Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

The Sights, the Sounds, the Smell!!

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Spring is my favorite time of year.  I’m not sure if it’s because I was born in spring, but there is something about the new birth and the resiliency of life beginning afresh after a sometimes long and hard winter that I find simply amazing.

I love being able to open my windows and leave them open at night while I sleep, snuggled down under a blanket with a dog (or two) plastered against me.

I love the smells.  The smell of rain, dirt, freshly mowed grass and of course the flowers.

I love the sound.  I’ve really been enjoying walking Sampson early in the morning and listening to the birds whistle, warble and chirp back and forth to each other.

I love the colors.  The green of the earth contrasted against the blue of the sky.  The way the grass sparkles and glistens in the sun after a fresh spring rain, the explosion of colors from the flowers.

Hello, I'm supposed to be walking, not posing for pictures.

Hello, I’m supposed to be walking, not posing for pictures.

Yes, I love spring.

I’ve been noticing my dogs seem to be loving spring too.  So I asked them, Sampson, Delilah what’s your favorite part of spring?

Paws down Mama, it's the sunny and warm spots, perfect for snoozing.

Paws down Mama, it’s the sunny and warm spots, perfect for snoozing.

You are siriusly asking me that Mama? It's the smells Mama, the smells!

You are siriusly asking me that Mama? It’s the smells Mama, the smells!

Do you or your dogs have a favorite season?  What is it and why?

 

Follow-Up Friday – May 2, 2014

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

Some Dogs Just Walk Bow-Legged

You want me to do WHAT?

You want me to do WHAT?

2 Brown Dawgs said, “He looks so worried about that water tread mill, but I know it will help him.”

I know he did.  It about broke my heart, but the good thing is that he wasn’t panicking about it, and he actually did quite well.

Rebecca said, “I’ve used a ladder laid on a bricks (to get that height off the ground) for Teach in preparation for agility training. That is very similar to Cavalletis but for Sampson the rungs of the ladder may be to close together.”

That’s a great idea, but I think you are right.  The rungs would be too close together for him.

Sand Spring Chesapeakes asked, “Norman loved the water treadmill cuz she put peanut butter on the front is that what I see on the picture?”

No, there is no peanut butter on there.  In fact, he cannot even touch the door because a bar is in his way.  I think you may be seeing the leash.  I am standing in front of the door holding his leash.

Cupcake said, “Sampson, your face says it all. “What in the world are these demented lunatics up to???””

This was only his second time on the treadmill so I’m not really sure what he thought about that!

Jan K said, “I think you have that DIY instinct of a lot of native New Englanders…I wouldn’t have been surprised if you DID improvise the underwater treadmill.”

Well thank you Jan and now you’ve got me thinking…..

Jen said, “I do small hills with Sherman to try and help keep his muscle mass up but I might have to give this a try!!!”

We are smack dab in the middle of a hill and so he goes up hill at least twice a day.  I’d like to do more, but right now I can’t.

Thanks for the Warning

Okay, here’s how I SHOULD have ended that post.  “Thanks for the warning is right.  Now I know where another dumb ass lives in my neighborhood.”

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I just don’t like surprises, that’s all. You try having someone stick their nose in YOUR ass when you aren’t expecting it. I didn’t think so.

Keri Dominguez leaves a link to a great Suzanne Clothier post and then says, “Maybe print it out and leave it in their mailbox?”

I would love to do that, but I wonder if it would really work or they’d just get offended or scoff it off?  My experience has been most people aren’t receptive to what they perceive as criticism by others.

Lauranne asked, “You did pre-warn her and nothing transpired?” and then “Have you heard of the yellow dog campaign?”

I did pre-warn her and nothing transpired but Bella did not get close enough for Delilah to react/not react.  And yes, I’ve heard of the Yellow Dog Campaign but sadly that doesn’t mean she has.

Emma asked, “Why are some people just so ignorant?”

Oh  Emma my love, if I knew the answer to that, what a wonderful world this would be.

Jenna, Mark “HuskyCrazed” Drady says, “You have such a great way of putting a comical spin on a story that angers all of us!”

Thank you.  I like to think that humor breaks the ice, if people can laugh about something, even if it’s a frustrating topic, perhaps once the laughing is done, they may be able to see another side or at the very least open a line of communication.

Roxy the Traveling Dog asked, “Why oh why, is the world full of dumb ass people? And why are they allowed to raise kids and dogs?”

Well in Jodi’s world, they would need a license for both. 😉  But Jodi doesn’t rule the world…yet. 😉

Rebekah asked, “So rude! Is there not a leash law where you live?”

Yes there is!  But without someone enforcing it, what’s a person to do? 

Jan K said, “Whenever this happens with Cricket I find myself apologizing and trying to explain, but I know I shouldn’t do that.”

But why should we do that?  Their dog needs to respect our dog and their needs!

Things You Shouldn’t Tell the Physical Therapist

Jana Rade said, “Well, I believe you should tell everything to your surgeon or physical therapist. You might get the stink eye but you know what? More often than not they need to know such things.”

You’re right, I just cower at the thought of telling her. 🙁

Animal Couriers asked, “How late in the year have you had snow?”

Well it is not typical, but we have had snow in April and May.  Of course it doesn’t stay, but it has happened!

Jenna,Mark “HuskyCrazed” Drady asks, “A Grim? As in the show Grim? Or something else?”

It is a Harry Potter reference. 🙂 “The Grim is an omen of death, which is reputed to bring about the demise of the person who encounters it. The Grim takes the shape of a large, black, spectral dog. Perhaps the most well-known of omens,[1] the Grim has earned infamy throughout the Wizarding world and is considered to be one of the worst, if not the worst, omens around.” (Source, Harry Potter Wikipedia)

Jan said, “Hail can come any time.”

Yes it can.  We can get it during a thunderstorm in the summer, but the hail is usually larger!

Jan K asked, “You know what I thought? I thought the deer ran in front of where your car might have been had you not turned around to see if it was the neighbor’s dog, thereby possibly avoiding an accident and meeting the Grim after all. Does that make any sense?”

It sure does!!  And you very well could be right!

Well that’s it for me!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Things You Shouldn’t Tell the Physical Therapist

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So I promised you a post on do it yourself cavalettis, and I’m still working on it. First my trip to the Home Depot was a bust, they didn’t have what I was looking for.  So I mentioned  to Hubby my idea and  he said, “Well you could just cut some PVC pipe into lengths and use those.  I think we have some at work.  No need to spend money on something when you can get it for free.”

Who loads stuff on his jeep so it looks like the Beverly Hillbilly's car? My Hubby.

Who loads stuff on his jeep so it looks like the Beverly Hillbilly’s car? My Hubby.

Yes, this is what greeted me when I came home from work on Tuesday.  (Insert eye roll.)  In the meantime, I think I’ll just keep working towards my goal.  If my estimate is right it will cost less that $20 for all the cavaletti’s I need.

Star Date : April 29, 2014

Cubes of ice. On my dog. In April. APRIL!

Do you see that?  That’s hail!  HAIL on my dog’s back on our walk on April 29th.  WTF?

 

Things you shouldn’t tell the dog’s physical therapist.

When I took Sampson in to the Vet to have his Seroma checked, I told the surgeon that Sampson had managed to make his way down the stairs.  The surgeon replied, “Don’t tell that to a surgeon.”  Okay….then it makes sense I’m not telling his Physical Therapist this.

Let's keep this between us, okay Mama?

Let’s keep this between us, okay Mama?

Yeah, my day starts out like this.  I literally roll out of bed (since it’s a mattress on the floor,) I throw on my work clothes, leash Sampson up and take him for his 15 to 20 minute walk.  Once I come back, I do a couple weight bearing exercises, and then I prepare the dog’s breakfast.  While their food is warming up slightly, I finish getting ready for work and then come out and feed the dogs.  Typically the couch is fenced off.  But for some unknown reason, it wasn’t yesterday morning and I, in my hurry to complete my morning chores, failed to notice.

I literally walked out of the bedroom and gasped out loud when I saw where he was laying. To my credit, I did not panic like I did when he ran down the stairs, I simply told him it was breakfast time and watched as he got down off the couch.

When Sampson is in a hurry or doing something that requires a bit of work from his leg, he holds the foot slightly off the ground, not much, maybe 1/2 an inch to an inch, but the point is he doesn’t really ask his foot/leg for more than he thinks it can do.  And that’s exactly how he got down from the couch, with his foot slightly off the floor.  Still just about gave me a heart attack.

THE GRIM

So the dogs are fed, the dishes have been done, my lunch has been packed and I take the dogs out for a last pee break before leaving for work.  I get in my car and start driving down the street.  I see a black dog walking through the yard of a house ahead of me.  I think to myself, it looks like my neighbor’s dog, Gunner who likes to roam the neighborhood (much like Delilah is hoping to do.)  As I approach the house I look in the yard to verify if it was Gunner and I see nothing.

SHIT, I think I just saw a Grim!

If that was a Grim, my demise is imminent.

I turn the car around, Siriously, I’m not ready to die yet, that damn well better be Gunner.    Sure enough as I approach the house, here comes Gunner giving me a dirty look as he crosses the street.  Phew, that’s a load off.

I turn back around and am so relieved that I’m not dying yet, that I almost missed this!

Oh deer, did you see that? I think it was a Grim.

Run faster, I think I just saw a Grim!

Thankfully I had my camera in my purse, but the pictures are blurry because those guys are fast!

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