy... Especially on The Farm, where there's no land features - none - to stop the wind blowing across the Chesapeake Bay. And of course, the wind was dragging lovely moisture with it, so the wind was a nice, biting, damp ice-pick kinda thing, finding every gap in your clothing, or simply ignoring the gaps and stealing your warmth right through your clothing. It's the kind of weather that brings snow out of a clear blue sky, as the humidity freezes out. Yeah, we had snow like that all day. Of course, we were humping donations back and forth, working up a healthy sweat, and didn't that just combine well with the wind! Not.

The farm is absolutely swimming in dogs right now - Someone had been busy since the last time I was down, and there were three new kennel runs established, and all were already full. Plus, someone dumped a couple pregnant cats on us, too, which had littered a passel of adorable kittens that were busily making the HBIC's kitchen their kingdom. Donations are down, intakes up, and volunteer hours are down... I've said that before, I know, but it's still a central, inescapable fact of what we do. This last shipment of food is an absolute godsend, as the shelves were damn-near bare, and purchasing food enough to feed the residents at commercial rates would blow a huge hole in the already-stretched finances.

The shelves are packed now, the ready-use cannisters are full to bursting, and there's enough that we could pass some along to the local food bank. Yeah, the food bank - people who can't make ends meet have pets, too. Every family that can get a bit of pet food from the food bank is one less family that'll be looking to place their dog or cat in a shelter. It's all of a piece with our mission; if we can prevent a dog being placed in the shelter in the first place, it's better than actually intaking and placing a half dozen dogs, in terms of resources used.

Oh, and we've also got a large stack of the food samples, too. I wonder if we leave them out, if the rats won't make them vanish for us..? Naaah... I suppose we'll find some way of putting them to use.

Snow! Yay!

2008-11-21T22:08:00.000-08:00

OK, it's a "Delaware Decorative Snow" - The kind of snow that gilds the houses and cars, frosts the grass and trees, but otherwise has no impact on life. It's a lovely thing - Pretty and harmless both at once.

Suka, however, has decided that snow is an invitation to roll. In the back yard, the soft green-white blanket is stippled by dark green circles where Suka has flipped onto her side in her curious approach to a good back scratching, then proceded to roll onto her back for a vigorous, wriggling, foot-kicking roll-n-scratch. Anywhere there was a good coating of snow, there's a nice smooshed-down patch where she went and had herself a party. ;-)

I can hardly wait until we get a proper depth of snow - I'm expecting a proper snow monster to go with the precipitation.

The snow's cleared out, and the stars are crisp and clear. The air has that sharp prickling bite to the nostrils which means real cold is coming - No clouds, no heat retention, and the thermometer is plunging. I'm due at The Farm tomorrow to sort a dog food donation - I'll be dressing heavy.

And now, for something practical!

2008-11-18T00:18:00.000-08:00

Suka is the proverbial 'old dog' - Well, not THAT old; she's aged seven - but in a very short time, she's come to understand what I want from her. A couple of people have asked how I got certain behaviors from Suka, things like getting her to not jump up, and so on. Now, in no way, shape, or form am I a skilled trainer, and a lot of this will seem very basic to a lot of people, but I do have Suka doing what I want, and if the steps I used are useful, well here they are:

Jumping up:
When Suka went to jump up, I initially put my hands behind my back and turned away from her - The "hands behind my back" was to remind ME not to push her away - the hand contact from that was a reward to her! Within days, she started to recall her manners as soon as my hands started to move behind my back - I didn't intend for this to happen that way, but the command for Suka to get off/not jump up has become just that; to put my hands behind my back! No verbal command necessary, I just start the motion, and she sits right down!

Out-of-countrol greeting:
For general reference, when coming home is treated as a low-key affair, dogs learn to react in a lower-key way. If you greet them on your return with rewards, extra attention, and excited greetings, they'll treat every homecoming as a party, with wild exuberance - fine, if that's what you want, but many of us prefer the lower-key approach!

'Entering softly' basically means paying little-to-no attention to the dog upon your return home, for a few moment to a few minutes, as needed. This gives the dog a chance to adjust to your presence without a big production. Typically, for instance, I come home and will place my keys in the bowl, hang up my coat, put the mail on my desk, and maybe feed the cats before I let Suka out of her crate*, or even acknowege that she's there (remember - the crated dog is invisible!). By that point, she's no longer a bundle of nervous energy - I'm home, the routine is established, and when she's released from the crate she slips into the routine with only her usual body-wiggles and foot-stomping - no jumping up!

The trick to training an older dog, as I've learned (with plenty of help!) to use on Suka, is to be consistent, to catch them in the act that you want to modify or encourage, and to let the dog make the right choices - If you correct a behavior, the dog will try something else. When they hit the behavior you want, reward it! If you see a behavior you want to encourage, label it and reward it: "Good sit!" "Good down!" and so on. Suka and I have quite a way to go together yet, but she's already learned enough that she fits right into the household, and even my not-terribly-dog-friendly wife has fallen in love with her and her good behavior.

The best place to train your dog is where it is, wherever it is! Pretty much anywhere you go, there's a teachable moment to be found.

Remember: Consistency, patience, and practice, practice, practice!

Next time;
Lead-pulling and anxiety reactions on-lead.

* I'll address crate training at some other point. Please don't flame me just yet - Save it for that post!

Dog Day Weekend, redux

2008-11-10T09:06:00.000-08:00

So, once more unto the breach!

Sarah contacted me, asked for a special run down to The Farm, to get things squared away. Times are tough, volunteer hours are down, intake requests are up. And we've gotten a couple HUGE runs full of dogs from things like Hurricane Gustav - the Humane Society of South Mississippi brought us a truck full of rescuees, for instance. And more are coming...

So, down to The Farm, to do a little scoopin' and scrapin' and whatever else needed done. Got there early enough that 'Yappy Hour' was still going on, but things were looking a little unsettled, so I didn't take Suka into the field with the rest of the resident pack; A couple of the dogs seemed to be having status issues, and Suka wasn't keenly interested in joining the ruckus. That's fine - I was there to work, anyway. So, walked Suka about, then crated her up and got to work. About that time, the rain arrived. Oh, wait - Did I forget to mention that it was a grey, dreary kind of morning? Well it was. Until it started to rain. Then it was a grey, dreary, WET kinda morning.

There are a LOT of puppies at The Farm right now, though I think they're secretly a genetic experiement gone wrong - They've been crossed with cow DNA. I can think of no other explanation for how something so small can poop so much! The cute little buggers are pooping at twice the rate (and volume!) as their older counterparts! Oh, and they've got sharp little claws, too! So, I'm in with the pups, scrapin' and scoopin' as fast as I can, before the rain turns their mess into something truly horrible... And the pups are all jumping and clawing and whining for attention, and, oh, incidently, covering my boots and pants in kennel muck - which contains pretty much what you think it does. Once the kennel runs are clean, time to clean the pups, and their bedding. Then feed and water them... OK, done, and on to the older dogs, whom have the sense to 1) stay out of the rain, and 2) not stomp in their own mess, and 3) are generally much better behaved. Except one - Him, I had to save from hanging himself. This is a dog who comes from an area where bull-headed BCs are common, and he's stronger than most. Plus, I think he's a retriever mix, too. He's managed to pry up a corner of the heavy-duty chainlink fencing of his run, and shove his head through. In the process, he'd hooked his collar on the wire, and was well and truly stuck. I have to say, he took the indignity of the situation with fair aplomb - Waiting patiently for me to come in and unclip him from his self-inflicted peril. Whereupon he immediately sat on my foot and grinned at me. This is why I'm thinking "retriever mix" - He's got zero sense of shame. "Whoo-hoo! I jest 'most died! Let's play!" Clearly, this is a redneck dog.

So, into the kennel house with him, while I break out some fencing wire and whip the bottom of his kennel fencing to the bottom rail. When I way "whip," think whipstitch. With fencing wire. Which means taking a seat on the ground with a spool of wire, and sewing the chainlink fencing down to the bottom rail. Did I mention it was raining? And I'm sitting in wet, muddy grass and/or streaming wet concrete? And there's guaranteed to more poop in the squishy/streaming mess, somewhere. So, a couple flesh wounds later, Bubba the Redneck Pooch ain't gettin' out of this kennel, nor can he hang himself on the bottom of the run. I've no idea how, but I'm sure he'll find some other way of getting into trouble, though. Probably while yelling the canine equivalent of "Hey, lookit me!"

Carrying on, did a bit of laundry to get some more bedding clean and ready - they're gonna need it! Also fixed a couple gates for the main fences - these are big stock gates, the kind with wheels to support the open end whilst they're being swung. Had to replace the support wheels where time and circumstance had managed to destroy them. More sitting on the ground. In the mud. And rain.

Along the way, Sarah stops me. "Is Suka in heat?"
!!
Gods, I should HOPE not... I'd been told she was altered - But something is definately up! All the classic external signs of the early stages of heat, and now that I was thinking on it, many of the emotional ones, too - She'd been much whinier, much more clingy than is her usual, and much more submissive than usual, too. Damn... Now it's time to confirm what I *thought* I knew... And come to find out, I didn't know as much for certain as I thought. What I thought I knew turns out to be "whisper down the lane" kinda information, and not as reliable as it might be. It's possible she was never altered. Or it's possible some ovarian tissue was missed. Whichever, I've got a new mission - Keep Suka away from male dogs, especially intact male dogs, until I can get her to a vet to confirm her status! Yee-haw! Just what I needed - I'm soaking wet, covered in mud and the kind of sludge you find on a working farm, and now I'm paranoid, too!

Well, that was pretty much the capper for me - The chores were done, and I wasn't hanging around in the rain to socialize, not with a possibly intact bitch in heat by my side! Fortunately, I brought a tarp to cover the seats of the car - I left smudges when I sat down, but a tarp is easy to clean.

Oh, and by Sunday, the external signs were no longer "maybe" but rather "Oh, yeah" obvious. This isn't an anal gand infection or a UTI - It's the real deal. She's either intact, or there's definately some ovarian tissue floating around inside her still. Just what I was looking forward to... Not.

I hope my vet has a sense of humor, cause she's gonna need it.

Dog Day Weekend

2008-10-27T07:10:00.000-07:00

It was all dogs, all the time, this weekend.

Saturday dawned blustery and overcast, with intermittent drizzle. Up with the day, to get my daughter ready and run her off to her morning at the University of Delaware's Children's Chorus' Song Fest - six hours of singing and drumming with a wide collection of musical groups all under one roof. She'd be picked up later by my wife. Once my daughter was dropped off, it was my turn - With Suka in-tow - to run off. Off to The Farm, for an open house. MABCR runs open houses roughly twice a year, or as resources and weather permit. This fall, the open house was being held despite the weather. For a late October day, it was warm, and the rain wasn't heavy - Not yet, anyway.

I brought with me some home-made salsa to share; I make some mean salsa. I *know* I make mean salsa - I accidentally rubbed my eyelids after playing with the hot peppers. They were better-quality than I expected, and the oil soaked off my fingers, and through the skin on the tops of my eyelids. Oww! Not an eye-opening experience - more of an eye-closing one! AKDD is calling me "Squintyboy" now, and with more than a bit of accuracy. :p Anyway, good salsa is a partial offset for bad weather. I also brought along some StinkyKibble(tm) for Suka.

Got to The Farm to find that an agility clinic was on-going, so made myself at home, hanging out and walking Suka about the farm, away from the clinic. Suka's still a bit freaked out by The Farm, though her stress reaction is quite manageable. The HBIC, Sarah, showed me some tips for helping get her reactions more under control, and I spent a good chunk of the day walking Suka about and acclimating her, socializing her, and just enjoying being at the farm without any real chores. Silly me! I should know better...

Sarah ambushed me and asked, pretty please, as I was the only one not attending the clinic, if I could clean & feed. OK, no problem - I can do that! Crate Suka up, get my nasty boots on, and off I go with scoop, hose, and cleaning supplies. There are relatively few dogs at The Farm right now, so it was pretty straight-forward. Clean the runs, scrub the water buckets and food bowls, and chivvy the dogs into their runs. Feed the dogs, clean up the outside area, haul the trash. Takes about an hour and a half, if you've done it before. In mid-clean, was surprised by a drop-in visit from Animal Control, come for an inspection of the kennel area (which passed with no complaints!), but still managed to get done in plenty of time to share in some excellent pot-luck lunch. The salsa was a hit, but the best dish was some kind of chili pot-pie, for which I will definitely need to beg the recipe!

Back outside for more agility work, but the wind blew, and then the skies opened up - rain was coming down hard, and sideways! That was pretty much the end of things - When it's raining harder than standing under a hose, and the agility equipment is blowing away, it's time to call it off! So, toddle back home, the pair of us wetter than drowned rats, for a good lie down in a nice, dry nest. Well, a nice lie down in my favorite chair, Suka curled up under my feet, and heavy blanket thrown over the pair of us! May as well be a nest, anyway!

Sunday couldn't have been more different, weather-wise; Sunny, warm, and cloudless skies. Newark has parades every chance they can come up with an excuse - Halloween is a great excuse! So, Main Street is blocked, and everyone and anyone whom can think of a reason they should be marching shows up and marches! It's basically a street party, with a parade as the excuse. Thousands of costumed spectators, thousands of costumed marchers, fire brigades, National Guard units, high school and university marching bands in costume (one brass unit completely co-ordinated as a Pac-Man game!), politicians, beauty queens, old cars, fancy hotrods - All the makings of a stereotypical small-town parade! Even Mike Castle, our US Representative, was present, marching along as Frankenstein's Monster. He looks the role, too. ;) The only thing missing was a mounted unit. Eh - Next time, I'm sure!

My daughter was marching with our church's unit, as were my nephews. They'd apparently lost the plot as to where to meet up after the parade, according to my sister, so I stepped off the curb and joined the unit as the marched past - Hey, this is a small town! Anyone can play!

Did I mention I'd brought Suka along? Well I did. She needs exposure to the wide and varied, and to people, and to crowds. I couldn't be more proud of her - She was wonderful! Yes, she was a bit stressed, but the biggest stress on her seemed to be standing still - She wanted to smell everything, greet every dog, and in general explore until her legs fell off! She was the hit of our church unit's march - I was walking alongside, rather than in the middle, so she wouldn't trip anyone with her lead, and the result was that we were right on the edge of the crowd where people could get a good look at her. She's a beauty in my eyes, of course, but it sure was nice to hear so many people saying the same thing, too! She trotted along the parade route, licking faces, greeting people and dogs, and hunting for every new scent she could find - A really wonderful day for her, getting out and about and showing how truly good she is!

After the parade, it was mass trick-or-treat all up and down the street, with every merchant giving out goodies to the throngs of children. Catton candy and balloon venders stalked up and down the street, and people overran the downtown with a will. It says something about the town, that the motorcycle cops had as big a crowd around them as the guy playing Ronald McDonald did. Through all this, I walked Suka down the middle of the street, stopping to talk to her admirers, letting her greet dogs, and generally moseying along, keeping an eye on the kids as they did their level best to fill their bags to over-flowing with loot. My daughter didn't do nearly as well as her little brother, though - There's something about a four-year old pirate that just makes people extra generous. Must've been the hook he was brandishing at them! :D

After a long afternoon of walking and partying, we returned home - Where Suka and I nested up in my chair again. :p

The weather turns... And so does the dog.

2008-10-15T10:39:00.001-07:00

Fall is here. Oh, these last few days have been indian summer, but even so, Autumn is in the air.

With the crisper air, the shorter days, the turning leaves, Suka has turned as well. Her personality continues to unfold, and she's much more active, engaged, and inquisitive. Still, she remains a sweet, well-behaved dog, but she's also prone to fits of wrestling, and has taken to pestering for walks, pestering for play, and even pestering the cats. The cats, needless to say, don't speak 'dog,' and are most confused by Suka's attempts to goad them into a romp.

Feline confusion doesn't stop Suka, though - Her ears pricked up and forward, she bounces at the cats, eyes bright with potential mischief, only to be rebuffed by indifference, confusion, or (in Max's case) a most impressive display of curmudgeonry. Curmudgeonry? Is that a word? Well, I guess it is now. Max is slowly learning to tollerate this bounding oaf in his kindgdom, but is not willing to put up with shenanigans of any sort!

Well, if the cats are no fun, she can count on me for a bit of "squeaky chase." She's got a little squeaky donkey, which is her favored toy. She's got a squeaky elephant, too, but that one doesn't taste as good to her, for some reason. ;-) She'll chew her donkey, drag it around the house, and will nail it in mid flight with unerring accuracy. Getting it back for a second toss is a bit of a challenge, but once it's back in my hands, well, she's locked and loaded for another catastrophic mid-air kill. Ziiip! Goes the flying donkey! Clack! Go the jaws of doom, and the poor donkey meets its grim end once again. As the weather cools, Suka's more and more inclined to punish the poor, long-suffering quadruped. Or maybe she's just fed-up with 'political season'? Naaaah.

Suka's walks are growing longer, too, as the air chills, and her coat is filling back in. By Alaskan standards, this is a heatwave, but by local standards, well, it's time to grow the coat back in. She doesn't tire so fast, and doesn't wind up sucking up near as much water as previously, either. I can hardly wait until a proper chill - I bet I can have her chasing that poor donkey for hours!

A new kind of picky eating...

2008-10-11T05:20:00.000-07:00

Suka has taken to not eating until told. This is just odd... I don't demand that she wait - When she gets fed, she's free to eat. But she won't - she'll sit there in her crate and whine quizically at me, and look at her food, and then look at me... Then at the food again.

Not until I call her and tell her she's a good girl will she stuff her face into her food.

OK, BCs can be quirky, but that's a new one on me!

Rescue work: It's not "all dogs, all the time!"

2008-10-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

Transport run this weekend past... Not a long one, either. Up into Pennsylvania a ways on Saturday, then back south into Delaware, and then a bit further into Maryland. OK, so I didn't reach the farm in the early AM as I'd originally planned, but this was still a good thing - Bringing a pair of young dogs, really puppies still, down to the farm from a foster family, to be transshipped out to another foster family. Everything ran smooth as silk, and my passengers were a delight.

Getting to the farm, I find that it didn't much matter that I wasn't there in the early AM, as there was still a good bit of work to do. So, some of the less-typical taskings one might find when volunteering as a Rescuer:

Pulling weeds... Clearing the fence line of the dog yard, so the low-lying electric wire will stop shorting out, and we can be assured the dogs won't try to tunnel under the fence. Lots o' weeds to pull, but the ground was soft from the recent rains, the weeds fairly strong due to said rain, and that resulted in great clumps of weeds coming out at each pull. But frankly, I'm out of shape, I've been a bit sick of late, and have pulled too many late nights at work, so I faded fast. Fortunately, there were other volunteers, including one particularly industrious fire-fighting architect, who really went to town on the weeds with hand and shovel.

Auto Mechanic... Of sorts. There's an older car, one donated to the Rescue for resale, the proceeds to benefit the dogs, but one which hasn't moved under its own power in a year or more. Nothing actually wrong with it - it's just that no one has gotten the spare time to sell the bloody thing yet, so its been sitting. And, of course, the engine was dry as dust, and the battery flat as flat as Jebal Ali, with nice weeds growing up through the engine compartment, and divots under the tires... So, put it on the booster pack, and periodically try to get it to turn over. No dice. So, gather a bunch of people, and push the little bugger to where it can be reached - It'll leave, even if it has to be towed. But maybe, after a long charge, someone will be able to get it to crank over. Maybe.

Arborist/landscaper... The HBIC got a lot of trees from the local nursery at a steep discount, this being the end of the season, and we being a non-profit and all. So, we dug holes and planted trees, too. Quite a few of them. But, as previously noted, much of this was handled y other volunteers. I'm out of shape. And tired. And not a little it still shaky from the stomach bug. But I did help... And next time I'm at the Farm, I should be in better condition.

Meanwhile...
Several really plugged-in and gung-ho volunteers made the rounds of Washington, DC's various Federal Agency HQs this last week, setting up information booths at the kick-off events for the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). For those of you unfamiliar with the ins and outs of US Federal bureaucracy, the CFC is a coordinated charity drive. Rather than have every charity in the world hitting Federal Workers up at random intervals throughout the year, they all gang together in one giant posse, and hit them up one time, all at once, and get over with it. This is a big deal - paper-pushing administrators like to brag on their support for this official 'non-official' pan handling, and they set up informational fairs that allow charity groups to tout their cause. Well, someone had actually slugged a charity number on us - We are a non-profit, after all - and when our go-getters learned this, they took a table and some flyers and handouts, and a couple likely dogs, and made the tour - State Department, Labor Department, and so on. We may not get much in the way of donations, but a good number of people actually sat down and talked to our people - Some adoptions are likely to come out this, if nothing else!

With all that, things are going well. So, just to put a reality check on things, my son let Suka escape this AM. I don't think he was being malicious, he's just a four-year old. Rather than wait for his mother or I to escort him out of the house, he decided to go ahead on his own, and I hadn't crated Suka yet... So out she went, and vanished like the mist. Perfect way to start a Monday... NOT.
I don't know exactly where she went, though I did hear some random barking in different directions - Fortunately, that early in the day, TRDATEOTN were inside, or at least not active. After a quick close-in search that turned up nothing, I grabbed the car and started a wider sweep. As I was doing that, Suka returned, quite happy to have my wife let her back in the house. *Whew!*

That's more adrenaline than I need on a Monday AM, to be sure. And worse, now Suka has learned that she can slip past my son and go have an adventure, with nothing (in her mind) bad happening. We're going to have to completely change the door protocols now, to prevent a recurrence. Yuck.

Add more personality, Igor!

2008-09-29T09:17:00.001-07:00

I've mastered "Monster Creation 101," and am rapidly moving on to the intermediate levels.

Initial stepseses:
Introduce dog to family, observe and chortle with evil glee as wife, who swears she's not a dog person, becomes infatuated. Giggle as children also become infatuated. Ignore signs of own infatuation. Not possible - I'm an adult, and a rescuer, to boot - I'm above canine manipulation!

Yeah, right.

Moving right along to "Monster Creation 102, Optional Topics:"
Purchase a training lead. Oh, wait, I might need different lengths - Better get another one. Oh, and wait, what about a pretty lead for when I'm walking her someplace where I might want her to look 'pretty?' OK, fancy lead. And matching martingale, too. Gotta cover all bases! Oooh, and what about tags? I'll want to easily switch tags when I'm changing collars - Lets get a tag clip, too - a fancy one, so it'll go with the fancy lead & collar! Oh, and nifty little 'poop bag' dispenser, too! Can't just stuff bags in my pocket, oh no! That'd be gauche.

Me?! I'd never go over the top like that. T'cha!

Intermediate Monster Creation (200 level):
Carefully teach the non-obsessive, non-toy-focused BC to play with toys. Then introduce "tug-o-war." Then introduce "Fetch." Then add erratic bouncy-toys to Fetch. Last, wonder why the dog is standing at the door, bouncy toy in mouth?

I wonder if teaching the kids to play Fetch with Suka would move me to the advanced class, or does that fall under 'optional topics' at the intermediate level?

Now you see her, now you don't...

2008-09-21T07:59:00.001-07:00

Heh!
Call me prescient; Pip has gone home, already! She took almost no time at all to assess and place.

She flew through - in little more than a week, she'd already found her place. Other dogs haven't gone as well, sad to say - One placement was returned almost immediately - the resident dog objected violently to the newcomer. It's rare that we have a screening failure of that magnitude - We were a bit shocked. Oh, it happens, but so rarely that it's caught us on the back foot.

Another transport...Gone right this time.

2008-09-14T05:43:00.000-07:00

I'm not usually in the transportation rota, but we had a gap in our rotation that couldn't be filled. Two dogs coming in from the mid-west, two different locations, and we couldn't complete the chain with the usual suspects, so I stepped in.

310 miles, before the day was done, but I brought a tiny, sweet full-grown owner surrender, and a 12-week dumped puppy to the Farm, where they could settle in comfort and safety.

Pip, the owner surrender, already has potential home prospects lined up. She was obviously stressed, but behaved very well for me, and was completely appropriate with the other dogs at the Farm. The puppy, OTOH, hasn't anything lined up yet, but he's an utterly fearless little fuzz-ball. He was dumped at a shelter at age approximately three weeks - And when I mean 'dumped" I mean left on their doorstep in a box sometime over night. Three weeks old..?! What the hell, people?! What idiot takes a pup away from its mother at three weeks?

Well, anyway, a shelter worker took the pup in, and nursed him past weaning, before sending him to us. The result is not only is he a fat, cheerful little guy, but he's got zero sense of fear - boldly ran up to me, ran over to the car, ran over to pretty much everything that caught his eye - a blowing weed, a scrap of trash, the other dogs, the barn cats, the HBIC, another volunteer... This little guy might take as many as five minutes to place.
:-p

Considering the unmitigated train wreck the last transport run was, this one was pure pleasure.

Edit 9/17/2008:

Just want to show you my passengers:
Casey (the puppy):
http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=11915779
Bold little guy, fearless and inquisitive - Not for a novice home!

Pip (tiny little Lady - And I DO mean "Lady!"):
http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=11915707
She's going to be a beloved pet for someone - Proper, appropriate, and mannerly, she's a canine "Miss Manners."

Roll em' out!

2008-09-01T05:05:00.000-07:00

Actually, I'm told that there were five adoptions this last week.

Puppy Jez, one of a litter of puppies that were transferred in at the same time as my semi-disasterous transport run,* went home on Tuesday. Jas, from the same litter, went home Wednesday. Duncan, whom you've already read about, went home Saturday. Marla (formerly 'Marly'), the subject of my disaster-run, went home yesterday (Sunday), as did Gabby (another of the puppies). That's three of six from that litter. The rest are all in foster care.

Busy!

This is why I go scoop poop - Not for advice (excellent though it be), but because the HBIC is a genius at finding good homes for so many dogs! She needs help to make it happen, and I'm very pleased to be even a small part of making her mission succeed.

*Reference to the 'adventure' in question: Blue Rock Shilohs: Transporting: It's not just a drive in the country.

Day at the Farm...

2008-08-31T08:46:00.000-07:00

Went to the Farm ( http://www.mabcr.org/ ) yesterday - Surprised Sarah, HBIC, a touch; They weren't really expecting help. But I know I can always find work to be done at the Farm, and yesterday was no different. The kennel runs were a mess, as dogs can certainly make them! So, I spent the morning scooping poop and hosing down the runs. Meanwhile, an adoption was underway, and an intake.

The Adoption was Duncan, whom I don't care for one way or an other - he's never had much time for me, and I've more or less ignored him right back. but yesterday, as Sarah was offering last-minute advice to his new family, all of as sudden he was quite friendly; What's with that? Well, it's Stinkykibble(tm)! I'd made up a batch for Suka that morning, and my hands still stank. Heh! I've tweaked the make-up of Stinkykibble - I've added a touch of anchovy oil for extra stink, and it works! :-p Duncan certainly liked the taste, even having been wiped off and diluted by time.

The intake was a big guy. Supposedly, he's aggressive and has resource-guarding issues. I wonder, though - He certainly sucked up to me, and wanted to follow me around. I'm a big, bearded, loud, scary guy, and he wanted to follow me? Must be the Stinkykibble! :-p Anyway, newly-intaken dogs are under stress, and aren't showing their full personality - I suppose the reported issues could be true. Dunno, but we'll see.

Anyway, I brought Suka with me, and by-and-large, she was a very good girl. No lunging or acting out. She settled in her crate and waited while I did my chores, but didn't want to come out. Well, none of that! She was there for a reason, and hiding wasn't it! So, popped her out, and introduced her to the part of the resident pack currently out and about - mostly retired stockdogs - and to the Volunteer Coordinator and the HBIC. Sure enough, I find that I've been making some mistakes... HBIC straightened me out on those, and showed me what she meant - damn, she's good! Gave me solid advice on getting Suka to adapt to TRDATEOTN, and how to teach her how to make the right choices with them. Homework! Anyway, I feel myself well repaid for scooping poop!

Poor girl, Suka stressed heavily - I've got to make a habit of taking her places, to help her learn to not stress on road trips. She LOVES the car, and riding, but doesn't like new places. Well, no surprise - She's been to the Vets as often as anywhere else, since she's gotten here. More homework!
:-D

'New' Parvo C2 strain - The sky is not falling

2008-08-29T06:42:00.000-07:00

There's been a recent rash of breathless e-mail about the "new" C2 strain of Parvo, and how deadly it is, how only a few vaccines will work on it, and so on. Very scary!

Relax.

The sky really isn't about to cave in:
http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/08/28/the-new-parvo-revisited/

The "new" parvo is seven years old, current vaccines work, and so long as your dog has current immunizations, and you follow proper hygene, you're in pretty good shape.

Go play fetch with your pup, or something.

Training trouble?

2008-08-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

So...

Suka's settling in soooo well! Too well, perhaps? She's testing her limits, and showing her confidence, and generally being a sweet, loving, mildly pushy dog. OK, "So, what's the problem?", you might well ask. Well, the problem is, that she's starting to push in places I don't approve. Putting a paw on my leg to beg for affection? I can correct that. Jumping up? That I can correct if my wife would stop indulging her! :-p Chasing the cats? Well, she doesn't chase the cats - they've got six points on each, five of which are sharp and poke-y, and Suka knows this!

Buuuut... She's taken to ground scenting (air scenting, too - but that causes no trouble), and when she gets her nose into certain scents, she's On A Mission. As in; she doesn't hear me anymore. I just wish I knew what those scents were, and where they were. Not having a dog's nose, I, of course, have no idea when to expect the olfactory lobotomy (Noooobody expects the olfactory lobotomy!). This might be just as well - Who knows; had I dog's nose, I might well be down on the ground with her. Besides which, my face is hairy enough - I don't need to be mistaken for a baboon. :-p

Along with this newfound confidence of hers, has come lunging at The Rude Dogs At The End Of The Neighborhood. TRDATEOTN are a collection of poorly-tutored dogs who love to lunge at their fences and bark at other dogs, and who sometimes to fight with each other for the privilege of having the choicest spots from which to be rude. Previously, Suka's been content to raise her ruff but walk on by, otherwise ignoring them. Think of it as a ladylike sniff of disdain at their poor manners. Ah! But now, her manners have taken a plunge towards the gutter (they probably smelled something nice and stinky down there), and she's barking back, spinning a the end of the lead, and generally acting like a punk in their presence. No sooner than they're out of sight, than she regains her composure, but for fifty yards or so, she's a Nut!

So - I've got two situations where she's Not Getting The Message. What to do? She's not toy-focused. She's not particularly food-driven either. Halti? Gentle Leader? Martingale? Well, martingale collar for sure, under any circumstances - She's almost slipped her leather collar a couple times already. A properly rigged martingale will stay put, without choking. Period. But, I don't know how to use a training collar or harness. After reaching out for help, I got all manner of well-meaning advice, but much of it was wide of the mark. But at least one suggestion hit the mark squarely in the center... Training with treats to distract her from the other, unacceptable distractions. But she's not treat driven... Or IS she? Stinkykibble(tm) to the rescue!

Stinkykibble is my rendition of training with dog food and high-value treats. I don't want to wreck her diet - it's so nicely balanced! ;-) but Suka *will* go for hot dog bits dusted in garlic powder and grated cheese. Or, better yet, from her PoV, kielbasa. But Polish sausage gets pricey... So! Dice up a little sausage, a little hot dog, and dust liberally with garlic powder and cheese. Substitute that mess for an equal volume of kibble from her daily meals, and store in a bag, in the reefer, over night. Come morning time, you've got all the day's food, already in a bag, and all nice and stinky! Stinkykibble! Separate the Stinkykibble into three portions; one for each for the morning and afternoon meals, and one to serve as training treats. Stinkykibble is like a magnet - Where it goes, so goes Suka's nose. And if there are TRDATEOTN yelling at her, well, she doesn't care.

Yay, Stinkykibble!

Upheaval

2008-08-25T08:29:00.000-07:00

I've been rather busy, under Suka's influence. She's a lovely girl, and incredibly well-behaved, and she's settled in like a missing puzzle piece. The kids adore her, I'm getting a lot more exercise than I used to, and she's generally re-arranged our schedule in a very positive way. My wife still insists that shes NOT a dog person, as she cuddles Suka in her lap... :-D Poor girl, though - Our 'cool' is warmer than her 'hot,' and she's turned into a portable furry blizzard. ;-) She been blowing coat, and I've brushed enough out of her to knit a medium-sized sheep. Much, much more is coming... :-o

She's been deprived in some ways, though, I can see - She's got *zero* concept of most doggie games, like fetch. She just doesn't get it. So - While her dog manners and people manners are outstanding, I need to teach her how to *play* like a dog!

Under her influence, I've got the back yard fence repaired, the grass neatly cut, and the poke-berries (poisonous purple berries, with semi-woody stalks) growing behind the shed cut down and into the compost pile. Also, the house is progressively becoming less cluttered. The dumpster has been and gone, and it departed in a very full condition. So - My house is leaner & cleaner than it's been in a while, as is my yard, too.

The cats are less than impressed, but they're maintaining separation for now.

AKDD speaks...

2008-08-22T12:53:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, yes, my nefarious plot has come to fruition! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

::waggles eyebrows, twirls imaginary Snidely Whiplash moutsache::

Truthfully, it can't ALL be blamed on me.... MaskedMan has dog lust. I've seen it. It was only a matter of time.

Suka (indeed pronounced "Sooka" - that would be like "Sue-ka" not like "took") is (and I do hate to burst any bubbles) actually named accidentally after a Sibe belonging to my nurse Jill. As she came into my hands, her name was Sukie, which I think is a cute name for a Shih Tzu or a Lhasa, but NOT for a BC. And I just couldn't make myself say it. I kept accidentally calling her Suka (from knowing Jill's dog) and Jill didn't mind me copycatting (copy-dogging?) one of her dogs' names, plus Suka comes to it readily, so there we are. It didn't occur to me to ask Jill what "Suka" meant, but I will. I thought about calling her "Sitka" (a good Alaskan name), but she seems to like Suka, so there she stays... unless MaskedMan et al want to change it. [NB: NO, we do not. :-p ] Meanwhile.... Uh, Suka is an obscure word of a little-known Yupik dialect which means "sweet bird of the snow" and is sometimes used to indicate the color of ptarmigan when they are in the middle of their molt from the russety browns of summer to the white of winter. Yeah. That's the ticket. (Yes, I AM a member of the PLO... Pathological Liars OOOoooononymous.) Or, it could be some derivative of Susitna, which is the name of a mountain and a river and all kinds of other things up here. It could be SU from SUsitna, and KA from MatanusKA, another native place name (Suka's earliest known history having sourced from the Matanuska-Susitna borough.) See? We can make it all KINDS of Alaskan!

I suspect Suka is a BC/Sheltie cross or else a BC/Sammy cross, but it's a guess. Short of DNA testing, there's no telling; she could be all BC for all I know. [NB: I'm thinking more likely Sammy than Sheltie, but it doesn't really matter anyway. And canine DNA testing is notoriously unreliably anyway. :-p ] Her early history is unknown, having come to the prior owner from the pound. She was a patient of mine several years ago, at which time there was a chance her (divorcing) owners might need to place her. At the time, I had 2 fewer dogs than I have now, and I told them that I'd consider taking her if they couldn't work it out (although as she had a little boy at home who is mad for her, I didn't want to break that up - and they did work it out that time.) Several years later and a re-marriage/newly pregnant new wife down the road, the owner was again facing a problem with keeping her. He hated to do it - he kept saying that she was the best dog he'd ever had - but the little boy had moved to CA with the first wife, and with a new baby on the way, and the man being a trucker and not home all the time to help with the baby and the dog, Suka didn't have anywhere to land. So I bailed her out temporarily, and Tranq and family are going to see if she'll work out for them long-term. But we should all give Tranq a BIIIG pat on the back, because I struck out on finding other homes up here. So he bailed her out even more than I did... I'm just his long-distance minion.

(See? It really ISN'T my fault.... Entirely.)

She's a sweet dog, extremely affectionate, and generally gets on fine with other dogs - but there are just too many dogs here right now, and I personally think that as much as she loves to snuggle, she would be best in a single dog household. It does my heart good to know how excited Tranq and all the Mrs/mini-Tranqs are about her. She deserves a home where they're excited about her and can make her the center of the dog-attention (and here, even if I was NOT over the borough limit on dogs, she would have to share.)

I love it when a plan comes together!

[NB: 'Suka' is actually a Russian word. It means 'Bitch.' Considering how appropriate a Russian name is, coming from a place so closely connected with Russian history, and that Suka is, indeed, in the most technically correct use of the word, a bitch, I'm keeping the name.

And yes, my sister is even more devious than you thought. :-p]

It's a trap!

2008-08-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

My sister (AKDD), blast her EeeEEeevil soul, has long had a nefarious plot to get me into the BC world. Hesitently, and with resistence, I've been pulled in step by step - First reading the BC Boards, then posting here, then doing rescue work, and now... A BC of my own. :blink:

OK, maybe Suka's a BC/X. Whatever. Anyway, this is a dog my sister's known for some time, and was saved from Animal Control a few years ago, but times and circumstances change, so her new family wasn't able to keep her any longer - My sister took Suka back in, but couldn't keep her - Raven is due home, and AKDD's up against a municipal dog limit. There aren't any, aparently, local BC rescues in her area, and there weren't any within easy reach, so she reached out to me for help and advice, to see if I couldn't get Suka into MABCR. Unfortunately, MABCR is in high-gear right now, and slipping another dog into the steady stream of dogs coming through is pushing things pretty hard. On top of that, Suka's description is glowing - She's reputedly "the best dog I've ever owned" according to her rather distressed former master. Now, I'd been showing my wife picture sof Suka, and talking about the process to her, and so on, and one day, about a week or so ago, she suddenly turned to me and said, if you clean the house, we can take her in. 8-0

Cleaning the house is kinda important - both of us tend to horde stuff we really ought to have ditched some time ago.

I ordered a dumpster. It was big. I filled it.

If we'd not touched it in over a year, and it's replacable without too much effort or cost, it was gone!

So, without further ado, let me introduce Suka, Muse of Housecleaning!

New beginnings

2008-07-24T21:57:00.000-07:00

My name is Suka, and I'm a Border Collie mix... Don't know what I'm mixed with, and don't much care. My people call me a Border Collie, and that's fine with me - Little things like that don't matter much to me.

Bear with me - I'm a bit scared right now. I've lost my beloved boy, and my safe home, and have been staying with a nice lady and her pack. They're nice people, but they're not MY people. I like this lady, even if her pack are a bit trying. A couple of this new pack are kinda pushy or bratty, though, and they keep taking my toys. Really, I don't need or want too many dogs around. It's not like I'm a snob or anything, but people are much more interesting, fun, and snuggly.

Anyway, I'm about to get on a plane and fly away... I don't know exactly where I'm going, but right now I'm a bit frightened and alone. Who will be waiting for me on the other end? Will there be someone on the other end? I hope they haven't forgotten me!