The 43T Ass Dog Report

Becca!

Of course, I assume that everyone will think they are as amazing as I do…. :) Here’s Elbee!

Becca had a bath last night. She rolled in some dead thing. It did not smell good!

I wish I could make them understand that there is a direct correlation between rolling in dead things and baths. If they truly got that point, they would exercise self control and give those dead things a wide berth, since they both abhor baths.

and Becca sez, “Thundershirt is Awesome!!!”

Becca first wore her thundershirt on Sunday night. Our house is right at the end of town, and the street outside is a favorite spot for fireworks detonation. There were lots of firecrackers and rockets exploding on Sunday. Becca was obviously anxious, but she didn’t pant like crazy, pace frantically, or tremble, as she usually does. She stayed by Mr. Wren, who is always a skeptic, and he commented the next day that he saw a big improvement.

Day 2 was July 4th. The real test! The thundershirt literature says it can take up to 3 uses for the full benefit, so I was hoping that Becca would experience even more relief…and she did! She actually slept through the first hour of the fireworks (or else she was just laying quietly on the floor beside me). Then I got up, which woke her up. This was at the peak of the noise and flashing outside. The only sign of anxiety that Becca showed was that she followed me around the house, which is not her usual style. Other than that, she had no obvious discomfort. This was a huge improvement, and I am so pleased.

Becca doesn’t mind wearing her thundershirt at all, waits quietly for me to put it on, and she is able to carry on all of her normal activities while wearing it. Becca & I wholeheartedly recommend the thundershirt for any dog who suffers anxiety issues of any kind!

She is terrified of fireworks and spent most of last night hiding in the bathroom. I’m going to try to get her a thundershirt in the hopes that it will calm her anxiety.

Every time I come home from work, Elbee gets so excited that she pees herself.

heh.

I wasn’t sure where to post this, since it would fit under a number of my goals, but clearly the ass-dog goal is the most fun, so it will go here.

When I took the ass dogs out for their morning walk this morning, I decided to do a little outdoor running, just to try it on for size. We go out in the very wee hours (4 a.m.ish), so there is no one around to see what we do.

As soon as I started running, Becca became very excited. She was jumping around, and then she and Elbee began chasing each other around my legs. Becca got so excited that she started dancing about and barking!

I can see where this might be an issue…. lol!

has grown & filled out a lot in the 10 months since she’s come to live with us. Her body is sturdy, like a tank, and she has a nice, thick coat. When we took her for her first vet visit, the vet thought she was 10-12 months old. I decided later that she must’ve been much younger, since she’s grown a lot & become much more coordinated. Mr. Wren thinks that she was not so much young as malnourished when we first met her. I guess we will never know! Anyway, she has worked hard at being good & has turned into a wonderful, snuggly, sweet, playful, loving, loyal, very well-behaved young ass dog!

We took Becca & Elbee for a lovely mountain hike yesterday. There was a good bit of mud, but not too much mud. The air felt crisp and clean. There are more flowers coming out, lots of different kinds. It was an awesome hike.

On the way back, I heard Becca in the woods sounding her silly cartoon-dog bark, so I called her right away. Then we saw some deer bolt past, obviously running away from some nosy/noisy border collies. Of course, the deer were quickly followed by Becca & Elbee! I called both dogs, and they came right back to me. Becca stayed close, and Elbee kept trying to go after those deer, but she would stop herself & come back to us each time we called her.

I am very pleased by this! I know plenty of dogs who would not be able to resist the temptation of a darting deer, in which case the pleasant hike would turn into an anxiety-ridden search for disappeared dogs.

Good ass-dogs!

Neither of my ass dogs like being brushed, but now that spring hiking season has started, they come home from each adventure covered in burrs. There are the tiny burrs that are easy but time consuming to remove because there are so many, and there are the big nasty burrs that bury deep into the hair and break apart and leave stickers in your fingers when you try to remove them.

I’ve decided that these dogs are just going to have to tolerate being brushed, and they are doing a good job of accepting it. Becca will submit with a long-suffering face and dash away at the first opportunity, while Elbee has discovered the benefits of brushing, namely that she gets to be the center of a whole lot of attention, and is starting to like it.