Ziggy the Cardigan Corgi - IVDD 2 years

I realize that I haven't posted a Ziggy update for a while.

On December 2nd, it was 2 years since Ziggy's disc rupture and surgery.  I wish I could say that Ziggy is walking.  Unfortunately I can't.  Ziggy seems to have defied the odds, but in the wrong way.  Given his condition at the time of surgery, there was a ~90% chance that Ziggy would walk again.  Ziggy is in the 10%.

As you know, we did much rehab with Ziggy - at home, at a local rehab vet, at ISU.  He also had acupuncture and a bit of chiro to help with mis-alignment due to the scooting he does when out of his cart.  (The chiro was done months after healing from the surgery, and not in the surgical site.)

The best thing we've done for Ziggy in this time?  We got him a custom cart from Eddie's wheels.  I think I'll do another post about this, but trust me when I said the cart has been life-changing for all of us.

Currently Ziggy is out of his cart when he's inside.  He scoots around pulling himself with his front end.

Here's a video I took of Ziggy and Rip frapping about a year and a half ago.  You can see him do a bit of scooting as he repositions himself…

When he's outside, he goes out in his new cart.  Here are a couple videos from this summer that show how well he can move in his cart.  You can also see his hind end movement and the ramp that we built to help him up on the deck!

P.S. - there's even a Maggie cameo in this one.  I miss my old girl :(

We have pretty much given up rehab with Ziggy.  At this point I think this is where he's going to be.  Sometimes I watch him move in his cart, though, and I wonder.  He really does seem to know how to place his hind legs.  For now, though, we're letting Ziggy be Ziggy and enjoy his carting and scooting life.

Leave No Poop Behind and Pay-It-Forward

WARNING:  This blog post is all about dog poop.  If that makes you squeemish, please click HERE.

If it doesn't make you squeamish, please continue:

I am now on my 13th year of living-in-a-city dog ownership, and I have developed a point of view on how to handle dog poop when on walks.  I had the strange epiphany that I have a POV on dog poop when on a recent walk at night with Rip.  He made me violate one of my rules, so I had to enact the other.

Let me explain:

RULE 1:  Leave No Poop Behind

I do everything I can to pick up EVERY turd that my dogs leave outside of my yard.

I know how hard it is for dogs to earn privileges to go places, and I know how upset people get when errant dog poops are found in parks, school grounds, their yards, etc.  I count myself as one of those people who gets upset at errant dog poop, so I do everything I can to pick up each and every turd my dogs leave behind.

Sometimes I even go to extreme measures to make this happen (think feeling around in the dark on the ground for something warm, and using random bits of trash as pick-up "bags" if I happen to have run out of bags in my pocket).

And I also have a favorite brand & style of dog poo bag.  It's the perfect size for the Cardigan Welsh Corigs, and has nice handles for tying and carrying.  Sure, having a favorite poo bag may be crossing the line, but there you go.

(I get them from PetEdge, by the way)

(this is an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper)

On our last night walk, Rip decided to roam while he pooped (so much energy.  can't stay in one place even to poop).  Since it's autumn, and it was night, and we were on a part of the street away from a streetlight, I'm afraid I may have missed a couple of turds.

Which brings me to my next rule...


RULE 2:  Pay It Forward

If I'm out on a walk, have an extra bag, and see another dog's poop that their owner hasn't picked up, I'll do it.  I pick it up and throw it away on behalf of the dog community.  This helps keep my neighborhood clean, helps keep my neighbors happy, and I think allows me a little bit of a "credit" to cover for the turds I may miss now and again.

Last weekend, for example, I picked up 3 dog poops from our local playing fields while The Small Human was playing on the playground.  I had some extra bags in my pocket - so why not?  (Oh, and special shame to those people who don't pick up poop on school ground.  GRRR)

I think of it as paying it forward - dog poo version.

So remember, if you're a dog owner who takes their dogs places, or walks them around a neighborhood or any other "public" place - Leave No Poop Behind and Pay It Forward when you can.

Cute Pictures of a Dog and Cat Snuggling

There, don't you feel better now?

Advice on Choosing a Dog (for my "non-dog-crazy" friends)

Often I feel like I'm in the strange position of living in/between 2 worlds.  Let's call those worlds they "crazy dog" world and the "normal" world.  This post is not for my "crazy dog" friends - you'll know all this stuff.  This post is for my "normal" friends who decide they want a dog.  In case I don't talk to you before you take the plunge, please keep these things in mind before you get a dog:


DO NOT GET A DOG FROM A PET STORE.  
These dogs invariably come from a puppy mill somewhere (no reputable breeder would sell their dogs to a pet store) - meaning that dogs from a pet store are sending money to people who treat dogs like a cash crop, not like thinking, feeling beings.

FIGURE OUT WHAT TRAITS you want a dog to have.

Things like size, energy level, amount of training needed, how much grooming required, friendliness (to dogs and humans), protectiveness, and energy level (did I mention that already?) all really matter.  Think about what you want in a dog before you choose a dog.

BE HONEST ABOUT YOUR ANSWERS to the traits above.  

If you're not honest with yourself, you're asking for trouble.  E.g., a high energy dog means you'll have to exercise them a lot if both of you are to remain sane.  A dog may be really cute, but if it's not a good fit, both you and the dog will be miserable.

DO BREED RESEARCH. 

Find breeds that fit with the traits you're looking for.

There are a number of "dog breed selector" tools online that can help you narrow things down.  I also found a dog breed comparison chart online that I think is good.  Both of these can help you narrow down and/or compare breeds.

When you've narrowed it down to a handful of breeds do even more research to find out what the breeds are like to live with.  I'd start at the American Kennel Club breed index  and the breed club websites (just search for the breed name and "club" to get started).  What do they say about what it's like to live with this breed?  Go to some breeder websites.  What do they say?  Make sure your life fits with what the dog requires.

And YES, this matters even if you're getting a dog from a shelter.  Learning about breed traits means  you'll have an idea of what breeds/mixes you can live with - and those that you can't - when you're looking at a dog in the shelter.

FIND THE RIGHT BREEDER. 

If you're not getting a dog from a shelter or breed rescue, you want to find a great breeder.  This breeder will ask you as many (or more) questions than you ask them.  They will make you sign a contract, and provide references.  They'll check your references.  They will health test their breeding animals to try and minimize health problems prevalent in the breed. Their puppies will be part of their family.

BE WILLING TO WAIT.  

The right puppy from the right breeder may not be available right away.  This goes for shelter or rescue dogs, too.  Wait for the right dog to come along, one that really fits your lifestyle.

TRUST THE BREEDER TO CHOOSE FOR YOU.  

Breeders get to know the puppies they have, and put a lot of thought into which homes they place which puppies.  You may think one dog is the cutest, but that one may not be the best fit for you.  Trust that they want to match the right dogs with the right homes.  After all, they want both you and their canine babies to be happy together for as long as possible.

ENJOY THE JOURNEY!

It may take a long time to find the right dog, but be patient and enjoy the journey.  Your new dog will be part of your family (if you're lucky) for a long time, but a time that's always too short.  So enjoy it all!

Wagmore Farm: "Forever" Homes for the Baby Trees

You might remember from a previous post that The Husband and I, with lots of help from my Dad, bought 40+ baby trees from a local forester's sale to make up for some of the trees we had to get rid of when we bought the house.

We bought them and put them in the "tree nursery" in spring of 2012.

The baby trees - summer of '12

When we went out this spring, we noticed that the babies were really starting to grow.  Starting to grow so much, in fact, that we really needed to move them.

A couple trees didn't make it, but we were left with a great selection of western red cedar, incense cedar, deodar cedar, hemlock, and 3 giant sequoia.

The baby trees - fall '13

Oh what a difference a year makes!

To minimize the amount of watering we'd have to do, we chose to wait until the fall to move them.  Since the land is in the Pacific Northwest, we figured Mother Nature would take over the watering soon enough.


First on our list was to plan where the babies would go.  While I knew the general areas for all the trees, I wanted our trees to look like a forest -- not like lines of screen trees -- so I took care to place each tree individually.  This involved figuring out how far apart each type of tree needed to be, deciding how to make things look as natural as possible, then measuring (algebra used!), and flagging where each tree went.

Here's the rest of the story - in pictures:

First, we mowed the areas where the trees were to be planted.

This is the largest area - along our side fence line.

The Husband dug up each of the trees.

You can really see how big they've become when a person is next to them!

We were smart enough to buy a post hole digger for the tractor,

so at least that part was easy...

Our first couple trees in their "forever" homes.

30 more trees went along this line.

This is the last tree in the line.

We put newspaper around each base, and finished it off with mulch.

Hopefully that will keep the weeds down a bit.

We also soaked all of them in using 

a root builder fertilizer recommended by our local nursery.

Grow babies, grow!

We put a few of the trees out near the road, 

so we'll have a nice view of them from the house.

The last few trees went in the area SE of the house -- adding some evergreens to the deciduous trees already in the "forest" area.

I can't wait to watch them fill in!

Maybe I'm back?

I realize that I haven't posted anything since Maggie has been gone.  Losing her was very hard on me, and has really made me think about what I want to do with my dogs.

Part of the great connection I had with Maggie was, I believe, because of all the things we did together.  We lived in six different homes and went many places together.  We started out hiking, then moved on to dog parks, then basic obedience classes, then more advanced obedience classes, then agility class, then seminars, dog shows, etc.  Through it all we became very close.

This realization has made me want to pick up the pace with Rip.  Ok, maybe we won't live in six different homes together, but we can go places and do things more than we had been.  In the past few months we've been to our first Rally trial, taken a heeling class, and have started to take private agility lessons.  And we're both enjoying it.

Then I think about my blog.  I don't know if I'll go back to the stories & tips on training.  Maybe other blogs have that covered.

But I think I would like to share some things I've learned about the dog world.  And most of all I'd like to share the work we're doing on our property, Wagmore.  Ok, and maybe I'll throw in a dog training thing or two -- if I come upon something fun or when Rip does something that makes me laugh.

Goodbye to My Best Girl

Maggie

C-Myste Sweet Dreams CDX RAE AJP MXP

June 23, 1999 - July 26, 2013

Today we had to say goodbye to Maggie.  

She was the first dog that was mine alone, my first Cardigan Welsh Corgi, and my first performance dog.  

Maggie was with me when I was single, then married, then a mother.  She and I lived together in 4 different states, 3 different time zones, and through many transitions. 

She was gorgeous, funny, smart, and picky about who she loved.

Maggie taught me the joy of training dogs, taught The Small Human how to sleep through barking, and taught Ziggy how to retrieve a dumbbell.

Her greatest joys in life were rolling (preferably in stink), working (preferably for food), and barking with happiness.

We all miss our Best Girl.  Rest in peace.