respublica

How dogs think and feel

I came across this chart on dogs emotional life and the things that help or hurt. Now I realize we can't get into a dog's head, but this is actually pretty good.

click to enlarge in order to read it.

Remembering your dog in a wonderful way

The woman who runs the Golden Ratio on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube lost one of her dogs late in the spring. It about broke her heart and sometime later she came across a person who makes small, felted, replicas of dogs. She sent in photos of the dog she lost and yesterday the replica arrived. It is so real you'd think it would wag it's tail.

Here is the link to how it turned out.

I know in my heart our Ferdie is wearing down and getting weaker and it's getting closer to the day we lose him. So I've made a note of where this felted dog maker is.

 

Now this is a bag of...

I was doing a few things on the campus this morning and as I walked up to the Walther Arch which holds the big bells, this is what I saw.

Yes it is what you think it is. One of our fine local neighbors decided it was too much trouble to take their dog's poop home and left it next to the bench in a nicely tied up bag. Now you may think she probably didn't realize it had fallen, but we've come across so many of these bagged dog poops laying around it doesn't strike me as an accident.

The Pet Hair eraser

Someone in the Golden Ratio 4 Twitter page what brand of vacuum cleaner they use to suck up the dog hair dropped by their 5 Golden Retrievers. If you haven't seen or followed The Golden Ration 4 on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, you should. This is an amazing couple who both manage all these wonderful dogs as well as their own full careers. Each day they put up at least one video or photo of the dogs eating or running around or sleeping and they have, I'd guess, thousands of followers.

Anyhow, as you might imagine, they need a vacuum cleaner. She recently bought the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Turbo Plus Upright and likes it. She puts it to the test for sure.

Here are their 5

We have a hairy Golden Retriever, just one dog, and he drops the hair and a couple of years ago I bought the Shark Navigator vacuum and it works very well. The best part are the attachments, one of which reaches under beds without having to move the bed. Also the canister lifts off the base so it's easy to vacuum stairs.

The day after Easter

We had a nice Easter this year until the late afternoon when Ferdie's back legs went out on him and he couldn't get up or walk. The physical horror we felt for our much loved dog was painful. This morning we took him to our vet in Collinsville and they were so helpful getting him out of the car and into a room  I never knew existed. It had a couple of couches and the floor was totally carpeted so dogs in Ferdie's condition wouldn't slip and fall. 

We don't know much yet, because they took him back for xrays of his legs and lower back which involves a sedative. We should hear something soon and we hope, really hope, they can help him.

Here is a picture I took of him yesterday before this all happened. I can see in his eyes, now and didn't then, that he had some pain.

Dog pals

One of our former neighbors brought her new puppy by yesterday to visit Ferdie. Abner is a 6 month old English Sheepdog and his size belies the term puppy. But he is a real sweetie and just adorable. Problem is, Ferdie is really feeling his old age these days and isn't able to play due to a bad rear knee. But he was very patient with Abner and seemed to enjoy the company of another dog for a while.

Abner tried his best to get Ferdie to get up and play.

No go and Ferdie finally looked over at us as if to say, "someone make him understand I'm an old man".

Resignation.

This is about how we all feel as March arrives and another winter storm is in the forecast for this weekend. Everyone needs a comfort bear to get through this.

The cutest mailbox ever

The Golden Ratio 4 couple, they have 5 Golden Retrievers, recently bought a second home in the Florida Keys and this week added a new mailbox which is so darn cute. A Manatee!  Or Mailatee!

If you haven't paid attention to the Golden Ratio 4 stories and videos on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, you are missing the best thing online.

A dog of an ending

The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show ended their 2 night contest last night with a Wire Haired Terrier winning Best in Show. I stopped watching after the Sporting Group finished showing with a Cocker Spaniel winning and moving on to the finals. I knew the Golden or any of the other bigger sporting dogs wouldn't win that group, but was disappointed in the result anyway.

But, the controversy of the night was the ending when the judge for Best in Show chose the Wire Haired Terrier. The anger from dog people was evident by the comments on the Westminster Twitter page. It seems the judge is a Wire Haired Terrier guy and one of his friends handled the winner. Nothing against that dog, but that breed has won 15 times at Westminster. There seems to be a built in prejudice in favor of them. Many angry dog people believed the long haired Dachshund should have won.

The disappointment and downright anger by dog people was unusual and they may have a point.

The Westminster dog show

I get a kick out of the annual Madison Square Garden Westminster dog show, watching the handlers is fun and the dogs and commentary are humorous. But in recent years I've become a bit cynical about the group and overall winners. So often they are small dogs, last night 3 of the 4 group winners were small. The judges also seem to give only cursory glances at dogs which get the loudest applause and cheers, like the Golden Retriever, Labrador Retrievers, big old sheep dogs etc. The only bigger dog judges like are poodles.

I'm prejudiced having a Golden, but that breed has never won at Westminster. The top five most popular breeds in terms of ownership in order, Labradors, German shepherds, golden retrievers, French bulldogs and bulldogs, according to the American Kennel Club.  None have ever won best in show. Goldens almost never get out of their group. It irritates me these days.

 Christine Miele, an official of the Golden Retriever Club of America said about the eventual winner tonight, " It won’t be a golden retriever. It’s not going to happen." "Because the breed’s gene pool is so large, there are many slightly different ways for a golden retriever to look: Some have coats that are long and flowing, others less so; some have fur that is a deep golden, while others are more cream-colored. That can make it complicated to establish a breed standard, which is used by dog show judges.

But also, and most importantly in my mind, "Part of it may have to do with the judges as well. Of the small number of people in the country who are qualified to serve as Best in Show judges, none are golden retriever breeders, Ms. Miele said."