Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Bon Jodi

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Here’s a little Bon Jodi to start your week off.  It’s sung to the tune of Livin’ On A Prayer by Bon Jovi.

Once upon a time
Not so long ago…..
 
Delilah loves to walk in the woods
The bugs are bad this year
We’re gettin’ eaten up…it’s not good, not good
Mama searched the web all day
Looking for a way to help keep the bugs at bay,
At bay
 
She says we gotta hang in, we must prevail
If it gets tough we’ve got to wag our tails
They can’t beat us because we’re tough as nails
We’ll switch to DEET if all else fails
 
CHORUS
Whooah, we will get there
Oh oh, we’re one tough pair
Grab the leash and we’ll make it I swear
Oh oh, we’re one tough pair
 

 We’re being eaten alive

We had a rainy, humid June and the bugs are out of control.  Despite spraying the dogs and myself every walk, we still get swarmed by the little……er..buggers.

Last Thursday after our walk I looked at Delilah and said, “WTF is on your face, do you have a tick?”

Sorry for the blurry photo, it's hard to hold her head and still take a photo.

Sorry for the blurry photo, it’s hard to hold her head and take a photo.

 

For those of you keeping score at home, she did not answer me.

Instead upon closer inspection I realized she’d been bitten by some kind of bug right in the corner of her eye.  I immediately text Jenny Juggs and asked what to do.  She suggested Benadryl which I gave to Delilah and within an hour or so you couldn’t see it anymore.

On Friday I made sure to pay special attention to the area on her face and she still came home with bites.  I gave her more Benadryl.

I thought maybe the bugs wouldn’t be so bad if we went earlier in the day.  Saturday morning instead of using the spray I use, I used bug lotion.  I thought I have better control with applying lotion, as opposed to spraying something near her eyes.

Still hard to get a photo.

Still hard to get a photo.

 

The bites were smaller this time, but she still had them and I noticed a few more on her nose.

Know Your Adversary

When talking with one of my friends she mentioned no-see-ums.  They are also known as midges and they are apparently resistant to most insect sprays.

I spent a lot of time this past weekend reading up on this nasty little pests.  Apparently certain people and animals have a chemical make-up that attracts these bugs.  Based upon our experiences in our woods, Delilah and I would fall into this category.

I also discovered these little biting bastards are similar to mosquitoes as they love the damp, wet, marshy areas, and when they find a feeding source, they send out a call to their comrades, “dinner’s here.” Because of all the rain we had, some of the lower areas in our woods have bits of standing water and mud.  Coincidentally these are the trails where we normally walk.

There have actually been times where Delilah has stopped and used her paw to scrape something bothering her.  I felt bad, here I am walking my dog (something she truly enjoys) and yet I’m exposing her to biting bugs and pumping her full of Benadryl when we get home.  I set out to change this.

Yesterday I used the bug repellant lotion, Skin so Soft (Avon) and I changed our route.  We avoided the low-lying areas where we normally walk and stuck to the field and the trails where there was no water.

Yesterday was the first time in four days where I didn’t have to give her Benadryl when we got home.  I couldn’t see any bites on her face. AT ALL.

The problem is, I’m not sure what worked.

So today, we’ll stick to the same trail schedule and I’ll use my bug spray/lotion and see what happens.  Fingers crossed we stay bite free today too.

Do you have a problem with bugs where you walk?  Are there any natural products you use to help repel the bugs?

Follow-Up Friday – June 28, 2013

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Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday (FUF) the blog hop that let’s you wrap up your week and leads you right into the weekend.

This week my co-hostess is JoAnn from Sand Spring Cheseapeakes, thank you JoAnn and welcome.  If you haven’t check Sand Spring Chesapeakes out yet, hop on over.  She has four (yes 4!) Chesapeake Bay Retrievers and has recently added MK (Marsh Kitty) to her household.  MK’s story is a sad but sweet story with both joy and sorrow involved.  JoAnn’s clarity as to why MK came into her life just astounds me.

Get Your Hustle On

Boy the comments I got about the ages of dogs and what constitutes a senior.  Don’t shoot the messenger peeps, I’m just relaying what I’m told.  Based upon my dog’s ages and breed, they are both considered senior.  If you’d like to know if your dog is considered a senior, check out this handy age converter.

I can assure you, I do not consider my dogs to be seniors.

You may have noticed in yesterday’s post we were awarded the “Walking Warriors Award” from K-9 Kamp.

Thank you to Kol's Notes and Peggy's Pet Place for hosting K-9 Kamp.

Thank you to Kol’s Notes and Peggy’s Pet Place for hosting K-9 Kamp.

 

I love the name of this award but when I was chatting with Jodi, she let slip we almost got the “way to find a loophole award.”  Dude, I would have loved that one too.

You Make Me Laugh

This comment from Frankie and Ernie made ME laugh, “We have them TUNED… Mine (Frankie Furter) are always F Sharps… and Ernie’s are E Flats. BOTH are grrrreat fur making mom and dad SQUEAL with Delight.”

Delilah is actually the first dog I’ve ever heard fart.  And her reaction makes it funnier.

One, Two

Sue said, “Hmm… I’d be worried about disease if the dogs got too close to those foxes!

Don’t think it hasn’t crossed my mind.  That and what if they’re rabid?

Did you read Kirsten’s comment? “Yesterday’s experience took the cake though, on our evening walk we came across a deer who actually stood her ground, reared up, and attacked Lady!”

Holy crap!!  I’d probably pull out my pepper blaster and give that deer a snootful!

Jen stated there were a number of wild animals in there park “and cornish game hen fat squirrels in the library’s park. They come up to you and beg like little dogs; I’ve considered clicker training one or more of them for the lolz.”

My dear, I would pay to see that. 😉

Jessica asked, “Surely the fox would run from dogs as big as Sampson and Delilah?”

GOD I hope so.  If not, they’ll be running from me and my .22!

JoAnn asked, “Wow a couple of foxes, do you live in the city?

No, we are not in a big city.  We live in a town of about 30,000, but our neighborhood is in a very woodsy section of town.

Basil said, “Maybe you can talk fox as well as you talk deer and you will have nothing to worry about?!”

Well we don’t know that yet Basil and no, your typist did not confuse me with someone else. 🙂

Penny For Your Thoughts

You guys, on top of the sadness of two of our friends losing their furry ones, Penny’s story just about kills me.  I look at her face and I see the worry in her eyes and I just want to fix it, you know?

Looking at her sweet face just about breaks my heart.

Looking at her sweet face just about breaks my heart.

 

Julie said, “Stories like Penelope’s break my heart – what kind of heartless person disposes of their senior dog because it is inconvenient?”

Sage said, “How can people be so cruel?”

Snoopy said, “Penelope’s story made my Mum cry, how can people do that?”

I don’t know, I just don’t know.  But it breaks my heart too.

Jessica said, “Our city shelter runs a fantastic program to pair senior dogs with senior citizens–very low adoption fees, and assistance with the dog’s medical bills. The lower-energy dogs are better company than a rowdy puppy. I wish it were more common.”

I love this idea.  I wonder how I could get something like this started?

Donna said, “You. Are. Killing. Me. I need a bigger house. And maybe some lotto winnings…!”

Me too my friend, me too.

Urban Hounds said, “I worry constantly about the time I have left with my old dogs, not an evening passes that I dont think about the fact that another day with them is over.”

You and me both.  I could literally turn into a puddle thinking about losing my dogs.  If I ever had to cry on cue, I would think about that.  It puts me over the edge.

Delilah Likes to Roll in Smelly Things

Holy Helen, if you want to read some funny stuff, go back and read the comments on this one.  I cracked up more than once.

I had to single this one by Frankie and Ernie out, “there was that ONE time… when we had company and I (Frankie Furter) came walking out… wearing one of mom’s Flopper Stoppers.”

I’m guessing what a Flopper Stopper is and picturing it in my mind.

I am laughing.

This is the Follow-Up Friday Blog Hop hosted by Sand Spring Chesapeakes and Heart Like a Dog.



One, Two

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One, two foxes at my front door, that’s what I said now

Foxes, foxes who ignore you, they run ahead now

Sorry for the Spin Doctors reference, it just popped into my head.  And now, it’s stuck in yours.  You’re welcome.

Hubby made to step out the door Friday night intent on putting the doors on his jeep.  Sampson was right behind him, when he said, “There are two foxes out here.”

Photo courtesy of Free Fox pictures

Photo courtesy of Free Fox pictures

Isn’t this adorbs?  Yes, I want one.

Immediately I said, “Well he can’t go out then.”

Sampson said, “Woof, woof, whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine” which is Retriever for, “Let me at that Schiznit.”

Then Delilah joined the party.  When they were denied access to the front yard, they raced out the back, but the fox were too fast.  Once they saw Hubby they high-tailed it out of our yard and into the neighbor’s yard.

The next day Sampson sniffed the yard methodically, I think he was trying to figure out whose dog it was.

They were here, I can smell them, but they're gone now.

They were here, I can smell them, but they’re gone now.  Drats, foiled again!

 

We have seen wildlife around the area.  We’ve seen deer and wild turkeys.  We’ve been told there are fishers and coyotes but we’ve never seen them.  And we’ve never had a fox in the yard before.   It makes me a tad bit nervous, only because I worry about them getting into the fence and one of the dogs getting into an altercation with it. (Like the time we had the deer in the yard.)

What types of wildlife do you have in your area?  Are they bold enough to step into your yard? Do you worry about your pets getting into the animal version of a pissing contest?

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