Elbie, Hoover, Dodge & Friends!

[koalathebear]

oops double post

Edited November 20, 2010 by koalathebear

[Clastic]

Great photos KTB!

I saw that first photo of Cricket and started giggling.

We're also a touch sunburnt, my OH is mostly burnt on the back of his neck.. but it was worth it.

I put sunscreen on Mars and didn't even put any on ourselves!

[ravenau1]

Hello everyone!

Will have to have a sit down and a proper read through! Wuffles, so glad Ava is better, that must have been so scary

Still patiently waiting here! 2 weeks and 5 days to go until puppy comes home with us We're pretty well organised now!

[Clastic]

Hello everyone!

Will have to have a sit down and a proper read through! Wuffles, so glad Ava is better, that must have been so scary

Still patiently waiting here! 2 weeks and 5 days to go until puppy comes home with us :D We're pretty well organised now!

Hellooooooooo!!

So excited for you!! Wish I lived closer so I could get Dobe cuddles when the little one arrives!

[koalathebear]

On DOL, one click leads to another and I end up reading the most random of threads. I had a mild WTF moment though when I was reading this extremely poignant thread and then came across the poodle post. What an unlucky slip of the finger and quite possibly the worst place to accidentally post a photo of a cute little puppy

ravenau1: oh so cute! How exciting that you almost have your pup!!! We'll be waiting for the photos! I don't think I've ever met a dobe puppy.

ETA:

In other news, the thread above made me feel a bit maudlin. ;) Apologies in advance for the maudlin trip down memory lane ...

I started thinking about that "Dog's Purpose Story" again and remembering all the people who told me not to get a second puppy when Elbie was still so young because we'll have two old dogs at the same time and we'll lose the dogs around the same time and when one dog dies, the other dog will be very sad. :D I have to say, the short life span of a dog is a thing that has always bothered me. Cockatoos live up to 120 years, outliving their owners and yet dogs have an incredibly short life span. Approximately 7 years for Bernese Mountain Dogs, perhaps up to even 20 years for the longer lived working breeds, but the twilight years aren't really high in quality of life.

I can't believe I even got another dog let alone now have two. When my family dog Kitt died almost 10 years ago, I swore that I would never, ever, ever get another dog because it just hurt too much. He was 11 when he died and I was working in Sydney at the time I heard he was ill. He was in so much pain, my brother wasn't able to take him to the vet because he was biting from the pain. The vet drove out and carried Kitt himself into the backseat of his fancy BMW, not caring about the upholstery ... It was the same vet who had examined Kitt when we got him as a tiny puppy at 6 weeks old (yes, yes, I know) and who had looked after him his whole life. My brother had to go interstate on travel but Papa Koala was able to visit Kitt at the vet's. Despite his pain, Kitt recognised him, raised his head and put his head in his hand and licked his hand. My boss gave me two days' leave to fly back to Canberra to see Kitt before he was put to sleep. I arrived at Canberra airport at about 9.30am or so and Papa Koala met me at the airport and his face was so sad as he told me that I had arrived too late and that the vet had phoned him to tell him that Kitt had passed away at about 8.30 am that morning but that I could still see the body if I wanted. We went to see him and he was lying on his side. If it wasn't for the bloody froth on the ground near his mouth, I would have sworn he was still sleeping, so I patted him and cried over him and apologised for not being there for him when he went away.

His death was incredibly upsetting to us all. Goofily, I sent up a little website 'shrine' for him and we compiled a list of memories of him. He was named Kitt because I wanted to name him 'Kit' which is the Northern shortening of 'Christopher' because I was reading Pamela Belle novels in which Kit was used as a version of Christopher. My brother was revolted at the thought so we named him 'Kitt' as a compromise so it could be after the car from Knight Rider. Kitt was a labrador border collie, a dog school drop-out and was the typical puppy that the family gets because the kids promise the world but end up doing very little and the dog becomes an outside dog taken for the occasional walk. When we were writing down our memories, we wrote about things like ...

• how we brought him home in a washing basket
  
• the first night we woke up, we found lots of little wees and 'poodles' on the floor of the entrance hall
  
• sometimes when he'd look at us, his ears would do crazy 'flying nun' impersonations
  
• when he did a poo, he'd look like he was concentrating hard and I always claimed he got the same expression Andre Agassi did when he was serving
  
• my father remembered how he went through a phase of ripping down all of his t-shirts from the washing line and for a while, dad had no t-shirts whatsoever because of Kitt
  
• he'd fall asleep outside my window and I could hear him snoring loudly
  
• how he'd fall asleep leaning against the sliding doors and ended up breaking both sliding doors
  
• how when he was little he used to do a 'jail break' and run down the road whenever we opened the gate and we were always retrieving him from the neighbours'
  
• how sometimes when we let him inside the house, he'd get the zoomies and do a lap of the entrance hall, lounge, kitchen, repeat x 5
  
• how he hated peas and no matter how mixed in the peas were with the food, he'd eat everything in his food dish and leave the peas behind
  
• how we never knew what dogs weren't supposed to eat so he basically ate all our leftovers including cooked chicken bones and goodness knows what else
  

I still cry when I think about Kitt and even a few years ago when OH mentioned getting a dog because I was allergic to cats, I resisted strongly, maintaining that I was never, ever going to own another dog.

OH grew up with a cat named Sagi, short for Sagittarius, who died when he was a kid. The cat was already around when he was born so was older than he was. Its bed was in the hallway cupboard but he always slept in OH's bed near his pillow, never in the hallway. One night, Sagi visited my OH and fell asleep near his pillow like always. Then after OH was asleep, Sagi went to the hallway cupboard and died. It was like he knew he was going to die and was saying his final farewells before going to the bed that he never used. I know OH is still sad when he thinks of Sagi so that was another reason why I was so determined never to have another pet. :D

Stares at two monsters playing bitey face in one dog bed

Funny how one changes one's mind ...

Edited November 21, 2010 by koalathebear

[lilli_star]

On DOL, one click leads to another and I end up reading the most random of threads. I had a mild WTF moment though when I was reading this extremely poignant thread and then came across the poodle post. What an unlucky slip of the finger and quite possibly the worst place to accidentally post a photo of a cute little puppy :D

Oh. :D I wonder why they didn't just delete the whole post?

Hope you've all had a good weekend. Roo was pretty good at dog school yesterday. There was a lot of sitting around though which was not really good for her, but we got through it. I got one of the harnesses from MDTL (they're called Sporn. Heh. Rather fitting for feral dogs) and we went into Petbarn to stalk another DOL-er I wouldn't have taken Roo in if we didn't have the harness- the last time I took her in to buy her Very Expensive Dog Bed (that she doesn't use! ;) ) she was feral!

She was pretty tired afterwards and slept in the car on the way home and most of the afternoon.

Today I had lunch with some friends and Roo had amused herself by dragging around a couple of bits of wood and pulled the grate off the drain near the back tap. Again! So, I have fixed that hopefully by putting some Vicks on it. Sorry Roo, but it had to be done

Meanwhile I am being overrun by ants! I sprayed them with flyspray and I swear, an hour later there were HUNDREDS!!!!! My lovely neighbour came over to give me some flowers from her garden and saw all the ants and went and got her magical spray. It certainly seemed to stop them in their tracks, but I'm reluctant to use it at the laundry door because it's near Ruby's yard. I just want them to go away :D

[lilli_star]

Oh. I forgot to say, Raven your puppeh is a little bit cute!

KTB, they are gorgeous photos from Bredbo of your doglets and Mars and Pepper. Oh, and the sheep and working dogs

_{Useless piece of information No. 142- My grandfather managed a huge property there when my dad was little.}

Wuffles, how is Ava after the stitches are now no more and she and Satch can be crazy doglets together again? ;)

[wuffles]

Hope you've all had a good weekend. Roo was pretty good at dog school yesterday. There was a lot of sitting around though which was not really good for her, but we got through it. I got one of the harnesses from MDTL (they're called Sporn. Heh. Rather fitting for feral dogs) and we went into Petbarn to stalk another DOL-er I wouldn't have taken Roo in if we didn't have the harness- the last time I took her in to buy her Very Expensive Dog Bed (that she doesn't use! ;) ) she was feral!

She was pretty tired afterwards and slept in the car on the way home and most of the afternoon.

Today I had lunch with some friends and Roo had amused herself by dragging around a couple of bits of wood and pulled the grate off the drain near the back tap. Again! So, I have fixed that hopefully by putting some Vicks on it. Sorry Roo, but it had to be done :D

Meanwhile I am being overrun by ants! I sprayed them with flyspray and I swear, an hour later there were HUNDREDS!!!!! My lovely neighbour came over to give me some flowers from her garden and saw all the ants and went and got her magical spray. It certainly seemed to stop them in their tracks, but I'm reluctant to use it at the laundry door because it's near Ruby's yard. I just want them to go away :D

The Easy Walk harness (similar to the Sporn one) was an absolute lifesaver for us, we still use it when we are walking the dogs together or in really busy areas.

We've found that the few times we've had ant issues, those "ant baits" where the ants take poison back to their nest fix the problem really quickly.

Our weekend was good, pretty busy. Dog training this morning was good and I was very proud of my girl, as usual

[lilli_star]

Oh Kwalaaaaaaa....your post made me cry

[minxy]

Oh that has made me so sad too

I think the worst day of my life was when my Rottweiler, Chelsea, died.

She had cancer and had been sick for a while. I wrote a letter to my friend at some point saying that I think Chelsea was getting better and that all I wanted was for my best friend to get better. I never got around to giving it to her though. Not sure when, but at some stage I went on grade 8 camp and forgot to say goodbye to Chelsea. She got really sick while I was away and there was nothing more that could be done, so my parents had her put to sleep. They picked me up from camp and the first thing I asked was how Chelsea was, so they told me what had happened. I remember walking through all the other kids to our car absolutely sobbing because I didn't get to say goodbye. I stuck the letter I wrote to my friend in the back of a photo of Chelsea and I and I'm pretty sure I would still have it at my parents house somewhere.

Since then I'd never felt close to any family dogs we got. Now that I have Kyojin though and he is my own dog, I feel really close to him already.

[wuffles]

lilli_star, Ava is making the most of being able to jump at Satch's face, bite his ears, paw his nose and generally be an annoying brat

This thread is going to turn really sad, really quickly, but I can't help myself.

My childhood dog was a CKCS called Pokey after the Poky Little Puppy story. When he was 10 years old (and I was about 15) he had to be PTS due to a brain tumour. He went downhill fast and his illness was very upsetting to watch. Anyway, my dad and I drove him to the vet but I was so upset that my dad had to drop me off at the local shopping centre on the way.

We also had a cockatiel that thought he was a dog and was an awesome little bird. He was 8 years old when he flew out the back door, freaked out and flew into the distance. My dad spent the whole day searching for him, in the end a couple found him in their yard being attacked by magpies and took him to the vet. Unfortunately he went into shock and couldn't be saved. I still cry whenever I think of Beau (and so does my dad as he blames himself, it is heartbreaking) as he must have been so scared. Knowing Beau, he'd probably gone up to the other birds to say hello and go through his repertoire of noises and words and songs OH and I still reminisce about Beau because when we were dating, we'd be in my bedroom and all of a sudden Beau would fly onto the bed and announce, "HELLO!" and go through his little routine. He was so cool ;)

I know everyone's stories are very sad but I think it's good in a way for kids to experience the love and loss of a pet. Life is like that. I think it makes everyone realise (including you KTB!) that the joy of having a pet is worth the heartbreak at the end

[koalathebear]

I am sorry I was prompted to have such sad thoughts today. It's just stupid but it makes me really try to appreciate my doggies as much as I can. When I saw them lounging around, I felt bad that I wasn't taking them out for a walk so I took Elbie out for a stroll while OH took Hoover somewhere else for a walk. I want to make their lives as happy as I can while they're with us. To be honest, if I'd had my way and been rational, I would have probably continued my insistence on never having another dog for the rest of my life, but sometimes things happen that change your mind and there's nothing you can do about it.

minxy and wuffles - your stories of Pokey, Beau and Chelsea are so sad but I do love how the memories of our pets stay with us for so long and the memories are still so incredibly clear and strong. I sometimes wonder if Kitt's waiting for me somewhere and hope he's patient.

*

To make amends for my sorrowful post, Hoover is making progress with 'are you shy' but I have hit a wall and had to ask for help in the training thread here.

Elbie has today learned how to weave, video

. Not sure what the purpose of it is, but it's certainly funny to watch.

lilli_star: good to hear about Roo. The sitting around during class is always a killer. For us, in beginner and bronze, mostly all the 'students' get to do stuff at the same time but in silver, there's a LOT of sitting around waiting your turn on the obstacle course (loose lead walking or recall) and a lot of dogs lose focus during that time and it's pretty frustrating because sometimes it can feel like a waste of good and valuable time. OH says that for the last few times, rather than making people wait around to be watched by the instructor, people are just going through the course on their own as the instructor works with the recalls etc and that seems to be working better. I agree that the Sporn harness is hilarious. I was tempted to get it but the whole 'devil spawn' thing seemed way too appropriate for my monsters, so we opted for the easy walk harness. Elbie is a huge puller when excited so we are working hard with trying to fix that. Hoover, thank goodness, is not a puller.

Today I had lunch with some friends and Roo had amused herself by dragging around a couple of bits of wood and pulled the grate off the drain near the back tap. Again! So, I have fixed that hopefully by putting some Vicks on it. Sorry Roo, but it had to be done

Crossing my fingers that it works! We sprayed that bitter stuff that's supposed to keep dogs and cats away from stuff but Elbie used to stare at us and lick it with a defiant expression on his eyes, kind of like Lurtz the Uruk Hai at the end of FOTR licking the knife that Aragorn has just stabbed with him. Defiant little snot that he is (Elbie not Lurtz). In the end, all that worked for us was to basically scold Elbie in a very stern voice whenever we caught him in the act of gnawing on something he shouldn't

Meanwhile I am being overrun by ants! I sprayed them with flyspray and I swear, an hour later there were HUNDREDS!!!!! My lovely neighbour came over to give me some flowers from her garden and saw all the ants and went and got her magical spray. It certainly seemed to stop them in their tracks, but I'm reluctant to use it at the laundry door because it's near Ruby's yard. I just want them to go away

Urgh. I HATE ants. OH hates ants even more because as a Canadian, he continues to be horrified by our insect and spider-infested country. We have to be careful of sprays because of the doggies - we had an infestation coming through the bathroom ceiling recently but OH sprayed the crap out of it so we've been left alone for now. It's very frustrating though. We had two infestations of European wasps at our last home (rental) but fortunately our landlord was very prompt about dealing with the problem. As a child, one of my worst nightmares was tipping the muesli into my bowl, swallowing a spoonful and then realising that the ants had got in.

In other news, Hoover went well today with his 'socialisation'. As usual, he was sitting on the edges of the dog school grounds and even though before class started he had quite a few angry massive dogs barking bear him and lunging at him like crazy, he sat and stared up at me with complete focus (waiting for treats ;) Also, when he went to greet the other dogs, I was able to call him back using his name and he'd come back. He is doing very well despite his baldness.

Edited November 21, 2010 by koalathebear

[Clastic]

lilli_star - Hope the ants disappear soon, I especially hate when they manage to make it inside the house!

wuffles - Yaaaay, no more stitches!

Everyone's stories are so sad.. :D But they have all left wonderful memories.

I've lost a few family pets over the past few years all due to ageing illness, but I always think back and remember all the things they did that made them unique which made me smile.

I don't quite know how I will react if I lost my two, they're really the first dogs which are actually my own (and OH), but not a family pet. Well I'm hoping that it won't be for many many many years down the track preferably another 12 years+. :D

KTB - Dances with dogs!!

Hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing weekend! Start of another week tomorrow, another week closer to Christmas.. another week to remind me that I haven't done my Christmas shopping!

[koalathebear]

Well I'm hoping that it won't be for many many many years down the track preferably another 12 years+.

Yay for working dogs and their healthiness.

KTB - Dances with dogs!!

Would love to but can you see either OH or me doing Dances with Dogs? We would look like dorks. I'm already doing it tough convincing him that agility sounds good even though it involves running around the field like a madman. :D

Alas, we are going to have to speak to HH next Saturday about a new Bad behaviour that Elbie has developed. Sometimes, he growls if we pull him by the collar Sometimes we need to kick him out of the room/house and if we try to pull him by the collar/pick him up, he growls and snaps at our hand - never actually makes contact but it's not acceptable behaviour. I haven't posted about it anywhere else because I don't want to get the usual 'Your Dog is Bad and can never be Rehabilitated'. 'He needs to be PTS' thing ... To be honest, he used to behave very badly around collar and harness (even bit me once in the car when he was freaking out - although there was no skin broken and no pressure actually applied by his teeth and he never did it again) and we managed to successfully desensitise him to those so that he no longer snapped at us about that but the collar tugging is a bit annoying.

We have been practising by pulling him around by his collar and also picking him up, but no doubt HH will have some useful suggestions. I know the easy solution is to say 'well just don't pull him around by his collar' but the fact is, he shouldn't be growling and there could be a time when there is an emergency, we don't have a leash and we need to pull him by his collar.

ETA: And for any disapproving lurkers out there - we are seeking professional advice - HH is a professional dog behaviourist and trainer ...

I am on the k9pro mailing list and I was reading this article called DJ the Black Lab vs Granny and it occurs to me that if that family had posted here on DOL, the PTS chorus would have been deafening. Such a difficult call to make and Granny sounds like a remarkable woman!

Hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing weekend! Start of another week tomorrow, another week closer to Christmas.. another week to remind me that I haven't done my Christmas shopping!

and :D I have bought exactly one Christmas present so far. I'd better get my act together!!!

Edited November 21, 2010 by koalathebear

[Cleo's Corgwyn]

Such bittersweet stories today. Having had dogs and cats and guinea pigs and birds and rats, etc,etc all my life (yep my family are all animal mad!) I know how painful it is, but we never know how long we might have them for -yes, they both might die close together, but you might loose one young to an accident, or have them both live to an advanced age. You also need to grieve in your own way; I lost my old siamese cat just weeks after we moved to Canberra, and while many people told me to wait, he left such a big hole in my life, that I went out and got my little oriental boywithin weeks, and he defiitely helped me heal. I still dread losing SHandy though!

Nice to see everyone has had such fun. I'll see all the Canberra BDOC people at the BBQ on Thursday.

Shandy and I have had a busy week - we spent a week up at my parents in Central Qld. Shandy and my parents similarly coloured brindle and white boxers got some odd looks - I think people think my family must have an excessive attraction for brindle dogs. Shandy coped beautifully with the flying and new environment and learnt to travel in the back of a ute and swim in the ocean like a 'proper' Qld dog! In other big news, we also headed to Sydney yesterday, and SHandy passed her Delta Therapy dog assessment with flying colours, so after some training for me, we'll start visiting hospitals!

[lilli_star]

Ugh Christmas shopping :D I still have 3 birthdays to get through first! Actually, make that two, my niece's was today :D (I did send a card and an iTunes voucher though) My nephew number 1 and niece number 3 are still to go.

Even before we get to those, I have reports to write and end of year stuff to get through. Where did the year go anyway????

OH hates ants even more because as a Canadian, he continues to be horrified by our insect and spider-infested country.

Yes, yes, have been there, done that. Had to teach the whole check your boots before you put them on, don't go on the grass without shoes (catheads are evil and lethal!). But, at least we don't have skunks! Or raccoons that spread rabies. And besides that, remind Mr KTB that we have wombats! And koalas! And Tim Tams! _{Doesn't make up for the lack of Tim Horton's though...}

Hey KTB, have you bought an Easywalk harness for Hoover? I have one here gathering dust if you want it (or anyone else for that matter). Size medium. I bought it for Roo, but it just encourages her to grab the lead. Barely used once (does having it fit at the vet clinic count? Or practising in the backyard?).

Edited November 21, 2010 by lilli_star

[Niques]

Thanks for posting the sheep herding photos! It's great to see working dogs in action. Hoover and his new friend look like they could be twins - hope you brought home the right puppy :D Elbie's weaving is looking good!

As sad as the stories of past pets are, it's lovely to see what an impact these animals have had on everyone's lives. I myself had a very morbid moment last night thinking about James' lifespan and the idea simply devestated me. I've never had a pet die before - my childhood rabbit had to be given away when we moved to QLD (and I always felt the little fellow was pure evil anyway ) and my turtle ended up in a creek. So the thought is terrifying.

KTB, hopefully you get some helpful advice on Elbie's growling. From my (very inexperienced) point of view, the desensitising and rewarding that you're doing sounds like a good plan.

James found himself doing some gardening this afternoon. His little digging corner was filled in (poor chap - next trip to Bunnings will be to get him some sand for his clamshell) and the hedges were trimmed - the helpful boy found himself a Mock Orange branch and proudly carried it around all afternoon.

Christmas shopping is a scary thought. I'm planning taking advantage of the Myer One members sale this week but still have no idea what I'm actually getting anyone

Edited November 21, 2010 by Niques

[wuffles]

Shandy and I have had a busy week - we spent a week up at my parents in Central Qld. Shandy and my parents similarly coloured brindle and white boxers got some odd looks - I think people think my family must have an excessive attraction for brindle dogs. Shandy coped beautifully with the flying and new environment and learnt to travel in the back of a ute and swim in the ocean like a 'proper' Qld dog! In other big news, we also headed to Sydney yesterday, and SHandy passed her Delta Therapy dog assessment with flying colours, so after some training for me, we'll start visiting hospitals!

Awesome, go Shandy! I wouldn't mind doing something like this but I have some health issues which mean I should stay as far away from hospitals as humanly possible unless necessary

[Max#1]

Ah some very sad stories -but for those sad moments, there were years of love and happiness. I try to remember that, though sometimes you wish you could have just one *more* cuddle.... I came across a very sad story the other day... http://www.petshaven.com.au/?p=1258 Its a tear jerker - so much suffering. I'm so grateful for being able to give the dogs I have had a good life - it may not be perfect - but its still a good life, with lots of love, attention and fun. I don't know what else to say...!

Those sheep herding photos are great. The dogs look so good in action. I love watching agility and watching the really fast dogs weave around the polls (KTB (or Mr. KTB) - my obedience instructor told me not to use the command 'weave' for that between the leg thing as that's what's used for weaving in agility (mind you, she could've also said great work... hmm.. anyhow...)). Its a really pointless exercise - but fun! Maybe in combination with something, like if they go between your legs and touch your fingers, then it could be used as like a directing thing?

Speaking of directing. A friend from the park is starting to teach his brittany left and right. I remember you had an interest in this KTB. For him though, its more about retrieving, and involves him just putting his left or right arm out to direct the dog left or right. Retrieving as a sport sounds fascinating, as its using the dog's instinct, but under such fine fine control.

Poor Max isn't coping well with the warmer weather we've been having lately. I just took him for a little walk to practice LLW, and now he's heavy breathing on the kitchen floor. Poor guy. (I'm home sick - I have a sinus infection and my face feels like its going to implode!).

In terms of new 'bad habits', he's also got one. Fly chasing. Any flying insect that comes into our house. Its one of those things that's kind of funny, but needs 'fixing'... sighs.... He barks and barks (that high-pitched bark that goes straight through your brain like a knife), runs around the house, over furniture, up the walls, and leaps in the air snapping at them. He doesn't eat them, just crunches them. So far we've tried ignoring him, to no avail. Its his 'work', in lieu of sheep, I get the impression. Yesterday he started doing it at the park, much to the bemusement of the other puppies, with whom he wasn't playing anymore - and the annoyance of the other people with that high-pitched bark. You could say its a boredom thing. Or an attention seeking thing. I don't know.

KTB: he also doesn't like being pulled around by his collar, and will growl or snap a little. So I will be interested to hear your progress. He also particularly hates at the end of our obedience class the instructor gets us to sit on the ground, put our dog between our legs, and give them a once over, paws, sniffing in ears, looking in mouths. I don't do it, because he just tries to bite my hands (not vicious, more mouthing). I can understand that after one hour of being on lead, having to stand around quietly, tormenting/being tormented by not being able to play with the other puppies, usually he needs a poo, he's bored, and me trying to sniff his ears at that moment just doesn't work. I should add, at other times its no issue, though he's not big on cuddles - but would rather roll over for a belly rub!!

Speaking of bad habits...

someone had gone quiet... when I went to investigate he was sleeping... on our kitchen table. Yes that is our kitchen table.

Edited November 22, 2010 by Max#1

[Niques]

Aww, Max on the table is gorgeous! He reminds me very much, in appearance, of "Dog" from Footrot Flats.

Fly-chasing sounds very amusing to watch. James' latest habit is to fish beetles out of the swimming pool and slowly torture them.

I iz pensive puppy.