True confessions: I’m just back to work, after a lovely holiday weekend with Jim, Maggie and Willie. (Tootsie got to stay home with a farm sitter and be Dog #1 all weekend. I suspect she loved it.) No time then to do research on this week’s blog, but here’s a scrap book of some of our fun:
We stayed at a dear friend’s cabin in the woods about 2 hours away from the farm. Here’s our favorite road sign of the trip:
I will leave it to your imagination to imagine the jokes that ensued. We did find ourselves needing to stop at a gas station soon after seeing the signs though…
Maggie and Willie loved where we stayed. Forty acres of Maple-Birch-Beechwood woods, great hiking trails and our very own pond with water lilies, a resident Kingfisher, and Bullfrogs whose croaking sounded so strange to Maggie that she wouldn’t pee for hours when we first let her out. I guess we should’ve pointed out the signs above to her…?
We took several hour-long walks in the woods, complete with lots of sniffing (dogs), bird watching (us) and playing tug with sticks (dogs). We almost didn’t make it to the cabin–Maggie had horrific diarrhea and vomiting the morning we left. Poor baby whined once in her crate at 5 am, but never repeated it, so I figured all was well and went down to find her standing in a cesspool of yuckness. She must have been standing there for an hour, without making a peep. (Have I mentioned what an amazingly wonderful dog she is?) After a long discussion with the vet (who I woke up at home, thank you Dr. John), no further vomiting and a plan to return home instantly if she didn’t improve, we took off mid-afternoon. She’s been fine ever since, although of course I fasted her for 24 hours, and then only gave her rice with chicken stock. I wish I had a photo of her face when I put their bowls down. She looked at her bowl of boiled rice, looked at Willie’s bowl full of fish-based kibble, liver and vegetables, and then looked at me. Let’s just say that her face was not an example of the unconditional love that dogs are supposed to give us. I actually laughed out loud, but also sympathized. I’m so glad she got better; it was great to see her have so much fun on her first real trip away from home since we got her. Here are Maggie and Willie playing tug on one of the trails.
On Friday we got to go out on our friend’s boat Lake Michigan and fish for salmon and trout. (Thank you Barbara and Don!) Here’s a photo of Jim, my handsome and not-old man of the sea.
Lucky me even got to reel the only salmon that took the bait, which we had for a delicious dinner last night (complete with a sauce of dill-chive goat cheese, yogurt, green onions and mustard.) Super yum.
We got home yesterday after a wonderful, relaxing trip, gloried in saying hi to Tootsie and checking on the sheep. The vet came out this morning to check on Salt’s broken leg. Here’s Dr. Jeff Kunart and Bree-Ann (spelling?), a vet tech student from MATC.
The bone seems to have healed well, but he has a nasty sore behind his leg where the splint rubbed. Dr. Jeff treated the sore and put on some supporting padding (the foam insulation that goes around pipes, every sheep owner has some!) wrapped with sheep-themed vet wrap.
Hopefully he’ll be doing well enough on Thursday to get it all off and go back to grazing with the main flock. Based on the amount of baa’ing, his mom and sister are sick of being isolated.
What about you? Did the U.S. readers have a good holiday? Did your dogs get through the fire works without problems? We were lucky; we got to watch great fireworks from a boat in the Port Washington marina, but Willie and Maggie were safely tucked away in the woods far away from any noise. How about around the rest of the world? (How is winter in NZ and Australia right now?!)
Chris from Boise says
Your holiday sounds lovely – and well-deserved – and delicious! Glad Maggie has resilient innards, and that Salt’s leg is healing well. Love the road signs!
As our city loves its fireworks, and our neighborhood loves them for days before and after Independence Day itself, we spent June 30 and July 1 counter-conditioning the occasional pops and crackles, July 2 and 3 using anti-anxiety meds which worked fine against the increasing barrage, July 4 and 5 camping far, far away, and last night anti-anxiety meds again. Am hoping we can CC the next couple of nights, then get back to a normal routine until this time next year. I’m ready for a good night’s sleep, and I’m sure Habi and Bandit are too. 🙂
Shari says
I am SO glad this holiday is over, and my neighbors’ supplies of fireworks are finally dwindling! My lab Emma, almost thirteen, doesn’t care about the noise, and I learned with great joy and relief that young Jack, my new guy (13 month old bc) didn’t seem too disturbed either, but poor Bailey, my nine year old rescue bc, spent three nights panting and shivering and refusing to go out to pee after dark. We did what we could to help her feel as comfortable as possible, but she’s hears the pops and booms from miles away. There’s a Thundershirt in her future!
It was nice to have a few days off…gave us time time to finally watch your dog-dog reactivity lecture and finish reading Feisty Fido. Jack’s my first reactive dog, and so he’s my newest teacher, pointing out many things I didn’t know!
Lisa says
Chris from Boise, which meds work for you? My Chloe was a mess (we live out in the country, with few if any fireworks rules and lots of enthusiastic folks nearby), and I think helping her out with a little extra boost be the most compassionate thing I can do next year.
Frances says
It sounds idyllic, right down to catching your own supper. The great firework weekend in the UK is around the 5th November, although they are getting popular at other times. Fortunately we live in the depths of the country, and I took care to explain to the dogs that the occasional one they heard was a happy event predicting chicken. I don’t know if it would hold through a close encounter, or repeated barrages, but so far so good. The smoke alarm, on the other hand, has Poppy leaving home…
Sherry in MT says
What a lovely and fun weekend you got to enjoy! We here in the twigs MT also had a great time. Some pond play for the puppy poodle on July 4 and only one of the pack was bothered by the fireworks (he also was bothered by the thunder earlier that week) which is a new development for him but he didn’t totally get unwound. Dosed him with some Rescue Remedy and as we always do July 4, closed up the house windows and turned on some fans for white noise and off to bed.
Ariel says
How lovely! And so good to see Willie and Maggie acting like best buddies! We took our shelties to the mountains, too. No fireworks! And the trip seemed to bond them to each other in a positive new direction (boy is 7 yrs., baby girl is 8 mos.). They actually cuddled together on the way home for the first time! Great photos.
Alexia says
Thanks for sharing such a beautiful weekend, especially the pictures of your darling black & whites. My Lily did fairly well with the neighborhood fireworks noise in our small (unregulated) town. She is used to thunder & lightning when we work on fire lookout towers, but on the 4th there was noise all around us, on all sides. I made it a point to stay very calm myself (even through I wanted to shriek for QUIET, PLEASE). Lily stayed right next to me in bed all night, though she usually sleeps in her dog nest. I think one of the best things owners can do to mitigate fireworks noise is stay calm themselves.
Milissa says
Lol! Those signs! In my local area we also have hwy PP, as well as TT (a more southern way of saying it! 😉 ), and MM (which my phone navigator used to call M-O Millimeter!) And my personal favorite hwy ZZ! Glad you had a lovely weekend!
Barb from Portland says
Doc Ackerman’s Nerve & Anxiety formula made a BIG difference for my reactive corgi this holiday. I started dosing about 5 days before but it’s an herb blend I will make sure not to be without. We were tent camping during fireworks and although she trembled a bit, she settled and slept, and let me do the same!
Robin says
Patricia, that’s the kind of holiday I was aiming for and the luck of the gods messed up three different sets of plans. We camped in a hotel with drugs for the dogs so we could avoid pacing, diarrhea, drooling etc. It barely worked. I’m glad it worked out so well. I’ll just have to do more research early on and maybe make TWO simultaneous reservations so I have a fool-proof way to handle the 4th. I’ve tried everything homeopathic and desensitization but I get very little response to those efforts. Some noise is just too much and my neighborhood is “Little Beirut”.
Here’s to a better year next year and I am happy for everyone who weathered it just fine.
Chris says
Lucky enough to have a breeder whose family members play in drum and bagpipe band. Even so, we did some training with YouTube videos of fireworks and slowly increasing the volume. Charlie just sat there with a ” is there another treat coming or can i go to sleep now” look. Come July 4 and the little doodle slept through his first fireworks show (that the neighbors put on in front of our house).
We did have a bad experience when visiting San Francisco and we were buzzed by a Blue Angels (jet). Charlie panicked (we all did, it was thunderous) and being on leash and not being able to get away made it worse. Fortunately there was a hotdog stand nearby. One hot dog and some basic training and he snapped right out it. Thankful for the early conditioning.
Chris from Boise says
For Lisa:
Our vet prescribed alprazolam (generic Xanax) as short-term anti-anxiety relief for Habi. I think there are several drugs available; talk with your vet for your particular situation. The trick is to give it an hour or so before the anxiety-causing event, so it takes effect before the trigger starts. If we don’t give it till we hear the first rumbles (of fireworks, thunder, etc), it’s much less effective. So we keep a small supply on hand, watch the calendar, talk with our neighbors, watch the weather reports, and do our best to plan ahead. Giving alprazolam is like Danish scientist/poet Piet Hein’s recipe for perfect toast: toast until it starts to smoke, then twenty seconds less.
Kat says
Very envious of your get away. It sounds heavenly. Our neighborhood could double for the soundtrack of a Hollywood war movie during the week of the fourth. Ranger would really really like to go find what is making all the racket and deal with it. Finna isn’t sure what to do except blame it on “Dad” and bark at him. The occasional bangs we could deal with pretty matter of factly, and the fact that the people weren’t bothered was enough reassurance for the dogs. The mini barrages were upsetting but being inside with fans and audiobooks playing (We got through three books) was a help. I expected to spend the big barrage from 9:00-11:00 stretched out on the floor between the dogs holding them close but there were so many explosions so close together that I think it turned into white noise for the dogs and they both stretched out and went to sleep without me having to be on the floor, too. They weren’t too happy to be going for their last potty break before bed when the air smelled so strongly of gunpowder and fire but we got through it for another year.
Gayla says
Gayla from Hawaii: Do you have time to share what changed your mind in regards to letting Willie and Maggie tug with each other? You had stopped at one point fearing that they were becoming “too competitive.” After letting them resume, you were going to explain more later…
SUPER CUTE hubby, also looks like a really nice man. Great combination!
em says
Beautiful pictures! I’m glad that Maggie bounced back and that you all had such a lovely adventure. I love vacations with my dogs.
Luckily my two are in pretty good shape after the holiday- Otis isn’t afraid of fireworks, so no trouble there, and even mildly fearful Sandy was pretty well spared- it was a quiet night in my neighborhood.
When our village does their main fireworks display in early fall, which my husband and I generally go out to watch from the yard, Sandy generally just goes upstairs and finds a snug spot away from the windows and near to Otis. Even in severe storms, much worse for her, she generally is soothed as long as she can wedge herself between my husband and I in the bed (she’s not usually allowed to share our bed at night), or between the backs of one of our sets of knees and the front of the couch. That way, the lightning will hit us first 🙂
It seems to work for her, so we go with it.
LisaW says
Years ago we took a three-month trip down the east coast to mouth of the Mississippi, through the Panhandle, and up through the mid-west mostly on back roads, no highways. I can’t remember what state we were in, but somewhere we have a picture of us standing under a sign that read: UNCERTAIN 5 Miles.
We knew we were all going to spend at least four days all together, all the time. The days were quiet, but there were three nights of fireworks. The big display (big as in set off remotely from a barge in the lake) happens on the 3rd, then surrounding towns have theirs on the 4th, and one determined town had theirs on the 5th. We piled the dogs in the car and drove around from about 9:15 to 10:15 or so for two nights, and by the time we got home, things had quieted down so we all just went to bed. The third night was a surprise, so we were home when the fireworks started. But, something great happened. When the loud booms started, Olive, the anxious one, ran into the kitchen and sat and looked at me and asked to do her repertoire of tricks! It was so clear what she was asking, and she did her tricks for treats with a tail wag and a smile all through the fireworks. She led me to the solution that was right for her. It was one of those times that makes you gush with appreciation for her ability and intelligence and fondness for tricks and treats.
(In case it helps someone else, she takes L’Theanine 50 mg 2x day normally, and for the holiday, I gave her 2mg of Melatonin 2x day.)
Lauren Miller says
Your weekend sounds amazing! The pups look like they had a blast!
Our 4th of July was nice and mellow. My dog, Zoe has a very bad noise phobia but it’s gotten better since we moved to a no fireworks zone.
Margaret McLaughlin says
I spent the evening of the 3rd at a church-small-group campfire in the middle of what sounded like an artillery barrage, with my guide dog puppy. It would have been just as bad, or worse, at home. I put her entire supper–2 cups of kibble–in my bait pouch, & popped one in her mouth at every boom. Classic CC, & it worked; she hadn’t seemed bothered before, but by the end of the evening she was wagging her tail & making eye contact at every blast. I left Nina home with her Thundershirt on, & Benydryl in her system. Storms have been worrying her this year, too, & the one we had last Tuesday didn’t help. My neighborhood looked like London after the Blitz, & my power was out until Friday evening.
I’ll see your PPP road sign, & raise you the college friend from Pennsylvania, who said she lived half-way between Paradise & Intercourse, & had the road signs to prove it.
diane says
How wonderful! Glad you all enjoyed! No real problems with firework noise….just train noises (even toy train noises). Go figure.
Vicky in Boise says
As Chris from Boise said, fireworks are a big deal in our community and the “illegal” variety in neighborhoods are more of a problem than the official ones. My BC, Zoe was not amused by all the noise and spent a lot of time tucked in a bathroom. Carson, my oldest BC does not like them either, but he kind of puts up with the noise by checking in with me and seeking out quiet locations around the house. My youngest BC, Hobbes, does not particularly mind. He definitely takes note of particularly loud fireworks, but is rather philosophical about it, giving me looks as if to say “What IS going on and should I be concerned?” A reassuring word from me is all he seems to need. But we are all happy when our neighborhood is peaceful once again.
lin says
I’m glad that Maggie cleared up and suffered no ill effects and everybody could enjoy the vacation. We’re lucky that our town doesn’t go wacko before the 4th (firecrackers/works are illegal in this area, but get brought in anyway) and even day-of is not too bad. Our tradition is to close up the house and watch a blockbuster movie with lots of explosions (this year’s feature: Skyfall). The Foster Dog was pretty good, but one of the outside pops was too loud for comfort, and she leaped onto the couch where we were sitting. Normally she isn’t allowed to get up there because she then tends to bully the cat off of it, but we decided this was special circumstances. So Foster Dog lay with her head on my lap and watched the movie (I think she rather likes Daniel Craig) Before bed we gave her a melatonin (thanks to your FB comments) and she didn’t bark at all that night.
HFR says
I remember as a child my parents took me to the huge fireworks show as usual. But because I was, of course, obsessed with the new dog (a rescued Sheltie) I asked if I could take him with us and my parents, who should have known better, said yes.
I can still remember Shane sitting on my lap completely wide-eyed but otherwise calm while the works went off. But suddenly my 12 year old mind thought this must be hurting his ears terribly so I spent the whole time covering his ears with my hands. He was fine but I was so upset and felt so bad that I had dragged him along. He was no worse for wear but I still think of that day as a lesson to think of how you should always put yourself in your dog’s place before you put them in any situation.
maggie says
What an interesting holiday for you and the dogs. Weather in NZ is cold some -2degree frosts but this does mean afternoon sun shine although not particularly warm. My Shema, a 10 year old Basenji girl has several coats to choose from and on cool days has never turned down a walk yet. Lucky fire works don’t bother her either. Our fireworks are November 5th,and there are usually a few bangs around but we are getting close to banning them except for public displays.
Love your BlogXX
Cathy W. says
The weather here in the Adelaide Hills (South Australia) is cold, wet, windy and of course our ewes have decided to lamb now. We’ve had trees blown over and the creeks flowing. Up to the beginning of June we’d had mild, sunny days.
Love your blog, Cathy W.
Trisha says
Margaret and LisaW: Thanks for the laughs about the sign “Uncertain 5 miles” and the friend who lived half way between Paradise and Intercourse. Classic! And I needed a good laugh: We just lost our law suit in the Appeals Court to stop the use of free-running packs of hounds in the Wisconsin public wolf hunt. I’m sick about it… Wisconsin is now the only state in the union that allows packs of dogs to chase down wolves. It’s bad enough that they are allowed to attack other animals, like coyotes, raccoons and bear cubs in “roll cages” or small pens in order to teach them to chase after the animals, but now wolves are added to the list. The way the animals are trained is inherently inhumane, and can’t help but lead to dogs catching and mauling animals until they are dead. But it is legal in our state. Argh. So.. you can see why I needed a laugh, thanks for it!
HFR says
Trisha , that is so horrible! I’m curious as to how they won. I’ll have to google it. It’s gotten zero publicity on the east coast as far as I can tell. Can you appeal further or is this the end of the legal road?
Nic1 says
Trisha, that is awful news! You must be heartbroken. Can you appeal? How can this be legal when it is inhumane and contradicts the progress and understanding humans are making in terms of animal welfare? How does the federal system work in terms of things like this? It just seems utterly barbaric and just an excuse for blood sports…
Trisha says
To Nic1 and HFR: Thanks. I was/am heart broken. Physically sick about it actually for a few days. This was the end of the line for this law suit, the judgement was an appeal, so there is nowhere else to go in the courts but to start a different law suit. Another option is to get the laws changed, but the legislature in Wisconsin (and the Dept of Natural Resources) right now is all about expanding hunting to public areas, changing environmental education monies to funding for teaching children to hunt and trap and loosening regulations regarding hunting and fishing. What is most frustrating for all of us involved in the law suit is that the essence of the suit was that the practice violates the anti-cruelty laws, and yet that issue was never actually discussed. We never had a chance to present anything but written testimony about training practices and the reality of hound hunting, which is essentially a blood sport. Next steps are working with the legislature, but that’s going to be a very difficult road, given the politics of the state right now.
LisaW says
It astounds me what we humans can do sometimes. And don’t get me started on the state of our politics right now. If I think about it too much, I go to the dark side. One idea that just struck me in terms of getting the actual laws changed vis-a-vis the legislature is to mount a campaign based on the anti-cruelty laws and pull in celebrities that are sympathetic to the cause. There have been scores of celebs doing ASPCA, Shelter Pets, Anti-dog Fighting commercials and documentaries recently. I know this is tantamount to starting a new career or business, and it may not be practical, but often, a “famous” spokesperson is what works and gets people’s attention. Perhaps there could be a group formed that brings it to the national spotlight and circles back to Wisconsin as a place to create change. The slippery slope argument is effective.
With your name and stellar reputation, I bet you’d find some folks to create and organize this grassroots group with big ideas and goals. Just a thought.
Joanna says
Speaking of dogs at play, check out this blog http://thepuparazzo.blogspot.com. for some fantastic photography.
Nic1 says
@Trisha – I am not suprised you have been physically sick from the upset. This flies directly in the face of what you have dedicated your life to improving. The relationship and understanding between animals and humans. It’s a tragedy and I imagine a dark day for Wisconsin….indeed the so called ‘civilised’ first world no?
@LisaW – ideology and politics rarely address problems in an intelligent way – i.e. for the greater good. This is a very slippery slope indeed. How can you respect and trust the people who make decisions like this and ultimately respect the decisions they are allowed to make in other areas of public life?
http://www.change.org/petitions/wisconsin-wolf-hunting-season-stop-the-wolf-hunt
There is a petition here on Change.org. Do you know anything about this Trisha? What about signing and sharing this on everyone’s social media platform possible?
LisaW says
@Nic1, I agree that politics and certain ideologies make strange bedfellows. But, isn’t it up to us to change what we don’t agree with in part by electing people who most closely represent our beliefs? That, to me, is where we have fallen down lately. A crazy minority has hijacked the system and we’re allowing it to happen. IMHO, this is in part why Wisconsin’s legislature has gone so loopy. The politicians do not have the courage to say, “The emperor has no clothes.” And we, the people, are not demanding a fair and just system that actually works.
Anyway, I like your idea about an online petition, I was thinking how Kickstarter could be used to raise money to create a grassroots, social media campaign asking for support to develop a targeted effort to ban using dogs to hunt wolves and eventually, wolf hunting. Other ideas? I’d be willing to pitch in some how.
Nic1 says
@LisaW I agree with you. It is up to us but I do think that we have to be aware that a lot of human beings will blindly follow authority regardless. You give people the platform and some will follow like sheep. When I read about the Milgram experiment it made a lot of sense in trying to understand this sort of behaviour. What i also find really bizarre is that there is a cohort of people who refer to people who are compassionate about animal welfare as automatically being AR activists. It is quite bewildering but seems to reflect some people’s insecurity about the path they are taking in life maybe?
I think online petitions and campaigning are proving to be fundamental tools in overriding political decisions. 38 degrees in the UK has had a lot of success. I’ve not heard of Kickstarter but will look it up. I don’t subscribe to social media but I was told the tale of a young model who lost a lucrative contract with a high profile company when she posted pictures of herself standing next to dead carcasses of some game she had hunted in sport. I think we have to do something. Grassroots education is the key.
remove google plus android says
Today, I went to the beach front with my children. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said
“You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She placed the shell to her ear and screamed.
There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear.
She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is totally off topic but
I had to tell someone!