Wordless Wednesday

Hibernating

Thanks for your kind comments on our last post and we are so happy that you are still with us. We are all doing well, the cats Elsie and Gerrard too.  They have decided that a pack of seven dogs in a small space (more on that in a future post) will not squish them and they are happily hanging out with us and staying warm too.

Hibernating.  

That is what we have been doing.  No great tales of wild island adventures. 

There have been long naps....

....snoozes while snuggled in blankets.....

......sometimes with a couple of pack members for extra body heat.

Why the blankets and need for warmth?  Well, here on the east coast island we've had temperatures of -27C/-16F with windchills of -36C/-32F.  At that time there were winds of 70 - 90km/hr.  So, we decided to hibernate.  Then the weather improved and all the snow melted and the temperatures rose to 5C/41F and it felt like spring for a few days.  We're back to the high winds and cold again.  

During those really cold days, our cold loving girl Callie was thrilled to be outside playing JollyBall. No pictures of that since I was concerned that the camera might freeze along with my fingers.

Breeze has found an interesting way to deal with the cold weather.

Not sure why, but it works for her.  She has been having some problems with what might be anxiety and seizure-like activity.  Having her head covered makes a difference and she will settle and sleep for a few hours while remaining calm.

Thanks again for stopping by. We will be catching up on your blogs soon.

New (to us) furniture

We recently were very fortunate and received a love seat and matching chair from a new friend at work.  Since all our furniture was left behind when we moved, we've been getting by with the thrift store chair and a couple of camping chairs.  Now though, we have real furniture!

As you can see, it has been approved.

Forest

Brook and Hiker

Bill, Azule and Breeze

Copying the big dog.

I've mentioned a few times how Breeze loves to lean on furniture and I have asked people we know who have bigger dogs and they all say the same thing, "ours do that too!"  Then a few days ago, Breeze was leaning on the new(ish) dog bed that I made.

Then, yesterday, Brook tried out something similar with a dog bed which is actually a cardboard box and a sleeping bag..

Breeze is around 60 pounds and Brook is only 32 pounds but obviously wanted to pretend that she was a big dog too.  As I watched her my first thought was that she was copying what Breeze had done a few days previously.  Now, if you have been following our adventures you likely are thinking but they are both blind.  You are right, neither Breeze nor Brook can see.  

So, no, Brook wasn't copying but I couldn't help but think that as I watched her then I chuckled to myself as I realized how silly that thought was.  But that is just another example of how I don't really think of the dogs in terms of their handicaps. They're just normal, fun loving dogs!

Lack of communication

We had a minor incident a few days ago, that once all the contributing factors are realized, is a bit of an amusing incident.

I was outside playing JollyBall with Callie when I heard the sounds of a scuffle from inside the house (all the windows were open to take advantage of the summer-like temperature). As I entered the kitchen, I saw deaf Azule and blind Breeze having a little disagreement. They were making lots of noise with little contact, which is typical. They quickly stopped as I approached and touched Azule while telling Breeze "leave it".  

Now, the reason that this is amusing is the way in which deaf Azule and blind Breeze try and communicate with each other.  It is common for blind Breeze to growl at deaf Azule. Breeze doesn't curl her lip or give any physical indication (that I can see) of what she is doing. Just the growl.  

blind Breeze - growls at the deaf dog

 

In return, deaf Azule will curl her lip at blind Breeze and not make any sound.

deaf Azule - silently curls her lip at the blind dog

So, with the deaf dog not hearing the growl and the blind dog not seeing the lip curl...we have a lack of communication.

Tasy Tuesday - Kong stuffing

Every time that the pack has to stay home alone, they each get a Kong stuffed with part of their breakfast or dinner kibble.  In order to ensure a long lasting Kong, I have always added some canned dog food and packed it in as tight as possible (Except for Breeze. She won't work at a tightly packed Kong).  Due to the concerns of country of origin of the ingredients and also preferring a quality canned food, I found myself paying over $3.00 per can and on average, using 2-3 cans per week.  Not a huge amount of money and of course, the pack is worth it, but I thought it was time to explore other options.

For a few days we tried using natural organic peanut butter.  I was hesitant because Bill isn't too fond of peanut butter.  Then we tried dehydrated sweet potatoes and that didn't give the tightly packed Kongs that I wanted. Then when I was peeling and slicing carrots to cook for dinner and of course, handing out slices to the pack, I suddenly had an idea.  Why not cook some carrots and then put them in the blender and use that?  

So, after cooking carrots, I put them, some of the cooking water and some leftover brown rice in the blender and pureed.

pureed carrots and brown rice

Just to see the reactions, I put a small amount in each of the dog's dishes with their breakfast.  They all gobbled it up.  

The most interesting reaction was from Breeze.  She still has her moments of growling while eating and will often nose around in the dish and sometimes wander a few feet away and then back to the dish.  With only approximately a tablespoon of the carrot mixture in with the kibble (not even mixed in, just plopped on top) she ate all the kibble without wandering and there was not a sound other than the crunching and the swish of her tail wagging.  Was it the carrot mix? To test the theory, I added another tablespoon size sample at dinner.  Same thing.

So, not only have I found a way to save a few dollars, I might have also found a way to make Breeze's meal times a bit more relaxed and enjoyable.

Collar warning.

When we arrived home yesterday after our vet visits and I opened the crate in the car to get Azule and Brook out, I realized that Azule didn't have her collar on.  I know she had it on when she got into the crate because she was leashed coming out of the vet's office.

I am a firm believer in restrained dogs in the car for their safety and having a wire style crate in the car allows them to see out and also has great air flow.

If you have ever used a wire style crate, you no doubt have seen the warning about removing the dog's collar for safety, that is printed on the plastic tray liner. I've seen it many times. Not much of a concern for us I always thought, since none of the pack wear collars at home.  

They do however, all wear collars when we go out and they are crated in the back seat of the car.  But I'm right there in the front seat. If anything happened, I would know. Right?  WRONG!

This is where I found Azule's collar.  Hanging near the top of the crate.

I was driving and oblivious to this happening. She never made a sound.  What scares me is that she could have choked and I wouldn't know until it is too late.  I still feel sick and on the verge of tears when I think about what could have happened.

We're getting new, tagless collars for the car crate. 

Azule and Brook

It was time for deaf Azule's yearly check and her heartworm test so I decided to take blind and partly deaf Brook along for her heartworm test too. As we often do when going to the vet, we combine the trip with other things since the vet is located in the big city, about a 45 minute drive each way.

In between our errands, we had time to visit a trail which is along a river.  Years ago, I lived very close to this trial and walked it many, many times with Cairo.  It was nice to visit it again.

Due to the rain we've been having lately, all waterways are high and fast moving so being off leash was not an option.

We did find a calmer spot and Brook wandered in but got a bit scared when she stepped in a deep spot.  

No harm done and we continued to explore.

Azule wore her West Virginia bandana and Brook wore her bright pink one.

In the background, the trial continues along and there is a low wooden walkway over the river and under the six lane highway.  On this visit we didn't have enough time to walk that far but will the next time.

Azule's check up went very well and her heartworm test, as well as Brook's, was negative.

Introducing us and our blog!

October 10, 2012

Well, after many months of reading blogs, commenting on blogs and being asked where the acd6pack blog is...(drum roll please!)...here it is! 

As you can see from the listing on the right, it's a pack of Australian Cattle Dogs some with  special needs.  Through this blog I hope to be able to share how normal life is with dogs that can't see and/or hear and those that can.

I adopted my first ACD ten years ago.  Her name was Cairo and she was a year and a half old purebred, registered former show dog.  Most dog people have had that once-in-a-lifetime- amazing-best-ever dog.  For me that was Cairo.  

Life was fantastic with one dog so I decided after five years to adopt a second.  Along came Callie.  Within five months after Callie's adoption, my Cairo was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor on her heart.  She died a few weeks later at age seven. (the worst time of my life)

A few months later I contacted an Australian Cattle Dog rescue and it was through them that I adopted Bill.  When I commented to the rescue many months later that someday I might add a third, I was asked if I would consider a blind puppy.  Honestly, my first thought was, "Blind?  How would it get around?  I am a camper, hiker, backpacker.  I can't take a blind dog out in the wilderness."  As I thought that I also thought that it sounded really selfish and agreed to meet this puppy that had recently arrived at the rescue.  Well, I was surprised at how happy and normal she was.  Home she came and I named her Hiker.

The rest, well, they just seemed to arrive.  As time goes on I'll tell you more about them. 

I look forward to sharing stories of "the specials" with you.