nancy

Santa brings me the Arizona calendar every Christmas.

Liz P, had those dogs in your post been titered? I did that with Fergie, and she tested as not needing anything but the mandatory rabies jab every 3 years for about 7 years. I would not forgo vaccine without a titer that says the dog is OK. I go for a physical every year, so the dog and cat do, too. Yeah, I also make DH go for his, but that's harder as he's too big to put in the crate.

I have a wonderful 30-foot leash from Lupine. You should see Dixie dance whenever I pick that one from the pile!

When the dog is into pulling, just use the regular leash. Pull it straight back to just in front of the dog's hind legs, wrap it under the dog, then pull the leash back through itself up top - about at the hips. From the collar back to you it will look like an upside-down T. I have no idea why it works. The teacher at Dixie's first training class used it for the big dog that was overpowering its owners. Worked a treat. I tried it at one class with the next teacher (yeah, I made Dixie repeat first grade, even though she officially passed) and got scolded. Dixie turned 2-years- old today. I don't need that trick often. But I still do use it - with both the 6-foot and the 30-foot leashes - when she gets too rambunctious.

We got the step-in harness for Fergie from Lupine when she was at that stage. It worked great. http://www.lupinepet.com/step-in-harness/

On no! Terrible news. But she seemed to be happy to the last - just what we all say we want for ourselves. But it's sure tough on everyone else.

Fingers, toes, and eyes crossed! And Dixie & Maggie are sending special-delivery pet prayers.

As I remember, DMSO draws stuff through the skin. For us, it was into the muscle. Yeah, it was illegal. But when we were racing bikes (USCF road, criterium, & time trial), DMSO worked wonders. We'd put some Aspercreme on cleaned skin, them put on a little DMSO. It sure worked a treat. Did make your breath smell like garlic. If you're worried, dilute some DMSO with a little sterilized water. And make sure the area where you apply it is clean - not with alcohol but with water. We had bought the DMSO, originally, for our elderly lab-shepherd who had arthritis. I have to admit that I still have a bit and use it - rarely - for my arthritis.

I understand that the hanta virus (I think that's the name) has been around in New Mexico for ages.

I've always been interested in the idea the what we see as colors is dictated by our culture. There seem to be a gazillion terms for what we call "snow" in areas where there is a lot of snow. I understand that the names of colors in the old languages of the British Isles have a gazillion names for what Crayola calls "green" or "blue". And not one of us ever knows what another one of us sees as "red". We may all look at a thing and call it "red". But you don't ever know what I see. OK, it's weird. I tried to discuss this with a college freshman English Composition class. It was not a pretty session! So how do I know what Max, Fritzie, Heidie, Midnight, Mitzie, Tiger, Ulthar, Vamp, Frodo, Tyga, Fergie, or Dixie sees? I don't know what you see - and you don't know what I see. Life is strange!

I'm old. I was taught to call adults by title and surname. Unless I was specifically asked to do otherwise. So that is how I treat adults, of any age, until they do offer their given names. But, if a young professional greets me as, "Hi, Nancy!" all bets are off. If the doctor calls me Nancy, Pat is his name. Especially if I see him squiggle. He deserves to be uncomfortable for taking liberties with me!

Fergie knew, "That's not your squirrel." It meant that the squirrel was in someone else's yard, and not hers to chase. Haven't gotten there with Dixie. But she's getting, "Oh, look at the duckies; such nice duckies; bye-bye duckies." Much nicer than NO!!!

A dog who was being trained by "an expert" died recently because the trainer left the dog in a car for several hours. I wish some passer-by had call the police for that poor dog. That's why people do call. It sounds like you really do know what you are doing and are really keeping the dogs safe. Could you, perhaps, hang a thermometer with big numbers from the rear-view mirror when you are gone? That way, folks could see that the inside temperature is a safe one.

Oh, I keep an eye on this. Maggie didn't care a fig about noises, explosions, low pressure.... But Fergie sure did. She was way ahead of the weatherman at predicting storms. Last evening, Ferg would have had 2 Benedryl and been hiding in the downstairs bathroom or under on of the guest twin beds. Then Fergie died. I swear, Maggie took on Ferg's role at the very next storm. Our first dog, Vamp, was neither bothered nor interested in all that. However, when we lived in Woodstock (honest, the real Woodstock, starting 2 weeks after the festival wasn't there - but the music and people sure were), she would bring in the ex-military shepherd who lived at the American Legion hall up the street if a storm was coming. That dog had PTS, although no-one new that syndrome them. Vamp brought him in where he could hide. Then led him out towards home when the storm past. Vamp was a lab-shepherd, dumb as a rock, fantastic with our young kids. And a real friend to dogs in need.

Is it the border collie or the jackal that loves explosions with flashing lights? We watched Capitol Fourth on TV - Maggie da Cat hid under a chair - Dixie dog listened from her chair (the one over the cat). Then, when the show ended, we heard fireworks down the hill. Fergie would have panicked. Dixie went to the doors trying to investigate. So I took her out, on leash, and let her lead me. Down the hill, to the right, up and over - to where young lads were firing skyrockets. Paused at a neighbor's house - they were amazed that Dix pulled me towards the rockets each time. So on we went. Stopped one house before where they guys were, with another neighbor. Dix pandered for petting - until a rocket went off. Then she watched in amazement. Must have been a half hour - almost a good as the official shows when I was a kid, even if it was kids in the road down the street. And Dixie loved it!

I think the reaction to your new nephew is a very good sign. That's what Fergie did when our grandgirl, Elena came over at a few days old. Ferg loved the smell of baby feet. Luckily, the kids live nearby, so Ferg got to see Elena often. By the time Elena was crawling, Ferg was totally used to her, comfortable with her, and calm with her. And Elena was learning about how to react with a dog. I think that the real problem is a sudden influx of a bunch of kids. That's not what's going to happen. I have to say that you might get the reaction of our older daughter to her "new" siblings. When Mari arrived, Vikki (at 4-1/2) was thrilled, wanted to hold her, read to her, whatever. When Charles arrived, Vikki (at 6), said. Oh, another one.

Fergie would swim in the local pond only if it was a really hot day. She hated the ocean - it moved too much and tasted awful. She did go straight in and have a ball at Little Sebago, in Maine - but it is a large spring-fed lake where you can count the pebbles on the bottom from out in the middle. She did enjoy going to the dam area at Kerr Lake and chase the wavelets and swim for tossed sticks. Dixie feels the same about our local pond. But she loved the ocean on our May trip. The problem was that, on the beach walk when she went out on the long leash and swam with us, she drank, too. Later, she pooped brown water! Try to clean that up on the beach. So we kept her just in the surf for the rest of the week. Have to say that she loved to pee in the surf - a puppy bidet!

I have been using a harness since 1996, first for Fergie, now for Dixie. It is similar to the harnesses I used for my kids back in the late 60s and early 70s. Back then, car seats hung over the seats and often had plastic steering wheels, so we sure didn't want them. None of the harnesses I saw attached like ours does. Ours has a really short loop of seat-belt material on the back through which we put the actual seat belt. As long as the seat belt works, the dog can't get thrown like the ones in the videos. I know from experience that the similar ones for our kids definitely worked as we had hoped.

What sad news. I met her at a Whistle for the Cure, I think. She was a neat woman. And had studied under my cousin's daughter in California. What was Hilary's last name? I will add her to our prayers at church tomorrow, anyhow. But I'd like to let my cousin's daughter know. She was way too young to go. But we do know that she'll be swarmed with greeters at the Rainbow Bridge.

You say he's 5 years old. Have you had him all this time? If not, do you know anything about his previous life? If so, is this a new behavior? Has something changed in his life? You never know what makes a dog think what. Have you discussed this with your vet?

Our daughter noticed that Fergie (RIP) was uncomfortable going up to our second floor after we pulled up the carpet and discovered beautiful pine stairs. She told us to get those small pieces of carpet to put down with carpet tape. She remembered our old (1912) house that had them. Got them at Lowes. Worked great - and now we appreciate them as they keep us oldies safe, too. We found some that go with our fake oriental rugs. Not the same color or pattern as they are all different anyhow. Everyone oohs and aahs over the staircase. Outdoors, we bought grit tape to put on our wooden steps. Ferg appreciated them. I now have to get more for another set of stairs as I did real harm to my shoulder of damp wood.

Boo is waiting for you in another forest. And I know there'll be a dull ache in your heart until you meet him again. Bless you for giving him 7 loving years.

Fergie (RIP) had a pink square on her nose for years. The first time we were going to the coast for a week, we asked the vet what to do. She said an indelible black marker was the best bet. Ferg couldn't lick it off and it lasted the week.

Please be sure to notify all of us - even those whose dogs will enter "in spirit" - when the benefit trials to help fund ovarian cancer research will be held in North Carolina. As much as we love watching trials, we loved my husband's sister way more and lost her to ovarian cancer.

My dog doesn't hide or act shy that I can see. Heck, she's more likely to jump up to greet any new adult. She wants to romp with other dogs - and deer. She lets kids of all ages come up to her and do anything as long as it's attention. And she doesn't ever jump on or at them at all. In class, she would rather watch the other dogs than focus on me. (Gee, that's how my previous bc-mix learned things: watching and copying.) And she spends a lot of time sniffing the ground for interesting mulch and any dropped treats. Our family says she has ADD (especially our adult daughter who is being treated for that now). The instructor says that's fear. At home, if we meet someone on a walk, instead of jumping - if it's someone she's met often - she'll start eating grass or pulling apart reeds or some other of what I call displacement. The instructor says that shows she's frightened. The instructor has also told us that, when our dogs hold their tail proud, they are over-stimulated; when they tuck them down, they are relaxed. Seems to me that it's the opposite with border collies. Isn't tucked under the work position (not over-stimulated of course) and proud the relaxed position? The instructor has degrees and certifications in animal behavior and related stuff. And I like a lot of what she's teaching us. It's just that she emphatically derides me for my even thinking that the pup's early life, her abandonment to the pound for a while, and her being pulled, spayed, and delivered to us in quick succession have had some impact on her behavior. I know that every dog has a different personality. But, if it's all genetic, why do we bother with training?