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Follow-Up Friday – June 24, 2016

June 24, 2016 By Jodi

Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday, the post where I highlight reader’s comments, answer questions and generally just wrap up my week.

You Make Me Smile – June 19, 2016

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Meagan Maher said, “Merlin likes to sniff grills and tyres too. He doesn’t pee on the tyres, just squats next to it. He also backs into trees and then squats.”

Does he pee when he squats? Or does he just squat? Delilah sometimes LIFTS her leg to pee on trees. LOL

Emma said, “Oh you guys read my mind! My first thought when I saw the photo was a nose work dog.”

You’d think she was looking for a hide, wouldn’t you? 😉

Sue said, “Interesting where she’s sniffing! My crew always sniff the tires … probably hoping for the scent of roadkill?”

She sniffs tires too. And the wheel wells. But this time, it was all the front.

Cupcake said, “I sniff an occasional car, mostly near the driver’s door (NOT professionally like Emma). Mom suspects it’s McDonald’s-related.”

Alexa88 said, “lily is a ground sniffer mostly. at the park she sniffs bushes and trees for messages from other dogs. leaves a few of her own in reply…jodi, have thought of you and your family often through out this week.”

Both my guys are ground sniffers as well. Thanks for thinking of us Alexa, we appreciate it.

Jan K said, “No car sniffers here. Delilah is just figuring out where those cars have been – she knows which ones came from nice places like New Hampshire!”

Well your comment gave me an idea, so I started watching WHICH cars she was sniffing. Like are they all from out of state, but no. There doesn’t seem to be a method to this, although who knows what goes on in that chocolate brain of hers.

Monika and Sam said, “Sam will sniff tires on ocassion-maybe it’s actually ‘special’ pee-mail and Twitter feeds showing up in unexpected spots. The OES’s however remembered every. single. cat. that went under cars in the ‘hood and therefore had to be NCIS’ed every. time. we. passed. They were true detectives, Sam however is just a pee-graffiti artist. 😉”

Hahaha, Sampson remembers where he saw people or animals too and always gets excited as we approach them. Silly dogs.

Jen Gabbard said, “I wonder if there’s some rodents camping out. Laika gets obsessed with certain cars as well, and one time as she was sniffing around the tail pipe we saw a mouse scatter away. Scared the shit out of me & of course made Laika even more determined to inspect every damn car for for weeks.

Holy crap. I never thought of that. Gah, whatever it is, I hope it’s small. Two weeks ago there was a chipmunk in the road. In. the. road. Just sitting there as still as could be. (I’ll have to post that photo because Delilah really wanted an up close and personal.) Any time something moves at me, no matter how small, I WILL scream like a girl. One time at our old house I opened the cabinet at like 5:00 am, (with only a night light on, mind you) to get a cup for coffee and a teeny, tiny spider smaller than the head of a pin charged me. At eye level. I won’t even tell you how long I screamed for or how long the hair on my body stood on end. 😉

Close Encounters of the Feline Kind

Stop watching Merida Kitty, you do realize she has a bow and arrow on her side, don't you?

Stop watching Merida Kitty, you do realize she has a bow and arrow on her side, don’t you?

Monika and Sam said, “You know, I thought I was the only person who thought that cats seem to flip off dogs that aren’t all that keen on them with their little paws. I mean, they sashay around just out of reach and flip their tails like some sort of Burlesque routine all the while giving some poor upright heart failure (or worse) trying to corral what seems like 300 lbs. of sheer power and force trying to get at said cat.”

RIGHT?!?! It’s not just the cats in my neighborhood either! The squirrels and chipmunks are just as bad. I think they’ve all lost their little critter minds.

2 Brown Dawgs said, “Luckily we do not have any kitties in our neighborhood. We have bunnies. They are trouble too.”

Ah yes, we’ve run across one or two of those as well. Most of the time if they are super still my dogs don’t see them, but I do. We even had a groundhog run across our path once. That was a first.

Mary Hone said, “Cats, the bane of every dog and dog owner. I think they KNOW, they are causing trouble and act all innocent.”

I think you might be right. Cats are a unique breed…

Beth said, “Barley is usually pretty good about cats, but when she does show interest, I just remind her, “You have one of those at home. Leave it” and she trots right back along with me. There’s one bold kitten in our new neighborhood, though, that charged across the street and started going down the sidewalk straight towards us. I thought for sure it would turn around or veer off into a yard, but it just kept coming. Barley was so surprised for a cat to run at her like that that she had no idea what to do and just kind of yipped–and then the cat went into the yard.”

Sometimes I talk to them. “Have you lost your mind? You DO realize this dog is ginormous, don’t you? Run, run away you stupid cat.” My favorite is the squirrels, “You better run squirrel.” Bonus points to anyone that can tell me what movie that quote is from.

Emma said, “We would like to chase cats outside too, but cats are fairly boring and we prefer squirrels and wabbits. That being said, Bailie is trained to chase down and capture cat bro Bert. If he is in our dog food bowls, she may get him, and if he runs out the back door into the yard Mom says “get the kitty”. Bailie then races out after him, tackles him, and hold him down until Mom gets there. Bert is fine with it all. Those two are buddies.”

A ha ha, I love that Bailie can catch Bert, that’s some skill to have!

Jan said, “There is a cat that once chased the five of us away from their house. I have never returned to that neighborhood. I was tempted to drop the leashes and let the dogs have their way with the cat, but was more afraid that the cat would beat them up.”

Ugh, so tempted too! I’m also concerned that one of them would get hit by a car too. But I am tempted some days, sorely tempted.

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom said, “The only cat in our ‘hood belongs next door. Occasionally, when the girls are inside, I’ll see him in our backyard. As long as he’s not bothering the nesting boxes, I’ll leave him alone. But if he disturbs “my” birdies, I go out and chase him out of the yard myself.”

As long as you’re not running and barking at the cat. 😉

Blueberry’s Human said, “It’s a funny thing…ever since I have had Pistachio (since March I think) – Blueberry has had almost zero cat encounters in the backyard. Although, Blueberry did manage to catch and kill a bird yesterday…but not before it had a chance to peck her and draw blood within a quarter inch of her eye ball. I’d hate to think of the damage that would be inflicted on her if she caught a cat. (PS – I didn’t sit there watching her murder a bird. She came into the house with blood near her eye and later on, I found the dead bird and put two and two together. I’m crazy, not cruel.)”

Oh Lord. Blueberry, whatever will your mom do with you? Glad she wasn’t siriusly injured and yes, I do know you aren’t cruel, just crazy. 😉

Jen Gabbard said, “Dude some cats are assholes and like to mess with dogs, I swear. We have this idiotic black & white cat whose favorite place to lounge is outside our sliding glass door in front of Laika. And yes it’s pure chaos the entire time. I’m pretty sure that cat is going to give my dog a heart attack one of these days when she wakes up from napping herself just to see a big old cat that close by.”

Right? What the hell is wrong with that cat? The chippies do that to Delilah, stand right outside her window. One of these days she’s going to get the drop on one and then I have no idea how that will shake out. You need an air horn. 😉

Delilah’s Annual Check-Up

No I'm not part cow, I just like grass. Thank you very much.

No I’m not part cow, I just like grass. Thank you very much.

Emma said, “I now get the senior panel done.”

I’m not sure I know what a senior panel is Emma.

Rebekah said, “It’s good to know about grass being sweet this time of year, because I have noticed two of mine munching on grass as well, when they don’t normally do so.”

I wondered about it, because she is very particular about which grass she eats, so there must be something to that theory.

Taryn said, “At their ages, I no longer do vaccinations other than the legally required Rabies.”

Exactly. Except because where we live with all the raccoons and stuff, our vet recommends the Leptospirosis, if we lived in a differed area, maybe we wouldn’t get that either.

Well that’s it for me folks, but before I close I’d like to know if anyone is having trouble commenting? One of my out of the states friends is having trouble and I’m wondering if it’s WP or something else. 

That being said, if you CANNOT comment, please use the form on the contact page to let me know, or send me a message on Facebook. Thanks Meagan for hanging in there!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Filed Under: Follow-Up Friday Tagged With: Follow-Up Friday

Delilah’s Annual Check-Up

June 23, 2016 By Jodi

Last Thursday I took Delilah in for her annual check-up. As a senior dog, she should probably go in every six months, but considering what a worrier I am, my dogs typically see the vet at least three times per year.

Still this was the BIG one, the one where we talk about subtle health changes, vaccinations, food, supplements, etc.

To start off, Delilah hopped on the scale where she weighed in at 71 pounds. This is up slightly, by about one pound, from her last weigh in. I’m not sure what this is attributed to, because we are walking just as much as we always have. It could just be her metabolism slowing down, she is 10 1/2 after all.

We discussed the type of food she’s on, (raw) and the importance of rotating her proteins. Currently they go three days with two proteins (one at night and one in the morning) and then we change proteins for the next three days and continue on in that fashion. Dr. Soutter agreed that rotating proteins is the way to go.

Then we spoke about her exercise. She currently gets two walks per day, averaging close to 2 to 2/1 miles total. She would absolutely walk longer, but morning time is at a premium and lately it’s been so hot in the afternoon I don’t want to over do her.

We discussed the supplements I have her on, which are very limited. She takes a multi-vitamin recommended by my vet, her thyroid pill, a liver support supplement, a low dose of natural estrogen and just for shits and giggles, I give her 1/2 the recommended dosage of green lipid mussel.

Before physically examining her, my vet asked if I had any concerns. Well they aren’t exactly concerns, but I have made a couple of observations. 1) Delilah now likes to go outside and lie in the sun when I get home from work, 2) she is sleeping a lot more than she used to. Times once were that you couldn’t do anything without Delilah right under foot, and she still is a good portion of the time, except there are actually times when I’m in the kitchen and even though she’s with me, she’s….gasp…sleeping! I know, I know.

Oh and there was one more thing, lately she’s been munching on grass; which Dr. Soutter said, this time of year the grass is sweet. Which seems to be pretty accurate, as Delilah is particular about which grasses she eats.

No I'm not part cow, I just like grass. Thank you very much.

No I’m not part cow, I just like grass. Thank you very much.

The physical exam didn’t indicate anything to suggest there was anything going on that we should be concerned about, so we then went ahead with a blood draw to check for Heartworm, tick-borne diseases and of course, those liver levels that haven’t been checked in a while.

For those who maybe new to the blog, two years ago at a routine exam, we discovered Delilah’s ALT levels were high. After an ultrasound which showed her liver appeared to be the right size, shape and texture, we opted not to do a biopsy. Our vet feels that Delilah has hepatitis but it can’t be confirmed without a biopsy. You can read more about it HERE.)

Delilah was also due for her annual Leptospirosis vaccine (she had her rabies vaccine last year) so we went ahead and got that.

While Dr. Soutter was writing up her notes, there was the loud sound of two dogs having a kerfuffle in the lobby. Delilah stiffened up, head erect listening.

Dr. Soutter said, “She’s trying to decide if she needs to intervene.” We laughed because it’s typical Delilah, she always has to be right in the middle of everything.

When we got to the check out to settle the bill, Delilah stood right up on her hind legs and checked out the treat jar. Dr. Soutter said, “I’m pretty sure she’s not having any issues with those back legs.”

Chocolate Lab counter surfs

Similar to this, except the counter was higher.

Friday Dr. Soutter called to tell me Heartworm was negative, tick-borne was negative and her ALT (liver level) was at 220. Now 220 is in the ‘high’ stage, but it’s at the low end of the high stage, so as long as we can keep her levels from skyrocketing, we’re doing okay.

I’ve just gone back and read the Caring Critter’s post regarding the elevated liver levels and her original levels were at 238. So as far as I’m concerned we’re doing good, but I noticed there were some supplements she was getting then, that she’s not getting now, so it’s something to consider.

All in all though, I’m pretty happy with the visit. Except for the bill. Yeah, with all the supplements and meds I stocked up on, I got a pretty hefty bill.

If I had any doubts about how Delilah’s feeling, she put that to rest yesterday morning, when she pulled a container full of meat flavored water out of the sink. The sink which is fully as high as that stove.

Oh Delilah!

What types of things do you have your vet check for?

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Filed Under: Health Related Tagged With: Delilah, Health

Close Encounters of the Feline Kind

June 21, 2016 By Jodi

Some of you may recall we have a cat that lives two houses over.

The first time I noticed the cat was when it was still just a small kitten.  I was really surprised to see the kitten outside, considering all the wildlife in our area, but the kitten was in its own yard, and while it didn’t exactly bother us…it did make for an interesting walk, once Delilah saw it. (You can read that story HERE.)

King of all he surveys.

He was such a little guy!

The next time we encountered the cat, it was up close and personal. That was the day that Delilah chased the cat up the tree, where it sat all night lawn causing me all kinds of angst. (You can read that story HERE.)

Cat stuck in tree

The colors are lovely, but I felt bad for the kitty.

After our third encounter, I wrote the silly cat a letter. (You can read the letter, HERE.) Most of you found it amusing (as it was intended to be) because I would never, ever let my dogs loose to chase a cat. 1) I’d be afraid that my dogs wouldn’t stop chasing and I’d lose them. 2) I’d be concerned that they’d have a real close encounter with the cat and end up injured and 3) it’s just plain mean and I don’t roll that way.

Delilah likes chasing cats

I like cats.

Since the encounters I’ve written about there’s been two more instances where we’ve had closer encounters with this particular cat. The first incident since the post Dear Kitty letter, happened when Sampson and I were coming back from our walk. Kitty was in our yard and as we turned the corner into the driveway Sampson spotted him. Sampson is a very strong dog and even with his injury (which makes it that much more important to not let him run) he’s difficult to keep under control when something excites him. Thankfully Kitty heeded the warning and ran over to hide behind a tree to watch us. (Newsflash Kitty, that tree is coming down so you better find another hiding spot!) Sampson of course sniffed the driveway over and wanted to climb the hill to find the cat, but we managed to get inside the house.

Then came last Friday. Apparently Kitty decided my driveway is a nice spot to lie down in. The spot he chose gave Sampson a perfect viewing spot, of the cat. It would have given me the same advantage had I been looking. But I wasn’t.

No, I was more concerned with the webs that were hitting me in the face, so like I do every morning, I opened the gate.

Typically when either one of my dogs spots something they give a clear alert signal. I’m sure Sampson did this particular morning, but again, I wasn’t paying attention.

Instead, I opened the gate, and turned around to close it and that’s when Sampson started barking at the cat.

All I can say is thank Dog I was holding onto the gate, because the lunge that Sampson took, coupled with the fact that we were at the top of a small incline, could have been disastrous.  However, what added even more mayhem to the incident was the fact that I had left the back door open, so Delilah could go out and do HER business.

Of course, when she heard the commotion at the gate, she came barreling around the corner of the house.

There I was, 90 pounds of injured, but still strong dog trying to rip my arm out of its socket, while I stared down 70 pounds of brown fury.

What happened next was mind boggling.  WHY am I not wearing that GoPro? WHY?

We have a retaining wall on that side of the house. Because Sampson is not allowed to be doing any running, Hubby has placed some fallen branches across the lowest spot of the wall. It is enough to deter Sampson, because he has never been a jumper. But for our resident Diva, a wall is a minor inconvenience.

So there I am standing at the gate, watching Delilah barrel towards me and bracing my body for the impact. Right at the last second, she snaps to her right, and without missing a beat, runs up the hill and does a loop around the back yard.

I snapped the gate closed, and maneuvered Sampson down the driveway. Per his usual, Mr. Kitty had darted for cover in the trees/bushes at the side of the driveway.

Stop watching Merida Kitty, you do realize she has a bow and arrow on her side, don't you?

Stop watching Merida Kitty, you do realize she has a bow and arrow on her side, don’t you?

Do you have any bold and brazen cats in your neighborhood? How do you manage your dogs around cats?

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Filed Under: Humor Tagged With: Delilah, Life With Sampson And Delilah, Sampson

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About Jodi

jodiHi, my name is Jodi. Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog! I have all kinds of fun writing about my two crazy pups, Sampson and Delilah. Find out more!

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