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
Showing posts with label TRDATEOTN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TRDATEOTN. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Miscellaneous and Random...
So, what do I want to say here..? Hmmm. I know - I can clear up a couple back stories, with images.
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!
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..?
Anyway, that's all for now. I think I'll go out and sand the walks once more, and call it a night.
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.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Rescue work: It's not "all dogs, all the time!"
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.
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.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Day at the Farm...
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
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
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Training trouble?
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!
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!
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