Posted By Dia on October 15, 2010
How about a book giveaway. C’mon, you know you take books out into the yard (or back 40 or whatever) and sit down and read whilst the dogs frolic. Here’s a contest worth entering, even if all it does is make you go out and buy the books. Fairy Tales Retold Giveaway. Go now, enter. Then grab a book and take the dogs out somewhere, settle down iwth them and enjoy your read.
Posted By Dia on September 29, 2010
Aren’t dogs supposed to be loaded with instincts? Not so little Dragon.
After mumblemumblemumble dollars of x-rays and IVs and, as we were bringing her home last night, a laxative (gee – thanks, really, thanks!) it turns out Ms Thang had EATEN – TOO – MUCH.
Yep, that’s right, she’d powered down too much food. Got her little mouth around some dropped big girl kibble and added that to her normal meal and, well, it was too much.
She was miserable and listless and uninterested in food Monday afternoon and night, erped up the little bit she HAD consumed and generally was just pathetic. And no one does pathetic better than a tiny tiny dog. So Tuesday morning Bear took her to the vet. Dr Gayle (a living GODDESS!) palpated and said “Hmmm” and all those doctorly things that are good to say when you’re the practitioner and terrible to hear when you’re the patient (or the anxious human caretaker of a sick critter) and whisked Dragon out of the treatment room to do tests. It turns out they were just x-rays but poor Bear was sitting on the edge of his seat waiting.
(Where was I? Certainly not kicking back. I had an appointment of my own or I’d have been in the hot seat)
When Dr. Gayle came back with Dragon and the x-rays, she showed Bear. Dragon’s stomach was crammed full of something and was twice the size of her heart. So they kept Dragon, gave her drugs and fluids and walked her to try to get her to poop (nope) and pee (yep). And did more x-rays throughout the day, watching the stomach SLOWLY empty of this whatever-it-was.
We thought she must have eaten something foolish, like a sponge. She was sent home to be watched overnight by her loving family (and washed after the laxative had some effect). She seemed more normal, a little clingy, but she’d just spent a day in the veterinary hospital so that wasn’t unexpected.
At dinner time, though, she didn’t even look up for food – which is NOT normal for her. The shepherds may eschew food for meals, or even days, at a time, but not little Dragon. Last night, she was like a little tiny shepherd, turning her nose up at the thought of food. Which was good on the one hand, because she was not allowed to have food, but worrisome on the other hand as she is normally such a chow hound.
She slept like a champ, and woke up cranky, but didn’t seem particularly hungry. She WAS barking and romping a bit, so we were encouraged. Then we all trooped in to see Dr. Gayle this morning, and got GREAT news. The x-ray showed that whatever had been in her stomach was now all the way into her colon. Phew.
Dragon’s on a day of special low residue food, then tomorrow she gets to add a little kibble in to the mix, but only a little. And maybe she’s learnt her lesson – maybe now she’ll stop being a doggie hoover cleaning up everything that drops on the floor.
Posted By Dia on September 13, 2010
When last we saw our heroes, they were winging their way from the terrors of LAX to the calm** of their California Bungalow in Encino.
We got to the house and had devised a plan. Nellie and I would jump out of the car and wander gently to the front door whilst Bear bolted to the door, unlocked it and moved our girls out of the way. We were going to go straight out to the backyard, partly because poor Nellie probably would need to pee but also because it’s a nice open space. We planned to blast right past Dragon and hope that Nellie ignored any cats that might be wandering around.
The plan did not go as planned***
We will discreetly pull a veil over the next half hour or so. Suffice it to say Topaz, who loves EVERY dog†, did not warm instantly to Nellie and Phoenix, who is a bit uncertain about other dogs†† was beside herself with uncertainty.
**Calm, in this sentence, is a VERY relative term
***Do they ever?
†Topaz is the poster child for the dog who loved too much. She ADORES other dogs, she pines for other dogs, she goes into ecstatic rapture when she meets other dogs†††
†††Except Nellie
††She’s actually turning into a fear barker. We are obviously nipping this in the bud so she doesn’t escalate. It’s very disconcerting for other dog handlers when she starts barking at their dogs.
Nellie took pretty much everything in stride. She was pretty startled when the dust bunny‡ at her foot barked at her, but she didn’t even blink when she saw Bashir‡‡. In fact, once the dust had settled, I found Nellie nose-to-nose with Bashir and later, we came upon this:
Bashir, chilling on the middle crate whilst Nellie mulls over her dinner
(Note this is NOT the Franken-crate – that’s outside and I think the local family of racoons is eyeing it with intent. They’d fit. They’d have room for their extended family and probably even have room left over to invite the squirrels, possums and whomever else is in the neighbourhood)|
‡aka Dragon
‡‡He’s a cat. He’s a good cat. Really. Good cat. More about Bashir later.
Our adventure really begins anew Saturday morning when all three girls are uncrated.
Topaz and Phoenix immediately went to the dog door, waiting (impatiently) for the shim to be removed. Then they went charging out. Nellie, who isn’t a dog door kinda girl, looked at me over her shoulder, and walked up into the kitchen to see if I’d open THAT door – which I do, because Dragon has FINALLY learnt how to come outside.
Once outside, the girls had a few moments of grumbling around, but pretty soon they were romping together‡‡‡. Here’s what it looked like:
‡‡‡Well, Topaz and Phoenix were romping, Nellie was still trying to figure out where the other 5 acres were hidden^
^What do you MEAN there aren’t five more acres? And where’s the rest of the HOUSE? Aren’t there stairs here? Who hid the basement?
#Dude, it IS California!
Nellie and Dragon
After a wonderful romp, we went into the house and I fixed everyone breakfast. We feed twice a day, and the BEST part of every meal is the Standard Process Canine Whole Body Support ™ because we mix it into a bit of canned dog food and make a little meatball. Saturday morning, Nellie’s meatball went onto her kibble and she went back into her crate^^ but that was the last time. I tried putting her dinner into her crate and she just brushed past me to wait patiently at one of the raised feeders. THAT was pretty clear body language, even in my sleep deprived state I could figure out what she was telling me and now she eats with the other girls.
Nellie has discovered meatballs, and LOVES them. I now have three^^^ eager girls waiting for their meatball±.
^^per Jan’s instructions
^^^Because Dragon gets her powder sprinkled on her food
±Luckily this isn’t a video blog because the house seethes when the clarion call of meatball goes out
The Breakfast Club
Waitin’ for my meatball!
Unfortunately, or fortunately, I had patients mid-day Saturday, so everyone got a nice nap. When I got home, the calm level was increased, and, whilst Nellie continued looking for the rest of the house she seemed less surprised not to find any. She DID discover cats on the way. She has been perfect with the cats, so much so, that there’s been nary a hiss. We will try to get pictures of Nellie and Bastet going nose to nose.
Nellie is such a superior girl that less than 48 hours after coming home the cats are all treating her as if she’s always been here — and they don’t even do that with Topaz after a year and a half. She’s gentle with Dragon and loving with everyone. Well, maybe not EVERYONE but that’s another story for another time.±±
±±There is the hope of sleep in my future, which should make the next installment of Nellie’s adventures slightly easier to write — and read.