oh, bother.

Sam was remarkably docile on his morning walk today. usually he's full of beans and butterflies, charging ahead to snif at something, careening in front of me if something catches his eye. we're working on this. however, this morning it seemed like no work was needed -- he walked to heel like a lamb, or a sheepdog.

only when he started munching grass did i put that together with his smelly farts and realise he might be a bit under the weather. a bit later, i got solid evidence -- erh, in fact, liquid solid evidence.

when we got home he seemed happy enough sunning himself in the front yard. but he still refused my yoghurt treats and his meal. now he's curled up into a sad ball of doghood. hopefully, his tummy will become better soon, or it may be treatment time.

what's on the stairs today?

in the last few days, sam has had some digestion problems, resulting in the evocative smell of runny poo combined with that of cleaning chemicals. that trouble has cleared, thank dog, and sam even did his bit to give the staircase a fresher, more hygienic scent. how? he stole the children's tooth paste, which he has had his eye on for a while, and mauled it to death then and there.

if this gives him indigestion, i'm going to force him to eat it! wait... better not get into that particular vicious cycle.

upset

oh no, not again! i had hoped that sam's upset stomach upon first arriving with us would be the last, but of course not. he is a sensitive dog, if only when it comes to his tummy. we're still debating whether it was the type of dog food, the river water drink or the bit of waffle with jam that did it. the end result is indisputable, however: liquid poo appears on the carpet during the night. i'm so happy it's an old, ugly carpet now.

we had a long, nice walk yesterday, where sam played around on the extendable lead a lot. he was very good -- not running off like a mad dog, just being crazy in a cute and controlled manner. he seemed quite happy on the lead, and i was happy to, being able to push the pram and keep both safely arms in their sockets.

good pooch!

or actually, poo.
warning...
keep post out of contact with food.

i never thought i'd be this happy to pick up a pile of poo. after three weeks of liquid and semi-solid products, sam today properly shaped lumps with what looked like pieces of wood in them. maybe he's been lacking in fibre? anyway, the vet's cure seems to be working. hurrah!

home alone

the first time we left sam alone at home for an extended time period, he howled and made a mess (in a neat pile). and the second time. the third time, he only made a puddle. today, he made a puddle as well, but only by upsetting his water bowl. progress is such a sweet experience.

the hubby even talked approvingly of getting another dog ("an older, more sedate female who can teach sam some manners" -- yeah, right!). more fuel for my dreams!

the bitter pill

so, nice mr. vet gave sam a course of antibiotics and three deworming tablets. after i arrived home, i tried giving the antibiotics to him by placing them in his dry food. the hungry dog was suddenly totally uninterested in dry food. i then alternately tried tricking him to eat them along with some treats ("schmackos"), or shoving them down his gob (luckily, in this case, he doesn't know the meaning of biting). howling like in the nether circles of dog hell and strong rabbit behaviour, i.e. wriggling away and running off fast, ensued. it took a good while before he would come back in from the garden, even the wellbeloved schmackos didn't tempt.

this put me in a bout of despair, until i realised a bit later that the pills could be crushed and mixed with a nice meat mash we had in store. this time, the bowl was licked clean of food and medicine.

that still left the dewormers. these tablets seemed bigger, and i didn't have that much mash to mix with. what to do? the vet had said i might be able to give them directly, and the package did say something about "flavour". so i tried with one. the dog, no longer suspicious of my feeding intentions, sniffed, licked, and gobbled it up like candy. the second tablet went down fast as well. by the third one, sam had lost interest, repeatedly "losing" it and only sniffing at it when it lay on the floor. i steeled myself, and forced it into his mouth as gently as i could. it disappeared. the deed was done.

that only leaves a lot of grinding and mashing (but hopefully no gnashing) over the nex few days...

old haunts

i took sam on a long walk back to the rspca today. not "back" as in we're giving him up -- heaven forbid! -- but to have their vet see him, because of his little pooblem. we got deworming pills and a prescription for antibiotics, so now whatever is being mean to his tummy should be very afraid. that is, if we successfully get him to eat the pills.

the nice staff at the rescue centre were, of course, pleased to see sam, and to hear that he and we were settling well with each other. what was even cooler was that when we left the centre, a cute enforcement officer, or whatever they're called, peeked out from his car and asked if that was an inuit dog. i replied in the affirmative. he asked if we'd gotten it from the centre. yup. it turned out he was the one who rescued the dog. apparently, sam had been left behind by a breeder who got into some trouble. it was good to get a fuller picture of his history -- i'd imagined him being left somewhere tied to a fence, which for this people-loving animal would have been a disaster of great magnitude. i mean, just leaving him to enter a shop for a few minutes has him howling to the heavens.

we then went to the nearby vet to pick up sam's antibiotics. as soon as the receptionist saw us, she exclaimed "is that the one that just was here with the rspca?"

it seems we got ourselves an unforgettable dog. except by certain breeders, that is.

shit happens

(don't read if eating.

please.)


"big chief, no shit" used to be the hubby's refrain when he walked the dog. this he sings no more, instead having to use three plastic bags to pick up piles of wet poo. as responsible for the evening walk, i, for my part, can only add "big chief, much shit". we're wondering a bit about the dog, but he seems otherwise healthy, so we're not worrying yet.

shit happened, too, when sam was left alone at home for three hours the other day. apart from that, he hadn't destroyed anything, so i considered myself lucky with just a neat pile to wipe off the floor. then my daughter stepped in it on her way to the bathroom. sheeeet...

much can take place in a week

there's a full moon tonight. i'm getting more attuned to the night sky as i spend time out with a doggie that needs to relieve himself, bounce and play, or be prevented from eating all the lobelia.

sam is everything i expected him to be. an all-round good boy who sniffs, wags, licks hands (and occasionally ears) and kills "prey".

he also steals and chews clothing, toys, and any food he fancies and can get hold of, has bad habits such as jumping up or nipping people, and has been used to relieving himself on hard floors for too long. his hat of being separated from his pack knows no bounds, and he's got a good howl in him. the need for constant vigilance during the day, in addition to disturbed sleep at night, has made the last week, and sam, a real handful.

it was the worst of times, and the best of times, to get a dog. november is, actually, the cruellest month, with its rains and winds, not to mention firweorks around bonfire night, which happened to be the night after we picked up sammy-boy. luckily, he's not afraid of firweorks at all, just traffic and other loud engine noises. although i'm on studying vacation, my husband has a lot of work to do, having recently received his school's first batch of students, while at the same time having to prepare a new curriculum (and other stuff) for next year. and daughter dear has a runny nose. all this means that, all things considered, it's the best time to introduce a canine, because if we can get through this, we can get through anything.

we alreayd knew from the rescue centre that there was a lot of bounce in sam -- the kennel workers tended to have difficulties putting his collar on, taking it off, and entering or leaving the kennel without him getting out -- but we also found out he really liked mouthing things. the first few days were spent teaching him not to jump, and leaving our stuff alone. we can measure how calm he's become with us by seeing how much he still bounces in new and frightening situations. he's learnt the leave, sit, and out commands, although he chooses to pretend he hasn't sometimes. the nipping, which could be painful, has become more of a gentle tickle. he still jumps sometimes (such as right now), but we have found that sending him outside tends to burn off excessive playfulness.

i think we have succeeded in convincing sam that outside is overall the best place to put pee & poo in, although accidents may happen if he's overly stressed. twiggy's yell of "quiet" stops him from barking and howling his way through the night. best of all, he and little boo peep are getting along very well -- she can hang on him, lie down on top of him, and even pull him around by a chain, without either of them causing the other too much trouble.

everyone seems to be getting more trustful. the dog can go out into the garden on his own without worrying that we'll disappear, and we can have the same trust in him. he'll probably still nip at the lobelia, and possibly bounce through the forbidden kitchen garden, but he at least knows he's called sam and that he's our dog.