Puppies

No, not Aschiuta's puppies, but another yellow dog in our neighbourhood has had a litter about a month ago.

I think she is barely a year old and looks even smaller and younger than Aschiuta. I think I know who the father is, since the puppies are black and brown, rather than yellow. There is an older black dog that lives in the building next door, but I never saw him next to the puppies.

Unfortunately, I have no photos, since I didn't have the chance to take any. And now it seems it is too late.

They had a small dog house built for them just outside the side door of the other building. I always saw food and water left for them, so I assume they were well cared for.

Whenever anyone came by though, the mother barked at them and sometimes chased them until they went away from her babies. I'm sure a lot of mothers do that if they think their little ones are in danger, but a lot of people took it the wrong way. A woman started throwing twigs at the dog barking at her viciously, so Aschiuta and I had to rush and distract her until the woman went away. We also have a lot of school children walk by, since there is a school very close to us. One day I saw a little boy running and shrieking in fear followed by the dog. Someone went and stopped her and sent her back to her little house, but I doubt she would have hurt the boy.

I'm not sure if this was the reason, but by the second day the little dog house was gone and there was no sign of the puppies anywhere. I have seen the mother a couple of times since then, but she went away quickly and I didn't have time to follow her.

I really hope they have been moved to a warmer spot where they wouldn't have a lot of people passing by, maybe inside the building. I am worried though and I will keep looking for them.

"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...

Happy birthday Aschiuta!

Today we lazed in bed for a while and when Scorp woke up, I told him "It's Aschiuta's designated birthday". So, he grabbed doggie and gave her a big hug and started singing "Happy birthday to pooch".

She's a big doggie now...

It's Aschiuta's first birthday today, at least the one we chose for her in her health file.

Pooch was found in the street as a pup. She was barely one month old at the time and looked very lonely.

At first, we thought she was older, so we chose her birthday as April 14. On a closer inspection and judging by the time she started changing her baby teeth, we talked to the vet and decided it would be May 14. This date is a combination between Scorp's and my birthdays: my month and his date.

Small fuzzy pup...

She has been with us for almost a year now and we've seen her grow older, wiser, into a very energetic dog. We've gone through health problems, vaccination, fleas and train and car rides. She has chewed on a lot of things and ate some things she shouldn't have. She has kept us warm during the cold winter nights and made us laugh and play when we were upset and worried.
 

She is our dear pooch and we are happy she's with us. And we don't plan on giving up on her either.

Many happy returns of the day, pooch!

Romania's strays in danger and Romeo's Wish. Blog the Change for Animals

Today is one of the four days dedicated to Blog the Change for Animals, which is an incentive for people all over the world to talk about animal causes, hoping that more people can find out about them and lend a hand.

 
1. The stray dogs in Romania are in danger of mass killing
  

As some of you might know, I live in Romania, a small state where stray cats and dogs have found homes near dumpsters, in parking lots, wherever they were accepted. Their biggest plight is that the government has been thinking of voting for euthanising all of them. You might have heard about the 100 sleigh dogs killed in Canada. That would be nothing compared to what could happen in Romania.

I have written about this before, in the post Our strays in danger. People all over the country have organised protests and a petition has been started to prevent this massacre. I know that people from other countries might not be able to help in any way, but I can't help talking about this. I hope that, maybe, the stray dogs (some of which have become our friends, see Bobita, our doggie neighbour) will be allowed to live.

If you are interested in this and understand Romanian, you can learn more about this at the site Adoptii Caini. They are trying hard to convince people to sign the petition against this horrible governmental decision, fighting for the fate of our stray dogs.

If you are Romanian, please take a moment and sign the petition. Every helping hand matters.

2. Giving meaning to the death of Romeo the puppy: Romeo's Wish
 

I would like to talk about another animal cause. Linda has lost her puppy Romeo in a car accident and has decided to offer the gift of a better life to other rescue dogs and cats in need.

She has started a fund in Romeo's name, to help rescue dogs and also improve the conditions of shelters in South Africa, in particular the one where Romeo spent the first part of his life, Bellville Animal Anti-Cruelty League. You can read about this and about how you can help too at Animal Outreach and also the pdf Romeo's Wish, where you can also read his story.

I wanted to write about this because Desiree, Linda's mother, and after that Linda herself have become good friends of mine. Romeo reminds me of my own dog Aschiuta, with his exuberance, friendliness and intelligence. Linda has also adopted another rescue puppy from the shelter and has given her a warm loving home.

They have organised a raffle to raise money for the cause and you can read about it on this page. I invite you to buy a ticket and help those dogs live a better life.

Rest in peace, Romeo! I hope your wish will come true.

Spaghetti? Yes, please, with meatballs!

Sometimes, you have to learn the hard way, if there is no other way. Aschiuta did too and I hope she will stay far away from cables, shoelaces and spaghetti. Well, at least from cables.

The low-roof oasis

It all started this summer, when she was a lot smaller and still learning about life and its many dangers. She also learned that there were such things as internet cables. And she found them delicious.

The good thing was that she never got shocked by them, even if she chewed and chewed. The bad news is... well, you can imagine it. Scorp had to repair the cables over and over again.

At the same time, the summer was a hot and scorching one (as all summers in the tropical Romania are) and poor Aschiuta was overheating, with all our attempts at cooling her off. One day, she decided that it might be a lot cooler under the bed. And so, she would crawl under there, go all the way to the corner and nap.

Cable proofing number 1

Of course, after a nap, she would get hungry and the handiest thing she could find was the roll of spare internet cable that we had tucked under the bed so we wouldn't trip on it. After many such "snacks", Scorp finally decided he'd had enough of patching wires and we'd have to barricade the bed. He used an old carton box and artificial snow (the kind found inside the carton boxes, keeping the monitor or computer safe from damage), lots of double-sided tape... Well, you can imagine the rest. But she never got through it again.

 

The view from the inside after pulling the mattress aside. You can admire the masterwork on the left. The green and yellow is the end of a patched cable.

That was wire doggie-proof number 1.

Cable proofing number 2

Number 2 was when she noticed the wires coming out from behind the bookcase and out through the edge of the door. She subsequently began to munch on those.

We weren't short of ideas, as you might find out. We put a chair that would block the access to the wires. It was rather tricky, because we had to close the door at the same time. It did hold pooch back for a while. But only for a while.

 

Notice the chair blocking the wires. Hmm, who might the puffy green cow slippers belong to?

 

And number 3...

So, Scorp had to get the tools out again and patch up and barricade these wires too. With a lot of scotch tape.

Aschiuta, curious about the new decoration, decided to rip a piece off. Unfortunately for her, the piece she ripped revealed some naked tv cable. A jump and a small yelp and she never touched it again.

And that was the story about our efforts to get ahead of doggie's wire chewing and how she eventually learned her lesson... Poor silly pooch, good thing it was a very light zap.

Bath time for doggie

Drowning buggers

When we first got Aschiuta off the streets, she was full of fleas and ticks. We had to give her a bath, but the poor pup was crying because of all the skin problems she had. She was clawing at us, desperately trying to get away from the water basin. Good thing I had Scorp and our flatmate to help me out.

The parasites didn't all die in the baths, but I'd say we decimated a good deal of them. Of course, the vet gave her the drops that killed the rest of the bugs. We were also warned that those bugs were quite dangerous and could carry disease. It's a good thing that almost none of the parasites jumped on us. I was carrying Aschiuta in my arms for hours to the vet and back and none wanted to climb on me. I guess they were used to doggie blood.

Skin care

Another problem we had was a bad allergy Aschiuta got from food (although we didn't know the cause of that at the time). The vet advised us to give her a bath using sulfur soap and rinse her using apple vinegar. Some of you might remember my older post, The Vet, where I talk about this problem and others Aschiuta had.

Wiping away muddy paw prints

Today, we still use the sulfur soap. We also have hot water all the time, so we wash her with lukewarm water, not too hot and not too cold. She also has her very own towel. In fact, I am the one who washes her, Scorp does so only from time to time.

Aschiuta is very calm when she's in the bath tub. She usually sits still, folds her ears back and looks very docile. I usually only wash her paws after going out and she has learned to raise each paw as I put the shower on it. I soap her paws well and then rinse the soap thoroughly. After that, it's towel drying and she will sit inside the room for a while. Drying is quite uncomfortable for her, but the blow drier is worse. She would lick the water off her paws and sit in bed for a while.

After that, she's her usual happy self.

Hopping away happily (the towel is just a tug toy).

I'm quite proud of how nice she is during bath time. It helps, since we usually walk in the mud and I have to wash her after each outing. Stay clean everyone!

Taking care of the doggie economy-style

Scorp and I are getting by on one salary at the moment and Aschiuta is a third (albeit smaller) mouth to feed in our little room. We often have to cut down on costs as much as possible. And it's not hard to take care of a dog economically while also providing for all its needs.
 

Of course, some things can't be found at lower prices and good quality, such as some medicine or vaccines, but for the rest of the stuff, you don't have to spend a lot of money.

Food

The big issue for everyone. After trying a lot of options, we've realised a few important things:

• Cooked food can be cheaper than commercial dog food, but doesn't last as long and it might not cover all the necessary nutrients. As a compromise, we also give Aschiuta other things, like chicken, raw bone, cheese or sour cream (the occasional milk is ok too, but can cause stomach problems) and some fruits and vegetables (carrots, peppers and apples are her favourites). We give her a little of the food we eat if it's something that will be ok for her. Rice, oven roast chicken and soup are quite ok. You can find good recipes for homemade dog food and treats all over the internet; I'll recommend Doggy Dessert Chef (the writer is very careful about what a dog shouldn't eat).
• The cheapest dog food isn't always the best. There are some good cheap brands too though (our vet recommended a few brands to us) and we've found out that we can afford to buy relatively good quality food (stuff like Acana, Pro Pac etc.)

Bedding

We used to try and make a small bed for Aschiuta from a cardboard box and some old clothes. Aschiuta though had other plans. Once she grew old (and bold) enough, she started sleeping in bed with us or on the couch.

Very comfy.

A wooden crate and old clothes (you can even make a pillow out of them) can be a good solution, depending on the size of the dog. Aschiuta kept outgrowing her carton beds.

Bowls for food and water

Scorp bought a plastic food bowl from the pet store, which we used for water. Other than that, we used big plastic ice cream boxes. Talk about recycling, right? My mom keeps all of those boxes, so I thought I'd put them to good use.
 

Unfortunately, Aschiuta chews on plastic things, so after a few of the makeshift bowls and the pet store one being chewed to pieces, we decided to not leave them within her reach. She has learned to ask for water too.

Bath

I'm still using a sulfur soap for doggie baths, since the vet advised me to give Aschiuta baths with sulfur soap and apple vinegar rinse when she had her skin problems. We don't use the vinegar anymore, but the sulfur soap does its job well. It's not expensive and it doesn't smell appealing enough for her to try to eat any of it. In fact, Scorp claims it smells too bad and Aschiuta's docile manner during bath time might be because she also hates the smell.

Toys

Another hot topic. Well, here we've improvised a lot. We have the famous old socks that she loves to play with.

Aschiuta helping the sock do some stretching exercises.

The two things we bought were a rope toy and tennis balls. But if you can find a sturdy rope, you can make a toy for your dog too. I've also read a lot of interesting ideas for makeshift treat dispensers. All you have to do is use your imagination.

Ever since she was a puppy, she's always loved her tennis ball.

Clothes

Not all dogs need clothes, but for the short-haired ones, it is a good idea to have a jacket on during the winter. Aschiuta's jacket was made out of one of my old t-shirts.
 

Not quite in fashion, but still necessary (saved us from red spots all over the place).

 
There are a lot of ideas out there about reusing old clothes to make jackets (or other clothes) for your dog. At Sew DoggyStyle, you can find some interesting ideas about making doggie clothes and accessories.

And, Aschiuta was lucky and got a nice winter coat from Scorp's mom for Christmas. Bought, but we're planning on getting the design idea, buying material and making others ourselves.

Spaying or neutering

There are programs for free or low-price cat or dog spaying or neutering. All you need to do is get informed. Consult your vet too for the best possibilities. We are waiting until spring and will spay Aschiuta.

Well, these are the tips I can offer for keeping your dog healthy and happy without emptying your pocket.

My personal leg warmer... a bit squirmy though

Did you know that there are dogs that have been bred specifically to keep the owner warm? Introducing lap dogs and even sleeve dogs!

Now, Aschiuta is too big to be a sleeve dog, although the name would suit her if we thought of all the tugging going on. But could she be a lap dog?
 

The human doggie carrier

We got Aschiuta when she was just a month or two old and she was an adorable little fur ball. Also, since we weren't allowed to let her outside without her vaccines done, I carried her to the vet. Needless to say, we were a strange sight and people turned their heads to look at the strange girl carrying a puppy.

I didn't mind much, since she was small, but it was summer and very hot and since a puppy's normal temperature is pretty high, we were both panting by the time we got to the vet.

However, when she grew older (and heavier), it was harder to carry her around and I was happy when we gave her those shots and Scorpio bought Aschiuta her first harness and leash: both a hot red.

Nowadays, I still pick Aschiuta up and carry her inside the room when she runs out or when we are outside and the stray dogs get too close.

Aschiuta, the lap puppy

Being so used to carrying Aschiuta, I really enjoyed holding her in my arms while sitting down. As a puppy, she would calm down, hide her nose in my arm and doze off.

When we were able to take her out, we would go out to an open terrace bar and have a couple of beers. When the pooch started squirming too much, we would run off with her outside in the parking lot for a bit. But when I wanted to make her sit still, I'd pick her up and she would sit tight.
 

"You're getting smaller. I used to fit perfectly here."

Now, Aschiuta has grown up and can't fit my lap too well. She also has unrestricted access to the bed and couch, so why sit on my legs when she could stretch in bed? I do take her in my arms and pet her, but she leaves quickly.

Sometimes though, she surprises me. She comes to me while I'm sitting on my chair at the laptop table and climb up in my lap. Climbing is the best way I can describe the way she heaves herself on her front paws and tries to get a leverage point with one of her hind paws, blindly waving it at the edge of the chair. I often push her bottom up and with an "upsy-daisy", she's up in my lap, sniffing my treats pocket. More on the magical pocket later on.
 

"I think my butt is slipping off. Hold me better!"

 
She even stays for a pet or two. When she feels exceptionally affectionate, she would try to roll in a comfortable position and let me pet her. Her long legs would often slip off and, after shifting around a lot, she would eventually jump down.

Well, at least for a few moments, she was my little lap dog.

A trail of rice crumbs and chicken bones

If you've read my post Time for dinner! What are we having? you know that there is a huge debate among dog owners about whether we should feed our dogs commercial food or home made dog food.
 

Hmm, not bad... Needs more parsley.

 
Aschiuta's first diet

When we first got Aschiuta, we didn't know what to feed her. Her stomach was also a bit upset because of the odd stuff she had been eating and she also had a parasite.
 

To calm her tummy, our vet told us to make her some soup: chicken, rice and a few vegetables. It was meant to be easy on the stomach, since rice is easy to digest. She loved it and we kept making it.

After all the problems went away, we figured we should buy her some kibble. The vet sold some good brands too and gave us samples of each. Needless to say, she was very young and didn't know how to eat the small kibble, so we put it in her soup and all was ok.

Kibble dibble. Yum yum

Since the vet insisted that we feed Aschiuta only kibble, we tried to teach her to eat it. She didn't like it much, and couldn't chew it properly. She did eventually eat from our hands and that's how it was for a while.

One time, we decided to buy dog food from a nearby pet shop, so we got the most advertised one (one of the only we knew about). This led to a lot of problems and you can read about them in The Vet.

Just like Mom used to make it...

After all the problems with the dog food and visiting Brasov with Aschiuta for the first time, we went back to chicken and rice. My fiance's mother had two dogs of her own before the two cats and only fed them home made food. One of them, she kept saying, got to a "matusalemic age" with that diet.

Aschiuta didn't even want to look at kibble again, of course. She loved her "soup", which in time had turned into a nice pilaf.

No more time to cook for pooch

After I got a job, I barely had time for a lot of things, so we decided to switch back to commercial dog food. We were careful to get a good quality one and she eventually got used to it.

We might get back to the home made food again in the future... Who knows?

Chapter 5. New encounters

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Inside, I saw a lot of things of various shapes and sizes that I'd never seen before. And up on one of those things was an animal, almost as big as me. It had a small head and pointy ears and an unfriendly look on its face. When it saw me, it got up, arched its back until it was twice as big and started making a low growling noise.

This scared me so badly, I struggled to get down from the huge creature's arms to run away. But its grip was too strong and I couldn't go anywhere. My instinct was telling me I was in a lot of danger and I somehow hoped Mother would come and save me.

I squeaked as loudly as I could "Mother, Mother, help me!", but that earned me a light slap on the muzzle from the creature. I shut up, barely whimpering.

The animal with pointy ears calmed down, sat and started to lick its paws. "They don't tolerate cry babies here, runt." it said.

"Do you know Mother? What are you?" I tried to sound as brave as possible, taking care not to get a new slap on the nose. But the animal with pointy ears turned its back and lay down to sleep. "I am a Cat, runt. Don't you forget that."

I was about to ask about Mother again, when another creature, almost as big as the one that was carrying me, came in from behind us. It had different fur and smelled like food and its voice was higher. It started talking to the other creature in a barking voice; I couldn't understand anything. Eventually, the voice changed, cooing and humming and it pet me on the head. I flinched at first, expecting another hit, but calmed down a bit and licked the hand. The creature barked in a cheerful way and that made me think it wouldn't hit me.

The first monster put me down on the ground. The sudden change of perspective made all the big objects in the room look even bigger. The ground was hard, but there was no grass, nor dust. It was like a coloured rock. I began sniffing and exploring left and right. Maybe I could find a way of getting back to Mother. She must have been worried about me.

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Chapter 4. Beyond the horizon

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I can't really describe all I saw and felt while being carried by that creature. The world was so high, I sometimes got dizzy looking down.

We walked a while through the field I had lived in with Mother, covered in tall grass and with a bush and tree here and there. We left the river behind and got to a river of dirt and dust where there was no grass. The big monster carried me further on that dry river, walking in a funny way with those long legs, bouncing up and down with each step.

It wasn't hurting me, so I had soon stopped wriggling and biting. I sniffed the strange animal's fur and the smell was strong and sour, I didn't like it much. It had oddly coloured fur too: the chest, back and front legs, except for the paws, were the colour of the sky and the hind legs had the colour of dirt. Its hind paws were bigger than the front ones and also the colour of dry grass. Not to mention that it had dry grass on its head, made into a flat leaf of sorts. All in all, it was nothing I had ever seen before.

Of course, I'd seen little animals in the sky. Mother told me they were birds and that they could fly. The creature's front paws looked a lot like birds' wings. I was slightly worried that it would fly away with me. Then I would really have a hard time getting back to Mother. I couldn't fly, of course. Another thing that made me believe this animal could be a bird was the sound it made, like a long chirp.

After a while of walking like that, I started to see a group of little rocks of various colours in the distance. As we got closer, they got bigger and bigger, until they became a lot bigger than the creature, some were bigger than trees and wide as well.
 

Suddenly, the creature turns to one of those big things, pulls a piece of it to the side and goes inside. I thought I had been through the scariest and strangest day of my life, but what I saw in there topped it all.

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Chapter 3. For a little food

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Mother left me alone again and she'd been away for longer this time. I was growing impatient and hungry. I now knew that Mother went to find food for us. She always fed me first and waited until I was full, then she quickly ate the rest.

I noticed she wasn't playing with me as much lately. She was weary and snapped quickly when I would bite her to get her attention. She would take me by the back of my neck and give me a good shake. Of course I was sorry then, but later, I still tried again.

That day when she wouldn't come back was a very hot day. There was a small river next to our small shelter, so I went to have a drink. What I saw there paralysed me with fear. A huge monster, bigger than anything I've seen before, bigger than Mother even, was standing on its hind legs next to the other side of the river. It was holding some food in its front paws and eating from it. He was upwind, so I could smell the food. My stomach started making hungry noises.

My hunger and curiosity won over my fear. I came out of the tall grass to the river side and sniffed. The creature noticed me, took a little food in its paw and crossed the river to where I was, holding the food towards me. It kept making strange noises I couldn't understand, like an odd bark.

I went towards the food and stole a small piece and ran away back in the grass and ate it. The creature didn't move, so I went back and took another piece. This time I didn't run away and ate it there. When I was done, I started licking the paw that still smelled like food, happy that I got lucky to eat so soon.

But suddenly, the paw grabbed me by the back of my neck and picked me up. Just like Mother did, but this didn't give me a warm feeling of safety. My instincts screamed "danger", but even if I struggled and cried, the paw didn't let me go.

Without getting back on four legs or letting go of me, the monster started walking away. Away from my home, from my Mother. Mother, where are you?
 

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Of booboos and stings

Let's take a moment to go a few months back with our story. Don't worry, we're not going too far back.

Aschiuta was my first dog and even if Scorp had had a dog before, we still had a lot to learn about taking care of our new puppy. And one of the biggest problem was that she constantly seemed to have a few health issues.

Dog vaccination

You all know it's important to vaccinate your dog against common diseases they could catch from going outside and playing with other dogs. This is also why Aschiuta wasn't allowed to walk around freely outside before getting her shots done. And since I've already talked about our neignbourhood strays, you know we had to be careful.

So, because we couldn't vaccinate a dog with health issues, we had to figure out how to make her better.

The booboo problems

Remember my older post about going to the vet? How Aschiuta had a huge rash that made her itchy and caused her hair to fall? It was all a simple food allergy, but we had been afraid of things like rabies or a fungus. Little skin problems kept coming up here and there even after that...

First of all, Aschiuta got a mysterious inflammation on the right side of her belly. We went to the vet alarmed. Could it be a liver problem? Did all the wood she loved chewing on so much manage to hurt her intestines?
 

Notice the inflammation on her right side.

 

The vet gave her an anti-inflammation shot and we just waited. After a few days, it finally started to fade and then it just disappeared completely.

After she was finally ok, with all the shots done, we thought we wouldn't have to visit the vet as much. Well, other things happened that made us go again...
 

One of them was another such booboo, but under her right eye. The vet said it might be just a booboo from hitting her head against something. She had very bad brakes back then and she still slips around on our floors. She got her shot done again and we waited.
 

It did go away after some time, but sometimes it still looks like she has a little bag under her eye. We heard that an aneurysm would have popped eventually, but this one never did. I've read that some dogs just have these and it's no real problem for them. We'll see...

Beware of stingers

One sunny day, Aschiuta was out on the balcony, seemingly sniffing around, chasing the flies. The next thing we knew, she was back inside, looking gloomy and salivating. Within several minutes, we could see the front of her muzzle getting bigger and bigger. We decided to rush her to the vet.

Of course, since we don't have a car, the fastest and safest way is on foot. Aschiuta was actually allowed to walk on her own four paws, but she just stopped and was whimpering at every sudden movement or when we accidentally touched her mouth. We had to carry her, just like old times. Only now she was bigger and heavier.

Again, we didn't know what to think of it. Had she eaten some detergent from the bathroom? Was it a bug bite? At the vet's, Aschiuta had her shot and we were instructed to come back in a few hours if the inflammation wouldn't go down.

Fortunately, it did and we were relieved. Scorp even found the culprit, a dead fly on the balcony floor. Let's hope Aschiuta has learned her lesson about playing with bugs.

Also, coming up in another post, I'll be talking about Aschiuta's hurt paw. A very bloody story.
 

Take care and remember to go to the doctor or vet when you feel you have a problem.

Chapter 2. A taste of adventure

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A few days passed and Mother taught me a lot of things. How to walk, how to play nicely and how to stay out of trouble. There were a lot of frightening things out in the world and she made me stay only in our little shelter and not stray away from it.

I was getting nervous... I wanted to know if there were other dogs out there, besides Mother and I. Mother wasn't very fast when we were playing and she would get tired quickly. I guess I had too much energy for her to keep up.

One day, I got bold and bit her while I was eating. She yelped, got up and left me all alone. I was very sad and a little hungry, but even if I whimpered for her, she didn't come back soon.

When it was already dark, Mother came back with something in her mouth. She dropped it in front of me and waited. I cautiously got close and sniffed it. It smelled good and I licked my lips. She seemed to wait for something, so I took the piece of food in my mouth and tasted it. I dropped it again and picked it up again. It was good, better than milk. I ate it all without delay and went to rub noses with Mother to show my thanks.

We went to sleep side by side and I felt that I had experienced something wonderful that day. Maybe Mother would bring more later?

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Dreaming Doggie Dreams

I dream about a lot of strange things. Scorp is always amused when I tell him about my dreams the following day.

You might have heard that we dream every night, even if we don't remember what we dream about or even that we dreamt anything at all. Even more intriguing, they say that we can't go without sleeping for more than a few days. But that is actually because we can't go without dreaming for so long.

But if you think we are the only intelligent enough creatures to have dreams, you're wrong. Animals have been proven to dream, just like we do. You should read this article on the MIT News site for more information.

Aschiuta's dreams

I recently wrote a post about where and how Aschiuta likes to sleep, Beddie-bye with Aschiuta. Now I will tell you about her dreams.

She might dream more often than we know of, but when she moves or whimpers in her sleep, it's quite obvious that she is dreaming.

Whimpering

Aschiuta came from the streets, so who knows what scary things she might have seen then. Maybe she remembered having been left alone in the room when we had to go somewhere. Or who knows, maybe her doggie imagination made up nightmares for her.

Little whimpers from a dreaming doggie

 We usually wake her up when she's having a bad dream and she looks scared and confused at us for a few minutes. Then, when she sees it was all a dream, she goes back to sleep.

Running

Aschiuta loves to run and jump. It's her favourite fun thing to do, wherever she is. So it's only normal she would love a good run while she's dreaming too. It's really funny to see the little paws moving fast, even if she wasn't really going anywhere like that. But somewhere in her mind, she was...

Suckling

Yes, she dreams of suckling and it's very obvious from the way her lips and tongue move in her sleep. She even makes a little sound. This makes me believe her mommy stayed with her at least for a while and took care of her. I hope these are sweet dreams for Aschiuta.

If you know any other animal dream stories, you are welcome to share yours in a comment. Sweet dreams everyone!

Mommy's little girl?

We've all heard about the Oedipus complex and how children seem to get  more attached to the parent of the opposite sex. It's a simple way of saying that opposites attract and that we admire the people that have what we could never get.

But enough philosophy. I know that I was always closer to my dad, but that's simply because I preferred his personality and attitude to mom's. He was always patient and he didn't treat me like I was a stupid kid. Dad was the fun parent, he read me stories, we played computer games and he forgave my little mischiefs. Mom ,on the other hand, was the one that had to make me do the boring stuff, like eating, baths and homework. So we were arguing a lot back then.

A panicking mommy

Aschiuta was my very first "indoor pampered dog". Before that, the most interaction I got with dogs was feeding and giving water to grandma's guard dogs. The only "making friends" with those dogs was not getting barked at when visiting my grandma.

They kept saying that getting a puppy would be like having to take care of a little kid. I didn't expect it would really be that way, but I was in for a surprise.

When we got her, she was about one or two months old and she probably ate anything she could find. She was sick, nervous and too curious. I was extremely nervous, not knowing how to take care of her and she wasn't potty trained and still not even over the "eat anything that looks edible" stage. I don't think she'll ever be over that one!

She kept me up at night, because whenever she rustled around, I would wake up, worried that she had made a puddle or that she was eating something she shouldn't. Needless to say, I was extremely frustrated and was thinking of giving her away to my grandpa, who lives in a house. But Scorpio convinced me to keep her and I'm glad he did.

The rebel Aschiuta

Since I'd been unemployed and now work from home, Aschiuta had to spend almost all the time with me. Scorpio has to go to work, so they don't get to spend a lot of time together. In a nutshell, I feed her (often make food for her), clean up after her, take her out sometimes and wash her up. Oh, yes, and I play with her too.

But despite all that, I also have to tell her off when she's doing a bad thing, which infuriates her and she bites me, which also leads to more "bad girl, don't do that!". She really has no respect for me and that makes me a bit sad. She's cute and soft and licks everyone else's face, but I get all the bites.
 

Cheeky little dog.

Now, do you see a resemblance here? I also act that way towards my mom. Well, used to at least. We've become better friends lately. But Aschiuta is exactly like me. Doesn't want to listen to what I say and hates it when I tell her off. But all that rebellious attitude won't stop me from being very fond of her.

Daddy's little girl

And, since she has to be so much like me, she will of course be all over Scorp when he comes home or when he plays with her. He's the leader of the pack and we're both aware of that. He's the fun guy who likes to play with the doggie a lot and get lots of doggie kisses.
 

Unbelievably good...

But when he gets angry at her doing something bad, she really stops what bad thing she was doing and makes the "sorry, I won't do it again" face. But of course we don't believe her. She's a rebel doggie after all... She's only a good girl when she sleeps.

Chapter 1. When I opened my eyes

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It was suddenly cold. I felt torn away from the warmness that had surrounded me ever since I became at least barely aware of my environment. I was sitting on something hard and I was being pulled towards it, no longer floating. It was nauseating. I had a strange feeling of being too small in something too big all of a sudden. Too big and too alien.

Suddenly, something warm brushed against my muzzle. It felt almost familiar and I reached for it. Yes, it was a small part of the home I had just been expelled from. My instincts told me to take it in my mouth and suckle. It was wonderful... It was peace.

I can't remember when I had fallen asleep or when I woke up. I tried to push myself against the familiar warmth, but it was gone. No way, where was it? I pushed my body forward, trying to find it again, but nothing. I began whimpering. I was alone again.

The big warm body came back a bit later, reassuring, solid... I cuddled against it and went back to sleep.

The same kept happening for a while, I ate and slept and woke up and ate again. I started calling the warm thing Mother and she nuzzled her big muzzle against my back. I think she was happy that I called her that. And that was maybe why she kept coming back to care for me.

After a while that seemed forever, something new changed, something that left me even more confused than the first time. I could... see and smell. There were colours, there was light and I could see Mother now. And not only see, but smell too. I learned to associate a smell to an image and the feeling it gave me... And I wanted to know more!

I started taking my first steps. Mother was watching me patiently as I struggled to wobble to her on my own four paws, ending up falling on my nose when I finally reached her. She licked my back in appreciation. I realised something then... I loved Mother. It was a strange feeling, mixed with need and admiration. She was my universe and I depended on her completely.

Next Chapter

The doggie hits the road

How far away is your vet? Do you need to grab a bus to the closest park? Maybe you want to go on holiday and bring your pooch along.
 

She wants us to take her with us when we leave. Sometimes, we do.

 
There are many ways to travel with your dog, the most common being the walk. But if you have a long way to go, you might need to go by bus or car. And there is something that can prove a big problem if you don't know about it: dogs can get motion sickness, just like children.

Motion Sickness - Preventing and Symptoms

You're in a car or bus with your dog and it suddenly starts salivating and panting and looking pretty uneasy in general. Then you might see again that quick lunch you gave to your dog before going on the trip.

It is embarrassing if you're in public transportation and people start turning their noses at you and your sick puppy. It happened to me and I was caught by surprise. I had some tissues to clean everything up, but an old man still thought it was his duty to scold me about it. If you can, try to take your dog in your own car, rather than public transportation.

I used to get motion sickness all the time as a kid too. My parents' car was the "ride of doom and nausea" for me. I remember I used a lot of things to make it better, from menthol to rubbing my wrists. Fresh air is the best though. And no eating in the car. I eventually grew up and didn't get sick anymore.

So how can you help your dog feel better in a car? Web MD has 10 tips to prevent dog nausea. Among them, some of the most useful are keeping your dog in a carrier and not feeding it too much before the ride. An important rule seems to be that the dog should get used to going for car rides, but I haven't tried that, as I don't have a car yet.

Also, there is medicine that prevents nausea, but if you want to try something natural, ginger has had proven effects on humans too and menthol is also recommended. You could make or buy dog biscuits with menthol in them.

Train is the way to go!

This summer, we decided to visit Scorp's mother for a nice holiday in the mountains. Since my own mother, who lives with us, doesn't have the time and patience to take care of our doggie, we took Aschiuta with us.

Of course, she got sick on the taxi, there was no helping that. But we always have a plastic bag and tissues with us now. Always pack these things, plus water and some food and even a toy for your dog when you go for longer trips.

The four-hour trip was going to be by train (I don't think dogs are allowed on the bus) and we were hoping Aschiuta wouldn't get sick there too. We bought her a dog ticket (half the normal price, just like my student ticket) and we were on our way.

She was very nervous during the trip and we had to sit on the hallway with her, but she wasn't sick at all and she didn't get the floors dirty. She did try to get out whenever the train doors opened, but it was alright in the end. Everyone liked her, since she is very friendly and cute.

The return trip was a bit better, as she eventually calmed down and napped a bit next to us.

More about the Brasov holiday in another post.

Fun with doggie - Games and Toys

Doggies are a lot like children. They like to play and have a lot of fun. Aschiuta is the perfect example for this. Ever since she was a small puppy, she has been very energetic and growing older hasn't changed that at all.

Toys

Since I said dogs love to play, I should also add that they really like toys, just like children do. A new toy is always a reason of joy. That could also mean that your dog might get bored of old toys. So, here is where you need to outsmart them: make old toys seem new again. Invent new games to be played with them or rotate toys. You will have a happy dog if you do that.

There are many toys for dogs on sale, such as ropes, rubber chew toys, "pinatas" with food inside, balls, frisbees and tug toys. Of course, if you don't have a lot of money, there are always alternatives to the shop offers.

For chewing, we use a lot of harmless and even nutritious things. Check out the post on chewing for more info on what we give our dog to chew on.In short, Aschiuta has several socks, shoelaces, a rubber toy that squeaks and a rope as toys. For eating, we give her carrots, cowhide bones (used to, but not anymore), beef meat on the bone (watching so she doesn't eat the actual bone, it's dangerous).

The rope, shoelaces and socks are also used for games like tug-of-war and to make the doggie jump up to catch them from our hands.

And of course, the favourite toy of all is the tennis ball. She loves to play catch with it. We are currently at our second tennis ball, since the first one disintegrated after being chewed and played with a bit too much. All the balls before (made of foam primarily) disintegrated even faster, so we thought a more solid ball would be in order.

Aschiuta with her tennis ball

Games

Now, toys wouldn't be too interesting if they weren't played with. The topic of games is really vast and dogs can be taught to play quite a number of games.

First of all, there are games that need no toys. They are as simple as running around with your dog, chasing it or letting it chase you. Scorp's mom told me that when he was little, their dog taught him to play tag.
 

Aschiuta also loves to run and we've lately found out the best way of getting her back in the room after she dashes out: run away from her and let her chase us inside. It is also a good way to catch a dog that is trying to run off on its own. If you run after the dog, it will think you want to play chase and it will just run away from you.

Another game to play without toys is wrestling. I wouldn't recommend this game to just anyone, since dogs have teeth and claws and use them when they play. But it can be good fun for both you and your dog.

Now, for games with toys...

The most popular game to play with your dog is fetch. You throw an object (such as a ball or frisbee) and the dog has to catch it and bring it back. This practice is also closely related to hunting with a dog, as hunting dogs are trained to fetch the game the master kills.

Notice the concentrated look... She means business!

It is also important to teach your dog to bring things to you, to save you time and energy running after it to get them back when your little pet turns into a little thief.

Aschiuta learned to play fetch all on her own. It's one of the mysteries of the dog's mind. Maybe she just wanted to keep playing and understood that, for the ball to be thrown again, she'd have to bring it back to us. She also brings us toys when she wants us to play with her; it can be really hard to do any work when she does.
 

Here is my home-made video of Aschiuta as a puppy playing with us. Enjoy.

Tug-of-war is also a popular game and lots of toys have been invented for this purpose. We use the socks, shoelaces and rope. She will grab hard on one end and skid on the slippery wooden floor, but she really wouldn't give up easily. If we don't play with her, she starts mopping the floor with the poor sock.

These are just a few of the most well-known games to play with your dog. The rules of playing are simple: be creative, have fun and stay safe. You can act silly for your dog, jump around and behave like a little kid - your dog will love it!

Playmates

Yes, you play with your dog, but you can also let your dog play with other people or even other dogs (careful about fights, possible diseases or dogs in heat). Let your dog socialise and play; it's good fun for dogs to make friends. Aschiuta would want to play with every person or dog we meet.

The game environment

One more thing to add here is that where you play a game can also be quite important. For example, Aschiuta loves grass and simply going out in general. She feels free and loves to run - she is almost unstoppable in the grass. We went to Brasov (a city close to the mountains) and she went really wild there.

Exploring the great outdoors

All in all, go ahead and play with your dog. You will most likely both enjoy it.

The Vet

We all go to the doctor when something's wrong with us. Some of us go just to check that nothing is wrong with us. What will a dog do when it's not feeling so well? Someone will have to take it to the vet instead.

Parasites

We took our dog off the streets, so she was full of fleas and ticks and maybe internal parasites. Her fur was rare because of all the scratching. So, the second day after we adopted her, we took her to a nearby vet. After a general check-up, our doggie got herself a couple of drops on the back of her neck of a parasite repellent. She was also given a quarter of a pill for internal parasites. The amount of pill given is proportional to the dog's weight.

We went home and over the next couple of days, the fleas and ticks started either dying or falling off, dizzy. Soon, they weren't bothering her anymore and she was free of all of them. The little pill worked too, but only the second time she got it. She eliminated a 7cm long worm. Needless to say, we were happy she was feeling better without all the "colonists".
 

Tummy problems

When we got the puppy, her tummy was pretty upset and the vet told us to feed her chicken soup with rice and vegetables. She loved it and it worked wonders. We are still feeding her the same thing today and she can't get enough of it.

I've read that dogs can get bloated if they eat too fast or drink a lot of water all at once while eating. Aschiuta's tummy was exceptionally big and the vet was also worried about bloating. We didn't really know how to cure it, but luckily it solved itself in a short time. It is however useful to know how to burp your dog, like one would a baby.

Bloated belly

Scratching and skin problems

The external parasites were gone, but somehow, her fur came off by the handful and she kept scratching all day long (and when she woke up at night). In addition to these issues, she came up with a kind of rash on most of her skin. We were worried it could have been mange. The vet couldn't have told us what it was without some lab tests. We didn't have a lot of money, but we did the mange exam and it was negative.
 

More confused than before, we kept going to the vet every day and the poor dog was given a lot of shots. She ended up being terrified of the vet's examination table. The vet also suggested baths with sulfur soap and rinsing with apple vinegar. We still use the soap for her baths today, but we don't give her baths as often as then.

After a few days of no change, the vet suggested to change the dog food (we were giving her cheap kibble from Pedigree at the time). Amazingly enough, that was the problem. She got better soon and after a few more days, the rash was gone and the hair wasn't falling anymore. Also, the painful scratches were only a memory. The vet was impressed.

We never bought her that brand of kibble again and now we know that what food we give to the dog is important to its health.

Vaccines

After we had a healthy dog, we could finally get her vaccinated. We did the standard vaccines for a puppy and she was finally able to get out of the house without needing to get carried. It was a relief, since she was getting bigger and heavier...

More accidents and vet visits in a later post... My best advice to you is to contact your vet as soon as you sense a problem with your pet. You should also go for a check up every now and then... The most qualified person who can tell you if your pet is healthy or not is a good vet.