Baby, It's COLD Outside!

Baby, It's COLD Outside!, originally uploaded by East Wind Erin (AKA EWA Goddess).

Mom likes to spend a lot of time on the computer playing with pictures of us dogs. this one is a weird picture of Jaeger with a snowflake ear. It makes me cold, and I think that Jaeger would never be out in weather that is so cold, ever. He won't even go out in the rain!
He is a handsome man, though. I love my Old Jaeger friend!

I Don't Do Birthdays (but I turned 2 today)

I Don't Do Birthdays (but I turned 2 today), originally uploaded by East Wind Erin (AKA EWA Goddess).

I'm just not sure how I feel about having a birthday! I know that I do like the food, though.

The Divine Miss N celebrated her 2nd birthday by reverting to countersurfing and food swiping but still got a serving of doggie lasagna, along with the men in her life, Jaeger and Rooster. And pumpkin biscotti for dessert!

Obama Opposes Puppy Mills!

I'm proud that my mom supported Barack Obama! Us dogs need Change too! President-elect Obama plans to adopt a shelter dog, and needs to find a hypoallergenic breed because Malia has allergies.
Thanks to Animals7 for this CNN I-Report:

I am so proud our new president is against the horror of puppy mills! The picture is Obama with Baby, a puppy mill rescue. Here is her story, from: http://www.ararebreedoflove.com/about-baby.html
A Rare Breed of Love was inspired by "Baby," an abused puppy mill survivor who lived through a 9-year ordeal in order to become a "national spokesdog" to raise awareness about cruelty in the dog breeding industry.
Like all the breeding dogs, Baby was tattooed with a number and had her vocal cords cut so the owners wouldn't have to listen to her cries to be let out of her cage. Her leg was amputated after her rescue due to the abuse she suffered. On the day Baby was scheduled to be killed - because she had gotten too old to breed - she was rescued by a passing stranger who was dubbed the "Drive-by Angel." Eventually Baby found a forever home with author Jana Kohl, who was inspired to tell the world about her ordeal and hopefully reform this cruel industry. Jana quickly found support among distinguished leaders and celebrities, who are featured with Baby in this beautiful full-color book.
An Internet or pet store puppy may look cute but think of his parents, condemned to life in a filthy cage, never to walk on grass or see the sun. The only way to stop it is to boycott pet stores and Internet breeders who run puppy mills. Many breeders lie and say they don't run mills; they may even send you pictures of dogs running free in a yard. Don't believe it; many are known to stage pictures for buyers. Nearly all commercial breeders are puppy millers who treat dogs inhumanely. One man, who operated one of the cruelest facilities I'd ever seen, bragged that the USDA called his a "model facility." USDA licensing is meaningless. Plus, it costs us taxpayers 2 billion dollars a year to round up, shelter and euthanize the 4 million homeless dogs who need a loving home. That means every time you buy a dog instead of adopting, youíre signing the death warrant for a shelter dog and wasting money that could be better spent on any number of vital needs ñ such as schools or veterans hospitals. Youíll never know a greater joy than giving a homeless dog a forever home. At your local shelter, rescue group, or Petfinder.com your best friend is waiting just for you. I know you'll thank me!

Somebody Has To Do It!

The battle turns serious, originally uploaded by EWA Goddess-Erin.

I know it looks bad, but Rooster and I are just playing. I don't think I've ever met a pup who like to play as much as he does! He likes to get up on the chair so he's taller, but he still knows who's boss (I am!)

Pay Attention to Me!

Pay Attention to Me!, originally uploaded by EWA Goddess-Erin.

Rooster sure gets a lot of attention these days! I have to keep him out of trouble with jaeger, and that's hard because Rooster IS Trouble, with a capital T! I only get a tummy rub about once a week now, and I really want to be the kid again.

Who Can Live Like This?!!

All's Fair..., originally uploaded by EWA Goddess-Erin.

For a little shortie, Rooster sure wears me out! I can run faster and jump higher, but he outlasts me every time. We unstuffed the couch again, and it was so liberating that we played and played, but I lost concentration for just a second and there he was, sitting on my head.

Note from Mom:
Natasha and Rooster have opposing strategies when they're playing: Rooster tries to sit on Natasha to incapacitate her, and Natasha tries to roll on her back and use her long legs to fling Rooster across the room. I love the bit of Nat's nose poking out from under Rooster's butt here.

Rooster!

Rooster!, originally uploaded by EWA Goddess-Erin.

This is Rooster, my new baby brother. He is a very strong and clever boy and he wears me out! He's only about half as tall as me, but he keeps going like the Energizer Bunny. He comes from Iowa and he's a Kick 'Em Up Gun Dog. I kind of like the little fellow, but I'm not sure what Jaeger will think. Rooster and I are in Las Vegas for Labor Day Weekend.

Baby Brother?

I've heard rumors about a new boy coming this weekend named Rooster. Mom says he looks like this picture. He's a Vizsla, which is a Hungarian Pointer, and I think he looks kind of rusty. He's a bird dog, but I can also chase quail very well. I hope he doesn't try to sleep on my bed! And I hope he likes to play!

Follow Me!

Follow Me!, originally uploaded by EWA Goddess-Erin.

Me first, me first! I always stop here and look for coyotes when we're walking. They come right up to the creek and say rude things...it makes the hair on my back stand up!

No.Deal

No_Deal, originally uploaded by EWA Goddess-Erin.

Mom went to Yellowstone and left me with Grandma! I was so bored that I unstuffed the couch and buried the vegetable garden. Grandma said that I am a naughty girl but I'm not so bad, really.
In this picture I have my favorite stick. Grandma throws it off the deck into the creek bed, but I always find it again. They try to trade a carrot for my stick, but No Deal!
When mom got back, she brought elk jerky and buffalo jerky for Jaeger and me. I got most of the buffalo jerky because I opened it myself!

Free to a Good Home!

The kittens are ready to go to their new homes! I enjoy playing with the big one (the little one hides under the chair when I'm in the room), but mom says they must go. Their mom, Patches, was killed by a predator when the kittens were 6 weeks old: it could have been a coyote, a hawk, falcon or owl since Patches was such a small kitty. She had a lot of white fur. And the kittens do too, so they have to find homes where they can be indoor cats.

Update 7/23 from mom: The kittens have been adopted!

Caped Crusader

Caped Crusader, originally uploaded by EWA Goddess-Erin.

Jaeger got a Kool Koat to wear when the weather gets really hot. I don't think I like it, but Jaeger does when it's warm. And mom thinks it's great. It's a wet chamois cape that buckles on. Mom got it from Mindy Wilson, KiasRKid on Flickr because she worries about Jaeger getting too hot on our walk. I told Jaeger that he can always stay home, but he doesn't want to do that. He wants to spy on me.

Note from Mom: Mindy's Kool Koats can be seen on Flickr at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiasrkid/sets/72157600648946716/

Farewell to Another Friend

Bella is a friend from Flickr who crossed the Rainbow Bridge last weekend. Mom is so sad, even though she never met Bella, she read about her every day. When mom is sad it makes me real sad too.

Bella's parents Flickr photostream is at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/studio583art/

Rattlesnakes

Note from Mom:
I'm pleased to report that the Divine Ms. N successfully avoided a rattlesnake this week, barking and getting between me and the snake and doing everything she should have done, based on her training. Good Girl!
That said, I pulled this clip from the internet for posterity:

Blanche was bitten by an unidentified snake and rushed to the vet, who said Blanche would be at the clinic for about three days. Blanche’s vet used an aggressive intravenous (IV) fluid protocol she’s had good luck with previously for venomous bites.

“They gave Blanche a shot of some type of anti-inflammatory, a shot of pain killer, a shot of antibiotic, and then started her on an IV for fluid therapy. The drip was set pretty fast at the beginning in order to get it to the kidneys quickly, and then I suppose it was backed off after a time. They kept the fluids going for about 24 hours and then checked her blood work and level of swelling.” Blanche was very lucky and the swelling went down; she was even released from the hospital a day early. “Then she was on antibiotics (Baytril) for 10 days and pain killers (Metacam) until I could see that she wasn't in pain and the swelling was totally gone, which happened a few days after coming home.” Snake bites are quite painful.

While antivenin is available for veterinary use, it would have cost Johnson in excess of $800 style and the veterinarian has to know what type of snake bit Blanche if the antivenin were to have a chance of doing any good. “You have 72 hours to make the decision about antivenin,” says Johnson. “If after a day or so there is no progress with fluid therapy, it might make sense to try the antivenin if you have the money to give it a try.” Since Blanche did well with fluid therapy, there was no need for antivenin.

Kittens!

Kittens!, originally uploaded by EWA Goddess-Erin.

Let me see if I can get this right: Mother's great-niece Ashley talked us into adopting Patches the cat, because she had to move in with her grandparents and they wouldn't let her have the cat there. But it turned out that Patches was pregnant, so now we have two kittens in the house.
Usually Patches won't let me near the kittens, but Mother took the kittens out into the sun this afternoonfor some fresh air, and I got to smell their butts. Stinky little things. And noisy.

Take a Bow

take a bow, originally uploaded by EWA Goddess.

The weather got really hot for awhile then cooled off again, and the wild mustard plants came up everywhere. Don Cook has been clearing the dry brush and mowing the fields with his tractor and last weekend he got a very noisy chipper and reduced everything to little piles of mulch.
My meadows have become very interesting! I've found gophers, rabbits, squirrels and the Coyote News.

Ralph Returns to Rescue

Ralph meets Natasha Day One, originally uploaded by EWA Goddess.

Poor Ralph! He had a hard time with the wild Natasha and Old Jaeger, and tried to dominate them both. Along with the cat and Cairn terrier incidents, we decided that Ralph wasn't going to fit in, sadly. He's a great dog! I hope that someone gives him a good home soon.

A Visit From Ralph

Jaeger says that he's a fraud, a Labrador dressed up in gray. Jaeger has a very high opinion of himself! Ralph came from Weim Rescue to spend a couple of weeks with us so that he can have a break from life in the kennels. He really is an easygoing fellow but he has a mean right hook! We play and play together until we both fall asleep. Mom thinks that's great. Jaeger thinks he's a pain and an interloper.
Yesterday Ralph stole the Cairn terrier Pilgrim when Pilgrim tried to chase us. He didn't kill Pilgrim, mom said he just retrieved him. But mom was mad. Ralph wouldn't let go, and bit mom's hand and Pilgrim growled at all of us before he ran home. He is the smallest dog I've ever seen, and to be fair to Ralph, he does look a lot like Ralph's stuffed toys :-) Mom had to offer to take Pilgrim to the vet for the man who owns the Anatolians that attacked me and he said, Isn't it funny how things work out? and mom got blood all over both dogs and we had to sort it all out before we decided that Pilgrim was OK and didn't have any cuts, just mom did.
Mom also got mad when Ralph and I were playing and we knocked over a table and a lamp and broke a fluorescent light bulb. I think it was because it was 3:00 in the morning that she was annoyed. Like me, she likes to sleep at night! I slept on her lap because I don't like it when she's angry and when bad things happen, like with Pilgrim. I don't think Ralph will be staying with us forever.

Note from mom:
Ralph first showed up about a year ago at Weim Rescue as a stray who needed veterinary care because of an attack in the pound. He's touted as a small Weimaraner, but it looks to me that he has dwarfism characteristics: a full-sized body on underdeveloped legs. I offered to take him for a couple of weeks (of course the hope is that I would just keep him) but I totally spaced about the Weim prey drive which with Natasha and Jaeger does not apply to either cats or small dogs. They are the exceptions. Poor Ralph has had some basic obedience training, but getting a high prey drive dog past his instinct is an intensive training process. Lazy me, I've been fortunate to have dogs that are more low-maintenance (but let's not tell Her Majesty that).
By the way, Pilgrim lost three teeth in his confrontation with Ralph, probably from gnashing them in anger! He also had a drain in his shoulder, but all the way around, fared well for a 5-inch high dog.

A Farewell to AWOL?

This morning AWOL looked pretty bad. Her breathing was shallow and although it was cold outside she was panting hard. Her gums were white, a sure sign of anemia. Grandma said that she'd take her to the vet today, but mom was crying when she left for work so I know it's not good. They think she has a tumor, like Dobie, Ajax and Sandy did, dogs I didn't know.
AWOL has been a good friend to me. She walks with me and tells me when I go too far, and she plays with me a little bit. She's quite old, Jaeger's age I think, but until very recently she had a lot more energy than Jaeger. I'll miss her.
Note from mom:
AWOL was diagnosed with lymphoma and we elected to put her on prednisone because she is pretty old, canine oncology is quite costly and only about 50% of dogs go into remission at the stage in which AWOL was. I feel bad about cost being a factor, but Natasha's VERY expensive stay in intensive care wiped out any other options for the time being.
Years ago, Dobie was also diagnosed with lymphoma and given about 4 months on prednisone. She actually improved and stuck around for 4 years! So it seemed that AWOL may have dodged a bullet, but she died a few hours after seeing the vet, presumably from heart failure, an overworked organ under pressure from some sizable tumors.

Vaccinations

Note from Mom...
Some canine vaccines can provoke an immune response in many breeds, and Weims are one that is predisposed to some scary reactions:
Hyperinflammatory disease and hypertrophic osteodystrophy, where bone growth bolts and requires treatment with steroids;
Immune system breakdown;
Injection site sarcomas;

Weims with these conditions sometimes end up in rescue, fortunately, and can be treated if not corrected: many more Weims are put down out of ignorance. New guidelines have been established by AAHA and UC Davis Veterinary College for core vaccines and the schedule at which they should be administered. Core vaccines are Canine Parvovirus, Distemper Virus, and Adenovirus-2 and boosters are recommended every three years. Non-core vaccines should be evaluated in terms of location, the dog's environment and social situation and the prevalence of disease in an area at a given time.
Here's a link for more information:
http://www.tristateweimrescue.org/weimpdf/New_Vaccination_Guidelines.pdf

That said, some veterinarians area taking a holistic and homeopathic approach to vaccines and recommend homeopathic nosodes for adult dogs. The nosodes only help protect dogs against Parvovirus, Distemper, Kennel Cough, Panleukopenia and FIP. Some nosodes seem to work more effectively than others. None of these produce titers against these diseases like a vaccination , so they are NOT vaccine replacements. They do seem to moderate a disease condition if the animal is exposed, even if they don't prevent it. It is another option for those guardians who wish to avoid vaccinations. Of course in the traditional veterinary field, there is resistance if not hostility to homeopathy, just as with human alternative medicine. Your own dog's lifestyle should be the biggest factor in determining vaccines.

Attack and Recovery

I was attacked by two Anatolian Sheepherding dogs on my morning walk on Valentines Day, and had to go to the emergency hospital for surgery and a stay in intensive care. Mom, grandma and the Anatolian dogs' owner spent a lot of money on that stay. The technicians fed me chicken by hand but I wasn't really hungry. I had stitches all over my abdomen and shoulder, and on my back. Then they put a mesh net around me to hold everything together. And once I got to go home, mom had to keep a shirt on me or make me wear an Elizabethan collar (whatever that is). I'm so glad to be feeling better!

Can it Be an Allergy?

Some of my play group friends had itching skin and rough coats that were dull and "sheddy." They improved a lot just by switching their diet to a lamb and rice diet from corn-based. Keep in mind that many dogs are sensitive or even allergic to ingredients in their food. Corn, soy and wheat are three of the biggest culprits as far as food allergies in dogs go, and finding a brand of dry dog food that is free of these ingredients can be tricky. Hot, smelly itchy ears, red flaky skin and a dull coat are common symptoms of food allergies. Check the ingredients on the label, and always check with your veterinarian to eliminate other health problems that may be causing a suspected dermatitis. Atopy, or inhalent allergies can be caused by dust mites, mildew, molds,feathers, pollen and yes, human dander.Signs of atopy include continuous chewing, licking and scratching at the face, ears, paws, abdomen and genitals. You can avoid costly treatment with steroids, anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics by giving your dog omega 3 fatty acids, natural anti-inflammatories such as quercitin and bioflavinoids and shampoo therapy: some of the hypoallergenic shampoos incorporate fatty acids which are absorbed through the skin, and offer a localized anti-inflammatory action.