First Snow of the Season

Bella feels strongly about the snow.

Our camping trip into Colorado was fun, but cold! In fact, the snow turned us around as we just couldn't stay warm. Bella, however, had a ball!

Sitting in a Parked Car

We've all heard it—don't leave your dog in a parked car on a warm (notice I'm not even saying "hot" here) day. I'm sure this video will go viral in the dog world. A vet, Dr. Ernie Ward, takes a video of himself sitting in his car for 30 minutes. His windows are ajar. Unless you can do the same and be comfortable, don't expect your sweet dog to fare better. Leave your pup at home.

Hot Weather, Ants and Dogs

Hot girl-dog starting a hot walk.

The weather has spiked here. It's in the 80s early in the day and mid-90s by mid-afternoon. The older I get, the more I am aware of the narrowing of my personal temperature comfort range. I am not comfortable when it is higher than the 70s. Activity brings on an instant, dripping sweat. Bella is also miserable and seems content to just be on the cool tile floor or in the shade of a palm.

Along with the heat, we've seen an enormous influx of ants—in the bathroom, in the kitchen, around the perimeter of the house. Counters are cleaned several times a day, but still they come. The concrete house is porous and we've found several spots we think are their entry by watching their trail.

The only thing available in our rental was Raid and my husband used it. (Effectively, I might add, but reluctantly.) We were concerned for our health, naturally, but more concerned for Bella. Some of the spray was at her level and we didn't want her anywhere near it.

Our neighbor, a long time Baja resident and knowledgeable ant remover, had the better solution: some liquid dish detergent diluted enough to use it in a spray bottle (which she was kind enough to lend us). Eureka! It stops them dead in their tracks without us resorting to pesticides. We can now go on the attack, without fear of the "bad stuff."

Good Use of Facebook

A Facebook page has been set up for found and lost animals because of Hurricane Sandy. What a great resource for reconnecting! Remember to have a current picture of you with your pet(s) to authenticate ownership.

Are YOU Ready?

With Hurricane Sandy wrecking havoc on the east coast of the US, it isn't surprising to see a glut of information about what to do with your pet(s) if you have to evacuate. This is a reminder for me also as I have a traveling bag for Bella, but still lack a crate.

My excuse? She's a big girl and needs a big crate—where would I store it? But when an emergency happens (and there is no area in this country that isn't plagued by recurring natural disasters), you won't have the time to prepare, nor can you guarantee you'll be thinking logically in a panic situation. Being prepared is the only way to safely care for your pet in a time of need. Although Hurricane Katrina was a turning point in evacuating and sheltering with pets (more shelters now allow them to come with you), you are still required to have your dog sequestered in a crate.

I just read Pet Care During a Natural Disaster from the Sun Gazette.com. I always read these articles as there is usually something I haven't considered. In this article, author Dan Boyles, had a couple of really good ideas. One is to have two bags prepared: a large pet bag if you and your pet will be staying together at a known location and a smaller bag for immediate evacuation to points unknown. Of course the requisite items were covered: food, water, medications, toys. Another great idea is to have a picture of you and your dog together. I always carry a picture of Bella in her bag, but the author says a picture of you together helps corroborate ownership should you be separated.

I guess it's time to start scouring Craig's List for used, large dog crates. I don't want Bella left out in the cold if a disaster shakes our area.

Tricks & Commands

Our weather has been inordinately cold. For a full week, day time temperature have not cracked freezing. Even the office, which is normally the warmest room in the house because of the heat generated by the computer, is cold. It's sunny and beautiful outside, but I just don't have the clothes to stay comfortably warm outside for very long. This creates a puppy occupational hazard.

To combat bored puppy syndrome, I decided to work with her on different tricks and commands. There are two I'm concentrating on at present. The first is the command "out" so that whatever she has in her mouth she spits out. She is actually pretty good about it, but I want it to happen instantly. If Bella has something she really loves (her tennis ball) or something she really wants (food) in her mouth, spitting it out won't happen immediately. In the case of food, I may have to "dig" it out. Here's a great video showing an example. Now if I can get Bella to do it as quickly as Pip, I'm in luck!

The trick we're presently undertaking is weaving between my legs. At this point, with luring, she's doing great. Luring means you walk a dog incrementally through the steps by having them follow food or a toy. The holdup is our ability (or lack thereof) to maneuver our hands and treats effortlessly to get Bella moving smoothly. (We are finding ourselves not quite agile enough!) This will be great for later if I choose to take her through agility. Basically, you hold food between your legs with the dog facing you. Guide the dog in between your legs, sweeping your arm around the back side of your leg to the front. Transfer the treat quickly to the other hand and guide her through and around the other leg. Here's a good video showing the technique. Eventually we'll stop luring and work with hand gestures.

These are as good for Bella as they are for us and as always, if done correctly, she’s learning and mentally stimulated and we’re bonding. Gotta love that!

Winter Weather

We've had rain and sleet and hail for days now. The wood-burning stove has been going non-stop. Soup is bubbling on the stove and though there are jobs to be done, motivating ourselves to go outside is futile. Even Bella is disinterested.

Which reminds me of our recent camping trip when the night time temps were in the low 20s and Bella's water bowl froze solidly. To keep the pup warm, we bundled her in an old, down comforter that is a mere shadow of its former self. Still, there are enough feathers left to keep a puppy warm!

Toasty dog!

Gorgeous Weekend

Although the temperature never rose about 50 degrees, it was sunny and the earth smelled like spring. The crocuses made it through the freeze and snow of the previous week and were so cheery showing their bright little blossoms among the tulip leaves.

I took the opportunity to edge the gardens in back. I could use power tools, but I prefer slow, methodical hand-trimming as I am "up close and personal" with the ground. It took two days to do as the arthritis in my hand was letting me know hand-trimming ain't for sissies. Still, it was wonderful to see how the gardens had fared.

Bella, never missing the opportunity of a captive audience, immediately went for her tennis ball and demanded a game of fetch. Another fun harbinger of spring: I work in the yard and throw the ball, she chases and retrieves. I think this is called a symbiotic relationship!

Bella's First Snow

Who said a frisky puppy can't get friskier? We were hit by snow and below freezing temperatures at the beginning of this week and though we haven't had new snow, temperatures haven't risen and nothing has melted. I've learned Bella is not a burrower but a sproinger. (Lucy, ever the nose dog, what look up from tunneling with a mountain of snow on her snout. It was very endearing.) I wish I'd been able to capture Bella's behavior, but am cursed by being a bad photographer. You're lucky to get picture of her standing in the snow.

Bella making fresh tracks.

Her only frustration is that we lost a tennis ball in the snow and haven't played ball since then. The tennis ball she has in the back yard (one is buried under a mound of shoveled snow) has turned into a green ice cube. She's thrilled by it, but there is no bounce.

Grueling Hike, Lovely Weather

Bella chasing Amber to the pond.

Yesterday was the first nice day in eons—sunny and warm. My friend, Shari, and I decided to go hiking. Shari hikes a lot and knows many wonderful places, so I never question where we're going. After this hike, I might be more conscientious of where we're heading! We were particularly lucky with the weather as we'd planned this hike several weeks ago. The weekends up to this one have had awful weather. Today is typical—it's been raining off and on since this morning.

Shari had done this hike many years ago and remembered it as being tough, but beautiful. We both agreed there were beautiful parts (like this meadow for the dogs to romp in), but very steep and hard—too strenuous for us to want to do it again. There was lots of standing water on the trail which meant mud—lots of mud. The trail was uneven, with irregular, slippery roots and large rocks of high-stepping proportions. Many times we had to hold on to roots to make it up the trail. My friend was kind enough to lend me one of her trekking poles to help with stability. With all the stream crossings on slippery boulders, they came in very handy.

Many small rivulets followed or crossed our trail and occasionally there were even some small ponds, so the dogs had a great time. Plenty to drink and plenty of water to play in. Amber is not a swimmer, but loves bobbing for sunken sticks. Bella enjoyed everything, so she was in and out of the water, trying to get Amber to engage. Amber is almost 8 years old, so although interested for a minute or two, she wasn't really willing to play. The picture is not so much game of chase as it is Bella running after her buddy.

The only really level area of any size was this gorgeous meadow. The meadow had a bank of very small huckleberry bushes that had changed color, so with the sun shining behind them, it was spectacular. Better yet, there were ripe, sweet berries!

And of course like any dog, Bella probably did a 1/4 to a 1/3 more miles than our seven because of all the back-and-forthing on the trail. In the meadow, she met another young dog whose owner was kind enough to wait (and pick berries with us) while the dogs played.

Bella has not moved much today and seems very content to nap through this rainy day.

A Mini Vacation

We no sooner returned from our last trip, (having cleaned ourselves, laundry and van), before turning around and setting out again. Each fall we do an bicycling trip with two other couples. Normally we go later in September, but extenuating circumstances required a Labor Day excursion.

We visited one of our favorite stomping grounds: central Oregon. The mountain biking was par excellence! Smooth, wonderful, just-technical-enough-to-be-exciting trails. Bella, of course, was ecstatic. Not only did she get to camp again, but with her paw improved—run again. By the end of the week, however, a bit of a limp reappeared, so we limited her to hiking. She wasn't quiet as keen on that, but to be in the woods was enough to assuage her need for speed with my husband.

The days were cool—mid 60s—and the nights cold—down to freezing. This makes for a frisky puppy! Lucky Bella! She had four extra people to throw sticks, her ball, and scratch her favorite spots. My husband worked with her on barking. She doesn't do this with anyone but him, but when he stops riding (to wait for me) and then starts up, her excitement is exhibited in obnoxious barking. He finally got her down to a few woofs versus a several minute chorus.

The posted picture is blurry, I know, but still I love it.

Water Source

When given the choice, Bella prefers the hose to any other source for drinking. Here she is stopping the stream for a good gulp. That's my pup! If you look closely, her lips are flared to the side for maximum capture!

4th of July and Hot Weather

We spent the holiday weekend away. Part of it was in the eastern Gorge area (hot) and part of it in the mountains (cool). Bella had several daily rounds of Chuck-it and retrieving sticks from the river. A doggie delight! Although firecrackers were going off, they were still pretty far away and she was completely unfazed. Maybe this is her hunting gene? Whatever the case, it was a huge relief after having nearly 30 years of dogs who were terrified by the bangs and whistling. Bella would look towards the noise and then continue with whatever she was doing.

The trip had a new visitor, Quincy. A good friend lost her dog this past winter to old age and she was ready for a new companion. Quincy is a 10-week old part Red Heeler and we're not sure what else. She has a bit of attitude which concerns my friend, obviously, but she's a great dog mom and reading up on puppies and signed up for puppy classes.

The past several days have been ballistically hot for here. I've taken Bella on early morning walks and afternoon swims in the lake. Other than that, we've barely moved. But this morning. Ah-h-h! It's a typical northwest kind of morning with a thick marine layer. Lovely and cool.

We've got a hike planned with another dog buddy. It should be a wonderful day.

Last Class

Saturday was our last class. I'm always relieved when obligations are completed, but also disappointed. I enjoy these classes and am looking forward to signing Bella up for another one. I think we may do the Canine Good Citizen class. It would be good for both of us to learn to do things without her training collar.

Our last class was uneventful. Even Charlie, the agro boxer, was pretty well-behaved. His owner deserves lauds and applauds. The Rhodesian Ridgeback wasn't there and I wonder how much that affected things. We did off leash healing and commands for our last "assignment."

In the afternoon, I took Bella to an Intro to Agility workshop. We were able to run the open and collapsed tunnels, climb the ramp, jump through the tire and attempt stopping and sitting on the table. She did okay considering it was her first attempt.

Our weather has been really awful the past four days (cold, windy and rainy) and we haven't gotten outside as much as we normally do. I was hoping this class might take the edge off, but realized it just showcased what a slightly bored puppy is like. A bit over amped and sassy. Without her training collar, she was pulling as if she had no idea how to walk on a leash. Definitely not the case, but embarrassing. There is no class available right now, so our only opportunity to try agility is these once-every-two-months workshops.

RainRainRain

Could you guess? It's been pouring rain all day. Walking Bella requires completely suiting up in head-to-toe rain gear and miserably dripping your way around the neighborhood. There is not a lot of dog walking competition; we owned the road. And now as I write, the rain has let up, but someone is coming over, so I can't take her out.

The pleasure in today's walk, besides having a wonderful puppy with whom I can walk, was Bella's stick. When we leave our backyard, she immediately steps into the garden to snort some great smell. Today she found a thick, meaty stick. Yum! She happily carried it throughout the walk. She didn't miss not having treats for good walking behavior. She had something to chew the entire way!

Hot!

Yesterday the airport recorded 103 degrees. A record for us, but not the highest temp in the area. Some local communities got up to 106! The last time I looked at the in-house thermometer it was 96. That's indoors. (This morning at 5:30AM it was pegged at 84.)

I bought a kiddie pool for Bella, but during the day all she did was drink from it. One front paw went in, but nothing else. I stuffed her Kong with ice cubes and that satisfied her until they melted and we were back to the heat. It was, in fact, too hot to even be sitting outside in the shade, so the majority of the day we were in the basement. I wish I knew what the temp was there. It was cooler, but it certainly wasn't cool.

Around 9PM we went into the back and Bella re-discovered the pool. I wish I could take action shots because she was having a ball trying to dig to the bottom of the pool. No lying in it, but she spread so much water by digging that she was soaked. And what happens to a cooled down puppy? Solid action! She went flying around the yard making three laps, before going back to the pool for another dig!

I'll look at the phone pictures I took and see if they are worth posting.

Mood Reversal

Did I say "I love my puppy" yesterday? Well, I do, but by last night I wasn't so sure. She peed downstairs on the carpet. Mea Culpa. I got a phone call and ran upstairs to take it and didn't take Bella. She's gone two weeks without an accident, but obviously doesn't yet know the appropriate pee spot.

The weather has been abysmally hot (mid to high 90s) and I find my temperament drops with each degree of heat. So I was angry when I came back down and spotted the puddle. (I did not shame the puppy, but cleaned it up and took the puppy upstairs and outside.)

In trying to escape the heat, we went to the river for a quick dip. It revved the puppy and she got spunky, bouncy and bitey—and took the opportunity to bite the leash and me. NO BITES! My momentarily cooled off temperament took another nose dive. I spent the rest of the evening away from the puppy and let my husband deal with her. I knew I wasn't capable at that point of being reasonable and I didn't want her to be the recipient of my foul mood.

Today is supposed to be even warmer topping out (I hope!) the day after at 100. I am doing some private instruction mid-day and can only hope the location is air-conditioned. Waking up to find the temperature already in the 70s at 5AM, just makes me a grouch at the start. I don't know how I survived living in the Midwest. I find this weather completely debilitating.

More Snow

The snow keeps coming. I've shoveled twice and am buying stock in Ibuprofen. We're dog-sitting Molly for five days. The dogs are in seventh heaven with this weather. Lucy is definitely showing old dog enthusiasm—spunkier, but not lively, while Molly is doing a drag course around the yard.

Cold!

It is so cold here in the NW! The weathermen say we are in the longest cold snap we've had in nearly two decades. Day time temps are never above 30. Nights are in the teens. Lucy is in heaven. Snow on the ground and temps that make her ears crisp, her nose ice cold and her heart spunky. Everything is a treat for her when it's cold. And her nose is better. Is it the drugs or the temp?

After my sister-in-law suggested it, I bought a baby nose syringe to try when Lucy's nose is filled. As she put it, babies can't blow their nose either, so I thought I'd give it a try. The first one I bought was an ear syringe for adults (as they were out of the baby equivalent) and she hated that, so it is now in the back of the bathroom cupboard. Today I purchased from another store a baby nose syringe with a detachable tip for easy cleaning. How wonderful!! I don't doubt that Lucy will be equally dismayed by the prospect, but it might help with all the goobers.

Lucy in Death Valley

We saw all the weather we wanted (or didn't want) on this trip: rain, sleet, snow and sun, though we could have done with more of the latter. On the valley floor it was spectacular. Days were in the 70s and nights, 30s. Perfect! Because of the recent rains and season, the valley floor was a carpet of yellow from a particular flowering plant. Though there were some other blooming plants, this one was prolific.

Lucy didn't bike with us in the valley, though we did take her on some hikes. The rocks were too jagged for her feet and she limped frequently and though eager to go, seemed miserable once on route. The only riding we did with her was at Aquereberry Point on the high (6000+') west side of the park. She did nearly 4 miles and held up well. It was chilly at this elevation and that kept her spunky.

Most nights were in the 30s making for great sleeping—most of the time. Some nights, however, had I been awake enough to get up and put on socks, I would have actually slept. As it was on those nights, I was in that queasy state of not quite asleep or awake. Lucy, on the other hand, has her own comforter and loves it. If we stayed outside past what she considered her bedtime, she'd sit facing the van door until we'd let her in. Once inside, she'd just snuggle into her quilt.

Here she is in the snow off the road leaving the park (Death Valley Road). Tell me she doesn't look like a happy girl! We used her ramp for van egress and access. I felt the jumping out would be too hard for her million dollar back and I know it is jarring for her tender front right ankle.

Like our fall trip last year to Bend, OR when we noticed her hearing failing, it seems this trip completed it for her right ear. If she is sleeping on her left side, she hears nothing. The clank of her food bowl no longer rouses her and that makes us sad. For her, as long as we keep her engaged and let her know where we are, I think she'll be fine. DH is upset about her hearing, but I remind him it is a part of aging and Lucy is closing in on "senior citizen" status in human years. From what I've read, her human age equivalency is anywhere between mid-50s to mid 70s. Her sense of humor is still present as is her eagerness for adventure. We will just need to be more mindful of getting her attention to summon her and making sure she is comfortable and feels secure.