Month: July 2019

Observations

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Humans are truly the funniest species on earth.  We canines just love to observe them and shake our heads.

For example, in the winter they moan and groan that it is too cold, too icy, too snowy…they long for the warmth of the summer.  That is – if they live in a northern region.  Then, we have the summer and the temperatures are pretty hot.  So you guessed it – humans complain that it is too hot, too muggy, too humid….  Are they ever happy?  We dogs go with the flow.  We sit by a heater in the winter and head for the shade in the summer.  No point complaining.  Mind you if it stays super hot here – you MIGHT hear a complaint from me because we are getting no fetch time.  We’ll be playing in the dark when it’s cool.
Humans also do this funny thing if they wake up early in the morning.  At least her highness does.  She opens her eyes – but PRETENDS  to still be sleeping because she KNOWS if she makes a slight movement, there will literally be three dogs standing two inches from her face. So she fakes sleep to get a few extra minutes of rest.  Some days we play along with her game – and other days we ignore her – and it’s game on.  The FG will poke her legs with his nose, while I attempt to sit on her chest.  Einstein starts singing the “good morning” song.  We act like we haven’t seen her in days.  No need for an alarm clock with us.
Yesterday the humans went to the Farmers Market and bought all kinds of goodies.  And get this – cousin Lou did the cooking.  Yup – the nonagenarian did the cooking – with just a little help from his Sous-chefs.  He is quite the gourmet – a super foodie.  There are probably few foods he has not tried – and very few cookbooks that he doesn’t own.  So he marinated and barbecued lamb.  While we canines drooled. 
Today the humans may do a short day trip – while we canines do guard duty.  They are cramming in lots of fun things – because Lou and Rose leave for other parts of Nova Scotia on Tuesday.  Family time is fun time – they are so grateful for their time together.  
Time to get ready for guard duty. We drew straws (paper ones – not plastic) and the FG got the first shift.  As he silently observes the crazy bunnies…
Have a good one.  Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 5

More wildlife

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So we have the crazy bunnies.  The roaming bears.  The stalker deer.  And reportedly, the other night, our canine neighbor, Max had a not-so-pleasant encounter with another character here in our Wild Kingdom.  A mobile pin cushion. Yup. Max met his first porcupine somewhere in the woods between his house and ours.  His getting-to-know-you session resulted in a late night visit to the vet – where he was sedated and the quills were removed.  Lucky guy.  Her highness just yanked mine out with a pair of pliers when I had my encounter.  I’m not sure if she did it because I’m so cooperative, or she’s so foolish….

Anyway, in typical dog fashion, Max reportedly attempted to bolt for the woods the next night too.  People think that’s not a smart move on our part.  We should “know better.”  Honestly- we just want to win. I read an article on-line by a vet that said in his 20 years of practice, he had never seen a dog who learned to leave porcupines alone.  All were repeat offenders.
A friend of my human’s put up a small fenced area within her large fenced yard, to be used at night. Well guess what?  Porcupines can climb fences.  And one met up with one of her dogs one night.  Yup. A trip to the vet. And of course, because the walking pin cushions come out at night, those vet visits usually require the care provided at an emergency clinic. Which means additional medical charges. Go big or go home. It’s our motto.
Porcupines are right up there with ticks in my opinion as unwelcome visitors.  But here’s a question- can porcupines get ticks?  
In other news we got to meet our company yesterday.  Well – sort of.  We stayed behind the gate so as not to cause injury to our guests. That would put a real damper on their vacation.   Not all humans necessarily appreciate our “exuberance”. But we did get to see them and they got to see us.  Before Einstein and I ripped the hair clips out of each other’s hair.
Today we are expecting a heat wave.  The humans have some local plans – and we will be QUITE happy lounging on the cool  tile floor downstairs. Away from wildlife.  Which is probably a good thing…
Have a good one.  Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 4

Excitement.

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Excitement in the ‘hood.  Times three. And no – not us three.

First there were the visitors the other night.  One of our neighbors saw not one but TWO bears in their yard.  They think it was a mother bear and her cub. We’ll be making a big racket to steer clear of those two.  Where’s a Karelian bear dog when you need one?
Then yesterday morning, after we had been out for our walks, one of Pig Pen’s human’s was walking on the road on her own and she texted that she saw a deer at the end of our driveway.  In the past, I have referred to her as Mother Nature as she loves animals – and was in on the baby bird rescue.  Here is the series of text messages that then began to flow:
Mother Nature:  Deer looking at me at the top of your driveway right now….OMG. It’s chasing me !!! 😱. In Mary’s garage hiding.
My human:  You.  Or the deer?
Mother Nature.  Me. I don’t know what to do.
My human:  It chased you down the driveway? Where is it now?
Mother Nature:  Yes. Come out to your driveway.
My human: I’ll come with a dog.
(At which point my human grabs a leash and Einstein.  She figured he would LOVE this.  He starts boldly walking up the driveway toward the road.  With his chest all puffed out. As IF he knew what was going on)
Mother Nature:  I will come out of Mary’s garage 
My human:  Walking
 In the meantime, our other neighbor Ellen had also come to rescue Mother Nature, so by the time my human and Einstein got to the road, Bambi was gone.  
A half hour later, more texts flowed.
Mother Nature:  Thanks Ellen and Linda for coming to my rescue!!! 
👍🏼🙏🤗
My human:  Yeah.  I’m not coming if it’s a bear.  OK.  OK.  I’ll come.  Frodo makes enough noise to scare off a mountain lion.  I’ll bring him.
Ellen:  I’ll bring the rabbits. (We have a large number of bold bunnies in the ‘hood right now.  They will literally stay within 12 feet of us- of course only if we are on a leash).
My human:  You and Viktor can bring the rabbits….
After that, Mother Nature looked out the window of her house- and guess who she saw?!  The deer.  He is stalking her.  Actually, it is probably a “she” as it has no antlers.  And it is reportedly not very big… Now Mother Nature can’t leave her home.  Just kidding.  About not leaving her home.  Meanwhile, Pig Pen, the docile, friendly Lab couldn’t care less. 
Don’t you just WISH you lived on our road?!
Excitement number three is company!! My human’s mother’s cousin and his wife arrived from Buffalo!  So that’s my human’s first cousin, once removed. She had to look that up.  Anyway, they are great people – and what’s additionally cool is the fact that he is … I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing this – but he is 90 years old.  90 going on 65.  
We didn’t get to see them yesterday- as they got in late in the afternoon and they aren’t staying with us.  But I’m sure we will see them today.  Her highness said we must be on our best behavior.  Whatever that means.  I guess no jumping.  Which Einstein and I can do.  The FG will need to be held.  He gets a BIT too enthusiastic at times. As for no barking- why even pretend we can comply.  That’s where the FG shines.  We like to spread the bad behaviors around.
Anyway,  lots of excitement here.  Never, ever a dull moment.
Have a good one. Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 3

Leave us at home

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Honestly, I shouldn’t even need to write this blog.  And frankly, you blog readers, don’t need the message.  But as dog lovers – we have to keep getting the word out:  DO NOT LEAVE YOUR DOG IN THE CAR IN THESE SUMMER MONTHS.

It is inconceivable to me hope this can still happen. In a town not too far from here, a woman has made it her mission to regularly patrol the parking lot of a local shopping center, looking for dogs in cars. And she has found (and saved) some!
I also read a very sad story about a family who had a dog in the car and left him in his crate, with the air conditioner left on.  Sadly, the crate was located in a sunny spot in the vehicle, and although the air conditioner WAS running, the poor dog suffered heat stroke.  And died.
The moral of the story- in hot weather, it is probably best to leave us at home.  Certainly if someone is staying in the vehicle with Fido, that’s one thing.  But don’t leave us alone.  PLEASE!!!!!!!
And speaking of sun dogs – the FG is a funny guy.  Outdoors he heads for a shady spot on the deck.  Inside, he looks for the sunny spot.  He is just SO interesting…
It was around this time three years ago that my human was making plans to pick him up.  At that point, Einstein and I had no idea how our lives were about to change.  As you may recall, I was not all that enamored with him when he first arrived.  But now, we are good buds.  Mind you, I don’t allow him to trim my feet like Einstein does.  But we do hang out together.  He is very respectful of both me and Einstein.  We all get along super – which some might find surprising- because, how shall I word this…all of us have “all of our parts.”  People sometimes think that “intact” dogs can’t live together.  Well.  We do just great.  Now- there are no girls to impress – and I don’t necessarily think our sunshine and happiness household would be so bright if a girl was thrown in the mix.  But without a girl – we’re all good. OK – we DO have her highness but she doesn’t count.  She’s probably the one to keep things in line here too. Or she THINKS she is.  We’ll just let her keep thinking that.
Stay cool.
Have a good one. Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 2

A trip…

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Let me begin by thanking everyone for your good wishes after reading about the news of my seizure.  As expected, my human was totally depressed about it.  BUT we need to focus on the fact that I had a longer stretch than I had been having this year – so we’ll keep our paws crossed for another good run.  In the world of canine epilepsy, if you have one or fewer seizures in a month, that is considered “controlled.” So technically, it WAS a good month.

When I have a seizure, the next 24 hours are a “critical time.”  If a dog continues to have seizures, it is called clustering.  And it’s obviously not a good thing.  So after I have one, my human is on pins and needles for the next 24 hours.  Yesterday she was supposed to get together with an old friend- but had to cancel, as they had planned a short road trip – and her highness didn’t think she should stray too far from home.  I thought that was brilliant- until she announced that yours truly smelled a bit rancid – so I needed a bath.  Sometimes when I have a seizure, I pee a bit. And I also drool.  So afterward, I look like rather wild – and although my aroma is pleasing to my fellow canines, it’s not so great in the opinion of humans.   So despite the fact that I am typically pampered after a seizure, I still had a bath.  Oh joy oh happiness.
In other news, her highness went to the bank the other day and came home with some interesting money.  It was Polish!! Of course Einstein and I immediately knew what it was.  The FG didn’t have a clue.  Now WHAT could she be doing with Polish currency?!   It looks like a trip is on the horizon.  And given the distance, I’m thinking it’s unlikely WE will be going along.  As long as she has booked Char to be our sitter- and not some NEW person.  We do have this history of sitters only coming once…  I’m sure it CAN’T be because we are not well behaved.  Cough cough.  OK- so we stole one sitter’s cell phone and locked another one out of the house- but is that enough to scare someone off?! They were all very nice….they just never came back…except Char did- so I’m hoping it’s her again.
We don’t know a lot about this trip – although we DID overhear her highness chatting with her old friend Janet about flights. And something about a tour bus.  Heaven help the people on the bus when those two get together.
We also heard that she may be meeting up with some PON people while in Poland.  Dog people do that stuff.  It’s like a cult.  People who share the same breeds gather together and talk about all the bad things we do.  Oh – and the wonderful stuff too. 
She’s not packing yet – so I think it’s not for a few weeks.  All I can say is that guilt gifts are proportional to the distance travelled.  We’re talking at LEAST a lb of kielbasa. For each of us.  Since we can’t drink Polish vodka.
Besides my spa treatment yesterday, it was a lazy day.  Rumor has it that we are going to be entertaining some special company later in the week.  Wonder who…
Have a good one.  Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 1

Popcorn

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July 16.  And it’s Orville Redenbacher’s birthday.  For all my non-North American readers, Orville’s name is synonymous with one thing – popcorn.  Some people think he was a made up character – but in fact, he was a real businessman who had a degree in agronomy.  And he caused the popcorn industry to, sorry – pop!  

Now while popcorn should not be fed to us canines in huge amounts, we CAN have a snack of air-popped popcorn.  The microwave stuff probably has too much salt for us – and you don’t know what other flavorings could upset our digestion.  But plain air-popped corn is fine. In moderation.  If you want to jazz it up for us, I saw a recipe that suggested putting the already air-pooped corn on a baking sheet, and putting it in the oven – topped with some grated cheese.  Doesn’t THAT sound amazing?! We NEED some of that.
Here is a super cute popcorn video that has been doing the rounds on Social Media lately.  You may have seen it – but it’s worth a second look.  And tell me – doesn’t this dog look almost PON-like?
Time for our morning constitutional.  Gotta go and see if the bunnies are out.  My human thinks it’s funny that I don’t go crazy when I see them and I’m on leash.  Off leash is another story.  But really- why BOTHER while on leash. I’m too smart to waste my energy.  Some days.
Have a good one. Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 0
The “monster” returned last night.  We had a good stretch without one – but it was a tough seizure last night…paws crossed for another long stretch.

Fire safety. And wax.

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July 15.  And it’s National Pet Fire Safety Day. This is a serious subject –  because according to the American Red  Cross and the US Fire Administration, “an estimated 500,000 pets annually” are affected by fires – in the US alone.  There are two excellent recommendations to keep your canine safe in the event of a fire:  have a plan for an escape route – and place a sign or fire safety sticker in a front window indicating the number of pets inside – so that firefighters know who to look for.  

Of course you also want to employ other safety features – like smoke alarms.  You need to be careful when using candles if you have pets as an accidental collision with a burning candle could have a very bad outcome.
The Halifax Kennel Club – to which her highness belongs , once had a project to supply pet oxygen masks to local fire departments.  Human masks do not work well with pets – masks designed for “pet heads” are much more beneficial for both dogs and cats.
If you are a member of a kennel club, or dog group, starting a project to equip fire trucks is a super useful idea.  
And speaking of safety and candles, her highness did day two of her art class.  She did something called encaustic art.  It’s a centuries old technique involving “painting” with hot, colored bees wax.  The wax is heated and is in liquid form, and when it is brushed on a piece of wood, it immediately hardends.  You can then build up the wax and add things to your art to give it “texture” and dimension- like photos, pieces of string, buttons, leaves, coins, etc.
Well.  I have to be honest.  We are not going to be making any extra money in this household from her highness’s art.  She did 5  pieces over the weekend.  Look – I love her – but they are no Rembrandts.  I could have probably chewed a couple of candles and done an equally interesting job.  But we tried to look enthused when she came home.  I was hoping she would have done one of us- but now I’m glad she didn’t.  We would likely be unrecognizable.   Too bad she didn’t embed dog biscuits in the wax.  We could have helped recycle them.  
I suppose this art stuff is part of retirement.  Humans try new things.  I guess it could have been worse- we could have been booked for an obedience class….
Anyway, have a good, safe wax-free day.
Have a good one.  Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days:  37

About those bears….

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We had a pretty quiet day yesterday.  Her highness went to – of all things- an all day art class.  She enlisted her sister to let us out in the afternoon for our pees.  We all behaved fairly well for her- no canines went missing and there were no human injuries.  So we consider that successful.

Today my human goes back again.  I guess she didn’t pass the first day.  Or maybe she has more to learn.
Today I have a blog – with some random thoughts…related to yesterday’s blog…
We canines, as a rule, don’t tend to ruminate over things.  We kind of live for the here and now.  And every new moment is a moment to rejoice.  We don’t really tend to think things like “I should not have chased that bunny yesterday.  I wish I had not barked at the neighbor’s dog.  I hope eating that extra kibble won’t make me look fat.”   Nope- we just don’t tend to over-analyze things.
However, humans DO that kind of stuff all the time.  They worry that they have said the right thing.  They try their best not to offend people.  They are conscious about how what they say and do may affect others.
And as a dog who writes a blog, I must confess I tend to think like humans.  Sometimes.  I express my feelings about things and share our lives with you.  And like a university professor who gets 30 reviews from students – where 29 are great, I focus on the one that is not so great.  So I need to clarify something from yesterday’s blog – because we did get a bad review.
I talked about my human’s friend – and the fact that he had to resort to using a shock collar to keep his dogs away from bears.  I KNEW when I wrote it that it could be viewed as controversial- but I shared it because it is his experience.  I agree that shock collars are not a great training tool.  And like any training tool, it can be abused.  My human would not likely ever use one – BUT you never know because she has not been in his shoes.  She also does not judge her friend as being abusive for doing so – because she knows he provides an UNBELIEVABLE home for his dogs.  Two of his dogs were rescued from kill shelters in the US.  He flew them to BC to give them an AMAZING life. He does not have a cruel bone in his body. He didn’t want to use the collars – but it was a last resort.  
We were mortified to see that he was judged as being cruel.  And honestly, we felt badly for even telling the story – because my human never, ever wanted to see people think badly of her friend.  
But she focused on that one bad review all day.  And even considered deleting that part of the story.  But instead, we decided to simply use it as a reminder that sometimes we need to know the whole story.  And never say never until you have shared the exact same experience as someone else.  You just never know…
We decided after this incident that we will try to not be so upset by the single “review” either, and my new motto will be one her highness saw on a greeting card:
No matter what life brings you,  kick some grass over that poop and move on.  It’s a new day.  
Be nice humans.  Be more like dogs….
Have a good one.  Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days:  36

The chase

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Things have been pretty quiet here after all the medical appointments.  OK. OK.  There was a SMALL incident the other night when my human went to take me and Einstein for a quick pee – and SHE made the mistake of not looking out the front door.  Not one but TWO bunnies were just hanging out, waiting for a game of chase.  Two bunnies.  Two PONs.  But one bunny got off easy because one PON doesn’t like to race through the brush and get all dirty and full of sticks.  The OTHER PON absolutely becomes temporarily DEAF and does NOT respond to calls, shouts or pleading.  No big deal.  I came back after about 25 minutes.  And met the tub and jet engine dryer when I arrived home.

Otherwise, things are quiet.  So I decided to look at what’s new in the dog world.  The first thing that popped up was this video of a dog chasing a bear out of its yard.
 

https://youtu.be/T1ewMZAug24

It was timely because my human had just been talking to a good old friend in BC, who was telling her how his three dogs are notorious for chasing bears up trees. He’s a huge dog lover, and despite training attempts, they have had to resort to shock collars to stop them when they make the charge at a bear. He hates the idea of it – but after one dog had a swipe on the nose, they realized they had to do something. These are black and cinnamon bears.  Not grizzlies – although they certainly could encounter grizzlies in their area as well.  They spend a LOT of time in the outdoors- so the likelihood of encounters is high.  He feels sorry for the dogs – he hates to use the collars – and he feels sorry for the bears, who generally do not seek out trouble. It’s a real challenge.
There are a number of videos on – line with dog/bear chases. Here are three of my favorites- I have probably posted them before – but it’s interesting to see how size does NOT matter in some cases:
This video shows some guard dogs who keep grizzlies away from a fishing camp.  You might be surprised with the breeds:
And lastly we have this video of Karelian Bear dogs.  Who are trained to keep bears away.  It’s sad when wildlife have their homes invaded by humans – and they start becoming a nuisance.  Unfortunately, sometimes wildlife lose their lives – just because they are hungry, and their own turf has been encroached upon.  One way to keep them from being destroyed is by using dogs to scare them off.  They have cameras attached to the dogs so you can see what it looks like from a dog point to view.  Kind of like when chasing bunnies.  Said the guy with the experience…
So that’s it for this episode of Wildlife Adventures with Canines.  I promise not to chase more bunnies. Wait – let’s edit that.  I promise not to chase any bears.  Bunnies are still fair game. And its funny because I’m not exactly sure what I would do if I caught one…
Have a good one.  Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 35

The next vet visit

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The FG had his visit to the vet the other day to see if he is put together normally.  He had some X-rays of his hips and his elbows.  Einstein did that once too- he passed his tests with flying colors. I never bothered.  I know I’m perfect. 

They arrived at the clinic and as they stepped into the waiting area, her highness stopped.  The place was packed.  Lots of Zombies and their dogs. She made the FG sit – and they stayed right by the front door.  She couldn’t figure out how to get through the crowd to her favorite area in the back.  So they stayed by the door. 
We know how paranoid she is at the clinic.  She doesn’t want us to lick anything for fear we will catch some communicable disease.  It’s amazing she doesn’t make us wear surgical masks.  Imagine her HORROR when a little dog had ….how can I put this…explosive diarrhea mear the front of the registration desk.  Ewwwwwwwww.  The poor human who owned the dog looked mortified- and who wouldn’t.  A woman who was sitting close to the rancid smelling puddle, stood up and came to hang out by my human and the FG.  She didn’t even have a pet with her.  The man who owned the dog tried in earnest to get the attention of one of the staff who were super busy. He finally mentioned to one that his dog had a little accident.  Little accident?  We’re talking more than a little pee problem.  Thank goodness it had not been a Saint Bernard.  They would have had to shut down the clinic.
They called my human to the desk and she approached it from the side – to avoid the cesspool.  She mentioned to the staff again that there was a “clean up in aisle 3” as no one seemed to be doing anything about it.  They assured her that help was on the way. 
They asked that the FG be weighed.  Getting to the scale meant going right around the “problem area.”  She asked if they could go behind the desk- and they quickly agreed.  The aroma was wafting their way – so they realized the problem was dire.  Wonder who lost the coin toss to clean it up.
After the weigh in, my human was able to direct the FG to the seating area in the back. Away from the crowds and the “problem area.”  The FG chilled while waiting to be radiated.
The vet and technician came out to see him and he happily greeted them.  They invited my human back to watch the process.
The FG was extremely well behaved, and didn’t require any sedation. Her highness probably could have used it.
A look at the X-rays revealed that things “look normal” – but now they are sent to the OFA (Orthopedic Foundation of America) for formal assessment.  He didn’t study for the test – so we hope he passes.
After the X-rays were over, as her highness chatted with the vet, a steady stream of technicians came by to meet “the Picard.”  His reputation precedes him.  Not really – I think they just wanted to see a Picard in real life- there are so few around.  He happily greeted each one and reportedly was a great ambassador for the breed. The picture perfect canine. Remember- no carpets in the clinic- and he WAS on a leash.  
So within the past couple of weeks, all of us have been to the vet.  Although the staff are very, very nice, my human hopes that we can avoid going there for at least a little while.  Paws crossed!
Have a good one.  Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 34