Nose to nose

Maja loves guests :) Guests means more hands to stroka and scratch her, more smells, more games, voices, happy people, fun... And in the end... exhausted, happy, happy sleep :)

Today it was extra fun when one of the guests was a small child. It was a wonder to see how Maja was around the child: happily, but carefully sniffing. We wanted to make sure that Maja didn't take the girls toys, but she didn't, she offered her own :) And it was wonderful to see parents feeling safe enough to let the two meet face to face, nose to nose, smile to smile..

We are proud owners :)

11 days after operation, and yesterday Maja removed the stiches. We have been to the vet quite a bit by now, everybody there know her and love her. That makes it a bit easier for her, maybe, but she refused to go into the operation room :)

The scar still seems scary, somehow; it is so big for a little dog. But it seems to have grown very nicely. There is a little bit of old, dry blood around the small holes where the stiches were, but the swelling around the scar seem to disappear step by step. And - from seeing her appetite, the speed with which she runs outside, the joy of going for longs walks, it is incredible to think that she had a big operation not so many days ago. :)

One more cozy thing: she used to love to lie on her back with stretched out front and back feet, belly exposed, and expecting to be scratched. After the operation, she stopped showing her belly. Maybe it was uncomfortable to lie like that because of the stiches, or maybe she didn't feel safe enough to do it? Now that the stiches are gone, she is back to her good, old self.

Streeeeetch... See... ? Here is my stomach.. Come scratch me :)

Cesar Millan

Me and my girlfriend has spent quite some evenings lately watching episodes of the Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan. For those that are not familiar with his series (that runs on the National Geographic Channel), here is a small taste:

Cesar Millan is somewhat of a phenomenon, with his own TV series, a far from modest website  that clearly shows that this is BIG business, a HUGE group of followers that love his methods, but also, quite a big group of people disagrees - sometimes STRONGLY - with what he says.

Although Wikipedia terms him a "professional dog trainer/dog psychologist" (Wiki link), he does not have - as far as I can see - any formal training as a dog psychologist, but bases himself on experience with dogs and from growing up with lots of dogs around him.

Cesar Millan is not a dog trainer in the usual sense of the word: there are no tricks to learn here, nothing about how to make your dog sit or lie or come. His interest lies mainly in working with dogs with huge behavioral problems, dogs that owners are unable to control, and sometimes dogs that are so out of control that they are in danger of being. His usual "catch phrase" is "I rehabilitate dogs, I train people".

As I mentioned, Cesar Millan's methods are controversial and discussed! I'll try to be fair and mention the scepticism and also post links to critics, but I will admit at once that me and my girfriend have watched the show with huge interest, we have learned a LOT, and it would not be far from the truth to call us "fans".

The "central theory" in Cesar Millan's work is that the dog is basically a pack creature. This notion in itself is discussed: while some people say that the whole "pack-theory" is outdated, others stress the fact that the dog IS a pack animal (the dog trainer Ed Fowley talks a LOT about the pack: leerburg.com). The dog OWNER has to be the leader of his/her pack. If the owner does not succeed in doing so, the dog will automatically take over. Being a pack leader is a tough job, and a dog that is in charge is not necessarily a happy dog.

To achieve this, Millan does not work much with verbal communication or with rewarding (clicker training). Instead, he works a lot with physical communication and with "pro-active" reactions, trying to break off the dog's behaviour before it escalates into problems: showing the dog immediately that you don't accept what the dog wants. I won't go into detail, but it is amazing to see how fast dogs respond to his behaviour. In all the episodes we have seen, we have never seen anger or frustration in his work

(to be continued)

Foot mystery

A couple of days ago, Maja started to limp on her front left foot. It was very visible, but it didn't seem to be painful to her at all. Today Jurgita made an interesting observation - on a prong collar, she limped. On a flat collar she walked normally. THAT will be interesting to check out in the next couple of days..

Hmmmmm....

Maja, are you tricking us to get rid of the prong collar?? ;)

LONGING FOR SUMMER

Our little girl has finally crossed 20 kilos. She has put on some weight the last week, maybe because of the operation, maybe because she walks a little less, or maybe because Jurgita mixed her food so she eats much more.. A little bit of rise and chicken with the dry food makes miracles.. Yummmmmmm :)
Wounds are healing very nicely after operation, eyes look perfect..

Two days ago she saw a horse for the first time in a life. Totally stunned..
..wooooooowwwww... Now THAT's a HUGE DOG.... RESPECT!

Now we just wait for spring and all the other things she has never seen or never seen much of:
Flowers, butterflies, bees, beaches, lakes, ocean, people swimming, warm summer days..

Oh, wait.. This is what I dream about myself.. :)

Noses

Dogs' noses are among the cutest things around, so here is a small tribute:

After operation

">When we picked Maja up after operation on Tuesday, she was a pretty sorry sight.She was sitting in a cage, stilled quite drugged, swaying back and forth and fighting desperately not to fall asleep. It actually made quite an impression on us, because it seemed like she was fighting for her life, and I think she was. In a hostile environment where someone is hurting you (like they did), the last thing you want to do - and possibly literally the last thing you'll ever do - is to fall asleep!Jump three days forwards in time.. We now (Thursday) have a dog that is happily running around, wagging her tail, eating like a horse :) She has quite a big scar on her stomach (which is shaved... she looks so THIN!), as a proof that this is a serious operation. But it is amazing to see how fast animals recover: she walked out to the car herself after the operation, Jurgita took her for a good walk already on Wednesday, and yesterday she walked outside for two hours or so. She maybe sleeps a little bit more now than before (even though, after we one week ago started being much stricter with her on walks, she sleeps a LOT!) and she is VERY cuddly, she wants to hang around, lean on our legs, sit beside us in the sofa, check out where we are at any time.. She also had a small eye operation where they burned away some bumbs on her eyes. She looked horrifying on Tuesday, with bloody, dark "zombie"-eyes. Now they look perfectly fine. My girlfriend took her to the vet yesterday, and he was even surprised that she is healing so fast! Btw: (Next picture is taken Saturday - four days after op.)Now, that's our girl :) "UPDATE": We were reading a little bit on the net. Some owners recommend that you keep the dog on leash all the time and go for very short walks only, for a week! That a little bit contradicts what our vet said: "Let her run and play (under supervision of course). If it is uncomfortable or hurt, she will stop." We wouldn't let her play with other dogs, but besides from that, we are almost back to normal routine, three days after surgery. Now, are we doing something wrong, or are most other people over-careful???

Operation shirt

Maja is in for surgary today.. Getting spayed. We have somehow to prevent her from licking or scratching the wound, so yesterday we tried on a "post-operation shirt": one of my T-shirts. With a little adjustment here and there, it might be ok, even though she was not entirely happy about it.

What? Don't you think the color looks good on you?

Some say Goodbye and some say Hello

Today it was time to say goodbye to another good friend: Maja's pet Paja :) Paja the plush dog was bought at the local supermarket, and immediately became Maja's best friend. Well, friend.. Best chewing toy, at least. We thought she would last for a week, but she has been tough and has lasted for three months. The nose disappeared after two days. That was something we could live with, but when one eye was about to fall out, she just looked to freaking scary. Not that Maja cares, but to us, Paja looked a bit... yuck..

So, time to get a new Paja: Paja II. Look at the difference in color, by the way :) Paja I was ditched in a matter of seconds, and Paja II was received with the same loving attention and the same loving teeth (tasted fresh and better?). And as a proof that Maja has grown quite a bit older and stronger: Instead of 2 days, this time it only took her 20 minutes to break the nose off :)

Dirty dog joke..

"Three Labrador retrievers, chocolate, yellow, and black, are sitting in the waiting room at the vet's office when they strike up a conversation. The black lab turns to the chocolate and says, "So why are you here?" The chocolate lab replies, "I'm a pisser. I piss on everything - the sofa, the drapes, the cat, the kids. But the final straw was last night, when I pissed in the middle of my owner's bed." The black lab says, "So what is the vet going to do?" "Gonna give me Prozac," came the reply from the chocolate lab. "All the vets are prescribing it. It works for everything."
The black lab then turns to the yellow lab and asks, "Why are you here?" The yellow lab says, "I'm a digger. I dig under fences, dig up flowers and trees, I dig just for the hell of it. When I'm inside, I dig up the carpets. But I went over the line last night when I dug a great big hole in my owner's couch." "So what are they going to do to you?" the black lab inquired. "Looks like Prozac for me too," the dejected yellow lab said.

Then the yellow lab turns to the black lab and asks what he's at the vet's office for. I'm a humper," the black lab says. "I'll hump anything. I'll hump the cat, a pillow, the table, fire hydrants,whatever. I want to hump everything I see. Yesterday, my owner had just got out of the shower and was bending down to dry her toes, and I just couldn't help myself I hopped on her back and started humping away."
The yellow and chocolate labs exchange a sad glance and say, "So, Prozac for you too, huh?" The black lab says, "No, I'm here to get my nails clipped

Collars and leashes - Educational

When I am reading about dog training and dog walks on the internet, there are all sorts of collars and leashes mentioned. Sometimes my head goes into a spin, aI am not sure what is what.. So, for my own sake (and anyone else that might be interested in reading), I decided to compile a little list. I base myself mainly on an article on dog collars from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_collar). You might just as well read that one, maybe, but I still want to compile and edit and maybe offer some of my own thoughts here:

1) BASIC COLLARS / FLAT COLLARS / BUCKLE COLLARS

These are the basic, flat collars that most dogs use. Most of them are adjustable in size, either with a buckle or a slider. Break-away collars have a "security-mechanism" that lets the dog go if excessive force is used.
This is Maja's main collar, the one she got first and the one that she uses mostly.

2) SLIP COLLARS

Play with me..

Yaaaawwnnnnnn....
Oi.. That was a good sleep. Really..
That was a good walk today! One hour on leash.. Concentrate on the left foot, concentrate, concentrate.
Yep, I can really feel that walk in my feet. Better stretch..
Back feet first.. Streeeeeetch... And then front.. Oooooouuuuchhh.. And neck... Aiaiai..

So, what is going on. Let's look around. Hmm.. So, mummy is sitting in that room. Daddy is sitting in the kitchen. Both very silent and concentrated. I better get them a bit activated! I wouldn't mind moving a bit myself, actually.

So, if I pick up.. for example this ball.. Carry it over to Stein's legs and drop it on the floor. Drop.
Bumpbumpbumpbump..
No reaction? We try again: pick up, go to his feet, drop!
Bumpbumpbumpbumpbumpbump..
No? Ah, come ON! One more time.
Bumpbumpbumpbump..

Ah, THERE you saw me. Hi :) Want to play?
I really want to, and I think it could be fun for you to!
Come on, come on, let's play a bit..
YES :)

Bimpbumpbumpbumpbumpbump..

Why dogs lick faces. For your info..

Maja has been sleeping for most of the evening after two really nice walks today. I sneaked up on her to give her a small pat, and she returned the favour by licking my hand. Suddenly I thought: why does she do that? Why does a dog lick someone's hand?
A short Google search seems to show - though not (yet) from authoritative sources - that it is a sign of submission and affection. As someone said: it is as close to a kiss as you can get from a dog. Awwwww... That is sweet :)

I find the following explanation more interesting, though, and taken into consideration that it comes from a first-hand source, this is probably correct:

Humans have believed for years that dogs show their love and affection by licking a humans face. If the humans ever find out the truth, they will be very upset. We don’t lick their faces to show love. We don’t lick faces to share our affection. We lick human’s faces to clean our tongues. Our tongues hang out a lot because we have to pant to stay cool. Our tongues get dry and dirty from the dust in the house; we pick up what your vacuum cleaner misses. So we lick faces to clean all of the dust and dirt off of our tongues. It leaves our mouth tasting better. We are relocating the dust and dirt, leaving our tongues tasting much better.

From: "A Dogs Life, the real story"

To spay or not to spay, that is the question

Maja is sleeping happily on the floor, and has no idea about what is awaiting her next week..

She is now soon 8 months, and it is about time to spay our little girl. We probably do not want to have puppies - I am not sure we would have time to get them and to take care of them, and I really do not like the idea of giving them away. We also do not exactly look forward to her period. With all the loose dogs running around here, taking a bitch in heat for a walk could become quite a challenge.
When I was at the vet some weeks ago to decide if Maja should operate her knee or not, the vet advised me to have her spayed NOW, before her first period. Since then, we have been looking around a bit on the net, trying to find arguments for or against spaying, and also arguments for spaying before or after first heat.

One of the most solid collection of arguments for spaying that I have read is here:
http://www.petpacnonsense.com/PetPacNonsense-for-against.pdf
California Healthy Pets Act – Arguments For and Against AB 1634
This paper covers most of the arguments, from fiscal arguments to social and health.

Here is a very systematical overview of health pros and cons:
http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf.
Long-Term Health Risks and Benefits Associated with Spay / Neuter in Dogs

As I see from this paper, some health risks - especially connected to breast tumors - are greatly reduced or almost eliminated, while other health risks are increased, among them the risk for bone cancer. The article has a long list of pros and cons, and states that the situation - to spay or not to spay - is complex for female dogs. I am not able to read a conclusion out of this list - even though I find it very interesting and recommended reading - and that makes me and us leave health questions out of the equation. I have not seen any statistics for the risk of the operation itself - I guess there has to be some risk involved - but it also seems to be a fairly standard operation.

I have been checking around on forums a bit, and there is a continuous discussion whether to spay a female dog before or after her first period. I find it interesting though, that this question is not even discussed in the medical articles I have read. Maybe that is some sign that there are no medical statistics/arguments for doing it before than after (or the other way around)

Besides from the article above, I like this answer from Google Answers:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/334034.html

And this article seems trustworthy:
http://www.abcarticledirectory.com/Article/Neutering-Your-Dog---Why--When-and-How/21376
Neutering Your Dog...Why, When and How

This article has a long list of arguments for or against:
For females, the reasons in favor of spaying are:
1. Birth control. Unwanted pregnancies are a hassle, if they occur you have the responsibility of terminating the pregnancy (this can be done via a simple injection soon after mating), paying for any complications with the birth (Caesarian sections are expensive) or finding loving homes for the puppies.
2. Stopping the bitch from having seasons during which blood is dripped from the vulva over the floor in your home.
3. Stopping erratic behavior associated with being on heat.
4. Decreasing the likelihood of breast cancer later in life.
5. Eliminating the risk of developing a pyometra, a life threatening infection of the uterus.
6. Eliminating the risk of ovarian or uterine cancer.

The argument against spaying in females are:
1. Weight gain. Spaying usually leads to undesirable weight gain, which in itself can cause or exacerbate diabetes, heart disease and arthritis. Spayed dogs should have their food intake decreased by 20% to accommodate this change and prevent obesity.
2. The anesthetic risk. With every general anesthetic there is a risk, but in a young fit bitch that risk is very, very low.
3. Other potential complications. There include infection, breakdown of the abdominal wound and internal bleeding. These are very rare and usually easy to resolve.
4. Spayed bitches are more likely to suffer from urinary incontinence in old age. However, this type of incontinence is easily controlled by medication if it occurs.
5. The cost. This will vary hugely between clinics, and depend upon the size of the bitch.

This nicely sums up the information that we have been able to find out there. It does not at all sum up the discussion though, that runs on dog forums everywhere.
It seems that we have reached a decision, though:
We do not want puppies.
There doesn't seem to be any risks that outweigh the benefits
The operation seems relatively standard
We want to save ourselves and her the stress of a period.

So, poor Maja, on Tuesday it will happen. We promise you lots of love and goodies afterwards - but not too much of the last, as it seems like spayed females can get a little fatty ;)

Cafe

Today Maja went with us to a cafe for the first time. We just discovered that there is a nice little cafe close to us, and they even accept dogs, which is wonderful. Bless them :) Me and Jurgita had a coffee and a cake, while Maja was lying nicely beside out table, just like a good cafe-dog should. Classy;) Actually, I wonder how many other dogs in the neighborhood that are joining their owners at cafes....

Well.. This is what our doggy looks like after a day out on town ;)

Grrrrrrrrrr......

I am still having a hard time finding out how to make my camera take good pictures in snow. They become too dark somehow - some button I haven't found yet. Sorry:(

But Maja had a great day playing with other dogs today. She found a name-sister, a labrador also called Maja :) The third picture is a bit amazing. I didn't notice her expression when I took the picture - is this really our sweet, soft, friendly little dog ?? Just playing, I hope?

Food complications

Sigh..

1) Hills.. The food we started with. It makes Maja go out to pee approximately every hour. She poos amazing amounts, often, and not very.. hmm.. "high quality". and she DOES pass some gas... Piuh.. But she LOVES it.

2) Taste of the Wild. Without doubt really, really good for her stomach!! Grain free, salmon or bison (When did I EVER eat bison?) expensive, gives perfect, regular pooh, no gas.. But she doesn't want to eat it! (It's BISON or SALMON, you damned, spoiled dog!)

We just finished a bag of Taste of the Wild and had to feed her something while we were waiting for the next ordered (!) bag to arrive. So we fed her Hills. After some weeks of reluctantly eating TOTW, she WOLFED it down. Fantastic :) One hour later, out to poooooooooooooohhhhhh..

So, what to choose? Good appetite or good pooh?

Dancing Queen

Yes, I know this is not Maja. But:
1) It is a Golden Retriever
2) It IS amazing
3) I actually don't think we'll ever be able to make Maja do this :)

Maja & Me - Last day alone

Today Mummy will come home.

With ups and downs, twists and turns and almost-accidents, these two weeks with Maja has been wonderful :)  She is a wonderful dog, and much of the hesitation I had before about me as a dog owner is gone.

Especially the last three days have been great. I finished my concerts and sent all guests out of the house. Suddenly it became a bit more quiet, and Maja has also calmed down quite a bit. Actually, I think she is tired - in a good way, mostly - from these two weeks. And we have had some great walks. Friday I took her to work: a one-and-a-half hour walk. My colleagues adore her and she was played with and cuddled until she collapsed. The rest of the day she slept happily at home :)

Yesterday we had a good walk in the park early in the day, and I for once decided to do some reading. 3 hours on the sofa with a good book, and with Maja snoring beside me. In her favorite position, on her back with her back legs stretched out and her front legs "curled up" a bit.. And with me constantly scratching her belly. It was wonderful. It was complete relaxation and complete trust and comfort from both man and dog :)

In 6 hours mummy comes home, and tomorrow I'll start going to work again, gone from 7 in the morning until 5-6 in the evening. I wonder if Jurgita will take over her position as Maja's "first contact" and I will feel a little bit on the side? I don't think so :) I have learned a lot! And I almost look forward to next time Jurgita goes away :)

Winter walk

Morning on the sofa: Shy