Merry Christmas

Well wishes to all. Missing you, Everett.

Bailey's Visit

Hi Everett,

There's a new girl in the house. She's Paisle's first female pitty companion, and Marshal's second girlfriend.

Bailey weighs 53.4 lbs, so though she is taller than Paisle, she's lighter (by only 2lbs).

This pretty brindle girl came back into rescue, after a few years with her adopted family. I don't know much of her story. I don't know her past. All I know is this is a very loving, though timid, young lady.

Marshal can't catch her.

Or take the bumper from her

Bailey arrived Thursday night. She rides so nicely in the car that on the trip home, I forgot she was sitting in the back seat.

Thursday night I kept the house divided, and gave Bailey a chance to explore the new house on her own, without too much exposure to the live animals that created all the smells, chewed on all the toys, slept in all the beds throughout the house. The first time they were all in the same room, was when we went to bed, where even the bedroom was divided. Bailey has her kennel with its nice fluffy bed in it (which she doesn't chew), and I put a babygate in front of the kennel (the other sides are not reachable because of the room arrangement), and a chair in front of the gate to give her even more 'space'. She didn't make a single sound throughout the night.

Friday morning, Big Boy met Bailey, and the two had a blast chasing each other around the yard. It wasn't until Saturday, however, that I learned Bailey is a magnificent jumper. There are 13 steps to my basement, and while we played an indoor game of rope (and she won consistently) she cleared the stairs in two bounds. I wish I had a split level home with a landing between sets of six steps, because it would be really awesome to see her fly up and down the stairs, without actually touching any of the steps!

Bailey also cleared all three rabbit fences in the yard. The highest, that raggedy looking thing in many of my photos, is only 30 inches (if there is any portion that is actually standing straight). Okay, so maybe that is no big feat, as the fences are so low, but they clearly did not display any obstacle to her desire to explore. I did see her eye the fence around the yard, however, especially where the compost bin provides an excellent launching pad over the fence. Perhaps an added note to whomever takes her home for good--this may be a girl who needs constant mental stimulation to prevent her from making up games for herself.

Saturday the serious snow started, so I had all four dogs outside as much as possible, knowing tired pups when the real cold arrived would be best.Poor Marshal, entertaining both girlfriends on the run, had to be prodded to go out the last time before bed Saturday night. And by that time, the wind and falling snow were quite impressive. That's a very hard to identify photo--the yellow thing is my rain/snow gauge, full, and surrounded by the swirling snow.

In case anyone is having a hard time telling the difference between the brindle girlfriends, Bailey is wearing the black collar--Paisle is collarless. Paisle is not in any of the photos in this post. Bailey also has the most interesting dark markings on her back, visible here.

Besides all the playtime outside, Bailey and I also went to Chuck & Don's, for some socializing (and an excuse to get out of the house). Again, she was very good in the car, but as soon as we went inside, she started to shake and shake. Heavy panting soon appeared, so we just stayed on the entry rug (it was a slow day at the food store), while the employees lured her with grain free treats and lots of encouragement. We tried to not make a big deal out of her nervousness, but instead praised her for anything she did--sit, wag her tail, eye contact, etc. Every person who met her commented on her beautiful coloring.

I had my camera with me, but I brought the wrong lens so was not able to take any photos of Bailey or the dogs she met there. There was a Wiemeraner (female), a really large Golden Retriever (male), and one small mixed breed (Westie size--female), and she did very well with each of them. Given how well she's been playing with Big Boy, maybe Bailey needs a forever home that has another dog?

We've done very little in the way of training, other than very basic manners: sit, eye contact, and down. She is only with us for a very short time, and I thought it more important to give her time to settle in and gain confidence in a new setting. She is so nice! She's a polite licker--doesn't take off skin like Paisle, nor is she slobbery. It seems her biggest desire is to just be near you, wherever you are. She does not shove past you to get to the door, nor weave underfoot during meal preparation. Maybe her polite manners are still indicative of being unsure of her surroundings, and her naughty, playful side would emerge over time. Here's hoping!

Paisley at CGC Class

Hi Eve,
Amanda gave us the go ahead to show her pretty girl! Here are the photos I took of her beautiful brindle/white Paisley. Sadly, I am not skilled enough to capture a close up of Paisley in the dim light of the training rink, though I did try.
Paisley showing great focus on her mama.
Clearly no fear of the wheelchair here, nor of the strangely dressed Christiana.

Again that great attention on her mama.

This tunnel represented the distraction in CGC test item #9. After Tiffany walked around a bit in the tunnel, she lay down on the ground and each dog had the opportunity to approach the tunnel to find not only the friendly Tiffany inside, but really yummy treats, too!

Paisley is selective in her girlfriends (aren't we all!) just like you were Everett, so she and Paisle have not yet met. Our little Bean is still dog friendly to all she meets, but we know that might change as she matures. We'll have a visitor in a few days, and I remain hopeful the Crew will do well with another friend in the house. The play dates, however, will be invitation only, so stay tuned!

Going to Class

Photo taken in Princeton, MN

Dear Everett,
Paisle went to class on Saturday, in preparation for the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test in January. We went to a brush-up-on-your-skills-while-having-fun class.

As advertised, it was really fun! Class size was small, so we had individual attention when we needed it. All the students did so well that we were able to expand our repitoire to include some Therapy Dogs International (TDI) items, as well.

For those wondering on both the CGC and TDI, here are the basics:

CGC test = 10 steps that must all be passed to be certified. The purpose of the test is to document the dog is a confident, stable, well-adjusted pet, and the owner has taken the responsibility of providing basic training for the dog, which the dog has mastered.

TDI = 11 steps, 10 of which are the similar to the above CGC, plus one additional step. 'Similar' means the step is the same as the CGC, with additional component. Here are the 10 steps:

1. Accept a friendly stranger

2. Sit Politely for petting

3. Appearance and Grooming

4. Out for a Walk (loose leash walking)

5. Walk through a Crowd

6. Sit and Down on Command; Stay in place

7. Come when Called

8. Reaction to Another Dog

9. Reaction to Distractions

10. Supervised Separation

(Step 11 is TDI Only)

11. Say Hello (visit a patient; to be easily reached on either side of chair/bed)

The additions, to obtain TDI are:

• Dog must be tested around medical equipment to judge dog's reaction to common health care equipment. (may take place in tests 2, 3, 5, or 9)
• In test 9, dog must walk past food on the ground on a loose leash
• Dog must demonstrate confident nature around people with unnatural or uneven walking gate, heavy breathing, coughing, wheezing, or other distractions common to a health care facility.

Practice is always needed, but Beanie did really well. I took my camera and took lots of doggy photos, but no permission from the doggy owners yet to post the photos, so I'll have to stick to photos of the Bean, and me. Amanda was kind enough to take a few! Here I am sitting in a wheelchair--I guess Paisle is pretty comfortable around the moving seat.

Paisle getting treats from Tiffany, for approaching the "scary" walker:

And the best reward of all--playtime at the end of class! Beanie has stolen the Jolly Ball, belonging to Tiffany's Kilo. The rottie pup loves his Ball, and apparently so does the Bean! Orginally designed for horses, the Jolly Ball is heavy, and virtually indestructible. It self-heals punctures by reinflating when released, and the handle makes it bounce oddly when tossed or dropped. I think Beanie needs one in her stocking!

What a great way to end a good training session. Wish us luck on practicing, AND on passing the test in early January! Here's to wishing good luck to all the other pups in class too (Amanda, I know you and Paisley will pass with flying colors! If you are agreeable, I'll post the photos I took of your lovely pibble)

Histiocytoma

Dear Everett, 

Paisle has a lump. It is the size and color of a pink pencil eraser, and won't go away. She licks at it, chews on it, sniffs at it. While it has not grown, nor is it the angry black and red like your malignant melanoma, it is still scary. 

So we went to see Dr. Doolittle--her first visit to him. The vet she's seen in the past has left the practice, so on to Marshal's doctor! I brought along Ansel, since he is past due for his Bordetella booster, and always likes the treats at the doctor's office. Now Dr. Doolittle has seen all three members of the Crew. (A and P wore their coats, pictured above.)

Other than the shot of liquid up the nose, Ansel was just a bystander for this trip. He kept up his usual song, entertaining the vet techs and the other guests in the reception area, with his constant whining. 

Both pups weighed in--Ansel tips the scale at 58.7 lbs so he is steadily losing weight. He was a constant 60lbs for years! And Paisle, the little fatty, is 55.5 lbs. I did not realize until I reached the house after the trip, that Paisle is only 3lbs shy of passing Ansel! She is still smaller than he is, in frame only (there we go with the frame/attitude again), but it seems so shocking to think that soon Ansel is going to be the smallest of the Crew! Poor Goofy dog. 

Ansel and I waited in the visiting room, while Paisle went in back to donate cells from the lump. 

Paisle's lump is a histiocytoma. Two samples were taken, and without sending the sample out to the lab, that is the best guess given what the microscope revealed. There are many photos of the red cutaneous lump online, none of which are flattering. Histiocytomas are common in young dogs, usually present on the head or feet, and will retreat within a few months. That she chews at it will neither speed along its demise nor encourage it to increase in size, but may increase risk of infection. 

So the good news is the lump is essentially harmless and should go away on its own. The bad news is it is unsightly, and if it becomes infected from her chewing at its convenient location, she'll have to wear a cone. Well, if it has to be removed (mid-February if it has not regressed on its own) she'll have to wear a cone also. We're really hoping it goes away on its own, without infection. Even though she MAY have surgery in her future, we still think it was a good trip to the doctor's office. The lump is just a benign, unsightly, annoyance! Great news!

Just Missed

Hi Eve,

In just a few days I've compiled several hundred photos. And yet when I bring the camera into the house and download them to view, it becomes obvious very quickly that so few are worth keeping.

So...I thought it would be fun to post some of my near misses. If only the focus was right/I'd caught all the feet/ears/tail/head/back half/front half of the dog(s) in the photo.

I had some fun with this--after I finished reviewing all the photos I've taken in the last 3 days, deleted all the bad ones (hundreds), there were 57 that fell into the "Just Missed" category. Here are my favorites.

FROM DEC SEVENTH

Paisle with her Purple--missing 1/2 the dog and blurry.

This is actually Purple II, as she shredded the first one, but since she has years of shredding in front of her, I am not going to bother keeping track how many she destroys. ;-) Purple is her special treat toy, that she only gets when she goes into her kennel. With this fresh snowfall, an additional special treat was to take it outside for play.

Marshal stripping bark--missed his full extension and still missing his legs.

M is still growing, but he's gaining coordination faster than he is pounds. It's becoming more and more common for him to stand up on his hind legs, either to challenge Paisle (more coming on that) or for practical reasons--here he had stretched up to take off a particularly tantilizing piece of bark about 6 ft off the ground. He has it in his mouth here, but I missed the full extension which was just hilarious (unless you are the tree).

Shaking off the snow--missing M and P is completely blurry.

Ansel on the move while it's snowing:

Too bad the A dog is blurry, and too small in the photo. His stride here has all 4 feet off the ground, but I only know that because I saw it....

Beanie in the "woods".

Can you even see Paisle in this photo? I thought it would be fun to pose her against the trees, but she is camouflaged, not to mention blurry.

Marshal leaping after Paisle.
I have many of these, but since this one is both missing body parts AND blurry, it is one of the better representatives of what I missed, when taking the photo. Lucky me, Marshal's athleticism seems to improve almost daily.

FROM DEC EIGHTH
The pups play in the dark, too.
But, I need better equipment to take good photos in the dark...perhaps I should stick with stills when shooting at night, lol.

M on the move, too bad the air conditioner behind him is what's in focus. Kellie was right, back in August when he went to visit her while I was out of town--Marshal is very bendy.

Marshal also plays very convincingly:
We already know he's such a softy, or he might actually look fierce here in such a blurry photo (also missing some of his body parts, plus half of Paisle).
What a goof ball (not stealing your affectionate name, Ansel, I promise). Missing ears--really the whole top of his head: Looks like Paisle is body slamming M, shoulder right into his chest but M ran her over--literally bowled her over like a bat hitting a baseball into left field. Would be a very fun photo if only they were both in focus, and I had not cut off M's rear end: A good example of how Marshal tackles Paisle--if only I had aimed just a shade higher:These two photos are best viewed much larger, by clicking on each photo. Missing their feet and they are off center, but their expressions are very funny!Beanie with her own bark sample--too bad she is so hard to see.

Lest anyone forget, the Goofy Dog is still here--missing half of him:

And Ansel playing with Paisle who, in this dark photo, appears to be on top of him though they are both on the move (those two dots are her eyes):
FROM DEC NINTH
My camera has a "fix red eye" feature--I wonder if it has a "fix blue eye" feature too: I alluded to this much earlier in the post--here is M standing up to his full height (missing his head and feet): He's really very good at it--great balance for such a large dog. The way he comes down and lunges at Paisle, who's shoulder and head is just barely in the photo, reminds me of how the Bighorn sheep (rams only, I think) charge each other and clash their horns. Paisle is completely non-plussed.

Missing M's head again:

And missing Ansel's head too:The Crew, with Paisle in the middle:You might think it's a small animal that M is chasing but no, it's one of his beef bones that he can't seem to get out of the snow:He is such a beautiful boy...even though these "missed" photos were fun to post, I hope in the future that they'll be "real" photos--clear, framed, and including all body parts!

A Day in the Snow

Dear Everett,
I am running out of graceful, PC ways to apologize for lack of consistency. Perhaps it would be best to label myself inconsistent, and thus lower the most important expectations--my own.
One of my father's closest friends, whom I came to know in Italy in 2000, was one of the hostages in the Trident/Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai, India.
There are two different sets of people in my life going through some life altering times.
People are losing their livelihoods around the country.
You would think, with all that is going on, the least I could do is post some pictures on a regular basis!
So--onto my escape. Paisle and Marshal are just having a blast in the snow. They are doing a really great job of tearing up the lawn as they skid over the frozen grass, shredding the brown blades while they dig in for traction. I think the grass is a lost cause.
For some reason, the pups seem to spend most of their play time with their backs to me.
So ability to snap action shots seems to be infrequent.
And I have not yet mastered having all body parts in the photo:Unless one of them is on the ground:Or they are standing still: Every now and then, I am just amazed at how much smaller Paisle is, than Marshal. It's mostly in the short stumpy legs, and neck, and her petite (and cute) little head. Clearly, frame and attitude are NOT related:Or perhaps they are--the smaller you are, the more attitude you have? Except, Everett, in your case, because you were Marshal's size, with attitude to spare. I miss you Everett! My little girl.