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Keely |
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Wednesday, May 17, 2006
I cam home and found Keely had torn up another piece of carpet! This time it�s about 2 foot by 2 foot, right by the door between the hallway and the livingroom. I�m still very mad at her about it this time, but not as surprised, especially she had been scratching the area for the past week. I don�t know what caused her to do this, I walked her the night before for a little over a mile, and the past week I had the Comfort Zone plug in on and off because of her scratching by the door, although not today. I think by making her exercise more will help, but I�m already walking her about ten miles a week (three times a week, about three miles each time). I�m not a very active person and ten miles is just about my limit. Keely doesn�t really play fetch, she would go for the toy when I throw it, but not bring it back, so I can�t play fetch with her as part of her exercise program. Anyways, I just cleaned the carpet again and put a blanket and a door mat to cover.
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I think it would help if Keely gets some exercise before I leave for school in the morning, but I�m not used to exercise in the mornings (I do it maybe couple times a year), so I decided to try Keely on the treadmill. I�m planning to have her do one mile each morning on the treadmill, and one mile walking outside with me each afternoon. I think walking in public is very important for the dog�s overall health and I don�t think it should be entirely replaced. The first five minutes Keely was a little scared and tried to jump off, but I kept her corralled in and she got the hang of it after five minutes. We started 1/3 mile the first day, � mile the second day, and I think by Day 3 she should be able to do one mile at a time. She�s still not happy about it when I put her on it, but she�s okay with it and does it when I turn the machine on. |
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Samson quickly found Anastasia and stared at her for a while. |
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Thursday, May 18, 2006
Heather emailed to say that there is a 4 month old Springer puppy, Alfie, and his mom, Belle, boarding in Montgomery, and they need a ride to get to Atlanta, so they could be picked up to get to their foster home in North Carolina. I said I could help transport 100 miles of the stretch around Auburn. So the plan is to meet Angie in Auburn on Saturday morning, and then transport the dogs to meet Karen in Atlanta. I asked Heather if Alfie or Belle would need to be crated in the car, she said that when Angie helped transport them from Mobile, she did not crate them, but Belle did throw up in the car, so it�s best to have some sort of seat cover for the cat.
I gave Keely her last imitation pig ear from Janet. Strangely, Keely did not growl at Anastasia when the cat got near her while she was chewing on the pig ear.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Angie emailed to say, �I had Belle and Alfie tethered in my car, because the Cocker who hitched a ride with me had to go in the crate, because I did not know anything about him. Turns out he was really sweet, but I didn't want to take any chances. I would definitely tether them though because they are very quick and if puppy goes away from mom she is quick to follow. Alfie did get tangled a few times and I had to stop and get him straightened out. He will whine to let you know if something is not right. So cute! Per the vet, Alfie ended up being fine and Belle had an ear infection. I am sending all of the records and Belle's ear ointment with them. I don't think they could find evidence of an upper respiratory infection in Alfie. Belle is also heartworm negative. No preventative was sent with them from their original place in Mobile, so that will need to be gotten for them.�
Tonight we went to pick up Samson for ten-day dog-sitting. I brought a doggie biscuit to bribe Keely in case she got scared of Samson. When the two dogs met at the front door, Keely held the cookie in her mouth while Samson was happy and walking around sniffing her a bit. After we got inside, Samson continued to sniff Keely here and there, then Keely growled and/or showed her teeth (I didn't have anymore dog treats by this time). After about three times, Samson learned his lesson and left Keely alone. But Keely never barked at Samson so that was good. After we got to my apartment, I gave them more of the Springer biscuits I made.
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And here�s Samson sleeping on Keely�s bed. |
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All three lying down quietly in the bedroom. Keely would rub her back on the carpet after she eats her meals. Before I thought maybe she�s trying to get rid of some smell. Right now I�m reading Stanley Coren�s �How to Speak Dog� book, and it says dogs do that when they are happy, often after meals. So I guess Keely�s just happy after eating. Glad to know she enjoys her food. Coren also devoted an entire chapter about �Tail Talk�. Most Springers have, of course, docked tails. Even Coren said it�s kind of cute to see those stubby tails in sporting dogs. However, he admits that it�s hard for humans, and for dogs too, to tell a dog�s emotion when the tail�s docked, not to mention in many of the cases, there is really no need to dock the dog�s tail, except purely for aesthetic reason. Regarding sporting breeds� tail, he said that some breeds, like Labrador Retrievers, their tails are thick and strong; whereas tails of Springers, if left undocked, then the tail would be thin, especially at the end (like Keely�s tail). He said, so the reason to automatically dock the tail of a Springer, and not of a Lab, is because the thin tail would get injured easily when the dog is running through the woods during a hunt, and an emergency tail docking is more dangerous. Keely doesn�t hunt at all, so I guess there�s no such worry for her, and I actually kind of like her full tail, it�s so much easier for me to tell that she gets fear aggressive, and not dominant aggressive, by looking at her tail when she�s growling at other dogs in public. |
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Keely did growl at several occasions when Samson was standing in the middle of the hallway and Keely was afraid to walk across him. I think she growls whenever she feels "trapped". Also she would growl when Samson displayed a dominant posture, but he did not do it intentionally, just happened that the posture at the time was the same as dominant posture. I don't think she's dominant over Samson, just a little scared. Actually I think Samson might be the more dominant of the two; anyways, he's definitely the more outgoing one. But pretty much Samson left her alone and watched the cat instead. Interestingly, Samson decided to sleep in the livingroom on his bed, next to my bed, with Keely's bed on the other side of my bed. He did not stare at the cat all night, even with the doors open, like he used to do. Here�s Keely trying out Samson�s bed. |
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Samson gets pretty close to Anastasia and just stares at her. |
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