Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Procrastinating is fun and easy!

Ooooh, maybe I am getting the hang of writing in my blog more than once a month! Don't hold your breath girls and boys, it could just be a fad ;) It could be due to the fact that I have a homework assignment due tomorrow night that I have yet to start . . . in fact, I'm pretty sure that's it. There is just something about Statistical Decision Analysis that screams "Avoid me!" Don't you think?

Thanks for the comment about puppy housebreaking Vicky . . . I'm not sure Satan (errrr . . . Billy) is capable of learning. The little brat has started peeing in his kennel, and I'm pretty sure that means a lifetime of him just not getting it. Sigh. Good thing he's cute, otherwise he'd be turfed! (those of you that know me, know this is far from the truth)

Farley is starting to hate me. I won't let him jump on the bed. I won't let him scratch or chew at his incision. I won't let him play tug of war. I make him take horrible medications. I swear on every leash, collar and dumbbell I own that it's because I love him. But he just doesn't get it. That being said, it is so nice to see that spunk coming back.

We had week number four of puppy classes last night. I never thought I'd be the owner with the class clown, but alas, it is me! Billy spends more time barking at the other puppies to entice them to play than learning anything. He does a fabulous recall, as long as I allow him to stop for a visit along the way. I mean, he lives with me, so why come running? He's so funny during the play time. He makes a concerted effort to play with every puppy there, even if it's just for 15 seconds. At least he has a good temperament. I guess that's more important than a brain anyday.

Well, guess I should get down to business and do my homework. Sigh. Wish me luck . . .

Sunday, January 29, 2006

The Week From Hell!

Wow, am I ever glad this week is almost over . . . it's been such a long week, and very stressful.

Before I go into the gory details, I have to say that Farley was throwing up last week. For some dogs this is a usual occurrence, but not for my Farley-Booger. He never throws up. So I took him down to the vet to get some bloodwork run. With him being on phenobarbital for seizures anyhow, regular bloodwork is a good thing to have. Anyhow, the bloodwork came back normal, with slightly elevated white blood cells, which could have been a response to stress. No biggie -within 24 hours he seemed to be fine.

Well, on Monday he started throwing up again. This time was different. It didn't stop, and he couldn't even keep water down. On Tuesday night I took him to a different vet clinic than I normally use. The x-ray didn't show any blockages (AP and lateral views), but Farley was very dehydrated. I declined to leave him with that vet (despite their insistence that I do so), because I wasn't comfortable dealing with a vet that I didn't know. So I brought him home and tried to get some fluids in him. I gave him a subQ injection of Lactated Ringers, which is about the only fluid his body retained. He was one sick puppy. He looked like a 15 year old dog - head hanging, no real substance to his body.

The next day I brought him to my regular clinic, and they admitted him for IV fluids. I know all of the vets and techs there, so I wasn't worried about leaving him there at all. On Thursday they did a series of x-rays after giving him barium, to try and see if there was a blockage, since he wasn't keeping anything down. Sometimes a regular x-ray doesn't show a blockage, especially if it's not a large object, or if it's in an odd spot. None of the barium passed through his system at all . . . it just sat in his stomach. So we knew there was a blockage somewhere close to the stomach.

Friday morning they did surgery, and removed the offending object. Guess we bought the most expensive piece of fruit in history, because it was a peach pit (or nectarine or something)! Lodged right in his intestines, blocking everything. I have the pit (souvenir???) and they also took some pictures during the surgery. Interesting to look at, that's for sure.

Anyhow, my Farley-man is home now, resting in a wire crate. Yesterday he was feeling pretty rough still, but today some of that old spark is back. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see him wagging his tail and wanting to play with his toys. I am so lucky that we caught this early (so no "extra" work was needed in the bowel), and that it was something solvable.

Sorry, nothing really to post about the other two. Satan is his usual self . . . bad, bad and bad. He is being VERY difficult to housetrain, which just seems wrong at 5 months old. I don't know what it is I do with my dogs that makes them think they can pee in the house . . . advice is always welcome.

Quigley is his same old self. Very affectionate and still trying to tell the world he's starving. Don't believe a word of it!

Well, that's it for this installment of the story of my life. Hope it wasn't too deadening LOL

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Another Year Starts . . .

Well, after promising myself that I would post on this blog more than once a month, I am posting a whole month after the first one. Sheesh! For somebody that dreams of being a writer, I sure am slow on the draw these days. But in my defense, other stuff has kept me busy.

Billy and I have done 3 puppy classes now. Most of you who read this will know that Billy's nickname is Satan, Lucifer or anything in that vein. Well, when I went to register him for puppy classes (online), his ID number was 666. Omen? Sign? I know it's the mark of the beast . . . so needless to say I was apprehensive. I mean, he's not a bad puppy (well, not really bad), but he is trouble on four legs.

Anyhow, we've had three weeks of puppy classes now, and I'm proud to say that he's done better than I anticipated. For one thing, I discovered that he knows more than I thought. His recall is fabulous . . . that I have reinforced since he was big enough to waddle over to me. And his controlled sit (for grooming, vet examination, etc) is really good, since he's used to sitting still for grooming and stuff. His heeling, well . . . it needs work. And his attention is good, for the split second that he isn't distracted by everything else in the world. So that stuff needs work. And stays? Well, they are just too hard for him. How can he socialize and sit still at the same time?

The great thing is that he is a social butterfly. He loves everybody - adults, kids, other dogs. He will play with everybody without a mean bone in his body. He is rough and tumble, but I think he'd be heartbroken if he actually hurt another dog. So I hope this attitude sticks around for a long, long time.

My older boys are both retired from any competition. Quigley is even retired from training. He spends his days getting into stuff he shouldn't, and sleeping. Farley practises around the house, in hopes that Rally-O becomes a titling event with the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) before he's too old to trial. He still enjoys practising, as long as Billy isn't nearby LOL

Hopefully I will be more faithful at writing . . .

Kelly