Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday, the post where I highlight reader’s comments, answer questions and generally just wrap up my week.

First, I’d like to wish a very Happy Birthday to my sister Sheena, make it a good one girl!

You Make Me Smile – February 7, 2016

Emma said, “Maybe it works like it does at our house. The doorbell is my thing. I am the official ringer of the bell. Bailie knows how but very rarely rings it. It is like elevator buttons and mini humans, only one should be pushing or ringing.”

You may be on to something there Emma. Maybe they’ve worked it out like you and Bailie have. 🙂

Jan K said, “Oh yes, this reminds me of the girls. They don’t want to learn any tricks, but when Luke does one they come running to see if they can get a treat too (probably because I’ll give them one). We call Cricket Luke’s agent or manager…LOL.”

I like that, Luke has an agent. 🙂 Yes, I give Sampson a treat too, whether he goes to the door or not. LOL

Misty Shores Chesapeakes said, “I’d say that’s pretty typical male…let the female do all the work and sit back and reap the benefits. lol”

Right? Do you think it’s instinctual?

Blueberry’s Human asked, “Would you rather they BOTH ring the bell over and over again until you open the door?”

UM NO. Actually Delilah will ring it again on occasion. Which reminds me, I have the funniest video of her ringing that bell. I have to work on getting that one up. 🙂

Loose Leash Walking

Lauren Miller said, “Oh leash walking, the bane of my existence… Sometimes when they are really distracted I will just stand there and wait for them to give me some sort of attention.”

I’ve done this and she is as stubborn as a mule, you could literally stand there for five minutes. Shit, the other day I stood in the street facing one way, my arm stretched out with her at the end of it facing the other way. I wonder what the car that drove by thought? LOL

Taryn said, “Most of the time my dogs walk sooooo slooowwwwlllyyyyy that I wish they would pull me. Mine are sniffers and unless they see the source of that smell dart out in front of them, they stand in one place taking it all in.”

Oh yeah, sometimes Sampson stands at the bottom of the driveway sniffing for what seems like forever.  He’s the one that stands and sniffs, Delilah is the one who puts her nose down and ferrets it out.

Emma said, “Bailie is our current puller, but she is getting better. Mom hates the turn around method, but it is effective, so she does use it sometimes even though it drives her crazy going nowhere! ”

It does work with her for a little bit, and most of the time on the road she’s great, it’s when we are in the woods that she really gets excited though. I imagine it’s all those exciting smells.

Julie said, “Cocoa is really good when we are running but when we are walking she is harder to control. ”

Surprisingly Delilah does pretty good running too, she doesn’t usually get going too fast, but I’m not a very fast runner and I can’t do it for long. I considered getting a bike, but then I pictured my busted face and changed my mind. 😉

Blueberry’s Human said, “First of all, I use a hands free leash system (it’s just a carabiner attached to my jeans belt loop). ”

Are you brave or crazy? 😉 Siriusly, you MAY have convinced me to try this. I say MAY.

Misty Shores Chesapeakes asked, “When you turn around do you turn into her?”

No because she’s usually ahead of me and when I move forward, she does too.

DZ Dogs said, “Bring treats, and work on “look at me” while you walk.”

I do have treats and I use “look” when there is something distracting, but she’s a maniac with the treats and if I pull one out, she will stop or keep trying to walk in front of me. 🙁

Jan K said, “Sheba used to be my worst puller. But since I started bringing treats with me and training her to “heel” she’s been so much better.”

I’ve got to work on this more. Right now it’s so damn cold that I don’t want to take my hands out of my pockets. 🙂

Beth said, “I do lots of reinforcement with treats and some verbal commands–if there’s an area she keeps pulling towards, I’ll tell her to watch and give her treats as long as she’s staying right beside me with her loose leash–and sometimes toss treats ahead of us and tell Barley to find it so that I can redirect her attention.”

I need to work more on giving commands throughout the walk and not just when there’s something distracting. I have thrown treats down in from of us before (I’d forgotten about that), thanks for the reminder!

Daschund Nola said, “I taught a formal heel (in the house and yard first, to get it well established), and then one walks I’d cue her to heel. Just for a few seconds, and then I’d release her to pull. Since pulling was more reinforcing than anything I could do, I figured it couldn’t hurt to try that premack principle. It worked! I just slowly increased the heeling and slack leash duration, and now she only pulls when she’s released to do so.”

Okay so, like, I totally had to look up premack because I’d never heard of it. It’s brilliant, totally brilliant. I think when it gets a bit warmer out, I’ve got some training to do. Thank you, thank you!

Maggie said, “These guys are the same. Together they walk like jerks. Alone they’re pretty good. Except, with Cooper, when we see other dogs. My solution? A can of spray cheese! Gross but it works.”

Ugh, that is gross. LOL but you have to use what works.

I Hope He Poops In The House – Barks and Bytes

Genevieve said, “NOBODY finds humor like you do! I’m pretty sure I’m right about this.”

Is that good or bad? 😉

Emma said, “Katie is losing control of her back end muscles. She falls a lot, and she has a real tough time squatting to pee and poop. Sometimes, though, when she gets up in the house she can’t control herself and a “log” will pop out on the floor. We don’t care because as you say, it’s easy clean up but we feel bad for her because we know she doesn’t feel right about doing that.”

Do you think she knows she’s done it? My friend’s dog is totally fecal incontinent right now and she doesn’t know she’s doing it. 🙁

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom said, “Poor Sampson. Perhaps he was just too tired to try to go up the stairs. But I love the way you find humor in so many situations. And the more politically incorrect the better, IMO.”

I think laughing beats crying, although I’ve done my fair share of crying over these two as well. 

Jan said, “Political correctness is ruining the country and causing miserable people and a total lack of humor. Thank you, Jodi, for being you and I hope you get lots of REM sleep.”

Thanks Jan. Would you believe I said this very thing to a co-worker the other day and we got into a heated debate? 

Lauranne said, “Glad to see some things don’t change! I wonder if Sampson has been talking to Poppy as her new favourite game is let’s not poo in my litter tray overnight. You have no idea how much it freaks me out seeing that she hasn’t poo’d. Why do they do this to us??”

I have no idea! Damn it you guys, stop freaking us out!

DZ Dogs said, “It’s easier to laugh than to cry right? I think I just need to hang out with you sometime!?

I love hanging out with blogging friends! I can make you laugh. 😉

Jan K said, “I know exactly how you feel. I feel like every other blog post I write is about Sheba’s cancer or our impending potential move. I’m afraid people might get tired of reading about both, but those two things are consuming my life and thoughts right now so how can I not be writing about them a lot? I know Sampson’s injury is consuming your life as well; but I’m glad you can find some humor in it because that is all that keeps us sane, right?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve woken up in the night and felt Sheba panting. Is she in pain? Is she just hot?”

I’m not getting tired of reading about either one of those topics Jan, if that makes you feel any better. 🙂 But it’s true that most people focus on the things that affect them the most and I think that’s very normal. And I hear you about being worried in the night because the dog is panting. I mean these guys are so stoic, it’s sometimes hard to tell!

Dachsund Nola said, ““Hell, I can pretty much find humor in most situations. It may not always be nice, or politically correct, but you can bet your ass I’m laughing about it.”
I laughed out loud at that one! Girl, sometimes you’re so much like me it’s scary.”

I read your comments and your blog and think the same thing. 🙂 Great minds..

Beth said, “Barley and Soth like to mess with my REM cycle, too. I’m glad Sampson was fine, and I’ve definitely curled up on the floor with my darlings in the middle of the night and had the same results.”

Honestly, there’s no place I’d rather be.  I know they are with us for such a short time, but I was grateful that I had Sunday to sleep in. 🙂

Alright, that’s enough for me. I think this post is longer than a children’s book. But that’s mostly your fault, because you’re all so awesome!

Have a wonderful weekend.

 

Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday, the post where I highlight reader’s comments, answer questions and generally just wrap up my week.

You Make Me Laugh – January 31, 2016

Dennis L. Havlin (Sandy Says) said, “Hi Jodi – LOL – the paw placement looks painful! another good post – ”

Bah ha ha, I never even noticed WHERE her paw was!

All Things Collie said, “Absolutely! And especially the back of the sofa. They just don’t realize how big they are! Lol. Are you on Instagram? ”

Mine do NOT go on the back of the sofa, but I think that’s mostly because she hasn’t thought of it. 😉 Yes, we are on Instagram, you can use the icons in the sideboard to connect with us via our social media accounts. Or search for Heartlikeadog

Cupcake said, “That looks like the perfect spot to be, D. I walk right over the arm of the sofa and onto the end tables. Sometimes I walk off the chair onto the coffee table. I walk around on tables as if they’re the floor.”

Now THAT would bother me, I can’t stand cats on the tables or counters either. 🙂

Jan K said, “Cricket and Luke like to lay on top of the couch to look out the windows, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen them sitting on the arm. Cricket will also often walk across the top of the couch or futon just like a cat.”

Wow, I wonder if mine are just too big, or never thought of it? 

Training Confessions

Lauren Miller said, “I’m also trying to get more organized and I’d really like to get a white board calendar type thing so I can write down who is learning what. I also call my dogs assholes sometimes, too.”

We don’t trick train like you do, so I don’t need that kind of organization, but I should make a list of commands…just so I remember them. (And I’m glad I’m not the only one who calls my dogs assholes.) 🙂

Cupcake said, “Sometimes Mom calls me Frankie. Nope. There’s no rhyme or reason. She never had a dog named Frankie and doesn’t even know a human Frankie. But she says, “Come on, Frankie.” ….I come because I feel sorry for her. And in my mind, I call her Frankie, too. 🙂

Cupcake, you made me laugh on that one. One day I called Sampson, Bruce. No idea why. Never had a dog named Bruce, it just came out. But I love that you call your mom Frankie. 🙂

Emma said, “Some people really enjoy training and that is great, but Mom doesn’t really enjoy it. Our training is saved for our sports.

I’m with Mom on that one. I like my guys to know basic obedience, but personally, I’d much rather hit an agility course or tricks class. 

Jan K said, “I know what you mean about being inconsistent with the cues, but honestly I’m not sure it always matters. Luke really doesn’t respond to the words as much as he does to my gestures, or just knowing what it is I want.”

I get that. It’s not so much what I say, but it’s if they respond. I think it’s great that Luke responds to gestures.

Sue said, ““Black beans!” LOL It’s funny. I hardly swear at all any more because my dogs hate it. Even if I whisper “sh*t” the dogs come to comfort me in my obvious-to-them anguish :-)”

I know, it made me laugh too. Ever since Sampson started getting funky with sounds, he’s been super sensitive. At night when I go to shut off the light, if I turn wrong, or cuss, he moves. 

Your pups are sensitive to your moods. 😉

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s mom said, “Don’t feel bad, Jodi. I got my Dog Obedience Training Instructor certificate from Animal Behavior College, and I still can’t train my dogs to fetch, come, or stay with any real consistency.”

Bah ha ha. I don’t feel badly, but maybe you’d be more successful if you used the training on the two-legged animal in your house. 😉

Cascadian Nomads Bethany Clochard said, “Is it really going to make you feel better to know that I also am guilty of all four of these things? Or, is it that we get to tell our dogs, “you are not alone in your confused by stupid humans misery?””

LOL probably not, but I do feel badly for my dogs, especially if I get frustrated with them.

Daschund Nola said, “I swear all the time, too! “Move it/get out the way” has turned into “for fuck’s sake, move your ass!”. :p”

YOU are a woman after my own heart. I can’t tell you how much I love this. 

Elaine said, “Lol! Yep…I can relate to some of these. It’s a good thing our pups don’t take “Oh, Shit!” literally. :-)”

OMG can you imagine? LOL

Pandora’s Box – Barks and Bytes

Taryn asked, “Can’t a heart murmur be nothing at all as well? I know my doctor found one in me at a physical a few years back. She sent me to a cardiologist and he was like, “Meh, do big deal…..a third of the population has them…..” He didn’t make me do anything about it….Good Luck through all this. I do know how it feels. With Wilson heading to 13 soon, I’m always waiting for something, I don’t know what, but something.”

Emma said, “What we don’t understand is why there has to be something going on to cause the heart murmur. Katie has one now, had a couple simple tests done and our vet said it is totally normal in senior dogs. Nothing to worry about, and if it progresses past stage 1, she can get some meds to regulate it. We don’t know why Sampson’s would be different.”

To answer both of these questions, I don’t think it’s the heart murmur that’s the concern. As Taryn said, a good many people have heart murmurs. I think the concern is the irregular heartbeat without knowing what’s causing it. 

The way the vet explained it to me is one part of the heart beats and then it tells the other part of the heart to beat. When the heartbeat is irregular one part of the heart is actually doing its job twice, without letting the other part work.

One of the vets said to me, “Could it be something inside the heart that eventually dies off and the irregular heartbeat stops? Yes, I’ve seen that happen.” 

But until they know why, they are hesitant to put him under anesthesia because he could die.

2 Brown Dawgs asked, “Could it be age related? ”

That is my initial thought, as the irregularity is very minor. When the vet checked him last, she listened to his heart for one to two minutes and only heard that irregularity once. Still, I don’t want to risk it in case it’s something serious.

Jan K asked, “Can Sampson’s ACL tear heal with management…or is that what you tried before?”

We did try that before and it did work, BUT we made the mistake of giving him too much freedom too soon. For right now, the only option we have is conservatively managing it. Once we know what’s going on with the adrenal, we can begin working on alternative ways to help him manage the ACL.

All Things Collie asked, “How old is he? Because with seniors, that’s always a consideration before choosing surgery.”

He is 11 1/2, he will be 12 in July. We did discuss his age and my vet felt comfortable with the anesthesia, until the irregular heartbeat showed up.

Sue said, “I really hate to break it to you, but Sampson has been sending us money to buy lottery tickets for years, Jodi 😉”

Son of a bitch, that’s where my coffee money went. And I was blaming Hubby. 🙂 

Alexa88 said, “although its hard as hell try to keep your mind on the usual daily stuff that goes on with you an the dogs. and instead of worry every time you look at them let your heart fill up with the peace, joy, and love that flows between you and them… not scolding but just remember that our pets pick up on our moods.”

Thank you Alexa, I am trying to fill my heart with those things, but you should also feel free to scold me if the need arises. 🙂

DZ Dogs asked, “Have you looked into non surgical ACL repairs?” and provided a link to non-surgical ACL repairs.

For now I feel like this is our only option and we did do it before with moderate success. Thank you for sharing that link. I checked it out and thankfully we are already doing a good many of the suggested protocols. Once we know what we are dealing with regarding the adrenal, I’ll check into getting some of the other recommended treatments in place.

Well that’s it for me folks, hug and kiss your babies and have a wonderful weekend.

Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday, the post where I highlight reader’s comments, answer questions and generally just wrap up my week.

You Make Me Smile – January 24, 2016

Jan said, “Somehow all four dogs and the cat and I manage to get in the same chair. Moving is forbidden.”

I think I’m most intrigued by the fact that you all are in one chair. With a cat. How does that work? LOL

Jan K said, “The girls will lie next to us, but not on top. Luke likes to lie half on us at times…he tends to settle in pretty well and just stays snuggled wherever he is. Unless he’s snuggling with Dad, and I go in the kitchen…then he has to see what I’m up to!”

I love it when they half lie on me. Once I woke up with Sampson’s head on my shoulder and my heart just about melted. Delilah is like Luke. If you want her to move, all you have to do is head for the kitchen. 😉

Misty Shores Chesapeakes said, “My best snugglers are Riva and Maia, they like to be pinned right next to me or in my lap.”

Oh how I wish mine were snuggly like that.

Delilah mostly snuggles when I’m in bed watching TV. Those times she climbs up on the couch are rare. Sampson won’t climb on the couch, but he will give me the “look” and I usually get down on the floor with him.

Blueberry’s Human said, “Blueberry does the lean and slump. She’ll usually come up when I am in bed watching TV and turn her back to me, then sit right next to my upper legs and lean. If I start petting her, she’ll slowly start tilting her head back til her nose is in the air and then slump backwards across my lap.”

THAT’s how Delilah started! Exactly like that! You wait, it’s coming. 🙂

Sand Spring Chesapeakes said, “Mine will lay next to me and on top of me and not wiggle to much.”.

Nice! Delilah fidgets. A lot. But once she settles in, she’s good. 

Urine Luck

Jan K said, “Next time I’m at the dollar store, I’ll pick this stuff up. It’s best to be prepared, right?”

Siriusly, it’s worth the trip! AND if you never need it, you only spent $2 and you can use the ladle and containers in case of emergency. 😉

Jan said, “I’ve never had to do this. I thought “bring in a urine sample from your dog” was just veterinarian humor.”

Right? No, they’re sirius. Now you know how to do it. 

Blueberry’s Human said, “I use old yoghurt containers (Blueberry Noosa to be precise). I simply walk behind Blueberry into the yard (no leash required!) and as she is squatting I smoothly (that’s right, I’m a pee Ninja too) place the yoghurt container under her and voila! No muss, no fuss. No one was more surprised than I that this worked the first time I tried it.”

That’s awesome! Is it a small container? I’m picturing a container the size of a small pail. LOL

2 Brown Dawgs said, “Whenever I have needed a sample, they have wanted a sterile sample so I had to take the dog or cat in so they could get that.”

I wonder why some vets ask for the sterile sample, while others do not?

Taryn said, “My dogs shut off the flow if they see me coming anywhere near them!”

See, with a ladle, you can be a pee Ninja too! They’ll never see it coming. You can stand there discreetly looking the other way, then viola! You slide that ladle in there and you’re a pee Ninja!

Denise Straulea asked, “Great advice but now she’s peeing on pee pads in her bed, any advice on that?”

Do you guys have any advice for Denise? My thought Denise is why are there pee pads on her bed? Has she been having issues? Did your vet check her to make sure she had no infections?

Julie said, “Love your title and really good idea for getting pee!!”

Thank you, it came to me out of the blue, and it made me giggle. I had to go with it.

Lauren Miller said, “You’re right the metal pan thing is just awkward!! I had to have UA on Zoe last year and it wasn’t fun collecting the pee.”

AND if you are successful with that, how do you transfer the pee from the pan into a smaller container, without getting pee all over you?

Jana Rade said, “By now we’ve become quite the dog urine collecting pros. We too got ourselves a ladle, long handle and a straight cup for lesser chance of spillage. We can collect urine in our sleep.”

It certainly makes it easier, although I have to advise you not attempt this in your sleep. 😉

Sand Spring Chesapeakes said, “I like how you put your kit together and labeled it. It was also so smart to put the time on the bag and keep it in the refrid. most people don’t do this and we like to know how old the urine is.”

Thank you. I only remembered because I’ve done this so much in the past year. They always ask me, where was it stored and what time was it collected, so I thought it why not be proactive?

Jen said, “The title made me die laughing this morning!”

I have to tell you, I was giggling like crazy writing the thing. 😉

I Felt Like An Asshole – Barks and Bytes

Thank you all for the thoughts, prayers and well wishes for Sampson. The hardest part for me has been, well watching him walk for one, but coming to terms with the fact that we probably cannot have the leg repaired because of the heart arrhythmia. 

I know that there are some dogs that can’t have surgical repair and they do manage okay with conservative treatments. When we go for our two week follow-up, I hope to have a plan in place to begin helping Sampson cope with this.

Genevieve said, “My old dog did a partial ACL tear ON LEASH in a barely visible DUSTING of snow. It happens. I felt like an ass because I was egging her on to run around in circles because it was funny and made me laugh. It’s all fun and games till somebody ends up on crate restriction.”

That sucks, though I suppose it’s no different then us.  How many times have a just turned the wrong way and tweaked my back?

Emma said, ” Katie falls a lot, Mom didn’t act quick enough and she fell on our front steps and cut her nose open the other day. Mom feels terrible, but it is life, it happens, we do the best we can, but we will all have problems.”

Oh my gosh, I hope she wasn’t terribly hurt, poor girl. It is so hard as they age. 

Jan K said, “Every time I let Luke run around the yard with his bad knees, I wonder if I’m doing the right thing. But I don’t want to limit his enjoyment of life…I want him to be a dog and enjoy things and that’s exactly what you were doing with Sampson. It’s a risk, yes, but quality of life is so important and I don’t feel like always holding them back is the answer either.”

I agree with you Jan. I really want my dogs to do things they love. I think I felt the worst about having him walk home. It was just so painful to watch.

Hailey and Zaphod said, “Don’t feel like an asshole, these things happen (Phod has been hurt several times and I always blame myself, but then accept it is an accident).”

The realistic part of me knows this, it’s my heart that just aches for him.

That is it for me folks, thanks for joining me and have a wonderful weekend!