Catching up with the girls

It feels like a long time since my last post. And it really was a long time!

How have our doggies been doing? Quite fine, actually.

 

Aschiuta, the picky eater?

I jokingly say that Aschiuta is a goat. She eats things you wouldn't think a dog would enjoy. She eats fruit, such as apples or bananas and also pieces of bell peppers or even cucumber peelings! Yes, our little goat crunches them as if they were the tastiest treats.

But lately, Aschiuta has started to be a bit picky about food. Maybe she just doesn't enjoy Acana much. But there is one trick to convincing her to eat her kibble.

What do you mean, diet kibble?!

 

I give both Aschiuta and Nightmare some yoghurt or sour cream each day, since it is the best way to administer Nightmare's medication. For some reason, Aschiuta first goes to her bowl and pushes the kibble around with her nose instead of eating it. It took me a while to catch on, but it seems she is actually trying to stir the kibble around and coat it with the dairy. Sometimes, she even walks away without eating. When I realised what she was trying to do, I stirred her kibble myself before serving it to her. Bowl licked clean!

 

Nightmare, figure skater!

Nightmare's seizures have stopped since she started taking the epilepsy medication every day. Phew! But she still has some issues with coordination sometimes, especially after just waking up.

I think the shiny flooring doesn't help either... We have laminate wood and tile flooring; even I slide around in the kitchen as if I were a child on the icy roads during winter. But Nightmare also overdoes everything. You could say that her enthusiasm is always one step ahead of her and her feet (and bottom) are trying to catch up.

She jumps on the couch and over the little table and runs up and down the stairs, she is a real whirl. She just sometimes skid or slip and lands on a belly flop, the poor girl. Even yesterday she missed the couch and landed on the floor, knocking one of the wheels off the little table. I found one of the pieces across the room!

She is fine walking normally on non-slippery ground, but she can be a real figure skater in the house. What a figure!

She likes to sleep up on the radiator. But if she rolls over in her sleep she tumbles down on the couch!

The runs!

Sorry for not writing in a while, we do have some catching up to do. Let me tell you about Aschiuta's tummy problems...

I think it was last spring or summer when we had to go away without the dogs. When that happens, we leave them at a dog hotel that we had been leaving Aschiuta at before. The owner is a vet and Aschiuta had always been very comfortable there. He even spayed her.

But this time, the vet didn't have time to take care of the dog hotel full time himself like he did before, so he didn't take in many guests. But since we were repeat clients and he was fond of Aschiuta, he took the girls in.

One of the sad parts of dog hotels is that some owners drop their dogs there and never go back for them. The vet was kind hearted though and kept those dogs along, as permanent guests. So there were a lot of barks when we dropped the girls off.

Since the vet was very busy, the caretaker, who was an older man (I think it was his father) was going to take care of Aschiuta and Nightmare as well. We dropped some food, toys and a couple of blankets and left the doggies at the hotel.

Nightmare was also to be spayed during that time. She recovered ok, however she did have a small bump around the stitches which was solved with antibiotics. At this point, our usual vet believed there should be a longer period of antibiotics than the dog hotel vet.

All in all, when we returned, we picked up the doggies. I'm not sure (here is where writing about this sooner would have helped), but I think they did say Aschiuta had softer stools and to take care of that.

And indeed, Aschiuta had a very upset tummy and very loose and frequent stools. We had to run out every couple of hours and sometimes she didn't even manage to reach our usual bushes. We were still living in the old apartment back then, so I did my share of cleaning the building staircase and even outside on the alley pavement. Poor little one!

We phoned the vet at the hotel and he did say that the dogs had received some other kind of food after the one we brought had run out. But it was decent quality food that all the dogs ate without issues. But Aschiuta is a bit more sensitive.

We also called our regular vet and he prescribed Smecta, which is a medicine used to treat diarrhoea in humans. He said to put the medicine in her water and make her drink. She drank some of it (it was the vanilla flavoured kind) and I must say it actually worked. She got better very soon after. I think this whole ordeal lasted a couple of days and I was desperate. It is a good thing that she didn't have any other symptoms. Talk about a miracle cure! And I definitely don't believe in that sort of stuff.

Our vet sure has a few tricks up his sleeve. He has also prescribed activated charcoal (also a brand for humans) when I was afraid the doggies had swallowed some raisins. You must know that grapes and raisins should not be given to dogs. Some dogs eat several without issues, while others have serious problems because of just one. Luckily, our poochies hadn't actually eaten any. I also gave Aschiuta charcoal when she ran away from home and dumpster dove around the supermarket nearby. Just for precaution, the charcoal is supposed to absorb any bad chemicals my crazy pooch must have eaten.

I didn't eat nuttin'!

I hope you have such attentive and resourceful vets too and may you and your pets stay healthy!

Social issues

How are Aschiuta and Nightmare getting along? Oh, just fine. Aschiuta is Nightmare's best friend, only Aschiuta doesn't know it.

Introducing Nightmare to Aschiuta

Aschiuta had always been an only pet and she was also somewhat spoiled (yes, our fault). She had also started to fight easily with other dogs, which is why she hasn't been able to socialise much.

When Nightmare first came in our home, she was kept in the kitchen and Aschiuta in the living room. We knew that if they got to meet, all hell might break loose. We worked from home as much as we could those days, to help them accommodate.

My husband made a sort of barrier in the living room doorway out of a chair, boxes and a clothes dryer so the dogs could see each other, but not make actual contact. Things were ok so we moved to the next step. Nightmare's first visit to the living room.

We were of course both there, with treats for everyone. Aschiuta was the queen of the bed, so she would need to understand that Nightmare was welcome there as well. Little by little, they eventually both ended up on the bed, getting pets and treats from us.

It took quite a few visits like this until they could both get along without supervision. Aschiuta also visited the kitchen where Nightmare was living. She even tried to steal her food, which we discouraged. I will admit, I sometimes gave them different kibble and that might have sparked some fights, but they eventually understood that each has her own bowls and they would get the same food and the same treats.

The dog fights

There have been fights unfortunately. Some just because Aschiuta was angry about Nightmare for some reason, some for territory dominance and some for treats. Something we hadn't noticed at first was that Nightmare would try to store her treats away somewhere instead of eating them on the spot. Aschiuta would then find the treats and fight Nightmare for them.

The fights never left any serious damage. I think they mostly barked and tried to lightly nick each other's faces. We were always there to break off the fights, holding them both at arm's length by the nape until they calmed down. I think their fights hurt me more than it hurt them. Lately, the fights have been very rare and we are happy for that. We also always make sure Nightmare eats her treats, rather than trying to hide them in my potted plants.

Getting along

We are happy to say that they now get along quite well, Nightmare still gets Aschiuta annoyed when she is too jumpy and Aschiuta doesn't like to play with Nightmare much, but they are definitely on the right track.

Sharing the couch

Car safety for furry passengers

I mentioned car safety accessories in my last post. Traveling can be stressful enough as it is for pets, but we also need to think of their safety. I will talk here about accommodations for dogs to travel by car, since we haven't needed much extra protection when going by train and we have not been on a plane or boat yet with our poochies.

Welcome dear furry passengers! Please buckle your seat belts and keep all your paws and noses inside the vehicle at all times!

Seat belt for dogs? Yes, they exist and we have two of them and use them every time we take our dogs for a car ride. They are pretty simple to use. One side plugs into the car seat belt buckle, the other is a clasp to attach to the harness of the dog.

We always keep two of these handy in our car.*

It is important to use a harness instead of a collar, since in the case of an accident the impact could be quite forceful and harm the dog's neck. The harness distributes the force better. I also saw some vests that can work instead of the usual harness, those seem much more comfortable. Of course, they should only travel in the back seat.

I have also seen some sort of harness seat belts for dogs, similar to the ones used in toddlers' car seats. The dog is strapped in completely, almost standing on its hind legs, with its back against the back seat backrest. It looks very safe, however I doubt Nightmare (or even Aschiuta) would be very comfortable in one, sine they are a bit bigger than your average toddler...

Now, regarding keeping your noses in the vehicle... A lot of people seem to think it is fine to let their dogs take their heads out the window, but that is very dangerous. Better just to be safely strapped in the back seat. Here is an article that explains some of the dangers of doggies sticking their heads out the car window.

Protecting those leather seats from scratches, fur, drool etc...

I have mentioned before that Aschiuta has had problems with being car sick before and still is from time to time. We usually took care of this by having one person sit in the back seat with her, with plastic bag and wet wipes at the ready, watching her every drool.

This was until my husband found something interesting in the pet shop... a dog car hammock. It is a protective cover that is also water proof that covers the entire back seat area and straps to the headrests and upper handles. It also has velcro openings for accessing the seat belt slots. We don't have leather seats, but they are certainly cleaner this way!

The metal cage?

I honestly do not like these, although I have seen them used by one of our vets when transporting Aschiuta to the dog hotel. They are usually kept in the luggage area of small vans, where there is more room and the cages themselves are well anchored. The dog is quite safe inside, but not too comfortable and since it will be all alone, not very happy either.



Well, whichever method works best for you and your pooch, remember to stay safe!

* Sorry for not having actual photos of what we bought, but these are pictures from the store where we bought them from. My babble is not sponsored in any way.

Our new furry neighbour... with a right hook!

For a couple of months now, a tabby cat has been living in the stairway of our block of flats.

It (I really have not checked for the gender) does not seem to belong to anyone, but is happy to nap quietly on people's doormats or on the stairs themselves. Luckily, nobody has hurt the cat and there are always two small containers full of food and water at the entrance downstairs. The cat itself is very friendly and often purrs when I pet it.

If you were wondering how Aschiuta has been getting along with our new furry friend, I will begin by telling you that we often go to Brasov, the city where my mother-in-law lives. Aschiuta always goes with us, since she is always welcome there. But my mother-in-law also has two cats, both quite shy. And, according to my experience, shy cats can be aggressive when scared, so we keep the cats and pooch in separate rooms at all times to avoid any conflicts.

Aschiuta has also had a few "close encounters" with a couple of cats, some of which have left her with a small scratch on her nose. But of course, she does not learn and is always curious about these smaller creatures that have ears similar to hers (but not of the same magnitude).

Our new tabby neighbour is no exception and Aschiuta almost always tries to catch a sniff of the cat.

The first meeting was as expected, poochie poked her nose into the kittie's business and the kitty gave her the right hook (the boxing kind). I decided that these two needed to make friends, so I always let Aschiuta get carefully closer, so as not to scare the cat. Gradually, they got used to each other, to the point where they both lean in to catch a sniff of each other, their noses almost touching. And then Aschiuta hops up in a dance of glee and the kitty readies the right hook, which is where I have to drag the crazy pooch away before she gets hurt.

Tonight I tried to get a photo, but none of them was interested in posing for me, no matter how nicely I asked them. As soon as I put the phone away, they get close for one of their sniffs. Figures... they are only being cute when they are not being photographed. But I was stubborn, so I managed to get one almost cute shot of them. Almost. Maybe next time...

Saying hello, like good little neighbours

Kisses and huggies

She comes up next to us on the bed, makes a few pirouettes to make sure the spot is perfect and rolls into a ball. The usual napping position. And she heaves a sigh that says "I am comfy and happy now."

She is disturbed before she can nod off to the land of dreams by a couple of soft touches on her back.

But the back is not the best spot for petting. She unfurls and rolls on her back, waiting for the much more pleasant belly and chest rubs. The hand complies and gently strokes the light fur a few times. But the owner of the hand eventually gets distracted and the rubs stop. The arm is lifting.

The spoiled little dog does not allow this slip in the petting programme, so she wraps both her paws around the wrist, hugging it to her chest. Her eyes sparkle "You're mine now. Don't think you can get away with just a couple of rubs. Keep them coming!"

There is no escaping now

Scarface

Arr! The pooch has gone out to sea, trying her luck at becoming a pirate. She even fought in a vicious sea battle that gave her a new nickname for a while, Scarface.

How did that happen? Did she come out of it victorious? Was there any treasure?

It all started with a short trip to the seaside with some friends, where we also took little Aschiuta. Now this was last year and you will be happy to know that the pooch has no need for an eye-patch.

You must know that our pooch is not the kind of dog that can be off-leash, least of all on a crowded beach. She runs off to meet people with food, throw sand on towels and pick a fight with other dogs if there are any. So, we always keep the leash on her.

One time though, she was napping on the sand so nicely, that I assumed she would stay like that while I read a bit, so I let go of the leash. Poof! Poochie performed a disappearing act.

Very comfy pooch. Too comfy...

She ran off a few towels farther after a dog she saw behind us, which she began to quarrel with. You must also know that, although she seems vicious, she really doesn't hurt any of the dogs she fights with. But she also doesn't know that they can hurt her.

We ran after her and Scorpio managed to catch her and break the fight. The other dog was fine, but Aschiuta had a nasty scratch on her left upper eyelid that was bleeding slightly.

We of course picked up our things and, since we were in a small village with lots of fast food places but no vet (none that would be open on a weekend anyway), I made her some chamomile tea to at least try to disinfect the eye and we drove off for home. Why chamomile tea? Because I used to have frequent eye infections and the chamomile tea helped. There was an improvement in poochie's scratches too.

We quickly went to a vet and, after consulting her, said that only the inner lid was a bit grazed, but the eye was fine. She must have had the reflex of closing her eyes, phew. The doctor disinfected the wound, prescribed her some eye drops and sent us home.

This photo was taken a day or so after getting back home. She was squinting because of the camera flash.

For a few days, the left eye produced more tears and we were often wiping her eye, but slowly, it got better and now you can only see a very faint scar if you look very closely. Most of the hair and eyelash in that spot also grew back. We are very happy that she has recovered so well.

This was taken close to her birthday this year. You can barely see any scar.

I must say though, it was all my fault for letting go of the leash that day. I was careless and things could have been worse. I'm sorry, poochie!

Missing something...

There are some days when we feel like something is missing. We feel an emptiness that we can't seem to be able to fill with fun and games or food and drink.

Sometimes it doesn't bother us. Sometimes we just remember to feel it again, but it's always there. Or, actually, isn't there anymore.

I wonder if Aschiuta ever feels that way sometimes too. And she does have something to miss. Something quite important. Poochie is missing the possibility of ever becoming a mother.

Tucked in, with her collar on

She was looking towards me just now, a bit accusative. Then she put her head back on my legs. She doesn't miss it all the time.

How did this all happen? Well, around her birthday last year (awful present, isn't it?) we had an outing with the extended family and were out of town for the weekend.

We sent her away to the usual dog hotel, where we know she is always well taken care of.

We had been thinking about spaying her for a while already and, since the owner of the dog hotel is also a good vet, Scorp got the idea to ask him to give her the operation.

I assure you I slept very little the night after we decided to do that. Poor poochie would have too if she'd known what was coming.

I had always imagined that I would be there holding her paw throughout the procedure, but we knew she would be in good hands. And she would also get gas anesthesia, which has the least side effects.

We called the vet that evening and he told us she was fine and the operation had been a success. He also told us that we were lucky to have done it at that time, since apparently poochie had had a growth on one of her uterine tubes. He eventually took it all out and there were no complications. Phew! I guess it was a good birthday present after all.

We asked him to bring her back to us the same evening we returned from the outing. It was pouring and I remember they brought her back from the van with the cone on. She was happy to see us, of course, and we her.

I walked her home after the rain had stopped (remember, this was mid-May) and she kept bumping into things, poor girl. She seemed energetic, but she just wouldn't climb up the stairs to the first floor apartment where we live, so I had to carry her. Her tummy still hurt.

Plenty of rest is the key to a speedy recovery

We were alarmed when she peed a little blood the next day, so we told the vet. He came to check on her and gave her an injection, which she took bravely. The bleeding stopped soon, but I still went out with her with a wad of tissues to make her pee on them, just to check.

All in all, she made a full recovery and is now back to her happy self, as if nothing had happened. You can barely see the stitch scar too.

Hey, who knows, maybe she will adopt one day, if she can't have her own.

Paranormal experience

They say dogs have a 6th sense, that they can feel an earthquake coming or even sense ghosts. Could it be true? You decide for yourselves.

One day, Aschiuta was going about the house after me, when the front door caught her attention.

She sniffed, intrigued, and started cowering away towards the door. Something obviously troubled her, making her uneasy, almost scared.

I went to the door and listened. Nothing.

I looked through the viewer and couldn't see anything or anyone outside.

What was making her so nervous?

I kept my cool and decided to just go ahead and take her for a walk. She usually can't wait to go, but this time she was reluctant.

We were finally ready to go and I opened the door and saw what had made Poochie put her tail between her legs.

It was no scary ghost or boogieman. It was a tabby cat rolled up napping on our front door rug!

She was not scared at all, but let Aschiuta sniff her and even started purring.

Now they are good friends and seek each other for a sniff and some friendly sparring. No teeth or claws.

The moral of the story? Not all ghosts are all that scary.

An encounter of the "kitty" degree

On a much too tight leash

Perhaps you will remember that Aschiuta received a brand new extensible leash around last New Year.

The handle was green and it said Benny on it (which was rather curious) and it seemed really nice at first: very silent and could be retracted all the way in. The old one's cord had (finally) broken, after faithfully serving us for over three years.

I'm sad to say the new green leash has met its early end today. After breaking down little by little (Aschiuta tugs and pulls like no other), today the blocker button failed at the worst possible time.

I was out with Aschiuta when a Chow Chow (or an equally jolly orange teddy bear) sneaked up on us from behind. Aschiuta bolted after him and, knowing she has been a bit vicious with other dogs lately, I tried to restrain her and bring her back closer. How is this done? Usually, it is block-pull-unblock-wind-block and repeat until Aschiuta is close enough to be appeased.
 

Unfortunately, when I tried to pull, I hadn't realised that the block hadn't worked, so I carelessly grabbed the leash with my free hand. Bad idea, very bad. The leash slipped on my hand with the speed of a mad Aschiuta sprinting (and trust me, the only dog faster than her has been a greyhound) and I couldn't let go of it fast enough. First degree burns, ouchies!
 

I finally got to my senses and wrapped the leash around my arm (it wasn't retracting anymore either) and apologised to the owner of the dog and we went back home with the tails between our legs. The new leash was kaput! Scorpio tried to fix it, but the mechanism had broken inside, so there was no saving it.
 

We will have a brief moment of silence... and now to celebrate a new acquisition: the old leash! ^^ (Wait, what?!)

Oh, sorry, not the old leash, but an identical brand-new one. I must say I am very happy and Aschiuta too gave it an approving sniff (or was she just happy to go out after drinking too much water?). If the first leash of this kind lasted over three years, I hope this one outlives it.
 

The old, the fancy and the new

  

Plus, it's red and pink, poochie's colours. Well, you know. Her first harness was pink, her first leash, the short one, was red (monogrammed, thanks to Scorpio's stitching skills), then she got the first red and pink extensible leash, then a red studded leather collar. Let's not forget her first vest was made from one of my old red sweatshirts, her winter coat is red... even her first undies were red (very sexy, hehe).

So, here we are! Out with the old, in with the new. Now we will go christen the leash by watering the flowers.

Red pawprints, tears and a broken door

We got home one night after having been away for about 8 hours to find wide blood stains on the inside of the kitchen door glass, where we had left poochie, as usual. We panicked and quickly opened the door to find lots of red pawprints covering the floor.

Don't worry, this scary story has a happy ending. This photo was taken today.

But let me tell you how this all began...

A couple of days ago, poochie was left alone in the kitchen, like we have done for about a year now.

That was the room we could close properly and also without things she could distroy very handy. Since we both work, she has to be alone several hours a day. So far, no incidents, beyond making confetti out of plastic bags...

That evening though, she must have had an indigestion or something else upsetting her, that she scratched at the door until she opened it. We found her sitting happily in the living room. She had scratched a bit of the paint off the door, but nothing that couldn't have been repainted.

The second day, she must have become a bit bold, since we found more scratches in the wood and the door open again.

We thought we should try to keep her from opening the door. If we bolted it with a chair, she wouldn't be able to open it and should get discouraged after a few attempts. Unfortunately, that is not what happened.

She probably really needed to go outside, although I take her for walks right before leaving her alone, because she scratched and scratched until she reached the glass edge in the door and hurt her paw.

When we got home that night, a very meek poochie greeted us from the kitchen, with a bloody paw and muzzle from trying to lick the paw. We all had a group hug on the hallway floor and I inspected the paw closely.

I must say we were lucky.

Poochie only had two split nails, to the quick (hence the blood), but otherwise she was fine. Phew!

I took her for a walk, we got back in, she had some water and I washed her paws and disinfected the nails with some camomile tea.

I'm glad to say she is back to her old happy self now and we will not be closing the kitchen door anymore.

Happy belated holidays!

We want to wish you a happy belated new year and a lot of accomplishments!

We have been busy these past few days, coming to visit with my mother-in-law (wow, such a long name) and our godparents at the mountains. We were lucky to have had some snow for Christmas and it's still snowing now. Aschiuta couldn't be happier.

We got here by train, of course, with a doggie ticket for pooch and regular priced ones for us. It was nice and spacey for once and we had time to take some interesting photos.

"Woohoo, first class! I'm taking the window seat and the aisle seat!"

Poochie already bored on the train and lying down on the floor.

Christmas was fun, we shared some champagne (yes, from Champagne in France) with the family and stuffed ourselves with traditional dishes. Of course Aschiuta had her share, as always.

I had to go back and forth for the New Year week, since I was working every day. I left on the 31st in the evening to join everyone at the mountains, then went back home the next day. I have to say, work was tedious, but luckily, I have another week off and so I'm back here with everyone for some more relaxation.

Poochie has been quite nice, without making a lot of confetti, but she did swallow some pieces of gum. Good thing she got rid of it.

She has been extremely excited about being here and for the snow as well. When we go out with her, she sometimes makes very quick dashes from one side of the other, as far as the leash allows her. All I can do is hold on for dear life, there's no way I could possibly match her speed. She even broke her extensible leash doing this and my husband had to go buy another one. It seems better quality, but too bad it's not red, as that is poochie's wardrobe colour.

Aschiuta taking a break from running.

And speaking of wardrobe, I made some adjustments to her winter coat. I replaced the leg elastic, so it wouldn't wobble left and right on her back and added a little embellishment, made by me. I think it looks fetching on her, don't you?

A much better fit and a snowflake. See my other needle works here, if interested.

Santa and the big-eared elf

Ho-ho-ho? Where did the summer go?

We have been very busy the past couple of months. Yes, Poochie and I, because she contributes as much as she can: shedding lots of hair all over the place, sleeping under my arm and of course, asking to go out during an especially difficult task. Thank you Pooch, you may have a treat.

What have we been busy about? Well, we have been playing Santa and making presents left and right, ever since October or so.

I know, I know, making presents is like baking your own Christmas cozonac (yes, look it up when you're in Romania, it is yummy) and making your own cakes. Who spends time on that anyway, when you can just go to the store and buy one? Crazy people, I tell you.

Well, I have learned to make lace using a needle lately; the technique is called tatting. I will not bother you much with the details, however the results are quite cute (Poochie has been teaching me to be less modest, haha), so I opened - sorry, we opened (Poochie helps, you know) an online boutique. If you are curious, you are invited to visit, it's called Dandelion Lace. Yes, we do ship abroad too, hehe.

The trouble is that there is so much to do and so little time until Christmas, I will still be away for a while, making presents. Poochie, come help me!

"Let me give you a paw with that."

Aschiuta goes on holiday

I will start this post with some good news: my fiance and I got married! Yes, it was a wonderful day and we had our friends and family to celebrate with us.

And what do people normally do after getting married? They go on a honeymoon. Ours was a honeyweek, but nonetheless quite fun and relaxing. However, poochie didn't come with us to Bulgaria, she had a different holiday on her own.

We often take her to a dog hotel when we need to go away for a few days and can't take her with us and this is where she spent about a week and a half.

She played with the vet and the other dogs and I am proud to say she was the cleanest doggie there (our good potty training showed, heh). She has been getting cheeky and I was upset that she would fight with other dogs, but it seems that she was well mannered enough not to growl at them first.

Aschiuta has been going on a lot of holidays lately, it seems.

A few weeks ago, we decided to go to the mountains to actually go hiking on a trail in the woods. This time, poochie was right there with us.

We bought her a dog ticket for the train and off we were to the mountains. I'm sure the dear girl had no idea what was in store for her. She kept running off ahead as soon as we got off the train.

Hiking was good fun, since neither of us had done that in quite some time. We each had a backpack and I was holding Aschiuta's leash. She must have had more energy than us and a better traction on her four paws, since she didn't tire very quickly.

We got to a cabin and set up camp there, in our tent. We slept huddled together with poochie in the middle, to keep warm. It was nice that two huge rescue dogs were keeping guard outside. It seems they never stayed too close to the tents, but they must have felt protective towards Aschiuta.

Photo by Scorpio, one of my favourites. This was taken high up by the cabin.

When we came back, it rained a bit and we had a few falls in the mud, but luckily, nothing too serious. Needless to say, Aschiuta behaved quite well and even started learning a few commands for choosing the right track.

We hope everyone had or is having a nice holiday. Don't forget the sun screen!

The change of the seasons

Hasn't it been a long time? It certainly feels like it's been months and I'm sure there have been several months since I have last written a post in either blog.

"Oh, hello, I was just writing in my blog here..."

Winter has come and gone, marking its passage with lots of snow and very cold winds. I'm a bit sad that I don't have any pictures of Aschiuta prancing around in the snow, as she is really cute doing it, like a little kid (goat's kid, that is).

We had managed to go out for the routine walk just as some snow had settled down on the street and it looked like a warm white blanket to the unknowing eye. For who doesn't know, we moved away from the hustle and bustle of the market place and the large busy road to a very quiet neighbourhood, where cars pass maybe three-four times a day. So, you can imagine how soft and untainted the snow appeared, especially at that early hour on a weekend.

Aschiuta loves the snow and to her joy, we did have several weeks of solid snow, so much that we ended up wishing for spring to hurry up. At times, it was so thick and so soft, Aschiuta would simply swim in it or try to, with her bunny hops. The first day of good snow, we chased each other around and I tried to topple her over in the snow, but she really wouldn't let me, so I settled with throwing a few soft snowballs at her. I am sure that, if she had been bigger, she could have pulled me on a sleigh if she wanted to. Snow is always good fun with the poochie.

Now the spring breeze is here to warm up the frozen earth and the snow has almost completely melted away, leaving lots of mud behind. Aschiuta's coat has been put away and we are already making plans for her next haircut, since she is shedding again. That much for snow... But still, we are looking forward to the joys of the next season, lots of grass and flowers for poochie to prance around in.

Don't forget to tip the barber!

It's summer, it's hot and we all wish we could just sit in the shade in light clothes and sip a beer. I often look at pooch and think she would like to do the same. Of course, except the beer part, let's not be silly!

Aschiuta has changed into her summer clothes and is now feeling breezy and cool. We took her for a shave yesterday and she even lost about 1kg in fur. Hmm, here is a good idea for losing weight: having a haircut.
 

You can see poochie in a whole new light now.

Like last year, we went for a full shave, leaving the head, the bottom of the legs and the tip of the tail untouched. The roots of her hairs are lighter than the tips, so she looks a lot fairer now.

One interesting fact about Aschiuta is that she seems to have an excess of skin that is also very elastic. We pull on it and it apparently peels off her and when we let go, it just snaps back into place. It doesn't hurt her at all either. I wonder if it happens to most other dogs as well.

I'm glad her coat is shorter so she will be able to bear the heat better now. Some might say she looked better before, others that she looks younger now. Nevertheless, she is our cute little rat.

Rat? Who are you calling a rat?

To spay or not to spay...

Poochie is almost 3 years old now. Of course, she is as energetic as ever and I really hope that won't change. She could do with a bit of discipline though. Yes, even if she acts like a little angel most of the time.

Anyway, I digress. I wanted to talk about how poochie is growing old and we still need to spay her. Although I feel rather reluctant to do this to her. They usually say it's a good idea and it will spare me dealing with the crazy howls of the other dogs, the hormones and the little red stains all over the place. Well, it will have to be done.

"Nooo, don't spay me! I'm too young, I haven't frolicked enough!"

We have talked about this and it will have to happen after it warms up a bit. Spring is here, but we had snow just last week. I will also need days off from work to stay home and take care of her, of course.

Another concern we had was the anesthetic the vets would use. Most of them have various side-effects and we don't want to risk anything like that happening to poochie. So we aren't going for shots or pills, but we will use the safest method available, which is gas. It is the most expensive one of course, good things usually are like that.

If any of my readers have gone through this stage with their pets, I would invite you to offer your opinion on the subject. What are your feelings about spaying/neutering? And how important is the type of anesthetic for you?

Catching up

We're back! After almost one year and a half, I'm back with another post about my little poochie and of course, dogs in general.

We have been good, if anyone was wondering. We moved to a new home with a huge garden overlooking our living room. I have a very busy job and taking salsa lessons (no, not the kind of salsa you can eat).

Poochie has grown out of her habit of chewing furniture (yay!), but now she chews up plastic bags and sometimes eats the little bits (boo!). She is still a little devil when she's alone with me and tries to bite me or steal things to chew.

Right now, she is napping at my feet, hugging her hind legs. Later on, she will most definitely come under the covers to cuddle with me.

I would like to get back to the story I was writing, but I would have to read it again and figure out how the ending goes. Later on, maybe.

For now, I just wanted to share a little video of our friendly neighbourhood stray dogs showing their intelligence and adaptability to urban life.

The video is made by the Romanian police and it is meant as a lesson for pedestrians. What is the lesson you say? Just watch to find out:

At the end, it says "If they can do it, so can you". A very interesting and valuable lesson from our stray dogs. Bravo!

Until my next post, be safe!

Chatting with pooch

I woke up this morning and something wonderful had happened. I looked into Aschiuta's eyes and she looked in mine. I instantly knew what she was trying to tell me. I could understand pooch language and she could understand me.

For the first time, I knew when she was hungry or thirsty, wanted to play with the ball or was just feeling lazy. She also understood when I tried to tell her about my life and sing to her.

I can't possibly explain this to you. I know many have felt that sort of empathy, but without actually understanding their pet. My conversations with Aschiuta are interesting and very meaningful. Everything is extremely easy now, no more misunderstanding one another. We both get along perfectly.

You might be surprised, but even for a doggie so young, Aschiuta has a lot to say.

She also has a message for everyone, here it is:

"Lavi is one big fat liar!"

Heh. We'll keep trying anyway.

"Kisses and huggies?"

I really think I'm making progress. I really do. Aschiuta has changed almost completely.

Remember the story about the crazy pooch who, as soon as my fiance went out the door, would jump right at me, barking and biting? Now, she's calm, sometimes sleeps and waits patiently. She often comes and nudges me with her nose, so I'll pet her back.

No more showing me her teeth, no more tugging on my sleeves until they break. We aren't arguing anymore and she lets me pet her without trying to bite.

What happened? She probably just grew out of her shenanigans. She might have simply understood that it's better for everyone if she's a good girl. I'm quite proud of her.

"Kisses and huggies?"

However, like I always do when I notice she's grown up, I wonder where the time had gone off to...