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Saturday, March 10, 2007
Friday, March 9, 2007
Attack of the Palmetto Bug
I don't care what you call them, they are nothing but damn flying cockroaches and one bigger than a 747 crawled up on my tie die throw while I was surfing yahoo answers.
I made it out of bed into the wheelchair in a nano second and yelled at the cat to get it. She looked at me and laid back down.
I grabbed the blanket and shook it and the hideous thing hit the floor and then took off flying...FLYING in my bedroom. FLYING in my air that I breath and how can I sleep or even get back in bed with that thing loose?
Next it went under the bed and the cat hopped down to watch it. Catch it? Too much trouble. It went airborne again and landed on my nightstand. So I took off my shoe and swatted at it, it dodged and I swatted again, then it took off again, bouncing off a dog cage. It skittered under the cage and I started bravely across the floor, throwing my shoe at it, I stunned it.
I retrieved my shoe, put it back on my foot (it's very dangerous to wheel around barefoot as I can attest to), shoved back the cage and smashed it.
Now dammit, I am trying to be a trooper with this whole surgery thing, but fighting off giant insects is just crossing the line.
The dogs are doing well with their crate training though, no one offered a peep while I rolled around cussing at the frightful creature with it's antenna and big buzzy wings and sticky brown legs.....ooooooooooh.
Now I have to dispose of the carcass, take a pee as long as I'm up, then take a valium and go to sleep. First I'm gonna get my camera and take a picture of it--you will seen the horror when I post it tomorrow.
I made it out of bed into the wheelchair in a nano second and yelled at the cat to get it. She looked at me and laid back down.
I grabbed the blanket and shook it and the hideous thing hit the floor and then took off flying...FLYING in my bedroom. FLYING in my air that I breath and how can I sleep or even get back in bed with that thing loose?
Next it went under the bed and the cat hopped down to watch it. Catch it? Too much trouble. It went airborne again and landed on my nightstand. So I took off my shoe and swatted at it, it dodged and I swatted again, then it took off again, bouncing off a dog cage. It skittered under the cage and I started bravely across the floor, throwing my shoe at it, I stunned it.
I retrieved my shoe, put it back on my foot (it's very dangerous to wheel around barefoot as I can attest to), shoved back the cage and smashed it.
Now dammit, I am trying to be a trooper with this whole surgery thing, but fighting off giant insects is just crossing the line.
The dogs are doing well with their crate training though, no one offered a peep while I rolled around cussing at the frightful creature with it's antenna and big buzzy wings and sticky brown legs.....ooooooooooh.
Now I have to dispose of the carcass, take a pee as long as I'm up, then take a valium and go to sleep. First I'm gonna get my camera and take a picture of it--you will seen the horror when I post it tomorrow.
A Training Tale
So, what happened?
Well, Cody got out yesterday and I rigged up a tie out with harness, but he balked and going out, so I got the walker, clomped over and pushed him out. Greta didn't like that and I pushed her out. (Not violently, but my mind was not calm, I was worried about Cody, worried about falling off the porch while I dealt with the dogs and my foot hurt).
So this morning, I was not going to tie Cody out, we are walking/rolling down the hall, Greta smacked into the wall, hurt her hip, scared them both and they ran back in their crates.
From their point of view the entire world was upside down and they were going back to what they knew. So for part of the morning we practiced walking from the crate to the scary back door. Lots of praise, lots of rewards.
This evening we practiced sitting quietly in front of the wheelchair and UNDER the scary walker by the scary open back door. I had been tossing treats out the door to get them to go out and potty, so by that time walking through the door was no longer an issue.
With two feet and a leash I could have resolved the issue in about five minutes-but in a wheelchair (which contributes to their anxiety) it was a masterful (I felt) training trick.
The other thing was to get Greta to go out first-Cody was feeling so insecure he wanted to stay behind me, the pack leader. However, the leader can't make it down the steps, that's why I tried the walker yesterday with the tie out.
Sue is coming over tomorrow and I'll ask her to go block the hole in the fence and likely my anxiety will melt...
It was a challenging day because I had a work deadline too-but the dog issue forced me to calm my mind so that I could deal with the immediate problems-getting the dogs (who up until yesterday had been perfect) out the backdoor.
It just goes to show that with timid dogs, one moment's slip up can cause a days worth of damage. Fortunately, dogs stay in the moment and tomorrow will be another day for all of us. For our hard work we rewarded ourselves with a group snooze on the couch while listening to the Dog Whisperer.
Well, Cody got out yesterday and I rigged up a tie out with harness, but he balked and going out, so I got the walker, clomped over and pushed him out. Greta didn't like that and I pushed her out. (Not violently, but my mind was not calm, I was worried about Cody, worried about falling off the porch while I dealt with the dogs and my foot hurt).
So this morning, I was not going to tie Cody out, we are walking/rolling down the hall, Greta smacked into the wall, hurt her hip, scared them both and they ran back in their crates.
From their point of view the entire world was upside down and they were going back to what they knew. So for part of the morning we practiced walking from the crate to the scary back door. Lots of praise, lots of rewards.
This evening we practiced sitting quietly in front of the wheelchair and UNDER the scary walker by the scary open back door. I had been tossing treats out the door to get them to go out and potty, so by that time walking through the door was no longer an issue.
With two feet and a leash I could have resolved the issue in about five minutes-but in a wheelchair (which contributes to their anxiety) it was a masterful (I felt) training trick.
The other thing was to get Greta to go out first-Cody was feeling so insecure he wanted to stay behind me, the pack leader. However, the leader can't make it down the steps, that's why I tried the walker yesterday with the tie out.
Sue is coming over tomorrow and I'll ask her to go block the hole in the fence and likely my anxiety will melt...
It was a challenging day because I had a work deadline too-but the dog issue forced me to calm my mind so that I could deal with the immediate problems-getting the dogs (who up until yesterday had been perfect) out the backdoor.
It just goes to show that with timid dogs, one moment's slip up can cause a days worth of damage. Fortunately, dogs stay in the moment and tomorrow will be another day for all of us. For our hard work we rewarded ourselves with a group snooze on the couch while listening to the Dog Whisperer.
A hole in the fence
Cody found another hole in the fence, so I put him out on a tie out yesterday-and now he won't go out at all. Not good since I can't carry him out. But I have an idea.....
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Approx 2 hours
My public service announcement lasted almost 2 hours before someone flagged it and it was removed from craigslist. The inflamatory posting is listed below. I feel sorry for the person who felt they had to do that-and for the most likely female dog they are trying to "rehome for a fee".
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Your posting has been flagged down by craigslist users.
Approximately 98% of postings removed by flagging are in violation of craigslist posting guidelines.
Please make sure you are abiding by all posted site rules, including our terms of use:
http://www.craigslist.org/about/terms.of.use.html
If you need help figuring out why your posting was flagged, try asking other craigslist users in our flag help forum: http://forums.craigslist.org/?forumID=3. Include posting title, body, category, city, how often posted, any images, HTML markup, etc.
If your posting was wrongly flagged down (2% of flagged ads are) please accept our apologies and feel free to repost.
Sorry for the hassle, and thanks for your understanding.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 2007-03-07 08:10:48
PostID: 289906667
Title: (pets) Little Boy Dogs are Ok too-Please consider them
Males get a bad rep for marking, but if you neuter young, or have them wear a belly band until the hormones wear down after neutering an adult, you will have no problems.
Yes, an unneutered male WILL mark-but that is why you neuter! (and to prevent unwanted puppies). I keep a belly band for Cody to wear when we go to new places just to be sure, but he really hasn't tried to mark anywhere in a long time-and he was neutered at a little over one year old. As for affection and trainability-you couldn't ask for a smarter, sweeter dog-he's far less arugmentative than my females.
Please don't flag this-I just wanted to put some information out there where the people who are looking for dogs to adopt will see it.
Location: Everywhere
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Your posting has been flagged down by craigslist users.
Approximately 98% of postings removed by flagging are in violation of craigslist posting guidelines.
Please make sure you are abiding by all posted site rules, including our terms of use:
http://www.craigslist.org/about/terms.of.use.html
If you need help figuring out why your posting was flagged, try asking other craigslist users in our flag help forum: http://forums.craigslist.org/?forumID=3. Include posting title, body, category, city, how often posted, any images, HTML markup, etc.
If your posting was wrongly flagged down (2% of flagged ads are) please accept our apologies and feel free to repost.
Sorry for the hassle, and thanks for your understanding.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 2007-03-07 08:10:48
PostID: 289906667
Title: (pets) Little Boy Dogs are Ok too-Please consider them
Males get a bad rep for marking, but if you neuter young, or have them wear a belly band until the hormones wear down after neutering an adult, you will have no problems.
Yes, an unneutered male WILL mark-but that is why you neuter! (and to prevent unwanted puppies). I keep a belly band for Cody to wear when we go to new places just to be sure, but he really hasn't tried to mark anywhere in a long time-and he was neutered at a little over one year old. As for affection and trainability-you couldn't ask for a smarter, sweeter dog-he's far less arugmentative than my females.
Please don't flag this-I just wanted to put some information out there where the people who are looking for dogs to adopt will see it.
Location: Everywhere
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
When Old Cats Fly
I was sitting by my front window when I heard a disturbance on the roof and looked up just in time to see a chubby white blob fly off the roof into the flowerbed. The blob uncurled itself and then moved on to the porch, it was my neighbors elderly flame point siamese. The fat squirrel who lives in the tree in their front yard peered over the edge of my roof (we live in a duplex) and proceeded to chastise the poor old cat. My own cat, Pasht, observed from the safety of the windowsill. When the old siamese is out I usually keep Pasht in, because they just do not see eye to eye on anything.
In the spirit of education and fairness, I posted a short piece on the trainability and just general wonderfullness of the neutered male dog, complete with pictures of Cody on Craigslist. I wonder how long it will take to be flagged. But really, the boys need good homes too. Look at Cody. Look at Rusty (pictured some blogs back). They are fine specimens of doghood...and the fee is usually less to neuter a male than to spay a female.
Let's declare today "give the little guys a chance" day.
In the spirit of education and fairness, I posted a short piece on the trainability and just general wonderfullness of the neutered male dog, complete with pictures of Cody on Craigslist. I wonder how long it will take to be flagged. But really, the boys need good homes too. Look at Cody. Look at Rusty (pictured some blogs back). They are fine specimens of doghood...and the fee is usually less to neuter a male than to spay a female.
Let's declare today "give the little guys a chance" day.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Aloha
Today was beginning to look a lot like yesterday, so I have declared it Hawaiian music day and that is all we'll be hearing. Lots of paperwork and a meeting I don't even want to think about-I may need a Hawaiian music coupled with a valium for that. I have some valuim to keep my foot from twitching but the twitching stage is over-I always (well, I've had the surgery once before) end up with almost a full bottle of the stuff. Ah well, no point in dreading it and spoiling an otherwise decent morning with good music and plenty of work to do.
Greta and Cody are parked under the pine tree staring down a very persistant squirrel. I swear the squirrels are so well fed in my neighborhood you could almost saddle up one and ride away. I saw one miss a branch and fall and the darn thing bounced! It actually bounced right in front of Dottie who froze-up close and dangerous, the squirrel was bigger than she was and she was taking no chances.
Greta and Cody are parked under the pine tree staring down a very persistant squirrel. I swear the squirrels are so well fed in my neighborhood you could almost saddle up one and ride away. I saw one miss a branch and fall and the darn thing bounced! It actually bounced right in front of Dottie who froze-up close and dangerous, the squirrel was bigger than she was and she was taking no chances.
Monday, March 5, 2007
Monday the 13th?
The world appears to be spinning sideways, not only for me but for lots of folks around me. Thank God I have the dogs here to keep me grounded. I've been up since 7 didn't get breakfast till 2:30 and now I MUST go elevate my leg before real trouble sets in (it's 4:30). But Greta and Cody have kept all the squirrels and stray cats out of the backyard for one more day.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
And a good time was had by all
My two "big dogs" are exhausted-they are both young and the arrival of Prissy put the running and playing into high gear. Dottie did a good job of keeping up with them, and as usual, Dollie remained more sedate. But oh, those spotties and their growling-they've gotten really naughty since staying with Mom.
I had to work with them quite a bit, and with Dollie about chasing the poor old cat-but at one point I had Dollie, Greta, Cody and the cat all in the chair with me and all being harmonious. You really can teach an old dog new tricks.
Dogs are cool, because they don't really sit and wonder why sometimes they are in Oklahoma and sometimes in Texas-they just go with the flow. But I really hated to see them go.
My parents brought up the treadmill so I can help Greta with her rehab (and work out the draft dogs when they come),three bails of hay that I am going to use as planters, and some veggie burgers Mom made. I sent back an assortment of vegetable seeds,peat pots, dog treats and a wireless router. We love recycling/giving things.
My Grandma Effie always showed up with a brown grocery sack full of something that she was bringing each time she arrived anywhere. Her tradition lives on, but sometimes we use ziploc bags (gardening stuff) or even fancy paper bags from the dollar store.
I had to work with them quite a bit, and with Dollie about chasing the poor old cat-but at one point I had Dollie, Greta, Cody and the cat all in the chair with me and all being harmonious. You really can teach an old dog new tricks.
Dogs are cool, because they don't really sit and wonder why sometimes they are in Oklahoma and sometimes in Texas-they just go with the flow. But I really hated to see them go.
My parents brought up the treadmill so I can help Greta with her rehab (and work out the draft dogs when they come),three bails of hay that I am going to use as planters, and some veggie burgers Mom made. I sent back an assortment of vegetable seeds,peat pots, dog treats and a wireless router. We love recycling/giving things.
My Grandma Effie always showed up with a brown grocery sack full of something that she was bringing each time she arrived anywhere. Her tradition lives on, but sometimes we use ziploc bags (gardening stuff) or even fancy paper bags from the dollar store.
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