(94) He Don't Need No Stinkin' Trail

It seems like I got a lot of negative feedback regarding my research on dog Breath. Sorry to offend some of you, it’s just that sometimes a little primary research is necessary to satisfy a curious mind.

We got up early again this morning and walked around the yard, Beeks and I that is. It is such a ritual that Beeks expects me to go out with him. He just waits for me to get my shoes and then he settles down and waits for me to get ready with my coffee. On those days when I am running late or for some reason, can’t go out for a walkabout, he hunkers down and distances himself from me. Today, however, all was good. The temperature when we went out was about 65, with a slight breeze. It was beautiful. I’m waiting for my lilies to bloom and also the delphinium and hollyhocks. They all have blooms that are just about ready to burst forward. I need some color other than blue or purple in the yard. My neighbor was commenting that she only had plants that bloomed white flowers. When I left to come home, I noticed that all we have are blue and purple. Don’t get me wrong, I love blue and purple, but a garden needs some color variety. I am hoping that some of the trumpet lilies will be red and the daylilies are golden so that will be some variation.
When I returned from work, I decided this would be a good day to take Beeks to the forest preserve. The preserve is located next to the prairie where I usually take him. In fact I park in the same parking lot but go across the road to where the forest preserve begins. I decided to change things up a bit for Beeks. The weather was warm, 83 degrees, and so I thought if we walked in the woods and flower gardens this would allow a change of scent and view for both of us. The gardens have lots of beautiful flowers right now and the waterfall is going strong. We perused through the gardens and then headed for the wooded paths. This turned out to be both exciting and frustrating. It was exciting because Beeks had not gone this way before and every step was full of anticipation and anxiety (see pictures above). As soon as we got to the woods, Beeker freaked out over a large fallen tree. He got into a curiously fearful crouch, not wanting to go forward. I had to lead him past the log. Then he regained his leadership role. The weeds and brush were taller than him and so he went forward cautiously. He smelled his way through, sometimes doubling back to see if he missed anything important. We proceeded this way for nearly a half mile. By then I had succumbed to the eternal blanket of mosquitoes. I also wondered if I was getting a good coating of poison ivy. My decision to wear shorts was probably not a great one. I wonder how lucky I will be? We made a loop of about a mile and by the time we returned to the car we were both exhausted and hot. We both had a great time exploring and it didn’t take our whole day. By the time we returned we had only been gone a little more than an hour. That’s the great thing about dogs. A little adventure goes a long way. They appreciate a little attention, and a little excitement. They need to have their brains stimulated and then they are ready to relax. Beeks quickly found a cool spot on the wood floor to cool down, and crash. Dogs are Great!

(93) Dog Breath

Halitosis is the word we use for bad breath, rather chronic bad breath. Dogs don’t have halitosis. They have dog breath. Puppies are different. They have a sweet, milky breath that makes a person want to get really close, and cuddly with them. Dogs, however get into lots of stuff that can temporarily make their breath smell like a garbage dump in a small package! Ugh!
To be honest I couldn’t tell if he did or didn’t. I got right down there and put my nose to his mouth, opened his jaws and stuck my nose into his mouth to smell. I smelled coffee. I smelled garlic, I smelled tomato sauce. Maybe... I was smelling my own breath reflected in his mouth. I often hear that dogs breath smells bad. And I have to agree that whenever Beeks decides to eat something rotten or absolutely disgusting, like duck droppings or other … (put in your own gross animal byproduct), well I know it does stink. I also put my nose in Max’s mouth. I thought that he would be a better candidate for foul breath since he has all that drool sitting in there but actually he smelled Okay as well. The only discernable ingredient I could make out from Beeks was a sweet grassy smell. Max smelled a little like sweaty hair or paws. Dogs only have sweat glands, in their paws and in their noses but they really aren’t for regulating temperature. Back to the point, I researched and read that if a dog regularly has dog breath it may be an indication of periodontal disease. One article I read suggested that it is believed that 80 percent of dogs over 3 years of age have some periodontal disease. I know that when we take the dogs to the Vet, she will look in their mouth and check their teeth for tarter build up. If a dog has too much tarter build up it may lead to gingivitis, which is treatable and then to Periodontitis. In other words tooth decay. I have shared how I have been brushing Beeks and Max’s teeth and so maybe this is one reason I couldn’t smell any bad breath. I also like to give them treats when we are training (I rationalize these are training treats, Right!). The treats they get besides the sweet potato is from the makers of their dog food. The little circular treats are essentially their dog food with other ingredients, such as mint. Yea, the mint really helps, I think it smells good. Just goes to prove that the added ingredients are for human enjoyment and not for the dogs’. This reminds me of the time when my sister and I gave Certs to some horses we came across when we were camping as young children. We thought their breath smelled bad and so we decided they needed Certs to clear up the matter. I hope they didn’t die from it. Their breath did improve a bit and we stayed just long enough to give them the whole roll.
I guess for now my dogs don’t have chronic Dog Breath, and hopefully the teeth brushing will continue to help. Chez the cat is different. He doesn’t like his teeth brushed and he doesn’t like me to get right in his face either. Maybe I should give him some Certs.

(92)Its Swimmin’ Time or Spray Paint's your Best Friend

We’ve been getting up earlier these days. Although Brad leaves for work at the crack of dawn during the summer, we (the dogs and I) have been getting outside as early as possible due to the heat. The humidity is the same but the temperature is cooler and almost enjoyable. If Beeks and I begin our walkabout early enough we are usually able to chat with our neighbors as they leave for work and school. We love this morning calm. The birds actually sing since it isn’t deathly hot and there is a sweet smell in the air. This morning I noticed the mock orange bush is blooming and that has the softest sweet smell you ever encountered. I think the deer like it too as there were two bent and broken branches on it. I seem to be much more productive in the morning as well. I have much more energy to get the projects completed that I have set for myself if I get started early in the morning. For instance, yesterday I stayed inside when I got up and did some of the chores like unloading the dish washer, doing laundry and other BORING house chores. We did put some music on LOUD so that helped but the morning got away from me quickly. By the time I was able to get outside it was so hot and humid that I really didn’t have the energy to go out and do anything. I did finally make myself take Beeks for a walk after I returned from getting the mail and discovered that the sun was under a cloud and it seemed like it wasn’t so hot. Beeks was so excited that he twirled in circles. I don’t think he knew how hot it really was outside. We walked the large figure eight, where we encountered a few other walkers and dogs. By the time we got home we were both panting! This was around the dogs dinner time so I fed them both and then I decided that a cool down was in order. Some time ago, I had gotten a child’s pool from our neighbors when they decided to get a larger one for their girls. This plastic pool is perfect for the dogs. It is portable, it is shallow, it holds just the right amount of water. As the dogs ate, I filled the pool. We didn’t observe the “No swimming for an hour after eating” rule. Beeks went first. He was timid at first but sniffed the rim and drank some of the water after I held some up to his mouth. I tried to coax him in but to no avail, so then I did the only rational thing to do, I lifted his paws and put them in the pool and then pushed the rest of him in. He loved it! Really, he walked around, drank from it, got out and then back in. I put some water all over him, gently on his back and tummy, I asked him to sit down, and he tried, he really tried but the water was so cold, he couldn’t quite get all the way down to a sit. It was more like a squat. Who can fault him? I thought it was cold, and because the ambient temperature was so warm, it felt even colder. Then it was Max’s turn. He had no problem walking right in the pool. He just stood there like, “What exactly did you want me to do in here?” He refused to sit down as well, but like the cool water for drinking. This whole episode lasted less than 20 minutes but I decided that it was a good start to summer water fun. I left the pool full of water and if it gets as warm today as yesterday, we will try it again. This morning on our walkabout, Beeks was highly curious about it and sniffed the rim for a long time. Maybe they are not the only animals that took a swim yesterday.
As I said at the beginning, we have been getting up earlier now that it is light earlier and the coolest part of the day. One of the items on my To Do list is to paint the treasures I got at last weekend’s garage sales. I like to use spray paint. My sister taught me that “spray paint is your friend”. I’m a convert, and I try to convert as many others as possible. Spray paint changes everything. It makes everything look new and fresh. I use three colors that go with my interior house pallet . (sorry, sounds a little artsy) I use only white, black or oregano spray paint. I’ve used it to improve picture frames, tables, chairs, lamps, most anything. So this week I have been using it on a bookshelf and a sofa table. The bookshelf will go out on our screened in porch and the sofa table will go in our bedroom. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have everything I own spray painted, but sometimes a table or chair just screams for new life, and spray paint will do the trick. The picture above is the first coat on the table. I had to start early today so that I can give it two coats with a sanding between. And time for swimmin’ too! Perfect!

(91) A little red fox came out of the woods…

Usually when I go get the mail I take Beeks with me. He gets a chance to run in the yard and I get a chance to practice heeling and recall with him. Today however was different. He had been out with me a number of times already. We went out early to walkabout, then again when I started my paint project. By this afternoon when I went to check the mail, it was incredibly humid and hot, about 88 degrees with 80 percent humidity. I decided to leave Beeks and Max inside and go alone to check the mail. As I was walking up our driveway I got the best surprise of the week. Of course, whenever I go walking I look all around the yard and check out the hood. I like to know who is home, who is gardening, and say “hey” if they are out. Today from the back end of my neighbor’s driveway came a small, trotting red fox. It trotted all the way up the driveway almost to the circle but stopped short of entering it when it must have spied me. It turned around and quickly trotted back the way it came. This was during the hottest part of the day. What was that little fox thinking? I know that two creeks converge behind our neighbors’ lot and, I remember that Brad has seen a similar fox (the same one?) trotting down the lane. This fox may have been trying to get back to or coming from its den. We occasionally hear fox or coyote kits crying at dusk. We have seen both in our woods/lane. I get so tickled by the number and variety of animals that reside with us here in the woods. Although we are more isolated than an inner city home, we are attached to a sub development and there are other homes near us. It isn’t like we are live alone miles from neighbors. Guess we will now have to name this little red fox. Star fox, Redd, are some names that have been suggested. I wonder how to tell if it is a male or female.
Of course I needed to read up on Red Fox and learn all that I could. Turns out that Red Fox are common to most countries and are seen all over the US. They are from the Canidae family, the same as dogs and Coyotes. This one didn’t weigh more than 10 pounds which is average. Some look like they weigh more, however, it’s due to the great amount of fur they have. They are not specifically nocturnal but tend to be nocturnal if they live in a more urban area. This is because of the need to stay clear of people. They are scavengers but also feed on rodents, rabbits, birds, and other small game, their diet can be as flexible as their home habitat. Foxes will eat fruit and vegetables, fish, frogs, and even worms. If living among humans, foxes will opportunistically dine on garbage and pet food. They have relatively small stomachs and will cache food for later use. They mark their food with urine and or scent glands. If our foxie is a female she is a Vixen, if he’s a male he’s a dog. Immature fox are kits or pups. Pairs mate in winter with both parents caring for the kits until the end of summer, when the family will dismantle and begin to hunt solitarily. Here is something that I found particularly interesting… Fox dig burrows to birth and protect their young, but when the caring for the young is finished the fox will not use a burrow any longer, choosing to sleep in bedded down grass or thicket. The picture above is from The National Geographic website and not from my spectacular photographic ability, sorry.

While I was out painting a bookshelf I noticed that the birdhouse I bought at a garage sale and spray painted is now being used by a bird. Species unknown, but the nesting is evident. This bird house looks like a lighthouse and has two holes, one above the other. The lower hole has sticks and nesting material coming out. That is pretty awesome. I hear a lot of wrens but other bird songs as well. Hope I get to see this one.

From the Old Dogs can learn new tricks file
Well, My oldest son who is in China right now wanted me to down load and use Skype, so that we could talk while he is there, for communication etc. I have since learned how to download Skype, use it, and I also figured out how to install a Webcam. That’s not all this old dog has learned! Oh,no, I have actually used it and talked to him. Pretty good for an old dog!
P.S. Note to self: When it is rainy and cold be careful what you wish for…

(90) New Dog, Old Trick

Whew! Short, sweet and wild. We had a great but too short visit with Brad's 'rents. When Brad's 'rents visit they come with their Pecan, Bridget. She's a small mixed breed dog, that is part Pekingese and part Bichon Frise. Get it? Pekon? Anyway, Bridget is a 20 pounds or so of a lap dog wanna be. She has great personality and isn't easily intimidated by the big dogs. However, her favorite past time or entertainment when she comes to our house is to chase Chez, our cat. They are about the same size although Bridget outweighs Chez, and the two are highly curious about one another. It was great fun to watch Bridget chase Chez, and Beeker try to engage Bridget, and Max concerned about all of the activity. Our group of dogs adapted well to each other even though they had not been together for a long while. Dogs are great about remembering scents of others. When we returned from dinner, and had settled down with our night caps, I showed off Max and Beeker's current tricks of "rollover". They are getting so good at rolling over, and they LOVE the sweet potato so much that Max started rolling over when I was working with Beeks. We introduced Bridget to sweet potatoes and frozen green beans. She loved them. Then I got a wild hair and decided to teach Bridget to roll over. This turned out to be more than a 5 minute teaching moment. First off Bridget doesn't just sit when told to sit. So I worked with her to just get her to sit when she was given the command to sit. This took many repetitions and lots more sweet potato bits. She did get to the point that she would sit, when she understood what I wanted her to do.I have to admit that it is difficult for any dog to sit on the wood floor. Then I started working with her on the sit to down part. This was much more difficult. Bridget would get into the sit position and then when I signaled her to down, with my hand moving to the ground she would stand up to put her nose to the floor, trying to get the treat. Usually to get the dog to "down", I either have to move the treat directly down to the floor from the dog's nose, then out, and the dog's nose follows. Or as in the case of Beeker, I had to move the treat down and then back, in towards the dogs body. The dog will then move its head and lay down. Max learned best from the down and forward movement and Beeks from the down and back hand movement. Bridget didn't follow either. she kept standing up. Then I decided to stop talking to her and to only reward her when she got the movement correct. This worked much better for her. I think I was confusing her with all of the talk and switching of commands. After she got the sit, down movement the first time, she got it correct about every fourth or fifth time. This was similar to when I was working with Beeker and the hoop. I was then motivated to continue with her knowing that she could do it. Together we did it about 50 trials and then took a break. She was still motivated which told me she was a quick learner. Her interest was high. She played with Chez some more and then we tried it again, I wanted her to have the sit-down reinforced and this diversion worked well to see if she really remembered it. We didn't get any further with the rollover because she had learned so much and I thought that it was important that she got the sit-down really embedded to start. Roll over will be for another time. I was so proud of her.
When we all said good night and went to bed, guess where Bridget slept? Yep, right with us in the dog pile. She jumped right up on the bed and took Chez's place. Chez was highly put out but Bridget refused to move and well, she was so comfortable with all of the other dogs we didn't have the heart to move her. She hunkered down and that was it. No moving her. As Brad fell asleep he commented, "better a dog then a cat!". He just loves to get me going! Chez finally did come up on the bed and slept near Beeker at the end of the bed. What a dog pile.

(89) De-dogging the Dog House

Lots of excitement here today. Brad's parents are coming for a short visit and should be here sometime this afternoon, so you know what that means. Yep, I have to de-dog my house. Actually I am not getting rid of Max and Beeks. I just mean that I have to clean and pick up all of their toys. My house not only looks like a dog house , it smell like one too. The last time that Brad's rents came, his step mom came down the stairs and stepped on a dog toy(a ball?)and broke her ankle. Boy did I feel like a heel. She had to have pins put in her ankle as well. So I really have to do a good job this time. We tend to allow a good teal of time to elapse before we clean really good here since dogs bring with them slobber and a lot of hair. Wait! I DO vacuum when ever the dog hair gets ankle deep in the bedroom carpet(just kidding), but living here in the woods gives us more than our share of dust. My motto is that if you live in the woods, the woods lives in your house as well. My rationalization is that if I cleaned every time I saw dust or hair flying, I would be cleaning non stop and I would not be able to do anything else. That is why we love company. That way, I have to clean and then I know that the house is cleaned once in a while. The last time Nana came we did a deep cleaning and it felt great. I vacuum every day or so, and that is as good as it gets, unless we can get company to visit. Did I mention that Febreze is my new best friend?Confession over for this Sunday!
It is a beautifully sunny day today with humidity of about 80 percent and temperatures in the high 80's. It is suppose to get to 90, and I think it probably will. When I went to go grocery shopping, Beeks got all excited and thought that he was going on a car adventure. When I got my keys, he pranced around in circles, thinking that of course he was going. I had to leave him at home because of the intense heat. I felt bad, and horribly mean but with temps like this and high humidity he would have been too hot in the car. Even with the windows rolled down. I know he didn't understand that I put my shoes on, got my keys and then left him here, but better a sad dog than a hot dog!
We usually don't put the air conditioner on until June but since we are having company that will have to sleep upstairs, I decided to put it on and then we will turn it off after they leave. We can suffer but not our guests.
Brad emailed me from work today and gave me another U Tube video of Newfies. Hope you enjoy it....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDe8Z94HUXI&feature=related

I was able to get outside with Beeks this morning to do our walkabout. He(and I) really enjoy these early morning walks to see what is new with the flowers, and the yard. The fern are almost completely covered by forest ground cover(read underbrush and weeds). Only a few fronds are tall enough to be seen. It won't be long until the underbrush will start to die down and we will be able to see some of the fern again. Our peony's are just now opening up (see picture). They smell great and are so beautiful for the short time we have them. At a garage sale on Friday, I got two Columbine plants. They are small but they will come back again next year and be larger. I have to remind my self of the gardener's creed that my sister taught me about growing plants. Sleep, Creep, Leap. It takes three years or seasons for a plant to really show how well it will do. Patience is not my best tribute.

(88) Sunny Saturday Chores

Happy Dog Day! I hope you are able to see the video I have placed here. It is a fun, dog video and will make you want to teach your dog new tricks. Oh, take a towel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=pkPNa4DBFHI

(Cut and paste to browser.)

The birds are chirping, the sun is shinning, and its all good. This morning started out super foggy and then got increasingly sunny. As the sun broke through the fog our spirits also began to soar. We got up early and yes, I got Brad to go to garage sales with me. The trade off was that I made him his favorite breakfast cake and we only went to one of the subdevelpment community garage sales. Turns out there were four subdevelopments that were having their community garage sales today not including some area towns and villages that were having area wide sales. We ended up spending about an hour and a half walking through a neighborhood. We took the dogs with us and left them in the car with the windows rolled down. The sun didn't come out fully until just before we finished so it all worked out great(don't ask Brad). I made sure Brad had enough coffee to keep him happy and I when I thanked him for going, I distinctly heard him say that it wasn't that bad. Really! He was able to get out and walk and I didn't make him go to everyone of the sales(at this point in my life I no longer and interested in all of the baby/kid sales) so this helps. I am now interested in "old people's stuff. The big find today was a hard wood 5 foot long table with a shelf under it. It looks like it could be a sofa table. I plan on spray painting it. Like my sister taught me,"Spray paint is your friend". A fresh coat of paint improves everything.

After we finished perusing garage sales we headed to the feed store to get dog food and antlers. This time we got both dogs an antler because Max looked so sad when Beeks got one last time and we didn't get him one. Hopefully, Max will get one this time, and Beeks won't get two. The sculpture park was next on our list of weekend chores. This time we started our walk from an alternate entrance,which seemed like a brand new park adventure for the dogs. Beeks did a lot of sniffing and pulling until he got himself in the zone. Max settled right down to a good heel and just enjoyed being outside with Brad. Being a Saturday, there was a huge number of people out and a lot of activity in the park. This was good practice of self discipline for both dogs. I have to admit, they both did extremely well at looking but not reacting to all of the other dogs, people, or short people. At this point, they are more interested in other dogs than children and adults. By this time, we were ready for for sustenance.We headed for our favorite Korean restaurant, where we can enjoy Korean hot pot and still see the dogs in the car. The hot pot is so hot, both temperature and flavor that by the end of the bowl, it is still steaming. Honest. Best bi bim bob around. I have it with tofu and Brad gets it with steak, of course.
Now we are home working on chores. I weeded in the flower gardens, and Brad is mowing. It's hot and humid (who's complaining?)but all of the plants are loving it. Nothing like freshly cut grass. I found another Gracie feather. Must mean she is still here up in her nest. The dogs are now sleeping happily near me while I write this out in the screened in porch.

Notes from the family...
We had an early morning text from Ash in China. It was night there for him(about 13 hours later). He said that he was having a great time and that he and his group had just gotten back from the World's Expo. How cool is that? To get to got to the World's Expo in a foreign country. I assume that China did the Expo like they did the Olympics. Spared no expense, spared no man power to make it big.

We heard from our younger son Ben as well. He is in the Air Force, at Charleston, South Carolina. He is busy studying for a major test which he says is nothing less than all consuming. I am so proud of him. He has perseverance that I don't have. He isn't afraid of a challenge.