Pillow Talk

Archer experienced a rough day. He was subjected to a morning's romp in the back yard while I scooped poop, a few hours nap in his crate while I ran errands, a walk in the woods when I got home, a lovely dinner(albeit an hour late) and an evening of lounging on the couch. Can you tell he leads a rough life?



A better question is ... can Weasley breathe? Being used as a pillow can't be much fun when the head that is nestled into your fluffy softness probably weighs almost the same as you do. Shortly after this photo was taken Weasley extricated himself and is presumably counting his lucky stars.

Hairspray

A few friends know that I am trying to grow out my hair - the flat iron has been my BFF through the whole process. My hair was quite short for several years and while I liked it short I decided it was time for a bit of a change. So for those friends who are interested in my life but are not regular Facebookers(or are anti-FB) I thought I'd post a few photos of the progress here. To keep it dog related I made Raimi pose with me - what a hard life he leads.



He loves to give me kisses and while I don't mind the occasional slurp he's a bit ... forward, shall we say.



I like this one because it's fuzzy - like a dream state in which Raimi turns into Nathan Fillion and ... wait, sorry, zoned out there a moment. Okay, I'd never replace The Boy with Nathan but ... why not dream big and hope for both?



See how The Boy's eyes are all big and bright? They are full of thoughts of Bad Kitties meowing outside. This was the last photo I got before he extricated himself from my grasp to go and look out the window. And that, my peeps, is your update on my hair. It really does have a life of it's own.

Tweet and Sour

Sometimes I want to blog about the silliest things. And then I think "No one wants to read about that - it's just fluff" and then I think "Who cares? It's my blog!" So whether you like it or not here's a story about the dogs and their sour cream noses.

I love sour cream. I didn't like it as a child because it combined the words 'sour' and 'cream' and having smelled sour milk I didn't think any dairy product that was sour could possibly be good. Lucky for Leeloo I changed my mind.

When I use up the sour cream of course there is always a little left in the container you can't scrape out. The dogs like to lick it out before I stow it for recycling. Round these parts this is known as an extra special and exciting treat. Three Ridgeback noses jammed in a little sour cream container is a total gas but hard to photograph, so you will have to content yourself with a description. I always put a little on the lid for Esme to lick up while the Ridgebacks have a go at the container. The best part is that they get it on their noses where their tongues can't reach - for some reason it tickles me a lot when a dog has something on it's face that it doesn't know is there. So cute Leeloo.

You Can't Win 'Em All

Back from another weekend of dog shows. I'm not sure I'll enter this show again if it's held in the same venue since we just about froze to death. I left the dogs in the truck where it was warm and only brought them out to acclimatize to the show about 40 minutes before we were due in the ring. Usually I have an expen and they hang out all day inside. I don't think they would have ever forgiven me if I made them freeze along with me and my parents.

To my very great surprise on Saturday Archer took Winners Dogs for his very first point! I definitely did not expect to win mostly because he is about a year from being mature and competitive and he sat on the exam. The judge was very patient and allowed him to relax a bit before touching him, let me show his teeth and was extremely kind to a rank novice baby Archer. And then he gave us the point! I was most pleased with Archer and told him "You have a point!" to which he replied "A point? Can I eat it?" Archer is an utter delight to show, he is happy, cheerful and full of zest for life, such a pleasure to handle. He lacks confidence in the stack and exam but that will come with time, I would rather ease him in than force total compliance and make him unhappy.

Leeloo lost on Saturday to Pearl but since Leeloo thinks dog shows are stupid she didn't care. I forgot, when I entered this show, that this judge gave Leeloo 3rd of three in Canning so I presumed we'd fare no better here! Pearl then went on to beat Archer for Best of Winners -she has been hunting these many months for the 2 point major win that is required to get a Championship in Canada. Archer has tons of time to get his Championship and I'm in no screaming hurry. Pearl's owner just wants her finished so she can spay her and do other, more fun, events! It's so nice to go to a show and have everyone root for everyone. I want to win but I don't want to see other people get discouraged so when the points get divided over a weekend amongst everyone it makes showing more of a pleasure.

Today, which is Sunday, my dogs were reversed where Leeloo got the bitch point and Archer got shown the exit. Leeloo's feet are her downfall it seems as the judge took a moment in the class to check the standard for white. I can recall at least five times Leeloo's feet have given the judge pause! I don't think lions or gazelles are checking a Ridgebacks foot color during a hunt but apparently it's a Big Deal to some judges. I love them so much I almost want to chalk them at shows to make them stand out more ... twisted I know.

Our next show is in 3 weeks in Trenton which is just about 15 minutes from my house. Best support the local shows otherwise long drives on cold mornings will become the norm!

Circle of Friends

Over in Alberta things are looking promising for Karma, Can. Ch. Invictus One Magic Christmas, and her potential litter. She is displaying all the signs of a mom-to-be ... clingy, sleepy, and growing boobies to rival Momma Halo's. She is only about 3 weeks along at this point so there is no absolute to her pregnancy but it's fun to speculate.

Through this event I have obviously been communicating quite closely with her owner, Adine. A breeder should be a source of support and advice at all times to their puppy buyers, regardless of whether or not they are showing and breeding or just enjoying the lifelong companionship of a well bred dog. Naturally a carefully planned litter is a source of more constant and in-depth communication and Adine and I communicate several times a day about various subjects, including, but not limited to teenage girls, writing styles, schooling as an adult, significant others, hot young men, parents, motel quality and of course the dogs.

We have agreed, of late, that we are extremely lucky to be able to openly discuss and disagree about various things without it affecting the underlying relationship, and friendship, we have developed over the past couple years. I know that although Adine will listen to my advice, it is up to her to make decisions that best satisfy her circumstance. She knows that the advice I give is based on years of experience and is well intentioned. While I am not always right, or agreed with, I am not going to abandon her just because she has a different point of view.



I think this comes about because we each have a direct mode of communication. We like to make our thoughts clear and as such we tend to communicate more like men than women. If you are familiar with Mars and Venus, it means that we can run into some problems communicating with our own sex. Women expect each other to be subtle but thankfully, Adine and I are both blunt and direct and know this about each other. As you can imagine it has gotten each of us into trouble in the past!

I won't go so far as to say we have not had our disagreements and misunderstandings because we have, but through clarity, discussion and honesty we have managed to secure a friendship that I hope surpasses the dog connection and goes a little deeper into a personal relationship that can stand the test of time. Lord knows I have lost friends and made enemies with my lack of diplomacy but I like to think that the people who don't abandon a friend because of ill-timed words are in it for the long haul. I may not wrap all my words up in a pretty bow but at least I'm honest!

Snow Falling on Cedars

Tomorrow is our first show of the year. It's been almost 5 months since our last show and I'm pretty sure Archer won't know what the hell is going on. Leeloo will but I'm reasonably certain she'll be difficult about it anyway. She gets fidget feet sometimes just to make a point.

When we got up this morning there was a settled rain which I decided we were going for a walk in anyway because for the next couple days no one is going to get out for a run. By the time I had breakfast and got dressed the rain was trying to turn to snow which works out better for the dogs since snow flakes just fall off them.

I love this photo. They all took off down the path and Esme manages to keep up but only because her little legs are working five times faster than the Ridgebacks.

Photographic evidence that Esme does, in fact, pee outside sometimes.

There was quite a brisk wind blowing and Raimi wasn't sure he was a huge fan of the swirling snow. The flakes got larger and more numerous the longer we were out.

At one point they all got way ahead of me and Archer turned back to check and make sure I (he) was safe. Upon looking back up the path he spotted Raimi ... and Raimi spotted him. What ho! A dog to stalk! See the semi-erect ears on both dogs (okay, The Boy is a bit small but trust me -they are 'stalking' ears)? They stood stock still staring at each other like this for about 60 seconds.

And now the duck and sneak. Gosh Archer, he *totally* can't see you now. Archer? Where's Archer? He just disappeared.



And he's off! Archer is to the right in the bushes there because Sissy Boy didn't want to run on the muddy path.



I never did end up getting the final mad dash photo because they were too far way for it to come out well. At the end of this walk all the dogs landed in the tub, Archer and Leeloo to prepare for the show tomorrow, Raimi because he needed it and Esme because she was a total mud pie by the time we got home. Now all are slumbering peacefully in the livingroom variously dreaming of deer poop, sticks, marshmallow bunnies and where next to pee in my house.

Happy Gilmore

I almost forgot it was Archer's birthday today! One year ago Adine (of Charisma RR in Alberta who is hopefully expecting her own litter out of Archer's half-sister Karma) came to help me whelp Halo's last litter to gain experience. Things were going very smoothly until we ran into some trouble with 'little' Odin who wanted to take his time about exiting the womb. One c-section and a voluntary spay later we had 7 healthy babies; Archer, Gracie, Odin, Tikka, Hunter, Ella and Rio ... hope you all enjoy a birthday treat and lots of hugs and kisses!

Archer says 'It's my birthday .... tttthhhhhhbbbbbbbbbbt!"

Sliding Doors

To keep an eye on Esme I shut her in the livingroom with me when I'm working on the computer. Archer ended up on the other side of the door because he thought he wanted to nap with Leeloo and Raimi who were under a blanket on my bed. He changed his mind after the door was shut and what resulted was a fun new game. Esme would leap up at Archer, wave her feet and then leap away. It was a very cute few minutes of play until Archer's annoying whining started to bore a hole in my brain. I let him into the livingroom so they could play properly, and to preserve my sanity, and the paint on the door.Taking a break from kicking Ridgeback ass. Esme is displaying the classic 'frog dog' pose which, it is often said, indicates good quality hips.I have never seen a Ridgeback do this and I am blessed with knowing several with good and excellent rated Ridgebacks. It must be a small/medium dog thing.

Enough

On my person right now there are bruises in varying degrees of coloration; from yellow, to black, to purple and some you can't see but can be best classified as tender spots. Most of these are a result of the dogs banging into me, jumping, knocking, smacking and me being in the wrong place while they wrestle.

This photo is dark but quite clearly you can see on the back of my arm a rather large and sore bruise caused by Archer. I think I was sitting on the grass at the schoolyard, fussing with Esme, and he ran into me while he was playing with Leeloo.

Here's one of those bruises that doesn't really show up in a photo. It feels like the pain is more in the joint so the bruising is less obvious. It used to be a darker spot but was never really clear and the flash would blow it out anyway so I am just pointing at the pain.

One of the most recent wounds I am nursing is a partially crushed finger. The end of my finger to be more precise. It was my fault, as these things usually are. I was holding a stick and offered it to Archer and Leeloo, Archer made a grab for it and clamped down close to my hand, closer than I immediately realized. He then proceeded to attempt to saw through it with his molars. Unfortunately if you substitute my finger for the stick the result is not pretty. If you've ever seen a Ridgeback, or any dog, gnaw through a finger width stick you can imagine my consternation.

I didn't actually feel the pincer effect of his molars, it was more the grip he had on my hand I was resisting. Until the crunch came. Then ... all bets are off. I yelped and pulled away and he looked stricken. My finger didn't hurt that much, just felt like I'd jammed it in a drawer(which I do a lot it seems) and because I was wearing gloves I didn't look at my actual finger for a few minutes. Well, there wasn't much blood, just ... squished skin and a little trickle of blood. When I got home I slapped on a band-aid (something I would come to regret). Here's Archer apologizing for his little oopsie ... isn't he cute? Unfortunately last night that band-aid became the Vice of Pain. I woke up at 2am and felt like I wanted to faint or vomit. Good thing I was lying down. The tip of my finger felt like it was being squeezed in a vice and at the same time like it wanted to explode. Both Very Bad Things. Several deep breaths later I realized I would have to get the band-aid off since my fingertip needed to swell and couldn't. More nausea and waves of faintness. I gritted my teeth and gradually, through a haze of sleep and pain, pulled off the band-aid. After several minutes of deep breathing, talking myself out of barfing and general malaise, the throbbing eased enough for me to fall back asleep. This morning the fingertip is puffy and sore but at least I'm not in any danger of fainting at any moment. You wouldn't think such a simple thing would hurt so much but I tell you ... owie. I took the following photo this morning but it's not gory since this was more of a crushing injury. I know it doesn't look like it would be very painful and there is not a lot of blood but it still *#*%^* hurts.

Point Break

We have had a break through! Yesterday Esme peed in the house only one time and that was just before bed. I let the dogs out and then back in and but while I was washing my face she peed in the kitchen. Dammit, one minute's inattention and she takes advantage. However, moments later she started fussing at the back door so I let her out again and she went and pooped right away! Yay!

This morning I let them all out and as usual she headed straight to the back of the yard to pee and then I let them stretch their legs and play a bit while I prepare their breakfast(actually, they just stand at the door looking stricken because they can hear their food calling to them. Leeloo makes the funniest desperate sound when the first kibbles hit the dish). This allows Esme plenty of time to poop as well but she doesn't always since there are so many interesting diversions in the backyard.

I let them all in, they eat and then play for a little while except Leeloo who takes herself off to the bedroom for her morning nap. I have them shut in the livingroom so I scan keep a close eye on Esme. After about 20 minutes she asked to go out the French door, I opened it and she ran to the back door, so I opened that and she ran down to the yard and had a big poop! She is now at least asking to poop outside - I gather that pooping has a bit more of a warning and she is better able to control it. We seem to have made a significant break through in the past couple days. Now is not the time for complacency though, I must remain vigilant!

Another plus is that Archer seems to be pretty sound at this point. He has not shown any lameness for a few days and I hope that continues. I will certainly be taking him to the show this weekend and see how he goes. I don't expect him to win but we'll do our best anyway. We'll practice this week with some stacking because that is where he tends to get all wiggly!

Leeloo also needs a bit of practise because she is Miss Fussy Feet. She knows that once I place a foot I can't actually stop her from moving it while I'm setting her other feet. It's the power struggle dance with her shifting every foot very slightly after I've put it where I want it. She is letting me know that while she will stand there and do what I want, it's on her terms. And that's a bitch for you.

What Lies Beneath

Raimi has got to be the most tolerant dog I have ever owned. He had a simple idea, as simple as The Boy is capable. He wanted to lie on the couch in the morning sun. Archer had the same idea only he was about 2 minutes too late. So the logical solution, of course, is to lie on top of Raimi.

I like how Archer is so unconcerned about what he's lying on that he's just nonchalantly grooming his leg.

Here's a better, er, angle? If Archer looks a little embarrassed at this compromising position ... trust me, he's not. Ridgebacks ... stackable and space saving.

Dodgeball

Now, I don't want to give the impression I don't adore Esme, because I do, but just like a mother who gets frustrated with her children ... sometimes you want to drop kick them into next week. To ensure her continued safety we went for a walk to tire them all out and Esme had a fabulous time chasing the Big Dogs. Is this not the cutest photo ever? She is quickly left behind when the Ridgebacks shift gears but she's not a quitter ... no sir. You can't tell in the above photos but Archer has a stick which he is trying to keep from the rest of the dogs. Here's a better angle.

He is gloating. See my stick? I have a stick. It's the Best Stick in the World. Want my stick? You can't have my stick. It's my stick. And then ... that's right. She stole his stick. I can't be sure how since my back was turned while I admonished Leeloo for eating yet more deer poop. The point is she has the stick and Archer is the world's biggest wuss.

Once the stick was claimed she quickly lost interest and decided to go see what Leeloo was doing. It's not hard to guess ... deer poop can't hold a candle to a stupid stick.

Training Day

Frustration abounds for various reasons. The most immediate reason is house-training Esme. Honestly, if she were a Ridgeback, she'd be 90% reliable by now. As it is I'd say she is barely 50% reliable. I know she knows she is not supposed to 'go' in the house because she looks guilty if I catch her and finds places to go in secret.

I have to crate her or put her outside when I can't watch her every second. She seems to need to pee at least every hour during the day but last night went a full 9 hours (yes, I got 9 hours sleep - jealous?) without messing in her crate. In fact, in the last 3 weeks she has peed in her crate only once and was likely because she couldn't hold it for the 10 seconds in the morning between putting on my slippers and letting her outside.

So far today I have caught her *three* times, twice pooping and once peeing (although for one poop she took herself to the back door, pooping on the way, but that is, at least, progress). I have been awake for about an hour and a half and she has spent at least a half hour of that outside. I cannot even being to explain how frustrating it is to have her outside and then when she comes in she pees within a minute.

There are some who'd say leave her out until she pees outside. Well, how long is that? All day? You can't make a dog pee or poop, you just have to wait. You are supposed to stand outside with them and offer praise when they do pee but it doesn't seem to make much difference to her. Saying "Good pee! Good pee!" is all well and good but it actually doesn't seem to sink in why she is getting praised ... that or she doesn't care.

The other thing that I find very frustrating is that she doesn't empty her bladder all at once and also doesn't does poop all at once. She saves it to spread around. So you can be all happy that she pees outside, let her in and 30 seconds later she pees again.

So the only option left to me is to absolutely catch her every time she 'goes' in the house and scare the dickens out of her. She needs to learn that peeing and pooping inside is not allowed and therefor learns to hold it until she is outside. There she does not get into trouble for doing her business.

She is smart, very smart, and this hiccup is more frustrating with that knowledge. I am not proud - if anyone has suggestions how to house-train a smart dog please send your suggestions becasue I am tapped. When I got Esme some friends who also own Pulis said they found theirs to be harder to house train than other breeds and I laughed it off with the memory of how easy it was to train the Ridgebacks. Who's laughing now?

The difference is Ridgebacks *care* that there is poop and pee in the house. She does not. It's not funny, it's not cute, it's not an anecdotal "Puli thing'. I have gone through more paper towel house training this dog than any Ridgeback I have raised - that is not a distinction to which any dog should want to aspire.

Happy Feet

A sad little Boy on his sad little hill. I was petting Esme and he had the most forlorn expression. Wrinkles in full force and all that. I went over to give him some love and he was all wiggly and happy. Then he started to nibble the dog bed. He does that when he is overflowing with joy, something he picked up from Halo I think as Archer does it too. I call it corn-cobbing but people have different names for it. While we were in the misdst of our cuddles, being interrupted by Archer and chewed on by Esme, Leeloo was busy being Leeloo. She was squashed in my chair, ear-flipped and happily nibbling on her leg for some reason - she looked very thoughtful while doing it - I wonder what she was thinking about. Food probably tops the list.

If anyone ever asks me to define why I think Leeloo is so weird I'll just show them this.

Quiz Show

I figure now is a good time to give a little update on Poor Archer. He is much better thanks to the meds. Once I figured out the dosage we were all good to go. I accidentally 'over' dosed him the first day because I am instruction deficient and misread the bottle. Not to worry, no harm done, but when I did my math and realized my error I quickly reverted to the actual instructions on the bottle, not the pretend ones in my head.

After some discussion with various people about sedating and anesthetizing (which sounds a little too close to 'euthanizing' for my taste) a Ridgeback I have instructions to take to a vet for next time. Raimi and Leeloo are due for their hips and elbows in the next 6 months so I want to go armed to my *new* vet with important information.

Such as, most vets do not realize that Ridgbacks are like sighthounds and need to be sedated as such. Because they don't look like sighthounds the assumption is that you can sedate them according to their body weight but because of their sighthound ancestry they do not need a full dose, 1/3 to a 1/2 dose is usually sufficient. I am told by a vet who owns one of Halo's puppies, and has done surgery on Ridgebacks, that it is less likely the anesthesia that Archer was having trouble coming out of, and was more likely an overdose of sedation.

I'm not so much in love with the word overdose.

While Archer's lameness has decreased over the last week, with a show 10 days away, I was practicing a bit to see how he was stacking up, so to speak. I can't really tell about his movement except that he is not moving lame, he is just not moving totally sound. When I stacked him he was clearly very uncomfortable. Standing four square seems to cause him, not so much pain, as discomfort. He does stack but he roaches his back and if you look at him from above you can see his whole body is leaning slightly to the right to take the strain off his left hind leg. It looks like he's standing four square but he's actually not.

There are a couple things about this that make me nervous. I don't want to continue to make him stack if it's uncomfortable because he will begin to associate being stacked with discomfort. When the pain is gone the association will still be there and he may still look like crap even though he is sound. However, I don't want him to forget that this is what he is required to do ... forcing it just seems to be a bad idea at this time. Added to which, if he looks 'good enough' for a show but he is still uncomfortable and I show him, he could associate the show ring with something negative, also not what I want. So the question is, practice and risk him not liking being shown or show him anyway and risk him not liking being shown. Hmmm ... I will take him to the show and see how he is there but ultimately I need to think of his future; missing one show will not make the slightest difference to his career as a show dog. Showing him might.

As you can see I spend a lot of times dissecting the psychology and physiology of my dogs.

On Golden Pond

Remember a couple days ago how I said Esme hadn't been peed on by Raimi? That status changed today. I let them all out of the truck and they bounded away like usual. Raimi stopped to sniff the base of a boulder and Esme was right behind him. While she was enjoying the stories of the scents her nose collected Raimi, being a boy, turned to pee on the spot he had sniffed. Esme was sprinkled with droplets of what some like to call The Golden Shower. She didn't appear to notice. I had initially thought that on this walk we'd stick to the snowy trails and avoid the mud so that she wouldn't get too dirty. After getting peed on I figured she could get as mucky as she wanted since the second we got home she'd be straight into the tub. It's a tragic sort of look isn't it?

She bore out her sentence very well and stayed put for the bath. A lot of dirt came out of her but it was the pee that I wanted to be sure was well and truly rinsed away. In everyday terms she is a Very Small Dog but when you get her wet she becomes a Very Very Small Dog indeed. We then basked in the sun on the back deck and while I read a book the dogs munched away on some rawhide treats and napped. Esme was fluffy and dry in no time. I have no illusions though that her getting peed on is going to be an isolated incident ...

The Birthday Party

It's March 14, a day of birthdays! Three years ago my first litter was born and included Raimi, Geddie, Rosie, Kenya, Makeda, Gracie and Tucker. Also two years ago today at my brother's house Weasley was born and he is Very Naughty ... just like his namesake.

Because Raimi is a great lover of sugar I thought he should get a sweet treat for his birthday. I have a bag of those Easter marshmallow rabbits so I shut the other dogs away and gave Raimi some special treatment.

Showing him the bunny. He says "Zat my bunneh Mommy?" Then he reaches for the bunny, see his tongue coming out? "Gimme de bunneh Mommy."A taste of the bunny "Ooooooh, dis bunneh is good.""Nom nom nom on the bunneh. I like birfdays!" (I love his bright smiling eyeball!)We also went for a walk and they all had a fabulous bounce through the melting snow. He spent most of his time exploring the snow banks and racing across the field but here he is pretending at being all grown up. When you are the oldest of the pack you have to set a good example. Happy Birthday Raimi ... everyday I hug you and squeeze you and call you My Boy.

The Big Easy

Archer is much better but we are still taking it pretty easy with the walks. He trots along gently and stops to sniff things most of the way, has a bit of a gallop now and again but is generally pretty good about not over extending himself. I couldn't bear to leave him at home, the poor kid needs to get a little air and start to recondition that leg if he's going to be in shape for the show - he's lost muscle mass in that leg and I can tell by his movement he's slightly off balance still. However, he's made remarkable steps toward healing and thankfully the pained whining while trying to get comfortable has stopped.

Here he is with Esme at a driftwood log. I call this photo Sticks and Shadows. And here's Esme with her killer 10 week old side gait. I mean seriously, she is moving out like a pro and I can't wait to get her in the ring. Of course, given the lack of Puli educated judges that seem to prevail out here, I am in doubt her quality will be sufficiently recognized. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to sweep the US Puli National in a couple years. BOW and BOS will do nicely ...

And something about this photo of Leeloo coming down a steep hill intrigues me. The line of her body, the curve of her ridge, the sweep of her tail ... it all speaks to me. It's balletic.

Million Dollar Baby

When we went to the beach the other day I took some photos of Esme trying to keep up with the Big Dogs. She is so funny. She is just determined not to be left behind no matter how fast the other dogs are. She's always behind but ever driven to stay with the pack. Leeloo is easier to follow because she is not usually at full tilt - she's busy hunting up bird poop and bits of seashell to consume. It pays to be in front of Raimi when he's peeing. So far Esme has avoided actually being peed on ... can't say the same for Leeloo or Archer. Even obstacles are not enough to stop her relentless shadowing. Raimi was following a scent and she trundled along behind him like a little satellite. It's very cute. It's hard to tell in this photo but she is waaaaaay behind Raimi who is waaaaay ahead. She never quits though. She even climbs mountains of snow and ice to be near Raimi. He doesn't mind her but he doesn't actively seek her company though either!

I know it's hard to tell but this is one exceptional puppy. Structurally she is outstanding under all that hair. She self stacks beautifully, has a gorgeous head, will have a luxurious coat, and even at just 10 weeks old she moves incredibly cleanly with excellent reach and drive. She also has brains to spare. I can't wait to start showing her.