Monday, January 31, 2011

Stupid Dog

Saturday, January 22, 2011

January Update

Another week of living in a construction zone. Ruby has done just fine. She only chewed a little bit of PEX plumbing lines, and I yelled at her so loudly that she's now terrified of the stuff. Other than being underfoot a LOT when we're working, she's not been too awful to have around.  She's even stayed out of the trash, the recycle, and the food on the open shelving in the temporary kitchen. So I can't complain. Regardless, for our sanity and for hers, I let her run off some steam at camp twice this week, Monday and Friday. It IS the greatest thing ever. 

All signs seem to point toward her 'whatever' injury being over and done with. She is active as she can be, cooped up in the house because of the bitter cold, had no issues at camp, and hasn't exhibited any symptoms like she was. She has her one year checkup next month, so we will have official measurements, height and weight to report. I'm sure Dr. Burke will look her over thoroughly, but I don't expect him to find anything. She healed. Yay.

I discovered an indestructable chew toy for her. We were working on some plumbing in the will-be-a-kitchen space and as I was cutting small pieces of PVC drain pipe with the reciprocating saw, she was chasing them around the kitchen (very helpful, by the way). So I looked one over good, took a knife to it to knock off any burrs or sharp edges, and presented her with a collection of bits and pieces that she absolutely loves to chew on.  
The smaller rings get tossed around and chased, the bigger ones she just chews on and hasn't so much as made a tooth mark in them. But she keeps trying. :) And it keeps her occupied and out of our hair as long as her attention span holds out.










Last weekend, I decided that the soft toys were beyond disgusting and needed a bath. As I gathered them up from every corner of the house, Ruby followed me and the laundry basket with absolute concern. I tried to explain that they would all be OK and she could even watch them, but that didn't compute. She had a massive anxiety attack for about half of the 53 minute wash cycle and then she simply threw in the towel and pouted at the top of the stairs until they were done.





She also didn't understand the need to put them in the dryer and wait ANOTHER 40 minutes. Seriously, I thought she was going to stroke out when I switched machines. Tried to upload a really hilarious video, but the stupid thing won't work. I'll keep trying.

She's getting better and better with people and moves on from pacing and stressing pretty quickly these days. She does have a very short memory, so when the teenagers have friends over and hang out in the basement, by the time they come up the stairs, she's generally forgotten they were here at all and the pacing and barking returns. But it's short-lived.

Beyond that, we are just surviving winter. We will ALL be happy when we can get outside and go for a walk. But with temperatures in the single digits at the hottest part of the day and ice and snow on every surface, we aren't getting out much.

By the way, if I haven't said it lately, thanks for reading! I've enjoyed watching where my readers are in the world. Last week, Australia! If you're reading again...I'm intensely jealous that it's summer there. Send some my way please. :)

Favorite Ruby picture of the week...

"Get your own couch, humans. This one's mine."

Biggest Loser

With the main part of the house in complete shambles, we have had to be extra careful about what we leave lying around. Ruby has proven to be fairly trainable, but still has a lot of puppy curiosity in her. So we scan the available roaming space she has before leaving for work each morning, picking up any tools, parts, supplies, etc...just to make sure she doesn't get herself into big trouble. Sophie never bothers anything. She's what's known as 'the good one.' Uh-huh. Right.

Tuesday night we completed the main hookup of our new plumbing system (this is relevant, I promise). Wednesday morning we checked it and had no leaks. Even so, I spent Wednesday morning at work, very busy, but unable to get an ugly picture out of my head. That the new plastic lines we had installed would give way at the fittings in the basement. That the entire morning, since we had looked at all of it at 5:45am, there was water pouring into the basement. I pictured the theater room completely submerged, the equipment ruined. I pictured all the Christmas decorations going in the trash. I added up the cost of all the tools and mechanicals and mentally reviewed our homeowners policy.

I was unable to get away from work and barely even got to eat lunch with Kevin. But I had long enough to transfer a bit of my paranoia to him so he offered to go home and make sure all was well in the basement. Breathing a sigh of relief 45 minutes later when I saw him pop back up on my instant messenger at work, I was able to 100% focus on my busy day. He would have called immediately, had my horrific vision of a flooded basement been true.

And then I got an e-mail from him. With the following pictures. In order.

Warning: THESE PICTURES ARE GROSS.

When you get to the last one, see if you can figure out exactly what happened while we were away.

Poop.

More poop.

Puke. LOTS of puke.


More puke by the door...and more poop.


And yup, that's more puke. And an open container of Ruby food. Ahem.

I apparently didn't get the bottom dog food container fully closed and one of them is smart enough to get it open. I know the front part that was sitting open in the final picture was about half full. I didn't come close to scraping bottom when I fed Ruby that morning. We're guessing they teamed up. Ruby's pointy nose probably opened the food out of curiosity and she had a few more bites. That's just how she rolls.

But Sophie GORGED. For as long as she wanted between 5:45 and 11:30.

Kevin called me as I was looking through the pictures. First, assuring me that the basement was fine. And then explaining that instead of being met at the door by two happy, lonely dogs, neither of them would move from their spots on the furniture, or even look in his direction. Just faces of SHAME. Absolute shame. And from one, absolute physical misery.

Ruby was well-fed, clearly having eaten more than her share, but the prevailing feeling seemed to be shame from her. But Sophie...well Sophie's condition can only be described as BLOAT. Four hours later when I saw her, she could still barely walk. She had puked again (you're welcome for not taking pictures of THAT) all over her bed in the afternoon and her belly was so fat that she waddled. She looked like a Biggest Loser contestant on day one.

Now Ruby can get into trouble, but she's not a big eater. Not a gobbler any longer, not an overeater. As a matter of fact, as previously reported in this blog, she sometimes doesn't even eat all her food. But Sophie...well that's a different story. Sophie has never missed a meal in her 7 1/2 years of life. Never missed a crumb dropped or anything that might sound like a crumb. Never missed an opportunity to sit at the feet of someone holding something that LOOKS like food, with drool dripping from her big, droopy mouth.

Let's just say, Wednesday night, Sophie missed her first meal. And Thursday morning, she got a reduced portion of her regular serving. Even Thursday night, just a barely-level scoop. Finally by Friday morning, her shape was back to normal and she would look us in the eye again.

I'm wondering what sort of deal she made with Ruby to talk her into this crime, or if they intened to blame it on the cat.

Note to self: in addition to scanning the floor for things we don't want chewed up during the day, make sure the dog food container is shut tight.

...carry on.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Healing?

At least I THINK she's healing.

After a weekend of hard core home renovations and one cooped up giant dog, I made the call Sunday night to send Ruby back to camp today. Allan gave her a ride before school and informed them of her 'injury' followed by a call from me to explain further. I told them to make her take a time out if she seemed to be in pain. When I went to pick her up, 11 hours later, the report was that she hadn't had any problems at all. The doggie daycamp humans said she didn't jump up on anybody, but other than that, they noticed no difference at all. So I paid her tab and walked out the door with her...at which point she yelped like she was in pain again.

I swear its for attention some times.

At any rate, she is crashed out on the couch tonight, where I'm guessing she will stay until this time tomorrow with the occasional break for food and bodily functions. Whatever. I can't figure this dog out.

So week before last, Kevin and I are getting ready for bed upstairs and Ruby is patiently waiting (not) for her turn at the well for her nighttime drink. Kevin takes one of his contact lenses out, dropping it into the storage container and as he reaches to take out the second, this giant Great Dane tongue comes out of nowhere and slurps the lens right out of the container. In the blink of an eye, it was gone. Pun intended.

I laughed so hard I almost peed. There was a lot of 'what the HELL' from Kevin, but neither of us could help but laugh. Ruby, unaware as always, just sat back licking her chops. Apparently, contact lenses are somewhat tasty.


Thank goodness for disposable contact lenses!

Ruby handled the demo OK this weekend. She is still convinced that if she can't get to me, she must try, even if she can hear me through the sheets of plastic that protected the non-work areas of the house all weekend. So she got in trouble a few times for blasting under the plastic. Fortunately, we were able to take it all down Saturday evening as the dirtiest of the work is done for now. When it comes time to tile the floor, I'm sure Ruby will be in for another day at camp.




Nothing more today. Boring post...sorry. Favorite picture...

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Happy New Year!

Pouting because the blanket doesn't allow her to bury toys.
Surviving the holidays is always good. Surviving it without being financially ruined and still able to button my jeans is a solid win. Surviving with no Christmas casualties as a result of the wonder dog is a downright miracle.

Props to Ruby for being on her best behavior for MOST of the holiday festivities. No, REALLY. Cookies cooled on the counter and she obediently did NOT help herself. Tempting sparkly decorations draped every surface and she simply observed. Wrapped packages, which must have been almost impossible to ignore, stayed wrapped. People came to the house and as long as she stayed on leash for a brief time and everyone gave her a treat, she was more than happy to mingle with the humans. She was unbelieveably well-behaved.

Well there was that ONE incident at her cousin Murphy's house in Wisconsin. There were no signs in the yard as to where the facilities were and Ruby has a hard time deciding where to poo anyway. So she waited until she was in the house and then left a lovely present on Aunt Pam's basement floor. But that was really just a case of being in unfamiliar territory after a 3-hour car ride. An isolated incident.

Some fun pictures from the holiday below:

 
What? It's comfortable.
 
Must. Stuff. New. Toy. Under. Couch.
   
Is there something in here for me?

Yummmm...bows.

PAY ATTENTION TO THE DOG. NOW.

I love you Sophie! I love YOU Ruby!!

DIRTY TRICK DIRTY TRICK!!!



A significant change in Ruby's eating habits have my scratching my head a little. I guess its just her growing up. But the dog that was once such a gobbler, such an inhaler of food that I had to resort to the bowl-in-a-bowl trick so she didn't puke it all up, is suddenly a grazer. I suppose it changed when we started leaving her out during the day. Maybe she realizes she can eat whenever she wants now. But I fill her bowl in the morning and most days, a considerable amount of food is still there at 4:30 when we come home. She finishes it then, as if it would be wrong to eat without an audience. And then I fill it back up at 5:30. She will graze throughout the evening, and then usually finishes it off right before bed. Nice that she's self-regulating. Some days she hasn't finished it, so I'm cutting back on the amount a little bit. Five cups a day rather than six. Still five times as much as Sophie eats. But Ruby still has lots of growing to do.

Unfortunately, I can't report that her injury is completely gone. Though we do feel it is somewhat better. She hadn't had any moments of intense pain for a couple of weeks. Until the visit to cousin Murphy's house. Not letting Ruby play seemed cruel so we just let them go at it. A couple of times, she yelped in pain and we tried putting her in her kennel, but then she was completely stressed because she could hear all the activity. We decided to play it safe and she slept in her kennel in the spare bedroom with us. At 4:45 she woke us up with a screeching, pained yelping. An alarm clock that wouldn't stop. We quickly got her out of the kennel. Seemed she must have just turned wrong on whatever hurts. For the next few hours she was happy to sleep on the bed with us.

Since then, she still favors her right side, but will still run and play or wrestle with Sophie whenever she has the opportunity. We've decided its a combination of having a slight injury...and being a gigantic sissy. We've isolated the pain to her shoulderblade, but nothing bone-related. Just a strain or a sprain probably and we can't do anything for it anyway. So she will heal on her own.

She still hasn't been back to camp, however the fact that I sit here surrounded by a half-demolished kitchen means she will probably be spending some time there the next couple of weeks. We have hung sheets of plastic to contain the dust, but if Ruby can peek under a piece of plastic, she feels an intense need to go through it. This will be interesting. How many drywall crumbs can a Great Dane consume before her stomach rejects it? We shall soon find out.

One change in all this construction that makes Ruby a very happy dog is that we had to do some rearranging of furniture, and moved her two favorite chairs to the bedroom. So even though I broke down and bought her a nice new VERY BIG VERY FLUFFY bed last weekend, she has spent the last few nights curled up and wedged into one of the chairs. She did lose her view out the front picture window though and she can't be happy about that during the day. The pub-height dining room table is in front of her window during construction. We half expected to see her standing on top of it that first day, standing guard for us to return home. But she has so far stayed on the floor...or the blanket-covered couch.

That's all for now.

Favorite picture. Having been in trouble most of the evening, Ruby finally gave up her quest for undivided attention from...everyone. Good thing the cuteness factor always pays off.





Ruby

Ruby
Ruby at 5 weeks.

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