Clipped

I took Rowdy to a dog groomer today to get his nails clipped.  I was expecting him to be his cheerful self like he usually is around everybody, but this time he seemed scared and shook until it was over and they put him down on the floor.  They also expressed his anal gland which should help stop him from dragging his butt on the floor.  They told me that big dogs can do this for themselves by dragging their butts, but little dogs don't seem to have enough weight behind them to accomplish the task. 

Returned Home

Well we made it home without a hitch, that is no yaking!  It was rainy and nasty all day and Rowdy didn't want to go outside to do his business, but he knew he had to.  After opening the door for him numerous times he finally went out in the rain.  When he came in, I had to towel him off before letting him run around the house. 

This morning while on the way to work, for some reason or another, he laid on the seat on his side and whined like he was injured.  He was holding his tail straight and stiff and shook and whined.  When we got to the shop, I carried him in and put him down on the floor.  Other than fleaing himself around his butt and on his tail, he acted alright the rest of the day.   Maybe a flea was biting him hard on his tail!  I got some more flea and tick medicine for him this weekend and will treat him sometime this week.

He has occasionally been dragging his butt on the floor and did it this morning just before we left.  I haven't noticed any worms but he could have them, or I was told he could be constipated and will need his anal gland expressed.  I've never heard of that before, but I'm going to look into it.  They say a groomer can do that for me (or I should say him, as no groomer is getting near my ass) and he needs his toenails trimmed anyway!

Got To Visit Niely

We made the trek down to visit Sarah and Niely this weekend.  No yaking on the way down to deal with this time, but we still got to go home tomorrow.  When we arrived Rowdy was standing up on the seat and when he kinda recognized the house, I excitedly said, "We're here, we're here!"  He got so excited that he jumped up and down in the seat, whining and got on top of me on my lap, wanting to get out the door.  After I stopped and opened the door, I didn't even have a chance to get out first to let him out easy.  He just jumped out from off my lap onto the driveway.  That was a high drop 3 to 4 feet, but it didn't seem to hurt him.  Maybe he was just too excited to be here. 

In Trouble Again

I was none too happy with Rowdy tonight.  I had to give him his weekly bath a day early, because he was rolling around in some piece of dead animal.  I could not identify what it was he was rolling in, as there were no legs, head or tail but it may have been either a rat or mole.  I'm not even sure how it got into the yard for him to roll in it.  He may have caught it himself. 

Like A Shot

Well, there was nothing to report this last week, as it was just a regular mundane week, to work and home with Rowdy tagging along.  This weekend the weather was really nice out, so I left him outside all day during the daytime.  On Saturday, when I went outside to do some chores, Rowdy wanted to play so I chased him around the yard.  He was having a blast tearing round and round the yard, passing by me like a shot as I would reach out in vein to try to grab him while saying, "I'm gonna getcha!"  In the evenings, he was a pooped pup as he just laid all evening, curled up on his bed.

Went To See Niely Again

This last weekend Rowdy and I went down to see Sarah and Niely.  On the way down Rowdy gave me the indication that he had to yak, so I pulled off on a side road and pushed him out the door.  I then got out and held him till he expelled and then it was back in the car and down the road again.  I thought he would finally get used to riding and not get ill, but he seems to yak about every forth time we make an hour long trip. 

Rowdy and Niely had a good time and this was the first time Sarah and I took both of them for a walk together down to the end of the culdesac and back.  They did fine walking together, but Niely stopped frequently to investigate things and check his Pee-mail.  Rowdy likes to move on and only stops here and there to investigate.  We all need the exercise, so while the weather is nice, we may do this more often.

He's Bird-doggin' Me

Rowdy sometimes will follow me around bumping me on the back of the leg.  I call it bird-dogging and I'll tell him, "Your bird-doggin' me!" 

Well, he was bird-dogging me in the house when I got up to go to the kitchen.  I took a couple of steps across the wood laminate floor with him on my heels and then I turned around and hollered, "I'm gonna getcha, getcha, getcha!"  With his paws slipping on the floor, he started run backwards then sideways, till he got turned around running forward away from me and doing this all in one place.  It was so funny watching him do that and if he had been on a 15 foot carpet runner, he would have balled the whole thing up at my feet before he got moving away! 

The Chase Is On

The last couple of weeks I have been letting Rowdy go from the house to the car and car to the shop and back again, without using a leash.  For the most part he has been doing pretty good at staying with me and going where I go.  Well today, as we were getting ready to leave the shop, the L.S. took off around to the back of the shop instead of getting in the car.  I took off after him and when he saw me he took off running, thinking we were just playing.  Well I wasn't and I was also afraid he would run across the busy street and get run over.  I hollered at him and he came back close to me, but still wanted to play.  I just commanded him to come to me, which he did but cowed down when I caught him.  I was mad enough to spank his little behind, but couldn't because I didn't want him to start running away when called for fear of being punished, so I just grabbed him up and carried him to the car!

This shows you that,for anyone who is training their dog, to never call them to you to punish them!  Always go to them to scold them or give them punishment for doing something wrong.  If you call them to you to punish them, they will learn that being called will result in punishment and will never come to you anymore!  I will call Rowdy to me in many different tones of voice from pleasant to angry, but I always pet him when he comes to me!

Bet I Can Out Stare You

I ain't never met a dog that could out stare me until Rowdy.  The problem is that he looks so funny when he stares at you that you can't help but break down and laugh.  If you stare at him, he won't move a muscle or even blink.  He'll wait forever for you to make a move or give him a command before he'll even twitch.

One of the things he likes to do is lay under my chair and prop his head on the chair rung.  Then he'll stare at me if I'm moving around, while he's trying to decide whether to join me or just lay there.  I took a couple of photos of him staring at me and then I tried to stare him down, but he won again!

Using Rowdy For Bait

Last week on the local news there was a five foot long alligator spotted in a local Oklahoma river.  So we used Rowdy as bait to catch him, by putting his harness on, clipping on the leash and then went trolling for alligators. ......NOT!   April Fools!

The alligator story is true though.  Below is a picture of the alligator from Tulsa's News On 6 website.  It was spotted on a creek near Watts, OK up in the northeast corner of the state.

Actually, we did use him for bait, but to catch another dog.  There was a stray dog that was hanging around my shop, that looked like she was part Afghan or Greyhound.  The poor thing was half starved to death and Sherry, who owns a auto repair shop across the street with her husband, had been trying all week to catch her so she could take her to the Humane Society.  Sherry didn't want the city to pick her up because if no one claimed her, they would put her to death in seven days.

When I took Rowdy out for a walk, the stray would come up close to him and almost followed us back into the shop.  So later that day we used him as bait and lured her into the shop to catch her.  She is now with the Humane Society and they will bring her back to health and find her a good home!