Hi Chichi! Welcome! Sorry the recovery from your surgery isn't going well. Mine was a lot easier than I expected, thankfully.
My official household census: Myself, DH, my stepson officially every other weekend and one night per week but really more often than that, one loud and very outspoken cat.
If I do get a dog it will be a rescue dog. I am still deciding but I also know that when I start looking at Petfinder for available adoptable dogs that some serious considering is going on.
The shy timid dog is a lot harder to rehabilitate than an aggressive one. Been there, done that with both, and watched several clients struggle with very timid dogs.
A lot of timid dogs become biters - makes sense, yes? And cockers, despite their cuddly good looks, tend to also be biters. Some weird genetics in the spaniel pool apparently. I would pass on this spaniel bargoo.
A lot of people get dogs with the best intentions. Then they discover that dogs need an investment of time and money that they don't have. Some people have to give the dog up for other reasons, like allergies that develop, a move to another country for work, etc. Stuff happens. I would rather see a dog given to a home where it can receive the attention and care it needs than see the original owners keep it in a crate or locked in a bathroom 20 hours a day.
The one thing I don't really approve of is the dog as a "practice baby" who is given away when the human children start arriving. If there are problems with the new family members and the dog training of both should be attempted before the dog is given away.
My first dog was not a nice dog. Not his fault and I loved him nonetheless. My second dog was a timid dog who bonded to only me. I loved her with all my heart for close to 16 years but she had all sorts of behavioural problems.
I don't have a dog right now nor will I even think about getting one until the cats have died. They are too old and one is too fragile. I love the idea of a rescue dog but I think I will end up getting one puppy from a breeder (it will be technically a really expensive mutt) and one from rescue.
Finally, all of my animals from now on will be female. Period.
Megan I'm not so small. I have a photo of myself with some of my guys and some from another dogwalker but I can't figure out how to post it to the net from my hard disk - sorry! I'm kinda afraid I'm going to give all of 3FC access to my computer if I try what I was thinking of trying.
I had the most relaxed day I've had in a long time. We have "Spring Break" happening and 3 of the dogs are away. Tulip the ox dog was adopted and was picked up this morning . I didn't realize how stressed I had become trying to manage her. Today it was just me and the 3 labs on that walk and we all were the most relaxed we'd been in a long while.
I also usually spend almost an hour taking Poppy (14 year old lab) to the park and back. Today she was being boarded so I had a chance to talk to people at my banks and at the credit card company about a $4K error I made and how it could be corrected. For once I could sit down and talk like a rational person, rather than being aware that the clock was ticking and I had 4 minutes left and . . . I love Pops but when she passes I will not fill that space. I will use that time to do things with a phone and desk and computer.
And the miraculous slow cooker has just beeped to deliver up my piping hot stew. Dinner time!
After that I can relax and watch "The Good Wife" without DH criticizing it. Hope Chris Noth's character is on!
Thanks for yor comments , Dagmar, yes I looked on the "timid and shy" as a red flag. I got a rescue dog once that had never been socialized, never had been taken anyplace stayed home with his owner all the time.I didn't see that as a problem as I have had many dogs in my life from all kinds od sources and never had any real problems. Of course I was wrong and he turned out to be a barker and a biter and he was also half cocker. I will keep looking.
Jessica~how old is Carter? Chico is 7.5 now and he doesn't yet show signs of arthritis, but he is getting slower when we do our walks. Do you have Trader Joe's near you? If so, they have a chewable Glucosamine for dogs--I used it for years with Buddy and have been thinking of starting Chico on it now because at age 7, dogs are officially old (or at least middle aged). If you don't have a Trader Joe's, I'm sure either Petco or Petsmart sells something similar.
jessica Sometimes traumatic injury (like Carter had) will bring on premature arthritis in pets - dogs are more susceptible than cats. The glucosamine tends to preserve what's already there, lubricating the cartilage and preventing or reducing further deterioration of the joint. To relieve pain there are all sorts of things - your vet can help you decide what is best as there are pros and cons to all meds. I would try to avoid the steroids (like prednisone) for anything other than short term relief as the side effects are rather daunting.
One of our cats (who had a spinal injury as a result of rough handling at a VET'S) is on pain meds now and they have made a dramatic difference. I am now considering giving him a series of laser treatments (I do them myself at the vet's) to reduce inflammation and provide more range of movement.
Now I have to get the $$$. It's not as jaw droppingly expensive as some things but it's still $250 for 6 treatments of 5 minutes each.
Hi everyone. Truly just a flyby for me today. Day one of bookfair is over.... it was successful but each day is so exhausting-- each day feels at least a week long.
Now I'm trying to stay motivated enough to drag my sleepy a** to the gym for an 8:00 pm class. My headache dissipated yesterday and returned with a vengence (sp) today.
Saef-- glad construction has picked back up!
Bargoo-- I agree on the cocker. They are prone to bite! The females also often piddle when excited, scared, happy, etc. There are many fabulous shelter dogs out there if you want one.
Welcome Chichi! Glad you've joined us.
I'm too braindead to reply to anyone else or remember if there was anything else I wanted to share. Hopefully I'll check back in later this week.
Can't wait till Friday when the bookfair is over! It's going to be cold and rainy the rest of the week-- yuck....
I scan one of our daily newspapers. Opened up the web page this morning to see a familiar face on the front page. A young woman I'm acquainted with who is a niece of one of my former clients was assaulted in Ecuador. She is in the hospital recovering.
I used to talk to her everyday when she was dogsitting my client's dog and I walked the dog. She is a genuinely nice person, always happy and cheerful and chatty. Such a lovely person!
I hope she recovers fully. There's an element of oddness to the whole incident.
And I have managed to misplace my client's phone # and email address - maybe I gave her her contract back when I stopped walking the dog - will have to get her info by other means. Oh yeah, there's something called the phone book . . .
Sorry to hear about your friend, Dagmar. I hope she has a speedy recovery. Was she on vacation or living there? Simply googling a person's name comes up with amazing results when you want to find someone.
Michele, did you make it to the gym?
Book club last night was a blast as always. I've missed it for the last two months bc of the play I was in and I missed my ladies! Of course I could see them elsewhere, but not as often. I also ate a delicious, healthy salad with blackened shrimp on top at the restaurant we went to.
I talked to my dad last night, wanting to check that my parents arrival will still be this Sat (it is). He said he's lost 17 lbs since New Years and while he's here he "just wants to eat fish and walk and sit and read". This is good for me, because my parents are still on the health wagon so there will be less temptations for me. Then he said how Saturday he hiked for 5 hours near their house, so he still had 3000 calories for the day when he got home bc of all his activity. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the differences of how men and women lose weight. 3000 calories and that's on your diet? Sigh.
My hubby surprised me and told me that the gardening I was planning on doing this past weekend and never got to because son #1 was ill, I don't have to do. He hired a landscaper who's coming later this week to do it all. I hate gardening, it's not really my thing and I've been really sore from working out. I've complained a lot about not feeling right and I guess he listened, lol. He's always surprising me even after all these years. That's one thing off my 'to-do' list.
Fitmom~having a landscaper is wonderful! I loved moving into our new house with everything planted and pretty!
Megan~enjoy your parents visit! But, yeah, it is totally unfair how easy it is for some people to lose weight. DH doesn't even have to think about it. Of course, he eats what I fix him, but it just melts off of him.
Dagmar~that's sad about your friend. I hope she's okay.
Michele~good luck with the rest of the week's book fair.
I'm off to work and today we're having our carpets cleaned. That will mean a few hours of noise and inability to get much of anything done. I'm hoping for not too many phone calls during that time!
Nope! Was all dressed and ready to go and decided going to bed earlier was a wiser choice. I got a lot more sleep than usual, so I'm hoping that will help me power through the week!
Megan-- did you read something good for book club?
Great surprise from your dh, fitmom. My dh also surprises me sometimes. Not often, so it is always a big surprise. The best one was when he traded in my mini-van for a Lexus SUV and it was in the garage! I couldn't believe it. Unfortunately, we had to move to Africa 1.5 years later and had to sell it. I still miss that car and I can't afford one that nice now!
Day two of bookfair.... day one's sales were about $3000 so it looks like it will be a big fair!
Megan, I'm always jealous of how some people, especially men, seem to have such an easy time losing weight! Of course my mom tells me she's envious of me because she's having a hard time with her weight since menopause. That is something I am really not looking forward to...
I'm having an impossible time of trying to get back in to a workout routine. Yesterday I did go for a nice walk with my bf but I haven't jogged or done any strength training in a few weeks and I just feel lazy. There's a 5k I've been thinking I should register for and that would probably help motivate me.
. I didn't realize how stressed I had become trying to manage her. Today it was just me and the 3 labs on that walk and we all were the most relaxed 
we'd been in a long while.
I love Pops but when she passes I will not fill that space. I will use that time to do things with a phone and desk and computer.
as some things but it's still $250 for 6 treatments of 5 minutes each.
Awful thing!
