Dog Say the Darnedest Things

Lady cat-watching

NOTE: Lady, our sixth and longest in-residence foster, left Texas en route to New York yesterday. She challenged us, brought us to question our methods and in so doing worked her way deeper into our hearts than any other foster to date. She is greatly missed.

Ever wonder what your fosters say about you behind your back? Oh trust me, they do talk amongst themselves when we aren't around.

Lady, our most recent foster, was in her final stage of crate training. For those few readers unfamiliar with the sport, Crate Training is convincing your dog partner that being caged is a good thing! Some dogs, like Lady, take more convincing than others.

We were leaving Lady caged for longer periods of time and at different times during daylight hours. To be fair, we confine Beano to his crate as well, sort of a remedial refresher course for him, too.

Lady being a “talker” ~ she has a wide range of vocalizations which she’s not shy about using. we know she and Beano must be swapping tales of woe betwixt their respective cells….

Lady: WELLOFALLTHENERVE!! CANYOUBELIEVETHEYJUSTWALKEDOUT!!

Beano: Put a sock in it, sister, no one’s around to hear your “Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me” routine.

Lady: HOW Could THEY??

Beano: Easy, kid, they don’t LIKE you that much.

Lady: Oh, Really!

Beano: Trust me, they’re counting the days until YOU, dear sister, are out of here!

Lady: Aw, come on. You’re just trying to frighten me because YOU’RE Jealous!

Beano: Fine. [BIG YAWNING SOUND] Don’t listen to me. No hair off my tail, honey.

Let’s see….Opal, as I recall, was the first. I kinda liked her a little bit. How long did she stay? Two weeks?  

YOU're still here?

Lady: What are you going on about???

Beano: Oh, nothing. I was just thinking back to the beginning of this Open-Your-Home-To-All-Comers catcrap “they” call FOSTERING.

Beano:  You know they're never coming back, don't you?

Lady:  WHAT? You're kidding, right?

Beano:  Oh, heck no! They do this to me ALL the time!

Lady:  What are we going to do? I have no food ... no toys! Arrrrgggh!

Beano:  Oh? No toys or food? My, oh my. They left plenty for me.  I even have your squirrel!

Lady:  I'm NEVER speaking to them again! NEVER. EVER. AGAIN!

Beano: Geez, I've never known them to let one of us STARVE to death…

Lady: What do you mean, starve!!

Beano: Leaving you locked up with no food and all. Dog, they must really be down on you!

Lady: They saved me from starving once! They will save me again!!

Beano: [SOUND OF CRUNCHING] Didn’t leave you so much as a pig stick, huh. Guess they’re having a tough time finding some place to dump you.

Lady: That’s it! I’m NOT listening to YOU anymore!! OHMYDOGWHEREARETHEY!!!

[SOUND OF KEYS AND DOOR OPENING]

Lady:  YOU'RE HOME YOU'RE HOME YOU'RE HOME!! LET ME OUT, LET ME OUT, LET ME OUT!! Oh, I love you so much! I knew you'd be back!

Beano: YOU'RE HOME YOU'RE HOME YOU'RE HOME!! LET ME OUT, LET ME OUT, LET ME OUT!! Oh, I love you so much! I knew you'd be back!

Lady & Beano February 18, 2014

The Lady & The Scamp

With some five days remaining until Lady, our big red foster, boards an eastbound transport to New York, our resident bad boy Beano is finding out that girls don't carry cooties!

"Take a picture; it'll last longer!!"

And Lady, for her part, has learned a thing or two since landing in our laps with five puppies a month ago. Mainly, I think, she has learned that...

YES! There IS life after childbirth!!

Cats are NOWHERE near as much fun as they look like they SHOULD be! Once you get to know them, in fact, they're down right boring.

ALERT when they wave a pig stick under your nose and start cooing that ridiculous language of theirs: YOU ARE BOUND FOR THE BOX!!

Annie:  Kidding aside, Lady has become such a big part of our lives. She had such a rocky beginning with us - emaciated and still dealing with her five puppies - she has grown into such a wonderful addition. 

She is so intelligent and lively. When she wants attention she will sit beside you and slowly start her high pitched yip. If you continue to ignore her, the yips become longer, like a song, and the nudging begins.

Nap buddy

Although she is crated at night, she loves to snuggle ... and let me tell you, it's like cuddling with a pony! She likes lap sitting, or resting her head on some part of you and there is no getting up to move without effort, unless she decides she wants to shift position too!

I don't want to think about her leaving. It brings such a lump. I will worry about her from the moment she steps onto that transport until we hear she has found her forever home with some lucky New York family. I want the best for Lady, because she SO deserves it!

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CREDITS:

Still Photographer ~ Annie Miller

                         follow Annie Miller on FACEBOOK

Proofreader        ~ AnniePie Miller

Co-Writer          ~ Ann E. Miller

Co-Writer          ~ J.W. Miller

Videographer       ~ JimTXMiller

Off-Camera

  Commentator      ~ Allen Dean Porter

Kennel Cough & Crate Issues

Charlie feeling off his feed with kennel cough

Dry hacking and runny nose

Seems the latest bout of winter weather this past week is taking its toll on dogs as well as we two-leggeds. Charlie started hacking with what we suspected to be kennel cough.

Kennel cough actually is tracheobronchitis and also known as Bordetella. The infection is highly contagious and commonly flairs up in dog kennels, shelters, animal control centers and other areas where numbers of dogs share close quarters.

Antibiotics typically are called for as treatment, and Dr. Brookings, our shelter vet, was quick to prescribe a round for Charlie. This should have Charlie in the pink for his health certification check-up next week and a green light for his travels to New York.

Crate avoidance behavior

I'm not budging, and you can't make me.

Somewhat more serious, in terms of making the Dog Runner transport next week, is Charlie's adamant stubbornness against taking to his crate.

Crate training is a top priority for our New York bound hounds as they will be living in crates for five days on the road. The dedicated dog wranglers may handle dozens of dogs each trip, and a traveler who doesn't do well with crates typically is dropped from the program.

That first night here Charlie fell for the old treat-lure trick to get him in his crate. He tolerated the box for about an hour before cutting loose with persistent, loud beagle baying!

Perhaps we gave in too easily, but the neighbors are jealous of their sleep. Anyway, we let Charlie out that night, and he proved to be a perfect bed mate, soundly sleeping through the night without any tossing and turning.

Clearly, this dog had a home where he was loved before falling on hard times and ending up on the streets.

Night Two: The tempting treat was offered, but Charlie was having none of it. Not only did he ignore the canine candy, he even snapped at me when I tried physically moving him from the bed.

Night Three: Canine Candy was replaced with a tempting morsel of Thanksgiving ham. Having had what may well have been his first taste of ham only a couple of hours earlier, Charlie was definitely interested. I held it just beyond his reach at the edge of our bed. Charlie snatched it quick as a frog nailing a dragonfly!

So we are reaching out to our fellow fosters and other dog friends who follow this blog. What tricks have you found effective in successfully dealing with crate avoidance issues? We would be grateful for any suggestions you care to share in the comments space below or on our Facebook page. 

The Fix Is In

Day 3

First thing this morning Opal was checked into the P.E.T.S. clinic to be spayed. No pictures for today's update. Some things just don't need to be seen on Facebook.

How is it that a dog who was a total stranger a mere 40-odd hours earlier can be physically and emotionally missed mere moments after she's gone? Damn dog.

She came through the procedure with the proverbial flying colors. Folks at the clinic couldn't brag on her enough, although I suspect they heap praise on every patient. But in Opal's case, all the good things they had to say about her were absolutely true!

This evening she is up but minimally active. As I write she is curled on the bed beside Annie. Some pain and discomfort registers in her eyes, and she certainly isn't bounding nor galumphing anywhere. She has taken fresh water, asked to be let out to pee but turned up her nose at food.

Oh, yeah! Opal apparently came to us house trained! Thank you, Lord! Two days and two nights without letting loose in the house, and this evening she walked to the backdoor, asking to be let out. She took care of business, checked the perimeter, whoofed at a dog barking up the alley, sniffed a couple of pee mails from Beano, then asked me to escort her back to the cozy warmth of our shared den and Annie's bed.

And there's the crate thing....

Annie picked me up from the dealership this afternoon, and we set off in search of something called a KONG , a rubber chew toy that can be filled with treats. Jan Herzog, our friend from the shelter and Opal's true rescuer--suggested a KONG as a tool for crate training. Jan said KONGs are the toy of choice among dogs on long, crate-confined road trips. Like from Texas to New York.

Our local Petco offered more options than you can shake a toy chihuahua at. Plus, they had TOTALLY rearranged their store since last I had called! Half an hour and some 25 bucks later, I was out the door with a KONG Classic, Large, and a box of KONG STUFF'N.

Some nice voice from the clinic called around 2:30. Opal was ready to be picked up anytime before 5. She was subdued, not her "bubbly" self, but if she was pissed at us for what she had gone through, she hid it well. Frankly, I think she was groggy from the drugs and too uncomfortable to be angry.

Back at home, Annie was on the desktop. Opal slowly made her way to the desk and curled up at Annie's feet. She did not want to drink. She did not want to eat. She did not want to squabble with Beano over Beano's smelly old cow. Yes, she seemed glad to be returned to what (we hope) is beginning to feel a little bit like a home, but she clearly did NOT want to be bothered!

Which was cool with all concerned. Oh, Beano made a few overtures toward her, but reluctantly backed off, whining softly, when Opal refused to be enticed. We all left her to her recovering, each doing his or her own thing, including Beano.

Opal takes to Beano's crate

After an hour or so, Opal got up and silently slipped into Beano's crate all on her own. Discovered, she gazed out, somewhat forlorn-looking, as if to ask, "Is it okay?"

We let her stay, thrilled that she had CHOSEN to excuse herself on her own. We would have been more thrilled, perhaps, had she chosen her own crate. We are quite aware of the potential problems that can arise if Beano feels like his space is being invaded by this come-lately hound, even as we are careful to give him the attention and acceptance he has come to expect in his forever home.

Then, after napping out in Beano's digs for some 20 minutes, Opal again got up on her own and walked directly to her borrowed crate in her borrowed bedroom!

All things considered, Opal's very bad, no good day turned out not so completely horrid after all.

It's like sleeping with a deer!!

Day Two, morning of...

4 am: Beano starts his let-me-out-please whine.... Wait 15 to see if he means it... He does.

I get up on the third whine, open his crate and redirect him from our warm bed to the cold back door. Waiting in the still-dark utility room for Beano to do his thing, it occurs to me that I can't recall how Beano learned to accept his crate. I have no recollection of the process. It's like the memory card for that process has been removed from cerebral storage. The thought is mildly worrisome for about a minute and a half.

Meanwhile, Opal passed the first night in a strange room and a borrowed crate without a whimper. The girl is no whiner. I know I should let her out for a break, too, but it's two hours before alarm time. I know I can get Beano back in his bed. I have no assurance with Opal.

Seems to me that our species, we so-called wise men, think of ourselves more highly than we ought. We are human! Self-aware! Tool Maker! Builder of Empires!! THINKERS!!! In the eyes and minds of dogs, however, we are just another dog!

What is man without the beasts?

If all the beasts were gone,

men would die from a great loneliness of spirit.

For whatever happens to the beasts,

soon happens to man.

All things are connected.

~ Chief Seattle

Later.... 5:15 or so. I'm in the kitchen, fixing up breakfasts all around, and I hear the sound of a small moose galumphing across the floor and bounding to the bed.

OH MY GOD, IT'S LIKE SLEEPING WITH A DEER!!! Annie shouts, laughing.

So much for not jumping on the bed....