It has been a long time since I have added to this blog- over 2 and a half years.  Life is vastly different.  New city, new job, new dog park.  New house- complete with new dogs, plus the Same Old Dogs.  Last August we moved back to Missouri to be closer to family.  We are living temporarily with said family, until our house in PA sells and we can purchase here.  We are sharing the dogspace with a Standard American Bulldog, a mixed breed with some Spitz, and a chihuahua.  Everyone gets along well, and you might be surprised to find that Juniper is NOT queen of the household- Gizmo, the Spitz mix, gets that title.
Some pictures:

 All dogs wait "behind the line."

 Boodles and Kizer, BFF's.

The new dog park is large, and has lots of new friends for Juniper.

Dog Growls- more than just a noisy warning!

From YouTube- and very interesting!

How would we spend our time if not for UTube?

I didn't create these, but how I wish I had! You can find them on UTube.

National Puppy Day

Beefy, September 2005, 3 months old

March 23 is National Puppy Day! According to the National Puppy Day website, "National Puppy Day is a special day, recognized on March 23rd annually, to celebrate the magic and unconditional love that puppies bring to our lives. But more importantly, it's a day to help save orphaned puppies across the globe and educate the public about the horrors of puppy mills, as well as further our mission for a national of puppy-free pet stores.

National Puppy Day was founded in 2006 by Pet Lifestyle Expert, Animal Behaviorist and Author, Colleen Paige, who is also the founder of National Dog Day and National Cat Day. This holiday, as well as others, are part of Colleen Paige's Animal Miracle Foundation & Network, a non-profit organization which offers financial assistance and educational programs ranging from pet cancer to fire safety and travel safety for kids and pets alike. AMF also hosts many wonderful holiday festivals and trade shows throughout each year and brings local shelter pets to these events hoping to find them a forever home."

Maggie, summer of 2009

Our last several dogs were rescues past puppy age- Ender and Boodles were about6 or 7 months old when they came to us, gangly adolescents; Juniper was adult at 2 1/2. My only regret about rescuing older dogs is that you do miss seeing them as puppies. But the dog park allows me to enjoy the antics of puppies. Here are some pictures of puppies we have known...

Homer (and Boodles) June 2009

Beefy, 2 months old, August, 2005

Gnarly, May 2009

To see more puppies, and vote on the cutest- go here. And for more about puppy mills, go here or to the In Defense of Animal's puppy mill site here.

Those of us living in Central Pennsylvania need to visit this site, but be warned, it is a tough site if you love animals. And not to forget residents of Missouri, where one will find the most puppy mills of any state. Visit here to see what is being done about it.

Greening the dog?

No, this is not a late St. Patrick's Day posting. I found this to be a dismaying article about the ecological impact of dogs. The article, written by Julie Knapp of Mother Nature Network, is a discussion of one aspect of the book Time to Eat The Dog? by Robert and Brenda Vale. According Knapp, the Vales say the two big eco-issues involve what goes into your dog, and what comes out of your dog.

The lesser of these evils is the end product of the other, so to speak. We always pick up poop, and we purchase biodegradable bags to pick it up with, rather than using any old plastic bags. We have, however, been sending the bags to the landfill, because I read an article years ago about the parasite dangers of using dog feces in your garden. I never really thought about it, but these are my dogs, and they have a fecal check as part of the annual exam each year, so I am pretty sure they don't have any intestinal parasites. (Boodles did have a tape worm when we got her, but that was 3 years ago, and we treated it vigorously.) This morning I did a Google search on "Composting with dog feces", and quite a lot of articles came up. The most thorough was this. I think we will institute a dog waste composting program this year, separate from the kitchen waste composting we already do. The sticking point may well be those biodegradable bags- I suspect they are not quite as degradable as I would like them to be.

Now- as to what goes in the dogs. According to the article, dogs have a greater impact on the earth than an SUV mainly because of the land use required to provide the meat for a large carnivore's dinner. The transportation costs of all those 40 pound bags and cases of little cans comes into the equation as well. The article suggest making dog food at home to counter those costs.

We do buy sustainably raised meat and local produce, and it is expensive. I can't even imagine the cost of feeding it to the dogs. However, we don't buy the bottom of the line dog food, either. We feed Diamond Naturals Lamb and Rice from a local feed company. According to their website, Diamond Naturals are made with hormone and antibiotic free meats, (although it does not say they are sustainably raised) and don't contain wheat, soy or corn. It's not the perfect choice, but for now, it is the best I can make.

I did another Google search on Sustainable Pet Food companies, and came up with this article from Petfoodindustry.com. It deals with plant facilities, though, and not ingredients. Another interesting link is this one, to a petfood industry discussion group on sustainability. Finally, I could find only one manufacturer that mentioned sustainably raised meat; Onesta. They manufacture training treats, and not a full diet.

Happy Birthday to Jerry!

Jerry (on your left, with the black eye) celebrated his first birthday recently. He and Huck celebrated with hats- Terry, who lives with them, caught this picture of them partying.

I was telling someone the other day, going to the dog park with the dogs is like going to the park with kids- some of the dogs there are their friends- they like them and want to play with them. Some they don't like, others they are indifferent to. Huck and Jerry are definitely in the friend category. Since Jerry is a little younger, he mostly wants to play with other young dogs, who match his energy level.

early November, 2009

Juniper tends to be aloof, but Huck and Boodles get along famously.


And Huck does pass Juniper's rigorous test of acceptability...Boodles put in a good word for him.

Both Huck and Jerry are good natured guys.

June, 2009

But Jerry's boundless energy leaves even Bodie in the dust sometimes!

Not a dog, but...

Have you seen this webcam? This is to a live feed den web cam of a wild Black Bear. She gave birth on January 22, and you can see and hear the cub. It's amazing. And when I have it on, Boodles and Juniper are really puzzled about where that baby sound is coming from.

Smiling Dog

Even without knowing what is being said, this video, from Care2 at http://www.care2.com/greenliving/smiling-dogs.html is charming to watch.

Maybe we should change her name to Snowball?

It took a long time to get that snow out of her fur- she was caked. And getting it out from between her toes was terrible.
But Boodles and Toro had a great time.

Did you have a New Year's Resolution to get in shape?

Dieting dachshunds lose nearly 70 pounds

Snow Games

We've had a lot of snow here- almost 4 feet in the past week. Juniper and Boodles have found it to be interesting. They both like the snow- in lesser quantity. Yesterday I found Boodles sitting on the back porch, the clip to her tie-out on her collar, but the cable broken. Had this happened any other day, she would have been off like a shot, chasing whatever good smell she could find. This day, she made it as far as the holly bush in the yard- about 10 feet- and then came back to the porch. The snow was just too deep to plow through. Boodles also has big snow-shoe feet- with lots of long fur between her toes. She collects snow in little balls in that long hair, and it is uncomfortable. The snow is a mixed bag for her.
Juniper, with that thick Akita double coat, likes the snow, as much as she likes anything about the out-of-doors. (She tends to be a bit of an inside girl.) When she is convinced to go out in the snow, though, she especially likes to plow through it with her nose, and then throw herself down and make snow dog angels.

It's been cold at the Dog Park.

Who's a big turkey?

We visited our sons over Thanksgiving. Boodles and Juniper are always happy to make the trip, and then dismayed to see who they are visiting. Juniper is standing next to my son's dog, Beefeater Maximus. Juniper weighs 80 pounds, and is by no means a small dog...
And here is Sequoia next to my daughter-in-law. That's a lot of dog.

Oliver and Paco transcend Space and Time

Odd things happened in the dog park on Sunday- Oliver and Paco took advantage of a sstem of connected wormholes to bedevil Gus. Oliver is more skilled than Paco, but then, Paco is just a puppy.



Boodles was haunted by an apparition.



Turned out to be Tucker.

Yes, that's Juniper, sporting a purple bandage. She tore her dew claw running at the dog park last week. We watched it a couple of days, and when it looked like it was not going to heal well on its own, took her to the vet. She got her claw clipped, the fancy bandage, a prescription for antibiotics, and the ever popular and attractive E collar.

She was not happy. However, she only had to wear it the first night- after that she did not try to remove the bandage. She did however, walk VERY SLOWLY when we went out for our walks- unless she saw a cat or squirrel. Then suddenly her foot did not hurt.

Geriatric Dogs

Whenever we choose to love an animal, we open ourselves up for the heartbreak caused by the fleetingness of their lives. They always leave us too soon.

In the past week, I've seen two videos about elderly dogs. This is about Baxter, a chow mix who died last week at age 19. Melissa James, Baxter's person, wrote a book called Moments With Baxter, about his career as a Hospice Therapy Dog


read more about Baxter and his work at Melissa's website

The other video features Otto, a 20 year old dachshund-terrier mix living in the UK who has been officially named (I don't know by whom) as the world's oldest dog. He seems extremely spritely, I would never have guessed he was that old.



I took Juniper to the vet tonight for a Bordetella booster in preparation for a trip. While there, I asked our vet about a flu vaccination (see comment on the last post for more about that) and about some arthritis issues I thought she might be having. After a blood test to rule out Lyme disease (my vet tells me that 68% of dogs who present the symptoms Juniper was showing are Lyme positive)we talked about what to watch for and what to do if her front leg stiffness gets worse. At 5 years old, I still think of her as a relatively young dog. However, she is always one of the older dogs at the dog park; most dogs who come there are less than 2 years old.

Dog Flu

With so much attention focused on H1N1, or "Swine" flu, it's not surprising that a topic of conversation at the dog park would be Dog Flu. Someone had heard about a flu that was highly contagious and fatal, and concern was high.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, H3N8, or Canine Influenza was first seen in 2004, affecting racing greyhounds in Florida. During the summer of 2004, 14 racetracks in 6 states were affected. In 2005, 20 racetracks in 11 states showed outbreaks, and since then 30 states have reported the illness. Currently, Florida, Colorado, Pennsylvania and New York are said to have high levels of infections (as of September 2009).

The symptoms of H3N8 are respiratory; cough, sneezing, runny nose. The Canine Influenza FAQ, released by the University of Florida, says dogs do not have a built up immunity to this relatively new virus, and "Virtually all exposed dogs become infected; about 80% develop flu‐like illness, while another 20% do not become ill. " As with human influenza, it is not the primary disease that is fatal but the secondary infections that can set in while the immune system is compromised. The FAQ goes on to say "Fortunately, most dogs recover within 2 weeks without any further health complications. However, some dogs progress to pneumonia, which is usually due to secondary bacterial infections. While the overall mortality rate for canine influenza is low, the secondary pneumonia can be life‐threatening. There is no evidence for age or breed susceptibility for developing pneumonia during canine influenza.

How are dogs exposed to H3N8? Again, as with human influenza, the virus is spread by breathing particulates coughed or sneezed by an infected dog, direct contact with an infected dog, or with surfaces, food and water bowls, leashes, hand and clothing. However, the virus is inactivated by washing with soap and water. The virus is highly contagious, and infected dogs can shed the virus for 7 to 10 days while symptomatic, and infected dogs should be quarantined for 2 weeks. Dogs most at risk are those living in shelters or who spend time in other communal situations with high turn-over; grooming facilities, dog parks, doggie day care, etc. Dogs with minimal contact with other dogs have low risk of infection.

There is a vaccine for H3N8. The vaccine does not prevent infection, but limits the severity and secondary effects of the disease. Vaccinated dogs become less ill, and are less contagious. It is considered to be a "lifestyle" vaccine- appropriate for dogs whose lifestyle causes them to be more exposed to the virus. Dogs who get a Bordetella vaccine might benefit from the influenza vaccine, because the risk groups are the same.

Prevention at the dog park. While we can't keep dogs from mouthing each other (As one dog owner said to me "They don't have hands, this is how they grab each other!"), perhaps it is a good idea not to let dogs drink from a communal water source. Most important would be for owners to keep sick dogs home. I plan to get Juniper and Boodles vaccinated, just to be safe. There is always a lot of dog spit exchanged at the dog park.

Interesting Faces

This past weekend was the weekend of interesting faces at the dog park.

Boodles, Juniper and I spend quite a bit of time at the dog park. We're part of a fairly static group of regulars who come at about the same time in the evening. A slightly different group comes on the weekends. I always assume I know all the dogs who use the park, since we are there so much. This week there were some faces we hadn't seen for a while, and some new-to-us faces. All were pretty cute.

You may remember Gnarly, a sweetheart of an English Bulldog who played with Boodles back in April. We ran into him at the park this weekend. He's about 6 months old now, bigger, but still pretty cute.



One of the new-to-me faces was this good looking character. I loved the way the color splits his face. The picture is blurry because he never stopped moving.

This gorgeous baby was reluctant to come into the park, but warmed up to it after a while.
Huck acted as good-will ambassador and greeted him.
Dakota greeted Willow a young German Shepard, too.

The ground was exceptionally interesting to the children.

Boodles got an invitation to play from another new-to-us pup. She took him up on it, too.

But she was willing to share her friend with others.

Return from limbo

I'd like to apologize for my absence. This was a long, hard summer for me. I read someplace that 2009 is being called the Summer of Death because of all the celebrity deaths that occurred. For me, the Summer of Death is more personal. One of my sisters passed away in late July- today marks the 2 month anniversary of her death. It has been hard for me to write because she was my most avid reader, travelling to our dog park through the blog despite being 2000 miles away and unable to leave her house. My pleasure in reporting on the antics of the dogs at the park has been diminished a bit by knowing that she won't be calling me to tell me how cute this one or that one was.

However, the cuteness of dogs survives even the worst personal loss. I think my sister would have roared with laughter to see Maggie playing in the water fountain, and I would have gotten an email saying "HOW CUTE!!!!!"