Dewey Update: Leakage, Puppy Sitting and X-Rays

About two months ago, we noticed little drops, that we thought were water, around the water bowl and kitchen.  Mind you, we have three big labs and a ginormous water bowl.  We suspect that Jam is a dipsomaniac and Dewey likes a long drink in the evening as well.  They both are NOT tidy drinkers.  It's a bit like living in a frat house, so thank goodness, it's just water.  At least, that's what we were thinking when we noticed the little spots here and there and thought that the dogs were dripping from their mouths and should have used napkins.

Then the drops disappeared.  Before you know it, the holidays were upon us.  Soon it was the Wednesday before we were leaving for Christmas break with my mom and dad in Scottsdale, AZ.  And all of a sudden, those pesky drops were back.  We saw drips in the kitchen (understandable) but now we also could see them on the upstairs landing.  Fred and I had a whole discussion where we had to figure out which dog was leaking.  Turns out it was Dewey.

We got clearance from Southeastern Guide Dogs to take him to Dr. Woodman to check for a UTI. And at the Vet's a very strange thing happened: when the vet tech came in, Dewey peed, something he has never done before in his life.  He's never been an excited pee-er. EVER. But he did it there.

No UTI. Nothing in his pee.  What is next?  We were told it might be an ectopic urethra, although that is mighty rare in a male puppy. In order to make that determination of a physical abnormality Dr. Woodman needed to do X-rays, specifically, contrast X-rays,  to see if the urethra wasn't draining into the right spot. Scary.  Although Dewey wasn't scared.  He didn't know what was going on.  We set up the X-rays for the next day because we were leaving town.

However, because there was a problem with the X-ray machine, we had to put off the X-rays until the following week on Thursday (12/26/13).  This delay meant that we couldn't bring Dewey with us to Arizona, nor could we be with him when he went to his appointment on Thursday.  Plus he might still be leaking (I had to special ordered a belly band from In the Company of Dogs).  It was the holidays.  It was last minute.  Who would possibly take a leaking dog at the last minute?

Yes, Virginia, there are still angels in the world.

I still kind of choke up to think about when I talked with Al on the phone.  Al is the husband of Rita.  Rita and Al are new to our group and said they only wanted to be puppy sitters (Fred is predicting that Dewey will change their minds and will want to have a dog of their own!).  When our AC Stephanie called and explained the situation, they said they had a Florida home: all tile. No problem.  When I called and explained Dewey's situation, Al said, "We had a 14 year old dog that we lost last April and for the last year of her life she was in diapers.  We know how to  take care of a dog."  I got a little teary.  We had found the perfect couple for Dewey!

Dewey standing in front of his crate at Al and Rita's.

And they have been wonderful.  More than we could have asked for.  Al has kept a daily log of what he and Dewey have done and I have taken the liberty of condensing it down for you here. I've put his original quotes in italics.  

The good news is that Dewey quit leaking a few days before we took him to stay with Rita and Al, and they tell us he hasn't been leaking with them so far.  Keep your fingers crossed there!

And the best news is that the X-rays haven't shown a clear physical abnormality.  We are still waiting on the radiologist's report; however, Dr. Woodman feels it may be a behavioral problem, which means we may be able to fix it with training.  So, please take a gander at Dewey's holiday travels.  He and Rita and Al have been having some fun.

Fred told Rita and Al that they HAD to give Dewey back.  Rita said, I hope we are still in the same house when you come to get him!

Photo of Dewey lying down on a dog bed in front of their couch.

I THINK she was kidding.  She was kidding! Right?!

Dewey Log

12/22/13 

Dewey gets a taste of Starkey Rd traffic and motorcycle noise. The motorcycles are a bit distracting for him.

12/23/13

Dewey and Al take some more fun walks and Dewey gets to meet some of the denizens of the neighborhood: pigeons (interested, but not aggressive) and neighborhood dogs.  Even though Dewey was charged by the small dog, he sat when asked and was rewarded with a treat.  The small dog's owner stopped him before he reached Dewey.

They took a trip to the grocery store as well.

Dewey and Al with Toto in the front.

12/24/13

Dewey greeting Rita and Al's granddaughters.

Dewey interacted great with the neighbors.  He was able to greet them while remaining in the sit position.

Rita and Al took Dewey to visit their son, daughter-in-law, granddaughters and their Yorkie/ Maltese: Toto. The granddaughters fell in love with Dewey and it appeared the feelings were mutual. Even though Toto tried to stay aloof, Dewey eventually won him over. Dewey was extremely patient and well behaved - all went well. 

12/25/13

More walks, and command work.  However, in the evening, things get interesting: 

Neighborhood walk. Long and slow as a result of what follows. I believe the honeymoon phase has come to an end. Prior to walk Dewey decided to run up and down the stairs and into and out of each room at a high rate of speed. Wild and unruly would fit. Dewey picked up my reading back rest, a pillow and a neck support and attempted to pick up various other items. We hid our laughter and made the appropriate corrections. He gave up all items quickly and without a fuss. Doors closed and items of temptation now removed. Fortunately Dewey respects our short (low) puppy gates so we are able to limit his access. He is currently asleep at my feet.

12/26/13

Rita and Al take Dewey to the vets. 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM Dye injected and x-rays taken. X-rays to be further reviewed by Dr. Woodman and an additional review by a radiologist. 

The Wrap-In and the Christmas Convo

Last Friday, a week ago, our entire school participated in our fourth annual Wrap-In.  It's a community service initiative that brings together the whole school and it ultimately benefits several local charities:  Redlands Christian Migrant Association, the Head Start Programs at Jackson Springs and Town and Country Commons and Dover Elementary School.  

What is nice about the project is that all the divisions get to mix it up and be together, an upper advisory group with a lower classroom, middle advisory with upper and so on.  This year, like our other years, we were lucky and got paired with one of the pre-k classes and a middle division class.  

Richie and Kelland sit with Coach after writing letters for their gift bags.

Coach's job was to go around and let all the kids pet him and to behave calmly and sit.  He did very well.  When he started to pull on his leash about 9 am, I figured something odd was up and took him outside.  Yep, that was a classic Coach poo signal.  Yea Coach!  Pooping in the pre-k classroom, while not unheard of, would have been a bad thing!

I met one of the most delightful pre-k little girls.  She is sitting on the chair next to me.
She had red sparkly glasses like mine and was a real spitfire.

Mostly our older kids helped the younger kids write and decorate letters to the put in the gift bags for the kids to receive on Christmas. It is a nice community-building experience for us.

Here's what a 1,000 plus filled Christmas gift bags look like! Very colorful. (Photo by Chris Woods BPS)

And in the end, our kids our very generous and we donated over 1,000 presents.

Coach is lying on the wooden gym floor thankful there is no more piping going on .

Later in the afternoon we went to the Christmas all school convo.  That was almost a screaming disaster.  Evidently, the new piping instructor has tuned the bagpipes or the pipers are now playing them differently, because for the first time ever, Coach nearly lost his shinola in the gym!  We were about 10 seconds from bolting from the convo: I had gathered up all my stuff was about to get up, Coach had sat up and was shaking his head and seemed poised to let out an ear piercing howl, when the pipers stopped playing.  

Sweet silent night.  

Coach went back to sleep and all was well.  Happy Holidays!!

Christmas Eve Boat Parade

We were invited to a party on Christmas Eve at Duke and Eric the Red's house.  And since a puppy raiser was throwing the party, Jam was invited and this time Willow got to come as well (Willow is our 10 year old chocolate lab)!

Jam lying down on the deck with his Christmas collar on.

 All told, there were six dogs at the party, five big dogs and one little puppy.  Well, let me rephrase that.  four crazy, boy dogs, one lady, and a little puppy.  Whenever the boys got too rambunctuous, Willow would remove herself from the rolling, kicking whirling mass of boy-dog craziness and come sit next to me or Melisa's mom.

Eric the red was too small to be let off leash to run with the big dogs.  So he watched from the deck.  But he's so happy, he didn't mind.

Eric the red sitting pretty with a big smile on his face.

What was so fascinating about this particular grouping was that there was absolutely no aggression in any of the boys at all.  When they played with the toys, they all wanted to play together, but they were all really sweet about it.

All four big dogs (Jam, Dawson, Trapper and Duke) playing with the same blue tug toy.

 When one of them would end up with the toy, that dog would go over to another and wave it in their face until the game was on again.

Dawson, Trapper and Jam with the tug toy.

This game went on ALL NIGHT.

All four of them wrestling with the tug toy again.

We did make them sit for a photo.

A six dog sit on the steps of the deck: Willow, Jam, Dawson, Eric, Duke and Trapper (and various humans).

I may have Duke and Trapper mixed up.  It's hard to tell them apart.  I'm not sure which one is lighter in color.

I was a little worried about having them all in the house, but they actually did pretty well inside.  There was only one incident of puppy crazies (not Jam!) involving couch jumping, but other than that everyone was on their best behavior.

After a delicious dinner during which the dogs acted very good under the table, we went outside to watch the boat parade.  Music, flashing lights, boats driving back and forth, dancing Santa.  None if it phased the dogs.

While Willow was content to nap during the party, Jam would absolutely not!  No napping, no stopping, no turning it off.  So, when we got into the car to go home, he crashed.

Boat parade = successful exposure! (And a lovely party with delightful friends 8-)  A good time was had by all participants.

Santa's Little Helper

Jam lying on the floor in his Santa hat and Christmas collar.

Today, an odd thing happened.  Jam performed a task, unasked of course, but he did it twice and it was so strange that we think he was moved by the Christmas spirit.

We had a friend stop over and she had two gift bags: one for Fred and one for me.  Since we weren't going to see her at Christmas, we started to open our bags.  Now, we didn't have a bag for her.  Her gift was in a little stuffed snowman, but Jam didn't know that.  As we were exclaiming over our gifts, Jam went over to the Christmas tree, grabbed a gift bag and pulled it over to our friend's feet.

"OH!"  She said.

"Jam!"  I looked at the bag and at her.  "I guess he wants you to have a bag too."  I looked at Jam and said, "No, Jam," and then put the bag back under the tree.  Then I returned to opening my presents as there were still things to pull out of my gift bag.

Jam walked over to the tree.  He grabbed the gift bag again with his teeth and he dragged it over to our friend and left it at her feet and then he looked up at her.

"Jam.  I got her a present.  It's okay."  I returned the bag to the tree.

Jam gave me a skeptical look, but he didn't move it again.

Jam: Santa's little helper.  Making sure all is right with the world and present distribution is fair.

The Trip to Phoenix

Our journey started off easily enough. We arrived at the airport about 6 am on Sunday. We have flown with US Airways before with Bingo and expeted them to be pretty good about Her Royal Highness. When we got up to the kiosk, there was one frantic guy behind the counter and a couple of ladies further down. I asked the guy if I needed to count her crate as luggage as last time it was considered an assistive device and we didn't have to pay for it. He looked at us and then away.

"Uh, let me ask." He called over the supervisor. Sure, she said. We do it for strollers and baby seats, why not for crates. "I'll sign off on it." He turned to another lady and said, "Can you handle them? I'm full with these." Then he wandered off to his other terminals.

Fortunately, he left us with an animal lover. She LOVED HRH. "Oh, hello lover!" She said. "You are a pretty one. Let me get you fixed up." Then she proceeded to get us set up with the crate, and checked us in and got us signed off.

Then we rode the elevator to the tram, which HRH managed very well. Security didn't blink at her. After the tram ride we got off and went to get into the security line but we were waved into a special line (read very short line). That was nice. We explained to the TSA people that this was HRH's first flight and we were going to take off her leash and coat and then one of us would go through and stand there and the other would hold her while the one on the other side would call her to come through. The TSA agent said to keep her coat on. Then I asked if I could film it.

"NO." Stern look.

"That's why I asked." Smile.

I went through and Fred held HRH. We had to wait for three people to pass and then HRH got to go. I called her. She ran through right into my arms. No problemo.

When we got up to the gate the agent was already working on getting us the bulhead seat and had called up a mom and her daughter. They were moved to an empty row and had an empty seat between them. The agent apologized that she couldn't move the other person in our row.

"No worries. You have been super. We really appreciate all of your help." I tell you, US Airways personnel have always been exceptionally nice to work with and very helpful.

Once we got on the plane, the flight attendents were awesome. They even told the boy next to us, "Once the flight gets in the air, there is a row three rows back that only has one person in it and has an open seat by the window. That way, you can have more room and can give them more room for their gude dog."

Sneaky and manipulative, these US Airways flight attendants. I like 'em! As you can see from the photo above HRH was curled up in one seat are only and didn't extend over into two other areas like Bingo did. She slept the whole way and was a very good girl. When we landed I broke away quickly to find a spot for her to pee and as I was going out to the South an attendant stopped me and said that there was an official spot for pets over on the North side of baggage claim (see photo below).



Sure enough, there was. Unfortunately for HRH it was right next to the heavy traffic noise of 5 lanes of traffic and she just couldn't do her business with all that noise and commotion and humanity looking on. She wandered around sniffing and looking a bit anxious. So we went back inside.

Mom and Dad came to fetch us and we were off to lunch and to deposit our baggage at the house. Our vacation had started.

Deadly Pinecones

Along the righthand side of the blog you will see a list of some of the things that Bingo is supposed to be exposed to. We have added a few items (like bagpipes and golfcarts, because those happened to occur naturally at my school), but there are a few items that were on the list that to my way of thinking seem, well, bizarre ;-), and one of them is the pinecone (as decoration). I'm not sure why the pinecone (as decoration) is much more deadly or frightening or scare inducing than the pinecone (in nature), but it must be; otherwise it wouldn't be on the list. Therefore when we got to my mom's house for the holidays in Arizona and saw her Christmas decorations, we were astounded! She had not one, but two humongous trees made entirely of pinecones painted gold and dusted with glitter so that they sparkled with an evil, glinting light. They stood about as high as a troll, a demented troll (keeping with the evil theme). They were a little scary, I admit.

Above is a photo of the Strangely Glowing Golden Pinecone Christmas Tree. Very Queer.

Once we saw them we knew that we had to expose Bingo to their twisted pinecone (as decoration) ways. No longer a single unit, these pinecones had banded together and created a mockery of the tree they came from. Perhaps their evil, scare inducing power came from the heavy hand of sarcasm they used.

Above is a photo of Bingo slinking away from their waves of sarcasm. He just couldn't take it.

However, Bingo is a tough little puppy. So, he brought back the big guns to face down the mocking golden pinecones (as decoration): Grandpa.

Above is a photo of Bingo with Grandpa sitting between the golden pinecone (as decoration) trees proudly. And to show that he had mastered his fear of pinecones (as decoration) he then proceded to give them a tough disdainful sniffing and then a snubbing. Take that pinecones (as decoration)!

Reindog

Yes, it's that time of year. Bingo has been transformed from Labrador dog of the frozen North, to Reindog of the frozen North. Nevermind that we live in the tropical South and that Florida is never frozen, unless you happen to be in my library in the morning when the fans are going, then you had better have remembered to have worn your sweater, but I digress. Bingo received a gift of Reindeer antlers today. So, of course, we had to put them on him! As you can imagine, he was not very enamored of the idea.


First we had to explain the idea to him. The photo above shows Bingo with his back to the camera watching as Jan demonstrates how to put on the Reindeer antlers. Bingo is wearing his holiday necklace of snowmen.

In this next photo Jan is holding Bingo's snout down while he looks up in dismay at the Reindeer antlers being held up over his head. Bingo is getting the idea that Reindeer antlers need to be worn actually on the head, preferably, his, and that must involve getting the elastic band around neck, hence, the dismay.


Our first attempt at a quick shove and hope for the best results in a mangled Bingo with the band NOT going around his head, but instead going ON TOP of his head where it isn't supposed to go. Bingo looks slightly crazed. We're chalking that up to the elastic band and not to us making him wear the Reindeer antlers.

Success! Frozen North, tundra, REINDOG. Can you see his shifty little eyes looking for help? He's peering over to the comfy chairs wondering if his favorite sophomore girls will save him from this embarrassment. But NO! Seconds later, Reindog escaped from our grasp like the wily young savage he is and bounded off into the wilderness, never to be seen again by human eyes.

Holiday Happenings at School

Today we had a couple of holiday things that were planned. First off we had what was called a wrap-in. That is where all three divisions come together in small groups and bring gifts for different charities and we all decorate gift bags for them. Our upper division advisory group was paired with a pre-k class, which turned out to be a Godsend because they were soooooo cute. They just oozed the holiday spirit!

So we showed up with donut holes, OJ, presents, gift bags, upper division students and Bingo. They had all the decorating supplies and oodles of enthusiasm. And very small chairs to sit in. Here he is with his biggest teacher fan (although the World Languages Department would have a fit and contest that statement, wouldn't you ladies?! 8-) as we are trying to get him to sit still for a photo. I took Bingo's coat off for him to visit with every table, but since he is a moose, he kind of intimidated some of the kids even though he was pretty good and sat to be petted and wasn't too mouthy (he's a licker, but even that can be intimidating to a small child). He did have some fans. A couple of the boys had some dogs and were comfortable around big dogs his size (he's 58.3 pounds now!). One boy was very excited to get to pet him and later said that Bingo was his friend.

Bingo seems to have gotten the concept of coat and no coat, even though we were told they don't understand that until 6 months. he may not fully understand it (I'm hedging my bet here!) but he does seem to be cognizant that while in coat, he won't be petted and while out of coat, he will get attention. It makes a difference in his demeanor.

Although, in the next photo, he was still a bad boy and was going for the tissue paper (he LOVES to tear apart paper!), but I stopped him before he got a mouthful. There was one funny incident that happened when we were walking the little kids to drop off the gifts. One of my advisees asked the little boy she was with to hold her hand and he said no. She asked him why and he said, "I haven't washed my hands and your supposed to wash your hands after you pick your nose."

After the wrap-in we went to classes and ended the day with the holiday convo. It's a fun convo, with lots of singing and load music and general revelry. A good exposure opportunity for Bingo. We got there a bit late and had to force our way through a crowd of juniors. Fortunately, they will do anything for Bingo. I just look helpless and point at him and say, "I need to get over there" and then I push him in that direction. They part like the Red Sea. It's so nice.

I sat on the first bleacher and Bingo was on the floor. We had several lovely, long haired girls in front of us (this will be important later). It was pretty clear from the start that of all the all school convos, this one was going to be Bingo's most challenging. The girls were very sweet because Bingo would lie down and stick his nose in between them as you can see from the photo at right.

The girl on the right has her hair in a bun. Unfortunately, there was some singing and clapping, which made Bingo sit up, and her bun was at eye level and she turned her head quickly. She has lots of really pretty hair and it makes a lovely bun that is slightly kong shaped, if you get my meaning, maybe on a DNA level, a little bit reminscent of wild things, because it is more of a freeform bun, loose and a bit low. Yes, Bingo hit that bun like a greyhound wants to hit the rabbit at the racetrack, only more gently. Slightly. Fortunately, I'm on very good terms with her and she likes Bingo quite a bit. It was a quick bite and release. A loud NO! The two other girls quickly pulled their long hair in front so that Bingo couldn't get to it. 8-)

The video below was taken by my friend the religion teacher who doesn't realize you can't put video in that direction. But I'm still putting it up because you can see how Bingo is still a bit interested in her bun, but mainly for his complete disinterest in the pipe and drum corps and the fact that he ends up sleeping through it.

Oh, Christmas Tree, Oh, Christmas Tree!

Today after school we went to a friend's tree lot and picked out our tree. The lot is on the corner of Dale Mabry and Bay to Bay and they have fresh Frasier firs from North Carolina and the growers are on the premises, which is pretty cool. The smell was pretty overwhelming. Bingo was quite interested in the trees and what was going on in the process of looking at them and deciding on one. Here we are by the one we decided upon.

Of course, trees can capture a young pups attention for only so long. He was much more interested in snuffling in the needles and biting sticks, which isn't allowed in coat. I had my hands full. Still, he was pretty well behaved. We also went for dinner out at Pane Rustica afterwards and he was very good.

And if you need a tree, go to Tom Daly's tree lot behind the church on Dale Mabry and Bay to Bay. They are beautiful fresh Frasier fir trees! And tell him Bingo sent you!