WE HAVE FLEAS!!!!

Operation 1.o: Flea Termination


So far we've:

Bathed all the animals with Dawn
Put frontline on them (though the frontline on the dogs isn't really working)


I'm kind of partial to old-school remedies because chemicals are sometimes unnecessary. So, I'm trying dawn, vinegar (apple cider and distilled white), and lemon juice. And after a couple days, if it's still bad, I'm going to move on to chemicals, perhaps, but first I'm trying home-remedies.

If they work, then I know what works good.

Tutis pee mistake: one at 7 one just now on my bed... He just got up and peed at the foot of my bed

God. Titus has had four pee mistakes today. FOUR.

Titus pee mistake: he whined and I think I was too asleep. He pooped outside though.

Titus pee mistake: lots to drink after seven

Titus poop mistake: I should've pottied him first thing after I got home. He whined but he's been whining a lot lately.

Titus poop mistake: I'm at my parents.

Titus pee mistake: Living room. I took him out... I suppose he had a lapse

Ti is potty trained?

I suppose so. He hasn't had a mistake since the last time I posted about it... and he's basically on Puppy's schedule. However, his teeth are just dropping out of his mouth now and he's refusing lots of meals.

He's been having a hell of a lot of apples just because he'll actually eat that.

Titus pee mistake: He had one earlier about 8 today on the carpet (I gave him water after 7)

Titus pee mistake: Had one in the big crate that he was sleeping in momentarily as I took Puppy out.

Titus pee mistake: living room floor. He's excellent in the crate now.

Also, he's been good on the satin balls so far.

My little boy.

He lasted through the night last night. I think he lasts through the night when I force him to, otherwise he's fine with just getting up a bunch of times. Hopefully he'll start consistently lasting through the night come school semester because I can't be this tired during the year.

Also, I made satin balls since he's been needing to pack on some extra lbs. The recipe is:

FAT BALLS
1 dozen egg yolks
1 lb jar crunchy peanut butter
1 small container oats
1 jar wheat germ
1 lb hamburger
1 package cream cheese

*Some versions of this recipe say to soak the oats in milk or cream first.
Put the stuff in a big bowl and mix w/your hands. Roll into 3" torpedos and put in ziplock bags and freeze until needed. Feed one or two a day

More satin ball recipes


I changed some things. For instance, I just put 6 whole eggs rather than just whites, I measured a little over a cup or so of oats and, yes, I did soak them. I also didn't use my entire jar of wheat germ or peanut butter. I used about half of both.

They both love the recipe and surprisingly it gave neither diarrhea. I let them lick it off of my fingers a lot.

Also, I looked in my little ankle biters mouth and I discovered: teeth are missing! No wonder he's been finicky with his food!

Titus poop mistake: He circled, I ignored.

Ti pee accident: my fault, I should've taken him out right when he woke up... and I'm not really following the new schedule.

Mistakes and Changes.

Titus pee mistake: just now; I should've taken him out with Puppy but I didn't. My mistake, whole heartedly.


Okay


He's been doing EXCELLENTLY. And I've also laxed off of the exact three hour schedule. It's now four hours between his breaks.

So the new schedule is:

7, 11, 3, 7, 11 -- and whenever he gets up at night.


Along with that change, I also have about three weeks until school starts and I'm going to use those three weeks to get him used to a second meat. I originally planned for it to be turkey but as I have no turkey handy, I picked pork necks instead.

He's going to town on his first piece now... but I'm about to stop him and put the rest away for tomorrow.

Puppy poop mistake: I don't know why she didn't bark; she has these mistakes a lot at home

Titus poop mistake: Two this morning, one he whined to high heaven for an hour and I didn't take him out, the second he was eating and he literally just pooped right there. it was heavy diarrhea... like nearly water the second time. I don't know why, don't ask me. But he's bee straining a bit so he had a bit of blood in there too - bright red thankfully.

Puppy pee mistake: She peed in the bathroom. I'd get mad at her but I should've taken her out with Titus at 7 am.

Titus poop mistake: No warning (having a bit of diarrhea)

Titus poop mistake: overnight no warning

"Rescue" shelters

This is copied/pasted from something called "The Peeing Post" which I get in my mail at least once a month.


Anyway. the basic gist of the entire newsletter is: he's talking about why he doesn't like rescue shelters and why they are unsuccessful and what should be done about them. I have never heard such an opinion but it makes a hell of a lot of sense. However, I also don't try to spend my life saving other people's thrown away dogs, anyway.



Quoted:
The elements of a sustainable solution
So, what would it takes to change the unfortunate system of rewarding what we do not want to sustain?
Answer: It would take that the act of buying a dog would carry the full liability for also "disposing" of the dog in a decent manner.
Yes, it sounds a bit cryptic. Let me illustrate with an example from my time as hazardous waste manager in Denmark. In the late eighties, it was my job to organize recycling programs with Danish municipalities, and we instigated some programs on a trial basis, in order to test our theories.
Back then, it was a problem with empty beer bottles and soft drink bottles being thrown "away" in parks, on the streets, in other people's yards, and just about everywhere. The clean-up was expensive - and not effective.
Now, first, why do people throw an empty bottle away? Answer: because it has no value. It actually represents a negative net value, because it costs time and effort to bring it home and dispose of it in the garbage. It is simpler, faster, easier, and cheaper to just toss it in the park when it is empty!
A couple of years earlier, recycling had become popular, and most municipalities did indeed organize some collection of recyclable products. But, the sad facts were that the value of the recyclable metal or glass in a bottle/can could not even pay for the transportation to the recycling facility! We talk about what today will correspond to less than a penny per bottle. People could not care less. Not worth the inconvenience of having to take it home. Because of the completely insignificant value of the material, recycling could not "pay for itself".
The real problem was that the value of the empty bottle was too low! If the bottle was worth something, people would not just toss it....
Well, money is valueless paper. Worse than empty bottles, when push really comes to shove. But money is given value - and that's why it works!
My question was, "Could we give value to an empty bottle?"
Indeed, we can! Just pay a dollar for each! And you will see how poor people, kids, and everyone else will pick up those empty bottles and bring them to you! It is a market thing.
And how can we afford to pay a dollar per empty bottle - which truly is valueless?
Simple. By demanding that the charge be included in the price of the full bottle! In principle: let the polluter pay! The polluter here is the manufacturer. He is the one that produces what later becomes waste. He must pay for the collection/disposal of that waste, in order to be allowed to sell the product! The manufacturer will, of course, simply pass on that extra expense to the the consumer by adding it to the price. And that's where it belongs.

This a powerful principle. It is how mining operations work in Canada. In order for a mining company to obtain a permit to mine minerals from the ground, the company must provide a deposit to the government that is sufficient to clean up the site when the mine closes! The money is paid back when the site is closed, and everything is clean and neat. And, if the company fails to do the clean-up, then the government has the money to do it!



AND:

The problem is that dogs are too cheap! Just like empty bottles, they do not represent a resale value that is sufficient for their decent "disposal"! Please note that it is the overall market value, we talk about - because that is what matters. It does not matter that, to some of us, the emotional value of dog is almost immeasurable. The fact that some people are willing to pay a much higher price than the market value simply means that those people end up attracting all the scum sellers!

What does it cost to "get rid of a dog" - in a decent way?

There are indeed legitimate reasons for people having to let go, including many reasons that are to the best for the dog, so quit that nonsense, "I would never give up my dog." It is BS. I can definitely find situations where you will know that you have no choice. Real-life situations. So let's be sober on this.

Here are some of the very likely costs:

*

An ad in the local paper: $100.
*

A vet check-up: $100.
*

Another ad in the paper: $100.
*

Third ad in the paper: $100.
*

Euthanasia: $100...

I might be off by 50% or so - but the order of magnitude does indeed creep up into a couple of hundred dollars - which is more than what it costs to get a dog from a "rescue" shelter! This means that a dog, effectively, has a negative net value; it represents a liability that is greater than its market value!

And here is what I believe is a characteristic alternative:

*

Dumping the dog at the shelter: no charge...
*

Vet check-up (paid for by the shelter): $150 (more expensive because the dog's history is unknown...)
*

Average cost of management of the facility, per dog: $300
*

Advertising to find a new home, average: $50 (collective advertising is cheaper per dog)
*

Inspection of new homes: $200 (typically donated as free work by volunteers)

My numbers might not represent all facilities - but they do represent some I know of, so I believe that the order of magnitude is correct. The main point is that the total cost (counting also volunteer work) is much more that what it costs for the individual owner to facilitate his/her own solution.

Now, don't even think about charging the past owner for delivering that dog to the shelter! Unless you want to urge those owners to kill the dogs on their own, in order to save money.... If anything should be considered here, it should be paying for receiving the dog, so that the "rescue" solution becomes overall more attractive!!!

It takes no genius to figure out that this would also make the first solution completely unattractive for an average owner... So, it would mean that all dogs go to the shelters when their owners are tired of them. Not to heaven. To the shelters.

This further means that with "production" of dogs being virtually unlimited, this solution will end up in chaos. Now, don't come back and say that this can be stopped through spay/neutering. It can't. The over-supply of dogs does NOT come from private dog owners breeding uncontrollably!!! It comes from puppy mills that already don't give a shit about the law and are extremely unlikely to become lawful operations, just because some naive puppets put some regulations up to force private dogs owners to cause harm to their pets, for no legitimate reason whatsoever. Legislation cannot even stop professional dog fighting - so it takes an idiot to believe it can stop profitable breeding.

The market demand is created by the irresponsible people who fall in love with a puppy in a pet store. It is cute - and cheap.

That's where the demand is presented to the market - and that's where the supplies will go, no matter what kind of spay/neutering rules are being put in place. And THIS is where we need to hit the irresponsible buyers!

The example with the bottle deposits shows that, if we can make those people pay up front for the "disposal" of the dog, then we at least don't have to do the dirty job of cleaning up after their irresponsible action. This would be "cost neutral" to society - and also secure the dog a decent end of its life.

Now we have the unpleasant discussion about what this "clean-up" can and should consist of....

It could include of a payment to the "rescue" shelters, for them to provide the effort of finding another home to this dog. This is an uphill battle, though, because getting this procedure in motion will dramatically increase the demands for the services provided by those shelters. I am not unconditionally supporting this, but it is indeed an option worth considering if we could change the whole perspective of volunteer operation of the shelters.

It could also include of a free voucher to the vet for a euthanasia. That, I think, should be mandatory.

And it could, most certainly, include a contribution to the necessary public education in this realm! Just as for getting a driver's license or a gun license, there is no true reason why it could not be made mandatory for people who buy a dog to also attend some education on how to care for that dog in a safe and responsible way that does not infringe on other people's rights to enjoy their lives. There really is no difference.

The good news is that, with those contributions, it would triple or quadruple the price of a puppy that is sold through commercial channels to uneducated members of the public - who are those who are the main culprits for the whole calamity. But with the education requirements in place, this number could be greatly reduced - and we could prevent the suffering of a lot of animals.... And maybe the education also could have some effect on those who are forced to take it...

I should add here that, in Denmark, there is a "Dog Act" in force - a great piece of law that for some 200 years has been making trading of dogs through any commercial business enterprise illegal! In Denmark, you can ONLY buy a dog/puppy from a private breeder... And, also in North America, I know that most breeders do a great job selecting and screening, and educating their puppy buyers! They are not the problem. The problem is the commercial outlets that sustain this trade of animals for profit only - without accepting any responsibilities for the results. The results can all be dealt with if we have money available for it. So, making those businesses that are the true origin of the problem pay for solving the problems they create is the natural and logical solution.

Yes, this smacks of a huge tax on dogs! And I am fully aware that the administration of this represents a challenge on its own, since I don't have any trust in politicians or government representatives acting in good faith to serve the public interest, unless forced to. But that's a different ball game altogether.

As a relevant example to illustrate the point of price influence, please consider that the taxes on tobacco products show a direct link between the number of teenagers starting smoking and the cost of the product! In countries where the tobacco taxes have been extremely high (causing the products' prices to increase by 500% or more), there is a clear decrease in the number of smokers. And the number increases again, every time the taxes are reduced. Before Denmark was forced to "harmonize" its taxes with the remaining EU, tobacco in Denmark cost about 3 times as much as in Germany - all because of extremely high tobacco taxes. After those taxes had to come down, the smoking population in Denmark almost doubled....

And the bottle deposit stories also tell the truth about this - the administration of collecting such mandatory deposits does not increase with the size of the deposit. But the customer demand for the product does.

There are more unpleasant decisions in this...

The whole problem originates from the fact that we have an over-supply of dogs that are too cheap. And the shelters contribute to making that problem worse, not better!

So, what can be done about this over-supply?

As we discussed, we need several things in place:

1.

FEWER DOGS!
2.

A HIGHER PRICE ON DOGS.
3.

A source of funding of the public education that is required to prevent the problem.
4.

Acceptance of euthanasia as an "OK solution" to reducing the dog population and to end a dog life that has no positive perspective of happiness.

I know - that last one about euthanasia does not sit well with most "rescue" dog volunteers and dog lovers... We already discussed that. But it remains an indisputable fact that large-scale euthanasia of "rescue" dogs would quickly reduce the problem of "too many homeless dogs" - and it would most definitely also contribute to an overall increase of the market price for a dog! As we discussed, a higher market price will reduce the number of irresponsible buyers - and it will reduce the whole problem around "disposing" of unwanted dogs.





I AGREE ABOUT %90.

Titus poop mistake: overnight

Titusis poop mistake: overnight

Mistakes.

Titus did have two mistakes later this morning, too.

He had one in the mesh carry bag (I'm not giving him the soft bottom during the trip tomorrow), and then had half of one in the kitchen. I scooped him up both times and stuck him outside to finish. When he was in the mesh carry bag, he started yelping to high heaven.

He's also had the runs, again, so I'm going to go out (now) and buy some chicken wings to have with the chicken breasts so the transition won't be so harsh. And plus, with traveling, at least his bowels need to be in order, if nothing else.

Titus both mistakes sgain: once again I have no idea why. He had nothing to drink past 7 and it's like he's peed 80 times all night.

Titus both mistakes: I don't even know

"Do you need something?"

This morning, my perfectly-happy-to-be-submissive dog, Puppy, did something that severely shocked me.

Both of my dogs are Cavalier King Charles spaniels which are normally extremely quiet little creatures - unless they want something. Titus tends to bark when he wants out or when he just feels like being a little jerk and Puppy barks on extremely rare occasions - meaning, I don't even remember the last time she barked.

Except this morning, and I have to admit, I did walk straight into it.

The previous night, I had promised the old bat that I'd feed her come morning because I was giving her pig's feet and they were frozen as hard as rocks so I let them thaw a bit overnight. I'd set up tons of things to dry, also, for vacation so they'd have meat to snack on.

This morning, I jumped up at around six to take Titus out (even though he had half of the mistake in his crate when I went to pee, I think, since like I said, he'd been basically asleep before that), and left her in the room like I usually do. Then I came back, deposited my little crapper, and crawled back into bed.

Puppy has the tendency to be incredibly annoying when she wants something and this morning was no different. Being hungry and probably needing to urinate, she was getting into everything. I said her name more than on a few occasions in annoyance. And she would quietly comply and go about her business getting into something else just to keep me from sleeping.

This time, she sniffed at my nightstand which happens to have a turkey bone they've been playing over for the past week. I'd taken all the tiny pieces out of my carpet and placed them there so I wouldn't step on them. She sniffed and then, of course, I yelled "Puppy!" sharply to deter her from continuing.

Her body slowly sank back to the carpet and she sat there, looking at me (another Cavalier trait, which is so very annoying).

"Do you need something?" I said in annoyance. Usually this reply merits no real answer except more staring and possibly the act of pulling one's ears forward and a little wiggle of excitement.

Not this morning.

This morning, she barked. And fell silent. When I didn't get up, she did it again. Now, this isn't aggressive barking, per se. She is sitting in her little position, waiting patiently for me to get out of bed (again) and put my shoes on (again) and say "Let's go then," which is my morning routine.
Finally, I bolted upright like a zombie and turned towards her. She looked at me with almost pleading eyes, the whites showing, and then at once went into a lying position. Then she barked again. She was almost shaking.

My reply to her answer was "Is that so?" And I got up from my bed, put my shoes on, and said "Let's go, then." She was absolutely delighted. She jumped up and ran circles around my tiny little room before falling into place directly behind me before I opened the door.

Titus pee mistake: I think he had it when I used the bathroom before taking him out. Because he had previously been lying down and only his paws were wet. It's my fault though because I let him drink really late last night

Titus poop mistake: I was at work when I'm usually home

Milk Bone Crunchies

I need to be more consistent with giving him treats when he does the right thing. I forget to take treats out so I just verbal praise. But I think treating + verbal praise will get me further since it's rare that I give treats in the first place. He'll be floored that he gets a treat every time he poos outside.

Titus both mistakes: while I was in class

Titus poop mistake: no warning over night

Titus poop and pee mistake: He said nothing, at all. In fact, I was sitting on my bed when I noticed it. I'm not surprised though because he flat out refuses to pee outside in the rain. He literally just sits underneath me until I bring him in.

Tutis poop accident: while I was at work

Just a quick post.

Well. Titus hasn't had a mistake since Thursday, surprisingly, and he's really good about crying like high heaven for me to take him out.

The strange thing is I feel confident in letting him play, now.

When I was potty training Puppy, it just clicked one day - seriously. Like, I'm taking her out constantly and then one day she just stops peeing on every break. Then I started spacing them out and she was good. I would also give her treats. The same week she stopped peeing at every break, she stopped taking treats. It was weird. But for now I'm super proud of Ti.

And... I go on vacation next week with the both of them. THAT will be a trip because I'll be taking two crates and the last time I took Titus somewhere, he was thrown out of wack - literally - when it came to bathrooming. I'll try to just keep the exact same schedule during the trip.

That's all for now.

Ciao <3

Titus poop mistake: took him outside and he pooped a little. Did more inside, stopped him and took him back out to finish

Titus poop and pee mistakes: the poop is minor, like a pooplet and then he starts crying. But I gave him a bear to sleep on and I found them both wet just now. I hate not letting him have anything at all but he's done something to all of his toys and he needs a bath.

Titus poop mistake

Titus poop mistake

Titus poop mistake: he went in his crate and whined then finished outside. Had a but of the runs but his in crate poop was solid.

Potty Scheules.

Okay

Titus' Potty Schedule: 7, 10, 1, 4, 7, 10, 11-12 (before bed)

Puppy's Potty Schedule: (If I get up on time in the morning) 7, 12, 5, 10, 11-12 (before bed)
(If I don't get up on time) 10, 4, 8, 11-12(before bed)

Puppy pee mistake: She did go and sit by the door, so I'm counting that as warning, poor girl.

Titus both mistakes: my fault because I let him drink after 7

Titus poop mistake: Warning, IDK. But it's nice and fresh looking, and wet, so I'm guessing he held it until around 10 when I was driving back.

Titus poop mistake: no warning though he should be able to hold it over night

Titus poop mistake: overnight no real warning

Titus has had a total of 3 poop mistakes today. And he still squats to poop outside, too. I don't know when they happen but I like to think he held it up until the last possible minute and just couldn't hold it anymore. He has no blanket, so he knows that he has to just sit there and look at it until I come back.

Let us not get discouraged as he had no mistakes yesterday! I did give him extra treats last night so I don't need to do that again - no matter what.

Titus poop mistake: wasn't home

Titus poop mistake: over night probably because I didn't take him out at 12 like normal. Oh well, it was firm. Not sure about warning. He went out twice last night so I don't know when he did it because I was too groggy to check

Restart.

Okay. Titus has been having some seriously dark poop. He did go to the vet today and she gave him the all clear, even did a stool sample and said it was fine so I don't know where it's coming from. Also, I will press on his belly and he doesn't yelp or anything - and he's a big baby. Also, I took his temp and it is 100.3 which is normal and he is very playful.

So... I'm hoping that he is perfectly fine but I can't help but worry, anyway.


However.

I am restarting his raw diet. He hasn't eaten for nearly 12 hours and soon I'm going to give him 1/3 of a chicken wing. And for each meal he will have just that and no more because I want to see some solid, light poop before I continue. Or else I'm marching myself right back to the vet.

The prior rules about when he shall go out and last time eating and what not still stand the same. But I need to get his poop firm because it's now beginning to scare me, even if his outward signs say he's perfectly fine.

Titus mistake: both, no warning (and he did it on his food, no less - so gross)

"Zeus"

So... my rooommate, because I now have Titus, felt that it was absolutely necessary that she get a companion for Kiley (her jack russel terrier x chihuahua mix), one of the ugliest dogs that I've ever seen.

Now, I'm not saying Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are adorable but they are one of the best dogs to enter into an already established animal family. We already had three animals - Kiley, Puppy, and Jack (a cat) - and a choice of a fourth and fifth edition requires more than just what's cute.

I settled on another Cavalier King Charles and it took me forever just to decide that. I had been talking to the breeder since February of this year and eyeing her site and her frequency of puppies since around August before that. It was a long time, not a whim. I'd looked at so many breeder sites and damn near memorized the breed standard for the guys even before I emailed her. I also researched the common diseases AND asked her about them in turn. I have a contract and you bet I have that contract almost memorized too. We've discussed the fine details of the contract, like how to feed, what to feed (since I'm on a raw diet, after all).

I feel comfortable with my breeder and I would refer her to anyone.

My roommate? Ha! She just went out one night and came back with a puppy. I don't even know if she looked at the type of dog before they dropped money on it. They bought a bull terrier. For people who don't know what that is, it was designed to be a leaner type of pit bull, so it could attack with more speed. Yes, I said attack. Bull Terriers were bred for fighting. They are small, compact, and "bull" headed quite literally. They're not very cute even when they've been painstakingly bred to exhibit the exact breed standard. This abomination that she has looks like a mix between a pit bull and a boxer and it has docked ears. Do you dock bull terrier ears? No. And they're not even docked, they're sliced off!

I would've put my money back in my pocket RIGHT then. It's obvious that who ever did the docking isn't familiar with how it works or the breeds that it is okay to dock, because bull terriers aren't one. And yes, I know all of this off the top of my head. I don't like bull terriers, I don't like terriers. I like Cavalier King Charles Spaniels - and I know more about the dog that they just bought then they do. No surprise.

What else? They named him "Zeus" - which is almost further offending to me just because of how long it took me to think of Titus' call name. And then they go and think of essentially the same style of name. I know, it seems petty, but my roommate is not creative. If she were creative and enjoyed thinking of dog names, that's one thing, but she isn't and doesn't. I know for a fact that his name has over 50% to do with my dog's name which is just... unnerving.

I will get a picture of it... and I will post it and we shall compare the breed standard to that abomination.

Titus both mistakes: whining

Titus poop mistake: I had taken him out an hour before so he shouldn't've been having an accident. So I'm going to say no warning.

Third Eyelid

Also, Titus' third eyelid is showing a lot. I just noticed it today because... well I just saw it today. It looks pretty gross.

I did notice that he was trying to scratch his face more often now that I just stop and think about it but there's nothing I can do today. Everything is closed. I will probably run him up to the vet's tomorrow though (even though I have to get his shots on Friday and an extra check up is going to piss me off).

I put a little of my contact solution on his eyes and now I'm trying to get him to lie d own and take a nap or something and see if he's just tired or something like that because he was falling asleep in my arms.

They don't actually look that bad when he's alert, but they look horrible when he's just sitting in his cage, it looks like his entire eye is almost covered with the third lid. And his right eye looks a lot worse than his left.


He's not taking the nap bait either - but that's probably because he doesn't have a blanket. He'll have to deal because he really is absolutely worn out. He looks like it.

New Set of Rules

Obviously, since I am having a hell of a time with accidents - and now he's peeing in his crate too when before he'd only poop - I've got to think of a better way to do this since my current way is very obviously not working.

Here's the new set of rules:

No food after 5 pm

No water after 7 pm

Potty break times are as follows: 7, 10, 1, 4, 7, 10, 12-1 (that's pm, so whenever I go to bed), and then if that doesn't go too well, I'll add a break in the middle of the night. Problem is that right now I don't wake up to my alarm so I need to work on that, too.

Take him out after eating, after playing, 30 min after a big poop if he's still having mucus.

Treats when pottying outside, also.


I know I shouldn't give him a blanket because it gives him more incentive to hide it, but I feel bad when he has to lie on the little tray with nothing soft and you know how CKCS love soft things. But, for now, he's not getting anything because it'll help us both know when he has accidents.

-------------

I'm going to try this method for a good week and if it works, I will continue with it and if it doesn't, I will reevaluate it next Sunday.

Titus both mistakes: no warning

Titus poop accident: no warning

Needless to say, i am exhausted and pissed off.

And just as many last night.

Titus poop mistake: I don't know if he gave warning, I heard nothing.

He poops like ten times for one thing... He poops both inside and out and he didn't have these constant crate accidents at my appt. It's weird and very frustrating. And Puppy is just making it worse. She woke me up to go outside 3 times tonight and joan

Titus poop mistake: warning possibly but I was outside with Puppy.

Puppy poop mistake; no warning

Two poop mistakes over night

Titus poop accident: over night no warning.

I'm going to stop feeding him after like seven and put him on a stricter meal schedule because he poops a lot at once and can't get it all out and thinks he's done when he's not.

Titus poop accident: no warning

Updates <33

Accidents.

I added the ability to post through my phone so... when they have accidents I will know when, what kind, and if there was a warning.

This morning they both had one at the SAME time. I got Puppy outside but Titus had his when I left (stopped when I came in, though, and finished outside).


The style will be

Dog type of accident: type of warning (if none, will probably say none)


Puppy poop accident: whining

Titus poop accident: whining

Sigh.

Well... I basically lost the job. Which is okay because I was really beginning to hate it. I hate drugging up dogs for no reason and that's what they're all about.

Then, they asked me if I fed my dog in a cage and I do, every night, because you can't have raw chicken dragging across the floor - that's just nasty. And asked me if I leave food on their faces and I was like, yes, yes I do because they clean it themselves. SINCE THEY'RE DOGS.

It's not a huge deal, though, I wanted to save a lot of the money for law school but it's not worth the stress and shit that I have to take every day.

Just tutoring, now.

----

Titus... he's getting bigger now. He's got big paws and those skinny cute legs. It's adorable. The only problem is that while he's mostly done detoxing (no more diarrhea), I still haven't started giving him a big variety; right now, I'm just supplementing with fish oils. They hate taking it, too, it's miserable because the pills are large and spaniels taking pills - it's just a task.

Anyway, he's had lots of mucus poo lately, but he's also been a hell of a lot better with his pottying. He did have a mistake the other day but he's getting that pooping is for outside and when we do go outside he goes poop pretty quickly. I'm not waiting for hours for him to poop. After we potty, I usually play with him for a little bit but it's too damn hot to take a bunch of walks like I would normally do. It's easier to give a bunch of walks because then he's ready to nap once we go back inside but it's just... way too hot for that.

Also, Puppy and him are playing so much more now. She plays very gently and he plays like the little bad puppy he is. It is adorable though.

I really need to update with pictures again. Hopefully I'll get around to taking pictures this weekend or so.

Detox update.

TITUS' DETOX IS OVER!

Officially. Thank god because he looks absolutely dreadful. His hair has fallen out in spots. It's growing back now but I went to get him a skin scrape with his third round of shots and she found nothing. She suggested that I supplement which I do but it's pretty difficult to get pills down the throat of a spaniel, if anyone can imagine. He had a firm poopy just now and it was amazing. He's also going swimmingly with his potty training. I figured most of the problems were up to detox.

He has a lot of mucus coming out of him - I think it's because of his parents and parents being on dog food and the fact that he's pretty young. I don't know. But Puppy's hair didn't fall out in clumps and shed like crazy and she didn't have nearly as much mucus as Titus. Sometimes... he'll go out to poo and all it will be is mucus.

Titus also doesn't really care for chicken wings. He likes boneless skinless chicken breasts - he gobbles those up as soon as I drop them, but it takes him longer to realize that he's allowed to eat the wings. When he's a little older, I won't worry as much, but for now I'm just going to let him have the breasts since we have a lot extra (my roommate dreads the idea of feeding her cat bones, w/e).

That's all for now. I need to update with pics but he looks so ugly right now.

Spintering Bones.

Well... I had to take an emergency vet visit on my one of two off days this week.

This morning, Puppy woke up and we went outside to poop but nothing really came out, just little turds, basically. I wasn't too alarmed because, well, she's a dog. But then, later (about two hours later) she started shivering uncontrollably and she wasn't being herself, either. Her tail carriage was low (the natural position is high - like a flag since she is a CKCS) and she was fairly lethargic. So, like a good pet owner, I was like "VET TIME!" So I rushed my baby to the vet and low and behold, she had splintered pieces of bone. The vet dug into her bum and got it out. Naturally, I was surprised, considering it had splintered and sharp points were paining her and she couldn't get them out on her own. However, I can't say if these came from cooked or raw bones because I always feed raw bones, however, that isn't to say that she doesn't get ahold of cooked bones from my hand. But obviously, people throw them out of their window and into the yard and I can't keep track of everything she gets into.

However, the vet got the pieces out (not the one I work at, a different one) and Puppy felt loads better. She started acting like her annoying self almost immediately (and then I had a conversation about raw diets with one of the vet techs).

Needless to say, that visit was VERY scary. I think she's fine now... but still. If I don't know what the splintering came from, it's just scary. She checked her anal glands too, and her AGs weren't full. Essentially, Puppy just scoots for fun.

Weight 2

Well. I weighed my little titan today and he's about at 5lbs. He wouldn't stay still which, while annoying, was a good thing. (Now he's trying to eat his tail, silly puppy)

He looks bigger than when I got him, of course he is.

Detox - well.. he's scratching a lot (probably from his new collar too), and he's been having lots of mucus poop - and asking to go outside each time, of course, when he's in the crate. He's had a little blood but not too bad. most of the time, he'll go to poop and all that will come out is mucus. Not bad, not bad at all.

He still gets treats for going. And he likes to hack up my other dog's hair.. since he just eats it. Because of this sad habit, I'm going to buy a good vacuum at some point very very soon. Depends on my work hours at the moment. I should be getting a 400 dollar pay check for this pay period.. and as long as I get the same thing in July, I'll be able to get the vacuum I want. I want a deep cleaner vacuum, not just some regular vacuum.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_02087760000P?vName=Appliances&cName=Vacuums+%26+Floor+Care&sName=Floor+Cleaners

I really like that one. It's a Bissell ProHeat. It's pretty expensive, but I need something with a good rating that's going to last for awhile. But with two dogs trampling up my floor, I need something to deep clean the floors every two weeks or so because it's pretty gross just to vacuum with pee and what not on the floor too.


Puppy - The other dog.. she's become quite the cuddle bug since Titus came. I think it's just because by the time she's done running from him, she just wants her quality time. It's pretty cute 'cause she's really not a snuggler.

Also, she had a bit of a potty set back which was to be expected. I think she may have had a pee accident today and she had a poo accident yesterday. It's almost like she has more mistakes than him - and yet I say she's the reliable one. Really she is because at least I know when and why she has mistakes. I have no idea why Titus gets close to mistakes sometimes.

Anyway, that's it for now.

(I keep watching 27 dresses, like.. once a day or more. It's like my favorite movie ever)

the "Crazy dog" game.

Apparently, the "crazy dog" game is when the dog just runs - insanely. Puppy used to do it all the time but now she's considerably lazier. Though, she'll still play and take walks, she doesn't get as excited as she used to about little things - probably because she's two years old and not a real puppy anymore.

Titus, however, is now the "crazy dog". I take him for bunches of short walks during the day because when he's out for his 1.5 hour every potty break, it seems like he just has an overflow of energy. We walk.. and we play.. and he chews.. and we run.. it's insane. I usually take him for a twenty minute walk after he potties (so I'm outside for about 30 minutes), then I come inside and play with him while I sort of watch TV for another thirty or so minutes. Then he goes out for another quick potty break and short walk (15-20 minutes), and then, depending on what time it is, I feed him. So he's awake for a good two hours as it takes him forever to eat... and then he lies down for a nap until his next potty break which is between 2-4 hours. He doesn't really have a strict schedule.


As far as his weight, I need to email the breeder and ask her how big his parents are (I forgot to do that while I was there) but I'm sure that they're 13-18lbs, I kind of hope that Titus is on the bigger side, honestly, like 18 or so pounds even though for show a smaller, well-balanced dog is preferred. As of Sunday, his current weight is still 3lbs. I will be weighing him again on this coming Sunday, since I work.

His diet - his detox is possibly over, I'm not sure because I've been giving him medicine for his diarrhea since there was a little bright red blood (happened to Puppy during her detox as well) and he needs to strain less.

Potty Training - this was the first day that Titus did not have an accident when he first got there (I think he may have peed later, though, but they don't tell me when I kind of need to know - I'm going to start asking them to write his mistakes down on his cage card). I think the only reason he didn't have an accident at work was because he was a little constipated... he got in the necessary position but nothing came out, hehe. He still got a treat for it though, and he's bad about those treats. He will stop pooping just to get a treat and run around with poo still on his bum. It's pretty gross and as a result I will probably start taking baby wipes outside with me (once I buy some).

He's very reliable for a 11-12 week old puppy as far as potty training goes. I would say that he's better than some 1 year old dogs I know and definitely better than an 8 month old lab puppy I know. The lab puppy like rolls around in his crap every day, but apparently they JUST started potty training him (he's also not leash trained either). I think he's just became too used to not being trained which makes it harder. Luckily, Titus has only had about three mistakes, two poops and one pee. He has a good bit of mistakes in his crate but that's because of detox, mostly (the diarrhea). He did pee in Puppy's crate once... but that is expected since there's a lot more room for him to go.

Command Training - We haven't really started that yet and I know he's not too young for it. I'm working on the "come here" command first and him correctly identifying his name. Later, when he's a good bit older, I'm going to see if I can train them to come only when I say their name and then the command, not just the command. (With Puppy, I say her name, specifically, and when she looks at me, I say come here. For some reason, when I tell people how to call her, they don't understand the pause between her name and the command which is necessary for her to first register that you are talking to her) I'm trying to teach him "sit" as well... but he's not grasping it as quickly. I'm doing it the same way that I do with Puppy - he gets it better when I have the food at his nose rather than when I say "Titus - sit". It's not too bad, overall, though.


Sadly, I'm ready for him to be an adult. I love puppies and all but I want to see his beauty now, and not the rolly-polly clumsy puppy. I love to watch puppies learn and grow but I definitely love adult dogs.

Also, people are right when they say that males "are IN love with you" because he never leaves my side really. He'll venture off a little but should I stop, he's right there at my feet, lying on his back in the grass. Or should I sit down on the grass, Puppy tends to run off and get into something but not Titus, he sits right beside me and settles. He may chew the grass or roll over and try to get me to play with him, but he doesn't go very far unless he has to poo. It's a nice change, hehe.

Right now, he's sleeping on his back with his legs wide open. He's already a man, haha!



<3 I love my babies.

Puppy Update

More pics <3

I think I'm just going to take weekly pics because even though I'm sick of puppyhood, I want to be able to at least look back and remember how cute he was until he enters his bad stage.

He's still working really hard to keep up with the girls (Puppy and Kiley) when they're playing. He basically copies what Puppy does exactly. She humps, he humps; she barks, he barks.

However, she tries to play a bit rough with him so I have to constantly stop her. I'm glad she's interested in really playing with him but he just needs to be able to hold his own.. and her growling kind of scares him a little too. Because she freezes, then bows, and then grabs his scruff which I don't think he's used to just yet. He LOVES watching them play too. He runs behind after them with perked ears, it's so cute.

Anyway, Pics and a video:

Weight.

I've been looking very hard for a growth chart on my puppy but I can't find any that have his weight on them. He weighs about 48 ounces or 3lbs at the moment and he's a nice ten weeks old.

It's bugging me because I don't know what his grown will be but I think I'm just going to weigh him weekly since I can anyway. That'll give me some idea with how he's progressing and how the diet is working for him.

I'm going to guess that he'll weigh about 15lbs just because he *is* a cavalier and then I've read that generally you can times the weight at 3 months times 3 and you'll have a good idea of his final weight, give or take a few pounds. That would put him at around 12lbs but I think that would be too small.

Anyway. It doesn't matter too much, as long as he's eating well and getting a pretty good diet.

Today I fed:

Puppy: Chicken Wing, 1/4 cup carrots, un peu apple sauce.

Titus: 1/2 chicken winglet (1/4 chicken wing), 1/8 cup carrots, un peu apple sauce

Parvovirus and Titering.

1. You CAN titer puppies.

2. Puppies need 3 sets of boosters about 3-4 weeks apart.



There's a lot of controversy over this. There are "nutty" breeders that vaccinate every week then nutty breeders that stop vaccinating at 10 weeks. There are some equally nutty veterinarians that vaccinate upwards of six times. I wish someone would just titer these puppies to really see if they need the constant vaccinations. No one ever does, why not?

Same thing with the foods.



I'm truly exhausted right now. I love my little Titus and so does Puppy. Except she humps him a lot and I don't want her to because it causes him to tuck his tail when she's only playing with him. He's not old enough to play like that yet - but one day soon he'll be able to keep up with her. I can't wait until he reaches about ten pounds, even though he's going to be about 8-10 pounds larger than her. I think the fact that he's essentially growing up with her will prevent her from being afraid of him later. She doesn't tend to care for dogs too much bigger than her (she's scared, really).

Anyway, maybe Wednesday, when I'm far less worn out, I will post a more lengthy post.

Pictures!

I meant to take them last night and upload them early or earlier than now. He's a doll. We took him to the vet this morning as he had a little bit of runny (nonfirm) poo and was throwing up bile - which could essentially be stress from changing locations or from hunger. At the vet, they offered him baby food which he readily took and has been gulping it down ever since. I just feed him a little bit every hour.

He hasn't thrown up since about 11:20 which is great. However, he hasn't pooped either and we need some poo from him to take to the doctor.

I did give him a little (less than 1/4) of these little stomach settling pills, Pliva something, I don't feel like getting up to check.

Also, the vets are like "Well we need to revaccinate him!" So I offered the idea of taking a titer test in three weeks to see if his immunity is low and if so, I will probably get the shots for him. If they are high, then of course not.

Picture time <3

HE'S HERE!

Little Harvest (who is now going to be called Titus) is home. He yapped the entire way down and it took a task to get Puppy used to him. She now politely ignores him (avoids him) when she follows after her. She's better outside, of course, because in the house is her territory.

Right now, he's asleep and she's chewing on the chew that was designated for his ride back. She's really enjoying it, too.

Tomorrow, he has a doctors appointment and we start the new feeding regime. There's soft boneless chicken in the fridge for his breakfast.

Yay <3

Pictures tomorrow, probably.

Yeasty Ears.

Well. Puppy has awkwardly clean ears (I haven't cleaned them since last summer when she got an annual and I always check them but they're fine) but they were smelling pretty rough. Which probably comes from me bathing her and not drying them out well or when she goes outside in heavy rain and what not. Just water in hear ears since they're flopped over. Anyway, they weren't smelling too hot so I tried to find a home remedy for helping it because she scratches the hell out of them.

The home remedy I found:

50% vinegar 50% water.

The vinegar can be white or apple cider but I can never find apple cider so I just used white.

I've been doing it for about three days now and her ears smell a lot better. I'm not wrinkling my nose. But I haven't seen a difference in her scratching just yet because I'm not home all day but I do think it's better. She scratches for a shorter time.

My boyfriend is coming tomorrow so hopefully he can help me clean and puppy proof because I have so much to do because I didn't get a chance to do anything today. I was called in to work for four hours and I'm always dead after that so I slept the entire afternoon. I'm going to clean for awhile now but I'll only probably finish my room tonight, unfortunately.

Why yes, I do feed my dog raw meat.

ZOMG! I feed my dog raw chicken!


No shit I do. Why?

1. She's allergic to something in most dog foods (corn, more than likely, or wheat). By allergic I mean, she has diarrhea and she's very itchy among other things.

2. Dogs are descendants from wolves. Meaning.... dogs and wolves share 99.8 percent mitochondrial DNA and about 98 percent of their DNA. Dogs and wolves can also interbreed and produce fertile offspring. What does that mean? They're nearly exactly alike. Can dogs handle raw meat? Definitely - what do you think feral dogs eat, hamburgers? Science diet? No, sorry, they do not get 2 cups of science diet twice daily.

Vitamins that Dogs Need:

Vitamin A –eggs, oily fish, liver

Vitamin D – No foods, ultraviolet light

Vitamin E –Apple, Pumpkin, greens, liver, chicken, turkey

Vitamin K – greens, cabbage, broccoli, organ meats, bananas, eggs, cheese, meat

Vitamin C – broccoli, greens

Vitamin B1 – oatmeal, liver, eggs, potatos

Vitamin B6 – potato, banana, chicken, oatmeal, trout, salmon, tuna, peanut butter

Riboflavin – oatmeal, broccoli, sweet potato, chicken, lamb, liver, turkey, veal, mackerel

Vitamin B12 – meat, eggs

Niacin – chicken, liver, flounder, salmon, swordfish

Pantothenic Acid – Broccoli, rice, coldwater fish (ovaries? Seriously)

Folic Acid – Grains, broccoli, peas, greens, egg, liver

Calcium - broccoli

Chromium - broccoli

Iodine – Egg, fish

Magnesium – Brown rice, lima beans

Phosphorus – oatmeal, chicken, lamb, liver, pork, turkey, veal, catfish, mackerel, salmon, lima beans

Potassium – bananas, fish, salmon, turkey, beas, greens, apricots

Zinc – pork, baked beans, chicken, kidney beans, oatmeal

Biotin – liver, eggs, oats

Choline – egg, broccoli, salmon, peanut butter

Inositol – oatmeal, veal, pork

I decided to make a list because while it's pretty easy to feed one dog, making sure two dogs have a good balance is a bit harder, I'll have to get on more of a schedule than I am now.

I try to vary the types of vegetables t hat I give my baby but I could definitely increase the amount of beans that she gets because it's slim to none. I'm a big fan of the canned mixed vegetables, really. I definitely need to get more broccoli because while I try to give her a good variety, I like to have the easiest foods around. Which are obviously oatmeal, chicken, eggs, and broccoli.

Some dogs have allergies with oats and oatmeal but my dog is fine with it.

(If I left out anything, please please let me know)

Ahllo.

Still fairly frustrated with work but I can't not be excited because I'm going to see the pup on Thursday - Friday at the latest. I want to get it on Thursday (if I approve of her area, I'm not getting it if it just seems... weird). I'm driving down there and checking him out and then coming back either with or without a puppy - one of the two. Hopefully the first one. Also, I scheduled him a quick check up on Friday. That's another reason why I really want to go see/get him on Thursday.

---

As for work, I'm still pretty frustrated.

I went in today and even though I'm still in training, I got there before the actual worker. I was pissed 'cause I don't like it when people are late. And then she started going on about how "she" does things. But I'm like- well I can't DO anything because I'm still in training and you'll bitch anyway.

Needless to say, that was the beginning of a rough shift.

I put up with her complaining about the way I was taught to do things up until a point. And she whined about everything and did nothing - seriously. I power washed (the most horrible thing in the world - takes about two hours, seriously), I medicated the difficult dog, I basically walked them all for their am walk. What did she do? Follow behind me saying how SHE does things. Well, that's fine and dandy how YOU do things but we could have been out of here at 10 if you would have shut the hell up and actually DID something. I also met all of the clients, too. She met one, I think. Just one.

Also, she thinks she knows everything about dogs, seriously. Which was probably the worst part of it all. I could block out all of her whining but I couldn't block out her "Oh I'm the most knowledgeable person concerning dogs here." Like... we had this bulldog boarding. And she says "Well - why can't we put it out with other dogs?"
"Because it's not fixed."
"What else?"
"Because....?"
"Because it's a bull dog. It's a bully breed and it doesn't play well with other dogs." (Not all bulldogs are aggressive, it just so happens that this one is considered a red light case -meaning she is dog aggressive)
"Well... what about the french bulldog that comes to daycare everyday."
"I don't know.. "
"What about the boxers that we put in play groups?"
WHAT'S YOUR FUCKING POINT, ESSENTIALLY. So English and American bulldogs are bully breeds. So are Frenchies and Boston terriers and boxers. And the only ones that aren't allowed to socialize are the English and American.

Wtf ever.

Also, we have to be certified to handle these two staffordshire terriers and a pit bull. The pit bull I handled perfectly the first day someone watched me. I know, right. They didn't even let me handle the staffordshire male until today and we have to pass or fail and I passed. First time. Earlier that day, my lovely coworker bitched about how I don't handle him right. But apparently... I do.

I can handle dogs. What I can't handle is people breathing down my neck acting as if I'm an R-tard.

*sigh*

And now she wants me to help her with last walks. Which I don't mind doing, really. Because it's pretty easy when I do it with the other two workers. We have three places we can put dogs.. and I handle the small dogs and they handle the big dogs just because the big dogs are easier to walk. They get two fields and I just use one. It takes about the same amount of time

But we'll see what happens tonight.

Credit Card Update.

It's here. My limit is 1,000 dollars which is a lot more than I thought it would be so perfect. All I need to do is put like 50 dollars on my paypal credit. But I'm going to do more than that, probably try to put at least half or more. Hopefully more.

I need to activate it but I haven't yet. I'll do it soon.

I'm still going to finish applying for others but this one is completely for the pups. I'm happy with that <3

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I was also called in to work today. I took Puppy with me but she totally doesn't enjoy it in the least. It's 8 dollars a day per dog so it's hardly bad at all. When I do all day working I'm definitely going to take them both.

I'm happy right now.

Huston, we have lift off!

First, let me start by saying that my dog has a chew problem. No, she doesn't destroy socks and shoes like most dogs but when she gets a chew, she eats it so fast that it's just like a snack to her. She's a 10lbs chew machine. Then, also, she's pretty picky with her toys. She loves rawhides but she's not very fond of actual dog toys (I hope that the new puppy will help her realize how FUN toys can be).

She has a kong and she loves her kong but only when it's filled. And she likes those dingo rawhides. She's definitely a thinker. If there's nothing to be figured out, then it is no fun.

However, I figured out something.

I was thinking about making some homemade dog chews just because that would at least be cheaper than buying them (I may try some banana chips as she likes those) but I was reading online and a suggestion was putting peanut butter on a rope toy. While putting peanut butter on a regular rope toy wouldn't last but a second (and that's all it lasted), I have this one rope toy with two pig feet on it that she likes but never really plays with - she's weird, if I pick it up she's totally interested in it, but if it's just on the ground she doesn't care.

Anyway, I put bits of peanut butter on the inside of the pig foot rawhides and a bit on the rope just to get her started, and she's been going for awhile now. I'm highly surprised. By while, I mean like.. ten minutes is pretty good. I will probably freeze the peanut butter on the toy next time, but for now, she's having a pretty good time.

The credit card that I was approved for should arrive before the coming monday. And my boyfriend "doesn't know" if he'll be able to come pick up the dog with me. I can easily do it but I really wanted him to come with me because I don't like going by myself. If it gets to like.... the 28th and he still has no idea, I may just tell her that I'm going to fly him. I really don't want to fly him but my boyfriend is flaky and retarded. He's just going to be sitting at home otherwise, probably. Or "moving out" of his apartment - even though he's been doing that for about a month now. It takes me two days to move out. It takes him a month. AND I'M THE WOMAN. (with a dog, no less) My parents are expert movers, that's what it is. Though we did take three cars. It was still one day.

Oh well. Two weeks! June 1st! They'll be ready! I get the pick of the litter, the best boy tricolor. I'm still wondering about how I name him but that doesn't matter too much.

I'm hoping that I can possibly pick him up the 31st and have two-three days with Will and the puppy, because I'm pretty sure I'll be working the 4th or so. Depends on if I'm working by myself or not. I can't really set up a time until I get my work schedule which will be given on the 28th, then I can email her and really talk. Otherwise there's a high chance that I won't even get the day off. Also, I still have seven days to get down there despite the day that I say I'm coming. So I'm sure I can figure something out with all of those open days. Even though I don't have a lot of readily available friends :/

Edit to the title.

We have decided, just now, to - if I am allowed to give the dog both his official name and his call name - to call him:

Pignot Grigio (official name) - Harvest (call name)

It was a joke entirely because we had first been joking around with calling him something from a video game, like my roommate named a bunch of star wars shit (no offense honey) and I was like "Hell F- no." And then, she got all sad like and I didn't want her to be offended so I was like "Why don't we name him Harvest?" to get her to smile.

Then I kind of liked it.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins.

This is one of my dog's all time favorite recipes. She loves them. And they do not make her sick. However, this recipe is designed for humans and at most I only give her half of a muffin per day as she only weighs 10lbs.

She is incredibly sickly so anyone can understand why I try not to overhaul her with new foods. But she ADORES these muffins.

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (sometimes we use whole wheat)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled.
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin and a 6 cup muffin tin with paper liners or coat them with cooking spray. (If you're not going to try one - trust me, they're amazing and you should - you could make 24 mini muffins)

2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg into a mixing bowl.

3. Whisk together the cooled melted butter, sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour mixture until just combined.

4. Fill each muffin cup about three-quarters full. Bake the muffins until they are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 22-25 minutes. Let the muffins cool for about 5 minutes, invert them onto a wire rack, and then turn them right side up on the rack to cool completely.



Sadly, I also go absolutely insane over this recipe too; my roommate makes it constantly (or used to until we both started getting fat - now we're on a diet but we're having them for the homecoming of the new puppy).

About the Title.

Penne (Pronounced "Pin") is going to be the call name for the new pup. His full name, if I'm allowed to give him that, is going to be Pignot Grigio <3

I like naming my animals after drinks:

Chardonnay (Current dog) Call name: Puppy

Black Jack Daniels (cat) Call name: Jack

Pignot Grigio (Soon to be new puppy) Call name: Penne

Excitement.

I am getting extremely excited about the new pup now even though I'm still somewhat uneasy about it because it is a huge undertaking. I'm getting it in about three weeks and I paid my 1/2 payment just now. The breeder is sending me pics of the one she picked out for me. I am getting the best of the tricolor boys in the litter.

Oh... and I'm feeding him raw. I already cleared it with the breeder and she doesn't care as long as I give him these health cookies which I need to go ahead and order. I'm going to get a bunch and probably feed my dog them, they can't hurt, I'm sure.

I've been feeding puppy mostly eggs lately because we have extras and I wanted to get rid of them. They're pretty high in protein though.. but it's all she gets in the day. One egg and then she chews rawhide or maybe apple sauce. I'm going to increase her fiber though because her anal glands get full way too fast. I need to try to express them again but I have a hard time with it and I think I make her butt sore when I try. Poor baby.

I'm nervous because: what if they don't get along? That's my biggest question but I feel like I'm being ridiculous because my dog loves almost all dogs. She's started to get nervous around large or rough playing dogs because she's pretty fragile but as far as pups, she's like mommy to them all. However, she doesn't get to socialize with a lot of big or adult dogs but when she does, she is okay as long as they're around her weight, a tad bigger or smaller. I think I'm worrying for no reason - and everyone even tells me that.

Right now my baby is chowing down on a rawhide bone.

In other news. I applied for my first credit card. I know I know - why get one? But I'm approaching my senior year of college and "I have bank" (especially if I can afford to get another cavalier). I'm basically going to use it to improve my credit score. You know, like buy gas on it here and there just to go home and pay the balance off within 25 days so it doesn't collect interest. I think interest is where you get caught. I'm also excited and equally nervous about that because I don't want to get "caught up" and fuck myself over because my parents ARE NOT going to help me pay it off. They said so already. I am going to use it to pay the remaining balance on the dog, if I can, just because I don't feel comfortable having my actual bank account on paypal and it is also the only thing costly enough to matter on my statement. I may use it as an organization technique though, and start putting vet bills and all important dog things - including food and treats - on the card because I am beginning to get kind of curious as to how much dogs really cost. I never think about it because I have developed the habit of saving money regardless but I am curious to see just how much money I spend on my dogs.

I'm also getting my parents dog.. or the dog that lives at my parents house but is still mine.. heartworm treatment sometime this summer if my job holds up. I'm probably going to get that done in late July, early August. I want some time just to the puppy to get him straightened out before I take on three dogs, even if it is going to be a short period of time. That will go on the credit card too, just for organization purposes.

Lasts, in my personal life. I'm going home to visit my boyfriend. If this visit goes well and we are interested in each other sexually, I will probably invite him to come with me to get my dog. If things go badly... then we may not even still be together. I don't want to go into detail because it makes me slightly sick to my stomach but I am packing for the trip now. It's from tonight until wednesday day. Then on Wednesday I go to my parents house and on thursday morning, early, I leave to come back.

I have to go to a staff meeting on Thursday at 1230 and then a handling class right after that. It'll be a tight fit but I can do it.

Now I'm exhausted, though. I want to nap but I'm trying not to because I know Will's going to want to go to sleep early.

Frustrations.

1. First and foremost. I AM OUT OF SCHOOL FOR THE SUMMER. ZOMG I CAN'T BELIEVE SUMMER IS FINALLY HERE. AND MY FIRST SUMMER WITH AN APARTMENT SO I DON'T HAVE TO GO HOME. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY.

2. I am slightly frustrated with work at the moment; first because I am trying to be a certified worker and right now I'm not. And I only work on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday so it is even harder for me to get there. Also, I don't necessarily agree with how the veterinarian handles dogs. She basically says that treat rewarding some dogs is okay while it is not okay to treat reward others which I don't think is fair. Just because one dog is a fighting dog and one dog may be a cuddly chihuahua, they're both dogs. Like, we had this training yesterday and it involved one pit bull, a stafford terrier, and an abused chihuahua. We took turns holding and coddling the chihuahua but we were basically not allowed to show the same affection for the other two dogs. I did anyway though because the pit bull, Carmelia, is such a sweet dog. Also, the second thing that is frustrating me about training right now is the fact that I am being compared to others. I like to think that I can handle dogs pretty well even though I am physically pretty weak. Yesterday, I only got the chance to handle Carmelia but I think it would've at least been better if I could TRY to handle the other one. I did perfectly fine with Carmelia yesterday but considering that there are girls that have worked there for months and are not certified for both dogs, I'm sure that regardless of how well I handle the dog, I'm going to have to attend about two-thousand training sessions. I also hate how they're just watching because it makes it awkward because I just want to identify with the animals but I have to detach myself. I have to force dogs to sit because "I said so" which is something I am highly opposed to doing. I don't mind if they sit for something that they actually want, that is good, but just making them sit because I stopped walking, or because I said so or whatever is almost ridiculous to me. Like with Carmelia, I started handling her earlier and I go by the NILF (or nothing in life is free) so like when I feed her or give her water, I make her sit which I think earns more respect than walking her around in a circle and commanding that she sit for no good reason without any sort of reward.

3. This is a side track but I am SO SICK OF MY ROOMMATE. She brings her friends over like... absolutely constantly which isn't the problem. The problem is that I'm sick of seeing flabby bodies in two pieces with ugly faces. They'd be considered "but'er faces" except their bodies aren't that great either. I mean, I'm not modelesque (I'm just too short, lol) but I at least try to stay toned and cute. They just don't care. And then, she takes them to the pool like every single day. They don't even live at our complex, like seriously. I hate... lying out. Like WHY are you looking for skin cancer? I am so glad I'm african-American because I swear to god. I'd be the palest white person in the world because there's no way in hell that I'd go lie out in the sun and ask for leather skin.

4. I am getting increasingly excited about getting my new puppy. The unfortunate part is if my work doesn't pick up, I may not be able to get it until it's 12 weeks old. It doesn't matter too much though because I am guaranteed a male tricolor puppy when I pay this 1/2 payment which I'm paying Monday or Tuesday, whenever my paypal account is fully functional. I really really hope that my working picks up even though I already told my mom that I wouldn't be able to pay my rent, again. I hate telling her t hat because I feel so guilty but it's the truth so... I don't know.

5. Ultimately, I'm ready to be out of training. I'm ready to clean some dog ears and squeeze some anal glands (I've been practicing on Puppy - not to her satisfaction but she is the sweetest dog, she just stands there patiently as I torture her). I only need ten of each and I already have 1 for anal glands, two for nails, and one for ears. Hopefully over this weekend I can geta lot more. Probably by next weekend, if I'm lucky, I'll have all that training stuff completed.

Accident.

My baby had an accident today. In her crate.

Corn is a no-go for her, or maybe just freezer-burned corn. I should've tasted it first like I do with almost all of her vegetable foods. I gave her corn two days ago and it just came out today. And it looked like corn in feces. It was about the grossest thing I've seen in awhile but that was mostly the smell. It wasn't a happy smell.

She covered it with her blanket and made it where I basically I couldn't see it and then she whined up a storm when I walked in. It was like.. still fresh, meaning I know she did it within like 10 minutes before I got home. It makes me sad... but in her defense, it was pouring down rain this morning and I could easily understand how she wouldn't have wanted to pee and poo in rain.

Everything is nice and great now.

I'm preparing to put my down payment on my second job. I feel weird about paying a large sum of money for a puppy but it's basically like my graduation gift to myself - even though I graduate next year. I've never actually paid for a dog before but I really want this specific breed (the same one as my current dog) because she's still been acting a bit strange with large new dogs but she's always been fine with dogs her own size or puppies. In fact, she loves puppies.. or at least puppies that are between 5lbs-15lbs but I think she'll be dandy if the new dog maxes his weight at 20lbs. Mainly, I think she'll be okay with it just because she'll be growing up with him and he'll have a certain respect for her because she's the female and male's are usually the submissive ones.

I'm hardly worried about them getting along because I know they will. However, she is a bit iffy when it comes to what dogs she likes and which she doesn't. She tends to like or prefer dogs a little bit smaller than her or puppies, like I said, and I think that's mainly because she's so frail. She only weighs 10lbs and we have a stocky chihuahua/terrier mix (my roommates dog) and it also weighs 10lbs.

As of right now, I'm trying to take her to daycare a lot more so she can learn that it's going to be okay; though I think her big dog thing will never change unless it's Pico (she loves my black lab/german shepherd mix but that's because he's a lazy boy) but what can I say? I did get her from a shelter which almost guarantees some aggressive problems and I got lucky because she has no food aggression and no general dog aggression. She just has a problem with really hyper big dogs.

Oh well. Once I am able to get the discount at work, I will take her anytime I'm working and let her play with the other available small dogs that I think she'll get along with. Hopefully, there will be a friend that she automatically gets along with there because last time she wasn't being too friendly. I'm not sure if that was because she was freaked out by the new location or because I kept leaving her by herself. Oh well, with repetition and not being babied (even though the girls there kind of baby her when she whines), she'll be able to deal with her separation anxiety. Luckily last night, she didn't poo and pee everywhere like she used to when I left. Last night, she just whined for a little and then stopped and waited fairly patiently for me to reappear.

I think... she's okay when she knows she won't be bullied. I just wish I knew exactly what sets her off when it comes to dogs. I may ask the veterinarian again about her random large dog aggression. Hopefully we can somehow work with her when it comes to that. I'll set up an appointment probably after we get the little boy. Especially if she doesn't like him. If she shows aggression towards him as a puppy (usually she lets puppies chase after her - she even runs slowly so they won't be too far behind, it's adorable), I will schedule an appt STAT. <3

I have confidence that she'll be perfectly fine though, I feel like her aggression is a defense mechanism/fear aggression because she does constantly get trampled over and stepped on. I'm sure she's thinking, "If I bark and growl, then they won't hurt me," because she only barks and growls after she's tried tucking her tail and walking away, getting under me, and tucking her tail and running away.

But what can you expect? People are told to not let dogs that have a big weight gap socialize. I think it's something like the dog's weights must be 20lbs or less? Maybe 25, but then I think small dogs should be something more like 10lbs or less.

Ciao fer now <3

New Pupster and New Foods.

I'm ironing out the kinks of getting the new puppy. I think I will call him "Pignot Grigio" and Penne for short. I love random call names.

Anyway. This is the FIRST time I actually gave Puppy an egg. She loved it and she ate it quite slowly which is remarkable for her because she's usually a wolfer. Now she's poking around for more foods.

The problem is eggs are really high in protein. Meaning I need to go find some more fruits and vegetables because otherwise she's going to be deficient in those other things. I don't know. I need to buy more vegetables period because we haven't had them in awhile and she basically eats the same stuff as me... except mostly raw.

I'm putting the half payment on the new baby in about a week. As things go now, I should have it even though money is going to be exceptionally tight until then.

Behavior Wellness Program

The title is fairly random.

Anyway, so the new job at the veterinary hospital requires me to do a slew of online tests and in house quizzes. I've been working my rear off on the online stuff so I can just focus on reading the information for the upcoming quizzes.

I have two that I need to go ahead and take and one of the ones I have to take is like greek to me, the other isn't too bad.

----

I got a chance to meet the actual in-house vet the other day and I decided to make casual conversation with her as she was/is fostering the dog that bit me on the first day. I asked her in a roundabout way about my dog's forming aggression. I didn't have too much time to go into detail about my dog's problems but I just mentioned that she recently started developing it and mostly around larger dogs. I mentioned that she is perpetually annoyed at home by the terrier mix that my roommate owns (She likes to say chihuahua mix but the damn thing is a hideous terrier) and random other dogs that my roommate likes to babysit. And they always claim that they're "playing" even though my dog very often has her tail tucked under her legs.

Basically, the doctor was just like "Well that is sensible aggression, I wouldn't get mad at her about that," and then we joked for a minute about people that cannot control their dogs.

Also, at work, there are three... well four... medium breed foster dogs and all of them are pit bull mixes. It's kind of funny because one is a puppy which one of my coworkers LOVES, another is stricken to her cage 24/7 because she is quite animal aggressive and a great jumper. And the other two require like a certification to handle. The two that require certification to handle... they're not really even that bad. They're trying to teach them to sit but I think they're going about it the wrong way. I think they should be way more patient with them and reward for it as well. They're always nervous when they approach her for what she needs and she's always excited to have attention. I know my tense changed, I was talking about the first dog, Carmilla. She's a sweety. The other is Pinky even though he's not very pink. He's a stafordshire terrier. I'm "not allowed to walk him" because of his aggressiveness but he seems perfectly fine but very strong.

I'm a person that gives little to no slack on the lead for dogs that I can touch by standing; this is mainly because I only way 120 and most of the dogs have more muscle than me. So it is almost manditory that I keep the lead high on the neck with not much more than an inch slack. My coworker thought it was too little slack but I don't like for dogs to walk in front of me or very close to level.

Anyway... I'll finish later.

It's been awhile.

But I have good news to report!

For one: I got another job. This one is at a veterinary office; I'm a caretaker as they call it but what I basically do is scoop poop and clean cages and bathe dogs. It's fairly enjoyable and I get to learn a lot about dog behavior.

The bad part is that my dog has actually been acting oddly aggressive. Really, I don't think it's so much aggression as just being nervous. She barks when really hyper dogs or big dogs are around her, usually if they're sniffing her. She gives them like a couple seconds and then she may bark. It's strange because I can't predict what dog it'll happen with and even then. Like if it happens at the dog park, per se, once the dog is lying down, she'll approach it. I think she's just learned how to protect herself just because she is very often trampled or generally bullied by the other dog that lives here. The other dog is a terrier/chihuahua mix and it basically pesters the hell out of her but she puts up with it. And with larger dogs, she usually is trampled over constantly. With puppies, she's began to bark and if they persist snap at the air which is fine with me but I worry with larger dogs just because she is seen as a sort of prey creature if she yelps towards them. The last time she was with a larger set of dogs, she snapped at the puppy (chocolate lab) when it was hyper around her but would wag her tail relaxed and run towards it once it was lying down. And then when the other two even bigger dogs came, she chased after them as they played. She also played with a husky mix and didn't growl at all when she approached. I think she has a thing against labs specifically, honestly. Though I don't blame her because if I was constantly trampled, I'd probably bark too when a lab got too close. She mostly barks at overly excited dogs.


Lately I've been giving her a bit of oatmeal because she hasn't been getting a grain. I know most people dispute over this one but I feel like, since dogs and wolves tend to eat herbivores they are getting balanced nutrition because whether we like it or not, they're at some point absorbing some things that they wouldn't from meat eating animals.

So today she got:

One chicken wing

1/4 cup cooked oatmeal (it's more once it's cooked but when I measured it uncooked it was a fourth a cup)



She's very fragile... so I am thinking about trying to get some more calcium into her system, hopefully that works on dogs like it does on humans.

Food.

Okay. My dog eats a huge variety of things - raw and partially cooked and even fully cooked depending on the item. I can't give a daily meal for her because I don't feed her daily and even then there is no set plan, it has a lot to do with what I'm eating for the day as well.


As far as meat:

Chicken (wings and strips)
Pork (necks)
Turkey (necks)
Tilapia
Salmon (atlantic coast)

Otherwise, she's had a bit of everything. She loves pepperonis and doesn't mind swordfish too much either.


As for fruits:

Apples (sauce, dried)
Apricots (dried)
Figs (dried)
plums (dried - but I don't like how fast they go through her system)

*Most all dried fruit


As for vegetables: (I FEED VEGETABLES COOKED)

Carrots (without skin, cooked)
Green Peas
Broccoli
Corn (sometimes chews the cobs)
Pumpkin (puree - not pie filling)
Potato (sweet)


As for spices:

Oregano (oil)
Garlic (powder)

*All other spices come in small portions through shared recipes





______

**My Baby's Specs**

Name: Chardonnay (Puppy)
Age: About 2
Weight: 10.5lbs
Height: ----
DOB: Unknown, spring obviously

Favorite food: Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Least favorite: Oranges (thank god)

Best Tricks: Sit (she sits for everything!), lie down, sit back (on her hind legs), stay
Worst tricks: Dance (we're still working)

Personality: WILD! She is super energetic but only when it's appropriate. She's lazy inside unless another dog is present and then she goes crazy. She loves all animals. All.

It's been awhile.

It really has; but I'm proud to say that my dog's diet is going excellently. I am surprised that I ever ever considered abandoning the idea of feeding a natural diet. It is so much easier and better for her. She hasn't had any sort of diarrhea in the longest time that hadn't been brought on by something of her own doing (she does occasionally steal foodstuffs that make her sick).


Anyway, I have a spot of work but later I am going to try to definitely make an updated account of everything I'm feeding my baby, some pictures, and a new plan for the new year.