Annual Rant

 I detest daylight savings time !(insert foul verbiage with a lot of exclamation marks) It has been proven to not save one penny in energy. It does cost us, the lowly peasants, money and our health. The so-called medical community makes a ton off the rise of heart problems during this time period, as does the drug companies. Why do they continue it then? Maybe to please the rulers of the world, the corporations. No one else, except the rare minority who have problems with lack of light in the winter, likes to have their whole body clock thrown off. Especially for no good reason. Only Arizona refuses the bribe money for implementation of this farce. sigh...

Sally did very well with her shot. She loves the vet and techs, not minding having her dignity compromised when getting her temp checked and the like. Her ears were dirty, so I had the vet check them. She had the beginnings of a small ear infection. I thought it was from going under the furniture, not that the house is dirty. The vet assured me it was normal, like any small child. She showed me how to gently swab out her ears weekly with a gentle wash on a tissue, too. Her left ear seemed to give her problems 10 days later. I tried half of a cotton ball in her ear when I bathed her and some water got into her ear. I was given a wash that dries dog ears after they go swimming. She shakes her head well afterwards. Her ears are fine now, clean and all that.

Her first puppy socialization class was a bit daunting to me. The other 5 pups were large- Rottie, chocolate Lab, Australian Shepherd and 2 Bernese (spelling?) Mountain dog crosses. Gads, Sally was the size of their heads! She sat between my feet or the vet tech's feet. Sally approached all the dogs with the "right" postures and had a good time. The second week's class went even better. We got there early and she was the "door greeter". She had a good time then too.

We had to go to Wally World Thursday. I got stuck shopping and Himself walked Sally up and down in front. She strutted her stuff. Burly cowboys(laughing...) and a police officer all had to inquire about her and give her attention. If a senior woman came over, Sally went on her back (on the filthy cement, yet), offering her tummy for rubs. She loves people as much as she likes other dogs.

Friday, the worst happened... She was napping and I was donning my snow boots to go out and re-measure the garden beds to plan themout, etc. I did not see or hear her come up behind me. I stepped down and heard a squeak. I then tried to move my foot away and ended up stepping down firmly on her right paw. A loud squeak came out of her. She ran limping to Himself. We rushed her to the vet. No fracture. Whew! I feel about 1" tall. I bruised her foot, her foot pads and foot were slightly swollen. The vet on call used to have a Pomeranian he adored. He said Sally was a great little girl and had an excellent disposition and more. He brought out his female Papillion, Cosie (for Cosette). Sally gave her nose kisses and went into the play postures. We may need to get her a sister, she loves playing with other dogs as much as she does people.

Yesterday, (Saturday), she was running around on three legs, barely touching down her foot. If I gently chastised her for running, she lifted her paw up in the air and let it dangle. She learned to manipulate me quickly, no? Today she is walking more normally, though I still cannot get her play in one place for long. The foot pads are normal-sized, though there is still a slight swelling of the underside of her foot. Gads, I still feel so awful and inadequate. We try to watch out for her, she moves so quickly and quietly, tending to get underfoot and trying to play with our feet and pant legs. I had told the vet when we get her spayed, she may need doggie valium in minute amounts to keep her from prancing and running around. Before the accident we laughed about putting bells on her, but put that one aside. She would spend all day trying to get them off herself. I did make her a felted ball with a bunch of bells inside. She loves it. I knitted and felted it myself, making it thicker and more durable than one made with the commercial polyester "felt" in stores. I check it daily to be sure she has not managed to rip it open so she cannot accidentally swallow a bell, though I used the giant ones.

Her hair is patchy on the backs of her thighs and back of her tail. It seems thin over her eyebrows. The vet said she was blowing her puppy coat already. She is getting the same lavender-ish long hairs, but with dark tips near her funny white ruff. It looks like she is getting dark brown "eyebrows" over her eyes. The merle markings are coming out more. We cannot wait to see how she progresses.

The photo to the left was taken over 2 weeks ago. She has already changed! The bit above the darkened eyebrows is gone and she is getting her ruff behind the white ruff.
She loves her food slightly softened in a broth of her vitamin powder and water with sprinklings of steamed veggies and cooked hamburger or shredded chicken. She is not as fond of ground turkey as the other two meat. So far, she likes green beans, carrots, peas (slightly mashed), squash, yams, sweet potatoes and spinach. She also likes banana, especially with a little peanut butter on it. I have yet to try some chopped apple. She sits on command most of the time. We are working on "down", "stand", and "come". The latter she has to think about, unless I have a tiny training treat in my hand.

Her potty pad training was successful. Once in a while she will stand on the pad with her back-end hanging off, just missing the pad. We will be starting her outside training here soon. She should transfer over to that method well. We will have pads with us when we take her traveling. In a motel room or rest stop, they will be helpful. I will not let her potty on the nasty areas offered at Nevada rest stops. ick. The kids cannot wait to meet her, especially our grandson.

Sally is very smart, personable and more. She had made every day a joy for us. She is up to 3 lbs. 5 oz. now. Oh... she loves to wake Himself out of his chair by bouncing up and gently mouthing his heel, all in one swift move. She still cannot get up on the furniture herself, we have to lift her up and down. I am sure one day I will be napping on the couch and be wakened by her sticking her tongue up my nose or some other maneuver to wake me.

Deb

I am a bit ecclectic. This blog is whimsical musings about my various interests and sharing things I am learning. If anything, it will be a good sleeping pill, no?

2 comments:

  1. Good dog, parents questionable, lol!

    Do what we did about PDT we didn't. We are on PST. We simply figure the difference if we have a specific time off the farm we need to be at.

    No mucking about with livestock feeding, milking changes.

    It works for us. This whole thing is bullshit and gets worse every few years.

    Next thing you know it will be Jan. 1 to Dec. 31st. It doesn't give more hours it just "rearranges deck chairs" so to speak.

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  2. I totally agree! Except for Sally's appointments, we have no schedule, at least.

    ReplyDelete