How to Win Dogs and Influence Eagles

Okay, something slightly different this morning - never fear am planting half-dead Tea Camellia's later and shall have lots of photos - promise.

Peta Clark is an amazing lady (though she'd hate that I said that, but she IS).  She trains animals, and not just any animal; birds, seals, elephants... you name it. (Sadly she doesn't do husbands).  She trained Sebby and was part of his very early life when, around this time last year, I was struggling with small children and a puppy and I realised I couldn't give Sebs the support he needed.

Peta has written a wonderful article on animal training on Dog Lover's Digest. I love what she says about building trust and reading body language and just the sheer consideration for our fellow creatures. Oh that we could all live that way. At the end of the article she says...

None of us should be surprised by the confidence an animal gains from not being forced into a situation that makes them feel threatened. As always, when we think of situations where we have felt nervous, for whatever reason, we know how grateful we were when some kind soul understood and respected our need. Whether that need was ‘silly’ as in getting the heck away from an innocent creepy crawly or more sensible in a serious situation, people who show us empathy and care are always people we feel we can trust. It’s the same it seems, whether you are a man or a mouse.

Read it all at http://www.dogloversdigest.com/

:)

Mystery Pillow Explosion

Walked down into the lounge earlier today only to find that Somehow one of the pillows had exploded.

Am still wondering how this happened.  Clearly there are forces at work in my house that are beyond my comprehension.

Hug him or Strangle him...

Yesterday I was having one of those afternoons where you're doing six things at once, and  hitting the point of multi-tasking overload as the kids hit witching hour.  Just one more thing would send the entire house into meltdown.  So enter Sebby...

He was lying in his fave spot on the rocking chair - where he can keep an eye on things in the kitchen and be on hand to bark at anyone that needs barking at in the street - when out of the blue he started yelping in pain. We were at a loss and could only think that he'd eaten something - lego, another one of barbies shoes - and it was giving him a terrible tummy ache.  He calmed quickly, but it so obvious things weren't right, his body language was saying that he was in serious pain, tail tucked between his legs, head down, panicky eyes.  It was horrible.

To see how he would react I offered him a tiny piece of chicken and then when he rejected that, some bacon. He tried to eat but could only hold the food in his mouth, and that was when I got really really scared.
 
Its been nearly a year since we lost our little spaniel Ella to a tick. I've been thinking of her lately as her rose is looking totally awesome atm.

So understandably when Sebby couldn't swallow and was moving strangely the first thing we thought was that he'd got a tick.  Cavaliers rarely survive ticks, they're more susceptible to the poison and so when we rang the vet we were so distressed that she could barely understand us.

Bless her, she dropped everything and rushed back to her surgery to meet hubby only twenty minutes later, whilst I fretted quietly at home.  The kids were oblivious - it was confusing enough for them when Ella died and we felt it best to wait how this one turned out before telling them what was going on.

Now Sebby has the unusual past-time of catching bees.  He scuttles around the garden pouncing on them, I've told him and told him that it'll end badly, but he hasn't been listening.  Hubby rang from the vet to say that Sebs had a bee sting lodged in his tongue and his throat and mouth were swelling up.  They knocked Sebs out, removed the bee sting and dosed him up on antihistamine and then home he came.  Where he spent the rest of the evening wobbling around stoned out of his little pea brain.

Yes, so to hug him or strangle him... I still haven't decided.

sigh.

Snipping of the Fluffy Dice - the revenge

Happy Father's Day everybody, hope yours wasn't completely unbearable. Right, enough platitudes, I feel like I'm on a bandwagon.

Father's Day did not feature at all in my childhood - simply because it wasn't my mothers cup-of-gin. However in the last couple of years I have inserted it into my own family's calendar, just because of all the advertising made me realise I was missing something in my life, something that could be bought from Bunnings or DJs or Myer. Oh alright. I inserted it into my own family's calendar because...

1. It means I can demand expensive presents on Mother's Day,
2. It means I can buy hubby some t-shirts that Are NOT Grey,
3. Because Hubby is a great Dad and I think the kids and I should acknowledge the patience and sacrifices he makes for us without ever expecting anything in return. YES. There it is. I've said something nice about him. Wait, was that a cold chill? Did hell freeze over? Of course not. That's not going to happen until I show a certain someone (let's call him DW) my breasts.

Anyhoo, I'm sure you're all gagging to know how the testicless one is. Er, no not hubby (yet - snigger). The dog. Sebby.

Picked him up from the vet yesterday morning where, upon seeing me, he threw himself upon the floor - legs in the air to better display his brazilian - and started the most ear splitting yelping. Alarmed vets abandoned their appointments and came hurtling into the waiting room to see what the hell was going on. Of course it was only me. One of the vets checked him over to make sure he was okay and then the dog was deemed a Big Girl's Blouse.

Sebby however had not yet made his point. He sprinted from the vet to the other person in the waiting room - a burly bloke with a fluffy bunny - and made friends, licking and wagging and admiring the bunny and all big spaniel eyes begging to take him home because SHE is the EVIL ONE and who know what she'll be amputating next - maybe with her TEETH. Then he looked at me and started the yelping thing again (the dog, not the burly fellow).

Yes. Clearly I was the one to blame.

After he'd calmed down a bit - shut up long enough to get to the car - I whisked him home and administered love, strokes and food - most of which was barfed up on the kitchen floor. He was pretty quiet and slept a lot, but started to perk up in the evening. The yelping only happened on one more occasion (and this was when he got into next-doors back yard and had to be passed over the fence to safety from their boisterous Kelpie).

This morning was, of course Father's Day. And to celebrate I was doing my famous (at my house anyway) chocolate breakfast - hot chocolate, chocolate croissants, nutella on waffles etc... Sebs watched proceedings for a bit from his mat, and when he judged that the entire family was present and enjoying the heady aroma of chocolate and baking croissants, he positioned himself under the table and with a small grunt, produced the most offensive smelling poo I have ever encountered.

End of breakfast.

Sigh.

Cute huh?

Sebs at the beach after slightly misjudging size of wave.

He was off on a playdate with wonderful Peta and her two beautiful boxers Ham and Pearl.He rather fancies Pearl - that's the lovely lass on the right. Rather more than is seemly. So, today he's off for the snip.

Bye balls.

I wonder what happens to them after they're snipped off? Made into a coin purse or something I suppose.