Venting Session

OK, this is definitely not the post that I was planning on putting up. But something happened today that has made me SO angry, if I don't get it out I'm probably going to be in a VERY bad mood for the rest of the day.

So, I'm trying to get us all out and about more to practice on some skills that have gotten a little rusty (heel, stay, leave-it etc.) and to get us all a bit more exercise as we can all stand to be a bit trimmer (which I'll chat more about in the next post). Now walking has become a bit of a challenge; gone are the days of walking in the woods or open fields due to the arrival of the dog-days of summer. Those quiet, pristine places are not off limits due to the awful amount of ticks my girls bring back with them. So we've been confined to pavement walking: hitting the local parks and sidewalks instead. And these places are neither quiet OR pristine. Not only are we dealing with a lot more in terms of distractions (litter on the ground, people going by with skateboards, bikes, strollers etc.) but we're also having to deal with the sheer NUMBER of people with and without these additional things.

Now, don't get me wrong. My girls are BOMB-PROOF; they have seen, experienced and dealt with all of these things before. They ignore just about all of them;they are not reactive in any way. They just let them pass right along by. BUT they are having to relearn what it means to "get in close" as we are now on a narrow paved path with these things and they need to learn to be polite and move aside so there can be room for us all.

If it was just these things then our walks would still be fine. I mean if anything, they would enhance our training sessions and make us all stay on our toes. But there is one BIG, HUGE incredibly ANNOYING consequence that we are also having to deal with: CHILDREN. Lots of them.

I cannot STAND children. I have always been like this. I can't stand anything about them: the way that they are always sticky, they smell, they don't know how to behave and most don't listen. Now don't get me wrong; as long as they are not affecting me in a negative way, we can coexist without a problem. But am I going to knowingly seek out their company or want to "hang out" with them? Absolutely not. I always joke that I was born with a "defective mothering gene"-I only feel those warm, maternal feelings towards small furry beings. The sounds of babies (crying, etc) to me is like nails on a chalk board. But a puppy whining or even barking immediately sets my brain into nurture mode. I can easily turn a deaf ear to barking and just tune it out (I do live with Shelties you know!) but the sounds of screaming children makes me want to pound my head into a brick wall.

Again, its not like I go around wishing harm on all of the children in the world. I don't stand up and cheer when I hear an awful story on the news about something tragic happening to someones kid; I feel bad just like everyone else. But I really am getting sick and tired of dealing with stupid parents who let their obnoxious children run amok.

I took the girls out to the park for a quick early morning walk before breakfast. The walk takes place at a park where there is a big paved path forming two connecting squares around some ball fields and a play ground. It is a pretty popular park for walkers, and parents: both of dogs and kids. There are at least 5 poop pick up stations around the park, lining the paths. Clearly the rec. department knows how popular the park is for dog owners and want to ensure that we take care of it so we continue to be welcomed. (Its funny that you'd be hard pressed to find even one small piece of dog poo, but there are candy and ice-cream wrappers littering the ground around the play ground...but I digress...) So I take the girls for a walk, having their leashes, treats and poop bags stored in my pocket. The paths themselves are pretty quite, but there are already some families on the play ground. No problem; we'll just steer clear of it.

As we're about 1/3 of the way around for our first pass, it starts to rain. So I hustle the girls up (as none of us wants to end up soaked) and we start to head back to the car. When we get there, the rain is letting up a bit, so I ask the girls if they want to play ball (we never go anywhere without their Chuck-It!) so I grab it and we make our way back to the field. As we're walking back, this little girl RUNS off the play ground and starts chasing my girls. Well, they want to play ball and 4 legs are always faster than 2, so they out run her. We make our way to the field and I huck the ball. The girl is still running after them trying to pet them. Now, NORMALLY if the girls father (who is half-heartedly following this annoying child trying to marshal her) had ASKED can she pet them, I wouldn't have had a problem. But he was just LETTING her chase them, so I kept throwing the ball in the OPPOSITE direction; keen to SHOW HIM that NO, I did NOT want his little girl getting near my dogs. Apparently he never got the hint.

So finally after a few minutes of ball throwing, they were sufficiently tired (and wet!) enough for us to go home. Heidi, being normally a little slower than Shelby (and now being really tired) was making her way slowly toward me when the little girl started chasing her again. I FIRMLY said "DON'T CHASE HER!" when the little girl caught up to her, WRAPPED her arms around her waist and then FELL ON TOP OF HER. I YELLED. I mean really YELLED "CAREFUL!!!" and went over and picked Heidi up. I was so INCENSED with anger, I couldn't even get the words out that I wanted to scream at this father who was muttering a feeble"sorry". I wanted to SCREAM at him "look buddy, if I don't let my dogs run up to your kid, what makes you think that you can let your KID run up to MY DOGS? If she had bitten or snapped at your daughter it would have been MY DOG that would be put to death. A bit UNFAIR, don't you think?!?!?"

I STORMED off and carried Heidi all the way back to the car where I gave her lots of good snacks and told her what a wonderful and brave dog she was. (And of course I told Shelby the same and gave her snacks too).

I CAN NOT believe the ignorance of some people. I mean, HONESTLY?!?! What makes it OK that your kids can accost mine? What if my dogs were NOT friendly and Heidi HAD bitten her? I mean, this is RIDICULOUS. As far as I am concerned, if a little kid puts themselves in situations like that (and the parents ALLOW IT) if they get bitten, they DESERVE IT. Maybe then they will learn the lesson to ASK before petting strange dogs. And if you don't like that way of thinking, think about a dog as if it were a hot stove. Would you just let your child run up to a stove and put its hand on it? Or would you check first and make sure it wasn't hot? Or better yet, keep them away from the stove at all?

And if your a parent, put yourself in my shoes. What if you were at the park, and some huge, off-leash dog came RUNNING on to the play ground? Would you just ASSUME that the dog was friendly and willing to put your child's safety at risk to test the dog and see? Even if the dogs tail was wagging, would you take the chance? Wouldn't you be screaming at the ignorant dog owner to get her pet under control and away from your kids??

So let me just say this: I am now going to be taking a MUCH more active role in leader and protector of my dogs. I've already stepped up my safety arsenal of preventing dog attacks by carrying a whistle, air-horn and direct stop. You bet your ass that I'm going to start protecting them from rogue children now too. No, I probably can't MACE the kids who come running up, but be sure that I am going to now start employing body-blocks and using a loud commanding voice to tell kids to "BACK OFF" and deter them from charging the girls. And short of shaving them and painting them black and tan (to have them look like mini-rottweilers), I'm going to also be wearing this to the park:

Hooded Sweatshirt - CafePress

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If this doesn't deter stupid people and obnoxious children, I don't know what will. I'm sure that this is probably going to anger some people, and may even change peoples opinions about me. But look, all I am looking for is the same thing that anyone else is: respect. Respect for my feelings, respect for my space, and respect for my dogs. If I can give it to you, and ensure that my dogs do as well, cant you give it back? I mean, a little common sense and common courtesy goes a long way...

Does anyone have the number for Animal Control?

No, not for my dogs...or even for my neighbors' dogs. I need the number for the VERY LARGE foot prints left in my yard!:
My mom was out cutting the grass (or doing other various yard-tending duties that I generally leave to her) and found a big pile of poo. I looked at it and very quickly figured out that no, it did NOT belong to either one of the little Shelties; or to any of the cats or bunnies that roam freely through the neighborhood either. Lets put it this way, this poo-pile was easily the size of one of my girls' HEADS. Yes, the pile was that big. (You'll have to take my word for it, as no, I did not get any of the pictures of the pile of poo.) The other observation (other than me thinking/saying out loud: "HOLY CANOLI THAT IS A BIG PILE OF POO!) was that it was FULL of seeds. Like, seed from a neighbors bird feeder seeds. So, as I am not a wild-life expert, I did not know what had left this mass of mess. Maybe it was a deer? They eat seeds right?

Well, maybe that is plausible, but then the next bit of evidence quickly put that theory to rest. As I was walking away from the seeded deposit, I saw oddly shaped impressions in the soft ground at my feet. My mom had tilled this patch of yard a few weeks prior, and it had not filled in with grass yet. So these new impressions were pretty clear. And they were clearly TRACKS. BIG ONES. Houston, we have a problem. We have a BEAR.

Now, I cant be sure that yes, it is a bear leaving tracks. Again I am no wildlife expert. But I don't think mountain lions (which are not common in this part of the country) or lynx/bobcats eat seeds. Especially not in those amounts. I showed my mom the tracks, and then quickly got the camera. I tried to take pictures of my hand with the tracks and then with Heidi sitting near them for something to visually compare them to, but I'm afraid the pictures aren't that clear. But if you look at the different colored patches of earth, even if you aren't able to make out the shapes, you can see how LARGE they are.

Now were pretty accustomed to wildlife in the yard; although we are the last house on a dead-end street, the end of the street borders a marsh. We frequently get visitors from the wetlands that make their way casually onto our bit of land. We've had turtles (both box and snapping), rabbits (lots and LOTS or rabbits), cats, probably deer and frogs. Frogs of death and doom. I say this not because the frogs are in fact dangerous, but because they SOUND SO. The first spring that were were in the house the frogs made a very conspicuous appearance. They are gray tree frogs, and make a VERY odd noise; a noise that sounds like the sharp trill of a raccoon. My mom was preparing to clean out our empty hot-tub when she heard the noise-she really did think that there was a raccoon trapped beneath the cover. After some very careful maneuvering, she opened the cover (preparing for something large, black-masked and furry to jump out!) and found herself face to face with the real culprit:

Terrifying, isn't it? But a much more welcome sight than this:

Anyways, most of the critters entering our yard have been fairly harmless; I mean the snapping turtle that out-weighed both dogs put together was a little less than friendly, but I've been able to keep the girls away from and prevent them from tangling with the more "dodgy" sort.

But now Ive got to really keep on my toes; especially when letting the girls out for their night-time potty breaks. I'm assuming that "Yogi" (as we've taken to calling our big black furry friend) shows up really late, like in the dead-of-night late, which makes me thankful that we do not have that many emergency "I need to go out NOW" potty trips. And if they do arise, I turn on the light FIRST before opening the door (lets hope Yogi is photo-phobic) and make noise before letting the equally noisy girls out to do their business. I know this is much to my sleeping neighbors chagrin, but...I've got to keep my twenty pound, fluffy mini-rottweilers safe, right? One whiff of the "intruder" in her yard, and Shelby is going to go N-U-T-S. Heidi will just tag along for the ride and bark-fest, but Shelby will be out for blood. Bear blood. And although I'd be willing to bet my own life on her amazing recall, Id prefer not to have to test it and bet HER life on it at 2 am some stormy night. I'd rather be safe than sorry. One more lesson down. Thanks girls...

Birthday cake, ice-ream and lessons

I'm posting today to wish my very special girl, Heidi, a Happy belated Birthday! Unfortunately for all of us, this years birthday did not exactly go to plan (which is also why this is being written late!) Hmmm...odd how neither of the girls birthdays went smoothly...

Anyways, I got sent home from work (and sent straight to the doctors) on Monday because of SEVERE dizziness and nausea. I had a procedure last week to try and relieve some of the excessive bleeding I have been dealing with off and on since being put on coumadin and plavix. Although the procedure went well, I did take out a few days of work afterwards to let my body heal. And it was a good thing I did. I had a rough time waking up from the anesthesia, and then dealt with very bad nausea (which I NEVER have a problem with) and pulled muscles in my neck and shoulders from thrashing. Mondays episode, although seemingly unrelated to the procedure or anything else going on with my health, was pretty scary. It was as if someone had put the world on "spin cycle"; it was like being on a very bad amusement park ride that I desperately wanted to get off. I wasn't able to focus, was having a hard time breathing and could hardly walk. I was driven to my moms work, where she drove me to the doctors.

They did a few tests and figure that I have Vestibular Neuritis, which is an infection (viral) on your vestibular nerve. I was put on prednisone and sent to see a neurologist just to be on the safe side. I've been out of work since. Hopefully, I should be able to go back on Monday. I am feeling better for the first time today, which is why I am able to sit and type on the computer (and which is why I didn't wish Heidi a Happy Birthday blog sooner!) I've been struggling to just get around my house; staring at a computer screen (and especially scrolling up and down!) made me feel, if possible, worse.

But enough about me and my stupid symptoms (I'm sick of dealing with them, never mind thinking about them more!) and on to my special girls day! We technically celebrated today, as Wednesday I was too sick to even bend over and play with her and her sister.

Now, usually we will be in the White Mountains hiking and camping at this time. I can't remember which year we started going camping for her birthday, but it has developed into a tradition that has been a fun one to follow. Even if we were not camping per se, I would drive up there for the day and let the girls run in the woods and splash in the rivers. It was a great mini-vacation day for all of us; being up there seems to recharge our souls.

But, for obvious reasons, this year I wasn't even driving down the street to the park, never mind making the two hour trek to the mountains. I of course felt guilty and sad that I couldn't let the girls enjoy our time honored tradition, but at the same time I knew that they weren't thinking about the day the same way I was. Although I know they would have fully enjoyed our outdoor excursions, they do not celebrate "special occasions" the same way we people do. Celebrating the day of ones birth is a very human thing to do; our dogs will never hold grudges or be angry with us if we forget or are unable to celebrate these special days in the ways that we want to. As I've said before, they're not going to go to school or work the next day grumbling under their breath about how we forgot their birthday, or got them an unsatisfactory gift. As a very good (and wise!) friend pointed out to me (as I was lamenting not being able to go to the mountains for the day), Heidi was probably just happy to have me home for the day; able to snuggle up to me when she wanted and able to hear my voice.

Thinking about that now, I realize how stupid I was being. I was sulking not only because missing a favorite tradition was hard to bear, but also because not being able to do anything AT ALL that day, again because of my health, was a low-blow. But now, a few days later, I am feeling better. Not only physically, but also better about finally being able to share in the celebration of the birth of my very special girl.

So today I got outside for the first time in over a week with the girls. It has been raining here in New England for what feels like AN ETERNITY. So when the precipitation let up today, and the sun decided to make an all but brief appearance, I decided today was a good day to break out some goodies for Heidi's special day. So, what do Shelties consider goodies? Cake and ice-cream! Which is possibly even more important and special to a Sheltie than a long walk in the woods...they do like their food after all!!

My mom got her hair cut on Wednesday afternoon, and so was able to buy some birthday cupcakes from the doggie bakery, "The Barkery". Yes, these are the same cupcakes that caused so many problems on Shelby's birthday in February. BUT, I think that if I chop them up and feed them in pieces (rather than letting the girls go in for a free-for-all!) they should be OK. They just finished their ice-creams outside, and will probably have a 1/2 cupcake each later tonight.

And make no mistake, Heidi got plenty of snuggles, cuddles, pats, and kisses on her real birthday, which was Wednesday. I apologized to her that were didn't go hiking, but I did promise that when we go on a real vacation in August that we would do all of her (and Shelby's) favorite things. I actually spent most of the day today making lists of what attractions were dog-friendly, and what they might like to do (and what I would be able to do!) I think it will be a really nice, relaxing vacation, and of course even if something happens and things DON'T work out the way we wish, I think the lessons of being thankful are finally sinking in: "Don't sweat the small stuff", "don't cry over spilt milk", and "when life hands your lemons, make lemonade". All little anecdotes that we learned at a very young age, but lessons that are important enough for us to remember all throughout our lives. And once again, small lessons Ive been reminded and retaught thanks to my VERY special Heart-Dogs!

Here are some pictures from today with the cake and ice-cream. It doesn't look like they're enjoying it too much, does it?

Truth or Scare

Have you ever had a dream so vivid and realistic, that when you woke up you were convinced it was real? I have a lot (and I mean A LOT!) of dreams like that. And usually they are about random things, like being in love with someone I barely knew from high-school, or being angry with my mom over something stupid. Indeed, they are so real that I often spend the next day contemplating what they meant and if they truly have any significance. And then dwelling on their content usually ensures a repeat dream that following night. It becomes a very hard pattern to break.

Usually, though, these dreams are obviously harmless enough. They usually just inspire hours of day dreaming and contemplation. But sometimes, the dreams aren't dreams. Sometimes these all to real nightly visions are bad; they are the nightmares.

For a lot of people, nightmares involve you in a scary situation; sometimes accompanied by the ones you love (which makes the nightmares all the more scary!) A lot of people report nightmares of being chased by someone, or being in a situation where the lives of you, and your loved ones along for the ride, are in mortal peril. For me, these are all true. But the loved ones who I'm usually accompanied by, are my dogs.

Of course I dream about other people (friends and family) in them too, but my girls always make a regular appearance. They are usually in the fight or flight scenario too, which makes these nightmares all the more scary. In a lot of the nightmares, we are either being chased, or trying to escape something (like a tornado). They are always off leash, and I always find myself having a hard time getting them to come with me and to then stay by me as we run away. They usually dawdle, or move too slowly...or sometimes they are paralyzed by fear. I always snap awake just when something really terrible is about to happen, and grope in the dark for their furry bodies. I find them (of course) and breathe a huge sigh of relief. Feeling Shelby's warm weight as she rests against my legs, and Heidi's naked pink belly (as she sleeps upside down on my other pillow) always brings me out of the nightmare induced shock and panic and back to reality.

My nightmares lately, however, have grown into more specific visions that directly endanger their lives; versus endangering all of our lives for example.

Last week I woke up from a nightmare so vivid, that if I think about them, I can still see the images as clear as day; as if they had been permanently burned into my memory. Even though the odds of you all thinking I am completely insane for dreaming this (not to mention now typing it for the world to see) are pretty high, this is the dream: Shelby was flying a jet. Yes, that's right. FLYING A JET. We were out in the back yard of my old house and she saw birds in the sky. (She LOVES chasing anything up there...sparrows, planes, clouds...the MOON...) The next thing I know, she is in a jet chasing the birds through the sky. I of course was frantic. Not because I was thinking how my dog couldn't possibly fly the plane correctly, or hold the stick because of a lack of opposable thumbs, but because I was afraid she was going to crash. So the next thing I know my mom and I are running through the streets of some city (Boston?) looking for a building large enough that I can stand on the roof and flag her down. I ended up trying to run up the ramp of a parking garage trying to get to the roof when I saw a plane collide with something in the air. Although it was another plane, I undoubtedly knew Shelby's was next. She then ended up crashing, and I found a fireman running down towards me with her in his arms; charred, wet and shaking. I screamed and went to grab her. That's when I woke up.

The next one I had was about Heidi. This one was more real to me, as the circumstances in the dream were ones that could in fact, happen. (Although I know Shelby is smart enough to fly a plane, I doubt anyone would grant her access to a cock-pit.) I dreamt that I found Heidi on my bed, and her eyes were rolling back and she was unable to stand. She kept falling over, as if she were drunk. I yelled for my mom and said that I was bringing her into work (our 24 hour facility) to have her looked at. The doctor who saw her was a man, but isn't an actual doctor that I work with (yeah, I have no idea where this guy came from). He took her out back, and they put her in oxygen as she wasn't breathing properly. They then said that they needed to tube her to assist in her breathing, and showed me pictures of some scan (a ct? glorified x-ray?) that showed that she had a blockage in one of her veins in her liver. They needed to do surgery, but she would be OK. That's when I woke up.

I think this second one was brought on by the fact that I had brought both girls in that day to work and had them get their annual physical and had had blood work done. I was nervous about their results because it had been so long since the last time they had had any done (Sept '08). I usually try to do it every 6 months (because they are on raw, and I am a hypochondriac so I think f they are going to get something, at least I can catch it early) and I had only waited because money was so tight due to my short leave from work earlier this year. I felt like a TERRIBLE mother, so as soon as I did have a little money, this was the first thing taken care of. (Yes, my sneakers still have holes in them...)

The reality of the situation is that their blood work actually looks good. Some of their stuff was a bit off, but I also normally fast them before having it drawn and this time I had fed them breakfast. The numbers weren't off so much that their doctor was concerned, so I figure I'll stick to my same routine and have it done again in December. Of course if anything comes up with them between now and then, we will recheck it, and compare it as we now have a baseline.

So as I wonder about my own dreams, I also wonder about theirs too. I think they must have the ability to have clear, vivid dreams as we do, but...do they remember them? Do they seem so real that the line between dream and reality sometimes get blurred? Do they spend hours after waking up wondering what all of those crazy sleep-induced images meant? (I don't think so, as they are often role models for the ability to live in the present.) After reading a lot of Patricia McConnells work, I share her belief that our dogs (and many other animals) do share our emotions, both primary (fear, joy/happiness, anger, etc.) and secondary (jealousy, etc.). But I wonder if their emotions, like ours, affect their dream-lives as well. I wonder if their night visions are permeated by smells and sounds rather than visual images. I don't think anyone out there can argue that dogs don't dream. Anyone who lives with dogs have witnessed first hand their somewhat active sleep habits: thrashing limbs, twitching whiskers and noses and whines and growls. Who knows whether they are having an enjoyable dream of chasing squirrels, or a terrifying nightmare where their lives (and their loved ones too?) are in danger.

But although I may never know what my girls are dreaming about, or how those dreams affect them, I can rest assured that they are happy and healthy; and knowing that helps me sleep better too. Even when the nightmares come, I awake knowing that they were just "scary dreams" and the truth is my girls are still by my side; usually sleeping peacefully.

Sheltie: Silenced!

This post is going to be confirming the stories of abuse that my girls have been telling people for years. It was bad enough having to endure baths and grooming, but this...this is just inexcusable. Today I had to break out...


THE CITRONELLA COLLAR!!!!

Don Don DON!!!

I bought the collar for the girls when I worked at the training center several years ago. Although I was not necessarily having a barking problem then, I knew I had young Shelties and that, some day, it may BECOME a problem. I thought I was also making out on another "steal". The collars that that time were retailing for about 95 bucks; I got mine at cost for about 60 or so. They now go for about half that (http://www.amazon.com/Premier-Spray-Sense-Anti-Collar/dp/B0002D31QU) .

For those of you unfamiliar with a spray collar, let me explain what they are. They are a small box that has a microphone on the back, which rests on the dogs throat. The top of the collar has two holes: one to put the spray into (from an aerosol can), and one that discharges the spray when the dog barks. It lets it go in a puff of spray, accompanied by a somewhat surprising hissing noise. The hope is that the surprise of the sudden burst of spray itself (which gets the dog a little wet), the smell of the citronella, and the hissing sound will deter the dog from barking. It is approved and endorsed by the Humane Society and the SPCA and is a great first step to try if you have an obsessively barking dog. A much nicer first try to curb the barking than using a shock collar, or performing a permanent, surgical devocalizing.

There are a few types of collars out there, but they all generally work the same. The success in it lies in the design of the collar (one design having a stick-like rod that protrudes from the back where the microphone is located), the sensitivity of it (I really do like the Premier products the best), the tightness of the collar around the neck (which should be just like the dogs regular collar-you should fit two fingers between the neck and the collar itself), and the dogs response. Usually what happens is the dog barks, gets sprayed, jumps in surprise, and then decides that they cant stand on that spot on the floor/ground anymore. A few more barks and the dog gets it: bark=spray. Sometimes, however, the dogs don't care about being sprayed at all. They bark, get sprayed, bark again, get sprayed again, etc. There's nothing wrong with the dog; the citronella collar just isn't the right tool to curb the barking.

Now I don't want to get too much into the bark ground and theories and ways to control barking. I explained my feelings in my post about Dog Laws at our other blog: http://rohanshelties.blogspot.com/2009/02/dog-law-every-dog-owner-should-be-aware.html


Although I bought it "just in case", I did have to end up using it, albeit briefly, when we lived in the townhouse in Dracut. Obviously our neighbors were pretty close, so we didn't want to be the people with the "annoying barking dogs" (those turned out to be our "new" neighbors, who moved in shortly before we decided to move out; they were one of the reasons for our move!) But, being brilliant Shelties, they learned what the collar meant. Indeed, they even learned the name for the collar. Even though neither dog has really worn it in the past couple of years, I can still "threaten" them with it when they get a little too vocal. All I have to say is "Citronella collar" and they usually button up pretty quickly.

Shelby is MUCH more sensitive to the threat of the collar; when she hears the dreaded words, she not only quiets down but immediately launches herself into my lap to make apologetic gestures: licking my face, ears back, soft whining. All the little behaviors that always make me think twice about actually using it. Heidi isn't as phased by the collar (and therefore the threat of using it) because her mane and "fluff-ruff" is SO big and full that the collar doesn't work properly. It either can't register her bark if it is sitting on top of her hair, or if I bury the collar in it, it can't spray her because it gets caught in the hair webbing now sitting on top of the collar!

Now my girls bark for different things, which also determines how often they get "threatened". Heidi barks a lot indoors; at quirky things (the blender, hair-dryer, vacuum, the shower turning on, keys being picked up, etc.) And although her barking at those random things gets annoying, she is very good about stopping when we tell her we've had enough. Shelby on the other hand is an outside barker. She barks at the cars that turn around in our driveway (we are the last house on a dead-end street, so we get a lot of them), the annoying kids who play at the end of our street (aka in our DRIVEWAY!!), and now at the birds (that no longer have to be goose-shaped; any bird will do!) as they fly over our house, which she considers our "air space". Shelbys barking, although less annoying to us than Heidi's, can get us into a bit more trouble since it is outside and the NEIGHBORS can hear it as well. (As a side note, if a complaint was ever lodged, I would point out with NO TROUBLE the dog who lives across the street that barks at all hours of the day as he is left UNATTENDED in a 10x6 run, and the kids whose shrieking easily reaches the point where only bats-and my dogs-can hear it. If someone says to me that I have to shut my dogs up, I'm going to tell them to shut theirs-kids and dogs-up first!!)

So although Shelby has really kept her little Sheltie mouth shut lately, it was a little harder for her today. It was the first real nice day in at least a week, so when I kept the door open to give them access to the deck and fenced yard, she went a little crazy. I'm not sure if more birds were out, also enjoying the nice weather, or she was able to see them better without the low-lying clouds that have blanketed our sky for so long, but she was definitely having to keep our air-space clean more today. So as her barking reached its peak, I had to get the collar. And I did it for her own good as much as anyone else's. When I went to get her (as you should NEVER call your dog to you when you are going to do something unpleasant to them) she was panting heavily; she is so focused on chasing the birds that she can't settle. I wanted to give my little one a break before she ran herself into the ground.

So I put the collar on her, just while I finished up ironing, and then took it off. The look on her face was priceless. It was as if I had both beaten her and told her there was no Santa Paws. Her face was just so sad; the indignant, disgusted looks I was getting was disconcerting. Then when Heidi (being as nosey as she is) went up to see what all the fuss was about, and smelled the collar on her poor sisters neck, she started with the ugly looks too!

I tried to explain to both of them it was only for a few minutes and it was for Shelbys own good, but they looked like they didn't believe a word I was saying. I quickly took the collar off a few minutes later and have been trying to get back on Shelby's good side all night. Although I don't think I am completely forgiven yet, I do have to say that the Yoghund ice cream helped. I'm just hoping I don't wake up with a Sheltie-Shaped pillow over my head trying to smother me tonight while I sleep! (Oh, and for the record, the collar lives EMPTY on my refrigerator when not in use. This is so Heidi doesn't find and DESTROY it. And as it has been so long since I've had to break it out, yes, I put it on Shelby EMPTY today too! Sssshhhh....dont tell her!)

Here are some pictures of Shelby wearing the dreaded device: first being stressed, then hearing birds, then looking in the sky for them! But she still didn't bark...

A Sheltie Steal!

Did I happen to mention yet that I love living in New England? Every time wander-lust hits me and I feel the urge to wonder where I would like to live some day, I always come back to thinking "I can't leave New England...its just too good here!" Now of course I know that everyone must think like this; if you didn't love where you were living, why would you continue to stay? But I have to say, being a dog owner in New England definitely has its perks.

Just like in human medicine, we have some of the best veterinary hospitals around. Both Tufts University and Angell Memorial are world renown. And there are, of course, many others: including the amazing group of hospitals that make up InTown, which is where I work. We also have an amazing competition scene; Paw Print Trials, who serves as secretary for many of the top 10 agility trials in the entire US, is based right here...and many of those high-entry trials are held here in Massachusetts. We have some of the best world competitors and trainers at facilities that are an easy hour or so drive in any direction from where I live: Ken Fairchild, Julie Daniels, Lo Baker, Celeste Meade, and Leslie Nelson are all here.

There are several dog parks, dog friendly state parks and beaches, hiking trails and open fields that are heaven to any dog looking for a little exercise and some bonding time with mom or dad. The weather is always changing; you can enjoy all of those afore mentioned places during the hot dog-days of summer, the crisp coolness of autumn, the chilly snow of winter and sunny rebirth of spring. And with all of the changes the seasons bring, also bring a variety of other activities that you can enjoy during them: skiijoring and sledding, hiking and swimming, kayaking and canoeing, and of course indoor and outdoor dog shows.

But as wonderful as all those reasons are, there is one reason that I regularly over looked...until yesterday: living within easy driving distance of the PetEdge warehouse!

Now, for those of you who don't know about PetEdge (PetEdge.com), it is a pet supply company that usually sells to retailers...but also sells to the general public as well; they not only sell to you and I, but we get the same WHOLE SALE prices that the retailers get! Check them out the next time that you're looking for great prices on everything from crates to beds, toys to bowls and every grooming supply that you could ever want or need! Their prices can't be beat!

Now although I have been aware of their company (and my close proximity to their warehouse!) for many years, I never took so much advantage of their great pricing and good deals as I did yesterday. I had received an email from them about a week ago about a three day sale they were having at their warehouse only. Money has still been a little tight, so although I didn't delete it, I wasn't really planning on going. I didn't NEED anything at this particular time (although being a Sheltie owner I could probably always use SOMETHING...) so I wasn't as excited about it as I probably could have been at some other point. But then a friend of mine said that she had gone down and got a GREAT deal on some beds. So, as I found myself off on Saturday with nothing to do but brush the girls, I took the drive down. What the heck, I thought. Maybe I'll get something at a steal.

AND BOY DID I!!

Now, the entire warehouse store was NOT on sale; the great deals only applied to the clearance room. So I strolled around there looking for something I could USE...not just something I wanted, but something I could put to use to justify spending the money. First I found a cordless nail grinder. That is something that I could definitely use and had always wanted. The box was damaged, but all parts were accounted for and it was only 7 bucks. So I grabbed it. I then bought a small clipper, as I've found that just scissoring a "sani-strip" on their hind ends isn't quite cutting it. The clippers were 21 bucks. When I got to the counter, I found out that I already had a 13 dollar credit on my account from a previous return. Sweet! I paid the difference and told the girls that we were leaving...

It's a good thing we didn't! I happened to hear some of the employees talking about bringing some more stuff into the clearance room. So, leaving my bag of purchased items at the counter, I went back in. And that's where I spotted a set of these:

http://homeandkennel.petedge.com/Pet-Studio-RampSteps-ZA659.pro?parentCategoryId=194&categoryId=222&subCategoryId=418

I had been WAITING to be able to afford a set of stairs or ramp for the side of my bed so Heidi can get on and off; Shelby has always been able to jump on and off, but my Heidi has never been able to do it. I've always lifted her on or off the bed; which got a little difficult when I wasn't allowed to lift anything over 10lbs. after I had my stent placed...

The sticker on this "marked down" set, was $67.99. It was still a lot (a lot more than I had planned on spending that day, anyways...) but I knew that they were in the catalog for over $100. So I brought them to the counter.

When the cashier rang them up, the price came to:

(get ready for it!!)

$11.19!!!!!!!!

Yes. That's right. I paid ELEVEN DOLLARS for something that is still priced online for $127! I felt like that crazy lady in the IKEA commercial when she looks at her receipt and then RUNS to the car where her husband is waiting screaming "START THE CAR! START THE CAAAARRR!!"

I hurried the girls out, into the car, and sped out of that parking lot as if it were a chase scene from "Chips". I think I even left a little rubber (and flying dog hair!) behind.

I still am proud of my excellent bargain, and felt the need to share it with all of my dog friends out there in blogger land. I hope you all are finding bargains in this tough economy too! We can't forget the needs (and lets face it, wants!) of our furry friends!

Take care everyone, and here are some pictures of Heidi enjoying her new stairs. True to Sheltie form, she figured out how to use them and remembered where they were in a few short "up and down" sessions (with liver enticements of course!) The last pic is so Shelby gets some "face time" too.

Double Trouble

Although my amazing Shelties are beautifully behaved and expertly trained, they are still dogs. Very VERY smart, intelligent dogs. Dogs who, when they don't have a job to apply all those smarts to, get creative in terms of finding intellectual outlets on their own. Now, at this point I have to be honest and admit that I've been slacking. I know I haven updated in a while, but Ive had to take a few steps back and really curb my activity level again; I was just feeling too tired and run down and needed to let my body rest. Not only did I have to start taking it easier at work, but also at home. Which meant that the girl activities would be cut down too. Now I hope that through all these posts you know me well enough to make sure that they are still being taken care of! We're just playing more Frisbee in the backyard (while I can sit) instead of taking long walks.

So I had deep and meaningful conversations with them to let them know what was going on and that "mommy needs to rest", and I think they took it well. Sure, Heidi has been a little more talkative than normal (with a little more pent up energy than normal, her mouth seems to be her "creative" outlet-more on that in a bit) and Shelby has been chasing more and more things in the sky (again, more on that in a bit). But otherwise they have been doing well. We all have. I'm hoping, as I'm sure Ive said here a hundred times before, that listening to my body now and getting some seemingly needed rest, will pay off later and I'll be able to enjoy being active again. Indeed, I hope to be able to be even more active than I was before!

So, things up to this point have been going well. That is, they were going well until yesterday. Yesterday was the first day that I thought to myself (as I'm smart enough not to have yelled it out loud): BAD DOG!!! And not only did I think it once, I the thought occurred to me twice. In ONE DAY!! Let me tell you the tale:

So, not too long ago, I posted about some "quirks" that my girls had. Well, let me tell you about two more. And also how these quirky behaviors got the "BAD DOG!" thoughts yesterday.

After our somewhat disappointing attempts at herding (both sheep and ducks) I thought I would Shelby continue to practice on some, uh, local fowl: the Canadian geese that seem to be EVERYWHERE. Now, I don't let her chase them anywhere where they should be: state parks, etc. but on public beaches and places of business they're fair game. Now of course I would never put Shelby in harms way; I can call her off them in a split second if the geese don't take to flying right away (which means they may fight) or if they fly too close to a road. But letting her go tearing off in chase (much like a sight hound at a lure coursing event) is something really neat to see. At first she wouldn't go that far from me. She would run a little, give a few barks and then come back. Now, however she'll run and run...even after they've taken flight she'll still chase them while they're in the air. It's even more of a fun challenge for her when its seagulls at the beach-they're not as bright as the geese, you see. They fly off when she comes running and then when she comes back to me, they'll just land in the same spot again. Which, of course, makes Shelby go right back after them.

Shes become a little...obsessed...with this behavior. She now tries to chase anything that she sees in the sky; she actually walks with her neck craned upwards so that she can stare search it for things to chase (once she even got upset that the moon was out early...and no, it wasn't moving!). But again, she has a great "leave-it" and stops staring (or chasing) as soon as I ask her to. But yesterday she took the behavior further than I think even she expected. My mom and I took them to the beach to get some exercise. They went for a bit of a walk and I brought their chuck-it so they could run too. And of course, Shelby chased birds: in the sky and on the beach. But one time when I threw the ball it got lost in the beach grass. As my mom and I were looking for it, we heard this huge "SPLASH!!!" We both turned around and saw Shelby practically UNDER WATER. She had JUMPED right into the ocean! Where we were is kind of hard to describe; we weren't on the actual shore, but on the beach of a small harbor. So the ocean waves weren't lapping at the sand. It was pretty calm and quiet. But it was deeper than the gentle, gradual slope of the actual "beach" on the other side of the road.

So now Shelby, coughing and sputtering, comes bounding out of the sea with this look of complete surprise on her face like "WOW that was DEEP! And cold!!" And I now have a soaking wet Sheltie that needs to be loaded into my car for the drive home. And this is when, while the pungent odor of "wet dog" was filling my nostrils on the entire 45 minute trip back, I was thinking "BAD DOG!" But then those fleeting thoughts left as quickly as they came. And they were replaced with laughter and the humor of the ridiculousness of the whole thing. I didn't have my camera at this point, but she looked very similar to this:


This picture was taken after she had gotten soaked with muck after another memorable seagull chasing event in March. The only difference is here she is soaked with muck only up to her chest and yesterday she was soaked with water and sand...up to her chin! I actually took her collar off to make sure she didn't get a hot spot.

On to "BAD DOG!" #2:

One of Heidi's quirks, which shes done ever since we brought her home, has been to eat socks...and other, er, undergarments. And although it sounds terrible, the reasons behind are actually kind of amusing. Those people in the training and behavior world often remind us that dogs do not have the emotional capabilities to feel things like spite. Well, come meet my dog Heidi. She can be very spiteful in certain situations! She seeks out these clothes to kill when my mom and I leave; no, not EVERY time that we leave, but when we leave and piss Heidi off. For example, she wont eat anything when we go to work or to run an errand UNLESS we do something like leave and come right back: i.e. when I say goodbye, walk to the car and then realize I forgot something back in the house. So, I go back, unlock the door, grab my forgotten item and then LEAVE AGAIN. This is the situation where Heidi will go into either of our rooms (mine first, and then if she can't find anything easily accessible then she goes to scope out my mom's room) and look for something to eat. And no, she doesn't eat them completely, she chews them and then leaves the slobbery mass on the floor for me to find.

Now this behavior is pretty rare; not necessarily because Heidi doesn't get pissed off as often as before because she is aging (yeah right!), but because we've kept our house "puppy proofed" (yes, the puppy proofing that you usually do when you have a 7 week old puppy not a 7 year old adult dog!) We have to put up a gate to prevent her from going upstairs (which we would probably do regardless for safety reasons) and I went from using a laundry basket to keep my dirty clothes in to a hamper with a lid. I had to do this last switch because she had figured out how to actually GET INTO the basket and grab said sock from INSIDE my pant legs!!

So we humans think we are so smart; now that we have outsmarted the dog. Well yesterday she proved me wrong. BIG TIME. She totally outsmarted us. I got home and saw that she had left me a gift: a pair of chewed, drooly...unmentionables...on my floor! I thought "How in the HELL did she get them?!?!" Then I looked at the laundry hamper. This is what I saw:

She actually PULLED THEM OUT through the tiny holes in the front. And what is even worse, is that there were also SOCKS sticking out of the hole too! Now I don't know if those had come through while she pulled the "other" item out, or if she had gone back for seconds but it doesn't matter. All that matters is that she took advantage of them hanging out and chewed those too! This dog is TOO SMART for her own good!!! This was the second "BAD DOG!" thought for the day. I of course couldn't say it to her because she doesn't remember what she did. And she doesn't know what "BAD DOG!" means; I might as well be shouting "pickles and ice-cream" at her. And again, like Shelby's incident/accident from before, once the shock of the "I can't BELIEVE that the dog did this" feeling wore off, I managed to find the humor in the situation.

And thats what my Heart-Dogs are still doing for me: reminding me to laugh and find the humor in every day situations; even if they at first appear to be troublesome or annoying. And to remember these times as they will later become precious and treasured memories. And to remember that having two dogs is usually double the trouble, they are also (just like the gum commercial says) "double the pleasure and double the fun"!! (And in he Shelties' case, double the beauty, sweetness, intelligence and love.)