Mutt Strutt, Here We Come

Duncan and I are going to be doing freestyle demos at the Mutt Strutt on Saturday, September 6. Three other dog/handler teams will also perform, and we’re even going to do a group routine. The Mutt Strutt will be at Oak View Park, and is a dog walk to raise money for the Wake County Animal Center. The event is from 9 to 12. At this point, I don’t know exactly when we’re scheduled to perform, but the last thing I heard was between 10 and 10:30. I’ll post a definite time when I get it. My cropping buddy has agreed to come out and take photos of the routines (thanks, Mary!), and John said he’ll give up moving dirt around on the farm for a bit to come out and work the video camera (thanks, John!). There will also be agility and flyball demos, tons of raffles (not just for dog stuff), and a lot of vendors and exhibits. So round up your folks and come on out to support WCAC, and, more importantly, me and Duncan. If you just can’t make it, you’ll still be able to watch the freestyle fun, because I’ll have the video on YouTube and this blog sometime that Saturday (well, maybe Sunday, because I’m going to the Brooks and Dunn concert Saturday night).

Duncan and I will be dancing to “Its In His Kiss” and the team routine is to “Puttin’ On The Ritz.” Two teams and a stand-in got together last night, and we actually managed to choreograph the entire team routine in under an hour. I was pretty impressed with us. The smart thing is that we’re keeping it short (about a minute and a half) and fairly simple. After all, most people will be really impressed that we’re actually out there doing anything at all. It always boggles my mind when someone (especially a dog owner) gets excited about a basic “wait” or a “shake.” But I guess those folks just don’t take the time to work with their dogs. The hard part about the team routine is that the dogs range in size from Duncan (he’s a bit big, you know) to a Westie. And in between is a medium-sized All American (mutt) and a Sheltie (NOT a miniature Collie). We’re still working out a few of the details, like how long we want certain distances to be, because some folks have to walk pretty fast to get to their next spot, while others of us have to slow down so we don’t run anyone over. And I think we’ve found some creative ways to work to each dog’s strengths and reduce any obvious discrepancies. Not that the demo will actually go the way we plan, because they never do. But that’s part of the fun of freestyle!

With The Pleasure Comes The Pain

I love my house. I love owning a house, even if I’m just co-owning with those obnoxious mortgage company people. There are so many reasons I love my house, I’m not even going to bother listing them. I love that I have a yard to take care of (even if the front is mostly weeds). I even enjoy mowing my yard, most of the time. Just not in July, when its ridiculously hot and humid. Last summer wasn’t too bad, because it almost never rained, and Amy’s son was mowing the yard most weeks. Up until the falling out, of course, and then the mowing became mine again. This summer, though, the weather has been against me. When I have time, its raining or 100 degrees with a wall of humidity. When I don’t have time, its dry and cool. I knew the humidity was supposed to go back up today, so I made a point yesterday of getting out of the office at a reasonable hour so I could mow the grass. Both yards had to be done, because the front was looking extremely bad (not much grass, but a lot of really tall weeds), and the grass in the back was getting tall enough that I was worried about losing the dogs. I started about 7:30, and got finished shortly before dark. Tonight I’m going to do the weed-eating, since John was so kind as to fix the weed eater (thanks, John!).

Reyna and I have come to an agreement about mowing the back yard. She gets to bark at the mower for a few minutes and bite the front wheels four times, and then she has to go lay down. I have to put her ball where she can’t find it, otherwise she’ll drop it directly in front of the mower over and over, waiting on me to throw it. Duncan, of course, wants nothing to do with the mower, but he can’t stand to be inside without us, so he tries to find a resting spot that’s out of my way. Sometimes he succeeds, sometimes he has to move a few times. Last night was actually a good night to mow, though. It was fairly cool, and the dogs were feeling peppy. At one point, I stopped mowing (but left the mower running, so as not to distract Reyna), and watched them run around the yard and wrestle for about five minutes. They were having so much fun, rolling around in the damp grass cuttings. Some people don’t think animals can smile, but the expression on Duncan’s face was very clearly a huge grin of pure joy.

In other news, I decided to try a can of pennies as a correction tool to decrease the amount of Reyna’s boredom barking. It was actually moderately effective. She doesn’t seem to think it’s a punishment of any kind, but it does distract her enough that she stops the barking. We’ll see if that continues. Duncan seems to have decided it’s The Can From Hell, which is too bad, since he never actually does anything to warrant the correction. After using it only a few times, Duncan has started flinching and moving away from the can when Reyna barks. Yes, that's right. He has figured out why I’m shaking the can. I'm telling you, he's smarter than he lets on...

Happy Birthday, Duncan!

Saturday was Duncan's 3rd birthday. We celebrated by earning his first leg towards his HCT, and then he got to have KFC chicken and a biscuit with dinner. The cake had to wait til we were back in town today.

Herding Clips

This is the first leg of the HCT, run on Saturday.



And this is the second leg, run on Sunday. It almost looks like a different dog, he so much more energetic.

Herding Trial - Day Two

We got to the trial grounds about 10:45, and Duncan’s class was scheduled to run no earlier than noon. Duncan was definitely feeling peppier Sunday, and was more like his normal self in the ring. That almost backfired on us, though. If he’d been slower and less active, like Saturday, our second run probably would have gone more smoothly. Duncan qualified for his second leg of the HCT with absolutely no help from me. I was trying to follow the instructions our trainer had given me that morning, as she was handling another dog in a different class. The judge gave me conflicting instructions while we were in the ring, so I ended up completely confused about what I should have been doing. Claire had told me to block Duncan from coming around me, but the judge told me that by blocking him I was frustrating him, and he was taking that out on the sheep. I think the final assessment (agreed to by both Claire and the judge) was that Duncan should never ever be worked in such a small ring, as there just isn’t enough space for such a big dog to do his job. But we got through it, and that’s what matters the most.

Herding Trial – Day One

Today was the first day of the two day trial Duncan and I are attending. We got to the trial field shortly after 7:00, and he didn’t run until a little after 12:00. Having a dog in only one class definitely makes for a long day. Poor Duncan was miserably hot, even though I hosed him down with cold water a couple of times. He behaved beautifully, of course, sitting in the back of the truck or on the ground beside me.

When we went to start the Herding Certification Test, he seemed more clingy than usual, fussing a bit when Claire took him away from me to stretch out a bit. He did very little for Claire in the pen and kept coming back to the fence to look for me. The judge looked like he was getting ready to NQ Duncan, so I asked if he thought it would be a good idea for me to go in the pen and try to work him. So, I ended up working Duncan for the test while Claire took pictures (Mom took video footage, which will be posted late Monday).





The nice thing about this level is that the judge walks you through what he wants, and will actually go in the pen and assist. I definitely had him do that, as I hadn’t been planning to handle Duncan this time. Duncan settled down as soon as I walked into the pen. He did very well, although he wasn’t as quick or as interested in the sheep as he normally is. I’m sure he was just hot and stressed. Regardless of that, though, he qualified. With me handling him, earned his first leg towards his HCT title. Tomorrow, we’ll go the trial area later in the morning, so that he won’t be as hot and tired for the second leg of the test.



Duncan has been passed out cold since we got back to the hotel room, but he has defended us twice against the terror that is the housekeeping staff.

Good And Bad

A little over a year ago, I bought an orthopedic dog bed for Reyna. I wasn’t sure if she’d use it or eat it, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that she really likes sleeping on it. Duncan also really likes the bed, but of course they can’t both be on the bed at the same time. Over the past few months, I’ve noticed that Duncan has looked very depressed when he’s realized that Reyna was already using the bed when he decided he wanted to nap on it. At times, he would sneak onto the bed when she was distracted, just so he could beat her to it. Last week, I decided to order another orthopedic bed just for Duncan. It arrived Wednesday, and as soon as I put it on the floor, he hopped right on it. Thursday, I saw Reyna get on the new bed once, and Duncan got on the old bed once, but they pretty much kept to the new pattern (Reyna on the older burgundy, Duncan on the new blue).



Thursday was also Duncan’s trip to the vet. Turns out he has a viral infection (basically a cold) with conjunctivitis in his eyes and a secondary bacterial sinus infection. The vet said he prefers Duncan not run this weekend, but he also said that if Duncan was acting like he felt okay, then we could give it a try. He wrote us a “please excuse Duncan from PE today” note, just in case, so that I could get my trial money back. He gave me some antibiotics to help clear up the sinus infection, and the rest of it is just a time issue. Duncan also had a nasty spot under his chin, which I figure he acquired during playtime with Reyna. When the vet checked it, he realized that there was a fair amount of nasty gunk under the crusty fur, so we shaved the fur off to let the spot heal. Naturally, Duncan tried to scratch the skin off afterwards, so I used another t-shirt to keep it as protected as possible.


Today, the spot under the chin is looking better, and Duncan has stopped scratching it. He was an excellent traveler, and has been very playful all day. He’s acting like he feels much better, so we’re going to give the trial a whirl tomorrow. His run isn’t scheduled until afternoon, so that should give him time to perk up is he’s feeling a bit off in the morning.

Cross Your Paws

This is going to be a big weekend for Duncan – its his first sheep herding trial! On Friday, we’re driving to Berryville, VA. I’m hoping to get there early enough to see some of the ranch herding, as that’s what Duncan and I will be aspiring to. The regular trial events will be Saturday and Sunday. As this is our first trial, Duncan is registered for the Herding Certification Test (HCT) class. Our trainer will actually be handling him, as I don’t want to ruin his chances just because I don’t know what I’m doing. HCT is considered a pre-trial level, and its only qualify/non-qualify. There’s a Junior Herding Dog (JHD) class, which is also considered pre-trial, and I might do a day-of entry for that, if I can get approval from the trial host. Each HCT run will take at most 4 minutes, and the JHD class only allows 8 minutes. So we’re driving 11 hours round trip for 4 to 16 minutes of sheep time. Crazy, I know, but we have to start somewhere, and there aren’t more than a couple of trials a year in North Carolina. The big problem right now is that Duncan has developed a sinus problem, and if he’s visibly sick, they won’t let him run. Of course, even if it isn’t visible, if he isn’t feeling well, he probably won’t do his best (unless the sight of the sheep just completely overwhelms the cruddiness). We have a vet appointment for tomorrow afternoon. I’m not sure if I’d rather hear its just a cold or it’s a sinus infection. We can treat a sinus infection, but there’s a chance the antibiotics would make him queasy. Of all times for him to get sick…. Well, cross your paws or your fingers or your toes, or even your eyes, if that works for you, and hope for the best. I’ll be posting pics and videos of his runs this weekend.

Water Dog

We ended up at the pond all three days this past weekend. We did an hour on Friday, an hour and a half on Saturday, and just a bit over an hour on Sunday. I’d booked the pond for an hour and a half Sunday, but Reyna finally started showing signs of being tired, so we left early. Both dogs had a great time at the pond (except Duncan when he inadvertently went in the water). Reyna obviously enjoyed swimming after the various tennis balls and toys that were available, even though she almost never brought them back close enough for me to reuse. She even went off the diving dock (on purpose, unlike Duncan) once or twice. When she wasn’t swimming after a ball, she would just stand at the bank, chest deep in the water, and smile up at me. One thing I found very funny was that, even while swimming, Reyna would take the time to spin in circles. She never quite caught up to her tail, but she got pretty good at paddling around in little loops. Every now and then, she would get out and run around the grassy area with Duncan. The poor boy was pretty much on his own for entertainment, though, because Reyna definitely preferred staying in the water. I’m hoping we’ll be able to get to the pond at least once a week. It’s a 30 minute drive each way, though, so its not something we’ll be able to do every day.

Not A Happy Camper

I recently discovered that one of the dog training places we’ve used has a pond for rent at their location in Youngsville. Its only $5 for half an hour, so we rented the pond for an hour today and went to check it out. Reyna loved it, of course (she’ll get her own post about this). Duncan enjoyed it, too, but he’s still not into the whole swimming thing. He did get in up to his belly, and he seemed interested in the idea of swimming, but wasn't quite ready. I’ve ordered a life jacket for him, since its really hard to find an extra large in the stores. Hopefully, that’ll help boost his confidence just like it did Reyna’s.

Duncan did unintentionally swim twice this morning. The first time he fell in because he leaned too far over the side of the diving dock. The second time, he got right up to the edge of the dock while watching Reyna, and I pushed...er, encouraged him into the water. He didn’t seem pleased either time. And I noticed he didn’t go to the end of the dock again if I was too close...

Snakes And Snails And Puppy Dog Tails

Yeah, yeah, I know its "snips" not "snakes", but I don’t know what a snip is, and I did have a snake in my yard while the puppies were visiting. Duncan found the black snake one evening, and it hid under my gas tank as I was trying to hook it with a rake to get it out of the yard. I almost had him a couple of times, but that sucker was fast. My neighbor came over to help, but he turned out to be totally useless. After all, its hard to hook a snake when you have the rake hitting the ground a good 4 feet away from it. The snake ended up going into my neighbor’s yard, so maybe that’ll teach him to suck it up and get a bit closer next time.

Now, on to the puppies….

We babysat Lucky and Hart for 10 days. They’re foster puppies, and their foster parents were going out of town, and they needed a place to stay. The day before they came to our house, the puppies turned 8 weeks old. Their mom is a shepherd mix, and I’d guess these two have a fair bit of boxer and lab in them. I don’t see any shepherd in them, but a couple of their littermates look very shepherdy. The amount of cuteness in these two puppies was absolutely ridiculous. Not that I had any interest at all in adopting either of them. It’s been so long since I’ve had a puppy in the house (Duncan was such an easy puppy, he doesn’t count), I’d forgotten how exhausting it can be. And, of course, Reyna, Duncan and I all had to learn to watch where we were walking. These two girls were so little, and very quick to get underfoot. The first day, Duncan stepped on one and Reyna actually sat on one. None of us knew what had happened until Reyna stood up and we realized where the whimpering was coming from.



Lucky and Hart really loved their Uncle Duncan, and he was remarkably good with them. He tolerated quite a lot, but it was easy to see he was reaching his limit by the time the 10 days were up. His biggest problem was that they would pester him when he was laying on the couch. They also climbed on him, jumped on him, tried to chew on his face, followed him around the yard, and always wanted to sleep next to him.

What you can't tell from this photo is that Duncan is growling constantly while the puppy is jumping up, trying to get on the couch.






Reyna did pretty well with them, too. Granted, she mostly tried to ignore them, but she did tolerate some pestering. She made it very clear early on that she had 4 basic rules:
1 - Don’t put your head in her bowl of kibble while she’s eating.
2 - Don’t put your head in her bowl of water while she’s drinking.
3 - Don’t try to take her ball when she’s playing with it or when Mom is getting ready to throw it.
4 - Don’t try to get in her pool when she’s laying in it.
Other than those 4 things, Reyna was generally agreeable. But she was definitely ready for them to go home at the end of their visit.



And in true puppy fashion, absolutely nothing was safe...

Better Late Than Never

I’m finally catching up on a few posts I let slip to the end of my things-to-do list. A few weeks ago, Reyna developed a hot spot between her shoulder blades. This was the first time she’s ever had one in a location she couldn’t reach with her mouth. Unfortunately, she could reach it with her foot. I noticed it on a Sunday afternoon, and Tuesday morning we went to the vet because it was starting to look infected. The vet shaved around the spot, which made it look a bit better, and gave me antibiotics and a spray to help clear it up. The antibiotics made Reyna sick, of course, so she only got about three days of them, but that seemed to be sufficient. That Tuesday morning, though, she was very itchy, and she scratched the spot up pretty badly right after I cleaned it up and left the room. I bandaged it, but its in an awkward spot, so I also put an old t-shirt on her to help protect the area. When I got home, the bandage was gone but she was still wearing the shirt, so I called it a success. After about two weeks, I picked all the scabs of the spot, and its looked fine ever since. She’s working another area on her side right now, because we can’t go too long without having something wrong, can we?

Here's the area all nice and clean.

She wasn't thrilled about the t-shirt, but she really didn't fuss like I thought she would.

And That’s How John McCain Lost My Vote

I enjoy traveling for work, but sometimes the actual travel portion of the trip can be a real pain in the rear. I went to Canada last week, and the flights in both directions made me so grateful to be home. For the first leg of the way out, I was seated between a large man who kept trying to read my book and a woman with a screaming infant. And when the infant wasn’t screaming, her two toddler brothers across the aisle were. As we were landing, one boy kept yelling “There’s an airplane!” every time he saw one. Which happened a lot, since we were AT AN AIRPORT. I really wanted to grab the dad and tell him to shut the kid up. But I didn’t.

On the way back, all the drama happened in Minneapolis during the layover. First, the plane was about 20 minutes late. No biggie. When the plane landed, we were told they’d get everyone off, clean the plane, and get us loaded; it would be about 15 minutes. Nearly 15 minutes later, we were told they’d decided to change a couple of tires first, and that we’d be boarding in about 15 minutes. Then there was a mechanical problem; it’d be about 15 minutes. Then they found the problem – a switch in the cockpit that starts the engines – and they were working on it; we’d board in about 15 minutes. And then we did board. And the pilot came over the intercom and said they couldn’t fix the switch, they had to replace it; it’d be about 15 minutes. Then we were told that the route the maintenance guys would normally take around the airport to get from the supply building back to us had been blocked by a VIP taking off – he couldn’t tell us who, but he could say it was a presidential candidate – so it would be another 15 minutes. They finally got the part to the plane and managed to replace it. Then the pilot announced that they were calling around the airport because the ground crew had disappeared and we needed someone to move the jet bridge and back us away from the gate; it’d be about 15 minutes. We finally took off a bit more than 2 hours late. Thankfully, the grinding noise coming from the engine on my side of the plane stopped when we hit cruising altitude...

I Love My Pet Sitter

After a frustrating search last summer for pet sitters, I’d given up and was boarding the dogs when I had to travel. One of my friends referred me to a new person a few weeks ago, so I gave her a call. It turns out she’s perfect for us. She only works part time at a “real” job, so she can spend extra time with the dogs if they need it. She’s also willing to spend the night at my house, which was a large part of what I needed in a pet sitter. She doesn’t have a problem with short notice, which is good. She charges less than the PetsHotel, and she doesn’t charge extra to refill the cats’ water bowl. And the absolute best part is that both dogs really like her. On her first visit to the house, Duncan ended up curled up against her on the chair. And surprise of all surprises, Mikey actually came out on her first visit and let her pet him. On her most recent visit (just to remind the dogs who she is before I went out of town), Reyna was very excited to see her. I spoke to her last night (did I mention I’m in Canada this week), and she said the dogs were doing fine. They met her at the door and let her in with no problems. She said they were acting a bit mopey, which is pretty normal for my first evening gone. Especially since Reyna always tries to guilt me when she sees the suitcase. I’m so glad I have a new, reliable pet sitter. That’s really a huge load off my mind.

It’s a Miracle!

After last summer’s multiple miserable attempts to fix the air conditioning in my truck, I’d been thinking about taking the truck to a different mechanic. What held me back was the cost. But when we hit 100 degrees earlier this month, I knew I couldn’t wait. I took the truck to a shop that specializes in air conditioning, and they said they could fix it. For a small fortune, of course. After so many “we fixed it, oops, no we didn’t” from last summer, I have to admit, I didn’t fully trust this quick “we’ve fixed the problem on the first try, guaranteed.” But you know what? They were right. The A/C works great. It comes on, it cools the truck, it stays on, and doesn’t change temperature randomly. I love it. I miss my small fortune, but it was worth it.

Delicate, Yet Tough

This Saturday the Raleigh PD K9 unit had a fundraiser at the PetSmart near me. One of my friends suggested that it would be cute to take the puppies to the event and have their pictures taken with a K9 officer and his dog, and then the pictures would be given to their adoptive parents. The rescue folks thought that was just a great idea, so I took them. Lucky took a great photo, looking right at the camera, but Hart couldn’t decide if she wanted to look at the dog or off to the other side.

Normally at events like this you get a Polaroid picture, but these guys did much better. One of the officers brought his digital camera, laptop, and photo printer with him. He would take the pictures, edit them on his laptop, and print out a 5x7 while you waited. It was great. When I mentioned that I’d expected a Polaroid, he said that’s what the original plan had been, but he’d vetoed it. He said he hated getting those cheap pictures, especially when technology was such that high quality pictures could be printed on site. What could I say – he was totally right.

Because I thought it was a cute idea, too, I took Duncan with me so he could have his picture taken. I didn’t bother taking Reyna for a couple of reasons, one being that its too hard to carry two puppies and handle two dogs, and the second being that Reyna’s patience would have disappeared about three minutes after we got there. She doesn’t handle intense heat and boredom very well. Not that I can blame her for that...

When we got there, Duncan seemed to be doing fine. After we'd been standing in line for the pictures for a whole three seconds, though, Duncan started kicking his back feet out. I realized the pavement was probably too hot for him and moved him to the grass. After the pictures, he literally ran over to where a tent had been set up to keep the volunteers in the shade. He was very popular while we were waiting – and I was doing my best to pimp out the puppies – and made lots of new friends. I also had a ridiculous number of people comment on how big he is. Of course, compared to the police dogs that were there (mostly GSDs, one Belgian malinois), he was huge. After getting our pictures, he high-stepped his way at a very fast clip back to the truck. It took me a second to get the door open, considering that I was juggling a puppy, his leash, and the keys. As soon as the door was open, he tried to jump in. Unfortunately, we’d both forgotten that I’d moved the puppies’ crate to the middle of the truck right near the door, and he didn’t have the space he needed. The poor guy was stuck, half in and half out of the truck. Based on the yelping, I think that’s when a rather tender part of his anatomy hit the rear bumper, which was extremely hot. So I tossed the puppy I was holding into the back of the truck, got my arms under Duncan’s rear end and hoisted him into the truck. Poor guy, he went straight to the front seat and watched me load the puppies, dancing a bit in the seat, trying to get comfortable. What was interesting to me was that, while it was definitely hot outside, none of the other dogs were showing signs of being uncomfortable while walking in the parking lot. I checked him when we got home, and all parts were fine. Nothing burned or blistered. In his picture, he looks like he really could be a police dog. But not on hot days, since his tootsies are apparently too tender to handle the heat.

Of Course You Know, This Means War!

That’s it, they’re toast. Those stinking moles have now killed two of my rose bushes by eating the roots completely off. Clearly, Duncan is falling down on the job. We had a discussion about it Tuesday, and he swears he’ll do better. Unfortunately, the moles probably know his nap schedule (which is most of the day – and night). As back-up for Duncan and his mad mole-killing skillz, I went out today and bought a large container of mole repellant. I plan on dumping quite a lot of it in the area they’ve been tunneling, particularly around my roses. I initially wanted something that would kill the little buggers, but I decided that wasn’t worth the risk to the dogs, so I’ll settle for running them far, far away. You know, I didn’t really mind them that much when they were just eating the grass. It was a bit difficult to mow the grass where they’d been tunneling, but that didn’t bother me. Eating my rose bushes, though...that’s just taking things too far.

In other news...

Reyna’s latest allergic reaction (a spot of nastiness near her right shoulder blade) is finally healing up. The antibiotics the vet gave her made her sick and she quit eating last Friday, so I took her off the meds. By Sunday evening, she was feeling better and eating again. Her appetite seems to be back to normal now.

I spent last Saturday at a friend’s house, working on Reyna’s scrapbook. I got 30 pages done and filled her first book (they hold 40 sheets; 1 sheet = 2 pages). That sounds pretty impressive, until you realize her first book covers May 2004 through August 2005. And there’s still lots of pictures left to get caught up to 2008. But we shall persevere. Mary and I are planning to meet once a month, alternating houses, to work on our scrapbooks. If we can stick to that, I might actually get caught up in a year or so. Maybe.

The next 10 days should be highly entertaining (and exhausting). I’m babysitting two 8-week-old puppies for a foster group. One foster mom is going on vacation, and you can’t board puppies under 16 weeks. I’m picking up both Hart and Lucky after work. Hart’s foster mom was actually fostering her and her sister, up until last week, but she decided that two puppies were just too much. So Lucky ended up in a new foster home, but it turns out that the older dogs there really hate the puppy and are acting out. Since I’d already agreed to babysit both (before Lucky was moved), I agreed to keep Lucky for the next week while they find her a new foster home. I talked to the coordinator last night, and she said she has two possible homes lined up, but neither can take Lucky until early June. I know it’ll be crazy at the house, but its only for a limited time.

Do you know how hard it is to find treats that A) Reyna likes and B) she isn’t allergic to? Its not impossible, but it ain’t easy. And its generally not cheap, either. I found one about a year ago – salmon and sweet potato – that she absolutely loves. And Duncan loves it, too, but then again, I’m not sure I’ve ever found anything that Duncan doesn’t like... The really crappy part is that I found out today that they’re discontinuing the treat. That entire line of treats, actually (salmon, duck, tuna, and chicken, all with sweet potato). This sucks. This was the last reasonably priced option. Now if I want treats that Reyna can eat, I have to go to specialty stores. Or I have to find a butcher and cook my own. Good thing I got that little chest freezer last month, huh? By the way, Krysti, if you read this, please tell Dad I’d *really* appreciate some venison when the season rolls around. Or even before...

Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here

Yesterday, I discovered the answer to that age-old question: What’s destroying my yard – moles or voles? Turns out, its moles. And how did I determine this, you ask? Its all thanks to Duncan and his mole-killing abilities. Yep, that’s right. He killed a mole.

As I was making my usual morning rounds of the yard, I saw something odd in one of the dirt piles formerly known as mole/vole tunnels. I’ve been encouraging Duncan to dig up the tunnels, and he’s taken on that task with a vengeance. He’s very smart about it, though – he doesn’t dig old tunnels, only the new ones with a fresh odor. And he hasn’t decided that my approval of this digging means he can dig randomly in the yard; he’s very particular about where he digs. So, I spotted this gray lump in one of the new dig sites, and after I realized it wasn’t a piece of mulch or bark, I got my poop shovel and scooped it up. It was definitely a mole, about 6 inches long. There were no visible wounds, so Duncan didn’t bite it. My guess is that he was digging at the tunnel and either accidentally crushed/smothered it, or he managed to get it to the surface and as it tried to scurry away he stepped on it or pawed it, breaking its spine. Either way, it was very dead. I called him over and showed it to him, and told my killer beast what an excellent dog he was. He gave me an “aw, shucks” look, and then started sniffing at the tunnels again. Reyna came over to check out the commotion, but since no one was throwing her ball, she wasn’t very interested. For a brief moment, I contemplated staking the carcass on the outside of the fence as a warning, but I figured that wouldn’t work, since the moles aren’t likely to come above ground to see it. So, I tossed it over the fence into the woods. With any luck, Duncan will kill more of them, or someone in Moletown will realize that Bubba Mole went missing in our yard, and word will spread to all the other moles that its not safe in there and that they should just move on. Like back to my neighbor’s yard. He’s apparently had them in his yard for five years, and he doesn’t seem to care.

Good dog, Duncan.

Thank You

I’d like to offer a public (or as public as this blog is, anyway) “thank you” to coworker John. He came over on the 26th and spent several hours installing a ceiling fan in my kitchen, which included building a brace, balancing on a very tall ladder while Reyna bumped it trying to get her dinner, rewiring a switch to make my life a bit simpler, and missing dinner with his wife. I seriously love my kitchen fan. I don’t think I’ve turned it off twice since it was installed, and it circulates so much air, its ridiculous. Thank you, John.

Now, about that attic fan...

Its Always Something

Reyna had her annual check-up on Saturday. Everything was going well – the tech read her chart and realized the vet has to draw her blood, so they didn’t have to muzzle her, and the vet remembered to not shine the ear/eye light on the floor for Reyna to see and go nuts over – until the vet started checking her legs. Now, everyone knows she has trouble with her hips, but she hasn’t shown any indication of other problems. Not that that really means anything…after all, this is the girl who almost chopped off her tail and never made a sound. When the vet manipulated Reyna’s right shoulder, though, she indicated that she did not find that pleasant. She found it so unpleasant, in fact, that she nipped him. A bit more than her standard warning nip, but significantly less than a bite. Certainly enough to make him stop messing with her shoulder. So, he checked her hips (we got the response we expected), and he checked her left elbow and shoulder. Nothing. No response at all, other than leaning in for a bit more scratching. So the vet went back to her right leg. No response when he messed with her elbow, but she went nuts when he tried moving her shoulder. Based on what he could feel, the vet thinks Reyna’s developed osteoarthritis in that shoulder. He said its fairly common for dogs with bad hips to get that, as they tend to put more weight on the front legs. But, he also said that, while watching her move around, he didn’t see any indication that she was bearing more weight on the front than she should. He’s confident that its not anything like cancer, so we decided to not bother with x-rays, and just keep treating her the same as we do now. I have pain pills for her hips, so if she does limp on the front, I’ll just give her some meds. The vet said that, as long as she doesn’t exhibit significant clinical symptoms (regular limping, or the leg collapsing under her), there’s really not much else to do.