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Pet People

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Give me strength ... and a valium


I should have known the joy and peace I found after Shadow Tweety fit into her new home with Stacey and Dragon wouldn't last.

I've had a repeat of the Christmas Ham of 2004 incident, but the ham was replaced with a chewie.

I give the dogs a chewie after breakfast. Zoe is usually slow in eating it and often doesn't finish it, and I always pick it up and put it away. Well, today I was on the phone with Inge listening to all her stresses in dealing with her dogs and shelter, when all of a sudden, at my feet, Zoe and Scooter were in a brawl, evidently both wanting the piece of chewie I had failed to pick up. I got a pillow between them and I was lying on the ground between them, but they were still going at it. Somehow I got Scooter away and somehow Peanut got mixed up in the brawl. It all happened so fast! I grabbed Scooter by the collar, hoisted him up and shoved him out the door.

I turn around and there's blood on the floor. I looked at Peanut, and a nice strip of his ear was missing. I held a compress on it and then put on Neosporin. I thought it stopped bleeding, but later I was in the office and turned around in my chair to see a LOT more fresh blood on the floor. So I cleaned that up too, compressed the ear and put on cornstarch, which I read can help to stop bleeding. Inge told me ears can bleed quite a bit!

On another downer, yesterday Matt (remember Hot Tub Matt?) told me I was going to KILL HIM, but he wanted to find his dog Charlie a new home. He adopted her a year ago from Precious friends, a golden retriever/collie/lab mix. Her 1-year birthday is Dec. 15. I won't go on a rant now, I'm depressed enough as it is. But put the word out for this sweet girl. I'll post her picture later in another topic. She's spayed, house trained and has had some obedience classes. She's full-grown at 60 pounds and is good with kids, other dogs and good on leash and in a car. If you are interested in all 4 pictures I have of her, let me know and I'll e-mail them to you. Maybe together we can again find a pet a home.

On top of it all, today was my day to get Cats Are Us yard sale stuff together before work, and the day is half shot, I got no household chores done other than go clean up blood and now it's about time to get ready for work.

If I'm not around for awhile it's because I've crawled into a hole somewhere, so carry on Pet People!

Above is Peanut, scarred for life.

posted by Sandy at 12/11/2007 11:50:00 AM

23 Comments:

Blogger B said...

New handle for Sandy will be Bloody Mary-LOL
Sorry bout the ruckus Sandy--glad there wasn't any really dangerous harm. I went thru that with Hines and Lucy--Lucy wanting Hines treat and attcking to get it. She never hurt him, just scared the crap out of me and Hines together.
Maybe Elaine can give you a food aggressiveness talk like she did us?

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 12:20:00 PM  
Blogger Whisper said...

Poor Sandy....

remember... that which doesn't kill us, makes us stronger.

I have the windows open and Larry, senior cat, has been outside soaking up the warmth. I hear there may be snow this weekend... crazy weather.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 1:50:00 PM  
Blogger Adrienne said...

Sorry to hear about poor peanut. If is continues to bleed, I would get some gauze and wrap it in the self-adhesive gauze. You know that colored stuff they use on horses. You can get red and he'll be festive for the holidays.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 2:48:00 PM  
Blogger Stacey said...

Poor sweet Little Man. Peanut is just such a love, I just want to rush over and kiss his gray snout and tell him it will be okay. Mean ole bully Scooter!!!! I thought Scooter was supposed to be so well trained now????

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 3:57:00 PM  
Blogger B said...

Hope Peanut gets better soon, bless his little ear. Scooter, Scooter, Scooter, tis the season to love your fellow canines!!!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 4:20:00 PM  
Blogger dragon said...

Sandy, Sandy, Sandy, Sandy. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Thank God we got poor little helpless Shadow out of your house before the mayhem and bloodshed broke loose for the season.

Sandy, I don't know how to bring this up, but, they have books about how to train your dogs. In fact, there is this really good show on TV called the Dog Whisperer. You can record it if it comes on while you are working. He could help you work through this and let Scooter know that you...no, that the BOSS is the pack leader, not Scooter. You let Scooter bully the other dogs. You need to put a stop to it.

I have personal experience giving stitches, so if Peanut's ear needs sewing up, just call. The scar won't be that big. Honest.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 5:56:00 PM  
Blogger Daisylouu said...

Peanut is my favorite, always has been.......and on my most recent trip to Tennessee Sandy made me give all my attention to Scooter because he is alpha dog. I did manage to lock myself in the room ALONE with Peanut for some serious belly rubbing and kisses. I must now contemplate trying to get protective custody of my nephew, Peanut. His Aunt Kathy wants to drive down there and rescue him....I might have to make a little pitstop on the way and check on Shadow/Tweety.....hmmmm, those sugar plums keep dancing in my head.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 6:14:00 PM  
Blogger Skeeter said...

Poor wittle Peanut! Sniff sniff...

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 6:48:00 PM  
Blogger Pam said...

Poor Sandy and Poor baby Peanut!Bleass Peanut's little heart, I hope he isn't in any pain now. I know his Mama is taking good care of him. Sounds like maybe you need to go to bed and pull the covers up for a few days. It'll get better just try to relax now that no one is seriously hurt.
Daisy, again thank you for the lovely photo, it was great!!!!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 8:10:00 PM  
Blogger Pam said...

I think Matt may need a lecture about what he is doing and how he needs to think before he ever wants to adopt agai!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 8:11:00 PM  
Blogger Sandy said...

Scooter is much better behaved that he was BEFORE training. I don't know if he was the one who got Peanut's ear. As I said, Zoe and Scooter were the first two to tussle and in the second round somehowPeanut got involved. I think someone bit onto his ear and he jerked back, scraping it with a tooth.

Zoe's had tiffs with the others before. Once her and Tramp, once her and Penny, once her and Scooter before.

Hey, it's been three years since the last one--that's pretty good! Am I the only one with three or four dogs (I had four at one time) that has had spats? It's just like two kids start slapping each other over a toy! And I've had a few before Scooter even lived here! Lots of people I know with too many dogs (HA) have had such things happen.

It happens so quick it's over before you know it. And usually they eat their own treats in separate areas. I just didn't notice Zoe's uneaten one on the floor as usual and no one wanted to give up I guess!

If you had known Scooter before training, you'd know the big difference. And I have a mix of him, an Alpha male and Peanut, a very submissive male. Two males often are bad enough sometimes, but when they are opposite, it can cause problems!

And none are food agressive, but Peanut is a big hog and that's something he'll stand up to others for. I can take food or bones away from all of them easily.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 10:29:00 PM  
Blogger k9rescue said...

The real issue here is that it took so long for the dogs to break up. They should have immediately broken as soon as you TOLD them to with a sharp "AAAHT!" or whatever word it is that you use. If they don't, there is serious "misbalance" in the house regarding alpha. This is especially important when you have multiple dogs... if YOU don't establish yourself as alpha, then one of the dogs will. And, Scooter ain't no dummy. He knows where he wants to be, and it looks like he's suckered his way into prime position. :) Good luck!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 11:08:00 PM  
Blogger Sandy said...

Yes, I guess I'm a failure at pack order. Probably because I spend so much time on the computer when I'm at home doing stuff like posting pets on Petfinder, doing flyers, cards, e-mails and tons of other related shelter stuff, before doing chores and going off to work all night,where I often get even more animal related requests for help. Maybe I need to rethink how I spend my time with other people's dogs and cats and spend more time walking and playing with my own.

Yes, there sure is an imbalance somewhere I think. Like the Dog Whisperer said, I need to give them more exercise. Not all dogs need as much as others do, but I know Scooter is still young and a breed that needs more stimulation.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 11:39:00 PM  
Blogger Skeeter said...

At the Saints sisters house, She had two males and one female. The female was the alpha dog....

I cannot find the Dog Whisperer anywhere in our TV schedule down here in GA. Must be a satilite thing and not Comcast cable...

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 2:43:00 AM  
Blogger Adrienne said...

Skeeter, I have Concast and watch the the Dog Whisperer. Go to comcast.com and look up scheduling for your area.

I have 4 dogs and I don't have these problems. I AM ALPHA! I do not put up with any bad behavior and when they try to act stupid I put a stop to it by yelling "HEY" or I stomp my feet. They always stop. Even when I had unaltered females and 2 males, I didn't have them fighting. Sandy, maybe you need to talk to the trainer again and reassert yourself as alpha. Pick certain times or days that you will work on stuff for other people and send more time with you kiddos.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 8:37:00 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Yep, that's it, Sandy, the balance of fun time and maintaining Alpha.
Little Franky and I are taking the "Doggy Manners Class" at Total Canine Care. We have real homework to schedule into our daily routine. I thought I had plenty of time for that since 3/4 of our furrkids are always by my side, on my lap, and sometimes drapped over the computer monitor. It is not enough to maintain that Alpha if I am mostly a doorman, and a soft place to lounge on. It is always work in progress around here.
My current favorite saying is, "Wag more...bark less".

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 8:53:00 AM  
Blogger Sandy said...

I know about pack order and watch the Dog Whisperer all the time.

To stop bad behavior you have to be there when it starts. I was on the phone not paying attention. I heard them, went over and I stopped it.

Like I said, it has been 3 years since anything like this happened,and it's not like they have battles over food or chewies every day.

But I will be making a New Year's resolution to take them all for walks every day instead of doing another work shift here at home on the computer doing all the stuff I do. That's one thing the Dog Whisperer always stresses: giving them daily walks to burn energy.

I'm going to have to learn to say no and stop trying to do all the things I did before I went back to work full time.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 9:17:00 AM  
Blogger B said...

Hang in there Sandy girl! It will all be better soon.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 4:12:00 PM  
Blogger Skeeter said...

Could not find the Dog Whisperer in our schedule anywhere. guess we dont get it down here....

Yep Sandy, I think you may need to slow down a bit and give your babies a bit more attention to let them know YOU are in charge and not them.... They are like kids and will test you....

This morning Sheba barfed her guts out. I ran to clean it up and found corn in it! Last night we had corn with our meal and I guess she found some and it did not agree with her. Wonder where she got it from? Food doesnt usually get to the floor in this house with me and the Saint eating! ha....

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 5:17:00 PM  
Blogger Whisper said...

Our little Niki takes quite a bit of attention. She is so much more energetic that our other two couch potatoes. Max has been rebelling I think, and is peeing on the floor. The good news is that it is clear and a good color (LOL) because he has had a struvite problem in the past with dark colored urine and blood. This is nice and light yellow and there is a LOT! Anyway... I THINK it's Max. I'm with you Sandy, it doesn't happen when I am in the room. So I don't know 100% that it is Max but it seems like way too much for little Niki and Charlie is VERY good about telling us he needs to go out.

We had to play CSI this morning following a fluid trail that seemed to indicate that Max was the culprit. I think I need to force him outside because he just wants to lay in bed and not move.So we started with forced outsides this afternoon. So far so good... overnight seems to be the time...

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 5:18:00 PM  
Blogger Daisylouu said...

It's true.....we try to do so much, if we take a step back and ask ourselves what time do we really spend with our pets. Sure, they are always there among us, and we may pet them 5 or 10 seconds, but we must know the time each of them needs with us. Sandy, Zoe and Peanut probably need less because they are older so they are content sleeping. Scooter is your thorn, I told you I don't like the "look" he gets, it's pure jealousy. He truly thought I was "his" when I was there. I was much more stressed over the dogs than the cats, ha ha! Who do you think got Peanut's ear? My vote is Zoe the ugly dog.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 7:38:00 PM  
Blogger Sandy said...

I don't know who got the ear, as it all happened so fast, about 5 seconds.

Scooter gets that look you speak of from his genes. He has herding breed, and just like border collies and others, they stare at their target, like the sheep they herd and boss around.

As you said,it all depends on what kind of dog you have, what their age is and what other dogs'in the pack's personalities are. Some dogs are "harder" than others, and why certain breeds aren't recommend for first time owners--like Chows or Rotties. Zoe has some Chow in her.

Scooter also has seizures, and I notice that he is more "agitated" if that's the right word, right before he has one. Then after a seizure and up until the next one, he is different--calmer and less bossy.

And as far as my telling you to take care of Scooter first as far as attention, that is what they tell you to do. The top dog out of the ones you have should get his food first, treats first, go out the door first, etc., because that's how it works in a natural dog pack--and wolves in their pack.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 10:38:00 PM  
Blogger Sandy said...

Oh, and Adrienne. I have very little time at home. It takes me a half hour to drive to work, I often work overtime. I get to bed around 2:30 a.m. and get up around 9 or 10 and have to leave by 2:30 p.m. So I will have to cut back on something.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 10:40:00 PM  

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Pet People

Sandy Britt, an animal welfare advocate and volunteer with Clarksville rescue organizations, takes care of three dogs: Zoe, Scooter and Peanut; two cats: Catfish and Tarzan; and one husband, Glen, and according to him she takes care of them in that order.
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