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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 25 of 57. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Solstice on September 2, 2011, at 17:48:28
Hey Dinah..
Here's hoping Lee doesn't hang over you so long that you get more rain than your levees and pumps can handle :-)
Take care of yourself..
Solstice
Posted by 10derheart on September 2, 2011, at 19:29:05
In reply to Dinah.., posted by Solstice on September 2, 2011, at 17:48:28
Posted by Dinah on September 2, 2011, at 20:22:52
In reply to Ditto. (nm), posted by 10derheart on September 2, 2011, at 19:29:05
So far, so good. But we're being cautious and loading up on groceries just in case the roads are hard to pass through.
Posted by sleepygirl2 on September 2, 2011, at 20:33:18
In reply to Thanks, posted by Dinah on September 2, 2011, at 20:22:52
I'm thinking good thoughts for you :-)
Posted by floatingbridge on September 3, 2011, at 2:51:09
In reply to Good luck » Dinah, posted by sleepygirl2 on September 2, 2011, at 20:33:18
> I'm thinking good thoughts for you :-)
Yes, me too.
Posted by Phillipa on September 3, 2011, at 10:47:59
In reply to Re: Good luck » sleepygirl2, posted by floatingbridge on September 3, 2011, at 2:51:09
Hoping it disappears. Stay safe. Phillipa
Posted by Solstice on September 3, 2011, at 16:32:00
In reply to Thanks, posted by Dinah on September 2, 2011, at 20:22:52
Are you in an area low-lying enough that you had to evacuate? You got power? I'm west of you, and sure would like some of that rain to come our way! I've got a thirsty grapefruit tree in the backyard :-)
Solstice
Posted by Dinah on September 6, 2011, at 8:07:10
In reply to Re: Thanks » Dinah, posted by Solstice on September 3, 2011, at 16:32:00
It wasn't bad here at all, though there was localized flooding in the area. A few miles can make a huge difference.
Today is beautiful and unseasonably cool. Our first day of not-hot. :)
Just in time to return to work. (But the dogs are frolicking).
Posted by floatingbridge on September 6, 2011, at 9:44:36
In reply to Re: Thanks, posted by Dinah on September 6, 2011, at 8:07:10
Good. Glad to here from you. Dogs? I thought you had a single sheep dog.
Posted by Phillipa on September 6, 2011, at 19:36:01
In reply to Re: Thanks » Dinah, posted by floatingbridge on September 6, 2011, at 9:44:36
Dinah any little ones still? Phillipa
Posted by Dinah on September 8, 2011, at 9:49:45
In reply to Re: Thanks » Dinah, posted by floatingbridge on September 6, 2011, at 9:44:36
We've always been a multidog household. I think it's better for the dogs to have companionship. I often work from home, but not always. Besides, I can't remember the last time I trained a dog on the everyday things. They tend to train each other. It works out well that way.
My sheepdog is one of those very special dogs that, if you're lucky, you get now and then in the course of a lifetime. I love all my dogs, of course. But there are some that touch your soul.
Posted by Dinah on September 8, 2011, at 9:51:38
In reply to Re: Thanks, posted by Phillipa on September 6, 2011, at 19:36:01
Wee doggies? Yes, I still have one. I'm not sure how I'd sleep without him. He knows just the right spot along my back to snuggle against.
Posted by floatingbridge on September 8, 2011, at 10:46:15
In reply to Re: Thanks » Phillipa, posted by Dinah on September 8, 2011, at 9:51:38
> Wee doggies? Yes, I still have one. I'm not sure how I'd sleep without him. He knows just the right spot along my back to snuggle against.
Dinah, tell us about your doggies, would you?
I have an old doxie (one of those heart dogs who was raised by my first heart dog, a food-crazy lab), and a nutty English cocker spaniel. A year old, whom I am learning to love her unique ways.
We have chickens, want to get goats, and have an empty wooded lot were meth heads camp at the fringes. I want a Marema. Hubby wants an Akita. Son wants a pekingnese. Hmmmm.
Posted by Phillipa on September 8, 2011, at 19:30:23
In reply to Re: Thanks » Phillipa, posted by Dinah on September 8, 2011, at 9:51:38
Dinah I do remember your sweet little doggie with the problems. Glad still one to snuggle with. One also snuggles with me. Phillipa
Posted by Dinah on September 8, 2011, at 22:48:44
In reply to Re: Thanks » Dinah, posted by floatingbridge on September 8, 2011, at 10:46:15
Those are both strong dogs with more will than I can cope with, I fear. :) I am not a dominant person, apparently. And Pekes are no doormats either. They are fully aware of their royal ancestry.
I have a Maltese who is sweet and good, and a spaniel who is sweet and good. But my heart belongs to my sheepdog. I think I fall in love more with the demanding and quirky dogs than the sweet and good ones, to my eternal shame. Not that the sheepdog isn't good to her dainty white toes, and she definitely has a core of sweetness. But she wakes me up each morning by putting her head on my bed and staring at me. Which means I wake up with a smile. She also stares me out of a fair number of table snacks. She attacks my ankles as I walk, all whirling hair and flashing teeth, without ever actually pinching my skin. I never manage to go to the bathroom on my own. The Maltese opens the bathroom door with his little prehensile paws, and the she butts it open then stares at me in the mirror until I acknowledge her and smile. She's good and sweet and demanding. She's dancing paws and happy barks. She almost died when she was two, from underdeveloped kidneys. We've kept her going for over a year with fluids and medications and a lot of coaxing with appetizing foods. She eats better when she catches her food midair, so I toss her meals to her. I wish we could do it forever, though I know that's not realistic. Her paws don't dance quite as often as they used to. And if it weren't for the prednisone, she wouldn't eat at all.
When they sent her home with two days of medications, with all the associated implications, we arranged to buy a puppy. We are so blessed that she has been around to train him. We had never hoped for so much. He's not her, of course. He doesn't have her essential sweetness. He's sharper and has more flash. He bullies the (male) Maltese a bit. But he's a joy in his own way. Smart as a whip, and very obedient. More than her in some ways. He'll always come when called no matter what's going on, while she won't necessarily. If I fuss at him for barking at the back fence neighbor, he'll jump up and attack the fence in total silence, which is absolutely hilarious. She seems constitutionally incapable of being quiet when excited. Instead of staring me awake, he pounces on the scale and uses the subsequent clatter to wake me up. And he has his own prehensile paws, and manages to open the door if it's even slightly left ajar. Having sheepdogs means never being alone in the bathroom. :) It also means being fiercely adored, and having fierce adoration demanded in return.
I can't imagine how people can be without dogs.
Posted by Dinah on September 8, 2011, at 22:51:30
In reply to Re: Thanks » Dinah, posted by Phillipa on September 8, 2011, at 19:30:23
Have you gotten closer to her as you've had her longer? She's a cutie, for sure.
Posted by Dinah on September 8, 2011, at 23:01:27
In reply to Re: Thanks » Dinah, posted by floatingbridge on September 8, 2011, at 10:46:15
I think I probably shortchanged the other two. The Maltese is as sweet a dog as you could ever want to meet. It's clear he's been bred for centuries to be a pleasing lap companion. He snuggles wonderfully and makes Maltese noises, which are unlike anything I've heard from any other breed. A sort of snuffling. A vet assistant once told me he was fiesty, but the idea of that makes everyone in my family fall over laughing. Anything less fiesty would be hard to imagine.
The spaniel has those wonderfully sweet and soulful eyes, which I think are a bit misleading. She's nowhere near that sad. She's mostly a happy and sensible grande dame. She did a wonderful job of raising the younger dogs. When the sheepdog was little, she'd look to the spaniel whenever she was scared. When she saw the spaniel wasn't scared, she'd feel more confident. Perfect modelling of affect regulation. She's overweight (although not nearly as much as she does), and we laugh that when she sails forth she looks like the Queen Mary. It really is amazing how much she resembles a ship's prow. We call her the duchess, or "her grace".
On the other hand, she's a shameless hussy when it comes to strangers. She sees a stranger and she barks and whines and wiggles and shamelessly trolls for attention. She ignores us completely. It's such an unexpected quality in an otherwise dignified and sensible dog. I think she never has gotten past outgrowing the adorable puppy stage.
I can understand that.
Posted by Phillipa on September 8, 2011, at 23:25:37
In reply to Re: Thanks » Phillipa, posted by Dinah on September 8, 2011, at 22:51:30
Teddy sleeps with me Chloe do you mean the shitzu? She's a man's dog. Still sleeps in her cage as she is a pain and feels safe in their. Teddy is sweet and so loving but also a man's dog. Seems both like him more than me. And I'm the one that gives the treats and stuff. Still miss my Brandy and Sheeba. My first will never forget. Dinah but didn't you lose one little white one? A few years back? Phillipa
Posted by Solstice on September 9, 2011, at 16:22:56
In reply to Re: Thanks » floatingbridge, posted by Dinah on September 8, 2011, at 22:48:44
You make me want a dog!!
Maybe it would help me with my self-isolation, and impending empty-nest syndrome? :-(
Solstice
Posted by Dinah on September 9, 2011, at 22:01:43
In reply to Re: Thanks, posted by Solstice on September 9, 2011, at 16:22:56
Well, I'm prejudiced. I've been a dog person since I got over my fear of dogs at age five or six. But I can't imagine a better cure for loneliness.
If you choose wisely, and invest the time, a dog can bring such joy to a home.
Posted by Dinah on September 9, 2011, at 22:03:37
In reply to Re: Thanks » Dinah, posted by Phillipa on September 8, 2011, at 23:25:37
I'm sorry, Phillipa. :( It can hurt when you put in the time and effort and a dog chooses a different master.
Maybe you should bring Chloe to obedience?
Posted by floatingbridge on September 9, 2011, at 22:27:00
In reply to Re: Thanks » floatingbridge, posted by Dinah on September 8, 2011, at 22:48:44
Dinah, you threesome sounds wonderful. I especially enjoyed this: If I fuss at him for barking at the back fence neighbor, he'll jump up and attack the fence in total silence, which is absolutely hilarious.
This is your sheepdog? It could be my spaniel. She is very silly and cannot abide a squirrel. Whereas, in his younger days, my doxie would run every squirrel into the trees and bark up at them leaping, our spaniel will only run to an invisible line she's drawn on the property and bark until I tell her to shush. She barks at birds too, but abides the chickens just fine. She is usually excluded from the hen run because of her predilection for disgusting substances she seems to find absolutely delicious. Mind you, she rejects cheese (?). She takes it if offered out of politeness then delicately drops it.
She has never hurt a bird, but I feel with her temperament and breeding she would be both an excellent flusher and gun dog. (That takes a soft mouth.)
I would thinkna sheep dog would be very strong willed. But maybe it's more like fixated, since they seem so built to work.
I love that you've had the joy of extra time with your 'ferocious' or was it 'feisty' Maltese. Dogs really blossom when loved.
Between my son and two dogs, I rarely get alone time in the restroom. My doxie is old and sleeps most of the day, but every so often he would jump into the bath with me. I never figured out that impulse. Hazel, the young spaniel delicately laps the bath water. I have given up chastising or even trying to prevent her. (It's not soapy or perfumed--just water.)
I'm very glad you have your companions :-)
Posted by Phillipa on September 9, 2011, at 23:34:52
In reply to Re: Thanks » Phillipa, posted by Dinah on September 9, 2011, at 22:03:37
Dinah she's okay just a pain. I've fallen victim to hand feeding her. In her specific way. Teddy must be on Greg's lap at computer of his in kitchen, and the cat must be there also as I sit on the floor and hand feed her first just moist then combo of kibble and moist. She has food allergies and eats phesant, venison, buffalo, duck, pork, chicken, and the kibbles are also a special red meat. Believe it or not not more expensive either. Teddy is on a weight reduction diet so they can't eat together. Phillipa
Posted by Solstice on September 10, 2011, at 0:00:21
In reply to Re: Thanks » Solstice, posted by Dinah on September 9, 2011, at 22:01:43
> Well, I'm prejudiced. I've been a dog person since I got over my fear of dogs at age five or six. But I can't imagine a better cure for loneliness.
I dont know about `prejudiced`... you sound kinda `experienced` in a seasoned kind of way to me. I grew up a dog person, but my oldest kiddo was a cat person, so I was converted... eventually. we had a couple of great cats that were a lot like dogs.. just in a cat body. they were adopted, and eventually died. We went without pets for a few years. I told the kids I already had three pets to clean up after (them) and there was not enough of me to take on another :-)
But maybe I need to invest myself in a pup. Maybe it`ll get me over the hump with my tendency to isolate myself.
> If you choose wisely, and invest the time, a dog can bring such joy to a home.I love to watch Cesar Milan (dog whisperer). He has some great shows about how to pick a dog that will be a good fit for your lifestyle. hmmm... I think I really need to explore this.
You know so much about dogs.. I may check in with you down the road during my decision-making process...
thanks for the encouragement!
Sol
Posted by Dinah on September 10, 2011, at 16:51:51
In reply to Re: Thanks » Dinah, posted by Phillipa on September 9, 2011, at 23:34:52
That doesn't sound outrageous to me. As I said, I toss food to mine to get her to eat.
It's hard to shift loyalties in a dog once they've chosen a master, but maybe you could try with Chloe. Teddy sounds like he's well and truly your husband's. Do you go on walks with her? Definitely feed her. Obedience training might help with the bonding experience. I recently read (I can't recall where) that you can often buy the best show dogs in the world, but that people will fall over laughing if you offer them a fortune for their obedience dog. It's true. Working together is something that brings a great bond between dog and human.
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