I just had to use tweezers to pull an Ella hair out of my heel!! It had worked its way nearly a cm into my skin
Coco's been for his booster vaccs and annual health check this morning. The vet asked me if people in the street offered advice on him being "too skinny"? I replied no - I'm thinking "WTF??" Then she said "He's perfect". She said she has people come in saying that they've been told their dog is thin because you can see their ribs "you're supposed to!!" she said. She wasn't interested in his actual weight, just his physique. Sadly, she said that obesity is the biggest problem she sees in dogs. We got ticked off for not doing teeth-cleaning. I have started now.
I can recommend the Logic gel. It's far, far better than the old paste I used to use, and really breaks down any existing deposits and staining.
When I went to the agility competition the other day, there were several Spanish Water Dogs, as you'd expect. They all had the maddest hair cuts! SWDs can get long dreadlocks, but these were close-cropped, except for a long mane. I so wish I had taken photos. They looked like this one, but far longer mane and closer crop.
Rory s weirdo stalkers back. His bitch is in season and he saw me coming with Rory and Moo and instead of just walking the way he was going he made a dash across the road towards us. i told him to stop there and keep away. He gave me some BS about how can I tell if her season has ended. she was screaming at Rory he looked very pleased to see her. What do you think mate? He then said to us one day Rory, one day I once again told him not a chance ever. The guys a total idiot I was telling the spaniel woman about it she was laughing but thought he is a tool too.Rory had a nice walk with her spaniels instead.They are lovely and much more suitable girls
I have been thinking how much I wish Honey could keep a journal. I would love to see her daily entries--"WTH, man?! A few days ago they're telling me to quit barking; today she's feeding me treats for it!" (when I was teaching her "speak" and "quiet" )
Always know when I have one of Lii!y's embedding itself. It's a very particular uncomfortable sensation.
Just marveling at how quick dogs are to learn. I started to teach Coco "no mugging" for a treat in my closed hand yesterday, just for something to distract him in the vet's waiting room. I had hands covered in cheesy dog slobber by the time we went in. I had to take him to training last night - OH was working - so in the down times we did some "no mugging" - he was brilliant at it!
I've been thinking about this too. I taught Honey to "speak" Sunday and once she had that down, we practiced "quiet." Her barking has decreased tremendously overall, but now if one of us is near the cabinet where her treats are, she immediately goes through her repertoire--she sits, does a "down," speaks, gets quiet, and you can just see her working out what to do next to make the treats appear.
I know there have been a lot of 'so proud of my...' threads recently, but thought I'd add one to the mix. I took Monty into Nuneaton today, it's market day and pretty bustling, lots of people. I did quite a bit of this with him as a puppy, (lots of sitting outside Asda waiting for his adoring fans) but I do it far less often now, as it's quite difficult to actually buy anything with a dog in tow. But he was fab. A 9/10 even. The main thing was, virtually no pulling. I had him on a harness with both the front and back points attached to his lead, but I didn't really use the front bit much at all, a lot of the time he trotted nicely beside me and I had loads of slack lead in my hands. Loads of sniffing, but virtually no marking which was great, and only minimal snaffling off the floor. No jumping up, only a minor skit to the side when someone scraped a metal chair next to him - and a slight jump outside the greengrocers when he took a dislike to a pile of fruit He got stroked, petted, (often without warning) by at least 10 different people, and showed no reaction at all to bikes, pushchairs, noisy children running or big lorries as we crossed from the car park. His only bad habit is if we pass someone and their hand is swinging close to his nose, he will give them a nose touch. And when I stopped for a cup of tea , I feel like I'm bribing him to settle rather rewarding being still and quiet. One little lunge at a daschund but my fault for not seeing him first. Oh, and a nostalgic trip to Pets at Home for old times sake. More treats! But anyway, a good day for us, feeling he's become a very calm and chilled out dog. Not bomb proof but getting there.
OH and I are feeling depressed today, because last night Quinn was bullied at the dog park and pinned down by two growling dogs. We rarely go to dog parks, as Quinn is obviously not comfortable a lot of the time, and were just walking through to get to the off leash trails. I have been doing some reading, and Quinn has all the signs of being a submissive dog, targeted for bullying (is always been chased/rarely chases, mounted repeatedly, tucks tail, hides/avoids other dogs) . Recently, she has even less confidence and hides under benches or people's legs to get away. We don't know what to do, other than what I have been doing which is watch closely, leave an area immediately when a dog starts to pick on her, stay away from dog parks, and play dates with well socialized dogs 1:1. She is such a nice tempered, friendly girl!
Oh Quinn, I'm feeling sad for her. I don't think dog parks are a good environment really. Too many dogs, not nder ant real control. We have one here, but I've never been.
36 hours and counting without a walk and I think me and Xena are going batty. There's a massive storm - horizontal rain/howling wind, and Xena's just refusing to leave the house. I don't particularly want to go out, but I was fully prepared to do a couple of short neighbourhood walks. Nope. This morning I got her through the back gate and then she immediately dragged me back to the shelter of the front porch, and tonight she wouldn't even leave the back door. She went out for a toilet dash at 7am and midday, but hasn't been since. Usually the wind/rain combo doesn't last longer than 12 hours, but the weather has other plans. The met office is telling me that it "feels like 2 degrees" outside *cries* NZ houses were not built for cold weather.
@SwampDonkey so glad to hear about the results of the trial! Yay for you and for the trial! And f**k cancer. @JenBainbridge oh poor wee Stanley, that must have been hard to hear when you're overseas. He's had overnights with his carer before, hasn't he? I wonder why this time was different? @QuinnM15 Quinn sounds a lot like Xena, except she adores other dogs. She gets very little off-leash time around other dogs but other dogs are just desperate to mount her, it drives me batty and she hates it (I don't tolerate it). I wish she'd tell off those dogs, but she doesn't, and it breaks my heart for her. There's a big Bernese Mountain Dog at obedience who constantly tries to mount her if he's close to her, even though they're all on-lead. I figure she must just have a scent about her. Is this just because she's young? Will dogs still be trying to mount her when she's old?
