Bubble Wrap?? General Chat

Punxsutawney turned up as a quiz question on Jeopardy yesterday. I must be the only person who hasn't seen the film.
i'm not a big film watcher, a too short attention span!
Brilliant the way they can do that Christmas tree thing with their tails.

It is a pretty funny movie. My ADHD friend can happily sit and watch it over and over (ironically).

Years ago, I took my first trip to Canada. 10 days in Ottawa, part of which was for a folk music festival. Now I am a big Canadian music fan and had connected via the internet with a few local musicians up there. A few of which were performing at the festival.

So, I arrived in Ottawa and got my rental car. The first day, I drove along the Rideau Canal and was thrilled to see beavers in the grass! There was no parking, so I got a few photos from the car.

The next day, the festival started. Great festival. That night back at the hotel, they had a late night performance by one of the local duos I knew. After the show, I said hello to Jody. We talked for a while, after she got over the shock that someone came all the way from California for the festival, she asked how y trip was going. I very excitedly told her about my first sighting of beavers at the canal.

She got very quiet, and in a very reluctant tone said "I hate to tell you this becuse you're so happy about it. But those were groundhogs not beavers."

I still was happy I saw my first groundhogs.

Wish we had a Haha icon!

Today is a MAJOR day in our home.

I have a large bag of peanuts for the parrot and local crows. Tornado-dog made a small hole in the bag and every once in a while he will pull out a peanut and eat it. Then he'll do it again. Always one peanut at a time, and he always takes it to the dog bed to eat (he's not a pig after all). Sometimes, he will leave a peanut on the dog bed for Cat-dog. She likes peanuts.

Well today, Cat-dog attempted to steal her own peanut from the hole in the bag.

This is the first time in her 4 years here that she has tried to take anything on her own.

I'm so proud of her!

She was not afraid of being punished for doing something. We finally broke through her pror conditioning completely. In the last few months, she has started to whine at me and nudge me for attention (before she never sought attention, just waited to be invited over), she stands in my way all the time (instead of staying quietly on her dog bed), and now she has attempted theft without fear of the consequences.

She finally believes that she can act without punishment.

This morning, Punx went in to get spayed. They did the pre-surgery bloodwork and everything was normal. The Dr called to say the surgery went great and that Punx wants to go home. I pick her up in a few hours.

The Dr said everything looked great and her insides were normal sized - so while she is on the smaller size for a cat, she is not stunted in any way.

Whew!! She's now all caught up with vaccines, spay, and microchipping.

Punx has been feeling no pain - higher than a kite.

When we got home, she spent the first 1-1/2 hours playing in the carrier on the couch. Then she went to the day room and has been napping with her sister.

I'm glad all went well. You must feel so relieved after your sad experience last time. Will Punx and Panther be able to play outdoors after she has healed, or are they going to stay as indoor cats?

Mine is the same

Yeah, this one had me nervous. Between the botched surgery on Duchess and Punx's eating issues, I just wasn't feeling my usual confidence.

But I used my vet (not the clinic) and they were very careful. And of course, Punx is feeling just great like it's no big deal.

None of the cats go outside as a rule. Looney1 goes out on his leash and harness because he demands it. We usually hang out on the porch for a while. It keeps him happy so he doesn't try to sneak out.

The others aren't comfortable with the outdoors. They scare easily and aren't social butterflies like Looney1. If he gets loose, he hangs around and walks right up to me. The others will run and hide.

Back in January, Tornado-dog woke me up in the morning. He was very stressed out - panting, drooling, etc - and he spent hours racing around like something was after him. I gave him Benedryl hoping it would calm him down but no luck. If he wasn't trying to crawl under a chair (he did manage it at one point), he was racing around or trying to gt inside me. I finally remembered I had some gabapentin prescribed for him for nail clipping and gave him one of those. After about 20 minutes, he settled down on the couch and slept. When he got up, he was fine.

I thoroughly checked him out and he had no injuries, etc. So I watched him for signs of another episode.

I did notice that he acted somewhat similar when one of the cats climbed into the couch and poked him through the back of the couch (Looney2 taught the girls how to do it). The difference is that when the cats poke him, he jumps off the couch in surprise and then jumps right back up.

Well, this morning, it happened again. Just woke me up all stressed. This time, I immediately gave him a gabapentin. He slept for a few hours and then was fine.

So I searched under the bed as this happens when we're still in bed (he rotates between on the bed with me and under the bed with Cat-dog).

I found the culprit. One of the cords that runs along the baseboard has a tear in the wrapping. It seems the poor boy was catching it with his tail and getting a shock.

I have fixed the cord and ran the cords up higher on the wall behind the bedframe so he won't touch them.

But this is a great example of how bad it is to use shocks to train a dog. He didn't stop going under the bed because he got a shock when he did. Instead, he got completely freaked out, confused, and it appears he felt unpleasant sensations even when there was no shock.

Poor lad. I'm glad you found the cause - it would have been no use going to the vet would it? Of course, a small shock would probably feel similar to being unexpectedly spiked by a cat's claw.
I am still non the wiser about the cause of Tally's collapse on her walk last May. A thorough vet check was completely normal, and it has never happened since. My dog walker recovered her confidence quickly, but it was a long time before she did the same walk. Picking up an intoxicating substance would seem to be the most likely explanation.

He is scheduled for his annual exam in May. So I have kept notes on his behavior, etc. And I will have her check his anal glands - I don't see any issues there, but I've always had big dogs and they don't usually have anal gland problems - but he does tend to look at his butt when he gets startled, like it's the cause of his problem, so I figure it's worth checking. Of course maybe my telling him he's a pain in the butt has convinced him he has one.

Of course, when we went to bed last night, I forgot to make sure the bedside lamp cord wasn't hanging over the headboard. Poor boy laid down on his pillow and must have gotten the cord under him. All of a sudden the lamp crashed to the floor scaring him. We had to trade sides for a while until he realized the lamp wasn't going to crash again. It took him a while before he didn't feel the need to lay over my shoulder.

And then this morning Cat-dog tripped over the rowing machine and must have caught a nail. Being a shepherd she shrieked bloody murder, which had Tornado-dog stress out and try to leap all over her barking the whole time. Which made her shriek even louder. No damage to her foot. By the time they got downstairs it was forgotten by both. But if you heard the shrieking you'd have been convinced I was torturing her.

That was weird with Tally. Maybe she just felt off that day and got faint, or as you say picking up an intoxicating substance or even inhaling it. I am glad it hasn't happened again.

When I had Moose-dog, I woke up one night to him trying to crawl between my head and the headboard shaking in fear. Never happened before and he never has issues with storms or fireworks. After waking up fully, I realized that the oscillating fan had tipped and wasleaning against the dresser. The fan was rattling and making a clicking noise because it couldn't oscillate. Once I put it right, he was fine.

Tornado-dog is learning about Personal Space. It's working. I can now just fit the phone between us...


I also rearranged the living room. He now hangs over the couch to watch for signs of the new neighbors out the side window.

(That look means "what do you want, I'm busy")

In a couple weeks, his Aunt C is joining us for the dogs' annual exams. I scheduled them for the same time, so Aunt C gets to hold Tornado-dog back while I handle Cat-dog for the vet. She needs to look at her eyes and Cat-dog doesn't sit still in close proximity to people - she gets nervous and bounces her head around and it's a hard head.

In contrast, I have to keep Tornado-dog from getting too close up to the vet during his exam - he just wants to give her kisses and hugs.

Looney2 had his annual exam last week. The vet was so amazed at how spectacular he looked that she retested him for FeLV. He came out negative this time. He now weighs 16.54lbs. Before his sudden weight loss last year, he weighed 15lbs so he's regained plus. I suspect we'll retest him next year for the FeLV again. Because he has a heart murmur, we usually do bloodwork on him anyway to make sure there's no new heart damage.

The vet also asked how Punx was doing after her spay. I told the vet that Punx said "what surgery?" On the way out, the vet tech found some worms (hair bands) in the carrier and told me they were big no-nos... Apparently cats like to eat them. My cats just throw them around the house and chase them - they think the vet tech should just shut up and mind her own business.

I'm gonna bring this thread back full circle...

Yesterday, I got a new bird bath. Tornado-dog was right there waiting in anticipation. BUBBLE WRAP!!!!!!!

He's has a huge piece of it in the middle of the living room and goes to it every so often to pop some bubbles when he's bored.

Today, my yard guy is putting up a section of new fence and he brought some assistants. Tornado-dog and Cat-dog were in high heaven. Lots of attention for them.

Cat-dog likes people, especially men, and was right at their side.

Tornado-dog demanded playtime with his deflated volley ball. He remembered the rule about putting the ball in the basket - I had a cart with my ice plants in it and he determined that met the parameters of "basket"... I moved the plants out of the basket so Tornado-dog could get the guys to play. It's the rule, if he puts a ball in the basket, you have to throw it for him.

And once again, I had to tell people Cat-dog's name, but they ALL knew Tornado-dog's name within seconds of being there...

Well, I thought Tornado-dog's anxiety issues were resolved with replacing the faulty electrical cord... But last week, he had another episode. It took a bit longer for the gabapentin to kick in, but I'm just giving him a very small dose for his size. A couple days after that episode, he suddenly lept out from under the bed in a panic. I got down with the flashlight and looked and found a huge fly on its back but still alive. Tornado-dog was definitely upset about it. I got it in a tissue and did away with it and he settled right back down. It's possible that fly had caused his earlier attack.

Yesterday we had his vet appointment. The vet agrees that it is most likely panic attacks. She mentioned sounds as a culprit, but he doesn't seem bothered by sounds at all, so I think it is touch. That would make sense with the faulty cord and then the fly.

Cat-dog's cornea in her left eye is stained dark. The vet thinks it may be pannus, but she has had no inflammation, etc, and there has been no mass on her eye, no scarring of the cornea, and no discharge, so we're going to watch for changes. She is seeing out of the eye.

Aunt C came and helped at the appointment. Tornado-dog gave her lots of love and attention, but she doesn't appreciate his efforts enough. Cat-dog was very nervous in the parking lot and waiting room but once they moved us into the exam room she relaxed - which is a result of the prosac. Before she was extremely nervous even in the exam room. Tornado-dog was anxious - I think more because Aunt C was handling him and she doesn't talk to him.

Afterwards, we headed over to a local park for a walk. This park has horses and llamas, etc, and Cat-dog enjoys them. Unfortunately none of the animals were out. Cat-dog was nervous but calmer than in the past. There were only a couple dogs around and we stayed out of range so she didn't notice them. She explored and paid attention to smells, etc, instead of being in that high stress mode. So that is a major improvement. Once my toe is fully heeled, Aunt C is going to find a nice secluded spot on the river for us to spend a few hours.

Tornado-dog and I have agreed that Aunt C is hopeless. She just cannot understand that he needs to be talked to. It settles him. Instead, she will push him away without a word and then he pushes back at her. It just makes him want to kiss her more because he feels unloved. I've told her that if she just says nicely but firmly "go lay down" and not push so hard, he would leave her alone more. But she cannot seem to get that.

Same with walking. If he wants to check out a scent, she just ignores him and keeps walking pulling him along. I have to point out that he wants to smell something so she'll stop. I'd let her walk Cat-dog instead, but I can't trust her to keep watch out for dogs or to notice if Cat-dog is getting too stressed and needs to be calmed down. The dogs do love her, but Tornado-dog gets very frustrated. She feels "a little Tornado-dog goes a long way" because he wants a lot of attention and he feels "a little Aunt C goes a long way" because she pushes him away all the time. It's a weird relationship.

Do you think that Cat-dog might have a dry eye? This can go unnoticed for a long time, a chronic low grade inflammation, which can be one of the causes of pigmentary keratitis.
I had a lot of problems with Eddie's eye which ulcerated at the beginning lockdown. His vet couldn't legally see him as it wasn't classed an emergency, so I had to send a weekly photograph of his eye, and she sent out the next medication to try and keep him comfortable.
This was highly unsatisfactory, and at the end of lockdown he had to have a corneal abrasion with his eye stitched closed until it healed. The meds were only a limited help, the best being Viscotears - which lubricated his eye and did give him comfort. From the vet this was approx. £14, but I found that I could buy it from a local pharmacy for about £4 at that time!
Sorry that Tornado dog is having anxiety attacks. Maybe the wire, but he could have been stung by a bee. Eddie again - wouldn't go into the part of the field where the bees emerge from underground hibernation. Obviously he had been stung. Merry on the other hand, who had been stung - I pulled it out - never turned a hair at the sight or sound of a bee. I think the boys are a bit soft!
Sadly, Tally failed her Gold Good Citizen last night. The main reason was a broken Down Stay, but her roadwork wasn't brilliant either. Beagles do love to sniff! I'm not sure whether to sign up for a second course. I think it won't be very long before I'm called up for my 2nd. hip op.

The fly might have bit him this time. I don't think it was a bee since all three times it has happened in the mornings before we get up. And all three times, he was laying under the bed with Cat-dog at the time. I keep records of each episode so if a pattern emerges, I'll notice it.

Cat-dog doesn't seem to have dry eye at all. She's not getting gook in her eyes either. The vet did check her eyesight and she tracked a falling cotton ball. I suspect she doesn't she down very well - she tends to step on my heels.

Yes, I've noticed that my boys have all been more "sensitive" than the girls.

Poor Tally! I'm sure it was a Very Important Smell for her to break her down. The judges should have acknowledged that she was just trying to protect you by checking to make sure that smell wasn't attached to something dangerous.

Would they give you a voucher for the course if you can't finish it before your surgery?

I was painting old cinder blocks today. They are "bird song blue".


Tornado-dog helped... The color doesn't stand out as much against his black pads.

Actually, the sniffing was on the road walk test - it had rained so more scent released. I swapped her to my right side - that did help. I don't walk well though, one leg is longer than the other and I'm stiff and sore on the shorter side. At least that's my excuse.
The stay was going OK till one of the younger dogs broke and did a neurotic bark. Tally sat up to get a better look, and we are not allowed to re-position. Strangely, this is the only KC test that still includes a Stay exercise. Even Crufts obedience and Working Dog Trials don't have a Stay element any more. I don't know whether there was a significant incident, but I think it was decided on safety grounds. Stays are always stressful for the dogs and owners, plus they usually take place in an unfamiliar location.
I have had dogs nudged in lower classes, and Tweed was even attacked during an out of sight CD stay. She was chased over 3 fields by a Malinois male. My poor girl ended up in a muddy dyke. I don't think the offending dog ever competed again! Tweed eventually got her qualifier, but she was always edgy. She had 2 or 3 attempts where she broke at 9.5 minutes, before regaining her confidence!
This was Tweed. Picked up living rough - the naughtiest and toughest dog I ever adopted .

I LOVE Tweed! What a great looking dog and the Tweed was the perfect name! She looks like a german shorthair mix.

Interesting on the stays. In 4-H, I think my boxer was the only dog who never broke a stay. We used to compete in the Guide Dog competition and they had you put the dog in a down stay while you went inside a trailer for 3 minutes. The guide dog handlers hated us, because she never moved from her spot. Had it been a sit stay, she would have laid down, but she loved the down stay. All those guide dog labs just hated being still for so long.

AKC does require stays - sit, stand and down. The stand stay is the worst because you have to move 6ft away while the judge examines the dog.

Tornado-dog would fail at all of them. He has FOMO (fear of missing out) and can't stand being told to stay away from people.

Eddie the Wonderdog.

Tweed got her CD Ex aged 9.5 with full marks for the Agility section. In those days 3 foot clear jump, 9 foot long jump, and Scale, wait, and return over a 6 foot scale jump. She wasn't much over 21 inches.
Eddie got his CD Ex too but, being smaller, he had reduced heights - 2 foot clear, 6 foot long, and 4 foot scale. I rehomed him at 4 months though - and he had Tweed to copy.
Tally is too set in her ways to fall for anything as strenuous that. She's decided that Trailing is more her bag.