Hershey's Kisses

Tess

2009-04-18T20:12:00.000-07:00

We got very sad news today that "Cousin Tess" passed away.
Chris' family's dog, Tess, was a big beautiful and silly golden retriever who we often joked had an internal running monologue of "oh boy oh boy oh boy!" - but she was getting on in her years, having turned at least 12 this pass winter. She'd apparently had a very fun week with Easter turkey scraps, going to the cottage, playing with sticks in the backyard in Toronto, and then passed away quietly at home all of a sudden.
We will miss her forever.

Hershey update 2009!

2009-03-07T14:58:00.000-08:00

I totally suck for not blogging at all.
Hershey has been just great! She's really matured recently, not being as much of a spazoid as she used to be. She still loves playing rough with her toys, and is very excitable if we say a trigger word ("would you like to go for a walk?" "car ride" "pussycat" "Brian & Ariel") but mostly she's mellowed out.

She's still not 100% great with strangers, but when we have people over at the house, she tolerates them. Carlen in particular was not a welcome guest before, Hershey would take all of her toys away into her room in case Carlen would want to take her precious Ozzie. But she's gotten much better even with new visitors. She won't bark as much, and she'll be happy just observing them from a few feet away.

She still has her favourites though. Chris' parents spent last Christmas with us and she remembered them right away. We drove all the way to Toronto this Christmas, and she remembered Tess! The two dogs had a grand old time wrestling and just hanging out. Hershey even let Tess smell and chew on some of her toys! She remembered David a bit, but not as well. She enjoyed visiting his place in Ottawa but kept looking all over the house to find out where his dog was... none to be found - at least for now!

below: Hershey and Tess in Toronto - Hershey's always curious.

We've had Hershey stay over in the kennel a few times recently too - like in Summer during our horseback riding trip, and October when we went to Saskatoon. She spent 2 weeks there in February while we were off in China. She's really taken to the staff at the Animal Medical Centre, which is great. They love all of her tricks (we've printed out a page of them!) and there are a few staff members there she is especially sweet about. The fact that they seem to overfeed her each time she's there may help a bit too!

Her roadtrip across the country (and into the states) for Christmas was great. She was a total star in the car, sleeping, wanting to hold hands, eating cold kibble and being squooshed up in the back seat when we had to unload the contents of the trunk due to a blown tire (long story). She was even pretty good at toll booths and the border crossings (she should be a natural, given that she's a border collie - haha). She got lots of toys for Christmas - including a squirrel, a Mittens the cat (from Bolt), a four-some of organic cotton softie toys, lots of big chewy cookies, a backpack for camping, a water bottle for the summer and car rides, and more treats! She also finally got her own Jub Jub toy from our trip to China - something she's been "wanting" ever since we found a Jub Jub in a geocache last summer (which she could *not* have because it was part of a tracking bug!)

Here's a video of her (sorry it's sideways) of her falling asleep while sitting up in the back seat.

We've got no big travel plans or anything for the rest of the winter, so we'll just be taking it easy at home. She's actually been quite lucky that it has been so cold this winter - her room is freezing so we have let her sleep upstairs on the bed a lot. We find her cuddling next to the heat register during the daytime too. Pathetic.

I'm running out of ideas for tricks to teach Hershey too - she's mastered "360" (spinning around in a circle), "circle" (where she circles around you), "touch" (where she touches a treat with her paw before getting to eat it). She's also enjoyed a crawl tube we got at a garage sale, and is learning to put up with a mini helicopter toy Chris bought in China.

Such a cute news story

2008-10-28T17:40:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HKbvjg8D2A

Bit bum

2008-08-31T15:11:00.001-07:00

This summer has been very full of activities for Hershey, including a lot of camping and some very cool new tricks, but (and I choose that word on purpose), the most significant thing this summer was that poor Hershey had her tail and butt bit very badly.

We went to the dog park in July and early on in the visit Hershey got in a pretty big snarling match with another smaller dog. We broke the fight up quickly but I noticed the dog had put a big gob of spit on Hershey's back end. We didn't see anything that seemed to require attention, so kept on with the dog park visit. Hershey ran around like normal and even went swimming. She was fine we thought, so we took our time there and coming home.

Once home I decided she needed a bath, and thank goodness I gave her one. During the bath I noticed that her butt had been bit near her pooper. It was bad, quite deep and red, but it wasn't really bleeding any more so we just cut the fur off the area and cleaned it well and decided to keep an eye on it.

The next day (Sunday) I took Hershey for a walk and I noticed that her tail was dragging low. Her tail normally curls a bit at the end, but her tail fur was just hanging down on the ground now. We headed right home and I got Chris to check it out. He saw that the bite had gotten abscessed and a lot of dark fluid had collected into a bulge on her tail. We called the emergency vet clinic and headed right over there.

The vet was able to see us quickly and they took Hershey in to get a drain put into the bit hole. This would help it drain any grossness out and heal from the inside out. We were able to take Hershey back home the very same night, but goodness, when she was let out of the operating room, it looked like she'd seen a ghost. She had the drain in the bottom of her tail (which was really just a rolled up piece of silicone to act as a tube), and also a stitch in another bite that we hadn't seen at the top of her tail. Her whole bum was shaved, and very messy from the procedures. There were a few other bite marks including one that the vet recommended should be left open to drain and close up on its own. It was horrible. She was given lots of pain killers and some antibiotics for the week and had to wear a plastic collar too.

Chris stayed home with her for the Monday and Tuesday. We kept Hershey company on the first few nights sleeping downstairs in the living room (on the floor) with her. It was so sad, she looked like she'd been really mangled. The pain killers sapped her energy, and she kept sitting to do everything, including eating and drinking which she normally does standing up. We realized later that it was because the drain was poking her and it was easier for her to sit, but we were really worried that she'd have long-term or permanent effects from this bite.

A week after the emergency vet visit, we had the drain taken out of the bottom part of her tail at the regular vet. Her other bites had healed a lot too, some had already scabbed over, and were healing. After the drain was removed, Hershey went back to standing more, and being much more energetic. It was a relief to see that she'd be back to normal.

It's been about a month now, and her tail end is doing just fine. Her fur is still growing back, so, she looks a little silly and a bit like a lion from behind. She's been on walks and car rides, and we will eventually get back to the dog park, but not quite yet as we'd rather wait for her fur to grow in a bit more first. This was a really scary experience, and we are very grateful for the excellent care the Edmonton Emergency Veterinary Clinic in downtown.

I will spare you the gruesome pictures of the post-vet butt, but here's a picture of a zonked out Hershey wearing her collar (with her Ausie also wearing a paper collar that Chris made for it).

Spring crazy

2008-04-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

Since the last post, we've had some great times with Hershey; she first got to meet baby Lincoln Tanner (who she was fascinated by, and a little jealous of). She's also learned a few more tricks - one is to ring the wind chimes by the couch when we tell her "chime". She has also learned "360" where she turns around in a circle.

Hershey has been trying to learn how to stop barking... she tries very hard and ends up "munching" her barks (which makes a hilarious whining noise).

As for her other activities, she recently has joined us going Geocaching. She's not very much help with the maps or the GPS unit, but she sure enjoys going for the long walks off trails. In fact, every time we found a cache, Hershey gets to celebrate with a cookie. She's the Geodog!

Next weekend we're going to go camping for the first time this season - we're really looking forward to that.

Winter blues

2008-03-03T21:42:00.000-08:00

Hershey's had a very low-key winter. We didn't go out to Ontario for Christmas, but instead had Chris' parents come to visit us out here. Hershey remembered them (from 12 months previous) which was great. She was really warm and playful with them. She got some great toys again, including some toys, cookies, and it was Hershey's turn to donate to charity this year, so she gave a donation to Misty Creek - a well-deserving cause!

After the holidays, we had some really cold weather so Hershey was home-bound for nearly 2 weeks. Then, when the weather finally turned in February, we went out on Family Day to enjoy the dog park, but within a few minutes of being there, she and a bigger dog got into a tiff, and ended up running away from the fight limping and crying... At first glance we thought she was okay but after a few more minutes we realized she had a big cut under her chin. The other dog has clearly bit her right in her bottom jaw, with a canine punching deeply into her chin. Clearly worried, we brought her back home, cleaned up the cut and put some antibiotic ointment and tried to keep her from stretching the cut open. We called the vet and they assured us that as long as the cut wasn't infected it should heel on its own. And it did, but she still has a little scar...

So, we've been taking it easy with Hersh... no dog park yet, though I'm sure that she'll be fine with other dogs. Carlen came to visit again a few weeks back; Hershey was more comfortable than in past visit. She even let Carlen pat her!

And on Saturday this past weekend, we all went on a day trip to Calgary (to pick up a lathe for Chris). She did great in the car, very patient and slept for most of the drive home. We drove right past Ponoka and Misty Creek... She enjoyed sniffing the farm air and even got to watch a pack of horses running in a field.

We will likely be going out much more this spring since we've started geocaching. It's fun for her since we get to go off-trail hiking, and we get a bit of a treasure hunt.

Tummy rubs at the dog park

2007-12-18T20:16:00.000-08:00

After about 2 years of visiting the dog park on a semi-regular basis, we've gotten to know the very friendly lady who runs the canteen. Sylvia is always very happy to see Hershey, and has taken a few pictures of her - one of which has now been included in the 2008 Me and My Dog calendar.

On our most recent visits, we shared some Christmas presents with Sylvia; some homemade jam and jelly, and a bandana for Sylvia's dog Jesse. And on Saturday, when Sylvia said hello to Hershey, Hersh came up to her very timidly and lied down and asked for a tummy rub from Sylvia. It was a huge breakthrough - Hershey hasn't done this with a lot of people, and we were thrilled that she's come around to liking Sylvia as much as we do!

Scooter-a-likes

2007-11-12T21:06:00.000-08:00

On our last few trips to the dog park, Hershey has encountered miniature schnauzers which looked awfully similar to Scooter. Each time she sees one of these mini grey dogs, she goes running over and smells them with great excitement and curiosity. But then... it's like she's been tricked - who is this Scooter look alike? She keeps sniffing them, and then backing up to get a better view of the dog, it's like she's thinking, "You look like Scooter, but you don't smell like Scooter - what have you done to Scooter!" It's totally hillarious

New car smell

2007-10-16T21:46:00.000-07:00

So it has been SOOO long since I last updated this blog. Hershey had a pretty great summer with several trips to the dog park, lots of sunny weather, and lots of visits with the Tanners.

When we went off to Ottawa to get married (yay!) Hershey stayed at the kennel and did pretty well being checked in. When we came back to pick her up a week and a half later, we pulled up in the car to see her sitting out in the sun behind the chain link fence. We got to peek on her for a little while, but then moved the car to pick her up. She was SO happy to see us - and the kind people at the kennel put a pink bandana around her neck to match our wedding colours!

In recent weeks, Hershey's been really playful. She's growling and playing keep-away with her toys a lot. She's calmed down a lot compared to when we first got her, but she's still up for any type of fun.

Today we took Hershey in the new (to me car) for a ride, but she got sick. It was the first time in over a year that she's been sick in a vehicle - perhaps it's something about the previous owner - she also had an unhappy run in with John last year - she's such a nervous nelly!

Anyhow, we are looking forward to staying home with Hershey all winter - no stressful plane ride this year. It'll also mean less love from the the doggy grandparents or Tess, but perhaps there'll be the opportunity for more visits in the future.

Promissing to post more often!

Summer Lovin'

2007-07-03T21:10:00.000-07:00

Okay - well Hershey did avoid the horny poodles at the dog park - so it's not exactly a summer of love; but I do have to say that Hersh has been having a pretty great summer.

First off - we celebrated Hershey's 3rd Birthday back on June 10th. I got back home from my conference with lots of presents in tow (a chirping blue jay stuffie, a beautiful Australian Shepperd stuffie) to add to the gift I got her already (super loud squeeky rubber ball thingie with feet) and the gifts that my parents got for Hershey too (yellow squeeky bone-shapped stuffie, tennis ball on a rope loop). Chris also gave her the huge aligator stuffie he got at Old Navy last year (2 for 1 with the big bear stuffie). Hershey was totally spoiled!

Watch Hershey say "thank you" to my parents for the gift!

We've been pretty good at taking the Hersh for walks and to the dog park - in fact, this past long weekend she went twice! She's been getting better at dealing with strangers and distractions, but it's no where near perfect yet.

One super cute thing that happened at our last dog park visit was that Hershey encountered a mini-schnauzer that looked just like Scooter! She kept smelling him and looking at him really strangely to figure out whether this was Scoots or some kind of imposter!

Spring cleaning

2007-05-26T08:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a VERY long time since I posted anything about poor little Hershey!
First off, some good news about Dawgie - he was adopted within a week of being at Misty Creek. That's fantastic & I hope he has a great life with his new family.

As for Hershey, she's been actually really really great in the past few months. First off, she spent a week and a few extra days at the Tanners while Chris & I went to Rome for a conference. She was treated like gold and got a visit from the Easter bunny too!

She was apparently pretty good with the Tanner dogs which is nice to hear.

When we got back, Hershey had to put up with two of my friends - one visited each week - first Carlen, who stayed overnight and even was home alone with Hershey while Chris & I were at school; and then Jessica, who came late at night after a work event. Hershey did great, only barking a little bit. I think she remembered Jess from her last visit here.

We've been good about taking Hershey to the dog park with the Tanners, but the last 2 times we went, she drank some of the scummy melted snow water, and ended up throwing up both times. Yuck!

Last weekend, we all went camping together - Hershey was great in the car, and did quite well on the campground too. There was a large family next door with a golden lab - she really wanted to go play, but she ended up barking at them a lot instead. We adventured with Hershey too - going on lots of walks and playing in the very cold North Saskatchewan River. Hershey even acted as a little rescue dog brining my Crocs from one side of the river to Ariel on the other side, one at a time (clipped to her collar). She was a great little trooper!

Unfortunately all this excitement and activity in the freezing cold river water gave Hershey the chills - and she was shaking terribly when we got back to the camp. I snuggled her up in all the blankets, towels and sleeping bags we had, and got her nice and warmed up. It was so sad to see her with what was maybe hypothermia. She did get over it quickly, and was ready for more fun the following day.

We look forward to going camping with her (& the Tanners) again in the comming summer weeks!

Dawgie

2007-04-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

It's been a rough day - my coworker just gave up her dog to be rescued, and followed my advice to go with Misty Creek.

This dog has had a very unstable life. First, he was owned by two students who didn't know how to care for him. They fed him plain white rice and didn't understand that dogs need to have a measured diet. Then, when the had to go back home for a little while, they left the dog with my coworker. They never came back.

My coworker not only didn't plan to have a dog permanently in the first place, she also didn't know how to care for it. She's very busy with work, school and volunteering, and she's a really wonderful human being, but didn't have the skills or the time to really take care of a dog. At first she continued the rice & overfeeding routine, until Chris told her that wasn't good for him. She's learned a lot and has been doing good things for the dog, but she still was under the ipression that doing things like giving him a pork chop "because it was the weekend" was okay. Her heart was in the right place, but she still wasn't able to do all the right things for this dog.

She's been having more and more trouble balancing the dog's needs with her capability to spend time with him, and recently, she's been forced to move. It is so sad to hear how hard a time she's had with it, but it is best that it has come to a head and she's made the right choice. It's a sad situation that the dog has had to be given up, but I know that the dog will be in a better suited home soon.

Auntie Ariel & Uncle Brian

2007-03-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

Hershey is very lucky to have great friends in Ariel and Brian - two of the few people she will happily cuddle with! We've been to the dog park several times with the Tanners this winter. Ariel took these great pictures on our February outings.

The Tanners LOVE Hershey!

Grumpy much?

2007-03-06T20:34:00.000-08:00

Hershey has had a rather few months with lots of walks and going to the dog park on weekends. Our great friends, the Tanners, and their dogs have shown us a new park on the east end of town. It's quite nice because there are several trails and a very big open space for the dogs to play in. And while we've noticed that Hershey is getting much better with people (even letting a few pat her or talk to her), she's seemingly getting more short-tempered with other dogs. She isn't enjoying it when other dogs smell her and she gets very defensive of the Tanner dogs and her people when dogs come to say 'hello'.

We're not thrilled about the idea of "one step forward, one step back" but at least it shows that she can overcome some fears...

Woes dogs

2007-02-07T17:30:00.000-08:00

A friend at work is having a lot of trouble with her dog. It makes me sad to hear how things have really gotten out of hand. I know that it has been mostly her fault for not providing routine and rules, but the dog was thrust upon her by friends who left the country, and she really does love it despite not being able to control it. I think she needs to give it up to someone who can manage it a lot better (not us!) and hope that it can get a good, permanent, home like Hershey's previous owners did...

Dog-time!

2007-01-14T09:39:00.000-08:00

Since the last post, Hershey has had some remarkable adventures!

First off, the guys came over for a M&M session and Hershey did very well with all three of them. She took some cookies and was fast to calm down - we've noticed this, and are really encouraged by it. Then, Jessica, my bridesmaid-to-be came to visit from Calgary. Hershey has never met Jess before, so it was a good test of how she might be over the holidays. They got along okay, no huge breakthroughs but things went well over the weekend. Hershey got the first of her X-mas gifts too - a box of Meaty Bones from Scooter & Trinity!

Shortly after, in early December, we went to Ontario for our holidays. Hershey was put into cargo again, and it was tough. First off, the Edmonton Airport people were quite nervous of her - which I can understand, but said things like "we'll have to put this big viscious dog through these doors to go to security..." which was unnecessary. Also, there was another lady who was checking in at the same time and she had a big standard poodle which she was walking all over the place on leash - poor Hershey was jealous and didn't understand why she was trapped when another dog was allowed to walk around!

I think the flight itself was fairly okay for Hershey - there were no disasters like last time, so we were much more confident in her safe keeping. In fact, when we got her in Toronto, she hadn't peed or pooped or anything! Wonderdog!

Toronto was great fun for Hershey - she got wrestling with Tess right away and remembered Chris' parents too. She warmed up to Melissa, Chris' sister, much better than she had last year, which was good. The only trying thing for Hershey was being stuck in her crate in the cold room during a party - she destroyed her blanket again, but that was the only rough thing. She got to come to the Christmas Tree Farm and enjoyed some walks with Tess too. It was nice to be able to leave her for the day and be cared for by Chris' parents while we enjoyed our vacation time.

For Christmas #1, Hershey got lots of presents: 2 boxes of cookies, 1 box of "doggie brownie mix", a yellow tough-fabric man, and a big brown bear from Chris, and a stuffed chicken toy from me.
At Christmas #2 (in Ottawa on Boxing day) Hershey got even more stuff: a new food mat, stuffed sport ball toys with ropes through them, a strange looking Christmas cat thing with rope, a tennis ball on rope, a rawhide chew, a new brush, a weasel ball (from me) and maybe more (can't remember - she was really spoilled!) She was able to open most of her gifts on her own, which was very cute!

We transfered from Toronto to Ottawa on boxing day - she enjoyed the drive quite a bit, getting lots of scratches and enjoying the water we got for her (we planed ahead this time!). She didn't enjoy the pit stop at the Flying J in Napanee very much; mostly because she didn't like the other folks filling up at the gas station all around the car.

Ottawa went fantastically this year! Last year, Hershey was stuck on a leash the whole time, but this year she was able to get lots of love (and treats!) from my parents, and even my brother! Things went wonderfully - she was able to poop in the backyard (despite a scary run across the semi-frozen pool) and had a great time looking at the squirrels in the backyard through the big picture windows. She did feel self-conscious though and was super submissive (read: peed) when my dad would come home from work. But overall, she got lots of scratches and was 100% comfortable with my family, which is great!

We enjoyed several nice walks with Hershey (my mom and dad each got to take the leash during the walks), and Hershey got to enjoy a big piece of Christmas turkey! She also enjoyed something kind of strange: hiding under the daybed! We've never seen her do anything like that before.

The trip back to Toronto was good and easy for her - Flying J was less stressful the second time around. When Chris' parents returned from their cruise at 3 in the morning, we told them that Hershey remembered the house and actually jumped out of the barely-parked van to get in the house! After another day or so of being in Toronto, it was time to leave for Edmonton. Hershey was pretty good on the plane this time too and was happy to be home.

A day ago - we went to pick up the Tanner's dogs from their place to dogsit for a week. Things have been going well with the three dogs - but it is tiring. Chris is going to stay home with them for a few days - it should be very educational for Hershey to see what life is like with other dogs around!

Dog friends and Snow

2006-11-16T19:02:00.000-08:00

Hershey's been enjoying the company of Scooter and Trinity, the Tanner's dogs. They've been over a few times and things have gone very well. We may be dog sitting them for a little while in January too; I think it will help Hershey a lot. Here they are all dressed up for Halloween!

Here is Scooter dressed as Batman:

And here is Trinity dressed up as Cinderella:

Hershey has also has been enjoying the snow - it has snowed quie a bit in Edmonton over the last 2 weeks - Hersh has been running around the yard sniffing snow banks, playing with her big green ball. Here she is posing on the picnic table in the backyard. Such a cutey!

Home Alone Girls

2006-10-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

We've had a very busy and interesting time on our own while Chris has been away on his conference. For instance, today we walked (in the rain!) all the way to the great wholesale pet store (about 2 KM's away), bought a few fun things, then walked back home. Hersh is exhausted now!

This is the toy we got for Hersh, it's kind of creepy (note its feet/foot - weird!)

Shopping!

2006-10-15T21:29:00.000-07:00

Hershey and I went to 2 PetSmarts this weekend - she did FANTASTIC! She was very good with the other dogs there, and all the people too.

She enjoyed smelling the treat isle, and was really interested in the toys, especially the ones that she has at home! A great experience, we shall definitely try it again!

Keeping Busy

2006-10-12T22:21:00.000-07:00

While Chris has been away, we have been trying to keep each other occupied with walks, lots of running around in the backyard and playing in the house (cuz it's getting cold!).

We recently found a ball that we gave Hershey about a year ago, that was, uh "repurposed" from a thank you gift from UNBC GSA several years ago. She loves it because it's kind of squishy but still very strong and can withhold being chewed.

And here's one of Hershey just being silly, showing her "tummy"

Autumn!

2006-10-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

It's been too long since I last posted!

So much has been happening! First off, after the white dog episode, we washed all of Hershey's blankets in case of fleas or ticks, and then I decided to wash all of Hershey's toys too. Some were looking rather grimy, others were covered in fur! Hershey didn't quite understand what was going on...

The net bag was useful for the toys where I had to take elaborate squeekers out and wash them with their fluffy innards exposed!

Hershey didn't look too impressed!

She was quite helpful pulling the toys out of the dryer though! That was a fun game for her :)

We have enjoyed some really great outings with Hershey in the past month or so. She's been invited over to the Tanners a few times and it has been good. She's quite respectful of Trinity and Scooter's toys. She was even left alone with them for about 30 minutes once and luckily there were three dogs still when the people returned! She's been a pretty good host to the Tanners too; she loves Ariel and Brian, but isn't quite sure how to engage in play with Trinity! Poor Trinner is terrified, but Hershey just really wants to chase or be chased!

The dog park has also been pretty good. Hershey got along okay with most dogs on our recent visit. Her she is walking with some of the random dogs there.

That blur is her butt as she's running to go see the dogs!

Here's another beauty pic of Hershey with Chris at the park!

Speaking of Chris, he left for China a day ago. Hershey and I have been busy talking walks, cleaning the house, and today, raking the leaves. Hersh got to be tied outside in the front yard while I raked and bagged all the leaves.

Home sweet home?

2006-09-06T12:10:00.000-07:00

The White Dog is officially off of the City Pound website... Chris called them yesterday to see if he got picked up by his owners, and the staff person there suggested that was the obvious outcome if the dog was removed from the website already.

That's good, isn't it? I certainly hope so!
We'll keep our eyes open for the White Dog on our walks and adventures with Hershey - hopefully we'll get to see him safe, sound and happy again!

Update...

2006-08-29T11:52:00.000-07:00

They've posted a picture of the white dog on the City Pound website. He looks so sad!

I hope he finds his home soon!

S5C2057

2006-08-28T22:55:00.000-07:00

This evening's attempt at a walk was certainly memorable.

Hershey and I were going to try and squeeze in a late-night walk to the mail box and back after watching Prison Break. It's only two blocks away and about half way there, we were going to cross the road when a white lab-type 6-12 month old male dog came running towards us.

He had no collar, there was no "mom" or "dad" around. He kept getting in Hershey's face, and she would bark and lunge/nip at him in defense. She was obviously thinking she needed to protect me too. The dog was submissive and would lie down but then would just get right back up and continue to try to smell Hershey's face. He never barked. I tried to get him to "go home" and he didn't understand. He didn't understand "stay", "sit", or "go away" either. After a while of struggling to keep the two dogs apart, one of the neighbours who just moved to the 'Boon came outside to see what was going on. He wasn't very helpful in trying to help, but he said he called the SPCA and the police, and they were too full to take the dog in tonight. They had told him just to let the dog wander alone in the neighbourhood.

My heart broke hearing that - if Hershey were lost at night, the last thing I would want is to let her wander around in the streets on her own. She'd get hit by a car, or get in a fight with some other animal... I couldn't let this happen to the white dog.

I tried to have the neighbour keep the white dog busy, but he didn't understand and/or was too lazy to help. I decided to run back home with Hershey on the leash and the white dog running after the two of us. I finally got to the yard, let Hershey off her leash, and the white dog still didn't know how to behave... I yelled for Chris to come outside and help me - he took Hershey in, and I tried to get the white dog to sit without much luck. Then Chris came out to check on the dog - he noticed that the dog's paws were swollen looking in the back and that his ears didn't smell very good. His condition wasn't terrible, but certainly nothing we wanted to mess around with or let into the house. Chris thought the swollen paws might mean that his dog had walked from very far - there was no way to know where he had come from.

While Hershey stayed inside we gave the white dog some water, a lot of water, he was so thirsty. We also got him a bit of food, and I was able to check for an ear tattoo while he ate. The number, S5C2057, didn't pull anything up online. Other websites, including the City of Edmonton's website, the Edmonton Humane Society and other Google searches were useless. The "get-me-home.ca" tag that Hershey has wasn't any help either - you need the dog to have a tag to use that service. So many offices were closed, I was so frustrated.

Finally, we found the Edmonton Veterinary Emergency Clinic which is open overnight, and I got a real person on the phone. She said we could either bring the dog in to their downtown office, or we could hold it overnight and have the city pound pick him up in the morning. We wanted to get the white dog to his home as soon as possible - especially if he had been tattooed, that meant his owners could likely be tracked down - so we decided to drive him over.

It was a challenge to get him in the car. Chris had been keeping the white dog busy outside because it was crying and pawing the back door trying to get in the house (this was making Hershey crazy on the inside of the house). He seemed to have decided we were safe and wanted to just come inside the home. Chris tried to see if the white dog would be able to lead him to his real home - he put one of Hershey's old collars and a leash on the white dog and tried to get the dog to lead him out of the yard. The white dog didn't want to leave our yard at all and seemed not to know where he was at all. When I had gotten the address and locked up the house, we tried to get him in the car. He seemed really scared, he wouldn't jump in the car and he lied down low on the ground and wouldn't move. He even curled his lip up at Chris when Chris tried to pick him up. We finally got him in the car and the poor dog just half-stood-half-lied-down in the back seat while we drove to the vet.

We got him there in a few minutes, and they took him in. The reception/vet person was so nice and calm, it was very reasurring. There was nothing left for us to do. We came back home to Hershey who was very confused about what had happened.

I was really overwhelmed by this whole event. While it was a big coincidence that we had gone on a walk at that time of night, it was a good thing that it we were able to help, and either get the dog on the way back to his owners, or in safe hands while new owners are being found. I'm glad to have helped S5C2057 - I hope things will go well for him.

Ruski?

2006-08-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

We were watching a "Turning Points in History" documentary a week ago that was all about Mikhaïl Gorbatchev. Hershey was sleeping on the couch with us while we were watching the show. All of a sudden, while Gorbatchev was talking - IN RUSSIAN - Hershey startled awake! It seemed she had heard something she understood!

Doin' great!

2006-08-25T10:28:00.000-07:00

Hershey has been having a fantastic summer. Since our last post, Hershey has been getting to go to the dog park fairly regularly, and has been enjoying the sun while hanging out in the backyard quite a bit.

Chris' parents came for about a week at the beginning of August. I think Hershey remembered them because she was very good right away, and within a few days was letting the Parkers pat her and give her tons of treats. On the 3rd day of their trip, we had a big party with all our friends for our engagement. Hershey was stuck upstairs in our room with some toys and water, but she sat on top of the bed for the whole evening. She was very good, barely barking and behaving very well. Poor pups - it was a long time alone, and everytime I went to check on her, her little tail was wagging so much! At one point I put her on a leash and made her go pee outside - in the front yard! She looked so confused, and dare I say... embarrassed!

After the party, Hershey got to have lots of fun time; going on walks with everyone, playing in the park near our house off leash, and getting to go to the dog park too. She got to enjoy Elk Island National Park again with Chris' parents on a day trip there.

We've noticed a big change in Hershey - she's calmer, and when she does get all worked up she can settle down a lot more quickly than before. It is really encouraging to hear this from others too who had seen her last year. We've also been able to trust her more too, I am able to let her play off leash in a semi-enclosed field by our house. In fact, yesterday, Hershey got to play with a little golden lab puppy named Jinx. She had a great time chasing and wrestling the 4-month old dog, and I had a nice chat with the pup's owner. Hershey even took a piece of carrot from the lady's hand and wasn't shy at all! How great!!

Clickermania

2006-07-16T21:57:00.000-07:00

Chris has been working very intensively with Hershey over the last few weeks on clicker training. He has been diligently working with her outside in the yard doing Day 1 to 4, and we can see the improvements already. She does still bark at strangers but she calms back down right away.

Here is Chris working with Hershey in the yard.

She's enthralled in the piece of kibble that Chris is holding. After she completes the task she gets a "click" and the kibble as a treat.

In other recent times, we went camping with Hershey near Rocky Mountain House during the July long weekend, and have been taking her to the dog park. Yesterday's trip to the dog park was great - we made sure she got plenty of interaction time with the other dogs. We're also expecting Chris' parents early next month, so hopefully more training will pay off during their visit!

Scarecrow dog!

2006-06-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

We have done a lot of work on the garden in the past few weeks and Hershey has been watching us with great interest the whole time. She really liked the smell of the earth being turned and was puzzled by the wheelbarrow full of dirt (and ants!) that we put asside. She has also been "helping out" by chompin' on the long strands of grass and chasing the birds around the yard.

She did run right through the garden at one point over the weekend and stepped all over one of our brussel sprout plants, but for the most part she's been very good. We have put up some fencing that Chris made... just in case! Here she is just lying in the grass with her nose at the base of the garden!

Birthday Doggie!

2006-06-12T07:19:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we celebrated the 1st anniversary of having Hershey in our home, or, as we have come to call it, her 2nd birthday! She was about 1 when we got her, so it makes sense!

I came home early from my conference specifically to spend the whole day with Hershey. We started the day by letting her sleep on the bed overnight and then in the morning after having had a bit of her normal food, I made her a special "salad" with all her favourite things (lettuce, egg, bacon bits, cheese). She LOVED it!

Then, we did leave her for a little while as Chris and I both had some errands to do - but I had got her some new cookies and Kong Stuff'n Paste (basically some foam that taste like pate - ew!) so she was happy to chew on that for a while.

Once we got back home, we took her to the dog park where she played with doggies, went for a walk, and got to fetch sticks in the river. We were out there for a good 2 hours, and she had a great old time. Here's Hershey playing with Chris - she's jumping to get the frisbee toy.

Here's Hersh bringing back a stick from the river!

When we got back home, she had some dinner, and then a short while later, our friends Brian, Ariel and their dog Scooter came to visit (and watch the hockey game - Go Oilers!) Hershey and Scooter got along okay - but poor Scoots just wants to wander around and sniff stuff and ends up in places that Hershey doesn't like... for instance, he wandered into her crate and holy crap - Hershey went bananas. Nonetheless, I think she enjoys having dog company, and, frankly, it is helping her learn about more social situations.

After our guests left, we capped the evening with a special "cake" for the birthday dog. She got to have a small container of wet dog food (stinky duck pate flavoured dog food!) with a few beef jerky "candles" in it. She inhaled the whole thing in no time! It was past midnight when she went to bed in her crate, and she was so tired, but I think she had a really great day!

Mouser!

2006-06-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

A week ago, Hershey was enjoying the lovely weather outside and being nice and quiet, so I didn't think too much about what she was doing out there. We've found her just sitting in the sun and enjoying the fresh air of late, so I thought nothing of it. But when I went outside to call her back in, I saw that she was staring at the bag of bird seed with her ears all up and a possessed look on her face.

There was a mouse stuck in the bag and trying to get out.

Hersh was facinated by the little moving thing, and hadn't tried to bite or hit the bag yet, but she certainly was transfixed.

I called Chris, and together, we held Hershey back and tried to get the mouse to jump out of the bag. It ran to the fence and dissapeared from our view. We let Hershey go, and started to clean up the bag etc. But then Hersh ran to another spot on the fence at CAUGHT THE MOUSE in her mouth! Chris saw and told her to "drop it" which she did, and it ran away. Hershey ran after it, but it had gone through a crack under our porch stairs. Poor mouse! Thing must have been totally freaked out!

One Year Ago...

2006-06-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

We went to visit Hershey at the dog shelter - it has been a long year - but in a very good way! We have loved every moment with Hershey (not so much the times where she's barked and freaked out at strangers, but, she couldn't help that)!

We have also noticed that Hersh has mellowed out - quite a bit in fact. She is much better with strangers and loud sounds, and even better, she doesn't seem to react as badly to people walking in the back alley when she's in the yard. She's content just walking around and lying down outside. She calmer in the house too - not incessantly playing with toys or tearing around the place.

We will be celebrating her 2nd birthday on the day that we brought her home (June 10th). Although we have diverging opinions on how to celebrate, we will definitely be getting her a special dinner.

In other news - Hershey was at the kennel for 5 days two weeks ago while Chris and I were on a trip. She wasn't thrilled at first to be there, but apparently was very good (and quiet!) during her stay. We are so happy that things are going well for her!

Memoirs of a Doggie

2006-05-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since the last post, and I appologize for that! It has been a very busy Spring for us, and Hershey too!

Last time I had posted about Hershey doing much better at the dog park, being calm around strangers and interacting really well with other dogs. This has continued for the most part on our weekly trips to the park. We went a few times with our friends Brian and Ariel and their dogs Scooter and Trinity. Scoots likes to run away so we're trying to get Hershey's herding instincts to help out there --- with less than perfect results.

In early April, my brother came to visit and we were a little concerned about Hersh. Last time we had visitors, my parents had come immediately after we started doing clicker training, and it was hard to keep Hershey calm. This time we let Hershey off-leash nearly the entire time, and simply told her to "go to bed" if she started getting nervous. David wasn't able to pat her at first, but he was able to throw her some treats and stuff. Going on walks and to the park together also helped, and right towards the end of his week visit I was able to take this picture:

She seemed to be much better with him when he was sitting or lying down, or outside. There's just something she doesn't like about strangers standing around in the house.

In addition to all this doggie fun, we went out to the Edmonton Kennel Club dog show where we saw all sorts of very cute dogs - including lots of Nova Scotia Duck Tollers which Hershey looks like a lot. We also saw the dog behaviourist there who had helped us with Hersh back in November - she was happy to hear that Hershey was doing well.

The day before David left, it was Easter, so the "Easter Bunny" came around and left treats hidden around the house. Chocolate and fun stuff for David and Chris, and yogurt-covered raisins for Hershey!

(She's looking at the raisin on the chair in the picture.)

"Big Bunny" also got a gift for Hershey - a toy sheep that "baaahs" if you shake it! She loves this toy!

A few weeks later, on one of our trips to the park, it was nice enough outside for Hersh to go into the river and swim! She jumped in and chased sticks, played with other dogs. It was great to see her swim - it's so cute! Another thing that is happening during the hot weather is that Hersh has been shedding like crazy and getting lighter again. I'd be very surprised if she changed totally orange again, but she certainly gotten light-brown. We shall see!

In the last month, with me being so busy, Chris has taken over making sure that Hersh gets tons of exercise and outside time in the nice weather. They've been to the dog park, and on a few runs. She's being really good with strangers, according to Chris, and even got used to some people who chatted with Chris. It may be because she's getting older - we've heard that dog's "get their brain" for their second birthday - which may be around now, but she's been much calmer overall.

Now, we will be putting her in the kennel for a couple of days while Chris takes me on a special trip to San Francisco. We are very confident in the kennel - they have done nothing but give us good service, so hopefully she will have fun with all the other dogs. I will of course be thinking about her, but there really isn't a better kennel in the city! And, who knows, we may find some really special toys for her in California!

Strangers with cookies aren't THAT bad...

2006-03-26T15:19:00.000-08:00

Today we went on our weekly trip out to the dog park - Hersh was very happy to play with all sorts of dogs (except the big horny white siberian cross...ew!) We played with the kong on a rope as well as went on a little walk. Hershey even got to take a treat from one lady's hand - something she would have never done before! She was still shy and moved away afterwards, but she gave her the prettiest of sits!

We hope this continues on for the future - my brother is going to come visit and he and Hershey didn't exactly get off on the right foot during our visit to Ottawa. We do have a plan though - and I think she'll be alright after a little while of getting used to him being around.

Hershey the Amazing!

2006-03-22T20:05:00.000-08:00

Hershey learned a new trick this week - she has learned to open the door to her room by pulling on a string attached to the doorknob. She's gotten really good at this - she'll do it without hesitation now, pulling on the string with one big tug and nudging the open door with her nose!

It only took a few days of practice, getting her to bite the string first, then tugging at it, and then hiding a cookie in her room as an incentive for her to get the door open. Incredible!

Life in the dog house

2006-03-15T21:12:00.000-08:00

Hershey's room got a makeover back in the fall - I forgot to blog about it! I set up a cute little "sitting room" for her right by the heat register - we find her curled up on her pillow all the time!

We also find her hiding in her crate all the time. She like sitting in there when we're putting on our coats and boots as we're heading out.

More Snow

2006-03-12T17:17:00.000-08:00

Hershey's the only one who's enjoyed the weather we've been having recently! We went out to the dog park on Saturday and it was very tiring walking off the paths. Hersh, however, had a great time, playing with all the dogs and during our off-leash walk.

We were out for about an hour and a half - she's been very tired all day today! We did try to go for a quick walk, but before we went out, while I was shoveling the front walk (and while Hershey was on a leash on my hand) the neighbors' two pit bulls came barreling out of their house and at first just sniffed Hershey, but latter started scrapping with her. I was furious! And while the neighbors did come out to forcefully remove their dogs, they didn't apologize or even say anything to me or Hershey! What jerks! I'm glad that they're living in the haunted murder/suicide house!

Anyhow, Hershey has also been getting more visitors than in the past. While the guys didn't come over for games this last Wednesday, a couple who we like very much came to watch a movie after tobogganing (sans Hershey). She, of course, barked and was very grumpy when they first came in (but she was safely stowed away in her crate) but was eventually calm enough to spend the entire evening on-leash in the living room with us. She only barked once when our friend moved suddenly, but the rest of the time (including when they were putting their coats on again to leave) she was quiet and calm! I think we're making progress here!

Ski-joring!

2006-03-05T19:35:00.000-08:00

Hershey got to go cross-country skiing today! It was the first time, I'm certain of it - she was so excited and enjoyed it tremendously.

Chris held her leash while he was skiing - she pulled him quite a bit - typically in the right direction, sometimes not. At one point, she had gotten loose when Chris felll (shortly after I fell on my own!) and ran to play with one of the other dogs that was further ahead in the park. She was still on her leash, so she got tangled up with the other dog, and the dog's person too!

Later on this evening - she was excellent when some of our friends came over for games. She woofed at them from her crate when they arrived, but quickly settled down. She didn't bark at all when they were leaving - she lied down nicely in her crate and was very very calm.

Winter Wonderland

2006-03-01T11:51:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since the last post - we've been incredibly busy! While I was away in Medicine Hat, Chris took Hershey to the dog park several times. She's been excellent, playing nicely with other dogs (including a younger dog who's the same mix breed as she is), and being able to be off leash on walk in the dog park! This is a new development, and it's been going really well!

Another new thing in the yard is a big green ball - it's a hollow hard-plastic ball that's about two-and-a-half feet in diameter. Hersh LOVES it! (Click HERE for a movie of her playing with the ball!)

I've also gotten a little hamster puppet - she goes crazy everytime she sees it! Chris is especially good at making it move in a very life-like fashion!

Puppet came from Folkmanis Puppets.

Piddle, Poodles and Pals

2006-02-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

We took Hershey to the dog park again on Sunday - it was quite the adventure - it always is!

First off, there were no kids, which means Hershey got to play off leash for a while (we don't trust children to know not to pet dogs they aren't familiar with - in fact we've seen kids running towards dogs to hug them and dogs freaking out - we don't want ANY part of that). Hersh got to run around, play with the kong on a rope, and found a few friends to play with. She loves smaller dogs - so she got to play with a lovely border collie X pit bull. They were having a great time together.

There are always a few dogs who are "grumpy" and bark or snap when other dogs come to smell them. Hersh encountered a few of those last time. She was also moody herself when we were walking her on leash. One dog who made ME grumpy was one who peed on my foot! I was standing there enjoying being outside when a boxer-type dog came to sniff me, or so I thought. Chris told me to watch out, but I looked at my foot that was closest to the dog and it was dry - little did I know that it was my far foot who was getting it! Sigh.

Luckily, on our last visit, there were no horny poodles. They are the worst of the dogs - especially the standard black ones. Hershey hasn't had to escape their advances yet - but there's plenty of other dogs who haven't been as lucky. No procreation-type attempts, just playing/can't control themselves attempts. Gross!

Nevertheless, it is a great outing for Hershey - we get fresh air and a nice walk out of it too. We've gotten to know some of the dogs and their dog parents too - it's nice to chat with others about their trials and tribulations.

Mani-Pedi?

2006-02-04T14:44:00.000-08:00

I accidentally cut Hershey's toenail (by that I mean one of her back paw claws) too short yesterday! Luckily, we had the stiptic powder on hand and it worked like a charm. She didn't seem to notice, no barking or licking of her paw, but I felt awful! Poor puppy! Unfortunately, I need to finish the rest of that foot and the other foot too soon - I will be even more careful from now on!

In other news, we have been taking Hersh on walks and doing clicker training almost religiously - we have seen some improvement, but we know we still have much work ahead of us still.

At the Dog Wash!

2006-01-26T18:58:00.000-08:00

The crazy warm weather that we have been having recently has made our daily walks a muddy mess. Hershey had a bath at the beginning of the month, but with the mud, she needed another one badly. We took her for one last big messy walk before I gave her a very thorough bath. She was so messy! I managed to wash her entire head, ears, muzzle and all. Poor girl wasn't thrilled, but she wasn't afraid either. I got her a bath mat, so she wouldn't slip around so much - also I've found that holding her by the scruff of the neck helps keep her still. She's incredibly clean now and all fuzzy!

Cute pic of the day: What I saw when I looked up the stairs before leaving for work today!

Calendartron 6000

2006-01-21T21:22:00.000-08:00

We have developed a new tracking system for our dog training - the Calendartron 6000!

We will be marking every time we do training (what type, and whether the training was done indoors or outdoors), when we go on walks, and any other notables (vet visits, dog park outings). If we do training and/or walk every day of the week, we'll get to put a sticker on the calendar for that week.

In order to make the whole thing a bit cuter, we got her a Border Collie themed calendar.

And now a typed review of Calendartron 6000 from Hershey:
mn,bjnkl,lk;

Year of the Dog

2006-01-18T07:57:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since the last post!

Last we met, Hershey had gone back to Toronto with Chris and was getting along famously with his family and their dog Tess. I came back to Toronto on the 28th and found that she had chipped her side-incisor while wrestling with Tess! It didn't seem to hurt her, but it looked bad, the pulp was exposed - which (when we looked online) meant that it could get infected - the tooth needed to come out or some crazy denture-like cap would need to be put in.

We took her to Chris' old family vet the next day and the vet gave us antibiotics and told us that it would be way cheaper to have her tooth removed in Edmonton - we booked an appointment for when we returned home, and let it be. Her tooth didn't seem to bother her unless she was playing tug, so we simply had to put some of her toys away. She still got to wrestle with Tess - they became best dog friends!

Tess got a lot of exercise with Hershey - when we first arrived in Toronto she was all stiff and had trouble getting up on the couch or bed, but as you can see, she had no problems after 2 weeks of intensive dog fun!

The rest of the holidays went really well - we were able to enjoy the city while Chris' parents took care of Hershey. She never totally warmed up to Chris' sister, but she only came and visited a few nights over our holidays.

Now, the ordeal of coming back home. The 7th of January was the first time there was any real ice and snow during our whole vacation. It was awful driving to the airport - cars had gotten into accidents or slid off the road all over the place. Hershey was good in the car, given that she knew something was up. We popped her into her crate at the airport and she had to stay in there no matter what (airport regulations). There was a very long lineup of people at the West Jet counter and so Chris went to check to see if we were supposed to get in line with everyone else or if there was a different line that we should join. We were told to stay in the regular line, and if we were still in line about 20 minutes before our flight was scheduled to leave, we were to find that man, and he'd help us out. Well... It didn't work out that smoothly.

The woman who was supposed to float around the line answering questions and pulling people who's flights were about to leave didn't know a damn thing. She screwed up - and so people weren't pulled for the Calgary flight that was leaving 15 minutes before ours. Chris asked her 20 minutes before our flight what we were supposed to do (because the man he spoke to disappeared) and after a good 5 minutes of waiting, put us in another line. We went, dog, suitcases and all to this line where we would be second to be served. BUT the clerk LEFT and didn't come back - ever! We waited for a full 10 minutes there - asking what the hell was going on. Meanwhile, given that the flight was due to leave in less than 10 minutes (and no one else was pulled from the line), chaos erupted. People were shouting, pushing their way around, and there was only 1 clerk left in line! I tried to stay calm and called West Jet on my cellphone to see if any other flights were available for us to bring Hershey (only 3 dogs are allowed per flight) - because we were overhearing that people would get to Edmonton, but their luggage wouldn't. I don't care about my regular luggage, but we can't have Hershey be lost! They didn't seem to understand that at the airport, but the person on the phone was much nicer. She tried to help, but told us that the first available flight would be leaving from Hamilton in 2 days! Not good. In the end, the clerk was able to help us get on our regular flight, but we couldn't wait to make sure the Hershey got collected by the West Jet people. Luckily, Chris' parents were still there and so they kept an eye on her and made sure she got picked up. We ran to the airplane and I was able to see the luggage being put on the plane. They were closing the door to the plane and still adding luggage - I wanted to make sure Hershey got on okay... But they were beginning the safety demonstration. They told me to sit down, which I did, but I was on my last nerve, and sort of snapped "Fine, but you guys lost my dog!" to which the snooty flight attendant said "I didn't loose your dog, honey" I burst into tears. The other attendant gave me Kleenex, and the poor 8-year old girl next to me tried to comfort me too. Chris wrang out the attendant and made him apologize to me, and a bit later, the other attendant checked with the baggage guys to make sure that 3 dog crates were received (they had), but it was only when a girl 3 rows down from us, who we happened to chat with when we were getting into the plane, saw Hershey's crate get loaded on, that I could relax.

We got to Edmonton a little late, but it was an okay flight - Our friend had waited for us very patiently and was very helpful getting Hershey's crate into his van (she had another bathroom accident, but she had been in the stressful situation for over 6 hours) and when the PA announcement that several suitcases were not going to come out on the luggage carousel, Chris happened to be at the baggage service desk, which was great luck. We filled our missing reports and got on our way home finally!

We gave Hershey a bath, Chris cleaned out her crate, and then we all finally got to rest for a while.

Monday our luggage came around 6 pm at night!

Tuesday Hershey had to go to the Vet with Chris to get her bloodwork done - the vet was fantastic apparently - very patient and calm with Hersh, much much much better than the other crazy vet who spade her. The next day she got dropped off at the vet first thing in the morning for her tooth extraction - it apparently went really well and she was very good the whole time there. She had a stitch in her front gum where her tooth had been, which looked pathetic - but, when we saw what she did to one of her toys (a string of plastic sausages with California Raisin like faces) - things were back to normal! Silly girl!

So, she's been doing really well - getting to play a lot with us, going on some walks and doing clicker training, this weekend, we hope to go to the dog park again! Hershey, while she misses Tess and Toronto, sure seems to be happy to be back home too!

Christmas Time

2005-12-23T23:04:00.000-08:00

We have now celebrated 2 and a half Christmas-es! First, we had a lovely little Christmas in Edmonton where Chris, Hershey and I exchanged presents. I got Hershey a big Mother Hubbard peanut cookie, a Wiggle Waggle ball and a "banana" dog that is a stuffy with two squeekers in it. She loved all three gifts, and she even was able to rip off the wrapping paper herself! I gave her an extra special dinner of kibble, Rollover pieces and cheese - she was in doggie heaven.

That was last week.

This past week, we have since put Hershey on a plane, and have flown her half-way across the country! Poor Panoka girl, she's never experienced anything like this before! She was great going down to the airport in the rented van and went into her crate okay. She whined a little while we were lined up and was barking at some people, though I think she was quite calm because of the gravol we gave her. The West Jet people took her away and got her put on the plane quite safely, I think. We were very happy with the service, it showed that they know how to take care of pets. We didn't hear any barking during the 4 hour plane ride, and we got to see her fairly shortly after landing. Again, she was well delivered to us by the West Jet people (thank you!). She did have one little accident - though I don't think she had the chance to go to the bathroom properly before leaving. She desperately wanted out of the crate, and was scratching at the gate and trying to paw her way out of it. It was one of the saddest thing I'd ever seen. We finally got to let her out in the parking lot - she didn't go to the bathroom then, and was pretty good around Chris' dad (who came to pick us up), and finally got a bit of bathroom time when we stopped at a Tim Hortons.

When we got to Chris' family's home, she got to meet their dog, Tess, and was pretty well behaved. She did bark at both of Chris' parents, but grew warm to his mom when she offered Hershey gravy (who wouldn't be - it's delicious!) She eventually warmed up to Chris' dad - he's boisterous so she was startled and put off at first. I think things are going to go well when she returns there today.

We enjoyed taking both dogs out for walks and seeing them play in the yard. Hershey doesn't know how to share very well, but is learning. She enjoyed getting the family Christmas tree and even got to sit in the living room for a while. I think it was good for Tess to have some doggy company - someone to get her playing and behaving like a young doggie again (she's 9 now, and a big girl - the activity will do her good).

A few days after arriving, we left again. This time in a van heading to Ottawa. We drove about 5 hours, and Hershey was fantastic: lying down, sleeping, enjoying the rest. She did get a gravol, and it seemed to be working: she was falling asleep sitting up! We took her out for a short while when we got to the Big Apple - a roadside landmark which features a petting zoo. She got to see llamas, who weren't too interested in her, though she found them to be interesting smelling indeed; and some rabbits who hid from her. We got to Ottawa and she was pretty much on her leash the whole time.

My parents had met Hershey before, but my brother hadn't yet. He's not too wild about dogs. She barked and growled as usual, but had a harder time calming down around David. She once was so startled by him that she gripped her claws into my foot when she was barking at him. It hurt, but it's okay. We took her out for walks and playing in the park, but it was tough for her to be on a leash the whole time. It reminded me of our camping trip where we simply had no other option. She wouldn't hurt anyone - we've seen what she does. She goes up to the person she's frightened of and barks at them, while staying a good foot or two away. She doesn't bite or anything, she just needs to bark. If she gets the opportunity to investigate the person (by smelling them) things get calm, however with folks who aren't used to dogs, it is hard to freeze completely during this process and not show fear. Any sudden moves or uneasy feelings and she's back to barking again. She needs to learn to relax! We're working on it - and things have drastically improved, but we still have a while to go. Nevertheless, my family enjoyed having her over, and I think Hershey had an okay time. She got a lovely gift from my parents - three stuffy sports balls with ropes drawn through them and squeekers somewhere in them - there's a soccer ball, a basket ball, and her favourite, the football. She loves them so much that she was playing with them non-stop. She brought them onto the bed, into her crate - everywhere! She was able to open the present herself (with a little help from Chris) and my parents were delighted to see that (it's so cute!). She also got a gift that I need to use for her - a doggie cookie cutter that makes training-treat-sized cookies. (I forgot to mention that Chris' parents also got me cookie cutters - dog bone shaped ones!) Lucky Hershey!

Anyhow, she's now back in Toronto - she and Chris left this morning and apparently the drive back was perfect. I won't be with them for Christmas proper, but I am looking forward to seeing them on the 28th! I can't wait to see what Chris gets for her and what his parents have got her too! I know they just left, but I can't wait to see them again!

Stinky Butt

2005-12-01T18:11:00.000-08:00

Hershey is truly guilty of "silent but deadlies" today! Gross! I don't know what it is, but she's certainly disgusting today.

In other news, she has been tracking down the mouse that is obviously in the house (it ate my gingerbread garland last night). She's sniffing under her big pillow and she can smell that something is up. I hope she can catch it - if she does, we'll have to give her an anti-worm tablet. More grossness!

A Great Sous-Chef

2005-11-27T07:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Hershey kept me company while I did some Christmas baking. She sat or lied down patiently under the table, not needing toys to keep her busy, watching what I was doing and just enjoying the quiet time.

She was very interested in the smell of the gingerbread dough, sniffing the air when I added the spices to the flour. She got to try a bit of one of the cookies that broke and enjoyed it a lot. She got quite a bit of flour and sugar crumbs on her fur when I was measuring out ingredients, but was very good about not getting fur in the food in return!

So, after two big batches of cookies and decorating these too, Hershey got to sleep on the bed last night. Pretty sweet deal!

(shhh... Christmas doggie baking will occur next weekend - don't tell Hershey!)

Getting warmer...

2005-11-24T09:54:00.000-08:00

Hershey is slowly warming to strangers - and we're thrilled! Yesterday, on a day off, we took Hershey to the dog park where she wandered around on our walk and then met with a cute little white dog named "Squirt" and her (?) owner Dana. We had a nice chat with Dana, who told us about her experiences with the dog park - she had an attitude very similar to ours - if dogs want to play rough, that's fine, but she wants no part of it for herself or for Squirt. In fact, she told us about how one dog was wrestling so badly with her little dog that Squirt actually had bite marks that were bleeding all down her stomach. How awful!

So Hershey enjoyed playing with a fun little dog. And shortly after, to our surprise and delight, she let Dana pet her! It wasn't a long pat, but she was totally cool with letting a relative stranger come pat her!

Later on that day, I had some friends over for games, and Hershey was on her short leash and Chris was clicker-ing her whenever she was calm. She did a pretty darn good job, although she did have a few barking fits when the guys were loud or surprised her by coming into the room. Nothing that was out of hand though - and that's another big improvement. For the most part, her whining and barking was more of a "I want to come over" call, but she's not ready for that yet, especially in the tight quarters of our kitchen.

Anyhow, we'll try this again next week - and hopefully she'll get more and more used to guests!

'Tis the Season!

2005-11-21T21:06:00.000-08:00

There has been an awful lot of craziness this weekend for Hershey - and I'm not sure that she understands what is going on! First off, I rented a car this weekend, which is not a-typical, but nonetheless, Hersh knows that something is up when there's a second car in the driveway.

While Chris stayed home to prepare for his thesis, I kept leaving the house for extended periods of time and then returning with big bags and telling Hersh to get out of the way. Hmmm... and no toys or treats, which is also not normal (Hershey's so spoiled).

Finally, after 3 days of shopping (and I'm 90% done with Christmas stuff now), we put up our fake-o-tree! Hershey didn't know what to make of it - she's not scared, but she's not interested in smelling it or anything either. We've put balls and some other ornaments (but no lights, as we won't be around for the holidays - hence no real tree), and Hershey's had a few close calls! She chased one of her toys at the tree's base, going round one side and coming out the other, with a few balls swinging away on the branches. I think we did a good job of clamping the hangers down tight!

Anyhow, no presents under the tree for a while. She's still sneaky and mischievous! Today, for instance, during my breakfast, she tried to steal the banana peel from the kitchen table while I was sitting right there! I noticed, of course, it was right under my nose, and said "Hey! I see you!" Hershey, of course, knew she was trying to do something she isn't allowed to do, and stopped right away with the guiltiest look on her face. Silly girl. After getting her to sit and do a few other commands, I brought her to her room and gave her a treat for paying attention to me, and to confirm that doggie food is for doggies and stealing is never permitted.

So, I can't wait to celebrate our little Christmas here before going home. Hershey will be getting a few nice things from me, including her first fashionable apparel (that stupid diaper didn't count - poor thing)! But, just like the dog, you'll have to wait and see!

Snowy snowy dog

2005-11-16T08:21:00.000-08:00

It's become winter very quickly here - and Hershey's been enjoying the snow!

She loves putting her nose into the snow, pushing it around so that she sniff what's underneath. She get snow mustaches - so cute!

Things have been going well again this week - Chris has been staying home for most of the day so she's got company - mind you both of us are tired and aren't taking her to parks or walks really right now. She's also being more of a homebody - I think some of her treats went bad and she apparently puked on Monday during the day (and subsequently ate it up too - gross). I spent all Monday evening cleaning her stuff, washing all her toys, blankets, and cleaning up the floor too. We've thrown out her cookies - and so I'll be making another, smaller batch this weekend.

By the way, I haven't posted about her toys recently - she's got two very favourites (when she gets to play with them) - a stuffy radio and a stuffy drill. The radio's been chewed beyond recognition - but here's a picture of the drill. She's just like her dad - she loves radio and tools!

Dog park!

2005-11-13T10:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we decided to give the off-leash dog park a try. We have been very happy with Hershey's behaviour lately, and it would be a good next step to ensure that her socialization continues, both with dogs and with people. Chris and I drove over to check it out sans-chien after dim sum and were pleasantly surprised to see lots of people and their dogs playing very well with each other. There's a fairly-dense wood surrounding the park/meadow, so dog's are likely to stick to the open area. There was also a little canteen trailer which sold coffee and dog treats - it looked like a good place.

We drove back home and picked up The Hersh, and drove over to the park. It's about 15 minutes by car, which isn't too bad. When we got there, Hershey was all ready to go play - she saw all the other dogs, and was frantic on her leash to go running. We got to the meadow and let her off leash. She immediately began to play with an adorable furry Nova Scotia Duck Toller named Lexi while the owner chatted with us for a bit. Hersh also played with tons of other dogs, as big as full-sized Huskies and Great Danes, to a tiny Miniature Pincher and this cute but unlucky brown Lab puppy who got peed on by on of the big dogs.

I was very happy to see her play so well with everyone, and the people being so friendly and respectful of our wishes to not pet Hershey. She got tons of exercise and socialization, which was great! She came when called fairly regularly, and didn't wrestle or play aggressively at all when other dogs came to get her kong-on-a-rope. We're looking forward to going back, maybe on a weekly basis; it's been a very encouraging experience for us what with visiting Chris' parents and Tess (their golden retriever).

A long-deserved update

2005-11-01T22:18:00.000-08:00

Hershey has been doing exceptionally well in the last few weeks. We have been trying to do training with her, and keeping a regular-ish schedule (as close as we can with our crazy jobs) and making sure we give her lots of love and positive reinforcement.

We have been leaving her for several long hours to go to work and run errands even through the weekend, and she has been wonderful. No more tearing things apart chewing, and she's been totally into playing and having fun with us, which is good.

Hershey's confidence is apparent to us especially ini that she hasn't been affraid to follow us down into our scary basement - she's happy to race down the ricketty stairs and then nimbly go back upstairs when told.

Things are good and we look forward to them getting even better.

I recently made "BBQ Cookies" for her (which was a great way to get rid of BBQ sauce bottle dredges, and she loves them. I look forward to doggie Christmas baking this year! Hershey has also been spoiled with a few Dollar Store toys - a frog theme has emerged!

She's also enjoyed playinig outside while we've been doing fall house cleaning and outdoor preparations for winter. Chris had put out a big plastic tarp to dry out and Hershey has been LOVING running all over it, jumping on it, leaping over corners and scuttling her toys over its slippery surface. She's hillarious!

And finally, for this mini-update, we didn't have Halloween, but instead we went on a walk and went trick-or-treating with Hershey. She was excellent near the doors of our two groups of friends' houses in the neighborhood. Perhaps next year she'll be ready for Halloween at our place.

Unfortunately, I have to spend the rest of the week away from home (and Chris and Hershey), so I'm off now to enjoy some final moments with my dog for the next while!

The Dogfather (and Mother)

2005-10-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

My parents came to visit for the week and it was the first time that we had overnight guests since Hershey's been with us. We did exactly what Irene our behaviour specialist told us to do - and it worked. Hershey was nervous and barky/growly at first, but quickly calmed down to the point where she could accept treats handed to her and listen to their "sit" and "down" commands. We tried not to push it and I think we learned a lot about what works well for Hersh.

We were quite busy but still managed to do a lot of fun things with Hershey - she got to run with Thilo about 3 times, go on long walks, including one in the river valley and a nice outing to a nearby National park. She got to sleep upstairs the whole time, and while she was pretty good overall she did growl and bark at the stirring noises downstairs.

Anyhow, pictures and stuff will likely come shortly!

Day 2 clicker training pro!

2005-10-10T09:18:00.000-07:00

Hershey has been doing great with the clicker training. She breezed through Day 1's tasks within 2 days of practice with both Chris and I. I was able to do Day 1 training with her outside which was great and very unexpected. We've now moved on to Day 2 which we started yesterday and she's been doing great with it too. I practiced the tasks with the door open in the kitchen (with the screendoor shut of course). She paid attention and was confident the whole time, even when cars drove past or the neighbor's dog was barking.

Today we'll try Day 2 outside and then we may move on to Day 3. I don't think we'll get past Day 4 or 5 before my parents arrive. I'm going to try to have them eat dinner with her around loose, but we'll see how that goes. I won't be able to have a party in the house while they're here unfortunately, instead, I may invite friends to join us for a lunch sometime...

Anyhow, I'm happy to report that things are still going well - we're optimistic and feel very good about Hershey's progress!

Our behaviour specialist rocks!

2005-10-06T22:07:00.000-07:00

What a difference today! We had the behaviour specialist come this evening and she spent 2 and a half hours with us and Hershey, talking about how to deal with Hershey's fearfulness and ways to get her to refocus during stressful times so that her fear can be replaced by calm and happiness.

It was nice to be able to talk to someone who listened and watched carefully before making judgments and recommendations. It was also nice to be told that there was a way to "fix" this and have Hershey be a normal happy dog. The behaviour specialist was excellent at answering all our questions, providing us with lots of tools and methods of working with Hershey and we now feel far more empowered in this process. This is so different than before - we felt disappointed, unsure and honestly scared of Hershey with the old trainer. This is such a better feeling.

The behaviour specialist has suggested we do clicker training. Hershey wasn't afraid of the sound and seemed to respond well to the few instances we tried while the specialist was in our house. Hersh wasn't scared of her either, and their interactions were as close if not closer to what Jacqueline had tried - unsuccessfully in her case! The whole experience was very positive and we have clear directions on what to work on that make a LOT of sense.

We start full-speed ahead tomorrow (Hersh was too tired after the excitement of someone new in the house to start this evening) - and it'll be 6 very full days of intensive training. Given how fast she catches on to everything, I hope we can get her "hooked" on the clicker pretty quickly!

In other news; on our walk last night I almost stepped on a dead squirrel. The squirrel was in full rigor mortis - looks like he had a heart attack. Gross.

The trainer sucks

2005-10-05T15:33:00.000-07:00

Jacqueline - with Wags and Wishes - called us today to tell us that "due to concerns from the owners" of the store, Hershey would not be allowed back in the class. Apparently the owners received call(s) from some of the other dog owners in the class. There is no reason for this dismissal - frankly, Hershey was one of the best behaved dogs in the class, and Chris and I were listening the most closely to instructions of anyone on Sunday. I believe it was something that Jacqueline said to the other owners that put them off as nothing during the class would substantiate their claims.

We are extremely disappointed in this situation. We have demanded all of our money back. We want NOTHING to do with this business. Obviously Jacqueline did not stand up for us, and all her assurances and support must simply have been lip service. I do not know what to do with the information regarding training that she has given us - when we are getting different directions from the behaviour specialist and given the fact that Jacqueline changed her entire approach twice on how to train Hershey between the time before first seeing her (and obviously she did not pay close attention to what we were saying), then after meeting her (where she provoked the dog) and about 30 seconds after (where she had already yelled at the dog and made us yell at Hershey too - she told us this wasn't the right thing to do afterall). Clearly there is problems and no compatibility afterall.

We are going to persevere with the behaviourist and are looking forward to a better training relationship in the very near future. Chris and I will be writing formal letters of complaint to Wags and Wishes in addition to the call we already made. We will also be circulating copies of this letter to local shelters and other businesses. It is completely unfair that we have been given bad advice, been made to feel horrible, and now have been kicked out of a class (at a time where it is now too late to register for most other fall-term obedience classes) after having provided all the information we have, been completely open and have worked so hard with Hershey and her trainer to do our best for her.

Fear not friends - Hershey will still be getting care and education. We are committed to this dog - despite the lack of commitment we got from Wags and Wishes.

Academic Upgrading

2005-10-04T19:24:00.000-07:00

It has been a tough week and a bit for Hershey. We've been trying to introduce her to lots of people and so we've had guests over to the house several times in the last 2 weeks. While she's been pretty good with some of them, especially those that she already met, there are others whom she is more fearful of. It's sad to see her be so nervous. We're trying though, and we must persevere.

On Sunday we had our first dog school session. We got there early and got to speak with our trainer. Hershey was very frightened and reacted poorly because of this - I guess it was a lot, driving down, being in a new place, meeting new people, and realizing she was going to have to change her behaviour. It was hard - because someone who knows about dogs and scared dogs confirmed that Hershey is terrified of people and possibly was abused or yelled at. It broke my heart and knowing that things would be rough and complicated on Hershey for a while as she learns how to work with people, and follow new rules. However, we have no choice. It would be a huge disservice to just ignore these needs and could eventually be totally detrimental to her.

Our trainer gave us very specific directions to work with during the class and things went quite well. Hershey sat and paid attention for a longer period than we had ever seen before - in my opinion she did great and I'm looking forward to our next classes. She was totally pooped by the end of the class though. The class did last 2 hours and we had arrived about half an hour early too. A long day. I was a bit worried about her throwing up in the car - she had so many treats as part of her training I thought it was inevitable. When we got home, she promptly fell asleep (and so did I).

We've been careful to follow the directions and practice the exercises from the class a lot. We talked with our trainer again for more suggestions with regards to working with Hershey in preparation for my parents' visit. She also suggested we work with a dog behaviour specialist. We have followed up on that and have booked an appointment for later on this week. The specialist has suggested a few modifications to the directions we are to follow, and has assured us that the appointment will really help us. I certainly hope so.

We've actually seen changes already with the directions and exercises. Hershey is much more attentive and "in her place" compared to before. I look forward to continued progress!

Ghosts?

2005-09-29T09:49:00.000-07:00

Hershey has become fascinated with dancing spots of light on the ground (primarily produced by the lower day-time sun and sparse-er leaves on the trees) and shadows.

She will creep up on the spots and stare at them. She may smell them and paw them too. Every once in a while there'll be one she can't resist and will try to dig at it or eat it. Makes me wonder what she's thinking about - does she view them as tricky sneaky ghosts who keep evading her?

Her imagination certainly seems to run wild sometimes. I have seen her wake up from a nap once or twice and run to the door or go outside only to look around frantically for something that she obviously just dreamt about. Did she think there was a squirrel or another dog to go play with? Is it possible she had a nightmare about a scary stranger in the house? Poor girl!

Stop it with the chewing!

2005-09-25T13:19:00.000-07:00

After sewing up the pillow two weeks ago, we came home to find the new zipper chewed off - again. I was not too happy about this, but we hadn't been taking Hershey on regular walks and stuff. We've gotten back into a regular routine and things have been improving. That is until Thursday when Chris came home to a half-eaten shoe! Not good.

I made sure to repair all her toys again so that she would have things that were okay to play with. We made sure she had an active Friday (playing in the park with Thilo) and a few walks and jaunts outside, but later on that night, we found out the shoe was still in her system... Uh, well, it came out of her system, that is. She threw up while sleeping on our bed at like 5 am, luckily she only puked on the "Hershey blanket". She was also coughing funny (which made me wake up) and we saw that she puked by the back door too. We had just spoken to her trainer-to-be and a well-trained groomer that same morning who said that we should treat Hershey like a little kid. That we should sooth her when she gets sick - not punish her. So we made sure she felt okay - got her some fresh water to drink (while we did laundry) and put her back to bed (in her crate). Luckily, I think that'll be the end of the shoe.

I mentioned we met her soon-to-be trainer on Friday, which was great. Chris had gone to visit the site and meet her a week or so ago. It was very good to see who we would be working with and for her to get to know us a bit more. She's very nice and really helpful. I am looking forward to starting dog school (only 1 more week left).

To wrap up the weekend, I baked some more dog cookies (as I had already set the oven to 325F for a sweet-potato dish) and shared some of them with Thilo, Trinity and Scooter. These cookies really came in handy this afternoon when I gave Hershey a bath. She needs to be reassured that I'm bathing her for her own good - and it really helps if she sits in the tub sometimes. The cookies help me get her to do that. As always, as soon as she was out of the tub, we went outside (where we are now, enjoying one of the last nice days of the year), and OF COURSE she has found some wonder-smell spots to roll around on! It's a little frustrating, but she looks like she's in heaven when she squirms around on the grass that way.

Finally - we are still working on socializing Hershey. We've taken her on a few more walks in busy areas, and are hoping for friendly volunteers to come over. If all goes well, things will be on the right track for when my parents come to visit in mid-October (fingers crossed)!

Sightseeing

2005-09-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

We have come to the realization that we have not been taking Hershey out enough into busy areas of town. It is important to expose her to all sorts of situations, people and environments so that she can get used to distractions, and not be so nervous.

We went on a few longer walks this week - Chris took Hershey through the valley and creek, and we've been getting better about taking her on evening walks in the neighborhood. Yesterday we took her on a city walk - to the farmer's market and down to the temporary library location. She was pretty good but did bark at some people who approached her, and tug when there were other dogs around. All things given though, it went pretty well.

We are really looking forward to starting dog school in two weeks - we are working on some of the habituation tools that our dog teacher has suggested we try. We've had mixed results. Our poor friends were our first real guineypigs yesterday - it wasn't great, but we don't really have a baseline to compare it to. We're going to keep trying with other generous souls, and hopefully Hershey will get better and eventually grow out of this cranky stage.

How I spent my weekend

2005-09-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

We came back home a bit later than normal on Friday after an awards celebration at the university. Hershey was left on her own for about 9 hours that day - not too great. Anyhow, at some point in the day Hershey must have gotten really bored and naughty-ly started chewing on her pillow (the bed pillow, but not her bed-bed). At some point she got through the zipper, then started chewing through the inner pillow zipper and tore the inner pillow apart. She then proceeded to pull all the fluff out of the pillow and spread it all over the room.

I can just imagine her absent-minded-ly nibbling away on her pillow and at some point snapping and realizing she's already gone too far and since she'll be in trouble anyway, might as well have a ball destroying it!

So, we told her she was bad - she knew she was, turning away and crouching down low to the ground. We took her out of the room to clean things up a bit, and then told her it was okay and got her to sit and work on a few commands and then gave her praise for that.

Saturday I literally spent the ENTIRE day sewing up a new inner pillow, filling it with the old fluff, fluffing up the fluff as it wasn't very fluffy to begin with, filling it with even more new fluff, sewing the zipper back on to the outer pillow and then reassembling it. Hershey looked apprehensive when I first put the fixed pillow on the ground for her, but once I told her it was "okay" and to "go ahead" she leapt on to it and stayed there for most of the evening!

Reservoir Dog

2005-09-07T22:26:00.000-07:00

Hershey loves to chew things - in a methodical and scissory way, snipping rope apart segment by segment, sawing through even the toughest things.

There is a creepy trend though as you may see here:

Victims are identified as (from top to bottom): Mr. Sheep, Lion, and Dolly.

Ms. Elaine's Dog Cookies

2005-09-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

Friday night I had dog-friendly Jen over for some baking fun while Chris ran Hershey with Jen's dog, Thilo. I had picked up a dog cook book (how to cook for dogs, not how to cook dogs!) and all the ingredients to make Cheddar Cheese and Garlic Cookies. Jen helped, and together we got the wicked-dense dough mixed up, rolled out and made into cookies. They baked for about an hour while Hershey and Thilo tried to play nicely in the house (note "tried").

When the cookies cooled a bit - we tried them out on the dogs. Both loved them! Thilo's a bit more picky, but seemed to like them a lot, and Hershey will go through the gamut of her trick bank to get them. Apparently, my home-made cookies are her one of her favourite treats, second only to pepperoni (and who doesn't love pepperoni!)

Basic Recipe (from memory):
3.5 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup wheat germ
1 egg
1 cup grated (aged) cheddar cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup water (or beef broth)

Preheat oven 325 degrees.
Mix egg, water, garlic powder and cheese together. Add cornmeal and wheat germ. Mix well. Add flour (kneed with hands).
Roll dough out to 1/4" thick, cut out cookies (we used small and big hand and foot shapes) and place on a parchment paper-lined baking tray. Bake for about an hour or until golden brown. I would recommend flipping cookies about halfway through. Thinner cookies break more easily. Makes 2 full trays of cookies.

Hershey Riverquest Safarivenutre

2005-09-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

We took Hershey in the canoe for the first time yesterday - it was a lovely day and the North Saskatchewan River was quite calm, so we couldn't have had better conditions. Nonetheless, I was skeptical that she would be able to sit calmly in the boat - I honestly thought she would bail out right away! But happily, she seemed to enjoy the ride quite a bit... That is until we started paddling heavily. Hershey puked. In the canoe. It was gross. As I was up front, there was nothing I could do to stop that, because I couldn't keep an eye on her, and unfortunately she was out of reach for Chris. Yuck.

After cleaning up a bit, we continued onwards. We likely paddled about 6 kms, which was quite good. We got to a little island and some shallow water and Chris got out of the boat to moor it. Hershey took this opportunity to get the hell out of the canoe! She jumped in the water and wandered around the small island for a while with Chris not far behind her. I thought we wouldn't be able to get her back in the boat after this, but she ended up jumping back in with no problems. She did end up puking a total of 2 more times, but Chris warned me and we were able to get her to "go overboard" and avoid messing up the canoe even more!

I know this has been a gross post - but in all, I think we were lucky to have Hershey enjoy her first canoe ride. She loved putting her nose in the water and watching the oars go back and forth. She loved being able to see the banks and watch the seagulls flying overhead. Next time, we'll try her out on a lake where there won't be as much turbulence.

The Great Outdoors

2005-09-01T08:52:00.000-07:00

On August 25th we packed up Chris' car and headed out camping - WITH HERSHEY! This was her first camping trip with us and likely her very first camping trip ever! It was a gorgeous weekend and we were going to be meeting friends (and their two dogs) there.

We gave Hershey Gravol for the first time on the car ride out - it worked like a charm. She was still very excited/nervous when we started, but she soon lied down and dozed for the last 30 minutes of the hour-long drive. She got nervous again when we entered the campground, but was thrilled to smell the fresh air and wander around outside (on a cord) while we set up camp. She played really well with our friends and their dogs, remembering them from the previous weekend; however she wasn't as good seeing people walking past our site and seeing lots of other dogs around with their owners. She barked a lot and pulled on her cord; we worked on this with her and by the end of the weekend she was much better.

The campground was by a lazy river, which meant that Hershey could go try swimming and catching sticks. She LOVED it!
Here is a MOVIE of her fetching a stick - she looses sight of it for a second but you can see her leap and be one awesome dog!

We went for some short hikes, wading, and a quick visit into town to see the farmer's market. In total we stayed 3 nights and 4 days, which was just enough. The second couple we were camping with had never met Hershey before and she never quite warmed to them. There were a few times where she was just too excited, for instance, when a neighbouring dog was off-leash (against the rules of the campground) and wandered over to our site, or when an owner and another dog (again off-leash) were playing frisbee behind our tent - I felt awful telling Hershey to be quiet and punishing her for not listening to me when she was the one who was tied up and the other dogs and their owners, who were making her all excited, were the ones not following the rules. Anyhow, as I said, by the end of the weekend, Hershey was a pro at watching quietly while people strolled pass and was much better with other dogs nearby.

We hope to be able to go camping again before the end of the season.

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

2005-08-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

A big weekend for Hershey! First she met Trinity, a friend's Schoodle on Friday night at home when her parents came by with her after the humans had a nice dinner out. She and Trinity got along okay - first outside, barking a bit and chasing, but Trinity was intent on playing the statue game whenever Hershey tried to smell her (which was A LOT) or if she got uncomfortable with Hershey. We forgot how much bigger Hershey is than other dogs compare to tiny Trinitiy.

The next day, Hershey had a play date with Trinity and her brother Scooter (who's a miniature Schnauzer). They met at the enclosed park where she often plays with Thilo, and boy did Hershey go crazy herding them and keeping them in a set space. It was quite remarkable to see her herding instincts kick in - doing the run-along-side thing and freaking out if anyone got out of place. For the most part the dogs all had fun, but at some points both Scooter and Trinity ganged up on Hershey and she felt cornered. A little barking match did occur, but for the most part, they were good with each other.

Today wasn't quite as good - she was scheduled to visit Brad, Christie, and Chantale's place and stay around for the rest of our friends who were to arrive shortly. She was very good with Brad at first who was sitting on the lawn when we got there. She took the treat from him and allowed him to pat her, but when Christie and Chantale came out of the house, she freaked out and lunged at Chantale and growled at Christie - even when Christie tried to give her treats. Luckily I still had her on the leash so she couldn't do any damage, but she sure did frighten the girls. After a little bit, Brad got up to give Hershey more water. When he came back to the yard with her plastic dish, she growled and then lunged at him too! I couldn't believe how bad she was behaving! I took her back home where Chris did lots of training with her for the rest of the day.

It was very upsetting to see her change personalities so quickly, but to think back to it, Brad must have looked very different standing up over her compared to when he was sitting in the grass; and the girls were also standing; this must have been too much for her, what with the new situations and relatively strange people. Plus, whenever she is on a leash she seems more feisty than normal, we have read that the dog feels trapped by the leash, which can make her feel even more uncomfortable.

Anyhow, this reaffirms the fact that we need to get her into an obedience class in the fall, and that we need to do more regular activities (like walks, play dates, and visitors) so that she can get used to obeying commands and become better with other people and animals. We've already started making plans; I think this is really going to help stabilize her mood and make her easier to control in situations that make her nervous.

Cabin Fever

2005-08-18T14:09:00.000-07:00

It's been cold and rainy for the last 4 days and poor Hershey is finding it very boring to stay inside. We've been good about spending lots of time with her, I for instance, have spent the last two days at home with her, Chris spent Wednesday with her too.

Nevertheless, it seems as though she's really missing the outdoors. She's been a bit naughty - she ate some chicken bones left by Chris on a plate in the living room and felt very gross after that. She was also bad in that she chewed up some Blockbuster coupons (everything except September, October and December discount rentals, 2 Extra Night coupons, and 2 $1 off coupons) and on a seperate occasion she stole half a lemon of the kitchen table. She knows whe she is bad, she is much more quiet and reserved and walks slowly and very low to the ground in a submissive sort of way. Silly girl, she should just be good instead! I mean, what is she going to do with a lemon?!?

We have a play date with our friends' scnoodles on Saturday - they have two little dogs, so we will see how Hershey does - I wouldn't be surprised if she tries to heard them!

Wet Dog

2005-08-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

In the past few weeks, it has been quite warm in town; some days it has been downright hot! We've been trying to spend as much time with Hershey as possible playing outside and enjoying the sun, but sometimes we forget how hot she can get - she is wearing a fur coat afterall.

We've tried to cool her down by spraying her body with water from the garden hose, but we've discovered that she has some type of built-in mechanism of drinking as much running water as she can anytime there is some present. It's quite funny to see her trying to eat the water and the hose. We've had fun with the different spray options; she especially loves the "mist" setting, she'll eat the entire spray gun and chug the water with that setting. She'll also chase spurts of water and follow an arch of water from the ground to the gun and then start over again.

She certainly gets plenty of water actually drunk too - poor dog has to go out about 3 times more than normal after one of these fun afternoons!

Now, if only we could have her enjoy her baths as much!

How does a dog think?

2005-08-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

As a first-time dog owner/parent (and former psychology graduate student), I am often concerned about how Hershey perceives things, what she is thinking, and how she deals with different situations.

For instance, she will sometimes look at us with a cocked head and a quizzical look on her face. She loves watching us do different things like putting away dishes or working in the garage. She will also poke her head around the corner to watch us do laundry downstairs - but she seems afraid to come down into the basement (mind you our stairs are very rickety).

Hershey absolutely freaks out about the lawn mower, she barks and seems like she wants to play with it, but keeps her distance. When I put her in the house, she will actually jump on top of her crate to watch me mow the backyard through the window. She isn't' afraid of the vacuum per se anymore, but she will follow me around while I clean up - the Swiffer mop is similar even though it makes no noise.

We are letting her free through most of the first floor now while we are away - I wonder what she does when the answering machine picks up?

Muscle bound dog leaps tall structures

2005-07-27T09:28:00.000-07:00

Hershey is turning out to be an all-round athlete! In the last few days, I have noticed that her legs are getting much more muscular! Whenever I bring her back into the house after she's been to the bathroom (or if the grass is wet or it's raining), I wipe her down with a towel to make sure her feet and legs are dry. Recently her legs have gone from scrawny little bones and fur to pumped-up muscle-bound legs! It must be all the running around we've been doing; I'm shocked to see the difference in only a month and a half - her old owner must not have run her outside at all. Poor dog!

Hershey's also been working hard at learning new tricks. We've put up a saw horse in the backyard and she's been learning how to jump over it and scoot under it too. Another trick we've almost perfected is to speak on command. Hershey is so funny though, when we first say "Speak!" she tends to try to bark but no sound will come out - she's so quiet normally her lungs aren't full and ready to let a good bark out!

In other news, Chris got back from Japan safe and sound. Hershey was SO excited to see him. He brought back a string of "sausages" (4 reddish plastic links - each with a different smiley face, strung together with knotted cotton rope). Hershey's already gone right through the rope but we'll be able to replace it easily.

Also, the shedding is almost done - it's just her back end that has some undercoat left. She has been much more patient with us trying to comb her out. She feels so much smoother where it's just the long hair-like fur left; she looks much smaller too.

With Chris and I both home now, we have more time to work with the dog as we can split the chores and other things to do. We'll be working at other tricks (roll over, crawl, beg and perfect that "over" and "under" trick too) and maybe taking Hershey camping if the weather permits.

A great find

2005-07-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

A while back I had been given a tip from one of the girls who works in the coffee shop by my office - she said there's a great little dog bakery on Whyte avenue around 90th street... I figured she got the address wrong because that's exactly where I live. A bit later, I found out there was apparently an animal pharmacy that was apparently in the same area. Again, I hadn't seen it - it didn't make sense.

Well last week while I was at the McDonalds drive through (guilty as charged!) I saw the bakery and pharmacy across the street! I didn't think it would be a good idea to walk Hershey the whole way there - not that it's far, but she's just not good on the roads yet. Anyhow, I biked over this morning and wow! The bakery is very cute, but a better find is the fact that they have a groomer on site (with excellent rates) and training classes too! The animal pharmacy next door to it was actually a full-sized pet store with tons of supplies, food, gear and a huge pharmacy section. I got Hershey some stiptic powder (this is used in case we clip her nails too short), some ear cleaning fluid, and some fur conditioner/refresher (her butt is stinky!)

I also got a special nose harness thing so that we can train Hershey not to pull while on a walk. We tried it out this afternoon - she's is NOT a fan, but it worked; right away, amazing. We'll try again tomorrow.

In the meanwhile, Chris will be coming home in about 2-3 hours - Hershey is in bed now so that she can get some rest; I'm sure she will be very excited and want to stay up when Chris arrives!

Bamboo Shoots and Celery

2005-07-21T20:43:00.000-07:00

It's great to have a dog when there are certain things in the stir-fry mix that you just don't like (bamboo shoots) or are allergic too (celery). She enjoys them both - along with anything else I will give her.

To date she has tried:
watermelon
banana
lettuce
carrots (which are a mainstay in her diet)
apple sauce
peanut butter
cheese (for her medication)
popcorn
beef jerky
pepperoni
hot dog
beef broth (in ice cube form)
...and who knows what else

There have been a few things that she's tried and not liked:
parsley
and raspberries (go figure!)

While I know it isn't good to feed her people food, most of these things have been in raw or unprocessed form - I have made a point not to feed her processed grains (such as bread) and things which are all mixed up (such as a mixed salad). I also read that tomatoes are bad for dogs, and everyone knows about how chocolate can be deadly, so those have been kept for human-consumption only.

Finally, to dissuade any other culinary adventures that might be deadlier than Fugu, I've put away the poinsettia from X-mas and we've fenced off the rhubarb.

Hershey-Smershey, the Smersherella, Smersharooney

2005-07-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

So it's been "girls night" for the last few days - I've enjoyed time off of work (well deserved, I might add) and have been spending some quality time with the dog.

For instance, we went on a long walk, two plays in the back yard and then a good run with Thilo and Kit in the park. She hasn't had this much exercise in a long time! I've also been letting her sleep on the bed - it's a treat for her while Chris is away - but I enjoy it too. She's a blanket hog just like Chris!

She's also taken to jumping up on window ledges and over her crate to check out what is going on outside.

She jumped right on to her crate when I was mowing the lawn outside today - she did NOT enjoy the vacuum or the paper shredder either - but she was dangerously interested in the whipper snipper; scary!

And for the Pret-a-Porter Summer 2005 line...

2005-07-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

Hershey is shedding her undercoat. It was alarming at first because of the significant difference in furballs on the ground between Sunday, when the house was clean, and Monday.

Hershey came back from the kennels and was very excited to see me; she seemed lighter than normal, but perhaps that was just because I forgot how little she is. She did well in the wagon and was very excited to get home. We played outside for a bit, and I made sure she got to see around the house to remember everything. We both enjoyed a nap in the late morning.

After lunch, we went back to the first vet to get the stitches removed from her foot. I was also hoping to deal with the complaint I had made and looking forward to the rebate I was promised. Hershey was again very good in the car and the waiting room, but then made a bit of a pee on the ground when it was time to bring her into one of the observation rooms. I didn't like the vet's behaviour towards me (ignoring me) again, and he was very strange with the dog - using an absurd amount of baby talk and cuddling her very closely. I don't do that very often myself and she's ours! He was also wearing magnifying goggles - which I can understand is needed for removing sutures, but it freaked the dog right out - it looked too strange to her. Anyhow, after that was done, we were ready to get out of there, but the stupid vet kept us for a bit longer while he gave Hershey a treat... lots of little treats. And this was DURING me telling him we have trouble with her getting car sick. I am NOT impressed.

We get back into the car and are going to head home, I do take the opportunity to have a drive-through coffee on the way back. We are doing well in the car until I see her duck down out of sigh from the rear-view mirror for a second, but she pops right back up to look around.

Lo and behold, Hershey puked in the car. She miraculously only puked on her blanket and not on the floor or walls of the very expensive rental I had; but what I was more concerned about was the consistency and volume. It essentially looked like she puked up a double batch of cookie dough. This didn't look right. Later on, with Chris' help while on the phone, we decided they must have started feeding her kennel dog food and not enough water; that plus the stupid vet's treats, the freak-out of coming home finally and another vet trip must have been too much.

After this, I decided it was a good time to give Hershey a bath. I have never attempted this on my own, but thought it was important in case any kennel cooties were on her. The bath went quite well, but drying her was more difficult - it took a very long time to get her dry-ish, and even then her fur was super matted. I was worried I had done something wrong and had screwed up the dog!

After brushing a full garbage pail of fur off of her, I decided to let the hair dry thoroughly and then comb it out. I started this morning and have taken out essentially her full undercoat - she's got a top layer of longer hair-like fur, and the undercoat is shorter, downy fur. Because it's the summer, she's finally shed it, and holy moly, is there ever a lot of fur! I've been sweeping and Swiffer-ing the house almost non-stop and still there is fur all over the place (thank god we have hard wood and tile floors!) I figure the worst of it is passed now, I just need to keep up her grooming. Also, this means that they didn't brush her at the kennel as it shouldn't have all started at once.

So Hershey's been incredibly tolerant of my combing her, she looks much thinner and feels smoother now too. She's all ready for summer!

I miss my dog!

2005-07-17T20:26:00.000-07:00

Less than twelve hours before I can get Hershey! I am very excited about seeing her, it's been a long 5 days without her, and it'll be good to see a friendly face after my long conference away from home.

The picture above is from a the day before I left for Grande Prairie - I decided to be all crazy with Hershey - I took all her toys and threw them around the kitchen. She had a great time playing with one toy for a few seconds and then switching to another one. If I had any toy, that was the one she wanted, I played a "choose one" game with her, where I picked two toys and held one in each hand. She had to jump to pick the one she wanted to stay; for example. she was given the option between the steak stuffie and the lambchop stuffie, then between the kong ball and the kong on a rope. It was interesting that she actually picked selectively - not always going for the same hand, etc.

I have also realized from this fun game that Hershey has A LOT of toys! She's almost destroyed a few things, I may "retire" them sooner rather than later!

While I was away, I did have the chance to call the kennel the morning after I dropped her off to see how she was doing. The kennel manager mentioned that she was rather timid but was playing very nicely with the other dogs, she would roll over (showing submission) at first, but then get her confidence up shortly after. It was good to hear. I also confirmed that she had taken her last dose of medication, and so, after tomorrow (when she gets her seutres out) we shouldn't have any other medical things to deal with for the rest of the year - what a relief!

T-8 hours before lift-off

2005-07-12T22:54:00.000-07:00

Hershey goes to the kennel in 8 hours - I have been referring to it as the "doggy resort" as between Chris, Hershey and myself, she has the nicest stay away from home out of all of us!

I have prepared her food and snacks, except for carrots and maybe cheese (for her medication), bandage stuff (in case it is needed) her tooth cleaning chewie and her paperwork. I will need to take her blanket and her cow stuffie when she gets up tomorrow, along with her leash and I think we'll be good to go.

We're going to use the Animal Medical Centre on the south side of town. I'm hoping it'll be good - our friends have used it and were very happy with the service they received. The only crummy thing is that they aren't open on Sunday, so while I will be back in town around dinner time, I won't get to pick Hershey up until Monday morning. While I might go see a movie and enjoy a quiet evening after the big conference I'm attending, I would prefer to spend the night in with my dog.

In other news, Hershey's city license came in - it is a relief that she is now "official". The City website was awful - it did not provide confirmation that your submission was received, nor did it make any sense when the payment step came up (for some reason, the first year is free - I'm not going to complain!) She now has 2 tags, one for her rabies shot, and now the license number. She also has her tattoo, and will soon be getting a "If lost, please call ..." tag too. She is getting all blinged-out!

We spent most of the day together; she came to the office with me as I was expecting a package - that did not fare well. The mail man did not read the note about knocking I had put on the door and was quite surprised and frightened about finding a dog in the office! We were better prepared when the delivery guys came later on, however she still growled and barked. I think we will need obedience classes in the fall for sure. We did have the opportunity to go on a walk and play in the park between thunderstorms in the evening. She was full of energy and ran with me for a good 10 minutes. She was much better on the leash after that run; I think a more stable routine will do her well - we'll be able to provide that to her starting in August. She's also been good about her paw - I took the bandage off when we got home from the office so it has aired out all day. She has not been chewing on it or licking it, so things should heal nicely.

And something else happened today that was hilarious. While I was working at the kitchen table, Hershey started sniffing the floor like she was after something. After a bit of chasing around, she finally stood still, eyes fixed to the ground with intensity, and then schmucked something as she squashed it with her front paw. I didn't know what she had got, until she kind of sniffed at the spot, and then backed up. She had killed a spider (yay! I don't like spiders) but didn't want to eat it! Just like mom!

Anyhow, since I will be away from the dog for the next few days, there won't be any postings until next week. Sorry!

Day 4 - Making huge progress

2005-07-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

I have complained to the vet office and the manager has apologized. She agreed that the service we received was bad and she agreed to a 10% discount on the services (this should cover the extra rental day on the car plus some extra supplies I needed to get). She will be speaking to the staff about our case and will ensure that our next visit is perfect.

This has been very frustrating - I have been very glad to talk to Chris and my parents about my troubles, but to be honest I was a total wreck yesterday worrying and being upset. Anyhow, things for me as a dog parent are going much better.

Hershey is doing just great - she isn't troubled by the surgery at all anymore - she's just a bit slow and I'm trying to keep her from running still. We went on two walks yesterday, one to the Safeway where we sat outside with some people (and a snooty Border Collie), and in the evening we went to the 7-11 but that didn't go well - there were too many people, cars and her leash was not long enough to properly tie her to the posts. Anyhow, with a kind stranger's help, I was able to get her some jerky (we're all out of pepperoni) and I got a much deserved ice cream cone.

Her paw is healing nicely - I have been replacing the bandage daily. It should be good without a bandage tomorrow - apparently air is good for it too. We will spend the evening with it off while I can supervise. Her stomach scar is also doing well. All the fur that had to be shaved off of her is growing back already, although I'm sure she appreciates how the bald spots have helped her keep cool.

I have also contacted the kennel and they are fully aware of her situation. I feel she will be in good hands there. I have already prepared all her meals in baggies (the hard task of measuring out 1 cup of food!) and will be sending her off with her blanket, her cow stuffie, her new tooth-cleaning chewie, and some cookies and carrots. The staff there have been warned that she is shy and unsure of some other animals - we shall see how she fares.

I'll be putting a few pictures up before I leave for the week so you can all see how well she is doing!

Frustration

2005-07-09T22:08:00.000-07:00

I am very frustrated and stressed right now. It's the end of my last full day alone with the dog, and with all that is going on, it couldn't be worse timing.

While the day itself has gone quite well, I am very pissed off at the vet office. Honestly, I feel they could have given me more information about how to care for the stitches on her foot and her stomach. I see that she is a bit red on her stomach, which I understand is a warning sign of infection or seepage, but she is dry to the touch and isn't really puffy. I don't know if I can put antibiotic cream on her stomach scar (she can't lick it) because all I have is human stuff and I don't know if it's really a big deal.

I did call the emergency hospital for help regarding her foot though - the baggie thing they made was alright, but because it is vinyl and has big holes for the tie at the top of the baggie, moisture does get in, and her bandage has gotten a little wet; and it's not easy to tell if the gauze pad underneath is dry or not. So, the emergency hospital people have told me that I need to remove the bandage and replace it; human grade gauze is fine, I'm told. The vet who did the spaying told me all I'd have to do is cut a line through the non-stitches side of her foot and take the bandage off. Little do I know when I try to take the thing off using their methods, but the bandage has been taped to her fur. I had to peel the fur off the tape and snip around it - not easy for me to do on my own while she's squirming to get away. I try not to hurt her and do it quickly but having her move and not come back to me on demand makes me much more frustrated. When I finally was able to get the bandage off (pulling quite a bit of fur off - there was no other way!) the stitches themselves look clean and dry. I put on the new gauze and use the tape ON THE GAUZE to keep it on, then to dissuade her from chewing on her bandage and to keep it dry, I put a layer of electrical tape around everything (but of course, not the fur - that would just be stupid).

I try to put some gauze on her stomach too - I mean she wasn't given anything to cover her bare tummy and given that she's a dog, she lies down in the house, outside and everywhere! Perhaps that is what irritated her. I did try to tape the gauze square to her bare belly where she was shaved for the operation, and it does hang on but it's not secure. I will see about making a little shirt/belt thing to hold the gauze pad lightly to her.

Finally, I have been worrying about what is going to happen on Wednesday when she goes to the kennel. She had a rough time today not seeing Chris and went bonkers when another man came to the door (a friend who came to pick up something he lent to Chris). She jumped up on her crate and looked all over for Chris. Poor thing. Now, I'll be leaving her alone for a week and she's obviously going to need someone to care for her paw and stomach and make sure she's not too pathetic - while also being careful that she's not overrun by other dogs... This is going to be tough for her and me.

I am going to call the vet tomorrow and give them a piece of my mind. I will be asking them about why they didn't schedule the follow up appointment and why they didn't provide me with the needed information - they also will be getting it with regards to the tape on her fur.

Another frustration today came from the crappy City of Edmonton website which didn't work on the Mac platform and barely made any sense on the Windows platform - I tried to get the pet license today as we now have Hershey spayed but the process was totally broken - asking me to pay $0 and not sending me a confirmation page. I will be making another complaint call on Monday.

Not fun - not the dog's fault in any way - it's the people I'm mad at.

Day 2 - almost back to normal

2005-07-09T07:48:00.000-07:00

Hershey got more and more back to her good old self in the evening but was very sleepy and rested for most of the night. She was able to regain her appetite and apparently she was dehydrated because she kept drinking long drinks of water. I had read about bloat when the dog takes in too much air when drinking, so I raised the water bowl by putting it on an inverted bin - it has helped reduced the air intake and also her sloppiness. She had to go outside fairly often too - her system must have been turned all upside down - if I ate only two meals a day and had missed one, I would be too.

I let her out a few times at night and she slept through the night okay I think. I woke her at 6 am (as I got up myself) and gave her half of her breakfast. She then went back to bed until 8 am when we got up for good, had more breakfast and a short walk around the block.

She's still slower than normal but she's now interested in her toys again, and will gobble up any food I give her.

Giving her the medication has been very easy, I used the pill-in-cheese trick and she doesn't even realize she's taking it. I also had to give her a squirt of pain-killer yesterday in her mouth; I did this immediately after a small portion of dinner and the cheese. Apparently it tastes sweet but the delivery method is strange; anyhow, it wasn't a problem at all.

One other thing that the vet has had me do is put a little bootie (a heavy plastic bag with string) on her foot if she's going out to pee or walk in moist grass. I haven't had a problem putting it on, and she walks with it on alright, however she does look awful funny and it makes a strange noise as she scrapes it on the ground while on our concrete steps. And once, when I didn't take it off when we went inside right away, she sat down to have a good scratch of her ear - she certainly looked shocked to find a puffy bag instead of her itch-relieving claws! I can't help but laugh, but of course I do fell bad for her too!

I did consider letting her sleep in our room or having both of us sleep on the living room couches last nigh, but figured it would be better to simply have her sleep in her crate as though everything were normal. I think that was the right decision and it'll take her mind off the fact that something strange occurred. She did try to nibble at her foot bandage; so I put some electrical tape where the pad was not covered by the wristband thing - it looks more secure now, she's less likely to chew on the tape and it'll keep her bandage dry too. Her tummy scar is healing nicely too - where it was reddish yesterday, it is now normal coloured and the skin is obviously healing. It feels funny to find normal skin under all the fur - a fairly large area was shaved for the operation, hopefully it won't be itchy as it grows back.

We're going to take it easy today too; I will leave her alone for a while as I have an appointment this morning, but be back for the lunch hour. She'll likely come with me to a meeting I have this afternoon for an hour or two and then we'll be back home for the rest of the day. But at the rate things are going she'll likely be 100% normal by Monday!

Good Dog!

2005-07-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

We just arrived home from the vet and poor Hershey is totally pooped. I have never seen her so slow and tired! The vet called at around 11 am to let me know that the operation had gone well and no complications occurred. I enjoyed my day knowing that Hershey was in good hands.

At 4 pm, I went back to the vet and picked her up - she waggled her tail a little but nothing like the jumping up or frantic squirming she normally does when she sees us. The staff told me that she was quite shy and frightened, but did extremely well. Everything got done, and she looks pretty good given everything that has happened.

Her paw has a bandage on it, and they put a nice wrist-band like thing to keep the bandage on tight.

She's was given an anesthetic plus drugs and a vaccine so it's no wonder she looks stoned! She gets more alert looking every now and then, but right now she looks like a hippie dog!

When we finally got home (after braving rush hour traffic), she went for a pee and poop, then came in and had a long drink of water. I gave her a cookie (which she ate VERY slowly) and now she's taking a nice long rest on her pillow.

This pillow is, by the way, the one I got with the money from my parents! We often find Hershey sleeping on it in her room if we are out late at night. She likes being able to take a rest in a comfortable spot while being able to keep an eye on the door - her crate can't compare with the pillow when it comes to this!

Operation Day

2005-07-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

Today is operation day - Hershey is going to get spade! A lot of planning has had to happen; I had to rent a car as Chris took his to the airport, we weren't able to give her breakfast so we fed her a bit more yesterday to make up for it, and trying to coordinate the vet appointments and recuperation time around the busiest part of the summer for my work has been hard.

She went into the animal hospital at 7:45 this morning, after checking the paperwork and all the operation options, she happily followed the reception person to the back room. I'm not nervous, but rather looking forward to having her fixed. We haven't been able to take her on walks in the last two weeks because she's been in heat, and only in the last few days has her swelling gone down (and her hyperness is also calming back down too). She'll have to take it easy for the first few days, but should be in prime shape by Wednesday when I drop her off at the kennel for the week.

While she's getting fixed we are also getting her dewclaw removed (the "thumb" toe up on her hind leg - Border collies tend to have them while Australian shepherds don't - because she's a cross, she's only got one!), having her tattooed for identification, getting her a Kennel Cough vaccine, getting her nails clipped and doing blood work and a regular exam. She will have stiches on her leg which'll be covered with a bandage and she may need a collar to stop her from liking herself. It'll be hard to prevent her from jumping around and running, but we'll try.

Diaper Dog

2005-06-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

Poor Hershey - she has been forced to wear a diaper during the day given her female troubles. She's been an incredibly good sport about it, not fussing with it and she's pretty patient when I put it on her. Unfortunately the few time Chris has tried to put on her diaper for her, it has come out looking all crazy; I'm not sure what he is doing!

It's not on tight, but you have a good idea of how much fur is on her! She looks so strange with it on, like she's wearing a Speedo!

In other news, we have booked her kenneling for the few days we will both be away from home in July. Our friends have used this kennel in the past and it is affiliated with a veterinary clinic, which is good as her stay will only be 4 or 5 days after her spaying.

Hershey's been spending the whole work day on her own, both to get ready for her kenneling time and for September when our schedules get more regular. She's been doing wonderfully - enjoying her crate for naps, playing with the few toys we leave out for her, and has learned to look out the window by propping herself up on her crate too. She's been chewing all her toys to bits recently (except the cow stuffie, for some reason, but it's her teddybear, we let her sleep with it in the crate). She has remarkably strong jaws - she's even been able to do some serious damage to her Kong toy (it's solid rubber!) - we've never heard of a small dog being able to do this!

Finally, another cute picture of Hershey!

Girl, You'll be a Woman Soon

2005-06-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

So 4 days before we had her scheduled to get spayed, Hershey went into heat. This explains her spaziness lately - she isn't as good at listening and following commands as before, and has been panting for no reason. We've been able to reschedule the spay for early July, which will be fine, however I will be on my own at home at that time, so I am reading up on what to do post-op for Hershey.

In the meanwhile, I will be trying to drive around with Hershey in the front-seat of a car this weekend. Perhaps this will be better for her than the back seat. She'll have better access to the window for fresh air this way. If this works well, we may get her used to the car by sitting her up front and then get her comfortable in the back seat eventually.

We will be taking it easy for the next few weeks, playing mostly around the house and yard and ensuring that things go well for her "time of the year".

Bed, Barf, Bath, and Big Bashes

2005-06-21T13:56:00.000-07:00

The last few days have been jam-packed for Chris and I, and Hershey's had a busy time too.

The first thing I want to share is the fact that Hershey has been excellent about getting to bed - she has stopped crying completely, which is fantastic, and we think she's sleeping in her crate during the day too. Last night, for instance, she came in to the house after her before-bed pee and ran into her crate (the cookies we hide in her blanket may also help).

She's been doing half-days alone at home right now, staying in the mudroom with toys, water, and her crate. Eventually when the weather stabilizes we hope to open the window (but not the screen) which will let her see outside a bit and get fresh air. Wednesday and Thursday were mornings spent on her own with me coming back in the afternoons to do some "house work" (nothing gets done though!) We've been going for walks in the Mill Creek ravine, which she enjoys a great deal - so many smells to investigate! She's also going through her toys at an astonishing speed - her "new" rope twist is shredded beyond recognition and she's also greatly enjoying her squirrel and cow stuffies as well.

Friday afternoon Chris and I were off of work early so we decided to run errands with Hershey. We drove across the city and very shortly after being in the car Hershey started feeling sick. We tried the techniques listed on webpages and books to avoid carsickness, such as opening windows, bracing the dog, trying to calm her and making her look downwards instead of out the windows, but to no avail. She puked. And puked and puked - total of 6 times, poor thing. When we got home we threw the blanked in the wash again and decided it was a good time to giver Hershey a bath.

She was reluctant to get into the tub at first, but didn't fight or try to escape. When we got her wetted down (which is hard with fur) she looked so tiny and skinny!

She looked like ET!

We got a lot of dirt off of her; we tried to use a hair dryer to dry her off, but that scared her a bit, so we ended up just toweling her off.

She's actually a lot more blonde and reddish now - not at all as brown as we had originally thought - the white on her stomach toes and butt have also come through more. And she smells very clean and nice (for a dog)!

We do have one other mess thing to report - while we were watching TV in the living room, Hershey kept leaving the room - we thought she was watching Doggy TV (the screen door in the front of the house - it's High Definition ;) ) but then she came back and promptly peed on our bamboo rug. We later found out that she probably rang the bell to ask to go out to pee, but she rings it very quietly - like everything else she does. We likely dind't hear it what with the TV and the open windows. We've also read that if you don't let a dog out if it's been trained to go outside, it will come and do its business in plain sight - to show you what happens if you ignore it. The rug cleaned up quickly, it's as though nothing occurred. Chris might rig up a doorbell for her - that would certainly be louder.

Saturday a lot was going on - a bunch of preparation for the party we were hosting for our 4 friends (2 couples) who are getting married in July, decorating the house and finally the party itself. Hershey was quite puzzled by the streamers on the ceiling and at one point tried to pick up a balloon as though it were a regular ball - boy would she have been surprised if it burst! When all 30 people were in our living room, Hershey didn't know what to do! She was very excited to meet everyone, but the smells of food (especially BBQ) and the games (especially bingo pieces) were hard to resist. She behaved incredibly well and everyone loved her.

Sunday morning was a special day - Hershey got to get in bed with Chris and I in the morning. I misinterpreted "let the dog come up into bed" with putting her in between the covers like a dolly! She was in heaven! We let her stay there for a while, but as always, she was full of beans and wanted to go and do something else very shortly after. We have been getting up nice and early everyday because of her! We went on some walks and took it easy for the most part, but took it easy as she had such a big day on Saturday. Chris did take her to run around the ice rink/field with Thilo in the evening, but after a while, Hershey didn't seem to want to play anymore. Instead they all went for a walk to see the rising river levels (flooding was imminent throughout the province over the weekend).

Monday was back to work for Chris and I - again, doing a half day. We took her for a very long walk, which was good for all of us. Today she's done most of the day alone. We left the house at 8 am, and Chris went in to check on her at around 2 pm. She'll be alone again until 4:30 when we get back.

One final picture for today's post - Chris has made Hershey an honorary McMaster Engineer!

Independent Dog

2005-06-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

Tuesday and Wednesday have been weaning days - we have to get Hershey ready to spend all day on her own while Chris is at school and I am at work. Since Chris has been very busy at school right now, I've tried to stay home whenever I can - Monday I was able to spend the whole day with Hershey. Chris was missed though, she was quite calm until he got home - her tail waggles insanely when she sees someone who's been away for a while.

Tuesday I had work to do in the morning so Chris stayed at home with her. They went on a very nice long walk through Mill Creek ravine and played around the house too. She spent 2 hours alone in her room while we swapped; no messes, no trouble! I had to go to the grocers in the mid-afternoon, so, for 45 minutes she had the first floor (except my office and the bathroom) to herself. Again, no messes, no trouble! She was very interested in the new toys I brought back - her chewing has been very "consistent" to say it nicely on her good toys, so I got her two tougher toys to destroy at will - a hard rope twist and a softer baseball stuffy. She loves both and is tearing them to shreds; happily this is helping her play nicer with her other toys. I also got her some pepperoni sticks (the ones we would actually eat, not dog-brand kinds) and put small pieces into her Kong Ball - she figured out how to get them out really quickly and is ravenous for the smell of pepperoni now. We also went for a short walk before the thunderstorms started - Hershey got to meet Brad and Christie who live a few blocks away. She got treats from both of them, but was far more interested in the soccer game across the street than chatting with us.

Wednesday has been another good weaning day - while I spent the whole day at work, Chris worked from home in the morning. Hershey spent 4 hours after lunch on her own, again, in her room, and was perfectly behaved. She got to share a tiny bit of my pizza for dinner and also played the pepperoni ball game again. We went for a quick walk and now she's finally getting the hang of the Cow stuff that our friends got for her (it's about time!)

Another trick learned

2005-06-13T07:41:00.000-07:00

We've attached a bell to the back door and have been getting Hershey to tap the bell when we bring her out to pee (this involves lifting her paw and knocking the bell). I heard this technique from my coworker at the City, Lynn, but thought it would be too good to be true. Kit and Jen have also been training Thilo with this technique, but Jen has told me that Thilo likes the bell as a toy better.

This morning, Chris was getting ready for school when he saw Hershey push the bell around with her nose. He let me know she had done this, we weren't sure if she could have already learned this trick... But we let her out to reinforce the stimulus/response pairing. She went straight out to pee.

We have an amazing dog!

The Pastrami Incident

2005-06-13T07:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was not the greatest day; we finally found Hershey's weak spot...

After a good morning of sleeping in the crate nicely, eating breakfast properly, and pooping in the perfect spot in the yard, we went on a nice little walk the two of us together. I'm trying to teach her to walk either "to my left" or "to my right" which will help when we're facing obstacles.

Shortly afterwards, we went in the car to Petsmart where we got her toenails clipped. She was very good again, not barking or pulling away. She was so excited around the store, which was inevitable, and did quite well with one of the bigger dogs there, but not great with one of the excited puppies who was in training class - she actually barked at him - not good, but the puppy was being bothersome. Anyhow, we got more supplies, and then headed back home. There was one point where she started to give signals that she was going to throw up again, but after holding her muzzle closed and petting her, she didn't puke at all, which was great! We got her out of the car shortly afterwards and walked to the grocery store where I stayed with her while Chris got food for lunch.

We got back home and started making lunch for ourselves, including soup, salad and sandwich... Chris had finished putting together reubens to toast with the pannini grill when he turned around to put the pastrami away but noticed one full slice on the ground; there was that pause, like in movies, where we looked at each other then the ground, then the perfectly closed container in his hand, then back to the table - where we were like "that's funny, shouldn't there be another half-sandwich there?" Click! We finally realized that Hershey - BAD Hershey had stolen the meat-side of the sandwich. She obviously knew that what she had done was wrong, because as soon as we turned around to find her, she had darted away. We threw the sandwich away and Chris had to punish Hershey a bit for having been so bad. She understood but it was so sad to punish her. We sent her outside while we cleaned up and then welcomed her back in. She was extremely good for the rest of the day.

In the afternoon, Hershey and Thilo had another play date. I didn't think that she'd be up for playing because she's just been so pooped recently, but Chris took her and they had a fantastic time. Hershey flew like the wind when playing ball and teased Thilo who, since he's so much smaller and still very young, couldn't keep up. She also got to meet anonther dog, a big huge old Rotweiler X Husky who was very gentle with both Hershey and Thilo. When she came back home, she had dinner and then basically lounged around the house. She was very good during our dinner.

To cap off another exciting day, we had her meet some of our other friends, Colin and Becky, who loved her! They got to give her treats and saw her play one of her favorite games; find the lambchop stuffy hidden under her blanket (she digs and sniffs it out - it's great!). She was very good going to bed, only resisting a bit, and slept through until 5 am, where we thought she wanted to go out, but I think the rain dissuaded her. From 5 until 7, she got to sleep at the foot of the bed on the floor. A pretty sweet treat!

The gifts!

2005-06-12T07:27:00.001-07:00

Hershey got two great gifts on Friday from friends and family - first a nice card with some doggy dollars from my parents...

(we're thinking of buying a doggy bed with the doggy dollars...)

And we also got a cow stuffy which "Moos" from Kit and Jen!

Hershey is a lucky girl to get such nice presents!

Second day = walking

2005-06-12T06:39:00.001-07:00

Hershey was such a good girl - she slept all night in her crate, waking only once at 4 am to go to pee, and then again at 6 because the sun was out. She was very happy to get out of that crate - she's obviously not used to it yet. It's tough, but we need to get her used to it for traveling in planes.

We discovered that the measuring cup we had wasn't actually a full cup measure, so this time she got a full serving of breakfast (woops!) Shortly after us getting up and having some breakfast (using the new Pannini grill Chris got me for my birthday), we went on a nice long walk. We cut through the Millcreek ravine, which was exciting for Hershey as it's full of trees and interesting smells. We walked down one of the less busy avenues which was good, except for one corner where a big angry German Shepherd lived and was nearly jumping over the fence. Hershey was good through this scary experience, she didn't bark or growl, but did want to get the hell out of there.

We took some pictures of "Hersh" with Chris on this walk too.

We got to the farmer's market where Hershey got plenty of good attention from shoppers, and she sat quite nicely given that the area was incredibly busy and full of people and other dogs. She got to share in the kettle popcorn I bought. We then walked on to 82nd Avenue, a big busy and bustling street, and then tried to sit down for coffee at a cafe terasse. Hershey didn't understand that she couldn't fit under the table and one of the coffees (in a to-go cup) fell off (huge mess). We promptly left!

We walked back home on more quiet streets and stopped at a few garage sales on the way. When we got home, Hershey had a good hour-long nap in her crate, which went very well, while Chris and I had lunch. We spent the afternoon in the yard and house just hanging out and being lazy. We did get Hershey to play with one of the other toys we bought for her; squeeky squirels which fit into a hollow tree stump stuffy. She adores this toy - the squirels are small enough that they are totally "bite sized" and she was squeeking them and destroying them with great abandon.

Later on, after her dinner, we put Hershey back in the crate (with difficulty) while Chris and I went out for dinner. It was my birthday afterall, so we decided to go out for a short time. When we got back, Hershey had still been a good girl and didn't mess or anything, but was extremely happy to see us. We all watched a movie together and then it was time for her to go back to bed. Again, this was hard to do, but she didn't even cry this time and slept all the way through the night until this morning... well, if you count 6 am on a Sunday as "morning"!

First day at home!

2005-06-10T21:34:00.000-07:00

Today was the big day! We got Hershey from the shelter in Misty Creek this afternoon, it was a stormy day but luckily we took possession of her right before the rain started coming down. We drove her home and she loved watching the cars and trucks as we drove past. She did get sick once in the car, but because she had her shots this morning at the vet, it is likely she was a bit nauseous and dehydrated.

When we got home she was very excited to explore the yard and house. We showed her the bedroom we prepared for her in the mudroom, her crate is there along with her food bowls and supplies.

She got to play with her first toy, a tasty lamb chop stuffed toy

We gave her some supper, which she ate very nicely - no messes, no pigging out.

When we checked the mail, we found a card for Hershey from my parents! They modified a congratulations card to read "You have a new dog!" and included some doggy dollars so Hershey can get herself some toys. Hershey, Chris and I say THANK YOU!

We capped off the big first day with a romp in the park with Thilo, our friends, Kit and Jen's, puppy.

More gifts! Kit, Jen and Thilo got Hershey a great stuffed cow toy which "moos" when you squeeze it (pictures will come later when my camera batteries recharge).

She wandered around the house a bit more, and eventually the big day did her in - she fell asleep at my feet while I was working on this post, and we just put her in her crate (bed), she whimpered a bit, but quieted down right away. What a great first day!

The dog formerly known as Cocoa

2005-06-10T09:18:00.000-07:00

We decided to change the dog's name - she was named "Cocoa" but we had already been thinking of other names in case we got a puppy or an unnamed dog. While previous contenders were "Reese", "Juno" and "Ceilidh" (Kaylee - I couldn't even spell that one!) we wanted to stick with the chocolate theme for this dog. So Chris thought of "Hershey" and I was sold.

We're getting a dog!

2005-06-10T08:48:00.000-07:00

One of the most exciting things in my life is only hours away... Chris and I will be adopting our first dog together! We've spent the last 3 months reading, researching, calling, visiting and doing anything else that would help us find the perfect dog for us. After all this hard work, we finally found a Border Collie X Australian Shepherd dog who is 1 year old. We also got the okay from our landlords to have a dog (phew!)

When we last saw the dog, she was at the Misty Creek rescue shelter near Pigeon Lake in Alberta. We took the afternoon off on the 3rd of June and visited the dogs we saw on the shelter's webpage. Shauna, the very nice woman who runs the shelter told us all about this dog, and we got to play with her a bit, she was extremely friendly and very calm. At one point, we really saw the herding instinct kick in as the dog stared down one of the horses on the farm/shelter grounds. She looked in extremely good health and even knew a few commands - like sit, come here, and shake! The only bad things about this dog was that she was 1) muddy (but that's a temporary state, of course) 2) in high demand (another person was going to visit her on the Sunday, so we needed to make a decision quick) and 3) not coming home with us immediately!

As I mentioned, our landlords did give us the okay to get a dog, but this only came on June 4th after Chris left several messages on their answering machine - we were so anxious to find out! We immediately called the shelter and said we wanted to adopt her. So now, we're getting the dog!