Here it is … Freckle laughing

Well, we did it … er, Mary Doug did it I should say. She caught Freckle laughing on camera! And the  photo below is Freckle smiling – not necessarily a precursor to laughing–but lovely all the same.

Freckle meets spear grass

Poor Freckle! There’s never a dull moment at our house. Last Wednesday, we noticed that she was flapping her ears… shaking her head. This behaviour continued and seemed to be getting worse. We took a long look into her ears but all seemed to be in order–from what we could see. In fact, they are the cleanest, smoothest, least allergy-ridden ears of any of our Boxers! But there was still something wrong.

Thursday morning … more flapping. Mary Doug made an appointment to see our vet and off we went with Ceilidh in her stroller and Freckle flapping all the way to the clinic. Dr. Janet said she’d better have a look inside and approached Freckle’s head. Freckle rolled her big brown eyes up at her and began to tense. By the time Dr. Janet was about 18 inches away from her ear, she let loose an ear-splitting yodel and jumped away.

Hmmm…. Dr. Janet said. She began to approach Freckle again but this time Freckle was prepared and bolted for the door … which was closed. Dr. Janet nodded and said “I think we’re going to have to sedate her in order to look in there.”

An hour later, we came back to pick Freckle up and were handed a glass tube with three scary-looking seeds in it. These were from Freckle’s ear … and obviously were causing a lot of distress. They were “spear grass seeds” they told us.

Freckle came out to meet us… a little woozy but happy to go home. Now we have two glass tubes on our mantle—one with Ceilidh’s tooth and one with Freckle’s spear grass seeds. I love souvenirs!

So … we’ve had to put drops into Freckle’s ear for a week. Ha! In someone’s dreams!! Mary Doug and I have had to feed her half a cow in order to distract her and hog-tie her to boot! Well, I exaggerate … but it hasn’t been easy!

We’ve been pondering just how to keep the spear grass incident from repeating and we’ve come up with the hat. We’ve got one of these babies on order from Amazon—believe it or not! Who knew? We hope it will fit her OK … but the attractive little flaps will cover her ears to prevent those nasty spear grass seeds from gaining entry. AND, this particular hat even has a small LED light on the top of it. Ah Freckle … you’re SO lucky to have found us!

Laughing dogs

Ask any Boxer owner and they’ll tell you—Boxers are clowns! They love to make people laugh and they’re good at it. They can be downright goofy and the harder you laugh, the goofier they get.

All of our dogs have also smiled. Our first Boxer, Bridget, would loll on her back and look up at us with an enormous smile on her face. And Ceilidh… if you rub her tummy or scratch her neck, she’ll lean back with a big smile on her face… lips curled up in a “U” shape just like a smiling human. But it was only a few days ago that the sound we’ve always called “happy pant”—the panting sound that all three of our Boxers have made when they greet us in the morning or when we come home—is really the sound of them laughing. Who knew?

The other day I was mulling over a blog post idea and decided to Google “laughing dog” just for the heck of it. Guess what? Dogs laugh!! I’m not sure how I missed this, but in 2001, an animal behaviourist in the US named Patricia Simonet, discovered that dogs actually laugh! If you don’t know what you’re looking for, a dog’s laugh sounds like they’re panting, according to Simonet. When they recorded dogs laughing while playing in a park and analyzed the recordings, Simonet and her team discovered that the panting/laughing sound consists of a much broader range of frequencies than regular panting from exertion.

In an article by Bill Roberson called “Have You Heard the One about the Laughing Dogs?” you can listen to 42 second clip of a dog laughing.

Still unconvinced? In 2005 in a dog shelter in Spokane, WA, staff played a recording of dogs laughing over a loudspeaker to the din of 15 barking shelter dogs. Within 60 seconds, every single dog stopped barking! According to Simonet, the sound of dogs laughing has a soothing effect on other dogs.

After I read these articles and listened to the clip of a dog laughing, I was laughing myself! I ran into the other room and said to Mary Doug, “I have incredible news! You know how all these years we’ve been listening to “happy pant?” She looked at me with an odd look on her face. “Uh huh…..” But once I explained, she was laughing too.

There is so much still to learn about the creatures we invite into our homes and hearts. Somehow, knowing that Freckle is laughing every morning when she does “happy pant” makes me extraordinarily happy. It’s like listening to anyone laugh … it’s hard not to join in.

We’re working on a photo… but so far, Freckle laughs so hard that all we get is blur! See what I mean? 

 

A dispersed community rallies

Sassy on her way to her forever home in Vancouver, BC

In 2002, we adopted our first rescue boxer from Tracy Hon of Chico Boxer Rescue. Though many boxer rescue organizations don’t adopt their charges to people living outside their province/state or region for a variety of reasons, Tracy was willing to take a chance on us giving Sassy a loving home. A home visit was arranged through Boxer Rescue Canada, and once we were approved, we made arrangements to adopt this wonderful boxer girl. We drove the 7 hours down to Portland from Vancouver, BC, to meet up with Tracy and Sassy, who had driven the 10 hours from Chico, CA, to do the “hand-over” in person. Tracy was also meeting up with local boxer rescue workers to try to make more formal ties among them for dealing with the overflow of boxers needing homes from northern California to Washington in the Pacific Northwest.

Imagine our shock when we heard the horrific news last weekend, that Tracy had been attacked and severely mauled on June 7th by one of her rescue dogs – not a Boxer, but an American Bulldog-Bulldog cross. This woman, who has one of the biggest hearts you can imagine, has spent the last week in hospital, valiantly fighting for her life. Both her legs and one arm were shredded, her face was torn up, and her trachea was nearly severed.

The Boxer community and Tracy’s many friends world-wide have stepped up to the plate to help her out, both emotionally and financially. This wonderful woman is a self-employed American without any health or disability insurance, meaning she could be in serious debt for the rest of her life from the expensive hospital and specialist care she’s received, and the continued specialist and rehabilitation care she’s going to need for a long time to come.

The financial support organized by her friends in the Boxer community is of two kinds:

1. Direct donations to the Tracy Hon Medical Fund organized by Dr. Liz Grauer (Dr. Liz as she likes to be called), a veterinarian practicing in Vancouver, WA, and active in Boxer rescue. There’s information on Dr. Liz’s website at http://www.geocities.com/eagevsdoc/tracyhon.html on where to send a cheque and a button link to make donations by PayPal or credit card.
2. A raffle organized by the Boxer Rescue Foundation for a beautiful Danbury Mint Boxer Stained Glass Clock designed by Simon Mendez and donated by my Boxerdom friend Debbie Cauble. Direct link to the raffle page is http://azboxer.com/tracyhon.html. Your raffle tickets will be mailed to you in time for the draw on July 15^th

This show of support, kindness and outpouring of thoughts and prayers for someone most of us have never met and know only through the Internet is the kind of thing that keeps my faith in human beings alive in a time when pettiness and meanness seem to have become the norm.

(Good news update: Tracy is back home again as of June 15, 2007. Updates on Tracy can be read at Dr. Liz’s website at http://www.geocities.com/eagevsdoc/tracyhon.html.)

Shelley, Freckle-Lexi, Ceilidh and I wish Tracy a speedy recovery, and express a huge thank you to her for allowing us to adopt one of her cherished charges.

Posted by Mary-Doug aka boxerpug

Sassy, Shelley, and Ceilidh on the way from Portland to Vancouver, BC.


Sassy ever hopeful that one day she’ll catch a squirrel.

Ceilidh and Sassy at the community gardens.

Sassy with a favourite toy.

How do you know when you’re spending too much time with your dog(s)?

This post was suggested by Mary Doug. She is pretty much an expert in this area—having just the other day asked me if I’d seen her “water bowl!” I said, “Your what?” She just looked at me as if I was being far too picky and continued wandering around the apartment looking for her mug. Of course this isn’t the first time that Mary Doug has exhibited symptoms of this nature. Our first Boxer, Bridget, had cardiomyopathy—a common heart problem among Boxers. She was doing very well on Sotolol. One day, Mary Doug–in her early morning fog—inadvertently took Bridget’s heart medication instead of her own medication. As is usual when taking medication that you didn’t intend to take—she realized just as the pill slid down her throat! “Oh my gawd! I’ve just taken Bridget’s Sotolol!” She called the pharmacy in a panic and her regular pharmacist was on duty—and laughed and laughed! Fortunately, Mary Doug was not in danger of sprouting another heart or anything else.

As we were laughing about how our dogs are completely woven into our lives, we wondered if others had similar stories. How do you know when you’re spending too much time with your dog or dogs? [Not that we suggest you do anything BUT spend time with your dogs, of course!] But spending time with these creatures is definitely a source of funny stories! Visit the poll (on the right of your screen) and tell us what happens when you spend too much time with your dog. We’ll summarize in 2-3 weeks.

P.S. Of course it could always be worse … check out TamaraLyn Young’s blog. She lives in the Yukon with 24 dogs, 8 cats (and a husband). She has a post called “You know you spend too much time with your vet when…”

Wasn’t it a party?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those Boxers sure know how to have a good time! Freckle attended her first Boxer Meet-up last Saturday night at Vanier Park at Kits Point. It was a beautiful evening and we were expecting up to 16 Boxers! Sadly only five showed up but we had several Boxer wanna-bees (see the Frenchie and the Pug below). The folks who showed up were very enthusiastic and everyone had a terrific time!

When we arrived, Freckle was greeted just beyond the parking lot by Harlem—a beautiful one-year-old boy—who is “reverse brindle” … meaning that he looks pretty much black—very unusual for a Boxer. Then we ran into Gracie—a petite little brindle girl who is very sweet. At the beach we met Tonga. Tonga is a gorgeous little fawn Boxer who seems to think that she’s a Golden Retriever. She spent most of the evening chasing a ball whenever she could convince someone to throw it into the ocean. Tonga swims like a fish and reminded us of our Bridget—who was also obsessed with swimming.

Harley is a senior citizen (10 years) and lives with Spock, the French Bulldog. Harley is such a sweet and gentle guy… didn’t get too involved with the athletic antics but enjoyed the outing nonetheless. Just as we were leaving, we ran into Presley—a young (10 months I think) dark brindle girl. We’re hoping that we can spend more time with Presley at the next Meet-up.

The Boxers were all pretty much into checking out the beach, digging in the sand, chasing balls into the water, or just watching those who were brave enough to swim waaaay out to get the balls (like Tonga). Freckle found that the beach to be a treasure trove of new smells after hosting hundreds of dogs most likely since her last visit. After an hour and a half, Freckle’s lip began to droop a little like it does when she’s really tired and we decided that maybe she’d had enough partying. We came home and had a rest and a snack. Good times!

Just what IS that thing?

I think that Doggy Dental Month is February or March … we’re always a bit late with celebrations. Freckle had her four teeth removed at the end of April and Ceilidh had two of her remaining teeth removed May 28th. Our vet very kindly saved one of Ceilidh’s teeth—the one that looked like a sea lion tusk—in a little glass tube. I said to Mary Doug, “aaaawwww … one day many years from now, we can make this into jewelry and we’ll always have Ceilidh with us.” I started to get teary … then I opened up the glass tube. Hoooeeey! It was FOUL! Don’t think I want to carry it around my neck … only if we make a piece of jewelry that includes the sealed glass case!

Anyway, looking at Ceilidh’s tusk got me wondering about what teeth are made of … and I found this nice little description of teeth at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Veterinary School.

Built for crunching and chewing, teeth mostly consist of hard, inorganic minerals like calcium. But they also contain nerves, blood vessels and specialized cells that manufacture the tooth’s different parts, says Bill Gengler, a veterinary dentist and oral surgeon with the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.

The tooth’s outermost layer—the part we brush—is enamel. [Er… that should read: “the part we SHOULD brush.” Seriously, we’ve tried over the years! Pugs have vice-grip mouths—except when food is about to enter—and they’re not about to let you mess around in there with a toothbrush (child or doggy-variety), gauze wrapped around your finger or any other weird invention that you or your vet can come up with!]

Deposited by cells called ameloblasts, enamel is 95 percent inorganic, says Gengler, making it the hardest material in the body. In contrast, only about 50 percent of our bone is mineral.

Enamel is thin, though. In dogs and cats, for example, it’s just a fraction of a millimeter in thickness—so most of a tooth’s substance comes from the dentin underneath. Made by cells called odontoblasts, dentin is about 70 percent inorganic and tubular in structure, like a network of “little conduits with liquid inside,” Gengler says.

Inside the tooth, below the dentin, is the pulp chamber. The pulp includes blood vessels that nourish the tooth by delivering oxygen and nutrients, and fast- and slow-conducting nerve fibers that warn us of problems.

What Dr. Gengler failed to mention was that dog tusks such as Ceilidh’s smell really bad when they begin to decay and fall out and really don’t make very nice jewelry. Happy belated Doggy Dental Month!

And more on teeth …

We’ve been BUSY in our house. For the past couple of weeks, Freckle has had tummy problems which we just assumed were related to switching her to a home diet. Before this she’d been eating a mixture of oatmeal, turkey (or salmon or chicken), veggies and kibble. But with the commercial pet food issue, we decided to switch her to home diet sooner rather than later.

However, a few days ago, Ceilidh also had diarrhea—and one bout of vomiting. Off we went to the vet and came home with assorted remedies for both of them and antibiotics for Ceilidh. When we gave Ceilidh her first (massive!) pill, we saw that her remaining canine tooth was sticking out at a strange angle and was really, really LONG (check out the photo above!)! In fact it looked like she had a sea lion tusk in her mouth. And it was wiggly … like a child’s front tooth about ready to fall out. Back to the vet, and dental surgery the following day.

As you recall, Ceilidh has only one lung, so surgery/anaesthetic is always a concern. And she IS almost 13! But she came through it all without any problems and must feel so much better to have the tusk gone from her mouth. The only thing is that now, eating her food is a pretty messy affair as the tusk was the last of the front teeth. Now, she puts her face over her dish and it’s as if you put an electric mixer in a shallow bowl and turned it on high. The contents of the bowl end up all over the kitchen! It must be extremely frustrating for Ceilidh because she has to run all over the place scooping up the bits that fly off. It’s a dog’s life!

Back to Freckle … she’s now on antibiotics as well and is eating a prescription hypoallergenic food … and is feeling much better. We’re not sure yet what protein we’re going to find for her since she may be not tolerating the chicken/turkey option. Her prescription food includes duck and pheasant but our pheasant supply here in Vancouver is a little lean. We’ll find something.

 

Vintage cars and judgment

This morning as Freckle and I walked past the IGA/liquor store up the street from us, we heard someone running behind us saying “Excuse me… excuse me.” We turned around to see a very tall man with kinky blondish hair pulled back into a tiny pony tail. He was panting by the time he reached us. Freckle sat down and we both looked at him expectantly.

Then he began to shout. “Can I use your cell phone to call 911??!!!” Freckle and I were both quite interested now. Kinky continued… “Those hoodlums over there…” He pointed to a group of 5 or 6 of the guys who live on the street in our neighbourhood. They were the regulars and we know them all because of being out and about with the dogs a lot. “They’re drinking alcohol in open view!” Kinky shouted. He paused as if he expected a response and then repeated himself. “They’re drinking alcohol in open view!”

Freckle and I had both turned to look in the direction of the group on the corner. It was true; the guys were all drinking cans of beer. Not a common sight actually. Usually they’re hustling around collecting cans and I rarely see them drinking “in open view.” I inhaled and was about to say, “I wonder if not having a living room of their own to drink in has anything to do with it?” But then I looked down at Freckle and she was gazing in the direction of the street guys, nodding her head. All she said was “Hmmmmm….”

Before I could say anything, Kinky, who was gesticulating wildly now, said “And I have a vintage car right there that they’re just obsessed with!” Freckle and I both turned toward the clump of fellows to see the vintage car. I was about to say, “Do you mean the one parked behind the Lexis?” [The photo above looks rather similar—just imagine it with primer instead of a paint job!]

I was thinking “You’ve got to be kidding!” In my mind, the car that I saw was the kind of thing that used to end up in the rocky corners of the hayfield until one of the neighbouring farm’s teenaged boy decided to tinker with it. However, I suppose that would make it vintage if you consider how many years ago that was. All of this was swirling through my mind as Kinky continued to rant about the impending vandalism to his car. I opened my mouth to say that I didn’t think that the guys were much of a threat. In fact they were completely oblivious to the vintage car AND the Lexis. As I considered how to say “Don’t be an idiot!” diplomatically, I glanced down at Freckle again. She was gently shaking her head and saying “Hmmmmm… “ soothingly while looking at Kinky with her soulful brown eyes. She seemed to know instinctively how to interact with this guy without becoming enraged by the wackiness of the world … or taking a trip down memory lane to weigh the true vintage-ness of his car.

By now Kinky seemed to have given up trying to get my cell phone and had lost some of his bluster. He pointed at the liquor store and said “Well, this is the place that sells ‘em the stuff, so I’ll go use a phone there!” And off he stomped. Freckle and I carried on and I pondered the usefulness of judgment … and the value of letting go of judgment. Another lesson from Freckle: When someone’s vintage car is in danger, it’s probably better to just nod and say “Hmmmmm…” because stating the obvious would probably be lost on them anyway.

 

Confessions of a cherry blossom-chaser

 

“Well, I’m outside and the sun is shining, the wind is blowing …yeah, pretty much always the wind is blowing … and it just builds up in me and I kinda burst … ya know? I kinda just can’t keep it in. I just have to pounce on the swirling little pink blossom petals. They’re just swirling and swirling … ya never know where they’ll go next—they’re all over the sidewalk. I just kinda lose it! I have to jump on them… sometimes I just mash my face into the sidewalk. I can’t help it! I’ve never really thought about it as a weakness … ya know. It’s just something I do … like digging in the sand and chewing on a Nylabone dinosaur. Who knows where it comes from? If it feels good, do it!”

These are Freckle’s words … after we realized just what was going on and confronted her. It was after the first windstorm in cherry blossom season. Both Mary Doug and I had one arm that had been extended by 14 inches! We’d be walking along like any other day and bam! Freckle would be pouncing and grinding her little lopsided nose into the sidewalk … for no apparent reason. Until we realized that she was chasing and attacking cherry blossom petals—little pink flakes that swirled in the wind and raced along in front of us in a windstorm. She was gleeful! Almost ecstatic you could say. It was amazing once we recognized the signs. We’d had no experience with this particular behaviour. And Ceilidh would stand by and look in Freckle’s direction (Ceilidh is pretty much blind) with an expression that said ‘What ARE you doing?

Is it good for her? Probably not … at least it has the potential to be bad for her. We have speculated about whether this might be the cause of her broken jaw but then dismissed the idea. After the wind dies down and our extended arms have shrunken back to their normal length, we usually laugh about Freckle’s habit. After all, how often do you just break loose and do something spontaneously simply because it feels good? How often do you express your “inner joy” and engage in play when the opportunity arises? Exactly! I think we should learn from our cherry blossom-chaser and begin watching for moments of opportunity when they swirl past us too.