How to Pick Up Girls

Yesterday I went to Malagash to pick up Emse after she spent two weeks on vacation to go to the Puli National in Massachusetts. I entered the house and she stared at me for a few moments. When I spoke she came to say hello and after I greeted her she bounced around a moment or two and then everything was illuminated. OH IT'S YOU!!!! That's when the real excitement began. She became an explosion of glee; between throwing herself at me and grabbing my hands and clothes she emitted a high pitched bark which vibrated the very marrow of our bones. After a few minutes she managed to pull herself together and then the Ridgeback re-introduction took place.

I'd left Leeloo and Raimi in the truck so that I could greet Esme in relative peace but outside I let the dogs out to say hello to her. Raimi leaped out, had a cursory sniff and then wandered off to find something to pee on. Boys are so simple. Not so with Leeloo. Immediately she was on Esme with the bitch noises and I thumped her on the head a couple times to remind her that Esme was Very Small and she was Very Big. Not that Leeloo was trying to hurt her, it was mostly noise and bluster, but the size difference can result in accidental damage.

Esme, for her part, was over the moon to see the Ridgebacks. She raced around and around and around throwing herself at them as she flew past. Leeloo would pounce and roll her and then she'd be up again racing in a circle of excitement. It was great to watch her run because I knew it was the only way she could get out how happy she was to see me and the Ridgebacks. She made an occasional attempt at tackling them or leaping at me but the bulk of the time we spent on our walk was running as fast as she could in a large left hand circle. Always to the left she circles.

We hung out for the rest of the day relaxing watching movies, enjoying a wonderful roast beef dinner compliments of my Dad and then headed home. Esme threw herself into the truck without hesitation and once home we all settled in happy, content and everyone exactly where they should be.  Huge thank you to my parents for showing Esme to her National wins and for taking such good care of my little Tiny.

Death Becomes Her

Two days ago the world said goodbye to Geddie who suffered a fatal attack of gastric torsion - volvulus. She was rushed to the vet but was unable to be saved and tragically died on the table. More commonly known as bloat, gastric torsion is not a condition to be ignored or delayed, dogs showing symptoms may only have a few hours to live.

Indicators of GTV are restlessness, inability to vomit or belch, whining, excessive drooling, pale or grey gums, panting or laboured breathing, decreased temperature(a result of shock), and increased heart rate.

The following is a description of how gastric torsion affects a dog's internal organs:

The stomach twists around the longitudinal axis of the digestive tract, also known as volvulus. Gas distension may occur prior to or after the stomach twists. The most common direction for rotation is clockwise, viewing the animal from behind. The stomach can rotate up to 360° in this direction and 90° counterclockwise. If the volvulus is greater than 180°, the esophagus is closed off, thereby preventing the animal from relieving the condition by belching or vomiting. The results of this distortion of normal anatomy and gas distension include hypotension (low blood pressure), decreased return of blood to the heart, ischemia (loss of blood supply) of the stomach, and shock. Pressure on the portal vein decreases blood flow to liver and decreases the ability of that organ to remove toxins and absorbed bacteria from the blood. At the other end of the stomach, the spleen may be damaged if the twisting interrupts its blood supply. If not quickly treated, bloat can lead to blood poisoning, peritonitis and death by toxic shock.

It is possible to buy or assemble, bloat kits; however they, like any other tool, must be used properly or they can do more damage than good. The following weblink offers detailed instructions on what to do when you suspect bloat in your dog. http://www.dachshund.org/bloat_instructions.html

I cannot stress how serious bloat is in dogs. Small breeds are less like to suffer from it, as it is most commonly seen in breeds who have deep chests and high tuck ups or waistlines.  There is no absolute way to prevent bloat but knowing the signs and getting the dog veterinary attention as quickly as possible offers the best outcome.

If the the loss of Geddie's life means one person reading this gets their dog to a vet in time to save it, then at least something will have come of her senseless death. It's small comfort to her family and all the people who loved her who will never again know her warm presence by their side.

Am. Ch. Invictus Armageddon of Aegis JC 2007 - 2010

Armageddon is a decisive or catastrophic conflict. It also means a battle between good and evil at the end of the world. And today it means a beautiful and devoted light is extinguished. That light was Geddie.

Yesterday Geddie died. She was only three and a half years old and literally in the prime of her life. Born March 14, 2007 she was from my first litter.  Geddie was always the wallflower, she never pushed to the front, never forced her presence but she was always there ... even early on she was 'Steady Geddie'.

Geddie stayed with me until she was about 3 months old and then, thanks to transportation provided by her sister Rosie's family, made her way to Utah where she was to be shown and, most importantly, adored by a loving family.  She was never as evil as these eyes make her look!

I didn't see Geddie again until the following year when we met up in Montana and she took two majors that circuit. She was developing into a beautiful girl and I was so proud to see her do well. It was incredibly gratifying to know that I had a hand in bringing that gorgeous being into the world.

Geddie also dabbled in lure coursing, easily obtaining her Junior Courser title. Coursing was something which she took seriously but was not exactly passionate about, thus earning her the name 'Steady Geddie'. She'd follow the lure but would never be a world beating courser! I think running was more for fun than for sport to her although she managed to keep ahead of Raimi and Zero during the one time they met as adults at the Montana show in 2008.

Earlier this year Geddie was mom to her first litter and was a shining example of a wonderful broodbitch. Her puppies are maturing into healthy, sound, stable, typey dogs who will do her credit. Her genes will live on in them and through them.

Geddie now runs in the fields just this side of The Rainbow Bridge. She waits there with her Grandma Kinley and Daddy Travis, and she joined them much too soon. My deepest condolences to the Neilson family and to Erin at Aegis for this tragic, senseless loss. I did not know Geddie as an adult but she was family, I helped her into this world and I am sick to know she is gone. Her steady, kind, devoted presence will be missed by all who knew and loved her. To those she leaves behind I can only offer my sincere gratitude for giving this girl a richly fulfilled life and the best of care - my only wish is that she was still by your side. Rest in peace Geddie.

(I post tomorrow on how to prevent a death like this, explanations of how she died did not fit her memorial. )

The Princess Diaries

I woke up this morning thinking I had time to lounge since the sun wasn't up yet. I was wrong. The sun was up but it was behind some low hanging cloud. What I didn't immediately realise was that the low cloud was expelling a fairly steady rain. I prepared to take the dogs out, decided to put their coats on to keep them a bit drier and off we went. Well, it was almost pouring by the time we got to the woods. Ah well, we made quick work of a truncated circuit and both dogs were ready to go home, not a lot of exploring today!

Once home breakfast was had and then it was time to settle in for a good nap. What is funny is that Leeloo, up until last night, did not appear to realise that there is now a spare bed in the spare room. I was in there for some reason and she wandered in behind me. I told her to get on the bed and when she did it was like a light bulb went off. A bed! In here! When did this happen? So this morning, after our walk, she hopped on the bed, settled down and began her 'blankie whine'. This is the subtle, yet demanding, insistence I find her blanket and put it over her. Like so ...

I got her special blanket on sale at Wal-Mart a few weeks ago, it is specifically Leeloo's blanket, it has a lion and two cubs on it and is made of plush material. She loves this blanket. It also fits because my spare room is decorated with a lion and African theme and the dogs blend right in. I will have to move the house-warming quilt my Auntie Pat made for me since the dogs insist on sleeping on it, but other than that the bed should have no fear of being forgotten.

I cannot stress how important it is that the dogs are comfortable. I want them to be happy and cosy and I love seeing them content. It's also important because if something is amiss in their world then they are bugging me to make things right. The sooner things are right the sooner I can concentrate on what I want to do ... and that makes everyone happy.

Breaking Dawn

Another crisp day on the east coast. I love the mornings although I never realize how much I love them until I get out onto the heath and inhale the burst of scents as the sunlight evaporates the frost and dew from the flora and fauna. It seems to me that the aroma of a fresh morning is so much stronger than any other time of day, particularly when it is just touched by the breaking dawn.

Today was a scent adventure for the dogs since the activity of forest critters is now accelerated as they prepare for the coming winter. Racoon tracks in patches of mud have been spotted these past few mornings, the little five fingered toe prints are a dead give-away, and both dogs snuffle into the grass and bushes for about 15 feet to see where the trail ends - usually at my recall. 

As squirrels and birds gather their winter stores they fuss about in the trees and the dogs, thinking something wonderful is occurring, smash their way into the underbrush with the result of silencing whatever made the noise in the first place. They always emerge satisfied their self-appointed critter patrol has been fulfilled and we carry on down the path.

We took a left instead of a right today and as I halted on a little rise looking over the meadow, Leeloo froze on high alert listening to a pheasant crow a welcome to the Autumn morning. As we gazed across the grassland the pheasant took to the air, squawking the whole time, and both dogs could see and hear its progress as it flew toward us about 10 feet above the brush, banked to the right and landed 100 yards to our left. Well, needing no convincing, Boy and Leeloo were off like a shot toward where they last saw the bird. Unfortunately quite a substantial tangle of blackberry canes stood between them and the bird and they quickly gave up the hunt as being a lost cause. I knew, however, that where the bird landed was exactly 10 feet from the path we were going to use to get back to the truck. I was curious to see what they did when they passed within a few feet of the pheasant they would not realize was there. 

Leeloo did not disappoint. As we drew close to where the bird was last 'seen' Leeloo's nose started twitching and although she passed the bird she did back track into the bush to find where the scent was coming from. Raimi knew Leeloo was onto something but he was not as tenacious about it so he just followed her lead and, finding nothing of note, got bored and lost interest.  Leeloo spent a considerable amount of time trying to find the bird but without luck. Maybe it wandered further into the bush, maybe it was just keeping its head down, but since my feet were getting cold we pressed on, leaving the pheasant to crow another day.

Some days when I'm lying in bed, cocooned by down, drifting on the gentle waves of semi-consciousness, it is hard to get myself moving. Dragging body and mind into the cold morning can be a trial but it is always worth it once I am traversing the meadowlands and woods with the dogs, breathing in the brisk air and taking in the wondrous perfume of the dawn.

Play It Again, Sam

Despite the blustery wind today Archer's Mommy and Dad drove up to Pictou to meet up with us for a walk at the beach. It was a bit brisk but the dogs didn't seem to mind as they bounded along in the sand. Leeloo once again established with Archer that she is The Boss Bitch and then the boys settled into a pattern of fawning over her while keeping a careful eye on each other. 

Archer looks fabulous, fit and full of life - sometimes so full of life he just has to sproing for joy - often with pretty impressive air-time! He clearly adores Sandra and Donnie and stuck quite close to them when he needed a little extra support or reassurance. Archer tends to be a insecure which makes him a bit clingy ... no surprise there.

Despite that he remains a sort of silly, whimsical dog who never loses an opportunity to demonstrate how agile he is by boinging into your face and then bounding across the sand with his pals. When he got hold of a stick he was off like a shot enticing Leeloo into a chase.

Leeloo was happy to oblige but she's no fool, she would just wait for Archer to come racing by and cut him off. It was Archer's greatest delight to be chased by Leeloo ... doesn't he look ridiculously happy?

Raimi got in on the fun a little bit with some play bows and minor wrestling but boys will be boys and it always turned into a posturing match that tended to look a little like David against Goliath. Nothing ever came of the posturing but I like to keep an eye on things anyway ... they are big dogs after all.

Archer is obviously incredibly fit, happy, healthy and living the good life with Sandra, Donnie, their children and his new best bud Tyson. He is steadily maturing into a beautiful handsome boy and once done his championship next year he will be neutered and spend the rest of his days being an exemplary Ridgeback for his family - (I think we also have another Ridgeback convert too!).  I still miss you Little Buddy but seeing you so settled and happy more than makes up for it.

Coast to Coast

This weekend I can hold my head high knowing my name is attached to some very lovely well bred dogs who are competing on opposite coasts from each other. They are 6000km apart but are able to hold their own in their respective breeds. I have been on pins and needles for the last two days waiting for word on their results. It's time to take matters into my own hands ...

So while the dogs are breaking in the new mattress I'm sitting in the livingroom prodding at the internet with chilled fingers attempting to get updates on how Esme has done at the Puli National Specialty being held in Massachusetts. Fortunately, the world wide web has pulled through in its magical way and the results from both today and yesterday's shows are up on Infodog.com. This means that I can sleep at night knowing that Esme did well and can boast a couple of nice wins and pretty ribbons. In the regular classes at both the designated specialty yesterday  and the PCA National today she won the senior puppy bitch class, she also got second yesterday in the puppy sweeps. Today she didn't do well in sweeps but her litter sister won the class and then went on to Best of Opposite in Junior Sweeps ... way to go sistah Ellie!

Zero, on the west coast in California also did very well winning Best of Opposite to another Canadian bred dog at a show in Pleasanton and although I haven't heard how he did today I know he always makes a good showing. Zero is still sitting at #4 Ridgeback in the US and I am so excited to see how his most recent litter of puppies matures, it will give me a good idea what to expect when the planned breeding between him and Leeloo takes place in about a year ... that will be a litter of note!

So now I'm off to warm my fingers under the slumbering bulk of a very cosy Ridgeback, the weather is storming away outside but we are all tucked up in down pillows and comforters with a new mattress to break in ... can't wait to hit the sheets!