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
Showing posts with label Heat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heat. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
So it's still not the desert... Nor the jungle.
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.
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.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Uncomfortably warm...
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.
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!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
The hot, not-so-lazy days of summer...
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
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
Monday, November 10, 2008
Dog Day Weekend, redux
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.
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.
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